The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c7.196

c7.196

At the same time the idea of Dharma as a moral check on despotism emerges more clearly. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa wants the king to uphold the sacred law, “for he is not capable of all and every speech, nor of all and every deed, but that he should speak only what is right, and do what is right……”¹ The Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad says that “Dharma is the Kṣatra of the Kṣatra; therefore, there is nothing higher than Dharma. Thenceforth even a weak man rules a stronger with the help of Dharma as with the help of a king. Thus Dharma is what is called the true.”² The term Dharma or Dharman defies translation. It covers the whole range and complex of settled principles and forms of conduct. Law, ideal rather than positive, is one of the senses in which it is used. Ancient Hindus never clearly distinguished between religious and moral duty, usage or customary observance.