Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology c13.s3: Nītiśāstras

The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology c13.s3

Language
English

Contents

Nītiśāstras

1. Brihaspati's Sūtra

c13.s3.t1.1

The epoch from Harṣa to Hemādri may rightly commence with the *Bārhaspatya-sūtram*.¹⁷ This is a *Sūtra* treatise of *Nītiśāstra* ascribed to Brihaspati, exponent of the cult of *pauruṣa* or manliness as the architechtonic force in human affairs. *Pauruṣe niṣṭhito devo*, says he (II, 61). It is on manliness that fate is established. He is, again, the exponent of the doctrine that it is because of *Daṇḍanīti* that the sun is the ruler of men (III, 76).

c13.s3.t1.2

¹⁷ Edited in Devanagari character by B. Datta. Text and transl., by F. W. Thomas (Lahore 1921).

c13.s3.t1.3

The treatise is complete in six short chapters. The *sūtras* are really aphoristic, mostly pithy and very often incomplete as sentences. The entire work is in prose. One may find the Kauṭalyan style in certain aphorisms.

c13.s3.t1.4

At II. 1, Thomas is right in taking *guṇa* in an untechnical sense. But it is better to render *guṇavato rājyam* by "Kingship (state of sovereignty) belongs to the qualified" rather than by "Sovereignty belongs to one possessing advantages," as he does. Accordingly II, 2, *vidyāguṇorthaguṇāh sahāyaguṇāścha* may be rendered more precisely as "Learning (or knowledge) is a qualification, wealth is a qualification and aid (aliance or friendship) is also a qualification."

c13.s3.t1.5

III, 1. (*jitakleśasya pauruṣam*) is translated by Thomas as "Manliness is the quality of one superior to weakness." He renders *kleśa*=weakness. But the sense requires that it should be rendered as difficulties, troubles, pains etc. We then understand Brihaspati as saying that "manliness comes through conquest of difficulties and troubles etc." It is only then that Brihaspati's message about *pauruṣa* can become explicit in the next verse which describes the manner of acquiring it. *Deśāntaravāsena jitakleśo bhavati*. In Thomas's rendering "one becomes superior to weakness by residence in other countries." More appropriately, we should say that it is by residence in other countries that one becomes conqueror of difficulties and troubles, etc. The word "weakness" applies to something subjective inherent in the person himself while *kleśa* as used by Brihaspati is something external to the person, engendered by the circumstances or conditions of life. It is by overpowering those unfavourable or unpleasant conditions that the person acquires the mental or moral attributes of *pauruṣa*.

c13.s3.t1.6

An interesting feature of this treatise is the geographical section in chapter III (64-148). The earth is divided into seven *dvīpas*, "islands," regions or continents and has an area of fifty crores of *yojanas*. The continents are named as Karma, Bhoga, Atibhoga, Divya, Śringāra, Siddha and Kaivalya. At 105 there is a reference to the Yādava Kānchī *Viṣaya* (country). This leads Thomas to suspect the twelfth century as the age of this treatise or rather perhaps of this line (p. 17). But the context, again, is suspected by him as an interpolation. In any case the name Yādava as that of a tribe or family need not necessarily bring even this particular line down to the twelfth century.

c13.s3.t1.7

India is known as *Bhārataḥ Khaṇḍaḥ* (72). The different regions of India are mentioned along with their areas in *yojanas*. The *Yavanaviṣayāḥ* (Yavana countries) are mountainous and are located in *Mlechchhadeśa* (117). Brihaspati enumerates the *puṇyakṣetras* (sacred places or points of pilgrimage) also, namely, the eight *Vaiṣṇava*, the eight *Śaiva*, and the eight *Śākta*. The mountains as seats of the gods are specially enumerated. The four Pauranic ages are described with reference to the qualities of the races living in each. The fourth age is not called *Kali* but *Tisya* (140). And men of this age are described as "proficient in *Daṇḍa nīti*" (146). Bhārata is known as *Karmabhūmi* or land of action (134).

c13.s3.t1.8

The problem of auspicious (*śubha*) and inauspicious (*aśubha*) sights and sounds has a place in chapter IV. (20-26).

c13.s3.t1.9

Brihaspati has given us a bit of his mind in the following *sūtras*: "People are happy when relatives are in trouble" (10). Relatives, cruel in their hidden hearts, cause troubles or relatives (11). The most dangerous of all fears is that from relatives. *Sarvabhayeṣu jnātibhayam ghoram* (12). Friendship is like a drop of water on a leaf (14). The conception of such *Realpolitik* in human relations is not peculiar to Brihaspati among the social or political philosophers of Asia or Europe.

c13.s3.t1.10

In Chapter VI. 10-12 Brihaspati announces *dhanamūlam jagat* (the world has its roots in wealth) and *sarvāṇi tatra santi* (everything is to be found there). Further, we are told that the man without wealth is as it were dead, a *Chaṇḍāla* (pariah).. In these messages an indologist might be tempted to suspect the germ of the Marxist "economic interpretation of history." But Brihaspati is not a monist. He makes his position clear in the very next *sūtra* (13) which says that "in the same manner (*evam*) one should acquire learning which is the root of *dharma* (*dharmamūlām cha vidyām arjayet*). He does not stop at this point, however, but promulgates *vidyāmūlam jagat* (the world has its roots in *vidyā*) as well as *vidyā punah sarvam*, i.e. knowledge again is all (15).

c13.s3.t1.11

Brihaspati is thus a pluralist. He is not prepared to discover the roots of anything in one particular force, but finds each and every force as of some value in the making of man's personality, *dharma* and what not. And this position is in keeping with what in the domain of religion is known as heinotheism as contrasted with polytheism. In heinotheism every god is adored for the time being as the Supreme Being, so to say, in regard to man and the universe. No one god can claim this status exclusively. On every occasion we have to remember "the other gods" who are equally to be adored in the same terms. *Artha* is thus nothing more than a god of this heinotheistic Hindu *nīti* philosophy.

c13.s3.t1.12

At V. 30. *ityāhāchāryo brihaspatih* (Thus said the preceptor Brihaspati). The work begins as follows: *brihaspatirathāchārya indrāya nītisarvasvam upadiśati* (Now the preceptor Brihaspati is teaching Indra the whole substance of *Niti*). Brihaspati is thus mentioned by name twice.

c13.s3.t1.13

In I. 112 the preceptor is not mentioned by name but is described as the *bhagavān āchāryah surendraguruh* (divine preceptor, the *guru* of the gods). In II. 75 the message is given as simply that of the *guru*. III. 148, IV. 50, and VI. 15 also indicate nothing but the *āchārya* and the *guru*.

c13.s3.t1.14

Altogether, one will have to take the treatise as a compilation of aphorisms fathered upon Brihaspati. On account of the somewhat archaic character of the language it possesses some special interest. But otherwise as a compilation on *Nītiśāstra* it does not do much credit to the compiler. One cannot of course overlook the fact that the work is fragmentary.

c13.s3.t1.15

The work is perhaps posterior to Kālidāsa (c 400). In the *Meghadūta* Kālidāsa speaks of Kamkhal but ignores Hardwar or Gaṅgādvāra,¹⁸ possibly because as a Śaiva sacred place the latter spot is comparatively recent. But in the *Bārhaspatya sūtra* III, 122, Gaṅgādvāra is mentioned as a *Kṣetra* (p. 8). The material may perhaps be old, as old at least as the Kauṭalyan *Arthaśāstra*. But because of some comparatively recent names the compilation may have to be placed somewhere in the age of Harṣavardhana (c 650), if not still later. Be it observed at once that the spirit of Harṣavardhana in certain respects, at any rate, is the farthest removed from the atmosphere of this *Sūtra*. The references to the Bauddha (II. 9, 15, 34) are entirely un-Harṣalike.

c13.s3.t1.16

¹⁸ This observation of Pandit Jayadeva's is quoted by the editor of the Lahore text (1921).

c13.s3.t1.17

According to Brihaspati the Buddhist family is destroyed either in the present generation or in that of the sons and grandsons (34). The Buddhist is one of those *pāṣaṇḍas* (abominable creatures) or heretics with whom contact is forbidden even in thought (35). Such mores (II. 12-35, III. 15) are promulgated in regard to the other heretics, for example, the *Laukāyatika*, the *Kāpālika* and the *Kṣapaṇaka*. The presence of such prejudices, on the one hand, as well as the mention of *Tāntrikas* (III. 144) as important in the *Dvāpara* age, on the other, may easily suggest an epoch in which the late *Mahāyāna* and the neo-Hindu systems are jumbled together in the social polity. The compiler does not happen to be a symbol of *rapprochement* or synthesis and reconciliation between the diverse elements. We can believe of course that even in the epoch of Harṣa's eclecticism not every Indian was an eclecticist like the Emperor himself. The anti-heretical and anti-Buddhist sentiments of previous epochs have therefore found a place side by side with the pro-Tantrik sentiments of the age of Harṣa and his successor (600-800) in this queer collection that goes by the name of Brihaspati.

2. Somadeva’s Nītivākyāmrita

c13.s3.t2.1

Somadeva (c 950) is known to be a Jaina by faith, but in his *Nītivākyāmrita*¹⁹ there is hardly any trace of Jainism outside of the very first chapter. Indeed it is throughout a-religious. The treatise is really a book of *Nīti-śāstra*, pure and undefiled. As such, Somadeva's work is a fine specimen of tenth century Hindu culture in the realm of social philosophy. The true *Nīti* spirit is embodied in the *Nītivākyāmrita*, in which, therefore, may be seen registered the progress and expansion of positivism during the Indian Middle Ages.

c13.s3.t2.2

¹⁹ Gopalanarayana Co. Bombay.

c13.s3.t2.3

It is indeed questionable if Somadeva is a genuine Jaina when we see that he commences his work with salutation to Gaṇeśa in the orthodox Brāhmaṇical manner. Perhaps like many other Jainas he represents in his life and thought the conquest of electicism in Brāhmaṇic-Jaina religious intercourse.

c13.s3.t2.4

What is still more interesting is that in his orientations to group life, the society and the state, Somadeva is fundamentally at one with Brihaspati. There is nothing to choose between the two in the emphasis on *puruṣa-kāra*, *pauruṣa* (manliness), etc.

c13.s3.t2.5

The arrow does not shoot out of the bow of itself from the hands of the man who depends on *daiva* (chance or luck), says Somadeva (ch. XXIX). It is to the person who depends on *pauruṣa* that there is the problem of gain or loss (*pauruṣāvalambinorthānarthayoh sandehah*). But to the fellow dependent on *daiva* loss is certain. The relations between *daiva* (luck, chance, fate) and *pauruṣa* (human energy, exertion, manhood) are those between life and medicine. It is with such philosophy of faith in the efficacy of *pauruṣa* as capable of deciding the issue between success and failure or life and death, that Somadeva analyzes the relations between man and man, prince and prince, state and state. In his treatise, then, we are to encounter action, active life, the ability to transform the external conditions, activism.

c13.s3.t2.6

The atmosphere of the *Nītivākyāmrita* introduces us to the fundamental milieu of *vikrama* (prowess), *puruṣakāra* (energism), *vijigīṣu* (aspirant to conquest), *sārvabhauma* (world-ruler) and so forth. We are talking the language of Kauṭalya on a large scale. In *Bārhaspatya* *sūtra* the key is Kauṭalyan, materialistic, secular, energistic. But perhaps because it is too short and fragmentary, Kauṭalyaism does not come out in a well-formed manner. But Somadeva is out and out Kauṭalyan.

c13.s3.t2.7

Even the chapters are generally Kauṭalyan in phraseology. The thirtyone *samuddeśas* (topics) are indicated below:

c13.s3.t2.8

1. *Dharma* (duties), 2. *Artha* (wealth), 3. *Kāma* (enjoyment), 4. Six enemies, 5, Learning and Age, 6. *Ānvīkṣikī* (metaphysics), 7. *Trayī* (Vedas) 8. *Vārttā* (farming, cattle-breeding and commerce), 9. *Daṇḍanīti*, 10. Ministers, 11. The Family Priest, 12. The General, 13. The Representative or Ambassador, 14. The Spies, 15. *Vichāra* or Discrimination, 16. The Vices, 17. The King, 18. The Officers, 19. The Country, 20. The Forts, 21. The Treasure, 22. The Army, 23. The Ally, 24. Guarding the King against dangers, 25. Daily Routine, 26. Good Conduct, 27. Morals and Manners, 28. Judicial affairs, 29. The Six Guṇas (attitudes) *vis-à-vis* other states, 30. War, 31. Marriage.

c13.s3.t2.9

The *Nitivākyāmrita* (ch. on the six guṇas) has a very significant message. It furnishes hope to everybody,—to the small man, to the ruler of the petty state. “Even when planted on earth carelessly, the tree becomes firm-rooted, “says he (*avajnayāpi bhūmāvāropitastarurbhavati vaddhamūlah*). “Does not likewise the king? (*Kim punarna bhūpatih?*). That is, a ruler who somehow gets hold of a territory eventually establishes his dominion over it. Indeed, as we are told, “nobody’s territory is derived from his family (*Na hi kulagatā kasyāpi bhūmih*). The Earth is to be enjoyed only by the hero (*vīrabhogyā vasundharā*).” And that is why even the “small man”

c13.s3.t2.10

or the ruler of a small territory, provided he be furnished with *upāyas* (diplomatic methods) and prowess as well as lucky in devoted subjects can become *sārvabhaumah* or universal monarch.

c13.s3.t2.11

Somadeva is an uncompromising hater of subjection. In case one is too powerless one should seek protection in order to avoid being meat to others (*śakti-hīnah saṁśrayam kuryādyadi na bhavati pareṣāmāmiṣam*).

c13.s3.t2.12

He is discussing the position of the "small man" in international politics. What is the most expedient policy for a ruler that happens to be weak? Somadeva is emphatic in his answer, which is as follows:

c13.s3.t2.13

"For a person with the sense of self-respect death is preferable to disgrace (*apamānena varam mānino maraṇam*)." Further, "one should not sell oneself by living according to the will of another (*na parechchhānuvartanenātmavikrayah*)."

c13.s3.t2.14

And yet Somadeva is not carried away by idealism too far. He can think of the chances, the hopes, the fortunes of the future relations.

c13.s3.t2.15

But of course protection is to be sought only in case there be the prospects of an eventual good turning up in the future (*āyatikalyāne sati kasmimśchit samvandhe parasamśrayah śreyān*). That is, the weak is not advised to seek protection of others under all circumstances. He must have to consider the pros and cons carefully and then when he decides upon seeking somebody's tutelage he has only to utilize it with a view to the long run effect. It is the conjuncture of circumstances that he has to study all the time.

c13.s3.t2.16

Finally, it should be observed that in social atmosphere *Bārhaspatya-sūtra* and *Nitivākyāmrita* are as the poles asunder. In Somadeva (ch. I.) the message is one of equality. The highest of all social dealings and attitudes consists in sameness or equality to all beings (*sarvasattveṣu hi samatā sarvācharaṇānām param charaṇam*), says he. It is the farthest removed from Brihaspati's prejudices of all sorts. We are here led to the doctrine of equality *vis-à-vis* not only men but all sentient beings. And so far as human beings are concerned, Somadeva is equally precise and positive. Among the ways of acquiring *dharma* he attaches the first importance to *ātmavat paratra kuśalavrittichintamam*, i.e., the cultivation of thoughts regarding other people's welfare as one's own. In his analysis of *dharma* he propagates the doctrines of *tyāga*, i.e., self-sacrifice or gifts and charities as well as of *tapas*, i.e., the control of senses and the mind. Last but not least, the doctrine of *ahimsā* or non-injury to animals finds its proper place in his moral system. Neither in this world nor in the next can any action, we are told, leading to the injury of living beings, be productive of good results. The conduct of persons who do not perform *vratas* (ceremonies) but whose minds are not given to killing can lead to heaven (*ajighāmsumanasām vratariktamapi charitam svargāya jāyate*). In these and similar passages of chapter I, entitled *Dharmasamuddeśe* we encounter the catechism of Jaina religion and morals.

c13.s3.t2.17

A very noteworthy feature of *Nitivākyāmrita* remains to be mentioned in this estimate, short as it is. Just after offering salutation to Gaṇeśa Somadeva offers another salutation. This, however, is not to a god or the *guru* but to the *rājya*, the state. The *rājya* is there conceived by him as *dharmārthaphala*, i.e., as an organism of which the fruits are *dharma* and *artha*. The conception of the king as the maker of time is well-known in *Śukranīti* (I. lines 43-44). It is specially to be observed that Somadeva does not use the category *rājā* or the ruler but *rājya*, the entire socio-political complex. In so far as the *rājya* has been adored by the author of the *Nītivākyāmrita* as the source of *dharma* and *artha* he must be credited with having made a contribution of extraordinary value in the history of human thought. It is here that we encounter the doctrine of *étatisme* in a nutshell. It is perhaps the greatest single contribution of the tenth century to Indian social philosophy.

3. Bhoja's Yuktikalpataru

c13.s3.t3.1

The literary activities and propaganda of Rājā Bhoja of Dhārā (Malwa) during the eleventh century (*c* 1050) have been handed down as a venerable tradition in India. A textbook of *Nītiśāstra* is also ascribed to his pen or patronage. While dealing with this work it is necessary to get oriented to the "Vikramādityas" of Indian culture.

c13.s3.t3.2

The association of gods and *Riṣis* with the works on *Nīti* and allied topics, and the tradition about their vast size and large number, as well as the custom of attributing works to one's *gurus* (teachers or preceptors) make the problem of a systematic treatment of Hindu political, social or economic science all the more difficult. Equally puzzling is the association of works with historical characters, men of real flesh and blood, round whom, however, legends like those of Alexander and Charlemagne have grown up mystifying their age, *locale* as well as personality. One such work is *Yuktikalpataru*, giving "an account of all requirements in a royal court," as Aufrecht observes in the *Catalogus Catalogorum*. The work was first noticed by Rajendralal Mitra, and since his time, has been drawn upon by Indologists in their treatment of things Indian, specially secular matters. The work is attributed to King Bhoja (Vikramāditya) of Dhārā in Malwa and has been described by the author as compiled from *nibandhas* or treatises of various *munis* or masters on the subjects. The following account of the work is being given from the manuscript (108 leaves, written in Bengali character, belonging to Prof. Ādityarām Bhattāchārya) in the possession of the Pāṇini Office.²⁰

c13.s3.t3.3

²⁰ Available in print from another manuscript (Calcutta Oriental Series, 1917).

c13.s3.t3.4

The botanical name of the work has been explained at the beginning just after the salutation to Kṛiṣṇa, “the Parameśvara, who by undoing the happiness of Kamsa did really promote his happiness, who is worshipped by the gods and is really unadorable,” and to the “makers of Śāstras whose words purify good men, even for the hearing.” Just as a *Kalpa-vrikṣa* or the wishing-tree (like the wishing-cow), celebrated in Hindu mythical lore, yields the satisfaction of all desires, so “wise men by resorting to this *Kalpataru* (the treatise so-called) can achieve the most longed-for objects.” The root of this tree is *Daṇḍanīti* (the science of punishment), the stem is *Jyotiṣa* (implying astronomy, astrology, horoscope and mathematics according to the conception of the Hindus), the branches and flowers are the diverse *Vidyās* which deal with the facts observed (or the phenomenal world), the fruits are unknown, and the *rasa* or sap is the nectar of the good, i.e., promotes their welfare.” “That *Kalpataru* should be respected by kings and ministers, who ought to study their affairs and deliberate on them according to its dictates as well as those of other *śāstras*.'' ''This is most conductive to the welfare of kings and promotes also the weal of others'' (i.e., people).

c13.s3.t3.5

Thus the very definition of the term *Yukti-Kalpataru*, as the title of a book, introduces the topics of a *Nīti Śāstra*; and, as a matter of fact, all the subjects dealt with in the work are the proper themes of works like *Śukranīti*. The following table of contents in the *Yukti Kalpataru* would indicate that the work is, like the *Artha-śāstra*, *Kāmandakīnīti*, *Śukranīti*, and *Ghaṭakarpara-nīti*, really a socio-economic and socio-political treatise, and is an additional document of Hindu secular literature in the field of *Dharmasūtras*, *Arthaśāstras* or *Nītiśāstras* :

c13.s3.t3.6

1. *Nīti śāstra*. 2. *Guru* (Preceptor) and *Purohita* (Priest). 3. *Amātya* (Land Revenue Officer). *Mantrī* (Foreign minister) and *Dūta* (Ambassador). 4. *Lekhaka* (Scribe) and *Jyotirjna* (Astronomer). 5. *Purādhyakṣa* (Mayor or Superintendent of the City), *Vanādhyakṣa* (Superintendent of Parks and Forests). 6. *Koṣavardhana* (Development of Financial resources). 7. *Rājadāyāda* (Sharers of the royal income). 8. *Kriṣi karma* (Agriculture). 9. *Rathin* (Charioteer), *Sādi* (Horsemen or Cavalry). 10. *Gajāroha* (Art of elephant mounting, driving etc.) 11. *Yāna* (Land and Water conveyances). 12. *Yātrā* (Expeditions). 13. *Vigraha* (Warfare). 14. *Chara* (Spy). 15. *Dūtalakṣaṇa* (Characteristics of ambassadors and spies). 16. *Sandhi* (Truce and Peace). 17. *Āsana* (Siege). 18. *Dvaidha* (Duplicity—a military technical term in siege-craft). 19. *Āśraya* (Seeking refuge or protection). 20. *Daṇḍa* (Punishment).

c13.s3.t3.7

21. *Mantra* (Policy or statecraft). 22-3. *Dvandva* (Rivalry and hostilities undertaken under two sets of circumstances, e.g., i. *Akritrima*, i.e., conditions of natural fortifications and, ii. *Kritrima*, i.e., conditions of artificial barriers and barricades, etc.), described with quotations from *Nīti Śāstra*, Garga, and one Bhoja.

c13.s3.t3.8

24. *Pura-nirmāṇa* (Building of cities). 25. *Kāla* (Auspicious time). 26. The *Vasati* (Arrangement of various wards or quarters) described by quotations from Bhoja and Parāśara. 27. *Doṣaguṇa* (Good and bad effects, according to Astrology). 28. *Vāstu* (Houses). 29. *Dingnirṇaya* (Directions). 30. *Lakṣaṇa* (Style or characteristics of buildings). 31. *Māna* (Measurements). 32. *Doṣaguṇa* (good and bad effects). 33. *Kālanirṇaya* (When to begin building new houses). 34. *Vāstu pravesakāla* (When to enter new houses). 35. *Dvāranirṇaya* (Laying out of doors). 36. *Prāchīra* (walls). 37-41. *Vāstudaṇḍa* (Various measurements of houses), *Vināśa griha*, *Ranga*-and *Rāja-griha* (the twelve kinds of buildings).

c13.s3.t3.9

42. *Āsanas* (Thrones). 43. *Khaṭikās* (Bedsteads). 44. *Pīṭha* (Stools made of metals, stones or wood). 45. *Chhatras* (Umbrellas). 46. *Dhvajā* (Flags). 47. *Chāmara* (Flap). 48. *Chasaka* (Drinking vessels). 49. *Vastra* (Clothes). 50. *Alankāra* (Ornaments).

c13.s3.t3.10

51. Diamond. 52. *Padmarāga* (Species of emerald). 53-4. Examination, prices etc., of diamonds. 55. Examination of *Vidruma* (Corals). 56. *Gomeda*. 77-8. Pearls—their examination and prices. 59. *Vaiduryya*, *Indranīla* (Sapphire). 60. *Chhāyā* (Transmitted Light). 61. *Marakata* (Emerald, its origin, and good and bad effects). 62. *Puṣparāga* (Topaz). 63. *Bhiṣmamaṇi*.

c13.s3.t3.11

64. *Pulaka*. 65. *Sphatika* (Quartz). 66. *Ayaskānta*. 67. *Śaṅkha* (Conch).

c13.s3.t3.12

68. *Astra* (Missile). 69. *Khaḍga* (Dagger). 70. *Dhanu* (Bow). 71. *Bāṇa* (Arrow). 72-3. *Yātrā* (Expedition), the proper time for it. 74. *Nīrājanā* (Ceremony with horses and elephants).

c13.s3.t3.13

75-9. Horses—Testing, their defects, how to strike them, etc. 80. *Ritucharyyā* (Seasons—and seasonal treatment of horses). 81-2. Elephants. 83-5. The Examination, Merits and Defects of Bulls. 86. Buffaloes. 87. Deer. 88. Dogs. 89. Goats. 90-3. Carriages of various kinds.

c13.s3.t3.14

94. *Naukā Kāṣṭha* (Woods or timber for boats). 95. Boats of various kinds.

4. Lakṣmīdhara and 5. Gopāla

c13.s3.t4.1

The eleventh and twelfth centuries were important in political speculation as in legal discussions. Certain authors were exponents of law and politics at the same time. The Jaina scholar Hemachandra's *Laghu Arhannīti* is, like *Śukranīti*, a comprehensive treatise although within a small compass. Then we have Lakṣmīdhara²¹ (c 1100-1160) who wrote a substantial section on *Rājanīti-Kalpataru* in his great work, *Smriti-Kalpataru*. He was the foreign minister of King Govindachandra of Kanauj (1105-43) and was a powerful statesman.

c13.s3.t4.2

²¹ Kane, Vol. I. pp. 77, 289, 317,

c13.s3.t4.3

Gopāla (c 1100), the jurist of the *Kāmadhenu* fame, was the author also of a *Rājanīti-Kāmadhenu*. This was utilized by Chaṇḍeśvara of Mithilā (c 1325) in his *Rājanīti-Ratnākara*,²² who quotes likewise Lakṣmīdhara and Śrīkara along with Gopāla as exponents of *rājadhane dīnānāthādisakalaprāṇinām amśītvam* (i.e., cosharership of the poor, orphans and all other "creatures" in the wealth of the king or revenues of the state).

c13.s3.t4.4

²² *The Rājanītiratnākara by Chandeśvara* ed. by K. P. Jayaswal (Patna 1924), pp. q., 81.

6. Hemachandra's Laghu Arhannīti

c13.s3.t5.1

In the *Laghu Arhannīti*²³ of Hemachandra (1089-1173), the small Jaina work in Sanskrit verse, we have, as it were, an interpretation of Hindu culture through Jaina eyes. *Nītiśāstra* is declared by the author to have been taught by Mahāvīra, the founder of Jainism himself, to the king of Magadha, who approached him for lessons in this science. And in Mahāvīra's version the science sprang out of the Tīrthamkara *milieu*. The first king of the Jaina tradition, namely Ṛiṣabha, is, according to Mahāvīra, the founder or rather restorer of *Nīti* among the Bhāratas. They are said to have lost their former glories owing to the inroads of the *Kali* (Iron) Age. And so in Ṛiṣabha we are taught to see a benefactor who placed the Bhāratas on the proper lines of progress. It is interesting that Mahāvīra does not ignore the *dharmam purātanam* (the old, previous or traditional *mores*). It is out of the old *mores* that Ṛiṣabha is presented by him as having constructed the new (I. 14-15).

c13.s3.t5.2

²³ Published by the Jainodaya Press, Ahmedabad, with Gujarati translation, 1906.

c13.s3.t5.3

Among the achievements of Ṛiṣabha (I. 15-17), as narrated by Mahāvīra to king Bimbisāra, we have the promulgation of the following :—(1) the societal stratification according to *varṇas* (colours, castes or professions) and *āśramas* (physiologico-psychological stages of individual personality), (2) the method of reforming or reconstructing the social system, (3) farming, commerce and crafts, (4) judicial matters, (5) statecraft of rulers (*nītimārgaṁcha bhūpānām*), (6) the laying out of towns and villages, (7) all the sciences (*vidyā*) (8) all the activities (*kriyā*) bearing on this world as well as the next. In this enumeration of Ṛiṣabha's promulgations we have in reality Hemachandra's conception of the scope of *Nītiśāstra*.

c13.s3.t5.4

The first *Adhikāra* or chapter has the following topics: 1. Qualifications of the King, 2. Moral disciplines of Kings. 3. Qualifications of Ministers. 4. Education of Ministers. 5. Qualifications of the General. 6. Education of Officials. 7. Qualifications of the Representative or Ambassador.

c13.s3.t5.5

Chapter II. has the following topics: 1. Discussion of policy. 2. Four Methods (*Upāyas*). 3. Expeditions. 4. Distribution of booty. 5. Punishments, general and special. 6. Who are not to be punished.

c13.s3.t5.6

In chapter III. the following subjects have demanded the author's attention:—1. Judicial proceedings (The material is partly in prose some of which is Prakrit). 2. Witnesses, 3. Debts, 4. Securities, 5. Collective Organizations (*sambhūyotthāna*), 6. Gifts, 7. Partition of property (*Dāyabhāga*), 8. Boundary Disputes, 9. Wage, 10. Buying and selling, 11. Master and servant disputes, 12. Deposits, 13. Unowned property, 14. Abuse and Slander, 15. Breach of contract, 16. Adultery, 17. Gambling, 18. Theft, 19. Burglary, 20. Amounts of Punishment, 21. Duties of man and woman.

c13.s3.t5.7

In the fourth chapter are described the penances of all sorts. There are prose passages in Chapters II, and III as in I.

c13.s3.t5.8

Hemachandra's work is described as *laghu* or small. But it is really comprehensive. Its scope is wider in certain respects than that of Somadeva's *Nītivākyāmrita*. The chapters on law are full and deserve intensive analysis for comparison with ordinary Brāhmaṇic (Manu) texts. The chapters on punishment have many details which ought to be interesting to students of criminology. Altogether, it is a valuable document of Hindu positivism, from the Jaina side, for the twelfth century.

c13.s3.t5.9

The author has commenced the work (I. 6) with a reference to king Kumārapāla on account of whose interest (*āgraha*) *Arhannīti śāstra* was composed. It is out of that work, evidently large in size, that Hemachandra has extracted the essence in order to prepare the *Laghu Arhannīti*. In the Jaina tradition as in the Hindu-Brāhmaṇic the role of abridgment is a literary convention, which is to be taken for what it is worth.

7. Someśvara's Mānasollāsa

c13.s3.t6.1

An important work of the early twelfth century remains to be added.

c13.s3.t6.2

The *Mānasollāsa* (The Hilarity of Mind) has a peculiar title. But it is a veritable work of *Nītiśāstra* like the *Yukti kalpataru* and the *Śukranīti*. The special importance of this treatise consists in its being what may be described almost as a dated book, about whose author's personality and home-surroundings there does not appear to be any doubt for the time being. The author *pro forma* is King Someśvara Bhūlokamalla of the Western Chālukya dynasty which was established at Kalyānī in 973 by Taila or Tailapa II. Someśvara reigned from 1127 to 1138. He is the son of his illustrious father Vikramankā Vikramāditya VI., whose reign lasted for half a century (1076-1126). Vikramānka is the hero of Bilhaṇa's *Vikramānkacharita* like Harṣavardhana of Bāṇa's *Harṣacharita*. It is, again, at Vikramānka's court that Vijnāneśvara, the immortal jurist of India, composed his world-renowned *Mitākṣarā* commentary of Yājnavalkya about 1100.²⁴ The *Mānasollāsa* was composed in 1131 (p. vi).

c13.s3.t6.3

²⁴ The text of *Mānasollāsa* Vol. I. has been edited by G. K. Shrigondekar for the Gaekward Oriental Series, Baroda, 1925. See the section on Vijnāneśvara; also Smith: *Oxford History of India* (1919) p. 202.

c13.s3.t6.4

The *Mānasollāsa* is described by the author as a *śāstram viśvopakārakam*, i.e., a science calculated to promote the welfare of the world (*śloka* 9). It is, besides, a *śikṣakaḥ sarvavastūnām* (teacher of all topics) and a *jagadāchāryapustakaḥ* (book for teaching the world). The encyclopaedic scope and the ambitious range of the contents are apparent from these short descriptions.

c13.s3.t6.5

The treatise is complete in five *prakaraṇas* or chapters, each containing twenty *adhyāyas* or sections. Vol. I., as published, offers the first two chapters only.

c13.s3.t6.6

Chapter I. has the following twenty contents :
1. The giving up of untruth, 2. The giving up of inflicting loss on others, 3. The giving up of illicit intercourse, 4. The giving up of eating or drinking the things that should not be taken, 5. The giving up of jealousy, 6. The giving up of association with the fallen, 7. The giving up of anger, 8. The giving up of self-praise, 9. Gifts, 10. Sweet words, 11. Sacrifices, temples, images etc., 12. Devotion to gods (verse 106 teaches that one should give up insulting or running down the gods of others), 13. Cows and Brāhmaṇas, 14. *Śrāddha* ceremony for the dead parents, 15. Entertainment of guests, 16. Honour to teachers, 17. Physical mortifications, 18. Bathing in sacred rivers, 19. Maintenance of the poor, orphans, diseased, friends and servants, 20. Protection of those who seek asylum.

c13.s3.t6.7

There are altogether 308 *ślokas* in this chapter. It looks like a string of "platitudes, platitudes all the way." But such moralizings belong to the irreducible minimum in the training of the *vijigīṣu*. It is interesting and somewhat curious that the author has introduced 152 *ślokas* in section 19 to give a lecture on diseases and their treatment (*vaidyakam*). Half the chapter is then entirely an extract or digest in verse from a treatise of *Āyurveda*. This is followed by 11 lines in prose on *Auṣadhaparyāya* (medicines). The relevancy of this sudden infliction of a medical lecture is hardly apparent. It comes in because the author has four verses on the *dīna* (poor), *anātha* (orphan), and *ārtta* (distressed and sick). We are perhaps to understand that medical help or relief is an important form of the king's services to these classes of needy persons. *Vaidyas* (medical men) are to be appointed by him and they are to be sent out with diverse medicines on a mission of free medical service (139-140).

c13.s3.t6.8

Chapter II. has 1300 verses and is divided into the following twenty sections: 1. The King, 2. The Officers, 3. The Territory (*Rāṣṭra*), 4. The Treasure, 5. The Forts, 6. The Army, 7. The Friend, 8. The Force of the King, 9. The Force of the Plan (*Mantra*), 10. The Force of Enterprise (*Utsāha*), 11. Treaties, 12. War, 13. Expeditions, 14. Siege, 15. Asylum, 16. Duplicity, 17. Friendly Attitude, 18. Separation, 19. Gifts, 20. Punishment.

c13.s3.t6.9

The section on expeditions contains references to all sorts of auspicious and inauspicious occasions. Some prose *mantrams* (hymns) are introduced in connection with the removal of evils and portents. The influence of astrology, sorcery, *Tantra*, and the Atharvavedic tradition is manifest in such sections.

c13.s3.t6.10

The king, Someśvara, is himself supposed to be the author of the book. In the colophons at the end of the two chapters we are left in no doubt as to the royal authorship. In verses 9 and 10 also the king is described in so many words as the maker of the treatise. But as the editor of the text points out, the verse 371 introduces a simile in which Someśvara is mentioned by name as the standard of comparison; and we can easily agree with the editor that "no author would be guilty of so flagrant piece of vanity." In other words, the author must be somebody other than Someśvara, say, a scholar at his court. It is interesting that we are landed once more in the Kauṭalya question. The reference to Kauṭalya (*iti Kauṭalyah*) in the Kauṭalyan *Arthaśāstra* must be taken to point to the authorship of somebody other than Kauṭalya (*Supra*, pp. 218, 306, 355).

c13.s3.t6.11

There is a word *gālidānam* in verse 38. One can easily suspect it as a colloquial Bengali term for reproach or abusive language. The word is not unknown in colloquial modern Hindi. But one wonders as to how it could find a place in a Sanskrit work of the early twelfth century in a Deccani (Maratha) atmosphere.²⁵

c13.s3.t6.12

²⁵ Prof. Vidhu Sekhara Sastri has found the word in the *Rājatarangiṇī* VI. 157; *Bhartrihari*, III, 133, *Vodhasāra Layayoga*, 14.

Linked texts (18)