The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology c13.s3.t2.1

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.