The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c10.17

c10.17

The conciliar element in the national, supreme, or central body of the Hindu state was known simply as the *sabhâ* in Vedic⁴ times and in the poetry of the *Râmâyaṇa*⁵ and the *Mahâbhârata*.⁶ In Kautilya's language it was the *mantri-sabhâ* (*sabhâ* of ministers) or the *mantri-pariṣat*. *Pariṣat* is like *sabhâ* a generic term implying an assembly or association.