The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c16.s1.t3.51

c16.s1.t3.51

*Mâtsya-nyâya* is a condition in which duties are nil. Men left to themselves tend even to persecute¹ their mothers, fathers, the aged, the teachers, the guests and the preceptors. It is the fear of *danda* that brings about an order among men, each man minding his own duty (*sva-dharma*).² The doctrine of *dharma* as duty is thus like that of *dharma* as justice naturally a doctrine of the conservation of the state. It is only from this standpoint that the theory of duties has a bearing on the theory of the state.