The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c16.s1.t4.12

c16.s1.t4.12

As soon, therefore, as the *prajâ* is organized into a state, be it in any part of the world or in any epoch of history, a *varṇâśrama* spontaneously emerges into being. It is inconceivable, in this theory, that there should be a state and yet no *varṇâśrama*. To say that the state has been born and yet the various orders or classes of the people do not follow *dharma* would indeed be a contradiction in terms, a logical absurdity. *Sva-dharma* leads inevitably to *varṇâśrama*, the two are “relative” terms. They indicate coexistent phenomena in the social world. In other words, the doctrine of *varṇâśrama* is a corollary to that of *dharma* as duty, *varṇâśrama* is but *sva-dharma* “writ large”.