The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c9.s1.t1.5

c9.s1.t1.5

A second *samgha* of the day was the *vrâta*. It was similar to the *pûga* in having the first two "properties"; but its *differentium* was indicated by the concept of *utsedha-jîvinah*, i. e., the profession of blackmailing, brigandage or hooliganism as a regular means of livelihood. The European counterpart of the Hindu *vrâta* was the order of *Ritter* or "Knights" whose exploits have received a romantic treatment in Goethe's *Götz* and Schiller's *Räuber*. The modern Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chatterji's *Ânanda Matha* (The Abbey of Bliss) is likewise an idealization of a similar corporation.