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INDRAPRASTHA COLLEGE FOR WOMENASSIGNMENT QUESTION:What are the tenets of Rajdharmain Mahabharata?Paper Name- Indian Political Thought- ISubmitted by- Pratishtha SharmaClass- BA (Hons) Political Science, Section BSemester- 5 (3rd Year)Roll No- 18/POL/INTRODUCTIONThe Mahabharata enquires about politic...

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INDRAPRASTHA COLLEGE FOR WOMEN

ASSIGNMENT QUESTION:

What are the tenets of Rajdharma in Mahabharata? Paper Name- Indian Political Thought- I Submitted by- Pratishtha Sharma Class- BA (Hons) Political Science, Section B Semester- 5 (3rd Year) Roll No- 18/POL/58

INTRODUCTION The Mahabharata enquires about political theory, of which law and governance are essential components. The greatest part of political thought in the Mahabharata unfolds in Shantiparva in the form of a long conversation between Yudhishthira and the dying Bhishma. Talking about the origin of State, Bhishma says: There was a time when the state or king did not exist and there was no governance. The people protected each other by means of dharma which sustained them. But this state did not last long and after sometime people lost their sense of duty and obligations. Driven only by their greed, people started doing violence to each other which created anarchy. Thus arose the need for a governing force, to bring order in the people and the king or state was invested with the authority of governance or the power of danda (punishment). It is through governance order is created and the material conditions of life are protected. Protection is the first foundation of all social order and the justification of the existence of the state. The Mahabharata declares that the power of danda or the authority to govern is drawn from the tenets of Rajdharma. It is, therefore, essential to enquire into the attributes of dharma.

ATTRIBUTES OF DHARMA- One characteristic of Mahabharata is that, in the place of definitions of things, it asks for their attributes or Laksanas. ‘Dharma’ in Mahabharata should not be wrongly translated as ‘religion’. According to Mahabharata, dharma is understood as something that: a) Nurtures, cherishes, provides more amply, endows more richly, prospers, increases and enhances all living beings: secures their prabhava. b) Supports, sustains, upholds and brings together all living beings: dharana. c) Secures for all living beings freedom from violence. Thus, the basic attributes of justice, law and good governance are prabhava, dharana and ahimsa. Dharma is the natural foundation of law and governance. Dharma is not subject to the particularities of desha (place) and kala (time), the two coordinates of history.

PURPOSE OF GOVERNANCE The protecting of all living beings with kindness towards them is the highest dharma of the king (his Rajdharma). The purpose of Governance is to ensure for the people protection from fear, for there is nothing more degrading to human worth than living in fear. The Mahabharata enjoins, “Let the king protect his subjects from their fear of him; from their fear of others; from their fear of each other; and from their fear of things that are not human.” Thus, the main purpose of the state is to create conditions for freedom from fear, including the fear of violence. In other words, its purpose lies in 'protecting the small fish from the big fish', keeping in mind that in the process the state does not itself become the 'big fish'. That will lead to oppression and terror, resulting in adharma by the state. The state, according to Mahabharata, was created to protect those who are weak, poor, exploited, helpless and oppressed from the strong. That large class of the weak is able to exist because of the power of the king. The Mahabharata advises the king, “The weak are, in actual fact, much stronger than the strong. They have in them decidedly greater strength; for nothing is left of the strong that have been burnt by the weak”. Therefore, "When the king wipes the tears of the poor, the dispossessed, and the old and creates happiness among the people thereby, such conduct on his part is called the king's dharma (Rajdharma)." Law and governance are the instruments of protection from fear. But ‘ raksha’ or ‘protection’ has a wider meaning. The Mahabharata enjoins upon the king to create social conditions not only of freedom from fear but, more positively, of human flourishing, where the individual is enabled to come into the fullness of his or her being (prabhava). Enhancement of human worth is possible only through conditions of non-violence (ahimsa). Hence, protection has the wider meaning of creating conditions of personal and social bonding. ‘Vigilance’ or ‘jagrati’ is the main attribute of danda. “Protecting all the people, danda is ever vigilant, in the beginning, the middle and the end of creation.”

THE DISCIPLINE OF DHARMA IS THE DISCIPLINE OF THE KING The discipline of the king is to be derived from the purpose for which he was invested with the power of governance. The Mahabharata states that the exercise of political power shall be subject to certain principles: “Let the king first discipline himself. Only then must he discipline his subordinates and his subjects; for that is the proper order of discipline.” “The interest of his subjects alone is his interest, their well-being his well-being; what is pleasing to them is pleasing to him, and in their good lies his own good. Everything he has is for their sake; for his own sake, he has nothing.” Ved Vyas in the Mahabharata speaks of power or bala as that upon which everything depends for its existence, even dharma. But power is never considered its own justification. Power without dharma is as much the way to tyranny as dharma left unprotected is the way to anarchy. Hence, the power of the state has to exercise discipline upon itself, especially the discipline of dharma. For the state is not an end in itself. The Mahabharata states, “The power of governance is to be exercised in accordance with dharma, and not arbitrarily”. Finally it exhorts the king, ‘Subject yourself to the discipline of dharma, for it is in the discipline of dharma that the discipline of your calling as the king lies.’

SELF-DISCIPLINE OF THE KING- Bhishma propounds thirty-six selfdisciplines that the king should cultivate diligently. The principle underlying them all is balance. Some of them are: The king should preserve dharma without harshness. Employ spies, but not those who are not loyal to the state. Do not punish anyone without careful examining the facts of alleged offence Give up arrogance and be hospitable and respectful to those deserving of respect.  Seek material prosperity, but not by questionable means.  He must not attack anyone without warning    

The Mahabharata exhorts the king to keep himself free from the arrogance or darpa of power and authority above all. The king has to have first a relationship with his own self before he can fulfill his responsibility to the other. The first element in his right relationship with his self is his own freedom from deviousness and cunning conduct towards all, including enemies. Simplicity and straightforwardness should be the attributes of his mind, expressed through courteous and sincere speech. The power of governance must at all times be exercised without anger and intolerance. The language of governance need never be a language that offends the dignity of others, and turns friends into enemies.

IMPARTIALITY, TRUTH AND TRUST IN GOVERNANCE IMPARTIALITY- The Mahabharata says that protection of the people is possible only when governance is impartial, and the law is not held in abeyance. Moral competence is required at the foundation of the state. The first element of law and governance is the attitude of Impartiality or samyag-danda. No one shall be exempt from the law, for no one is above the law (adandaniya). “Should somebody even dear to the king commit an offence by act or speech, the king shall punish him too. That behaviour is called the king’s dharma”.

TRUTH- Impartiality in the acts of the state is related to truth. “For the kings, no means are more effective than truth, no wealth greater than truth. For it is upon the trust of the people that the state is founded; when that trust is destroyed, because of the untruthfulness of the king, the state is destroyed too”.

TRUST IN GOVERNANCE- A feeling of trust among the people towards the assembly or sabha that legislates, directs, and controls the public acts of the state is also essential. Mahabharata prescribes that, “That assembly is no assembly that does not have in it elders. Those are no elders who do not speak according to dharma. That dharma which is not rooted in truth is no dharma. And that truth is no truth which is full of deviousness and cunning”.

TRUST AS THE FOUNDATION OF REPUBLICS- The decline of the constitution of republics (gana-rajya) is caused by the dissension between people. Bhishma says that in order that the state may protect the people, it has to protect them first from their fear of each other, which arises when there is distrust among them. So he has to be sensitive to what causes the feeling of distrust.

PUBLIC WEALTH UNDER THE CONTROL OF DHARMA One of the concerns of the Mahabharata is to show that greed or lobha is profoundly destructive of all relationships. The need for money in order to live should not turn into greed and greed into lawlessness. Hence wealth, especially public wealth, should be under the control of dharma. 1. The king must confine himself to his lawful source of income. Should the king, out of greed, attempt to collect wealth by taxing the people far too much, he would neither keep the wealth nor preserve the social order. 2. Taxes must be low or high according to the capacity of the people; on no account must they be oppressive. The capacity to pay must be carefully investigated before settling the amount to be collected as royal revenue. 3. The royal revenue must be spent with diligence and prudence in protecting the people and in their welfare. It must be spent on public works like highways, waterways, sources of drinking water, temple, public gardens and on the maintenance of destitute, widows, orphans, the sick and the aged. 4. The surplus wealth must be employed in charity and in public works. The king is entitled to take the surplus from people and put it to public use. 5. Only wealth earned through dharma is legitimate wealth; that which comes through adharma is improper and unstable. The principles are secular in character. They invoke nothing theological but only what is just and right in creating the social good.

FEAR AS THE BASIS OF SOCIAL ORDER Arjuna puts forth that “Danda or governance is the basis of social order and the fear of punishment is the basis of governance. It is the fear of danda, in the sense both of rule and punishment, which secures the world from anarchy. Were there not, in the minds of the people, this fear, all limits would be breached, and no one would even care which thing is his and which is not”. If there were no fear of rule, there would be only the rule of fear. Social order is possible only when there is the fear of law and its rule among the people. Bhishma maintains that fear must be an essential part of human regulation. Regulation sets limits on a man’s conduct towards others and limits will be observed only when there is the fear of punishment when they are transgressed. Paradoxically, fear is the basis of governance and the purpose of governance is to secure for the people freedom from fear. The king is also placed under the fear of danda. Deriving his authority from dharma as justice and from justice as truth, the king must fear his own acts of injustice and untruth (adharma). Thus fear plays an important role as the restraining factor in human relationships. Freedom from fear is the very first foundation of good governance.

RECONCILIATION OR FORCE The two conflicting truths: reconciliation (kshma), as freedom from the insanity of hatred and revenge, and using force (bala) for self-protection, are also discussed in the Mahabharata. Advocated by Yudhishthira, the rationality of reconciliation or kshma is: “The opposite of forgiveness is anger and intolerance. And anger, uncontrolled, destroys men”. A man driven by anger can commit any offence because he is unable to see the limits. “If there were not men willing to forgive, and to subdue their anger, there would be no peace among men, for anger is the origin of all discord.” Reconciliation is required to maintain peace. Therefore, through Yudhishthira, the Mahabharata places the utmost emphasis upon forgiveness and reconciliation. Without disputing that forgiveness is a good quality and reconciliation may be the best, Draupadi argued “Neither force not reconciliation is good always”. One who is always forgiving invites disrespect because forgiveness is seen as weakness. On the other hand, the one who uses force always and never forgives, generates anguish, hostility and agitation and in the process loses everything. Thus, according to different contexts (Desha) and time (Kala), one should be gentle or forceful. Bhishma also believes that the king should be neither too gentle not too forceful. He should not be forgiving always and everywhere because such a king creates conditions only of adharma. “A gentle and forgiving king is ignored; the one who is severe and harsh always, hurts and agitates people. Therefore, according to circumstance, take recourse to gentleness and firmness”. In these lies the skill of governance. ‘One’s own self; one’s grasp of desha and kala; adequacy of means; clarity of purpose; reliable assistants; and honest but competent advice: these are the six elements of good governance.’

THE LAW OF ABNORMAL TIMES: APAD-DHARMA When social and economic conditions change to produce anarchy and life itself is threatened, the Mahabharata says, there is only one aim- to preserve oneself. That is the law of abnormal times (apad-dharma), during which the requirements of normal ethical social behaviour are waived. In such a circumstance whatever preserves oneself is dharma. The king in such times is permitted to raise financial resources from among his people, by force if necessary, against the principles of dharma because: a) If the king exists, then alone can he preserve dharma and restore the order. To preserve the king/state is then a duty greater than any dharma. b) The army, that protects the social order, depends on the treasury. The treasury which can be generated only by collecting resources. c) In abnormal times, one cannot collect material resources without hurting others. Therefore the king should not be blamed if he is forced to collect material resources even by hurting people. But the king is also warned that anything acquired by adharma ultimately leads to resentment and violence in the society. Resources acquired by unethical means would never prove beneficial to the state and the people. Therefore, as soon as normalcy is restored the king should return back to the people whatever was acquired to save the existence of the state. Mahabharata warns that distressful times should not become an excuse for doing wrong things. “The king and the people should, in times of distress, protect each other; this is the abiding dharma of all times.”

AN ARGUMENT AGAINST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Perhaps for the first time anywhere, it is in the Mahabharata that an argument against capital punishment was advanced. In answering the question of Yudhishthira, Bhishma narrates an old conversation between Satyavan and his father. Satyavan puts forth his argument against capital punishment: “One should use only that system of punishment that does not dismember the body. Neither should anybody be punished without first carefully examining the alleged offence of a person and applying to it the established principles of law.” On putting a criminal to death, the king renders his family without any means of sustenance, which is like putting them to death as well. Therefore, the king must think carefully. “The purpose of governance is not to kill the wicked, but to create conditions in which the people can be good.” In order to create social conditions where people can be good, the king himself has to live and govern in a way that sets an example of true goodness, which includes upholding the impartiality of law.

THE KING CREATES HISTORICAL CONDITIONS, NOT THEY HIM Bhishma says to Yudhishthira, “Entertain no doubt whether it is Time that creates the king or the king which creates the time. It is the king who creates the times”. It is not some inherent telos of history that determines the course of events but the logic of acts: a) The main characteristics of the four yugas or ‘the times’ (krita, treta, dvapara and kali) revolve around the quality of one’s relationship with oneself and one’s relationship with the other. Human beings create times, and not the other way round. b) It is the quality of governance that determines the quality of the social conditions in which we human beings enact the stories of our lives. Therefore the Mahabharata says in the voice of Bhishma, “It is the king who creates the social conditions that are distinctive to each of the four times.” The consequences of the conditions of fear, injustice, untruth and abuse of power created by the king last a long time collectively. The king should create social conditions where no individual is degraded or debased and has to live in constant fear, especially those who are weak and poor. “The king shall protect the material means of the old, young, blind and poor. And never shall he deprive a woman in distress of her material means”. The Mahabharata shows that nothing that is of enduring worth was ever achieved by a war. The king should preserve and expand whatever the state possesses without recourse to war. Victories must be achieved by enhancing all areas of knowledge and not by cunningness and arrogance.

CONCLUSION The concept of Rajdharma was introduced by one of the greatest epics of India, the Mahabharata. It refers to the laws or rules set for the rulers in the context of ensuring proper administration of the entire kingdom. It also advised king in matters related to war, diplomacy and in dealing with various kinds of people. Ved Vyas in the Mahabharata emphasizes that the goal of the king or the state is the protection of people. Protection of all living beings with kindness towards them is the highest dharma of the king. The Mahabharata says that danda is the basis of social order and fear of punishment is the basis of governance. It also proposes reconciliation as a process for resolving two opposite view points. The rajdharma as enunciated in the past still holds good. Even today despite all changes in the norms of political life, the basic principles of rajdharma remain as much relevant as in the past. The Mahabharata prescribes that the king should always rule in accordance with dharma. In the voice of sage Markandeya, on describing the lives of the kings who were truly great, the Mahabharata says to those who govern: “Because you have power, do not do what is unjust, oppressive, full of violence, adharma”. Lastly in the voice of Bhartrihari, the Mahabharata, on the foundations of law and governance being in justice, truth and in the concern for the welfare of the people, says: “Let those learned in statecraft praise or blame; let the goddess of wealth come or go as she pleases; let death come today or ages later; persons who are steadfast do not ever swerve from the path of justice”.

BIOBLIOGRAPHY 1. ‘Dharma- The Foundation of Raja-Dharma, Law and Governance’ in The Mahabharata: An Inquiry in the Human Condition:- by B. Chaturvedi 2. http://www.powerpolitics.in/Issues/Feb2018/page11.php 3. http://www.ghvisweswara.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Raja-dharmaGovernance-Administration.pdf...