2023-02-16 11:11:40 by ambuda-bot
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Political Concepts in Ancient India
the King as the custodian of law and social order.
For example, according to Gautama (IX.9.10) the
King should lead back to the path of duty those
who have shunned it; according to Apastamba
(II.10.27. 18-19) the King should punish all those
who violate the duty of their respective order.
According to a general observation of Vișnu (III.3)
also, "the King should make the four castes and the
four orders observe their respective duties." Accord-
ing to Vasistha (XIX.7-8), the King should see
that the four castes remain engaged in their res-
pective duties and should punish them duly in case
of their default. These works are important as the
earliest sources of the State Law; they are also im-
portant because of giving us an idea of the relation
of Politics to Ethics. From these works we can
also gather an idea about the whole administrative
machinery, the King's executive, judicial and mili-
tary functions, and the duties, responsibilities
and desirable qualities of the officials like the
Mantri, Purohita, Amatya, Prāḍvivāka, etc.
4
The Pali Buddhist Canon
The Pali canonical works of the Buddhist
Sthavira vādins are divided into three "baskets"
(pitakas) or three major collections and they are,
viz., the Vinaya ("Conduct"), Sutta "(Sermon)"
and Abhidhamma ("Metaphysics") Pitakas. Each
of these three Pițakas are again divided into several
smaller works, which may be shown in the following
tabular order :
Digitized by
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Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
the King as the custodian of law and social order.
For example, according to Gautama (IX.9.10) the
King should lead back to the path of duty those
who have shunned it; according to Apastamba
(II.10.27. 18-19) the King should punish all those
who violate the duty of their respective order.
According to a general observation of Vișnu (III.3)
also, "the King should make the four castes and the
four orders observe their respective duties." Accord-
ing to Vasistha (XIX.7-8), the King should see
that the four castes remain engaged in their res-
pective duties and should punish them duly in case
of their default. These works are important as the
earliest sources of the State Law; they are also im-
portant because of giving us an idea of the relation
of Politics to Ethics. From these works we can
also gather an idea about the whole administrative
machinery, the King's executive, judicial and mili-
tary functions, and the duties, responsibilities
and desirable qualities of the officials like the
Mantri, Purohita, Amatya, Prāḍvivāka, etc.
4
The Pali Buddhist Canon
The Pali canonical works of the Buddhist
Sthavira vādins are divided into three "baskets"
(pitakas) or three major collections and they are,
viz., the Vinaya ("Conduct"), Sutta "(Sermon)"
and Abhidhamma ("Metaphysics") Pitakas. Each
of these three Pițakas are again divided into several
smaller works, which may be shown in the following
tabular order :
Digitized by
Original from
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN