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Ancient Indian Political Thought ANCIENT INDIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT MA [POLITICAL SCIENCE] First Semester I(POLS 701C) [ENGLISH EDITION) Directorate of Distance Education TRIPURA UNIVERSITY Reviewer Dr Sudhir Kumar Assistant Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi Authors Dr. Nirja Sharma: Units (1.2.1, 1.3.2, 1.4-1.4.2, 4.4.1, 4.4.2, ) © Dr. Nirja Sharma, 2015 Dr Biswaranjan Mohanty: Units (1.5, 2.3, 3.2.2-3.2.4, 3.4, 4.2.2, 4.3-4.3.4) © Dr Biswaranjan Mohanty, 2015 Dr. Jyoti Trehan Sharma & Miss Lianboi Vaiphei: Units (2.2, 3.2, 3.2.1, 4.2.1, 4.3.5) © Dr. Jyoti Trehan Sharma & Miss Lianboi Vaiphei, 2015 Vikas® Publishing House: Units (1.0-1.1, 1.2, 1.2.2-1.2.4, 1.3-1.3.1, 1.3.3, 1.4.3-1.4.4, 1.6-1.10, 2.0-2.1, 2.4-2.8, 3.0-3.1, 3.3, 3.5-3.9, 4.0-4.1, 4.2, 4.2.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6-4.10) © Reserved, 2015 Books are developed, printed and published on behalf of Directorate of Distance Education, Tripura University by Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication which is material, protected by this copyright notice may not be reproduced or transmitted or utilized or stored in any form of by any means now known or hereinafter invented, electronic, digital or mechanical, including photocopying, scanning, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the DDE, Tripura University & Publisher. Information contained in this book has been published by VIKAS® Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. and has been obtained by its Authors from sources believed to be reliable and are correct to the best of their knowledge. However, the Publisher and its Authors shall in no event be liable for any errors, omissions or damages arising out of use of this information and specifically disclaim any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular use. Vikas® is the registered trademark of Vikas® Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. VIKAS® PUBLISHING HOUSE PVT. LTD. E-28, Sector-8, Noida - 201301 (UP) Phone: 0120-4078900 Fax: 0120-4078999 Regd. Office: 576, Masjid Road, Jangpura, New Delhi 110 014 Website: www.vikaspublishing.com Email: [email protected] SYLLABI-BOOK MAPPING TABLE Ancient Indian Political Thought Syllabi Mapping in Book Unit-I A brief survey of the geo-political background; Impact of Unit 1: Ancient Indian Political Vedic Values; Salient features of the ancient Indian Political Thought: An Introduction thought. (Pages: 3-55) Unit-II Political Philosophy; Ramayan, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, Unit 2: Political Philosophy Vedanta. (Pages: 57-72) Unit-III Codification of Laws—Manu-Smriti, Narada-Smriti, Unit 3: Codification of Laws Vishnu-Smriti, Sukra-niti. (Pages: 73-92) Unit-IV Theories about the origin of the king/kingship; Kautilya— Unit 4: Theories about the Theory of State, Rajmandala; Manu—Social Laws, Raj Origin of Kingship dharma, Varnashrama, Statecraft; Benevolent Monarchism— (Pages: 93-157) Mauryas and Guptas; Thoughts on Local administration in India. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 UNIT 1 ANCIENT INDIAN POLITICAL THOUGHT: AN INTRODUCTION 3-55 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Unit Objectives 1.2 Survey of the Geo-political Background 1.2.1 Indus Valley Civilization 1.2.2 Characteristic Features of Harappan Civilization 1.2.3 Settlement Patterns and Town Planning 1.2.4 Urban Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization 1.3 Aryan Civilization 1.3.1 Early Vedic Polity: Transition from Tribal Polity to State 1.3.2 Later Vedic Polity 1.3.3 Settlement Patterns 1.4 Rise of Mahajanapadas 1.4.1 Emergence of Cities and Territorial States 1.4.2 Magadha: The First Territorial State 1.4.3 Republics in the Age of Bimbisara 1.4.4 Dynasties of Magadha 1.5 Salient Features of Ancient Indian Political Thought 1.5.1 Political Philosophy as Enshrined in Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Vedanta 1.6 Summary 1.7 Key Terms 1.8 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 1.9 Questions and Exercises 1.10 Further Reading UNIT 2 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY 57-72 2.0 Introduction 2.1 Unit Objectives 2.2 Political Philosophies: The Mahabharata and The Ramayana 2.2.1 Importance of the State and the Science of Politics: Dandniti 2.2.2 Origin of the State 2.2.3 Kingship: Functions of the Government 2.2.4 The Morals in Politics: Dharma 2.2.5 The Concept of an Ideal State 2.2.6 Obligations of the Subjects 2.3 Political Philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita and Vedanta 2.3.1 Metaphysical Aspects of Society 2.3.2 Varna System as a Social Stratification 2.3.3 Ashram System and Purushartha 2.3.4 Political Philosophy of Vedanta 2.4 Summary 2.5 Key Terms 2.6 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 2.7 Questions and Exercises 2.8 Further Reading UNIT 3 CODIFICATION OF LAWS 73-92 3.0 Introduction 3.1 Unit Objectives 3.2 Manu 3.2.1 The Manusmriti and The Manusamhita 3.2.2 Status of Women 3.2.3 Criticism 3.2.4 Manu’s Importance and Contributions as the Father of the Indian Polity 3.3 Narada Smriti and Vishnu Smriti 3.3.1 Vishnu Smriti 3.4 Sukraniti 3.4.1 Consumption, Production and Exchange 3.4.2 Contributions of Shukracharya 3.5 Summary 3.6 Key Terms 3.7 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 3.8 Questions and Exercises 3.9 Further Reading UNIT 4 THEORIES ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF KINGSHIP 93-157 4.0 Introduction 4.1 Unit Objectives 4.2 Kautilya 4.2.1 Theory of Kingship and Moral Statecraft 4.2.2 Economic Functions of the State 4.2.3 Rajmandala 4.3 Manu 4.3.1 Social Organization or Social Order 4.3.2 Divine Origin Theory and Raj Dharma 4.3.3 The State and Government of State Structure 4.3.4 Inter-State Relations or Foreign Policy 4.3.5 Varnadharma 4.4 Benevolent Monarchism 4.4.1 Mauryas 4.4.2 Guptas 4.5 Thoughts on Local Administration in India 4.6 Summary 4.7 Key Terms 4.8 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 4.9 Questions and Exercises 4.10 Further Reading Introduction INTRODUCTION Political philosophy refers to the study of topics like liberty, justice, property, NOTES rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority. It discusses what makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should take and why, what the law is, and what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown— if ever. It is amazing how a nation like India was formed by several small states. It is even more amazing to think that all these small states were governed according to almost similar laws or codes. The rules and laws followed were the ones that were stated in the Smritis, ancient texts that offered guidance to rulers on administration as well as the art of managing economic and political affairs. What is most amazing is that the teachings of these ancient texts are still relevant in this age. Indian political thought has been influenced by many thinkers. For a proper understanding of the Indian political scene in modern times, it is essential to obtain a fair idea of the ideas and philosophies of prominent political thinkers of the past that influence modern political thought. This book, Ancient Indian Political Thought, provides the students an insight into the manner in which political ideas were adopted from time to time; the manner in which these ideas affected the political action of people. It puts forward the views of Kautilya, Manu, Shukracharya and Narada. The book also states the political philosophies as enshrined in the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita and the Vedanta. Moreover, it also deals with the benevolent monarchism of the Mauryas and the Guptas. This book, Ancient Indian Political Thought, is written in a self- instructional format and is divided into four units. Each unit begins with an Introduction to the topic followed by an outline of the Unit Objectives. The content is then presented in a simple and easy-to-understand manner, and is interspersed withCheck Your Progress questions to test the reader’s understanding of the topic. A list of Questions and Exercises is also provided at the end of each unit, and includes short-answer as well as long-answer questions. The Summary and Key Terms section are useful tools for students and are meant for effective recapitulation of the text. Self-Instructional Material 1 Ancient Indian Political UNIT 1 ANCIENT INDIAN Thought: An Introduction POLITICAL THOUGHT: AN INTRODUCTION NOTES Structure 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Unit Objectives 1.2 Survey of the Geo-political Background 1.2.1 Indus Valley Civilization 1.2.2 Characteristic Features of Harappan Civilization 1.2.3 Settlement Patterns and Town Planning 1.2.4 Urban Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization 1.3 Aryan Civilization 1.3.1 Early Vedic Polity: Transition from Tribal Polity to State 1.3.2 Later Vedic Polity 1.3.3 Settlement Patterns 1.4 Rise of Mahajanapadas 1.4.1 Emergence of Cities and Territorial States 1.4.2 Magadha: The First Territorial State 1.4.3 Republics in the Age of Bimbisara 1.4.4 Dynasties of Magadha 1.5 Salient Features of Ancient Indian Political Thought 1.5.1 Political Philosophy as Enshrined in Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Vedanta 1.6 Summary 1.7 Key Terms 1.8 Answers to ‘Check Your Progress’ 1.9 Questions and Exercises 1.10 Further Reading 1.0 INTRODUCTION It is true that all the civilizations of the world have originated and developed in the valleys of rivers.
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