17 Polity in Ramayana

N. Siva Senani

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1.Introduction

 

The way a society organizes itself is a very important aspect when we try to understand the culture during any period. Fortunately, in the Ramayana we have a rich description of the polity, even though it is mainly a Kavya, a work of literature since many of the key incidents such as the impending coronation of Rama as Yuvaraja and his subsequent banishment are firmly within the political domain. The overarching concept which encompasses the political, administrative, social and personal planes in Ramayana is Dharma. Accordingly, we start with Dharma and the interplay amongst Dharma, King and Sabha – the other key components of the political structure – first, before examining the details of the administrative set up and the political organization of the society. Then, inter-state relationships are examined, before noting the continuity in Polity of India from the times of Ramayana to recent times.

 

2. Dharma, King and the Sabha

 

Dharma is both what is upheld, and that which upholds. It is the set of principles which differentiates man from lower forms of life and which when followed by all leads to the maximum good of people. Within the political domain, Dharma is both the Constitution and Principles of Morals, Ethics and Values and the objective of the King, if it could be summarised to one sentence, was to uphold Dharma. A King who upholds Dharma was in turn supported by Dharma. Since Dharma was what ensured the maximum good of the maximum number, a Dharmic King would enjoy immense public support and was very secure. Thus while Dharma was upheld by the King, the King was in turn protected by Dharma.

 

Though Dharma played a central role in the framework of polity, it was not straight forward notwithstanding the tomes composed to elucidate the same. An example would make this clear. Once the boons sought by Kaikeyi are made known to all, Rama receives three advices – all in line with the Dharma of Kshatriyas:

 

a) Kill Dasaratha and capture the throne (Lakshmana’s advice)

b) Imprison Dasaratha and capture the throne (Dasaratha’s advice)

c) Move to another place and start a new kingdom (Vasishtha’s advice)

 

Vasishtha’s advice was not impractical. Before Kaikeyi states here wishes, Dasaratha tests the candidature of Rama by convening a grand assembly where he proposes the coronation of Rama as Yuvaraja and seeks the views of the assembly. Those present praise Rama profusely and demonstrate the popularity that Rama enjoys. Not merely the people, Rama had the full backing of his brothers as well as the later conduct of Bharata (condemns his mother Kaikeyi) and Satrughna (threatens to kill Manthara, but lets her go once Bharata reminds him that it is a sin to kill a woman) shows.Confronted with three options, Rama does not denounce them as being Adharmic, for an argument may be made that they are in conformity with Kṣatriyadharma. Rather, he decides to go to exile and ensure that his father is not accused by history of not keeping his word.

 

Since Dharma is not straight forward in all situations, or offers more than one option, the Sabha or sometimes a smaller council is consulted by the King in order to decide Dharma. Even though the Sabha is consulted, it is ultimately the King who decides the course of action to be followed. This is natural as sovereignty lies with the King. It is due to the King that there is order in society and law is followed. Arajakatva (anarchy) is much dreaded. For instance, immediately after the death of Dasaratha the evils of Arajakatva are bemoaned before the council of Amatyas and Mantrins requests Vasishtha to invite a prince to the King (Ramayana, 2.67).

 

All aspects related to the King – training, his daily schedule, his adviser and formal assemblies such as Sabha etc. – are all designed to ensure that the King follows Dharma. The education of a prince encompassed Veda, Vedangas, sciences, arts, literature, Dhanurveda, riding and breaking of horses and elephants and military tactics and strategies. In the training of a prince self-control is emphasised. A King is advised to take a decision only after consulting with ministers; however, the decision – which is to be implemented immediately without any delay – should not be known to anybody and should be known only from results of the decision. The duties of a King ordain that the King should personally attend to royal duties, respect public opinion and must not leave the capital without making adequate arrangements for administration.

 

The Sabha was consulted to resolve questions of Dharma and to decide the course of action in a given situation. We see a number of examples in Ramayana, apart from the general assembly convened to discuss the coronation of Rama as Yuvaraja:

 

After Dasaratha’s death, it is the Sabha which decides to invite Bharata to be the King Bharata rejects the offer saying it is against the Dharma of Ikshvakus for a younger brother to be King when the elder brother is alive

 

When Vali does not return from his fight with a Rakshasa, it is the Sabha which decides that Sugriva should be crowned the King Ravana convenes a Sabha to decide the course of action once Hanuman is captured In each of the above instances, the Sabha discusses aspects of Dharma, but the King plays a fairly robust role in the discussion. Ravana wants unanimity but when Vibhishana offers a different view, he asks the Sabha to reconsider. Bharata outright rejects the counsel of the Sabha. Thus, while the Sabha plays an important role in discussing the various aspects of Dharma, as the sovereign, the final decision is that of the King.

 

3.Administrative Structure

 

When it comes the structure of Administration, we have many instances involving the top tier and very little information regarding the grass-roots level structure. Immediately after the King, are Āmātyas or Sacivas, eight of whom are named as assisting both Dasaratha and Rama. These eight include Sumantra who was also the Charioteer and a sort of personal secretary of Dasaratha. Apart from the Amatyas, whom we shall refer to as Ministers, there are two Ritviks Vasishtha and Vamadeva along with seven other hereditary Mantris – Suyajna, Jabali, Kashyapa, Gautama, Markandeya, Dirghayu and Katyayana. Ritviks are usually those who conduct sacrifices; the others are also well respected Brahmins. This group, referred by us as Advisers, are less active than the Amatyas who are involved in day-to-day administration.The Amatyas and Mantris together are referred to as Rajakartarah – those who decide who the King should be. It is this group which requests Vasishtha to invite an appropriate prince to be the King after Dasaratha’s death.

 

The next important element of the administration is the Sabha, or assembly. This was presided over by the King. Amatyas, Ritviks and the Mantris were in attendance. The Sabha included Nobles of the Kshatriya varna and the elite among Vaisyas (Naigamas, Sreshthins etc.). Beyond that the leading citizens or Representatives of Pattanas, Nagaras, Ghoshas, Gramas etc. called Mahattaras, would be in attendance followed by the citizens of the Pura and Janapada. While this seems to be the general structure of the Sabha, its composition seems to vary depending on the situation. In the coronation assembly convened by Dasaratha, other Kings in the empire – except the Kings of Videha and Kekaya – were also invited. Ravana’s war council seems to be dominated by the generals.

 

Many modern scholars opine that the term “paura-jānapada” refers to two houses with representatives of Pura and Janapada, with a further outer (bāhya) and an inner (ābhyantara) division. Traditional commentators – though it must be noted that commentaries inRamayana are not more than a few hundred years old – interpret the term to mean citizens. However, there need not be a contradiction here as “Leading” citizens tend to be the official representatives also, as seen in many places even today. The sense of Valmiki is that people’s opinion is to be gauged – it could be through an official or formal representative or a random sample.

 

Regarding local administration not much information is available. When Bharata goes to meet Rama to plead with Rama to come back and take over as King, Rama in his conversation with Bharata (2.100, Kaccitsarga), by way of enquiry, mentions some elements in passing. From that we know that the system of 18 Tīrthas (Department Heads) are followed. Following are the Tirthas as known from other texts such as Arthasastra:

 

•      Mantrin (Minister)

•      Purohita (Priest)

•      Yuvaraja (Prince)

•      Senāpati (Commander-in-Chief)

•      Dauvārika (Lord Chamberlain)

•      Antarvaṃśika (Palace Manager)

•      Kārāgārādhikṛt (Jail Superintendent)

•      Arthasaṃcayakṛt (Treasurer)

•      Kāryaniyojaka (Commissioner of Communications)

•      Prāḍvivāka (Judge)

•      Senānāyaka (Army Paymaster)

•      Nagarādhyakṣa (Mayor of Capital)

•      Karmāntika (Civil Paymaster)

•      Sabhya (Council Secretary)

•      Dharmādhyakṣa (Chief Justice)

•      Daṇḍapāla (Police Commissioner)

•      Durgapāla (Commander of Forts)

•      Rāṣṭrāntarapāla (Frontier Governor)

 

From other aspects of Ramayana, we can say the following about the local administration:

 

The Intelligence Department occupied an important place.

 

Rama asks whether Bharata is spying on his own Tirthas (except the first three) and those of the surrounding Kings – with three mutually unknown spies attached to each Evidently there was a strong municipal administration which kept the city clean, provided street lighting and controlled the crowds Ayodhya had an irrigation system and did not depend on rains; there were roads across the kingdom on which chariots could travel; different types of water bodies are mentioned – there must have been some local administration taking care of all these Being a Kavya, more details are not available – but, there is nothing to contradict the details found in other ancient works

 

4.  Social and Political Organization of Society

 

Socially, it is very clear that the society was organized along the Varṇa-Āśrama axes. The four Varṇas, as is well known, are Brāhmaṇa, Kṣatriya, Vaiśya and Śūdra varnas. The four Asramas are Brahmacarya, Gṛhasta, Vānaprastha and that of the Yati or Parivrājaka (usually called Sannyāsa) corresponding respectively to the stages of being a student, householder, a retiree in a forest, and a mendicant who has renounced the world. Dharmas relevant to the four Varnas and the four Asramas are laid down in Dharmasastra and the King took the responsibility for enforcement of these Varṇāśrama-dharmas.

 

olitically at the top was the Empire, which had many States. Within the State, geographically the division was amongst Pura (city, i.e. the capital) and the countryside (Janapada). The countryside had smaller units like Grāma, agricultural village; Ghoṣa, pastoral village; and Nagaras and Pattanas (towns). The urban areas usually had guilds (Śreṇis) and traders (Naigamas), with their leaders.

 

Regarding the question of Empire, many modern scholars opine that there was no “Ikshvaku empire” because the Imperialism of the later years (say, as seen in the Mauryan empire) is not seen. However the text itself asserts the existence of an empire. Dasaratha specifically states (to Kaikeyi) that he has control over Sindhu, Sauvira, Saurashtra, Dravida, Dakshinapatha, Vanga, Anga, Kosala, Magadha and Matsya States. Rama declares that he is acting as a representative of Bharata in killing Rakshasas in the unsettled areas of Dandakaranya. Rama is recorded in Ramayana as having installed his own children and those of his brothers as Kings of various Kingdoms. Tribute from “Sāmanta” Kings is recognized as a source of revenue. Textual evidence like this leads us to conclude that there indeed was an empire, even if its characteristics differed from the later versions of what constitutes an empire.

 

5. Inter-state Relationships

 

In the Ramayana, we see that there were wars between States (under different pretexts). Sometimes the relative of the vanquished King was installed. Often, the relatives of the conqueror were established as the King. In the Kaccit-sarga (2.100), Rama touches many aspects of Dandaniti, from which we see that Gathering intelligence was a well established practice The Prakritis of a Kingdom are mentioned There is a reference to the Mandala theory

 

The six strategies of Inter State Relations – together known as Sadgunya – are clear mentioned. These are also individually mentioned in the text

 

The above references establish that the Mandala theory (see the module on Arthasastra for an extensive presentation on the same) was broadly followed. The Mandala theory classifies neighbouring kings into twelve types and recommends an evaluation of six Prakritis (King, Minister, Countryside, Fort, Treasury and Army) of each of these twelve.Based on the analysis of these 72 (12 x 6), six types of actions are recommended:

  • Sandhi (Peace) Vigraha (War)
  • Āsana (Neutrality) Yāna (Marching)
  • Saṃśraya (Surrender to a more powerful King)
  • Dvaidhībhāva (War with one and peace with another)

  As the Arthasastra shows, the analysis can be very fine. Though Ramayana does not get into such detail, it is unmistakable that decision making with reference to Inter State Relations was made within the framework of Mandala Theory. Also mentioned are the four devices (Upayas) of achieving one’s objective:

  • Sāma is conciliation or persuasion
  • Dāna is giving gifts etc.
  • Bheda (separation) is creation of doubt and use of threats
  • Daṇḍa is the use of force – the last resort.

Additionally, calamities to the various Prakritis are also mentioned. It is safe to say that there is a broad agreement between Ramayana and the Arthasastra with respect to Inter State Relationships.

 

What is noteworthy is the responsibility of the conqueror king. As per the Ramayana, the conqueror had a duty to provide stability in the conquered kingdom. Thus we see that every war is followed by a stable solution. This is one effect of the supremacy of Dharma (rather than self-interest of the conqueror): a conqueror could not merely plunder a kingdom and shun the responsibility of governance. This also confirms the agreement between Ramayana and Arthasastra.

 

6. Continuity in Polity of India

 

Polity as described in Ramayana shows similarities with the descriptions in Vedas as well as later works like Mahabharata, Arthasastra and various works of Dharmasastra like Yājñavalkyasmṛti. The idea of maintaining Varṇa-āśrama Dharma as the duty of Kings is seen across Indian literature spanning two millennia. This commonality is not merely in literature; it is found in implementation as well. For instance, the Ashta-pradhans of Shivaji and the eight Amatyas of Dasaratha are not very different.

 

The King as the upholder of Dharma and as beholden to Dharma obtains throughout the historical period. Thus there has been a remarkable continuity in the polity of India including the tax-rate of Shadbhaga or one-sixth.

 

7. Summary

 

Thus we see in the Ramayana that the King is the sovereign, whose state aim is to uphold Dharma; the Sabha plays an important role in discussing various aspects of Dharma and help the King in deciding the course of action to be followed in a given situation. The King had a council of eight ministers (Sacivas or Amatyas), and sought guidance from Purohita / Ritivikand a council of advisors (seven are mentioned). Beyond the above, the Sabha had representatives of nobility, the trading class and ordinary people of the Kingdom.

 

Society was divided along the axes of Varna and Asrama. Administratively, the Kingdom was divided into the capital and countryside, with villages and towns. Eighteen department heads, called Tirthas, are also mentioned. Inter-state relationships were conducted in the Mandala framework.

 

Thus we see that there is a remarkable continuity in the general features of polity in India over the ages. While other forms of governance were known to exist, the primary one is that of a Dharmic Kingship. As a corollary, we note that Arajakatva (kingless-ness, i.e. anarchy) was a much feared state of affairs. As the Ramayana so gloriously portrays, Kingship is a Trust and the King earns his wages by serving the people. It is not a surprise, then, that in the twentieth century Mahatma Gandhi conveyed his vision of independent India to the public using one word: Ramarajya.

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