4,652
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 80:
Line 80: + + + + + + + + + +
Adding content - to be edited
The Rajadharma laid down in Manu VII and IX and in other Smritis and various works on Rajadharma referred to earlier was the constitutional law in ancient India.
The Rajadharma laid down in Manu VII and IX and in other Smritis and various works on Rajadharma referred to earlier was the constitutional law in ancient India.
Politically the whole of India never came under the rule of anyone emperor or king. The territorial extent of a kingdom depended on the prowess and capability of each king. Therefore, innumerable kings ruled over different parts of the sub-continent, each of whom was independent of the others, except in cases where one became a vassal of an emperor.
Politically the whole of India never came under the rule of anyone emperor or king. The territorial extent of a kingdom depended on the prowess and capability of each king. Therefore, innumerable kings ruled over different parts of the sub-continent, each of whom was independent of the others, except in cases where one became a vassal of an emperor.
However, the importance given to the principle of Dharma, indicates another fundamental aspect accepted by the people as well as the rulers of the various kingdoms of India. According to this principle of dharma, the Raja had no legislative powers. To this extent the doctrine of separation of the law making and law enforcing powers had been brought about. Political power of any state in the whole of India was subordinated to the power of the entire people as a whole. The sanction behind all the laws including Rajadharma (collectively called Dharma) lay in its acceptance by the people. Dharma held sway for thousands of years and no king questioned its authority over and above him. Thus, the entire political system in this country was based on Dharmic Supremacy.
As a result, though the States were very many and under different kings, the Rajadharma ( constitutional law) uniformly applied to all of them and regulated the constitution and organisation of all the kingdoms as also the civil and criminal laws, including procedural law, subject to local variations on the basis of approved usage and custom, which were recognised as one of the sources of law.
The position therefore was that India consisted of several independent sovereign states but one people governed by one legal, judicial and constitutional system -the Vyavahara Dharma and Raja Dharma, meant for the implementation of doctrine of TRIVARGA.
==Introduction==
==Introduction==