Raja Dharma (राजधर्मः)

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This is equivalent to the modern Constitutional Law, Rajadhaima regulated the power and duties of the King. The Atrisamhita declared that there were five fundamental duties of a king :-

दुष्टस्य दण्डः सुजनस्य पूजा न्यायेन कोषस्य च संप्रवृद्धिः । अपक्षपातोऽर्थिषु राष्ट्ररक्षा पञ्चैतेव यज्ञाः कथिता नृपाणाम् ॥

Meaning : To punish the wicked, to honour (protect) the good, to enrich the treasury by just methods, to be impartial towards the litigants and to protect the kingdom -these are the five yajnas (selfless duties) to be performed by a king.

Even in the hoary past, the duties and responsibilities of the king were regulated by Raja Dharma. To inculcate the desire to implicitly to obey Rajadharma was part of the education of the princes, who were to succeed to the throne. While the form of Government was kingship the substance was Democratic.

In conformity with this spirit of Raja Dharma, Kautilya, in his famous " Artha Sastra" (P-39) (the Constitutional Law of ancient India (compiled around 300 B.C) summed up the duties of the king (State) thus ;-

प्रजासुखे सुखं राज्ञः प्रजानां च हिते हितम् । नात्मप्रियं हितं राज्ञः प्रजानां तु प्रियं हितम् ॥

Meaning : In the happiness of the subjects lies the king's happiness, in their welfare his welfare; what pleases himself the king shall not consider good but whatever pleases his subjects the king shall consider good.

The king was required to conform to the above rule of Raja Dharma and act only in the interests of the people and not according to his likes or dislikes or whims and fancies. He was directed not to act capriciously or arbitrarily. It was pointed out that his interests and the interests of his subjects were inseparable. What was good for the people was to be regarded good for him irrespective of any disadvantage or inconvenience caused to him.

Every prince before assuming office as king was required to take an oath that he would rule the kingdom strictly in accordance with Dharma.

The more important aspect relating to assumption of office as king at the coronation ceremony was, it was regarded as 'Samskara' for the commencement of selfless discharge of duty as a king during his entire tenure of office and not assumption of power. On this aspect K.M.Panikkar observes:

"Great importance was, therefore, attached to the coronation ceremony. Not only was it a dedication to the service of the people but also an affirmation of the covenant between the people and the ruler.

The coronation was a Diksha, a dedication, and a king bearing the crown became a Vrati, i.e., a person devoting his life to a cause (in this case, the service of the people )."

The Mahabharata has expressed the ideal with great clarity and precision. Shanti Parva Verse 3(1), Chapter-90, says:-

धर्माय राजा भवति न कामकरणाय तु ।

Meaning : "The proper function of the king is to rule according to Dharma (the law) and not to enjoy the luxuries of life".

The above directive principle laid down five thousand years ago is of eternal value. It is very relevant now as many consider that securing political power is the golden opportunity to amass wealth indulging in extravagant and ostentatious living, enjoying all luxuries of life, conferring privileges on their kith and kin, undertaking foreign tours etc., misusing the power and position of the office, disregarding the law and morals, which is the root cause of rampant corruption, misappropriation of public funds and abuse of power which are prevailing now.

The above ideal is worthy of emulation by all those who take oath of office in different capacities according to the relevant Constitution under the present day Democratic system of Government; and they would do well to remember always that they are not merely wielders of power but they stand charged with the duty of rendering selfless service to the people in conformity with the constitution and the laws of the land.

It was also made obligatory for the king to give equal protection to all his subjects without discrimination. On this subject, 'Manu Smriti' on Raja Dharma (IX-31) says :-

यथा सर्वाणि भूतानि धरा धारयते समम् । तथा सर्वाणि भूतानि बिभ्रतः पार्थिवं व्रतम् ॥

Meaning : Just as the mother earth gives equal support to all the living beings, a king should give support to all without any discrimination.

Narada Smriti vide Dharmokosha P-870 laid down thus:

पाषण्डनैगमश्रेणीपूगव्रातगणादिषु । संरक्षेत्समयं राजा दुर्गे जनपदे तथा ॥

Meaning : The king should afford protection to compacts of associations of believers of Veda (Naigamas) as also of disbelievers in Veda (Pashandis) and of others.

These most ancient provisions, show how, in this land, where the Vedas were regarded as Supreme, the disbelievers in the vedas were to be respected and protected.

THE ORIGIN OF RAJA DHARMA AND ITS PURPOSE

The origin of the State (Rajya) as well as the office of the king and the evolving of Raja Dharma -the law conferring power on the king to maintain the rule of law and the directives for the exercise of power -has been explained in Shantiparva of the Mahabharata. After the devastating war of Kurukshetra between the Pandavas and the Kauravas in which the former came out victorious, Yudhistira the eldest of the Pandava brothers requested Bhishma, who was the master of Rajadharma to expound the same to him and he did so. The Shanthiparva of Mahabharata incorporates Bhishma's authoritative exposition of the origin and purpose of the state, the rule of law, the institution of kingship and the duties and the powers of the king. Great stress is laid on the personal character and qualities which a king in whom vast political power is vested must possess for the proper and effective discharge of his functions. Rajadharma, so clearly laid out is vast like an ocean, consists of invaluable and eternal principles worthy of emulation under any system of polity and by all persons exercising political power. The Mahabharata discourse on the topic of Rajadharma discloses that in the very early periods of civilization in this country great importance was attached to Dharma and it was self-imposed by individuals. Consequently, everyone was acting according to Dharma and there was no necessity of any authority to compel obedience to the laws. The existence of such an ideal ' Stateless society' is graphically described in the following verses:

नैव राज्यं न राजाऽऽसीन्न दण्डो न च दाण्डिकः । धर्मेनैव प्रजाः सर्वा रक्षन्ति स्म परस्परम् ॥

Meaning : There was neither kingdom nor the king, neither punishment nor the guilty to be punished. People were acting according to Dharma and thereby protecting one another.

The above verse gives a clear picture of an ideal stateless society, which appears to have been in existence in the hoary past. Such a society was the most ideal one for the reason that every individual scrupulously acted according to the rules of right conduct by the force of his own culture and habit and not out of any fear of being punished by a powerful superior authority like the state. Consequently, there was mutual cooperation and protection. The society was free from the evils arising from selfishness and exploitation by individuals. The sanction which enforced such implicit obedience to Dharma was the faith of the people in it as also the fear of incurring divine displeasure if Dharma was disobeyed.

However, the ideal society so beautifully described did not last long. While, the faith in: the efficacy and utility of Dharma, belief in God and the God fearing attitude of people continued to dominate society, the actual state of affairs gradually deteriorated. A situation arose when some persons, out of selfish worldly desires, began to flout Dharma, and became immune to the fear of divine displeasure. They were infatuated with pleasure and prompted by their own muscle power, began to exploit and torment the weaker sections of society for their selfish ends. The tyranny of the strong over the weak reigned unabated. The danger to peaceful co-existence and consequent uncertainty and anxiety about the safety of life and property of individuals, was brought about by such individuals. It was as though the rule of 'Matsyanyaya' (big fish devouring small fish) governed society. This situation forced the law abiding people to search for a remedy. This resulted in the creation of the institution of kingship and the establishment of his authority (kingship or the state) and formulation of Raja Dharma which corresponds to modern constitutional law which specifies and limits the exercise of power of the different limbs and departments of the state.

Kautilya, who was the Prime Minister to the powerful Maghada Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya, in his celebrated work on Polity (Arthasastra) also explains the origin of the institution of Kingship:

मात्स्यन्यायाभिभूताः प्रजाः मनुं वैवस्वतं राजानं चक्रिरे । धान्यषड्भागं हिरण्यं चास्य भागधेयं प्रकल्पयामासुः । तेन भृता राजानः प्रजानां योगक्षेमवहाः ॥ Kaut Arth P-22 (P 24 S)

Meaning : People suffering from anarchy, as illustrated by the proverbial tendency of the bigger fish to devour the small ones, first elected Manu, the Vaivasvata, to be their king, and allotted one-sixth of grains grown and one-tenth of merchandise as sovereign dues. Being fed by this payment, the kings took upon themselves the responsibility of assuring and maintaining the safety and security of their subjects (Yogakshemavahah) and of being answerable for the sins of their subjects when the principle of levying just punishment and taxes had been violated.

RAJADHARMA IS THE PARAMOUNT DHARMA

Simultaneously with the bringing into existence of Rajya and the institution of kingship its founders felt the necessity to define its structure, the powers and duties of the king and the liability of the people to contribute a part of their income by way of taxes, which should be placed in the hands of the king for purposes of the defence of the realm and to maintain peace, safety and order in society and also to undertake various welfare measures for the benefit of the people. The necessity was met by making provisions regulating the constitution and organisation of the state, specifying the power and duties of the king and all other incidental provisions and treating these provisions also as part of Dharma under the title "Rajadharma" (law governing kings). In the Dharmasastras and Smritis, Rajadharma is dwelt upon as a topic separate and independent from civil, criminal and procedural law. In view of the great importance of the topic of Rajadharma, several eminent writers wrote independent treatises on it under various titles such as Rajanitisara, Dandaniti, Nitisara and it is also dealt with as part of Arthasastra. The monumental work Arthasastra is by Kautilya, who was the Prime Minister of Magadha Empire which had its capital at Patalipura (modern Patna, in the State of Bihar). P. v: Kane refers to the other extensive literature available on the subject.

The important ones are the Mahabharata -Shanti parva, Manu Ch. VII and IX, Kamandaka Nitisara, Manasollasa of Someswsara, Yuktikalpataru of Bhoja, Rajaniti Ratnakara of Chandeswara, Rajaniti Prakasha of Mitramisra and Dandaniti of Keshava Pandita. The system of government envisaged by all the works on Rajadharma was the Rajya (the State) headed by a king. The provisions in the Dharmasastras, Smritis and

other works on the topic mentioned above, covered varieties of subjects such as the constitution and organisation of the Rajya, Kingship, the manner of assuming office by the king (coronation), the code of conduct for the king, the succession of kingship, the education of young princes, the appointment of council of ministers, the chief justice and other judges of the highest court, the administrative divisions, and the powers and duties of the king.

The propounders of Dharmasastra declared that the king (State) was absolutely necessary to maintain the society in a state of Dharmawhich was essential for the fulfillment of Artha and Kama. Rajadharma, which laid down the Dharma of the king, was paramount.

सर्वे धर्माः सोपधर्मास्त्रयाणां राज्ञो धर्मादिति वेदाच्छूणोमि । एवं धर्मान् राजधर्मेषु सर्वान् सर्वावस्थं संप्रलीनान् निबोध ॥ (Maha Shan Parv Ch 63, 24-25)

Meaning : All Dharmas are merged in Rajadharma, and it is therefore the Supreme Dharma.