Contents
- 1. Origin and meaning of rajadharma
- 2. Origin and culmination of the concept of a king (ruler)
- 3. The changing concept of a king according to the time
- 4. Importance
1. Origin and meaning of rajadharma
The king [ruler (raja)]: ‘He is the first and foremost component of the kingdom. The root of the word raja (राजा) is derived from raj (राज्) meaning to shine. However the ancient Indian political scientists have defined a king as ‘रञ्जनात् राजा’ meaning the one who rids his subjects of obstacles. The above definition implies that only the one who rules ideally considering only the welfare of his subjects should be considered as the king.’(1)
Code of Righteousness of rulers (rajadharma): Some of its meanings are given below.
Governing laws or administrative procedures laid down in the scriptures as guidelines.
Qualities befitting a king
Duties or a specific mission of a king towards his subjects
Politics: Some of its meanings are given below.
Indepth and secret counsel regarding the state
Secret cause, mysterious
Administrative matters, political ethics
2. Origin and culmination of the concept of a king (ruler)
2.1 Unnecessity of a ruler
The period preceding the Satyayug: During those days there was only one class - the ‘hansa’ class, the four classes did not exist then. ‘Hansa’ also means the soul. All the people from that period were engrossed in the spiritual experience of Self-realisation. Even if they did descend from the state of the nirvikalpa superconscious state (samadhi) they would descend at the most to the state where they harboured the spiritual emotion that ‘He (God) is I (so’ham)’.
The Satyayug: As society regressed from the spiritual emotion of ‘He is I’ (no ego or less ego) to ‘I’ (more ego) the yugs (eras) commenced. It began with the Satyayug.
Even in the Satyayug there was only the hansa class. God has preached Righteousness (Dharma) with two objects - materialistic and spiritual. Every being who was spiritually inclined was aware that ‘I am not this body, I am the soul’. The one who had acquired the spiritual experience of Self-realisation, that is the one who had lost the spiritual emotion that ‘He is I’ or in other words the one who had lost his ignorance and had consequently dissolved his spiritual knowledge too was on the path of Spirituality (nivruttimarg). God established a link between the two righteous factions by entrusting the responsibility of providing for those following the path of Spirituality to those following materialism (pravruttimarg). So long as this link was not broken, man was happy. The circumstances prevailing during that period were as given below.
During that period since all were sattvik (sattva predominant) in nature they behaved righteously. Consequently there was absolutely no need for a code of punishment (an administrative system).
न वै राज्यं न राजासीत् न दण्डो न च दण्डिक: ।
धर्मेणैव प्रजा: सर्वा: रक्षन्ति स्म परस्परम् ।।Meaning: In an ideal state there were no criminals so there were also no rulers to punish them. Since there was no king, there was no state. Each one would follow the code of Righteousness and protect the other.
All the people in the Satyayug adhered to spiritual knowledge, were righteous and sattvik and knew how to discriminate between right and wrong. That is why each one’s existence proved conducive for the other. No one was exploited. Thus it is automatically proven that only if everyone remains righteous then harmonious living is assured.
2.2 Necessity of rulers
The Tretayug: Nature (Prakruti) being composed of the three components, sometime or the other the raja and the tama component is bound to generate from the sattva component . Once this occurs it is but natural for the spiritual emotion towards The Supreme Soul to get restricted. It is then that deterioration of Righteousness begins. As a result, in the Satyayug the Righteousness (Dharma) that was endowed with the four aspects of spiritual knowledge, austerities, donation and truth becomes weak in one aspect, that is spiritual knowledge. This indicates the culmination of the Satyayug and commencement of the Tretayug.
Creation of an administrative system: When the link between Righteousness of worldly and spiritually inclined individuals slackens, man regresses from his sattva temperament. According to the law generated from unrighteousness that a big fish swallows a small one, the powerful destroy the feeble. It becomes extremely necessary to create a system of punishment, that is an administrative system to bring about rationalism and to arrest this. That is why the Mahabharat (12.64.21) quotes -
चात्रो धर्मो ह्यादिदेवात् प्रवृत्त: पश्चादन्ये शेषभूताश्च धर्मा: ।
Meaning: The Supreme God first created the code of Righteousness of rulers (rajadharma) and then incorporated other codes of Righteousness in it.
In the Tretayug after creation of the ruling system Kshatriyas (warriors) having mastery over their sense organs became the rulers and their chief responsibility was the protection of cattle and Brahmans (priests). The effulgence of Kshatriyas continued uninterrupted with the support of the effulgence of Brahmans. The kings themselves were moralistic. They would observe the Arya code of Righteousness meticulously and behave righteously themselves and make their subjects follow suit. All the kings from the Tretayug would crown their eldest son the king and then renouncing everything would retire to the forest clad in robes made from the bark of a tree and enter the stage of a retired householder (vanaprasthashram). Does this not prove that they had control over their sense organs right from the stage of celibacy (brahmacharyashram)? It is then that one feels compelled to revere Arya Chanakya by offering obeisance at His feet for His aphorism (sutra) ‘Rashtrasya mulam indriyanigrahaha (राष्ट्रस्य मूलं इंद्रियनिग्रह:)’ which illustrates what an indepth study He had made when writing it.
‘Until the middle part of the Tretayug the influence of the elapsed time had become quite evident. Kshatriyas began to forget that their duty was to protect subjects and that their ultimate aim was attainment of Brahman (Self-realisation) and began to perform more and more fire sacrifices (yadnyas) to acquire power and victory. One favourable outcome of this extraordinary prowess of the Kshatriyas (warriors) was that demons began to fear them. Ravan felt threatened by Sahastrarjun, a Kshatriya monarch. Later however the Kshatriyas became arrogant and vain due to excessive power. They forsook humility. As a result Sahastrarjun slew Parshuram’s father, Sage Jamadagni. The enraged Parshuram then resolved to destroy the Kshatriyas blinded with pride and slew thousands of them. This favoured the demons and they began to create chaos everywhere. The Supreme God then had to assume an incarnation of a Kshatriya. The seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Shrirama was born in the Tretayug. This incarnation, Lord Ramachandra has annihilated all demons and commenced efforts to reinstate the system of four classes.’(2) Rama became the monarch. It is because He ruled the kingdom ideally that Rama’s rule of Righteousness (Ramarajya) is considered as an ideal state. Since then the code of punishment was decided to be the basis of the three sciences (paths of Spirituality) of anvikshiki (path to Liberation), trayi (path of materialism) and varta (business). When this code of punishment undergoes dissolution, the three sciences are destroyed.
2.3 Culmination of the concept of a ruler
In the Satyayug Righteousness (Dharma) remains steady with all its four components. In the Tretayug the king has to safeguard Righteousness. In the Dvaparyug scriptures on Righteousness lay down rules for administration whereas in the Kaliyug as no one understands Righteousness there is strife and destruction and anarchy prevails.
2.4 Vehicle of the king
A king is considered as Lord Indra. Indra rides on a white elephant named Airavat; hence the vehicle of the king is also an elephant.
3. The changing concept of a king according to the time
A. Head of a family: This is his first form.
B. Protector: ‘With the passage of time the concept that a king is akin to the head of a family declined and the school of thought that “a king means one who protects the social system by meting out punishment” came to the fore. The king then acquired absolute power.
C. God: Further the holy texts, the Smrutis began to advocate that the king is a creation of God and that since an element of deities exists in him, it is the duty of every citizen to wholeheartedly obey him. It is during this period of the Smrutis that the king acquired the designation of the master (svami). Alongside the doctrine of seven constituents of a state was established. The master, prime minister, ally, treasury, artillery of forts, the military might and the state itself are the seven constituents of a state. In fact the Smrutis and the Purans have clearly referred to the king as God. As the concept of incarnations was established in society the king too began to be considered as an incarnation of The Lord. However if a king was unrighteous and a sinner then neither could he obscure his sins under the cover of divinity nor could he endorse them by duress. The authors of the scriptures have regarded such kings as demons.’(3)
Restrictions of Righteousness (Dharma) were also imposed upon the king considering him as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This implies that the throne was divine, not the king who ascended it.
‘The faith that the king is an element of Lord Vishnu nurtures both the king as well as his subjects. Of the three main functions of creation, sustenance and dissolution, sustenance is Vishnu’s mission. Sustenance being a mission of the sattva component all the incarnations which are assumed to destroy the deterioration in Righteousness are (out of the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh) of Lord Vishnu alone. Without predominance of the sattva component the universe can never be protected. Is one not harmed if one behaves irrationally and protected if one behaves rationally? So one should bear in mind that during the period favourable for spiritual practice an incarnation is required for spiritual progress of the society rather than for individual spiritual evolution. It is when seekers desirous of making spiritual progress face grave obstacles in spiritual practice that the need for an incarnation of The Lord arises.’ - H. H. Kane Maharaj, Narayangaon, Maharashtra, India
D. Prime minister or president: In the bygone days the best among the Kshatriyas (warriors) was chosen as the king and the best king from among the monarchs became the emperor (maharaja). Nowadays since democracy is in vogue in most countries the elected candidate is endowed with maximum powers, that is the prime minister or the president is considered as the king.
4. Importance
4.1 As is the king so are the subjects
A. यादृशो जायते राजा तादृशोऽस्य जनो भवेत् ।। - महाभारत ११.८.३२
Meaning: The subjects of a king become like the king himself. - Mahabharat 11.8.32
B. यद्वृत्ता: सन्ति राजानस्तद्वृत्ता: सन्ति हि प्रजा: ।। - रामायण २.१०९.९
Meaning: The conduct of the subjects of a king is akin to that of the king. - Ramayan 2.109.9
C. यद्यदाचरति श्रेष्ठस्तत्तदेवेतरो जन: ।
स यत्प्रमाणं कुरुते लोकस्तदनुवर्तते ।। - महाभारत ६.२७.२१Meaning: People emulate the behaviour of a great man. They imitate whatever he follows. - Mahabharat 6.27.21
D. यद्यदाचरते राजा तत्प्रजानां स्म रोचते ।। - महाभारत १२.७५.४
Meaning: The subjects begin to like whatever the king does. - Mahabharat 12.75.4
E. अर्थं वा यदि वा कामं शिष्टा: शास्त्रेष्वनागतम् ।
व्यवस्यन्त्यनुराजानं धर्मं पौलस्त्यनन्दन ।। - रामायण ३.५०.९Meaning: (Jatayu says) O Ravan, the learned decide the righteous code of conduct based on the king’s behaviour in context to Righteousness, wealth and desire when they fail to comprehend the guidelines in the scriptures. - Ramayan 3.50.9
F. राज्ञा हि पूजितो धर्मस्तत: सर्वत्र पूज्यते ।। - महाभारत १२.७५.४
Meaning: If the king honours Righteousness (Dharma) then the people too follow suit. - Mahabharat 12.75.4
G. राज्ञी धर्मिणी धर्मिष्ट: । पापा पापे समेसमा ।
लोकस्तद्अनुवर्तंते । यथा राजा तथा प्रजा । - भोजराजकृत भोजप्रबंधMeaning: People emulate two individuals whether they are both righteous or both unrighteous if they are united. Similarly if the king and queen are righteous, so are the subjects. - Bhojprabandha written by King Bhoj
‘This will certainly illustrate why corruption is so rampant nowadays. So the only way to escape from this unscathed is to have a moralistic, righteous conduct and to create righteous rulers’. - H. H. Kane Maharaj, Narayangaon, Maharashtra, India
4.2 Worldly and spiritual progress of the subjects
A. सर्वे धर्मा राजधर्मप्रधाना: ।। - महाभारत १२.६३.२७
Meaning: Of all the forms of Righteousness the code of Righteousness of rulers (rajadharma) reigns supreme. - Mahabharat 12.63.27
B. सर्वो हि लोको नृपधर्ममूल: ।। - महाभारत १२.१२०.५६
Meaning: The code of righteousness of rulers is the support of the subjects. - Mahabharat 12.120.56
C. सर्वस्य जीवलोकस्य राजधर्म: परायणम् ।। - महाभारत १२.५६.३
Meaning: The code of Righteousness of rulers is the only great support of all living creatures. - Mahabharat 12.56.3
D. सर्वा विद्या राजधर्मेषु युक्ता: ।
सर्वे लोका राजधर्मे प्रविष्टा: ।। - महाभारत १२.६३.२९Meaning: All kinds of knowledge and worldly transactions are associated with the code of Righteousness of rulers. - Mahabharat 12.63.29
E. धूमो वायोरिव वशे बलं धर्मोऽनुवर्तते ।
अनीश्वरो बले धर्मो द्रुमे वल्लीव संश्रिता ।। - महाभारत १२.१३४.७Meaning: Smoke remains under the control of the wind, similarly Righteousness follows strength. It depends on physical prowess like a creeper supported by a tree. - Mahabharat 12.134.7
F. अति धर्माद्बलं मन्ये बलाद्धर्म: प्रवर्तते ।
बले प्रतिष्ठितो धर्मो धरण्यामिव जङ्गमम् ।। - महाभारत १२.१३४.६Meaning: Physical prowess is superior to Righteousness (Dharma) because the latter is generated from the former. Just as all inanimate objects exist due to the support of the earth so also Righteousness (Dharma) exists solely due to strength. - Mahabharat 12.134.6
G. दुर्बलस्य त्वनाथस्य राजा भवति वै बलम् ।। - रामायण ७.५९
Meaning: The strength of the downtrodden and the desolate lies in the king. - Ramayan 7.59
H. दुर्लभस्य च धर्मस्य जीवितस्य शुभस्य च ।
राजानो वानरश्रेष्ठ प्रदातारो न संशय: ।। - रामायण ४.१८.४२Meaning: (Rama tells Vali) O great monkey, undoubtedly the one who endows (subjects) with unattainable Righteousness, life and benefaction is none other than the king. - Ramayan 4.18.42
I. नित्यं यस्तु सतो रक्षेदसतश्च निवर्तयेत् ।
स एव राजा कर्तव्यस्तेन सर्वमिदं धृतम् ।। - महाभारत १२.७८.४४Meaning: Only the one who always protects the righteous and drives away the evildoers should be crowned the king. The entire universe lives on his support. - Mahabharat 12.78.44
J. राजैव कर्ता भूतानां राजा चैव विनायक: ।
राजा सुप्तेषु जागर्ति राजा पालयति प्रजा: ।। - रामायण ७.५९ प्र. २.४Meaning: The king is the creator of all living beings and is also their master. When all the subjects are asleep the king remains awake to protect them. - Ramayan 7.59 chapter 2.4
K. यथा राजन् हस्तिपदे पदानि संलीयन्ते सर्वसत्वोद्धवानि ।
एवं धर्मात् राजधर्मेषु सर्वान् सर्वावस्थान् संप्रलीनान् निबोध ।।
- महाभारत १२.६३.२५Meaning: O king, just as the footsteps of an elephant are large enough to accomodate the footsteps of other animals so also all other kinds of Righteousness are incorporated in every way in the code of Righteousness of rulers. - Mahabharat 12.63.25
L. आन्वीक्षिकी त्रयी वार्ता दंडनीतीश्च शाश्वती: ।
सत्यापिअसत्यास्तु दंडनीतीश्च विप्लवे । - चाणक्यकृत अर्थशास्त्रTheoretical explanation of the above quote from the Arthashastra written by Chanakya: ‘There are only four types of sciences (vidya) in the universe which are permanent. The secret of happiness of entire mankind and peace in the universe lies concealed in these four kinds of sciences. They are as follows.
1. The path of Spirituality adopted by sacrificing everything to attain the Final Liberation (Moksha) is anvikshiki.
2. The path of worldly life adopted swearing in the presence of fire as a witness that one will follow the path of the Vedas is trayi.
3. ‘Varta means business. Due to this the nation acquires wealth and becomes prosperous and self-sufficient in all aspects.
4. Code of punishment: The first three types of sciences can blossom fully only with the support of a moralistic king. When the code of punishment deteriorates (ceases), that is rulers begin to behave unjustly, the first three types of sciences having lost their patronage, corruption spreads rampantly and consequently people become unhappy. Thus social unrest attains its peak.’ - H. H. Kane Maharaj, Narayangaon, Maharashtra, India
M. राष्ट्रस्यैतत्कृत्यतमं राज्ञ एवाभिषेचनम् ।
अनिन्द्रमबलं राष्ट्रं दस्यवोऽभिभवन्त्युत ।। - महाभारत १२.६७.२Meaning: Crowning an ideal person as the king is the chief duty of a nation because eventually if a state is without an administrator, it becomes weak and enemies attack it. - Mahabharat 12.67.2
N. राजानं प्रथमं विन्देत्ततो भार्यां ततो धनम् ।
राजन्यसति लोकस्य कुतो भार्या कुतो धनम् ।। - महाभारत १२.५७.४१Meaning: Man should first acquire a king, then a wife and wealth because without a king from where will people get wives and wealth? - Mahabharat 12.57.41
4.3 The king alone is the cause for time (kal)
Refer to a point under the same heading in ‘Science of Spirituality: Vol. 1 E - Spiritual Practice of Protecting Seekers and Destroying Evildoers (Kshatradharma Sadhana)’.
Reference:
‘Protecting seekers and destroying evildoers and code of righteousness of rulers’, published by Sanatan Sanstha.
Bharatiya Sanskrutikosh. Publisher: Pandit Mahadevshastri Joshi, Secretary, Bharatiya Sanskrutikosh Mandal, 410, Shanivar Peth, Pune 411 030.
First edition: Vol. 3 to 10
[1]. Vol. 8, Pg. 14 [3]. Vol .8, Pg. 27-29[2]. Siddha Sanatan Sanskruti. Fourth edition - 20th July 1997. Pages 21 and 22. Publisher: Gagangiri Publications, Yogashram, Khopoli, Taluka Khalapur, District Raygad.
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