Eternal India Encyclopedia

encyclopedia Eternal India

Ancient Concepts, Sciences & Systems

important principles of Dharma accepted and prevailing in society, in their respective ages in the context in which they became rele- vant while narrating the stories. Consequently later authors of Dharmashastras have relied on the epics as authoritative sources on general topics of law. For instance as regards the right of the eldest son to succeed to his father’s kingdom, the Ramayana is quoted as an authority in the work Rajaniti Ratnakara of Chan- deswara. There are as many as 66 verses in the Ramayana which pertain to the governance of the country ( Rajadharma ) in which the duties and responsibilities of kings are set out. Commentaries and digests : The commentators can aptly be described as the architects of the Hindu legal system. By their scintillating intellectual calibre and the force of logic and expres- sion, they removed the angularities in the old hard, rock-like provi- sions with the aid of accepted usages and customs and gave them the required shape so as to fulfil the aspiration of the people during the relevant period. The commentators amplified the narrow provi- sions of the Smritis. However this type of development of law could not be uniform, obviously on account of the vastness of the country, existence of several princely states and lack of easy and speedy communica- tions. Therefore the commentators made their contribution to the development of law in the particular region where they flourished having due regard to the usage and custom followed by the society in that region. Consequently the commentaries written in any particular society and accepted by the society became the law for that locality. In spite of these handicaps, only two broad divisions of law developed on the basis of the two main commentaries, though several sub-divisions with minor variations also came into existence in certain regions. The two main divisions were 1. Mitakshara system, propounded by Vijnaneswara and 2. Day- abhaga system, propounded by Jimuthavahana. M I T A K S H A R A The title Mitakshara which etymologically means ‘limited let- ters’ is given to the celebrated commentary on the Yajnavalkya smriti by Vijnaneswara to indicate that it is a brief and precise commentary. The author of Mitakshara hailed from south India and lived in the 11th century. He was an ascetic and wrote this commentary during the reign of Vikramaditya whose capital city was Kalyana. An inscription of 1124 A.D. found on the wall of a Shiva temple at Martur in Gulbarga district reveals that King Vikramaditya granted lands to Vijnaneswara in recognition of his meritorious commentary. It deals with almost all the important topics of law and synthesises the several smriti texts. It was soon accepted as the paramount authority throughout the country except in Bengal where for historical reasons not precisely known the Dayabhagha system propounded by Jimutavahana was accepted. Even at present in respect of matters not altered by legislation, it continues to be the personal law applicable to the vast majority of Hindus and is being enforced in the courts of law as it constitutes the “existing law” saved by Article 372 of the Constitution. D A Y A B HA GA Dayabhaga of Jimuthavahana : This is a dissertation on the law of inheritance and partition. This work is not in the nature of a com- mentary but is a digest of all the smritis. Jimutavahana, who is the founder of this system, appears to have flourished in the early part

Maurya. This is a work of great interest and value. In the preamble to the Arthashastra, the author has stated that it is being written as a compendium of almost all th t Arthashastras composed till then by ancient authors, and undoubtedly Chanakya has made it an encyclo- paedia of statecraft and legal system for the guidance of all concerned. Surprisingly this great work remained untraced, but for- tunately it was unearthed by Dr. R. Shama Shastry of the Oriental Research Institute, Mysore. He translated this great work and published it in 1915. Chandragupta Maurya became the king in 322 B.C. and his son Bindusara ascended the throne in 298 B.C. It is during this period that Chanakya lived and wrote this famous work, sometime between 322 and 300 B.C. It is necessary to set out the contents of the fifteen parts or books of his Arthashastra to give an idea at a glance about the extent of the subject matter covered by Kautilya on various topics relating to law and other affairs of State. 1. Education, training and discipline to be imparted to a king to equip him to discharge his onerous responsibilities ably and efficiently, such as appointment of ministers and other offi- cers of the State and other matters relating to its administra- tion. Suppression of crime. 5. Miscellaneous matters - such as steps to be taken in emer- gencies, pay scales for state officers, duty of Chief Minister of ensuring continuity of rule on the demise of king, etc. 6. Seven constituents of State - Rajamandala - for discussion of State’s relations with neighbours. 7. Foreign policy — deals with the six political expedients in the field of diplomacy. 8. Methods to overcome various calamities to the State. 9. Military Code - kinds of troops to be mobilised for an expe- dition and proper seasons for the expedition and precautions to be taken. 10. Fighting methodology - at war. 11. Steps to be taken by a would be conqueror. 12. Design to be adopted by a weaker king when threatened by a stronger king. 13. Conquest of the enemy by various methods. 14. Remedies and plans to be adopted in getting rid of enemies or traitors. 15. Object of and purpose achieved by Arthashastra. — defines and illustrates practical training in 32 methods pertaining to politics. For more details on Arthashastra Refer K-34 Vincent Smith has pointed out that civil and constitutional laws explained in the work are strikingly similar to those recorded by Megasthenes and other. Greek writers. THE TWO EPICS The two great epics of this country, The Ramayana and The Mahabharatha, constitute the treasure house and source of au- thoritative exposition on several topics of law, particularly the latter epic. The authors of these two works, Valmiki and Vyasa, sages and authors of outstanding merit, have incorporated the most 2. Duties of various executive officers of the State. 3. Law and its administration. 4.