Vedic Literature - Political System of Vedic Period
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Political System of Vedic Period:-
Political Conditions
- The term āRajyaā has been mentioned once in the Rig Veda, but the Rig-Vedic poĀlitical condition cannot be reĀgarded as the condition of the
- state in real terms, the conĀcept of territory was comĀpletely absent and war used to take place for cows i.e.. Gavisti.
- The kings were mainly in term of tribal chieftains.
- He was the holder of esĀtablished order and moral rule called Dhratavtara.
- Rig Vedic political condiĀtions were a kind of tribal chieftainship with some eleĀments of democracy.
- The tribal heads used to adopt divine theory to legitimise their position
- In Rig Ved Puru king Tradasyu claimed himself as āIndraā or āVarunaā .
- Tribal head assisted by Purohit and Grarnini.
- King advised by Sabha and Samities.
- The king probably was bonded to accept these advices.
- Samiti could not do any work without the consent of the Sabha (Check and BalĀance formula of working)
Features of Kingship
- Hereditary succession;
- No election;
- Assisted by civil adminĀistration - to collect taxes for the army.
- Women were given equal status in this period because of less population.
- The Sabha and Samiti were the powerful instituĀtions which considerably ended the sovereignty of the king.
- In Atharveda, Sabha and Samiti are referred to as the two daughters of āPrajapatiā .
- The Sabha was denoted as the Assembly Hall ā used for serious political work, social ceremonies and deĀbates women had equal rights to participate in the proceedings of the Sabha.
- In Rig Veda, a woman called āSabhapatiā attended the Sabha.
- The sabha had great powers. It used to take its own decisions for performing soĀcial, political and administraĀtive function.
- It also had the power to render justice.
- Samiti has appeared in those porĀtions of Rig Veda, which are considered to be the latest.
- Samiti must have assumed importance only towards the end of Rig Vedic Period. Therefore, Samiti does not seem to be older than the Sabha.
- The distinction between the Sabha and Samiti cannot be made precisely.
- Only difference was that while Sabha performed judiĀcial functions, the Samiti has no such power.
Vidhatha: Earliest Assembly - Kin Based Community
- In Rig Veda Sabha menĀtioned 8 times, Samiti menĀtioned 9 times and Vidatha mentioned 122 times.
- In Atharava Veda Sabha has been mentioned 17 times, samiti mentioned 13 times, Vidatha 22 times.
- Vidatha has been menĀtioned in Vajasaneyi Samhita 10 times, Brahmans 21 times, Taitterrya Aryanaka once.
- The root word of Vidatha is vid, which means knowlĀedge
- According to a passage of Rig Veda - members sumĀmoned in the Vidatha are inĀstructed to be present on the occasion of distribution of whatever is produced daily by Savitr. Agni has been deĀscribed as the liberal disĀtributor of produces in the Vidatha.
- Vidhata may be regarded as a military institution.
- Vidhata was occupied a place in religion; according to Sayana, vidhata was a
- kind of Yajna (sacrifice) .
Gana
- In Rig Veda Gana have been mentioned 46 times and 9 times in Atharava Veda.
- The term Gana means Jana, which means count.
- Ganas are divided into Kulas or families, so also the commercial ganas are diĀvided into Kulas, as are known from the seals discovĀered at Bhita and Basarh.
- Videha and Vaisali would appear as the two main exĀamples of monarchies transĀformed into republics.
- In Vedic texts Maruts are mentioned as the Ganas. Maruts were sons of Rudra, numbering either 49 or 63 diĀvided into seven groups each consisting of nine.
- The leader of Gana, at one place known as Ganasya Raja, is generally called Ganapati, Indra, Marut, Brhaspati and Brahmanaspati. At least in one reference in the Rig Veda, the leader of the Gana is given the title Raj an. In the Aitareya Brahmana the king is invoked as Gananampati. Brahm-anaspati, who at sevĀeral places is called Ganapati.
Parishad
- Sayana explains the terms Gavyam Parisadantah as Gosangham, and so Griffith translates it as a āherd of cattleā .
- In Yajur Veda the epithet parisadya applied to Agni may point to his presence in the parisad.
- It has been shown that Ahirbudhnya, a form of Rudra, is called Parisadaya, but in the Mahabharata, Skanda, the son of Siva, is associated with the Parisadas at numberous places. Siva is also described as Gana-dhyaksa, it is also called Parisadpriya.
- The evidence that it functioned as a royal council is provided by Paraskara Grhyasutras, wherein; the parisad is represented as conĀducting debate under the chairmanship of its Isana (President) .