394. DSC 253: Rajdharma (2)
1. Ved Vyas is considered to be the reincarnation of God Vishnu. The meaning of Ved Vyas is the collector of Vedas. He compiled the Vedas, composed Mahabharata and 18 Puranas. He is said to have divided Vedas into four parts. Satyabati and Rishi Parashar were his parents. Dritirashtra and Pandava brothers are said to have been the sons of Rishi Parashar.
Shastras and Vedas have been written thousands of years back. But the fundamentals of these writings have remained the same. Birth, disease, old age and death are inescapable relevant realities from Bhagwat Gita in Mahabharata. Vedas contents also preceded with Varna system, birth hierarchy, praises for Gods that represented the natural forces.
BORI or Bhandari Oriental Research Institute, UNESCO archives, 15th century writings of Rig Vedas are some of the valuable sources of Vedas.
Vedas consist of 6000 verses in each, that is total 24,000 verses.
(2) Shanti Parva
Rajdharma
Ved Vyas is the author of Indian epic Mahabharata. It is divided into 18 parts and each part is known as 'Parva'.
Mahabharata is not only a religious text but it also gives us political insight.
18 Parvas are: Adi Parva, Sabha Parva, etc. The 12th among these 18 is called the Shanti Parva which talks about the 'Rajdharma' that is, the duty of a king.
Shanti Parva is the discourse between Bhishma and Yudishtra, the eldest Pandava brother. It is in chapter 365. There are 13,716 verses in it. It has three sub-parts which are Raj Dharma Anusasana Parva which describes the duties of king and his governance. Apad Dharma Anusasana Parva describes the rules and conduct for a king when one faces emergencies. Moksha Dharma Parva describes the behaviour and rules to achieve salvation or Moksha.
Theory of origin of state:
First of all, Shanti Parva gives description of pre-star period (contrary to Hobbesian 'State of Nature's; Shanti Parva tells that in pre-state era human beings were living with 'Dharma'. They were living in a harmonious environment. Thus, there was no need of any authority of state or king.
With the time, there was decline in moral characters of human beings and 'Dharma' was replaced by Adharma and anarchy became prevalent in society. It was similar to the condition of Matsanayay (law of fishes), where situation of 'Might is Right'.
People wanted to escape this situation in order to ensure security.
Upto here we have to write same thing in both the theory of origin of state that is, Divine Origin and Elective Theory.
i) Divine Origin Theory:
To escape 'Adharma' people went to Brahma and he made Virajas as the King. However, he was in the state of deep meditation. Hence, his grandson 'Prithvi' was made king to restore Dharma.
ii) Chapter 67 of Shanti Parva:
Elective Theory of king, state also called quasi-contractual theory.
It says that people to end 'Adharma' people made a mutual agreement according to which a provision was made that they will expel the misbehaving non-social elements from the society to restore 'Dharma'.
However, in absence of any king, this agreement could not succeed in maintaining peace for a long time.
In such a situation, people went to Lord Brahma and requested him to appoint a respectable and capable king. A king who could get everyone out of 'Matsyanayay' and could restore Dharma. Brahma then asked Manu to become king. However, Manu refused the proposal initially due to the extreme Adharma which was prevalent in the society. But people requested him again and assured that they would cooperate in ensuring justice and maintaining law and order.
They also promised that they will give 50% (In some books 115th portion) of livestore and previous metals and 1th of food grains as the tax. Then Manu agreed to take this responsibility.
Rajdharma is still relevant. Bhishma Pitamah is very knowledgeable and Shanti Parva is based on the smriti shastra that were already there. Philosophy is covered too.