Jaina Political Thought

Author(s): G C Pandey
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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Prof. Beni Prasad state that "political theory in ancient India was essentially a theory of the governmental act. It touches but incidentally on the deeper problems of political obligations, foundations of the state, or the rights of man"3 Similarly Prof. Basham states, though with modifications, that "though India had no formal political philosophy, the science of statecraft was much cultivated. ." "the problems which form the stock-in-trade of the European political philosopher are answered in Indian texts, but in a take it-or-leave it manner, with little discussion.........
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As an answer to such opioions one may refer to the works of B.K. Sarkar, U.N. Ghoshal and A.K. Coomarswamy. Prof. Ghoshal has produced the best known and most extensive survey of Indian political ideas and maintains that Indians produced "original systems of political thought." "It is, however, Dr. Coomarswamy whose writings highlight the essential truth in this context.6 Indian political thought is in this sense traditional and quite different from modern ideas. It is to be understood in the light of philosophia perennisand so understood it constitutes a wisdom (vidya) which links the practical conduct of life (vyavahara) with the pursuit of ideal ends (purusartha). On the one hand, it is a strategy or niti on the other, a moral wisdom (dharma, vidya). Grounded in agama or tradition, it is at once Reason or Prudence, Theory and Art. To say, therefore, that the ancient Indian tradition lacked political philosophy or its reasoned discussion and only had practical precepts relating to statecraft, is to be misled by looking at ancient thought and writings from the standpoint of modern concepts and prejudices. The ancients did not classify the sastras in the same way as we clarify scientific disciplines today. In fact, such classifications are conditioned by changing historical and cultural circumstances. The traditional classification of knowledge is hierarchical. Philosophy or anviksiki stood at the top and illuminated the rest The sacred tradition of spiritual and moral wisdom (trayi) came next supplying to the philosophical mind the truths beyond mere reason and experience. The practical science of livelihood (varta) came next and finally came the art of governance (niti) which sought to make the pursuit of philosophy, wisdom, and livelihood possible by removing their hinderances and allocating resources suitably. For a full understanding of ancient political thought, thus, one must range over all the four (vidyas) and not merely the 'technical works on polity.' This was common enough in the earlier period. The discussions in the Mahabharata, thus, range over the different vidyas as they do in the Dialogues of Plato. Later on, at least since the Arthasastra, the discussions became more specialised and divided into different sastras, just as it happened after Aristole in the West. In this situation one finds that methodological
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