Jaina Political Thought

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

Page 91

like the balance. The assessors or Sabhyas should expound the facts as they are and should not have any personal interest in the matter. The litigants should be present in the court when called and should answer questions simply, consistently and truthfully. Possession, witness and documents are the three sources of proof. Possession should not be questionable, nor the witness censurable, nor the document forged. Anything done under duress or unjustly or amounting to a fraud on the state will lack validity. Divya or supernatural testing is recommended in some limited types of cases. Disputes are to be settled at various levels, rural and urban, but the king and his court constitute the highest court.
The discussion of foreign policy begins with a brief discussion of the relative force of fate and human effort. Fate is undeniable but one cannot but rely on effort. The king in particular must remember that he is like a God. He combines in himself the learning of Brahma.He has the soveregnty nourishing the welfare and happiness of the people, which is like the Laksmi of Narayana. And he is like Rudra in dealing with criminals and enemies. The mandala, the stances of policy, the three powers and the four methods are brietly described in the traditional manner. Incidentally there are some interesting observations on the role of assemblies and popular organisations. An assembly with many leaders dangerous. Nor should one seek to head a gana or republic where the sense of equality prevents any special gain for the leader although he is saddled with special responsibility. The voice of many people if organized should be respected and one should not seek to put it down by the use of punishment.
A last point deserves mention. Although Somadeva is not a believer in the divinity of the king in any serious sense, he mentions more than once that the king is like a god among men. At one place he calls him a 'visible deity' (pratyaksa-devata) who should not bow to any body. At another place he declares the king to have the combined aspects of the Hindu Trinity. Finally he declares that the ruler is the force of sovereignty (ksatra-tejah), a human divinity (purusa-devata) Even his picture should not be shown disregard. The reference to purusa-devata reminds one of the expression nara-deva which is found in the early Jaina canon.
In his other famous work, Yjasastilakacampu, Somadeva has expounded the Jaina view of life much more clearly and distinctively but even there the treatment of niti follows the same lines as in the work just discussed. About his attitude towards popular and Brahmanical customs and institutions he states clearly that householders follow a dual ethos, one based in social practice, the other based on Agama. There are many social
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