Kevalaodhi Buddhist And Jaina History Of Deccan Vol 2

Author(s): Aloka Parasher Sen, B Subrahmanyam, E Siva Nagi Reddy
Publisher: Bharatiya Kala Prakashan

Page 136

Kevala-Bodhi-Buddhist and Jaina History of the Deccan
The colophon of the Nitivákydmṛitam contains the titles bestowed by his contemporaries on Somadeva and they describe his qualities as a scholar. These are Syädvädachalasimha, a lion to the mountain of Syddväda; Tarkika-Chakravarti, the lord of the Logicians; Vadibhapanchanana, a lion to the elephants, to wit the disputants; Vakkallola Payonidhi, an ocean of the waves of eloquence; and Kavikularaja, the king of the poets. It is also said here that he was the author of the Yasodhara Mahārāja Charitra i.e. Yasastilaka and other works. From the titles mentioned above it is evident that Somadeva was a great logician, an eloquent speaker and a writer of repute.
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We will now compare the matter of polity in both his works and then confine ourselves to Niivakyamritam to explain his views on kingship and king's relations with his ministers, and then with the administration of the king and end with comparing Somadeva and Kautilya as writers on polity.
Somadeva lays down precepts and principles of Kingship in the Nitiväkyämritam and, in the Yasastilaka, he illustrates them by means of concrete examples. Nitivākyamṛitam is a work on political theory, while Yasastilaka contains examples illustrating these theories. The two works supplement each other in the matter of statecraft. For example, it is stated in the Nitiväkyämpitam that the king has to supervise the work of officials, while the Yasastilaka gives examples of corruption by ministers who were evidently not supervised in their work.
Now confining ourselves to the Nitiväkyämṛitam what strikes us is the very great responsibility with which the king is saddled by Somadeva. He says that every day the king should recite a hymn to the following effect. "I am protecting this cow (earth) which bears the milk of the four oceans, whose calf is righteousness, whose tail is enterprise, whose hoofs are castes and the stages of life, whose ears are enjoyments and wealth, whose horns are diplomacy and valor, whose eyes are truth and purity and whose face is the law. I shall not be patient with any one who injures her". In this way, the king promises to rule according to the Sanathana Dharma and will not tolerate any one who injures his kingdom.
For carrying out this promise of the rule of law or Dharma, the king should have the assistance of ministers. He repeats in this connection Kautilya's dictum that a single wheel cannot move. As regards the number of ministers a king should have, the discussion in the Nitiväkyämṛitam also follows Kautilya. The king should not have only one minister because this single minister will behave like an autocrat. If there are two ministers, they may either quarrel or unite to control the king. He should not have too many ministers for it will be difficult to arrive at a consensus in such a crowd. Hence he should have 3, 5 or 7 ministers.
As regards the policy, which a king should follow with regard to his ministers, Somadeva says that the Mantri and Purohita are the father and mother of the king. He gives the example of Chandragupta Maurya whom Chanakya made emperor. Somadeva insists on ministers giving correct advice to the king. although for the time being such advice may be distasteful to the king. He asks, when a child refuses to drink milk is it not to be slapped? Somadeva's final advice to the king is not to act against the suggestions of his ministers. He should not create a situation, in which the country would rise against him, because, of all the dangers to which he is liable, the anger of the people and their representatives is the most formidable.
The most remarkable aspect of Somadeva as a political thinker is that he does not allow himself to be influenced by theological bias while discussing the problems of the State. While as a follower of Jaina faith, he castigates the Lokayata or materialistic view of life, but as a writer on Polity which is to be