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Lord Mahavira and His Times
śāstra give us some idea of their contents. One of them named Uśanas went to the extent of advocating the extreme view that politics was the only science worth study. They believed in the monarchical form of government. They seem to have devoted considerable space to the discussion of the training of the prince and the qualifications of an ideal ruler. The relative importance that he should attach to the difficulties and calamities in connection with the treasury, forts and army were also exhaustively discussed. The constitution and functions of the Ministry were described at length by most of them and they widely differed from one another about the number of the Ministers and their qualifications. Principles of foreign policy were also debated upon, Bhāradvāja advocating submission to the strong when there is no alternative and Viśālāksha recommending a fight to finish, even if it meant annihilation. Vātavyādhi did not ascribe to the theory of Shadgunya but advocated that of Dvaigunya. The questions of the control over revenue and provincial officers were discussed. These early works contain important sections dealing with civil and criminal law and laid down a scheme of fines and punishments, theft, robbery, misappropriation, etc.?.
Thus, these different schools of political thought before Kautilya definitely prove that they were not confined to a mechanical repetition of each other's views but they ceaselessly endeavoured to ascertain how far the end of the state could best be realized within the ambit of the ancient dharma. MATHEMATICS, ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY
The early Jaina texts provide ample evidence of progress made in Mathematics, Astronomy and Astrology. It is said that Mahāvīra was versed in Arithmetic and Astronomy. Ganita is also described as one of the four expositions of the principle (anuyoga) in the Jaina text.3 The Thāņānga mentions ten kinds of science of numbers, viz., parikamma (fundamental operation), vavahāra (subject of treatment), rajju ("rope" meaning geometry) rāsi ("heap” meaning measurement of
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- 1. State and Government in Ancient India, pp. 8-9. • 2. Kalpa, 1. 10. . . . . 3. Das, chủ, p. 2.
