STRUCTURE OF THE STATE
(Manusmrti 9-294 to 312)
The chief (svami), the ministry (amatya), the capital city (pura), the rural hinterland (rashtra), the treasury (kosa), the army (danda) and the ally (suhrta) are the seven constituents (prakrti); (hence) the state (rajyam) is described as having seven organs (anga). (9-294)
Some preferred to endorse, stress and adopt the distinction between the king (raja) and the kingdom (rajyam). This monarchical structure included the five internal sectors, ministry, city, rural areas, treasury and army, under kingdom (rajyam). The ally, the friendly neighbour was not a part of this structure.
Others preferred a non-monarchical structure and included its head, svami, as a constituent of this structure.Its sovereignty had to be acknowledged and guaranteed by other friendly countries in the orbit of this state and they are included in the seventh constituent, the good friend (suhrta). The editors of Manusmrti approved this classification of the state into seven constituents. Pura-rashtra, paura-janapada, durga-janapada and pura-rajya were other ways of distinguishing between urban and rural areas. Manusmrti upholds the traditional classification while bringing together two different approaches to study of polity.
Amatyas were secretaries of the state and they controlled the bureaucracy. Some of the senior amatyas were taken into the cabinet as ministers, mantris. Some of the ministers were part of the constituent called svami. The medieval commentators were unable to describe this early post-Vedic political structure correctly. Modern Indologists who tried to study it from the point of view of western political theories and practices have been unable to interpret it properly. Unlike the rajan, who was elected by a college of rajanyas, aggressive chieftains from among its members, the svami was a charismatic leader who through his prowess was able to emerge as a conqueror. In both types of political structures, the treasury and the army were distinct units that gave stability and protection to the economy despite rise and fall of kings.Similarly both the city and the rural areas were autonomous and continued to function unperturbed by conquests and overthrow of kings.
Among these seven constituents of the state in due order, injury to each of the preceding unit was regarded as more serious than that to the succeeding one. (295 ) Manusmrti accepts this approach of the politico-economic code, Arthasastra, but with reservations. Of the seven organs of the state none is more important than others since their special traits (guna) are interconnected (anyonya) like the trident or tridanda, which is well planted (vishtabdha). (296)
Trisamdhi or tridanda represented the compact arrived at among the three major social sectors, the elite, the agro-pastoral commonalty and the industrial society (the forest society) of the Vedic times to ward off the threat from the intransigent sections of the feudal elements, the asuras. It brought together three types of armed contingents (danda), the private armies of the nobles, the Kshatriya state army of the agro-pastoral commonalty and the armed men of the forests.
The sevenfold socio-political structure was established to provide security, to all the populations. Danda meant army and also the organizations that exercised power. Power, bala or sakti, has three aspects, mantra, prabhu and utsaha. These referred to advantages gained from political counsel, economic and political power gained from treasury and army, and enthusiasm of the people and of the leader leading to the emergence of that leader as the charismatic head of the state, svami.
The tendency to treat a particular organ of the state as more important than others is discouraged. Every constituent or organ is designed to meet certain specific requirements and its merit is to be judged on the basis of whether (at a given time or under a particular leadership) that organ is able to meet those needs. The editors of Manusmrti thus reject the approaches of the different schools of political grammarians that thrived then. (297) [Kautilyan Arthasastra analyzes these approaches thoroughly. Vide Foundations of Hindu Economic State] Manusmrti holds dogmatism futile.
The chief (svami) was advised to constantly ascertain through the enthusiastic spies or scouts (charanas) the strength of his own constituent (svasakti) and that of other constituents (parasakti). He ascertains this while carrying out his various undertakings. (298) It is unsound to translate parasakti as the strength of the enemy.The use of the term, sakti, in preference to bala indicates that this section has been drafted under the influence of the Arthasastra tradition rather than that of the traditional schools of Dandaniti, Sakti meant personal and social influence while bala denoted physical power.
As every constituent of the state was autonomous, the svami, the head of the state had to proceed cautiously while sending his enthusiastic scouts into areas of operations that fell in the jurisdiction of the heads of the other constituents. The men whom he sent were not spies, chakshus, but were scouts, charanas. There was no suspicion that these heads might be working against him. What was required was the ascertaining and ensuring that these constituents were not working at cross-purposes to the detriment of the people.The ability of every one of the units of the state had to be correctly assessed before the ruler commenced new operations. The afflictions and misfortunes of all the units had to be taken into account and also the comparative difficulty and ease with which these operations could be begun. (299) [It is unsound to translate vyasana as vice.]
While the political grammarians were discussing the structural weaknesses of each of the seven constituents of the state, Manusmrti was concerned with the relation between those weaknesses and the operations that they were to be entrusted with. Is the state or its constituent capable of carrying out the mission assigned to it; or has it to be assigned to some other constituent or has the structure itself to be modified to get the desirable operations carried out? Socio-political thinkers found it difficult to find a solution. Despite repeated failures, the operations begun were not to be given up, the editors of Manusmrti exhort. For fortune favours the talented social leader, Purusha, who persists in the enterprises begun, they counsel. (300) To be precise, cultural aristocracy encourages prudent and persistent entrepreneurs.
Manusmrti came to be proclaimed in its authentic form first during the decades that immediately followed the Battle of Kurukshetra. It was the period when Kaliyuga, the fourth of the mega-epochs was said to have begun (3102 B.C). The performances of the kings were adjudged as Krta, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali, depending on their contributions. This cycle could be noticed in the career of every king. Manusmrti does not postulate that a yuga, epoch, covered several millennia. The dormant period is described as kali, the period when the ruler (or any individual) is awake (to the realities and to his mission) as dvapara, the period when he rises to act as treta and the period when he proceeds to act as krta. (301,302).
This is a useful method to describe social or political action and inaction. It is not sound to describe the four epochs, Krta, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali as golden, silver, bronze and iron ages. The state headed by the traditional king may not be always active. Often it is dormant. Rarely, it shows enterprise. But the local administration had to be always on its toes. It had to carry out the duties of all the officials of the central government.
The traditional state had the king assisted by eight ministers designated as Indra, Arka, Vayu, Yama, Varuna, Chandra, Agni and Prthvi. [There were variations in the designations from time to time and from region to region.] The chief of the local administration, nrpati, had to emulate and function grandly (tejovrtta) like these officials, performing the roles of all of them. (303) It is imperative that we do not treat these as gods of the polytheistic Vedic society. It is also advisable not to treat these as indicative of worship of Nature by the pagans of that period. The concepts behind the roles of these officials have not been correctly grasped by the 19th century editors and translators of Manusmrti. The latter proceeded under the assumption that Indra was the god of rain. The roles of these officials have to be presented correctly.
In India, the main rainy season, monsoon, lasts for four months. The agricultural economy of India depends on the rain it receives. The ruler or administrator, taking the role of the benevolent noble, Indra must shower the benefits desired by the people of his rashtram, rural areas. (304) The rainwater evaporates as the sun, Aditya (Arka), shines during the remaining eight months.
From whatever benefit is showered by the liberal nobles upon the people helping them to reap a good harvest the ruler in his capacity as a collector of revenue, Aditya, may be permitted to collect taxes imperceptibly. (305) Indra was the main official of the state who was looked upon as the benefactor. Aditya was in charge of collection of taxes from agricultural produce of the rural area, rashtra that was dependent on the aid given by the former.
While the elite of the rural areas was required to follow the directives issued by the nrpati, in his capacity as Indra, the commonalty, which was engaged in agriculture had to pay the taxes to Aditya. The nrpati headed both the departments, grants and revenue.
Vayu or Marutam (wind) is visualized as being capable of entering all beings (sarva bhuta). So too, the scoutschara) penetrate everywhere. This is the function of the official designated Maruta.It needs to be noted here the term, bhutas, referred particularly to the discrete individuals of the social periphery who did not belong to the organized sections of the population. The scouts, spies, were drawn mainly from this sector.
In some states, the official in charge of the institution of spies was under an official designated as Drshti. Manusmrti vests this official in charge of the rural areas with the authority to direct the activities of these scouts, allowing them to come in contact with all socio-economic groups, especially the discrete individuals of the periphery. (306) But nrpati, the official in charge of the local administration was not permitted to impose capital punishment on the guilty persons. He had to report the cases of major crimes to the king (rajan) who exercised this power.
The official designated as Yama (God of Death, as wrongly understood) was in charge of penalizing those who violated the orders issued under prohibitory rules (yamas). He did not spare either the friends of the king or those who hated him. The king had to adopt this policy while regulating and controlling the subjects.(307)
The local administrator was however entitled to take into custody the civil debtors who had not paid the fees and fines due to the state. The official who executed this order was designated as Varuna who could tie the defaulter with ropes and drag him to the prison. As the administrator-cum-magistrate performs this function, he is likened to Varuna. [Later Varuna came to indicate water and rain.] (308) The nrpati was in charge of the civil court and also of the civil prison, in his capacities as Yama and Varuna.
In his capacity as Vayu, the nrpati watched the affairs of all the discrete individuals through the department of scouts, especially those of the social periphery. In his capacity as Soma,he kept a watch on the conduct of the manavas who entered his region and pursued economic activities but were not its citizens. Men (manava) rejoice as they see the full moon (Chandra). So too rejoice the commoners, prakrti, as the nrpa, the official in charge of the administration of the rural and open areas, functions like the moon, pleasant and gracious to all of them.
Soma or Chandra (moon) was the designation of the official who was in charge of the unclassified masses,prakrti. [Vayu was in charge of the individuals of the social periphery.] Manava would refer specifically to the followers of Pracetas Manu, the author of an Arthasastra and one of the ten editors of Manava Dharmasastra. The Manavas followed the varnasrama codes prescribed by Manava Dharmasastra but did not follow the codes of any clan or community or region. [It is imperative as has been repeatedly pointed out in this work to recognize and adhere to the subtle and highly significant distinctions present among the terms, manushyas, manavas, naras, purushas, bhutas, prakrti, jana, and prajas.]
In his capacity as the head of the department, which was earlier under the jurisdiction of Soma, the rural administrator, nrpati, looks after the conduct of the manavas who were residents of his territory but conducted themselves as citizens of the world. He looked after the masses, prakrti, who were not organized as clans and communities. (309)
Soma in the Vedic polity was the representative of the frontier society of the forests and mountains including its intellectuals. Agni represented the agro-pastoral commonalty, especially its intellectuals. He presided over the peoples court. It is not sound academically to state that Agni was the Vedic God of Fire. This official noted for his prowess (pratapam) and splendour (tejas) was always ardent in his wrath against the guilty. He harassed the wicked (dushta) feudal chiefs (samanta). This was remembered to be the mission of Agni. The administrator was expected to play the role of Agni also. (310)
Manava Dharmasastra gave a definite form to the Prthu constitution. In that constitution, the eighth minister was designated as Prthvi, the representative of the agro-pastoral commonalty. He replaced Kubera, the wealthy plutocrat who dominated the economy of the frontier society. As the earth supports (dhara) all individuals equally, Parthiva or Prthvi supports all. This polity treats all as equals. (311) Later Indian rulers tended to nominate one of the senior princes as a parthiva. The latter was the Minister for the Interior and was directly in contact with the agrarian masses from among whom the soldiers were recruited.
Hindu Political Sociology has to be placed on a sound base adopting a rational approach to the interpretation of the Vedas, Sastras and other ancient Indian writings. It needs to be recognized that most of the functions pertaining to the administration of the polity were entrusted with the local officials in the rural areas. The nrpati was such a high official who had his base in the rashtra, the rural hinterland and was a pious man, sadhu. His task was onerous as traced above but was well defined. He had to exercise the functions assigned to Indra, Aditya, Vayu, Yama, Varuna, Soma, Agni and Prthvi, the eight ministers of the early post-Vedic polity. Capitals were destroyed and kingdoms were ephemeral but the local administration entrenched in the rural areas, rashtram, continued to exist and was led by pious men who undertook the onerous task of securing the welfare of all. Often the state with these eight ministers headed by the king did not exist.
The king (raja) is advised to adopt the methods, which these eight officials were to follow in the ideal political structure. He may use other methods also. He has to be ever alert and restrain the thieves in the rural areas (rashtra) and other areas too. (312) It is necessary to use the term, rashtra, as referring to the rural hinterland, which enjoyed considerable autonomy. The term rashtra did not mean nation. The terms, janasthana and janapada convey the meaning of nation better. The role of the king (who was located in the city, pura) with respect to the rashtra did not go beyond such protection against thieves.
SOCIAL REORGANIZATION AND
THE FOUR CLASSES
(Manusmrti Book Twelve)
Bhrgu on Manusmrti and Karmayoga
Jones translated the verse (12-1) as: O Thou who art free from sin, said the devout sages, thou hast declared the whole system of duties ordained for the four classes of men; explain to us now, from the first principles, the ultimate retribution for their deeds. Buhler translates it as: O sinless one, the whole sacred law (applicable) to the four castes, has been declared by thee; communicate to us (now), according to the truth, the ultimate retribution for their deeds. Burnell interpreted it as: This complete rule of right (action) for the four castes has been declared by thee, Sinless (one)! Proclaim to us in verity the future accomplishment of the fruit of actions.
Bhrgu, the chief editor of the Manava Dharmasastra had in the first eleven chapters outlined the rights and duties (dharma) of the members assigned to the four classes (varnas). The sages of the times of Manu Vaivasvata requested him to tell them the principle (tattva) of relief (nivrtti) from the effects (phala) of the actions (karma) (that men perform without regard to this scheme).Why does man deviate from the norms though he does not intend to violate the code of conduct?
Jones translated the next verse (2) as: Bhrgu whose heart was the pure essence of virtue, who proceeded from Manu himself thus addressed the great sages: hear the infallible rules for the fruits of deeds in this universe. Burnell translates it as: He, Manus son, Bhrgu, whose self is virtuous, said to the great seers: Listen to the judgment regarding the course of actions of this All. Buhler read it as: To the great sages (who addressed him thus) righteous Bhrgu, sprung from Manu, answered, Hear the decision concerning this whole connection with actions.
Bhrgu is referred to as Dharmatma (one who was dharma incarnate) and as an adherent of the school of Manu, as a Manava. He offered to tell the sages the verdict given by this code on Karmayoga. The theory of Karmayoga outlined by Krishna had an intrinsic relation with the scheme of Chaturvarna, the four classes. Krshna had called for performance of the duty (whether it is assigned or adopted voluntarily), without emotional attachment to the work and without personal interests and without expecting rewards. What had the Manava school of Bhrgu to say on Krshnas social philosophy (as set in the Bhagavad-Gita)?
Krshna had called for a perfect correlation between the vocation assigned to the individual and his innate trait (guna) while prescribing the rights and duties (dharma) of the classes (varnas) and assigning or admitting the individuals to their appropriate classes. He had not envisaged the principle of inheritance of vocations and social status. Krshna had presented his plan to the school of Brahma for adoption and implementation. The sages desired to examine it and expected Bhrgu to guide them. It needs to be stressed here that Manava Dharmasastra too had not accepted the claim that vocations should be inherited.
The discrete individuals, especially of the social periphery (bhutas), the manavas who claimed to be citizens of the world rather than be the subjects of a state, the naras who were free men not attached to any clan or community and the purushas who were dynamic social leaders had chosen their own vocations (svakarma) while only the commoners, the manushyas, did not dare to depart from the vocations that their respective clans and communities were associated with.
Jones reads the verse (3) as: Action, either mental, verbal, or corporeal, bears good or evil fruit, as itself is good or evil; and from the actions of men (nrs) their various transmigrations in the highest, the mean and the lowest degrees. The concept of transmigration is not referred to in the text. It is wrong to read it here. Burnell read this verse as: An act (whether its) origin (be) in the mind, the voice or the body, has (its) fruit, pure or impure; the courses of men (whether) high, low (or) medium (are) born of (their) acts. Buhler read it as: Action which springs from the mind, from speech and from the body produces good (subha) or evil (asubha) results (phalam); by action are caused the (various) conditions of men, the highest, the middling and the lowest.
Inequality in the statuses attained by the free men (naras) may be traced to their deeds, whether mental or oral or physical. There is no external force operating that causes a result that is not in tune with the nature and purpose of the deed.But what makes a free man, nara, think or say or do what he thinks or says or does? The commoners, manushyas, are totally bound by their clans and communities and their thoughts, speech and deeds are not different from those of the other members of these bodies and hence the statuses awaiting them too are not different from theirs.But in the case of the naras, bhutas, purushas and manavas, no two individuals think or say or do alike. Why is it so?
Jones translates the verse (4) as: Of that three-fold action, connected with bodily functions, disposed in three classes, and consisting of ten orders, be it known in this world, that the heart is the instigator. Buhler translates it as: Know that the mind is the instigator here below, even to that (action) which is connected with the body (and) which is of three kinds, has three locations and falls under ten heads. Burnell translates it as: Let one know the mind (to be) the instigator of this incorporate here (in the worlds) (which is) indeed exactly three fold, resting on three (things) and joined to ten signs. The term, dehi, refers to the soul that is the occupant of the human body, deha.
The three types (noble, average and low) of action have their origin in three locations (brain, mouth and hands and other organs of action) of this body that is imbued with the soul. The ten characteristics (lakshana) of these actions are set in motion (pravartaka) by the mind (manas), Bhrgu declares. These ten (bad) traits are then enumerated.
Burnell translates the verses (5,6,7) as: Invidiously regarding the property of others, thinking with the mind of forbidden things and wrong inclination (constitute) the threefold evil act of the mind. Abuse and untruth, as also malice, under any circumstances and talking about what does not concern one would be the fourfold (evil act) done by the voice (vak). Taking things which have not been given, as also injury not (done) in accordance with (legal) injunction and adultery with anothers wife, are called the threefold (evil) act of the body.
Jones translated them as: Devising means to appropriate the wealth of other men (paradravyam), resolving on any forbidden deed and conceiving notions of atheism or materialism are the three bad acts of mind. Scurrilous language, falsehood, indiscriminate backbiting and useless tattle are the four bad acts of the tongue. Taking effects not given, hurting sentient creatures without the sanction of the law and criminal intercourse with the wife of another are the three acts of the body. And all the ten have their opposites which are good in equal degree.
Coveting others property, thinking (chinta) of what is not to be concentrated on (anishta) and adherence (abhinivesha) to dissident groups (vitatha), abuse (parushya), doing what is not according to laws of nature (anrta), backbiting, irrelevant (asambaddha) conversation, taking what is not given, violence that is not sanctioned by constitution (vidhanam), physical intercourse with the wife of another are the ten prohibited traits and acts according to the Smrti. It needs to be noted that Bhrgu was referring to the presence of the ten objectionable traits in some officials of the government.Of course every one is to be free from these ten bad traits.
Buhler translates the verse (8) as: (A man) obtains (the result of) a good or evil mental (act) in his mind, (that of) a verbal (act) in his speech, (that of) a bodily (act) in his body. This remark is too simplistic to be given credence.Every action has a reaction but not in such terms as mentioned in this verse. It must have been a later interpolation effected by immature persons. Jones read it as: A rational creature has a reward or a punishment for mental acts, in his mind; for verbal acts, in his organs of speech; for corporeal acts in his bodily frame. Law could not have taken such an approach that smells of the policy of revenge, blood for blood, tooth for tooth, eye for eye.
Jones interprets the next verse (9) as: For sinful acts mostly corporeal, a man shall assume after death a vegetable or mineral form; for such acts mostly verbal, the form of a bird or a beast; for acts mostly mental, the lowest of human conditions. The free man (nara) assisting the nrpati is warned that for a flaw in physical deed he would be treated as equivalent to an inanimate object (sthavara). Implied is a threat that he would be liable to be lynched without consideration for his physical pain. If he abuses others, he would lose his status as a human being. And if he only thinks ill of others and seeks their wealth he might be reduced in social status and treated as one belonging to the lowest community (antyajati) and expelled from the village.
The judge could award corporal punishment (kayadanda) or pronounce (vakdanda) expulsion from the civilized human society or announce the intent (manodanda) to reduce him in social status and rank leading to the excommunication of the offender. (10) These are the three types of punishment (tridanda). But it is not necessary that one should be awarded any of these by the court or by a social authority. An intellectual (buddha) may undergo these of his own accord to expiate his sins. Such an intellectual is known as tridandi. Such intellectuals were present in the non-organized social periphery. Jha describes such a pious intellectual as a man of triple control. [Burnell notes that this stand seems to have a Buddhist appearance.]
Buhler translates the next verse (11) as: That man who keeps this threefold control (over himself) with respect to all created beings and wholly subdues desire and wrath, thereby assuredly gains complete success. Buhler understands by complete success final liberation. Jha translates this verse as: The man who keeps this triple control in regard to all creatures, and rightly subdues desire and anger, thereby attains success.
According to the text the follower of the manava school who has chosen his class by himself and consented to abide by the duties prescribed for it would in his relations with all individuals (sarva bhuta) of the unorganized social periphery be governed by the procedure laid down by the concept of tridanda. One, who subdues well kama and krodha, lust and wrath, will attain siddhi, fulfillment of all his noble objectives.
The manava school of thought does not differ from the stand of the intellectual (buddha) of the social periphery who inflicts punishment on himself for violation by any one, of the three types of restraints expected of every individual (under his guidance). The free intellectual (budha, buddha) does not call upon the state to punish the delinquent. He accepts the responsibility for not having guided others correctly and willingly inflicts punishment on himself.
Jones translates the verse (12) as: That substance which gives a power of motion to the body the wise call kshetrajna or jivatman, the vital spirit; and that body which thence derives active functions they name bhutatman, or composed of elements. Burnell translated it as: That which causes this self to act they declare (to be) the conscious (soul) (thing-knower) but that which does the acts is called by the wise the elemental self. Buhler reads it as: Him, who impels this (corporeal) Self to action, they call the Kshetrajna (the knower of the field); but him who does the acts, the wise name the Bhutatman (the Self consisting of the elements). Jha translated this verse as: He who is the impeller of this body, him they call the Kshetrajna, the Conscious Being; while he does the acts is called by the learned, the Bhutatma, the Material Entity. These interpretations do not carry conviction.
Bhrgu was asked to explain his stand vis-a-vis that of those who propounded the concept of Karmayoga. The latter had developed the concept of kshetra, the field of action and kshetrajna, expert who had a mastery over it and knew all its intricacies. One who causes an individual, atmana, who functions not as a member of any social body but on his own, to act (rather than he himself be acted upon) is called aKshetrajna. The Budha calls one who does the work as directed a Bhutatma; a non-intellectual individual who does what he is directed to do. The individual (atma) of the social periphery was not a member of any social group and was hence described as bhuta (a term which is closer to the concept subaltern). It is unsound to describe the latter as a composite of the (five basic) elements.
The intellectual who has a thorough knowledge of the field of administration sets the work in motion and the others who are discrete, unattached individuals (bhutas) execute it.The latter are under the influence of the intellectual, budha,who too like them belongs to the social periphery. [It is not sound to introduce the concept of human soul (jivatma) while explaining the concept of kshetrajna.] We have to fall back on Krshnas theorems in this respect and the Samkhya dialectics by which the force that impels a thing or a person to move in a particular direction is initiated by a thing or person outside it or him. The administrator who is an expert decides what should be done and the executive who is an ordinary individual carries it out.
Jones translates the verse (13) as: Another internal spirit, called mahat or the great soul, attends the birth of all creatures imbodied, and thence in all mortal forms is conveyed a perception either pleasing or painful. Burnell reads it as: (there is) another, the inner self, (that) has the name (of) vital (spirit), born at the same time with every incorporate (creature); through which is experienced all that is pleasant or unpleasant in the (various) births. He distinguishes between the conscious soul and this vital spirit (jiva).
Jha reads this verse as: An inner self, called, Jiva, is different, generated along with all embodied beings, through which one experiences pleasure and pain during the several births. He comments that this Jiva remains attached to the Self till the Final Liberation. Buhler reads it as: Another internal Self that is generated with all embodied (kshetrajnas) is called Jiva, through which (the Kshetrajna) becomes sensible of all pleasure and pain in (successive) births. The medieval commentators were not agreed on what to call this spirit.
In all bodies, in addition to the intellect that is known as Kshetrajna or Buddhi, there is an inner force (commonly called conscience or antaratma) that is understood as life (jiva) and which experiences pain and pleasure. The intellect does not feel these and hence an intellectual can be a stoic. This force or life is present in all that are born, from the time they are born. This verse must not have been a later interpolation.
Burnell translates the verse (14) as: Both these two, the Great one and likewise the Conscious (soul), united with the existent (elements), abide, penetrating That one (who) abides in (all) existent (things) both high and low. He treats it as a Samkhyan passage but notices Kullukas view that both mahat and kshetrajna, intellect and the conscious soul joined to the elements are dependent on the supreme soul (paramatma). Burnell calls this a Vedantic note. Buhler reads this verse as: These two, the Great One and the Kshetrajna, who are closely united with the elements, pervade him who resides in the multiform created beings. Buhler comments: The meaning is that the individual soul pervades the body and the Supreme Soul pervades the individual soul.
Jones read this passage as: Those two, the vital spirit and reasonable soul, are closely united with five elements, but connected with the supreme spirit or divine essence, which pervades all beings, high and low.Jharead it as: Both of these,theGreat Principle and the Conscious Being, united with the material substances, subsist in Him who resides in all things, pervading them all.These interpretations are off the mark and exhibit an eagerness to link Manusmrti with the schools of monism and dualism.
Bhrgu was dealing with the role of the intellectual who knew his field of administration well. This intellectual, kshetrajna, was engaged in influencing the groups of individuals (of the social periphery) (bhutasamprkta) to act as desired by the former on behalf of the higher authority, mahan. Both the kshetrajna and this mahan are present in all (groups of) individuals, high and low, and located there prevail over all.
Bhrgu treats this higher authority (mahan) too as one present in the midst of the ranks and file of the bureaucratic machinery set in motion by the kshetrajnaon behalf of the kshetri, the owner of the field. The discrete individuals are not only to be told what to do but also to be made to do the work assigned as members of an organized group. Here that higher authority steps in and supervises the work from within the field. This verse presents Bhrgus stand on an issue of socio-political importance raised by the adherents of Krshnas school of Karmayoga. Only by adopting a rigorously sociological approach we can arrive at its import.
Jones interprets the next verse (15) as: From the substance of that supreme spirit are diffused, like sparks from fire, innumerable vital spirits, which perpetually give motion to creatures exalted and base. Buhler reads it as: From his body innumerable forms go forth, which constantly impel the multiform creatures to action. Burnell reads it as: Innumerable forms descend from the body of That one, which are for ever setting in motion (all) existent (things) high and low. Jha reads this verse as: From His body emanate innumerable forms, which constantly energize all kinds of beings. From whose body (sarira) do numerous forms emanate? We would keep out mysticism and deal with Karmayoga and its application.
The centrally located person symbolizes the body politic of the larger society and directs innumerable representatives (murtis) to go forth and spread his message.[The idol, murti, stands for the invisible God who is visualized to have a body.] As these representatives go forth to spread the message (of equality), all individuals (bhutas), high and low, perform their roles (cheshta) in life including execution of the directives issued by the great central authority and the expert. In the picture visualized by Krshna, the mere presence of and overseeing by the centrally situated Isvara was enough to make every one do his duty. (We would be missing the import of this note if we translate the term, Isvara as god.) In Bhrgus view the central chief organizes and educates his field through his numerous representatives and does not personally supervise the activities of the individuals.
Burnell translates the verse (16) as: From just the (same) five elements there is produced after death for men (who) have done evil another body, durable, intended for torture. [The concept of resurrection of the body is not tenable.] Buhler reads it as: Another strong body, formed of particles (of the) five (elements and) destined to suffer the torments (in hell) is produced after death (in the case) of wicked men. Jones read it as: By the vital souls of those men, who have committed sins in the body reduced to ashes, another body, composed of nerves with five sensations, in order to be susceptible of torment, shall certainly be assumed after death. Jha read it as: In the case of misbehaved persons, there is produced out of five constituents, another strong body, for the suffering of torments, after death.
The free men (naras, nrs) who do wicked acts, after death (that is, after pronouncement of death sentence), are exiled to the social periphery and are treated as individuals (bhutas) belonging to the five socio-political sectors forming the constituents (prakrti) of the state.They are no longer officials functioning as directed by the administrator. It is the established doctrine (dhruvam) that after the soul leaves the body another comes into being. In other words the delinquent free man who is associated with the activities of a state body is relieved and gets shunted to another of its bodies. Similarly, the 'nrs, the free men of the core society whose activities are dysfunctional to it arise as bhutas, the uncultured individuals of the periphery. Nothing else is to be read in this verse. It is inane to say that after death men become ghosts.
Jones translates the next verse (17) as: And, being intimately united with those minute nervous particles, according to their distribution, they shall feel, in that new body, the pangs inflicted in each case by the sentence of Yama. Buhler reads it as: When (the evil-doers) by means of that body have suffered there the torments imposed by Yama, (its constituent parts) are united, each according to its class, with those very elements (from which they were taken). Burnell translates it as: After passing through with that body here those torments (inflicted) by Yama, (they) are absorbed among just those (same) existent elements, piece by piece. Jha translates it as: After they have suffered, through this body, the torments inflicted by Yama, those constituents become dissolved into each of those material elements.
The commonalty of the core society had been organized on the basis of four classes while the peripheral society had five classes. The exiled free men (naras) who originally belonged to one or the other of the four classes of the core society would not be absorbed in the corresponding class in the peripheral society of discrete individuals (bhutas) directly. On the other hand they would lose their identities first and then would be reclassified according to the principles governing classification in that peripheral society. We have to keep in mind the course of social dynamics.
The unclassified mass society, prakrti, had developed a dichotomous structure, nobles and commoners, devas andmanushyas. The commonalty then got organized as three configurations, cultural, political and economic, Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vis. As the Vis split into Vaisyas and Shudras, the four classes or varnas came into existence.
In the peripheral society there were many who could not be accommodated in any of these four classes. These were distinct from the fifth sector of the core society, the aristocracy, which was a privileged one rather than a deprived one. The free men, naras, who were not taken back in the core society as their activities violated the laws implemented by the State were shunted to the periphery which had five unorganized social sectors, four of which were brought under the scheme of classes, varnas. The fifth was kept deprived of the benefits of this classification. (Bhrgu was against granting recognition to this fifth sector as a socio-economic class, varna, whether it was aristocracy or subaltern.)
Burnell reads the verse (18) as: That one, after passing through sins ending in unhappiness (and) produced by contact with sensual (pleasure), goes, having had its stains removed, even unto both those two greatly powerful ones. Buhler reads it as: He, having suffered for his faults, which are produced by attachment to sensual objects, and which result in misery, approaches, free from stains, those two mighty ones. He notes the mahan and the kshetrajna to be two mighty ones (maha ojas). Jones interpreted it as: When the vital soul has gathered the fruit of sins, which arise from a love of sensual pleasure, but must produce misery, and when its taint has been removed, it approaches again those two most effulgent essences, the intellectual soul and the divine spirit.
Jha read it as: Having suffered the evils produced by attachment to sensual objects, and conducive to misery, he having his sins destroyed approaches the same two glorious ones. He identifies the Great Principle and the Conscious Being as the two Glorious Ones. The free man(nara) who is given to sensual pleasures suffers on that account and on realizing his errors and going through the prescribed penances he gets rid of the flaws (dosha).And freed from the spirit of vindictiveness (kalmasha), he becomes docile and approaches the two officials, the kshetrajna and the mahan, the expert administrator and the large-hearted higher authority for reinstatement.
Jones translates the verse (19) as: They two, closely enjoined, examine, without remission the virtues and vices of that sensitive soul, according to its union with which it acquires pleasure or pain in the present and future worlds. Buhler and Burnell too take a similar line. Jha reads this verse as: Those two together carefully look into his merit and demerit, invested with which both, he obtains happiness or unhappiness, here and after death.
The elaborate discussion on whether the Great Power requires the assistance of an instrument to assess merit and demerit and carry out his verdict with respect to the individual who crosses the bounds of his duties needs to be put in a rational mould. The assessment is made jointly by the two authorities, the mahan and the kshetrajna. They take into account both the good acts (dharma) that did not require expiation and the sins (papa) committed because of going along with the senses (indriyas). The two factors together determine ones place in this life and in the next. Neither of these two authorities is entitled to pardon any one for his violations or to reward with special benefits those who have abided by dharma. The assessment has to be objective and made after taking all factors together.
Buhler reads the verses (20, 21) as: If (the soul) chiefly practises virtue and vice to a small degree, it obtains bliss in heaven, clothed with those very elements. But if it chiefly cleaves to vice and to virtue in a small degree, it suffers deserted by the elements, the torments inflicted by Yama. The individuals (bhutas) of the social periphery welcome and protect the free man, nara, who has followed the practises laid down by dharma and only on a few occasions taken recourse to adharma. They make his life amongst them pleasant as in svarga (as among the elite).If his career had been given more to adharma than to dharma, these individuals of the periphery amongst whom he had been cast would abandon him. He would be required to go through the torments as pronounced by the magistrate, Yama.The social periphery is not to be construed as the haven of the vicious who are given to sensual pleasures.
Buhler translates the next verse (22) as: The individual soul, having endured those torments by Yama, again enters, free from taint, those very five elements, each in due proportion. The person who has been condemned to a life of meagre existence, jiva, after going through that ordeal for the prescribed period returns to the fivefold bhutas, the social periphery with five sectors of which the cadre of the nobles is one and the highest. When the commonalty, prthvi, was first classified into four varnas, it was proposed that the nobles (devas) should be free to retain their separate entity. This policy was accepted and encouraged by Krshna and his school of Samkhya and Yoga. But the core society opted to pressurize the nobles to merge in the three highervarnas. This picture is to be kept in mind here.
Jha read this verse as: That personality (jiva), having suffered those torments inflicted by Yama, and thereby freed from sin, again enters into those very material substances, each in due proportion. The sinners who have suffered the punishment awarded can return to the society and be taken back even in its aristocracy if the sinner originally belonged to that class.Aristocracy too like the other four classes of the commonalty was governed by this rule. None lost caste permanently.
Jones translates the next verse (23) as: Let each man, considering with his intellectual powers these migrations of the soul according to its virtue or vice, into a region of bliss or pain, continually fix his heart on virtue. Buhler translates it as: Let (man), having recognized even by means of his intellect (sva chetas) these transitions (gati) of the individual soul (jiva) (which depend) on merit (dharma) and demerit (adharma), always fix his heart (mind) on (the acquisition of) merit (dharma). Jha reads it as: Having recognized, in his own mind, the condition of the personality, due to virtue and vice, one should fix his heart upon virtue. Bhrgu was dealing with the stand of Pracetas Manu on the importance of Dharma. Bhrgu advises that the individual who is denied any comfort and status and is allowed to but subsist (jiva) can be absorbed in the social periphery to which he has been shelved, at his original social level depending on his consistent adherence to dharma.
This social periphery and the core society had together formed the core society of the Vedic times.The frontier society of forests and mountains was beyond its ambit. As the core society was classified into four varnas, the classification was sharp and well defined in the core society of the agrarian plains and vague in the periphery. Of course, the nobles (devas) ranked above these four classes to which the commoners (manushyas) were assigned. Even in the core society there were free men (naras) who did not acknowledge the codes of the clans (kulas) andcommunities (jatis) and even those of the varnas, classes.Those who refused to accept the codes of classes (varnas) and stages of life, (asramas) were expelled from the core society.They were later called Vratyas.
There were some who accepted the codes of varnas, classes, and asramas, stages of life, but not those of clans, kulas, and communities, jatis.They were known as manavas. In the periphery lived those who did not adhere to the codes of clans (kulas) and communities (jatis) or to those of the newly introduced classes (varnas) or to the stages of life (asramas) instituted very early during the Vedic era, as rigorously as the members of the core society did. They were known as bhutas, as men who still clung to the older ways and were not adherents of the new Dharma code. It has been reiterated, as a correct outline of the social polity of the early post-Vedic society needs it.