rajadharma

In the dharmashastra and itihasa literature, rajadharma is the part of dharma addressed to the ruler. It covers protection of the people (raksha), administration of justice (vyavahara), punishment of wrongdoers (danda), collection of tax in fair measure, and appointment of honest ministers and judges. The Shanti Parva of the Mahabharata, the Manusmriti (Book VII) and Kautilya's Arthashastra are the main sources.

The king was not above dharma: he was bound by it and could be judged by it, which students use to argue that ancient India knew a form of limited monarchy. Do not equate rajadharma with modern constitutionalism; it bound the king morally and religiously, without courts able to enforce it against him.

Example

Under rajadharma the king's first duty was to protect his subjects, and a king who failed to do so was said to share in their sins.

In Indian law

• Manusmriti, Book VII (duties of the king)
• Mahabharata, Shanti Parva (Rajadharma Parva)
• Kautilya, Arthashastra (on danda and administration)

See also

dharma · danda · dandaniti · dharmashastra

Read more in the study notes

• Evolution of Human Rights (Law of Intellectual Property Rights, Human Rights and Environment)
• Dharma and Indian legal thought, ancient and modern (Legal Theory)
• Obligations of the State and of citizens: monarchy, individualism, socialism and the welfare State (Political Science - State and Political Obligations)
• Ancient Indian political thought and the Saptanga theory (Political Science - Theory and Thoughts)