The Battle Of The Kings
The battle of ten kings(Dasha Rajan) is told in the collection of the Rigveda that bare, the names of Vishwamitra and Vashista. The story of the campaign and the decesive battle can be re-constructed out of the detached passages, and complete hymn, which refer to the subject.
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| Battle of Ten Kings |
The main cause of the war was that, Vishwamitra, who was priest of the Sudas for sometime, left his court because the king gave preference to Vashsita, with whom Vishwamitra had enemity. In order to avenge himself, Vishwamitra organised a confideracy against the Sudas. Another cause of the war was that, the extensive conquests of Sudas, his goodluck and successes against the rivals, created jealousy and discontentment in the minds of those, who were vanquished. When they found Vishwamitra pitted against him, they threw in their lot with him to have their own revenge.
The Rigvedic samhita gives an Idea of the political system of the people. The political evolution of Rigvedic India could be traced in the following ascending order: Griha or kula, or family, Gram or village, Vis or clan, Jana or the people and Rashtra or the country.
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| Maharishi Vishwamitra |
The family was the unit of social organisation. It was under a head called 'kulapa'. Many families combined together to form a Grama or village, which was under a Gramani. Above the gram was the vis. Above the Vis was the Jana. The king was referred to as protector of the Jana or people. The term Rashtra was used for whole country.
Kinship
Monarchy was the system of government prevailing in the early vedic age. The term 'Rajan' or king is frequently used in the Rigveda. We have reference to the 'Gana', with the 'Ganapati' as it's head. Vedic kinship was the natural outcome of the conditions surrounding the Aryans. The Rigveda refers to the sad condition of people not choosing a king to lead them against the enemy.
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A king was the leader of the people in a war of aggression and also of defence. He is called the 'protector of the people'(Gopajanasya). The king was no longer merely a leader of a primitive tribe, but occupied a position of prominence(importance) among the people.
'Hereditary Kinship' was the normal system. But, when situation demanded, the people could select a worthy monarch of their choice from among members of royal family or the nobility.
The king probably appointed a large number of priests to perform Sacrifices and other sacred rites. There are references to spies, who were engaged by the king to get information about the people. There is reference of 'dutas' of messengers, who were means of communication between the different states.
The king performed the duties of judge, probably as a court of final appeal in civil cases. In criminal cases, he exercised wider jurisdiction. He wielded the rod of punishment(danda) as the chief executive of the people. The marks of royalty were the pomp of dress, the possession of a place. There is mention of places with 1000 pillars and 1000 portals.
Ministers
The king had ministers and the foremost among them was the 'Purohit'. His office was called 'purohiti' or 'purodha'. He was the soul associate of the king as his preceptor, guide, philosopher and friend. Examples of purohitas in Rigveda are, Vishwamitra and vashishta. The chief function of the Purohit was that of the domestic priest of the king.
He also assumed leadership in political matters. he accompanied the king to the battlefield and strengthened him by his prayers for his safety and victory. The king also had the 'senani'(leader of the army) and the 'Gramani' (leader of the village) for both, civil and military purposes.
The king's autocracy was limited by the popular bodies called 'sabha' and 'samiti', through which the will of the people was expressed on important matters affecting their welfare including the election of king himself.
Sabha
The term 'Sabha' is used in Rigveda in the sense of an assembly as well as the hall or meeting place for social meetings and discussions of public matters. A person eminent in the assembly is called-'sabha-saha',worthy of assembly a 'sabheya'. Sabha was attended by persons of noble birth-' Sujata' and of wealth worthy of the sabha.
The terms probably indicate that, the Rigvedic sabha was a council of elders or nobles. The Sabha was as important as the 'samiti'. Sabha was standing and stationery body of selected men working under a authority of the Samiti. The rise of the Sabha is to be dated in the latest period of the Rigveda.
Samiti
The Samiti is also mentioned in many passages in Rigveda. There is reference to the king being a familiar figure in the Samiti and to his duty of attending it. The relation between the king and the Samiti was important for the prosperity of the kingdom. Samiti was the national assembly of the whole people. All the people of the kingdom had to be present in the assembly.
The important business of Samiti was to elect the Rajan. It could also re-elect a king who was banished. it was a sovereign body from constitutional point of view. The Samiti had a very long life. It appears that, a Samiti was an August assembly of a larger group of people for the discharge of tribal business and was precided over by the king.
The Sabha was less popular and political in character than the Samiti. Although, the functions and powers of Sabha and Samiti cannot be exactly defined , numerous passages referring to them clearly indicate that, both of the assemblies exercised considerable authority and must have kept a check on the power of the king.
Justice
The village judge is called 'Gramnyovadin'.
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