Volume-XI, Issue-IV, July 2025 |
Saptanga-rajya Tattva: Administrative Elements of the Ancient Indian System of Government Mr. Dilip Sarkar, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Sripat Singh College, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India |
Received: 29.07.2025 | Accepted: 30.07.2025 | Published Online: 31.07.2025 | Page No: | ||||
DOI: 10.29032/ijhsss.vol.11.issue.04W.123 | |||||||
ABSTRACT | ||
The Saptanga-rajya Tattva has often been accepted in the field of administration in the ancient Indian royal texts. In Manusamhita (9.294), the seven natures or elements of Saptanga-rajya are- Swami, Amatya, Pura, Rashtra, Kosha, Danda and Suhrit. Regarding the significance of this sequence of Saptanga-rajya, in Manusamhita it is said that if ever any affliction or disaster occurs in the Rashtras, then the previous parts will be damaged more than the next. That is, the danger of punishment is more serious than the danger of a friend, the danger of a kosha is more serious than the danger of a friend; and in this tradition, the one whose loss will cause the greatest loss to the Saptangashtra is the king. The loss of the king is the total loss to the state. Since the king is the head of the state and the controller of the Saptangashtra. Therefore, the king has been given the first place among the Saptangashtras. Kautilya also accepts the king as the root of all the organs. However, in Kautilya's Arthashastra (6.1.), the seven natures of the state are mentioned as Swami, after Amatya (in place of Manukta Pur) Janapada (state), and (in place of state) Durga, then Kosha (cosh), Danda, Mitra (in Manusamhita - Suhrit). It is noteworthy that in the Arthashastra, Swamyadi is conceived as the nature (in the best way mutually beneficial) of the kingdom, i.e. the elements, whereas in the Manusamhita, the seven natures are described as the seven limbs, i.e. the parts (supports) of the kingdom. Keywords: Saptanga-rajya, Manusamhita, Kautilya's Arthashastra, Ancient Indian Administration, Seven Elements of State |