What was the legal framework in Ancient India?
score:14
Uniformity:
Ancient India was essentially Hindu-ruled. And its foundation of judicial system was based on the concept of 'Dharma', or rules of right conduct, as outlined in the puranas and smritis(remembrance) which explains vedic scriptures. The King had no independent authority but derived his powers from `Dharma’, which he was expected to uphold. So, Dharma denotes 'rule of law'. Hindus followed the concept of 'Dharam' and therefore the legal framework in Ancient India was uniform.
Legal Texts:
The major texts or documents which formed the legal framework in Ancient India was Dharmasatra and later during and post Maurays, Arthasastra.
Dharmasatra has following smritis:
- The Manusmrti (200BC-200CE)
- The Yajnavalkya Smrti (200-500CE)
- The Naradasmrti (100BC-400CE)
- The Visnusmrti (700-1000CE)
- The Brhaspatismrti (200-400CE)
- The Katyayanasmrti (300-600CE)
Of these smrtis The Manusmriti was considered superior to the other Dharmasastras which dealt with the duties of a king, the mixed castes, the rules of occupation in relation to caste, occupations in times of distress, expiations of sins, and the rules governing specific forms of rebirth. Naradasmrti has been called the “juridical text par excellence” and represents the only Dharmasastra text which deals solely with juridical matters and ignoring those of righteous conduct (Dharma) and penance. Katyayanasmrti is specialized in vyavahara (legal procedure). Besides these texts, the edicts of kings was also important source of law.
Lawyers and Trained Magistrates:
Among the four varnas, only the brahmins were allowed to study texts. Manusmrti recommended the king to give the power of judicial administration to Brahmins in his absence. The juries in the court of the Brahmin judge were also Brahmins. Manusmrti also describes the court where three Brahmins versed in the Vedas and the learned judge appointed by the king as the court of four-faced Brahman. So, those brahmins who studied these texts formed the corps of trained lawyers and Magistrates.
According to Brihaspati Smiriti, there was a
hierarchy of Courts in Ancient India beginning with the family Courts and ending with the King. The lowest was the family arbitrator. The next higher Court was that of the judge; the next of the Chief Justice who was called Praadivivaka, or adhyaksha; and at the top was the King’s Court. The jurisdiction of each was determined by the importance of the dispute, the minor disputes being decided by the lowest Court and the most important by the king. The decision of each higher Court superseded that of the Court below.
(For more details see - 1.2.2. Judiciary in Ancient India in The Legal system in ancient India )
The text Vivadarnavasetu (the sea of litigations) have a section (ch. III, § II) explicitly called "Of appointing a vakeel (or attorney / lawyer)." Its contents are:
If the plantiff or defendant have any excuse for not attending the court, or for not pleading their own cause, or, on any other account, excuse themselves, they shall, at their own option, appoint a person as their vakeel; if the vakeel gains the suit, his principal also gains; if the vakeel is lost, his principal is lost also.
Other sources:
Upvote:0
From the 6th Century CE to the 11th century CE, the laws followed were in the form of edicts issued by Emperor Ashoka the 'great'.This was followed till the end of the Maurya Dynasty.
Upvote:6
Law in Ancient India was followed by the Kings based on the Artha Shastra compiled by The Legendary Kautilya.
At least it is believed commonly in India among the common folk that Artha Shastra was indeed the guidelines for a King to be an astute ruler.
This was definitely followed by the Mauryan Kings and was considered to be the last of such a treatise on the art of statecraft, war and foreign policy.
There are individual sections in the book for the following 1) Treasury, Sources of revenue, Accounts and Audit. 2) Civil service regulations 3) Departments of the government 4) Law and Justice
Regarding the documentation of these laws, the culture of passing down the art, literature in ancient India was primarily oral, so we do not find a single complete source of the same.
Even before the Mauryan empire came to existence, there were earlier versions by Brihaspati,Ushanas,Prachetasa Manu, Parasara, Ambhi, Vishalaksha and finally Bharadwaja.
It is believed that Kautilya version's influence lessened after the 12th -13th centuries due to the foreign invasions and foreign Kings.
So it can be said that, Artha Shastra did define a legal framework to be followed by Ancient Indian Kings.
In Artha shastra , the people who maintain law are Judges and Magistrates (King in special cases I believe) who are of the ranks of ministers. There will be panel of judges (for civil cases) and magistrates (for criminal cases and marriages).
For Example, if you have a dispute over land you go to the judges and file a suit. Then you will have to give statements to the clerks (also your defendant gives). Then the hearing will start. You have to provide sureties till the dispute is settled. Witnesses will be brought by yourself to support your case and Judges will decide on the dispute.
P.S : Have moved the comment to the answer as suggested.
More post
- 📝 When was the last coal mine in Germany established?
- 📝 Did Diderot say "Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"?
- 📝 Did anyone at the time blame the Great Plague on rats or fleas?
- 📝 In historical accounts, what relevance did the color yellow have as it relates to cultures and custums?
- 📝 How isolated were Yemenite Jews in the last millenium?
- 📝 What is the original variant of the "Charles V Dominating Fury" statue?
- 📝 U.S. biplane Identification
- 📝 What are the "ancient liberties" of the City of London?
- 📝 How old is the practice of a woman accompanying another woman to the ladies restroom?
- 📝 Were women banned from entering the castle of Trakai?
- 📝 Identifying the Soldier in this minature painting
- 📝 How can I date this carved wood sculpture?
- 📝 Were the lands of the Teutonic Knights part of the Holy Roman Empire?
- 📝 Did the Tlingits benefit from resisting the Russians more than other Alaskan tribes?
- 📝 With what weapons were the towers of the Bastille armed?
- 📝 Where, exactly, was the "Sudetenland?"
- 📝 Who did Mussolini meet after Hitler, on arrival to Germany after rescue?
- 📝 Did samurai wear hakama long enough to hide their feet?
- 📝 How was the Karwendel railway important to Germany's plans for WW1?
- 📝 How did Richard I sail through the strait of Gibraltar?
- 📝 Which founding fathers pushed for the right to bear arms?
- 📝 Were boycotts, divestment, and sanctions effective against apartheid?
- 📝 What was the estimated population of the Mississippi Valley before contact with Europeans?
- 📝 Has there ever been a practise of duelling with bows?
- 📝 How did the SAGE system send data to in flight assets for intercept tasks?
- 📝 Is there any evidence that Jesus' Mother lived in Ephesus?
- 📝 How was the Ancient Egyptian name 'God is Gracious' written?
- 📝 Who decided to confront the Japanese at Midway?
- 📝 During the time of the British Mandate, who opposed the term "Hashemite Kingdom of Palestine" and who if any were OK with it being called that?
- 📝 When did humans start numbering years?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What was the legal framework in Ancient India?
- 📝 What is the evidence to claim that political order in ancient Rome was sufficiently different under "kingdom", "republic" and "empire"?
- 📝 What was the legal status of an East German once he had reached West Germany?
- 📝 What was the life expectancy of an ancient Roman child and adult?
- 📝 What was the ancient Jewish pantheon?
- 📝 What was the legal process of raising a legion in late Republican Rome?
- 📝 What was the ancient Egyptian word for "soldier"?
- 📝 What was the ancient Greeks view on people of African descent?
- 📝 What evidence support the theory that the killing of unwanted children was practiced in ancient Athens?
- 📝 What was the order of precedence for ancient China nobility ranks?
- 📝 What was the size of the British East India fleet at the end of the War of 1812?
- 📝 What was the largest ancient theatre?
- 📝 What was the calendar used by ancient Palmyrenes?
- 📝 What was the average weather during the times of the Ancient Greeks?
- 📝 What was the role of the college of consuls in Ancient Rome?
- 📝 What was the equivalent of "Shoulder Arms, Fire!" for archers in Ancient Rome?
- 📝 What was the largest battle fought by ancient Rome?
- 📝 What was the role of the mountain ranges surrounding India in developing India's civilization?
- 📝 What was the Ancient Egyptian's word for eleventh or twelfth?
- 📝 What was the relationship between ancient Egyptians and Hebrews in documented hieroglyphs?
- 📝 Until what time was the Ancient Roman calendar era used?
- 📝 What was the main driver of conquest and wars in ancient times? Why were they so frequent?
- 📝 What was the main role of alcoholic drinks in ancient to medieval times?
- 📝 What was the role of Midnapore town in present day West Bengal of India in the armed struggle for freedom in Bengal province of British India?
- 📝 What was the meaning behind these lip make-ups in Ancient China?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 What was the historical context of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution?
- 📝 During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- 📝 What was the typical peasant's diet like in Europe during the High Middle Ages?
- 📝 Aside from the Pyramids, what is the tallest man-made structure still standing in Europe & the Near East from ancient times?