Assemblies and Councils during Rig Vedic Times
The system of conducting public administration by means of an assembly of the
people prevailed in India in the early Vedic times. Throughout the Rig Veda,
from the earliest mandala to the latest, we find frequent references to
words meaning assembly or council. All the political units of the early Vedic
age ascended from kula, grama, vis, and jana to rashtra
functions through the popular assemblies and all important decisions regarding
the administration were also taken by them.
The Sabha and Samiti assemblies, in particular, were a crucial
part of the government and are mentioned in several passages of Rig Veda,
showing the considerable power they held. They must have served as necessary
checks and balances on the king’s authority. Atharva Veda of the later Vedic
period exhibits a unique hymn that testifies that the king considered the advice
of the Sabha and Samiti.
स॒भा च॑ मा॒ समि॑तिश्चावतां प्र॒जाप॑तेर्दुहि॒तरौ॑ संविदा॒ने।
येना॑ सं॒गच्छा॒ उप॑ मा॒ स शि॑क्षा॒च्चारु॑ वदानि पितरः॒ संग॑तेषु
वि॒द्म ते॑ सभे॒ नाम॑ न॒रिष्टा॒ नाम॒ वा अ॑सि।
ये ते॒ के च॑ सभा॒सद॑स्ते मे सन्तु॒ सवा॑चसः
ए॒षाम॒हं स॒मासी॑नानां॒ वर्चो॑ वि॒ज्ञान॒मा द॑दे।
अ॒स्याः सर्व॑स्याः सं॒सदो॒ मामि॑न्द्र भ॒गिनं॑ कृणु
यद्वो मनः परागतं यद्बद्धमिह वेह वा।
तद्व आ वर्तयामसि मयि वो रमतां मनः [9]
Let the Samiti and the Sabha, Senate and the Assembly, cooperative creations of
Prajapati, organismically related to the ruler of the people, protect, support
and promote me. Whoever I meet should enlighten and support me, and I too would
speak, O City fathers, properly to all those who assemble and meet in the
Assembly Hall.
O Sabha, we know you well in reality, you are the adorable favourite of the
people. Therefore, whoever be your members, they should speak supportingly in
unison.
Of all these members sitting in the Assembly I recognize and accept the knowledge
and intention, and I do them honour for that. O Ruler, Indra, lord of the
people, make me the partner, honoured of this Assembly.
O members of the Assembly, if your mind and affiliation is disturbed, divided,
gone away elsewhere to other loyalties, committed here or there, that we call
back home to this Assembly and to this ruler. Pray, let your mind be committed
to me, to the Assembly and nowhere else.[10]
Sabha – The term sabha frequently appears in the Rig
Veda and refers to both "the persons in conclave" and the "hall" where they met
and appears to be older than the Samiti. It was a gathering of the elect, i.e.,
Brahmanas and the wealthy patrons implying that admission was not open
for all. Women were allowed to participate in the sabha in the early Vedic
period as it was an organization of aristocrats and not so much political.
Nevertheless, this assembly also addressed and resolved political and
administrative matters and general public issues. Most importantly, free
discussions used to be held in the sabha, and a resolution of the sabha was
considered binding on all and inviolable. The importance of sabha lies
in the fact that rajan considered the advice of this assembly very
seriously. Some terms refer to some of the officers of the sabha
namely, sabhapati and sabhapala (guardian of sabha),
sabhasad (members of Sabha), and sabhacara (judges of
the sabha). These also indicate that sabha was not just a
meeting place but an important institution responsible for governance,
especially in the later period.[11]
Samiti - The most significant institution of the Rig Vedic
period was the Samiti also known as Samgati and Samgram. It
was the national assembly of the whole people or visah; for we find
that 'the whole people' or samiti in the alternative, including the
entire jana (people), electing and re-electing the king
(Rajan). Most probably, the samiti dealt with policy decisions
and political matters and was considered necessary in advising the king and
appeared to be the sovereign body from the constitutional point of view. The
head of the samiti was known as Ishan. The Atharvaveda and the Rigveda
have prayers for common samiti, which is related to the state's
standard policy, which can be elaborated further as 'a common aim and a common
mind'. The king used to attend samiti regularly because it was thought necessary
that he should do so. One of the hymns of Rigveda mentions that a true king goes
to the Samiti (राजा न सत्य:समितोरिआन:). The implication is that the
king was required to attend the samiti and would be declared "untrue" if he did
not.[12]
Vidatha – 'Vidatha' meaning order, is another important assembly
of the Rig Vedic period and seems to be the earliest institution of the age. The
vidatha has been interpreted as a tribal gathering with various
purposes and decides on important matters related to religion and warfare. It
appears to relate to a local congregation of people gathering to perform
socio-religious rituals and ceremonies for the well-being of the people.
Vidatha was an assembly for the general public, and women, too, were
admissible into it. It appears that its importance decreased in the later
period.[13]
Administrative Functions
The assemblies deliberated upon state business, executive, judicial, and
military. Through different assemblies, the head of all the state units was
assigned certain administrative duties to perform, in which they got the
assistance of many officials. The smallest unit of the Vedic state,
grama which is made up of several branches of one family that played a
role in the administrative organization, is perhaps indicated by the description
of a Kulapd (guardian of the family). Kulapad formed the
entourage of a vrajpati (officer in charge of pastoral lands) and
fought under his banner. The head of the village, known as gramani,
exercised civil and military functions. At times of peace, the Senani
likely performed civic duties at a higher level than the gramani,
despite the Senani's clear military authority during war.
Senanai, along with purohit, were the most important
functionaries of the king (rajan). The purohita was one of the
legal advisors who assisted the king in his duties as judge and administrator of
justice. We also hear of dutas (envoys) and spasa (spies). The
king employed Spasa in later days to secure information about the
kingdom and the people, while Dutas were undoubtedly the principal
means of communication between the different states.[14]
The expenses of the administration seem to have been met by some sort of
contribution from the people. Yet, we cannot discover any mention of tax
collectors in the Rigveda. Bali was the reward given to the monarch for
his services (voluntary gift or tribute). The king received bali not
only from his people but also from those he had previously defeated.
Ideas of Liberal State
Harmony among assembly members and between the king and the assembly was also
emphasized. The last hymn of the Rigveda invokes such unity in solemn and
beautiful language[15] and reflects the modern principles that
support democracy – freedom, equality, and brotherhood.
सं ग॑च्छध्वं॒ सं व॑दध्वं॒ सं वो॒ मनां॑सि जानताम् ।
दे॒वा भा॒गं यथा॒ पूर्वे॑ संजाना॒ना उ॒पास॑ते ॥
सं गच्छध्वं सं वदध्वं सं वो मनांसि जानताम् ।
देवा भागं यथा पूर्वे संजानाना उपासते ॥
स॒मा॒नो मन्त्र॒: समि॑तिः समा॒नी स॑मा॒नं मन॑: स॒ह चि॒त्तमे॑षाम् ।
स॒मा॒नं मन्त्र॑म॒भि म॑न्त्रये वः समा॒नेन॑ वो ह॒विषा॑ जुहोमि ॥
समानो मन्त्रः समितिः समानी समानं मनः सह चित्तमेषाम् ।
समानं मन्त्रमभि मन्त्रये वः समानेन वो हविषा जुहोमि ॥
स॒मा॒नी व॒ आकू॑तिः समा॒ना हृद॑यानि वः ।
स॒मा॒नम॑स्तु वो॒ मनो॒ यथा॑ व॒: सुस॒हास॑ति ॥
समानी व आकूतिः समाना हृदयानि वः ।
समानमस्तु वो मनो यथा वः सुसहासति [16]
“Assemble, speak together: let your minds be all of one accord,
As ancient gods unanimous sit down to their appointed share.
The place is common, common the assembly, common the mind, so be your thoughts
united.
A common purpose do I lay before you, and worship with your general
oblation.
One and the same be your resolve, and be your minds of one accord.
United be the thoughts of all that all may happily agree.[17]
In many ancient countries, the State, in the earlier stages of its development,
was theocratic; but in India, although the political organization was not
divorced from religion, the State itself never became a theocracy in the proper
sense of the term, which becomes evident when we consider a few broad facts.
First, the ruler was never regarded as the head of religion. Secondly, the
primary object of the State was not spiritual salvation but social well-being.
Thirdly, law, mingled as it was with religion and morality, was the chief source
of the authority of the State. And lastly, the political status of individuals
was independent of their religious beliefs and convictions[18]. The
foundation of such a liberal State was laid in the Rig Vedic period.
Women Administrator in Rigveda
Rigveda mentions many female administrators who were well-known for their
bravery as well.[19] One such warrior was Viśpálā who lost her one
leg in the battle while fighting for the stolen cows of her tribe. What is
remarkable about the story of Viśpálā in Rigveda is that we find the reference
of the first prosthesis in recorded history, an iron leg. The twin gods Ashwin
Kumars known for healing the sick fitted a “leg of iron” on Viśpálā so that she
could run and fight in battles.[20] Some scholars think that Viśpálā
was rather the name of horse but according to Achaya Sayana, a Sanskrit scholar
from the Vijayanagara Empire of South India who wrote many commentaries on the
Veda, Viśpálā was a female warrior of the early Vedic period. Later she was also
appointed ratnin (administrative officer) on the ground of her wit and
valour.[21]
