Dharma As A Concept Of Governance In India's Ancient Past

Abstract

The concept of dharma constituted a fundamental principle of governance in ancient India, shaping political authority, legal practice, and ethical responsibility. Contrary to modern interpretations that equate dharma narrowly with religion or moral duty, this paper examines dharma historically as a normative framework through which governance was legitimized, regulated, and critiqued. Drawing upon primary sources ranging from the Vedic corpus and Upaniṣads to the Mahabharata, Arthasastra, Aśokan inscriptions, and Buddhist and Jain texts, the study traces the evolution of dharma from a cosmic principle (ṛta) to an institutionalized concept of kingship (rajadharma) and law. Methodologically, the paper combines qualitative textual analysis with indicative quantitative evidence, such as textual frequency, administrative enumeration, and epigraphic distribution, to demonstrate the scale and depth of dharma’s integration into ancient Indian governance. The findings suggest that political authority in ancient India was not conceived as absolute but was constrained by adherence to dharma, which functioned as a standard external to royal will. The Arthasastra illustrates the practical institutionalization of governance through law and punishment, while Aśoka’s inscriptions reveal an unprecedented attempt to govern through moral persuasion and ethical publicity. Furthermore, Buddhist and Jain traditions expanded the governing discourse of dharma by emphasizing ethical conduct, social responsibility, and restraint of violence. By situating dharma within its historical contexts, this study argues that ancient Indian governance operated through a complex interaction of moral norms, legal reasoning, and political power, offering a distinctive model of ethical statecraft in the pre-modern world.