A Page From History : Ideal of Bharatiya Kingship

Today people are found saying the we must preserve, develop and put into practice our Bharatiya culture. But the question before us is: What ultimately, is Bharatiya culture and what is not? What is its nature and what its ideal? What the Bharatiya culture is, is described in treatises like the Vedas, Shastras and Puranas. But it is at such a great length that one life-time will be quite insufficient to study it. On the whole it amounts to practically half a crore slokas. Under these circumstances, lay down my ideas about the broad features of the Bharatiya culture.
This article limits itself to writing about the ideal King. Let us therefore try to understand the qualities of an ideal king by 'studying the description of the Almighty.
GOD: KING OF UNIVERSE
Not only the king but all lesser officers are also kings in their various places. The head-man in the village, the collector in the district, the governor in the province—all are in fact kings, big and small. And they should behave as the king of the Universe behaves:
¶ifj=kk.kk; lkèkwuka fouk'kk; p nq”Ñrke~A èkeZ laLFkkiukFkkZ;—-¸
(i) Protection of the good people, (ii) destruction of the bad and (iii) maintaining order in the world,—this is what the Almighty does. And it is beyond doubt that the King, the police, the officers; all should do the same in the nation. If, under the administration of a particular officer, the wicked become powerful and the good are suppressed, the officer will naturally be deemed unfit for his post.
ARMED GODS
All gods are armed: This indicates not only the capacity of self-defence but also the capacity to protect those others who are worth protection. It is the primary duty of administrations to remove the wicked. Therefore all Hindu deities bear arms and are ready for the protection of the good. Is not this quality significant for us? We must be ready with all modern weapons to protect ourselves, our families and our nation. Only when we are thus prepared will the enemies keep quiet, and not otherwise.
vfu#¼ks¿izfrjFk% iz|qEu% vferfoØe%A
This is the description of God Vishnu in the Vishnu Sahasra-Nama. The course of Vishnu is unhindered; he is an unequalled warrior; he is lustrous and of boundless prowess. Apply this description of Bhagwan Vishnu to our government officers. Are our administrators progressing without impediment? Are they unequalled heroes? Have they lustre? Have they boundless prowess?
xqáks xHkhjks xguks xqIrpØxnkèkj%A
His plans are subtle; he is unfathomable; his strength is deep; he is well-protected and hears the discus (chakra) and mace (gada). This describes five qualities of God, which should be present in the king or in any capable man. Plans of a capable man should be subtle, his thoughts deep and unfathomable, he should be on the alert and should bear arms to quell his foes. The king should be like this. And the administrators of a republic should also be like this.
bZ'ojks foØeh èkUoh esèkkoh foØe% Øe%A
The king should have administrative capacity; he should be a warrior, an expert archer (i.e. expert at handling the current weapons), intelligent, full of prowess and capable of marching on the enemy at proper times. Substitute the word 'king' in the place of 'God' and we can see how the qualities of the Almighty fit the king.
vjkSæ% dq.Myh pØh foØE;wftZr'kklu%A
The “king” should not be cruel, should have the power and arms to punish and control, should be valorous and an excellent administrator. These shlokas from Vishnu Sahasranatnu, contains a thousand names.
'kq¼ks vikifo¼% dfoeZuh”kh] ifjHkw% Lo;aHkw%A (;tqosZn 40-8)
The administrator should be pure, learned, restrained, victorious and powerful in his own right. When he himself is sinful, impure, ignorant and a defeatist the state of the State can well be imagined.
WHAT IS RAMA-RAJ?
This makes it clear that every word about the Almighty, every name of God, every description of the Supreme Being can be made to point out the qualities of an ideal man. That ideal man may be an ideal king, an ideal officer, even an ideal village-headman. This description shows how Ram Raj—the ideal Raj—and its officers should be.
Even the declaration and constitution of Ram Raj can be made by us with the help of such descriptions, even as Sri Rama himself. If we know God Almighty in His many-fold qualities we will not have to say; “We do not know what Rama Rajya means”.                                                   Pt. S.D. Satavalekar