Ancient Indian Political Thought and Institution

Ancient Indian political thought must be understood in the context of religious beliefs. In the earliest cosmology the political order was seen as analogous to the cosmos, its creation a repetition of the divine creation of the cosmic system. Vedic liturgy was essentially an effort to reproduce the cosmic order so as to ensure the effective functioning of society. By the later Vedic period the anthropomorphic gods of the heroic age had been eclipsed by more imposing and aloof deities, and the ri