Sabha, Samiti, Vidath and Paur Janapada

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1. DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS:
SABHA
SAMITI
VIDATHA
PAURA-JANAPADA
Dr. Virag Sontakke
Assistant Professor
Center for Advanced Studies
Department of A.I.H.C. & Archaeology,
Banaras Hindu University

2. Democratic Institutions
1.Sabha
2.Samiti
3.Vidatha
4.Paura-Janapada

3. Sabha
Samiti

4. INTRODUCTION
•Villageshaspopularassembliescalledsabhaandsamiti.
•SabhaandSamitienjoyedhighprestigeinVedicperiod.
•In,Rigvedicperiod,thepoliticalaffairscontrolthroughSabhaandSamiti.
•BrahmanaandSmrutisalsoreferredtheirauthorityovertheadministrationandthe
king
•KingtookparticularcaretobeingoodgraceofSabhaandSamiti
•LossofthefavorandsupportofSabhaandSamitiregardedasdirecalamitytoking.
•TheexactrelationsbetweentheSabhaandtheSamiticannotbededucedfromthe
availableevidence.
•TheVedicAssembliesconsistedoftwoHousesthetwindaughtersofLordPrajaprati.
•Thereisagreatdealofcontroversyamongscholarsabouttheprecisedutiesand
functionsofSabhaandSamiti.

5. SABHA
•TheSabhaismentionedeighttimesintheRigveda.
•AndseventeentimesintheAtharvaVeda.
•Sabhadenotesahallwherepeopleheldtheirmeeting(MeetingHall).
•ThegatheringofSabhawasorganizedprobablyforadministrative
purposes.
•Sabhareferredtoa"bodyofmenshiningtogether”.
•Itwasagatheringofelders,Brahmins.
•OnefunctionofSabhawasactasjudicialdepartment(nationaljudicial).
•TheSabhawascalled‘trouble’and‘vehemence’intheParaskaraGrihya.

6. Sabha
District CourtAssembly hall

7. SABHA: AS A ASSEMBLY
•RigvedaspeaksofSabhaasthedicingandthegambling
assembly.
•Itwasalsousedforpopularamusementssuchasdancingand
music.
•Sabhawasalsoassociatedwithwitchcraftandmagic.
•TheSabhadiscussedpastoralaffairs.
•Cattlebeingoneofthemainsourcesoflivelihoodofthepeople.

8. HISTORIOGRAPHY OF SABHA
•Rigveda:
•When Assembly (sabha) met, sacrifice was offered
•The fire used being called “sabhya”
•MaitrayaniSanhita:
a) Women's can attend the Sabha
b) Women can take part in political meetings
c) Sabha also called as Village court house (District Court)

9. SABHA AS A COURT HOUSE
•Sabhasadand sabhacharwere members of the court house
•Court house, village judge (Gramya-vadin) mention more
often in Yajurveda
•It indicate, sabhamet usually for Court house than political
meetings
•Yajurveda: Chief of the sabhacalled as “Sabhapati”
•TaitriySanhita: Guardian of the sabhaprobably called as
“Sabha-pal”

10. MEMBERS OF SABHA
1.sabha-vin(keeper of the gambling/assembly hall);
2.sabha-saha(eminent in the assembly);
3.sabha-pati(lord of the assembly);
4.sabheyaandsabha-yogya(worthy of the assembly);
5.sabha-chara,sabhasad, andsabhyas(member of the assembly);
6.sabha-vati(woman member of the assembly); and
7.sabha-pala(guardian of the assembly).

11. Dicing, Social discussions, Debates, Entertainment
Political Discussion
Court house
Assembly hall
Sabha

12. NATURE OF SABHA
•Sabha,wasnoteworthyconstitutionalorganisationintheVedicandlater
period.
•Prayerforco-operationintheSabhashowsthepoliticalimportanceof
Sabha.
•TheSabhaiscallednarishta-aresolutionthatcannotbebroken.
•AresolutionoftheSabhawasconsideredbindingonallandinviolable.
•FreediscussionwasheldintheSabha.

13. FUNCTIONS OF SABHA
1.Discussion on cattle
2.Gable hall
3.Social club
4.Simple village government
5.Matters of village disputes
6.Matters of communal safety
7.Association of king for social gathering than political

14. Samiti

15. SAMITI
•Samitifindsmentionin9placesintheRigvedaand13timesin
Athravveda.
•AllsixcomefromBookoneandten:laterthanSabha.
•ItisgenerallyrecognizedthatearlySamitiwasafolkassembly
•Inwhichthepeopleofthetribegatheredforenactingtribal
business.
•EarlyfunctionsoftheSamitiembracedseveralpolitical
activities.
•Philosophicalquestionstoowerediscussed.
•Itwasconcernedwithreligiousceremoniesandprayers.

16. POLITICAL NATURE OF SAMITI
•ItseemPoliticalfunctionsmoreprominentthanothers.
•Referencessuggestthatthekingwaselectedandre-electedby
theSamiti.
•ElectionoftheKingincaseofelectivemonarchieswascarried
onlybytheviswhoassembledintheSamiti,
•Alltheprayersandceremonies,charmsandcountercharms,
weredirectedtooneendalone-togetbetterofone’srivalsin
debate.

17. FUNCTIONS OF SAMITI
1.Election of the King,
2.Re-election of a king who had been banished
3.Discussion of the State matters .
•The king attended the Samiti.
•It was thought necessary that he should do so.
•The Rigveda has “a true king going to the Samiti”.

18. Religious Discussions
Samiti
Prayers and Ceremonies
Political Matter: Election of King

19. NATURE OF SAMITI
•VariousissueswerediscussedintheSamiti.
•TheSamitihaditsPatiorIshana(President).
•Heisreferredtoasthe“lord”(Isana)ofthisassembly(chief).
•Thespeakerwantedtoprovehimselftobecontradicted.
•Indiscussions,thespeakersweretomakespeechesagreeabletheassembledSamiti.
•ItsseemsitactasCentralAssembly
•TheSamitihadaverylonglife.
•ItscontinuousexistenceisattestedfromRigvedaandlaterbytheChandogya
Upanishad(800to700B.C.).
•ItdisappearsbeforethetimeoftheJatakas(600B.C.E)

20. SAMITI
•InVedictexts:
•Aftercompletingtheeducationtheyoungsterspresenting
himselfbeforethesamiti.
•SamitiactingasasortofAcademy.
•TheSpeakerwantedtoprovehimself“brilliant”inthesamiti.
•Samitisanotherfunctionswastodevelopasociety

21. SAMITI
•AccordingtoAltekar
1.Learnedgathering
2.KingpayvisittoSamiti
3.PoliticalAssemblyofcentralgovernment
4.Controlovermilitary
5.Controlovercentraladministration
6.Example.IfSamitiassumedanobstructiveattitude,thelifeoftheking
becomemiserable.
7.SamitiwhichimportantduringRigvedaandAtharvaveda,disappearin
laterSanhita'sandbrahmana.

22. Samiti
Political Discussions
Philosophical questions
Religious
ceremonies
Central Assembly

23. DISCUSSION ON SABHA & SAMITI
•DifferencebetweenSabhaandSamitiarenotveryclear.
•Zimmer:SabhawastheassemblyofthevillageswhileSamitidenotesthecentral
assemblyofthetribeattendedbytheking.
•R.C.MajumdaragreeswithZimmer’sviewpoint.
•Jayswal:SamitiwasnationalAssemblywhileSabhawasitsstandingbody
•Macdonnel:believesthatitisquiteevidentthatthekingwenttotheSabhajustas
muchastheSamiti.
•Hillebrandtseesnodistinctionbetweenthetwoandconsidersthemasoneandthe
same.
•LudwigbelievesthatSamitiwastheassemblyofthewholepeople(LowerHouse)
andtheSabhawasananalogueofthecouncilofelders,richmenandPriests
(UpperHouse).

24. OBSERVATIONS
•Differentscholarsputforthdifferentviewsregardingthetwoinstitutions.
•However,itisclearlyindicatethatthesebodieswereanassemblyofpeoplebeit
localorcentral.
•SabhaandSamitiwereimportantcentresofdiscussionanddeliberationofsocial,
politicalandeconomiclivesofthepeople.
•SabhaandSamitiplayedanimportantroleintheelectionofkingsinsomeplaces,
judicialrolesinothers.
•Discussionsoneconomicmattersanddailylivescanbeclearlyinferredfromthe
above.
•SabhaandSamitiseemstobeprovidingaplatformforthefreedomofspeech,
debate,toleranceetc.
•Itpresentspictureofancientdemocraticelements.

25. Vidath

26. VIDATHA
•Vidathawasanotheradministrativeelementsofancient
India
•Rigvedamentions97verses(morethansabhaandsamiti)
•Atharvveda:20hymns
•Vidathaderivedfromvid:toknow
•Vidathaalsomean“ordinance”
•Vidathawasareligiousassembly.
•Vidathaexistencecanbetracedearlierthansamiti

27. VIDATHA
•Vidathamayassociatedwithcivil,militaryandreligiousfunctions
•TheVidathawasanassemblyinwhichbothmenandwomen
participated.
•Altekar:itwasbigassembly,representingentiretribe
•Altekar:referenceofpeoplebeingarrangedingroupsinVidathaand
singinganddancing.
•WomenrolewasprominentinVidatha.
•Itfunctionedascentresforsettlingdisputes,redistribution,and
providedaplaceforperformingsacrifice.
•RarelykingrepresentedinVidatha.

28. VIDATHA
1.Altekar:Vidathaindicatedareligiousorsacrificialgathering
andritualsrequiredthehighestknowledge
2.AccordingtoRoth:Vidathaisabodywhichgivesorder
3.InsomeversestheVidathoccursinsenseofgatheringandno
politicalconnections.
4.Geldner:Vidathameansknowledge,wisdom
5.Zimmer:Vidathameanssmallerassemblythansamiti
6.Jayaswal:Religiousassembly

29. Religious Discussions
Vidath
Civil & Military issues
Religious Assembly

30. PaurJanapada

31. PAURJANAPADA
•K.P.Jayaswal:SabhaandsamitiofRigvedicperiodletterknownasPaura-
Janapadas.
•Paura-Janapadas:Referencesarefoundintexts.
•Paura-Janapadas:twobodiesoftownandvillages.
•Paura-Janapadas:constitutionalbodyconsistingrepresentativeofthecapitalandthe
country.
•Paur:CapitalAssembly
•Janapada:StateAssembly
•Paura-Janapadaswasveryprestigiousorganizations
•Referencesmentionedthatthestatewouldoftenrefusetograntsanyrelieftothe
personwhowasworkingagainstPaura-Janapadas.

32. REFERENCE OF PAURJANAPADS
•AccordingtoK.P.Jayaswal
•Evidenceofsuchbodies
1.Ramayana
2.KingKhravelaofchedidynasty,Odisha
3.LawofJanpadasbyManu

33. PAURA-JANAPADAS
•According to Dr. Altekar
1.There were no twin assemblies of Paura-Janapadasin ancient India
2.Expressions of Paura-Janapadasis generally used in plural (Paura-
Janapadas:
2.1. It Denotes generally citizens nottwin assemblies

34. PAURA-JANAPADAS
•Ramayana: mentions Paura-Janapadasin plural
•Ramayan; Altekar: Paura-Janapadasin Ramayana is denotes generally citizens of Paura-Janapadasnot
any constitutional or representative body.
•Paura-Janapadas: means ordinary citizens who accompanied (along with Bharata)
•HathigumphaInscriptions:
•Line 7: King conferred many favors (anugrahas) amounting to or numbering hundreds of thousands on
the Paura-Janapadas.
•Jaiswal: Anugrahashere is Constitutional Privilege conferred upon the
a)City-Cooprations
b)Realm-Corporations
•Altekar: not refer to any central assembly
•Altekar: Not Excepted .

35. CONCLUSION
•SabhaandSamitiarementionedtogether
fourtimesintheAtharvavedaandevery
timeSabhaappearsfirstandSamitinext.
•Thus,Samiti,itcanbeinferredgained
importanceonlytowardstheendofthe
Rigvedaperiod.
•ThisagainsuggestsSabhaisolderthan
Samiti.
•Vidathwasalsoasocio-politicaland
religioussetup.
•ExistenceofPaurjanapadasarenot
widelyexceptednow.
Sabha
Samiti
Vidath
Paur-Janapada
Oldest + political Assembly
Elected the King, Central Assembly
Military & Religious functions
Dr. Jaiswal views are not accepted
by Dr Altekar.