Articles on Ancient Indian Governance
Two aspects of Law and Politics in the Indian State
By U. N. Ghoshal · The Indian Historical Quarterly
The article examines the dual nature of law and politics in the Indian State between 600 and 300 B.C., contrasting the Dharmashastra tradition with Kautilya's Arthashastra. It argues that the Smritis conceptualized the king's prerogatives within a…
Kautilya on Royal Authority
By U. N. Ghoshal · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1953
In “Kautilya on Royal Authority,” Dr. U. N. Ghoshal replies to Prof. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri’s rejoinder concerning the origins of centralised government in ancient India. Sastri had suggested that Kautilya’s Arthāśāstra and the Maurya statecraft show…
Appointment of Ministers and High Officials in Ancient India
By Kunja Govinda Goswami · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1953
Surveying texts and inscriptions, this study explores how ministers and high officials were chosen in ancient Indian states. Prescriptive works like the Arthasastra recommend selecting counsellors on the basis of birth, learning, integrity and administrative…
On some points relating to the Maurya Administrative System
By Suniti Kumar Chatterji · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1930
Politics and Political History in the Mahabharata - II (General political condition of India)
By Narayan Chandra Banerji · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1925
The Mahabharata's political narrative depicts Northern India as fragmented into semi-independent states under a paramount power, with regional variations in governance. The central Madhyadesa, including the Kuru and Matsya regions, was the cultural and…
Politics and Political History in the Mahabharata
By Narayan Chandra Banerji · The Indian Historical Quarterly, 1925
This essay analyses the Mahabharata not merely as a religious epic but as a repository of political thought and historical memory. The author surveys passages that discuss kingship, statecraft and diplomacy, such as Bhishma’s discourse on duties of kings, the…