RĀJADHARMA, DAṆḌANĪTI, AND THE PREVENTION OF MATSYANYĀYA: POLITICAL ORDER IN CLASSICAL INDIAN THOUGHT

Abstract

Classical Indian political thought reflects deeply on the conditions required for social order. Rather than treating sovereignty as self-legitimating, the Sanskrit tradition understands political authority as a disciplined response to disorder. This chapter examines the interrelation of Rājadharma (the ethical duty of the ruler) and Daṇḍanīti (the science of governance and regulated coercion) as articulated in the Śānti Parva of the Mahābhārata and Kauṭilya’sArthaśāstra. It argues that the prevention of Matsyanyāya—the “law of the fish,” wherein the strong devour the weak—forms the foundational rationale of kingship. Through textual analysis and engagement with established scholarship, the study demonstrates how epic moral discourse and śāstric administrative reasoning converge into a coherent political architecture. This framework integrates ethical restraint (Vinaya), rational inquiry (Anvikṣikī), structural balance (Saptāṅga), calibrated enforcement (Daṇḍa), and the overarching aim of Yogakṣema—the secure acquisition and preservation of welfare. Political order, in this conception, is sustained vigilance against asymmetry. Situated within the broader Indian Knowledge System (IKS), this chapter reconstructs a classical theory of political stability grounded in discipline, proportion, and institutional responsibility.