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Rājadharma
Raja Bhartruhari (c. 450—510 C.E.) was the eldest son of Maharaja Kesava Varma and Maharani Susheela of Avanti kingdom

Raja Bhartruhari was one of the finest kings in Vedic India who eventually became one of the greatest Rishi.

The name of Raja Bhartruhari is widely known in India, as the name of the king who has renounced his throne, to become an ascetic. The dramatic story of his renunciation traditionally was one of the favorite themes of the ballads sung by the wondering minstrels and performed by the folk theaters all over India. His younger brother legendary king Vikramāditya ruled his kingdom after his renunciation

Bharata Khanda is a term used in Hindu texts, including the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the Puranic, to describe the Indian subcontinent.

During the 5th century, CE Maharaja Bhartruhari was the monarch of Bharata Khanda.

Raja Bhartruhari ruled Anga, Abhira, Andhra,  Antra, Accha,  Assaka,  Avanti, Anupa, Asmaka,  Ayodhya, Bangala, Banata, Bahlika, Barbera,  Chedi,   Chera, Chola, Cela, Chinas,  Dakshinyata,  Danda,  Dasarna,  Dasherika, Dwaraka, Dyorjala, Falava, Funata, Gandhara,  Garga, Gomanta, Gauda, Gujarat ,  Gopa Rastra, Hara Huna, Hena,  Heheya, Huna, Jala, Jalandhara, Kanchi,  Kalinga, Kashmira,  Kashi,  Kankone,  Karnata,  Karusha, Kalakuta,  Kamboja, Kauraj, Kekeya, Kikata, Kirata, Kerala, Khasa, Konkana, Kuninda, Kunti, Kosola,  Kochcha, Kuntala,   Kuru, Kausambi,   Ladha (Lata), Lichhavi,  Lanka, Madara, Madaraka,  Magadha, Maharastra, Mahishamati, Malaya,  Malavika, Malla, Madra, Mudra, Maicla, Melccha, Matsya, Mahisha,  Mudgala, Mushika,  Nasikya, Nepal, Neharas, Nishadas,  Odra, Pallava,  Panchala, Pandya, Parede, Parasika, Pourava, Padha Pulinda, Parsvikaka, Pragiyothiska, Pratyagartha, Prasthala, Pundara, Pulinda, Saka, Salva, Sainelham,  Severa, Sindu,   Sivi, Sumha, Suprakasha, Sauviraka,  Saurastra, Surasena, Sambhuttara, Tamraparni,  Telangana, Taksashila, Temkana, Tonkuna,  Trigata, Tulu, Tushara, Ursa, Utkala, Vriji,   Vatsa (or Vamsa), Vanga,  Vatadhana,  Vaccha,  Vidarbha, Vidheha, Yavana,   and Youdheya kingdoms re-organized them by terming as 'great realm' into 12 major administrative centers

1.      Kingdoms of Northern India-4

Kuru,   Panchala, Vatsa, and Matsya,

2.      Foreign Kingdoms of the North-7

Darada, Parada, Parasika, Tushara, Huna, Hara Huna, and   Rishika,

3.      Kingdoms of North Western India-11

Trigarta, Salwa, Madra, Sindhu, Sauvira, Sivi, Kekeya,

Gandhara, Youdheya,  Kasmira, and Kamboja

4.      Foreign Kingdoms to the North-West-7

Bahlika, Parama Kamboja, Uttara Madra, Uttara Kuru,

Yavana, Khasa, and Saka

5.      Kingdoms of North-Central India-5

Kosala, Kasi, Nishada, Dakshina Kosala, and Malla

6.      Kingdoms of Western India-4

Saraswata, Abhira, Sudra, and, Nishada

7.      Kingdoms of Western/Central India-12

Surasena, Dwaraka, Anarta, Saurashtra, Dasarna, Gurjara,

Karusha, Chedi, Kunti, Avanti, Malava, and,            Heheya

8.      Kingdoms of Central India-8

Vidarbha, Anupa, Surparaka, Nasikya, Konkana,     Asmaka, Danda, and, Kalinga

9.      Kingdoms of Eastern India-12

Magadha, Nishada, Videhas, Anga, Sonita, Kikata,

Vanga,  Pragjyotisha, Pundra, Suhma, Utkala,            and Odra

10.  Kingdoms of Southern India-15

Andhra, Kishkindha, Gomanta, Karnata, Pallava, Kanchi,

Tulu,    Mushika, Chera, Pandya, Chola, Mahishaka, Satyaputra, Ay, and, Konkana

11.  Foreign Kingdoms of the south-2

Sinhala; Lanka

12.  Kingdoms of the Himalayas-4

The table lands and valleys of the great Himalayan Mountain Ranges, which almost inaccessible to the people, settled in the Ganges, Sarasvati River, and Sindhu River valleys, inhabited by tribes who had very little interactions with the rest of the world.

Kirata, Himalaya, Parvata, and Nepa

Raja Bhartruhari followed the tradition of the Arthaśāstra, Manu, and Yājñavalkya, in defining Rājadharma (law of or for the king) and he set up his government and managed his kingdom. He assigned the duties to amātyas, officials, based on their personal attributes, including honesty, intelligence, and cleverness. He had appointed Superintendents with jurisdiction over one, ten, twenty, a hundred, and a thousand villages.

Raja Bhartruhari ensured Dharma. The judicial duty of the king was deciding any disputes that arose in his kingdom and any conflicts that arose between dharmasastra and practices at the time or between dharmasastra and any secular transactions. When Bhartruhari took the judgment seat, as Raja he abandoned all selfishness and be neutral to all things.

Raja Bhartruhari heard directly the cases such as thefts, and used dharma to come to a decision. He was also responsible for making sure that the witnesses were honest and truthful by way of testing them.

Raja Bhartruhari conducted these trials according to dharma. He did appoint judges to decide cases with the same integrity as the king. He largely portrayed Rajadharma as an administrator above all else. The main purpose for the king executing punishment, or danda, was to ensure that all of his subjects were carrying out their own particular dharmas. For this reason, Rajadharma often seen as the root of all dharma and was the highest goal. The whole purpose of Raja Bhartruhari was to make everything and everyone prosper

Raja Bhartruhari served two main functions as the Raja: secular and religious. The religious functions involved certain acts for propitiating gods, removing dangers, and guarding dharma, among other things. The secular functions involved helping prosperity (such as during times of famine), dealing out even-handed justice, and protecting people and their property.

Protection of his subjects was the first and foremost duty. This achieved by punishing internal aggression, such as thieves among his people, and meeting external aggression, such as attacks by foreign entities. Moreover, as Raja, Bhartruhari possessed executive, judicial, and legislative dharmas, which he was responsible for carrying out.

As long as the people worked the land and paid their taxes, they would be fine, but otherwise, Raja Bhartruhari as the king could exercise his power and confiscate the land. This understanding was part of a bilateral contract made between the king and the people. The people would work the land and give taxes to the king for protection. The contract implies that the people submitted to a sovereign authority that they created, they volunteered to pay the tax, the tax rate fixed by the people, the taxes paid to the king as a wage for his protection, and the king has to answer to the people. From this, that the king had the right to tax, it was the duty of the people to pay taxes. The taxes were called Bali and consisted of 1/6 the agricultural produce or cattle for a given person to protect the natural sources of water, and also to build and maintain irrigation devices such as canals.

Often rivers formed the boundaries of two neighboring kingdoms, as was the case between the northern and southern Panchala and between the western (Pandava's Kingdom) and eastern (Kaurava's Kingdom) Kuru. Sometimes, large forests, which were larger than the kingdoms themselves, formed their boundaries, as was the case of the Naimisha Forest between Panchala and Kosala kingdoms. Mountain ranges like Himalaya, Vindhya, and Sahya also formed their boundaries.

Some kingdoms possessed a main city that served as its capital. For example, the capital of Pandava's Kingdom was Indraprastha and the Kaurava's Kingdom was Hastinapura. Ahichatra was the capital of Northern Panchala whereas Kampilya was the capital of Southern Panchala. Kosala Kingdom had its capital as Ayodhya. Apart from the main city or capital, where the palace of the ruling king was situated, there were small towns and villages spread in a kingdom. Tax collected by the officers appointed by the king from these villages and towns. What the king offered in return to these villages and towns was protection from the attack of other kings and robber tribes, as well as from invading foreign nomadic tribes. The king also enforced code and order in his kingdom by punishing the guilty.

There was no border security for a kingdom and border disputes were very rare. One king might conduct a military campaign (often designated as Digvijaya meaning victory over all the directions) and defeat another king in a battle, lasting for a day. The defeated king would acknowledge the supremacy of the victorious king. The defeated king asked to give a tribute to the victorious king. Such tribute collected only once, not on a periodic basis. The defeated king, in most cases, would be free to rule his own kingdom, without maintaining any contact with the victorious king. There was no annexation of one kingdom by another. Often a military general conducted these campaigns on behalf of his king. A military campaign and tribute collection was often associated with a great sacrifice (like Rajasuya or Ashvamedha) conducted in the kingdom of the campaigning king. The defeated king also was invited to attend these sacrifice ceremonies, as a friend and ally.

Western parts of India dominated by tribes who had a slightly different culture that considered as non-Vedic by the mainstream Vedic culture prevailed in the Kuru and Panchala kingdoms. Similarly, there were some tribes in the eastern regions of India, considered to be in this category. Tribes with non-Vedic culture especially those of barbaric nature were collectively termed as Mlechha. China mentioned as a kingdom known as Cina, often grouped with Mlechcha kingdoms.

Read Raja Bhartruhari and know more about the versatile genius. He was a poet, a grammarian and a philosopher of high repute. The three Shatakas – Niti Shataka, Vairagya Shataka, and Shringara Shataka bear the testimony to Bhartrihari being a poet of high excellence. His other work Vakyapadiya proves him to be a grammarian as well as a philosopher….Sivkishen Ji, Author