[Advaita-l] In Our Advait Vedant Tradition what Rigved 6.61.3 instructs.

[jaldhar at braincells.com]

On Sat, 4 May 2024, ravi chandrasekhara wrote:

> Are the punishments for Deva ninda just artha vaada ?
> Rather than state sponsored punishments. But punishment meted out in para
> loka
> 
> eg, in Islamic nations, blasphemy is a punishable by offense by law.
>

Not arthavada but the state has always been very decentralized in Bharata.
The primary social unit is the jati and for most offenses would have been 
dealt with by the elders with fines, fasts or in the worst cases 
outcasting of the offender.  It is only if they were unable to adjudicate 
would formal law enforcemnt get involved.

My great-great-grandfather was the kings representative (rajadhyaksha) of 
the local raja in our ancestral village.  Jadeja Rajputs are the dominant 
caste there and their panchayata chose the sarpanch (mayor) and ran 
things.  The rajadhyakshas only real duties were to organize and preside 
over certain observances in lieu of the king and assess and collect taxes. 
Only If there was an inter-caste dispute that couldn't be resolved locally 
or a particularly heinous crime such as murder he would have to intervene 
and take the parties to town to be judged by the royal court.  Also 
certain Rajputs known as Darbaris had the right to attend court and make 
their own pleas bypassing him altogether.  The royal courts if they had 
distinguished scholars (which in Gujarat quite frankly most did not) 
probably did consult dharmashastras ad hoc for guidance on punishments but 
not on a rigid legalistic basis.  There wasn't a formal equivalent to 
sharia but that doesn't mean the concept of "blasphemy" didn't exist and 
wasn't punished.

-- 
Jaldhar H. Vyas <jaldhar at braincells.com>