Democracy in Ancient Culture
- adhvaiths78
- May 14
- 2 min read
Updated: May 15
This is an excerpt from Deivathin Kural(Voice of God).
Generally when we think of governance in olden days, we feel kings established their dominance and that common people didn't have any role to play in the decision making. We feel democracy was introduced to us only by the western countries. But, the Vedas have already discussed the role of common people in decision making.
There are mentions of Sabhas, Samitis and Vidhatha in which intellectual people from many communities come together and participate in discussions and come to a decision. The king takes a decision based on their recommendation. Even British historians have agreed that these discussions involved people from not one or two communities but from many different communities.
The Yajur Veda says 'Pranams to all the Sabhas and the presiding Sabhapathis'.
5 temples of Lord Shiva represent a Sabha. The shrine of Lord Nataraja in Chidambaram is called 'Kanaka Sabha', 'Rajatha Sabha' in Madurai, 'Rathna Sabha' in Thiruvalangadu, 'Thamra Sabha' in Tirunelveli and 'Chithra Sabha' in Thirukutralam. The Nataraja temple at Chidambaram is also referred as 'Sabhapathi' temple. In each of these Sabhas, Lord Shiva presides as the Sabha Pathi and performs the cosmic dance. In order to show us that the Sabhas and Sabhapathis are Lord Shiva himself, the Yajur Veda offers pranams. Thus, "Will of the People is the Will of God" is not a new concept but has deep roots in our ancient Vedic Culture.
We learn from the Vedas that the members of this assembly should have three qualities: good knowledge, high moral conduct and power of speech to present the points well. There are Mantras in which sages pray to the Lord to give them power of speech to speak in this assembly. There are also Mantras which mention that people can't be kings by birth but they need to be qualified enough to become the Sabhapathi.
The last verse(Suktam) of the Rig Veda, says how the members of the Sabhas should stay united in their goal of ensuring welfare of the society. It says 'Gather Together. Talk and discuss openly. Let the members of the Sabha unite with the goal of ensuring welfare of the world. Find a way for everyone to lead a happy life'. Scholars have praised the Suktam and few even feel that this could be the motto of the United Nations(UN). If we look at the Vedic mantras regarding the coronation of a king, it is evident that every section of the people accept one as their king and proclaim him. From this, it can be said that monarchy and republic go hand in hand in a way.
An ancient inscription about a local body election(Gram Sabha) that took place in the Chola Kingdom during the rule of King Paranthaka Chozhan in 920 AD is found in Perur(Uthiramerur) near Kanchipuram.
Link Attached below contains a translated version of the inscription:
