Elements of Political Science in Ancient India: Reflections on Mahabharata and Manusmriti

Mahabharata and Manusmriti both these texts are considered as the precious gems of Indian political tradition. They are really an encyclopedias of Indian intellectual tradition in which social, moral, ethical, economical and political conditions are described extensively. After studying these texts a lots of materials related with the political science comes out. Because of this they are considered as the core texts of Indian Politics. They deal with many elements of political sciences such as State and its constituents, Statecraft, government, Democracy, Republics, Judiciary etc and these elements have also relevance in present time. The purpose of the present paper is to carve out the elements of political science in ancient Indian texts like; Mahabharata and Manusmriti.