Monarchy, democracy

[Guest guest]

What's the sanskrit equiavalent for monarchy, democracy etc? And which system was better accordign to vedism? Thanks.

[Kulapavana]

Vedas recommend monarchy. the "democratic" system is un-vedic, but nowadays there are no qualified kings so the utilitarian principle kicks in: you judge by the results.

[Guest guest]

but why do they prefer monarchy over democracy, is it because they've realized that democracy is inherently flawed and that it can never be perfect? Can U tell me more about the type of monarchy they practised in ancient India, is it in accordance with varnashrama or was it just like other western and islamic societies, if so, it isn't worth it, right? Or at least point to some resources? My knowledge in this regard is nil, and I dont know where to look or who to ask, but i'd like to know.

[Kulapavana]

vedic monarchy was not an absolute dictatorship. the rules for the king were set by the Vedas and all people knew them. varnashrama was the social order enforced by the king. it was a dynastic monarchy, quite local in the territorial sense but kings would often accept and pay tribute to the bigger kings or emperors, whose domains in vedic times were huge (up to continental euro-asia size). you can read more about it in vedic source books like Mahabharata (look under Bhisma's instructions to kings spoken from his deathbed of arrows at Kurukshetra)