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Economics · A History of Economic Thought by V Lokanathan

Chapter 3 : ECONOMIC THOUGHT IN ANCIENT INDIA

Table of contents47 sections
  1. 1.ECONOMIC THOUGHT IN ANCIENT INDIA
  2. 2.Sources and Philosophy of Ancient Indian Economic Thought
  3. 3.Main Sources of Information
  4. 4.Divergent Views on Ancient Indian Philosophy
  5. 5.Key Terms
  6. 6.📌 Exam Tidbits
  7. 7.The Caste System and Socio-Economic Institutions
  8. 8.The Caste System
  9. 9.Other Socio-Economic Institutions
  10. 10.Key Terms
  11. 11.📌 Exam Tidbits
  12. 12.Kautilya's Arthashastra
  13. 13.1. Wealth
  14. 14.2. Varta vs. Arthasastra
  15. 15.3. Agriculture
  16. 16.4. Labour and Caste
  17. 17.5. Value and Trade
  18. 18.6. Public Finance
  19. 19.7. Welfare State
  20. 20.Key Terms
  21. 21.📌 Exam Tidbits
  22. 22.Economic Ideas of Thiruvalluvar
  23. 23.Agriculture and Rain
  24. 24.On Poverty and Begging
  25. 25.Wealth
  26. 26.Agriculture (The Fundamental Activity)
  27. 27.Ethics and Economics
  28. 28.Public Finance
  29. 29.Public Expenditure
  30. 30.External Assistance
  31. 31.Key Terms
  32. 32.📌 Exam Tidbits
  33. 33.Valluvar and Kautilya
  34. 34.Key Terms
  35. 35.📌 Exam Tidbits
  36. 36.Economic Thought in Medieval India
  37. 37.Key Terms
  38. 38.📌 Exam Tidbits
  39. 39.SANTI PARVA
  40. 40.Introduction
  41. 41.1. Rajdharmanusana Parva
  42. 42.2. Aapaddharma Parva
  43. 43.3. Mokshadharmaparva
  44. 44.Conclusion
  45. 45.Key Terms
  46. 46.📌 Exam Tidbits
  47. 47.Quick-Recall Box

Chapter preview

ECONOMIC THOUGHT IN ANCIENT INDIA

Sources and Philosophy of Ancient Indian Economic Thought

Main Sources of Information

  • The Vedas: Depict life and work in the early Vedic period.
  • The Upanishads.
  • The Epics (Ramayana and Mahabharata): Provide a sociological account of the contemporary period.
  • Kautilya's Arthasastra (4th century B.C.): Gives details of the political, social, economic, and military organisation of the Mauryan Empire.
  • Thiruvalluvar's Thirukkural: Throws light on economic thought in ancient South India.

Divergent Views on Ancient Indian Philosophy

The scheme of life practised in ancient India is an example of comprehensive and coordinated planning, though scholars debate its underlying philosophy:

ViewpointProponentsCore Argument
Negation of Life (Other-worldliness)Mostly Western writers (e.g., L. Cossa)Ancient Indians lacked a materialistic view, focusing mainly on the soul. Religion and philosophy dominated. Commerce and arts were despised compared to agriculture.
Affirmation of Life (Zest for life)Mostly Indian scholars (e.g., Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru), which seems to be nearer the truthAncient culture was not based on world-worthlessness. Vedic Aryans paid little attention to the soul; Vedas contain no idolatry or temples.
  • Nehru's Observation on Civilizations:
CivilizationCharacteristics / Superiority
Indus Valley CivilizationPre-Aryan, non-Aryan, and definitely superior to the Aryan civilization; in some respects even superior to contemporary Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Aryan Civilization / Mesopotamia and EgyptConsidered inferior in some respects to the Indus Valley Civilization.
  • Misconception Source: Buddhism and Jainism, in a way, are responsible for the popular but erroneous belief that renunciation and life-negation are the dominant features of the ancient Indian society.

Key Terms

ConceptDefinition
None(No specific technical terms explicitly defined in this introductory section).

📌 Exam Tidbits

  • L. Cossa (Western view): "The economic ideas of the ancient peoples of the East which may be gathered from their sacred books, have but a slight interest from the point of view of modern science. They can all be reduced to a few moral precepts. Commerce and arts were, as a rule, despised in comparison with agriculture."
  • Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (Indian view): "There is no idolatry in them, no temples for the Gods. The…
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Chapter 4 : MEDIEVAL ECONOMIC THOUGHT