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Q6. Explain how assemblies like sabha and samiti limited the power of the raja. Which modern institutions perform similar functions today?
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Suggested answer / synthesis:
this question requires interpretation or application. The answer below is built from the chapter evidence.
- The sabha performed an important judicial function , while the samiti dealt with policy decisions and political affairs and represented a broader population.
- This meant important public functions were exercised through assemblies as well as through the raja, so political authority was not concentrated in one person alone .
- A broad modern parallel can be drawn with courts and representative legislatures , which also carry out public functions and check concentration of authority. The ancient Vedic assemblies were, however, different in form from modern democratic institutions .
- The samiti , a larger assembly representing the broader population , meant that policy was shaped by more than one man's will , similar in spirit to a modern parliament or legislature.
- The vidhata , open to ordinary members of the janas , gave the wider community a voice on war and politics , comparable to how elections and public opinion give citizens a voice today.
- So even a war-leader raja operated alongside , not entirely above, these bodies, suggesting the idea of people's participation in governance has very old roots in India.
Revision: Question 6
Sabha
Smaller body of elites; mainly judicial
Samiti
Larger assembly; policy and political affairs
Vidhata
Popular gathering on warfare and politics
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Assemblies checked the raja then, as courts, legislatures and the Gram Sabha do now
