This paper presents the perspectives of the past and some present readings with regard to the genesis of the concept of Dharma—a comprehensive term for social and moral principles in the early Indian society. Taking a broad view from different genres of the early Indian literature, it is observed that the concept and practices of Dharma has taken a multi-linear path of evolution with several simultaneous trends branching into several directions. There were forces of differences, discontinuities and connections in the organic growth of these concepts and institutions between the first millennium BC and the fourth century AD. A historical review of the genesis of social codes in early India would reveal the conscious working of a disciplinary apparatus with full faith in its practicable ethical character. This is what may be termed as the sastric attempt at controlling and containing the social developments. On the other hand, there was a profound concept of absolute morality in the Upanishads, which were brought to the wider arena of public morality in the Buddhist philosophy. Dharma, a term with a wide connotation, enveloped a loose body of principles of absolute ethics in a manner that could easily lend themselves to coercive applications in the guise of sastric dictum. The early Indian social philosophy stands unique in balancing and creating a mixture of apportioned, graded social responsibilities and disciplinary mechanisms. Starting with the Vedic literature, which reveals the formation of certain terms and definitions bearing upon power and authority, the paper moves on to the post-Vedic theories revealing three distinct traditions of thought in: (a) The Buddhist Pali canonical texts, (b) Kautilya's Arthasastra, and (c) the Dharmasastras represented by the Manusmriti. In these texts, the absolute moral principles get shaped side by side with the distinct strands of individual, status-oriented social codes. Towards the end, the paper touches upon the dilemma encountered by later day intellectuals in the perception of `Dharma', which is revealed in the Mahabharata, a composition illustrating the flutterings of free spirit within the gilded cage of social constructs. The ordinary man's standpoint brings the issue into sharp focus in the Mrcchakatika.

When we talk about ethics and politics in the early Indian context, we are not assuming a western and modern framework for the discourse. The intention here is to look at the relativity of these concepts in connection with some early Indian ethos and definitions as found in the texts, which were judged by the Indologists to set the milestones of the early Indian social theories. Both the concepts are regarded in their widest sense in this paper: the first as Dharma—in the sense of a system of moral principles or rules of behavior; and the second as Rajaniti—in the sense of acquiring and exercising power and status within a social and territorial organization. When we speak of politics in the early Indian context, we are actually looking at the concepts and understanding of power relations and authority in the society. This involved the development of theories and practices oriented to expressing power and claiming the rights of aggression and appropriation in terms of territory and resources—both natural and human. It would be interesting to follow the tracks that these developments took, and especially, how the theories got shaped following the course of political developments and created patterns of norms for practice in diverse textual representations. Secondly, while speaking about ethics in the history of this period in India, one should abstain from the application of modern concepts like social equality, democracy and liberty.

The Changing Connotation of Dharma in the Early Indian Context: A Problem in Plurality and Dilemmas,concepts, absolute, developments, ethics, principles, literature, Buddhist, disciplinary, morality, philosophy, politics, practices, society, Dharma, comprehensive, connections, controlling, democracy, Dharmasastras, dictum, Arthasastra, discontinuities, diverse, equality, flutterings, framework