Tracing the Socio-economic Roots of the Buddhist Concept of Universal Monarch (Cakkavatti)

Abstract

Buddha as one of the leading religious teachers was well aware of the socio-economic and political situation of his time. Buddhist discourses have the records of the responses he made in such situations. Universal monarch (Cakkavatti) who is also called the virtuous king (dhammiko dhammaraja) reflects one such idea of the Buddha regarding the contemporary political aspect. This theory of the universal monarch appears in the Cakkavatti Sîhanadasutta of Dîganikaya. It focuses on the early Buddhist perspective of kingship and the relationship between the king and his subjects. The mythical king Dalhanemi has been idealized in the sutta as the dhamma king who rules his kingdom according to the Buddhist law. The question here is how this concept emerged and why it was included into the Buddhist scriptures. By looking into the development and changes of the socio-economic and political situation of that particular period, this paper makes an attempt to investigate the background causes behind the emergence of the concept and its inclusion into Buddhism.