Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 11 Economics Notes Chapter 11 Ancient Indian Economic Concepts
→ Western scholars have had such a view that no systematic economic contemplation has taken place in India, while in fact, it is not so.
→ Economic thoughts have been given an important place in all ancient texts of India.
→ The four Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, and Smritis, Brahminical tomes, epics, Nitis- all of these contain economic thoughts.
→ Kautilya’s ‘Arthshastra’ is the last book of ancient Indian economic thought.
→ Strong desires are called necessity in modem economics. Three things are necessary for effective desire-
- desire of the object
- means of fulfilment of desire and
- readiness to spend on means.
→ According to modem economics, the desire of the resourceless person cannot be termed wants, whereas according to Indian scholars, a resourceless person also has his own wants.
→ In ancient Indian thought, the hope of ‘holistic happiness’ has been expected, ip which the entire happiness of body, mind, intellect and soul is called holistic happiness
→ Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay has termed the holistic happiness as a ‘Chaturvidh Sukh.’
→ With the desire of Chaturvidh Sukh’, one makes an attempt and performs deeds; that desire becomes the necessity of happiness.
→ In Yajurveda, it is said that there is the tendency towards religion and wealth for the quest of happiness. There are 4 types of human desires – religion, wealth, sensual pleasure, and salvation.
→ According to Lord Mahavir, desires are infinite like the sky.
→ The sphere of desires extends from the necessities and the area of necessities extends from the wants.
→ Desires are natural, while necessities are determined by geographical conditions, social customs, physical expectations, religious sentiments, and economic means.
→ The necessities are affected by the person’s economic status, level of economic development, religious sentiments and sense of greed.
→ According to modem economics, desires are unlimited, while sources are limited.
→ Due to lack of fulfilment of necessity, sadness occurs, while its fulfilment gives satisfaction and happiness.
→ It is not possible to meet all the necessities, because these are unlimited.
→ The characteristics of necessity in Indian thought are- wants are unlimited, sources are limited; Man is unhappy, not being able to fulfil all the needs from the available resources, some needs are generated repeatedly, and these increase with the development. Needs are competitive.
→ According to Vedic literature, happiness is sought through fulfilling wants by noble, justified and self-earned wealth while modem economists consider that pleasure is obtained from the mere fulfilment of desire.
→ Consumption- For the satisfaction of want, the direct and ultimate use of any object or service is called consumption.
→ Consumption gives rise to the demand of goods and services, consumption is the beginning and end of economic activities.
→ The direct relation of consumption in ancient literature has been with the demand of items produced in society.
→ Shukra has included the storing/keeping places of gold, jewels, silver, coins; the keeping places of chariots, horse, cows, elephants, camels and their keepers, storing places of grains, weapons, ammunition, heavy armours, etc. and places of ministers, physicians, cooks, craftsmen, etc. under the head of consumption.
→ The concept of balanced consumption has been presented in ancient literature.
→ There are important things in context with balanced consumption-
- It is not possible to fulfil all needs
- The consumption should be the minimum, i.e. as per the need
- Consumption should be done with earned money
- The right of society on resources should be accepted.
→ Co-Consumption.has been given force in the ancient literature, that is, the persons should consume by dividing and sharing the resources.
→ Humans should stay away from the feeling of mine and yours.
The important things about consumption are-
- The money received only from justifiable means should be used
- one should not consume alone
- Balanced consumption is beneficial for health
- Consumption should have ethics
- One should not consume excessively
- Consumption should not be borrowed
- Consumption should be moderated
- The foodstuff should not be stored more than required.
→ Indian economic thinkers have divided efforts into four categories and have tried to discipline human-life on their basis.
→ These are the four efforts – Religion, Wealth, Sensual Pleasure and Salvation.
→ Religion, wealth, and sensual pleasure are related only in the social life of a person, because salvation is free from all bondage.
→ The basis of the pleasures of human beings is ‘religion’ and the basis of religion is wealth.
→ Money is the object, which makes life dynamic. Money is considered the alternative of economy.
→ According to Yaskacharya, the great commentator of the Vedas, “Wealth is one which satisfies and delights all.”
→ According to Raghuvansh, “One which gives comfort to the man in sorrow, provides inspiration and self-reliance in work, that is wealth.”
→ There are five main sources of wealth – land, agriculture, commerce, business, and industry.
→ Five things should be taken care of while earning money-
- Do not hurt any other creatures,
- Do not give undue discomfort to your body
- Do not earn money by wrong means
- Always get it from self-earned means
- The use of money should not obstruct selfrealisation.
→ Money is of great importance in society. This is the means of accomplishing any work. It is by wealth, that the accomplishment of religion and pilgrimage occurs; wealth, sensual pleasure, accomplishment, heaven, schooling, etc. are provided by wealth only. It is a means of material and spiritual happiness and it is also necessary for the security and prosperity of the country.
→ Money is divided into three parts by the Brihaspati, Narada, and Vishnu, etc.
- White Money
- Branded Money
- Black Money.
→ In the Mahabharata, five uses of money were given-
- for religious work
- for fulfilling requirements
- for capital formation or for investment
- for achievement of glory, and for welfare activities
- for the family and kin.
While earning wealth, the following things should be kept in mind –
- Earning wealth through the path of justice and religion
- Storing wealth abstemiously
- Earning wealth according to need,
- Earning wealth without applying illegal force
- Compliance with the vow of the controlled desire
- Spending less than income
- Earning wealth through one’s own labour.
- Focus on the conservation of environment
→ According to the Vedic nature, economic development should be so that the environment is not badly affected.
→ Types of environment pollution
- Land Pollution
- Water Pollution
- Air Pollution
Main Definitions of the Chapter
→ Want – According to Professor Thomas, ‘“Want is a strong desire that a person should have enough resources to satisfy, and he is ready to spend these resources”.
→ Consumption – According to Professor Alley, “Under economics, the meaning of consumption is to satisfy the human needs, using economic services and personal services.”
→ Shukra – Wrote that meaning of consumption is the expenditure done on obtaining food, clothes, house, garden, cow, education and kingdom, to obtain wealth and to protect all these.
→ Wealth – According to Yaskacharya, the great commentator of the Vedas, “Wealth is one which satisfies and delights all. It is the source of exchange of all materials, that’s why wealth is also called finance.
→ According to Raghuvansh, “One which gives comfort to the man in sorrow, provides inspiration and self-reliance in work, that is wealth.”
Ancient Indian Economic Concepts Class 11 RBSE Notes Important Terms
• Desire- Thinking about obtaining any object or service is called desire, like, I should have a bicycle.
• Want – Want is that desire, which we have the resources to fulfil, and we intend to expend those resources to fulfil our desires.
• Holistic Happiness – The whole happiness of body, mind, intellect and soul is called holistic happiness.
• Consumption – To destroy the utility of an object, by using it for fulfilment of need, is called
consumption. In simple words, the use of goods and services to satisfy human needs is called consumption.
• Balanced Consumption – Balanced consumption, means to satisfy important wants by self-earned money. It is beneficial for health and longevity.
• Miserliness – Notwithstanding the availability of money, not spending it on fulfilment is called miserliness. The money that reaches in the hands of a miser is not of any use.
• Charity – The use of money for the benefit of others is called Charity.
• White Money – The money earned by proper means is called White Money.
• Branded Money – The money earned by agriculture, commerce, crafts, and service is called Branded Money.
• Black Money – The money earned by wrong ways, such as theft, dishonesty, etc. is called black money.
• Conservation of Environment- Maintaining a nature-given environment is called conservation of environment.
• Pollution – The dirtying or contamination of nature-based environment is called pollution.