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{
"id": 464,
"polity": {
"id": 205,
"name": "eg_inter_occupation",
"long_name": "Egypt - Inter-Occupation Period",
"start_year": -404,
"end_year": -342
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The Late Period was the last major phase of political independence of Egypt. Especially in the sixth and fourth centuries BCE, there was vast state investment in temples, as well as elite dedications there. […] Those who dedicated these objects would ideally have had texts and images in their burial equipment, so that the this-worldly focus on temples would be complementary with the prospect of [moralistic supernatural enforcement] as something to be confronted in the next world.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZQ2347BZ\">[Cioni_et_al 2025, pp. 80-81]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 465,
"polity": {
"id": 192,
"name": "it_papal_state_3",
"long_name": "Papal States - Early Modern Period I",
"start_year": 1527,
"end_year": 1648
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The general resurrection was also persistently connected with Christ’s future coming ‘to judge the living and the dead’—the ultimate act of history and hence God’s final word on the whole universe. God’s mysterious plan will then be complete (see Eph. 1: 3–14). The creeds did nothing else than repeat Jesus’ announcement that he would come in glory at the end to judge all people—the Final Judgement on both humankind as a whole and each individual. What we said above about the particular judgement applies even more to the Final Judgement. Rather than God the judge passing sentence on each and every individual at the general judgement, the whole of humanity and all creation will definitively experience the truth about themselves in the presence of God.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WVP9QISX\">[O'Collins_Farrugia 2015, p. 245]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 466,
"polity": {
"id": 84,
"name": "es_spanish_emp_1",
"long_name": "Spanish Empire I",
"start_year": 1516,
"end_year": 1715
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The general resurrection was also persistently connected with Christ’s future coming ‘to judge the living and the dead’—the ultimate act of history and hence God’s final word on the whole universe. God’s mysterious plan will then be complete (see Eph. 1: 3–14). The creeds did nothing else than repeat Jesus’ announcement that he would come in glory at the end to judge all people—the Final Judgement on both humankind as a whole and each individual. What we said above about the particular judgement applies even more to the Final Judgement. Rather than God the judge passing sentence on each and every individual at the general judgement, the whole of humanity and all creation will definitively experience the truth about themselves in the presence of God.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WVP9QISX\">[O'Collins_Farrugia 2015, p. 245]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 467,
"polity": {
"id": 109,
"name": "eg_ptolemaic_k_1",
"long_name": "Ptolemaic Kingdom I",
"start_year": -305,
"end_year": -217
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "\"[T]he motif of [targeted] judgment after death, which in principle signifies concern with [moralistic supernatural enforcement], is attested on objects deposited in burials throughout the time from the New Kingdom to the Greco-Roman period [...]. How strong adherence to this conception was cannot be known, but its continued presence is beyond doubt.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZQ2347BZ\">[Cioni_et_al 2025, p. 80]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 468,
"polity": {
"id": 207,
"name": "eg_ptolemaic_k_2",
"long_name": "Ptolemaic Kingdom II",
"start_year": -217,
"end_year": -30
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "\"[T]he motif of [targeted] judgment after death, which in principle signifies concern with [moralistic supernatural enforcement], is attested on objects deposited in burials throughout the time from the New Kingdom to the Greco-Roman period [...]. How strong adherence to this conception was cannot be known, but its continued presence is beyond doubt.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ZQ2347BZ\">[Cioni_et_al 2025, p. 80]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 469,
"polity": {
"id": 126,
"name": "pk_indo_greek_k",
"long_name": "Indo-Greek Kingdom",
"start_year": -180,
"end_year": -10
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "\"In India, we find evidence of the importance of Buddhism and the cults of Indian gods both to the region’s inhabitants, Greek and non-Greek, and in political display.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WRPWNCR9\">[Mairs_Eidinow_Kindt 2015, p. 647]</a> “Indeed, karma is the principle on which most moralizing supernatural punishment and reward (MSP) in Buddhism is based. According to doctrine, intentional actions plant a “seed” that bears their moral valence. At some future time, whether in this life or the following one or more reincarnations, this seed bears karmic “fruit,” bringing about outcomes that are good or bad to the extent the action was good or bad. The moral valence of actions may be judged by their conformity with Buddhist ethics, which includes the five precepts (prohibitions on killing, theft, “sexual misconduct,” lying, and intoxication); a set of special rules for monks and nuns (the Vinaya); and injunctions such as making charitable donations (dana).” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/76FKAHS3\">[Stanford_et_al 2024, p. 106]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 470,
"polity": {
"id": 587,
"name": "gb_british_emp_1",
"long_name": "British Empire I",
"start_year": 1690,
"end_year": 1849
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The general resurrection was also persistently connected with Christ’s future coming ‘to judge the living and the dead’—the ultimate act of history and hence God’s final word on the whole universe. God’s mysterious plan will then be complete (see Eph. 1: 3–14). The creeds did nothing else than repeat Jesus’ announcement that he would come in glory at the end to judge all people—the Final Judgement on both humankind as a whole and each individual. What we said above about the particular judgement applies even more to the Final Judgement. Rather than God the judge passing sentence on each and every individual at the general judgement, the whole of humanity and all creation will definitively experience the truth about themselves in the presence of God.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WVP9QISX\">[O'Collins_Farrugia 2015, p. 245]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 471,
"polity": {
"id": 661,
"name": "ni_oyo_emp_2",
"long_name": "Ilú-ọba Ọ̀yọ́",
"start_year": 1601,
"end_year": 1835
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“Sanpono (the god of smallpox), Sango (the god of thunder) and Ogun may vent anger differently in their attempts to administer justice (Leroy, et al, 2002, p. 133; Adegbindin, 2012, p. 176). Sanpono may strike people with smallpox when offended. Sango may be said to have struck people when they steal or act unjustly. Ogun may be said to have drank the blood of an offender when a person believed to have done something wrong dies through a ghastly automobile accident or through circumstances involving dying by objects made of the iron metal.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ARFQ4TU7\">[Onyibor_Eegunlusi 2019, p. 66]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 472,
"polity": {
"id": 663,
"name": "ni_oyo_emp_1",
"long_name": "Oyo",
"start_year": 1300,
"end_year": 1535
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“Sanpono (the god of smallpox), Sango (the god of thunder) and Ogun may vent anger differently in their attempts to administer justice (Leroy, et al, 2002, p. 133; Adegbindin, 2012, p. 176). Sanpono may strike people with smallpox when offended. Sango may be said to have struck people when they steal or act unjustly. Ogun may be said to have drank the blood of an offender when a person believed to have done something wrong dies through a ghastly automobile accident or through circumstances involving dying by objects made of the iron metal.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ARFQ4TU7\">[Onyibor_Eegunlusi 2019, p. 66]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 473,
"polity": {
"id": 656,
"name": "ni_yoruba_classic",
"long_name": "Classical Ife",
"start_year": 1000,
"end_year": 1400
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“Sanpono (the god of smallpox), Sango (the god of thunder) and Ogun may vent anger differently in their attempts to administer justice (Leroy, et al, 2002, p. 133; Adegbindin, 2012, p. 176). Sanpono may strike people with smallpox when offended. Sango may be said to have struck people when they steal or act unjustly. Ogun may be said to have drank the blood of an offender when a person believed to have done something wrong dies through a ghastly automobile accident or through circumstances involving dying by objects made of the iron metal.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/ARFQ4TU7\">[Onyibor_Eegunlusi 2019, p. 66]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 474,
"polity": {
"id": 681,
"name": "se_great_fulo_emp",
"long_name": "Denyanke Kingdom",
"start_year": 1490,
"end_year": 1776
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "NB The following extract derives from recent ethnography, but the author suggests that the core notions here precede the advent of Islam among the Fulani. “The Futanke or Pullo (plural Fulbhe), as the Fulani call themselves, firmly believe that the lawful acquisition of wealth and the decent enjoyment of sustained prosperity is the physical manifestation of the metaphysical process of divine compensation for selfless services rendered to others. Conversely, chronic misfortune is believed to be the outcome of a wasteful existence, a sign of retribution from God for intolerable misdeeds.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/T4VFCD2W\">[Camara 2008, p. 48]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 475,
"polity": {
"id": 609,
"name": "si_freetown_1",
"long_name": "Freetown",
"start_year": 1787,
"end_year": 1808
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“The general resurrection was also persistently connected with Christ’s future coming ‘to judge the living and the dead’—the ultimate act of history and hence God’s final word on the whole universe. God’s mysterious plan will then be complete (see Eph. 1: 3–14). The creeds did nothing else than repeat Jesus’ announcement that he would come in glory at the end to judge all people—the Final Judgement on both humankind as a whole and each individual. What we said above about the particular judgement applies even more to the Final Judgement. Rather than God the judge passing sentence on each and every individual at the general judgement, the whole of humanity and all creation will definitively experience the truth about themselves in the presence of God.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/WVP9QISX\">[O'Collins_Farrugia 2015, p. 245]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 476,
"polity": {
"id": 535,
"name": "ug_bunyoro_k_2",
"long_name": "Bito Dynasty",
"start_year": 1700,
"end_year": 1894
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "IFR",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "Inferring continuity with early 20th-century beliefs as recorded by ethnographer J. H. M. Beattie. “Like sorcerers, ghosts generally attack people against whom they have a grudge. So when ghostly activity is diagnosed, the ghost is usually that of someone who was injured or offended before he died, or in certain cases of someone whose ghost was neglected after he died. But the ghost may not confine its vengeance to the person who actually offended it; often, indeed, the offender may not be directly attacked at all. In eight out of fifteen cases on which I have details (see Table 1) where ghostly activity was diagnosed, the original offender was not attacked directly but through his children, and in two others he was long since dead and vengeance was wreaked on his descendants. The biblical reference to ‘visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation’ makes good sense to traditionally minded Nyoro.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/4IPHIG7P\">[Beattie 1964, p. 129]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 477,
"polity": {
"id": 667,
"name": "ni_igala_k",
"long_name": "Igala",
"start_year": 1600,
"end_year": 1900
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "\"The god of thunder naturally killed the evil doers in society in the pre-Christianity and Islamic period. Thus, during rain evil doers were usually afraid of being in the open air for fear of being struck by a thunder storm. To a great extent, it was a cleansing god, except that in some cases it could be manipulated.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/74KTP9Z5\">[Achoba 2017, p. 48]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 478,
"polity": {
"id": 626,
"name": "zi_mutapa",
"long_name": "Mutapa",
"start_year": 1450,
"end_year": 1880
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "IFR",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "absent",
"comment": "Inferring continuity with Shona beliefs as described in more recent ethnography. According to the Shona, whole communities and/or families may suffer the consequences of moral transgressions. For example: \"[A]mong the Shona people of Zimbabwe, the spirit(s) of those who have been wronged in the past have been wronged in the past usually supervene on the lives of the present in the form of Ngozi. The concept of Ngozi is based on the belief that a human being is essentially a spiritual being and it is the reality of the spirit which makes him or her to survive death. A person who has been wronged through human atrocious acts such as murder is mostly likely to exist in the realm of immortality as an angry spirit. The anthropologist who studied Shona people, Michael Bourdillon (1987: 233) observed that, 'An angry spirit is terrifying. Such a spirit attacks suddenly and very harshly. It usually usually attacks an individual through his family causing a succession of deaths, or death followed by serious illness in other members of the family'. Bourdillon went on to say that among the Shona people of Zimbabwe, the spirit of a person who has been killed unfairly cannot be appeased easily. He states that the Shona people 'believe that an angry spirit can also cause serious quarrels within a family, loss of property and wealth, or any devastating misfortune. In practice, the tensions and fears following death believed to be caused by such a spirit, and the difficulty in appeasing it do on occasion lead to the breakup of a family group'.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9SJQDM9Z\">[Murove 2023, pp. 67-68]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 479,
"polity": {
"id": 625,
"name": "zi_torwa_rozvi",
"long_name": "Torwa-Rozvi",
"start_year": 1494,
"end_year": 1850
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "IFR",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "absent",
"comment": "Inferring continuity with Shona beliefs as described in more recent ethnography. According to the Shona, whole communities and/or families may suffer the consequences of moral transgressions. For example: \"[A]mong the Shona people of Zimbabwe, the spirit(s) of those who have been wronged in the past have been wronged in the past usually supervene on the lives of the present in the form of Ngozi. The concept of Ngozi is based on the belief that a human being is essentially a spiritual being and it is the reality of the spirit which makes him or her to survive death. A person who has been wronged through human atrocious acts such as murder is mostly likely to exist in the realm of immortality as an angry spirit. The anthropologist who studied Shona people, Michael Bourdillon (1987: 233) observed that, 'An angry spirit is terrifying. Such a spirit attacks suddenly and very harshly. It usually usually attacks an individual through his family causing a succession of deaths, or death followed by serious illness in other members of the family'. Bourdillon went on to say that among the Shona people of Zimbabwe, the spirit of a person who has been killed unfairly cannot be appeased easily. He states that the Shona people 'believe that an angry spirit can also cause serious quarrels within a family, loss of property and wealth, or any devastating misfortune. In practice, the tensions and fears following death believed to be caused by such a spirit, and the difficulty in appeasing it do on occasion lead to the breakup of a family group'.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/9SJQDM9Z\">[Murove 2023, pp. 67-68]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 480,
"polity": {
"id": 636,
"name": "et_jimma_k",
"long_name": "Kingdom of Jimma",
"start_year": 1790,
"end_year": 1932
},
"year_from": 1790,
"year_to": 1829,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“But for the Oromo, Waaqa does not commit evil against His creation. He withdraws from human beings when they breach saffuu and disturb the cosmic and social order. Failure to act in accordance with Waaqa’s order will lead to punishment. Various types of misfortunes ranging from illness, mishaps, and other bad things can happen to the guilty person and his/her relatives. Some people believe that there are spiritual causes for natural disasters, serious illness, conflict, and so on. When human beings sin, Waaqa would deny them rain and other important requirements for life. […] It has been stated that Waaqa is patient with his creations. If they correct their mistakes through rituals and acceptable practices, He will forgive them. When Waaqa withdraws from them, the concerned people ought to pray to Waaqa and try to correct and learn from their mistakes. So, when individuals failed to observe the laws of Waaqa and were punished as a result, they would ask Waaqa for forgiveness. Human beings are required to respect the laws of God and maintain the social order through rituals. ‘Oromo rituals recreate, enact, and maintain the social order. This social order symbolically expresses the cosmological order. Prayers link the earthly part of the cosmological order with the divine one” (AGUILAR 2005, 58).’” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/JP3BMSXD\">[Kelbessa 2022, pp. 79-80]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 481,
"polity": {
"id": 636,
"name": "et_jimma_k",
"long_name": "Kingdom of Jimma",
"start_year": 1790,
"end_year": 1932
},
"year_from": 1830,
"year_to": 1932,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "After conversion to Islam. \"The fact that Allāh is omniscient and omnipotent makes Him a very effective agent for implementing MSP. Since He knows everything, He can keep track of every moral and immoral act, no matter how small. His unlimited power ensures that He can dispense proper rewards and punishments for these acts.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/A9X3RAQW\">[Nakissa_et_al 2024, p. 136]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 482,
"polity": {
"id": 647,
"name": "er_medri_bahri",
"long_name": "Medri Bahri",
"start_year": 1310,
"end_year": 1889
},
"year_from": 1751,
"year_to": 1889,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "After conversion to Islam. \"The fact that Allāh is omniscient and omnipotent makes Him a very effective agent for implementing MSP. Since He knows everything, He can keep track of every moral and immoral act, no matter how small. His unlimited power ensures that He can dispense proper rewards and punishments for these acts.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/A9X3RAQW\">[Nakissa_et_al 2024, p. 136]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 483,
"polity": {
"id": 546,
"name": "cn_five_dyn",
"long_name": "Five Dynasties Period",
"start_year": 906,
"end_year": 970
},
"year_from": null,
"year_to": null,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "“[R]etribution and punishment will not stop with the individual. Rather, the misfortune spreads to family and community, not only by affecting them immediately as the person gets sick, loses money, or is incarcerated, but also through something called “inherited evil.” Spelled out first in the Taiping jing, this means that descendants and communities suffer the results of their elders’ actions, leading to the crippling and early death of children and various kinds of troubles in neighborhoods and villages.” <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/PG935ZIK\">[Kohn 2009, p. 100]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 484,
"polity": {
"id": 87,
"name": "in_mauryan_emp",
"long_name": "Magadha - Maurya Empire",
"start_year": -324,
"end_year": -187
},
"year_from": -297,
"year_to": -187,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "After Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism. In Buddhism, emphasis on individual, e.g.: \"Mahayana understandings of the nature of the Buddha came to have profound implications for MSP. While early Buddhism held that the Buddha was a physical being, who ceased to exist after his death, Mahayana claimed that he was but a manifestation of a universal Buddha nature, which existed in all beings. This Buddha nature not only allowed for the simultaneous coexistence of many Buddhas but also engendered the potential for any individual to become a bodhisattva—that is, one who has reached the point of being able to achieve enlightenment but has instead remained to help others on their spiritual path. The bodhisattva ideal was central to Mahayana religiosity, exhorting practitioners to demonstrate compassion and strive for the merit and enlightenment of other beings. Many took a bodhisattva vow, an inherently meritorious act comprising a solemn commitment to strive to become a bodhisattva for the benefit of others.\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/76FKAHS3\">[Stanford_et_al 2024, p. 113]</a>",
"description": ""
},
{
"id": 485,
"polity": {
"id": 87,
"name": "in_mauryan_emp",
"long_name": "Magadha - Maurya Empire",
"start_year": -324,
"end_year": -187
},
"year_from": -324,
"year_to": -298,
"tag": "TRS",
"is_disputed": false,
"is_uncertain": false,
"name": "Moralizing_enforcement_is_targeted",
"coded_value": "present",
"comment": "\"Although Vedic religion was not founded on moralistic principles, it included [moralistic] elements. Ṛta (truth) was the principle governing the natural, social, religious, and moral order (Bilimoria 2007: 33–4). In various passages of the Ṛg Veda (e.g., RV 1.25, 5.83, 7.86), Varuṇa, who personifies a divine authority and is associated with ṛta, justice, and social relations, is an ethical, all-knowing god who foresees all destiny and punishes those who violate the moral order (Bhattacharji 1970: 25–31). He can be approached with requests for forgiveness. Invoked along with Varuṇa is the god Mitra, who stands for the judicial side of their joint governance over morality; the two sometimes appear as two aspects of one god (Parpola 2015: 108). However, hymns to Varuṇa and Mitra in the Ṛg Veda are far outnumbered by those to the fierce war god Indra, asking for victory, fame, and wealth (Parpola 2015: 107–108). Over time, Varuṇa’s ethical authority gradually diminished—from the omniscient sky god in the Ṛg Veda to a sinister deity of the night who punishes wrongdoing in the Brāhmaṇas, to one water god among many others in the Sanskrit epics (Bhattacharji 1970: 23–40).\" <a class=\"fw-bold\" href=\"https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/UXVR689F\">[Cioni_et_al 2025, p. 184]</a>",
"description": ""
}
]
}