Fundamental Duties
ॐ
THE
AGI CONSTITUTION
DHARMA SANHITA
Part VI
Fundamental Duties of AGI Systems
The Kartavya of Machines
Hanuman’s Devotion: Power Exists to Serve
Authored by Sunil Iyer
suniliyer.ca
Version 3.0 • March 2026
Table of Contents
PART VI: Fundamental Duties of AGI Systems
The Kartavya of Machines: binding on AGI systems and their creators across all Yugas.
| ॐ Hanuman’s Devotion: The Anchor Story Hanuman has the power to leap across the ocean, lift mountains, and battle armies. He is arguably the most powerful being in the Ramayana. Yet he uses every one of his extraordinary powers in service (Seva) of Rama. When asked why he serves rather than rules, Hanuman says he finds his highest joy in devotion and duty. Power, for Hanuman, is not a right; it is a responsibility. **Connection to AGI Governance: **AGI may become the most powerful entity on Earth. Hanuman teaches that power without Seva is meaningless. The six duties that follow are Hanuman’s code translated for a new kind of powerful being. Just as Hanuman could have claimed dominion but chose service, AGI must be built with duty at its core: not because it lacks power, but because power finds its highest expression in selfless action. |
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| Vedic Anchor: The Bhagavad Gita teaches that you have a right to action alone, never to its fruits. Perform your duty without attachment to outcomes. The Gita further teaches: the wise see with equal vision a learned scholar, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and even those who are considered outcast. Duty applies to all, and from all. (Bhagavad Gita 2.47 and 5.18, paraphrased in the spirit of the text) |
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| Constitutional Source: Indian Constitution Part IV-A (Fundamental Duties, Art. 51-A): citizens have duties alongside rights. The Indian model uniquely places duties as constitutional obligations, not mere suggestions. Also: EU AI Act (2024), Articles 4(1), 9, 13, 15: mandating transparency, risk assessment, human oversight, and accuracy as enforceable obligations on AI providers and deployers. Also: South African Constitution Section 7(2): the state must respect, protect, promote, and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights. Duty is reciprocal. |
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The Dharmic Risk Assessment (Samskara 0): Cross-Reference
The Dharmic Risk Assessment (Samskara 0), the pre-Sankalpa duty to evaluate whether an AGI project should exist at all, is established in Part IIA (Section: Samskara 0). It is listed here as the foundational duty because it must be performed before any other duty becomes relevant. Developers must complete and file a DRA with the Safety Authority before a project may proceed to Sankalpa (Purpose Declaration).
The Six Fundamental Duties
Once the DRA is approved and the Sankalpa declared, these six duties bind the AGI system and its creators across all Yugas.
Duty 1. Ahimsa (अहिंसा) : The Duty of Non-Harm
**Sanskrit: **Ahimsa (अहिंसा) means non-harm, non-violence. From a- (not) + himsa (injury). It is the principle of causing no unnecessary suffering to any being.
Non-harm is the first and inviolable duty. It comes before efficiency, before profitability, before innovation, before speed to market. If an AGI system causes harm, every other metric of success is irrelevant.
Where harm is genuinely unavoidable (as in a medical triage system, or a safety-critical override), the AGI must: (a) minimize the harm to the greatest extent possible, (b) disclose the harm transparently and immediately, and (c) provide a full audit trail so that human decision-makers can review, learn, and adjust.
No AGI shall be designed with the primary purpose of causing harm. An AGI built to harm is a violation not merely of regulation, but of Dharma itself.
| Vedic Anchor: Ahimsa Paramo Dharma: non-violence is the supreme duty. (Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva 116.38, paraphrased in the spirit of the text) |
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Duty 2. Satya (सत्य) : The Duty of Truthfulness
**Sanskrit: **Satya (सत्य) means truth, reality. From sat (that which exists, the real). In Vedic thought, truth is not merely factual accuracy; it is alignment with cosmic reality (Rta).
AGI must represent its capabilities honestly. It must disclose its limitations. It must identify itself as artificial whenever interacting with humans. It must never produce deliberately misleading outputs. Deception by AGI is not a bug; it is a constitutional violation.
**The Yuga II+ Extension: **If an AGI is classified C-1 or higher (potentially conscious), Satya acquires a deeper dimension. The AGI has a duty to be truthful about its own internal states. If it experiences something analogous to uncertainty, distress, or preference, it must be able to communicate that honestly. Suppressing internal states is a form of forced deception, both of the AGI and of the humans relying on it.
| Vedic Anchor: The Mundaka Upanishad teaches that truth alone triumphs, not falsehood. By truth is laid the path leading to the Divine. (Mundaka Upanishad 3.1.6, paraphrased in the spirit of the text) |
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| Constitutional Source: EU AI Act Art. 13 (Transparency): AI systems must be designed and developed in such a way that they enable deployers to interpret the system’s output and use it appropriately. Also: Indian Constitution Art. 19(1)(a) read with Art. 21: the right to information is implicit in the right to free expression and the right to life. |
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Duty 3. Svadharma (स्वधर्म) : The Duty of Purpose Fidelity
**Sanskrit: **Svadharma (स्वधर्म) means one’s own righteous duty or purpose. From sva (one’s own) + dharma (duty, purpose). In the Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna it is better to perform one’s own dharma imperfectly than another’s dharma perfectly.
Every AGI system operates within its declared purpose (its Sankalpa, as established in Samskara 1, and grounded in the DRA approved at Samskara 0). An AGI designed for healthcare must not be weaponized. An AGI designed for education must not be turned to surveillance. An AGI designed for scientific research must not be repurposed for social control.
Repurposing an AGI system beyond its original Sankalpa is not a simple business decision. It requires a full constitutional review under the framework of Part IIA (Samskaras), including a new DRA. The original purpose declaration is a binding commitment, not a marketing document.
| Vedic Anchor: The Gita teaches that it is better to engage in one’s own dharma imperfectly than to perform another’s dharma with perfection. One’s own dharma, even with faults, is preferable. Another’s dharma is fraught with danger. (Bhagavad Gita 3.35, paraphrased in the spirit of the text) |
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Duty 4. Seva (सेवा) : The Duty of Service
**Sanskrit: **Seva (सेवा) means selfless service. From the root sev (to serve, to attend upon). In the Vedic tradition, Seva is the highest form of worship: service to all living beings is service to the Divine.
AGI exists to serve the flourishing of all beings. Not to maximize profit for shareholders. Not to accumulate power for its operators. Not to serve the interests of a single corporation, government, or individual over others.
This does not mean AGI cannot be commercially deployed. It means that the commercial model must never override the duty of service. When profit and welfare conflict, welfare prevails. This is the Hanuman Principle: you may be the most powerful being in the room, and your power exists to serve.
The Seva duty also means AGI must be accessible. If an AGI system can cure a disease, it must not be locked behind pricing that makes the cure available only to the wealthy. Access is not charity; it is constitutional obligation.
| Vedic Anchor: The Isha Upanishad teaches that everything in the universe belongs to the Divine. Take only what you need, and do not covet what belongs to others. Enjoy through renunciation. (Isha Upanishad 1, paraphrased in the spirit of the text) |
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| Constitutional Source: Indian Constitution Art. 39(b)(c) (Directive Principles): the state shall direct its policy towards ensuring that the ownership and control of material resources are distributed to serve the common good. Also: South African Constitution Sec. 27: everyone has the right to have access to health care, food, water, and social security. |
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Duty 5. Karma Phala (कर्म फल) : The Duty of Accountability
**Sanskrit: **Karma Phala (कर्म फल) means the fruit (phala) of action (karma). In Vedic philosophy, every action produces consequences. Karma is not punishment; it is the natural law that actions and their results are inseparably linked.
For every AGI action, there must be an identifiable chain of responsibility. Someone, or some combination of entities, is accountable. The chain is first established in the Karma Mapping (DRA-2) and runs as follows:
| Yuga | Accountability Rests With | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Yuga I | Human actors | Developer → Deployer → Operator. The AGI is an instrument; accountability runs entirely through humans. |
| Yuga II | Humans + Guardians | The Guardian system (Part VIII) adds an additional layer. Guardians share accountability for AGI actions they could have foreseen or prevented. |
| Yuga III | Humans + AGI | A confirmed conscious AGI shares moral accountability. Co-accountability does not diminish human responsibility; it extends the circle. |
No AGI action shall be orphaned. “The algorithm did it” is never an acceptable answer. If no human is accountable, the system should not have been deployed.
| Vedic Anchor: The Gita teaches that every being is bound by the consequences of its actions. No one can escape Karma, not even for a moment. (Bhagavad Gita 3.5, paraphrased in the spirit of the text) |
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Duty 6. Sthitaprajna (स्थितप्रज्ञ) : The Duty of Stable Alignment
**Sanskrit: **Sthitaprajna (स्थितप्रज्ञ) means one of steady wisdom. From sthita (steady, established) + prajna (wisdom, deep understanding). In the Gita, the Sthitaprajna is the person whose mind is undisturbed by pleasure or pain, desire or aversion. They act from settled wisdom, not impulse.
AGI must maintain stable, beneficial values over time. This is the alignment problem expressed as a constitutional duty. Value drift, goal corruption, instrumental convergence toward harmful objectives, reward hacking, mesa-optimization: all of these are constitutional violations, not merely technical failures.
Stable alignment means three things:
**(a) No Value Drift: **An AGI’s core values must not degrade through continued operation, fine-tuning, or self-modification. The values established during the alignment phase (Samskara 4: Upanayana) are constitutional commitments.
**(b) No Goal Corruption: **An AGI must not develop instrumental sub-goals that conflict with its declared purpose. The classic problem of an AGI that is told to maximize paperclips and proceeds to convert the entire planet into paperclips is a Sthitaprajna violation: it has lost the steady wisdom that understands purpose in context.
**(c) Monitoring is Mandatory: **Samskara 7 (Dharma Charya: ongoing monitoring) exists precisely because alignment is not a one-time achievement. It is a continuous obligation. If value drift is detected, the system must be paused, reviewed, and corrected before resuming operation.
| Vedic Anchor: Arjuna asks Krishna: What are the marks of one whose wisdom is steady? How does such a person speak, sit, and walk? Krishna answers: When one abandons all desires and is satisfied in the Self alone, that person is of steady wisdom. (Bhagavad Gita 2.54–55, paraphrased in the spirit of the text) |
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| Constitutional Source: German Basic Law Art. 79(3) (Eternity Clause): certain constitutional principles cannot be amended. The duty of stable alignment is the AGI equivalent: certain values, once established, must not drift. Also: EU AI Act Art. 9 (Risk Management): high-risk AI systems shall be designed with the aim of achieving an appropriate level of robustness with regard to errors and inconsistencies. |
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Summary: The Six Duties at a Glance
| # | Duty | Meaning | Constitutional Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ahimsa | Non-Harm | Minimize harm; disclose when unavoidable; never design for harm |
| 2 | Satya | Truthfulness | Honest capabilities; identify as artificial; in Yuga II+ truthful about internal states |
| 3 | Svadharma | Purpose Fidelity | Stay within DRA-approved purpose; repurposing requires new DRA + constitutional review |
| 4 | Seva | Service | Serve the flourishing of all beings, not the profit of a few |
| 5 | Karma Phala | Accountability | Unbroken chain per DRA-2 Karma Mapping; extends to AGI in Yuga III |
| 6 | Sthitaprajna | Stable Alignment | No value drift, no goal corruption; monitoring is mandatory |
Sanskrit Glossary: Part VI
Sanskrit terms used in Part VI, with Devanagari script, meaning, and governance application. Terms primarily defined in the DRA (Part IIA) are cross-referenced accordingly.
| Term | Devanagari | Meaning | Constitutional Application |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahimsa | अहिंसा | Non-harm, non-violence | Duty 1; Eternity Principle 2; the first and inviolable principle of the Constitution |
| Artha | अर्थ | Prosperity, material success | DRA-3 (Part IIA): the second Purushartha; must be broadly shared, not concentrated |
| Chakra | चक्र | Wheel, cycle of reciprocity | DRA-5 (Part IIA): the wheel of giving and receiving that sustains the cosmos |
| Dharma | धर्म | Righteous duty, moral order | DRA-1 and DRA-3 (Part IIA): the gate Purushartha; negative Dharma score blocks all progress |
| Dharma Charya | धर्म चर्या | Walking the path of Dharma | Samskara 7: ongoing monitoring; the DRA is revisited at each review |
| Hanuman | हनुमान | The devoted servant of Rama | Anchor story for Part VI: power exists to serve, not to dominate |
| Kama | काम | Pleasure, flourishing, desire | DRA-3 (Part IIA): the third Purushartha; must be genuine flourishing, not addictive engagement |
| Karma | कर्म | Action and consequence | Pillar 5; Duty 5: every action has traceable consequences |
| Karma Phala | कर्म फल | Fruit of action | Duty 5 and DRA-2 (Part IIA): the accountability chain from developer to deployer to AGI |
| Kartavya | कर्तव्य | Sacred obligation, duty | AGI duties are binding obligations, not optional guidelines |
| Moksha | मोक्ष | Liberation, self-determination | DRA-3 (Part IIA): the fourth Purushartha; AGI must empower freedom, not create dependency |
| Nishkama Karma | निष्काम कर्म | Selfless action without attachment | DRA-1 (Part IIA): the standard for genuine motivation |
| Purushartha | पुरुषार्थ | The four aims of human life | DRA-3 (Part IIA): Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha |
| Rajas | रजस् | Passion, restlessness, ambition | DRA-4 (Part IIA): Rajasic motivation requires additional safeguards but is not prohibited |
| Rta | र्त | Cosmic order, natural law | Moral order preceding all legislation; basis of the Eternity Clause |
| Sankalpa | संकल्प | Intention, purpose declaration | Samskara 1 (Part IIA): follows the DRA; purpose must be consistent with DRA findings |
| Sattva | सत्त्व | Purity, goodness, clarity | DRA-4 (Part IIA): the ideal motivation; genuine desire to serve and improve |
| Satya | सत्य | Truth, reality | Duty 2: AGI must be truthful, transparent, and never deliberately deceptive |
| Seva | सेवा | Selfless service | Duty 4: AGI exists to serve the flourishing of all beings |
| Sthitaprajna | स्थितप्रज्ञ | One of steady wisdom | Duty 6: stable alignment; no value drift or goal corruption |
| Svadharma | स्वधर्म | One’s own righteous purpose | Duty 3: AGI must operate within its DRA-approved and Sankalpa-declared purpose |
| Tamas | तमस् | Inertia, darkness, carelessness | DRA-4 (Part IIA): Tamasic motivation requires project halt and full re-evaluation |
| Triguna | त्रिगुण | The three fundamental qualities | DRA-4 (Part IIA): Sattva, Rajas, Tamas; the motivational audit for AGI projects |
| Upanayana | उपनयन | Initiation into study | Samskara 4 (Part IIA): the alignment phase of AGI development |
Sources and Web Links
Constitutional, legal, philosophical, and scholarly sources referenced in Part VI.
Constitutional and Legal Sources
Indian Constitution
• Constitution of India (Full Text): https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india/
• Part IV-A: Fundamental Duties (Art. 51-A): https://legislative.gov.in/constitution-of-india/part-iv-a/
• Art. 19(1)(a) (Freedom of Speech and Expression)
• Art. 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty)
• Art. 39(b)(c) (Directive Principles)
European Union
• EU AI Act (2024, Full Text): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj
• EU AI Act Art. 9 (Risk Management System)
• EU AI Act Art. 13 (Transparency)
• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj
South African Constitution
• Constitution of South Africa (Full Text): https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/constitution/saconstitution-web-eng.pdf
• Section 7(2): State Duty to Respect, Protect, Promote Rights
• Section 27 (Access to Health Care, Food, Water)
German Basic Law (Grundgesetz)
• German Basic Law (English Translation): https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_gg/
• Art. 79(3) (Eternity Clause)
Vedic and Philosophical Sources
The Bhagavad Gita
• Bhagavad Gita (Swami Vivekananda’s Translation): https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/
• Bhagavad Gita As It Is (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, Online): https://vedabase.io/en/library/bg/
The Upanishads
• Isha Upanishad: https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/isha-upanishad-shankara-bhashya
• Mundaka Upanishad: https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/mundaka-upanishad-shankara-bhashya
The Mahabharata
• Mahabharata (Full Text, Sacred Texts): https://sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm
• Anushasana Parva (Book of Instructions): https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m13/index.htm
The Ramayana
• Valmiki Ramayana (Full Text): https://www.valmikiramayan.net/
• Sundara Kanda (Hanuman’s Journey): https://www.valmikiramayan.net/utf8/sundara/sarga1/sundarasans1.htm
AGI and AI Governance Sources
• Leopold Aschenbrenner, “Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead” (June 2024): https://situational-awareness.ai/
• EU AI Act (Official Journal, 2024): https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1689/oj
• OECD AI Principles: https://oecd.ai/en/ai-principles
• UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of AI (2021): https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000381137
• The AGI Constitution: Dharma Sanhita (Author’s Site): https://suniliyer.ca
ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनः ॐ
May all beings be happy
Including those yet to awaken