The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c8.41

c8.41

The duty of loyal devotion to the supreme authority, which is always strongly insisted upon in the sacred literature of India, was something quite different to the Western notion of the divine right of kings. The principle of constitutional government for which the nations of Europe struggled throughout the Middle Ages until the present day was the essence of Indo-Aryan policy. The King was the Vicegerent of Vishnu on earth in so far and as long as he remained the constituted Defender of the Faith—of the laws, customs, and religion of Aryan civilisation.