The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c21.58

v1.c21.58

The royal duties as described by Gautama are few. After stating that all the ‘reborn’ (men of the three upper castes) are to study, offer sacrifice, and give alms, and that the priest in addition is to teach, perform sacrifice for others, and receive alms, or, if he does not do the work himself, to practice agriculture and trade¹, Gautama says that a king's special additional duty is to protect all beings, to inflict proper punishment, to support learned priests and others unable to work, those free of taxes and temporary students, to take measures for ensuring victory, to learn how to manage a chariot and use a bow, to fight firmly, to divide the spoils of battle equitably, to take a tax of one-tenth, one-eighth, or one-sixth (of produce), to force artisans to pay one day's work monthly, to proclaim by crier lost property, and, if the owner be not found in a year, to keep it, giving one-fourth to the finder (but all treasure-trove belongs to the king), and to protect the property of infants². In the following section the author says that the king is the master of all except the priests; that he is to be moral and impartial, worshipped by all except Brāhmans, who shall honour him (*ibid.* xi, 1 f.); that he must protect the castes (orders) and different stages of life (*āçramas*), and, with the assistance of his chaplain fulfil all his religious duties, as enumerated above. Authoritative in the realm shall be all rules of castes (*jāti*), and families (*kula*), as well as district-rules not opposed to (Vedic) tradition, while for their respective orders (*varga*) ploughmen, traders, herdsmen, money-lenders, and artisans may make their own rules (*ibid.* 21).