Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s10.135

c9.s10.135

The kingship disclosed in Brāhmaṇic songs and ritual is not merely a "Patriarchal Presidency." The monarch is not merely a chief noble, the first among equals, 'President of a Council of Peers.' In a famous Atharvanic laud the *rājā* of the Kurus, is extolled as a *deva* who surpassed mere mortals (*martyas*). The consecrated king is the lord of all beings. He is called “*viśvasya bhūtasya adhipati*,” and is further described as the devourer of the people—*viśāmattā*.¹ “*Rājā ta ekaṁ mukhaṁ tena mukhena viśo’tsi*.”² He is surrounded by armed kinsmen and retainers.³ He can “banish a Brāhmaṇa at will, mulct and overpower a Vaiśya at will, and exact labour from or slay a Śūdra at will.”⁴ Further he claims the power of giving his kingdom away to anybody he liked. In the *Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upanishad* Janaka says to Yājñavalkya, “*So’haṁ Bhagavate Videhān dadāmi māñchāpi saha dāsyāyeti*.”⁵