Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c9.s10.28

c9.s10.28

A Brāhmaṇa king is, however, contemplated in a passage of the *Aitareya Brāhmaṇa*.¹ We have references to Śūdra, Āyogava and even non-Aryan kings in other Vedic texts. King Jānaśruti Pautrāyaṇa is branded a Śūdra in the *Chhāndogya Upanishad*.² King Marutta Āvikshita is styled "Āyogava" in the *Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa*.³ Āyogava denotes, in legal codes, a member of a mixed caste, a descendant of a Śūdra by a Vaiśya wife.⁴ Nishāda *sthapatis* (kings or chieftains) figure in a *Śrauta sūtra* and the *Rāmāyaṇa*. In the *Jaiminīya Upanishad Brāhmaṇa* it is stated that even an *anārya* "obtains," *prāpnoti*, kings.⁵ This points either to non-Aryan kings or to the admission of *anāryas* into the dominions of Aryan rulers. The *Jātakas* and the Great Epic refer to kings of various castes including Brāhmaṇas.⁶