The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v2.c15.s3.t4.3

v2.c15.s3.t4.3

The qualifications required of a monarch by the composers of treatises on rājanīti are indeed very high. A king, according to them, should be well-versed in the Vedas and the śāstras and proficient in political science, art, and literature. He should be wise and just and regard himself as the father of his subjects, in whose interests he should rule the kingdom. He should be economical in his habits, and treat his servants and dependants with kindness and consideration. He should use his discretion and judgement with due propriety in the choice of his servants and should select the good and take care to avoid the wicked. How far the Kākatīya monarchs came up to the standard of the political thinkers of the age cannot be ascertained, though it is not improbable that some of them, such as Gaṇapati and Pratāparudra, judging from the great popularity which they seem to have enjoyed in their lifetime, attained very nearly to the ideal of the perfect ruler as laid down by the philosophers.