State and Government in Ancient India c10.s6.7

c10.s6.7

Manu no doubt pronounces¹ that a king was to pay a fine of a thousand coins when an ordinary man had to pay that of one coin only, but he does not specify the offence, nor indicate the agency which was to try the king. The commentator Kullūka says that the fine was to be self-imposed and was to be given to Brāhmaṇas or to be thrown into water in the name of Varuṇa.² It is thus clear that Manu's statement is a merely idealistic one and hardly provides any real and practicable constitutional check.