State and Government in Ancient India c12.s6: King as a Public Servant
State and Government in Ancient India c12.s6
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King as a Public Servant
c12.s6.1
The next important notion about the king was that he was *the servant of the people*. An early Dharmasūtra writer¹ observes that the king is really a servant, the 16% tax being his wage. Kauṭilya at one place points out how the king was on the same footing as his soldiers, both receiving their different wages and both being entitled to share the assets of the nation.² Nārada also regards the taxation as the king's pay for the protection of his people. No one ever makes a payment, says Aparārka, without expecting a return; the taxes, therefore, are paid only as a return for the protection expected from the king.³ Since the people pay him the proper wage, the king must serve them as a servant, nay even as a slave.⁴ This is of course a hyperbolic statement; the reality is hinted by Śukra when he describes the king both as a master and a servant of the people.⁵
c12.s6.2
¹ १. षड्भागभृतो राजा रक्षेत्प्रजाम् । *B. D. S.*, I. 10. 6.
c12.s6.3
² २. निर्दिष्टकालो धर्मिष्ठः संहृत्य ब्रूयात् । तुल्यवेतनोज्स्मि । भवद्भिः सह भोग्यमिदं राज्यम् । X. 3. (p. 367).
c12.s6.4
³ ३. सर्वो हि धनं प्रयच्छन्नात्मसमवायि प्रयोजनमुद्दिशति । न च करदानस्य स्वगुप्तेरन्यत्प्रयोजनमस्ति । तस्मात्करमाददानेन प्रजापालनं विधेयमिति सिद्धम् । On *Yāj.* I. 366.
c12.s6.5
⁴ ४. सर्वतः फलभुग्भूत्वा दासवत्स्यात्तु रक्षणे । *Śukra*, IV. 2. 130
c12.s6.6
⁵ ५. स्वभागभृत्या दास्यत्वे प्रजानां च नृपः कृतः ।
Linked texts (3)
- Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra — Kauṭilya, Sanskrit
- Baudhāyanadharmasūtra — Baudhāyana, Sanskrit
- Yājñavalkyasmṛti — Yājñavalkya, Sanskrit