State and Government in Ancient India c12.s9.7

c12.s9.7

Considerable pomp and prestige surrounded the king in the later Vedic period. The panegyrics about the different kings show that they were rich and prosperous; probably they owned big herds of cattle and extensive areas of land and also received taxes from their subjects, which were tending to become more and more regular and obligatory. The *Atharvaveda* describes the king as lord of riches, the chief of the people and the most prominent among the warriors. It also prays that the king may have power, lustre and control over the nation.² In one ritual the Brāhmaṇa, the Kshatriya, the Vaiśya and the Śūdra each loses a cow to the king³; this shows that the king's sway was being regarded as encompassing all the classes of the population. His power, therefore, was getting more extensive: naturally his wrath also was being dreaded more and more.⁴