State and Government in Ancient India c15.134

c15.134

The view of the Smṛiti writers that the sons or relations of a minister should, if possible, be selected while making new appointments to the ministry, was also very frequently given effect to. Under the Guptas, the families of Śāba and Pṛithvīsheṇa were holding different ministerial appointments for more than one generations³ In the Parivrājaka administration, Sūryadatta was a minister in 482 A. D. and his son Vibhudatta 28 years later.⁴ Under Uchchkalpa dynasty, Gallu was Foreign Minister in 496 and his brother Manoratha in 512 A. D.⁵ Under the Chandellas five generations of one family, Prabhāsa, his son Śivanāga, his son Mahīpāla, his son Ananta and his son Gadādhara, are known to have worked as ministers or prime-ministers under seven generations of the dynasty represented by Dhaṅga, his son Gaṇḍa, his son Vidyādhara, his son Vijayapāla, his son Devavarman, his brother Kīrtivarman, his sons Sallakahaṇavarman and Pṛithvīvarman and the former's son Jayavarman.⁶ A little later under the same dynasty, Lahaḍa was minister under Madanavarman and his son Sallakshaṇa and grandson Purushottama under Paramarddideva, the grandson of Madanavarman.⁷