State and Government in Ancient India c15.19

c15.19

With the gradual disappearance of the Vedic sacrifices, the conception of *ratnins* also faded away from society. We occasionally get references to the *ratnas* of the king, but they do not denote only his advisers. Thus, for instance, the *Vāyupurāṇa* divides the *ratnas* of the emperor into two categories animate and inanimate. To the former group belong not only the queen, the *purohita*, the commander-in-chief, the charioteer and the councillcr but also the horse and the elephant, and to the latter class the *maṇi* (amulet), the sword, the bow, the lance, the jewels the banner and the treasure.² It is clear that the nature of the *ratnins* was clearly misunderstood in the later period; their council had ceased to function as a part of the administration.