State and Government in Ancient India c15.8

c15.8

Let us now see whether such was actually the case in practice. In the *Ṛigveda* and the *Atharvaveda* we find no mention of king’s ministers, probably because there was no occasion to refer to them. The *saṁhitas* of the *Yajurveda* and the Brāhmaṇa literature, however, mention in several places some high functionaries, known as *ratnins*, (jewels), who probably formed the king’s council.² The list of these ‘jewels’, however, is not the same in the different sources, nor are we yet in a position to interpret with confidence the functions of all of them. It is, however possible to state in a general way that the *ratnins* consisted of royal relatives, departmental heads and courtiers. To the first of these categories belong the Crowned Queen and the Favourite Queen, who are invariably mentioned by all our authorities. This would suggest that queens in the Vedic age were not merely the consorts of kings, but played some part in the administration. The heir-apparent may have been included in the council of the king; he does not figure among the *ratnins*, because at the time of a coronation, the king’s eldest son is not likley to be old enough to take active part in the administration.