State and Government in Ancient India c23.s3.4

c23.s3.4

The king continued to be the pivot of the administration. Like Aśoka and Kauṭilya, Harsha held that the head of the state must constantly exert himself in order to keep the administration efficient. Yuan Chwang says that Harsha was indefatiguable and the day was too short for him, and we can well believe his statement. The Chinese pilgrim's observation that the king's day was divided into three periods of which one was devoted to the affairs of the state and two to those of religion was probably true of the evening of the king's life only; during his youth, when he was engaged in incessant wars, things must have been quite different.