State and Government in Ancient India c23.s4.5

c23.s4.5

Kingship as before was hereditary and the crown usually passed to the eldest son, who used to be formally installed as Yuvarāja, when his training of the type already described earlier (p. 85) was over and he had come of age. Usually the eldest son was selected as heir apparent, but sometimes, as in the case of Govinda III, a younger son was selected if he was found to be abler. The fact that Govinda’s accession was challenged by his elder brother Stambha and led to a big rising, would show that the selection of the eldest brother was regarded as normal. We have however some cases of younger princes like Dhruva and Govinda IV deposing their elder brothers after the latter’s succession.