State and Government in Ancient India c23.s5.4

c23.s5.4

Kingship had now become hereditary; we have shown already how the theory of king’s election is ridiculed by Kalhaṇa, the Kashmir historian (p. 84). Crown prince was probably selected formally even in the earlier periods, but epigraphical records of this period refer more frequently to his selection. Thus we find that Gāhaḍawāla records expressly refer to the selection of Madanapāla, Govindachandra and Āsphoṭachandra as crown princes by their fathers. The same was the case with Tribuvaṇapāla and Rājyapāla of the Pāla dynasty and several rulers of other houses. A younger brother or a nephew was selected as crown prince in the absence of a son. Women rarely became *de jure* queens. Sugandhā of Kashmir and Tribuvanamahādevī, Daṇḍamahādevī and Dharmamahādevī of the Kara dynasty of Orissa were really regents and not queens. Diddā of Kashmir was a real queen and ruled over the land effectively for 22 years. But this woman of extraordinary ability and energy had to a wait for a number of years after her husband’s death and work for the removal of three kings before she could get the coveted throne.