Hindu Administrative Institutions c10.s6.90

c10.s6.90

‘When a king confers favours truly and awards punishments justly, then only the order of the world becomes well established. He must bestow favours on well behaved persons who seek his aid prudently. On the other hand he must punish those who transgress law and order. When the king duly prescribes and shows proper regard to the deserving, then law is well preserved, and good order is maintained.’ That this was realized in practice is evident from the testimony of Hieun Tsiang. He says¹: ‘with respect to the ordinary people, although they are naturally light minded, yet they are upright and honourable. . . . They are not deceitful or treacherous in their conduct, and are faithful to their oaths and promises . . . with respect to criminals or rebels, these are few in number, and only occasionally troublesome. . . . There is no infliction of corporal punishment. . . . In questioning an accused person, if he replies with frankness the punishment is proportioned accordingly. . . .’