Hindu Administrative Institutions c11.s3.16

c11.s3.16

appreciated. On the other hand it is condemned as a sin committed by the Kṣatriya.¹ A true Kṣatriya must exert himself in the field, evoking respect and applause from his friends and allies, and wounded by sharp weapons of war, must find an honourable death.² The same is true of South Indian history. If it should happen that a warrior died at home due to old age or other natural causes, custom was to make the dying man lie over a bed of *kuśa* grass and have him cut with a sword, the *purohita* chanting *mantras*. This was deemed equal to being slain on the theatre of war.³