Hindu Administrative Institutions c12.s3.29

c12.s3.29

Again in the *Yuddha kāṇḍa*³ it was *śreṇi-mukhyas* with the ministers that go out to welcome Rāma back home after his period of exile. The Epics then represent the *śreṇis* as the representative assemblies of the state and hence political in character. They were an important force in the administration of the state and the king was obliged to respect their feelings and views; or rather these assemblies were a constitutional check on the arbitrary character of kings. Thus with Govindarāja we can say that these corporations were functioning like the *naigama* or the *paura-jānapada* assemblies.