Hindu Administrative Institutions c7.s2.t2.38

c7.s2.t2.38

and the last, Santanu was elected king by the people.¹ The rule was that by legal authority the younger brother had no right of succession when there was the elder.² But there were exceptions to this rule.³ From the foregoing accounts of Pratīpa and others we can safely conclude that kings were legally powerless in the matter of deciding their successors. They could, however, nominate one provided the nomination likely to be acceptable to the common will.