Hindu Administrative Institutions c7.s2.t2.59
Hindu Administrative Institutions c7.s2.t2.59
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c7.s2.t2.59
It is strange that Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar who admits the existence of popular monarchy in the pre-Mauryan period points out to the absolutism of the Mauryas including Aśoka. He quotes the following in support of his theory: ' All men are my children and just as I desire for my children that they may obtain every kind of welfare and happiness both in this and the next world, so do I desire for all men' (Aśoka in the separate Kalinga Edicts). This is said to agree with the *Arthaśāstra* where the relation of the king to his subjects is mentioned to be that of the father to his children.¹