Hindu Administrative Institutions c7.s7.26

c7.s7.26

His duties towards his sons, the princes, were also to be noted. These are compared to crabs who devour their own parents.¹ If a king has more than one son the unruly prince might be banished from the kingdom. But if there is only one son, and if he were to give provocation to his father, he could be placed under restraint by imprisonment. Or he could be got rid of by having him sent on dangerous expeditions. He could be conciliated by promise of sovereignty. Failing these methods, if the turbulent prince proved a danger to the welfare of the state, even the penalty of death was not regarded too much.² A misbehaviour in a prince was regarded a disqualification for succeeding to the throne. A well-behaved one was invariably made a commander-in-chief or consecrated as *yuvarāja*, the crown-prince or the heir-apparent.³ To shoulder such responsibilities the king must possess qualities of a high order. Dr. Nag gives⁴ a veritable catalogue of royal virtues collected from the *Arthaśāstra*: (*a*) the *abhigāmika guṇāḥ* or the qualities pertaining to noble birth—luck, intelligence, heroism, piety, sincerity, taking counsel with the aged, gratefulness, magnanimity, energy, discipline, resolution, etc.; (*b*) *prajña guṇāḥ* or the qualities of intellect, such as curiosity, attention, assimilation, memory, discernment, discretion and passion for truth; (*c*) *utsāhaguṇāḥ*: signs of activity including courage, pride, promptitude and skill; (*d*) *ātmasampat* or the qualities of person such as prudence, good memory, vigorous intelligence, imposing bearing, self-control, mastery of various arts, impartial justice, far-sightedness, expertness to discover weak points of the adversary; control of emotions, freedom from passions, from irritability, greed, arrogance, indolence, inconstancy, impatience and cruelty.¹