Hindu Administrative Institutions c8.s2.78

c8.s2.78

Before we examine the position assigned to the *purohita* in the *Dharmaśāstra* and epic literature we must complete the description of the status accorded to him in the *Arthaśāstra* itself. It has been demonstrated that he was the guiding force in the administration. By this it must not be concluded that he was above the law of the land. Like any other citizen he was punished whenever there was a departure from his *svadharma* or loyalty to the king. The punishment amounted to imprisonment or banishment.⁶ The *Panchavimśa Brāhmaṇa* goes further and rules that he might be even punished with death in cases of treason.⁷ What we wish to drive at is the fact that the *purohita* of the *Kauṭalīya* preserved the status he had in Vedic times. Dr. Winternitz takes a similar position with regard to the *purohita*,¹ and says that Kauṭalya accepts entirely the Brahmanical religion and view of life as the foundation of the state, and he has in view a state organization in which the Brahman plays a first role.