Hindu Administrative Institutions c8.s2.82

c8.s2.82

From the *Dharmasūtras* and the *Dharmaśāstras* we see that the same qualifications are mentioned and that it is insisted that the monarch must act according to the instructions of the *purohita*.² The epics and the *Purāṇas* also faithfully transmit the Vedic tradition but in this epoch it is obvious that his duties become more and more complex. Sometimes he had to attend to several functions at the same time. The *Garuda Purāṇa* says, ‘The high priest of the realm should be a man of vast erudition and perfect self-control—a hero in soul and virtue.’³ The same *Purāṇa* speaks of a royal priest as distinguished from the high priest and his qualifications are the following: ‘The royal priest should be a man who has studied the *Vedas* and the *Vedāṅgas* and constantly meditates upon the Divine self by celebrating *homa* ceremonies and pleasing the whole world in weal and woe.’⁴