Hindu Administrative Institutions c8.s3.72

c8.s3.72

Let us now proceed to the examination of the position occupied by these councils in the epoch of the epics. We already noticed the principal eight councillors and the thirty-seven ministers who composed the pariṣad. These thirty-seven members are mentioned as follows: Four Brahmans who are well read in the Veda, large-hearted, ripe in scholarship and hence pure; eight Kṣatriyas who are warriors wearing arms; twenty-one Vaiśyas who are wealthy and resourceful; three Śūdras well-disciplined, honest, and tested beforehand; one Sūta possessing the following eight qualities: of fifty years of age, large-hearted, devoid of jealousy, versed in Smṛti and Śruti, disciplined, impartial, capable of discussing acts and deeds, not covetous, and devoid of the seven terrible corruptions of the mind (vyasanas).²