The Mauryan Polity c7.s4: Sec. iv. Some Habits of the King

The Mauryan Polity c7.s4

Language: English

c7.s4.t1 Hunting expeditions — 17 parts

Sec. iv. Some Habits of the King

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1 “When the king condescends to show himself in public his attendants carry in their hands silver censers, and perfume with incense all the road by which it is his pleasure to be conveyed. He lolls in a golden palanquin, garnished with pearls, which dangle all round it, and he is robed in fine muslin embroidered with purple and gold. Behind his palanquin follow men-at-arms and his body-guards, of whom some carry boughs of trees, on which birds are perched, trained to interrupt business with their cries . . The palace is open to all comers even when the king is having his hair combed and dressed. It is then that he gives audience to ambassadors, and administers justice to his subjects. His slippers being after this taken off, his feet are rubbed with scented ointments. His principal exercise is hunting; amid the vows and songs of his courtesans he shoots the game enclosed within the royal park. . . He rides on horseback when making short journeys, but when bound on a distant expedition he rides in a chariot (howdah) mounted on elephants, and, huge as these animals are, their bodies are covered completely over with trappings of gold. That no form of shameless profligacy may be wanting, he is accompanied by a long train of courtesans carried in golden palanquins, and this troop holds a separate place in the procession from the queen's retinue, and is as sumptuously appointed. His food is prepared by women, who also serve him with wine, which is much used by all the Indians. When the king falls into a drunken sleep his courtesans carry him away to his bed-chamber invoking the gods of the night in their native hymns." The last sentence of this long extract from the classical writer is quite a contrast to that of another classical writer Ktesias who says that the king of the Indians does not take wine.¹ This only shows that we cannot rely too much on their testimony. Theirs seems to be mostly hearsay and hence may be right or wrong. Generally the king appeared in public to receive petitions from his subjects, and dispose of their cases, to offer sacrifice in conformity with the religious practices of the time, and to go on hunting tours in the king's forest, and on military expeditions against recalcitrant kings and chiefs.²

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¹ McCrindle, *Ancient India, its Invasion by Alexander the Great* pp. 188-190.

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¹ See above, p. 104.

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² Strabo, 55; Meg. 27; see *Early History of India*, p. 130.

Hunting expeditions

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When he goes out for the chase he is said to depart in Bacchanalian fashion. Says Megasthenes: "Crowds of women surround him, and outside of this circle, spearmen are ranged. The road is marked off with ropes, and it is death, for man and woman alike, to pass within the ropes. Men with drums and gongs lead the procession. The king hunts in the enclosures and shoots arrows from a platform. At his side stand two or three armed women. If he hunts in the open grounds he shoots from the back of an elephant.”¹

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¹ Meg. 27, *cp.* Ar. *śās.*, Bk. I, ch. 21. *Cp.* Śakuntalā: King Duṣyanta going out for the chase is accompanied by Yavana women wearing garlands of different flowers and armed with bows and arrows.

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*The custom of massage*

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It would appear that massage or friction of limbs with ebony rollers was a custom and luxury indulged in by the monarch. The Greek writers inform us that the attendant went on massaging the king while he was in the court hearing causes. This may answer to the office of the *samvāhaka* mentioned in the Kauṭalīya.² It may be noted in passing that it was not the privilege of the monarch alone but a custom observed in India even to-day.

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² Bk. VII, ch. 17. *Cp.* Mṛcchakaṭikā.

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*Ceremonial washing of the hair*

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Another peculiar custom of the Mauryan monarch was the ceremonial washing of the hair of the king on his birthday accompanied by festivities and festivals when the king was the recipient of many a rich present at the hands of his courtiers and the nobles of the land. It is not peculiarly a Persian custom as some would aver, but a common custom of all the Hindus, high and low.³

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³ *Contra*: Persian Influence on Mauryan India, *Ind. Ant.*, 1905.

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*Ox races, etc.*

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One other royal amusement was the visiting by the king of the combats of animals, gladiatorial contests, and ox-races. The race grounds extended to 30 stadia or 6,000 yards, and betting was indulged in such races.

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This reminds us of horse races which have become so very popular in India to-day.¹

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¹ Cp. Smith, *Aśoka*, p. 90.

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But it would appear from the prescriptions of the *Arthaśāstra* that such sports as involved the loss of life to the animals were discouraged by Candragupta, as also by Aśoka.² If we read the chapter entitled *sūnādhyakṣa* with the relevant text in the First Rock Edict, and the second Pillar Edict, we see that Aśoka enforces the laws of the *Arthaśāstra* even with regard to the animal kingdom. Aśoka was not against healthy sports where there was no slaughter of the animal. What he did was to abolish cruel and unhealthy sports; but he provided edifying shows.³ On this topic it may be proved that Aśoka did not go far from the prescription of the *Arthaśāstra* so far as the killing of animals was concerned. Kauṭalya prohibits their killing for 15 days during *cāturmāsya* and four days of the full moon.⁴ These are accepted Hindu fast-days. In the same way Aśoka who⁵ did not discontinue their killing for his kitchen, forbade their killing on fast days (*anuposatham*). A remarkable circumstance in this connection is the common use of the term *cāturmāsya* both in the *Arthaśāstra* and the inscriptions. This coincidence demonstrates beyond doubt that Aśoka was not preaching Buddhism but was pursuing the *dharma* established in the state.

Linked texts (5)

Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra — Kauṭilya, Sanskrit
Mṛcchakaṭika — Śūdraka, Sanskrit
Ἰνδικά — Μεγασθένης, Ancient Greek
Abhijñānaśākuntala — Kālidāsa, Sanskrit
Pillar Edicts of Aśoka (Edicts I–IV) (ed. Bühler 1894) — Prakrit