War in Ancient India c5.s1.33

c5.s1.33

One thing must be mentioned. The warriors’s code prescribes that the Kṣatriya could take two wives. But in practice we find that the royal harem contained a number of women. Even here we have to distinguish between the ordinary Kṣatriya and the king. Apparently the sanction to take two wives was intended for Kṣatriyas in general. It may be noted in passing that the king occupied a status superior to the ordinary warrior and enjoyed certain privileges. Of the two wives one was necessarily of his own caste. If he chose, he could take a wife from the next caste, the Vaiśya. In that case, the Kṣatriya wife was considered socially