War in Ancient India c5.s1.41

c5.s1.41

The next point for consideration is the question of succession, and the operation of the law of primogeniture. It is a general rule that kings were chosen from among the Kṣatriya caste. In other words, a non-Kṣatriya was not qualified to be a king. And this is probably due to the fact that the Kṣatriya caste was considered superior to others in virtue of its martial prowess. For on this alone depended the maintenance of law and order without which there would be neither welfare for the people nor progress in the State, the *yogakṣema* and *lokayātra* of Indian political literature. We are told of the incalculable evils resulting from the rule of kings chosen from other than the warrior caste. The *Vāyu Purāṇa*³⁴ sets forth the dark period when slave kings ruled before Candragupta Maurya, and history again records the equally dark period under the Brahman regime, like the age of the Śungas, the Kaṇvas, and the Āndhras. Ancient India again disapproved of rule by a woman or a child or by men of no character like gamblers.³⁵ It is said that such a kingdom sinks like a stone boat in a river. So insistence is made on a righteous Kṣatriya being elected king.