War in Ancient India c8.16

c8.16

Did the king always follow the counsel of his ministers and councillors? It is difficult to answer this question; but it may be confidently said that the king generally followed the advice of his councillors, and it was more or less his duty to do so. There were of course kings who broke this convention and did as their will dictated. It would be sufficient to give one example in support of this statement. Duryodhana’s War Council included such wise men as Vyāsa and Maitreya.¹² These councillors advised Duryodhana to make peace with the Pāṇḍavas, as in their opinion the Pāṇḍavas would ultimately win, but he turned a deaf ear to their words. From this it would appear that the Council was merely an advisory body. Its resolution was not binding on the king.