The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c11.12

c11.12

Just as in the epic, through the varnish which the priestly authors give to the original picture and by which they soften down its colour, the picture of the old unrestrained king appears who lets himself be guided by nothing except his own, often extremely selfish desires, so also the king shows a double face in the Jâtakas which is to be traced to the Buddhistic account of the original legends. To some extent he assumes the virtues of a pious layman obeying the moral law. The ten duties of the king (dasarâjadhamme) mentioned in different ways (III. 274, 320) are nothing else than prescriptions of the general Buddhistic morality applicable to all lay disciples :—