The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c12.14

c12.14

Somewhat less general are the statements of the Jâtakas concerning the "leader of the army," the senâpati; of this officer they give us no clear picture but only a vague description. Often, as we saw, himself belonging to the ruling family, he seems to occupy a prominent place among the ministers, sometimes even the first place; in the Cullasutasoma Jâtaka, the King calls his ministers, having decided to renounce worldly life, with the senâpati at their head (*senâpatipamukháni asítiamaccasahassáni*, V. 178). Whether this office, conformably to its literal meaning—*senâpati* means "chief of the army"—was principally a military one, does not appear clearly from our texts; probably, in wars the *senâpati* occupied the next highest military post after the king.¹ In times of peace, he seemed to play a part which had little or nothing to do with the army; his chief work seemed rather to be the administration of justice. We read of a *senâpati* who in discharging his duties as a judge takes bribes (*viniccayam karonto lañcam khádati*) and thereby gives property to the wrong persons (*asâmike sâmike karoti*, II. 186).