A History of Hindu Political Theories from the Earliest Times to the End of the First Quarter of the Seventeenth Century A.D. c10.15

c10.15

public administration in the setting of the Whole Duty of the King. Thus Manu has no hesitation in mentioning in the course of his chapter on kingly duties that the king should worship the learned Brāhmaṇas, should marry a queen of equal caste and should appoint a domestic priest as well as other officiating priests for the performance of sacrifices\*. Similarly Bhīṣma in chapter LVI of the Śāntiparvan opens his address by observing that the king's foremost duty is to behave towards the gods and the Brāhmaṇas according to the prescribed rule, for, he explains, it is by worshipping these that the king repays his debt to virtue and is respected by his subjects.† The same mingling of functions is observable in the frequent and characteristic summaries of kingly duties that occur in these works. Manu, for example, says in one place, "Not to turn back in battle, to protect the people, to honour the Brāhmaṇas is the best means for a king to secure happiness"‡.