A History of Hindu Political Theories from the Earliest Times to the End of the First Quarter of the Seventeenth Century A.D. c10.77

c10.77

the punisher, the teacher, (and hence) a benefactor (of all created beings); to him let no man say anything unpropitious, nor use any harsh words.”b1 These sentiments find expression in relation to our subject in the view already inculcated in the earlier canon, namely that the Brāhmaṇa is the one primary power of which the Kṣatriya is the derivative. Thus the Manusamhitā and the Śāntiparvan have two verses in common, stating that the Kṣattriyas sprang from the Brāhmaṇas who are therefore entitled to restrain the latter.b2 With this may be connected the statement uttered by Bhīṣma in another place, namely that the security and welfare of the kingdom depend upon the king, while those of the king depend upon the ‘purohita’.b3