A History of Hindu Political Theories from the Earliest Times to the End of the First Quarter of the Seventeenth Century A.D. c7.46.2

c7.46.2

The nucleus of these officers was apparently the group of king's clients (upastis), who are referred to in the Rigveda, and are described in the Atharvaveda as consisting, among others, of the chariot-maker (ratha-kāra), the smith (takṣan), the charioteer (sūta) and the troop-leader (grāmaṇī).ast In the Yajus Samhitās and the Brāhmaṇas these officers, along with others, are associated with the great political ceremonies. Thus the Rājasūya comprises a rite in which the sacrificial sword has to be passed round in succession among a member of persons who include the Sūta and the Grāmaṇī.dag Another and a more important rite of the Rājasūya is the so-called Jewel-offerings (ratnahavīmṣi), in which the king has to make offerings to the gods at the houses of a number of persons called Jewels (ratnins) on the successive days. The list of these Jewels consists, according to the Śat. Br., of the Senānī (commander of the army), the Purohita, the sacrificer himself, the Queen, the Sūta (charioteer, or court minstrel and chronicler), the Grāmaṇī (headman or troop-leader), the Kṣattri (chamberlain), the Samgrahitri (charioteer,) the Bhāgadugha (carver), the Akṣāvāpa (keeper of dice), the Govikarta (huntsman) and the Courier.ddag It is obvious from the above enumeration that the persons who are thus singled out for participation in the ceremony of royal consecration are, with the exception of the Queen, functionaries connected with the administration or with the royal household.