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Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c7.s2: II King's Officers

Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons, with Commentaries: An Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey c7.s2

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II King's Officers

The Crown-Prince or Yuvarājā

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Next to the king stood the crown-prince who was the brother or son or kinsman of the king. He was also known as Īsara (Īsvara) and possessed eight virtues such as aṇimā, mahimā, etc.¹ After finishing his daily duties, he went to the assembly and attended the affairs of government.² A crown-prince was supposed to be efficient in seventy two arts, eighteen provincial languages, music, dancing, and the art of fighting on horseback, elephant and chariot.³

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¹ Anu. Cū., p. 11.

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² Vya. Bhā., 1, p. 129.

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³ Ovā. Sū., 40, pp. 185 ff , the crown-prince is mentioned as one of the eighteen tirthes in ancient Hindu literature. He was the right hand, right eye and right ear to the king , Dikshitar, H A.I., pp. 106, 109 f. ; also cf. the Kurudhanuna Jātaka (II, No 276, p 374) where the crown-prince is supposed to wait every evening on the king and receive the greetings of the people.

Purohita

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Like the crown-prince, purohita or the king's adviser in matters religious and secular as well, finds an important place in the king's assembly. He is enumerated along with the most important officers of administration and is counted among the seven jewels.⁴ The Vivāgasuya mentions the priest Mahesaradatta of king Jiyasattu, who performed sacrifice in order to avert the king's misfortunes. Sometimes the priest acted as a witch-doctor. It is said that when the king was engaged in some battle, the purohita, captured eight hundred boys from the four communities, viz., Bambhaṇa, Khattiya, Vassa and Sudda and performed sacrifice (santihoma) with the flesh of their hearts (hiyaunḍaya)⁵

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⁴ Thā., 7. 558 , cf. Milindapañha (p 114), which mentions senāpati, purohita, akkhadassa, bhaṇḍāgārika, chattagāhaka and khaggagāhaka as six important officers of the king.

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⁵ p. 33 , the Dhanasākha Jātaka (III, No. 353, p. 150), refers to an ambitious purohita who helps the king through a sacrificial ceremony to acquire a city which is difficult to conquer. He proposes to his lord to pluck out the eyes of the thousand captured kings, to rip up their bellies, take out the entrails and give a bali-offering to a god , see also Fick, op. cit., ch. vii, 'The House Priest of the King."

The Royal Council and the Minister

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The *parishad* or Council is an important limb of the central organisation and its origin can be traced to a very early period. The Jain texts describe five kinds of Council of a king : *pūranti*, *chattanti*, *buddhi*, *mantri* and *rahassiyā*. It is said that when the king went on tour, all the officials attended on him till he returned ; this council of officials was called *pūranti*. The members of the *chattanti* council had the privilege of holding the umbrella over the king and were permitted to go up to the outer assembly hall. The *buddhi* *parisat* consisted of members who were well-versed in general customs (*loka*), the Vedas and the scriptures (*samaya*). Various rumours and off-hand remarks current among the people were brought to their notice. The fourth council was the council of ministers. They were well-versed in politics (*rāyasattha*), were born in the family with no royal connections (*atakkuliya*), were sincere, old in age and bold ; the king counselled with them in a secret place. The last council was known as *rahassiyā*. The members of this council pacified the angry queen, carried the news of the dates of the purificatory bath after monthly course of various queens; they also informed the king the names of his daughters who were eligible for marriage. They also informed him of the love-affairs of the queen and also talked with the king in private on various topics pertaining to his sexual life.⁶ The *mantri* *parisat* was an organised council of ministers who were concerned with the political affairs of the realm. It is said that a minister should always think of his country, city and the master and he should be efficient in law and administration.⁷ A minister or *amātya* had power to punish even a king, and we come across instances, although rare, when the ministers dismissed a king and appointed another king in his place. We are told that king Jiyasattu of Vasantapura loved his queen Sukumāliyā excessively and as a result of this he neglected the affairs of the state. One day the ministers assembled together and after banishing the king and the queen put the prince on the throne.⁸ In order to protect the realm from internal disturbances and the invasion of the enemy, a minister is said to have employed a number of spies such as *sūcakas*, *anusūcakas*, *pratisūcakas* and *sarvasūcakas*, who supplied him all sorts of secret information. The *sūcakas* made friendship with the harem officers and found out internal secrets of the harem; the *anusūcakas* were employed to detect the foreign spies in the city; the *pratisūcakas* sat on the city gate apparently doing some menial work; the *sarvasūcakas* gathered information through their assistants and reported it to the *amātya*. These spies were both males and females and they worked in frontier territories, their own country, cities and the royal harem.⁹ The ministers were helpful in attaining the objective of defeating the enemy by diplomatic machination. Their feigned dismissal was made and they were allowed to join the services of the opponent. We hear of the minister of Sālīvāhana of Paiṭṭhāna, who joined the king Nahavāhana as a minister and after exhausting his whole treasury informed his master, who invaded the enemy and captured his kingdom.¹⁰

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⁶ Brh Bhā Pi, 378 383

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⁷ Vya Bhā, 1, pp 129 f

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⁸ Ava cū, p 534, for similar references see Saccamkāra Jātaka (I, No 73), p 326

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⁹ Vya. Bhā, 1, p 130a f According to the Mahābhārata (śānti p LXviii, 8-12) the employment and direction of spies is one of the prime duties of the king They are to be set in cities, provinces, and the territories of feudatories, also see Arthasāstra, pp. 17-22

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¹⁰ Ava cū, II, pp 200 f; cf. the minister Vassakāra in Buddhist literature by whose tactful machination the unity of the Vajjian confederacy was broken (Com on the Dīgha, II, pp. 522 ff)

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Besides, there were other officers such as chieftains (gaṇamukhyas), head police officers (daṇḍanāyaga), knights (talavara),¹¹ heads of families (koḍumbiya), the head of a mercantile guild (seṭṭhi)¹² generals (senāvai) and frontier guards (sandhīpāla),¹³ who formed an assembly of king's officers.

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¹¹ They were invested with a paṭṭa given by the king, they possessed the same status as th king, the only difference was that they were without chowries.

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¹² They are invested with a golden paṭṭa inscribed with the image of god

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¹³ Rãy Sū., Ṭī. p 313; 148, p 285; Nisī. cū., 9, p 506, Bṛh. Bhā. Vr, 3 3757, Kalpa. Ṭī., 4, 82.

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FISCAL ADMINISTRATION

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