Hindu Polity: A Constitutional History of India in Hindu Times c37.30

c37.30

is the (share) of him who protects them (उञ्छषड्भागप्रदानेन वनस्था अपि तपस्विनो राजानं सम्भावयन्ति। तस्यैव तद्भूयात् यस्तान् गोपायती इति ॥) Final settlement seems to be that the Priest-Brahmin alone was exempted. The Mahā-Bhārata¹ (Sānti, lxxvi. 5) makes Brahmins who are not Vedic priests liable to taxation. Manu's Dharma Code also limits the exemption to the Vedic priest, Śrotriya (VII. 133).²