Hindu Polity: A Constitutional History of India in Hindu Times c37.38

c37.38

The theological interpreter emphasises that it is by virtue of the above formula that sovereignty vests in the man. "By that he is endowed with royal "authority". 'To thee this State is given' is the most sacred text uttered at the Hindu coronation. It bore such a mighty solemn consequence as the vesting of sovereignty in one man. The terse comment of the author of the *Brāhmaṇa* is immensely important in the history of the institution of Hindu Kingship. It is this sacred act of delivering the trust that kingship depended upon, and not on any other principle such as that of succession, or inheritance.