Hindu Polity: A Constitutional History of India in Hindu Times c38.55

c38.55

§241. The oath was deemed to be the essential sacrament down to later Muhammdan times. The ceremonials of coronation as then prevalent are not the same in all details as in the Brāhmaṇas. The coronation procession has developed out of the simple chariot drive. The king, as we have seen, holds a Sabhā where the leaders of the community are introduced to him. The modifications are many and considerable. But the Coronation Oath is the oath of the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, and Hindu lawyers¹ did register it inspite of their mediæval ideals of kingship. Inspite of vicissitudes in fortune, inspite of contact with contrary doctrines, the Hindu race did not forget the coronation oath devised by their Vedic forefathers. Thanks to sacerdotalism, the oath has been preserved for history and posterity.