Hindu Polity: A Constitutional History of India in Hindu Times c39.2

c39.2

§ 241. With the actual observance of the sacrament of Coronation Oath, it was impossible for a theory of origin other than human to take root in Hindu Politics. Even a usurper, as long as he was a Hindu, had to undergo the sacrament of coronation and when he actually took the oath, his old title of force and conquest disappeared. In the second century A. C., when Hindu society had already undergone a great social change as is evinced by the law-books and controversies of the time,¹ even foreigners sought to legalise their position by the sacred, constitutional ceremonies. Rudradāman based his claim on election and his responsibility on the Coronation Oath. No room for a theory like divine origin existed.