History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.205.5

v4.c62.205.5

231-232) sets out six other examples of kings killed by their queens. The king has also to beware of treachery from ministers and officials. Kauṭ. (in I. 10) describes how ancient writers devised methods of ascertaining the purity or impurity of ministers by putting before them allurements regarding dharma, wealth, sexual desires and playing on their fears and gives it as his own opinion that temptations that have direct reference to the king or queen should not be placed in the way of the ministers. In the Harṣacarita VI, Skandagupta, the commander of the elephant arm of Harṣa's army, warns the Emperor against putting trust in everybody and gives 19 instances of kings that met misfortunes, death or destruction through their own carelessness and the stratagems of those about them (apart from the seven mentioned above and two more who fell victims to the wiles of their queens). Some of them are famous and deserve mention here, viz. the king of Vatsa (i. e. Udayana) who was imprisoned by the soldiers of Mahāsena that jumped out of a faked elephant; Maurya Bṛhadratha killed by his Senāpati Puṣyamitra (called ‘anārya’ by Bāṇa on account of his treachery to his master); Kākavarṇa Saiśunāri (Śaiśunāgi?), Sumitra, son of Agnimitra, whose head was cut off by Mitradeva while the king fond of dancing was in the midst of actors; the Śuṅga Devabhūti killed by his minister Vasudeva; Candragupta (of the Gupta dynasty) who dressed as a charming woman cut off the king of Śakas;