History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.409.1

v4.c62.409.1

Kauṭ. (II. 1) states that a king whose treasury is depleted preys upon the citizens and the rural population and (II. 8) very²³¹ rightly remarks that all undertakings depend upon kośa (financial position of the king), therefore the king must pay the first attention to kośa. Gautama (as cited by S. V. p. 46) holds that kośa is the basis or support of the other six elements of the State. The Śāntiparva 119. 16 calls upon the king to guard his finances with great effort, since kings depend upon kośa, which tends to the prosperity (of the kingdom). Kām. XIII. 33 states that it is on the lips of all that the king is dependent on kośa. Śānti 133 contains a eulogy of kośa. The Viṣṇudharmottara II. 61. 17 says that kośa is the root of the tree of State. The two great pillars of the Indian States in ancient India were the revenue and the army. Manu VII. 65 says that kośa and the government of the realm depend on the king i. e. they should be the personal concern of the king. Yāj. (I. 327–328) recommends that the king should personally look into the income and expenditure every day and keep in his treasury buildings whatever is brought by those who are appointed to bring gold and wealth. Kām. V. 77 and Śukra I. 276–278 say the same. The Rājataraṅgiṇī (VII. 507–508) tells us that king Kalaśa of Kashmir (1063–1089 A. D.) kept accounts like a merchant, closely watched income and expenditure and had a clerk by his side with chalk and *bhūrja* (birch leaf) to write upon.