History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.67.2

v4.c62.67.2

1 and 2) describes how Daśaratha when he grew old desired to make his eldest son Rāma the Crown Prince (yuvarāja), how he called together an assembly of vassal kings, citizens and rural inhabitants and placed before the assembly his idea, how they acclaimed loudly the old emperor’s proposal and readily gave their consent. This shows that though kingship became hereditary in course of time some element of popular approval was sought for. But such passages referring to the approval of the people cannot be stretched to mean that the king was chosen by a parliament the members of which were elected by the people. All that happened appears to have been only this that citizens that approved assembled spontaneously and expressed their feelings in the assembly. In the Rāmāyaṇa II. 67. 2 it is said that when Daśaratha died sages like Mārkaṇḍeya and Vāmadeva declared along with the *amātyas* in the presence of the family priest (purohita) Vasiṣṭha that as Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa had gone into exile and Bharata and Śatrughna were in the Kekaya country, some scion of the Ikṣvāku race should be chosen as king. These sages and ministers are spoken of as king-makers (‘rāja-kartāraḥ’) here and in chap. 79. 1. In the Ādiparva 44. 6 it is stated that all the citizens of the capital in one voice elected Janamejaya, though a boy, as a king on the death of Parikṣit and Janamejaya ruled with the help of his ministers and purohita. There are historical examples of the election of kings.