History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v7.c96.s1.58.4

v7.c96.s1.58.4

Ajātaśatru, king of Kāśi, exclaimed, when the brāhmaṇa Bālāki Gārgya approached him for knowledge of *brahman*, 'this is against the natural usual course that a brāhmaṇa should approach a kṣatriya to learn about *brahman*' (Br. Up. II 1. 15). That indicates that many brāhmaṇas must have endeavoured to act up to the old ideal of learning in olden times They became the custodians of the vast literature that had accumulated and was growing every day and were expected to preserve that literature and propagate it Though every brāhmaṇa could not have lived up to the high ideals set up for brāhmaṇas, a very large number must have made as near an approach to the ideal as possible It was the greatness of these latter that led to the glorification of the whole class. In most communities there is a group of the *élite*, which represents the ideals of the whole community, its essential tendencies and acts up to the ideals Learning, great moral and spiritual attainments among individuals are rather elusive and impalpable, while birth in a certain family is a very obvious thing. Most people in ancient and medieval times followed the occupation of their forefathers. The kingly office was highly eulogised by Manu (VIII. 4-8), who propounded the theory that the king represented in his person eight deities (Indra, Agni, Varuṇa, the Sun, the Moon, Kubera, Yama and Vāyu) and that the king was a great divinity in human form. The office of the king also was hereditary.