Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c4.13

c4.13

The proposal is readily accepted and thus the Kāsī monarch passes on with a delightful pride that he has brought his rival under his submission. Thus overlordship and vassalage arose. There is still another interesting aspect in this connection to be gathered from the same Jātaka. It gives us an idea of how the aspiring monarch carried on his conquests. Of course the resources of a single kingdom, however great, could hardly be considered sufficient for carrying on military operations on such a large scale.¹ The general practice was that the victorious army was re-inforced by the forces of the defeated king and then was able to attack another front more powerfully. When this also was defeated, its soldiers were forced to join the invading army. In this way the march continued.² However all this may be, it is apparent that the idea of Permanent Annexations is quite foreign to the Jātakas. “The establishment of suzerainty was only a formal affair.³”