Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c4.t2.92

c4.t2.92

Hindu political literature lays down a great principle viz., *rājyaṃ rakṣati rakṣitaḥ*,² meaning that he who is protected protects the realm.³ That is, the king should protect himself. This personal safety must be from his own sons, thieves and enemies. Kauṭilya devotes a whole chapter on "protection of princes"⁴ wherein he, with his usual masterly insight into human nature and current conditions, shows what a danger the prince is likely to be to a father, and lays down what steps should be taken by the latter to protect himself against the former. He quotes the opinions of some of his predecessors in this connection which, at times⁵ go to horrible extremes. One of these, that of Bhāradvāja, is that "princes like crabs have a notorious tendency of eating up their begetter".⁶ The retort must have been an outcome of long experience with actualities, and not a commonplace theoretical speculation. The *Jātakas* place before us a good many nstances of the tendency described above.