Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c13.s1.51

c13.s1.51

Kṛṣṇadeva Râya. The Telugu classic Āmuktaṃâlyavadā is attributed to him with ample reason. It furnishes an excellent view of the political theory which was favoured at the southern court in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Eighty verses (205--284) in the fourth canto of the work are remarkable for a degree of lucidity, virility and courage which is rarely found in work of this period elsewhere in India. In fidelity to the Hindu tradition, Kṛṣṇadeva Râya sets out to give only some political maxims but they cover many spheres of administration.¹ A king should first guarantee the security of his dominions by adequate naval and military preparations or affected friendships with enemies. It is not wise to press an enemy without giving him an opportunity to come to terms. Secure on the frontiers the king should proceed to root out his internal enemies in the manner of a farmer. All the time he should keep a watch over external and internal foes. He should particularly ascertain and repress his opponents in recently conquered territories.¹ Contrary to the general tenor of Hindu thought, Kṛṣṇadeva Rāya would entrust both civil and military offices chiefly to Brāhmaṇas. "Because a Brāhmaṇa would stand to his post even in times of danger and would continue in service though reduced to becoming a subordinate to a Kṣatriya or a Śūdra, it is always advisable for a king to make Brāhmaṇas as his officers." Fortresses should be commanded by Brāhmaṇa generals who combine knowledge and heroism with virtue. An ideal civil minister is a Brāhmaṇa scholar, healthy in body, between fifty and seventy years of age, descended from a family of hereditary royal servants, versed in politics, afraid of sin, careful in business. A Brāhmaṇa who comes of a mean family or is devoid of learning or character, is never to be appointed minister. So, according to Kṛṣṇadeva Rāya, birth, learning, character and executive capacity are the qualifications for the principal office. For this, as for all other chief Posts, too, veracity, "absence of greed" and "absence of cruelty" are indispensable and requisite.²