The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c10.28

c10.28

Kṣatriyas generally wielded the sceptre but non-Kṣatriya kingship was not altogether unknown. Thus in Jātaka, I, 326, the expulsion of a tyrannical king is followed by the elevation of a Brāhmaṇa to the throne. Similarly, in the Padakusalamānava Jātaka (III, 513) a Brāhmaṇa who instigates a revolt against a thievish king and thus brings about his death is installed king (see also II, 264 et seq.).