The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c16.s1.88

c16.s1.88

Hindu tradition reckons the Śrīmad Bhāgavata among the Purāṇas, though it is really an independent work.³ It preaches the doctrine of passive obedience,⁴ but qualifies it by approving of the fate which befell Veṇa.⁵ It is the king's duty to educate his subjects into virtue, to 'protect' all, to set every one to his duty, and to chastise the undutiful.⁶ In an interesting passage it derives the king's right to rule from his setting up idols of gods. The evidence of inscriptions shows that many kings founded or endowed temples with unstinted profusion.¹ The enumeration of the emblems of sovereignty in the Bhâgavata is interesting. There is the Camara, Vyajana,—fans—Śaṅkha or conch-shell, chatra or umbrella, the crown, Siṁhâsana or throne, Śayana or couch.²