The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c16.s1.99

c16.s1.99

Another contemporary poet, Subandhu, author of Vāsavadattā,² paints king Cintāmaṇi as an embodiment of moral discipline, beneficent ‘protection,’ martial glory, and as a patron of poetry and learning.³ Like so many other heroes of classical Sanskrit literature, Cintāmaṇi is a universal ruler who has humbled all the princes of the earth. It was only he and the elephant of the north that could be called rulers of the world.⁴ Behind this imagery there seems to be a feudalistic organisation. Among the king’s servants there are bearers of betel which by this time seems to have become a necessary article of luxury for the upper classes.⁵