The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c17.100

c17.100

The details of a consecration in the 7th century A.D. may be inferred from some passages in Kādambarī where Prince Candrāpīḍa is anointed king. True, here the ceremony is led by his own father but for the rest, the description may be as applicable to the consecration of a king as of a Yuvarāja. “. . . On an auspicious day,” says the romance, “the king, surrounded by a thousand chiefs, raised aloft, with Śukanāsa’s help, the vessel of consecration, and himself anointed his son, while the rest of the rites were performed by the family priest. The water of consecration was brought from every sacred pool, river and ocean encircled by every plant, fruit, earth and gem . . . and purified by mantras . . . straightway he was anointed from head to foot by Vilâsavatî (his mother) attended by all ladies . . . with sweet sandal white as moonbeams. He was garlanded with fresh white flowers; decked with lines of gorocana; adorned with an earring of dûrvâ grass; clad in two silken robes with long fringes, white as the moon; bound with an amulet round his hand, tied by the family priest; and had his breast encircled by a pearl necklace. . . .” He was completely covered over with wreaths of white flowers. “Then his father himself for that time took the chamberlain’s wand to make way for him and he went to the hall of assembly . . . Then, when he had received due homage from the kings (chiefs ?), after a short pause the great drum that heralded his setting out on his triumphal course resounded deeply, under the stroke of golden sticks . . . Then, at the roar of the drum, followed by an outcry of ‘All hail!’ from all sides, Candrâpîḍa came down from the throne, . . . He left the hall of assembly, followed by a thousand chiefs who rose hastily round him . . .” Seated on an elephant, under an umbrella “with a hundred wires enmeshed with pearls . . .” he made his progress and received the homage of hosts of “kings,” who bowed low before him “as a trusted general recited their names . . .” Turning slowly towards the eastern quarter, Candrâpîḍa at last reached his palace. It was adorned with many triumphal arches; dotted with a thousand pavilions enclosed in grassy ramparts, and bright with many a tent of shining white cloth. Like a king, he performed all due rites. Next morning he started on his Digvijaya and made “conquests in all quarters.” The