The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c18.41

c18.41

The same conclusion about feudatories emerges from the Jaina Padma Purāṇa and Harivaṃśa Purāṇa. In the latter, for instance, king Śreṇika’s example in filling Bihār with Jaina temples is said to have been followed by his Sâmantas, ministers and subjects in general.¹ Here Sâmanta can have only one meaning, that of feudatory. Here one of the aspects of the relations between suzerain and vassal is that of giving the lead and following the lead.