[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928) › c7 # The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c7: Chapter III. Gleanings from Later Vedic Literature The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c7 - **Language:** English ### Chapter III. Gleanings from Later Vedic Literature ### [c7.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.2) The tenth and last Maṇḍala, distinctly later than the rest, of the Ṛigveda was composed probably after 1000 B.C. ### [c7.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.3) After the Ṛigveda proper. About the same time three other Vedas took shape. The Sâmaveda is only a collection of chants from the Ṛigveda for Sâman singers and is, therefore, valueless for historical purposes. The Yajurveda contains, besides a number of Ṛigvedic hymns, prose passages of its own. It is a collection of the formulæ and prayers of the Adhvaryu priests who actually performed the sacrifices. It has come down in two main recensions, the Kṛiṣṇa or black and the Śukla or white. Of the former there are three complete texts—the Taittirîya, Kaṭhaka and Maitrâyaṇî Saṃhitâs—and an incomplete text called the Kapiṣṭhala Saṃhitâ. For the White Yajurveda there is the Vâjasaneyi Saṃhitâ.¹ ### [c7.4](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.4) ¹ On the composition of the three later Vedas, see in particular Macdonell, History of Sanskrit Literature, pp. 171–92. ### [c7.5](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.5) The Atharvaveda. About the same time arose the Atharvaveda which was, only long afterwards, recognised as a regular fourth Veda. Its spells and incantations, sometimes grotesque in character, were once held by modern scholars to be primarily non-Âryan in origin and the whole Veda was looked upon as an uncouth mixture of Âryan and “Drâvidian” practices and superstitions. Recently, however, the opinion has been gaining ground that the Âryans had magic and witchcraft of their own and that the Atharvaveda is, like the other Vedas, Âryan in origin and spirit. Only it represents a phase of belief and practice different from what is mirrored elsewhere. About the time that The earlier Brâhmaṇas. the last three Vedas were put into shape or only slightly later, Vedic ceremonial was elaborated and Vedic ideas explained or obscured in the earlier Brâhmaṇas. Of these the Pañcaviṁśa Brâhmaṇa, pertaining to the Sâmaveda, is the oldest. Next comes the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa of which the first five books are probably earlier than the rest. Then comes the Kauṣitakî or Śâṅkhâyana Brâhmaṇa. Both belong to the Ṛigveda.¹ The ideas and institutions reflected in the tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛigveda, the three other Vedas and the earlier Brâhmaṇas belong to the same order and, with specification of their sources, can be reviewed in the same strain. ### [c7.6](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.6) ¹ Keith, Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, pp. 114–16. Bloomfield, Introduction to the Hymns of the Atharvaveda. Whitney, Introduction to the English translation of the Atharvaveda. Macdonell, op. cit., 202–17. Keith, Aitareya Âraṇyaka, pp. 172–73. ### [c7.7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.7) This extensive literature which falls roughly between 1000 B.C. and 700 B.C. belongs not merely to the valley of the Indus but also to that of the Ganges which the Âryans had penetrated in the meanwhile. The chief peoples of this period are the Kurus, Pañcâlas, Śibis, Matsyas, Vaitahavyas, Kośalas, Videhas, Kâśis, Kekâṭas, Vidarbhas and Aṅgas. The Śriñjayas were closely related to the Kurus. Near the Uttara Kurus were the Uttara Madras.² ### [c7.8](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.8) ² Keith, Cambridge History of India, Vol. I, 118–121. ### [c7.9](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.9) The peoples. ### [c7.10](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.10) Caste. Caste has developed further and is now firmly established. It is now regarded as divine in origin and eternal in duration. In the well-known pantheistic Puruṣasûkta of the tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛigveda occurs the standard explanation of caste. At the commencement of creation appeared Puruṣa, endowed with a thousand heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand legs. "Puruṣa is all this world, what has been and shall be." Three-fourths of him is the immortals in heaven and "one- ### [c7.11](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.11) fourth of his is all creatures." From his mouth sprang the Brâhmaṇas, from his arms the Kṣatriyas, from his thighs the Vaiśyas and from his feet the Śūdras.¹ Hence, the primacy of the Brâhmaṇa, the strength of the Kṣatriya, the utility of the Vaiśya and the low position and dependence of the Śūdra. Henceforward the principle of caste meets us everywhere. It is true that change of caste is occasionally recognised as possible. Viśvâmitra, for instance, who appears as a priest in the Ṛigveda is called a king in the Pañcaviṃśa Brâhmaṇa.² There, too, some kings are spoken of as performers of sattras.³ Cases of intermarriage between different castes are met with.⁴ Once at least in the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa the position of the Brâhmaṇa is subordinated to that of the Kṣatriya.⁵ But the general trend of the later Vedic literature points to the consolidation of caste. The Brahmanic supremacy is to be buttressed in all sorts of ways. "Him who reviles a Brâhmaṇa, he (the king) shall fine with a hundred; him who strikes a Brâhmaṇa, he shall fine with a thousand; he who draws blood from him shall not behold the world of the Pitṛis."⁶ In litigation, the king is required to support Brâhmaṇas against non-Brâhmaṇas.⁷ In the Atharvaveda, as elsewhere, the Purohita is exalted. "The rain of Mitra-Varuṇa falls not on him who wrongs the priest. To him no command brings success; he wins no friend to do his will."⁸ On the other hand, the Vaiśya is described as tributary to another, to be lived on by another, to be oppressed at will.¹ The followers of various crafts sink in estimation and form castes of their own. "The Śûdra is the servant of another, to be expelled at will, and to be slain at pleasure."² It is probable, however, that the fall in the status of the Vaiśyas brought them nearer the Śûdras and thus indirectly improved the position of the latter. In any case, however, caste barriers are now definitely set up and constitute a factor of first-rate importance in the political and economic life of the community.³ ### [c7.12](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.12) ¹ Ṛigveda, X, 90, 12 Also Atharvaveda, I, 9, 3; X, 6, 31. Cf. Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, VI, 1, 1. Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa, I, 2, 6, 7, III, 2, 3, 9. ### [c7.13](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.13) ² Pañcaviṃśa Brâhmaṇa, XXI, 12, 2. On seers of royal origin, Vedic Index, II, 261. ### [c7.14](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.14) ³ Pañcaviṃśa Brâhmaṇa, XXV, 16, 3. ### [c7.15](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.15) ⁴ Ṛigveda, X, 109. Atharvaveda, V, 17. Pañcaviṃśa Brâhmaṇa, IV, 24, 25. Vedic Index, II, 259-60. ### [c7.16](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.16) ⁵ Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, VII, 20. ### [c7.17](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.17) ⁶ Taittirîya Saṃhitâ, II, 6, 11. ### [c7.18](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.18) ⁷ Ibid., II, 5, 12. ### [c7.19](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.19) ⁸ Atharvaveda, V, 19, 15. On the priests see also Ṛigveda, X, 66, 13; 70, 7. ### [c7.20](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.20) ¹ Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, VII, 29, 3. Vedic Index, II, 255. ### [c7.21](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.21) ² Vedic Index, II, 255-56, summarising the passage in the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, VII, 29, 4. ### [c7.22](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.22) ³ On the whole subject, Vedic Index, II, 247-71, and the authorities cited there. ### [c7.23](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.23) It is possible that the ordinary size of a state increased during this period beyond the point reached in the first nine books of the Rigveda, but direct evidence on the subject is wanting. The new ideal which has definitely emerged is either that of the big kingdom or of suzerainty. In the Atharvaveda one of the most cherished ambitions of a king is to 'conquer' others. Victory in war is the burden of numerous hymns. For instance, a long prayer to Arbudi and Nyarbudi for assistance in battle breathes a jingoistic feeling of the utmost fervour.⁴ The question is whether victory in war ordinarily led to annexation or merely to some sort of vassalage. There are indications which point to the latter probability. The term Samrâj, superior king, occurs in the Vâjasaneyi Saṃhitâ.⁵ Adhirâja, which has a similar significance, is met with in the last Maṇḍala of the Rigveda,⁶ the Atharvaveda,⁷ the Taittirîya Saṃhitâ,⁸ the Maitrâyaṇî ### [c7.24](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.24) ⁴ Atharvaveda, IV, 22; VI, 38, 39, 97; VIII, 8. ### [c7.25](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.25) ⁵ Vâjasaneyi Saṃhitâ, V, 32; XIII, 35; XX, 5, etc. ### [c7.26](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.26) ⁶ Rigveda, X, 128, 9. ### [c7.27](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.27) ⁷ Atharvaveda, VI, 98, 1; IX, 10, 24. ### [c7.28](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.28) ⁸ Taittirîya Saṃhitâ, II, 4, 14, 2. ### [c7.29](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.29) Samhitâ,¹ the Kaṭhaka Samhitâ,² and the Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa.³ The Pañcaviṃśa Brâhmaṇa speaks of the Adhipatya or supreme power.⁴ The White Yajurveda also contains prayers to various gods for supremacy to kings.⁵ The Kaṭhaka Samhitâ and the Maitrâyaṇî Samhitâ have the term svârâjya which, though not indicative of supremacy, seems to emphasise the element of independence.⁶ The term Ekarâja, literally, ‘sole ruler’ which is used metaphorically in the Rigveda⁷ seems to be used in a distinctly political sense in the Atharvaveda.⁸ There are only two possible explanations: either a big powerful ruler assumed a higher title or a king got some other rulers to acknowledge his suzerainty in some rough and ready manner and therefore arrogated the lofty designations. The latter supposition would imply a feudal tendency. It is supported by the references to fights for single villages, to prayers and oblations prescribed for one who desires possession of a village.⁹ If there were such small autonomous areas, they could hardly have stood by themselves and those who held possession of them are likely to have leaned on others for support. It may be added that during this period the terms Râjan or Râjya continued as usual to denote a king or a kingdom.¹⁰ It is probable that overlordship was still the exception but that it had emerged as a form of political relationship. It is not possible to carry the discussion further on the basis of the evidence available for this period but as the sequel will show, the whole trend of later development harmonises only with the view here indicated. ### [c7.30](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.30) ¹ Maitrâyaṇî Samhitâ, IV, 12, 3. ### [c7.31](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.31) ² Kaṭhaka Samhitâ, VIII, 17. ### [c7.32](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.32) ³ Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa, III, 1, 2, 9. ### [c7.33](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.33) ⁴ Pañcaviṃśa Brâhmaṇa, XV, 3, 35. ### [c7.34](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.34) ⁵ Śukla Yajurveda, IX, 39. ### [c7.35](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.35) ⁶ Kaṭhaka Samhitâ, XIV, 5. Maitrâyaṇî Samhitâ, I, 11, 5. ### [c7.36](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.36) ⁷ Rigveda, VIII, 17, 3. ### [c7.37](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.37) ⁸ Atharvaveda, III, 1, 4, 1. ### [c7.38](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.38) ⁹ Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda, II, 3, 10; III, 4, 8. ### [c7.39](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.39) ¹⁰ Atharvaveda, III, 4, 2; IV, 8, 1; XI, 6, 15, etc. Taittirîya Samhitâ, II, 1, 3, 4; VII, 5, 8, 3, etc. Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, VII, 23, etc. A reference to the good government of a Kṣatriya occurs in the Rigveda, X, 109, 3. ### [c7.40](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.40) ⁷ Atharvaveda, III, 4, 7. ### [c7.41](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.41) The monarchy was the normal type of government. There are, indeed, a few passages which at first sight point to the existence of oligarchy. A hymn in the tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛigveda remarks, “As the Rājans assemble together in the Samiti, the plants gather together in him who is called physician . . . . . .”¹ We read in the Atharvaveda, “They that ruled, a thousand, and were ten hundreds, those Vaitāhavyas, having devoured the cow of a Brāhmaṇa, perished.”² The most probable explanation of these passages is that nobles are meant. In some other passages in the tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛigveda,³ the Atharvaveda⁴ the Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā,⁵ and the Taittirīya Saṃhitā,⁶ the term Rājan seems to be used only in the sense of a noble. It shows that round the king there stood a nobility which claimed the same social status as the royal family. ### [c7.42](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.42) ¹ Ṛigveda, X, 9, 16. ### [c7.43](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.43) ² Atharvaveda, V, 18, 10. ### [c7.44](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.44) ³ Ṛigveda, X, 42, 10; X, 97, 6. ### [c7.45](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.45) ⁴ Atharvaveda, XIX, 62, 1; II, 6, 4. ### [c7.46](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.46) ⁵ Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, XVIII, 48; XXVI, 2. ### [c7.47](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.47) ⁶ Taittirīya Saṃhitā, V, 7, 6; I, 3, 6. ### [c7.48](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.48) The evidence at our disposal does not bear out the contention of some modern scholars that the monarchy was elective. No actual instance of election is anywhere recorded. A passage in the Atharvaveda—“To the tenth (decade of life) abide here, formidable, well-willing . . .”—has been interpreted by one scholar as referring to life-long election as opposed to election for one or more generations, but, read with the context, it is only a usual prayer for long life and prosperity. What seems actually to have happened was that the people formally accepted a new king. It is possible that the people might refuse to accept a physical or moral wreck for their leader but there is nothing anywhere in the nature of qualifications for candidates for royalty or indications of habitual choice on the score of merit. When choice seems to be referred to in benedictions and prayers, it only signifies acceptance. A hymn in the Atharvaveda indicates that the people at large, including metal-workers, builders of chariots, etc., signified their acceptance of a new sovereign.¹ Another hymn records the blessings and benedictions showered on him on the occasion. "Unto thee hath come the kingdom; with splendour rise forward; as lord of the people, sole king, bear thou rule; let all the directions call thee, O king; become thou here one for waiting on, for homage. ### [c7.49](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.49) ¹ Atharvaveda, III, 5, 6, 7. ### [c7.50](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.50) "Thee let the people choose unto kingship, thee these five directions; rest at the summit of royalty, at the pinnacle; from thence, formidable, share out good things to us."² ### [c7.51](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.51) ² Ibid., III, 4, 1-2. ### [c7.52](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.52) Consecration. The acceptance was symbolised by a formal consecration. In the Vâjasaneyî Samhitâ the king-designate before his accession steps upon a gold plate perforated with nine or a hundred holes, and the priest sprinkles the waters over his head, chanting the following sacred text:— ### [c7.53](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.53) "With Soma's glory, I sprinkle thee! with Agni's glow! with Sûrya's splendour! with Indra's energy! be thou the sovereign protector of the ruling powers!" ### [c7.54](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.54) "Make him, O gods, to be unrivalled for great rulership, for great superiority, for rule of the people," etc.³ ### [c7.55](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.55) ³ Vâjasaneyî Samhitâ, IX, 40; XXV, 17, 18. ### [c7.56](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.56) In the Atharvaveda the waters are supposed to be collected from many quarters. "The waters of heaven that revel with milk, in the atmosphere or also on the earth--with the splendours of all those waters do I sprinkle thee."¹ It appears that prior to the sprinkling, the king-designate, attired in bright clothing strode upon the tiger's skin unto the great quarters.² In several compositions of this period is mentioned the Râjasûya, a yet more complex ceremony for the inauguration of a king, which consisted of a series of sacrifices lasting for a year or so.³ In the Taittirîya Saṃhitâ⁴ during the Râjasûya rite of adoration the king is addressed as Mitra, Varuṇa, etc.⁴ The rite of consecration raised the king almost above humanity. It is, however, in the later Brâhmaṇas that varieties and details of the consecration ceremonial are fully developed.⁵ ### [c7.57](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.57) ¹ Atharvaveda, IV, 8, 5-6. ### [c7.58](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.58) ² Ibid., IV, 8, 3-4. ### [c7.59](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.59) ³ Taittirîya Saṃhitâ, Atharvaveda, IV, 8, 1; XI, 7, 7. Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, V, 1, 1, 12. ### [c7.60](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.60) ⁴ Taittirîya Saṃhitâ, I, 8, 16. ### [c7.61](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.61) ⁵ Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa, II, 7, 15-17. Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa, \*infra\*. ### [c7.62](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.62) In spite of the consecration, however, a king sometimes came to grief. In the Taittirîya Saṃhitâ, the king emphatically claims the obedience of the people.⁶ But the same text elsewhere elaborates a sacrifice to avert the impending expulsion of a king.⁷ The Atharvaveda contains prayers for the restoration of an exiled king.⁸ Elsewhere the fervent desire is expressed that all rivals must be inferior to the king.⁹ All this points to some trouble which might be due to refractory nobles or other subjects or to tactless kings. ### [c7.63](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.63) ⁶ Taittirîya Saṃhitâ, II, 7, 18, 2. ### [c7.64](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.64) ⁷ Ibid., II, 3, 1. ### [c7.65](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.65) ⁸ Atharvaveda, III, 3-6, 4. ### [c7.66](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.66) ⁹ Ibid., I, 9. ### [c7.67](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.67) In such turbulence the Assembly appears to have been a factor to be reckoned with. In the course of a hymn in the tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛigveda which may refer to the assembly in one's own state or in a conquered enemy's territory, a proud leader says, “Superior am I and have come here with a force capable of doing all things. I shall make myself master of your aims, your resolutions and your assembly.”¹ “Of these that sit together,” so runs a prayer in the Atharvaveda, “I take to myself the splendour, the discernment (vijñāna); of the whole gathering (saṃsad) make me, O Indra, possessor of the fortune (bhāgin).”² The concord of the monarchy and the assembly was devoutly to be wished and prayed for. We read in the course of a benediction in the Atharvaveda, “Fixed, unmoved do thou slaughter the foes, make them that play the foe fall below (thee); (be) all the quarters (diś) like-minded, concordant; let the gathering (samiti) here suit thee (who art) fixed.”³ Again, “let both Sabhā and Samiti, the two daughters of Prajāpati, accordant, favour me.”⁴ The Atharvaveda contains prayers for power of argumentation and eloquence in order to acquire influence over the assembly.⁵ Sometimes witchcraft was used to achieve the same end. “What (witchcraft) they have made for thee in the Sabhā—I take that back again.”⁶ The assembly itself seems to have been sometimes unsteady in temper. There is a tell-tale passage in the Atharvaveda, “We know thy name, O Assembly; verily, sport (nariṣṭā) by name art thou.”⁷ In the last hymn of the last Maṇḍala of the Ṛgveda, there is a fervent exhortation for concord in the Assembly. “Assemble, speak together; let your minds be all of one accord. ### [c7.68](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.68) ¹ Ṛgveda, X, 166, 4. ### [c7.69](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.69) ² Atharvaveda, VII, 12, 2-3. ### [c7.70](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.70) ³ Ibid., VI, 88. ### [c7.71](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.71) ⁴ Ibid., VII, 12, 1. ### [c7.72](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.72) ⁵ Ibid., II, 27; VI, 69. ### [c7.73](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.73) ⁶ Ibid., IV, 31. ### [c7.74](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.74) ⁷ Ibid., VII, 12, 2. ### [c7.75](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.75) The Assembly and the King. ### [c7.76](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.76) Concord in the Assembly. ### [c7.77](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.77) “As ancient gods unanimously sit down to their appointed share. ### [c7.78](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.78) “The place is common, common the assembly, common the mind, so be their thoughts united. ### [c7.79](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.79) “A common purpose do I lay before you, and worship with your general oblation. ### [c7.80](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.80) “One and the same be your resolve, and be your minds of one accord. ### [c7.81](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.81) “United be the thoughts of all that may happily agree.”¹ ### [c7.82](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.82) ¹ Rigveda, X, 193, 2–4. ### [c7.83](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.83) There is no means of gauging the actual power wielded by the Assembly. Nor is the scope of its activities at all clear. From a hymn in the last Maṇḍala of the Rigveda it appears that the assembly sometimes acted as a court of justice.² ### [c7.84](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.84) ² Rigveda, X, 71, 10. “All friends are joyful in the friend who cometh in triumph, having conquered in assembly.” ### [c7.85](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.85) The work of the Assembly. ### [c7.86](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.86) Sabhâsad or Sabhâcara seems to mean a member of the Sabhâ, one of those who sat to decide causes.³ It is possible that the judicial work of the Sabhâ was entrusted to a small committee of its members. The matters of which the Sabhâ probably took cognisance as a court of justice, seem to have been disputes about land,⁴ cheating at play,⁵ recovery of debts,⁶ inheritance,⁷ theft, assault and murder.⁸ Besides justice, the most important function of the assembly seems to be that of general deliberation. It is impossible to dogmatise on the subject, but from certain references in the Atharvaveda it appears that the Assembly discussed war,¹ peace,² finance³ and general well-being.⁴ ### [c7.87](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.87) ³ Vedic Index, II, 427-28. ### [c7.88](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.88) ⁴ Kṛiṣṇa Yajurveda, II, 2, 1. ### [c7.89](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.89) ⁵ Atharvaveda, VI, 118-19. ### [c7.90](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.90) ⁶ Ibid., VI, 117. ### [c7.91](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.91) ⁷ Kṛiṣṇa Yajurveda, II, 6, 1. ### [c7.92](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.92) ⁸ Vājasaneyi Saṃhitā, XXX, 5. ### [c7.93](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.93) ¹ Atharvaveda, VI, 75, 103. ### [c7.94](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.94) ² Ibid., VII, 52. ### [c7.95](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.95) ³ Ibid., III, 29. ### [c7.96](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.96) ⁴ Ibid., VI, 107. ### [c7.97](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.97) Nevertheless the literature of this period leaves the impression that the centre of gravity had already shifted to the monarchy. It was the king who constituted the real government. In more than one hymn of the Rigveda it is recognised that Rita—truth, right or law—is the base on which the earth rests.⁵ Beyond the Rita, another hymn in the same Mandala of the Rigveda, which is reproduced in the Atharvaveda, inculcates firmness on the part of the king. "Here be you firm like the mountain and may you not come down. Be you firm here like Indra; remain you here and hold the realm. ### [c7.98](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.98) ⁵ Rigveda, X, 85, 1; X, 190, 1. ### [c7.99](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.99) "Firm is the heaven, firm is the earth, firm is the universe, firm are the mountains, let the king of the people be firm. ### [c7.100](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.100) "Let the realm be held by you, be made firm by the Râjâ Varuṇa, the God Bṛihaspati, Indra and also Agni."⁶ ### [c7.101](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.101) ⁶ Ibid., X, 173. Atharvaveda, VI, 87-88. ### [c7.102](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.102) Round the king there seems to have been a circle of relations, friends, and chief officers, some of whom were called king-makers. "They that are kings, king-makers, that are charioteers and troop-leaders (headmen ?) subjects to me do thou, O Parṇa, make all people round about."⁷ The Pañcaviṁśa Brâhmaṇa mentions eight Vîras or heroes, round the king, \*viz.\*, his brother, son, Purohita, Mahiṣî, Sûta, Grâmaṇî, Kṣatra and Saṁgrahîtṛi.⁸ The Taittirîya Saṁhitâ and the Taittirîya Brâhmaṇa give a fuller list of the Ratnins or jewels: Brâhmaṇa, Râjanya (noble), Mahiṣī (first wife of the king), vâvâta (favourite wife of the king), Parivṛkti (discarded wife), the Senâni, commander of the army, the Sûta, charioteer, the Grâmaṇī, village headman, the Kṣatra, chamberlain, the Saṃgrahītṛi, treasurer, the Bhâgadugha, collector of taxes, and the Akṣâvâpa, superintendent of dicing or thrower of dice.¹ The Maitrâyaṇī Saṃhitâ varies the order of enumeration and adds the Takṣa, carpenter, the Rathakâra, chariot-maker and Govikarta, slayer of cows or huntsman.² It is difficult to conjecture the exact status and functions of these notables but it may be surmised that after the age of the Ṛigveda there had ensued a good deal of administrative development, that there had come into being a number of household officers and administrative functionaries, that no clear distinction had been drawn between the two and that probably the same persons acted in a double capacity. ### [c7.103](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.103) ⁷ Atharvaveda, III, 5, 7. ### [c7.104](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.104) ⁸ Pañcaviṁśa Brâhmaṇa, XIX, 1, 4. ### [c7.105](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.105) ¹ Taittirīya Saṃhitâ, I, 8, 9, 1 et seq. Taittirīya Brâhmaṇa, I, 7, 3, 1. ### [c7.106](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.106) ² Maitrâyaṇī Saṃhitâ, II, 6, 5; IV, 3, 8. ### [c7.107](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.107) There seems to have been a large staff of spies. "From the sky," says the Atharvaveda, "his (Varuṇa's) spies go forth hither; thousand-eyed they look over the earth."³ From a curious allusion in the Ṛigveda, one is inclined to infer that spies detected or caught criminals. Afraid of spies, Yama rejects the love of his sister.⁴ It is interesting that the Taittirīya Saṃhitâ mentions Dûtas as well as Prahitas.⁵ Many centuries later Sâyaṇâcârya, the great Vedic commentator, explained that the Dûta was a regular representative of the king while Prahita was a mere spy. ### [c7.108](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.108) ³ Atharvaveda, IV, 16, 4. ### [c7.109](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.109) ⁴ Ṛigveda, X, 10, 1–6. ### [c7.110](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.110) ⁵ Taittirīya Saṃhitâ, IV, 7, 1. ### [c7.111](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.111) The judicial administration still seems to be in a state of flux. Besides the Sabhâ or its committee which seems to have acted as a court of justice in some causes, the king probably performed some judicial functions. A hymn in the Atharvaveda refers to him as a stern corrector.¹ In the Kâṭhaka Saṃhitâ, a Râjanya is mentioned as an overseer (adhyakṣa) of the punishment of a Śûdra.² This may be a case of the delegation of judicial authority. To the expression Madhyamaśī, which occurs in the tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛigveda³ and reproduced in the Vâjasaneyi Saṃhitâ⁴ and the Atharvaveda,⁵ divergent meanings have been assigned. Probably it means an arbiter or mediator and thus points to the practice of arbitration during this period. On judicial punishments the evidence is very scanty. The Pañcaviṃśa Brâhmaṇa says that a Purohita might be punished with death for treachery to his master.⁶ It appears that treason was already regarded as one of the highest crimes and that it brought the severest punishment on the greatest in the land. A hymn in the tenth Maṇḍala of the Ṛigveda shows that a gambler who lost heavily and got deep into debt found himself bereft of home and reduced to slavery.⁷ It is not impossible that heavy indebtedness led to slavery in ancient India as in ancient Greece and Rome. From the Taittirîya Saṃhitâ it is clear that various fines were inflicted for various offences.⁸ ### [c7.112](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.112) ¹ Atharvaveda, IV, 8, 2. ### [c7.113](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.113) ² Kâṭhaka Saṃhitâ, XXVII, 4. ### [c7.114](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.114) ³ Ṛigveda, X, 97, 12. ### [c7.115](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.115) ⁴ Vâjasaneyi Saṃhitâ, XII, 86. ### [c7.116](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.116) ⁵ Atharvaveda, IV, 9, 4. ### [c7.117](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.117) ⁶ Vedic Index, II, 84. ### [c7.118](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.118) ⁷ Ṛigveda, X, 34. ### [c7.119](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.119) ⁸ Taittirîya Saṃhitâ, II, 6, 11. ### [c7.120](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.120) The fiscal arrangements of this period are even more obscure than the judicial. In the tenth Maṇḍala of the Rigveda, the king is called the sole taker of taxes from the people.¹ In the Atharvaveda he can eat the Viś, that is, levy heavy exactions on his subjects at will.² It appears from the Taittirīya Saṃhitâ that there was no communal ownership of land, that fields were held by individuals or families and that possession was sometimes disputed.³ It seems that the land was the principal source of revenue and that regular officers had been appointed for the collection. ### [c7.121](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.121) ¹ Rigveda, X, 173, 6. ### [c7.122](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.122) ² Atharvaveda, IV, 22. For other references to Bali or tribute, see Vedic Index, II, 62. ### [c7.123](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.123) ³ For instance in the Atharvaveda, III, 4, 7. ### [c7.124](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.124) It is not possible to form any further idea of the activities of the state during this period. Roads are referred to⁴ but there is no evidence to prove that they were constructed or maintained by the king. For the rest, the Vedic composers expected the king to secure plenty and prosperity and applauded those whom they believed to have fulfilled the ideal. ### [c7.125](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.125) ⁴ Atharvaveda, XX, 127. ### [c7.126](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.126) Some of the features of Hindu polity revealed in the second stage of Vedic compositions are observed in a more highly developed form in the last stage which is represented by the later books of the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, the Śatapatha and some other Brâhmaṇas and the earlier Upaniṣads such as the Chândogya and Bṛihadāraṇyaka. This class of compositions took shape, roughly speaking between 700 and 500 B.C. The other Upaniṣads, too, form part of Vedic literature, but they are so late in composition that they cannot be dealt with alongside the Brâhmaṇas. ### [c7.127](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.127) Caste is gaining in rigour and is dominating the whole of life. The Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa dedicates the representatives of the four castes to different deities at the Puruṣamedha sacrifice.¹ It prescribes different modes of address for the different castes,² and different sizes of funeral mounds for them.³ In the Soma sacrifice the Śûdra is certainly given a place,⁴ but elsewhere it declares that he is not at all fit to be addressed by a Dîkṣita or consecrated person.⁵ Once, indeed, it seems to regard the Brâhmaṇas, Kṣatriyas, and Vaiśyas as constituting the whole world and leaves Śûdras altogether out of account.⁶ Here and there it is true one meets with exceptions. Janaka, for instance, is said to have become a Brâhmaṇa.⁷ In the Bṛihadâraṇyaka Upaniṣad Ajâtaśatru is a teacher of the Brâhmaṇa Gârgya Bâlâki.⁸ But the general trend of the period is towards the consolidation of caste. ### [c7.128](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.128) ¹ Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa, III, 1, 1, 10. ### [c7.129](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.129) ² Vedic Index, II, 253. ### [c7.130](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.130) ³ Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa, XIII, 8, 3, 11. ### [c7.131](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.131) ⁴ Ibid., V, 5, 4, 9. ### [c7.132](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.132) ⁵ Ibid., III, 1, 1, 10. ### [c7.133](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.133) ⁶ Ibid., II, 1, 4, 12; IV, 2, 2, 14. ### [c7.134](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.134) ⁷ Ibid., IX, 6, 2, 10. In the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa (VII, 29) the progeny of Kṣatriya who eats in the company of men of other castes rises or falls accordingly. ### [c7.135](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.135) ⁸ Bṛihadâraṇyaka Upaniṣad, II, 1, 1. See also the Kauṣîtakî Upaniṣad, IV, 1. ### [c7.136](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.136) In the general political conditions, too, a change seems to have taken place by this time. The ideal of the big kingdom is now more pronounced than ever and the average size of the state also seems to have increased. The eighth book of the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa has a series of terms which denote variety or gradation of sovereignty—Râjya, Sâmrâjya, Bhaujya, Svârâjya, Vairâjya Pâramasthya, Mâhârâjya, Âdhipatya, Svâvaśya.¹ Further, the title for the kings of the Southerners, the Satvatas, is Bhoja; that for the kings of the Westerners, the Nīcyas and Apāoyas, is Svarāṭ; that for the kings of the Northerners, the Uttarakurus and the Uttaramadras, is Virāṭ; that for the kings of the people of the middle country, called Kuru Pañcālas and Uśīnaras, is simply Rājan. It is impossible to establish the exact significance of these terms, but when the title of Samrāṭ is applied to the kings of the Prācyas or Easterners, it seems like an inkling into the first beginnings of the Magadhan imperialism which was destined to affect the whole of India after the 5th century B. C.² Janaka, king of the Videhas, is also called Samrāṭ in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa³ and in the Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad.⁴ Elsewhere the eighth book of the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa declares that monarchy at its highest should have a dominion extending right up to the natural boundaries, up to the very ends, in fact, up to the sea.⁵ It mentions twelve such monarchs.⁶ Divested of its obvious exaggerations, the statement means that from time to time some kings had actually developed their power far beyond the average and almost brought a new type of state into existence. It could only be either an empire in the strict sense of the term or a suzerainty. The latter alternative finds support in the thirty-ninth chapter of the same Brāhmaṇa, where the Aindra Mahābhiṣeka is spoken of. That rite is said to have been performed by great rulers like Janamejaya, Sāryāta, Śatrujit, Viśvakarman, Sudās and Marut, each of whom had succeeded in conquering the whole world. "A Kṣatriya who is consecrated with his Aindra Mahābhiṣeka, conquers all conquerors, knows all the worlds, becomes \*superior to all kings\*, gains renown and majesty, becomes self-created and self-ruled, after conquering 'empires,' countries ruled by the Bhojas, . . . . . after death ascends heaven and overcomes death." Superiority to all kings supplies the clue. The "conquest of the world" did not mean the extinction of existing kings but merely the acknowledgment of suzerainty. The same conclusion emerges from certain passages in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa. ### [c7.137](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.137) ¹ Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, VII, 3, 14; VIII, 12, 4, 5. The term Ādhipatya also occurs in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, V, 2, 6. K. P. Jayaswal and R. C. Majumdar interpret Vairājya as absence of royalty, that is, republicanism. Macdonell and Keith take it to denote some form of royal authority (Vedic Index, II, 221). The context supports the latter interpretation. ### [c7.138](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.138) ² Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, VIII, 14, 2, 3. ### [c7.139](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.139) ³ Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, XI, 3, 2, 1, 6; 2, 2, 3. ### [c7.140](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.140) ⁴ Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, IV, 1, 1; 3, 1. ### [c7.141](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.141) ⁵ Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, VIII, 4, 1. ### [c7.142](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.142) ⁶ Ibid., VIII, 14, 4; 19, 2. ### [c7.143](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.143) Royal sacrifices. It speaks of four royal sacrifices—the Rājasūya, Vājapeya, Aśvamedha and Aindra Mahābhiṣeka. The Aśvamedha was to be performed by kings who had been successful in Digvijaya or conquest of all quarters. A horse should be let loose with the words, "Go thou along the way of the Ādityas." Guarded by armed warriors, it should be allowed to roam about for a year, during which period oblations were to be offered by the sacrificer. When the horse returned unmolested at the end of the year, a grand assembly should be held of all the kings and chiefs of the country and, in their presence, the animal should be sacrificed.¹ Here, again, the presence of chiefs and kings at the assembly and sacrifice points to the relationship of suzerainty and vassalage. According to the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, this rite had been performed by thirteen kings.² The bid for suzerainty might sometimes be rudely checked. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa speaks of the Satvatas who prepared a horse for the Aśvamedha but who were defeated by Bharata and lost the horse to him.³ ### [c7.144](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.144) ¹ Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, IX, 3, 4, 8. ### [c7.145](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.145) ² Ibid., XIII, 5, 4. ### [c7.146](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.146) ³ Ibid., XIII, 5, 4, 21. ### [c7.147](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.147) Next to the Aśvamedha and the Aindra Mahābhiṣeka in dignity stood the Vājapeya and after it the Rājasūya. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa says that the Rājasūya sacrifice is that of a Rājan and the Vājapeya that of a Samrāṭ, and emphasises that the latter is higher than the former.¹ Later, the same text mentions Āsandī, sitting on a throne, as one of the characteristics of the Samrāṭ.² In the course of the Vājapeya, the sacrificer is called ‘All-ruler.’³ Of the net result of the Rājasūya we are simply told that “by offering the Rājasūya he becomes king.”⁴ Here, too, the performance of the Vājapeya perhaps implied some sort of suzerainty. In the later Brāhmaṇas both the sacrifices have been elaborated beyond all precedent. Even the Rājasūya is not a single independent ceremony but a series of consecutive rites occupying a year or so and requiring the services of numerous priests. A few of the significant details may be mentioned. Explaining one of the Rājasūya rites, the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa remarks that the sacrificer is Indra,—he is Indra for a two-fold reason, namely, because he is a Kṣatriya and because he is a sacrificer.⁵ Elsewhere it identifies the sacrificer with the god Prajāpati.⁶ In the course of the Rājasūya, the sacrificer shoots from a distance. “And as to why a Rājanya shoots, he, the Rājanya, is the visible representative of Prajāpati: hence, while being one, he rules over many.”⁷ The Vājapeya equates the sacrificer with Brihaspati. “All ruler is he, N. N.” says the priest. “All-ruler is he, N. N. Him, thus indicated, he thereby indicates to the gods. Of mighty power is he who has been consecrated, he has become one of yours; protect him.”¹ Again, in the course of the Vâjapeya, the Adhvaryu spreads out the goat-skin with the words, ‘This is thy kingship.’ Thus he endows the king “with royal power. He (the Adhvaryu) then makes him sit down, with the words, ‘Thou art the ruler, the ruling lord’ whereby he makes him the ruler, ruling over those subjects of his;——‘Thou art firm and steadfast!’, whereby he makes him firm and steadfast in this world;——‘Thee for the tilling!——Thee for peaceful dwelling!——Thee for wealth!——Thee for thrift!’ whereby he means to say, (here I seat) thee for the welfare (of the people).”² As in the Atharvaveda various kinds of waters are taken for the sprinkling.³ Some symbolic rites are mentioned. A tiger-skin is spread in front of the Maitravaruṇa’s hearth.⁴ The sacrificer makes a short chariot race,⁵ touches a cow as arranged, and stops amid the cows of his relations.⁶ He puts on shoes of boar’s skin, because the boar had been produced by the gods putting a pot of ghee on the fire.⁷ Looking down upon the earth he mutters, “O mother Earth! injure me not, nor I thee.” This is done, lest the earth should shake him off.⁸ In the course of a sort of dialogue with the priests around in succession, the king is addressed by them as Brâhmaṇa, and also as Savitṛi ‘of true impulsion,’ Varuṇa ‘of true power,’ Indra ‘mighty through the people,’ Rudra ‘the most kindly.’⁹ The Adhvaryu hands over the wooden sacrificial sword to him with these words, “Indra’s thunderbolt thou art: therewith serve me." With the same words, the sword is passed on by the king to his brother, thence to the Sûta, finally to the Grâmaṇi. "And as to why they mutually hand it on in this way, they do so lest there should be a confusion of classes and in order that society may be in the proper order."¹ The Ratnins, as these personages are called, are asked to a symbolic game of dice, the bet being a cow brought by an ordinary man.² ### [c7.148](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.148) ¹ Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, V, 1, 1, 3, 13-14. ### [c7.149](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.149) ² Ibid., XII, 8, 3, 4. ### [c7.150](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.150) ³ Ibid., V, 2, 2, 14-5. ### [c7.151](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.151) ⁴ Ibid., V, 1, 1, 12. ### [c7.152](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.152) ⁵ Ibid., V, 4, 3, 4. See also V, 1, 4, 2; 2, 5, 3. ### [c7.153](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.153) ⁶ Ibid., V, 2, 24; 3, 4, 23. ### [c7.154](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.154) ⁷ Ibid., V, 1, 5, 14. ### [c7.155](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.155) ¹ Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa V, 2, 2, 14-15. ² Ibid., V, 2, 1, 24. ³ Ibid., V, 3, 4, 3-28. ⁴ Ibid., V, 3, 5, 3, 4, 1, 11. ⁵ Ibid., V, 4, 3, 5-9. ⁶ Ibid., V, 4, 3, 15-18. ⁷ Ibid., V, 4, 3, 19. ⁸ Ibid., V, 4, 3, 20. ⁹ Ibid., V, 4, 4, 9-13. ### [c7.156](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.156) ¹ Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa, V, 4, 4, 15—19. ### [c7.157](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.157) ² Ibid., V, 4, 4, 20—25. ### [c7.158](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.158) There are other sacrifices of which the significance is not perfectly clear but which seem to imply some sort of suzerainty. In the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa the Punarabhiṣeka or the second consecration entitles a king to all sorts of royal dignities.³ There Janamejaya aspires to universal dominion.⁴ The Sarvamedha, mentioned in the Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa, was another grand sacrifice.⁵ All consecration, however, was of great moment. Performed in other connections, it made Vaiśyas equal to Brâhmaṇas for the time being. All who underwent it were at least temporarily equal to gods.⁶ ### [c7.159](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.159) ³ Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, VIII, 5—10. ### [c7.160](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.160) ⁴ Ibid., VIII, 11. ### [c7.161](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.161) ⁵ Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa, XIII, 7, 1. ### [c7.162](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.162) ⁶ Ibid., III, 1, 1, 8; 2, 1, 17; 2, 1, 39-40. ### [c7.163](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.163) In the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, at the time of the consecration, the king takes an oath as follows:— ### [c7.164](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.164) "Between the night I am born and the night I die, whatever good I might have done, my heaven, my life, and my progeny, may I be deprived of, if I oppress you."⁷ ### [c7.165](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.165) ⁷ Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, VIII, 15. ### [c7.166](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.166) At the same time, however, the idea of proprietorship in the kingdom is gaining ground. In the Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, a king offers himself and his kingdom to Yâjñavalkya.⁸ Another passage in the Aitareya Brâhmaṇa shows that the hereditary succession was firmly established.¹ ### [c7.167](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.167) ⁸ Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, IV, 4, 23. ### [c7.168](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.168) ¹ Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, VIII, 12. ### [c7.169](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.169) That kings were generally Kṣatriyas is abundantly clear. A passage in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa even bars the kingly office to Brāhmaṇas. The Kṣatra takes no delight in the priestly office and the Brahma takes no delight in the rank of rulership.² There is no evidence in Vedic literature for the contests between Brāhmaṇas and Kṣatriyas for supremacy which a few modern scholars believed to have occurred on the basis of some later legends and passages.³ There is, however, one passage in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa which seems to suggest that non-Kṣatriya kingship was not altogether unknown. King Marutta Āvikṣita is called Āyogava,⁴ which, according to the later testimony of Manu, is a mixed caste resulting from the union of Śūdras with Vaiśya wives.⁵ ### [c7.170](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.170) ² Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, XIII, 1, 5, 2, 3, 5. ### [c7.171](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.171) ³ Muir, Sanskrit Texts, Part I, Ch. III. ### [c7.172](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.172) ⁴ Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, XIII, 5, 4, 6. ### [c7.173](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.173) ⁵ Manu, X, 12. ### [c7.174](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.174) In accordance with the general trend of development, the Purohita has now become more important than ever. He and the members of his order must be kept constantly in good humour. Even a powerful king like Janamejaya was humbled by Brāhmaṇas.⁶ The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa would exempt Brāhmaṇas from taxes.⁷ The dictum is reiterated with such complete unanimity through the succeeding ages. The same Brāhmaṇa expounds the dogma of the joint rule of Brāhmaṇas and Kṣatriyas over the people,⁸ though elsewhere it restricts them to their several functions.⁹ In one passage it derives the kingly power from that of the priest.¹ It is the royal priest who secures the fall of rain for the crops, says the Ṛigveda in its tenth Maṇḍala.² The Aitareya Brāhmaṇa declares that the Purohita is half the Kṣatriya; he is indispensable to the success of royal enterprise. He is the Rāṣṭragopa, protector of the kingdom. Along with his wife and son, he is the three-fold sacred fire for the king. If propitiated, he blesses the king with dignity, valour and dominion and ultimately secures him heavenly grace. If he is displeased, he hurls ruin and destruction on the realm.³ To quote the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, again, the Śrotriya or the learned Brāhmaṇa and the king are joint "upholders of the sacred law among men."⁴ ### [c7.175](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.175) ⁶ Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, III, 4, 1, 7. ### [c7.176](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.176) ⁷ Ibid., XIII, 6, 2, 18; 7, 1, 13. ### [c7.177](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.177) ⁸ Ibid., XI, 2, 7, 6. ### [c7.178](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.178) ⁹ Ibid., XIII, 1, 5, 2-3. ### [c7.179](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.179) ¹ Ibid., XII, 7, 3, 12. ### [c7.180](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.180) ² Ṛigveda, X, 98. ### [c7.181](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.181) ³ Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, VII, 26; VIII, 24–27. Vedic Index, II, 584, 223. ### [c7.182](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.182) ⁴ Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, V, 4, 4, 5. ### [c7.183](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.183) Royal attendants. Besides the Purohita, the king had a number of attendants, sūtas (heralds), grāmaṇīs (headmen),—non-royal kingmakers as they are sometimes called, who formed his entourage.⁵ ### [c7.184](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.184) ⁵ Ibid., XII, 9, 3; XIII, 2, 2, 18. ### [c7.185](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.185) Justice in which the assembly had so far taken a prominent share, now becomes ever more a royal prerogative. ### [c7.186](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.186) Justice. At the same time the king is declared immune from punishment. "For Varuṇa Dharmapati (lord of the law)," says the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, "he then prepares a Varuṇa pap of barley, thereby Varuṇa, the lord of the law, makes him lord of the law; and that truly is the supreme state, when one is lord of the law; for whoever attains to the supreme state, to him they come in (matters of law): therefore to ### [c7.187](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.187) Varuṇa Dharmapati.”¹ The Chândogya Upaniṣad speaks of fire-ordeals and other tests for establishing the innocence of the accused who might plead not guilty, but one cannot be sure of the date of the particular passage. It regards murder, theft, adultery and drunkenness as the most heinous of crimes.² ### [c7.188](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.188) ¹ Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa, V, 3, 3, 9. The White Yajurveda (X, 27) contains exhortations to equal justice and beneficent protection. ### [c7.189](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.189) ² Chândogya Upaniṣad, VI, 16. ### [c7.190](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.190) Taxation seems to increase during this age. Probably the expenses of government had increased. In the Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa the king is several times regarded as devouring the people.³ References to Bali or tribute are of frequent occurrence.⁴ ### [c7.191](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.191) ³ Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa, I, 8, 2, 17; IV, 2, 1, 3, 17; V, 3, 3, 12; 4, 2, 3; X, 6, 2, 1; XIII, 2, 9, 6, 8, etc. ### [c7.192](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.192) ⁴ Ibid., I, 3, 2, 15; 5, 3, 18; 6, 3, 7, etc. Aitareya Brâhmaṇa, VII, 29. Vedic Index, II, 62. ### [c7.193](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.193) During this period the assembly is occasionally referred to. In the Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa it seems to take cognisance of currency, of coins such as Kṛṣṇâla and Niṣka.⁵ The Chândogya Upaniṣad mentions the Samiti of the Pañcâlas as presided over by king Pravâhaṇa Jaivali.⁶ But the assembly is now less and less in evidence. It is no longer a regular organ of deliberation or justice. Such a change, in fact, was inevitable with the increase in the size of states and the further progress of the feudal tendency. While the king would gain more and more in power, the people would find it more and more difficult to come together. ### [c7.194](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.194) ⁵ Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa, XII, 7, 2, 13; XIII, 1, 1, 47. Originally niṣka seems to have been a gold or silver ornament. Later, it denoted a gold coin. ### [c7.195](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.195) ⁶ Chândogya Upaniṣad, V, 3, 1. ### [c7.196](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.196) At the same time the idea of Dharma as a moral check on despotism emerges more clearly. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa wants the king to uphold the sacred law, “for he is not capable of all and every speech, nor of all and every deed, but that he should speak only what is right, and do what is right……”¹ The Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad says that “Dharma is the Kṣatra of the Kṣatra; therefore, there is nothing higher than Dharma. Thenceforth even a weak man rules a stronger with the help of Dharma as with the help of a king. Thus Dharma is what is called the true.”² The term Dharma or Dharman defies translation. It covers the whole range and complex of settled principles and forms of conduct. Law, ideal rather than positive, is one of the senses in which it is used. Ancient Hindus never clearly distinguished between religious and moral duty, usage or customary observance. ### [c7.197](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.197) ¹ Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, V, 4, 4, 5. ### [c7.198](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7.198) ² Bṛihadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, I, 4, 11—15. See also Chāndogya Upaniṣad, II, 23, 1-2. Cf. the later philosopher Kaṇāda who defines Dharma as the source of welfare and salvation (Vaiśeṣika Sūtras, I, 1-2). ## Linked texts (15) - [Atharvavedasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.atharva.1.9.3) — Atharvan & Aṅgiras, Sanskrit - [Śatapathabrāhmaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.satapatha.3.4.1) — Yājñavalkya & Śāṇḍilya (Vedic teacher), Sanskrit - [Ṛgvedasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.rg.10.90.12) — Sanskrit - [Aitareyabrāhmaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.aitreya.6.1) — Mahidāsa Aitareya, Sanskrit - [Taittirīyasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.krsnayajur*taittiriya.2.6.11) — Sanskrit - [Vājasaneyisaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.suklayajur*vajasaneyi.5.32) — Sanskrit - [Taittirīyabrāhmaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.taittiriya.1.2.6.7) — Sanskrit - [Kāṭhakasaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.krsnayajur*kathaka.14.5) — Sanskrit - [Maitrāyaṇīsaṃhitā](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.samhita.krsnayajur*maitrayani.1.11.5) — Sanskrit - [Chāndogyopaniṣad](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.upanisad.mukhya.chandogya.5.2.6) — Sanskrit - [Bṛhadāraṇyakopaniṣad](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.upanisad.mukhya.brhadaranyaka.2.1.1) — Sanskrit - [Mānava Dharmaśāstra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.niti.dharma.manu.10.12) — Manu & Bhṛgu, Sanskrit - [Kauṣītakibrāhmaṇopaniṣad](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.upanisad.mukhya.kausitaki.4.1) — Sanskrit - [Pañcaviṃśabrāhmaṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/in.veda.brahmana.pancavimsa) — Sanskrit - [Vaiśeṣikasūtra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darsana.vaisesika.vaisesikasutra) — Kaṇāda, Sanskrit --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.prasad-1928.c7) · Pramāṇa