The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c9.s2.t1.117

c9.s2.t1.117

In the Mahābhārata the aspiration to create an empire is hallowed into an imperative, sacred duty. Yudhiṣṭhira, the epic embodiment of kingly righteousness, burns to emulate the glory of the kings of old.⁶ He must establish a glorious empire and, therefore, make short work of the mighty Jarāsandha of Magadha.⁷ Where unprovoked aggression was erected into a moral ideal, it was inevitable that diplomacy should throw all scruples overboard. Reason of state became the one guiding, overmastering principle and justified the extreme of fraud and treachery.