The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c9.s2.t1.42.4

c9.s2.t1.42.4

At the game of dice which constitutes one of the central events in the plot of the Epic, Yudhiṣṭhira pawns and loses his city, his country, his lands, “the wealth of all dwelling therein except of Brâhmaṇas and all those persons themselves except Brâhmaṇas, still remaining to me.”¹ Nala similarly loses his kingdom and his wealth to his brother Puṣkara who drives him away and proclaims throughout the city that any one showing any attention to Nala would be put to death. As a result none showed any regard to their erstwhile sovereign.²