The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c15.s1.10

c15.s1.10

In a very elementary manner the *Agni Purâṇa*⁴ and the *Matsya Purâṇa*⁵ advise the king "not to decide on the policies alone". The arguments against one-man-rule or exclusive "personal" government are based in the *Śukra-nîti* on the conception that the monarch is not infallible. "Even if the work be a trifling one", aruges Śukra, "it can be done with difficulty by only one individual". "What can be performed by an unfriended person for a kingdom that is considerable?" is therefore his natural query.⁶ Hence his deliberate advice that "even the king who is proficient in all the sciences and a past master in state-craft should never by himself study political interests without reference to ministers. The wise ruler, the ideal "philosopher-king", or the *râjarṣi* as Kautilya would say, should ever abide by the well-thought-out decisions of councillors, office-bearers, subjects, and members attending a meeting, — never by his own opinions."⁷