The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c15.s1.2

c15.s1.2

The doctrine of the sovereignty of the *prakriti* is in the thought of the *nîti-śâstras* invariably connected with that of the *amâtya* (ministry) as a check on the possible autocracy of the *svâmin*. One of the earliest landmarks in the history of this doctrine is to be noticed in Vedic writings, the *Aitareya Brâhmaṇa*⁷ and the *Śatapatha Brâhmaṇa*.⁸ In that body of literature the people are “worshipped” by the king at “election”