The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c15.s3.3

c15.s3.3

On election, according to the *Mahâbhârata*,¹ the ruler makes a *pratijñâ*, vow or oath that he will protect the people, and the people reciprocate by promising to help him with the “root of the army”,² *i. e.* the “sinews of war” or *les nerfs de la république*. Kingship is by very nature a public office, and the masters of the king are the people who have the power of the purse. From the standpoint of the sovereign, then, as Śukra makes it clear, the revenues are but the wages for his labor, and from the standpoint of the people they are the prices offered for the service of protection.³