Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v1.c3.s11.1097

v1.c3.s11.1097

Towards the common people, on the other hand, the Kṣatriya stood in a relation of well-nigh unquestioned superiority.¹⁵ There are, however, references to occasional feuds between the people and the nobles,¹⁶ in which no doubt the inferior numbers of the latter were compensated by their superior arms and prowess. In the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa¹⁷ the Vaiśya is described as tributary to another (*anyasya bali-kṛt*), to be devoured by another (*anyasyādya*), and to be oppressed at will (*yathākāma-jyeya*). Probably these epithets apply most strictly to the relation of the king and his people, but the passage shows that the people were greatly at the mercy of the nobles. No doubt the king granted to them the right, which may have been hereditary, to be supported by the common people, whose feudal superiors they thus became. In return for these privileges the Kṣatriyas had probably duties of protection to perform, as well as some judicial functions, to judge from an obscure passage of the Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā.¹⁸