Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s5.217

v2.c4.s5.217

In return the king performed the duties of judge. Himself immune from punishment (*a-daṇḍya*), he wields the rod of punishment (*Daṇḍa*).²¹ It is probable that criminal justice remained largely in his actual administration, for the Sūtras²² preserve clear traces of the personal exercise of royal criminal jurisdiction. Possibly the jurisdiction could be exercised by a royal officer, or even by a delegate, for a Rājanya is mentioned as an overseer (*adhyakṣa*) of the punishment of a Śūdra in the Kāṭhaka Saṃhitā.²³ In civil justice it may be that the king played a much less prominent part, save as a court of final appeal, but evidence is lacking on this head. The *Madhyamasi* of the Rigveda was probably not a royal, but a private judge or arbitrator. A wide criminal jurisdiction is, however, to some extent supported²⁴ by the frequent mention of Varuṇa’s spies, for Varuṇa is the divine counterpart of the human king.²⁵ Possibly such spies could be used in war also.²⁶