Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s5.240

v2.c4.s5.240

2. Rājan in several passages¹ means no more than a ‘noble of the ruling house,’ or perhaps even merely a ‘noble,’ there being no decisive passage. Zimmer² sees traces in one passage of the Rigveda³ that in times of peace there was no king in some states, the members of the royal family holding equal rights. He compares this with the state of affairs in early Germany.⁴ But the passage merely shows that the nobles could be called Rājan, and is not decisive for the sense ascribed to it by Zimmer. Of course this state of affairs is perfectly possible, and is exemplified later in Buddhist times.⁵