[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Reference works](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference) › [Vedic Index of Names and Subjects](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912) › v2.c4.s7.202 # Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s7.202 Vedic Index of Names and Subjects v2.c4.s7.202 - **Language:** English ### [v2.c4.s7.202](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.202) Zimmer connects the change from the casteless system of the Rigveda to the elaborate system of the Yajurveda with the advance of the Vedic Indians to the east, comparing the Germanic invasions that transformed the German tribes into monarchies closely allied with the church. The needs of a conquering people evoke the monarch; the lesser princes sink to the position of nobles; for repelling the attacks of aborigines or of other Āryan tribes, and for quelling the revolts of the subdued population, the state requires a standing army in the shape of the armed retainers of the king, and beside the nobility of the lesser princes arises that of the king's chief retainers, as the Thegns supplemented the Gesiths of the Anglo-Saxon monarchies.¹³ At the same time the people ceased to take part in military matters, and under climatic influences left the conduct of war to the nobility and their retainers, devoting themselves to agriculture, pastoral pursuits, and trade. But the advantage won by the nobles over the people was shared by them with the priesthood, the origin of whose power lies in the Purohitaship, as Roth first saw.¹⁴ - [Previous: v2.c4.s7.201](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.201) - [Next: v2.c4.s7.203](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.203) - [Up: v2.c4.s7](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.202](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.reference.macdonell-keith-1912.v2.c4.s7.202) · Pramāṇa