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Political Conditions and Institutions
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external enemies. The people on their part bore the cost of administration of the state, the army, and the court by paying taxes. Gradually, with the growth of civilization, there came other interests as well into the foreground like the king's own cares : the land was made fertile, cities were built, and trade and commerce were encouraged.
According to the Jātakas, kingship was generally hereditary and when there were several sons, it was the eldest who succeeded his father to the throne, while the second son became the viceroy (Uparājan). As a rule, only the sons of the eldest queen (aggamahisi) who must be of the same caste as the king himself and thus a Khattiya, were deemed legitimate. If the king was without a male heir and if he had a daughter, his son in-law became heir to the throne. If there was neither a male heir nor a kinsman who could succeed to the throne, the successor was chosen by the ministers. The Jaina texts mention two types of kings, viz., Sāvekkha and niravekkha.
The former established the crown-prince on the throne within his life-time thus avoiding civil wars and other calamities. In the latter type, however, the crown-prince succeeded after the death of the king. The question of succession to the throne was sometimes complicated by the ambitions and jealousies of the princes. The prince Kūņiya-Ajātaśatru of Rājagriha succeeded to the throne after putting his father Śreņika-Bimbisāra into prison.
The ceremony, which accompanied the accession to the throne was, according to the Jātakas, the same as that which we know from the Vedas and the epics. The priest or the Purohita consecrated the king and sprinkled water upon him. Originally its significance may have been only a religious onc, as symbolizing an act by which the blessings of the gods were showered or, more correctly expressed, invoked by magic, upon the king. It signified a certain dependence of the king upon the pricst consecrating him.
The king lived with his court in a fortificd town. The Panchaguru Jūlaka“ describes the royal entry of a princc how
1. Tn. Bhâ, 2, 327, .. Ja, I, 470.
