Kingship and rājadharma

As empires grew, kings gained huge power. Still, they relied on ministers and officials, and often asked scholars for advice about dharma. Of course, some kings also used their power to crush (subjugate) their people.

In some parts of the world, kings had all the power: they made the laws, enforced them and decided punishments. Some even claimed their power came from God. All three functions in one pair of hands!

But in many parts of India, a rājā's power was not total and could be questioned. He was expected to rule within rājadharma: according to dharma, and for the welfare of all. Kings didn't always live up to this ideal.

In the Mahābhārata (the Shānti Parva), Bhīṣhma, the wise Kuru elder, lies on a bed of arrows and teaches Yudhiṣṭhira, the eldest Pāṇḍava, how to rule well:

• the welfare of the people comes first; a king's job is not luxury
• apply the law without bias, fairly and equally
• don't get attached to power; it breeds ego and corruption
• take advice from wise advisers
• remember your power is temporary and bound by dharma

A story from **Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī puts this to the test. King Chandrāpīḍa wanted to build a temple, but a stubborn cobbler's hut was in the way; the cobbler wouldn't even let the builders measure. The king blamed his builders for not asking the cobbler's permission** first!

The cobbler told the king his small hut was like a mother to him, as precious as the palace was to the king. Losing your home by force, he said, is a pain only a king who has lost his kingdom could understand!

Still, the cobbler agreed to give up the hut if the king came and asked respectfully. And the king did, and paid him fair compensation. "For those who want happiness, there should be no false pride," the text says. Even a powerful king had to respect the humblest subject.