The king’s executive administration in the Dharmasūtras
By U. N. Ghoshal
Summary
This essay discusses the executive duties of kings as prescribed in the early Indian Dharmasūtras. The texts see the king’s primary function as the protection of persons and propertyfile:///home/oai/share/563021_compressed-273-356.pdf#:~:text=We%20may%20distinguish%20the%20King%27s,this%20fundamental%20duty%20of%20the. He must recover stolen property and return it to the owner; if he fails, he must compensate from his own treasury. Some passages even require the king to travel about his realm in a chariot, bow in hand, to ensure securityfile:///home/oai/share/563021_compressed-273-356.pdf#:~:text=king%20that%20we%20have%20to,declares%20the%20king%27s%20particular%20duty. The protection obligation extends not only to subjects but to trees and other stationary objects, demonstrating a broad conception of kingshipfile:///home/oai/share/563021_compressed-273-356.pdf#:~:text=,trees%20bearing%20fruits%20or%20flowers. The king is also responsible for his agents: officials who fail to prevent thefts must reimburse lossesfile:///home/oai/share/563021_compressed-273-356.pdf#:~:text=king%27s%20agents%20their%20responsibility%20for,stolen%20within%20their%20respective%20jurisdictions. He must defend the kingdom against foreign attack and shares both the good and bad deeds of his subjectsfile:///home/oai/share/563021_compressed-273-356.pdf#:~:text=Vis,praja. A second major duty is state relief for specified classes. The Dharmasūtras list groups exempt from taxation and entitled to support. Vas. XIX enumerates learned Brahmins (śrotriyas), royal servants, destitute persons, mendicants, children, the old, young students, newly confined women, widows and unmarried maidensfile:///home/oai/share/563021_compressed-273-356.pdf#:~:text=State%20relief%20of%20specific%20classes,%28k%29%20wives%20of%20servants%C2%AE. Āpastamba’s list is more liberal, adding women of all varnas, pupils living with their teacher, ascetics, Śūdras who serve by washing feet, and people who are blind, mute or diseasedfile:///home/oai/share/563021_compressed-273-356.pdf#:~:text=%3A%20%E2%80%94,sition%20of%20property%20is%20forbidden. Other passages specify that the king must support those unable to work, persons free from taxes and temporary studentsfile:///home/oai/share/563021_compressed-273-356.pdf#:~:text=from%20taxes%2C%20but%20they%20also,upakurvanas%29.%20According. The texts also itemise tax exemptions—goods like grass, forests and mountains, small sums of money, income derived from alms or sacrifices—and set fines for toll‑collectors who violate exemptionsfile:///home/oai/share/563021_compressed-273-356.pdf#:~:text=2%20Vas%27s%20further%201156%20of,the%20spirit%20of%20the%20texts. Taken together, these prescriptions depict an executive whose legitimacy rests on providing security and welfare. The king is expected to act like a father to all beings, protecting property, enforcing justice, defending the realm, supporting vulnerable groups and restraining officials. The author points out that these duties appear in different Dharmasūtras (Gautama, Āpastamba, Vasiṣṭha and Viṣṇu) and thus reflect a common early Indian ideal of kingship.
Conclusion
The essay concludes that the Dharmasūtras envision the king not merely as a warrior or tax‑collector but as a guardian of society. He must protect both animate and inanimate creation, compensate victims of theft, defend the realm and ensure justice. He is also responsible for providing tax exemptions and relief to scholars, women, children, ascetics and the destitute. By emphasising these welfare functions, the texts present a paternalistic model of monarchy that balances power with moral duties. This early conception of statecraft underpins later Hindu political thought and shows continuity in the ethical expectations placed upon rulers.