King (rājā)
“rājā”
historical figure · 3 works · 3 mentions · 10 anchored passages
king · conqueror · righteous king · rājā · sovereign · the king
in the texts
Āṅgirasa Smṛti
The generic royal authority responsible for enforcing legal and ritual obligations related to adoption.
After the oath, if men transgress the rules that were established before, the king should banish them from the kingdom.
If not, in that kingdom, the rain-god will not rain, and unrest will arise in the nation.
A righteous king should beat him and banish him from the country.
Bṛhaspati Smṛti
The reigning monarch, chief judge, and protector of the social order, whose duties, qualities, and courtroom conduct form the central subject of the treatise.
Because he gratifies (*rañjayate*) his subjects with his four-fold army, and shines with his own majesty, he is called a king (*rājā*).
Just as Yama restrains both friend and foe when their time has come, so should the king restrain his subjects;
I shall now declare in due order the qualities and duties of a king, [and matters of] creditor and debtor in a doubtful case, surety, document, and witnesses.
Viṣṇu Smṛti
The generic ruler figure whose duties (rājadharma), administration, and judicial powers are systematically prescribed.
Those who are killed while protecting cows, Brāhmaṇas, the king, a friend, treasure, a wife, or their own life, attain the world of heaven.
He should be just in punishment in his own kingdom, but very severe with his enemies, Straightforward with his friends, and forgiving towards Brāhmaṇas.
And to those to whom he grants it, he shall give a document, written on cloth or a copper plate, describing his own lineage, the dimensions of the land, and the details of the grant, marked with his own seal, for the information of future kings.