Vol. 2, Issue 9, Part A (2016)

Abstract
The elements of state administration signifying rule by a king with the help of his advisers or assistants may be traced back to the early Vedic period (c. 1500-700 B.C.). In Rg-Veda the king is called gopā janasya or protector of the people. This implies that he was charged with the maintenance of law and order. Like his divine prototype Varuna, he employed the agency of spies for this purpose. There is no reference in the Rg-Veda and the Atharva Veda to the king's administration of justice. In two passages of Satapatha Brāhmana reference is made to the king's Jyestha or Lordship and the epithet Dharmapati or 'lord of the law' is applied to him. This probably indicates the king's supreme executive authority as well as the supremacy of the king's justice over all other jurisdictions.