Page:Corporate Life in Ancient India.djvu/147

Rh (Privy Council) referred to in Kauṭilya's Arthaśāstra (Bk. I, Chap. XV). This institution is clearly distinguished from the council of ordinary ministers, for the king is enjoined, in case of emergency, to call both his ministers as well as this Privy Council (mantriṇo mantriparishadaṁ cha). That it sometimes consisted of large numbers is apparent from Kauṭilya's statement, that "one thousand sages form Indra's Privy Council"; for these fanciful statements about things divine must have their foundations in actual mundane things. Besides, Kauṭilya further maintains, against the schools of politicians who would limit the number to 12, 16 or 20, that it shall consist of as many members as the needs of dominion require. As regards the powers of this Privy Council Kauṭilya expressly lays down that they had to consider all that concerns the parties of both the king and his enemy and that the king shall do whatever the majority (bhūyishṭhāḥ) of the members suggest or whatever course of action leading to success they point out. The legal position of this body also appears quite clearly from the injunctions of Kauṭilya that the king should consult the absent members by means of letters. (, p. 29).