
Why is a King needed? Bhisma asked Yudhisthira if he wanted to enquire further. Yudhisthira asked: How is it that one man becomes the emperor of the world & rules innumerable other men? Actually, there is no difference between the ruler and the ruled, because both of them have the same kind of arms, legs, brain, hair, aspirations and so on Bhisma replied: Dear son, during initial Satya yuga there was no government, no king, no chastiser & no chastised. Everyone lived righteously & protected one another so that there was no need for institutionalized government. Then in the course of time, conditions deteriorated as man’s perceptions and understanding became clouded Virtue began to wane as people became greedier for material possessions. Due to an increase in the influence of the Rajo-guna (the mode of passion), people became very lusty & concomitantly, anger also became prominent. Due to anger people gradually lost all conception of what should be done & w...