Kings and Ministers of Ratnanagari For hundreds of years, Ratnanagari had been blessed with great kings and able ministers. Given its turbulent history, this could only be considered an act of destiny. The kings were believed to have descended from the Sun God and as a marker of this they wore a gold anklet on one foot. From ancient times, every ruler of Ratnanagari had inculcated and nurtured this pride in the royal lineage and ancestral tradition, both as duty and their privilege. An eternal lamp, a sign of their devotion to the family deities, was worshipped by all kings. From a young age, heirs to the throne were also initiated into the responsibilities of kingly duties and royal traditions, which included devotion to the lamp and what it symbolised. This pride in ancestral traditions was embodied by many valorous reigning kings. It was also their custom to find suitable candidates as ministers, nurture their talents and appoint them to the position at an opportune time. The kings of Ratnanagari thus sought to perpetuate and further their traditions in these two ways. The family tradition was neither complex nor elaborate. But its principles were firm, deep-rooted and allowed for superior practices to emerge. The king should relate to his subjects as a father would to his children. All wise kings realise that it is in their interest to protect their subjects, but the paternal sensibility cannot be cultivated in absence of an enduring affection for the people. The kings of Ratnanagari believed that in absence of this affection, their royal sun lineage cannot remain unsullied—this was the principle underlying all kingly conduct. A king must regard an enemy of his people as his own enemy. If someone, be it an official of the state or even a member of the royal family, were to act as an enemy of the people, that individual must be made to realise the maxim that ‘a king has no friends.’ From this followed the second norm that kings are attached to virtues and not to individuals. The third norm was that the resources of the state treasury should not be wasted and no one should be allowed to exploit the treasury for personal gains. The emphasis was on good and appropriate use of the resources and not on their accumulation. The army must always be battle-ready and its preparedness should be under constant surveillance. The king should always be the commander-in-chief of the army and he should prepare the heir to the throne to assume this responsibility. The king should always guard that his heir be pure-blooded; a child of a mixed marriage could not be appointed as heir as he would contaminate the royal throne. If a king did not have a male heir, he should adopt a male child of the royal household. Such a child should have a pure, uncontaminated lineage and possess all the kingly qualities. This was also a part of the royal tradition and was followed by every