InHinduism,kingship was amonarchy institution guided by the religious laws of Hinduism, with a corresponding complex and hierarchical structure.Hindu monarchies headed byHindu kings were widespread inSouth Asia since about1500 BC and later inSoutheast Asia.[1] Hindu monarchies went into slow decline in medieval times, with most gone by the end of the 17th century, although the last one, theKingdom of Nepal, wasabolished only in 2008.[2] Modern countries withHindu majority population, likeIndia,Nepal andMauritius, practicestate secularism.
The notable Hindu empires inIndia included theGuptas (c. 320–550AD), TheKushan Empire, theChola Empire inTamil Nadu (c. 848–1279 AD), and theVijayanagara Empire (c. 1336–1646 AD).[2] At different points in time, Hindu kingdoms and empires had dominated in Southeast Asia on the territories of the modernIndonesia,Malaysia,Philippines,Vietnam,Cambodia,Singapore,Timor Leste,Brunei andThailand.[3]
A Hindu kingdom was described as formed from seven "limbs":[4]
The laterVedic era (c. 1000-600 BC) saw the introduction of religious ceremonies intended to affirm the Hindu king's supernatural powers:rajasuya,ashvamedha,vajapeya [ru],aindrī-mahābhiṣeka, andpunarābhiṣeka. The introduction of these expansive and expensive rituals was a probable cause of persistent tensions between the Hindu kings and Brahmins; as a result, the Hinduism views on the divinity of kings varied with time. The end of the Vedic era with its proliferation of alternative religions (śramaṇa) was characterized by rapidly diminishing attention to the deification of the kings. TheLaws of Manu (1st to 3rd century AD) marked a revival of the kings' divinity; simultaneously, theKushan Empire was worshipping also the deceased rulers. This upswing culminated in theGupta Empire (3rd to 6th century AD).[6]
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