To you has come the kingship with its splendor on; shine as lord, sole ruler of the people. King! let all regions of the heavens invite you; let people wait on you and pay respect to you. (Atharva Veda, 3.4.1)
You the people shall elect unto kingship; you these five
divine directions. Rest at the height of royal power, at the pinnacle; from
there, mighty one, share the treasures. (Atharva Veda 3.4.2)
Logic and metaphysics, the three Vedas, the professions
(agriculture, animal husbandry, and trade), governance and law — these sciences
and the practitioners thereof the ruler shall employ to arrive at considered decisions.
The ruler is to drink of the state [collect taxes] as mildly
as the leech (drinks blood) or (as carefully) as the tigress carries its child —
without biting or causing hurt.
When women, in all their jewelry, can move on the streets
with men, without any fear, then is the state (truly) protected by the ruler.