In the vast annals of ancient historical treatises, there are few guides to living the life of a king as informative as that of the Manasollasa. Written by King Someswara III (AD 1122-1133) of the Chalukya dynasty, this 12th-century encyclopedia has guides on everything from capturing elephants to ruling a kingdom and brewing wine.
Someswara was an erudite scholar-king, whose subjects gave him the title of Sarvadnya-bhupa – ‘The king who knows everything’. In many ways, he was the original king of good times. His empire spanned much of modern-day Karnataka and Maharashtra as well as parts of Andra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa. He designated the Manasollasa as the book that teaches the world. It comprises of five sub-books divided into 100 chapters.
The advice may not apply to all of us, particularly those of us who lack an army of servants and helpers. One column advises a king to maintain four palaces, one for each of the seasons (spring, summer, winter and monsoon). Or take Snānopabhoga, the expert treatise on bathing. According to this treatise, the king’s person should:
…first be anointed with fragrant oil, and then massaged by expert wrestlers well-versed in the art of massaging. An ointment prepared with fragrant unguents like Kostha etc. in water or Kanjika is applied afterwards to the body for rubbing and cleaning the skin. A Khail (a special preparation of an ointment of wheat-flour etc…) is then applied to remove grease from the skin and it serves the same purpose as the modern soap.
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