Question

At one stage in the Vedic Age, the king was called 'gopati' which meant '______'.
1. lord of cattle
2. lord of land
3. lord of the people
4. lord of the universe

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : lord of cattle

The correct answer is Lord of Cattle.

• In the Vedic Age, King was called 'Gopati' which meant "lord of cattle".
• The period when the Aryans first entered India is known as the Early Vedic Age (1500 BCE to 1000 BCE).
• The chief source of information about this period is the Rigveda.
• The kingdom was tribal in character. The tribal chief was called Rajan. 
• He ruled over the people (Jana) and not over any specific area of land. 
• His main function was to protect the people and lead the army to victory in battle. Battles were fought for land which was essential for agriculture and for pastures for the cattle.
• He used to receive a large part of the booty collected in battle.
• King was also called gopati (Lord of Cattle) indicating that protecting and increasing the cattle was his other major role.