Prabhupāda: Our predecessor ācārya, Rūpa Gosvāmī, he was finance minister in the Muhammadan government. He was . . . when he resigned, the Nawab was not very satisfied, that "I cannot relieve you because you are my right-hand man. If you resign all of a sudden in this way, then I shall arrest you." There is a long history. So that's a fact. The brahmins were kept.
So the advisory committee of the king . . . Now, as I was going to speak, Chandragupta, Chandragupta, just the latest Hindu king, Chandragupta . . . Chandragupta is the age of Alexander the Great, because at that time, during Chandragupta's . . . little before Chandragupta, Alexander the Great from Greece, they went India and conquered some portion. So this Chandragupta, when he became emperor, he had his prime minister, Canakya. Perhaps you heard this name, Canak . . . Ca-na-kya.
Prof. Kotovsky: Canakya. Oh, yes.
Prabhupāda: Yes. He was a great politician, brahmin, and under whose name in New Delhi all the foreign embassies, they are flocked together. Yes. It is called Canakya Purī.
Prof. Kotovsky: Hm-hm. Canakya Purī, yes, I know.
Prabhupāda: So this Canakya Paṇḍita was a great politician and brahmin. And as brahmin, he was vastly learned. He has got some moral instruction; they're very valuable, still going on. In India schoolchildren are taught. So this Canakya Paṇḍita, although he was prime minister, he maintained his brahminical spirit. He was not accepting any salary, yes, because for brahmins to accept salary, it is understood that he becomes a dog. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata. He can advise, but he cannot accept. So he was living in a cottage, but he was prime minister.
So this brahminical culture, the brahminical brain, is the standard of Vedic civilization. Just like Manu-smṛti. Manu-smṛti . . . you do not know; you cannot trace out the history, when Manu-smṛti was written. But Manu-smṛti is considered so perfect that it is the Hindu law. The Hindus are governed by Manu-smṛti. There was no need of passing daily a new law by the legislative to adjust this social order. You see? The law given by Manu was so perfect that it can be applicable for all the time. This is perfect. Tri-kāla-jñāḥ. The word is there, tri-kāla-jñāḥ: past, present, future.
Prof. Kotovsky: But . . . I am sorry to interrupt you, but originally, to my knowledge, original Indian society, when, in the second half of Indian society, when in Calcutta by order of British administration was codified, so-called, you know, remember, "Jantu Law," they called, a big digest of Hindu law, there was a lot of change . . .
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Prof. Kotovsky: . . . called in.
Prabhupāda: Yes, they manufactured another . . .
Prof. Kotovsky: And this, the actual Hindu law which was used by Hindus, they're quite different from original Manu-smṛti.
Prabhupāda: No, they have now made changes. Just like our late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, he made some Hindu code. He introduced in that Hindu code the right of divorcing, husband and wife. But these were not in Manu-saṁhitā. And, of course, they are changing. If you like, you can change. But the social order also not exactly the same as it was before.
Prof. Kotovsky: Oh, yes.
Prabhupāda: And so many things. So they're changing. But before this modern age, the whole Hindu society was being governed by the Manu-smṛti. Manu-smṛti, yes.