gṛhapati (5826)

gṛhapati
Entry 5826, Page 214, Col. 2

(gfhapati, gfhapati)
gṛhapati¦ (= Pali gahapati), lit. householder, in °ti- ratna, as one of the 7 ‘jewels’ of a cakravartin: LV 14.5; Mv i.49.4; 193.17, etc., see the lists s.v. ratna (3). The function of the gṛhapati-ratna is to discern the location of hidden treasures by means of the divya-cakṣus which he possesses, and bring those of them which are ownerless (asvāmika) into the possession of the king: LV 17.17--22; substantially the same statement in Pali, DN ii.176.7 ff. For this reason, no doubt, PTSD s.v. ratna translates gahapati by treasurer; but there is no clear evidence that he had precisely the functions which we should associate with that title. In Pali a gahapati (see PTSD s.v.) is, to be sure, often associated with seṭṭhi = śreṣṭhin; the Pali word is often rendered treasurer, but perhaps capitalist would be better (orig. guild-leader).

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