There is a very interesting description of how king Dasharatha ruled his kingdom. There were eight ministers who were all great men and very learned. They were Drishti, Jayantha, Vijaya, Sidhartha, Arthasaadaka, Ashoka, Manthrabala, and the famous Sumantra who also was Dasharatha's charioteer and a close adviser. I gave the names just to indicate what sort of names were in vogue then and how some of them are still so. Vashishtha was the Raja Guru and Vamadeva was also a great rishi in his court. These ministers had the following qualifications: very well learned, had perfect control of their five sense organs, well versed in Shastras, strong-willed, concentrating fully on administration. They had a network of people (spies) and were hence aware of all the happenings in the country. They were experts in the science of administration. They could keep important matters to themselves and guard the secret. They were well versed in legal matters (Neethi Sastras). They will not hesitate to punish their own children if proved guilty!
These qualities for ministers could seem to us, in the present world conditions, like something unreal. We would even doubt that such ministers could have ever even existed! In the present Kali Yuga, things go topsy-turvy as predicted in our Puranas. It is often repeated in Ramayana that in those times a man never desired another man's wife.
This is somewhat puzzling and troubling because such a vice seems to have existed in those times too.
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