Thread by @HinduMediaWiki

The number of people from each Varnas required to form a Kingdom (Monarchial state) in the Mahabharata

In Shanti Parva 85, Bhishma talks about this topic..

Bhishma said, "Thou art endued with great intelligence, O Yudhishthira! It is even so as thou sayest. 1/7

The person is very rare who is possessed of all those good qualities. To be brief, conduct like this (viz., the presence of all the virtues spoken of), is very difficult to be met with even upon careful search.

I shall, however, tell thee what kinds of ministers should be appointed by thee. Four Brahmanas, learned in the Vedas, possessed of a sense of dignity, belonging to the Snataka order, and of pure behaviour....

...and eight Kshatriyas, all of whom should be possessed of physical strength and capable of wielding weapons, and one and twenty Vaisyas, all of whom should be possessed of wealth...

...and three Sudras, every one of whom should be humble and of pure conduct and devoted to his daily duties, and one man of the Suta caste, possessed of a knowledge of the Puranas and the eight cardinal virtues, should be thy ministers.

Note : According to Manu Smriti (10.11. 17) the sūta caste are children of a Kshatriya father and Brahmin mother.

Bhishma further says : Every one of them should be fifty years of age, possessed of a sense of dignity, free from envy, conversant with the Srutis and the Smritis...

....humble, impartial, competent to readily decide in the midst of disputants urging different courses of action, free from covetousness, and from the seven dreadful vices called Vyasanas.

The king should consult with those eight ministers (Kshatriyas) and hold the lead among them. He should then publish in his kingdom, for the information of his subjects, the results of such deliberation.