Chapter V. Rāshtra (The Territory of a State)

Volume III pp. 132–177

Chapter V. Rāshtra (The Territory of a State)

RĀṢṬRA (THE TERRITORY OF A STATE)

The word ‘rāṣṭra’ occurs even in the Ṛgveda (IV. 42.1, ‘mama dvitā rāṣṭram kṣatriyasya’)-‘mine is the kingdom on both sides (or in both spheres)’ says king Trasadasyu. In Ṛg. VII. 34.11 Varuṇa is praised as the Lord of rāṣṭras (rājā rāṣṭrānām &c.). In Ṛg. VII. 84.2 and X. 109. 3 the word rāṣṭra occurṣ In a very famous benedictory ¹ passage of the Tai. S VII 5. 18 1(= Vāj S. 22 22 ) one of the blessings invoked is ‘may the king in this kingdom become brave, a skilled archer, and a great warrior’ Vide Tai. Br III 8 13 for explanation of the Tai. S. passage In the Atharvaveda XII. 1 8 and 10 the earth is called mother and invoked to impart to the rāṣṭra strength and brilliance (or energy ). Kām VI 3 says ² that since all the elements of the State spring from the territory of the State, the king should raise up his territory with all his effortṣ The Agnipurāṇa 239. 2 holds that rāṣṭra is the most important of all elements of the State. Manu VII. 69 prescribes that a king should make his home in a country that is not water-logged ( i e is dry and not moist), ³ is rich in crops, inhabited mostly by Āryas (or well-conducted people), not disturbed (by epidemics &c.), that is charming (owing to trees, flowers and fruits), the chiefs in which have submitted to him and in which livelihood can be had easily Yāj. I. 321 and Viṣṇudharmasūtra III 4-5 are to the same effect Kām (IV 50-56) remarks ‘the territory of the king depends for its prosperity on the qualities of the soil, the prosperity of the territory tends to the prosperity of the king; therefore a king should choose for the sake of his prosperity land possessing good qualitieṣ That land is prefer- red for the sake of prosperity that is endowed with various crops and minerals, is full of merchandise, mines and various substances, that is favourable to cattle-rearing, that abounds in water, is inhabited by well-conducted people, is charming, has forests and elephants, has facilities of water and road transport and does not depend upon rain-water only.⁴ Land that is full of gravel and stones, full of forests always infested with thieves, that is waterless, full of thorny bushes and snakes is not fit for choosing as a rāṣṭra. A country is to be preferred that yields livelihood easily, is possessed of the qualities of good land (cited above), is full of water, that has hills in it, that consists mostly of śūdras, artisans and merchants, the husbandmen in which undertake great projects, that is loyal (to the king) and averse to the king's enemy, that can put up with troubles and taxes, that is large in extent, full of people from various countries, that follows the right path, that possesses plenty of cattle and wealth, the principal men in which are not foolish nor viciouṣ These requirements show that the country must be prosperous, well-stocked with the necessaries of life and well suited to defence. There is also some difference of opinion among the smṛti writers about the composition of the populatioṇ Manu VII. 69 requires that the kingdom should consist mostly of āryas (āryaprāya), while Viṣṇu Dh. S. III. 5 holds that a country should be peopled mostly by vaiśyas and śūdraṣ In another place (VIII. 22) Manu says that that country in which śūdras abound, which is full of atheists and void of dvijas is overwhelmed by disease and famine and perisheṣ Similar provisions are found in the Matsyapurāṇa 217. 1-5, Viṣṇudharmottara II. 26. 1-5, Mānāsola- lāsa (II. 3 verses 151-153), Nītivākyāmṛta (Janapadasamud- deśa p 191 which defines rāṣṭra, viṣaya, deśa, janapada &c.) The Matsyapurāṇa 217 5 and Viṣṇudharmottara II. 26.5 (evamvṛddham yathālābham rājñā vasayamāviset) point out that every rāṣṭra cannot be expected to possess all the qualities mentioned by them and that the king must do the best with such qualities as his country possesses Kauṭilya II 1 advises⁵ the king to found a district of villages either on old sites or on new ones by inducing people from other countries to immigrate or by causing thickly populated parts of his own country to send its overflowing population and to see that each village consists of not less than one hundred families nor more than five hundred, is peopled mostly by śūdra cultivators, has an extent of one krośa or two and is capable of offering help to its neighbourṣ

According to Paurāṇic geography there are seven dvīpas, viz Jambu, Plakṣa, Śālmala, Kuśa, Krauñca, Śaka and Puṣkara (Viṣṇupurāṇa II. 1. 11 ff) and each dvīpa is divided into varsas Jambudvīpa has 9 varsas of which Bharatavarṣa is the first (Viṣṇupurāṇa II. 2. 12 ff) The Mahābhārata speaks of 13 dvīpas (Ādi 75 19, Vanaparva 3 52 and 134 20) and 18 dvīpas also (Droṇa 70. 15). For Bharatavarṣa vide H Dh vol. II. pp 17–18. Manu II 20 looks upon the holy land of Kurukṣetra, of the Matsyas, Pañcālas and Śūrasenas as ‘the chosen country’ the learned brāhmaṇas in which were to be the leaders and guides of the whole world in appropriate thoughts and actions The Viṣṇu (II 3 2), Brāhma, Mārkaṇdeya 55 21–22 and other purāṇas proudly assert that Bharatavarṣa is the land of action (karmabhūmi). This is patriotism of a sort but not of the kind we see in western countries Bharatavarṣa itself has comprised numerous countries from the most ancient times The names of countries and the tribes or people inhabiting them were the same (vide Pāṇini IV 1 168, IV. 2. 81 In the Ṛgveda we come across the tribes of Yadus, Turvaśas, Druhyus, Anus and Pūrus (Rg. 1. 108. 8, VIII. 10. 5 &c ) and the countries of Cedi (VIII 5 39), Kikata (III 53. 4), Rjīka (VIII. 7. 29), Ruśama (V. 30 12), Vetasu (X. 49. 4). In the Atharvaveda V. 22 several peoples or countries are mention- ed of which Bahlikas (in vv 5 and 9), Mūjavat (vv 5 and 8), Gandhārī, Aṅga, Magadha (in v. 14) deserve notice. The Ait Br. (38. 3) divides India into five divisions in the east, south, west and north (the Uttara Kurus and Uttara Madras) and in the centre (Kuru-Pāñcāla and Vaśa-Uśīnara) India was divided into two parts, Dakṣiṇāpatha (from the Narmadā southwards) and Uttarāpatha at least some centuries before Christ, since the Hāthīgumphā Inṣ (E. I vol 20 at p 79) mentions a great many kings of Uttarāpatha and the Mahā- bhāṣya refers to lakes in Dakṣiṇāpatha.⁶ In the Brāhmaṇas frequent mention is made of the Kuru-Pāñcālas (Tai Br. 1. 8. 4), Uttarukuru, Uttara-madra, Kuru-Pāñcālas, Vaśa-Uśīnaras (in Ait Br. 38 3), Kuru-Pāñcālas, Aṅga-Magadhas, Kāśī-Kōśalas Śālva-Matsyas, Vaśa-Uśīnaras in Gopathā II. 10 (ed by Gaśtra ). The Gandharas occur in Chāndogya Up. (VI 14 1), Videha in Br. Up. III 1. Madras in Br.Up. III 3 1 In the Mahā- bhārata there are long lists of countries in various connections, which are more than 200 (e g. Sabhā 4 21–32, 20 26–30, Sabhā 25 ff, Sabhā 52. 13-19.53. 5–9, Virāṭa 1 12–13, Bhīṣma. 9. 39–69. 50.47–53, Droṇa 11.15–18, 70.11–13. Āśvamedhika 73–78, 83.10 ff ) The Baudhāyana-gṛhyāśeṣasūtra I 7 prescribes a maṇḍala for the worship of the Sun and names nine countries in the eight directions and in the centre as representatives: The Purāṇas also contain long lists of countries e. g. Matsya 114 34-56, Mārkaṇḍeya 57 32–67 and chap 58, Brāhma 17.10-15 and 25 25–39. The same country sometimes has two names (e g. Vidarbha and Krathakaiśika denote the same country in Raghuvamśa VII 1 and 32). 'Buddhist India' (by Rhys Davids p 23) mentions the sixteen peoples (or countries), lists of which occur in the Aṅguttaranikāya I p. 213, IV. p 252 and in the Dīghanikāya. II. p. 200 viz. Angas, Magadhas, Kāsīs, Kosalas, Vajjis, Mallas, Cetis (Cedis), Vamsas (Vatsa?), Kurus, Pāñcālas, Matsyas, Śūrasenas, Aśmakas, Avantis, Gandhāras, Kambojas Varāha- mihira's Bṛhatsaṁhitā, Baudhāyana-gṛhyaseṣasūtra I 17, Kāmasūtra V 6 33-41, Bārhaspatya Arthaśāstra (III 83-117), the Kāvyamīmāṁsā of Rājaśekhara (17th chapter) name numerous countries This last divides India into five regions and gives the names of about 70 countries in the four directions but none from Central India The Bhāvaprakāśana (pp. 309-310) gives a list of 64 countries and states, that Dakṣiṇāpatha (Deccan) is a fourth of Bharatavarṣa and that in the Tretā and Dvāpara ages people afraid of being overwhelmed by ice came down to the south.⁷ 56 countries are named in some Tantra works (vide ‘Indian Culture' vol VIII p. 33) In the lexicon called Vaijayantī of Yādavaprakāśa (11th century A.D.) edited by Dr G Oppert, over a hundred countries and capitals of some of the countries are named (in the Bhūmikāṇḍa and chapter on deśa thereof)

To constitute a rāṣṭra a territory of some size and a large population are required There can hardly be a rāṣṭra of a few villages or a few hundred inhabitants The boundaries of the numerous countries mentioned in the works cited above must have been fluid and must have changed from country to country owing to conquests

In ancient India the modern sentiment of nationalism had hardly taken root. Writers speak of rājya ( State ) and of rāṣṭra ( territory ) as an element of rājya They had no sense of nationality nor did they seriously work for national unity The modern idea of a nation is more a question of feeling and senti- ment than of objective fact The State has been at all times a great coordinating agency, but as its boundaries were extremely variable in ancient India, the modern sentiment of nationality, of ‘my country, right or wrong’ hardly ever arose in India ( except perhaps for over a century in Mahārāṣṭra in the 17th and 18th centuries and among the Sikhs ) In the whole of Hindu India, there was no doubt a certain unity of religion, philosophy, literary forms and conventions of arts and forms of worship, and in reverence for holy places, but this did not make for a deep- seated and effective sentiment of nationhood or national unity Most of the ancient sūtrakāras and smṛtis try to lay down the limits of the holy land of Āryāvarta and differentiate it from the lands of mlecchaṣ Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 11–18. The Viṣṇu (II. 3. 1–2), Mārkaṇḍeya (55. 21) and other purāṇas wax eloquent over the importance of Bharatavarṣa and describe it as the land of action for those who want to secure heaven or final release or as the land where alone sin and religious merit were to be found (karmabhūmir-iyam svargam-apavargam ca gacchati bhūmir-nānyatra sampāptih puṇyāpāpayoh in Mārk) Manu (II. 20) manifests great pride in and love for the holy countries of Brahmāvarta, Kurukṣetra, Matsya, Pāñcāla and Śūrasena by glorifying the brāhmaṇas of these countries as those 'from whom all men on this broad earth should learn the actions and usages appropriate to them'. Vaṣ I. 10 also says the same. Śaṅkha-Likhita (q. by Viśvarūpa on Yāj 1, 2) hold that the country of Āryāvarta is endowed with high qualities, is ancient and holy (deśa Āryo guṇavān ...... sanātanah puṇyah). As however the smṛtis were composed at different times, embodied the usages of different provinces in India and as they provided for the observances of all those who followed the Veda, they do not generally lay emphasis on localities but rather on what they thought was common to all Āryas in India (yat tu samānam tad vakṣyāmah, as Āśv. gr. says). There was no doubt a great emotional regard for Bharatavarṣa or Āryāvarta as a unity for many centuries among all writers from a religious point of view, though not from a political standpoint. Therefore one element of modern nationhood viz. being under the same government was wanting. But it must be noted that from very ancient times there was always the aspiration among great kings and the people to bring the whole of Bharatavarṣa "under one umbrella". Even in the West the sentiment of nationality practically arose after the partition of Poland, and as a consequence of the French Revolution and of the Industrial revolution, which led manufacturing countries to search for markets and to exploit backward and less developed peopleṣ Vide Laski's ‘Grammar of Politics’ chap VI. Modern nationalism undoubtedly leads to great self-sacrifice and produces certain virtues of high value in the individuals that are fired by that sentiment. But the ideals of the modern nation States are not high, particularly in their treatment of other peoples and in their attitude towards less favoured Stateṣ The one aim of the leading politicians of modern nation States and most of the inhabitants of these States seems to be to raise the standard of living of their citizens to a high level and to maintain it at that level even by exploiting and robbing weaker races and landṣ This is not the place to discuss these matters further. Whatever the value of nationalism to the individuals fired by it may be, from the point of the welfare of the whole of mankind, modern nation States do not deserve to survive, unless the so-called progressive nation States are prepared to give up their racial pride, their spirit of grabbing and exploitation and to extend a brotherly hand to all struggling States to improve themselves in their own way and attain to higher standards of living without let or hindrance. It cannot be gainsaid that for several centuries in the past and also at the present moment all modern nation States have two moralities, one for their own nation and the other for their dealings with foreign States and raceṣ

Some remarks must now be made about provincial and local administratioṇ Each kingdom comprised deśas (countries) and subdivisions of deśaṣ The governor of a rāṣṭra was called rāṣṭrapati or rāṣṭriya. Vide p 117 above about Puṣyagupta having been the rāṣṭriya of Surāṣṭra (Kathiawad) under Candragupta Maurya and Śānti 85. 12 (which describes what the rāṣṭriya is to do).

According to the Amarakosa the words deśa, rāṣṭra, viṣaya and janapada are synonymṣ Epigraphic usage is not uniform about the dimensions of these. Sometimes viṣaya appears to be a sub-division of deśa (vide the words 'rāṣṭrapati-viṣayapati- grāmakūṭa' in I. A. vol. VIII, at p. 20 in the grant of Cālukya Tribhuvanamalla in śake 999 and I. A, vol XII pp 247, 251 in the grant of Rāṣṭrakūṭa Govinda in śake 855). But in the Hirahada- galli plates (E I vol I p. 5) 'viṣaya' occurs first and then 'rāṣṭra', so it appears that there 'viṣaya' is deemed to be larger than rāṣṭra. According to the Sahyādrikhaṇḍa (uttarārdha, chap 4) deśa is made up of 100 villages, maṇḍala is made up of 4 deśas, a khaṇḍa of 100 maṇḍalas and the earth has nine khaṇḍas ⁸. From the Cambay plate of śake 852 (930 A.D.), we see that maṇḍala was a sub-division of deśa (E I. vol. 7 p 26, at p 40). From The Bangarh grant of Mahīpāla I (E. I. vol. 14 p. 324) and the Amgachhi plate of Vigrahapāla III we see that mandala was smaller than visaya which again was a subdivision of ‘bhakti’. The word ‘bhoga’ (which is similar in origin to ‘bhakti’) appears to be applied to a sub-division of visaya (which in its turn is a sub-division of rāṣṭra) in the Bhamdak⁹ plate of Kṛṣṇarāja I dated śake 694 (E. I. 14 p. 121, 126 ) and also in the Jejurī plates of Vinayāditya in 609 śake (E. I. vol. 19 p. 62 at p. 64 where the word ‘rāṣṭrapati’ does not occur). The Mitākṣarā on Yāj. I. 319 explains that only a king (mahīpati) can make a grant of land and not a bhogapati (i. e. the officer over a bhoga) Another ancient word for a division of a country is āhāṛa which occurs in the Rupnath Rock inscription and Sarnath pillar Edict of Aśoka (Corpus I. I. vol. I pp. 162 and 166 ), in the Nasik Inscriptions No. 3 and 12 (Govardhanāhāra and Kāpurāhāra, E. I. vol. VIII pp. 65 and 82 ) and in the Karle Inṣ No. 19 (E I VII. p. 64) where we have Māmalāhāra, modern Māval (in Poona District). For want of space it is not possible to pursue this subject here. For further information vide Dr. Fleet in J. R. A. S. for 1912 p. 707 and my paper on ‘the Ancient Geography of Mahārāṣṭra’ (JBBRAS. vol. XXIV for 1914-1917 pp. 648-653 ). In the epigraphic records particularly of the Deccan and South India we come across names of territorial divisions to which small as well as very large figures (indicat- ing the number of villages they comprised) are affixed: e g. a group of twelve villages in Aparānta on the sea near Kalvivana (modern Kelvem) is mentioned in the Sanjan plates of Bud- dhavarasa (E I. 14 p 144 at p. 150), Nyāyapadra saptadaśa in Bhoja’s grant in saṁvat 1076 (E I. 18 at p. 322), Kisukād 70 (E I. 15 p. 73), Belvola 300 (in E I 13 at p. 40), Konkana 900 ruled over by the Kadamba king Jayakeśi II (E. I. 13 pp. 298, 317), Tardavādi 1000 (E. I. 15 p. 25 ), Kundī 3000 (E I. 13 at p. 18), Pratyandaka 4000 (E I III p. 306), Karahāta 10000 (E. I. 15 p. 275), Banavāsi 12000 (E. I. 13 p. 179), Nolambavādi 32000 (E. I. 19 p. 187), Kavaḍidvīpa sapādalakṣa (one and a quarter lakh) in E. I. 13 at p. 299, the country of 7½ lakhs (in the Lakshmeshwar Ins of Vikramāditya VI in E. I. 16 p. 31). Vide Dr. Fleet in J R A. S. 1912 pp 707-710 as to the meaning of these figureṣ Kauṭilya II. 1 says that in the kingdom groups of villages should be set up with a chief town or fort in each, a group of ten villages being called Sangrahana, of two hundred villages being called Khārvaṭika, of 400 villages being called Drona-mukha, and in the midst of 800 villages ²⁹ there is the Sthānīya.

##182. अटशताग्राम्या मध्ये स्थानीयं चतुश्शताग्राम्या द्रोणमुखं द्विशताग्राम्या खर्वोटिकं दशाग्रामीसंग्रहणं संभरणं स्थापयेत् । कौटिल्य II, 1 Vide Dr Shamsastru's note on these स्थानीय has a similarity in sound and meaning to modern thanā, Dr. Prān Nāth (in 'Study of the economic condition of Ancient India' p 26) principally relying on a commentator of the Jain work called Prajñāpanopānga (which he misunderstands) holds that 'grāma' does not mean 'a village', but 'an estate or survey village which can pay 18 kinds of Government taxes'. The learned Doctor says that he consulted many Sanskrit lexicons, but did not find this interpretation in any one of theṃ That should have induced him to be cautiouṣ But he makes the bold and facile assumption that 'lexicons were compiled from a literary view-point and are not of much assistance as far as the technical meanings of words are concerned'. His great authority, the Jain commentator, says 'ग्रामनिवेशेच प्रज्ञापति ग्रामः'. Dr Prān Nāth's Jain authority is no better than lexicographers and their commentatorṣ क्षीरस्वामी on Amara derives grāma as ' अस्यते भोगिभिर्ग्रामः ' i e the word ग्राम is derived from the root ग्रह्. The Jain commentator first derives the word ग्राम from ग्रह् and then from गृ. Dr. Prān Nāth forgets that a fanciful or scholastic derivation is not a definitioṇ The rest of the reasoning on the new meaning of grāma is on a par with this and cannot be examined in detail. A commentator expressly states (ibid p 27) that he gives only the vyutpatti (etymology) of grāma, but Dr Prān Nāth pays no heed to thiṣ He has not correctly grasped the scholastic discussion in the commentary quoted on p 27. He misunderstands the word 'samagrāmāh' in Yāj II 152. The Amarakośa expressly says that 'sama' and 'samāna' are synonymṣ He is often very dogmatic without looking into all ancient and medieval authorities e g on p 51 he charges Dr Fleet with misinterpretation of a Jātaka text (addha-liyanī satām) which Dr Fleet translated as 250, while Dr Prān Nāth is sure that the meaning is '150'. He probably never noticed that so far back as the 2nd century B C the Mahābhāṣya had explained the word 'ardhatrīya' as Dr Fleet does (अर्ध तृतीयमेषां or अर्ध तृतीयमेषाम् vide Kielhorn, vol I p 426 on vārtika 22 on Pān II 2, 24). There is hardly any warrant for Dr Prān Nāth's assertion that each grāma (as interpreted by him) contained only about five families and had only about 15 or 20 acres of cropped area (pp: 39-40). Kaut (note 178) states that a grāma contains from 100 to 500 familieṣ If the inscriptions so far published are carefully searched it will be found that grāma ordinarily meant a village in the modern sense and included several hundred acres of lanḍ For example, in a grant of Pallava Yuvamahārāja Viṣṇugopavarman (I. A vol V p 50) . Manu VII. 114 similarly observes that in the midst of two, three or five villages the king should place a central post of guards called ‘gulma’ and another called ‘saṁgraha’ in the midst of a hundred villageṣ Manu VII. 115–117, Visnudharma- sūtra III. 7–14, Śānti 87 3ff, Agnipurāṇa 223. 1–4, Visnudharmot- tara II. 61. 1–6, Mānasollāsa II. 2. 159–162 (p. 43) require the king to appoint a hierarchy of officers for one village, for groups of ten, twenty, hundred and thousand villages, who are to report what is wrong within their jurisdictions that they cannot themselves remedy to the officer next in grade above themselves and Manu VII. 120 prescribes that a minister of the king should supervise the doings and conflicts of all these officerṣ The Edicts of Aśoka show that he had to employ a hierarchy of officers such as the mahāmātras, the yuktas and rājūkas for the administration of his vast empire. A similar administrative system seems to have been continued under the Gupta Emperors From the Damodarpur, Baigram and other plates (E I XV. p 113, E I XVII. pp 345ff, E I XXI. p 78 ) it appears that the Provincial Governors were appointed by the Gupta Emperor himself and were called uparika mahārāja, that either the Governors or Emperors appointed District officers (viṣayapati) who were often called Kumārāmātya, that the District officers were aided in their administrative work by a board of four advisers called nagara-śreṣthin (banker), sārthavāha (chief merchant), prathamakulika (chief of craft guilds) and prathama- kāyastha (chief secretary), that the District officer had his headquarters in a place called adhisthāna and had his several offices or courts (adhikaraṇas), and that in sales of lands revenue officers called pustapālas (keepers of records of rights) were consulted and had to report In E I. vol. XVII pp 345, 348 a copperplate of Kumāragupta I has ' grāmāsta-kulādhikaraṇam ' which means an office having jurisdiction over 8 villageṣ Manu VII. 119 says that the officer over 10 villages was to have as his salary a kula of land and kula is here said to mean (by Kullūka) as much land as is ploughed by two ploughs having six oxen yoked to each The Vaijayantī on Viṣṇu Dh. S. III, 15 says ' kulam haladvaya-karsanīyā bhūh '. Śukra (I. 191–192) states that the lord of one hundred grāmas is called sāmanta, an officer appointed by a king over one hundred villages is called anusāmanta, one over ten villages is called nāyaka (compare modern ' nāīk ') Manu VII. 61 and 81, Yāj I. 322, Kām V. 75, Visnudharmasūtra III 16–21, Visnudharmottara II 24 48–49 say that the king should appoint as many adhyakṣas (superintendents) as are required for the several departments of the state, who are clever, honest and of good family. Kauṭilya ¹¹ II-9 prescribes 'those who are possessed of the qualifications for amātyas (cited on p. 107 above) should be appointed, according to their abilities, as superintendents of the various departments and the king should constantly examine their work, since men are naturally fickle-minded and when appointed to do work exhibit like horses change of temper'. It is pointed out in works like the Visnudharmasūtra III 16–21 and the Visnudharmottara II 24. 48–49, Śānti 69. 29, that those who are highly devoted to dharma should be appointed to the ecclesiastical or judicial department, the brave ones to military work, those who are skilled to revenue work and those who are very trustworthy should be placed in charge of mines, salts, toll-gates, ferries, elephant forestṣ

Kauṭilya in his 2nd adhikaraṇa exhaustively deals with the work done in 28 departments and the duties of their superintendents He enters into very minute details about each and his work is encyclopaedic in character on this subject. Kauṭilya's work became the authority on Government and several inscriptions mention officers appointed according to the section on ‘adhyaksapracāra’, which is undoubtedly a reference to Kauṭilya's 2nd adhikarana. For example, in the Belava plate of Bhojavarmadeva (E. I. vol XII. at p. 40) and in the Barrackpur grant of Vijayāsena (E. I. vol. XV. p 283) we have the words ‘anyāṁśca sakala- rājāpadopajīvinodhyaksapracāroktān ihā’kīrtitān cattabhata- jātiyān janapadāṁ ksetrakarārāṁsca’. It is not possible to do anything more than indicate very briefly the sphere of each adhyaksa. The duty of the sannidhātṛ (II 5) is to look after the construc- tion of the treasury house, the store-houses for merchandise, for grain, for forest produce, for arms and of the jail. The samāhartṛ (the Collector-General) is to exercise superintendence over the collection of revenue from forts, the rural parts, mines, embank- ments, forests, herds of cattle and roads for traffic (II. 6). The samāhartṛ ¹² has to divide (II 35) the kingdom into four districts and to arrange the villages into three grades, viz. those that are exempted from taxes, those that supply soldiers and those that pay taxes in the form of grain, cattle, money, forest produce, free labour and other equivalents for taxeṣ It is the duty of the gopa to look after a group of five or ten villages under the orders of the samāhartṛ. The gopa has not only to register the total number of the inhabitants of all varṇas in the houses that pay taxes and that are exempt in the villages, but also to keep a register of the number of cultivators, cowherds, merchants, artisans, labourers, slaves, biped and quadruped animals, of the amount of money, free labour, tolls and fines that are recovered, and the number of women, men, young and old persons, and the extent of their actions, occupations, usages, expenditureṣ The sthānīka (in charge of each of the four districts) should look after his charge in the same way. The superintendent of records and accounts (aksapatalādhyaksa ) should have the account office constructed with its door facing the north or the east, with rooms (for the clerks) set apart and with shelves of account books well- arranged (II 7) This officer had to enter numerous matters in the accounts, recover the king's dues from the sureties of servants, to check embezzlement and to recover fines for loss due to neglect or frauḍ The account year ended with the full moon of Āṣāḍha, the year being of 354 days and the salary for an intercalary month being separately paiḍ Among the duties of one of noting in his register the dharma, method of judicial procedure and the usages of countries, villages, castes, families and corporations (deśagrāmajāti-kulasanghātānām dharma vyavahāra-caritra-samsthānam .. nibandha-pustakastham kārayet) In II 8 Kauṭilya specifies forty modes of embezzle- ment by Government servants (to which a reference is made in the Daśakumāracarita VIII) In II 9 he employs the picturesque figure that it is not possible to know exactly how officers appointed to the several businesses of the State extract wealth, just as fish always dwelling in water cannot be observed when they drink water The superintendent of treasury (II. 11) shall in the presence of qualified persons receive into the treasury gems, pearls, articles of great or small value and forest produce (like sandal wood, agaru etc ) The superintendent of mines and of government manufactories (II 12) must be proficient in the science of metals, mercury, liquids that ooze from the holes, caves and sides of mountains and hills Under' him are officers called lohādhyakṣa (who carries on the manu- facture of vessels of copper and other metals), a lakṣaṇādhyakṣa (a superintendent of mint, who manufactures silver and copper coins for the State), a rūpadarśaka ¹³ (examiner of. coins, who regulates the dealings with panas as a medium of exchange among the people and for stocking in the treasury), khanyadhyakṣa (who attends to conches, diamonds, pearls, coral and trade in them), a lavaṇādhyakṣa (superintendent of salt) The suvarṇā- dhyakṣa (the superintendent of gold) has to construct a goldsmith's office for the manufacture of gold and silver articles with a single door and four halls, to appoint a skilful and trustworthy goldsmith to have a shop in the centre of the road (II. 13) and not to allow any one who is not an employee to enter the goldsmith's shop. If any one so entered he was to be beheadeḍ The State goldsmith (II. 14) has to manufacture gold and silver coins for the citizens and rural inhabitants through artisans employed by hiṃ The superintendent of the storehouse (II. 15 ) has to keep together the produce of crown lands, taxes from the country districts, accidental revenue, manufacture of rice, oil &c. The superintendent of commerce (paṇyādhyakṣa, II. 16 ) should keep himself acquainted with the demand or absence of demand for and the rise and fall in the prices of various kinds of merchandise produced on land or from water and brought by land or water routes The superintendent of forest produce (kūpyādhyakṣa, II. 17) was to collect forest produce through guards of forest and Kauṭilya gives a long list of trees, varieties of bamboos, creepers, fibrous plants and rope-making material, drugs and poisons, skins of various animals, that came under this officer's care. The superintendent of armoury (āyudhāgārādhyakṣa, II. 18) was to employ experienced artisans to manufacture arms, wheels, machines, armour &c. required in battle or for the defence of forts, or for battering the cities of the enemy The superintendent of weights and measures¹⁴ was to get manufactured weights from half māsaka onwards up to one hundred suvarṇas, weights being made of iron or stones found in the Magadha country and the Mekala mountaiṇ The superintendent of tolls (śulkādhyakṣa, II 21) was to erect near the principal gate of the capital a toll-house and its flag and when traders arrived with merchandise make four or five toll-collectors take down their names, whence they came, what merchandise they brought and whether it bore seal- mark. In II. 22 Kauṭilya specifies various rates of tolls for imports and exportṣ The superintendent of weaving (II. 23) was to employ qualified persons to make threads, coats ( of armour ), cloths and ropes and he was to employ for cutting wool, fibres, cotton, hemp and flax, widows, cripple women, girls, ascetic women paying off fines by doing work, mothers of prostitutes, old women servants of the palace, devadāsis ( temple girls) who have ceased to do temple services This superintendent was charged with the task of providing work for women who do not leave their homes, the wives of persons who have gone abroad, women who are cripple or unmarried and who have to work for their own maintenance. He was to give to them spinn- ing work through the maid-servants in his department If he stared at their faces when they came to exchange their work for wages or spoke to them on any other matter he was fined in the first amercement. Thus the State helped home or cottage industry It is to be noted that he had large powers of levying fines and III] Superintendents of departments awarding bodily punishments e. g. if a woman refused to work after receiving the wages he could cut off her thumb (? or bind up her thumb with the index finger so as to form a pair of tongs). The superintendent of agriculture (sītādhyakṣa, ¹⁶ II. 24) himself knowing or assisted by those who know the science of agriculture and the Āyurveda (the ancient lore) of trees was to collect at the proper times all kinds of corn, flowers, fruits, vegetables, bulbs, hemp and cotton seeds and to employ slaves, labourers and prisoners who worked to pay off fines they could not pay, to sow seeds on crown landṣ In this chapter he makes interesting remarks about the extent of rainfall viz. the rainfall in a jāṅgala country (defined above at p. 132) is 16 droṇas, in anūpa (very moist) countries 24 droṇas, 13½ droṇas in the Āśmaka country (modern Khandesh and part of Berar), 23 droṇas in the Avanti country (round about modern Ujjain), an immense quantity in the Aparāntas (west coast of India) and the Himalayan regionṣ

The superintendent of liquor was to carry on the traffic in liquor and ferments in the capital, the other parts of the country and in army camps by employing men familiar with them, he was to impose a fine of 600 paṇas if any one other than the manufacturers, licensed vendors and vendees sold or purchased liquor, he was not to allow liquor-shops to be opened close to each other, he was to see that liquor was sold in small quantities such as ¼ or ½ of a kuḍumba or a half prastha to persons of known character in order that (lit. for fear) workmen employed should not cause loss through carelessness, that āryas might not violate the rules of good conduct and that desperadoes should not commit indiscreet acts Śukra was even more strict as regards wine, as he did not allow any one to drink wine in the day-time (IV. 4. 43). The superintendent of slaughter houses (sūnā- dhyaksa, II. 26) was entrusted with the power to regulate the killing of animals for meat and was to impose the highest amerce- ment on those who trapped or beat or killed deer, cattle, birds or fish which were declared to be under State protection or that dwelt in protected forests The superintendent of nautch-girls (ganikādhyaksa ¹⁷) is dealt with in II 27. The topic of veśyās has already been treated of in H Dh. vol. II pp 637-639. Kaut. says that a ganikā was to be employed for a salary of one thousand panas, whether she was born in a prostitute's family or not and she was to possess beauty, youth and accomplish- ments (i e the 64 kalās enumerated in Kāmasūtra I. 3. 16). Kaut prescribes that, if she left the country or died, her daughter or sister took her place and estate or her mother could substitute some other ganikā in her place ; when none of these existed the king took her wealth and her son did not inherit her wealth. A ganikā could purchase her freedom by paying to the king 24000 panas as ransom She was to hold the umbrella, the golden pitcher and the fan for the king when he was seated on the throne or in a chariot or in his palanquiṇ There were grades among the ganikās as best, middling and inferior and salaries differed by a thousanḍ The sons of prostitutes were to be the chief actors on the royal stage It appears from these provisions that the veśyās were more or less slaves The superintendent of ships (nāvādhyaksa, II. 28) was to look after the passage of ships not only over the seas and at the mouths of rivers, but also over lakes and rivers in the sthāniya (vide above p 140) and other sub-divisions of the kingdom Kaut prescribes that villages on the sea-shore and river banks were to pay a fixed tax, fishermen were to render a sixth part of the haul of fish as fees for fishing licenses and merchants were to pay the customary tolls levied in port townṣ This superintendent was to request the ships that touched at a harbour on their voyage to a distant port to pay the toll, he was to destroy pirate vessels bound for the country of an enemy as well as those that violated the usages of the port The superintendent of cattle (II. 29) was entrusted with the rearing, III ] preservation and care of cows, bulls, buffaloes and the dairy produce. The superintendent of horses ( II. 30 ) was to record the breed, age, colour, marks, groups and places of origin of horses, those that were recently purchased, those captured in battles, those that were pledged and those temporarily kept in stables &c. Kaut notes that the breed of horses from Kāmbhoja, Sindhu ( modern Sindh ), Āratta ( western Punjab ) and Vanāyu ( North-west of India ) countries are the best of horses, Bāhlīka ( modern Balkh ), Pāpeya, Sauvirā ( eastern Sindh and western Rajputana ) and Taitila breeds are of middle quality and the rest are inferior. The superintendent of elephants ( II 31 ) had to take steps to guard elephant forests and supervise elephants that were in stables, the catching, training and feeding of them, their accoutrements &c. Kaut devotes one chapter ( II. 32 ) to the training and classification of elephants and medical treatment when they fell ill The superintendent of chariots and that of infantry ( II. 33 ) have the charge of the chariot department and of the six classes of infantry respectively. The superintendent of passports ( mudrādhyakṣa ) issued passes to inhabitants of the country or foreigners for entering into or going out and the superintendent of pastures ( II. 34 ) was to see the passes and devote himself to the care of pastures Kauṭilya provides that a pass ( mudrā ) was to be given on payment of a māsaka, that one could enter into or go out of a country only when one had a pass, that a person who entered without a pass was to be fined twelve paṇas and that the superintendent of pastures and his men were to examine whether persons not going by the royal road but through pastures had a pass or not and that the superintendent of pastures and his men were to convey the approach of thieves and enemies by beating drums and blowing conches and were to send messages about the entrance of enemies into pastures by means of domesticated pigeons carrying letters bearing the official stamp or by means of smoke and fire. The nāgaraka ( the mayor of the capital or cities or the chief of the police in the capital ) was to look to the affairs of the capital ( or the big cities ). A gopa ( under the nāgaraka ) was to superintend a group of twenty or forty families in the capital and an officer designated sthānīka was to be in charge of each of four wards into which the capital was to be divideḍ Yāj II. 173 mentions an officer called sthānapāla in connection with the finding of lost goods who appears to be the same as sthānīka The gopa and sthānīka had to keep a register of the caste, gotra, name and occupation of the men and women in their districts and also of their income and expenditure. Managers of charitable institutions had to send information to them about the heretics and travellers arriving to reside thereiṇ Numerous rules about reporting and punishments for various defaults and wrongs are laid down, which are passed over. Manu VII 121 and Śānti 87. 10 also provide for the appointment in each city (in the kingdom) of a high officer, who was to superintend all matters affecting the city and who had ample powers of restraint and coercioṇ Many of the superintendents mentioned by Kauṭilya occur under the same names in the Kāmasūtra e.g. gavādhyaksa, sūtrādhyaksa, nāgaraka (explained by the com as dandapāśika), panyādhyaksa (in V. 5. 7–10) Vide E I. vol. 15 pp. 127–128 for a statement on the provincial adminis- tration under the Guptaṣ

As regards the emoluments of the officers in charge of a village, ten villages &c. Manu (VII 118–119) has some interes- ting rules: 'The headman of a village should obtain (as his emoluments) those articles which the villagers have to furnish every day to the king viz. food, drink, fuel and the like. The officer over ten villages should enjoy one kula²⁹, that over twenty villages should enjoy five kulas, the superintendent of a hundred villages should receive the revenue of one village and the high officer over a thousand villages should enjoy (the revenue of) a towṇ All this, as Medhātithi says, is only approxi- mate and recommendatory and was not literally followed, but III ] only means that a salary commensurate with the position and responsibilities of each officer should be received by hiṃ Vide Śānti 87. 6–8 for rules similar to Manu's (where the officer over a thousand villages gets as his salary the revenues of a śākhanagara). Kauṭilya (in V. 3) sets out the salaries of many officers and servants as follows: the salary paid to the chief mantrin, purohita and a few others has been already stated above (p. 120); the dauvārika, the superintendent of the harem (antarvaṁśika), the praśāstr, the samāhartr and the sannidhātr were to receive 24000 panas; the princes (other than the crown prince), the nurse (mātr, mother?) of the princes, nāyaka, the superinten dent in charge of justice (or commercial transactions?) in the capital (the pauravyavahārika), the superintendent of royal manufactories (karmāntika), the members of the council of ministers, the rāṣṭrapāla (governor of a province), antapāla (the guardian of the borders) were to receive 12000 panas; the salary of the heads of śreṇis (the military corporations?), the heads of the elephant army, cavalry, and chariot army, and the pradeṣṭrs was 8000 panas; the superintendents (below the commanders) of infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants, of the forest produce and elephant forests will each receive 4000; the chariot driver (anīka), the army physician, the trainer of horses, carpenters, yompoṣaka (?) will receive 2000; the foreteller (the reader of omens), astrologer (who finds auspicious times for undertakings), the reader of purāṇas, the sūta, māgadha (bard), the assistants (puruṣa) of the purohita and adhyakṣas will receive 1000; trained foot-soldiers, the accountants and scribes will receive 500; musicians 250, but trumpet-blowers will receive 500; artisans (kāru) and craftsmen (śilpin) 120; servants in charge of bipeds and quadrupeds, workers doing miscellaneous things, attendants near the king, bodyguard and the officer procuring free labour (viṣṭi) will receive 60; those appointed to do piece work (kāryayukta, v. 1 āryayukta), the elephant driver, boys (māṇavaka, a page ?), mountain-diggers, all atten dants, teachers and learned men shall receive honorarium (pūjā- vetana) according to their merit from 500 to 1000; charioteer of the king 1000; spies of the five sorts (vide above p. 129) will receive 1000; the village servants (like washer-man), the spies of the type of sattrin, desperado, poisoner and ascetic women will receive 500; the wandering spies (vide above p. 130) three hundred or more according to the labour involveḍ The superintendents in charge of a group of hundred or a thousand (servants) were to regulate the subsistence (bhakta), cash salary, the perquisites, the appointment and transfer of those under theṃ But there shall be no transfer of those who are the king's personal servants and of those who are appointed to guard forts and the country partṣ The Sukranītisāra (I. 211) emphasizes that salaries should be in panas, that a king should not make a gift even of a finger-breadth of land as emolument to any servant, but that if he does give land, it should be held only for the life-time of the officer¹⁹. Kauṭilya ( in II. 1 ) prescribes that lands may be granted as emoluments to superintendents (of the various depart-ments ), the accountants, to officers called gopa and sthānīka, to officers in the army, physicians, horse-trainers, but without power to sell or mortgage Śukra II. 117-204 mentions numerous officers of the army, the treasury &c. Śukra IV. 7. 24-27 sets out the salaries of officers, when the king's income is one lakh of mudrās a year. Kaut provides for pensions and gratuitieṣ He says ' the sons and wives of those that die while on duty shall get subsistence and wageṣ Young children, aged persons and ailing persons related to the ( dying ) officers shall be shown favour. On occasions of funerals, sickness or child-birth the king shall bestow money and honours on them'. The Mahābhārata (Sabhā 5. 54 ) prescribes²⁰ that it is the duty of the king to support the wives of those that meet death or calamities in the king's service Śukra II 406-411 contains very modern-looking rules about sick-leave, casual leave, pension after 40 years of service &c

The above provisions from Kauṭilya's work show how States in ancient India engaged in almost all the activities of modern States, had an equally complicated machinery of administration and an army of high and low officerṣ It will also be noticed how, as in India at present, comparatively very high salaries were paid to ministers and heads of departments as compared with the salaries of clerks ( e g the ordinary clerks received five hundred, while the chief minister and samāhartṛ, the collector-general, received respectively 48000 and 24000 i. c. 96 and 48 times as much respectively. If all the different officers mentioned in the works on dharmaśāstra, Arthaśāstra and in inscriptions be collected together, they will make a formidable long list. A list from one inscription is set out below as a sample.²¹ Vide Vogel’s ‘Inscriptions from Chamba’ pp 120-136 for explanations of about 30 titles of officers occurring in the inscriptionṣ

A few words must be said about local administratioṇ The word grāma occurs oven in the Ṛgveda. In Rg I. 114. 1 the poet offers his praise and prayer to Rudra so that he hopes that ‘all bipeds and quadrupeds may fare well and all beings in this village may be free from disease and may enjoy prosperity’.²² In Rg. V. 54.8 ‘heroes (or men) conquering grāmas’ are mentioned (grāmajito yathā narah). In Rg. X. 62. 11 Manu is styled ‘grāmaņi’ and the bestower of a thousand (cows?) and in Rg. X. 107. 5 it is said that the ‘grāmaņi who is endowed with (or dispenses) dakśiņā (cows or wealth) walks in front (of the village people)’. In the Tai. S. II. 5.4.4 it is said ‘the prosperous are three indeed, viz the learned brāhmaṇa, the village headman (grāmaņi) and the rājanya (warrior)'. 192a In the Tai. Br. I 1 4.8, the consecration of fire for a vaiśya sacrificer is made with the mantra ‘manostvā grāmanyo vratapate vratenādadhami’ (where Manu is styled grāmaņi). In the Sat. Br. V. 4. 4. 19 the grāmaņi is said to be stronger than his co-sharer (sajāta). Vide S. B. E. vol. 41 p. 111. We saw above (p 111) that among the rātnins, grāmaṇi (the village headman) was one Grāma did not necessarily mean a village but may have been applied to a town (though not a capital). The headman of a village was called grāmaṇi, grāmika or grāmādhipati (in Manu VII. 115–116, Kaut III. 10), grāmakūṭa (in inscrip- tions e. g. E I vol VII p 39 of śake 852, E I vol VII p 183) and Paṭṭakila, modern Patil (in Ujjain plates of 975 and 1023 A. D. in I. A. vol. 6 p. 51, 53, vol 18 p 322 grant of Bhoja in samvat 1076, I. A 16 p 254, E I. vol. XI p 304, 310 of samvat 1176) In an inscription of the 13th century from the Poona District we have the form ‘paṭṭela’ (E I vol VII at p 183) The word ‘gāvunda’ for a village headman in the Canarese Districts is derived from grāmakūṭa (E. I. vol. VII p 183) Paithinasi ²⁴ quoted by Aparārka p. 239 states that the food of a grāmakūṭa could not be partaken by a brāhmaṇa. The Gāthāsaptaśatī frequently refers to the great influence of the grāmaṇi and the love adventures of his son in the village (I. 30–31, VII. 24). The Kāmasūtra states (V. 5,5) that the young son of a grāmādhipati had certain women of the village at his beck and call ²⁵ According to the Śukranītisāra I 193 a grāma (village) is one krośa in extent and yields a revenue of one thousand silver karsas, while half a village is called pallī and half of pallī was lumbha. Hemādri in Dānakhaṇḍa (p 288) quotes from the Mārkaṇḍeya-purāṇa definitions of pura, kheta, kharvaṭa and grāma Yāj II. 167 makes a distinc- tion between grāma, kharvaṭa and nagara (town) as regards the extent of the pasture lands to be preserved round theṃ Baudhāyana Dh S II 3. 58 and 60 condemns residence in a city for a religious brāhmaṇa where the body is covered with dust which enters one’s mouth and eyes and recommends for residence a grāma abounding in water, fuel, fodder, fuel-sticks, kuśa grass, flowers, which is full of well-to-do people, endowed with industrious people, where the majority are āryas and which cannot be entered by robbers In the Sabhāparva 5 84 five officers of a village are referred to It appears that from being a very high officer (a rātnin) in Vedic times the grāmaṇi was reduced in his influence, came to be appointed by the king alone and the office became hereditary and could be given permanently Vide III ] E.I. vol. VII p. 177, 188, 189 ²⁶. The Śukranītisāra (II 120–21) states that there were to be six officers in a village and (II. 428–29) prescribes their caste, viz. sāhasādhipati (i.e. a magistrate to deal with wrongs involving force) was to be a kṣatriya, grāmaṇetṛ (the headman) a brāhmaṇa, bhāgahāra (the person collecting the state land revenue) a kṣatriya, lekhaka (a scribe, corresponding to the modern kuḷkarṇī in the Deccan) should be a kāyastha, śulkagrāha (the toll-gate keeper) a vaiśya, pratīhāra (the guard at the gate of the village wall) a śūdra. Śukra (in II. 170–175 ) sets out their dutieṣ The headman was to be alert in protecting the villagers like their parents from thieves, robbers and from the State officers, the bhāgahāra was to devote special care to the tending of trees; the lekhaka was to be skilled in accounting and proficient in several spoken languages; the pratīhāra was to be of strong body, proficient in arms, humble and to call the villagers with the respect due to each; and the toll-gate keeper was to levy tolls in such a way that sellers did not incur loss of capital spent by theṃ From Kaut. III 10 it appears that the village headman had the authority to inflict fines in certain cases e g when the headman (grāmika ) had to travel on some business of the whole village the villagers were to accompany him by turns, but if they failed to do so they had to pay a fine of one pana or a half pana. Similarly, if a villager does not co-operate in the getting up of a show (prekṣā) in the village, he or his people would not be allowed to see the show and he was to be fined if he clandestinely saw it. In villages, particularly in Karṇāṭaka and South India and in brahmadeya grants ( to learned brāhmaṇas) the village assemblies (sabhā) carried on local administratioṇ From the Kotavumachgi Inscription of Cālukya Vikramāditya V dated śake 934 ( 1012 A D ) it appears that Ummachige was a great educational centre in the 11th century and 104 Mahājanas of the village were entrusted with the proper conduct of worship in the temple, the imparting of education, the feeding of ascetics, the supply of water to the village and the punishment of criminals ( E. I. vol 20 p. 59 ). Vide Gopalan’s ‘ History of the Pallavas of Kāñcī ’ pp. 93, 153–157 for the working of the village assemblies (sabhās) from the 9th century onwards, but as he observes (p 154) , ‘ we do not know the nature of the rules that regulated their working, their exact sphere of action and their relation to the central government.' An Inscription of king Parantaka I (907-947 A. D.) at Uttaramerur deals with several classes of village committees that were appointed by vote (Annual Report of Archaeological Survey of India, 1904-5 pp 131 ff) Five committees, viz annual committee, garden committee, tank committee, gold committee (for currency or for collecting taxes in cash), pañcavāra committee, are described and reference is made to a sixth called 'justice committee' and the mode of election and the qualifications and disqualifications of members are described in detail (pp. 142-145). Prof Nilkanth Sastri in 'Studies in Cola History' (pp. 131-175) publishes the text of two Parantaka Inscriptions with English translation and exhaustive noteṣ Vide also E. I. vol 22 p 5 for resolutions of the sabha at Manur to be followed in future meetings, the qualifications in property, education and character of the members &c, E. I. vol. 24 p 28 about the regulations of sabhā from two Uttaramaḷḷūr Inscriptions and E. I vol 23 p 22 for a note on the pañcavāra committee. For village communities as described in Buddhist works in the 7th century B C, vide Rhys Davids in ‘Buddhist India’ pp. 45-51. It appears from Pāṇini and the commentary Kāśikā thereon that certain craftsmen were attached hereditarily to the village, were probab- ly paid a certain part of the crop produce yearly for their services and corresponded to the modern village servants (call- ed the twelve balutedārs) in the Deccan For an account of these balutedārs, vide Grant Duff's 'History of the Marathas ' (Bombay ed of 1863, vol I. pp 23-27) For example, Pāṇini (VI. 2 62 ) teaches the accent of a compound word formed from grāma with another word denoting 'silpin' (craftsman), such as grāmanāpita (village barber) or grāmakulāla (village potter), which are two examples given by the Kāśikā on this sūtra. From Pāṇini V 4 95 (,' grāmakautābhyām ca taksṇaḥ') it may be inferred that a carpenter also was a village servant as in modern times in the Deccan Bṛhaspati ²⁷ contains very Important information about local administration in villageṣ A compact formed among villages, guilds and corporations (gana) is called a samaya (agreement) ; such an agreement must be observed in times of distress and for acts of dharma. Two, three or five persons shall be appointed as advisers of groups ; their advice shall be followed by the villagers, the guilds, the corporations and others Examples of agreement as to times of distress are : When there is drought, there may be a compact that for the performance of a sacrifice to the planets or the like each field or house should contribute so much money or when there is trouble from robbers, each house should send one able-bodied and armed maṇ Then examples are given by Bṛhaspati himself about acts of dharma. The village people should put down in writing what work they are going to do, such as the repair of a house for their assembly, a shed for distributing water to travellers, a temple, a tank or a garden, the performance of the necessary saṁskāras (upanayana or funeral rites) of the poor and helpless, gifts for the performance of sacrifices, prevention of famine-stricken groups of families from coming. Such conven- tions would be proper and should be respected by all the villagerṣ Whoever being able to carry out such agreements violates them should be punished with loss of all wealth and banishment. Bṛhaspati further says²⁸ that the heads of families, guilds and ganas and the inhabitants of towns and forts may pronounce the two punishments of reprimand and condemnation against wrong-doers and may also excommunicate them and the punish- ments and favours declared by them according to rules should be approved of by the king, since such power is regarded by the sages as delegated to theṃ For ejecting out of the village one who is not guilty of theft or adultery with another's wife the village headman or the village was liable to pay, according to Kauṭilya III. 10, a fine of 24 panaṣ It will be seen from what has preceded that village administration was self-contained and would function whatever Government might happen to be at the centre The central Government did not very much interfere with local administration, except in the matter of land revenue, protection against invasion and exercised only general control and supervisioṇ The village communities were miniature stateṣ There was a great deal of decentralization or devolution of authority from the central government to the village committees and authoritieṣ They were also entrusted with civil and criminal justice, as we shall see later oṇ For further details on the organization of a village as a political unit, Dr R C Majumdar's 'Corporate life in Ancient India' chap II. pp 135 ff. and Fick (p. 161) may be consulteḍ Just as there was some organization in villages in general, so also guilds (śreṇis) and groups (gaṇas) had their own regulations and conventionṣ In XI 1 Kauṭilya refers to kṣatriya guilds in the countries of Kambhoja and Surāṣṭra that maintained themselves on husbandry and followed the profession of arms (vide above p. 88 n, 120). In III. 14 he refers to guilds of workmen or labourers (saṅgha- bhṛtāh) Manu (I 118) declares that his work deals not only with the enduring dharmas of countries, castes and families, but also with the dharmas of heretical sects (pāṣaṇḍa) and of groups (gaṇa). Manu (VIII. 41) requires the righteous king to consider carefully the dharmas of castes, countries, guilds and families (to find out whether they are opposed to the Vedas) and uphold those dharmas (that are not opposed) as binding (on those respective persons) Yāj. II 192 prescribes that the king should respect the usages and conventions of occupational guilds, merchants, heretical sects, and groups (corporations &c) and allow them to pursue the course of action they had followed from ancient timeṣ Nārada (samayasyānāpa-karma, verses 2-6) and Bṛhaspati quoted in the Viramitrodaya (vyavahāra) contain very important directions as to what conventions of guilds the king should respect and what he is not bound to respect Nārada says that the king should enforce the conventions agreed upon by heretic sects, naigamas (merchants), śreṇis and other groups residing in the country or the capital. The king may allow them to follow their special rules (e g speaking the truth), their special actions (begging in the morn- ing without having taken a bath), their mode of meeting (on hearing a drum being beaten), the means of livelihood they have been used to (e. g dressing as an ascetic) But the king should prohibit (out of their usages and conventions) such as are opposed to the king's interest, or are disapproved of by the people in general, would be ruinous to the purposes of the king The king should not tolerate their creating factious groups among themselves, taking up arms for a purpose detrimental to the State, and causing injury to each other The king should specially curb those who cause dissensions among the several . III ] groups ; if they are connived at in these activities they might cause terrible danger.²⁹ A good deal has already been said about guilds and corporations in H. Dh. vol. II. pp. 66–69. Among inscriptions, the following may be studied : the Nasik Inṣ No. 15 of the time of Ābhira Īśvarasena ( E. I vol. VIII p. 88, where the śreṇis of potters, oil-pressers and water-drawers receive deposits), Junnar Buddhist cave Inscription ( A. S. W. L vol. 4 p. 97, where a deposit of money with śreṇis of bamboo-workers and braziers is made), Gupta Inscription No. 16 p. 70 (an endowment was entrusted to the guild of oil-men, whose head was Jīvanta), Gupta Inscrip-tions, No. 18 p. 79 (silk weavers from Lāṭa coming to Daśapura and building a Sun temple ), E. I vol. 15 p. 263, E. I vol. 18 p. 326 and p. 30, E. I. 16 p. 332, E I. vol. 155 (of 933 samvat, inscrip-tion at Gopagiri, modern Gwalior, where the guilds of oil-millers and of gardeners are mentioned), I 184 (Pehoa inscription, where a guild of 34 horse-dealers from different countries, some being brāhmaṇas, agreed to impose upon themselves and their customers tithes to be distributed to certain temples). Rhys Davids in ‘Buddhist India’ (pp. 90–96) gives a list of the 18 guilds that probably existed in the times of the early Buddhist works (though two or three of them are of doubtful existence) and the number of which (18) is sometimes mentioned in the Jātakas (as in Mūgapakkhajātaka No. 538, vol. VI p. 14 in Cowell’s tr.). For further details about the working and organization of guilds, vide chap. I of Dr. R. C. Majmudar’s ‘Corporate life in ancient India’, and ‘Indian Culture’ vol 6 (for 1940 ) pp. 421–28 ( on the economic guilds of blacksmiths, barbers &b. in the Kuśāna period ).

In numerous places rules are laid down about the qualifica-tions of the ordinary servants ( parivāra, bhrtya or anujīvin ) of kings, how they should conduct themselves, how servants should find out whether the king is pleased or displeased with theṃ Vide Kauṭilya V. 4, Virāṭaparva 4 12-50 (where the refrain of most verses is 'sa rājavasaṭim vaset'), Matsyapurāṇa 216 (the whole of which is quoted in the Rājadarmakāṇda pp. 24-27 and in the Rājanitiprakāśa pp 189-192), Agni- purāṇa 221, Visṇudharmottara II. 25. 2-28, Kām IV. 10-11, V 1-4, 6, 9, 11-63 (most of which are quoted in the Rājaniti-rat- nākara pp 51-58), Śukranītisāra II. 54-68, 205-253. On the word ‘aksudraparisad' occurring in Yāj I. 310 (where the Mit. has the reading 'aksudrosparusah') Viśvarūpa quotes a passage from Śaṅkha ³⁰ 'a hamsa (swan i e a good king) surrounded by vultures (greedy servants) is not desirable, but a vulture (i e a greedy king) surrounded by hamsas (servants of spotless character) may be preferred' The Rājaniti- prakāśa (p 185) quotes the same passage from Śaṅkha-Likhita with an addition viz. ‘faults arise from those who surround the king and such faults are enough to ruin (the king) Therefore the (king) should first (before engaging his servants) put down in writing whether servants are endowed with learning, character and good family.' Śukra inculcates loyalty on servants in the following remarkable ³¹ words ‘one should not forsake a good master when he is in adversity. Should not one always and quickly desire the welfare of one's protector whose salt (lit food) one has eaten with honour even once' ( II 246-247) ? This senti- ment pervaded most Hindu servants in ancient and medieval times, even under foreign rulers professing a different religion The Rājanitiprakāśa p. 176 quotes a fine verse from the Garuda- purāṇa as to matters to be principally considered in selecting servants, which are four, viz. education, character, family and actions, just as gold is tested in four ways, viz. by weighing it or by rubbing it ( on a touchstone ), by cutting it and by heating it ³² Some responsibilities of the Government or king in ancient India towards the people will now be dealt with. From Kauṭilya (II. 29 and II. 34) we find that the State made great efforts for the rearing of cattle, made stringent rules for their protection and for the provision of pastureṣ Manu VIII. 237, Yāj. II. 167, Matsya 227. 24 also make provision for pastures round villages, towns and citieṣ Kauṭilya requires the superintendent of cattle to classify cattle as calves, steers, tameables, draught oxen, bulls to be yoked, stud-bulls, bulls meant for carts, cattle meant for meat and buffaloes meant for carrying loads or for being yoked, pregnant cows, milch cattle &c. and to mark them and note in a register of beasts the branded marks, natural marks, colour, the distance between the hornṣ He prescribes corporal punishments and fine for those who unauthorizedly kill or steal cattle or incite others to do so. He prescribes even the amount of fodder, oil- cakes, bran and salt on which different kinds of animals put to different kinds of work are to be feḍ From the Mahābhārata also we learn that even princes³³ went to supervise and enumerate the herds of cattle belonging to the State. Vide Vanaparva 239. 4 and 240. 4-6. Even such a grammatical work as the Mahābhāṣya incidentally gives expression to the view that a country's wealth consists in its food-crops and in abundance of cattle. We saw above (pp. 130-131) that spies were to be employed (acc. to Kauṭ.) to test whether State officers took bribeṣ Yāj. (I 336, 338, 339) prescribes that the king should protect his subjects from the harassment caused by kāyasthas (the account- ants and scribes), that he should ascertain the doings of the State officers through spies, honour those that are well-conducted and severely punish those who are badly behaved and should deprive those who take bribes of their wealth and banish them from the country. Vide also Manu VII. 122-124 and Visnudharmottara for similar ruleṣ The Pañcatantra (I. 343) has the same verse as Yaj. I. 336 (except the last pāda ). Medhātithi on Manu IX. 294 remarks that the kingdom has no fear of ruin if kaṇṭakas (wicked people who are like thorns) are removed and justice is properly administered and that kaṇṭakas are generally under the protection of the queen, the prince, the king's favourites or the commander-in-chief. Great attention was paid to agriculture. In the Sabhāparva 5. 77 the king ⁵⁰² is advised to have large tanks in different parts of the country full of water and to see that agriculture did not depend on the rains alone. Megasthenes (Fragment I p 30 of McCrindle's work ) notes that the greater part of the soil of India was in his day under irrigation and consequently bore two crops in the year. Even from the Tai S V 1 7 3 it appears that two crops were grown in the year (tasmād dvih samvatsarasya sasyaṃ pacyate ). The Yaj S. 18 12 contains a list of twelve different kinds of crops such as rice, yava, wheat, māsa, sesame, mudga, masūra &c and the Br Up VI 3 13 enumerates ten kinds of grain (grāmyāṇi dhānyāni). In the Hathigumphā Inscription of Khāravela king of Kalinga (E I vol 20 p 71 ) it is stated that (p. 79 ) a canal which had already been opened in the 103rd year of the Nanda kings (i. e. in the 4th century B. C ) was extended by him in the 5th year of his reigṇ Rudradāman at great expense from his own treasury without any additional taxation or demand for free labour restored the famous Sudarśana lake near Junāgad (E.I vol VIII. p. 36 ) that had been built by the Governors of Candragupta and Aśoka and been breached by floodṣ Irrigation had been made use of from Vedic timeṣ Rg VII. 49 2 refers to rivers and springs naturally flowing and to channels that were dug up. South Indian Inscriptions show how the Pallavas and kings of other dynasties built tanks which were named after the kings themselves or after some distinguished chief of the locality and that are in existence even now. Vide S I I vol. II part III, p 351, E. I vol IV p 152 (mention of tank called 'parameśvaratāṭaka'), S I I. vol I p 150, E I. vol. VIII. p. 145 (for mention of rājatāṭaka near which four nivartanas were granted by Cārudevī). The great engineer Suyya under Avantivarman of Kashmir (833-858) successfully dammed the river Vitastā with the result that a khārī of rice which could formerly be purchased for 200 dīnāras could be had after the great irrigation work for 36 dināras (vide Rājataraṅgiṇi V. 84-117). Kauṭilya (II. 24) refers to the various ways in which crops could be raised with water and the revenue to be demanded in each case, e. g. those who watered crops with manual labour had to pay 1/5th of the produce, those who carried water on their shoulders paid 1/4th, those who watered their crops by means of water-lifts or water-wheels from natural springs paid one-third and those who raised water from rivers, lakes, tanks and wells paid 1/4th. He notes that sugarcane crops are a heavy responsibility, as they are liable to many evils and entail great expense. Sugarcane had been grown even in the times of the Atharvaveda (I. 34. 5). The Sukranītisāra (IV. 4. 60) remarks that the king should see to it that there is plenty of water in his kingdom by digging wells, wells with steps, tanks, lakes &c. Megasthenes (fragment XXXIV p. 86 of McCrindle's ‘ Ancient India ’) says that some superintend the rivers, measure the land as is done in Egypt and inspect the sluices by which water is let out from the main canals into their branches so that every one may have an equal share of it. Kaut (IV. 3) devotes a special chapter to the king's duty to save the kingdom from national calamities, viz. fires, floods, diseases, famines, rats, wild elephants (or beasts), snakes and evil spiritṣ He gives practical hints for human and religious remedies and rites against these calamities The measures against famine suggested by him are: the king may provide the people with seeds and food, start works for those who are distressed, distribute either his own collection of provisions or that of the rich or call for help from his allies, tax the rich and make them disgorge their wealth, migrate to other countries that have abundant harvestṣ National calamities are called iti, which are six: excessive rainfall, drought, rats, locusts, parrots and too close presence of foreign kingṣ ³⁵ The work of Kāmandaka states that calamities are either divine or human and that the first are of five kindṣ In another place he gives a longer list of calamitieṣ There are several references in ancient and medieval works to severe famineṣ In the Chāndogya upaniṣad I. 10. 1-3 we have the story of Usasti Cākrāyaṇa who took from another's plate kulmāṣas that the other had been eating ( i e. he took ucchista food ), when the country of Kurus was overwhelmed with a shower of hail ( or by locusts ). The Bālakāṇḍa ( chap. 9) refers to a famine in the country of Anga under Romapāda. The Nirukta II 10 refers to a drought in the dim past for twelve years in the kingdom of Śantanu. A Mauryan inscription from Mahāsthāna ( ancient Pundranagara) shows that Gandaka coins were distributed and also corn to famine-stricken people ( J. A. S B for 1932 p. 123 ). The Sohagpur Copperplate Inscription ( of Mauryan times) contains an order of the mahāmātras of Śrāvastī that the dravya storehouses were to be spent only in case of drought Vide Annals of B O. R Institute, vol. XI p. 32ff., E I. vol. 22 p. 1 and J. A. S B vol. VII ( for 1941 ) part 2 p. 203. The Rājataraṅgiṇī records several times the occurrence of famines in Kashmir at different periods (e. g vide II 17-54, V. 270–278, VII 1219 ff). The Maṇimekhalaī ( chap 28 ) speaks of a famine for twelve years at Kāñcī in South India There was a terrible famine ( called the famine of Durgādevī ) for twelve years in the Deccan about 1396 A. D. (vide Grant Duff's ‘History of the Marāthas’ vol. I. p. 43 ). Vide E. I. vol 15 p. 12 for a reference to a severe famine in śake 1313 when paddy could not be had even at the rate of ten nālīs a panaṃ

It has been shown ( in H. Dh. vol. II. pp. 113, 369, 856–858 ) how it was the king's duty to support learned brāhmaṇas, to hold assemblies of poets and learned men, to make gifts of land to educational institutions and to promote learning in all ways Vṛddha-Hārīta VII. 229–230 says that only learned brāhmaṇas who are endowed with tapas are proper objects of the king's bounty. Some emperors like Harṣa went far beyond what was reasonable. The Chinese pilgrim tells us ( Beal's ‘Buddhist Records &c' vol I pp 214, 233 ) that at the end of every five years Harṣa held an assembly ( parişad ) at Prayāga and gave away all in charity. The Śukranītisāra ( I 368–369 ) holds that a king should be on the look-out for educated men, should appoint them to offices suited to their education, should honour every year those who have attained eminence in learning and the arts and take measures for the advancement of learning and artṣ It has already been shown how this had been followed by ancient and medieval Indian kings to the letter. A comparison with the British Indian Government in the 18th century and the first decades of the 19th will be highly interesting. After the battle of Plassey in 1757 the British East India Company got three such rich provinces as Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. During over 50 years the only thing that was done by the ruling power for the encouragement of learning among Indians was that in 1780 Warren Hastings started a Madrasa of Muslim religious learn- ing at Calcutta with a moulvi and 40 stipendiaries and Lord Cornwallis founded a Sanskrit college at Benares in 1792. When the East India Company's Charter was renewed in 1813 the only provision that was made for education and encouragement of learning (by George III, 1813 chap 155, clause 43) was ' that it shall and may be lawful for the Governor- General-in-Council to direct that out of any surplus which may remain of the rents, revenues and profits arising from the said territorial acquisitions, after defraying the expenses of the military, civil and commercial establishments and paying the interest of the debt, a sum of not less than one lakh of rupees in each year shall be set apart and applied to the revival and improvement of literature and the encouragement of the learned natives of India and for the introduction and promotion of a knowledge of the sciences among the inhabitants of the British territories in India '. Detailed comment is not called for. More than 50 years after British rule began, when at least half of what is British India now had come into the hands of the British, and when the yearly income must have been many crores of rupees, the sum of a lakh of rupees was to be set apart for education of two kinds (Eastern and Western) in the whole of the then British India. Further this provision was not compulsory but only permissive, and was to be availed of only if some surplus was left after everything else had been provided for.

As in western Jurisprudence, so in India the king was looked upon as parents patriae, the protector or guardian of all minorṣ Gaut. ³⁶ X. 48-49 and Manu VIII. 27 prescribe that the king shall protect the property of a minor until he attains majority or until he returns from his teacher's house Medhātithi on Manu VIII 27 says that the minor's relatives like the uncles may contend that one of them is the guardian of the minor's property but it is the king who is to see that the minor's property is kept safe. Bauḍ Dh. S. II. 2 43, Vaṣ 16. 8-9, Viṣṇu Dh. S III. 65, Śankha-Likhita contain a similar rule. Nār (rnādāna 35) declared that a person was a minor till the 16th year. Manu VIII. 28-29, Visnudharmasūtra III. 65 extend the same rule and say that the king must take care of barren women, women who have no sons, women whose families are extinct, wives and widows who are faithful to their husbands and of those who are afflicted with disease Nār.³⁷ as quoted by Medhātithi says that if a woman has nobody in her husband’s or father’s family to protect her, then it is the king who is to protect her. Kaut³⁸ (II 1) makes it a duty of the elders of the village to take care of and increase the properties of minors and of templeṣ

It was the special concern of the king to see that proper weights and measures were useḍ Kaut (II. 19) as stated above (pp 145-146) provides for a special superintendent of weights and measureṣ Vas³⁹ (19 13) and Manu VIII. 403 provide that all weights and measures must be duly marked (or stamped), that once in six months they must be re-examined and that the weights and measures for objects required by the class of householders must be guarded against falsificationṣ Yaj. II. 240 and Visnudharmasūtra V. 122 prescribe as punishment the highest ammercemert for those who fabricate false balances, edicts, measures and coins and also for those who use them in their transactions The Nītivākyāmṛta (p. 98) requires the king to be vigilant as regards merchandise, balances and measures since there is none who excels traders in stealing people’s money before their very eyeṣ⁴⁰ Vide Alberuni (tr. by Sachau) vol I chap XV about weights and measures current in India in the 11th century

Another important responsibility of the king concerned theftṣ Asvapati, king of Kekaya, boasted that in his kingdom there was no thief, no close-fisted person, no drinker of wine, (Chāṇ Up. V. 11. 5). Āp. Dh. S.⁴¹ (II. 10. 26. 6-8) lays down that the officers should protect a city against theft for one yojana round it and in the case of villages for one krośa round them and that whatever is stolen within those limits must be returned to the owners by the officerṣ Gautama X. 46-47, Manu VIII. 40, Yāj. II. 36, Viṣṇudharmasūtra III. 66-67, Śānti 75. 10 prescribe that the king should recover from the thief stolen property and restore it to the owner (without distinction of caste), that if he cannot restore it he should compensate the sufferer from his own treasury, and that, if he retained the property recovered from a thief or did not make efforts to catch the thief and compensate the owner, the king incurred siṇ Kaut. III. 16 contains a similar rule.⁴² Viśvarūpa on Yāj. II. 38 quotes a prose passage⁴³ of Br. with a similar import. The Viṣṇudharmottara⁴⁴ (II. 61. 52) remarks that if a person is robbed by his own servants then he (the king) may endeavour to recover it from the servants (by threatening or beating them), but need not restore it from his own treasury. Yāj. II. 270-272, Nār. (pariśiṣṭa 16-21) and Kat.⁴⁵ give further directions, viz. the thief should be made to restore the property stolen or its price; if the thief cannot be found the officers and wardens of the country pay the price of the stolen articles; the property stolen in the village should be made good by the headman of the village, if the thief's foot-steps are not traced as going out of the village; if the theft takes place in a pasture land or forest (and the thief is not found), the owner of it should be made to pay; if however the theft is not committed in a forest but on the road then the officers appointed to arrest thieves should be made to pay; the whole village may be made to pay the compensation when the theft is within the boundaries of a village but outside the limit of the residential quarters, if the footsteps of the thief are not traced as going out of the village; if the theft takes place beyond one krośa from a village then the surrounding five or ten villages may be made to pay the compensation Yāj II. 271 and Kāt mention an officer called ‘cauroddhartā’ (' or coroddhartā ') The 'cauroddharaṇika' (thief-catcher) is an officer mentioned in numerous inscriptions e g in the Palitana plates of Dharasena II of Valabhi in Gupta year 252 (E. I. vol. XI at p 83), in the inscription of Nārāyaṇapāla where we have both cauroddharaṇika and kottapāla, modern Kotwal (I A. vol XV p 304) and in the grant of Ballālasena quoted above (p. 153, n 19) Kauṭilya IV 13 also gives similar rules and mentions an officer called 'corarajuka' who has to make good the loss of merchandise by theft between two villages or lands that are not pasture landṣ

The first quality required in a king according to Yāj I. 309 quoted above (p. 44) is great energy and Kaut also (in VI. 1) ment- ions 'great energy' (mahotṣāha) among the qualities called 'abhi- gāmika'. Works on dharmaśāstra and arthaśāstra emphasize the fact that a king must always be full of activity and must not be lethargic or fatalistic In the Mahābhārata the topic of human effort and daiva (fate or destiny) comes up for treatment in numerous places and is put in the mouth of several characters with different emphasis according to circumstanceṣ In Ādi 1 246-247, 89. 7-10, Sabhā 46. 16, 47. 36, 58 14, Vanaparva 179. 27-28, Udyoga 8 52, 40 32, 159 4, 186 18, Āśramavāsika 10. 29 the emphasis is on daiva as all powerful, it being said that human effort is useless as against daiva A golden mean is advocated in Ādi. 123. 21, Sabhā 16 12, Udyoga 79 5-6, Śānti 56, 14-15, Sauptika 2. 3, in all of which it is said that worldly affairs require both puruṣakāra (effort) and daiva In certain other passages it is recommended that effort is superior to daiva and that one's business is to make efforts and not to care for fate; e g. in Droņa 152. 27, Śānti 27 32, 58 13-16, 153. 50, Anušāsana 6 1 ff, Sauptika 2 12-13 and 23-24 A few of the striking passages indicative of the three lines of thought are III ] set out in the note below.⁴⁶ Energetic action, according to Sānti. 58 13–15, is declared by Bṛhaspati to be the root of rājadharma. Nectar was obtained and asuras were killed by the gods by means of energetic action and Indra secured his high position in heaven and here by energetic actioṇ Br. makes the characteristic remark ‘A man who is a hero of action leads those who are heroes in speech and the latter are seen to cater for the pleasures of the former and wait humbly on him’. The Bhagavadgītā in its final summing up of the philosophy of Activism without an eye to the fruit of it but from a sense of duty declares (XVIII. 13-16) ‘that in the Sānkhya philosophy five categories are mentioned as conducive to the accomplishment of all actions viz the place, the agent, various kinds of instruments, diverse and separate activities and lastly dāna; that whatever action a man commences either with his body, words or mind these five are its causes, whether the action be righteous ( nyāyya ) or the opposite of it, and that this being the true state of things ( i e the fruit depending on the co-operation of five elements and not on one alone ) that man who regards himself alone as bringing about a result is a fool and has no correct perception’. Kauṭilya also (I. 19 last two verses) says ‘activity (utthāna) is the root of wealth and the opposite of it is the root of evil In the absence of activity the loss of present and future acquisitions is sure; by activity a king can obtain his desired object and plenty of wealth’. Yāj (I. 349 and 351) states that success in undertakings depends upon both fate and human effort, yet fate is nothing but the human effort of past lives manifesting its effect (in this life) and that as on a single wheel a chariot cannot progress, so fate cannot accomplish anything without human effort. Yāj. I 350 refers to other views viz fate alone leads to success, human effort alone does so, that success results of itself (without any cause), while others say that it is Time that brings about all resultṣ Manu VII 205, Matsya 221. 1-12 (all of which are quoted in the Rājanītiprakāśa pp. 313-314) and Viṣṇudharmottara II. 66 (which has the same verses as in Matsya 221) inculcate the same doctrine as that of Yāj. I 349 and 351 and emphasize that one must always make efforts (tasmāt sadotthānavatā hi bhāvyaın-Matsya 221. 12)⁴⁷ The Matsyapurāṇa 221. 2 emphasizes that effort is superior Medhātithi on Manu IV. 137 quotes a subhāṣita ‘those devoid of effort are engaged in calculating the aspects of planets; there is nothing impossible of accomplishment for those who are determined and who are able to put forth spirited efforts’ Kaut (IX. 4 last two verses), Kām V 11, XIII. 3-11 emphasize the importance of strenuous efforts Śukranītisāra (I. 46-58) holds a long disquisition on effort and daiva It contains the following fine sentiments (I 48-49) ‘Men of intellect whose career is honourable regard human effort as the highest (and not fate), while impotent men not being able to make efforts have recourse to fate; but all is centred in both daiva and effort’ Vide Rājanītiprakāśa pp 312-315 and Nītimayūkha pp. 52-53 for further remarks on daiva and effort In one place the Mahābhārata (Udyoga 127. 19) contains the bravest and loftiest advice ‘man should always press forward (make efforts), should never bend; striving is manliness; one may even break at a point which is not the joint, but should- never bend’⁴⁸. The Bṛhat-Parāśara-smṛti X pp. 282-283 contains a long discourse on daiva and puruṣakāra Vide Vāyu 9. 60-61 and Mārk. purāṇa 2. 61-62 and 23. 25-26 for similar passages on daiva and effort.

An important doctrine of the writers on Arthaśāstra is more or less based on the necessity of utsāha, viz the doctrine of three. III] śaktis, i e of utsāha, prabhu (or prabhāva) and mantra. These three occur in the Mahābhārata (Āśramavāsika 7. 6). The S. V. p. 46 quotes a sūtra of Gautama (not found in the printed Dh. S.) 'the three śaktis, viz. prabhu, mantra and utsāha are based on that (kośa).'⁴⁸ In VI. 2 Kauṭilya defines mantra-śakti as the power of the knowledge (of statecraft), prabhuśakti as the power of treasury and army and utsāhaśakti as the force of the king's bravery.⁴⁹ Kauṭilya (IX. 1) holds a discussion about the relative superiority of these three and gives it as his opinion (as against that of the ācāryas) that prabhuśakti is superior to utsāhaśakti and that mantraśakti is superior to prabhuśakti. Kāṁ. XV. 32 defines²¹⁸ the three thus: 'the employment of the proper line of policy out of the six upāyas (sandhi, vigraha &c ) is called mantraśakti; a full treasury and army constitute prabhuśakti and activity of the strong is called utsāhaśakti; the king possessed of all these three becomes the conqueror.' The Nītivākyāmṛta (ṣaḍguṇyasamuddeśa ) p. 322 defines them in the same way.²¹⁹ According to the Daśakumāracarita²²⁰ VIII the goal (or purpose) of a king is determined by mantra (consul tation with ministers about policy), commencement of actions (for securing the goal ) is due to prabhāva and the successful termination of undertakings is brought about by energy. The Parasurāmapratāpa (folio 15a) quotes a verse which defines 'prabhuśakti' differently viz as the power to commanḍ Vide also Agnipurāṇa 241. 1, Mānasollāsa II. 8-10 pp 91-94. Kāṁ. (XIII. 41-58 ) brings together the numerous activities of the king.

A king endowed with valour has to employ several means ( upāyas) to extend his dominions and to keep his hold on his own people. According to the Rāmāyaṇa V. 41. 2-3, Manu VII. 109, Yāj. I. 346, Sukra IV. 1. 27 and others the upāyas are four viz. sāma (conciliation), dāna (giving gifts or presents), bheda (causing dissensions) and danda (punishment or depriving of property or causing bodily harm).²²¹ In the Hāthigumphā Inscription, the king Khāravela (latter half of 2nd century B. C.) states that in the 10th year of his reign he sent, following the policy of danda, sandhi and sāma, an expedition against Bharatvarṣa, conquered that land and obtained jewels and precious things (E I. vol. XX pp. 79, 88) This shows that the theory of the upāyas must have been evolved several centuries before the Christian era. Some others such as Kām XVII 3, Matsya 222. 2, Agnipurāṇa 226 5-6, Bṛhaspatyasūtra V 1-3, Viṣṇudharmottara II. 146-149 add three more to the above four. Sabhā 5 21 mentions the number seven and Vanaparva 150. 42 mentions sāma, dāna, bheda, danda and upekṣā About the additional three there is some difference of opinion, most holding that the three are māyā, upekṣā and indrajāla (Kāṃ, Agnipurāṇa ), while the Bṛhaspatyasūtra (V 263) says they are māyā, upekṣā and vadha and others say that they are māyā, akṣa (dice) and indrajāla (Sarasvatīvilāsa p 42) Māyā means 'deceitful trick'. The Viṣṇudharmottara II 148 gives illustrations, such as tying a firebrand to the tail of a bird that often perches on the enemy's camp to produce the delusion that a meteor (an evil omen) fell down from the sky Kām XVII 54 cites the example of Bhīma's meeting Kīcaka dressed as Draupadī. Kām ( XVII 51-53) gives other examples of māyā. Upekṣā consists in not preventing a person from doing what is unjust or being addicted to some vice or engaging in a fight and is illustrated by king Virāṭa's connivance at the death of Kīcaka ( Kām XVII. 55-57) Indrajāla means 'creat- ing an illusion by means of incantations and other tricks' e. g. creating the illusion before the eyes of the enemy that a vast army is coming to attack them or showing that angels are descending to fight against them or making a shower of blood fall in the enemy's camp etc (Kām XVII 58-59, Viṣṇudharmottara II. 149) About the four well-known upāyas, Manu (VII 108-109) says that for the prosperity of one's kingdom sāma and danda (punishment) are preferred, but if the king's antagonists do not yield to him by the employment of the first three then he may bring them round by daṇḍa ( i. e. fighting and harassing them ) and that ( VII. 198, 200 ) daṇḍa is to be employed as the last resort, since victory is not certaiṇ In the Śāntiparva 69. 23 the view of Bṛhaspati is quoted⁵⁰ that fighting should always be avoided (as far as possible) and that for securing one's purpose three upāyas ( other than fighting ) are to be resorted to Bṛhat-Parāśara X p. 280 also says that a wise man should not resort to fighting and that daṇḍa is to be resorted to only when there is no other course left In Udyoga 132. 29-30 ( cr. eḍ chap. 130 ) Kunti sends a message through Kṛṣṇa to her son: 'begging is forbidden to you nor is agriculture appropriate for you; you are a kṣatriya living by the power of his arms and a protector against injury (kṣatāt trātā). Recover your ancestral share by sāma, dāna, bheda, daṇḍa and naya '. In Udyoga 150 ( cr. ed 148 ) Kṛṣṇa informs Yudhiṣṭhira how he first employed sāma, then bheda, then dāna (viz. giving up the whole kingdom for five villages) and how only daṇḍa is the proper recourse in the case of the wicked Kauravas Hopkins, as very often, being obsessed with his ideas of three strata in the Mahābhārata says that three means appear to be the oldest form and four means a later idea. There is hardly any warrant for this opinion as for many others in the same strain (J. A. O. S vol. XIII pp. 182-183 n). The Viṣṇudharmottara II. 146 speaks of the four upāyas and states that daṇḍa as regards a foreign state is open (prakāśa ) i. e. burning and not-open ( aprakāśa i e by poison or secret death ) The Mit on Yāj. I. 346 and Kām XVIII 1 say the same thing. The Viṣṇudharmasūtra III. 38 prescribes that the four upāyas are to be employed at the proper time and according to the attitudes of the hostile king, friendly king, the madhyamu and udāsīna kings⁵¹. The Mit on Yāj. I 346 expressly states that the four upāyas are to be employed not only in the affairs between kings but also in the lives of all ordinary people and cites a verse wherein a father or teacher addresses a son or pupil making use of all four means⁵² Kāṃ XVII, Mānsollāsa II. 17-20 verses 972 ft (pp 117-122). Nītivākyāmṛta pp. 332-336 treat at length of these four upāyaṣ A few points only are noted here. Sāma is of five kinds viz. recounting the good turns done by each to the other; praising the qualities and actions of the persons to be won over; declaring the relationship of each other; representing the good that will result in future; declaring 'I am yours and I am at your service' (Kām XVII. 4-5) Dāna consists in returning, what is deposited with one by another, consenting to the taking away by another of one's things, mak- ing a gift of something new, giving what the other chooses to ask for, sending at fixed times what has to be giveṇ Bheda (sowing dissensions) consists in giving heavy bribes or presents to minis- ters or feudatories, the crown prince and high officers of the enemy that are dissatisfied for various reasons, creating distrust between the king and his ministers, the rich men and the handsome men in the kingdom by the threat of the loss of life, honour, position, and wealth, by the fear of imprisonment, by the fear that the king may carry away the beautiful wife of a subject or by suggesting that a handsome young man has his eye on the king's harem, and suggesting to a king that a kinsman desires to secure the kingdom to himself and thereby inducing the king to put out his eyes or cut off his limbṣ This is effected by secret spies or persons who are in the pay of both kings (ubhāyavetana, acc to Mānasollāsa p 119 v. 995 )⁵³. Vide Kaut XI. 1, Matsya chap. 225 and Śukra IV 1 25-54 for bheda, Kaut XI. 1 explains at length how an aspiring conqueror is to sow dissensions between corporations and the leaders of corporations, between chiefs and other people. One or two passages may be quoted by way of sample "Spies gaining access to these corporations ( of warriors and others ) and finding out jealousy, hatred and other causes of quarrel among them should sow seeds of a well-plan- ned dissension among them, and tell one of them 'this man decries you'. Spies may give publicity to the consideration of priority shown to inferior persons in social intercourse in the face of the established custom of recognising the status of other persons by birth, bravery, and social positioṇ In all these disputes the conqueror should help the inferior party with men and money and set them against the superior party. A woman who has disappointed her lover and has been for- given may approach and say to a chief ‘ this chief is troubling me when my mind is set on you; when he is alive I cannot stay here ’ and thus induce the former to slay the latter. " The Matsyapurāṇa 223. 4 states that united people are more than a match even for Indra unless bheda is employed, that dissensions are of two kinds, internal and external, of which the former is more seriouṣ External dissension means the quarrel with a chief, but internal dissension means dissension between a king and his queen or heir apparent or ministerṣ One should try to prevent dissension with one’s own relatives Śānti 69. 23 also advises the conquest of territory by fomenting dissensionṣ There- fore the expedient of 'divide et impera' has a respectable antiquity. Daṇḍa in the case of a king’s country consists in sentencing to death or corporal punishment or fine and in the case of the enemy in fighting, destroying or devastating his country by seiz- ing his crops and grain, cattle, wealth, forts and in imprison- ing and injuring his people, burning his villages and forestṣ

There were certain privileges that the king enjoyeḍ His rights to treasure trove have already been referred to (H. Dh. vol II, p 146) Kaut. (IV. 1) gives the following ruleṣ The person giving information about the discovery of a mine, jewels or treasure trove gets one-sixth, but if the informer be a servant of the king he gets ¹⁄₁₂; treasure trove beyond 100000 panas went to the king wholly ( the finder being entitled to a ¹⁄₄ share only up to 100000 panas of the whole ) ; a subject who can prove that the treasure trove belonged to his ancestors would get the whole of it; if he takes it without establishing his ancestral ownership he is to be fined 500 panas and 1000 panas if he appropriated it secretly. The king also took by escheat the property of a person dying without leaving any heir except in the case of brāhmaṇas (vide H. Dh. II, p. 146 where some authorities are cited). This subject will be dealt with at greater length under the next sect- ion on 'law and justice ' The king was also entitled to all property that was lost or given up by the true owner. Vide Gaut.⁵³ X. 36–38, Vas 16. 19, Manu VIII. 30–33, Yāj. II. 33, 173–174, Śaṅkha-Likhita Gaut. and Bauḍ Dh. S. (I. 10. 17) say that the king should preserve for one year articles found after proclaiming the finding by beat of drum, while Manu says that the period is three yearṣ The Mit on Yāj. II. 33 reconciles these texts by saying that if the true owner comes to the king and establishes his ownership he gets back the entire article without paying anything for safe custody, if the owner comes in the 2nd year he pays ⅓ of the price for custody, if in the third year he pays ¼ and ⅛ if he comes after three years The finder gets ¼ out of all the finder gets ⅔ and the king the rest. The king may dispose of the article if none claims it within that period, but if the owner comes after three years and the article has been disposed off, the king should return the equivalent of the portion taken by hiṃ Yāj II, 174 specifies other scales of charges for the custody of unclaimed animals such as four paṇas for a horse &c. Another special privilege of the king was that he could not be cited as a witness in a judicial proceeding between private partieṣ Vide Kaut III 11 (p 175), Manu VIII. 65, Viṣṇudharma-sūtra 8, 2

Constitutionally there was no one who could directly bring to book the king guilty of injustice But the dharmaśāstra writers insisted that dharma was the king of kings (Bṛ Up I 4. 14 quoted above p 97 n 125 ), that Varuna was the chastiser of kings (Manu IX 245), therefore they appealed to the higher nature and conscience of the king and prescribed that if a king levied an unjust fine, he should offer thirty times of that amount to Varuna, throw the amount in water or distribute it among brāhmaṇas (Yāj II 307) and that where an ordinary man would incur a fine of one karṣāpaṇa for a wrong, the king certainly deserves to be fined a thousand karṣāpaṇas ( Manu VIII. 336 ) The remarks of Medhātithi on that verse quoted below are very interesting, when he insists on the principle that fines for the same wrong should vary with the capacity to pay ⁵⁵ Even Kauṭilya (IV 13 last two verses ) falls in line with Manu IX 245 and Yāj II 307 But these prescriptions of Manu, Yāj and Kaut were counsels of perfection and must have been futile No king would ordinarily fine himself Therefore some medieval digests like the Vivādaratnākara and the Dandaviveka (p 55) interpret these texts as meaning that the word ‘rājan’ applies here only to subordinate chiefs and not to a king who is independent.

The flourishing state of a kingdom well governed by a good, well-equipped and active king is very graphically describ- ed in the Rāmāyaṇa (II. 100. 43-46) ‘I hope your country is full of hundreds of raityas (platforms for sacred trees) and of people who are well-placed; is rendered charming by temples, papās (sheds where water is distributed to travellers grati) and tanks, in which men and women are joyful; which is set off to advan- take by merry gatherings and festivals; the whole extent of which is well cultivated; which is full of cattle and free from injury (to beings); which does not depend upon rains alone (for its crops); which is beautiful, free from beasts of prey and all kinds of dangers; which is endowed with mines; which is free from wicked men and enjoys prosperity and happinesṣ’ The Ādiparva chap 109 (cr. ed chap 102) also contains a fine description of a well-governed and prosperous country. The country was to be full of public wells, gardens and meeting- halls (sabhā). The Viṣṇu-dharmottara I 13. 2–12 contains an ideal description of ancient Ayodhyā. ‘It was endowed with hundreds of parks; it celebrated festivals and held gatherings of people, its population was free from disease and had valiant men, it always resounded with the music of lutes, flutes and tabors, it had fair complexioned, charming helana clever in brilliant conversation; its population was always gay; it re- sounded with the recitation of the Veda and was endowed with companies of brāhmaṇas', its market rows were full of men that had applied scents to their bodies; there was not a man there 'who was wretched, dirty or emaciated; it stretched for three yojanas on the bank of the Sarayū and was ten yojanas in the middle'.