The Rashtrakutas and their Times c15.37

c15.37

Although the term Jānapada was not used in the sense of a popular representative council, it is not to be supposed that non-official bodies possessing administrative powers did not exist in our period. Such bodies certainly existed in villages, and probably in districts (Viṣayas) and provinces (Rāṣṭras) as well; their members were known as Grāmamahattaras, Viṣayamahattaras, and Rāṣṭramahattaras respectively. It has been already shown by me elsewhere(25) that the expression Grāmamahattara denoted a member of the non-official village council. Analogy would, therefore, show that Rāṣṭramahattaras and Viṣayamahattaras may have, very probably, constituted a body of the notables and elders in the province and district respectively. Some kind of divisional popular bodies seem to have existed in Tamil country also,(26) and there is no wonder if we found them in the Deccan proper during our period.