The Rashtrakutas and their Times c16.s4.1

c16.s4.1

It would be necessary to say a few words here about the selection of officers to the various posts mentioned above. The selection was governed partly by military, partly by hereditary, and partly by educational considerations. We have already seen how many of the ministers, and provincial, district, and town governors were military officers. Very probably they must have owed their appointments to distinguished service on the battlefield. In many cases offices were transmitted from the father to the son. The viceroyalty of Banavasi 12,000 had continued for three generations at least in the family of Bankeya, who had won it by his military achievements. When Kaṇṇapa, who had won the governorship of Purigeri 300 and Belvola 300 by his bravery on the battlefield died, his younger brother Sobhaṇa stepped into his place.(43) Kauṭalya, Manu and Śukra recommend this principle of preference for heredity and the recommendation was acted upon in the Gupta period as well, at least in some cases, as clearly appears from the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta(44) and Karmadanda inscription of Kumāragupta I.(45) From Al Masudi we learn that high offices in our period were often hereditary in India,(46) and the submissive Brāhmaṇas, who were appointed to lower administrative posts by Kasim in Sindh after its annexation, were assured by him that their appointments would be continued hereditarily.(47) The Rājatarangiṇī also affords numerous examples of offices being transmitted hereditarily.(48) This principle was thus widely prevalent in our period and the Banavasi governorship was no solitary example. The Surat plates of Karka, which I am editing, show that the father of Nārāyaṇa, the chief Foreign Minister of that ruler, was also occupying the post to which his son was later appointed.(49) There may have been many more cases of this nature in the administration.