The Rashtrakutas and their Times c18.s1.75

c18.s1.75

The collection of the land tax in kind, the amount of which was to vary with the actual produce of the year, must have necessitated a large supervising staff to prevent the farmers from removing surreptitiously a portion of the crop with a view to evade the full share of the government demand. The commentator on the Kurundhama Jātaka⁴² refers to the case of a scrupulous Setthi, who regretted his having plucked a handful of corn from his own field before the king's share was paid, and the Arthaśāstra prescribes⁴³ fines for the purchase of field products like grass, corn and vegetables direct from the fields, since such a procedure was prejudicial to the interests of the government, as it was thereby deprived of its legitimate share of the produce. Śukra⁴⁴ draws the attention of the king to the necessity of preventing the contents of his treasury being destroyed by the depredations of insects; the treasury department had thus to take a good deal of care lest the corn should be destroyed; old corn used to be sold away, and new one purchased, so that the contents of the granary may always have the best market value.