The Rashtrakutas and their Times c19.s1.22

c19.s1.22

A part of the army consisted of the hereditary forces and the forces of the feudatories. The Muslim writers seem to be referring to the hereditary forces when they mention the troops of the Indian kings, who came out to fight for their king though they received no pay from him.(15) The principle of heredity, which was allowed to operate to some extent in the appointments to civil offices seems to have governed to a great extent the recruitment of the army as well. Maula bala or the hereditary force is very often referred to in our epigraphical records as the most efficient and trustworthy arm. Amoghavarsha I particularly extols the capture of the fort of Kedal by Bankeya, because it was garrisoned by hereditary (maula) forces. Both Sukra(16) and Kāmandaka(17) hold the maula bala in the highest esteem. It would seem that fighting was followed as a hereditary profession in several families or localities from where the hereditary forces were recruited. Bankeya, the viceroy of Banavasi, has been described as the leader of a hereditary force. It would thus appear that the military captains who were often hereditary, used to recruit their forces from the families of hereditary fighters. The Arthaśāstra (18) refers to villages enjoying exemption from land tax (āyudhīyaparihāra) on condition of supplying a certain number of soldiers to the army. These villages were obviously tenanted by families from among whom the maula bala was recruited. There may have been similar villages in our period also, which were assigned to the members of the maula bala. We can now well understand the apparently incredible statement of the contemporary Muslim writers that the troops in India are not paid by Indian kings but maintain themselves without receiving anything from them.