The Rashtrakutas and their Times c19.s1.t5.7

c19.s1.t5.7

Manu lays down that there should be established police stations in the kingdom, one being intended for 2, 4, or 5 villages.⁵⁹ Similar arrangements probably existed in our period. The police officers were known in our period as Choroddharaṇikas or Daṇḍapāśikas. The former are actually mentioned in the Antroli-Charoli copper plates of Karkkarāja of Gujarat,⁶⁰ and the latter in several Valabhi records.⁶¹ That only one Rāṣṭrakūṭa record just mentioned should make reference to the police officers is probably to be explained on the assumption that it was not deemed necessary to mention these officers in the copper-plate grants creating alienated villages, as these officers had no powers to interfere with the fiscal matters. There cannot be any doubt that the Choroddharaṇikas were fairly common in our period. Chola records of our period mention watchmen, whose duty it was to keep a watch over the paths;⁶² it is not unlikely that similar officers may have been employed in the Rāṣṭrakūṭa dominions as well.