The Rashtrakutas and their Times c22.236

c22.236

Whether the Deccan administrations of our period used to control the prices or not is not known. Kauṭalya favours such a procedure, for according to him it was one of the duties of the Superintendent of Market, Paṇyādhyaksha, to regulate prices; any excess price that was realised by the vendor was confiscated to the state.¹³⁸ Somadeva, a Deccanese writer of our period, favours the same proposal.¹³⁹ It cannot be, however, confidently argued that Somadeva's rule was based upon contemporary practice in the Deccan, for in many places he merely summarises the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭalya. Whether prices were regulated by the state or not, must therefore be left an open question.