Intercourse between India and the Western World from the Earliest Times to the Fall of Rome c8.s3.5

c8.s3.5

On one important point Kauṭilya supplies information which supplements Megasthenes very considerably. This is with regard to the Board of Shipping. The Port Commissioner supervised sea and river-traffic and ferries. Fishermen, merchants and travellers, were all subjected to taxation and the ferries were in the hands of the Government. The fords were guarded by pickets, who prevented suspects from entering or leaving. It was the duty of the Harbour Masters to assist ships in distress, and of those in charge of the ferries to see that they were not used when the river was in a dangerous state.