Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v1.c10.s2.4

v1.c10.s2.4

The Collector-General, according to Kauṭilya, shall "attend to (the collection of revenue from) forts. . . country parts. . . mines. . .buildings, and gardens. . . forests. . .herds of cattle. . .and roads of traffic. . .Tolls, fines, weights and measures, the town-clerk. . .the superintendent of coinage. . .the superintendent of seals and passports, liquor, slaughter of animals, threads, oils, ghee, sugar. . .the state goldsmith. . .the warehouse of merchandise, the prostitute, gambling, building sites. . . the corporation of artisans and handicraftsmen. . .the superintendent of gods, and taxes collected at the gates and from the people (known as) Bāhirikas come under the heads of forts. Produce from crown lands. . .portion of produce payable to the government. . .religious taxes. . . taxes paid in money. . .merchants, the superintendent of rivers, ferries, boats and ships, towns, pasture grounds, road-cess. . .ropes. . .and ropes to bind thieves. . .come under the head of country parts. Gold, silver, diamonds, gems, pearls, corals, conch shells, metals. . .salt and other minerals extracted from plains and mountain slopes come under the head of mines. Flower gardens, fruit gardens, vegetable gardens, wet fields and fields where crops are grown by sowing roots for seeds. . .come under sētu. Game forests, timber forests, and elephant forests are forests. Cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep, asses, camels, horses, and mules come under the head of herds. Land and waterways are the roads of traffic. All these form the body of income. . .Capital. . .share. . .premia. . .parigha (?) fixed taxes. . . premia on coins. . . .and fixed fines. . are several forms of revenue . . ."¹