The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c29.84

c29.84

The region to the south of Mathurā, that is to say, Mālwā, specially excited the admiration of the traveller; who was delighted alike with the natural advantages of the country, the disposition of the people, and the moderation of the government. The climate seemed to him very agreeable, being temperate, and free from the discomforts of frost and snow with which he was familiar at home and in the course of his journey. The large population lived happily under a sensible government which did not worry. With a glance at Chinese institutions, Fa-hien congratulates the Indians that ‘they have not to register their households, or attend to any magistrates and rules’. They were not troubled with passport regulations, or, as the pilgrim bluntly puts it: ‘Those who want to go away, may go; those who want to stop, may stop.’ The administration of the criminal law seemed to him mild in comparison with the Chinese system. Most crimes were punished only by fines, varying in amount according to the gravity of the offence, and capital punishment would seem to have been unknown. Persons guilty of repeated rebellion, an expression which probably includes brigandage, suffered amputation of the right hand; but such a penalty was exceptional, and judicial torture was not practised. The revenue was mainly derived from the rents of the crown lands, and the royal officers, being provided with fixed salaries, had no occasion to live on the people.