The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c8.s13.8

v1.c8.s13.8

Curiously enough ministers are referred to very rarely in the Vākāṭaka records. Only one of them, that in the Ajanta caves, refers to a minister, without giving the designation of his portfolio. We may, however, assume that the non-reference to ministers in other Vākāṭaka records is accidental and that the Vākāṭaka government was carried on by the king with the help of an adequate number of advisers and deputies, as was the case in other contemporary administrations. The Ajanta record indicates that some of the ministers held hereditary offices and that all of them were usually well trained in the sciences of politics and warfare. The prime-minister was in charge of the whole administration; it is probably he who is referred to by the appropriate and significant title *sarvādhyaksha*. How he conducted the administration is, however, but imperfectly known, for the Vākāṭaka plates refer only to a very few officers. In the Deccan records of the successors of the Vākāṭakas, the provincial, district and subdivisional officers, as also the hereditary officers of the villages, are usually mentioned in connexion with the exhortation not to disturb the possession of the donees of the grants. The Vākāṭaka records, however, mention only four classes of officers.¹ Of these, *chaṭās* and *bhaṭās* refer to the members of the police and military forces and throw no light on the administrative machinery. The term *santaka*, which is mentioned in the exhortation, seems to denote officers in general, or perhaps the district officers, but we have as yet not sufficient data for defining the scope of their office or duties. The last class of officers mentioned in our records is, however, very interesting. They are described as high officers conveying the orders of the central government and appointed by or working under the direction of the *sarvādhyaksha* or prime-minister. These were obviously the inspectors appointed by the central government to tour in the kingdom and find out whether its orders were being properly carried out or not by the subordinate and district officers. The inspection machinery of the central government is but rarely referred to in ancient Indian records, and the Vākāṭaka plates are, therefore, regarded as very valuable evidence in this respect by the student of ancient Indian administration.