State and Government in Ancient India c14.s1.35

c14.s1.35

Another important function of the Paura-Jānapada Assembly, according to Jayaswal, was to sanction extra-taxes at the time of a state crisis. He quotes a passage from the *Mahābhārata*, which he contends is an address from the throne begging extra taxes from the Paura-Jānapada Assembly. The last verse of the passage however states, “A king who knows how to act properly, should send his *messengers* among the people with a sweet, attractive but cunning message of the above type”.³ The passage is not at all a speech from the throne, but contains the argument with which king’s messengers were to try to convince the people in general of the dire necessity which was compelling the state to demand extra taxation.