State and Government in Ancient India c15.11

c15.11

Among the departmental heads included in the list of the *ratnins* figure *senānī*, *sūta*, *grāmaṇī*, *saṅgrahītā* and *bhāgadhuk*. Of these *senānī* is the commander-in-chief. *Sūta* was probably the commander of the chariot corps of the royal army, who might have also acted as the honorary charioteer to the king. *Grāmaṇī* in a small state may have been the most prominent among the village headmen of the kingdom, who might have been selected to serve on the council of the *ratnins*. One text expressly calls him Vaiśya ; he seems to have usually belonged to that class. *Bhāgadhuk* was obviously the tax-collector or the finance member and *saṅgrahītā* the treasurer.