State and Government in Ancient India c15.55

c15.55

It is but natural that this work should have been divided among themselves by the ministers, each one taking one department. Our early writers, however, do not enlighten us about the different portfolios assigned to the members of the ministry. It is only Śukra, a writer of about the 11th century A. D., who gives us some idea of their portfolios. According to him, the ministry, whose strength was to be 10, was to consist of (1) *Purohita*, (2) *Pratinidhi*, (3) *Pradhāna*, (4) *Sachiva*, (5) *Mantrin*, (6) *Prāḍvivāka*, (7) *Paṇḍita*, (8) *Sumantra*, (9) *Amātya* and (10) *Dūta*. The status and pay of each succeeding minister were lower than those of the preceeding one.⁴