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State and Government in Ancient India c22.s4.t1: Monarchy

State and Government in Ancient India c22.s4.t1

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Monarchy

c22.s4.t1.1

Monarchy was the prevailing form of government in the Mauryan period and it had become hereditary. There are no references to any election of kings in contemporary records, either indigenous or foreign. Usually the eldest son succeeded to the throne. Considerable care was taken to train him properly in the art of government and administration. He was well acquainted with the traditional culture as embodied in the Vedic lore (*trayī*); but the *Arthaśāstra* emphasises that he should be an expert in economics (*vārtā*) and science of government (*daṇḍanīti*). For this purpose special effort was made to train him in drafting, public accounts and various military tactics and exercises. He was to attend upon elderly statesmen and imbibe from them their accumulated experience (I. 2). The *Arthaśāstra* and the *Mahābhārata* are particular about describing in detail the qualities that a king was to cultivate and the training he was to receive. It appears as if they were anxious that the head of the monarchical state, which was now becoming popular, should possess all the necessary qualities to make monarchy more acceptable to the people than the republic.

c22.s4.t1.2

Kauṭilya (I. 21) and Megasthenes refer to the extremely busy daily time table of the king which permitted him hardly six hours rest at night. Only a small part of his time was spent in bath, meal and rest. Almost throughout the day he was busy either in receiving reporters and officers or in participating in the meeting of the ministry, or in surveying the military parades or in judging causes and suits. The *Arthaśāstra* recommends that above all a monarch should be quick in action and remarkable in energy (*adīrghasūtrī mahotsāhaḥ*). Aśoka tells us in his inscriptions that he never felt satisfied that he had done his utmost for his government (*nasti hi me toso utthanamhi, R. E. VI*) and instructs the official reporters to come to him even when he was dining or resting in order to report upon people's business. The Mauryan kings showed untiring energy in the prompt dispatch of official business; this was one of the secrets of the success of the Mauryan administration.

c22.s4.t1.3

The king was no doubt the fountain source of all governmental activity. The army and treasury, the keys to all power, were under his immediate control. He was guided by his council of ministers, but he could set aside its advice, if he deemed it necessary in the public interest. He could issue edicts prescribing a definite course of conduct, prohibiting slaughter of animals or announcing administrative innovations. Nevertheless the Mauryan emperors did not degenerate into selfish autocrats. They followed the advice of the *Arthaśāstra* and regarded the welfare and interest of their subjects as more important than their own.¹ Aśoka observes in one of his inscriptions that all his subjects were to him like his children and that his one anxiety was to promote their spiritual and temporal wellbeing.

c22.s4.t1.4

¹ प्रजासुखे सुखं राज्ञः प्रजानां च हिते हितम्। नात्मप्रियं हितं राज्ञः प्रजानां तु प्रियं प्रियम् ॥ I. 19

c22.s4.t1.5

There is no evidence to show that queens were taking any active part in the administration in the Mauryan and pre-Mauryan periods, as they began to do during the Gupta and post-Gupta periods.

c22.s4.t1.6

The Mauryan king ruled over one of the biggest empires known to the contemporary times, and his court had naturally a pomp and grandeur of its own. The audience hall was a big structure, 150′ × 120′ in dimension, resting on tall, artistic and beautifully polished pillars. It was surrounded by tanks. The king had a strong body-guard and was protected by a platoon of 24 elephants when out on hunting or inspection. The royal procession on such occasions was majestic; attendants used to carry in their hands silver censors; they used to perfume with incense all the roads. The king was dressed in fine muslin embroidered with purple and gold. Naturally all precautions were taken to protect the person of the king, the roads being carefully guarded. In the palace also there were a number of secret and subterranian passages as a precaution against a sudden rising or attack.

Cites (3)