State and Government in Ancient India c22.s4.t3.2

c22.s4.t3.2

The viceroy at Brahmagiri is expressly described as a Kumāra or prince in the Aśokan inscriptions; Buddhist tradition mentions Aśoka and Kuṇāla as viceroys at Taxila and Ujjayinī. It is therefore clear that some important provinces had princes of the blood royal as their viceroys. The viceroy in Kathiawar under Chandragupta was a Vaiśya named Pushyagupta and the one under Aśoka was a Yavana (Parthian] named Tushāshpa. It is thus clear that some viceroys were commoners, but belonging to the official cadre. It is quite likely that some of the viceroys may have been selected from among the members of the ex-ruling families or of the executive councils of the Punjab and Sindh republics.