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State and Government in Ancient India c22.s4.t5: Departments of Government

State and Government in Ancient India c22.s4.t5

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Departments of Government

c22.s4.t5.1

We shall now consider the different departments of the Mauryan administration. The second book of the *Arthaśāstra* supplies us valuable data upon the point.

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Palace department was under the charge of a controller who looked after the needs of the royal household. He had to pay special attention to the kitchen to see that no poisoning was done. Gardens and pleasure canals, furniture and decorations also engaged his attention. There was Dauvārika or Chamberlain who issued passports and controlled entrance and exit. A special bodyguard was always in attendance to ensure the safety of the king's person.

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Army department was an extensive one, as the fighting forces of the Mauryan government consisted of 6,00,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry and 9,000 elephants. The *Arthaśāstra* refers to the camel and ass corps also (IX. 11). Apart from these fighting forces, the army must have had a huge compliment of labourers, transport workers, scouts and sappers and miners. The ambulance corps with doctors carrying their medicines and surgeons their instruments helped by bands of nurses carrying balms and bandages is also referred to by Kauṭilya (X. 3).

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Soldiers were recruited partly from hereditary fighting classes, partly from the militias of guilds and partly from forest tribes. Some soldiers were professionals, willing to fight for any government which could engage their services. The military equipment for the ordinary soldier was bows and arrows, swords and spears, shields and armours.

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The war chariot was drawn by four horses and carried six men. Two of these controlled the horses, two carried shields and two discharged arrows, usually standing on either side of the chariot (Curtius, VII. 14). The cavalry usually faught with lances; each horseman carried two lances and one bucler.

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The infantry, the cavalry and the elephant force and the war chariots were welded into common units at the time of fighting. A Pādika commanded not only a force of 200 infantry, but also of 10 elephants, 10 chariots and 50 horsemen. According to Kauṭilya Senāpati was an officer over 10 Padikas and a Nāyaka over 10 Senāpātis (X. 6). Probably the designations of these officers may not have been uniform during the Mauryan period; Kauṭilya himself uses the term Senāpati elsewhere (II. 33) in the sense of the commander-in-chief.

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According to Megasthenes the administration of the army was controlled by a council of 30 members, divided into six boards in charge of Infantry, Cavalry, Chariots, War-elephants, Transport and Admiralty. The *Arthaśāstra* does not mention these boards but refers to several superintendents. One of these, Rathādhyaksha, was in the charge of the organisation and manufacture connected with war chariots, another named Hastyadhyaksha looked after the capture and training of the war elephants. Aśvādhyaksha supervised the organisation of cavalry. Fort commanders (Durgapālas) and armoury officers (Āyudhāgarādhyakshas) must obviously have worked under the military department. The same probably was the case with Antapālas (wardens of the marches), who had to watch the frontiers. The department of passport and spies must have worked in close cooperation with the military department and the foreign department. Ascetics, jugglers, bards, prostitutes, fortune-tellers etc., were employed as spies.

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Foreign department must have been a very busy branch of administration under the Mauryas, who had to keep in touch with a large number of kingdoms in and outside India. Megasthenes was the Greek ambassador in the time of Chandragupta ; Daimachus came in the next reign. Chandragupta must have himself sent his own ambassadors to the court of Seleukos, but we have no definite information on the point. Aśoka is known to have sent religious missions to the kingdoms of Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander. We shall not be wrong in assuming that these religious missions must have been working in close cooperation with the political embassies. Full fledged ambassador was called *nisrishtārtha-dūta* by Kauṭilya ; *Parimitārtha-dūta* could not go beyond his instructions in negotiations. *Sāsanāhara-dūta* was only a special messenger. The foreign policy was regarded as dictated by *lobhavijaya* when the enemy kingdom was annexed, as was the case with Kaliṅga. *Arthavijaya* policy permitted the imposition of an indemnity and *dharmavijaya* allowed merely the imposition of a nominal suzerainty. Officers in charge of foreigners, who registered them and looked after their comforts and needs when sick, must have worked under this department.

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Revenue department was in charge of Samāhartā, who was naturally a very important officer. He supervised over the collection of all revenues, both in cash and kind, revenues from land, irrigation, customs, road cesses, shop tax, ferry tax, forests, mines, pastures, crown-lands, fees from craftsmen, etc. The land tax varied from 16 to 25%; the inhabitants of Lumbini were shown the concession of a tax at 12½% because the Buddha was born in the village.

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It was the duty of the Samāhartā to arrange for the working of old mines and the prospecting of new ones. He arranged for the supply of labour and seeds for the crown lands and kept a record of rain fall. Treasury officer *Sannidhātā* worked in close co-operation with him. Grain, cash, precious metals like gold and silver, that were sent to the treasury in payment of government dues, were received by him and stored in carefully built and strong buildings (II. 5). He was to change old grain for new one, when the former showed signs of deterioration. Census of men and cattle, which used to be taken in the Mauryan administration, was probably organised by this department. It was the duty of one of its subordinate officers, the Gopa, to keep records of the number of villagers, cattle and fields in his charge.

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Commerce and Industry was another big department of the Mauryan administration. It controlled retailed and wholesale prices of commodities and tried to ensure their steady supply through its market superintendents. It prohibited the entry of banned articles. Products of state industries were offered by it to the market. It controlled and checked weights and measures in order to prevent frauds upon the public. It levied the usual customs duties and granted exemption for articles intended for temples, sacrifices, marriages, and deliveries. It had a big spinning and weaving establishment, which distributed cotton to people and collected the yarn from them. Breweries, both state and private, were under its control and supervision through the *surādhyakshas*. It supervised the slaughter houses. Harbours were under its management, and arrangements were made to offer asylums to weather-worn ships. River traffic also was under its control. Superintendent of mint probably worked under the direction of this department. He was in charge of issuing the copper and silver punch-marked coins, which were the state currency of the Mauryan empire.

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Law department was in charge of the administration of justice. Civil courts described as *dharmasthīyas* by Kauṭilya, decided cases relating to contracts, agreements, gifts, sales, marriages, inheritance, boundary disputes. etc. Criminal courts called *kaṇṭakaśodhanas* used to entertain cases of thefts, robbery, murder, sex offences, etc. The supreme court was at the capital presided over by the king or the chief justice. There were subordinate courts at the headquarters of provinces, divisions and districts. *Dharmasthīya* courts were assisted by nonofficial juries also. The villages had in addition popular courts also which consisted of village elders; they used to try minor cases.

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Jails were probably under the management of this department. There used to be jail deliveries every year on the occasion of the anniversary of the royal coronation. Aśoka refers to 25 such deliveries in his Pillar Edict No. 5. Probably criminals guilty only of minor offences were released. Capital punishment was in vogue under Aśoka even after his conversion to Buddhism; only the condemned criminals were given a respite of three days to perform religious ceremonies and give money in charity to secure welfare in the next life.

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Purohita or the royal priest was the head of an important department. He was in charge of Vedic and Smārta sacrifices to be performed in the palace for the well-being and prosperity of the king and the kingdom. He was to take steps against possible calamities by using the charms prescribed in the *Atharvaveda*. The temples in the kingdom were under his supervision and the charity of the king was under his guidance. Dharmamahāmātras, whose posts were created by Aśoka in the 14th year of his reign, probably worked in co-operation with the Purohita. They tried to bring about harmony among the different sects, to promote morality and righteousness in the public, to establish a concord between masters and servants, to help the poor, the aged and the destitute, to offer succour to families of prisoners and secure their release, if possible.¹

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¹ Rock edicts 7 and 12 and Pillar edict VII

Cites (5)