State and Government in Ancient India c23.s2.t7.1

c23.s2.t7.1

The village administration was in charge of a headman designated as a Grāmeyaka or a Grāmādhyaksha. He had a clerk to work under him to keep the records. The headman was assisted in his work by a non-official council. The members of this body were known as Mahattaras under the Vākāṭakas and Pallavas and probably had the same designation under the Guptas. The village councils were known as Janapadas in the Gupta administration. A large number of village janapada seals have been found at Nālandā belonging to the Gupta period. Letters sent to outsiders communicating the decisions of the village councils were usually stamped with their seals. There is no indication as to how the members of the village Janapadas were selected ; the term Mahattara would suggest that senior persons of the different classes, who had acquired a pre-eminent status by their character, experience and age, were elevated to the village council by general approval.