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State and Government in Ancient India c23.s2.t9: General Review

State and Government in Ancient India c23.s2.t9

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English

General Review

c23.s2.t9.1

The Gupta administration was on the whole well organised, both at the centre and in the provinces. The central secretariat worked efficiently and could keep itself well informed about the happenings in the districts and villages. Oral orders of kings given during tours were verified and recorded. Lands were carefully measured and there was an accurate record of their ownership.

c23.s2.t9.2

Gupta government could secure safety to its subjects both from foreign invasions and internal disturbances for a long time. As observed by the Chinese pilgrim, Fa Hien, it did not put restrictions on the movements of people unless they endangered public safety. In the administration of criminal law there was a happy combination of justice and humanity; criminals were punished promptly but the punishments were not inhuman.

c23.s2.t9.3

Apart from maintaining law and order, the government developed the resources of the country as well. Its trade department no doubt collected octroi duties, but also promoted commerce by securing safety of roads and by establishing a gold currency of international standard. Mines and forests were developed. Agriculture was promoted by the construction and repairs of tanks and reservoirs; and the state afforded facilities by bringing waste lands under cultivation. Its activities were probably as diverse as those of the Mauryan state. The non-mention of some of the Mauryan departments seems to be accidental. Thus the superintendent of the mint (*Lashaṇadāyaksha*) of the *Arthaśāstra*, does not figure in Gupta records, but no student of numismatics can dissent from the view that the mint department of the Guptas, which issued the most artistic coins of the ancient period, must have been much more extensive and well organised than that of the Mauryas, which issued only the punch-marked coins.

c23.s2.t9.4

Government, however, was not content merely with promoting material prosperity of its citizens; it tried to promote their moral and spiritual welfare also by appointing sepecial religious inspectors. Donees of Brahmadeya villages were particularly required to set high moral standards, so as to become an example to others. State extended its patronage impartially to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Though there is no direct evidence upon the point, we can well presume that the Gupta state tried to keep an even balance between the conflicting interests of the different classes.

c23.s2.t9.5

There was no central parliament to control the king and ministers, but traditional rules about their duties and the high ideals that were placed before them in semi-religious works were sufficiently effective to curb tyrannical tendencies. Government, moreover, was remarkably decentralised, and most of its functions were transferred to the district administration. In the district headquarters, the officers of the central government were assisted and controlled by popular councils of Mahattaras, whose concurrence was necessary even if the state wanted to sell the waste land of its own. Villages had their own councils, which functioned as corporate bodies and administered all the branches of its administration, including the settlement of civil disputes and the collection of taxes.

c23.s2.t9.6

People were virtuous, rich and prosperous; cities were teeming with population. The poor and the sick were offered free relief and medicine in hospitals and charitable institutions. Peace and prosperity secured by the government led to rich and remarkable development of art, literature, philosophy and science. The administration had thus promoted both moral and material progress of the people.

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