State and Government in Ancient India c23.s3: Section III: Administration Under Harshavardhana

State and Government in Ancient India c23.s3

Language: English

Section III: Administration Under Harshavardhana

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In the post-Gupta period, India became divided into a number of small kingdoms and it is not possible to review their administrations separately in a book of the present size. Nor is it necessary to do so, for the administration became more or less stereo-typed after *c.* 500 A.D. We shall first give a brief account of the administration of Harshavardhana during *c.* 600 to 650 A. D. and that of the Rāshtṛkuṭas for the Deccan during *c.* 750 to 1000 A. D. and then give a general picture of north Indian and south Indian administration of the later period.

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For getting a glimpse of the administration under Harsha, we have to rely mainly upon the account of Yuan Chwang and the narrative of Bāṇa in the *Harshacharit*. Both these, though good in their own way, are seriously inadequate from the view point of the historian of the administration. Only two official inscriptions of this king have been found so far.

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The king continued to be the pivot of the administration. Like Aśoka and Kauṭilya, Harsha held that the head of the state must constantly exert himself in order to keep the administration efficient. Yuan Chwang says that Harsha was indefatiguable and the day was too short for him, and we can well believe his statement. The Chinese pilgrim's observation that the king's day was divided into three periods of which one was devoted to the affairs of the state and two to those of religion was probably true of the evening of the king's life only; during his youth, when he was engaged in incessant wars, things must have been quite different.

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Like Aśoka, Harsha believed in the utility of inspection tours; if there was any irregularity, observes the Chinese pilgrim, ‘in the manners of the people of the cities’ he went amongst them.¹ His inspection tours, however, were not confined to the urban areas only; rural areas received equal attention. The king naturally suspended his inspection work during the rainy season, when it is difficult to tour; in the fair weather, he visited as many places as possible, not residing long at any one place, but having temporary buildings created for his residence at each place of sojourn. During these halts the local gentry and villagers had easy access to the king and used to report their grievances and press for their local needs.²

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¹ Watters *On Yuan Chwang*, I, p. 344

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² *Harshacharit*, tr., p. 208

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Pomp and glory continued to be associated with royalty. When the king was on march, he was accompanied by a long retinue carrying golden drums, one strike being beat at every step. The royal chamberlain regulated the audience.

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The king continued to be assisted by a council of ministers. This is not referred to in the inscriptions of Harsha, but the Chinese pilgrim describes how the vacant Maukhari throne of Kanauj was formally offered to Harsha by its ministers. A special meeting was held for the purpose at which the premier, while addressing his colleagues said, ‘The destiny of the nation is to be fixed today. I propose that Harsha assume the royal authority; let each one give his opinion on the matter, whatever he thinks’. When an agreement was reached upon this point, Harsha was offered the crown with these words, ‘Reign then with glory over the land, conquer the enemies of your country, wash out the insults laid on your kingdom’. This incident will show that ministers exercised considerable powers and authority in the Maukhari administration, especially when there was a break in the government and we may well presume that ministry wielded considerable influence under Harsha also. Unfortunately, however, our sources give us no information about the ministry of Harsha and its functioning.

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As usual, there was a well organised secretariat at the capital. The Inspector General of the Government Records figures in the Bansekhra plate as *Mahākshapaṭalādhṛita*. The superior civil service was probably manned by Kumārāmātyas, from whose cadre the district and secretariat officers and ministers were selected. The centre had its own inspecting officers. Its communications were carried by royal messengers, who are described as *dīrghādhvagas* in the *Harshacharit*. This work refers to an officer called *sarvagataḥ*;¹ he was probably a member of the secret service department, which figured so prominently in the Mauryan administration. It appears that most of the senior officers were paid not in cash but by assignments of lands, villages and cities. ‘Ministers of state and common officials,’ says Yuan Chwang, ‘all have their portion of land and are maintained by cities assigned to them’; government servants of the lower grades were paid in cash or land according to their work.² Harsha’s administration thus was the forerunner of the feudal system that became popular in northern India a little later.

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³ Watters, I, p. 343

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¹ *Harshachari*, p. 57.

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² *Watters*, I, 176-7.

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Our original sources supply information only about two of the departments of the government; the Foreign department and the Army department; the chief of the former department was known as *Mahāsandhivigrahādhikṛita* and its incumbent was a person named Avanti at the time when the *Harshacharit* was written. This office must have been very busy in the early days of Harsha, when he was engaged in incessant warfare. The latter presupposed a strong military force. The army consisted of the infantry, the cavalry and elephant and camel corps. According to Yuan Chwang ‘Harsha’s cavalry was 1,00,000 strong and the elephant corps consisted of 60,000 elephants’. The latter figure seems to be exaggerated, for even the Maurya empire possessed an elephant corps of 9,000 only. The horses for the cavalry were recruited from Sindh, Persia and Kamboja. The infantry must have been several lakhs strong; its exact strength is not referred to in our records. Ordinary soldiers were called *chaṭas* and *bhaṭas*, cavalry officers, *bṛihadaśvavāra* and infantry officers, *balādhikṛitas* and *mahābalādhi-kṛitas*. The commander-in-chief was called *mahāsenāpati*.

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The kingdom of Harsha was divided into provinces, divisions, districts and sub-divisions. Neither the number of provinces nor the designations of their governors are known. The *Harshacharit* probably refers to them in a vague way when it refers to the appointments of governors of people (*lokapālas*) in different directions.¹ Provinces were divided into Bhuktis ; the Bhukti of Ahichchhatrā is referred to in the Madhuvan and Bansekhra plates of Harsha and it probably comprised of modern Rohilkhand. In the kingdom of Harsha, as in the Gupta empire, the Bhukti corresponded to the modern Commissioner’s division.

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¹ दिक्षाप्रमुखेषु परिकल्पिता लोकपालाः ।

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Bhukti was subdivided into Vishayas, which were probably of the size of the modern district. The Vishayas of Kuṇḍadhāni and Angadiya were included in the Bhukti of Ahichchhatrā. The Vishayas comprised of a number of Pāthakas, which probably corresponded to the modern Tehsil or Taluka. Whether any smaller division intervened between the Pāthaka and the village we do not know. The village government was in the charge of a headman called Grāmākshapaṭalika, who was assisted by a number of clerks designated as Karaṇikas. The village council is not referred to in our records, but its non-occurrence is probably accidental.

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We get little information about the taxation of the period. Harsha’s copper plates refer to three taxes, *bhāga*, *hiraṇya* and *bali*. The first of these is obviously the land tax paid in kind, the second refers to taxes paid in cash, whether by the farmers or by the merchants. What particular taxes are referred to by the term *bali*, it is difficult to say. The long-established ferry tax was in vogue. Taxes on merchandise varied with its weight and measure. The Chinese pilgrim states that the taxation was light and forced service was sparingly used. But when one considers how Harsha was for a long time engaged in warfare and was maintaining a huge army, one is inclined to doubt the literal truth of the above statement.

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It appears that Harsha’s government was not keeping that kind of elaborate register of men and cattle, which was maintained by the Mauryan administration; for Yuan Chwang states that families were not registered. The statement of the Chinese pilgrim, ‘As the government is generous, official requirements are few ... Everybody keeps to his hereditary occupation and attends to his patrimony’ seems to suggest that the government of Harsha was following a *laisses faire* policy, as compared to the Mauryan administration.

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We may well believe Yuan Chwang when he states that Harsha was just in his administration and punctilious in the discharge of his duties.¹ It appears that the cultural activities received generous patronage; for the Chinese pilgrim states, ‘Of the royal land, there is a fourfold division. One part is for the expenses of the government and state worship, one for the endowment of great public servants, one to reward high intellectual eminence and one for acquiring religious merit by gifts to various sects’.²

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¹ Watters, I. p. 343

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² *Ibid*, I. p. 176

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The efficiency of Harsha’s government does not compare favourably with that of the Mauryan or Gupta administration. Yuan Chwang no doubt states that as the government was honestly administered, the people lived together on good terms and that the criminal class was small.³ But this appears to be a somewhat courtly compliment, because the Chinese pilgrim himself was captured by robbers not far from the capital and escaped being offered as a sacrifice through an accidental natural phenomenon; a sudden black tempest broke at the nick of time, which frightened the robbers. The law against the crime was severe; prisoners received harsh treatment; they were not allowed to shave; they used to have hairy faces and matted beards. Punishments were more sanguinary than under the Guptas; ‘For offences against the social morality and disloyal and unfilial conduct, the punishment is to cut off the nose, or an ear or a hand or a foot or banish the offender to another country or into wilderness.¹ Fines were imposed for minor offences. The severity of the criminal administration no doubt helped to keep down the crime.

Linked texts (1)

Harṣacarita — Bāṇabhaṭṭa, Sanskrit