State and Government in Ancient India c23.s6.15

c23.s6.15

Let us now consider the administrative divisions. In the early period the kingdoms of the south were usually small; but what may be called the provincial administration was not developed even in the Sātavāhana empire, whose inscriptions refer only to Āhāras or districts. The Rathikas, the Mahārathikas, the Bhojakas and the Mahābhojakas in the Sātavāhana empire were not provincial governors but feudatories. Provincial administration had not developed under the Pallavas, the Kadambas and the Gaṅgas, whose kingdoms were small. The Maṇḍalas under the Cholas usually consisted of about two or three modern districts; their number was nine when the Chola power was at its zenith. But from their extent and dimensions the Maṇḍalas appear to be more like Commissioners' Divisions than like provincial administrations.