State and Government in Ancient India c3.1

c3.1

The work has been carefully revised and also enlarged when its third edition was prepared. Apart from the minor additions, made almost in all chapters, new sections have been added in Chap. XVI on North Indian Administration in the post-Harsha period and South Indian Administration in the first millenium of the Christian era. The problem of the date of the *Śukranīti* has been now discussed in detail in Chap. I and the contribution of some medieval works like the *Mānasollāsa* has been indicated. The question of the influence of religious and philosophical thought on the Ancient Indian Polity has been briefly discussed in Chap. III. The chapter on the kingship now discusses in clear-cut sections the position and status of the king in the early (i.e. before 500 B.C.) and later periods. Asoka's innovations in the administration are clearly brought out in Chap. XV.