State and Government in Ancient India c8.s3.3

c8.s3.3

Stone and copper inscriptions of ancient India are an extremely important source of information to the student of the political science, though unfortunately they have not yet been adequately utilised by the previous writers on the subject. Being written by the court poets, they sometimes give an idealistic picture, but a discerning student can well differentiate between the courtly praise and prosaic facts. To a very great extent the inscriptions represent the actual state of affairs in the government machinery of the different administrations and enable us to ascertain facts and aspects sometimes altogether neglected in the works on Nītiśāstra. They are very useful in acquiring a correct picture of the territorial divisions and the official heirarchy of the different administrations. They give us a valuable insight into the taxation prevailing under different dynasties, when they enumerate the taxes from which the donees were exempted. They give us a graphic idea of the inter-state relations, as also of the relation between the suzerain and his feudatories. They often enunciate interesting maxims about the aims and ideals of government and the duties of kings and responsibilities of ministers. The reader of the following pages can easily visualise the important part they play in enabling us to get a realistic picture of ancient Indian administration.