Public Administration in Ancient India c20.47

c20.47

Irrigation was practised in India from very early times. In the Rig-Veda we find mention of canals. In the Mahābhārata, Nārada, enquiring about the state of the kingdom, is made to ask Yudhishthira : “ Are large tanks and lakes established all over the kingdom at proper distances, in order that agriculture may not be entirely dependent on the showers of heaven ?”² So Manu advises the King to build tanks, wells, cisterns, and fountains.³ The larger irrigational works were undertaken by the State, while the smaller ones were often constructed by private enterprise. In order to encourage private enterprise in this direction, rents and taxes were remitted for a certain number of years for the construction of new tanks and for the repair of old works. The village communities, and sometimes private individuals, were held responsible for the keeping of irrigational works in repair, and punishments were inflicted on people who destroyed them or neglected to maintain them.⁴ In the Purānas, the construction of irrigation works is regarded as an act of great merit.