Public Administration in Ancient India c8.31

c8.31

The control of this imperial system of course necessitated the use of a complex machinery of administration. Such a machinery was invented and brought into use by Chandragupta with the help of his Prime Minister, Chānakya, and afterwards improved upon by Asoka. Under this system, the home province was under the control of the central executive, while the distant provinces were administered by Viceroys or Governors sent out from the capital. In Asoka’s time there were four or five such provinces besides Magadha which formed the home province. The provinces were divided into districts and sub-districts with suitable officials in charge of them. Chānakya mentions ‘gopas’ and ‘sthānikas’ as the country officials. In Asoka’s edicts occur the terms ‘mahāmātras,’ ‘prādeśikas,’ and ‘rājūkas.’ In some of the later inscriptions we find mention of ‘maṇḍaleśvaras,’ ‘rāja-sthānīyas,’ ‘uparikas,’ and ‘viṣayapatis.’ Besides these officers, there were ‘antaḥpālas,’ or wardens of the marches, to guard the boundaries of the kingdom.