Hindu Administrative Institutions c12.s1.20

c12.s1.20

The chief officer of a village unit was called the gopa, gāmabhojaka of the Jātakas.⁴ Sāthavāhana Hala, the author of Gāthā Saptaśatī call him grāmaṇi.⁵ His jurisdiction extended to as many as five villages, and sometimes even ten villages. He seems to have been an official of the state. His position was something more than the village munsif (maṇiyam)