Hindu Administrative Institutions c8.s3.1

c8.s3.1

The council is an important limb of the central organization and its origin can be traced to very early times. In the Vedic period the business of the council was more complex in character. Professors Macdonell and Keith remark: ‘The business of the council was general deliberation of the policy of all kinds, legislation so far as the Vedic Indian cared to legislate, and judicial work.’¹ But the council of the later days abstained from legislative and judicial work. It became purely a consultative Council, Cabinet to use a modern expression. This distinctive feature of the cabinet assumed shape at least prior to the days of Kauṭalya as can be seen from the learned discussion on the subject in the *Arthaśāstra*.²