Hindu Administrative Institutions c9.s1.113

c9.s1.113

This means these various methods were to be directed against people of evil life and not law-abiding citizens of the state.² It would thus appear that these methods were not the rule but the exception. They were applied only in the case of the unrighteous, i.e., the enemies of the state. In a word the exigencies of the Mauryan administration perhaps found in their application valuable instruments to gain the end, namely, protection and peace.