Hindu Administrative Institutions c9.s5.10

c9.s5.10

¹ *Arthaśāstra*, Bk. ii, chap. ii. Śukra speaks of nine kinds of gems with their different qualities, iv. ii. 40 ff. This chapter of the *Arthaśāstra* is interesting in that it shows the extensive intercourse of North India with the extreme South India and Ceylon. It also shows the flourishing state of the Pāṇḍyas, Keralās, and the Ceylonese about 300 B.C. This is further attested by references in the *Rāmāyaṇa*, the *Mahābhārata* and the writings of Megaśthenes.