Hindu Administrative Institutions c9.s5.6

c9.s5.6

Thus he seems to be more an officer of the Central State. On the other hand the Samāharta was directly connected with the rural areas. He was in charge of the fortresses, mines, agricultural works, forests, roads and cattle. There is evidence to indicate that the superintendents of mines (*ākara, khani*), of metals (*loha*), of the mint (*lakṣaṇa*), of salt (*lavaṇa*), of gold (*svarṇa*), of trade (*paṇya*), of forest-produce (*kupya*), of weights and measures (*tulāmāna pautava*), of tolls (*śulka*), of textiles (*sūtra*), of cultivation (*sītā*), of excise (*surā*), of slaughter-houses (*śuna*), of courtesans (*gaṇikā*), of cattle (*go*), of passports (*mudrā*), of pastures (*vivīta*), of gambling (*dyūta*), of charitable institutions (*devatā*), of prison-houses (*bandhanāgāra*) were all under the control and supervision of the Samāharta. He seems to have been a busy official attending to both the administration of the city in which he lived (the *nāgaraka* being his subordinate) and of the local areas. His functions also included some branch of police work. It was his other duty to make a classification of the villages for the purpose of revenue collection. Five classes are distinguished—areas exempted from paying taxes, those supplying man-force for military services, those paying taxes in gold, those paying them in kind, and those supplying free labour.¹