The Mauryan Polity c13.s3.1

c13.s3.1

With regard to the measurement of land, Megasthenes has the following observation⁶:—"Some (Officials) superintend the rivers, (and) measure the land as is done in Egypt." It is argued that whereas the *Arthaśāstra* mentions measurements of landed property of the village perhaps for purposes of taxation, Megasthenes seems to refer to a general measurement of lands in vogue. Scholars like Law¹ and Mookerjee² have accepted the theory that the measurement of land was in practice in Ancient India. It is true that the measurement in the Arthaśāstra refers only to the village and its borders, and at the same time one cannot agree with Prof. Stein that Megasthenes refers to a general measurement of lands. That this is only a supposition of Dr. Stein, and that Megasthenes must have meant only the village measurement is evident from Strabo whom the learned scholar himself has quoted. "Strabo speaks about the land measurement of Egypt in order to fix the limits of the property which were damaged by the floods of the Nile."³ Fixing the borders of the property must necessarily refer to the landed property of every village and not to a general land measurement though Strabo has not mentioned the particular expression 'village'. One of the functions of officials like the Gopa and the Sthānika in the Kauṭalīya is the survey and the measurement of lands.⁴