History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.333
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.333
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The superintendent of liquor was to carry on the traffic in liquor and ferments in the capital, the other parts of the country and in army camps by employing men familiar with them, he was to impose a fine of 600 paṇas if any one other than the manufacturers, licensed vendors and vendees sold or purchased liquor, he was not to allow liquor-shops to be opened close to each other, he was to see that liquor was sold in small quantities such as ¼ or ½ of a *kuḍumba* or a half prastha to persons of known character in order that (lit. for fear) workmen employed should not cause loss through carelessness, that *āryas* might not violate the rules of good conduct and that desperadoes should not commit indiscreet acts. Śukra was even more strict as regards wine, as he did not allow any one to drink wine in the day-time (IV. 4. 43). The superintendent of slaughter houses (sūnādhyakṣa, II. 26) was entrusted with the power to regulate the killing of animals for meat and was to impose the highest amercement on those who trapped or beat or killed deer, cattle, birds or fish which were declared to be under State protection or that dwelt in protected forests. The superintendent of nautch-girls (gaṇikādhyakṣa¹⁸⁷) is dealt with in II. 27. The topic of *veśyās* has already been treated of in H. Dh. vol. II. pp. 637-639. Kauṭ.
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says that a *gaṇikā* was to be employed for a salary of one thousand paṇas, whether she was born in a prostitute's family or not and she was to possess beauty, youth and accomplishments (i. e. the 64 *kalās* enumerated in Kāmasūtra I. 3. 16). Kauṭ. prescribes that, if she left the country or died, her daughter or sister took her place and estate or her mother could substitute some other gaṇikā in her place; when none of these existed the king took her wealth and her son did not inherit her wealth. A gaṇikā could purchase her freedom by paying to the king 24000 paṇas as ransom. She was to hold the umbrella, the golden pitcher and the fan for the king when he was seated on the throne or in a chariot or in his palanquin. There were grades among the gaṇikās as best, middling and inferior and salaries differed by a thousand. The sons of prostitutes were to be the chief actors on the royal stage. It appears from these provisions that the veśyas were more or less slaves. The superintendent of ships (nāvadhyakṣa, II. 28) was to look after the passage of ships not only over the seas and at the mouths of rivers, but also over lakes and rivers in the sthānīya (vide above p. 140) and other sub-divisions of the kingdom. Kauṭ. prescribes that villages on the sea-shore and river banks were to pay a fixed tax, fishermen were to render a sixth part of the haul of fish as fees for fishing licenses and merchants were to pay the customary tolls levied in port towns.
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This superintendent was to request the ships that touched at a harbour on their voyage to a distant port to pay the toll, he was to destroy pirate vessels bound for the country of an enemy as well as those that violated the usages of the port. The superintendent of cattle (II. 29) was entrusted with the rearing, preservation and care of cows, bulls, buffaloes and the dairy produce. The superintendent of horses (II. 30) was to record the breed, age, colour, marks, groups and places of origin of horses, which were to be classified as those kept in salehouses for sale, those that were recently purchased, those captured in battles, those that were pledged and those temporarily kept in stables &c. Kauṭ. notes that the breed of horses from Kāmboja, Sindhu (modern Sindh), Āraṭṭa (western Punjab) and Vanāyu (North-west of India) countries are the best of horses, Bāhlika (modern Balkh), Pāpeya, Sauvīra (eastern Sindh and western Rajputana) and Taitila breeds are of middle quality and the rest are inferior. The superintendent of elephants (II. 31) had to take steps to guard elephant forests and supervise elephants that were in stables, the catching, training and feeding of them, their accoutrements &c. Kauṭ. devotes one chapter (II. 32) to the training and classification of elephants and medical treatment when they fell ill. The superintendent of chariots and that of infantry (II. 33) have the charge of the chariot department and of the six classes of infantry respectively.
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The superintendent of passports (mudrādhyakṣa) issued passes to inhabitants of the country or foreigners for entering into or going out and the superintendent of pastures (II. 34) was to see the passes and devote himself to the care of pastures. Kauṭilya provides that a pass (mudrā) was to be given on payment of a māṣaka, that one could enter into or go out of a country only when one had a pass, that a person who entered without a pass was to be fined twelve paṇas and that the superintendent of pastures and his men were to examine whether persons not going by the royal road but through pastures had a pass or not and that the superintendent of pastures and his men were to convey the approach of thieves and enemies by beating drums and blowing conches and were to send messages about the entrance of enemies into pastures by means of domesticated pigeons carrying letters bearing the official stamp or by means of smoke and fire. The nāgaraka (the mayor of the capital or cities or the chief of the police in the capital) was to look to the affairs of the capital (or the big cities). A *gopa* (under the *nāgaraka*) was to superintend a group of twenty or forty families in the capital and an officer designated *sthānika* was to be in charge of each of four wards into which the capital was to be divided. Yāj. II. 173 mentions an officer called *sthānapāla* in connection with the finding of lost goods who appears to be the same as sthānika.
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The gopa and sthānika had to keep a register of the *caste*, *gotra*, name and occupation of the men and women in their districts and also of their income and expenditure. Managers of charitable institutions had to send information to them about the heretics and travellers arriving to reside therein. Numerous rules about reporting and punishments for various defaults and wrongs are laid down, which are passed over. Manu VII. 121 and Śānti 87. 10 also provide for the appointment in each city (in the kingdom) of a high officer, who was to superintend all matters affecting the city and who had ample powers of restraint and coercion. Many of the superintendents mentioned by Kauṭilya occur under the same names in the Kāmasūtra e. g. gavādhyakṣa, sūtrādhyakṣa, nāgaraka (explained by the com. as daṇḍapāśika), paṇyādhyakṣa (in V. 5. 7-10). Vide E. I. vol. 15 pp. 127-128 for a statement on the provincial administration under the Guptas.