History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.335
History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.335
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As regards the emoluments of the officers in charge of a village, ten villages &c. Manu (VII. 118-119) has some interesting rules: 'The headman of a village should obtain (as his emoluments) those articles which the villagers have to furnish every day to the king viz. food, drink, fuel and the like. The officer over ten villages should enjoy one *kula*¹⁸⁸, that over twenty villages should enjoy five *kulas*, the superintendent of a hundred villages should receive the revenue of one village and the high officer over a thousand villages should enjoy (the revenue of) a town. All this, as Medhātithi says, is only approximate and recommendatory and was not literally followed, but only means that a salary commensurate with the position and responsibilities of each officer should be received by him. Vide Śānti 87. 6-8 for rules similar to Manu's (where the officer over a thousand villages gets as his salary the revenues of a śākhānagara). Kauṭilya (in V. 3) sets out the salaries of many officers and servants as follows: the salary paid to the chief mantrin, purohita and a few others has been already stated above (p. 120); the dauvārika, the superintendent of the harem (antarvaṁśika), the praśāstṛ, the samāhartṛ and the sannidhātṛ were to receive 24000 paṇas;
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the princes (other than the crown prince), the nurse (mātṛ, mother?) of the princes, nāyaka, the superintendent in charge of justice (or commercial transactions?) in the capital (the pauravyāvahārika), the superintendent of royal manufactories (karmāntika), the members of the council of ministers, the rāṣṭrapāla (governor of a province), antapāla (the guardian of the borders) were to receive 12000 paṇas; the salary of the heads of śreṇis (the military corporations?), the heads of the elephant army, cavalry, and chariot army, and the pradestṛs was 8000 paṇas; the superintendents (below the commanders) of infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants, of the forest produce and elephant forests will each receive 4000; the chariot driver (anika), the army physician, the trainer of horses, carpenters, *yonipoṣaka* (?) will receive 2000; the foreteller (the reader of omens), astrologer (who finds auspicious times for undertakings), the reader of purāṇas, the sūta, māgadha (bard), the assistants (puruṣa) of the purohita and adhyakṣas will receive 1000; trained foot-soldiers, the accountants and scribes will receive 500; musicians 250, but trumpet-blowers will receive 500; artisans (*kāru*) and craftsmen (*śilpin*) 120; servants in charge of bipeds and quadrupeds, workers doing miscellaneous things, attendants near the king, bodyguard and the officer procuring free labour (viṣṭi) will receive 60; those appointed to do piece work (kāryayukta, v. l.
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āryayukta), the elephant driver, boys (māṇavaka, a page?), mountain-diggers, all attendants, teachers and learned men shall receive honorarium (pūjāvetana) according to their merit from 500 to 1000; charioteer of the king 1000; spies of the five sorts (vide above p. 129) will receive 1000; the village servants (like washer-man), the spies of the type of sattrin, desperado, poisoner and ascetic women will receive 500; the wandering spies (vide above p. 130) three hundred or more according to the labour involved. The superintendents in charge of a group of hundred or a thousand (servants) were to regulate the subsistence (bhakta), cash salary, the perquisites, the appointment and transfer of those under them. But there shall be no transfer of those who are the king's personal servants and of those who are appointed to guard forts and the country parts. The Śukranītisāra (I. 211) emphasizes that salaries should be in paṇas, that a king should not make a gift even of a finger-breadth of land as emolument to any servant, but that if he does give land, it should be held only for the life-time of the officer¹⁸⁹. Kauṭilya (in II. 1) prescribes that lands may be granted as emoluments to superintendents (of the various departments), the accountants, to officers called gopa and sthānika, to officers in the army, physicians, horse-trainers, but without power to sell or mortgage. Śukra II. 117-204 mentions numerous officers of the army, the treasury &c. Śukra IV. 7.
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24-27 sets out the salaries of officers, when the king's income is one lakh of *mudrās* a year. Kauṭ. provides for pensions and gratuities. He says 'the sons and wives of those that die while on duty shall get subsistence and wages. Young children, aged persons and ailing persons related to the (dying) officers shall be shown favour. On occasions of funerals, sickness or childbirth the king shall bestow money and honours on them'. The Mahābhārata (Sabhā. 5. 54) prescribes¹⁹⁰ that it is the duty of the king to support the wives of those that meet death or calamities in the king's service. Śukra II. 406-411 contains very modern-looking rules about sick-leave, casual leave, pension after 40 years of service &c.