History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.423

v4.c62.423

Several reasons are assigned for people’s payment of taxes to the king. Gaut. X. 28 says that they should do so because he protects them. In some places the idea put forward is that taxes are the wages (*vetana*) of the king and that the subjects made a contract with the king Manu to that effect. Vide Śānti 67 and 70. 10, Baud. Dh. S. I. 10. 1, Nār. 18. 48, Kaut. I. 13 (quoted on p. 21 above). Kāt.²⁴³ (verses 16–17) states that as the king is the owner of the earth but not of other kinds of wealth, he is entitled to get the sixth part of the produce of land and that since human beings reside on land they are declared to be owners (in ordinary parlance, but they have only a qualified ownership). Several kinds of taxes are mentioned in the dharmaśāstras, arthaśāstras and the inscriptions. The oldest word for a tax paid to the king is 'bali'. Ṛg. VII. 6. 5²⁴⁴ and X. 173. 6 speak of the common people as 'balihṛt' (bringers of *bali*, tribute or tax for the king). In the Tai. Br. (II. 7. 18. 3) it is said 'the people bring bali to him'. In the Ait. Br. (35. 3) the *vaiśya* is characterized as 'balikṛt' (payer of taxes to another), since brāhmaṇas and kṣatriyas were mostly exempt from taxation. Vide Prof. Hopkins' 'Social condition of the ruling class' J. A. O. S. vol. XIII. p. 89 and Fick p. 119 (as to the evidence of the Jātakas on taxation). Manu VII. 80, Matsya 215. 57, Rāmāyaṇa III. 6. 11, Viṣṇu Dh. S. III. 22 employ the word 'bali' in the sense of the 6th part of the produce of land that the king levied as tax. In the Rummindei Pillar Inscription of Aśoka (Corpus I. I. vol. I. p. 164) it is said that the village of Lummini was made free from the payment of 'bali', but had to pay one-eighth share.²⁴⁵ Here 'bali' is contrasted with 'bhāga' which is a general term. The word 'kara' appears to mean a tax in general. Vide Āp. Dh. S. II. 10. 26. 10, Manu VII. 128, 129, 133, Vas. 19. 23, Viṣṇu Dh. S. III. 26-27. The word 'bhāga' (share) is also general and means the king's dues on land, trees, drugs, cattle, wealth &c. Vide Manu VII. 130-131, VIII. 305, Viṣṇu Dh. S. III. 25. This meaning of 'bhāga' is ancient. We saw above (p. 112) that *bhāgadugha* is one of the ratnins of the king. The Amarakośa treats *bali*, *kara*, and *bhāga* as synonymous.