History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c62.439

v4.c62.439

Fines as a source of revenue will be discussed in the next section about 'law and justice'. The king had numerous other sources of income. Kauṭ. (II. 12) describes the duties of the superintendent of mines. Every thing dug up from mines belonged to the king (Viṣṇudharmasūtra III. 55). According to Manu VIII. 39 and Medhātithi thereon the king is entitled to a half (or some share ⅙, ⅛ &c.) of the ore dug out of mines, as he is the lord of the earth and gives protection. In modern times under sec. 69 of the Bombay Land Revenue Code, Government have a right to all mines and minerals. The Paraśurāmapratāpa252a quotes a verse: 'Brahmā arranged that the king was (to be) the owner of all wealth and specially (wealth) that is inside the earth,' while Kāt. (16-17) says (vide note 243) 'the king is declared to be the lord of the land, but never of other kinds of wealth; therefore he should secure the sixth part of the fruits of land, but not otherwise at all. Since human beings reside on it (land) their (qualified) ownership thereof has been declared'. For further discussion of the theory of the king's ownership of all land, vide H. of Dh. vol. II. pp. 865-869. The State itself manufactured salt, took its share in salt manufactured by private persons and levied ⅙ as State dues on imported salt. Kauṭilya mentions ten kinds of revenue from mines. The Mānasollāsa (II. 3. verses 332 and 361) asks the king to guard mines of gems, gold and silver and declares that the Creator made the king the ruler over all wealth and especially over what is inside the earth. Rudradāman (150 A. D.) boasts that he filled his treasury by means of *bali*, *śulka* and *bhāga* levied according to the śāstras and that his treasury overflowed with heaps of gold, silver, diamonds, *lapis lazuli* and other gems (E. I. vol. VIII. p. 36 at p. 44). Kauṭ. (IV. 1) says that those who sweep the dust (near mines &c.) should get one-third of the valuable things found and the king should get two-thirds and all jewels. The king had also monopolies in certain matters. He alone could catch elephants. Kauṭ. (II. 31-32) and Mānasollāsa (II. 3, pp. 44-58) deal with this matter, the latter describing several methods of catching elephants. Medhātithi²⁵³ on Manu VIII. 400 says that kings have a monopoly as to elephants because it is well-known that they are most useful to them and he specifies certain monopolies such as those in saffron, silken cloth and wool, horses, pearls and jewels. Megasthenes (Fragment XXXVI. p. 90) states that a private person was not allowed to keep an elephant or a horse and that those animals were held to be the special property of the king.