Studies in Ancient Hindu Polity (Based on the Arthashastra of Kautilya), Vol. I c11.18

c11.18

The census of cities and the metropolis was the work of departments under officers called नागरक.² Every city had its नागरक, and was, like the province, divided into four quarters, each administered by an officer known as स्थानिक. Under him worked the minor officers called Gopas (गोप), who had to keep the account of ten, twenty, or forty households as the case might be. They had not only to ascertain the caste, *gotra*, name and occupation of both men and women of those households, but also to ascertain their income and expenditure. To minimize the difficulty of keeping account of travellers and other non-residents,³ managers of charitable institutions were required to send information to the census offices in case any such person arrived to reside therein.¹ Masters of households were also similarly required to send reports of the arrival and departure of strangers. If they failed to make such reports they were fined. Merchants, artisans, physicians, etc., had also, under the city rules, to make reports to the officer in charge of the capital regarding people violating the laws of commerce, sanitation, etc., for better management of the city affairs; but as these fall outside the scope of the census, we need not take note of them.