Administration and Social Life under Vijayanagar c7.s3.3

c7.s3.3

was largely leased out to the local people, who vied with one another for securing that right for themselves. This to some extent relieved the government of its responsibility for the maintenance of peace and order in the country, and of an enormous expenditure on that account. Justice too was not always the concern of the state, at least in practice. Disputes, both civil and criminal, were generally decided locally by the caste men and the village elders, and seldom reached the royal court. Hence there was no regular gradation of courts of justice maintained at the expense of the government. Unlike in the modern day, in the mediaeval period education was largely a private concern. The state did not take any elaborate measures for the spread of education among the people. Further a liberal education was not a necessity in those days, for the choice of occupation was dependent on the caste. Thus the government had no large expenditure on these accounts.