Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c4.s2.48

c4.s2.48

Influential as the village-committee was, it often went against the interest of the *gāmabhojaka*. For instance, in the same Macala village, the members of the committee, having by common consent given up the habit of drinking wine, incurred the displeasure of the headman who practically traded on the immorality of his own people: "When these men used to get drunk and commit murders and so forth, I used to make a lot of money out of them, not only on the price of their drinks but also from fines and dues they paid. But now here's this young brahmin Maga bent on making them keep the Commandments; he is putting a stop to murders and other crimes."³