Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c4.t5.80

c4.t5.80

As far as the revenue administration was concerned, the afore-mentioned distinction between gāma and nigama was, it seems, not taken into consideration. And we might, for the present, forget that. Let us only imagine the land as a whole divided, leaving out other portions of land, into separate farm-holdings² in possession of individual farmers or villagers. From the produce of each farm-holding the king was to be given his share,—his bhāga. Now let us turn to the method of assessment. The details are given out by the Kāma Jātaka.³ In the story we read that a Prince renounces his claim to the throne in favour of his younger brother, and goes away to a village and lives with a merchant's (Seṭṭhi's) family. The Royal officers (rājakammikā) come to the village to measure the fields (khettappamāṇagahaṇatthāya) including that of the Seṭṭhi. The Seṭṭhi asks the Prince to write to the king for remission of the bali which the latter accordingly grants. On this instance other villagers also approach the Prince and request him to get the bali reduced, and it is done. We see here how the measurement of land by the State Officials is immediately associated with the assessment of bali. This implies the existence of a standard or average rate of the Government demand for a known unit area, which could be applied for the assessment of the individual holdings.⁴ That is to say, the land was surveyed and the field was measured to determine its area, which, when calculated by the known standard,⁵ would give the quantity of the produce of the field and thus settle the kings' share, whatever it was.