Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c11.75

c11.75

"The *Arthaśāstra* describes the highly organized bureaucracy in terms very similar to those employed by Megasthenes but in great detail. Thus Megasthenes tells us that the District officers were in charge of the forests, temples, harbours, mines, roads etc. He also describes the Six Boards who managed municipal affairs. But the general duties assigned to them are nearly the same. Thus Kauṭilya describes a Superintendent of Commerce and a Superintendent of Warehouses, who between them managed the market, fixed the market-prices, regulated the trade in agricultural produce, levied the subsidies for provisioning the army, and collected the royal tithes on goods bought and sold. These were almost precisely the duties assigned to the first, fourth, fifth, and sixth "The *Arthaśāstra* mentions a Superintendent of Courtesans and of Public Gambling, two functions of the police department not occurring in Megasthenes. But Megasthenes tells us how the king's agents employed the courtesans to obtain information. This ancient profession was treated as a recognised trade, taxed, inspected, and utilized by Government.