Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c6.39

c6.39

Governorship. Side by side with these Viceroyalties under the Princes, there were also the Provinces under Governors. Seats of such governorships are mentioned in Asoka's inscriptions, such as Isila, and Samāpā in the South, and Kauśāmbī in modern U.P. near Allahabad. The Governors were called *Prādeśika-Mahāmātras*, and aso *Rājūkas*, "set over hundreds of thousands of souls" and possessed of wide powers of government [*Ib.*]. The later inscription of Rudradāman of 150 A.D., however, calls the provincial Governor a *Rāshṭriya*. As we have seen, we owe to this inscription the important information that the Western Province of Chandragupta's empire was known as Ānarta and Surāshṭra, of which the capital was Girinagara and the Governor was Vaiśya Pushyagupta. Kauṭilya [II. 16; IX. 3] uses the term *Rāshṭra-Mukhya* or *Rāshṭra-pāla* [V. 1] or *Īśvara* [II. 10] for the provincial Governor.