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The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c12: Chapter VIII. The Mauryan Administration

The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c12

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Contents

Chapter VIII. The Mauryan Administration

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While in India, Alexander the Great was told of the Gangaridai and Prasii whose reputation for military prowess unnerved the worn-out, home-sick soldiers of Hellas. The term Gangaridai is derived obviously from the Ganges on whose banks the people were settled. Prasii is the Sanskrit Prâcya—eastern. The two terms are used sometimes as if to denote two different peoples and sometimes as if both referred to the same people and country. The various contexts, however, make it clear that the people ruled by the king of Magadha or south Bihâr are meant. Here, as a comparison of the Buddhist and Puranic accounts shows, the Śaiśunâga dynasty had been succeeded by a line of Nandas, probably of lowly extraction, whose last representative, said to be a barber's son, occupied the throne of Pâṭaliputra in 326 B.C.¹ Alexander heard, and Puru confirmed the report, that the king of the Gangaridai possessed an army of 20,000 horse, 2,00,000 infantry, 2,000 chariots and 4,000 elephants trained and equipped for war.¹ Plutarch has the version that the kings of the Gandaritai and the Praisoi awaited Alexander with 80,000 horse, 2,00,000 foot, 8,000 war chariots and 6,000 fighting elephants.² Pliny records that "the Prasii surpass in power and glory every other people, not only in this quarter, but one may say in all India, . . . Their king has in his pay a standing army of 6,00,000 foot-soldiers, 30,000 cavalry and 9,000 elephants, whence may be formed some conjecture as to the vastness of his resources."³ Even on the basis of the lowest of these figures for the army, it is manifest that Magadha had become a great military power and that it was almost certainly the strongest state in North India. It seems to have extended its sway over Kalinga or Orissa, Tirhut in North Bihâr, Anga, Kośala and Kâśî. Its crown passed, after a revolution which left lasting memories, to Candragupta, styled Maurya, in or about 320 B.C.⁴ It is certain that Candragupta further extended the bounds of the kingdom he had won. He probably led the revolt against the Macedonian garrisons and took possession of the territory they guarded. He overran the rest of North India or at any rate got his suzerainty acknowledged throughout the region. He resisted the invasion of Seleucus Nikator and, in exchange for 500 elephants, got the satrapies of the Paropanisadai, Aria, Arachosia and, perhaps, part of Gedrosia, roughly, modern Afghânistân and Baluchistân, about 303 B.C.¹ For the first time North India was united under one sceptre. Kalinga seems to have asserted its independence but a good deal of other territory was added to the empire of Magadha. Candragupta founded a new era.²

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¹ Diodorus, XVII, 93; V. A. Smith, Early History of India, 4th edition, pp. 43—51; F. W. Thomas, Cambridge History of India, I, pp. 469—71. S. V. Venkatesvara Aiyar, Ind. Ant., 1915, pp. 41 et seq., regards the Nandas as a continuation of the Śaiśunâga dynasty. Jayaswal (J. B. O R S., IV, 91—95) interprets Navanandâḥ as new Nandas instead of nine Nandas as hitherto accepted. Nanda Râja is mentioned twice in the Hâthîgumphâ inscription of Khâravela, the Jaina king of Orissâ, c. 165 B.C. For the Puranic tradition, Pargiter, Ancient Indian Historical Tradition; Dynasties of the Kali Age.

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¹ Diodorus, XVII, 93.

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² Plutarch, Alexander, 62.

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³ Pliny, Historia Naturalis, Book VI, Ch. 22.

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⁴ A tradition recorded in an inscription of the 12th century A.D. states that Kuntala, a large tract including the Western Deccan as well as Northern Mysore, was ruled by the Nandas and that the Kadamba kings claimed descent from Nanda (Rice, Mysore and Coorg from the Inscriptions, p. 3). But this assertion finds no support in earlier tradition. The Matsya, Vâyu and Brahmâṇḍa Purâṇas call Mahâpadma Nanda Sarvakṣatriyântaka, destroyer of all Kṣatriyas. The statement supports the tradition that the Nandas were not Kṣatriyas (V. A. Smith, op. cit., pp. 55-56; Thomas, Cambridge History of India, I, pp. 467-73). The course of the revolution is indicated in Viśâkhadatta's Mudrârâkṣasa, which though composed probably in the seventh century A.D. (Rapson, J. R. A. S., 1900, p. 535) or, according to Jacobi, in the 9th century A.D. (Vienna Oriental Journal, II, 1888, p. 212), is, as Hillebrandt emphasises, based on ancient court tradition (Tawney, J. R. A. S., 1908, p. 910). Konow (Ind. Ant., 1914, p. 68) places the play about the 5th century A.D. See also Ind. Ant., 1913, pp. 265-67. For Greek and Roman references to Candragupta, Wilson, Preface to his translation of the Mudrârâkṣasa. The Mahâvaṃśa (tr. Geiger, p. 27) calls Candragupta a scion of the Moriya clan. The Divyâvadâna (ed. Cowell and Neil, 370, 409) calls the Mauryas Kṣatriyas.

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¹ Plutarch, Alexander, 62. Justin, XV, 4. V. A. Smith, op. cit, pp. 121–26. Thomas, Cambridge History of India, I, pp. 467–73. See also George Macdonald, Hellenic Kingdoms of Syria, Bactria and Parthia, in the Cambridge History of India, I, pp. 427–62.

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² The Hâthîgumphâ Inscription of Khâravela is dated the year 165 of the Râjâ Muriya (J.B.O.R. S., III, Part IV, pp. 461 et seq.). 164 As Bühler pointed out, the Mauryan era commences from the accession of Candragupta and not from the coronation of Aśoka as Bhagavân Lâl Indrajî supposed. On Candragupta's accession, see also Mahâvamśa Ṭîkâ, p. 123.

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Magasthenes, who at first represented Seleucus of Bactria at the court of Sibyrtios, satrap of Arachosia (Kandahâr) and who, later, was sent on several missions to Candragupta, wrote what seems to have been the most comprehensive account of India. But it is preserved only in extracts in later writers which sometimes contradict one another. Whether he actually wrote out the monstrosities about gold-digging ants, men with ears large enough to sleep in, men without mouths or noses or with only one eye or spider legs, etc.,³ which have been put into his mouth may be doubted but it is clear that he knew only Pâtaliputra and

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³ Strabo, McCrindle, India as described in Classical Literature, pp. 60.–63; also Pliny, Mist. Nat., VII, ii, 14–22.

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The seven castes of India.

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the districts he passed through. His observations apply only to North India and particularly to Magadha. Megasthenes’s account of Indian castes is professedly reproduced by Diodorus,¹ Arrian,² Strabo³ and Pliny,⁴ who, however, differ in details. They all agree in summarising that according to Magasthenes, the population of India was divided into seven castes. The Philosophers, though inferior in numbers, prevailed over all “in point of dignity.” Exempt from public duties, they were neither the masters nor the servants of others, but engaged themselves in performing sacrifices for others and foretelling the future. The second caste, consisting of the husbandmen, ‘far more numerous than the others,’ were likewise exempt from ‘fighting and other public services.’ They devoted the whole of their time to tillage and entirely avoided going into towns. “The third class consists of the neat-herds and shepherds and, in general, of all herdsmen, who neither settle in towns nor in villages, but live in tents.” “The fourth class consists of the artisans. Of these some are armourers, while others make the implements which husbandmen and others find useful in their different callings,” says Arrian. “This class is not only exempted from paying taxes, but even receives maintenance from the royal exchequer.” Strabo, however, enumerates several sub-divisions of the fourth class. It “consists of those who work as traders, of those who send wares, and of those who are employed in bodily labour. Some of them pay tribute and render to the state certain prescribed services. But the armour-makers and ship-builders receive wages and their victuals from the king, for whom alone they work . . . .” The fifth class, second in point of numbers, consisted of fighting men, who, when not engaged in war, gave themselves up to idleness and amusement. “The sixth class consists of the overseers. It is their province to inquire into and superintend all that goes on in India, . . .” (Arrian.) “The seventh caste consists of the councillors and assessors—of those who deliberate on public affairs. It is the smallest class, looking to number, but the most respected, on account of the high character and the wisdom of its members; for from their ranks the advisers of the king are taken, and the treasurers of the state, and the arbiters who settle disputes. The generals of the army also, and the chief magistrates, usually belong to this class. . . . No one is allowed to marry out of his own caste or follow an art except his own: for instance, a soldier cannot become a husbandman or an artisan a philosopher.” (Arrian.)

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¹ Diodorus, II, 40-41.

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² Arrian, Indika, XI, XII.

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³ Strabo, XV, 1, 46-49, also 58-60.

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⁴ Pliny, VI, 22.

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The account of Megasthenes does not harmonise with the traditional Hindu system of caste. But it is difficult to believe that he was ignorant of the latter and failed to portray it with even a distant approach to exactitude. None could have lived even for a short while in India without knowing the salient features of caste. Unless he has been hopelessly distorted, Megasthenes cannot be held to be describing caste. What he seems to do is to observe the dominant occupations and to give his own impressions of the actual division of the population. As a Greek he approaches the question largely, though not exclusively, from the angle of the state. Everywhere he mentions how a particular caste stood in relation to the state. Here lies the chief value of his account. He may have erred in thinking that the classes were endogamic groups, though it is not impossible that the members of a class generally married only among themselves. It must be emphasised that, of the words used by the classical authors, γένος and φῦλον alone connote the ideas of race and family. Both are borrowed from the language of Greek social organisation and theory; *γένος* is used by Plato in the Republic. The terms really mean class or tribe. The two other words *μέρος* and *σύστημα* do not imply race at all. They can be used for any groups, organic or mechanical.¹ We cannot be sure of the exact words employed by Megasthenes, for the discrepancies in the four accounts attributed to him prove them to be summaries rather than quotations. In this connection ‘class’ is a better translation than ‘caste.’ Megasthenes indicates that there was a ruling class in India, small in numbers but dominating the rest of society through its talents and force of character. It filled the higher ranks of the civil and military services. It was the nobility, the aristocracy of the kingdom. It stood aloof from the large class which furnished the soldiery of the realm. It is again clear that the state employed large numbers of workmen in its factories and put itself in touch with other classes of people who performed certain services.

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¹ I am indebted to Dr. H. N. Randle of the University of Allâhâbâd for an explanation of the Greek terms.

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The government of the country was despotic. The king not only reigned but ruled from day to day. Curtius, in his History of Alexander the Great, notes that the Indian king’s palace “is open to all comers even when the king is having his hair combed and dressed. It is then that he gives audience to ambassadors, and administers justice to his subjects.”² Strabo says that the king never slept during the day-time and that the hearing of cases occupied him the whole day.³ All the same he lived in the greatest luxury and pomp. The splendour and magnificence of the palace far surpassed that of Susa and Ekbatana. “In the parks,” continues Aelian on the basis of Megasthenes, “tame

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² Quintus Curtius, History of Alexander the Great, Bk. VIII, Ch. IX.

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³ Strabo, XV, 1, 55.

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Life of the king.

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peacocks are kept, and pheasants which have been domesticated, and among cultivated plants there are some to which the king’s servants attend with special care, for there are shady groves and pasture-grounds planted with trees which the art of the woodsman has deftly interwoven. . . Within the palace grounds there are also artificial ponds of great beauty, in which they keep fish of enormous size but quite tame. No one has permission to fish for these except the king’s sons while yet in their boyhood. These youngsters amuse themselves without the least risk of being drowned while fishing in the unruffled sheet of water and learning how to sail their boats.”¹ Quintus Curtius has the following general description of Indian potentates:—“The luxury of their kings, or as they call it, their magnificence, is carried to a vicious excess without a parallel in the world. When the king condescends to show himself in public his attendants carry in their hands silver censors and perfume with incense all the road by which it is his pleasure to be conveyed. He lolls in a golden palanquin, garnished with pearls which dangle all round it, and he is robed in fine muslin embroidered with purple and gold. Behind his palanquin follow men-at-arms, and his body-guards, of whom some carry boughs of trees on which birds are perched trained to interrupt business with their cries. The palace is adorned with gilded pillars, clasped all round with a vine embossed in gold, while silver images of those birds which most charm the eye diversify the workmanship . . . (After audience) his slippers being . . . taken off, his feet are rubbed with scented ointments. His principal exercise is hunting; amid the vows and songs of his courtesans he shoots the game enclosed within the royal park. The arrows, which are two cubits long, are discharged with more effort than effect, for though the force of these missiles depends on their lightness, they are loaded with an obnoxious weight. He rides on horseback when making short journey, but when bound on a distant expedition he rides in a chariot mounted on elephants, and, huge as these elephants are, their bodies are covered completely over with trappings of gold. That no form of shameless profligacy may be wanting, he is accompanied by a long train of courtesans carried in golden palanquins, and this troop holds a separate place in the procession from the queen's retinue, and is as sumptuously appointed. His food is prepared by women, who also serve him with wine, which is much used by all the Indians. When the king falls into a drunken sleep his courtesans carry him away to his bed-chamber invoking the gods of the night in their native hymns."¹ Court festivals had already sprung up. It seems a great festival was held when the king washed his hair.² Strabo says that "the care of the king's person is entrusted to women, who also are bought from their parents. The body-guards and the rest of the soldiery are posted outside the gates. . . . . The sons succeed the father. Moreover, the king does not sleep in the day-time and at night he is compelled, as a precaution against attack, to change his couch from hour to hour. . . . "³

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¹ Aelian, De Arim, XIII, XVIII.

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¹ Quintus Curtius, Book VIII, Ch. IX.

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² Strabo, McCrindle, India as described in Classical Literature, p. 75.

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³ Strabo, XV, I, 55.

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Arrian says that the succession was hereditary but if the regular line failed, the most meritorious man was elected to the kingship.⁴ It may be assumed that the selection was ordinarily confined to the royal family. The king had a number of counsellors, mostly perhaps the chief officers but occasionally others as well. Royal counsellors commanded the respect of the people. Besides these

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⁴ Arrian, Indika, Ch. VIII.

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The Administration.

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regular functionaries others were sometimes consulted. According to Strabo, the king employed messengers to obtain the advice of sages who lived in the jungles.¹ Megasthenes makes it clear that the king's government was carried on by a bureaucracy. From Strabo's version of Megasthenes, there appear to have been three classes of officers—the rural, urban and military. The first class was concerned with land revenue, irrigation which had been very remarkably developed, forests, communications and general supervision. To quote Strabo, “some superintend the rivers, measure the land, as is done in Egypt, and inspect the sluices, by which water is let out from the main channels into their branches, so that every one may have an equal supply of it. The same persons have charge also of the huntsmen, and are entrusted with the power of rewarding or punishing them according to their deserts. They collect the taxes and superintend the occupations connected with land, as those of the wood-cutters, the carpenters, the blacksmiths and the miners. They construct roads, and, at every ten stadia, set up a pillar to show the by-roads and distances.”

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¹ Strabo, McCrindle, India as described in Classical literature, p. 67. Bardesanes, Ibid., p 168.

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Making allowance for possible exaggerations, it must be admitted that the activity of the state covered a wide range even over the countryside. Unfortunately, Megasthenes gives no idea of the structure of local government. But he makes it clear that the administration of the capital was of a very intense character. Candragupta's capital Pâṭaliputra, called Pâlibothra by the Greeks, was situated on the confluence of the Ganges and the Son² and, says Strabo, was “eighty stadia in length and fifteen in breadth. It is of the shape of Pâṭaliputra.

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² For the identification of the Erannoboas or Erinnoboas, mentioned by the Greeks with the Son, see Cunningham, Ann. Rep. Arch. Surv., XI, p. 154.

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a parallelogram, and is girded with a wooden wall pierced with loopholes for the discharge of arrows. It has a ditch in front for defence, and for receiving the sewage of the city.”¹ Pliny also remarks that it was “a very large and wealthy city.”² The wooden wall was pierced by sixty-four gates and crowned by five hundred and seventy towers.³ The capital dominated the kingdom which, as well as its ruler, was called by its name.⁴

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¹ Strabo, XV, 1, 35-36.

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² Pliny, Historia Naturalis, Book VI, Ch.

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³ Fragment XXVI (McCrindle, Ancient India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian, p. 68). Waddell, Discovery of the Exact Site of Aśoka’s Classic Capital of Pāṭaliputra, revised edition, 1903. Spooner, Ann. Rep. Arch Surv. of India, Eastern Circle, 1912-13, pp. 55--61. Codrington, Ancient India, etc., pp 20--22; for archæological details, Ann. Rep. Arch. Sur., 1912-13, 53--86: Spooner, Excavations at Pāṭaliputra.

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⁴ Pliny, Bk. VI, Ch.

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“Those who have charge of the city,” says Strabo, “are divided into six bodies of five each. The members of the first look after everything relating to the industrial arts. Those of the second attend to the entertainment of foreigners. To these they assign lodgings, and they keep watch over their mode of life by means of those persons whom they give to them for assistants. They escort them on the way when they leave the country, or, in the event of their dying, forward their property to their relations. They take care of them when they are sick, and, if they die, bury them.⁵ The third body consists of those who inquire, when and how births and deaths occur, with a view, not only of levying a tax, but also in order that births and deaths among both high and low may not escape the cognizance of the government. The fourth class superintend trade and commerce. Its members have charge of weights and measures and see that the products in their seasons are sold by public notice. No one is allowed to deal in more than one kind of commodity, unless he pays a double tax. The fifth class supervises manufactured articles, which they sell by public notice. What is new is sold separately from what is old, and there is a fine for mixing the two together. The sixth and last class consists of those who collect the tenth of the prices of the articles sold. Fraud in the payment of this tax is punishable with death. Such are the functions which these bodies separately discharge. In their collective capacity they have charge both of their special departments, and also of matters affecting the general interest, as the keeping of public buildings in proper repair, the regulation of prices, the care of markets, harbours, and temples."

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²² For the Greek idea of India’s Geography see Ptolemy. Langlois, Géographie de Ptolémée, Paris, 1867, reproduces the map of India from the Ms. of Ptolemy’s Geography preserved at the Vatopedi Monastery, Mount Athos.

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²² Strabo, XV, 1, 35-36.

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⁵ The duties of these officers resembled those of the Greek Proxenoi.

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Thus the affairs of the capital were administered by a board of thirty officers which attended to some of the matters jointly and entrusted the rest to committees of five each. Through these officers the state controlled and regulated the whole economic life of the city, besides performing some other functions. In the Greek account these officers are called Astynomi which was in Greece the designation of some public functionaries who partly corresponded to Roman aediles. It is interesting that in ancient India, Greece and Rome alike public buildings, both religious and secular, were entrusted to a definite class of officers. The record of the census in ancient India is interesting but unfortunately we are not told whether it was confined to the capital or whether it obtained throughout the country. It is probable, though we have no documentary evidence to prove, that the system of administration which prevailed at Pāṭaliputra obtained in other cities also.

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Megasthenes remarks that Indians decided judicial cases according to unwritten laws. It seems that the Greek writer took Smriti in the literal sense of memory instead of in the sense of "the sacred tradition concerning law" which the term signified.¹ But in any case he makes it clear that there were judicial officers, for the king alone could hardly have disposed of the whole litigation even in the capital. We are told, indeed, that Indians seldom went to law but the elaborate provisions of substantive law and procedure in the Dharma Sūtras, for instance, tell a different tale. Megasthenes has left on record that theft was a thing of rare occurrence.² But the Mauryan criminal code seems to have been a stern one. "A person convicted of bearing false witness," says Strabo, "suffers a mutilation of his extremities. He who maims another not only suffers in return the loss of the like limb, but his hand is cut off. If he causes a workman to lose his hand or his eye, he is put to death." Johannes Stobaios who lived probably about 500 A.D. records a curious ordeal on the authority of Bardesanes. There was a lake of Probation. If the accused denied his guilt but refused the ordeal of the lake, he was assumed to be guilty and punished as such. If he consented to the ordeal, "they conduct him to the lake with his accusers, for these also are subjected to the ordeal by water, lest the charge they prefer should be fictitious or malevolent. On entering the water they pass through to the other side of the lake, which is everywhere knee-deep for every one who goes in. Now, should the accused be innocent he goes in and passes through without any fear and is never wet above the knee, but, if guilty, before he goes far, the water is above his head. Then the Brâhmaṇas drag him out of the water and deliver him up alive to his accusers, considering him to deserve any punishment short of death. But this is of rare occurrence, since no one cares to deny his guilt through dread of the ordeal by water.”¹ Details apart, a water-ordeal might have been known to Mauryan India.

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¹ Bühler, Indian Palæography, tr. Ind. Ant., 1904, p. 6.

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² Strabo, XV, 1, 53.

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¹ Johannes Stobaios, Physica, I, 56.

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The practice of committee government obtained in the sphere of military administration. There were “six divisions, with five members to each. One division is appointed to co-operate with the admiral of the fleet,² another with the superintendent of the bullock trains, which are used for transporting engines of war, food for the soldiers, provender for the cattle, and other military requisites. They supply servants, who beat the drum, and others who carry gongs; grooms also for the horses, and mechanists and their assistants. To the sound of the gongs they send out foragers to bring in grass, and, by a system of rewards and punishments, ensure the work being done with dispatch and safety. The third division has charge of the foot-soldiers, the fourth of the horses, the fifth of the war-chariots, and the sixth of the elephants. There are royal stables for the horses and elephants, and also a royal magazine for the arms, because the soldier has to return his arms to the magazine and his horse and his elephant to the stables. They use the elephants without bridles. The chariots are drawn on the march by oxen, but the horses are led along by a halter, that their legs may not be galled and inflamed, nor their spirits damped by drawing chariots. In addition to the charioteer, there are two fighting men who sit up in the chariot beside him. The war-elephant carries four men—three who shoot arrows and the driver.” Megasthenes says that “a private person is not allowed to keep either a horse or an elephant. These animals are said to be the special property of the king, and persons are appointed to take care of them."¹ It is probable that for military reasons the state had the monopoly of these assets of warfare. It was again partly for military reasons that the government attended to the means of communication. Megasthenes speaks of the royal road leading from the western frontier to the capital Pâṭaliputra and measuring 10,000 stadia in length.²

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¹ Megasthenes, Fragment XXXVI; Strabo, XV, 1, 41-43.

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² Ten stadia=2,022½ yards.

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The kingdom was divided into several provinces, each ruled by a sort of viceroy. The later Jûnâgaḍh inscription of Rudradâman records that Surâṣṭra or Kâṭhiâwâḍ was governed by the Vaiśya Puṣyagupta in Candragupta’s time and by the Yavana Tuṣhâspa under Aśoka. The former governor is designated Râṣṭriya, while the latter is called Adhiṣṭhâya.³ The details are important for another reason. They show that high officers were sometimes chosen from any class of persons. Throughout the empire there were large numbers of spies who infested towns, camps and the countryside alike. Megasthenes implies that courtesans were employed to assist in the task of espionage. Then there were other numerous employees of state. According to Strabo, armour-makers and shipbuilders could work only for the king. For military reasons the two industries might have been state monopolies. Lastly, the state made allowances of grain to herdsmen and hunters who cleared the land of wild beasts and fowls.⁴

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³ Ep. Ind., VIII, No. 6, pp. 43, 46-47.

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⁴ Diodorus, II, 40, 41; Strabo, XV, 1, 39-41.

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Agriculture seems to have received the serious attention of the state. Rudradâman’s Jûnâgaḍh inscription

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Other officers.

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records that Puṣyagupta formed the lake Sudarśana by damming a stream between a citadel and a rock. Its supplemental works were executed by Tuṣâspa.¹ Megasthenes testifies to the work of irrigation officers in rural areas. Besides the scheme of irrigation, there was the unwritten law that agriculturists were exempt from military and other service. "Nor would an enemy coming upon a husbandman at work on his land do him any harm, for men of this class, being regarded as public benefactors, are protected from all injury. The land, thus remaining unravaged, and producing heavy crops, supplies the inhabitants with all that is requisite to make life very enjoyable."² We are told that the agriculturists "pay a land-tribute to the king, because all India is the property of the crown, and no private person is permitted to own land. Besides the land-tribute, they pay into the royal treasury a fourth part of the produce of the soil." Most probably, Megasthenes is accurate in his latter statement. Hindu theory fixed the proportion of the state demand at one-sixth of the gross produce but in practice it might well have been raised to one-fourth. But there is nothing in indigenous sources to indicate that this revenue was supplemented by another tax on the supposition that the crown was the owner of the whole land. The distinction between land-revenue and land-tax does not seem to have occurred to the Hindu mind. It is probable that the assertion of Megasthenes applies only to the crown land which was merely cultivated for the king. In Strabo's version Megasthenes is made to say that "the whole of the land is the property of the king, and the husbandmen till it on condition of receiving one-fourth of the produce."¹ But this is clearly wrong. 'Receiving' has, perhaps, been substituted for 'paying.' Arrian in his version of Megasthenes says that the wandering shepherds and neat-herds "are subject to tribute, and this they pay in cattle,"² though according to Strabo, they received something from the state. Again, he says that handicraftsmen and retail dealers "have to perform gratuitously certain public services, and to pay tribute from the products of their labour." This rule, of course, would not apply to shipbuilders, sailors and manufacturers of weapons of war who were paid by the state.

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¹ Ep. Ind., VII, No. 6. For the position of the lake, Arch. Surv. West. Ind., 1898-99, paragraph 49.

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² Diodorus, II, 40, 41.

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¹ Strabo, XV, 1, 39-41.

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² Arrian, Indika, XI, XII.

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In the capital, and probably also in other cities, one-tenth of the prices of the articles sold went into the coffers of the state. "Fraud in the payment of this tax is punishable with death." There seems to have been a license-fee for vendors. "No one is allowed to deal in more than one kind of commodity, unless he pays a double tax." (Strabo.) The sale of certain articles manufactured in government factories brought something. (Ibid.) The presents made to the king must be reckoned among the regular sources of income. We learn from the Greek accounts that at the court festival of the king's hair-washing, they sent great presents to the king and vied with one another in displaying their wealth in that way.³ Aelian has it that subjects presented animals like cranes, geese, hens, ducks, turtle, doves, partridge, etc., and also tamed tigers, panthers, apes, etc., etc.⁴

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³ Strabo, McCrindle, India as described in Classical Literature, p. 75.

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⁴ Ibid., 143, 145.

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Megasthenes notes that philosophers who made any useful suggestions for the improvement of crops or cattle or for the promotion of public welfare were exempted from all taxation.¹ It seems that the Mauryas did not follow orthodox Brahmanic theory which would grant such exemption to all Brâhmaṇas. Only those who contributed to the public good received that privilege. There is a statement in Bardesanes that "the Brâhmaṇas pay no taxes like other citizens and are subject to no king." But from the context it seems that this refers only to sages and saints.² As already noted, artisans in the service of the state paid no taxes.

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¹ Strabo, XV, 1, 39-41.

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² McCrindle, India as described in Classical Literature.

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Exemptions.

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There are a few statements in Megasthenes which seem to indicate that the Mauryan dominions included some protectorates, monarchical or oligarchical. The overseers, as a class, are said to "make report to the king, or where the state is without a king, to the magistrates."³ According to Arrian, cultivators pay tribute to the king and the independent states.⁴ Since the fact of Mauryan overlordship over the whole of North India is well-established, the only probable explanation of these passages is that there were some autonomous principalities within its bounds. It seems that the Western oligarchies, noticed by the Greeks, passed into the orbit of the Mauryan empire without changing their constitution or relinquishing their internal self-government.

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³ Diodorus, II, 40, 41.

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⁴ Arrian, Indika, XI, XII.

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Protectorates.

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The foundation of the Mauryan empire marked an epoch in Indian history. It is probable that the requirements of the new large state led to some administrative changes. But the paucity of material makes it impossible to trace them in detail.

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Bindusâra.

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Of Bindusâra, the son and successor of Candragupta,¹ we know little. The range of his diplomacy extended as far as Egypt whose sovereign Ptolemy Philadelphos (285—247 B.C.) sent an envoy to the Mauryan court.² The Pâli legends concerning Aśoka’s early life show that royal princes were appointed provincial governors. The high-handedness of local officers could sometimes provoke a revolt. Prince Aśoka had to be sent once to Taxila to pacify a popular insurrection. As he neared the town, the people came out to meet him and said, “ we are not opposed to the prince nor even to the king (Bindusâra) but the wicked ministers (Duṣṭâmâtyâḥ) insult us.”³ But, according to tradition, history repeated itself in the reign of Aśoka. Once again a royal prince Kuṇâla went to quell a disturbance and met with the same reception from the people. The Pâli legends paint Prince Aśoka himself as a tyrannical governor indulging in calculated cold-blooded atrocities. But here the motive seems to be to create a Kâlâśoka or Caṇḍâśoka for contrast with Dharmâśoka to bring out the divine influence of Buddhism. Nor is it possible to be sure of the truth of the statement in the Ceylonese chronicles that the death of Bindusâra was followed by a fierce civil war, chiefly between the prince-viceroys of Ujjayinî and Takṣaśilâ.⁴

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¹ For the Jaina tradition of Candragupta’s abdication, migration to the south, and death by voluntary starvation in the approved Jaina style, see Rice, Mysore and Coorg from Inscriptions, 1909, pp. 3–9. For a criticism, Fleet, Ind. Ant., XXI, 1892, p. 156, also 287. If the authenticity of the tradition could be established, it would be interesting as showing the influence of religion on politics.

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² Pliny, McCrindle, Ancient India as described in Classical Literature, p. 108.

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³ Divyâvadâna (ed. Cowell and Neil), p. 371.

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⁴ Mahâvaṃśa, V, 189. Divyâvadâna, 382. The accompanying tradition that Aśoka slaughtered his brothers—99 in number!—before he ascended the throne is evidently false, as Aśoka speaks of his brothers in his edicts. For Bindusâra, Jayaswal, J. B, O. R. S., II, 79–83.

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After the conquest of Kalinga in the ninth year of his reign, the empire of Aśoka comprised the whole of India except the extreme south ruled by the Coḍa; Pāṇḍya, Sātiyaputra and Keralaputra kings.¹ His edicts, primarily religious and moral, are unpolitical in character but they do indicate that the empire was not governed under a uniform system. Leaving out of account the independent territories mentioned in the edicts, it is possible to distinguish half-independent regions from the king's domains. To the former category, for instance, belong the Āndhras.² The regions lying along the frontiers of the empire seem to be autonomous and insecure. The king was particularly anxious to conciliate them. In the second separate Rock Edict Dhauli, he gives the assurance that "this alone is my wish with reference to the borderers . . . that they may not be afraid of me, but may have confidence (in me); that they may obtain only happiness from me, not misery; that they may (learn) this, that Devânâmpriya will forgive them what can be forgiven; that they may (be induced) by me (to) practise morality; (and) that they may attain (happiness in) this world and (in) the other world.” The prince-governor and Mahâmâtras of Tosali are repeatedly requested and commanded to set the hearts of the borderers at rest. Special officers, called Antamahâpâlas, had to be appointed to deal with frontiers-men. Even the mild emperor had sometimes to hold out threats to some forest tribes. So faint was the line between autonomy and independence that the frontiers-men within the empire are sometimes confused with those beyond and both are indiscriminately referred to as borderers.¹ In the heart of the empire, too, there seem to be some regions which had not been brought completely under Mauryan rule and which are called Âhâla in the Rûpnâth and Sârnâth edicts. The extreme rapidity with which the empire was built up and the equally striking rapidity with which it broke up point to a confederate rather than a unitary state. Kalinga, for instance, owned the sway of the Nanda rulers of Magadha but it soon became independent and had to be reconquered, after a most stubborn fight by Aśoka, only to regain complete independence in the second century B.C.² After its incorporation into the empire, a region might retain its identity, in large part its institutions and even its old dynasty in a subordinate capacity and might be able to throw off the imperial yoke at the first favourable opportunity.

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¹ For the accession of Aśoka, Dīpavaṃśa, VI, 18, 24: Mahāvaṃśa, V, 34. Buddhaghosa, Samantapāsādikā, p. 300. The comparison of the dates of the foreign monarchs with the regnal years mentioned in Aśoka's edicts yields slightly divergent dates of Aśoka's accession. Jayaswal (J.A.S.B., New Series, 1913, p. 217) holds that Aśoka ascended the throne in 276 B.C. and was consecrated in 272 B.C. See also Senart (Ind. Ant., XX, 242). For the reign of Aśoka, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. I, New Edition, by Hultzsch. For a criticism, B. M. Barua, Indian Historical Quarterly, II, March, 1926, pp. 88 et seq. Cunningham's old edition (1877) is still useful for topographical details. Senart, Inscriptions de Piyadāsi, the first reconstruction of Aśoka's history from the inscriptions, is valuable. For its translation, Indian Antiquary. For further discussions, F. W. Thomas, J.R.A.S., 1914, 1915, 1919. Fleet, J.R.A.S., 1903, 1904, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911. Gauri Shankar Hira Chand Ojha and Shyam Sundar Das, Aśoka kī Pradhāna Dharmalipiyāṅ (Hindi) in Devī Prasāda Aitihāsika Pustakamālā, No. 4. Among modern narrations may be mentioned V.A. Smith, Aśoka (Rulers of India Series), 3rd edition; D. R. Bhandarkar, Aśoka (Carmichael Lectures, 1923). The Tāmil Saṅgam author Māmūlnār makes several references to Mauryan invasions of the south and says that the Mauryas advanced into Tāmil territory as far as Mohur (S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar, Beginnings of South Indian History, Ch. II; also Contributions of South India to Indian Culture). But these references can only relate to Aśoka's predecessors. On the relations of the Mauryas with the south, see also Tārānātha, Schiefner, p. 89.

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² Rock Edict XIII. Second Rock Edict, Dhauli, Jaugada.

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¹ Rock Edicts V, XIII.

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² Hâthîgumphâ Inscription, J.B.O.R.S., 1917, pp. 425-507.

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The Inscriptions which are the primary authority for the reign of Aśoka, betray a little Persian influence. As Senart pointed out, their opening formula resembles the commencement of the proclamations of the Achaemenides from Darius to Artaxerxes Ochus. They come nearest the Naqsh-i-Rustam Inscription in which Darius bequeaths his precepts in policy, morals and religion to his successors.¹ It is possible, but there is no literary or epigraphic evidence to prove, that the whole system of Imperial organisation in India derived suggestions from Persia.² From the political point of view, the Inscriptions of Aśoka are valuable, firstly, for a graphic presentation of the practical ideal of the state which the emperor sought to realise and, secondly, for a few glimpses into the structure and working of institutions. In so many words Aśoka enunciates the paternal view of government. "For as one feels confident after having entrusted his child to an intelligent nurse, thinking 'the intelligent nurse will be able to keep my child well,' so the Lâjukas were appointed by me for the welfare and happiness of the country people."³ He tells the officials of Tosali that confidence should be inspired in the people, "they should be made to learn that Devânâmpriya is to them like a father, that Devânâmpriya loves them like himself, and that they are to Devânâmpriya like his own children."⁴ Again, "all men are my children," whose 'complete' welfare and happiness in this world and in the next he must promote.⁵ Thanks partly to the vivid realisation of this idea, Aśoka rises above the narrow views of Brâhmaṇas or others and looks to the welfare of all. "I am directing my attention to all classes"—"to those who are far and near."' Even the inhabitants of the forest were pacified and instructed.² Beyond the pale of humanity, the lower creatures came within the purview of the Emperor's activities. "On bipeds and quadrupeds, on birds and aquatic animals various benefits have been conferred by me, (even) to the boon of life."³

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¹ Senart, Ind. Ant., XX, 255-56. V. A. Smith, Aśoka, p. 141.

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² Infra, Conclusion, Ch. XVII.

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³ Fourth Pillar Edict, Delhi-Topra.

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⁴ Second Separate Rock Edict, Dhauli.

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⁵ Jaugada Edict I. Separate Rock Edict I, Dhauli. Sixth Pillar Edict, Delhi-Topra.

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¹ Jaugada Edict I.

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² Rock Edict XIII.

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³ Pillar Edict II, Delhi-Topra.

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As a corollary of paternalism, the king must ceaselessly exert himself for the public good. "I am never satisfied," he remarks, "with (my) exertion or with (my) dispatch of business. The welfare of the whole world is an esteemed duty with me. And the root of that, again, is this, namely, exertion and dispatch of business."⁴ No limits are recognised to the scope of state-activity. The "welfare of the whole world" was to be promoted in every walk of life and by all possible means. Though Aśoka's mission was one of moral amelioration above all, he was alive to the calls of material comfort. ". . . On the roads banyan trees were caused to be planted by me, (in order that) they might afford shade to cattle and men, (and) mango-groves were caused to be planted. And (at intervals) of eight kos wells were caused to be dug by me, and flights of steps (for descending into the water) were caused to be built. Numerous drinking places were caused to be established by me, here and there, for the enjoyment of cattle and men."⁵ He encouraged the cultivation of medicinal herbs, roots and fruits. He arranged for the medical treatment of men and cattle not merely in his own dominions, but also in foreign lands.⁶ For the relief of distress, charity was organised on a lavish scale on behalf of the emperor and his relations.¹ Members of the royal family followed the example of Aśoka. For instance, the second queen made endowments, registered in her own name, for mango-groves or gardens, almshouses and other charitable purposes.² In fact, the emperor was delighted to discover that people in general were imitating his good deeds.³

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⁴ Rock Edict VI.

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⁵ Pillar Edict VII, Delhi-Topra.

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⁶ Rock Edict II.

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¹ Pillar Edict VII, Delhi-Topra. Yuan Chwang (tr. Beal, Si-yu-ki, II, p. 91) says that it was inscribed on a pillar at Pāṭaliputra that Aśoka thrice gave away and purchased back Jambûdvîpa (India). The large bounty of Aśoka may have given rise to this tradition.

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² Queen's Pillar Edict, Allâhâbâd-Kosam.

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³ Pillar Edict VII.

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The higher concerns of life received more attention. In fact, the Seventh Pillar Edict seems to imply that the provision of material comforts was only subsidiary to the promotion of the Dhamma.

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Moral welfare.

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In Rock Edicts IX and XI, Aśoka states that there is no such gift as that of Dhamma. His Dhamma, though free from all sectarianism, is not merely the sum of moral duties as Senart supposed.⁴ It is also a way of life, an outlook on things in general, a certain measure of the values of social life. Aśoka admits that his predecessors had had the desire to promote Dhamma, but, he continues, they had adopted no adequate measures and, therefore, men had made no progress. He thought seriously on the promotion of morality, "How could I elevate them by the promotion of Dhamma?" It occurred to him, "I shall issue proclamations on Dhamma, (and) shall order instruction in Dhamma (to be given). Hearing this men will conform to (it), will be elevated and will (be made to) progress considerably by the promotion of Dhamma." So, proclamations were issued all over the realm, including the frontiers. These were inscribed "either in an abridged (form), or of middle size, or at full length," according to local circumstances.¹ The promotion of Dhamma was the true conquest, always to be preferred to conquest by force.² There is, however, nothing revolutionary in Aśoka's Dhamma. In one respect, it is remarkably conservative. Aśoka constantly reiterates the injunction to obey one's parents and revere the elders.³

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⁴ Ind. Ant., XX, 260.

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¹ Rock Edicts XII, XIV, Girnâr. Sahasram Rock Inscription.

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² Rock Edict XIII.

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³ E.g., Rock Edicts III, IV, VII, IX. Brahmagiri Rock Inscription.

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The liberalising element in Aśokan ethics is the precept and example of universal toleration. Buddhist Śramaṇas and Brāhmaṇas alike are to be revered and supported.⁴ Intolerance is declared to be a very short-sighted policy. "For whoever praises his own sect, or blames other sects,—all this out of devotion to his own sect,—if he is acting thus, he rather injures his own sect very severely. Therefore concord alone is very meritorious, (i.e.) that they should both hear and obey each other's morals. For this is the desire of Devānāmpriya (viz.) that all sects should be full of learning and should be pure in doctrine."⁵ Aśoka himself honoured all religions.⁶ He declared that "all sects may reside everywhere."⁷ He should like the doctrine of all sects to be pure.⁸ As part of the regard for others, Aśoka inculcates politeness towards relations, friends and acquaintances.⁹

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⁴ Rock Edicts III, IV, IX, XI, XIII. Pillar Edict V. It will appear that Śramaṇas did not always mean merely Buddhist priest or monk. Cf. Râmâyaṇa, Ayodhyâkaṇḍa, XXXVIII; Araṇyakaṇḍa, LXXIII; Kiṣkindhakaṇḍa, XVIII. See also Beal, Ind. Ant., IX, p. 122.

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⁵ Rock Edict XII (Girnâr).

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⁶ Pillar Edict VI.

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⁷ Rock Edict VII.

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⁸ Rock Edict XII.

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⁹ Rock Edicts XIII, IV, XIII. Brahmagiri Rock Inscription.

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Liberalising elements.

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Aśoka declares that progress in Dhamma was promoted in two ways—by inducing to meditate and by moral restrictions.¹ Both were required for the operation of the humanitarian code on which the emperor had set his heart. He exhorts all to show proper courtesy and kindness to servants and slaves.² He imposes restrictions on the slaughter or mutilation of animals. The Fifth Pillar Edict gives the long list of animals which had been declared inviolable for all times and places. It goes on to lay down that "cocks must not be caponed. Husks containing living animals must not be burnt. Forests must not be burnt either uselessly or in order to destroy (living beings). Living animals must not be fed with other living animals. Fish are inviolable and must not be sold on the three Câturmâsîs (end) on the Tiṣyâ full moon, during three days (viz.) the 14th, 15th and 1st (tithi) and invariably on every fast-day. And during these same days also no other classes of animals, which are in the elephant-park (and) in the preserves of the fishermen must be killed." On certain days no animals were to be castrated, no horses or bullocks were to be branded.³

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¹ Pillar Edict VII, Delhi-Topra.

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² Rock Edict IX.

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³ Pillar Edicts II, V. Cf. Vinaya Texts, Part I, S. B. E., XIII, p. x; Kern, Manual of Indian Buddhism, p. 99. See also Rock Edict I which prohibits the slaughter of animals at sacrifices and promises that the slaughter of a few animals for the royal kitchen which still continued would be stopped.

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As part of the Dhamma, Aśoka inculcates character-building. Every one must speak the truth,⁴ guard one's speech,⁵ moderate one's possessions and expenditure⁶ and be pure and good.⁷ Aśoka prescribes that regular instruction in Dhamma was to be imparted.⁸

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⁴ Pillar Edict VII, Brahmagiri Rock Inscription.

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⁵ Pillar Edict I.

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⁶ Rock Edict III.

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⁷ Pillar Edict VII.

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⁸ Ibid.

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Besides exhortations, the emperor employed demonstrations to promote righteousness. It had long been customary to summon people by beat of drums to shows and various displays. In a Jâtaka, for instance, a king thus summons a crowd to witness the taming of elephants.¹ The Greeks noted that the sound of shells and drums called crowds to spectacles as also for war.² But under Aśoka, the Fourth Rock Edict records, the sound of drums became the sound of morality, calling the people to sacred representations, generally from the life of the Buddha, or showing glimpses of heavenly bliss.³ The whole administrative machinery of the state was utilised for the same purpose. The Third Pillar Edict requires all royal officers to help in the ethical mission in their quinquennial tours. Thirteen years after his coronation, the emperor created a special class of officers—a set of censors and missionaries—to further his aims. In the capital, in the country and in the extreme border-lands which were inhabited by Greeks (Yonas), Kambojas, Gandhâras and others, these officers "are occupied with all sects in establishing morality. . . They are occupied with servants and masters . . . for the . . . happiness of those who are devoted to morality, (and) in freeing (them) from desire (for worldly life). They are occupied with supporting prisoners (with money) . . . (if one has) children, or with those who are bewitched (i.e., incurably ill) or with the aged."⁴ Elsewhere he observes that his Dhamma Mahâmâtras "are occupied with affairs of many kinds which are beneficial to ascetics as well as to householders, and they are occupied with all sects. Some busy themselves with the affairs of the Saṃgha, others with the Brâhmaṇas and Âjīvakas;¹ others with the Nirgranthas; others were ordered by me to busy themselves with various (other) sects; (thus) different Mahâmâtras (are busying themselves) specially with different congregations . . . my Mahâmâtras of morality are occupied with these (congregations) as well as with all other sects.”² Itthijhaka Mahâmâtras were charged with the performance of censorial and missionary duties towards women.³

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¹ Fick, op. cit., tr. Maitra, p. 189.

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² McCrindle, Ancient India as described in Classical Literature, p. 68.

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