The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c14.170

c14.170

The splendours of the court, the salaries of the officers, the expenses of state departments, the army, and the multifarious activities of the state necessitated a vast revenue which seems to have been derived from various sources. In the system of Kauṭalya, the state itself is the biggest landowner and business-concern. It claimed a share in the income of every one else. It exacted a large tribute from the feudatories. It appropriated one-sixth of the land-produce with extra fees for irrigation. A heavy excise on drink, dice and prostitution brought a good deal. Justice, in which heavy fines figure so frequently, might have brought even more. Nothing was manufactured, nothing was distributed, nothing was sold or consumed but something poured into the coffers of the state. The regulation of coinage was in itself a source of income. In the sale of coins which went on, both parties should pay 5 per cent. on their profits to the state. There was a department of the Rūpadarśaka for the purpose.¹