The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c15.117.1

c15.117.1

The Gupta Inscriptions bear out the inference suggested by the Dharma Śâstras and Arthaśâstras that the number of taxes was very large in ancient India. Unfortunately, some of the terms used are obscure. The inscriptions seem to assume that they were familiar to all. But they occur rarely in literature. The dictionaries are sometimes silent on them and sometimes contradict one another. Almost every grant is made with the Udraṅga (Sodraṅga). Some scholars have taken it to mean boundary or something like it. But the context supports the view that it was a species of revenue. Bühler drew attention to the fact that in the Śâśvatakoṣa (ed. Zachariaes, pp. xxix, 260) Udraṅga is explained as Uddhâra and Udgrantha (Udgrâha) and thus seems to mean the share of the produce usually collected by the king.² It is generally mentioned at the head of all dues in the inscriptions. Probably, it refers to the chief tax. Another term which is mentioned quite as frequently and, in general, immediately after Udraṅga, is Uparikara. A grant of land is usually made Soparikara (with the Uparikara). A few scholars have taken it to refer to a boundary or some variety of land but, most probably, it refers to another species of dues. Fleet held it to be a tax levied on cultivators who had no proprietary rights in the soil. Miscellaneous dues were levied under numerous heads.