The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c15.94

c15.94

There are many police officers in evidence—Daṇḍapāśika (policeman), Daṇḍika (chastiser), Cauroddharaṇika (officer apprehending thieves).¹ Cāṭas and Bhāṭas also investigated crime. Thus the Sūrat plates of Mahārāja Vyāghrasena, of the year 490-91 A.D., lay down that the small piece of land granted is not to be entered by Cāṭas or Bhaṭas unless in order to arrest robbers or persons guilty of high treason.² On the other hand, a later writer Lallā Dikṣita, commenting on the Mṛcchakaṭika,³ explains Cāṭa as Kṣudraviṣayabhoktā—the officer of a small district. It will appear that the term had different meanings at different places. Later it came to mean a thief or a bad character.