The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c18.112

c18.112

The administration was by no means so elaborate everywhere. In Almorā, a mountainous district in the north of the present United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, the machinery seems to have been much simpler. Two Tāleśvara Grants found there are forgeries but they are none the less valuable for the administration of that district about the eighth century A.D. The monarch, in spite of the undoubtedly small extent of his territory, is called Paramabhaṭṭāraka, Mahārājādhirāja which is a clear indication of his independence. In the spurious grant he is made to address chiefs, that is, his feudatories, among others. Besides them, there were many landowners. The prince is one of the counsellors of the king. The chamberlain and the pramātāra are the chief civil officers mentioned. The masters of the elephants and horse are the principal military officers. The mention of Kulacārikas, that is, heads of kulas or families with the landed magnates and officers shows that society in the hills was organised partly on the basis of clans or families and that their heads exercised some regulating authority.¹