The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c6.92

c6.92

The expenses of the administration seem to have been met by some sort of contribution from the people, particularly the rich folk. In the second section of the first Maṇḍala, Agni is once referred to as eating the woods like a king eating the rich.¹ One finds no trace of revenue officers in the Ṛigveda, perhaps from the nature of the document. It is probable that the king held a considerable area of land as crown-land but nothing can be definitely proved.