The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c11.t17.1

c11.t17.1

A contemporary account of the finances of the Vardhana Empire (606—647) is furnished by Hiuen Thsang, the Chinese state-guest of Harṣa's. It is said that forced labor was not exacted by the government. When the public works required it, labor was exacted but paid for in strict proportion to the work. Those who cultivated the royal estates, paid a sixth of the produce as the share of the state. The river passages and the road barriers were open on payment of a small toll. In regard to public expenditure there are said to have been four charges on the private demesnes of the crown. The first charge was of course the management of the affairs of state and the provision for sacrificial offerings. The second was for providing subsidies for the ministers and chief officers of state. Honorariums for men of distinguished ability constituted the third charge, and the fourth was religious charity. Altogether, in the Chinese scholar-pilgrim's opinion, the taxes on the people were light, and personal service required of them was moderate.⁴