Administrative System of the Marathas c23.s3.8

c23.s3.8

Some of these departments were doubtless unknown to the old Hindus. Artillery did not come into existence in Kautilya's time and he could not therefore think of a Superintendent of Tophkhana or a Superintendent of Darukhana. But many of the other departments were well known in India before the Muhammadan conquest, or as a matter of fact before the birth of Chirst. The Shukraniti recommends that the king should appoint separately the heads of elephants, horses, chariots, infantry, cattles, camels, deer, birds gold, jewels, silver, clothes, the chief of treasure, the chief of grains, and the superintendent of cooking, the superintendent of parks, and the head of buildings and palaces, as also always the superintendent of the necessaries and contigencies, the officers in charge of the religious establishments and the superintendent of charities.¹¹ The compiler of the present text of the Shukraniti was acquainted with fire-arms (Nalika), and it may be objected therefore that it is a comparatively recent work. But the antiquity of Kautilya's Arthashastra is fairly well admitted and Kautilya has recounted the duties of superintendents of no less than twenty departments at least ten of which survived till Shivaji's time, while others left undeniable marks in the institutions of the Peshwa period. Kautilya has laid down rules for examination of gems that are to be entered into the treasury; the treasury contemplated by him therefore corresponded to Shivaji's Jawahir Khana. Kautilya recounts the duties of the Superintendents of Store-house, Commerce, Armoury, Agriculture, Liquor, Cows, Horses, Elephants and Chariots, and we find these departments also in the list quoted above from Sabhasad. These departments however did not form the only link with the past.