History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c26.s3.t7.3

v1.c26.s3.t7.3

*Production and sale:* Details of production are lacking, especially for varieties other than sea salt. The latter was probably obtained, as it is now, by solar evaporation in long shallow beds along the shore, fed by the incoming tide; the crystallised salt was simply raked off. In Kauṭilya’s account, salt manufacture was scrutinised by a special superintendent, the *lavaṇādhyakṣa* and carried out under a system of licences for which either a fixed fee was paid, or a share of output retained (Monahan, 1924, p. 54). Salt that was received by government as its share was sold by the superintendent, profit being ensured by the difference of 5 percent between the royal measure and the common measure. One-sixth of all imported salt went to the king, and was sold by the superintendent to the public, with a profit made both in measuring the quantity and in selling it.