HISTORY - I
MODULE II: POLITY, STATE AND ADMINISTRATION
TOPICS COVERED
CONCEPT OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN ANCIENT INDIA CONCEPT
OF JUSTICE AND LAW IN ANCIENT INDIA, CONCEPT OF ‘DANDA’;
ADMINISTRATIVE CONCEPTS: BRAHMANIC, BUDDHIST, KAUTILYAN,
TURKO-AFGAN CONCEPT.
CONCEPT OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN ANCIENT INDIA
MAURYAN STATE
The period from the 4th century to the 13th century A.D saw the rise of two major dynasties,
the Mauryas (4th C B.C to 2nd C BC) and the Guptas (4th Century AD to 6th Century AD).
• The formation of state was completed around 500 B.C. The development of the
fullfledged state system with all four essential factors of the state namely a territory, a
population, unity and organisation in a completely evolved form was a distinguishing
feature of the mauryan age.
• According to the Arthashastra of Kautilya, the State consisted of the seven limbs
(saptanga)--------- The king(swamin) The minister(amatya)
the territory or the country(janapada or rashtra)
The fort(durga)
The treasury(kosha)
The army(bala)
The ally(mitra)
The idea behind the saptanga theory was that without a proper organisation, a state of
lawlessness (matsyanyaya) would set in and that hinders the development of state’s
personality.
• In the Mauryan polity the king was considered all-powerful though the Arthashastra
lay emphasis on the conception of the king as the servant of the state which was one
of the basic principles of ancient Indian political thought.
,• The exaltation of the royal authority is a striking feature of the nature of the Mauryan
state the Arthashastra grants the power of legislation by edicts and decrees, a power
which was never enjoyed by the king before in India
• The Mauryan state had developed a highly organized bureaucratic administration
capable of maintaining the stability of the empire spanning the length and breadth of
the land and controlling all spheres of life.
• In one passage the Arthashastra speaks of 18 tirths(departments) and in addition
makes provision for 27 superintendents (adhyaksas).
They were concerned with the economic, military and social functions.
Of the chief departments charged with the economic functions are those of commerce,
forest produce, weaving, agriculture, pasturelands, mines, oceanic mines, metals, mints,
salts, wastelands, tolls and exercise.
• The chief military departments are those of armoury, horses, elephants, chariots and
infantry.
• The administration showed equal concern for the health of the society becomes
evident from the appointment of superintendents to control the prostitutes, gambling
dens, liquor shops etc.
• The police was the most important civic administration department. It prevented the
commission of crimes and brought the transgressors of law to justice. If they failed to
trace the thief, they had to make good the loss.
• In order to suppress crime the Arthashastra advises the imposition of stringent curfew
from about two and a half hours after the sunset to the same time before the dawn.
• There was an efficiently organised espionage system and the spies in disguise helped
the police in the detection of crimes
• Kautilya attaches great importance to the selection of the superintendents .he lays
down qualifications and prescribes rules for their promotion.
• To keep this highly organised bureaucracy from the clutches of nepotism and
monopoly, Kautilya suggested that each department be officered by several temporary
heads.
He also talks about the transfer of the government servants.
The text says that no superintendent shall be allowed to take any decision without
bringing it to the knowledge of their masters except remedial measures against imminent
dangers.
• The book gave detailed information about the pays of different dignitaries and
officers.
• The higher functionaries such as the priest, the teacher, the minister, the commander
of the armed forces, the heir-apparent prince, the mother of the king, and the queen
received 48000 panas monthly. (punchmarked coins)
• The lower officials like the palace workers attendants and the body-guards received
only 60 panas.
• A messenger of the middle quality was given only 10 or 20 panas.
The ratio between the highest and the lowest servant of the government therefore
showed an enormous difference between the two.
The navy, transport and the commissariat are the mauryan innovations.
There were elaborate rules and regulations for the training and drilling of soldiers and
that special attention was paid by the military authorities to the sick and wounded in the
army and for this the army was supplemented by a contingent of doctors and nurses.
• Munitions of war were made in state arsenals and there was a state control over the
artisans who produced weapons
, • Dhamasthaya were the civil courts and Kantakshodhan were the criminal courts
which differed from the civil courts by their more summary produce and speedy
disposal.
• Officers charged with the murder, thefts, dacoity and the sexual offences appeared
before the latter.
• The officers like pradesta performed both police and revenue functions. Similarly,
officials like samaharta, the sthanika and the gopa performed both the fiscal and
police and magisterial functions.
City administration
• The increasingly complex social economic activities of the state coupled with the
need of the urban settlements necessitated the creation of machinery for the
administration of the towns, which was perhaps the innovation of the Mauryas.
• Megasthenes gave a detailed description of the municipal administration of
Pataliputra.
• He says that the city of Pataliputra was administered by the committee of thirty
members divided into six committees of five members each.
• The Kautilya does not envisage the involvement of local elements in the city
administration.
The most important element there was Nagarika, the governor of the city.
His responsibilities were that of the revenue collection, preservation of law and order and
the supervision of the sanitation arrangements.
• The nagarika was assisted in the administration by two officials called sthanika and
gopa.
• The gopa was charged with the responsibilities of the collection of the revenue and
the supervision of the forty households each.
The sthanika attended to the accounts of the four quarters of the town.
A new set of officials called antamahamatras was appointed so as to set the border
people right.
Mauryas possess the world’s most ancient theory on public finance.
Kautilya made a distinction between the war economy and the peace economy and said
that the stability of the administration depends on the treasury.
• He demonstrates great ingenuity in devising and justifying means for augmenting the
wealth of the state.
• He does not neglect any source because of its smallness and leaves nothing out of
taxation.
• He brought rural and urban areas in addition to artisans, and traders under the tax net.
The manual labourers had to work in the state farms for one day.
• The sannidhata (custodian of the treasury) and the samaharta (the chief revenue
collector) were the important officials of the finance department.
Kautilya advocated the gradual system of taxation.
The traders taxed not on their gross earning but on the net profits and the articles were
taxed only once.
• This large system of taxation was for maintaining the army and the bureaucracy.
MODULE II: POLITY, STATE AND ADMINISTRATION
TOPICS COVERED
CONCEPT OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN ANCIENT INDIA CONCEPT
OF JUSTICE AND LAW IN ANCIENT INDIA, CONCEPT OF ‘DANDA’;
ADMINISTRATIVE CONCEPTS: BRAHMANIC, BUDDHIST, KAUTILYAN,
TURKO-AFGAN CONCEPT.
CONCEPT OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN ANCIENT INDIA
MAURYAN STATE
The period from the 4th century to the 13th century A.D saw the rise of two major dynasties,
the Mauryas (4th C B.C to 2nd C BC) and the Guptas (4th Century AD to 6th Century AD).
• The formation of state was completed around 500 B.C. The development of the
fullfledged state system with all four essential factors of the state namely a territory, a
population, unity and organisation in a completely evolved form was a distinguishing
feature of the mauryan age.
• According to the Arthashastra of Kautilya, the State consisted of the seven limbs
(saptanga)--------- The king(swamin) The minister(amatya)
the territory or the country(janapada or rashtra)
The fort(durga)
The treasury(kosha)
The army(bala)
The ally(mitra)
The idea behind the saptanga theory was that without a proper organisation, a state of
lawlessness (matsyanyaya) would set in and that hinders the development of state’s
personality.
• In the Mauryan polity the king was considered all-powerful though the Arthashastra
lay emphasis on the conception of the king as the servant of the state which was one
of the basic principles of ancient Indian political thought.
,• The exaltation of the royal authority is a striking feature of the nature of the Mauryan
state the Arthashastra grants the power of legislation by edicts and decrees, a power
which was never enjoyed by the king before in India
• The Mauryan state had developed a highly organized bureaucratic administration
capable of maintaining the stability of the empire spanning the length and breadth of
the land and controlling all spheres of life.
• In one passage the Arthashastra speaks of 18 tirths(departments) and in addition
makes provision for 27 superintendents (adhyaksas).
They were concerned with the economic, military and social functions.
Of the chief departments charged with the economic functions are those of commerce,
forest produce, weaving, agriculture, pasturelands, mines, oceanic mines, metals, mints,
salts, wastelands, tolls and exercise.
• The chief military departments are those of armoury, horses, elephants, chariots and
infantry.
• The administration showed equal concern for the health of the society becomes
evident from the appointment of superintendents to control the prostitutes, gambling
dens, liquor shops etc.
• The police was the most important civic administration department. It prevented the
commission of crimes and brought the transgressors of law to justice. If they failed to
trace the thief, they had to make good the loss.
• In order to suppress crime the Arthashastra advises the imposition of stringent curfew
from about two and a half hours after the sunset to the same time before the dawn.
• There was an efficiently organised espionage system and the spies in disguise helped
the police in the detection of crimes
• Kautilya attaches great importance to the selection of the superintendents .he lays
down qualifications and prescribes rules for their promotion.
• To keep this highly organised bureaucracy from the clutches of nepotism and
monopoly, Kautilya suggested that each department be officered by several temporary
heads.
He also talks about the transfer of the government servants.
The text says that no superintendent shall be allowed to take any decision without
bringing it to the knowledge of their masters except remedial measures against imminent
dangers.
• The book gave detailed information about the pays of different dignitaries and
officers.
• The higher functionaries such as the priest, the teacher, the minister, the commander
of the armed forces, the heir-apparent prince, the mother of the king, and the queen
received 48000 panas monthly. (punchmarked coins)
• The lower officials like the palace workers attendants and the body-guards received
only 60 panas.
• A messenger of the middle quality was given only 10 or 20 panas.
The ratio between the highest and the lowest servant of the government therefore
showed an enormous difference between the two.
The navy, transport and the commissariat are the mauryan innovations.
There were elaborate rules and regulations for the training and drilling of soldiers and
that special attention was paid by the military authorities to the sick and wounded in the
army and for this the army was supplemented by a contingent of doctors and nurses.
• Munitions of war were made in state arsenals and there was a state control over the
artisans who produced weapons
, • Dhamasthaya were the civil courts and Kantakshodhan were the criminal courts
which differed from the civil courts by their more summary produce and speedy
disposal.
• Officers charged with the murder, thefts, dacoity and the sexual offences appeared
before the latter.
• The officers like pradesta performed both police and revenue functions. Similarly,
officials like samaharta, the sthanika and the gopa performed both the fiscal and
police and magisterial functions.
City administration
• The increasingly complex social economic activities of the state coupled with the
need of the urban settlements necessitated the creation of machinery for the
administration of the towns, which was perhaps the innovation of the Mauryas.
• Megasthenes gave a detailed description of the municipal administration of
Pataliputra.
• He says that the city of Pataliputra was administered by the committee of thirty
members divided into six committees of five members each.
• The Kautilya does not envisage the involvement of local elements in the city
administration.
The most important element there was Nagarika, the governor of the city.
His responsibilities were that of the revenue collection, preservation of law and order and
the supervision of the sanitation arrangements.
• The nagarika was assisted in the administration by two officials called sthanika and
gopa.
• The gopa was charged with the responsibilities of the collection of the revenue and
the supervision of the forty households each.
The sthanika attended to the accounts of the four quarters of the town.
A new set of officials called antamahamatras was appointed so as to set the border
people right.
Mauryas possess the world’s most ancient theory on public finance.
Kautilya made a distinction between the war economy and the peace economy and said
that the stability of the administration depends on the treasury.
• He demonstrates great ingenuity in devising and justifying means for augmenting the
wealth of the state.
• He does not neglect any source because of its smallness and leaves nothing out of
taxation.
• He brought rural and urban areas in addition to artisans, and traders under the tax net.
The manual labourers had to work in the state farms for one day.
• The sannidhata (custodian of the treasury) and the samaharta (the chief revenue
collector) were the important officials of the finance department.
Kautilya advocated the gradual system of taxation.
The traders taxed not on their gross earning but on the net profits and the articles were
taxed only once.
• This large system of taxation was for maintaining the army and the bureaucracy.
