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Administration IN THE POST
Ancient India (HSB654)
Aligarh Muslim University
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ADMINISTRATION IN THE POST-MAURYAN PERIOD
With the arrival of the Maurya Empire, a much clearer picture of the administrative system in a large monarchical state emerges (c. 325 to 187 BC). The Maurya empire spanned a vast area from Afghanistan in the north west to Karnataka in the south, and from Kathiawar in the west to Orissa (if not also North Bengal) in the east, at its peak. It was a nearly pan- Indian empire, with Pataliputra as its capital (Patna). Historians have been able to comprehend the Mauryan administration system thanks to the abundance of diverse source materials. Megasthenes' Greek accounts (and later Greek writers' summaries and quotations), Asoka's edicts, and the Arthasastra shed light on the Mauryan administration. For the first time in the Maurya realm, the possibility of a central and provincial (and also locality level) administrative organisation is seen. The Maurya emperor was the focal point of the entire Maurya administration, particularly the central administration. In what were referred to as'metropolitan' (Magadha) and 'core areas,' the central administrative machinery appears to have been in operation (located in the Ganga Plains). Despite their dominance over almost the entire subcontinent, the Maurya rulers referred to themselves as Raja (literally translated as malka and basileos respectively in the Aramaic and Greek edicts of Asoka.) Megasthanese, the Greek ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya's court, impresses us with the emperor's personal zeal for administration and his extremely busy daily schedule. This is similar to Asoka's personal efforts and strivings (Pakama/Prakrama) to disburse statecraft matters (Athakamma). Kautilya presents the ruler with the lofty ideal of ensuring his subjects' happiness (Prajasukha), rather than pursuing his own. According to the Arthasastra, what is good for the subjects is also good for the ruler. Asoka announced an even higher ideal of paternalistic rulership when he declared that all men were his children (Sabe munise paja mama). All of Asoka's efforts, he believed, were a way of repaying his debt to his subjects. The Maurya ruler was in charge of the entire realm's executive functions. The Maurya emperor appointed and was responsible for all of the government's principal functions. The king, according to most early Indian theoretical texts, was only an upholder of established norms, customs, and law (Dharmapravartaka), not a source of law. The Arthasastra appears to have broken with tradition by acknowledging the royal proclamation (Rajasasana) as a valid source of law. As a matter of fact, Asoka's edicts as administrative promulgations are strikingly similar to Kautilya's Rajasasana.
Despite the fact that the Arthasastra strongly suggested the appointment of full-fledged ministers, no Asoka edict specifically mentioned any Maurya minister. The highest officers of the realm were recruited from among the 'counsellors and assessors,' according to Megasthenes. One can speculate but not prove that the counsellors – as opposed to assessors – were Maurya ministers. The Parisa is mentioned in two Asoka edicts. The term Parisa is frequently misunderstood to refer to the Mantriparisad or a council of ministers. A member of the Mantriparisad is distinguished from a full-fledged Mantri by the fact that the former is paid 12000 Panas as opposed to 48000 for a Mantrin, according to the Arthasastra. In other words, a ministerial council member was given a lower rank than a full-fledged minister. If there is a difference of opinion among the members of the Parishad, Asoka instructs his messengers to inform him at any time. As a result, it is reasonable to conclude that the Parishad was a deliberative body in which the presence of the Maurya emperor was optional. The Parishad was unlikely to have had any executive power. The Arthasastra recognised that the administrative burden should be distributed among a large number of department heads (Adayaksha). The term Adayaksha, on the other hand, never appears in
Asoka's edicts. Asoka's officers are known as Pulisas/Purushas (Rajapurushas). They were divided into three grades: high (Ukaya), middle (Majhima), and low (Majhima) (Gevaya). Mahamatras were the highest-ranking officers during Asoka's reign. They were divided into the following categories: a) those in charge of frontier areas (Amata-mahamatra), b) those in charge of pasture grounds (Vachabhumika-mahamatra), c) those in charge of women or the Mauryan palace's inner chamber (Itijhaka-mahamatara), and d) those in charge of Ashoka's Dhamma or the Law of Piety (Dhamma – maham The army was a prominent feature of the Maurya central administration. According to Greek accounts, the Maurya army numbered six lakh soldiers. While this is undoubtedly an exaggerated figure, it does reflect the enormous size of the Maurya army, which allowed the Mauryas to carve out a vast empire. The presence of at least four units in the army is evident from the Greek account: infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephant forces. Megasthenese claims that the Mauryas had a navy, which he most likely meant a flotilla of boats on navigable rivers rather than a full-fledged navy in the modern sense. According to Megasthenese, the Maurya army was administered by six boards, each of which had five members (therefore in all 30 members). The Arthasastra, which entrusts the management of infantry, cavalry, chariot, and elephant forces to respective Adhayakshas, contains no such boards. An espionage system was closely linked to the military administration. The Mauryas are thought to have been the first Indian power to develop and implement a regular secret service. Megasthenese spoke eloquently about the secret agents' trustworthiness. The secret agents (Gudhapurusha) are divided into two broad categories in the Arthasastra: roving (Sanchara) and stationary (Samstha) spies, which are further subdivided into nine types. The Arthasastra advised using spies not only to gather secret information, but also to eliminate a suspect element, if necessary, through force, fraud, or other dubious means.
It is easy to imagine that maintaining a large and diverse category of officers, as well as a sizable army, would necessitate the availability of enormous resources. An efficient revenue system could ensure the collection and mobilisation of resources. Kautilya suggests that the samaharta (the Collector General of Taxes) collect taxes from as many as seven sources:
- fortified city centres (Durga)
- Natural environment (Rashtra)
- the mines (Khani)
- Water-related projects (Setu)
- the woods (Vana)
- grazing land (Vraja)
- Commercial routes (Vanikpatha) The most important of these were, of course, the agrarian sector's taxes. Peasants had to pay a share of the crops' produce as well as a rent, according to Megasthenese and other Greek writers. At least two agricultural taxes were collected during Asoka's reign: a bhaga or share (possibly 1/6th or 1/4th of the produce) and a bali. A close examination of Arthasastra and the Greek accounts reveals that the Mauryan administration most likely imposed taxes on both the agrarian and non-agrarian sectors of the economy. It's impossible to rule out the possibility of extorting money from animal breeders, forest dwellers, artisans, and merchants. In fact, the Arthasastra lays out detailed steps for gathering information on a family's income and expenditures, as well as how to estimate the amount of revenue to be derived from each household in an administrative/fiscal area. In the event of a calamity or emergency, the Arthasastra advises the ruler to impose extremely harsh revenue measures (Pranaya). In this situation, the ruler should demand a high rate of taxation from farmers, breeders, artisans, and merchants. If these harsh measures fail to replenish the royal
Administration IN THE POST
Course: Ancient India (HSB654)
University: Aligarh Muslim University
