Name – Tanisha Nayak

Roll No. – 1212

Section – 1B
Paper – History of India-II (Assignment)

Q. Discuss the nature of state control of economic activities during

the Mauryan period?

Ans. The period of Mauryan rule arising in the aftermath of

Alexander the Great campaign in northwestern India-Pakistan and
his subsequent withdrawal represents the culmination of the
developmental process that happened in the subsequent period. The
period from 6th century BC to 4th century BC witnessed the changes
in the north India. It includes the formation of urban states,
development of writing, growing power of Magadha, various socio-
economic political changes. Magadha reached its peak in the 6th
century BC. Chandragupta Maurya overthrown the Nanda dynasty
with the help of Chanakya and established the Mauryan Empire in
325-324 BC which lasted for 140 years.
Historical understanding of the structure and the history of the
Mauryan empire of northern India weigh heavily on contemporary
constructions of the Indian notion. Portrayed as the first precolonial
exemplar of a unified subcontinent polity, a Mauryan sculpted
column is the emblem of modern India.
The sources for reconstructing the Mauryan period are far more
numerous and varied than those for the earlier periods. It involves
various written evidences in addition to the archaeological sources.
Literary sources include Arthashastra by Kautilya, Indica by
Megasthenes. Another prime source were the inscriptions, among
these the edicts of Ashoka are of the great importance. Numismatics
evidences are also an important source. Large number of coins
mostly silver ascribed to Maurya period called Karshapana coins.
The Mauryan empire was built on the foundation laid by the Nandas.
The first three rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta Maurya
(324/321-297 BCE), Bindusara (297-273 BCE) and Ashoka (268-232
BCE).
The Mauryan rulers are famous for carving out a vast empire by
military conquests and the annexation of conquered areas. There is
an efficient administrative system which helped the integration of
Maurya Empire. An efficient revenue system is one of the pre-
requisites of the making of an imperial administration. Romila Thapar
stated that the making and maintenance of the empire demands
constant adjustments, accommodation and manovering of many
factors.
Arthashastra and Indica are the major sources used for
understanding the Mauryan administration. Mauryas had a unitary
and highly centralized state system. Magadha was the most
important unit of the empire. The Mauryan emperor was the pivotal
figure in the statecraft. Mauryan rulers assumed titles like Raja,
Maharajadhiraja, bhupati, adhipati.
Romila Thapar suggests that the empire should consisted of
metropolitan, core and peripheral areas. The metropolitan and core
areas were under the direct control of the Mauryas. The peripheral
region has differentiated political and economic systems range from
hunting and gathering to producing societies.
Arthashastra recommended the appointment of amatyas or high-
ranking officials for the functioning of the administration. The word
‘parisha’ used in Ashokan edicts which means the mantriparishad or
a council of ministers. The highest officers under Asoka are, not
designated as amatyas or adhaykshas but as mahamatras.
Megasthenes divided the Indian people into seven strata. The seven
groups were as follows – Philosophers, farmers, herdsmen and
hunters, artisans and traders, soldiers, overseers and the king’s
counsellors. Counsellors were small in number but held the highest
position in the administration.
The Arthashastra is the first Indian text to define a state. Its concept
of ‘Saptanga Rajya’ consider state as consisting of 7 elements: -
(a) Swami (Lord): - Mauryan state was a monarchy with a
powerful king at center. the power of the king was
extensive. His powers extended to all areas of
administration-Military, Judicial, Legislative and executive.
(b) Amatya (Ministers): - It includes the high-ranking officials,
counsellors, executive heads. It mentions small body of
mantris called mantri-parishad and larger bodies called
mantra-parishad.
(c) Kosha (treasury): - It lists agriculture, trade, animal
husbandry as main occupation. Land was the most important
source of revenue.
(d) Durga (the fortified capital): - Kautilya recommended a
series of frontier posts placed under officials called
antapalas. He gave the detailed directions for the
construction of the fort.
(e) Danda (Justice): - Judges called dharmasthas and pradestris
as officers responsible for the suppression of criminals.
(f) Mitra (Ally): - Kautilya discussed about the inter-state policy.
He talked about the circles of kings and four principal
players- vijigishu, ari, madhyama, udasina.
(g) Janapada (the territory and the people): - Janapada is the
most basic element of the state. It means territory,
countryside. All economic activities have their source in
janapada.
Mauryan state also had enormous powerful armed force. The army was
indeed the most visible manifestation of the coercive authority of the
ruler. Kautilya refers to a standing army, recruited and maintained by
the state. The four division of the army includes infantry, cavalry,
chariots and elephants. They should be placed under officers known as
patyadhyaksha, ashvadhyaksha, rathadhyaksha and hastyadhyaksha
respectively. The senapatis and nayakas were important military
officers. Senapatis was one of the four highest paid functionaries with
the annual salary of 48,000 panas.
The Greek texts assigned the administration of the army to 6 boards
including 5 members each. These were:
 concerning the navy
 concerning the supply of provisions for the army with the help of
bullock carts
 in charge of the infantry
 in-charge of the cavalry
 in charge of the chariots
 in charge of the elephant corps.
Secret services were closely associated with the organization of the
army. Classical texts talk about overseers, inspectors, spies who were
praised as the most reliable people. Kautilya stressed on gathering of
secret information on the activities and attitudes of high-ranking
officials.
Mauryan state exercised a rigid control through a number of
superintendents overall trade and industry. The superintendent of
commerce (panyadhyaksha), superintendent of market
(samsathadhyaksha), superintendent of weights and measures
(pautavadhyaksha), superintendent of ships (navadhyaksha),
superintendent of tolls (shulkadhyaksha).
Apart from the king and his consultative bodies, there were number of
high officials in charge of important portfolios. The Arthashastra
mention the samahariti (chief collector of revenue), samnidhatri
(treasurer), dauvarika (chief of the palace attendants), amtaravamshika
(chief of the palace guard) and a large number of adhyakshas
(departmental heads).
Kautilya fostered the rusticity of villagers to invest in agricultural output
so as to achieve the maximum output of surplus production. In the early
Pali literature, there were only few large farms. But the Mauryas
controlled few farms which were under the control of the
superintendent of agriculture (sitadhyaksha).
Large scale clearing of land by state as well as cultivation of crown land
led to expansion of settled agriculture. But the agricultural progress
owned the provision of irrigation facilities.
The Arthashastra refer to the distribution and measurement of water
for irrigation, it also mentions a water tax collected regularly by state
wherever it provided assistance in the field.
The expansion of village settlements was accompanied by the growth of
trade which in turn led the development of internal communication
system. The clearing of land and founding of new agrarian settlements
facilitated movement from one place to another.
The use of currency in the form of punch marked coins was another
feature. Money was not used only for trade but the government paid its
officers in cash.
An important aspect of Mauryan economy which increased the royal
power and assisted in the maintenance of the vast empire was the state
monopoly of mining and metallurgy. Arthashastra provided a
superintendent of mines (akaradhyaksha) and his chief function was to
prospect for the new mines and reopen old and disused ones.
According to Kautilya, the superintendent of salt looked after the salt
mines. The state enjoyed a monopoly of mines through a great deal of
metals that has been sold to traders, artisans, guilds, goldsmiths and
individual manufacturers. The monopoly rights of the state over mineral
resources gave it exclusive control over the manufacture of the metal
weaponry and supply of tools and implements needed for agriculture
and industry which in turn strengthened the power of Mauryan
government.
The Arthasastra assigns the administration of the urban area to the
samahartta, who was primarily the revenue collector. In cities taxes
were imposed on the sales of liquors, sales tax, fine, income tax etc.
Rural arable land was divided into two parts–sita (crown lands) and the
land owned by the cultivators. In crown lands agriculture was carried
out by farmers, who were paid salary by the state, under the
supervision of sitadhyaksha. However, on other lands a tax bhaga was
imposed on the peasants. The outflow of revenue went mainly to
salaries of officials, maintenance of army, public works, king’s expenses,
religious donations etc. Public works also was an important area of
revenue outflow.
Megasthenes and other Greek writers were also talk about the city
administration at Pataliputra. There were officers in charge of
administration, known as astynomoi. They were divided into six boards,
each consisting of five members. The first board looked after everything
concerning industrial arts. The second board was entrusted with
information on the births and deaths occurring in the city. The third
board took care of the foreigners visiting the Maurya capital. The fourth
board supervised exchange-related activities. The fifth board ensured
that no old article was to be mixed with the new one. The sixth board
was entrusted with the collection of one-tenth of the sale, who fails to
pay will punished to death sentence.
Mauryan empire could not administered only from Pataliputra. It had
its main four provincial centers. There were regional headquarters at
Ujjayini, Takshashila, Tosala, Suvarnagiri. Each were under the charge
of Kumara. There were aryaputra or aryaputa. The term aryaputra
stands for the eldest son of the emperor. The province-like
administrative unit is likely to have been divided further into locality-
level tiers known as janapada and ahara in Ashokan edicts. The term
ahara depict a locality level unit of administration. The administration
of the locality level unit was in charge of rajukas. The rajukas also
functioned as an officer measuring land in rural areas. Megasthenes
labelled officers in charge of the countryside as agronomoi who were
entrusted with, among other things, collection of revenue, supervision
of irrigation facilities, judicial administration and maintenance of roads.
The Arthasastra prescribes a different set up of locality-level
administration than that apparent in the Classical accounts and
inscriptions. The largest unit of rural administration is sthaniya,
consisting 800 villages, it had to two sub-units in descending order,
namely the dronamukha (400 villages) and karvatika (200 villages). At
the lowest rung stood the samgrahana consisting ten villages. the
villages were at the lowest unit of local administration. The sthanika
was an officer in charge of the administration of large unit. Under the
sthanika, were the gopas in charge of units ranging from 5 to 10
villages. At village level, there were village headman (gramika) and
village elders (grama-vriddhas).
This whole overview of the Mauryan administration talk about the
creation of a well-organized polity. The Mauryan state created a well-
organized state machinery characterized by a stable fiscal system and a
reasonably large bureaucracy which functioned in the heartland of the
empire. Through their territorial expansion they were also able to
facilitate trading and missionary activities. The Mauryan period known
much for the empire building as for king Ashoka who renounced all
military ambition and exercised relentlessly to promote Dhamma. The
imperial power of the Mauryas is visible in the monumental stone
sculpture and structures. The social and economic processes of agrarian
expansion and urbanization continued under Mauryan rule and there
was a growth in cities, trade and the money economy.
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