Mauryan Administration (Arthashastra and Megasthenes’ Indica)

At a Glance

• Head King, assisted by a council
• Provinces Under princes (kumaras)
• City rule Six committees of five
• Army Six wings, boards of thirty
• Courts Dharmasthiya and kantakashodhana
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Mauryan Empire

Where Does It Fit?

This is the third topic of the category on the Mauryan Empire. The previous topic covered Chandragupta Maurya, and this one covers the system he built. The next topic covers the economy and state control. Previous topic: Chandragupta Maurya and the Founding of the Mauryan Empire.

How Do We Know the Administrative System?

In short: two sources, the Indica and the Arthashastra, together with Ashoka’s edicts, give the picture.

The Mauryas organised a very elaborate system of administration. We know about it from the account of Megasthenes and the Arthashastra of Kautilya. Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador sent by Seleucus, who lived at Pataliputra and wrote about its administration and the empire as a whole. His account survives in fragments quoted by later Greek writers and collected as the Indica. The Arthashastra was finally compiled a few centuries after Mauryan rule, but some of its books give authentic information on administration and economy. It is a prescriptive text that lays down guidelines for good administration, so its picture should be joined with the edicts and the Indica. Greek writers described the Mauryan state as centralised; this implies a uniform pattern of administration across the empire, though given the limits of transport and communication a degree of decentralisation was needed. The sources themselves are discussed in Sources for the Study of the Mauryan Empire.

How Was the Centre and the Province Run?

Chandragupta was an autocrat who concentrated all power in his hands. The Arthashastra sets a high ideal: in the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness. According to Megasthenes the king was assisted by a council whose members were noted for wisdom, but nothing shows that their advice was binding, though high officers were chosen from among the councillors. Another account adds that the king was assisted by a council of ministers, a purohita and secretaries called mahamatriyas. Kautilya says the central government maintained about two dozen departments of state that controlled social and economic activity, at least near the capital. The capital region of Pataliputra was directly administered. The empire was divided into provinces, each placed under a prince of the royal dynasty, called kumara. Provincial seats included Tosali in Kalinga, Suvarnagiri in the Deccan, Ujjain for Avanti and Taxila for the frontier. The same revenue, judicial and bureaucratic pattern was replicated in each region. The Arthashastra names the samaharta as the collector-general and the sannidhata as the chief custodian of the treasury; the samaharta was considered more important, since damage caused by faulty assessment was thought more serious than damage by a treasurer.

How Was Pataliputra and the Army Organised?

Megasthenes called Pataliputra Palibothra and thought it the most important city. He describes a deep ditch and a wooden wall crowned with 570 towers and 64 gates, and a city 9.33 miles long and 1.75 miles broad, which tallies with modern Patna; excavations have found the ditch, timber palisades and wooden houses. The city was administered by six committees of five members each, entrusted with sanitation, care of foreigners, registration of births and deaths, regulation of weights and measures and similar functions. The army was one of the most striking features: Pliny says Chandragupta kept 600,000 foot soldiers, 30,000 cavalry and 9000 elephants, and another source adds 8000 chariots. A navy was also maintained. According to Megasthenes the armed forces were administered by a board of thirty officers in six committees of five, one for each of the six wings: army, cavalry, elephants, chariots, navy and transport. The Mauryan military strength was almost three times that of the Nandas, because of a much larger empire with greater resources.

How Were Justice, Officers and Pay Arranged?

Courts were established in major towns. Another account describes two types: dharmasthiya courts dealt with civil law such as marriage and inheritance, and the kantakashodhana courts, meaning removal of thorns, cleared society of anti-social elements and worked more like the modern police, relying on spies. Each type was presided over by three judges and three amatyas, and punishments were severe. An elaborate system of espionage supported the administration, and spies watched foreign enemies and officers. Officers were mostly paid in cash. The minister, high priest, commander and crown prince received as much as 48,000 panas, the lowest officers 60 panas, and some employees only 10 or 20 panas; another account records 500 panas for soldiers. This shows great disparity in salaries. The Mauryas also had a very large number of officers: nowhere else in ancient history do we hear of as many. Under Ashoka the structure acquired new officers, such as the rajukas, yuktas, pradesikas and dhammamahamatras, described in Ashoka’s Dhamma and Internal Policy.

As an analytical point, the administration was intended to control social and economic life and fund a large army, so its strength lay in revenue assessment and espionage, while its limit was the difficulty of control in distant provinces. The revenue side is explained in Mauryan Economy and State Control, and the earlier structure in Varna System, Social Orders and Legislation in the Age of the Buddha.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Core polity topic Frequent Prelims terms
• Source skills Prescriptive versus descriptive
• Continuity From Magadha to later empires

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the Mauryan economy and state control. Next topic: Mauryan Economy and State Control.

Key People and Terms

• Kumara Royal prince governing a province
• Samaharta Collector-general
• Sannidhata Chief custodian of treasury
• Sthanika District officer
• Gramani Village headman
• Kantakashodhana Court for removal of thorns

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask for the nature of the Mauryan state. These points add depth.

• Centralisation Uniform pattern
• Control Spies, army
• Limits Distance