The Organization of the State

What was this new state like that arose in 321 B.C. and covered far the greater part of India, right up to Kabul in the north? It was an autocracy, a dictatorship at the top, as most empires were and still are. There was a great deal of local autonomy in the towns and village units, and elective elders looked after these local affairs. This local autonomy was greatly prized and hardly any king or supreme ruler interfered with it. Nevertheless, the influence and many-sided activities of the central government were all-pervasive, and in some ways this Mauryan state reminds one of modern dictatorships. There could have been then, in
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a purely agricultural age, nothing like the control of the individual by the state which we see to-day. But, in spite of limitations, an effort was made to control and regulate life. The state was very far from being just a police state, interested in keeping external and internal peace and collecting revenue. There was a widespread and rigid bureaucracy and there are frequent references to espionage. Agriculture was regulated in many ways, so were rates of interest. Regulation and periodical inspection took place of food, markets, manufacturers, slaughter-houses, cattle-raising, water rights, sports, courtesans, and drink-ing saloons. Weights and measures were standardized. The cornering and adulteration of foodstuffs were rigorously punish-ed. Trade was taxed, and, so also in some respects, the practice of religion. When there was a breach of regulation or some other misdemeanour, the temple monies were confiscated. If rich people were found guilty of embezzlement or of profiting from national calamity, their property was also confiscated. Sanitation and hospitals were provided and there were medical men at the chief centres. The state gave relief to widows, orphans, the sick, and the infirm. Famine relief was a special care of the state, and half the stores in all the state warehouses were always kept in reserve for times of scarcity and famine. All these rules and regulations were probably applied far more to the cities than to the villages; and it is also likely that practice lagged far behind theory. Nevertheless, even the theory is interesting. The village communities were practically auto-nomous. Chanakya's Arthashastra deals with a vast variety of subjects and covers almost every aspect of the theory and practice of government. It discusses the duties of the king, of his ministers and councillors, of council meetings, of departments of govern-ment, of diplomacy, of war and peace. It gives details of the vast army which Chandragupta had, consisting of infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants.* And yet Chanakya suggests that mere numbers do not count for much; without discipline and proper leaderhip they may become a burden. Defence and fortifications are also dealt with. Among the other matters discussed in the book are trade and commerce, law and law courts, municipal government, social customs, marriage and divorce, rights of women, taxation and revenue, agriculture, the working of mines and factories, arti-sans, markets, horticulture, manufactures, irrigation, and water-* The game ofchess, which had its origin in India, probably developed from this fourfold conception of the army. It was called 'chaturanga', four-limbed, from which came the word 'shatrang'. Alberuni gives an account of this game as played in India by four players.
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ways, ships and navigation, corporations, census operations, fisheries, slaughter houses, passports, and jails. Widow remar-riage is recognized; also divorce under certain circumstances. There is a reference to chinapatta, silk fabrics of China manu-facture, and a distinction is made between these and the silk made in India. Probably the latter was of a coarser variety. The importation of Chinese silk indicates trade contacts with China at least as early as the fourth century B.C. The king, at the time of his coronation, had to take the oath of service to the people—'May I be deprived of heaven, of life, and of offspring if I oppress you.' 'In the happiness of his sub-jects lies his happiness; in their welfare, whatever pleases him-self he shall consider as not good, but whatever pleases his sub-jects, he shall consider as good.' 'If a king is energetic, his subjects will be equally energetic.' Public work could not suffer or await the king's pleasure; he had always to be ready for it. And if the king misbehaved, his people had the right to remove him and put another in his place. There was an irrigation department to look after the many canals, and a navigation department for the harbours, ferries, bridges, and the numerous boats and ships that went up and down the rivers and crossed the seas to Burma and beyond. There was apparently some kind of navy, too, as an adjunct of the army. Trade flourished in the empire and great roads connected the distant parts, with frequent rest-houses for travellers. The chief road was named King's Way and this went right across the coun-try from the capital to the north-west frontier. Foreign mer-chants are especially mentioned and provided for, and seem to have enjoyed a kind of extra-territoriality. It is said that the old Egyptians wrapped their mummies in Indian muslins and dyed their cloth with indigo obtained from India. Some kind of glass has also been discovered in the old remains. Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador, tells us that the Indians loved finery and beauty, and even notes the use of the shoe to add to one's height. There was a growth of luxury in the Maurya Empire. Life becomes more complicated, specialized," and organized. 'Inns, hostelries, eating-houses, serais, and gaming-houses are evidently numerous; sects and crafts have their meeting places and the latter their public dinners. The business of entertainment pro-vides a livelihood for various classes of dancers, singers, and actors. Even the villages are visited by them, and the author of the Arthashastra is inclined to discourage the existence of a common hall used for their shows as too great a distraction from the life of the home and the fields. At the same time there are penalties for refusal to assist in organizing public entertainment. The king
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provides in amphitheatres, constructed for the occasion, dramatic,
boxing, and other contests of men and animals, and also
spectacles with displays of pictured objects of curiosity.. .not
seldom the streets were lighted for festivals.'* There were also
royal processions and hunts.
There were many populous cities in this vast empire, but the
chief of them was the capital, Pataliputra, a magnificent city
spread out along the banks of the Ganges, where the Sone river
meets it (the modern Patna). Megasthenes describes it thus:
'At the junction of this river (Ganges) with another is situated
Palibothra, a city of eighty stadia (9-2 miles) in length and fifteen
stadia (1-7 miles) in breadth. It is of a shape of a parallelogram
and is girded with a wooden wall, pierced with loopholes for
the discharge of arrows. It has a ditch in front for defence and
for receiving the sewage of the city. This ditch, which encompassed
it all round, is 600 feet in breadth and thirty cubits in depth, and
the wall is crowned with 570 towers and has four and sixty gates.'
Not only was this great wall made of wood, but most of the
houses also. Apparently this was a precaution against earthquakes,
as that area was peculiarly liable to them. In 1934 the
great Bihar earthquake forcibly reminded us of this fact. Because
the houses were of wood, very elaborate precautions against fire
were taken. Every householder had to keep ladders, hooks, and
vessels full of water.
Pataliputra had a municipality elected by the people. It had
thirty members, divided up into six committees of five members
each, dealing with industries and handicrafts, deaths and births,
manufactures, arrangements for travellers and pilgrims, etc. The
whole municipal council looked after finance, sanitation, water
supply, public buildings, and gardens