The Administration of Chandragupta Maurya

Not only Chandragupta Maurya was a great conqueror and an able

empire-builder, but also he was one of the strongest administrators the
history of India saw.
His administrative system, later on modified by a humane touch of
Ashoka, provided ample proof that the ancient Indian monarchy and polity
were the products of wise statesmanship and practical considerations.
Luckily enough a clear picture of that administration is derived from two
most important sources of history, namely, Kautilyas Arthasastra and the
Indika of Megasthenes which has survived in fragments in shape of
extracts in the writings of other classical writers. Some scholars suggest
that the Arthasastra was written at a much later time.
Some even doubt if Kautilya was the real author of that work. But,
traditions associate the name of Chanakya or Kautilya with the name of
Chandragupta so closely, that their names are almost inseparable in that
great enterprise of empire making. The deep-rooted tradition, resting on
several literary sources, has also shown Chanakya as the Prime Minister of
the Maurya Empire. There are reasonable evidences to show that
Chanakya lived in the time of Chandragupta, and in his other name of
Kautilya, was the author of Arthasastra.
A great work such as Arthasastra could have been only the work of a
vastly wise and practically experienced man like Kautilya. In ages to
follow, other writers might have added something more on the body of the
original Arthasastra to create doubt about its actual time. Similarly,
Kautilyas omission of some essential names of the time might have been
for the fact that he was writing the Arthasastra not to describe the
Mauryan polity, but as a standard guideline for all rulers and states of all
times.
From the Arthasastra, and the accounts of the Greek writers, and from
other historical sources, the system of the Maurya administration, as
under Chandragupta, had been more or less ascertained. The following
were the important features of the Maurya administration.
The King:
The Maurya king was the head of the State and of the administration as in
most ancient monarchies. The Nanda kings before Chandragupta were

powerful monarchs. The legacy of that power continued. But, under new
conditions, Chandraguptas kingship had to rest on greater powers.
The kings of ancient India under Hindu polity enjoyed limited power. They
ruled in accordance with the principles of Dharma, social customs and
usages. They worked as the guardians of the Law, but were not the lawgivers themselves. But in Chandraguptas time monarchy assumed a new
character. According to Kautilya: Dharma, contract, custom and royal
decree are the four legs of law. Of these, each later item is of superior
validity to its predecessor. This means that the Kings order or decree
was above all other forms of Law.
The earlier kings before the Maurya era ruled over small kingdoms.
Chandragupta ruled over a vast empire. The empire contained many types
of people with different social customs and usages. It was necessary,
therefore, that the king should become the fountain-source of Law and of
the unity of administration. It was the size of the empire which made the
kingship of Chandragupta more powerful. The king was the centre of a
great administrative system, and was required to shoulder huge
responsibilities.
Though the king was absolute in power, yet he did not claim divinity like
the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt or even like Alexander the Great who asked
his generals and soldiers to believe that he was the son of the Greek God
Zeus. At the best, the Maurya monarch, especially Asoka, could claim
himself as Devanam-priya or the Beloved of the Gods.
With unlimited powers, the Maurya king nevertheless followed the moral
principle of ancient Indian kingship that In the happiness of his subjects
lies the happiness of the king; in their good is his own good, and not in
what is pleasing to him. He must find his pleasure in the pleasure of his
subjects.
The king, according to Kautilya, was the government itself. He appointed
his ministers, priests, officers and servants. The king was required to trust
nobody, and, therefore, he was to employ spies to know about the
conduct of the officers and of the people. The Maurya intelligence
department was thorough and efficient, with its network of secret
informers everywhere.
It is known both from Kautilya, and Megasthenes that the Maurya
administration paid highest attention to the safety of the person of the
king. Whenever the king went out of the palace, the routes of his journey

were guarded by armed forces. Kautilya describes the safety measures

which were adopted both inside and outside the palace.
The kings food was tasted by a number of persons before it was served to
him to avoid the risk of poisoning. Even the kings dresses and ornaments
were checked and inspected by trusted maid-servants before use.
Megasthenes informs that Chandragupta Maurya was guarded inside the
palace by women body guards. To avoid attacks on life, the king slept in
different rooms in different nights. The king lived in pomp and splendour.
He was carried in golden palanquins and used richly decorated elephants
while going out on hunting.
The Kings Palace and the Capital Administration:
The palace of Chandragupta Maurya symbolised the wealth and power of
his empire. According to the Greek sources, the splendour of the palace of
Pataliputra excelled that of the Persian palaces of Susa and Ekbatana.
The palace is adorned with gilded pillars clasped all round with a vine
embossed in gold, while silver images of those birds which most charm
the eye diversify the workmanship.
There were a number of apartments for the king, members of his family,
bodyguards and archers, kinsmen and ministers, and the armed soldiers.
Centuries after, the Chinese traveller Fa-hien saw the Maurya palace in
excellent condition and beauty, and could not believe that it was built by
human beings. He wrote: The Kings palace in the city, with its various
halls, all built by spirits who piled up stones, constructed walls and gates,
carved, designed, engraved and inlaid, after no human fashion, is still in
existence. The capital of the Maurya Empire, Pataliputra, was the centre
of the imperial administration. It was build at the confluence of the two
rivers, the Ganges and the Sone.
Megasthenes,
the
Greek
ambassador
to
the
court
Chandragupta described the capital in the following words:

of

At the Junction of this river (Ganges) with another is situated Palibothra, a

city of eighty stadia (14.72 kilometers) in length and fifteen stadia (2.72
kilometers) 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 30
cubits in depth, and the wall is crowned with 570 towers and has four and
sixty gates.

The capital, being the headquarters of the entire central government,

required a special administration of its own. The Greek ambassador
Megasthenes, who spent his time there, left behind him a vivid picture of
that administration. The city of Pataliputra was in charge of a Commission
with 30 members.
They were divided into 6 Boards of 5 members in each board. Collectively,
all the members worked like a Municipal Body to manage the affairs of the
capital. Separately, the 6 Boards were in charge of six separate
departments, such as, industrial affairs and wages, foreigners, births and
deaths, trade and commerce, manufactures, and the collection of taxes.
The Structure of Central Administration:
The central administration of the Mauryas represented a comprehensive
system. Administration cannot be work of one man, just as one wheel
cannot drive a chariot. says Kautilya. It was necessary, therefore, that
the king should depend on the advice of the ministers or Mantrins, and the
help of state officers or Amatyas. Kautilya prescribed four tests for the
officers for fitness for employment, namely, fear, virtue, wealth and law.
Evidences show that Chandragupta ruled with the advice of a Council of
Ministers or Mantri Parishad. The size of the council, as recommended by
Kautilya, could be only three or four, or as many as the king required
according to his need. The number of the state officials or Amatyas could
be much more.
The central administration was divided into several departments. Kautilya
mentions of a large number of departments which looked after such
important subjects as Revenue, Exchequer, Stores, Armoury, prisons,
Accounts, Agriculture, Mines, Metals, Mint, Salt, Forests, Cattle, Pastures,
Passports, Shipping, Ports, Commerce, Trade-routes, Customs, Frontiers,
Excise, Weights and Measures, Spinning and Weaving, Religious
institutions, and Intelligence Service, etc. The department of finance was
given greater attention since, according to Kautilya, All undertakings
depend upon finance. Hence, foremost attention shall be paid to the
Treasury. The rich were required to pay more as a matter of principle.
The Mantri Parishad conducted its business in all seriousness. The king
and even the provincial viceroys consulted the ministers in matters of
administration. There was a secretary in charge of the office of the
ministers, known as the Mantri-Parishad- Adhyaksha.

It was the work of the central government of discharge welfare duties for
the benefit of the unemployed, widows, destitute and orphans, and even
of musicians and dancers. There were elaborate functions for the
department of works and construction all over the empire.
The Army:
The Maurya Empire possessed a large army. In the days of Chandragupta,
it contained 6, 00,000 infantry, 30,000 horsemen, 36,000 men for
elephants, and 24,000 men for chariots. The total number of the fighting
force thus came to nearly 6, 90,000, besides many thousands of helpers
and attendants. The empire required this big army to maintain internal
peace and to face external threats.
This army required a sound system of management. Megasthenes, who
observed the Maurya military power from close quarters, left an account
of its administration. According to him, there was a War-Office or War
Council having 30 members, divided into 6 Boards of 5 members each.
The army was divided into six departments each under the control of one
Board. The six departments were (1) The Infantry, (2) The Cavalry, (3) The
War-Chariots, (4) The War-Elephants, (5) The War-Transport, and (6) The
Fleet.
From Kautilyas accounts it is known that the army was accompanied to
the battle fronts by troops of doctors and nurses with medicines, healing
oils, surgical instruments and bandages to treat the wounded and give
confidence to the fighting soldiers.
The Arthasastra mentions that the entire army worked under the control
of the Senapati or the commander-in-chief. This supreme commander was
required to be in possession of necessary military qualification to run the
army and conduct battles. There were other army officers of rank next to
the Senapati. Among them were the Prasasta, the Nayaka, and the
Mukhya.
In battles, the soldiers, elephants and horses were all protected by
defensive armour. The soldiers were arranged in squads of ten, companies
of hundred, and battalions of thousand men in each. The elephants and
chariots usually carried the archers. Various arms like big swords, spears
and javelins, and bows and arrows were used, besides some advanced
weapons like the Sataghni or the Slayer of a hundred.
The Judiciary:

Chandragupta Maurya, as the ruler of a great empire, made the

administration of justice thorough. The Law was binding on all and carried
the fear of punishment for the breakers of Law.
At the top of the judicial system were the king as the highest court of
appeal, and the kings court. Kautilya defined the duty of the king as a
judge in the following way: He shall, therefore, personally attend to the
business of gods, of heretics, of Brahmanas learned in the Vedas, of cattle,
of sacred places, of minors, the aged, the afflicted, the helpless, and of
women, all this in order or according to the urgency or pressure of those
works. All urgent calls he shall hear to once.
There were smaller courts of justice right from the village tribunals at the
bottom. The village headman and the village elders usually looked into
smaller disputes within their local areas.
The higher courts were of two kinds, civil and criminal. The civil courts
were termed as the Dharmasthiya courts. The criminal courts were called
the Kantakasodhana courts (removel of thorns or dangers). In the first
category of courts, three Amatyas worked as the judges, assisted by three
learned Brahmins. These courts dealt with such cases of dispute as on
marriage, divorce, dowry, inheritance of property, houses, lands,
boundaries, contracts, debts, etc. An appeal could be taken on any
judgment to the court of the king.
The criminal courts worked under three Amatyas, assisted by a number of
spies and agents. These courts tried traitors to the country, political
offenders, and harmful officers. They also tried murderers, thieves,
violators of Law, bandits, cheats, and criminals.
The Maurya system of punishment was severe. Methods of torture could
be applied to get confessions. There were various types of punishment
depending on the nature of the crime. Fines, forced labour, whipping,
mutilation, and execution were included in the chart of punishment.
Kautilya refers to a number of prevailing modes of torture, and suggests
that Those whose guilt is believed to be true shall be subjected to
torture.
The newly built empire demanded of the people their fear for Law and
justice. Chandragupta had to create a respect for the state and the
government by his judicial system. It was in the time of Asoka that much
of the severity of administration was reduced, and a paternal disposition
towards the subjects was worked out.

Provincial Administration:
The extensive Maurya Empire was divided into some big provinces. The
administration of the provinces was placed either in hands of governors or
the princes of the royal house acting as viceroys, and called as Kumaras.
The exact number of the provinces at the time of Chandragupta is not
known. The Asokan Inscriptions refer to the headquarters of some
provinces. They were Kausambi, Ujjayini, Takshasila, Suvarnagiri, and
Tosali. Since Kalinga with its capital Tosali was the only territory conquered
by Asoka, it is most probable that except Tosali the other four places were
the provincial capitals of Chandraguptas empire.
It is also probable that there could have been some more provinces, but
not mentioned. The Junagadh Inscription of Rudradaman mentions that
Saurashtra was governed by Pushyagupta as a Rashtriya under
Chandragupta Maurya. That area could have been an administrative unit
like a proving.
The Maurya province was administered by several classes of officials.
Among them were the Pradesikas. Some historians regard them as
revenue officers with police functions. According to some others, they
were in charge of the divisions of a province. Some even regard them as
provincial governors.
It is obvious that provinces were administered according to the directions
from the centre. By the time of Asoka, the provincial administration
became more elaborate for the welfare of the people.
The provinces were divided into districts or Janapadas, having their
administrative officers.
The Village Administration:
The Indian villages from time immemorial managed their internal affairs in
a smooth and orderly manner. At the time of Chandragupta the same
traditional village system continued. Every village had a headman named
usually as the Gramika. He was assisted by the village elders in looking to
the disputes among villagers and keeping peace in the village. They
enjoyed the confidence of the people because of their impartiality and
devotion to truthful deeds. The village headman was not an officer of the
government, but was the chosen leader of the villagers. A number of
villages also formed themselves into groups under a superior headman

called Gopa. Many villages constituted a Janapada managed by state

officers.
Thus that India under Chandragupta Maurya enjoyed a strong and sound
administration based on valid principles, systematic organisation and the
rule of Law. No doubt the king was the chief executive, the supreme lawmaker and the fountain of justice, yet he was only the head of a
governmental structure which stood on the foundations of ancient
traditions and the needs of the time.
Death of Chandragupta Maurya:
The Jaina traditions of a later time maintain that Chandragupta, in the
later part of his political career, renounced his kingdom, abdicated the
throne in favour of his son, and became a Jaina monk. Thereupon he
proceeded to the far south, and lived at a place named Sravana Belgola.
There, after a few years, he invited death by starvation in accordance with
the extreme Jaina method to attain salvation.
Chandragupta ruled for twenty-four years. He was succeeded by his son
Bindusara in about the year 299 B.C.
An Estimate of Chandragupta Maurya:
Chandragupta Maurya was one of the greatest and most successful rulers
of Indian history. As a hero, a soldier, a conqueror, an empire- builder, and
an administrator he earned his distinction for greatness. His rise was
timely when India needed a deliverer of her frontier territories from the
yoke of foreign servitude. Rising from humble origin and while in his
youth, he could defy and offend no less a man than Alexander the Great in
his own camp. By extraordinary will and efforts he could organise an army
to drive out the Greeks and to overthrow the Nanda monarchy. No mere
adventurer, he was capable enough to build up the first great Indian
empire, and one of the strongest empires of all history.
He conquered far and wide to give to geographical India a political unity.
Unlike Alexander, he conquered to consolidate. In that work of
consolidation he proved himself one of the ablest of administrators. He
was indeed the first Chakravarti King of India from the Himalayas to the
seas.

His victory over Seleukos Nikator proved the superiority of the Indian army
under him over the armies of the West. He was the rare Indian monarch to
rule over territories outside the geographical frontiers of India which he so
defended and organised that his successors ruled over them without
threat to their power
By giving India a strong dynasty, he opened a new era in the annals of his
country. It was an era of greatness and glory, marked with the high tide of
political and cultural resurgence.
The legacies left by this first Indian emperor influenced the future in a
substantial way. To unite India in the Maurya way became the political goal
of succeeding empire-builders and their dynasties in times of
disintegration and decay.
More than two thousand years after Chandragupta Maurya, when the
Western Orientalists in nineteenth century identified his name with the
name Sandrocottus of the description of the Western classical historians
and writers, the imagination of the educated Indian youth was stirred to a
sense of pride at the heroic deeds of Indias earliest great emperor. The
history of his greatness inspired patriotism and nationalism in the mind of
the modern Indians in an age of foreign domination when India was
gaining national consciousness to shake off the alien yoke.
Accounts of Megasthenes on Indian People:
The Greek ambassador Megasthenes had many words of praise for the
Indian people in general. He saw the population divided into seven
classes, with the philosophers forming the highest class and enjoying the
highest honour, though small in their number. He saw the Indian ascetics
who live in the forests on leaves of trees and wild fruits and wear
garments made from the bark of the trees. They do not also marry. These
people among the philosopher class were the most honoured and
respected.
The Indians laid great emphasis on truth and virtue. Theft was rare in the
society. The people lived a simple and happy life. They did not drink liquor
except in religious sacrifices.
Megasthenes appreciated the simplicity of the laws of India. The people
very seldom went to the law courts.
The general condition of the people was prosperous. They used costly and
comfortable dresses. They wanted to appear handsome and beautiful.

Megasthenes also refers to weakness of the Indian people. One such

weakness was that they married many wives. The Indian families were
big, with many children. There was also the caste seclusion. Nobody could
marry outside his own caste.
The social conditions of the Maurya period are known from such accounts,
though the information are scanty. Had Indika survived, much could have
been known about the Indian society of that time.