By the third century B.C. the Mauryan state with its centre in Magadha was firmly
established. It had a vdst territory to control and had an administrative apparatus for
doing it. This apparatus covered within its range various levels of administration;
administration of the core region (Magadha) of the empire, regional centres,
peripheral areas, cities, villages and so on. Besides sustaining the King's authority and
order, the administration took into its fold a wide range of activities concerning
justice, army, espionage, revenue collections, handicrafts, etc. These are the aspects
which have been dealt with in this Unit. From a variety of sources like the text of
Arthasatra, Greek accounts and the Asokan inscriptions we get a fairly good idea of
the Mauryan administrative system.
We also discuss in this Unit the relations which the Mauryan rulers maintained with
other contemporary powers both in India a s well as in foreign countries. But before
dealing with these aspects let us discuss the background of the emergence of the
Mauryan administrative system
Administrative Organisstion and
Relationship with Other Powers
T h e Mahajanapada of Magadha had become the centre of a formidable empire by
the time of Chandragupta Maurya. Its territories were no more limited to t h e Ganga
Valley a s was the case during the 6th century B.C. By the time of Asoka, except f o r
the de ep south and remote regions in eastern and north-eastern India, the entire
Indian sub-continent was virtually under the control of the Mauryas.
- However, it must be floted that during this time:
the r e were still extensive forests and regions inhabited by huntedgatherers,
there were regions, particularly t h e Ganga Valley, characterised by surplus
agricultural production,
urban settlements had emerged a s centres for t r ade a n d craft production activities,
and
the state extracted the surplus and aimed at increasing its revenues.
A variety of reasons had contributed towards the territorial conquests undertaken by
Magadha which eventually emerged as an empire. The main reason obviously was
t h e skgite's desire to Increase its revenues. The state's efforts included bringing such
lands'bnder its control which produced surplus in order to extract i t ; imposition of
taxes o n traders; control over trade routes and mines, etc. For example Asoka's
conquest of Kalinga may have been motivated by t h e desire to control coastal trade
in eastern India. Similarly the extension of control t o Karnataka may have been
motivated by the desire to exploit the gold mines o f Kolar.
Thus surplus production, extraction of surplus, its distribution or expenditure
necessitated a complex form of administrative system in orde r t o control o r ensure
various economic, social and political activities at various levels. For example if a
strong army was needed to conquer othe r areas, a strong administration was needed
t o organise the army and cater to its requirements. Similarly if taxes were t o be
collected from traders or surplus was t o be extracted from producers, an
administrative set u p was needed not only t o frame rules for this but actually carry
. a u t the process of extraction. T h e Mauryan administration carried on its activities in
an organised manner and we shall discuss t h e various aspects related to them.
Broadly speaking we shall discuss the central, provincial and'local units of
administration along with related aspects.
CENTRAL ADNIINISTRATION
The Mauryan Empire had many major administrative units like the centre and the
regions which had various sub-units down to the village. All these units had their own
administrative set up but they came under the central authority. T h e Central
administration can be classified under following heads:
i) The King v) Espionage network
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ii) The Council of Ministers
iii) City Administration
vi) Law and justice
vii) Public Welfare
iv) Army
The King
T h e King was the supreme authority of the state. All basic policy matters a s well as
crucial decisions were taken by the King. The Arthasastra forthrightly mentions that
if over an issue the traditional law (Shastra) holds a different point of view from that
of t h e King's law, it was the King's law which prevailed. The Mauryan Empi r e , in
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fact, represents a centralised political system under which the monarchy had emerged
victorious over the gana-samghas. The Arthasastra gives final authority to t h e King
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in all aspects of administration. It gives the King primacy among the seven
Anupamaa
