DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA,

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,
LUCKNOW
SESSION 2017-2018

SUBJECT: HISTORY
TOPIC:MAURYAN ADMINISTRATION DURING
PERIOD OF ASHOKA (FINAL DRAFT)
CLASS: B.A., LL.B. (HONS), Ist SEMESTER

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY
DR. VANDANA SINGH VISHAL KUMAR ARYA
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ROLL NO. 163
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

First of all, I would like to thank my teacher of the subject “History”, Dr. Vandana Singh, for

providing every bit of help and also showing the way in which to proceed and how to go

about the project. I would also like to thank my parents, friends and others who helped me

immensely at every step and gave every possible bit of help that I needed in preparing the

project and making it look presentable in a good way. I would also like to thank the library

staff of RMLNLU who provided me with books that I needed in making and preparing the

project and other pieces of information and help that was required. At last I would like to

sincerely thank God who gave me the much needed strength and power to go ahead with the

project and make it in a presentable way.

VISHAL KUMAR ARYA

              

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Origin of the Mauryan Empire
3. The Mauryan Government
4. The Centralised Administration
5. Provincial and Local Administration
6. Municipal Administration
7. Military And Espionage Department
8. Revenue Department
9. Economy And Society
10. Art And Architecture
11. Rock-cut architectures
12. Conclusion
13. Bibliography

INTRODUCTION
The Mauryan Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient
India, ruled by the Maurya dynasty from 322–185 BCE. Originating from the kingdom
ofMagadha in the Indo-Gangetic Plain from modern Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, in the
eastern side of the Indian subcontinent, the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra. The
empire was the largest in the Indian subcontinent spanning over 5 million square kilometres
at its zenith under Ashoka. The Empire was expanded into India's central and southern
regions by the emperors Chandragupta and Bindusara, but excluded a small portion of
unexplored tribal and forested regions near Kalinga, until it was conquered by Ashoka. It
declined for about 50 years after Ashoka's rule ended, and it dissolved in 185 BCE with the
foundation of the Shunga dynasty in Magadha.

The Empire was divided into four provinces, with the imperial capital at Pataliputra. From
Ashokan edicts, the names of the four provincial capitals are Tosali, Ujjain, Suvarnagiri,
and Taxila. The head of the provincial administration was the Kumara, who governed the
provinces as king's representative. The kumara was assisted by Mahamatyas and council of
ministers. This organizational structure was reflected at the imperial level with the Emperor
and hisMantriparishad or Council of Ministers.

A sophisticated civil service governed everything from

municipal hygiene to international trade. The expansion and defense of the empire was made
possible by one of the largest armies in the world during the Iron Age. According to
Megasthenes, the empire wielded a military of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000
war elephants alone not including tributary state allies.  A vast espionage system collected
intelligence for both internal and external security purposes. Having renounced offensive
warfare and expansionism, Ashoka nevertheless continued to maintain this large army, to
protect the Empire and instil stability and peace across West and South Asia.

ORIGIN OF THE MAURYAN EMPIRE

Numerous states covered northern Indiabefore the rise of the Maurya. The Mauryan period
was really inaugurated by the conquest of northwest India by Alexander the Great, in 326
BC. This destabilized the political situation amongst the Aryan states in the region, allowing
the first great conqueror in Indian history, Chandragupta Maurya, to rise to power.
Chandragupta seized control of the throne of Magadha from the last Nanda king, and then
proceeded to conquer that part of northern India which still remained outside Magadha's
borders. Internally, building on foundations laid by the Nanda kings, his reign saw the
establishment of a strong central government. This was the work of his highly capable chief
minister, Chanakya. Chandragupta was succeeded by his son, Bindusara and continued his
father's conquests by extending Mauryan power down into central India.

Bindusara was followed by his son, Asoka1 (reigned 272-232 BC). Asoka was one of the
most remarkable, and attractive, rulers in the history of India, and indeed the whole of world
history. After a bloody war against Kalinga, in eastern India, Asoka renounced warfare and
converted to Buddhism. He determined that he would reign in peace. Asoka erected the
pillars around his empire on which were inscribed royal edicts and encouragements to his
subjects to live in harmony with one another. These edicts and exhortations give an insight
into Asoka's mind. What comes across is a compassionate, tolerant but firm ruler, seeking
justice and well-being for all his subjects.

THE MAURYAN GOVERNMENT

The king was advised by a council of advisors, and was served by an elaborate administrative
structure. The empire was divided into provinces, each governed by a member of the royal
family. Under them, local rulers were kept in place if they were loyal to the Maurya and
forwarded the taxes from their domains promptly to the imperial treasury in the capital. Their
activities were checked on by senior royal officials, through regular inspections, and also
watched by Mauryan spies secretly. The Mauryan regime had an extensive espionage system.
The cities of the empire were directly administered by a hierarchy of royal officialswho were
responsible for the upkeep of such public facilities as roads and wells, and for the
maintenance of justice.

1
He is named in the edicts as ‘King Piyadasi, devanaampiya’ which only meant ‘King Priyadrashi, dear to the
Gods.’ 
With most ancient administrative systems, the Mauryan bureacracy's main purpose was to
collect taxes. These consisted primarily of the land tax. Since this depended on agricultural
prosperity, the government sponsored the reclamation of large amounts of land from forests
and wastelands. It have been illegal for private persons to clear land. Irrigation projects were
undertaken to increase productivity. Taxes were also levied on trade but trade was officially
encouraged. The construction of a network of roads, either for military or commercial
purposes will have significantly affected trade for the better; and such measures as the
planting of roadside trees for shade; and the construction of rest houses every few miles,
illustrates the government's concern.

THE CENTRALIZED ADMINISTRATION

The administration of Mauryan dynasty was controlled by the King. The king was the
supreme and sovereign authority of the Administration. He had the supreme executive,
legislative and judicial power and functions in the government. As the head of the executive,
the Mauryan king maintained social order by punishing the guilty. He was responsible for the
safety and security of his kingdom. It was his duty to protect the life and property of his
subjects. He was to collect report from the spies and had to plan different campaigns and
movements. He laid down the general lines of policy to be followed by his subordinate
officials and also appointed ministers and other officers of the royal administration.

The Mauryan king was the head of the judicial department. It was his duty to ensure justice to
the people and redress their grievances. The Mauryan Empire was vast and this vastness
debarred the king from personally disposing of all the cases. But he was the final court of
appeal and issued ready judgment. The Mauryan kings remained whole day in the court to
hear appeals from the people and in this course he even never cared for these personal
amenities. King Ashoka made many reforms in the judicial system of the Mauryan Empire.
The king had the sovereign power of law making and also the power and right to supersede
usage and equity.

In addition to all these, the king was the supreme commander of the army and head of the
Military administration of Mauryan Empire. The King was also the ultimate authority of the
bureaucracy. The king also controlled the revenue system. The Mauryan kings enjoyed huge
power. But, still there were several limits upon the royal authority. 2 The Mauryan King had to
depend on the council of ministers for the success of the Mauryan administration.
The Council of Ministers of Mauryan Empire were known as the MantriParishad. 

The number of its ministers in Mauryan administration system were not fixed and varied
according to needs. The members of the MantriParishad had to qualify themselves and show
their ability by passing tests of religion, love, fear and money. In times of emergency the king
consulted with the MantriParisad and always guided by the majority decision of the
MantriParishad. Even the absentee ministers were consulted by letter correspondence.

For efficient central administration of Mauryan government there was an efficient and well
organized hierarchy of bureaucrats who filled the central executive, judicial and revenue
offices.  The functionaries of the Mauryan empire administration system were conducted by
several departments, each of which was headed by a Superintendent (Adhyaksha). In order to
conduct the smooth function of the department the Adhyaksha was assisted by a band of
clerks, accountants and spies etc. Possibly the Mauryan central government had not more
than 30 Superintendents or Adhyakshas.In addition there were two other posts of high
officials in Mauryan Administrative System-the “Samaharta” and the “Sannidhata.” 3 There
were also other officers like Army Minister, Chief Priest, Governor of forts, etc.
2
The limitations are:

 Firstly, Mauryan Empire before Ashoka was essentially a Hindu State. According to the Hindu

concept, the Supreme Sovereign of the State was Dharma or law and the king was merely its guardian.

 Secondly, the Mauryan king never dared to defy the ancient laws and usage.

 Thirdly, the king was aided and advised by a MantriParishad. In ordinary times he could ignore the
advice of his ministers. But in times of emergency it was obligatory on him to hear the individual and
collective advice of his ministers.

 Fourthly, the Brahmins had great influence over the king and even the later dared not to disobey them.
Instead he always had to look for their support.

 Fifthly, as the powers of the Mauryan government was was decentralized in nature, the provincial
governor and provincial ministers had right to be consulted by the king especially in all provincial
matters.
 PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL ADMINISTRATION
The entire empire was divided into two parts, the kingdom under the direct rule of the king
and the vassal states. The Mauryan territory that was directly ruled by the king was divided
into a number of provinces of Janapadas.Under Asoka, there were four provinces: the
Northern Province (Uttarapatha) with the capital at Taxila, western province (Avantiratha)
with the headquarters at Ujjain, eastern province (Prachyapatha) with the centre at Tosali and
the southern province (Dakshinapatha) with its capital as Suvarnagiri.

The central province Magadha, with its capital at Pataliputra was also the headquarters of the
entire kingdom. The viceroy had the power to appoint some of his officials such as the
Mahamattas, who went on tour every five years. The most important provinces such as Taxila
and Ujjain were directly under the command of the princes. Provinces were subdivided into
districts for purposes of administration and groups of officials were in charge of a district.
The three major officials of the provinces were the pradesika, the rajuka and the yukta.

The pradesika was in charge of the overall administration of a district – supervising the
collection of revenue and of maintaining law and order both in the rural areas and in the
towns within his district. The rajuka was responsible for surveying and assessing land.
Megasthenes referred that they formed the backbone of the rural administration. The yuktas
appear to have been subordinate officials whose duties were largely secretarial work and
accounting.

There was an intermediate level of administration between the district level and that of the
village. The unit was formed by a group of five or ten villages. The two important officials
concerned with the administration of this unit were the gopa and the sthanika. The gopa
worked as an accountant to the unit. His duties included the setting up of village boundaries,
keeping a census of the population of each village according to their tax-paying capacity,
their professions and their age, noting the livestock of each village, etc. The tax was collected
by the sthanika who worked directly under the Pradesika. Village (grama) was the smallest
unit of administration and enjoyed autonomy to a great extent. Individual villages must have
had their own set of officials who were directly responsible to the gopas. The head of the
village was called gramika who was assisted by gram-viddhas or village elders. Gramika was
3
The Samaharta was the collector general of revenue for the whole of the Mauryan Empire and had control over
the expenditure of the revenue as well. The post of Sannidhata was meant for the officer-in-charge of the
treasury and store.
not a paid servant; he was chosen from amongst the village elders. He may have supervised
the tax collection of the village and other matters such as discipline and defence.

MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION

According to Megasthenes, the officials were divided into six committees each with a
membership of five. The first committee was concerned with matters relating to industrial
arts. The second occupied it with the facilities to the foreigners. The third kept a register of
births and deaths both by way of a census and for purposes of taxation. The fourth committee
was in charge of matters of trade and commerce. The fifth committee supervised the public
sale of manufactured articles. The sixth committee collected the tax on the articles sold, this
being one-tenth of the purchase price.

MILITARY AND ESPIONAGE DEPARTMENT

The army was often led by the king himself. It was under the control of the Senapati under
whom there were several adhyakshas of different wings and units of the army such as those
of infantry (Padadhyaksha), cavalry (asvadhyaksha), war elephants (hastyadhyaksha), navy
(navadhyaksha), chariots (rathadhyaksha), and armoury (ayudhagaradhyaksha).

Megasthenes describes the administration of the armed forces as comprising of six

committees with five members on each. The first committee was concerned with naval
warfare, second equivalent to the modern commissariat supervising the transport of war
materials, third supervising the infantry, the fourth supervising cavalry, the fifth was
concerned with chariots and the sixth supervised the elephant corps.

The espionage department was manned by guddhapurushas (secret agents) under the control
of mahamatyapasarpa, both stationary (Samsthan) and wandering (Sanchari). Officials
formed the personnel of this cadre. Different types of agents, from recluses and students to
householders and ‘poisonous’ girls (vishkanyas) were employed. They correspond to the
‘overseers’ of Megasthenes and the Pativedakas or special reporters and Pulisanis or king’s
agent of Asokan edicts.

REVENUE DEPARTMENT
The central administration was conducted through a number of offices largely relating to the
control of the revenue, and each under particular officer.
Sannidhata:
The treasurer was responsible for the storage of royal treasure, and of the state income both in
cash and kind.

Samaharta:
He was in charge of collection of revenue from various parts of the kingdom and looked after
the income and expenditure by supervising the works of the akshapataladhyaksha
(Accountant General). Sources of revenue as listed in the Arthasastra, include that of cities,
land, mines, forests, roads, tolls, fines licences, manufactured products, merchandise of
various kinds and precious stones.

The Accountant-General kept the accounts both of the kingdom and the royal household. He
was assisted by a body of clerks (Karmikas). The chief source of revenue was the land tax
which was one-sixth to one-fourth of the produce and was collected by the revenue officer,
agronomoi, who measured the land, levied the tax and collected it.

The second major source of income was toll- tax which was imposed on all articles (except
grain, cattle and a few other items). This tax was approximately 10 percent. Shudras, artisans
and others who survived on manual labour had to work free for one day in each month.

Strabo mentions that craftsmen (except royal craftsmen), herdsmen and husbands men all
paid taxes. The king’s own estate or royal lands yielded income called sita. Two kinds of
taxes, bali and bhaga,4 are referred to in the Ashokan edicts. According to the Arthasastra, the
Brahmins, women, children, armourers, sons and the king’s men were exempted from paying
tax.

ECONOMY AND SOCIETY

During the reign of Asoka it was one of the very few times in Indian history when the
population as a whole experienced an extensive period of peace. As always, peace
encouraged prosperity, and as we have seen, the government actively sponsored agriculture
4
The Bali was religious tribute. Bhaga was the part of the produce. The Rummindei Edict records that
Lumbiniwas exempted from Bali and Bhagawas reduced to 1/8 parts of the produce.
and trade. Trade routes would have been more secure than at any time before in ancient India,
and indeed for most periods since. This would have made long-distance commerce easier.
The archaeological record suggests that the standard of living rose appreciable under his rule.
Iron implements came into wider use, which would have helped the reclamation of land for
farming, and led to greater productivity for farmers. Metal coinage became more widespread,
which would have stimulated trade. The expansion of trade is reflected in the spread of
northern pottery styles into south India. Palitpura, the Mauryan capital, was a large and
imposing city.

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Official art under Asoka is represented by the monolithic pillars on which the king’s edicts
were engraved. These pillars are the finest examples of a highly developed technique in the
cutting and polishing of the surface of the stone. Each pillar has three parts: the prop under
the foundation, the shaft or the column and the capital. The prop is buried in the ground.

The shaft, made of a single piece of sandstone, supports the capital made of another single
piece of sandstone. The round and slightly tapering shaft is highly polished and very graceful
in its proportions. The capital, which is the third part of the pillar, consists of some finely
executed animal figures, the sacred dharma-chakra symbol engraved with animal sculptures
and the inverted or bell-shaped lotus.

The capitals of these pillars were realistically modeled and consisted of groups of animals.
The finest extant example is that of Sarnath. It consists offouraddorsed lions which originally
supported a dharma chakra. These rest on an abacus bearing in relief an elephant, horse, bull
and lion separated by four small dharma-ckhakras (with 24 spokes).

1. At Lauriya-Nandangarh the crowing figure is a single lion while the abacus is adorned by a
row of Bhramagiri geese or hamsas pecking their food.

2. At Rampurva a bull has been reported at one pillar and the other pillar has lion as the
crowning animal.

3. At Sankisa (Farrukhabad district, U.P) there is an elephant as the capital.

4. The Basarh-Bakhira pillar has a single lion capital.

5. The Rumminder pillar inscription had capital of horse but it is now absent.

6. Another remarkable animal figure of the Mauryan period is the elephant at Dhauli.
However, it belongs to a very different tradition and has little in common with the animal
capitals.

Two types of stone were used for Mauryan pillars – the spotted red and white sandstone from
the region around Mathura and the buff-coloured Chunar sandstone obtained from the region
around Varanasi.

There is a uniformity in the pillar capitals suggesting that they were all sculpted by craftsmen
belonging to the same region. An interesting exception is the pillar fragment from Amaravati
in Andhra. It is made of locally available quartzite and seems to have been cut, shaped,
modeled and even polished locally.

Rock-cut architectures
Ashoka is credited with building 84,000 stupas all over India and Afghanistan. Hiuen Tsang,
during his visit to India (seventh century A.D.), is said to have seen a considerable number of
these stupas, but majority of them have not come down to us.The best example of these is the
famous stupa at Sanchi (near Bhopal). The original brick stupa built by Ashoka was probably
of not more than half the present dimensions. Besides the present railing was a subsequent
replacement for the older and smaller railing of Ashoka.

Another important heritage of the Mauryas are the caves, cut out of hard and refractory rocks
which were meant to be residences for monks (viharas) and also served the purpose of
churches and assembly halls (chaityas).Ashoka and his grandson Dasaratha built several such
cave-dwellings built in the Barabar Hills near Bodh Gaya and donated them to the monks of
the Ajivikas sect. The details of two famous Barabar Caves (Sudama and Lomash Rishi
caves) show a clear influence of wooden architecture on rock-cut architecture.

CONCLUSION

Though Ashoka had followed the same administration system that earlier rulers of the
MauryanEmpire followed but to manage the administrative functions of a vast territory he
introduced several administrative reforms. With the help of such reforms he continued to
maintain a centralised administration and at the same time capably managed the provincial
administration thereby ensuring social harmony. 

The structure of the Mauryan Government was a centralised one. Ashoka was at the helm of
his administration with his brother Tishya as the deputy. The crown prince and the other
kumaras in the sphere of provincial administration also assisted Ashoka. He appointed a
group of trusted ministers who always helped him in the matters of administrative policies.
Historians have opined that consultation prevailed with the ministers during Ashoka's reign
before adopting any administrative policies and during emergencies. 5Thus the structure of the
central Government during Ashoka, remained more or less unchanged. The only difference
was that he had introduced a higher level of philanthropic spirit in his government and
administrative policies compared to Chandragupta Maurya. 

Some historians describe Ashoka as a protector of laws and not the propagator of laws, but
the Ashokan edicts do not justify this claim. Though he followed the policy of non-violence
and benevolence as the king, he amended the criminal laws, whenever he felt it necessary.
That is why he also introduced the legal reforms like DandaSamahara and
VyavaharaSamahara. Ashoka was the sovereign head of the Mauryan Empire in every inch,
as the Arthashastra instructed him to be. 

The traditional Mauryan concept of kingship was however softened by the administrative
policies adopted by Ashoka because of his paternalist concept.In the Kalinga Edict, Ashoka
declared, "All men are my Children". In another Rock edict, Ashoka declared that he was
indebted to his subjects and he considered it to be his holy duty to serve the people. Therefore
he appointed Pativedakas or reporters, who would report to the king about the general and
public affairs for the king to take necessary steps.

Ashoka introduced several reforms in the sphere of provincial administration, which brought
about many improvements in the existing system of provincial government. Ashoka retained
the traditional administrative divisions of the Empire into provinces or pradesas or districts.In
order to bring the troublesome provinces under full control of the centre and to administer
good government to them, he appointed the crowned prince at the head of the provincial
government. The crowned prince acting as the provincial governors were responsible for the

5
From the Rock Edicts III and VI it is evident that Ashoka continued his grandfather's practice of consulting the
inner ministers or "mantrins" for general and emergency matters.
administrative and general affairs of these provinces. One of the important policies he
adopted for the provincial administration was that, Ashoka used to alter the provincial
governors from time to time. Moreover Ashoka had appointed many functionaries and
dharma Mahamattas and dharma Yutas to cope up with the increasing burden of the
missionary work and welfare schemes. In Ashokan regime, Rajukas, Yutas, Pradesikas were
entrusted with special assignments in the sphere of provincial administration. 

The Mahamattas were invested with the specific departments with specific titles. The Dharma
mahamattas appointed by him looked after the material and spiritual well-being of the people.
The Adhyakshamahamattas were entrusted with the task of the well-being of the women. The
Anta mahamattas were appointed for the general administration of the frontier province. The
Nagaramahamattas were a class of mahamattas in charge of the cities and towns. They were
often engaged in periodical tours in order to collect news about the administrative and general
affairs throughout the empire. In Ashoka's regime, the Mahamattas had become a highly
responsible cadre of personnel. The mahamattas in charge of providing justice, were asked by
Ashoka to follow the path of Dhamma and to be free from anger, fear and other passions
while delivering justice. 

During the reign of Ashoka, the officials called Rajukas had held a significant place. Ashoka
in his administrative policy implemented the Rajukas as the sole agency to execute his plans
of reforms. Originally the Rajukas6 were the officials in charge of measurement of land and
settled those if there arose any dispute. Since they were connected with the land revenue
department, they normally had a great influence in the rural areas. Ashoka during
implementing the administrative policies, enhanced their powers and positions and made
them the most important officers of Janapadas. Gradually the Rajukas became the key
officers and were entrusted to execute Ashoka's most welfare projects and administrative
reforms. They not only acted as judges with the power to justify wrong sentences and wrong
judgments, moreover they made charitable offers to the Sramanas and Bhikshus implemented
by DandaSamata and VyavaharaSamata.

In the sphere of justice and civic life, Ashoka introduced many reforms because of his
humanitarian and paternal sentiment. He introduced the officials in order to execute justice
properly and to preach the principles of Dhamma. Moreover there were special groups of
officials in order to organise charities, promote toleration and reduce the burden of
6
The function of the Rajukas is enumerated in the Ashokan Pillar edict IV.
punishment of the criminals. Ashoka released the prisoners from jail on the anniversary of his
coronation. The principles of uniformity of penalty and uniformity of judicial procedures
were enforced. Moreover during implementing administrative policies, Ashoka tried to
promote the spiritual welfare of his subjects by preaching dharma and by inculcating
toleration among his subjects, he aspired to have a social harmony. At the same time he
issued ordinances prohibiting animal sacrifices and injury to animals and initiated welfare
programmes for the well-being of the subjects. 

Such a planned and balanced structure of Government with effective administrative reforms,
had established the Mauryan Empire under Ashoka as one of the supreme powerful empires
in India. During his time, the Mauryan Empire experienced a fair civic and social life and was
free of any sectarian revolt and internal chaos and anarchy. Owing to his effective
administration, Ashoka is often considered as one of the greatest monarchs of India.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Thapar, Romila, “A History of India”, Penguin Books. p. 384, Volume 1, (1990). 

http://www.importantindia.com/2921/mauryan-government/

 Allen, Charles “Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor”, Hachette, (2012), 

 Singh, Upinder, “A history of ancient and early medieval India : from the Stone
Age to the 12th century”, Pearson Education, New Delhi,(2008),