Taxation and Revenue Collection in Ancient India: Reflections on Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Arthasastra and Shukranitisar 144388913X, 9781443889131

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Taxation and Revenue Collection in Ancient India

Taxation and Revenue Collection in Ancient India: Reflections on Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Arthasastra and Shukranitisar By

Sanjeev Kumar Sharma

Taxation and Revenue Collection in Ancient India: Reflections on Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Arthasastra and Shukranitisar By Sanjeev Kumar Sharma This book first published 2016 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2016 by Sanjeev Kumar Sharma All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-8913-X ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-8913-1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface ....................................................................................................... vii Foreword .................................................................................................... ix Swami Chidanand Saraswati Acknowledgements .................................................................................. xiii Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 Introduction Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 15 Review of Literature: An Overview Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 45 Taxation and Revenue Collection in Mahabharata Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 67 Financial Administration in Manusmriti Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 77 Public Finance in Shukranitisar Chapter Six ................................................................................................ 83 Revenue Collection in Arthasastra Chapter Seven.......................................................................................... 105 Conclusion Bibliography (English) ............................................................................ 109 Bibliography (Hindi) ............................................................................... 125

PREFACE

The present work is a modest attempt at exploring the administrative structures and the organizational systems of ancient Indian polity. The spate of research witnessed in the early quarter of the 20th century concentrating on the political institutions and arrangements of early ‘Hindu’ India have been dubbed as anxious attempts to glorify the ancient Indian past in order to legitimize the demands for self- rule and independence in the early years of the national movement. The terms like ‘cultural’ and ‘nationalistic’ approaches to the study of ancient India have also been conveniently coined. The endeavors to counter the constructs like ‘oriental despotism’ have also been viewed with sufficient skepticism about their academic impartiality and research value. The postindependence period in Indian social science research has been greatly influenced, conditioned and indoctrinated by the left-liberal Marxist approach, which emphatically insists on explaining each and every phenomenon in the terminology of production, oppression, exploitation, discrimination and class-struggle, and which very vehemently opposes any attempt to view things in a cultural perspective. The natural corollary to this trend was the deliberate neglect of every attempt to study any aspect of ancient Indian Politics in a non-Marxist way. The present work, although thoroughly screening the major findings of Marxist scholars about ancient Indian politics, necessarily deviates from that path and humbly attempts to find out some of the links between four great philosophers of ancient India with regard to financial administration and public finance. The main dimensions covered are revenue collection and taxation in ancient India, with special attention to the study of Mahabharata, Manu Smriti, Shukranitisar and Kautilya’s Arthashastra. In the scheme of the things some reflections on Mahabharata and Yajnavalkya Smriti are also provided so as to present a more comprehensive view of ancient Indian political thinking. The work is only a step forwards in the direction of more and more serious systematic and impartial studies of the immense intellectual treasure of our great nation, which may significantly help us in carving out the new road-maps for our overall development and growth. Further suggestions from scholars would necessarily give me more courage and commitment to tread deeper into the unknown and unexplored areas of

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Preface

academic value in the ancient Indian texts. This attempt has various limitations, which the scholars would definitely ignore out of their sagacity, but my understanding of my inabilities leads me to invoke my favourite poet Kalidasa, who says: eUn% dfo;”k% izkFkhZ xfe’;kE;qigkL;rke~ A izka”kq yH;s Qys yksHkkn~nqckgqfjo okeu% AA

Meerut Republic Day 26th January 2014

FOREWORD

Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Purnnam-Udacyate Puurnnashya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate || Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih Dear Divine Souls, I am so proud of Dr Sanjeev Kumar Sharma for completing this unique and comprehensive assessment of taxation and financial management. This unique book has taken the four ancient scriptures of the Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Shukranitisar and the Arthashastra and analysed the inherent wisdom within these texts to highlight and make available the deep wisdom of the guiding principles of financial administration. Dr Sharma’s analysis challenges us to change our society’s narrow concept of financial governance and economics as being a necessary driving forces for wealth creation and replaces it with a far wider reaching holistic truth. Indeed, the true role of financial governance has always been available to us in these guiding texts of our ancient Vedic scriptures and it is thanks to Dr Kumar's dedication and devotion that it can now be brought back into our awareness.

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Foreword

These guiding universal principles of life were made available to our ancient sages who, because of their deep penance and austerities channelled this divine wisdom for the benefit of mankind. The wisdom of these universal principles is not restricted to a particular time or culture, it is truly timeless and for the benefit of all. Today, more than ever, the light of this universal knowledge is needed to dispel the darkness of our ignorance. Today, in our society, we are faced with the many social challenges of corruption, overconsumption and greed. We are faced with so many problems caused by living in imbalance with the world. We are suffering from wars; our many brothers and sisters are struggling to eat enough food while we relentlessly consume and waste our planet’s limited resources. During the recent launch and inauguration ceremonies of our comprehensive, eleven volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism at the Vigyan Bhawan in India, as well as in America and London, I shared extensively how the Indian spiritual tradition, and thereby our sacred scriptures, are truly holistic. They have never isolated pieces of knowledge from the whole. (To learn more about the Encyclopedia of Hinduism project, visit: www.theencyclopediaofhinduism.com). So, through Dr Sharma’s work, we come to again appreciate that our financial systems cannot be seen in isolation and used for the benefit of the few. They belong in the context of the universal balance sheet which sees that all creatures and creation have the right to abundance and to live harmoniously with the whole. And yet, how do we live in this balance and harmony? One simple yet powerful way to maintain our universal balance sheet is to maintain the balance sheet of our own lives. By reviewing and introspecting on our own thoughts and actions we can see if our own books are balanced. Have we received more than we have given? Have we taken just enough to meet our needs or have we taken too much? It is important that we ask ourselves if have we consumed more or eaten more than we really need and in doing that, have we used our precious Earth’s valuable and finite resources just for our gain? When our books are balanced because we think, act and use our resources for the welfare of all; we will not only live with abundance and harmony but each and everyone of us will help to restore balance in the universal book and so restore peace and harmony in the world. Let us be inspired to take the message of our scriptures, let us take Dr. Sanjeev Kumarji’s tenacious efforts to assess and analyze it and apply it in the balance sheet of our own lives- so that we are indeed, truly wealthy.

Taxation and Revenue Collection in Ancient India

With love and blessings, In service of God and humanity,

Swami Chidanand Saraswati President, Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh) Co-Founder, Global Interfaith WASH Alliance Founder, Ganga Action Parivar, Divine Shakti Foundation

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Howsoever formal it may appear, it is definitely true that no work can be accomplished single-handedly. I, too, have been privileged enough to get sufficient help and support from a large number of friends and wellwishers. Right from the beginning of my academic career, I had been working on different aspects of political communication in rural and urban settings with perspectives of political socialization, participation, awareness and information dissemination. For a long time my father, Dr. CP Sharma, and my most revered teacher, the late Acharya Ramnath Suman, had been persuading me to make use of my little knowledge of Sanskrit in understanding a political phenomenon in ancient India. But it was only afterwards when my teacher, Professor SK Chaturvedi, insisted on me in 2003 preparing some papers on ancient Indian politics for publication in the journal he was editing and for presentation at the IPSA World Congress at Durban, that I was oriented in seriously studying ancient Indian texts with the perspective of a student of political science. Therefore, I am immensely grateful to all these three great personalities for showing me the right and required direction for my future research attempts and academic works. Amongst the very few existing known academics working on different aspects of ancient Indian polity, two very prominent ones happen to be my very close friends, namely Professor Madhukar Shayam Chaturvedi and Professor Kaushal Kishore Mishra. Unfortunately Madhukar-ji left for the heavenly abode in August 2011, but his dedication and commitment for the studies of ancient Indian politics has always remained a source of inspiration for me. Professor Mishra has also done considerable work in this field, which has encouraged me to a great extent to try my hands at it also. Financial assistance for this study has been provided by the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, under the Major Research Project Scheme. The researcher is highly thankful to all those concerned in the UGC for providing this financial help without which the present study could not have seen the light of the day. My very intimate and old time friends Professor C.P Barthwal, Professor SPM Tripathi, Professor Manas Chakraborty, Professor Madhurendra Kumar, Professor G. Gopal Reddy and Professor Sushma Yadav need special mention and gratitude because all of them have

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Acknowledgements

persistently strengthened my self-confidence by expressing nice words and assuring compliments, besides keeping constant vigil on my academic efforts. My Project Associate, Ms. Mamta, has proved to be a sincere, hardworking, dedicated and focused individual in managing the affairs of the study, despite her precarious family issues. She is, in fact, part and parcel of this study. So I will not say thanks to her. My students Dr. Aditi Tyagi, Dr Sushma Rampal, Dr. Devendra Kumar, Dr. Abhay Vikram Singh, Dr. Viplav, Dr. Naresh and Dr. Triranjan Raj have always been unfailingly supportive and enthusiastically sympathetic to me. Ms. Chanchal has done the proof reading of the Sanskrit portions very carefully and meticulously. I am really thankful to all of them for their strong faith and enduring belief in me. Professor P. Shashirekha of Osmania University, Hyderabad, is a great scholar of Sanskrit. She was tremendously generous in providing me access to her personal library, which was immensely helpful for my understanding of the subject under study. I express my deep sense of gratitude to her. My friend Professor Muzaffar Assadi was immensely helpful in providing me necessary access to some old Sanskrit manuscripts besides giving great hospitality at Mysore. I am deeply indebted to him. I am extremely grateful to the most respected Swamiji Shree Chidanand Saraswati, President, Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh for very kindly finding time and writing a foreword of the book and blessing me with his divine spirituality. I am greatly thankful to the librarians of Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, Oriental Research Institute, Mysore, Osmania University, Hyderabad, National Library, Kolkata, Bangalore University, Bangalore, SAP Political Science, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, CCS University, Meerut, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla and Kameshwar Singh Sanskrit University, Darbhanga for providing institutional help for me during this study. My typists, Ms. Rashmi Nagar and Ms. Kavita Joshi, are two hardworking and committed girls, both of whom have never complained, even when they were frequently asked to work after normal hours or even on holidays. These two beautiful girls have typed the rough draft again and again and their perseverance has impressed me a lot. My sincere blessings to both of them. My wife, Dr. Nidhi Sharma, and my lovely daughter Manya have, as always, provided me with enough space to remain engaged in academics and relieved from household duties. My sincere thanks to both of them. Lastly, my office assistant, Mr. Amit Kumar, also needs mention because of his ever-smiling and never-say-no attitude. God bless him.

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

Taxation and revenue collection comprise one of the most significant and pivotal aspects of any system of administration and governance. The basic structure of taxes ultimately provides for revenue collection for the state machinery and is the basis of state functioning. The plans for societal development and overall progress of the state can be materialized only when the condition of public finances is conducive to the state’s efforts in this direction. Ancient Indian political thinking has always considered the issue of public finance to be of prime importance, and this is why the Mahabharata, Manusmriti, the Arthasastra and Shukranitisar provide detailed descriptions of the ways and means of creating an abundant treasury (Kosha), which is the inseparable part of the seven organs of the state machinery (Saptanga). These treatises discuss the methods of revenue collection, along with describing the modes of taxation, with specifications for levying normal and additional taxes in different conditions and for different categories of citizenry. The present study tries to explain the nature and structure of taxation and revenue collection, as narrated by Vyasa, Manu, Kautilya and Shukra in their monumental classics, with a perspective on financial administration and public finance in ancient India.

Research Problem There is a need for a systematic and scientific investigation into the public finance systems in ancient India, through specific inquiry into the description of taxation and revenue collection system in ancient Indian Sanskrit treatises, including literary works of different writers, so as to enable the academic community to properly analyze, contrast and compare it with the parallel modern concepts; and with an impartial, normative and rational perspective on the contemporary relevance and academic significance of the valuable works of our forefathers. This will not only bring back into focus the excellent intellectual wealth of our ancient past,

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Chapter One

but will also explode some of the formidable modern myths about civilizational achievements of yore. It is in this background that the present study has been undertaken to make an attempt to study the works of Vyasa, Manu, Kautilya and Shukra, which are spread across a period of many centuries, with regard to financial administration and public finance in ancient India, with special reference to taxation and revenue collection systems. An overview of scholarship in the area of ancient Indian political theory reveals that there are many research gaps; research is often incomplete, inadequate or incommensurate. Many of the earlier research works show a strong eurocentric approach and do not fully highlight the importance of ancient Indian political thought. Modern public finance deals with governmental measures to establish a rational relationship and equilibrium between national income and expenditure. The main objectives of modern public finance, in general, are to secure the financial position of the state on a sound footing, to help the state to achieve its aims and ideals through commensurate financial policies, and to ensure its competitiveness in an international arena. It is remarkable to note that even though formulated thousands of years ago, Kautilya’s perspective on public finance is similar to the modern one in several respects. In the earliest period of Indian history, the early Vedic Period, the state probably depended for its support on the voluntary contributions of the people. But some method of compulsory contribution must have been found necessary in India as soon as a more improved form of government had come into existence. The early tax-system, however, was a very simple one, and the evolution of a complex system of public finance was doubtless a slow and gradual process. By the fourth century B.C. the system of public finance had reached a very advanced stage of development, as is evident in Kautilya’s Arthasastra and the Brahmamical and Buddhist texts. The management of finance is crucial and inescapable for administration, and this was realized by the authors of the Manusmriti, Arthasastra and Shukranitisar. As a matter of fact, financial operations affected the very structure of ancient Indian government and the nature and scope of its policies. Financial planning was acknowledged by Manu, Kautilya and Shukra as the life-breath of the state, as much as it is now accepted by the modern state. Recognizing the extraordinary significance of finance in the political administration of the state, it was stated that all undertakings depend upon finance and the king should look to the treasury first. It was underlined that when the receipts and expenditure are properly

Introduction

3

cared for, the king will never find himself in financial and military difficulties. In all these texts there is a well-planned, laid out strategy for attaining legitimacy for the state functioning, and also for creating and completing ambitious construction projects for wider public use. The necessity of the origin of the state had been caused by the visible repercussions of anarchy and the inherent wickedness in the character of human beings. Therefore, the divergent concepts of the origin of the state, however conflicting, indicate the importance of Danda, which appears to be the Sanskrit equivalent of authority of the state to rule, to make rules, to punish, to reward, to decide, to arbitrate, to protect, to maintain law and order, and to work for the overall well-being, Yogakshema, of the people. Hence, the legitimacy of the power of the state essentially emanates from its capacity to perform. Therefore, there are references everywhere in Sanskrit literature about the requirement of the state to function judiciously day and night for the protection of the interests of the subjects. This legitimization gives birth to the construction of the authority of the state above the individual rights and the state’s authority on everything on the earth. Viewed from modern (read: Western) perspective, this overreaching authority of the state has appeared to most of the commentators as the absolute power of the state over subjects and has given birth to the well-endorsed constructs of ‘oriental despotism’. It has to be essentially underlined that the authority of the state, physically represented by the king, was never uncontrolled, unbridled and authoritarian. The important characteristics of ancient Indian statecraft, therefore, were always designed by the fundamental requirements of fulfilling the expectations of the people, providing them with the required development, protecting them from all the internal and external dangers, avoiding any harshness, coercion or demonstrative punishment in normal circumstances, eliminating the slightest possibilities of exploitation, and bringing forward all possible good living conditions by the untiring efforts of the state. (Kalidasa in his world famous play Abhijnanashakuntalam mentions that the authority of the state is more a responsibility than any kind of power.

jkT;a LogLr/k`rn.Mfeokri=e~) Altekar argues that ‘when the literature on politics proper began to be developed, we find that promotion of Dharma, Artha and Kama is usually mentioned as the aims of the state. The state was to promote Dharma, not by championing any particular sect or religion, but by fostering a feeling of piety and religiousness, by encouraging virtue and morality, by extending help to the establishment belonging to all religious grops and sects, by maintaining free hospitals and feeding houses for the poor and the decrepit, and last but not the least, by extending patronage to literature

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Chapter One

and science. The promotion of Artha was to be procured by encouraging trade, industry and agriculture, by developing national resources, by bringing fresh land under cultivation, by building dams and canals to make agriculture independent of rain, and by encouraging extensive and systematic working of mines. The state was to promote Kama by ensuring peace and order so that each individual may enjoy life undisturbed, and by offering encouragement of fine arts like music, dancing, painting, sculpture and architecture, in order to promote aesthetic culture. The state was thus expected to maintain peace and order and promote moral, material and aesthetic progress of society.1 Further to this, Altekar comments that ‘our writers of ancient India have fully recognized the ideal of perfect development of the individual to the development of the society, when they laid down that it was the business of the state to promote Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha, only they have not used the modern terminology. The ideal of sarvabhuthita, which is emphasized in several places, refers not only to spiritual, but also to the mundane sphere.2 On the point of religion deciding the political thought in ancient India, Altekar argues that ‘we have to admit that religious and philosophical dogmas and concepts did not deeply influence the Hindu political thought or institutions.3 It has been argued that the state was over-zealous in the collection of revenue from all possible sources so that wealth so accumulated might be spent on the protection of the state from external and internal danger, and on social services and productive enterprises, such as, building of forts, roads, plantations of colonies, of villages, asylums, orphanages and educational institutions.4 Writing on the spheres of state activity, Altekar also finds that ‘ancient Indians permitted the state a wide sphere of activity, not because they did not value individual liberty, but because they felt that the state could organize them best by reconciling conflicting interests, if its bureaucracy worked in closer co-operation with well-established popular bodies like the trade guilds and village councils.5 The discussion on the functional aspects of the state in ancient India is also very interesting. Nigam finds that ‘the state in ancient India was a welfare state; and the resources of the state, as well as the privy-purse of the king, were mobilized and directed towards the welfare of the people. Thus, the economic organization of ancient India had been a rational and a practical synthesis between the realist and idealist views of life and living pattern based on Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.6 It may sound a very strange argument, but there is a distinctly different view about state’s enthusiasm of filled treasury held by the ‘Indologist’ Basham. He argues that ‘according to accepted theory a well-stocked treasury was the king’s chief source of strength, and no kingdom could function properly without it. The

Introduction

5

effect of this doctrine was certainly bad. The great reserves of precious metals and jewels, never touched except in direct emergencies, were economically useless, and the treasury of a king was inevitably the target of the greed of his neighbors. The royal treasures, the existence of which was reported by early Muslim travelers, were important factors in encouraging the invasions which ultimately destroyed Hindu India.7 Although Basham agrees that ‘the textbooks on statecraft invariably stress the danger of unduly heavy taxation',8 there are numerous theories present in ancient texts to give ‘justification of the state as an economic, as well as political necessity, since it was required for the purpose of securing peace and order’. The continuance of the state in an efficient condition was therefore deemed to be the primary end of social and individual efforts. It was not merely the duty of the king to ensure this, but that of every member of society. On the part of the king, this took the form of an obligation to live up to the prescribed regal ideals, upholding the Dharma of the individual castes, corporations and peoples, properly discharging his own personal duties as protector, judge and sacrificer, and making himself personally responsible for all the sins and misfortunes of his subjects.9

Ownership of Land The question of the ownership of the land has, since time began, been one of the most fundamental questions deserving human attention. In the ancient Indian context, this question has been an interesting and important one that has long been a major concern of the statesmen and politicians, alongwith thinkers. It has been argued that there were different theories of the king’s right of ownership of land and man. Sham Sastry discusses two major theories of ownership. According to him, the Mimansakas, or the school of the Vedic exegetics headed by Jaimini, hold that neither an emperor (Sarvabhauma) nor a feudal chief (Mandalika) is justified in exercising any right of ownership over the state land or his servants. The king is only entitled to a fixed share of revenue in kind in virtue of his protective care and the land and other natural things of the state are common to all. The contrary view is held by Kautilya, who is understood to have a different view with regard to ownership of the land. For Kautilya, it has been argued, ‘those who are well-versed in Sastra admit that the king is the owner of both-land and water and that the people can only exercise their right of ownership over all other things except these two.’10 Some of the scholars have argued that there are three theories of the ownership; while they differ in details, they are quite in agreement so far

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Chapter One

as the cardinal points are concerned.11 The three theories which have been considered by the Indologists are as follows: A. Theory of private ownership of land; B. Theory of royal ownership of land; and C. Theory of corporate ownership of land.

Theory of Private Ownership of Land The Vedic literature does not regard the king as the sole owner of the land. Neither does the Vedas show any community ownership concept with regard to land. The king, according to Rig Veda, was only entitled to receive Bali from his subjects, which was due to him for the protection granted to his subjects.12 For the maintenance of his dignity and authority, the king was granted some share of the land in the village by the people, as is evident from the Atharva Veda. Both Brahamanical and Buddhist works are indicative of private ownership of the land. Jayaswal has also refuted the advocacy of royal ownership of land in strong terms.13 PN Banerjee opines that the king was never regarded as the owner of the land and he never claimed a right to un-earned increments of the land.14 Kautilya also favors the protection of private property. Manu suggests that the field belonged to he who cleared the wood and the deer to he who first wounded them.15 According to Manu, there are various legal methods of acquiring wealth, such as inheritance, finding (friendly donations), purchase, conquest, lending at interest, performance of work and acceptance of gift from the virtuous.16 Thus, there are sufficient references and evidence, which prove the existence of the concepts of private ownership of land in ancient India.

Theory of the Royal Ownership of Land The theory of the royal ownership of land would always believe, as the title suggests, that all the lands belong only to the king. The derivate of this theory essentially is that the king alone is the absolute and ultimate owner of the land of the state. This theory has been well substantiated by few mentions and references in Upanishads and Pali literature.17 The supremacy of the king in all the disputes and matters has also been put forward as a point in favor of the concept of royal ownership of land. The descriptions by foreign visitors and their travel accounts have also been placed as an alibi for this theory. Interestingly, most of the foreign commentators have concluded that the finality of the authority of the king

Introduction

7

in all matters culminates in the acceptance of the concepts of royal ownership of land. Some of the references found that the right of the king to appropriate the wealth and property of an heirless person is also a testimony to the concepts of royal ownership.18 It has also been argued that the purchase, sale and donation could never be done without the permission of the king. The argument itself reveals that the king, on behalf of the state, through his appointed officials, was only duty bound to keep the proper records of any sale, purchase or transfer of land and to maintain proper adherence to state laws and regulations and remain a vigilant supervisor of all human activities because of the obligation of performing his own Dharma.

Theory of Corporate Ownership of Land The theory of corporate or communal ownership of land means that the land was owned by the villagers commonly and they had equal rights of cultivation and other activities on the land. The pronouncers of this theory have generally claimed that the village corporations were practically the absolute proprietor of the village land, including the fresh clearing made, and were responsible for the total amount of the rent to the government. In case the owner of a plot of land failed to pay his share, it became the property of the corporation, which had a right to dispose of it to realize its dues.19 Mentions have also been made of the references available, which suggest that the pasture lands around the villages were held in common by the villagers, although these lands were under the direct ownership of the state, but the people were allowed to enjoy traditional rights of grazing the cattle. It has also been argued that Manu, Yagnavalkya and Kautilya had urged the king to make special provisions for common pasture.20 However, the texts quoted in favor of the theory of communal ownership of land, only partially approve this concept. The actual situation, which seems to be prevalent in those days, was that the individual had equal and uninterrupted rights to own private property; some of the village group might have experimented with the idea of communal ownership of land, but not too successfully because in the events of any dispute the state had over-reaching authority in all cases of conflicts, legal suits and differences besides regulating the agricultural activities, deciding about the sale purchase, donation, or otherwise of the land and owning the land of common use of the people. The regulating authority of the state has generally been misunderstood as the presence of the concepts of its ultimate ownership. Nigam concludes that there may be found conflicting traces of private, or state, or individual, or communal or corporate

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Chapter One

ownership.21 But the actual picture can only be visualized by a synthesis of the all three theories of ownership of land in ancient India.

Source of Public Finance A: Booty in War Gains of victory in the form of wealth of the losing nation comprised the prime source of public finance. Saletore claims that there are specific terms used and references made to the explanations provided by various scholars that the share of the body taken by the king after winning a war was one of the main sources of revenue.

B: Bali This word has occurred very frequently in Rig Veda, which primarily means ‘an oblation, a gift or offering (usually religious)’ according to VS Apte.22. According to him, it is the offering of a portion of a daily meal (of rice, grain, ghee, etc.) to all creatures, one of the five daily yajnas to be performed by a householder; it is usually performed by throwing up into the air, near the house-door, a portion of a daily meal before partaking of it. Kalidasa uses it as a tribute to the king, which was procured by the king for the wellbeing, happiness and prosperity of the subjects.23 UN Ghoshal interprets Bali “as the exclusive designation of the Indo-Aryan king’s receipts from his subjects, as well as from the conquered king. It is possible that Bali was the first type of customary contribution payable by the subjects that did not depend solely upon their free choice.24 But Saletore does not agree with this view. He cites various references from different texts and, quoting Manusmriti, concludes that Bali was first taken as religious offering, and then as a tax on religious performances, as proved by Manu, Panini and Kautilya. It was essential in the sense that it was not only an offering to the gods, but also a tax on some kind of religious sacrifices that Kautilya used the term Bali, when he mentions it as one of the sources of revenue from the Kingdom (Rashtram).25

C: Bhaga Bhaga was the next source of revenue in ancient Indian society. Bhaga has been interpreted as octroi duty or land tax by some of the scholars, and for some of them it meant the share or portion of the produce payable to the state. Shama Shastry has translated different terms as the following:-

Introduction

9

produce payable to government lands is Sita, a portion of produce payable to government is Bhaga, religious taxes are Bali, and taxes paid in money are Kara. 26

D: Kara The other important source of the state revenue in ancient India was called Kara. The term Kara does not figure in Vedic literature. Kara usually meant a general tax on land, as well as movables. Differentiating between the terms, Sharma surmises that Bali stands for voluntary offering, religious or otherwise; the term Bhaga shows that the king was entitled to his share and the term Kara shows that he collected taxes from the people.27 ‘At all times the basic tax was that on land, usually called Bhaga or share, which was a fixed proportion of the crop.28

E: Shulka Shulka was also one of the main sources of revenue in ancient India. Apte defines it as a toll tax, a customs duty particularly levied at ferries, passes, roads, etc.29

Objectives of the Study The objectives of the present study are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4.

To study the revenue collection system in ancient India; To study the taxation system in ancient India; To underline the dynamics of public finance in ancient India; To document the methods of financial administration in ancient India; 5. To delineate the points of confluence and convergence in the writings of Vyasa, Manu , Kautilya and Shukra; and 6. To assess the significance, and gauge the contemporary relevance of ancient Indian administrative techniques for modern India.

Hypotheses The following hypotheses were formulated for the purpose of the present study:

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Chapter One

1. Taxation and revenue collection comprised one of the most significant and important aspects of administration and governance in ancient India. 2. The system of revenue in ancient India was methodical, organized systematic and proportionate. 3. Taxation in ancient India was humanitarian and considerate. 4. The hierarchical system in public finance in ancient India was well defined. 5. Financial administration in ancient India was strongly based on prevalent customs and conventions, and prescribed rules and regulations. 6. The systems, followed in respect of taxation and revenue collection in ancient India, are still relevant, and if adopted, may provide the contemporary fiscal system with a humanitarian face.

Methodology The present research has attempted an intensive study of ancient Indian texts starting from the Vedic period in general and of the writings of Vyasa, Manu, Kautilya and Shukra in particular.

Research methods x The research design adopted for the study is analytical and comparative. x The method used for analyzing the data collected from secondary data sources is mostly qualitative content analysis. Interpretation and analyses of data has been done on a thematic basis. x The method for analyzing the primary text sources can be said to be hermeneutic, as the investigator has tried to bring out the meaning of the text from the perspective of the authors. x The comparative method has been used: (a) to compare the content (chosen themes) amongst the four primary authors; and (b) to compare the primary works with other works of the given historical period-e.g. the Ramayana.

Sources Primary Sources: The study used the four mentioned texts, i.e. the Mahabharata (by Vyasa), the Manusmriti (by Manu), the Arthashastra

Introduction

11

(by Kautilya) and the Shukranitisar (by Shukra) as primary sources of data. The investigator was also able to access several other Sanskrit texts (eg. Ramayana of Valmiki, Yajnvalkya Smriti, Abhijnanashakuntalam of Kalidasa) in their original form because of his fluency in the Sanskrit language. Secondary Sources: The study is mainly based on secondary data and involves the deep study of previous research work, i.e. books, research papers, unpublished theses and general articles. A comprehensive review of books and other research literature, written by commentators, scholars and analysts was carried out. (Note: a narrative review of the literature studied has been presented in Chapter 2.) For procuring rare books and inaccessible research literature travel to different libraries, universities, research institutes, and interactions with expert academicians, was also done. The study has necessarily involved extensive study of ancient, as well as modern, works on financial administration and public finance, and then culminated in the preparation of a comparative study of these three thinkers.

Relevance of Study The significance of the study lies in the fact that it fills an important research gap that is found in the area of research on ancient Indian public administration. It documents, analyses and compares the findings on public finance (taxation and revenue collection) in the three major related works of the period. It also compares these findings with concepts in other works of the period. It highlights the contemporary relevance of the ancient Indian concepts and principles of public finance. The framework for the analysis is new and the sourcing of data from original texts makes the work significant. The present study also finds its relevance in the light of the fact that the inherent idea of public good, the apparent contentment of the welfare state, the potential nature of strict state authority, the overwhelming presence of state sovereignty, the evident supremacy of the willing subordination of the people, the specified demarcation of fictional responsibilities of different personnel, the vigilant hierarchical supervision, the minute observation of various occupations, and the state in ancient India in general was more and more a well-organized welfare mechanism aiming to achieve overall happiness and wellbeing among the populace through properly carved-out structures of public administration. The whole trajectory of the taxation system and the modes, means and mechanism of revenue collection in Mahabharata, Manusmiriti, Kautilya's Arthasastra

12

Chapter One

and Shukranitisar makes it evident that the taxation in that period of history was considerate, humanitarian, strong, strict, based on prescribed rules and regulations, and largely dependent upon the nature of the requirements of the state at a particular period of time for the purpose of creating large-scale facilities and opportunities for the people in general, besides providing for the upkeep of the government machinery. This is where the present study would hopefully create an academic platform for further serious and scientific studies of different treatises of ancient India, and paves the way for more rigorous research attempts in this largely neglected area.

References 1. Altekar, A.S, State and Government in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidas Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, 2005, p.48 2. Ibid, pp.48-49 3. Ibid, op. cit., p.57 4. Rao, Krishna M.V, Studies in Kautilya, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 1979, pp.131-132 5. Altekar, op. cit., p.60 6. Nigam, Shayamsunder, Economic Organization in Ancient India Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 1975, p. 313 7. Basham, A.L., The Wonder That was India, Rupa & Co., New Delhi, 1954, (26th reprint) 1995, p.112 8. Ibid, p.110 9. Aiyangar, K.V Rangaswami, Aspects of Ancient Indian Economic Thought, Banaras University, Varanasi, 1965, pp.48-49 10. Sasrti, R. Shama, Evolution of Indian Polity, NAG Publishers, Delhi, 2005, p.173 11. Sarkar, K.R, Public Finance in Ancient India, Abhinav Publication, New Delhi, 1978, p.51 12. Ibid, p.53 13. Jayaswal, K.P, Hindu Polity: A Constitutional History of India in Hindu Times, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, Delhi, 2005, p.174 14. Banerjee, Pramathanath, Public Administration in Ancient India, Uppal Publishing House, Delhi, 1985 (first Indian reprint), p.179 15. Ik`Fkksjiheka i`fFkoha Hkk;kZa iwoZfonks fonw%A LFkk.kqPísnL; dsnkjekgq% “kY;orks e`xe~AA Manu Smriti, 9(44) 16. lIr foÙrkxek /kE;kZ nk;ks ykHk% Ø;ks t;%A iz;ksx% deZ;ksx”p lRizfrxzg ,o pAA Manu Smriti, 10(115) 17. Sarkar, KR, op.cit., p.55

Introduction

13

18. Ibid, p.55 19. Majumdar,R.C., as quoted in K.R Sarkar, op.cit., p.54 20. Sarkar, KR, op.cit., p.55 21. Nigam, Shyamsunder, op. cit., p.71 22. The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, Vaman Shivaram Apte, Nag Publishers, Delhi, 1890 (reprint 1997), p.387 23. iztkukeso HkwR;FkaZ l rkH;ks cfyexzghr~] Kalidasa, Raghuvansham, 1/18 24. As quoted in Saletore, Anand Bhaskar, Ancient Indian Political Thought and Institutions, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1963, p.442 25. Saletore, BA, op.cit., pp.442-443 26. Cited in Saletore, BA, op.cit., p.444 27. Sharma, Ram Sharan, Aspect of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidas Publishers, Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, 2005, p.206 28. Altekar, AS op. cit., pp.108 29. Apte, VS, op.cit., p.559

CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF LITERATURE: AN OVERVIEW

The past few decades have seen a revival in interest in and scholarship on ancient Indian concepts and theories of politics and governance. In this period there has been a paradigm shift in research in the field of ancient Indian studies. Increasing attention has come to be paid to the importance of exploring and analysing the precepts found in ancient Indian literature within the framework of modern contexts. Research during the past few decades indicates the strong relevance of our ancient political and public administration knowledge for modern governance. India, perhaps more than any other region in the world, has an invaluable history of glorious ancient empires with efficient public administration amongst contradicting realities in a land of vast diversities. The extensive and rich literature of the ancient Indian period is a storehouse of knowledge of the ancient theories of politics and governance. Social scientists and analysts have extensively documented and researched the literature of ancient India, but often without linking it to modern contexts and relevance. As elucidated in the introductory pages, for the purpose of this research project, four main ancient Indian texts, the Mahabharata, the Manusmriti, the Arthashastra, and the Shukranitisar have been chosen. An extensive review of the literature on the above area of study was done by the investigator. The results of the review of this literature, illustrating the current status of research on the topic, have been summarised below in the form of a narrative literature review. The book by Monier Williams1 covers extensive ground from expositions on the Vedas, the Upanishads, Buddhism and Jainism, to the other major systems. The Smritis and Shruti Sutras, The Law Book of Manu, the epic of Ramayana and Mahabharata, with a special focus on the Gita, the Puranas, Tantras, NitiShastras, the fables of Panchatanrtra and the Hitopdesha, which are all covered extensively and intensively.

16

Chapter Two

The William book2 is a text of great historical significance in that it not only describes the essential elements that are constitutive of Hinduism, but also points out the underlying spirit of unity, which in the midst of the diversity of races, languages and social usage, has enabled Hindus to survive all the external invasions and historical upheavals. The book discusses the Vedic hymns (mantras), the Brahamanas and the sacrificial system, the Upanishads and the Brahamanical philosophy and law, the Buddhist movement and the doctrine of incarnation, the doctrine of devotion (bhakti), etc. The book by Sham Sastry3 contains the series of lectures delivered by the author on the evolution of Indian polity in Calcutta University in 1919. The topics covered are interesting in nature. They include the tribal state of society, elective monarchy, the origin of the Kshatriyas, the people’s assembly, the duties and prerogatives of the kings and the priest, the effects of Jainism and Buddhism on the political condition of India, the empire-building policy of the politicians of the Kautilya’s period, theocratic despotism, espionage, the intellectual, spiritual and economic condition of the people, the election of kings and delegation of sovereignty, sacrificial fasting as a form of a passive resistance, and state ownership of land. The book by Law4 is one of the most celebrated earlier works on ancient Indian politics. The foreword written by AB Keith spells out that ‘the clearness with which he has set out his views, the care with which he has collected the relevant evidence, and the moderation of his criticism render his work a contribution of substantial importance and lasting value’ (p.vi). The work discusses the types and forms of the state, the statecouncil, the royal priest, regal succession, the education of the prince, the royal duties, the king’s daily routine of work, the evolution of the principles of state-officials, and the theories of the evolution of kingship among the Indo-Aryans. The work of Jayaswal5 is a monumental exercise in the direction of exploring the constitutional developments in ancient India in a systematic and exceedingly academic manner. Heavily dependent on original Sanskrit texts and excellent analytical presentations, the work puts forwards various dimensions of ancient Indian politics and pleads for more and more serious and scientific studies. The author has himself stated that ‘this a brief survey, in fact too brief a survey, of a polity which had a free career of at least thirty centuries of history- a career longer than that of all the politics known to history.’ The book6, written by a well-known authority on ancient Indian history, Radhakumud Mookherjee, provides the life-sketches and

Review of Literature: An Overview

17

philosophical perspectives of five great Indians, who have kept Indian history instructive and illuminative even today. The history of Hindu India is well represented in five characters brought together here. Each of them presents an aspect of Indian thought and life. Yajnavalkya is the typical and most historical example of Vedic, thought the fountain-head, and perhaps the high water-mark, too, of the entire stream of Indian thought. As the outstanding figure of a highly intellectual age to which humanity owes some of its best literary treasures and as the chief exponents of the saving knowledge of Upanishads, Yajnavalkya, according to Mookerji, takes his rank as the father of Hindu philosophy. The next character brought forward is the Buddha, who, born as a prince and a prince among men, lived to achieve the highest enlightenment in the solitude of the forests which produced the wisdom of the Aranyakas and Upanishads, and discovered a new worlds of Truth and Love, which well-nigh completed the circle of Indian thought and even extended it over a large part of mankind. Ashoka stands out as the singular example of a monarch and a man of affairs, proving the best of the idealists, who proceeded boldly to organize an empire upon the principle of rights and not of might. The first, and perhaps, the only man in the world who proclaimed war as an evil and believed only in moral conquest, in the force of law and not the law of force. Samudragupta comes next as the Indian type of militarism, who conquered only to liberate, but who stood boldly for the traditional kshatriya ideal of a king, that he must extend his authority up to the limits of his country so that it may attain a political unification under the umbrella of one paramount sovereign. Lastly comes Harsha, in whom we find some of the attributes of both Sanumdragupta and Ashoka. Great in war and greater in peace, Harsha has touched certain heights of greatness rarely equaled in the annals of kingship. His liberality beaks all records, while he helped his country after a long interval of time to recover the unity of its history lost in local annals or interrupted by foreign interference. The book by Gupta7 deals with the crimes and punishments in ancient India. Apart from that, the evolutionary process of crime, the influence of the caste system on criminal law, the apprehension of criminals, offences against the state, public justice, various other aspects of Hindu criminal law, offences related to weights and measures, religion, property, morality and family life, the human body, forgery, abuse, insult and defamation, criminal intimidation, criminal breach of contract and other aspects have been discussed with proper reference to the ancient Indian texts. The book by Ghoshal8 discusses the beginning of the system and development in the literature of law and polity, historical accounts of the

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Chapter Two

system in North India, ownership of the soil in ancient India and the question of private ownership. The book by Dikshitar9 is an amplification of the lectures delivered in the university in 1929-30. The main sources of the information are the Kautilya and the fragments of Megasthenes. The first chapter provides a critical examination of the authenticity and value of these two as sources to the history of Mauryan India. One chapter is devoted to the character and extent of the empire. Three chapters on the central administration and one on the provincial and local government follow. A careful comparison between the Kautiliyan polity and the polity lying behind the inscriptions of Ashoka confirms the view as seen from these chapters, that the polity behind the Edicts is the Kautiliyan polity. A critical study of the relevant inscriptions and the literary evidence has led the author to conclude that neither Ashoka was a Buddhist, nor was Chandragupta a Jain. In the reconstruction of institutions, religious and political, checked and verified wherever possible from the accounts of classical writers, the author claims to make an endeavor to establish a thesis as to the character of the government of the time that the constitution was a benevolent form of monarchy with democratic institutions, almost modern in character. The author concludes that in the face of the inscriptions of the period and the monuments of the age which throw great light on the question, there is no use in depending merely on the Buddhist chronicles. An intelligent and impartial interpretation of the Edicts cannot but prove conclusively the fact that Ashoka remained Hindu and Brahmanical till the end of his days. The objective10 of this volume by Tripathi, according to the author, is to provide within a moderate compass a compendious account of the history from institutions of antiquity to the establishment of modern rule. Its primary purpose is to serve all those interested in the study of ancient Indian history as a book of ready use and reference. The book by Jain11, a published form of the Ph.D. thesis of the author, discusses the history of the Jain Sangha, the Jain’s central administration, administration of justice, crime and punishment, economic aspects, production, distribution, exchange, consumption, social conditions, social organization, the family, the position of women, education and learning, arts and science, manners and customs, religious conditions, geographical material in the Jain canon, and the important kings and dynasties. Altekar’s book12 deals in a comprehensive manner with ancient Hindu political ideas, theories and ideals and describes the different features and aspects of the ancient Indian administration in its numerous branches. The book discusses in its seventeen chapters the name, history and sources of the science of polity, the origin and types of the state, the nature, aims and

Review of Literature: An Overview

19

functions of the state, the state and citizen, kingship, republics, central assembly, ministry, secretariat and departments, provincial, divisional, district and town administration, income and expenditure, inter-state relations and an estimate of ancient Indian polity. The author has also provided a detailed bibliography, along with a chronological table of authors, kings and dynasties arranged alphabetically with a view of helping the general reader. The book is a well-regarded research work, although Marxist scholar R.S Sharma calls it a popular ‘textbook.’ The author has depended heavily on the original Sanskrit texts and the rich material supplied by the inscriptions, which makes the works comprehensive in nature. The work also fully utilizes all the data bearing on the subject available in Vedic and classical literature, Buddhist and Jain works, ancient books on history and accounts of foreign travelers and historians. The book by Bhattacharya13 interprets the fundamentals of Jain philosophy from the viewpoint of its historical genesis and development. The book, besides providing brief sketches on researches on Jainism and their literary sources, provides a detailed analysis of the historical background and a material basis of the great intellectual movement. The conflicts in the history of Indian thought, contemporary philosophical schools, the social basis of the Jain ethic, the social experiences of Mahavira, the major enquires of Jainism psychological ingredients, and some comparative analysis of Jainism with Vedic tradition have also been discussed at good length. Irawti Karve in her famous work on kinship14 comments that ‘the Indian law books like Smritis and their commentaries deal primarily with inheritance and division of property, but in literature other than the above are references of both succession and inheritance.’15 The book by Verma16 was written as a Ph.D. thesis by the author in the University of Chicago, in 1950. This monumental work with extraordinary scholarship of the author explains the historical backgrounds and foundations of Hindu political philosophy, the political and institutional development in ancient India, republican states, social structure in ancient India, basic concepts of Hindu political philosophy, the nature of the concept of Dharma and its influence on Hindu political philosophy, the theory of kingship in ancient India and the theory of the divinity of the king in ancient India. In addition to that more than two hundred pages are devoted to author’s commentary on the Rig Veda and Marx’s capital, theology and ethics in Kautilyan political thought, the political philosophy in the Ramayana of Valmiki, the philosophy of Bhagvadgita, the philosophy of history in Bhagvadgita, the political ideas of Sanskrit poets,

20

Chapter Two

Shankara and Kant, Hegel’s philosophy of Indian history, ethical values in ancient Indian thought, the contributions of Vedanta to world culture, reflections on ancient Indian political philosophy, Tilak’s research on Vedic history and politics and some recent contributions to Hindu political philosophy. The subtitle of the book by Basham17 - A survey of the history and culture of the Indian Sub-continent before the coming of the Muslims - is quite indicative of the contents. The book was written by the author with an intention to provide an overview of Indian civilization and covering briefly all aspects of Indian life and thought to Westerners, which may be helpful to serious students of Indology. The work has been meticulously divided into ten chapters and includes a small introduction on India and her ancient culture, prehistory: the Harappa culture and the Aryans, ancient and medieval empires, the state: political life and thought, society: class, family and individual, the everyday life in city and village, the religion: cults, doctrines and metaphysics, the arts: architecture, sculptures painting music and the dance, language and literature and the heritage of India, the impact of the West and the world’s debt to India. The book by Rao18 is a published form of lectures delivered by the author on various aspects of Kautilyan political thinking. The book discusses the date of Kautilya and the nature of his genius, Swamin in the system of Kautilya, war and diplomacy, the Kautilyan conception of law and administration, bureaucratic government, financial administration, the status of lower orders and women in society, etc. The author of the book, RS Sharma19, has himself very clearly maintained that in light of historical materialism we propose to look at ancient political ideas and institutions in relation to socio-economic processes (read Marxism). ‘The work is primarily historical in nature and attempts to explain the ancient Indian polity in Marxist perspective. It discusses different views on the origin and nature of the state in ancient India. It also claims to deal with the stages and processes of state formation and examines the relevance of the caste and kin-based collectivities to the construction of polity’. The author finds Vedic and post-Vedic political institutions to be primitive and communal in identity. The approach and treatment of the study is a political, ideologicallyoriented interpretation of the facts, texts and events. The work by Majumdar20 is a detailed account of the political history of ancient India. Starting from the pre-history, the book deals with Vedic period, the Mauryan empire, literature, religious movements, arts and culture, education system, economy, trade and commerce and local selfgovernment of different time periods of ancient India.

Review of Literature: An Overview

21

The book by Ramaswamy21 attempts to provide an abridged and selected version of the greatest book written in India on statecraftKautilya's Arthasastra. The book places before the modern readers streamlined portions of the Arthasastra to give an overview of the work. A detailed introduction highlights some of the thoughts of Kautiliya, which deserve special attention at the hands of contemporary readers. The voluminous work by Saletore22, divided into six parts, discusses the main schools of political thought and ventures to assess the relative work of four great political thinkers of the ancient times: Manu, Hammurabi, Aristotle and Kautilya. The work also discusses the relationship between the Dharamasastras and the Dandaniti. The Indian concept of state, the political institutions and elements of the state and the concepts of Dharma have also been dealt with in sufficient detail. The book by Khan23 attempts to understand the law of Dharma in its theoretical frameworks and discusses various related aspects as depicted in Valmiki’s Ramayana. The book also analyzes the relativity of the law of Dharma and the problem of freedom or moral responsibility. The author claims to make an attempt towards constructing a moral system out of all the isolated moral precepts that we find in Ramayana. The study also aims to show to the present generation that most of the problems which are baffling us can be solved by following these precepts. According to the author, the research into the concept of Dharma in Vlamiki’s Ramayana is undertaken so that in this age of seething doubt we may still get inspiration from the beacon light held out by the ancient sage. Divided into ten chapters, the book by Tripathi24 discusses the growth of judiciary, along with state, administration, kingship organization, punishment, the judicial process, and the sovereignty of law. The work by Mukerjee25 is the published form of a Ph.D. thesis of the author, which studies the form of republican polity in ancient India. The author has discussed the concept of a republican state in perspective of contemporary theories, besides providing some insight into the idea of the republic in ancient India. The evidence from Panini, Buddhist and Jain literature, Mahabharata, Arthasastra and Mauryan inscriptions have been analyzed. The kinds of republics, the rise of different republics in different time frames, republican trends in non-political organizations, the strengths and drawbacks of the republics of ancient India, the reason for their disappearance and the legacy of these ancient Indian republics have been analyzed at length by the author. The book provides sufficient amount of analytical material. The book by Thapar26 is a systematic study of the Ashoka period of Indian history and touches upon various dimensions of his polity like

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Chapter Two

society and economic activity, internal administration and foreign relations, the polity of Dhamma, etc. It also discusses the later Mauryas and the decline of the Mauryas. The author offers her own interpretation of Ashoka’s connection with Buddhism and shows how he was able to make use of a general movement of social and spiritual change for practical and moral integration of his empire. The book by Chopra and Das27 is an attempt to portray Indian culture through the ages in its all aspects: political organization, social life, economic conditions, education and literature and art and culture. The study is made in the framework of the usual chronological classification into ancient, medieval and modern. The book by Nigam28 is not only a survey of the prevailing economic conditions of ancient India, but it also presents a panoramic revelation of commerce and economics in history with a humble approach of intensifying the cultural heritage of India. The author claims to provide, in a compact manner, a chronological study of various aspects of economic thought and life. It also seeks to present a synthesis of old and new contours of economic problems, besides bringing out the role of the ancient state and its constituents in the economic field with an attempt to analyze the concept of the welfare state. The work by Bhagat29 is an attempt to study the issues of asceticism in a wholesome manner and to capture some glimpses of the ascetic movement and to trace its genesis and to evaluate its contribution to social, religious, intellectual, ethnical and other spheres of the lives of the people. It is a vast panorama of ancient India that the study seeks to capture- right from its earliest dawn to the beginning of the Christian era. The main topics under which the study has been categorized are: the concepts of asceticism, the origin of asceticism, the traces of asceticism in the Indus civilization, early Vedic literature, Buddhist literature, Jain literature, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagwadgita, the Arthasastra and the law books. Lastly, one chapter is on the impact of asceticism on Indian civilization. Mishra30 in his work claims to have made an attempt to unveil the soul of ancient Indian republics with some degree of freshness of perspective and objectivity of vision. The work has been divided into five sections which include the types of the states, the political history of the republics, the constitutional features of these republics in ancient India, the democratic tradition in the procedure of assemblies of Ganarajyas and Sanghs, and the democratic tradition within the framework of monarchy in ancient India. The author has also given a comparative study of ancient India and ancient Greece.

Review of Literature: An Overview

23

The book by Chaudhary31 provides an excellent glossary of political terms used in ancient India. The English transliteration of Sanskrit terms with proper textual references of various works of ancient India has made the work excellent. The foreword of this book of Chakraborti,32 written by none other than one of the greatest and well-known scholars of ancient Indian history, RC Majumdar, claims that so far we do not have an equally good account of the culture and civilization of the Gupta period, while its political history has been studied by many scholars. The present book, in order to fill this gap, makes a special study of the social, economic, religious and administrative history of the period, mainly based on the inscriptions. The author has also tried to show how the facts of history culled from the inscriptions are corroborated by literary and numismatic evidence as well. The author has thrown a flood of light on this by his scholarly illumination and convincing exposition on different aspects of Indian culture like Varnashram-dharma, the concept of ownership of land, the revenue system, different occupations, various streams of religion and the details of administrative machinery prevailing in these regional phenomena. The whole work has been divided into social economic, religious and administrative history. The centuries following the decline of the Mauryan Empire witnessed large-scale invasions and migrations leading to the foreign occupation of northern India and parts of the Deccan. This resulted in the infiltration of a sizable foreign population in the sub-continent. The political consequences of these invasions were indeed great and these have been adequately dealt with by scholars. The social consequences of these foreign invasions have not, however, attracted the attention of scholars in the same measure. This book by Thapaliyal33 is an attempt to analyze and interpret these political upheavals in cultural terms. The aim of the book, according to the author, is to investigate the extent of the foreign impact on ancient Indian social institutions and traditions. Divided into seven chapters, the book discusses foreign elements in the Indian population besides studying the foreign impact on dress, ornaments, food and drinks, society and the caste system, cults and cult objects and entertainment and other customs. The book by Gopalan34 is a published version of the author’s doctoral thesis. Divided into ten chapters, the work introduces the concept of social philosophy, and then goes on to interpret, analyze and discuss the four basic values of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha stressed by the Hindu philosophers from time immemorial. The main thrust of the argument of the author is to maintain that Hindu social philosophy is basically a philosophy of values. The leading idea, which the author has attempted to

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Chapter Two

present and defend, is that a proper understanding of the values requires that they be studied not merely as having significance for a man’s personal well-being and progress, but as being equally relevant to inter-personal, i.e institutional, situations in which he finds himself. The work also tries to bring out the similarities and dissimilarities between the Sanskritic and the Tamil schemes of values. The author also considers some leading criticisms against certain aspects of the Hindu tradition to indicate misunderstandings of the Hindu social philosophy. The author concludes that the ancient Hindu social philosophy reflected in the various classics points to the need for an integrated development of the individual and for idealizing the personal and institutional life of a man in society. The book by Singh35 is a published version of the BN Rau Memorial Lectures delivered by the author under the auspices of the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies in 1979. The book covers the constitutional-cum-political organization of the state in ancient India, the juristic concepts of ancient India, etc. The work is a meticulous and scholarly exercise with complete academic competence and systematic referencing, which touches almost all aspects of the judicial system of ancient India. The book by Banerjee36 attempts to make a critical study of the specific form of Dharmashastra, which is embodied in Manusmriti. It also claims to provide an account of the organization of Hindu society in the perspective of Manusmriti. The small book contains twenty-two chapters, which discuss the brief outline of the history of Dharmashastra, historical questions concerning Manusmriti, the contents of Manusmriti, Manu’s concept of society, structure and function of the society and other related issues dealt by Manu. The author has concentrated on the sociological aspect of the Dharmashastra. The book by Sharma37 begins with a survey of the sources of the social and economic history of early India and reviews the writings from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries on social history. The author questions the validity of the Hindu reformist approach to the study of social history. He discards both the traditional and sociological views regarding the eternity of Indian social and economic aspects. It focuses on the stages in the mode of production. The book by Acharya38 gives an outline of the political ideas in Shukranitisara, as well as discussing the origin and nature of the state, the council of ministers, the principles and practice of justice, the art of war and the military system, etc. in detail.

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25

Besides discussing the theoretical concepts like defining Artha, Varta, wealth, etc., the book by Sharma39 discusses public revenue, public debt, public expenditure, trade and commerce, etc. The book by Om Prakash40 is an enlarged version of the author’s Ph.D. thesis on Food and Drinks in Ancient India. In this brief survey, the author discusses many important aspects of ancient India economy viz. agriculture, ownership of land, principles of land grants, the sale of land, revenue system, crafts and industries, trade and commerce, corporate economic life, currency, exchange and money-lending, etc. The work by Dayakrishna41 attempts to articulate conceptual structures in the domain of indigenizing the social sciences and humanities on the basis of foundational texts relating to them, and to make them available to the modern scholar so that he may use them creatively for his own purposes. It also attempts to present an overview of India’s whole intellectual tradition in a nutshell and by doing so, challenges others to build their own picture of India’s intellectual past so that its alternative visions may be available to those who try to think about such things in future. The book is divided into five parts and contains thirteen articles. Singhi has dealt with some issues in the conceptual articulation of the Indian intellectual tradition with special reference to the Arthshastra. Sharma explores hermeneutics in the Mimansa Sutras of Jamini in perspective of the principles of interpretation and authority of the Smriti texts. Ghosh examines Manu’s conception of man and society. The article by Deva and Rama is on the articulation of juridical concepts in the later Smritis. Bhatnagar, Nath, Shah, Kantak, Patankar and Krishnamoorthy attempt to examine various aspects and dimensions of the Natyashastra including Rasa, Dhwani, dramatic mode, and the conceptual structure underlying the Natyashastra. Dayakrishna’s concluding remarks provide an overview of India’s intellectual tradition. The editor concludes that the ‘history of Sastric knowledge in various fields as it developed over the millennia in the Indian tradition and the changes that occurred therein is still to be written and its presuppositions, problematic and conceptual structure presented in a differentiated manner. The issue of its availability and relevance in the contemporary contexts of knowledge and living is an open question and cannot be decided in a prior fashion by the slogan that ‘the latest is the best’(p.236). In this perspective Singhi’s comments are also noteworthy when he opines that ‘as a microscopic-specific illustration, the understanding and analysis of the Arthashatra is a poster for elaborate and in-depth works on different Indian classical texts. Efforts in this direction can help in building ethno-social science as well as in the construction of historical-social reality – an attempt to go back to the past

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so that contemporary, empirical and social reality can be comprehended meaningfully. This would help in the synthesis of the textual with the contextual in the understanding of Indian social realities. The book by Strong42 is a study and the first English translation of the AshokaVandana text, the Sanskrit version of the Legend of King Ashoka, first written in the second century AD. Through an extensive critical essay and fluid translation, the author has endeavored to examine the central importance of Ashoka of the legends for an overall understanding of Buddhism. The book has been divided into two parts. The first part comprises five chapters, which deal with Ashoka and his legend, with comments on the background, kingship and the relationship with the Buddhist community, and the second part provides the translation of the AshokaVandana. The book by Bhattacharya43 attempts to provide an analytical study of the concept of theft and the idea of punishment, which is, as per the author, indispensable for any penetrating grasp of the very foundation of Hindu jurisprudence, and also essential for understanding the world of moral obligation and the sense of justice of the Hindus. The work provides selections from classical texts from Hindu law-givers along with translations. In a very long introduction, the author has been able to analyze the various terms and concepts associated with the main theme. The book, however, gives an overview of around twelve philosophers, yet it gives sufficiently more emphasis to Kautilya. The other notable lawgivers included in the work are Gautam, Apastamba, Manu, Baudhayan, Yajnavalkya and Brihaspati. The book by Frawley44 proposes the idea of an ancient Indian and Himalayan home for world civilization. It proceeds primarily through a reexamination of the Vedic literature of ancient India and proposes a new decipherment of Vedic symbolism. It attempts to reveal how peoples of the ancient world relate to and may be descendants of the Vedic people. The book is based upon new interpretations of the ancient teachings of India and brings out many new insights from this unique source often neglected and misinterpreted in the West. The book by Jha45 brings together the revised and updated version of some of the papers and publications of the author, which incidentally cover the ongoing debate on some of the problems of early Indian social and economic history. Clearly written in the Marxist ideological framework, the author attempts to view almost everything in ancient India, in terms of ‘oppressive’ and ‘feudal’ frameworks. The study of Sharma46 has been presented with a view to understanding and explaining the Hindu social organizations, with an added emphasis on

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the institution of marriage. The work discusses the importance, origin, forms and limitations of marriage, as well as talking of monogamies, polygamy, and polyandry. The rights and duties of both the partners have been discussed as the book is a well-researched work in a sociological perspective. The objective of this book by Kohli47 is to cover all the important dimensions of Kautilya’s concept of Yogakshema relating to the welfare of the citizens. A few political ideas of the early ancient Indian thinkers have also been briefly discussed. Divided into nine chapters the work by Bhattacharya48 includes studies on Manusmriti in the historical perspective, The Manu mythology, The historical Manu, Manu and the Vedic tradition, cosmological conceptualizations, and political, legal, ritualistic, socio-economic conceptualizations. The book is fascinating research work with systematic analysis. The bibliography is comprehensive. The arguments are logical. An introduction and a concluding chapter would have really made the work more attractive, while the absence of these two seems more problematic in view of the necessity of connecting the arguments scattered throughout these different chapters. The work by Shashirekha49 is a published form of author’s Ph.D thesis and attempts a comparative study of Arthasastra and two Smritis regarding principles of administration. The author has made a comparative analysis of these three works primarily on the basis of Saptangas (seven organs) of the state, along with the education of the king and general administration. The book by Mehta50 seeks to be an introduction to the evolution of Indian political thought in terms of its continuities, as well as discontinuities. It attempts to articulate, explain and examine the concept of the state in politics used by an ongoing tradition of inquiry. The book has been divided into thirteen chapters inclusive of an introduction. The titling of the chapters has been made attractive by way of giving one or more political thinkers a specific direction. The Cosmic Vision: Manu; The Heroic Vision: Valmiki and Vyasa; The Moral Vision: Shukra and Brihaspati; The Pragmative Vision: Kautilya and his successors; The Sarmanic Vision: Mahavira, Buddha and Somedeva; The Imperial Vision: Barni and Fazal; Rennaisance and the Beginning of Modern Thought: The Integral Vision: Sri Aurobindo and Sahu; The Synthetic Vision: Gandhi; The Humanist and Socialist Vision: M.N Roy, Nehru, and Lohia; The Vision of Cosmopolitanism: Rabindranath Tagore; and the Individual Community and Political Order are the other chapters. The book does not

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claim to be giving an account of all the voices or shades of thought on the tradition, but it does aim to give some sense of its internal possibilities. Divided into seven chapters, the book Kaushambi51 discusses the historical perspective, primitive life and prehistory, the first cities, the Aryans from tribe to society, the state and religion in greater Magadha and way towards feudalism. Renou in his work comments that ‘both the literary descriptions and the regulations of the normative texts seem to point to the existence of well-developed commerce (in ancient India)’. 52 The work by Saraswati53 is a textbook which comprises four ancient and sixteen modern political thinkers of India. The treatment of the subject is sketchy and serves the purpose of undergraduate students only. The other book by Shashirekha54 is an attempt to present an overview of the penal code prescribed by Kautilya in his great work Arthashastra. The book largely depends on two chapters, Dharmasthiya and Kantakashodhana, which are primarily devoted to this aspect of ancient Indian administration. The book by Karashima55 is an edited volume published under the Japanese Association for South Asian Studies. The book contains nine papers, which include kingship in ancient India as described in literary sources and inscriptions, the treatment of king and state in the Tirukkural, God as warrior king, images of God in late classical Tamil literature, the polity and kingship of early medieval Rajasthan: an analysis of the Nadol Chahamaana inscriptions, the changing concept of Kingship in the Chola period, royal temple construction AD 850-1279, Vijaynagar Nayakas in Tamilnadu and the king, Beda Nayakas and their historical narratives in Karnataka during the post–Vijaynagar period, kingship, community and commerce in late pre-colonial Khurda, and kingship state and local society in the seventeenth to nineteenth century Deccan with special reference to ritual functions. The book by Mittal56 examines in detail, and refutes the views held by many scholars, that the text of Kautiliya’s Arthasastra was not written by a single author, and that the date of its composition cannot be attributed to a single century. The book has been primarily written, to contrast T.R. Trantmann’s Kautilya and the Arthasastra, and argues that the Arthsastra was a compilation of writings by three or four authors and was edited by Kautilya. The author tries to show, through his own collection of statistics and calculations, that Trantmann’s thesis was misconceived. The work primarily deals with the date of Kautilya and the Arthasastra. The work by Vidyalankar57 appears to be a textbook, but it is a wellresearched presentation with originality of thinking and full of textual references evident. The book has attempted to cover many aspects of

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political life in ancient India. Divided into 20 chapters, the work discusses the nature and state of political science in ancient India, political institutions of Vedic and post-Vedic period, governing institutions of Ramayana and Mahabharata period, republics of Buddhist period, Janpadas of ancient India, Mauryan polity, post-Mauryan government, the Gupta empire, organizations of various classes, theories of origin of the state, the nature of state, taxation systems, legal and judicial systems and inter-state relations. The work by Sibesh Bhattacharya58 is an endeavor to explore the secular and pluralistic elements of the idea of state in early India. In this background the author tries to analyze the various theories of the origin and formulation of the state in India and the role of tribal tradition in this respect, dealing with political social polity and the relationship between Brahma and Kshatra, in light of the Arthasastra and Dharmasastra traditions. The author analyzes homogenization and heterogenization. In addition to that, the author also briefly discusses the Dandniti, Rajdharma, and Arthasastra schools of thought on the actions of the state. The author of this work, Ranbir Chakravarty,59 while questioning the so-called stereotype account of early Indian commerce merely in terms of trade in luxuries, forcefully draws our attention to transactions in daily necessities, by way of providing an in-depth analysis of maritime commerce in the Bengal Coast from 2000 BC to 1300 AD. The book is a reproduction of different articles of the author published in various publications. The book by Appadorai60 traces the origins and evolution of Indian political thinking from ancient times to the present with relevant extracts from the original text. The book covers: the Dighanikaya and Jataka stories, Kautilya, Manu, Vyas, Tiruvallur, Kamandak, Somedev, Hemchandrasuri, Shukra, Zia-uddin-Barni, Abul-fazal, Gandhi, Iqbal, Rajgopalachari, Ambedkar, Jaiprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia. The book by Das Gupta61 is written from the perspective of a geographer. The work discusses the alternative paradigm of state planning, the science of earth resources development, tenets of Kautilyan political economy, the plan-frame of a prosperous nation-state, the governance system, the politico-economic basis of resource development, principles of town and country planning, economic planning and mobilization of resources, state organizations and resource development and management, agricultural development and land management, development of wastelands and forests, water resources development and management, development of animal husbandry, the eco-development and protection of bio-diversity and Indian urban lifestyle.

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The book by Ghosh62 has been written in an attempt to delineate and explain various significant developments in the evolution of the education system in ancient India. The book provides an account of the growth of education and the institution in ancient Indian society with a view to critically analyze the religious scriptures. The book by Habib and Jha63 tries to locate and comprehend the historical trajectory of the events of Indian nationhood right from the invasion of Alexander, up to the later years of the Mauryan empire after Ashoka. It also discusses, very briefly, the economy, society and culture of the Mauryan period. The book by Goswami64 is comprehensive in nature and focuses the attention mainly on different aspects of Dharma. The treatment of the subject is largely historical. It discusses Vaishnavism, Shavism, Jainism, and Buddhism not only in the context of philosophical foundations, but also in ethical, devotional and other dimensions. Greatly supported by the references of the Archeological Survey of India, the book makes for an interesting and curious read. The book by Habib65 is a collection of articles by different writers on various aspects of Indian society, history and politics. Starting from the days of pre-history, the papers, that have been included in this volume, touch upon Nehru’s economic vision of India. The volume is claimed to be concerned with how from being a country, whether as an essentially geographical expression or as a cultural entity, India become or came to be regarded as a nation. A couple of papers deal with ancient India but in a (political) ideological orientation only. The book by Saran66 is primarily aimed at catering to the need of the students for a good textbook and, therefore, is divided into 22 chapters, which discuss social and economic systems, Vedic literature, the great epics, Jain and Buddhist literature, Kautiliyan Arthashastra, Manusmiriti, Yajnvalkya Smriti, Kamandkiya Nitisara, Shukranitisar, the state, monarchy, the republican system, administrative structure, provincial and local government, the judicial system, international relations, public finance and official income and expenses in ancient India. The book also discusses representative political thinkers and institutions. Ashwani Kumar in his article67 has argued that Arthasastra of Kautilya is a classic example of a detailed description of why and how public organizations were created and maintained in ancient India. Kautilya’s work is remarkably modern in the way it attempts to describe the impact of an administrative mechanism on the daily lives of the citizens. Interestingly Kautilya has the fullest grasp of financial administration, a major branch of modern bureaucracy.

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The paper by Rao68 focuses on the administrative aspects of Manusmriti and discusses issues like constituents of the state, sovereignty, administrative responsibility, the prevention of exploitation, judicial administration and the composition and functions of the executive. The main purpose of the expositions of the article by Sharma69 was to propose further in-depth studies to explore the traces of the tradition of democracy and democratic institutions in ancient Indian texts and society with a certain view of understanding those references and contexts in an un-biased and objective manner, and committing to advancing and encouraging the study of ancient India amongst the teaching and research community in political science. The paper argues that ‘the legacy of colonial rule, the acceptance of the modern democratic system, the growing problems of national integration, the compulsions of multireligious and the multi-cultural secular set-up, the increasing allurement of Westernized models of life, the decline of vernacular languages and the rise of English-based academia, etc. are some of the main reasons behind our general apathy towards our cultural past’. To our dismay contemporary pressures of real politics have produced a substantial section of Indian intelligentsia, which has, under the impression of the academic hegemony of the English-speaking and -writing West, inculcated in themselves a sense of sheer disregard, indifference, disbelief, apathy, hostility and criticism for anything that can be associated with ancient India.70 The author of the book by Chakravarty71 traces the genesis and growth of urbanization in India over a vast span of time from the Indus Valley Civilization to 1250 AD. It studies the different phases of urban development and their characteristics and intricacies and forcefully argues against the theory of urban decay in the post-Gupta India on the basis of critical examination of a wide range of sources. The book by Peabody72 provides an analysis of 18th and early 19th century texts on the Hindu Kingdom of Kota in Rajasthan and explores the ways in which historical consciousness or memory is culturally constructed, and how this consciousness informs social experience. The work largely revolves around the royalty of kingship. The paper by Ali73 tries to examine the modern conceptualization of good governance with an understanding of the Arthasastra of Kautilya. It mainly discusses the various aspects of the functioning of the king and his officers and their overall accountability to the people. The book edited by Arvind Sharma74 is a voluminous study of the Mahabharata. Some 23 articles discuss various topics such as manuscripts used in the critical edition of the Mahabharata, stylistic study, computer

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analysis and concordance of Mahabharata, Karnabhara, Urubhanga, dark interactions in the Mahabharata, the original Daksha saga, India’s fifth Veda, the Sarptika episode in the structure of the Mahabharata, Santrasa in Mahabharata, Rasa and Bhakti in Bharavi’s Kiraturjuniyam, the Jain Mahabharata, ritual and performance in the Pandavlila of Garhwal, the epic context of Bhagwadgita, the battle of Kurukshetra in topological transposition, Arthasastra categories in the Mahabharata from Dandaniti to Rajadharma, in defense of a devious divinity, repetition in the Mahabharata, and Himalayan variations on an epic theme. The paper by Rao75 focuses on the Vedic ideals that were fully utilized in Indian political thought. It discusses Vedanta and the impact of other Vedic ideals, Indian nationalism, Raja Ram Mohan Ray, Swami Dyananda Saraswati, Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawarharlal Nehru. The book by Vandana Jain76 is the printed form of the Ph.D. thesis of the author, claiming to provide a compendious account of judicial administration in ancient India. A thorough effort, according to the author, has been made to put together all the available sources of information in order to bring forth an enlightened version of the legal system of ancient India. The work tries to undertake an exhaustive study of legal precepts and practices as prevailing in the period under study. Divided into nine chapters, the work discusses the origin, growth and sources of law and polity in ancient India including Vedas, Dharamasutras, the Mauryan period, justice in the Gupta era, administration and justice in the Gupta period, judicial administration in South India, legal reforms and developments. A very small but useful bibliography is also provided at the end. The author hopes that our democratic state and society will prosper well, inheriting the golden seeds of spiritual, moral and disciplined ancient Indian law as foundation, and fashioning the same as per changing requirements. The paper by Sharma77 attempts to study this ancient treatise on Indian politics from the angle of political science, an area where research has not been done extensively. The paper focuses on understanding the contours of kingship; on the treatment of the duties, functions and characteristics of the king as propounded by Kamandakiya Nitisara. It also discusses the political, administrative and functional peripheries of polity and details of central administration of the state. The author reminds us that the future research on Kamandaka must include the interaction of the king with other elements of the state and includes an in-depth analysis of the functional and compositional aspects of the seven limbs of the state in ancient India.

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Ancient Indian texts are, most of the times, not understood properly by most of the readers in general, and Westerners in particular, because of their over-whelming inability to comprehend the Sanskrit language and literature. The grammar of Sanskrit is very systematic and complex. Sometimes the slightest mistake in reproducing, reading, speaking or copying from the original may completely change the meaning. Therefore, all the Sanskrit texts have to be studied in a specific context only. In this backdrop, there has always been a greatly-felt need to have a proper glossary of Sanskrit words which have been used by writers of specific fields of human knowledge and which carry very specific meanings. Professor Shashirekha has attempted to fill in this gap by presenting a whole gamut of the terminology found in the ancient texts on public administration. Based on her knowledge of Sanskrit language and her continuous studies on Kautilya and Manu, the author has come out with this small compendium of technical terms relevant to public governance. This work78 is not only to be used as a dictionary for Sanskrit terms in political science, but it can also be used as a regular narrative on social and political life in ancient India. It presents a very clear picture of different aspects of social and political life, various occupations, different types of services, various departments of government, and different institutions in judiciary, army and other such aspects of political life. The work is enormously useful for scholars interested in the study of ancient Indian politics. The book by Sircar79 is a collection of the papers published by the author in journals during a period of fourteen years, which primarily depend upon religious life in ancient and medieval India. The author has largely used inscriptions and epigraphic evidence. By the testimony of literary records, an extensive study has been provided on various aspect of religious life in different parts of the country, with enormous references of different nature. The book by Akash Singh and Sikta Mohapatra80 claims to provide a comprehensive introduction to the study of contemporary Indian political theory. Tracing the development of the discipline and offering a clear presentation of the most influential literature in the field, it brings together contributions by outstanding and well-known academics on contemporary Indian political thought. The paper by Mukherjee81 tries to delineate the fundamental principles of good governance and endeavors to relocate some aspects of Mahabharata, Manusmriti and Arthasastra by way of finding the elements of good governance in these treatises.

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The article by Kaur82 attempts to analyze the Saptanga theory of Kautilya. It describes the seven elements of state and their resemblance to the modern theories of state. The paper also looks at modern concepts of statecraft. The paper by Sharma and Singh83 discusses the objectives of kingship, the elements of the state, the king’s status, virtues, education, succession, duties and categories. It also concentrates on the selection, qualities and duties of the councilors and the ministers, and presents Indian ideas regarding laws and administration of justice, taxation, people’s obligations and rights, and foreign policy. They have also been compared to and contrasted with those in the Western tradition. The paper by Panda and Pujari84 discusses the major themes and trends in Indian political thought and talks about humanism, social organization, the nature of polity and the synthesis of old values with that of Western concepts, etc. It concludes that the Indian political thought characterized by a moral foundation, not dualistic epistemology and metaphysics, appears to be quite distinct from that of the West. The paper by Dwivedi85 traces the features of human rights prevalent in the Vedic tradition. The author discusses the equality of human beings, the respect to ideologies of other people, the achievement of happiness for all and education for everyone, Dharma as protectors of the rights, the right to equal opportunity, the position of women, economic rights and right to equal justice, etc. with a good number of references from Vedic texts and other scholarly works in this field. The work by Pillai86 is a coffee table book which claims to be a guide for corporate success or a book that gives the reader ancient Indian management wisdom in a modern format. Divided into three sections of Leadership, Management and Training, the book includes tips on various topics, such as organizing and conducting effective meetings, managing time, decision-making, finance, strategy and the responsibilities and powers of a leader. The author claims that the book is a documentation of all his ideas that he has shared with millions of people from the corporate world all across the globe, about how to apply Chanakya’s practical solutions to solve day-to day problems in modern business. The book of Harjeet Singh87 is a commentary on the Arthasastra from the perspective of defense personnel. Besides providing a small life sketch of Chanakya, the author discusses the conduct of foreign policy, the defense of the kingdom, the conduct of war, and the contemporary military relevance of the Arthasastra. He concludes that the Arthasastra of Kautilya can be considered one of the greatest books of the ancient world encompassing politics, economy, diplomacy and war.

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The author, TR Sharma,88 announces that the relevant issue for the present study has been to ascertain and identify the form and the content of equity of the narratives of Shukra and Kautilya. It attempts to put forth a new genre of research by conjuring up the science of politics of the ancient seer and sage Sukracharya and the great strategist Kautilya. The work has been divided into five chapters. The first chapter is introductory and deals with the methodological aspects. The second chapter details the life and times of Sukra and Kautilya. The third discusses conceptualizations of equality in Sukra and Kautilya. Moral, socio-cultural and political dimensions have also been discussed in respect to both the writers. The fourth chapter discusses equity as a legal and juridical instrument in the texts of these two philosophers. The fifth chapter provides some concluding remarks. A useful bibliography is also provided at the end. The book Tiwary89 begins with questioning the customary idea of the Western political writers to denigrate ancient Indian political thought as despotic and barbarian. While the author concedes that the encyclopedic nature of the study that these Western political thinkers like Plato and Aristotle (who are considered to be the sole repository of all sorts of knowledge) have produced makes them peerless in the arena of political thought for all ages to come. However, the author very candidly discards the idea of terming the Indian thinkers as meaningless and absurd, which primarily demonstrates only the feeling of racial superiority. The author feels delighted with the abundance of political undercurrents flowing all over the Vedas, Upanishads, Brahmans, Ramayana and Mahabharata and later on Kautilya’s Arthasastra, etc. enshrining a huge multiplicity of political ideas, according to the author. It is claimed that the present book has tried to collect and assimilate the modern ideas of constitutionalism, republicanism and democracy. The book has been divided into seven chapters, which discuss public order and its elements and types, social order, public opinion, individuals, liberty, equality, and the nature of the state and society, etc. The author concludes that despite the authority of the kings, their tyranny and cruelty were never tolerated by the people at large. Thus, the ancient Indian political thinkers were not impervious to the welfare of the people, nor were they negligent towards the necessity of controlling the nefarious activities of a despot. The book has been written with a strong argument in favor of reinventing the ancient Indian political thought. The author has presented the logic with emphasis. The book is a must-read for those interested in the study of ancient Indian politics. The availability of standard reading material in the Hindi language for the students of political science has been a really tough question among the teaching fraternity. Although there are a good number of textbooks, the

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originality and utility of most of these are doubtful because of the inherent and visible hurriedness of their production and the apparent absence of reliable references. The number of serious research studies on ancient Indian politics in the Hindi language is almost negligible. Somehow the fraternity of the scholars of political science of Hindi areas has neglected the importance of providing good standard books in the vernacular because of many reasons. It appears that some of the Hindi Granth Academies of a few states have come out with some very good translations of the famous English books in Hindi, in order to introduce the students of Hindi areas to these writings. But these translations have their own limitations as: firstly, these are of some very old commentaries; secondly they are from Western political writers only; thirdly, these deal with Western political thought and institutions only; fourthly, most of them are unenviable now, and so on. The politics of ancient India is a generally ignored field in this perspective and in the Hindi language. We rarely find good translations of some of the noteworthy works on ancient India by Indian writers in the early years of the twentieth century. In this backdrop Kaushal Kishore Mishra, a senior Professor of Banaras Hindu University, has come out with a good number of well-researched books on various aspects of ancient Indian politics, ranging from Manu to Mahabharata, Panchatantra to Kamandaka and Kautilya to Kalhan in the Hindi language. All of these books90 provide in-depth analyses of the original Sanskrit texts, as well as discussing the political objectives, the existing systems of governance, the origin of the state, theories of sovereignty, the extent of authority, the divinity of the king, the state’s control over subjects, the relationship between Dharma and Politics, the placing of individual in the polity, international relations, the tradition of assimilation of all, etc. in these great treatises. The Indian Journal of Political Science, the quarterly publication of the Indian Political Science Association (IPSA), published a special issue on ancient Indian politics in 2004. The issue carried nine papers on different aspects on ancient India covering the relevance of Rajadharma, the relationship between the state and Dharma in Manusmriti, Kautilya’s conception of the state, the methodology of Kautilya, the political ideas of Shantiparvam, village administration in ancient India, the police in ancient India, and law and order administration in ancient India. The paper by Sharma91 tries to explore different dimensions of economic policy in ancient India by way of understanding the nature and extent of taxation as a system in Kuatilya’s Arthasastra. The paper puts forward certain relevant issues and paves the way for further studies in this area. The author argues that the studies on ancient Indian politics have

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generally focused on politico-administrative aspects of polity. The aspects of financial administration, including taxation and revenue collection, have been conveniently ignored. Given the present importance of political economy, these dimensions need to be probed systematically and deeply. The author argues that ‘further systematic and scientific investigation into the details of public finance in ancient India through specified inquiry into the description of the taxation and revenue collection system in ancient Indian Sanskrit treatises, including literary works of different writers, seems to be the need of the hour so as to enable the academic community to properly analyze, compare and contrast the modern political thinking with a perspective of impartial, normative and rational judgment on the contemporary relevance and academic significance of the valuable work of our forefathers. That will not only bring back into focus the excellent intellectual wealth of our ancient past, but will also explore some of the formidable modern myths about the civilizational achievements of yore.92 The book by Bhambhari93 is written in the form of short notes on different issues of ancient Indian politics and administration. Divided into sixteen chapters, the book discusses the meaning, nature, scope and source of the science of polity, the concept of the Hindu state, the origin and types of the state, kingship in ancient India, MantriParishad or the council of ministers, Purohit or the royal priest, republics in ancient India, taxation in ancient India, inter-state relations, laws of Dharma, justice in ancient India, political ideas in the Mahabharata, political ideas of Smritis and Nitisara and political ideas in the Arthasastra are the main topics which the book covers. A very small bibliography, along with a small conclusion, also comprises parts of the book. The author seems to be confused in using the term ‘Hindu political thought’ instead of ‘Indian political thought’ in the present times because the ‘Hindu’ adjective to the thinking of ancient India was a denomination given by the Westerners out of their ignorance of India, although commonly followed by some of the Indian writers also in pre-independence India. He is uncomfortable with the absence of electoral representation in ancient Indian polity. He tries to find individual liberty in ancient India in perspective of H.J Laski’s definition. He is unable to differentiate between kingship, monarchy and tyranny. The book appears to have been written to endorse a particular political ideological perspective vis-à-vis ancient Indian political thought with the help of just 25-odd books and without going deep into any of the original Sanskrit texts. The book has a critical approach and deserves some careful and cautious attention. The overview of the books and articles presented in the above pages clearly reveals that there is a strong need for more and more focused,

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systematic, impartial and analytical studies on different aspects of ancient Indian politics and economy. Therefore, the researcher became inclined to study these specific aspects of ancient Indian society. This is a modest attempt to fill in some of the gaps noticed while reviewing these earlier works.

References 1. Monier Williams, Indian Wisdom or Example of the Religious Philosophical and Ethical Doctrines of the Hindu, Rupa & Co., New Delhi, 2001 (reprint 2003) (originally published in 1875), pp.634 2. Monier Williams, Hinduism and its Sources, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 2003 (first Indian edition), pp.196 3. R. Sham Sastry, Evolution of Indian Polity, Nag Publishers, Delhi, 1920 (reprint 1977), pp.176 4. Narendra Nath Law, Aspects of Ancient Indian Polity, Orient Longman, London, 1921 (reprint 1960), pp.238 5. K.P. Jayaswal, Hindu Polity: A Constitutional History of India in Hindu Times, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, Delhi, (first published in 1924), 2005 (Reprint), pp.414 6. Radhakumud Mookerji, Men and Thought in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidas Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi, 1924 (Reprint,1996) 7. Ram Prasad Das Gupta, Crime and Punishment in Ancient India, Bhartiya Kala Prakashan, Delhi, 1930 (revised edition 2007), pp.244 8. U.N. Ghoshal, The Agrarian System in Ancient India, The University of Calcutta, Calcutta, 1930, pp.123 9. V.R. Rameshchandra Dikshitar, The Mauryan Polity, Motilal Banarasidas Publishers Pvt Ltd. Delhi, 1932 (reprint 1993), pp.394 10. Ram Shankar Tripathi, History of Ancient India, Motilal Banarasidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, 1942 (reprint 2006), pp.606 11. Jagdish Chandra Jain, Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canon and Commentaries, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 1947 (Revised edition 1984), pp.510 12. A.S. Altekar, State and Government in Ancient India, Motilal Banarasidas, Delhi, 1949 (Reprint 2005), pp.405 13. N.N.Bhattacharya, Jain Philosophy: Historical Outline, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 1953 (revised edition 1999), pp.259 14. Irawati Karve, Kinship Organization in India, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 1953 (Third edition 1990), pp.389 15. Karve, op.cit., p.342

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16. V.P. Verma, Studies in Hindu Political Thought and its Metaphysical Foundation, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1954 (Revised edition 1974), pp. 509 17. A.L. Basham, The Wonder That was India, Rupa & Co., New Delhi, 1954, (26th reprint) 1995, pp.572 18. M.V. Krishna Rao, Studies in Kautilya, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 1958 (third revised edition 1979), pp.171 19. Ram Sharan Sharma, Aspects of Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India, Motilal Banarasidas Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi, 1959 (5th edition 2005), pp.462 20. R.C. Majumdar, Prachin Bharat, Ancient India (Hindi translation) Translator Parmeshwarilal Gupta, Motilal Banarasidas, Delhi, 1962 (reprint 2002), pp.480 21. T.N.Ramaswamy, Essentials of Indian Statecraft-Kautiliya Arthasastra for Contemporary Readers, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt ltd, New Delhi, 1962 (reprint 2007) 22. Bhasker Anand Saletore, Ancient Indian Political Thought and Institutions, Asia Publishing House, Bombay, 1963, pp.695 23. Benjamin Khan, The Concept of Dharma in Valmiki Ramayana, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 1965 (second edition 1983), pp.273 24. Hariharnath Tripathi, State and Judiciary in Ancient India, (Hindi) Pracheen Bharat main Rajyaaur Nyayapalika, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, 1965, pp.374 25. Shobha Mukerjee, The Republican Trends in Ancient India, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Delhi 1969, 26. Romila Thapar, Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1973 (16th Impression 2010), pp.346 27. P.N. Chopra, and B.N. Das, A Social Cultural and Economic History of India, Volume 1: Ancient India, MacMilan India Ltd, 1974 (reprint 2004) 28. Shyamsunder Nigam, Economic Organization in Ancient India, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, 1975 29. M.G. Bhagat, Ancient Indian Asceticism, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, (Third edition 1976), pp.367 30. Shive Nandan Mishra, Ancient Indian Republics (from the earliest times to the 6th century A.D.), The Upper India Publishing House Pvt Ltd, Lucknow, 1976 31. P.K. Chaudhary, Political Concepts in Ancient India, S. Chand and Company Ltd, New Delhi, 1977, pp.170

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32. Haripada Chakraborti, India as Reflected in the Inscriptions of Gupta period, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 1978, pp.248 33. Uma Prasad Thapaliyal, Foreign Elements in Ancient Indian Society, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 1979, pp.194 34. S. Gopalan, Hindu Political philosophy, Wiley Eastern Ltd, New Delhi, 1979, pp.293 35. Nagendra Singh, Juristic Concepts of Ancient Indian Polity, Vision Book Pvt Ltd. New Delhi, 1980, pp.200 36. Nikunja Vihari Banerjee, Studies in the Dharmashastra of Manu, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi, 1980 37. Ram Sharan Sharma, Perspective on Social and Economic History of Early India, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1983 (Paperback edition 2003), pp.315 38. Nanda Kishore Acharya, The Polity in Shukranitisara, Vagdevi Prakashan, Bikaner, 1987, pp.214 39. Bankey Lal Sharma, Economic Ideas in Ancient India before Kautilya, Ramanand VidyaBhawan, New Delhi, 1987, pp.204 40. Om Prakash, Economy and Food in Ancient India, Part I, (Economy), BhartiyaVidya Prakashan, Varanasi, 1987 41. Dayakrishna (Ed.), India’s Intellectual Traditions: Attempts of Conceptual Reconstructions, Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi, 1987 (revised edition 2003), pp .258 42. John S. Strong, The Legend of the King Ashoka - A Study and Translation of the Ashokavandana , Motilal Banarsidas Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi,1989 (reprint 2008) 43. Chanchal Bhattacharya, The Concept of Theft in Classical Hindu Law, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, 1990 44. David Frawley, Gods, Sages and Kings: Vedic Secrets of Ancient Civilization, Motilal Banarasidass Publishers Pvt Ltd, Delhi, 1993 (reprint 2010), pp.396 45. D.N. Jha, Economy and Society in Early India, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, 1993 46. Mani Ram Sharma, Marriage in Ancient India, Agam Kala Prakashan, Delhi, 1993 47. Ritu Kohli, Kautilya’s Political Theory: Yogakshema – The Concept of Welfare State, Deep and Deep Publications, New Delhi, 1995, pp.153 48. Parnasabari Bhattacharya, Conceptualizations in the Manusmriti, Manohar Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, 1996, pp.297

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49. P Shashirekha, The Ancient Indian Administration with Special Reference to Arthasastra, Manu and Yajnavalkya, Cosmo Publications, New Delhi, 1996, pp.232 50. V.R Mehta, Foundations of Indian Political Thought, Manohar Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi, 1996 (Reprint 1999), pp.306, 51. D.D. Kosambi, The Culture and Civilization of Ancient India in Historical Outline, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1997, pp.256 52. Louis Renou, The Civilization in Ancient India, Translated from the French by Philip Spratt, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 1997 (Indian edition), p.144 53. C.M Saraswati, Indian Political Thinkers, Meenakshi Prakashan, Meerut, 4th edition 1998, pp.759 54. P. Shashirekha, The Kautilyan Penal Code, S.K Publishers, Hyderabad, 1999, pp.203 55. Noboru Karashima, Kingship in Indian History, Manohar Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi, (2004 paperback edition) first published 1999, pp.271 56. Surendra Nath Mittal, Kautiliya Arthasastra-Revisited, Centre for Studies in Civilization, New Delhi, 2000 (reprint 2004), 57. Satyaketu Vidyalankar, Prachin Bharat ki Shasan Paddhatiaur Rajashastra (Hindi) Ancient Indian Government and Polity, Sri Saraswati Sadan, New Delhi, (7th edition) 2001, pp.352 58. Sibhesh Bhattacharya, Secular and Pluralistic Elements in the Idea of State in early India, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 2002, 59. Ranabir Chakravarti, Trade and Traders in Early Indian Society, Manohar Publishers and Distributors, Delhi, 2002 (reprint 2007) 60. Appadorai, Political Thought in India - 400 B.C.-1981, Khama Publishers, Delhi, 2002 61. S.P. Das Gupta, State Planning in Ancient India: As recorded in Arthasastra of Kautilya, Professor S.P. Chatterjee Memorial Foundation, Kolkata, 2003, pp.114 62. Suresh Chandra Ghosh, The History of Education in Ancient India, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 2001 63. Irfan Habib and Vivekanand Jha, Mauryan India, Tulika Books, Delhi, 2004 (reprint 2011) 64. Kunja Gobinda Goswami, A Study of Ancient Indian Religions, Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar, Kolkata, 2004 65. Irfan Habib (ed.), India Studies in the History of an Idea, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 2005, pp.270

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66. Parmatma Saran, Prachin Bharat mein Rajnatik Vicharevam Samsthayen (Hindi) (Political Ideas and Institutions in Ancient India), Meenakshi Prakashan, Meerut, (10th edition 2005), pp.512 67. Ashwani Kumar, The Structure and Principles of Public Organization in Kautilya’s Arthasastra, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol.LXVI, No.3, July-Sep., 2005, pp.463-488 68. Sreeranjani Subba Rao, Manu’s Ideas on Administration, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXVI, No-3, July-Sept., 2005, pp.489-502 69. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Ancient Indian Democracy- Studies, Research and Some Modern Myths, Indian Journal of Politics, Vol.XXXIX, No.3, July- September 2005, pp.155-166 70. Ibid,p.161 71. Adhir Chakravarty, Urban Development in Ancient India, The Asiatic Society, Kolkata, 2006, pp.596 72. Norbert Peabody, Hindu Kingship and Polity in Pre-colonial India, Cambridge University Press, 2006 73. S.S.Ali, Kautilya and the Concept of Good Governance, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXVII, No.2, April- June, 2006, pp.375-380 74. Arvind Sharma (Ed.), Essays in Mahabharata, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, First Indian Edition 2007 (reprint 2011), pp.368-383 75. K Sreerenjani Subha Rao, Vedic Ideals and Indian Political Thought, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXVIII, No.1, Jan.March, 2007, pp.105-114 76. Vandana Jain, Judicial Administration in Ancient India, Manak Publication Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, 2008, pp.150 77. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Praxis of Kingship in Ancient India: An Exploration into the Kamandakiya Nitisara, Journal of Polity and Society, Vol.II, No.1, July December, 2008, pp.87-99 78. P.Shashirekha, Important Technical Words - In the works on Ancient Indian Polity and Their Significance, Self–Published, Hyderabad, 2010, pp.204 79. D.C.Sircar, Studies in the Religious life of Ancient and Medieval India,” Motilal Banarsidas, Delhi, 2010 80. Aakash Singh and Silika Mohapatra, (eds.), Indian Political Thought: A Reader, Routledge, New York 2010 (First Indian Reprint 2012), pp.309 81. Jhumpa Mukherjee, Revisiting Good Governance in Ancient Indian Political Thought, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXXI, No.1, Jan-March, 2010, pp.53-58

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82. Kiranjit Kuar, Kautilya’s Saptanga Theory of State, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXXI, No. 1, Jan-March, 2010, pp.59-68 83. Susheel Kumar Sharma and Vinod Kumar Singh, Indian Idea of Kingship, The Indian Journal of Political Science, LXXI, No.2, AprilJune, 2010, pp.383-398 84. Sikta Panda and Manas Ranjan Pujari, Themes and Trends in Indian Political Thought, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXXII. No.1, Jan-March, 2011, pp.9-17 85. Dhananjay Vasudev Dwivedi, Thought for Human Rights in Vedic Tradition, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXXII, No.1, Jan-March, 2011, pp.19-31 86. Radha Krishnan Pillai, Corporate Chanakya: Successful Management the Chanakya Way, Jaico Publishing House, Mumbai, 2010 (Eleventh reprint 2011), pp.318 87. Harjeet Singh, Military Strategy of the Arthasastra, Pentagon Press, New Delhi, 2012, pp.216 88. T.R Sharma,The Concept of Equity in Shukraniti and Arthasastra : A Comparative Study - Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 2011, pp.212 89. Indira Tiwary, Republics in Ancient India, Novelty and Co; Patna, 2012, pp.105 90. Kaushal Kishore Mishra, Main Foundations of Political Authority in Manu Smriti; Individual and Political System in Panchatantra; State System and Good Governance in Kamandakiya Nitisar; (Hindi) Rahul Publishing House, Meerut, 2012 91. Sanjeev Kumar Sharma, Public Finance in Ancient India: Reflection on Taxation and Revenue Collection in Kautilya’s Arthashastra, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXXIII, No.2, April-June 2012, pp.209-220. 92. Ibid, pp.218 93. C.P. Bhambhari, A Premier of Hindu Polity, pp.142

CHAPTER THREE TAXATION AND REVENUE COLLECTION IN MAHABHARATA

The fundamental basis of the political legitimacy, social power, economic capacity and universal and all-encompassing acceptability of the state is primarily formed from its capability to provide the overall development of its citizens. Since time immemorial, the state has been trying hard to engage itself into maximization of the innumerable probabilities of the all-round development of the citizens of state. For the purpose of giving a proper shape, structure, size, direction and effect to these attempts of the state, it is necessary that the sustainability and continuity of economic efficiency of the state also be maintained. For increasing the economic capacity, the state has always depended primarily on procuring a large portion of its income through taxes on the populace. Human society has long since been involved in the brainstorming discourse of ascertaining the optimum level of taxation so that the necessary requirements of the state are fulfilled: the development plans are implemented; the executive goals are achieved; the state apparatus functions without any financial paucity; the state treasury is replete with sufficient funds; and the citizens also give their contribution to the state in an easily acceptable manner. They do not find the taxation undue, unjust, or an unnecessary burden; they do not feel the tax system to be a punishment or exploitation; and none of the citizens is motivated to evade tax because of feeling afflicted, aggrieved or terrorized by the taxation policy of the state. In this background, taxation does not only remain an economic issue, but also becomes a political, administrative, legal and psychological subject of state administration. Keeping this in mind, the present chapter attempts to analyze the taxation system in ancient India. The main objective of the present chapter is to indicate and basically underline the main points of attention by the king, while making rules of taxation and tax-collection for the citizens as described in Shantiparvam of Mahabharata. This part of the epic largely deals with the political, administrative and legal dimensions

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of statecraft (Rajadharma). It also provides a theoretical framework of taxation in ancient India. Interestingly, this part of Mahabharata makes it evident that a political administration very sensitive to the economic condition of the citizens can transform taxation and tax-collection into a liberal and enduring system by a proper and receptive communication pattern. In addition to that, this chapter also provides some outlines of the early forms of taxation in ancient India, as well as giving some details of tax forms in the Vedic period, Ramayana, Jain literature, the Buddhist period and Yajnavalkya Smriti. Being completely indifferent to all the conclusions of the early studies and without becoming party to any of the prejudices of the findings based on the time, date, authenticity, language, etc. of these texts, we attempt purely to present coherent and relevant portions of the texts in an organized and systematic manner. Additionally, in order to eliminate any kind of obscurity or ambiguity originating because of transliteration, a few discussion points have also been added. The organization of the economy into a properly-structured system and a well-thought-out philosophy has been the hallmark of ancient Indian polity. The development of an economic system of its own and the available guidance of the rulebooks composed by various scholars have long since been issues of great academic inquisitiveness. The abundance and profundity of Sanskrit, Pali and other language texts of yesteryear may make anyone curious to comprehend the nature of the economic institutions, the extent and scope of public finance, the pattern of financial administration, and the various dimensions of taxation and revenue collection in ancient India. Valamki Ramayana mentions that the king protects the citizens by getting one fourth of their income. But more specific provisions about revenue collection are not visible in this epic. The administrative and political institutions find a significant place, but the main focus, however, remains altogether different from financial nuances. The Buddhist literature does not provide any detail of taxation, merely a few mentions of part of the paddy, a share of the produce, excise duty on liquor duty and on merchandise, tax on vendors, taxes on the gates and contributions levied on the birth of an heir are found at different places.1 Interestingly, taking an altogether different path, noted scholar on ancient Indian political institutions AS Altekar argues that epigraphical evidence shows that there existed considerable divergence in the country in the sphere of taxation and local government. New taxes were introduced by the different states developed on different lines in the

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various provinces of India. New books could have been written discussing these developments. But this did not happen, probably because taxation and local governments were governed by local traditions, which were not usually incorporated in the standard works on polity.2 Elucidating the theoretical frameworks of ancient Indian polity termed in various ways and words, Sinha also argues that it is important to recognize that in the Rajadharma notion of Dharmsutras.3 Talking about the aspects of Jain literature and traces of financial administration in the Jain texts, Jagdish Chandra Jain contends that revenue and taxation were the chief support of the state. Revenue in ancient India was derived partly from taxation and partly from sources other than taxation.4 We have been told that the Vyavahara Bhashya mentions one-sixth of the produce as legal tax, but it seems that it varied according to the amount of the produce, the cost of cultivation, the condition of the market, and the nature of the soil.5 There were various sources of income to the state. Eighteen types of taxes are mentioned in the Jain texts: taxes from cows (go), buffaloes (mahisha), camels (utti), catttel (pasu), goats (chagali), grass (tana), straw (palala, puval in Hindi), chaff (bhusa), wood (kattha), coal (angara), plough (siya), threshold (umbara), pasture-ground (jangha), bullocks (balivadda), earthen pots (ghaya, ghata), hides and skins (camma), food (cullaya) and any other tax imposed by will (uppatti, swechhayakalpita).6 Taxation always included certain exemptions also. We have been told that exemptions from taxation were also granted to individuals under certain circumstances to some classes in the enjoyment of privileges. Apastamba and Vashishta concur in granting immunity from taxation to shrotriyas women, minors, students, tapasas or ascetics and blind, deaf or dumb persons, artisans beggars, etc.7 The fundamental principle of taxation in ancient India, however, as depicted in all these works, was overwhelmingly righteous. Describing the significance of the principle of righteousness in state administration and public policy, Mahabharata declares: ‘Righteousness is called Dharma. The sages, O King!, have declared that Dharma restrains and sets bounds for all evil acts of men. The lord created Dharma for the advancement and growth of the creatures. For this reason, a king should act according to the dictates of Dharma for benefiting his subjects. Disregarding lust and wrath, observe then the dictates of righteousness. Among all the things that conduce to the prosperity of the kings, righteousness is the foremost.’8 In another very significant and important versatile contribution to ancient Indian politics and society, Yajnavalkya Smriti also describes the

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taxation system in an organized manner. According this treatise, a king should be endued with great energy, should be munificent (learned, wise, competent to recollect both benefits and injuries, experienced), grateful, given to the service of the aged, humble, and virtuous (who does not deviate from justice even under the pressure of difficulty), born to a good family, truthful, pure, up-and-doing, well-read in Dharmasastras, largeminded, devoid of fault-finding spirit, shorn of vices, learned, heroic, capable of keeping secrets, capable of hiding his own shortcomings, wellversed in logic, polity, Varta (economics), and (three Vedas).9 He should try to acquire, by fair means, objects not acquired; keep carefully the acquired ones; multiply the protected ones, according to the laws of political economy; and distribute the surplus wealth amongst worthy persons.10 He should appoint devoted, clever and honest men in positions suited to them and energetic men in the works of collection and disbursement.11 Having performed the work of protection (of the people) and risen up early in the morning, he should himself look after the work of collection and distribution.12 He should, then, deposit in the treasury all the gold and other wealth brought in by persons engaged in the work.13 By protecting the subjects righteously a king reaps the sixth part of their virtue, for the protection of subjects is superior to all forms of gifts.14 A king should be like a father to the servants and subjects.15 The king gets a moiety of sin committed by unprotected subjects, since he receives revenue from them in the form of taxes (for the purposes of protection).16 A king who multiplies his treasury by unfair taxation from the kingdom is in no time shorn of prosperity and meets with destruction along with his own people.17 A king, minister, subject, fort, treasury, sceptre and friends are mentioned as the seven limbs (component parts) of a kingdom.18 Many chapters of Shantiparvam have dealt with the tax system incidentally. The author of Mahabharata has tried to explain the philosophical and theoretical foundations of the tax system instead of analyzing the organizational structures or administrative set-ups. Therefore, with a sufficiently sympathetic attitude towards the possible disappointment and imminent despondency of enthusiastic, inquisitive and curious scholars who attempt to explore the ruins or wreckage of taxsystems prevalent here and there in the present times in Mahabharata, the main purpose of this part of the present study is to present the important parts in an easily comprehensible manner and explore the relevance and utility of these policy frameworks for the contemporary processes of public policy formulation in India.

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In the twelfth book of Mahabharata, particularly relevant to Shatiparvram on Yudhisthira’s enquiry on origin of the state, Bhishma replies: “Certainly, O Best among the men! Do you listen to everything in its entirety, – how kingship originated first during the golden age. Neither kingship nor the king was there in the beginning, neither scepter (Danda) nor the bearer of a scepter (Dandik). All people protected one another by means of righteous conduct Dharma. O Bharata! Men eventually fell into a state of spiritual lassitude. Then delusion overcame them. Men were thus overpowered by infatuation. O leader of men! On account of the delusion of understanding their senses of righteous conduct was lost. Then they sought to acquire what should not be acquired ……Then, the gods approached Vishnu, the lord of creatures and said, ‘Indicate to us that one person among mortals who is alone worthy of highest eminence.’ Then blessed lord God Narayana reflected and brought forth an illustrious mind-born son called Virajas (who became the first king).19

Logical Foundations of Taxation The author of Mahabharata, with a view to giving logical background to the foundations of taxation, makes it evidently clear that tax is not at all related to inflicting fear among citizens, snatching money from the rich, or not giving the due to someone; rather it is only a pre-requisite or a pre-condition of system formulation, people protection and safe environment creation by the state. Therefore, the king is expected to regularly attempt to keep his treasury full and replete. He must be like Yamaraja while doing justice and like Kubera while collecting money. He should constantly keep in view all the important aspects of the growth and loss of income.20 The king should never try to destroy the wealth of others. He should ensure that one gets whatever is due to him. The king should maintain valour, truthfulness and endurance in his behavior. Being so, the king will never perish.21 Mahabharata emphatically points out that the king should never seize money from wicked people as punishment. He should distribute money amongst good people as when the need be.22 This whole system of taxation in Mahabharata receives its logical foundations in the motive of the author when he announces that the perennial duty and obligation (Dharma) of the kings on this earth is to ensure the happiness of the citizens in this life. The king should imbibe the eternal values of protection of truth and simplicity of behavior in their personality and character.23 Centuries before the inception of the Western constructs of the concepts of legitimacy and the inception of the theories of the origin of the state, the Mahabharata underlines and simultaneously

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highlights the basic tenets of the nature and authority of the state to protect and announces that an individual should first attain a king and thereafter the family and money. Because without a king, how would one’s family be protected or how would the money remain safe?24 Therefore, it is evident that providing safety and security to the citizens is the most important duty of the king. This clarifies the legitimacy of the system of taxation in view of the structure of the state.

Easily Acceptable Tax System Mahabharata points out that someone who is above self-interest and has abandoned personal greed, and the one who has strict control over all his body organs can only properly run the system of the state and the mammoth structure which cannot be steered by someone who has not been able to overpower his mind.25 Only in this situation it is possible that taxation can be judicious and fair; it is based on the principles of equality. Otherwise, it may inculcate some sense of discontentment amongst the citizens which may, in turn, lead to the practice of tax evasion among them. Therefore, only that king is considered to be the superior in whose state the citizens do not hide their wealth and properly understand and differentiate between justice and injustice.26 In fact, the precondition of taxation being fully in accordance with the Dharma is not only the fountain head of giving legitimacy to it, but also the feature, the characteristic, the factor and the ingredient. Thus, the king must make arrangements for Yogakshema of the populace by way of abandoning any laxity and by governing the state in line with Dharma, along with collecting taxes which are in consonance with the Dharma.27 And, Dharma is essentially far away from religion. So no one should construe that the taxes have to be levied and collected as per religious ordains. The author of Mahabharata warns that the other condition is harmful and painful for the both the king and the citizen. Clearly the king who engulfed in greed and endearment of money puts to trouble his citizens and subjects by way of collecting more and more money through coercive taxation is essentially on a path of self-destruction.28 It is, therefore, necessary that the tax system remains and of course, appears to be fair and judicious. It is in this backdrop that while teaching Rajadharma to Yudhisthira in Shantiparvam of Mahabharata, Bhisma says, ‘O King! Should the king want to enjoy his authority and wish to increase enormously his treasury, he should always take reasonable money from the subjects in the form of taxes and protect the state by fair means.’29

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Sensitive and Liberal Taxation The author of Mahabharata has provided an excellent and amazing mantra of good governance while discussing taxation, which can be immensely useful, educative and illuminating to the modern day rulers also. It has been unequivocally accepted and recognized that the fundamental objective of state formation is the fearless co-existence of citizens in a secure environment of faith, belief and trust in the authority of the state, thereby resulting in respect and regard towards it, which results in giving legitimacy to the functioning of the state, as well as its regulating power and capacity to protect. Describing this all in a one-line formula, the Mahabharata proclaims that the best among kings is one who has ensured that his subjects live and roam around freely, fearlessly and confidently throughout the state just like children live freely without any fear in the house of their father.30 So the king has to instill a feeling of fearlessness amongst his subjects by fatherly behavior. Examples of such sensitivity of the state towards the citizens are rare and scarce in the whole bibliography of political science. In the same backdrop, by way of giving numerous similes for tax collection, the author of Mahabharata clearly insists that taxation should necessarily avoid any coercive elements and also warns of the repercussions of it being exploitative in nature. It has been proclaimed that ‘O Yudhishthir! The king should levy light and heavy taxes on people in view of their socio-economic conditions. The king should collect only an amount of taxes which does not lead the subjects into trouble or sorrow or torment’.31 The taxes should never be obtrusive. The whole formulation of taxation should be based on the job profile and the interest of the citizens. The idea of recognizing the income, expenditure, gains, losses, etc. while keeping in consideration the rules and addicts of the state and deciding the taxes on people, is unique and novel. So it is said that if the profit and the effort are worthless and unutilized then people will not venture into any work at all. Therefore, the king should decide the levying and collection of taxes after taking due care of the profits and gains in commerce, agriculture, etc. and after gauging the interests of the state as well as people involved in productive industries, money-making and other works.32 Again, underlining the essentiality of the sensitivity of taxation, Mahabharata prescribes that ‘O King! You become like a gardener. Do not become like a coal maker. A gardener takes care of the trees, irrigates them, protects them from human and other possible dangers, and then receives the fruits and the flowers which reach him almost naturally. But the coal maker will destroy the tree, ignite it and make coal out of the ruins of the tree.

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Thus, you must also become like the gardener and protect the garden of the state by putting in your all efforts and receive taxes from the protected populace as fruits and flowers coming naturally to you. You should not destroy the state and the subjects by barbaric and brutal taxation like a coal maker. Thus this way you can enjoy your authority in the state for a longer period by engaging yourself in the enrichment of the lives of the citizens.’33 Making cautions arrangements, the author of Mahabharata again prescribes that like someone who wants to get milk but cannot get it by cutting udders of a milch cow, in the same way if the citizens of the state are exploited by unlawful and illegitimate means, the state cannot progress.34 The message of this simile is that the one who regularly serves the milking cow regularly gets the milk continuously. So a king who protects the citizens gets the all-out support of them.35 It has been prescribed that out of craving for more wealth, the king should not destroy the lifelines of the subjects and he should let them remain engaged in agriculture, commerce, trade and whatever they wish to. The king should close the gates of greed and become such a person whose sight is pleasant to the citizens.36 If the king gets notoriously famous for over-exploiting the people, the whole citizenry begins to dislike him. It is simple that if all the people start hating him, there cannot be any good for him. A king who is not liked by the citizens never gets any credit, advantage, or comfort. Therefore, a king with undiluted intellect should collect money and enrich his treasury slowly by soft and pleasant taxation just like a cub grows by depending on the milk of the cow.37

Economic Bases of Taxation Although the Shantiparvam sufficiently reveals a serious theoretical and philosophical analysis on taxation in the context of Rajadharma, yet the mechanical system or organizational structure of levying and collecting the taxes has not been dealt with in great detail. In fact, the author of Mahabharata, while overviewing different aspects of statecraft, enumerates certain basic principles of the tax system. It has been prescribed that the king must levy taxes necessarily after giving proper consideration to the sale and purchase of raw material, the expenses incurred on transportation and import, the wages of the personnel involved, the savings, profit and sustenance of the people engaged in the trade, and overall the Yogakshema of the subjects.38 In the same manner, the manufacturing cost of the product, the preparations, the consumption, the standards of handicrafts maintained and ensured through regular and continuous vigilance and the inspection by the officers, etc. are the points

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to be taken into account while levying taxes on the handicrafts, artisans and on the people performing these works.39 It has been strictly prescribed that a king who has faith in Dharma should keep his subjects under his discipline according to his wisdom and strength, keeping in view the well-being of them and being focused on the overall growth and progress of the state.40 He should disseminate such information through propaganda among the citizens, which according to his intelligence, are fruitful and useful for the state, as well as the king.41 Again, by way of giving more similes, the author of Mahabharata, highlighting the sensitivity, which has to be at the core of the taxation system, opines that just like someone who is to milk a cow does it without hurting the calf and does it gently and slowly without giving any pain even to the cow and does not crush the udders of the cow, only like that the king should not crush the productive udders of the nation (incarnated cow), but he should procure taxes by soft measures.42 Just as a leech slowly sucks the blood and one usually does not notice even for a long time, in the same way the king should get money from the subjects in the form of taxes slowly and gently.43 Just like a mouse gnaws the feet of a sleeping animal so delicately that the animal does not even know the damage but only quivers, the king should also get his taxes from the subjects.44 As the tigress carries the cubs in her teeth with the utmost care and tenderness without biting them or giving any kind of pain to them, but provides them protection, the king should also treat the subjects as his children and tax revenue should be collected in such a soft way that it becomes acceptable to one and all. The most emphatic element of these poetic similes is that they emphasize the inherently essential element of administration which has a deep sense of belongingness in the mind of the ruler of the citizens.

Increase in Revenue and Fear of Punishment One of the necessary ingredients of the taxation system is the dichotomy that the state requires more and more money in order to complete its development projects and to provide security to the people, while the apprehensions that the subjects may start feeling when disappointed by any substantive increase in the taxes is always prevalent. Again, there are always possibilities of unlawful elements evading tax payments. Keeping this in mind, the author of Mahabharata provides that the king should start by little and low taxes in the first instance and then should slowly begin increasing the taxes and collecting the increased taxes.45 After an interval he should keep on increasing the taxes slowly so that it does not become a burden on anyone.46 Just as the man controlling

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the bulls begins by putting very a light weight on their backs and slowly increases the weight and makes them used to carrying more weight, the king should slowly increase the burden of taxes on the subjects so that they become used to paying taxes and never feel overburdened.47 As it is not easy for the king to control all the people at one time he must, therefore, befriend the elites by decent conversation at first by way of assuring them of the all-round development of the state and then proceed to control the others by involving them in the system or by engaging them in the discourse on governance.48 Subsequently, he may enjoy his authority by way of addressing the major concerns of people of different categories in a specific manner.49 The king should not levy taxes on people in adverse conditions and times. He must focus on convincing the people of taxation, as well as making the tax system fair, judicious and acceptable.50 The author of Mahabharata opines through Bhishma, ‘O king! These measures are being put before you not with any intention of training you in deceit or fraud or diplomacy. The main purpose of this is to emphasize the ascendency of the principle of judiciousness of the means. Those who use unprincipled tactics, give rise to anger and frustration.’51 In the interest of the king and the state, therefore, it is reaffirmed that the means of governance essentially have to be just and fair. The king is also advised to keep the unlawful elements in society under strict discipline of the state, otherwise they would disseminate the evil trends in the society.52 The state should not let loose people involved in the liquor trade, prostitution, gambling, and brokers, sex-workers, etc. so that they may not harm the image and future of the state.53 They may be persuaded to leave the state and settle elsewhere, or be kept under strong state vigil. The sinners have to be crushed by the state authority so that the sin does not perpetrate.54 The state should have stringent regulation over prostitution centers and bars because these may incite people into crimes, be it social or economic. Ordinary people may get attracted to these misdeeds.55 So the state must collect more money from these places by levying extra taxes on them.56 It has also been prescribed that the state should provide additional help in the forms of cash or kindness to the people who have problems and need special assistance.57 The state must be compassionate and empathetic towards the people who are aggrieved or deprived.58 This is not only the duty of the state, but also the Dharma of the king. The state should be free from robbers, snatchers and beggars because they are the enemies of the prosperity of the state as well as the people.59 It has been prayed that the state be free from all such people who become a hindrance to its growth and development, and all

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such people who, in any form, increase the glory and opulence of the state must be welcome.60

Tax Collection Personnel The author of Mahabharata was conscious about the requirement of training and protection of the personnel engaged in tax collection. So he discusses the nature and patterns of the people involved in this job. It is prescribed that the primary duties of a king entail sufficient and regular observation and vigilance of the subjects; providing the required assistance and sustenance to people who do not have any means of earning; managing the livelihood of people with disabilities; giving financial help to people whose life is dependent on state assistance; and remaining focused on endeavors of the promotion of the interests of the state and its people.61 The king is advised to employ ministers, officers and personnel of good faith for the purpose of inspection of the places like gold, silver and other mines, wholesale markets, river banks, boatghats, markets of food, grain, salt and vegetables, and markets of cattle, bullion, etc. in order to maximize income through taxes.62 Mahabharata, while explaining the principles of the taxation system in ancient India, prescribes that the king should desire to collect the finances through legitimate and acceptable means like the sixth portion of the income of the subjects, levying and collecting reasonable taxes, giving financial punishment to criminals and law breakers, providing protection to the traders and producers, and receiving fixed salaries for all these jobs.63 Dealing with the issue of personnel engaged in tax collection, Mahabharata provided that those people who enrich the coffers of the state should always be given sufficient state protection.64 In the event of the persons being involved in enriching the state exchequer by sincerely collecting money through taxes not protected by the state, that person may be singled out and destroyed helplessly by the people who might have gathered to loot the state treasury.65 So it has been prescribed that whosoever is efficient in whatsoever job be employed for that work only. People interested in agriculture must be given the task of tax collection in the agriculture sector; likewise, people interested in commerce, trade, etc. should be engaged in tax collection in their areas of interest and understanding.66 Besides that, the state must ensure that the lives of the people engaged in tax collection, as well as of those engaged in these sectors, are properly prospected by the state apparatus.67

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Negation of Exploitation of the Rich In most of the present day democracies the tax system gives an impression that it intends to steal the money of the rich and concomitantly results in massive tax evasion. Thinkers of statecraft in ancient India had very well contemplated this situation. The author of Mahabharata is very clear in his approach in Shantiparvam and, therefore, transmits a clear message that none of the rich people of the state should have any cynicism or apprehension that the state intends to exploit them by heavy taxation because of their good fortunes. Taxation patterns should never be assumed to be a punishment of owing more than anybody in the state. Therefore, it has been advised to the king that he should give due welcome and hospitality to the affluent and wealthy people whenever they approach him. The king should benevolently appeal to them to be philanthropic and to assist the state in the material growth of the people.68 The king has been advised to recognize the fact that these rich people are an integral part of the state.69 Their economic possessions and financial progress are not at all against the interests of the state. Their richness is a virtue, not a demerit. Therefore, only due taxes should be collected from them. Anyone who collects more than the due taxes should also be punished as per the rules. Again, it is emphasized that the personnel employed by the state should not collect anything more than the due taxes, and if there is any substantiated information of such mischief by anyone, he should be punished by the king.70 Some senior officers must train them to collect proper taxes from the people. The author of Mahabharata believes that if the king imposes additional taxes on businessmen and further burdens them by ignoring their profit and loss accounts, then the business class of that state tend to leave that state and settle elsewhere.71 Therefore, the state should approach them with soft attitude. The king is, therefore, advised to give all possible assurance to the business community by means of giving continuous protection to them.72 Financial assistance in the events of deprivation or of major losses in commerce may also be provided to them by the state. The state may help them in consolidating their financial potential by facilitating them in getting the necessary raw material and institutional help and keeping them in good humour.73 The business class should receive the fruits of their efforts and the due output of their labor. The state should see to it that they get the due cost of their production and that they are treated properly by the personnel engaged in tax collection by the state. It has been emphasized in Mahabharata several times that it is one of the important duties of the state to ensure there is a comfortable

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and conducive environment for the business community to remain engaged in trade and production, thereby adding to the growth and development of the state as a whole, as well as to provide safe and secure working conditions for all the citizens throughout the state.74 This is considered to be the best possible duty and obligation of the king.

Tax Collection in Emergency All the above narrated provisions are good enough during normal conditions, but if the nation is facing any emergency situation, then the measures will have to be essentially different. The state may require more finances during emergencies, but increases in tax may prove to be counter-productive. So the king in these conditions will have to prove his individual abilities, communication skills, logical prudence and capacity to reach out to the people in order to increase their cooperation and participation in the activities of the state and at the same time to keep their faith in the state intact. For this purpose, the king has to exhort the people for contributing more to the state exchequer by way of paying increased taxes.75 Interestingly, Mahabharata has presented the whole plan of this situation. The king is advised to first disseminate the information about the emergency and the resultant requirement of more money for a strong and sufficiently-filled treasury. He should travel throughout the state in order to maintain the confidence of the people in him and the state authority. He should draw the attention of all the people of the state towards the seriousness of the calamity and its horrifying effects. The author of Mahabharata has drawn a draft speech of the king to be disseminated as a message to the nation by the king. The king should speak to the people clearly that ‘O great people of my nation! There is a huge adversity before all of us at this time. There is a great fear of attack on our nation by the enemies.76 Our propriety has made them jealous and their vicious greed has landed them on the gates of our state. We know that the growth of fruits in a bamboo tree is the root cause of its destruction. Like that, these enemies have invited their end by attacking a state like ours, which has enough resources, human and financial, to meet this challenge. In these days of immense danger and heavy threat from the external enemies, the state requests you all to help by giving additional money in the form of cess, which is essentially refundable.77 The state is demanding this additional amount from you as a loan only. The king should not only try to convince people about the reality of the threat, but also maintain their confidence in the ability of the state to protect them from this calamity. So the king should also make a promise

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that, as and when this emergency is over and the threat is completely removed, I shall ensure that all this additional money is refunded to you. You would appreciate the fact that if the state apparatus fails to check these invaders, they will plunder your wealth and prosperity. They would loot your money and would never return back.78 Your families, females, children, etc. will also be their soft and primary targets. All the money we procure and preserve is largely for the protection and well-being of our families, wives and children.79 If they are to be protected by the state, the state may require more money for different, newer expanses. As your king, I always get pleased and happy by your economic strength, material prosperity and influential progress, just as a father becomes happy by the growth his children. For the purpose of avoiding the imminent threat to the very existence of our beloved nation, I would collect additional amount by increased taxes, which would definitely be imposed according your tax-paying capacities and will, therefore, have different layers and will never put you in any kind of unbearable trouble.80 I would request you to share some part of the burden that has engrossed our nation like true sons of the motherland and of course, only in accordance of individual capabilities. It will never be appropriate for you to hide your wealth during this emergency and to love your coffers more than the pride of your nation.81 This extra money is required to build the walls of the city; to pay salaries to the soldiers and the officers; to get more ammunition to the army; to make arrangements for possible war; to use diplomatic channels to avoid the horror of warfare; and to ensure the Yogakshema of all the citizens.82 You are the wealthy citizens of the country. You are the best-placed to cooperate with the state in these precarious days.’ The author of Mahabharata prescribes that after such a provocative and poignant speech with affectionate and persuasive, pleasing words, the king should send the people from the infantry or government officers to collect the cess from the people.83 The king has to be very wise, well-balanced, prudent and shrewd in the period of an emergency, while keeping his cool. Nigam concludes that an analysis of tax policy of the state (in ancient India) reveals that the cannons of taxation advocated by Adam Smith and other modern economists were in practice in one way or another much before these were propounded by their propounders. The tax system of the ancient Indian state had been quite reasonable, rational, convenient, elastic and appealing.84 ‘In the Jatakas the tax collectors are mentioned as hungry robbers, drawing on the poor earnings of the cultivators. We come across references when the subjects, being oppressed by taxation, took their wives and families and wandered in the forests like wild

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beasts; where once stood villages there were now none, and the people, through the fear of king’s officers, by day did not venture to dwell in their houses, but fencing them about with thorn branches, and as soon as they day broke, they disappeared into the forest.85 According to Jayaswal, the general principles of Hindu taxation are: 1. The greediness of the state not to destroy itself and others; 2. Over-taxing is not allowed; 3. An extravagant state is opposed; 4. Moderate taxation is appreciated; 5. Taxation should be such as is not felt as a burden by the subjects; 6 The process of increasing taxes should be mild; 7. Taxes should be levied in proper places, at the proper time and in the proper form; 8. Taxation should never be painful; 9. Taxes should be levied after determining all the inputs and outputs; 10 All the important physical, economic and human factors should be taken into account while levying taxes; 11. Imports harmful to the state and fruitless luxuries are to be discouraged by heavy taxation; 12. Beneficial imports should be free of import duties; 13. Economic considerations are prominent everywhere; 14 Productive powers are not to be hampered; 15. Innovative industries are to be encouraged; and 16. Taxes should be gradual and with reference to capacity and not in an obnoxious form.86 It may very well be concluded after the above discussion that the Shantiparvam of Mahabharata insists on making taxation liberal, simple, tolerable, acceptable, unstrained, innate, legitimate, just and judicious. The king is expected to maintain the legitimacy of state power and authority by his exquisite personal characteristics, his superior, gracious, kind-hearted, compassionate, generous, humane, and benign benevolence and attitude, his truthfulness, his marvelous intelligence and smart moves.87 Therefore, it is said that only a king who is wise, rational, prudent, ascetic, valorous, heroic, and knowledgeable can protect the subject properly.88 So the king should love all the people and all the living creatures of his state. He should adhere to the Dharma of truth, simplicity, forgiveness and kind-heartedness towards his citizens.89 It has been prayed that such a behavior will give the king the power to use Danda (authority), the treasury (Kosha), the friends (Mitra) and the state

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(Rajyam), and also the legitimacy to rule. The king’s authority shall, thus, be strengthened, along with full state coffers and a well-equipped army to protect the state with enriched vigour.90 In this backdrop, it is evident that the taxation system in ancient India was directly and closely attached to the insistence on attainting substantial legitimacy in its theoretical framework and philosophical basis, and was completely based on the essential point of sensitivity towards the citizens. More specifically, taxation in ancient India lacked any kind of discrimination. The necessity of the virtuousness, integrity, commitment, honesty and righteousness of the personnel engaged by the state for tax collection has been immensely emphasized. There was complete prohibition of any torture of the citizens by any means and taxation was sufficiently fulfilled with a compassionate approach. It would be adequately appropriate to conclude that more focused, profound, intensive and obtrusive studies and research on various elements of the political economy and administrative structures of ancient India are required to be conducted by fellow learners, so as to pave the way for greater progress and the profuse development of Indian society and the Indian nation in the light of the largely unexplored, admirable and glorious socio-political trajectories of yesteryear.

References 1. Bandyopadhyaya, Development of Hindu Polity and Political Theories, op. cit., p.167 2. AS Altekar, State and Government in Ancient India, Motilal Banarsidas Publishers Pvt. Ltd, Delhi, 2005, p.17 3. Braj M Sinha, Arthasastra Categories in the Mahabharata: From Dandaniti to Rajdharma in Arvind Sharma (ed.) Essays in Mahabharata, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, First Indian Edition 2007 (reprint 2011), p.369 4. Jagdishchandra Jain, Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jain Canons and Commentaries, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt Led, New Delhi, 1947 (second edition 1984), p.104 5. Ibid, p.104 6. Ibid, p.105 7. Bandyopadhyaya, op. cit., p.167 8. Sinha, op.cit, p.375 9. Yajnavalkya Smriti, 1, 309-311, pp.149-150 egksRlkg% LFkwyy{k% ÑrKks o`)lsod%A fouhr% lRolEiUu% dqyhu% lR;okD”kqfp%AA

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vnh?kZlw= Le`freku{kqnzks·i#’kLrFkkA /kkfeZdks·O;lu”pSo izkK% “kwjks jgL;for~AA LojU/kzxksIrk··Uohf{kD;ka n.MuhR;ka rFkSo pA fouhrLRoFk okrkZ;ka =¸;ka pSo ujkf/ki%AA 10. Ibid, 1,317, p.152 vyC/kehgs)esZ.k yC/ka ;Rusu iky;sr~A ikfyra o/kZ;sUuhR;k o`)a ik=s’kq fuf{kisr~AA 11. Ibid, 1, 322, pp.154-155 Rk= r= p fu’.kkrku/;{kkUdq”kyk¥”kqphu~A Ikzdq;kZnk;deiUrO;; deZlq pks|rku~AA 12. Ibid, 1, 327, p.156 Ñrj{k% leqRFkk; Ik”;snk;O;;ks Lo;e~A 13. Ibid, 1, 328, p.157 fgj.;a O;ki`rkuhra Hkk.Mkxkjs’kq fuf{kisr~A 14. Ibid, 1, 335, p. 159 Ikq.;kR’kM~HkkxeknÙks U;k;su ifjiky;u~A loZnkukf/kda ;LekRiztkuka ifjikyue~AA 15. Ibid, 1, 334, p.159 L;knzktk Hk`R;oxsZ’kq iztklq p ;Fkk firkA 16. Ibid, 1, 337, p.160 vj{;ek.kk% dqoZfUr ;fRdafpfRdfYo’ka iztk%A rLekÙkq u`irsj/kZa ;Lekn~ x`àkR;lkS djku~AA 17. Ibid, 1, 340, p.161 vU;k;su u`iks jk’VªkRLodks”ka ;ks·fHko/kZ;sr~A lks·fpjkf}xr Jhdks uk”kesfr lckU/ko%AA 18. Ibid, 1, 353, 166 LokE;ekR;k tuks nqxZa dks”kks n.MLrFkSo pA fe=k.;srk% izd`r;ks jkT;a lIrkMeqP;rsAA 19. Mahabharata as translated in William Theodore De Bary, Sources of Indian Tradition, Columbia University Press, New York, 1958, pp.242244 20. dks”kL;ksiktZujfr;ZeoSJo.kksie%A osÙkk p n”koxZL; LFkkuo`f){k;kReu%AA Mahabharata, Shantiparvam, Anushasan Parva, 57 (18) 4565 21. u fgaL;kr~ ijfoRrkfu ns;a dkys p nki;sr~A foØkUr% lR;okd~ {kkUrks u`iks u pyrs iFk%AA Ibid, 57 (12) 4565 22. u pknnhr foÙkkfu lrka gLrkr~ dnkpuA vln~H;”p lekn|kr~ ln~H;Lrq izfriknsrAA Ibid, 57 (21) 4566 23. yksdj«tuesok= jkKka /keZ% lukru%A lR;L; j{k.ka pSo O;ogkjL; pktZoe~AA Ibid, 57 (11) 4565 24. jktkua izFke foUnsr~ rrks Hkk;kZ rrks /kue~A jktU;lfr yksdL; dqrks Hkk;kZ dqrks /kue~AA Ibid, 57 (41) 4567 25. jkT;a fg lqegr~ rU=a /kk;Zrs ukd`rkRefHk%A Ibid, 58 (21) 4568

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26. vxw