Provincial Administration

province	Capital
Uttarapatha  i.e. Northern Province	Taxila
Avantirashtra i.e. Western Province	Ujjain
Prachi i.e. Eastern and Central Province	Patilputra
Kalinga i.e. Eastern  Province	Toshali
Dakshinapatha i.e. Southern Province	Suvarnagiri

Note:

       According to the Junagadh Rock Edict of Rudradaman, Saurashtra was Governed by Pushyagupta, the vaishya, at the time of Chandragupta Maurya and by the Yavan king Tushaspa at the time of ashoka.

Administrative Unit	Head
Chakra (i.e. Province)	Rashtrapala/ Kumara
Ahar/vishaya (i.e.District)	Pradeshika (administrative ) and Rajuka (land revenue)
Sangrahana (a group of 10 villages)	Gopa
Gram (i.e. village)	Gramika

Municipal Administration

             Kautilya devotes a full chapter to the rules of the Nagarak i.e. city  superintendent . His chief duty was maintenance of law and order.

             Megasthenese account of the system  : 6 committees of five members each ,and their functions; 1^st – Industrial Arts 2^nd – Entertainment of Foreigners, 3^rd – Registration of Births and Deaths, 4^th – Trade and Commerce, 5^th – public sale of manufactured goods ,and 6^th – Collection of taxes on the articles sold (1/10^th of purchase price).

Economy

           The state controlled almost all economic activities.

           Tax collected from peasants varied from ¼ to 1/6 of the produce.

           The state also provided irrigation facilities (Setubandha ) and charged water –tax.

           Tolls state also levied on commodities brought to town for sale and they were collected at gate.

           The state enjoyed monopoly in mining, forest, salt , sale of liquor, manufacture of arms etc.

           Sohgaura (Gorakhpur district , U.P.) copper plate inscription and Mahasthana (Bogara district ,Bangladesh ) inscription deal with the relief measures to be adopted during a famine.

           Important ports : Bharukachch/ Bharoch and Supara (Western coast), Tamralipti In Bengal (Eastern coast).

          During Mauryan period , the punch – Marked coins (mostly of  silver were the common units of transactions.

Society

             Kautilya /Chanakya / Vishnugupta is not as right on the Varna system as the earlier Smriti writers.

Kautilya ‘s Arthashatra’ looked upon the Shudras as an Aryan community which his distinguished  fro mMalechha or non- Aryan community.

             Reduction of gap between the Vaishyas (most of whom were now concentrating on trade though others  continued cultivation ) and the Shudras (quite a few of whom were now agriculturists and others being  artisans). 

              Mangasthenese states that Indian society was divided into 7 classes:

                             1. Philosophers 

                             2. Farmers

                             3. Soldiers 

                            4. Herdsmen 

                            5. Artisans 

                            6. Magistrates 

                            7. Councillors . 

             The ‘classes’ mentioned above appear to have been economic than social.

             Though Megasthenese states that there were no slavery In India; yet, according to Indian sources , slavery was a recognized institution during Mauryan reign. It appears that Megasthenese was thinking of slavery in full legal sense as it existed in the West.

              Women occupied a high position and freedom in the Mauryan Society According   to   Kautilya , women  were permitted to have a divorce  or remarry. Women were employed as personal body –guards of the king spies and in other diverse jobs.

Mauryan Art

         Anand Coomarswamy classified Mauryan Art into two groups:

                            Royal/ Court Art :

                              The Royal Palace of Chandragupta Maurya (kumharar, Patna) and City of Patliputra , Ashokan Pillars, Caves, Stupas etc.

                                 Folk /popular Art :(i) Figure Sculpture of Yaksha- Yakshini etc, e.g. Yaksha of Parkham (Mathura), Yakshini of Besanagar / Vidisha (M.P.), chanwar – bearer Yakshini of Didarganj (patna) .(ii) Yerracotta objects.

                       The Mauryas as introduced stone masonry on large scale during  Ashoka.

Fragements of scone pillars and wooden floor and ceiling indicating the existence of an 80- pillared hall have been discovered at Kumhrar  on outskirts of patna.  Seeing this Fahien remarks as follows.  ‘These Palaces are so beautiful and excellent that they appear  to be the creation of God  rather than of men ‘.

                     The pillars represent the masterpieces of Mauryan sculpture . Each pillar is made of single piece of sandstone , only their capitals, which are beautiful pieces of sculpture in form of lion or bulls, are joined with pillar on the  top.

                    Four lion capital at sarnath  and Sanchi. Lioned capital of sarnath was adopted as ‘ Natioinla Emblem ‘ of India o n26 Jan., 1950.

                   Single lion capital at Rampurva and  Lauriya Nandangarh .  

                   Single bull capital at rampurva.

                   A carved elephant  at Dhuli and engraved elephant at kalsi.

                  The Mauryan artisans who started the practice of hewing out caves from rocks for monks to live in. The earliest example are Barabar caves ( Sudama, World Hut, Chaupada of Karna, Rishi Lomesh) in Gaya ( Ashokan). The other examples are Nagarjuni caves in Gaya (Dasharath).

Stupas were built throughout      the empire to enshrine the relics of Buddha. Of these ,the most famous are at Sanchi and Bharhuta.

              ‘At all times, whether I am eating , or am in the women ‘s apartments ,or in my inner apartment ,or  at the  cattleshed , or in my carriage , or in my gardens – wherever I may be- my Mahamattar  should keep me in touch  with public business’ .                                                 _Rock Edict VI

‘All men are my children’                                         _ Kalinga Rock Edict I (Dhauli)