Importance Of Governance Of The Mauryan Era

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s.no Period Way to governance Governance during Mauryan Period The Mauryan period is regarded as the period of good governance. It was one of the largest empires in Ancient India and its administration was considered as one of the best administration over the entire world. The Mauryan King was the head of the state administration holding legislative, executive and judicial powers. Judicial system was well organized and there was continues supervision and inspection process which was installed in every walk of administration. Secret services played a major role in maintenance of law and order in the kingdom. Local authority was controlled by Parishad who in turn used to report to king. As the Mauryan empire extended almost to whole of

During Gupta period lot of reforms were carried out, the empire was divided in to several provinces each of which was headed by viceroy appointed amongst the member of Royal family. Local administration were given full powers to frame there own decisions so there were no controls from center except in few cases where they used to report to center. Villages were governed by Village heads who in turn used to report to district heads. During Gupta period, Urban and Rural administration were more decentralized compared to Mauryan empire. So, each of them understood their responsibility and they worked towards achievement of welfare objectives. There was lot of integration among different levels of administration and all were clear about their duties and thrived to work for the well being of the people and king. Salaries during Gupta period were given in the form of land, more effective and efficient people were benefited with extra land which they can use for cultivation and earn extra income. Gupta period had good contact with outside world, they had good communication system and also well developed foreign

The King’s happiness should reside in the happiness of his subjects.
 Skill in intrigue is a better qualification for kingship than either power or enthusiasm.
 The king should avoid injuring women and property of others and should shun falsehood and haughtiness.
Political –
 The king should rule with help of state officials and consult his ministers.
 Kautilya emphasised on the need of civil services – “Sovereignty can be carried on only with assistance.”
 The size of the Council of Ministers should depend on the circumstances and requirements of the country (recently, a similar change has been brought forth by Modi).
 The king should personally attend to the needs of the minors, the aged, the afflicted, the helpless and women.
 Espionage and intelligence departments have been stressed upon. Kautilya also advocates the use of torture for extorting confessions.
Economic
 Kautilya refers to 18 departments of administration – a few being revenue, mint, exchequer, excise, commerce, etc.
 He pays special attention upon finance and then treasury.
 The supritendent of agriculture was required to assess land at rates varying according to the different methods of irrigation thus protecting every farmer’s