Urban Administration as discussed by Harsh Kumar
Around the 6th century, the emergence of Mahajanapadas was a significant development in the history of India. During this time, there were sixteen Mahajanapadas according to the various Buddhist and Jainism texts. The Magadha was the most powerful because of various factors, we will discuss them later in this post. The emergence of Magadha empire in 4th century BC carried the process of politico-admin evolution to it extent.
The urban administration of this kingdom was in advance level which was very similar to modern day administration of urban regions. The information about the urban administration was drawn from various sources like texts and inscriptions of Ashoka. The Arthashastra of Kautilya and Indica of Megasthenes provided important details of urban administration of Patliputra and other urban areas.
Also Read : Mauryan Empire – Nature and Polity
Ashokan Inscriptions and Their Importance
Magadha – Factors Behind its Rise
Historiography – the way of History-Writing
City Administration of Patliputra According to Arthashastra
According to the Arthashastra, the city of Patliputra was divided into number of blocks. These blocks were further divided into number of wards. Typically, a ward comprised 10 to 20 families and it many large to 40 families as well. Gopa was the head of ward administration. The head of block administration was known as Sthanika. There was also city judge who known as Pradeshta.
For the security of peoples, the police were also there in the city administration. The chief of Police was known as Rakshin. Nagrika was the head of the city administration. He was responsible for the trade and commerce activities, management of prisons, fire safety measures, registration of foreigners visiting the city, and maintain law & order of city. These functions were performed by Nagrika with the help of Sthanika and Gopa.
According to Arthashastra, special attention was paid to fire safety. Anybody indulged in the unsafe practice was punished severely and this also included fire. This seriousness was perhaps of the fact that Mauryan palace and structures were made of wood.
City Administration as per Indica
According to the Indica of Megasthenes, the city administration of Patliputra was looked after by the council of members which consisted around 30 members. This council was further divided into 6 committees with 5 members in each committee. These committees were looked after the particular department or branch of the city administration.
The first committee was made for the administration of the industries, art and crafts. The second committee was there for looking after the registration and keeping accounts of foreigners who visiting city. Third committee was formed for the registration of births and deaths of citizens. Fourth committee was made for looking after the activities of trade and commerce.
Fifth committee was looked after the production activities or we can say that it checked the qualities of manufacturing products. The sixth and the last committee was formed for collecting the customs and taxes, so it looked after revenue process. According to Megasthenes, Asteonomy was the head of city administration but Arthashastra mentioned Nagrika as the head of city administration. Thus, the picture of city administration presented by Arthashastra of Kautilya and Indica of Megasthenes are quite different but irrespective of different views it can be safely concluded that rulers were concerned about the city administration and there was a well-developed city administration which was rare in ancient and medieval history of India.