Mauryan administration

Mauryan empire was a vast territorial entity. Various levels of administration were required to govern it well. The Arthashastra, Greek accounts and Ashokan inscriptions give us a good idea about the administrative system. The administrative structure involved a division of the empire into provinces, each under the direct governance of a prince (kumara) or a member of the royal family. The inscriptions suggest four such provinces – a southern one with its centre at Survarnagiri, a northern province with capital at Taxila, a western one with its capital at Ujjayini, and an eastern one with its capital at Tosali. Ashokan inscriptions also referred to these governors as kumara, suggesting a continuation of the tradition of appointing royal princes to these important posts.

Senior officers called pradeshikas were tasked with touring the empire every five years and perform an audit as well as keep a check on the provincial administration. In addition, there were judicial officers, rajukas, in both urban and rural areas, whose judicial functions often combined with assessment of revenue. A well-organized administration was needed for a variety of tasks such as surplus production, extraction of surplus, its distribution or expenditure, strong army to conquer areas, tax collection from traders and agriculturalists etc.

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