Gupta Administration

The inscriptions mention the following titles as usual for Guptas:
paramadvaita, para-mabhattaraka. maharajadhiraja, prithvipala.
paramesvara, samrat, ekadhiraja and chakravartin. The king was assisted in
his administration by a chief minister called mantri or sachiva. Pratiharas
and mahapratiharas were important officers in the royal court, though they
did not participate in the administration.
Among the important military officers are mentioned senapati.
mahasenapati, baladhyaksha. mahabaladhyaksha. baladhikrita and
mahabalad-hikrita who perhaps represented different grades. There were two
other high military officers—the bhatasvapati, commander of the infantry
and cavalry and the katuka, commander of the elephant corps. Another
important official mentioned in the Basarh seals was
ranabhandagaradhikarana, Chief of the treasury of the war office. One more
high officer, mentioned for the first time in the Gupta records, was
sandhivigrahika or mahasandhivigrahika, a sort of foreign minister.
One of the inscriptions mentions sarvadhyakshas, superintendents of all,
but it is not clear whether they were central or provincial officers. Numerous
inscriptions mention dutaka or duta who communicated royal commands to
officers and people concerned. Dandapasadhikarana represented the chief of
the police. Ordinary police officials were known as dandapasika. chatas,
bhatas. dandika (chastiser), and chauroddharanika (officer apprehending
thieves).
The king maintained a close liaison with the provincial administration
through a class of officials called kumaramatyas and ayuktas. The provinces
called hhuktis were usually governed by officers called uparikas. The
governor of a bhukti has various designations in the official records-bhogika.
gopta, uparika-maharaja and rajasthaniya. Bhuktis were subdivided into
vishayas. These were governed by vishayapatis.
The headquarter of the district was known as adhishthana and the
executive officers of the district as samvyavahari and ayuktakas. The district
magistrate was helped in his administration by a large staff. They were
maharattaras (village elders), ashtakufadhi-karanikas (officers in-charge of
groups of eight kufas or families in the local area), gramika (village
headman), saulkika (collector of customs and tolls), gaulmika (in-charge of
forests and forts), agraharika (in-charge of the agraharas, settlements
dedicated to Brahmins), Dhruvadhikaranika (incharge of land revenue),
bhandagaradhikrita (treasurel), talavataka (village accountant), utkhetayita
(collector of taxes) and pustapafa (the notary and keeper of records).
The district records office called akshapatala was placed in charge of
mahakshapatalika. There were also, in the district office, sarvodhyakshas or
general superintendents under whom were employed men of noble lineage
called kulaputras to guard against corruption. The popular element played an
important part in the district administration. The advisory district council
consisted principally of four members, namely the guild president
(nagarasreshthi), the chief merchant (sarthavaha), the chief artisan
(prathamakulika), and the chief scribe (prathamakayastha).
The villages were under gramikas along with whom were associated
mahattaras or the senior persons of different classes. The town
administration was carried on by the mayor of the city called purapafa who
corresponded to nagaravyavaharakas of the Mauryan age.
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
Agrarian Structure—Nature of Land Ownership
It is argued by many scholars that the state was the exclusive owner of land.
The most decisive argument in favour of the exclusive state ownership of
land is in the Paharpur copper plate inscription of Buddhagupta where it is
stated that the emperor (representing the state) acquired wealth as well as
spiritual merit, when he made land grants. This makes it obvious that he was
the owner of the land. Indirect evidence is furnished to some extent by the
elaborate official procedure that had to be undergone while obtaining land
grants. Further, land grants undoubtedly indicate that the king had the
supreme ownership of land, otherwise he could not transfer comprehensive
rights to the recipient. Even after the donation of land, the king reserved
certain prerogatives over it. Thus, it appears that though the land was, to all
intents and purposes, that of the peasants, the king claimed its theoretical
ownership.
Classification of Land
From the economic standpoint, land of the Gupta period can be classified into
the following groups:
Kshetra : Cultivatable land
Khila : Waste land
Aprahata : Jungle or forest land
Vasti : Habitable land
Gapata Sarah : Pasture land
Different Land Tenures
In the Gupta land grant inscriptions, certain specific terms of land tenure are
recorded. They are:
•
Nivi dharma: Land endowment in perpetuity.
•
Nivi dharma aksayana: A perpetual endowment which a recipient
could not alienate but could make use of the income accruing from it
eternally.
•
Aprada dharma: It means that a recipient has all rights to enjoy such a
property but no right to make a further gift of the same and can only
enjoy the interest and income from the endowed land, but not
administrative rights.
•
Bhumichchhidrallyaya: This meant rights, of ownership as are
acquired by a man making barren land cultivable for the first time,
and is free from liability to pay rent for it.
While the nivi dharma kind of trusteeship was prevalent in many parts of
north and central India, other kinds of trusteeship were probably followed
mainly in the eastern part of the Gupta empire. Therefore, they are very
frequently mentioned in inscriptions from Bengal.
Land Survey
In the Gupta period land survey is evident from the Poona plates of
Prabhavati Gupta and many other inscriptions. Location and boundaries of
individual plots were carefully marked out and measured by the record
keepers and influential men of the locality as mentioned in the Paharpur
copper plate. An officer called ustapala maintained records of all land
transactions in the district and the village accountant preserved records of
land in the village.
Land Transactions
In the Gupta period we have about ten references in copper plates to land
sale. During the purchase of a piece of land, certain procedures were
followed. First the application was sent to the headquarters of the district
where the land was situated, that is, to the pustapala. On receipt of the
application for purchase, the leading men and heads of families, apparently of
the nearest village, were informed possibly to enable them to offer their
objections if any. If there were no objections and after receiving the
concurrence of the vishayapati (district head), the pustapala’s department
sold the land.