________________
562 POLITICAL HISTORY OF ANCIENT INDIA chief scribe), Pusta-pāla (record-keeper) and others. Every Vishaya consisted of a number of “grāmas” or villages which were administered by headmen and other functionaries styled Grūmikas, Mahattaras.and Bhojalas.
Outside the limits of the Imperial provinces lay the vassal kingdoms and republics, mentioned in the Allahabad prasasti and other documents.
The Basārh seals tlırow some interesting sidelight on the provincial and municipal government as well as the economic organisation of the province of Tirabhukti (Tirhut) in North Bihār. The province was apparently governed by prince Govinda Gupta, a son of the Emperor by the Mahadevi Sri Dhruva-svāmini, who had his capital at Vaiśāli. The seals mention several officials like the Uparika (governor), the Kumārūmātya (cadetminister), the Mahā-pratihūra (the great chamberlain),
1 In the Mrichchha katika (Act IX ), which may be a composition of the period between Bana (who knew a king Sūdraka, but no poet of the same name) and Vāmana (8th century) the judge (adhikaranika) in a court of law is accompanied by a Sreshthin and a Kāyastha. Reference is also made to the Adhikarana-Bhojakas and a Mahattaraka in connection with the arrangement of benches in the Vyāvahāra-mandapa (the hall of justice) and the detection of people ''wanted" by the city Police (nagara-raksh-ādhikrita.) The Mudrā. rākshasa which is probably to be assigned to a period anterior to Rājasekhara, the Dasarūpaka and Bhoja, perhaps also to Vāmana but not to Avantivarma (of the Maukhari or Utpala dynasty ) or Dantivarman (Rāstrakūta or Pallava ) whose name or names occur in the Bharata Vākya, makes mention of Kāyastha, Dandapāśika, etc. Village functionaries were ordinarily placed under officials of the Vishaya or district. But in exceptional cases they had direct dealings with the Uparika or governor of a Bhukti (Ep. Ind., XV, 136).
2 It has been taken to mean (1) minister of a Prince as distinguished from that of the King (rājāmātya), (2) minister in charge of Princes, C. V. Vaidya, Med. Hind. Ind., I, 138, (3) a junior minister whose father is alive, or (4) one who has been a minister since the days of his youth. But cf. Ep. Ind., X, 49 ; XV, 302 f. It will be seen that the Kumārāmātyas were, as stated by a recent writer, divided into two classes, viz, (i) Yuvarājapādiya, those serving the Crown Prince, and (ii) Parama-bhattārakapādiya, those serving the Emperor himself. This perhaps makes the interpretation 'counsellor of, or in charge of, the Prince' untenable. See however Penzer, 1, 32; III. 136. The most probable view is that the term Kumāra in the expression Kumārāmātya corresponds to
