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SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
407
The army-battalions were being seen by the villagers' who had some or the other business allocated to them or taken upon themselves by themselves.? In the villages they could only stand on the heaps of debris or refuse or dust. They could collect or gather near the rows of puddles. They could even take position on the low-levelled supports of the walls of the temples. Some of them found space to squat on the trunks of the trees.' Some even stood there while the others sat down. Some hung both of their arms low. Some placed their two hands on the posteriors. Some had poniards tugged fast in tattered rags. Some wore head-wraps made of washed white cloth. Some supported themselves on ratton wands while some had placed on their shoulders their darling lads. Most of them being curious to see everything had pinioned their gaze on tuskers, apes and camels.
Cattle- rearing and cattle-trade formed one of their main avocations; that is why some were busy proclaiming the price and measure of each of the bulls fine-looking on account of weight, form and strength. The wandwielders of the villages were innocent enough to construc the IIbid.inous bawds mounting the cow-elephants as the ladies of the harem, the bard carrying on umbrella as a great prince and a merchant wearing over his neck a golc-necklace as one who was the special favourite of the king, etc. because they had seen the army-personnel only once.
The village headman (Grāmapati) had an enviable status in the village in so far as the villagers deemed it a privilege of the type of acquisition of a quarry on finding a piace close to her daughter. The soldiers carrying perforce the chaff (as a fodder for their horses) put them to great loss
1. 1144Haciela: TM. Vol. II p., 261. 2. uraftofTË: Ibid. Vol. II p. 258. 3. tapic taferee: Ibid. 4. TETTcing jfeld: 1 Ibid. 5. Sagtapusang parare: 1 Ibid. 6. 44*, GRYH: Ibid. 7. ऊर्ध्वश्चोपविष्टैश्च लम्बितोभयभुजैश्च जघनपार्श्वविन्यस्तहस्तयुगलैश्च शीर्णपट्टिकागाढग्रथितासिधेनुकैश्च
धौतशाटककृतशिरोवेष्टनैश्च वेणुयष्टिषु कृतावष्टम्भैश्च स्कन्धाधिरोपितदयितडिम्भैषु सर्वत्र सकुतूहलैरपि सविशेष करिषु
afyy m ay auftfart! Ibid. Vol. II pp. 258-259. 8. paterni Gai MAHNGE : 1 Ibid. Vol. II p. 259. 9 सकदृष्टकटकग्रामलाकुटिकैः करेणुकाघिरुढं क्षुद्रगणिकागणमप्यन्तः पुरमिति धृतोष्णवारणं चारणमपि महाराजपुत्र इति
कनकनिष्कावृतकन्धरं वणिजमपि राजप्रसादचिन्तक इति चिन्तयद्भिः [bid 10. aftregtarachfarart hafarafia ibid. Vol. II p. 260,
