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The Indian Analyst
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North Indian Inscriptions |
THE GUPTA SYSTEM OF ADMINISTRATION with it the sense of the other two terms, namely Dāṇḍika or Daṇḍaśakti and Chaurōddharaṇika. From a careful consideration of these three terms it appears to me that Dāṇḍika or Daṇḍaśakti corresponds to the Kōtwāl1 or the City Police Magistrate, Dāṇḍapāśika to the Darōgā or District Superintendent of Police, and Chaurōddharaṇika, to the Head of the Detective Bureau, whose duty is to apprehend a thief, either by setting a thief to catch a thief or a Pagi or Tracker to trace the course of the miscreant by means of his foot-prints.
The next designation we have to take note of is contained in a Basāḍh seal legend thus:
Mahāpratīhāra-Taravara-Vinayaśūrasya.2 Vinayaśūra is, of course, the name of the individual.
Taravara is of rare occurrence in the Gupta records. But slightly earlier than this period we
find that it had become a title of nobility, as is clear from the Nāgārjunikoṇḍa inscriptions.
Here we meet with not only Mahātalavara but also the feminine form of Mahātalavarī. We may
thus take it that Vinayaśūra was then occupying the social dignity of Taravara. Vogel who
had edited the inscriptions enquires whether it can have “any connection with Tamil taḷavāy (=a general), Tamil taḷaiyāri (=a village watchman), or Canarese taḷavara, taḷavāra (=a
watchman, a beadle).”3 Hirananda Sastri further draws our attention to the fact that in
early Jaina literature the Mahātalavaras are mentioned along with eighteen Gaṇadharas and
that in the Panjab there is a subdivision of Khatris which goes by the name of Talwāḍ. There
are other names like Mahēndru, Sāhi, Sāhni, etc., which are evidently derived from Mahēndra:
‘chief’, Sāhi: ‘banker’ and Sēnānī: ‘general’ respectively.4 There can thus be no doubt that in
the social hierarchy of the day Vinayaśūra held the dignity of Taravara. But what was his
office designation ? That is indicated obviously by Mahāpratīhāra, which is rendered generally
by ‘the Great Chamberlain.’ R. D. Banerji, however, takes it5 in the sense of the “Chief
Prefect of Police” –which is inexplicable. Now Mahāpratīhāra we find associated with Mahādaṇḍanāyaka,6 or with Mahādaṇḍanāyaka-Mahākārtākṛitika-Mahārāja-Mahāsāmanta7 in the specification of the rank and designation of one and the same officer or ruler such e.g., as Dhruvasēna I of Valabhī. On the other hand, he is mentioned in the list of officials mentioned in the
partially preserved Dēō-Baraṇārk inscription8 along with Kumārāmātya, Rājasthānīya, Chaurōddharaṇika, Dāṇḍika, Dāṇḍapāśika, etc. What could be the exact signification of Mahāpratīhāra ?
It is curious that in Sanskrit literature whereas dauvārika denotes ‘a male door-keeper’ pratīhārī is employed invariably to denote ‘a female door-keeper,’ especially with reference to a
harem. Even in a Nasik cave inscription9 which seems to be a copy of a charter issued by
Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi and his queen-mother, a Pratihāra(ra)kshi called Lōṭā is mentioned as
having composed the draft of the same. In this connection we have to take note of the following passage from the Rājataraṅgiṇī,10 relating to Lalitāditya-Muktāpīḍa, who is represented to
have founded five new things, namely, “ ‘the Mahāpratīhārapīḍa,’ the Great Minister for Peace
and War’ (Mahāsāndhivigraha), ‘the Royal Stables’ (Mahāśvaśālā), ‘the High Treasurer’
(Mahābhāṇḍāgāra) and the Mahāsādhanabhāga.” Of these five, three are obviously officers. Of
the other two, one is the Royal Stables, and the other is Mahāpratīhārapīḍa which literally means
‘the Porter’s chair.’ Vogel rightly informs us that “Dhyān Singh, the powerful minister of 1 Cambridge History of India, Vol. V, p. 393; Vol. VI, pp. 97, 529 and 535.
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