Required public service
The remarkably advanced
Mauryan empire was divided and subdivided into provinces, districts, and
villages whose headmen were appointed by the state.
The old customary law, preserved and administered
by the Brahmin priesthood, was superseded by an extensive legal code that
provided for royal interference in all matters.
A series of courts ranging from the village court
presided over by the headman to the emperor's imperial court administered
the law.
So busy was Chandragupta with the details of his
surprisingly modern administration that, according to Megasthenes, he
had to hear court cases during his daily massage.
Two other agencies were very important in holding
the empire together. One was the professional army, which Megasthenes reports
was an incredibly large force of 700,000 men, 9000 elephants, and 10,000
chariots.
The other was the secret police, whose numbers were
so large that the Greek writer concluded that spies constituted a separate
class in Indian society.
So great was the danger of conspiracy that Chandragupta
lived in strict seclusion, attended only by women who cooked his food and
in the evening carried him to his apartment, where they lulled him to sleep
with music. (http://www.emayzine.com/lectures/mauryanempire.htm)
Maurya's founder enlisted the help of many citizens
to build his palace. He had a professional army and a form of the
caste system. His successor Asoka did not share his beliefs. He
did however require public service in the carving and reading of the rock
edicts.
