A Brief Account of Indian Administration During Ancient Period

Authors

Dr. Anuj Kumar

AP – Pub. Admin., Vallabh Govt. College Mandi, HP (India)

Dr. Malwinder Singh

RNT Govt. Degree College, Sarkaghat (India)

Article Information

DOI: 10.51244/IJRSI.2026.1308000263

Subject Category: Public Administration

Volume/Issue: 13/8 | Page No: 4139-4145

Publication Timeline

Submitted: 2026-09-05

Accepted: 2026-08-10

Published: 2026-09-19

Abstract

Administration is the governing mechanism of state affairs. The original state of nature is imagined to be one of the total anarchy, which signified ‘might was right’. The concept of a formal state was absent because of nomadic life at that time. People agreed to pay taxes and be ruled by one person in order to enjoy well-being and security. ‘Manu’ i.e. the law book of the Hinduism gave reference to about the formation of state. By the time of Mauryan period, the Indian Administrative system was well developed so their treatise provides a first detailed account about the formal administrative system followed in ancient time. It was famous for conversion of decentralized informal administrative structure into the centralized formal system of state. A set of administrative structure given by Kautilya’s administration have been analyzed the researcher in details. Researcher emphasized upon the world-famous Chanakya’s Niti which provides a fame and glory for the country at international relations and concludes with the legacy of administration in many aspects. Great efforts have been made to analyze the secondary data sources on administrative system of ancient period in this article.

Keywords

Administration, Monarchy, Centralized

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