Arthasastra Discusses Officer Cash Salary
The question asks to identify the earliest text that proposed paying cash salaries to government officers.
The Arthasastra, an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy, attributed to Kautilya (or Chanakya), is renowned for its comprehensive coverage of administrative practices.
This text provides detailed accounts of:
- The structure of the state administration.
- Revenue collection methods.
- Expenditure management, including the explicit mention of salaries paid to various officials in cash (rupya).
While other texts like Manu Smriti, Kamandaka Nitisara, and Nitivakyamrita also discuss aspects of governance and law, the Arthasastra is considered the seminal work that first systematically detailed the practice of fixed cash payments as salaries for state officers.
Therefore, the Arthasastra is the correct answer.
Important Questions from Ancient History
The speakers of major Indian languages belong to how many language families?
Which one of the following was NOT a way in which kings in ancient India attempted to claim a higher status?
Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists:
List-I
(unit in use in early India)
List-II (content) A. Muhurta 1. Measure of weight B. Raktika 2. Measure of time C. Angula 3. Metre of poetry D. Pada 4. Measure of length In the Mesopotamian records, which one of the following terms was used for the Indus Valley (Harappans)?
In Egypt, ancient mummies can be found to have their arteries intact due to well preserved:
