Judiciary and Military Administration

There is no doubt that the king was supreme in the monarchy. Naturally, the king was at the top of the judiciary system also. So, we don’t see any officer as a judge, not even acting like him. Although there is no separate section, the accepted meaning and functions of some of the officials would show that executive authorities of the territorial units like the Mahāmahattama, Maṇḍaladhipati, Viṣayapati, Khaṇḍapati, and among others certainly had judicial power in their own departments, other officials like Daṇḍapāśika, Cāṭa, Bhaṭa, etc. also seem to have had a unique role in that.

The military was anessential part of the administration. For the betterment and efficiency of the army, the kings devoted their strength and resources as long as they could. The well-organized military is responsible for the great success of the significant dynasties of northern India like Gupta s, Rāṣtrakūṭas, Maitrakas , Bhauma-karas, Somavaṃsis, Cālukyas and among others. Their army was powerful and consisted of elephants, cavalry, and infantry.

The military provided multiple services. In addition to other services, royal officials like Mahāsandhivigrahi,Viśayapati, etc., and their subordinates, as we said before, rendered excellent military service to the kings.^[1] They served as police during peacetime and as military during wartime. It is seen that all the significant dynasties had their own feudal system. These feudal kings also expected to help the king along with their armies during wartime.