Taxes in Ancient India. 3,000 BCE—700 CE

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In this chapter from the upcoming book “Taxes: History and Modern Times,” we look at taxation in ancient India. The time covered begins in the third millennium BCE and continues until the Manu-smriti, or Laws of Manu, around 100 CE, and until the sixth and seventh century CE.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF TAXES IN ANCIENT INDIA

Land cadaster, tax liability, tax benefits, penalty, right to sustenance., Laws of Manu.

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

The birth of the first civilization in the valleys of the Indus and Ganges rivers dates to the 3rd millennium BCE.

The earliest sources of information about ancient India are the Vedas, a collection of sacred scriptures. They were written and disseminated in the period from the 2nd millennium to the 5th century BCE. This period in India’s history is called the Vedic Age.

Adherence to the Vedas influenced all aspects of the life of India’s population, including a culture of fulfilling tax obligations. Voluntary offerings to the rulers of the kingdoms, as well as sacrifices to the gods, were called bali. It was believed that thus the ruler would protect the country from enemies, and the gods would shield the people from drought and other disas-ters.

Ancient Indian literature mentions various taxes: bali, kara, bhaga. At different times and in different sources, these words had different meanings. For example, bali could mean a religious tax, a land tax, an emergency tax, or simply tax in general. Kara was used as a common name for all taxes, as a monetary tax, as a monetary land tax, or as monthly taxes from farmers. Bhaga usually described the part of the spoils of war due to the king, or the king’s share. It may also have been a synonym for bali.

In the second half of the 6th century BCE, the western Indian lands of Gandhara and Cambodia became part of the Persian Empire. The satrapy of India was taxed with an annual tribute of 360 talents of gold dust (about 9.5 tons, an amount questioned by many historians). In addition, the Persians incorporated Indian troops into their armies.

BUDDHIST PERIOD

India became an empire during the reign of the Nanda dynasty (presumably from 424 to 321 BCE).

This historical stage is usually called “Buddhist,” because, according to legends, this is when Buddha and his followers lived.

In 327–326 BCE, Alexander the Great tried to conquer India, seeking for its enormous wealth. But he managed to capture only some western regions where he appointed his satraps upon his departure. After Alexander’s death, the Indian possessions went to his generals. The last of them was overthrown in 317 BCE when Chandragupta Maurya (343–297 BCE) rebelled against the Greeks and brought down the unpopular Nanda dynasty.

Its subjects disdained the Nanda dynasty because of the humble origin of the dynasty’s founder and excessive taxation. According to some sources, the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty levied taxes on everything, including leather, trees, and even stones.

ARTHASHASTRA

Chanakya (350–275 BCE; also known as Kautilya, Vishnugupta, and Vatsyayana), the Brahmin and advisor to the dynasty’s founder, who helped Chandragupta unite the country, compiled the treatise Arthashastra, which is dedicated to government. The treatise is written as instructions to the ruler and provides solutions to many issues, including economic policy and taxation.

The word “Arthashastra” can be translated as “The Art of Well-Being.”

There is a hypothesis that the Arthashastra may have been written by another author or a team of authors over the course of several centuries, since it contains extensive information on an extremely wide range of issues.

Other similar treatises appeared later. They explain the obligation to pay taxes to the sovereign by the fact that he rules and protects the country. Moreover, the recommendations to the ruler are based not on his rights but on his obligations, for which he receives part of the income from his subjects.

“People suffering from anarchy as illustrated by the proverbial tendency of a large fish swallowing a small one…, first elected Manu, the Vaivasvata, to be their king; and allotted one-sixth of the grains grown and one-tenth of merchandise as sovereign dues. Fed by this payment, kings took upon themselves the responsibility of maintaining the safety and security of their subjects…, and of being answerable for the sins of their subjects when the principle of levying just punishments and taxes has been violated. Hence hermits, too, provide the king with one-sixth of the grains gleaned by them, thinking that ‘it is a tax payable to him who protects us.”

Kautilya’s Arthashastra.^[5]

Manu is the progenitor of humanity, as well as the first king who ruled the earth.
Vivasvan is a deity, the progenitor of people.

According to an alternative narrative, taxes in ancient India were paid to the king as the supreme owner of the land.

As the head of legislative and executive power, the king was obliged not only to protect his subjects, but also to develop the economy: to direct the construction and maintenance of irrigation systems, lay roads, exploit mineral deposits, and create settlements.

The primary goal of the government’s economic policy was to replenish the treasury with income, taxes, and other payments from the population.

“The king shall provide the orphans, (bála), the aged, the infirm, the afflicted, and the helpless with maintenance. He shall also provide subsistence to helpless women when they are carrying and also to the children they give birth to.”

Kautilya’s Arthashastra.^[6]

For example, if necessary, during a war, the king could collect a larger tax, and this was not considered a sin. But if the tax was increased without reason, it was believed that the ruler would be punished in hell after death.

“THE king who finds himself in a great financial trouble and needs money, may collect (revenue by demand). In such parts of his country as depend solely upon rain for water and are rich in grain, he may demand of his subjects one-third or one-fourth of their grain according to their capacity.”

Kautilya’s Arthashastra.^[7]

The amount of the tax had to be based on the yield and could not be levied in the event of a poor harvest. There was a prohibition on taxes in areas of “construction of fortifications, irrigation facilities, trade routes, colonization of waste lands, and formation of forest-preserves for timber and elephants, which benefit the state.” The king was obliged to provide grain, cattle, and money to relocated persons and buy 1/4 of their harvest with money.

The severity of the tax burden depended on the regime. Under reasonable rulers, citizens felt tax pressure but had enough money to live. When a greedy ruler came to power, residents sometimes had to abandon their homes and move to another area to hide from tax collectors. Some protests against excessive taxes resulted in uprisings. Courtiers even played the cunning trick of sending a disagreeable official to collect taxes in some disadvantaged area where a mob might tear him to pieces.

TAXATION OF VARNAS

Ancient Indian society was divided into four main classes—varnas—that formed under the influence of Hinduism and the myth about the origin of peoples. It is believed that all people descended from different parts of the body of a giant who once lived: Brahmins from the mouth and ears, Kshatriyas from the shoulders and arms, Vaishyas from the hips and legs, and Shudras from the feet. Persons stripped of social status as well as untouchables existed outside the varnas.

Brahmins	Priests, scholars, ascetics
Kshatriyas	Warriors, rulers
Vaishyas	Farmers, cattle breeders, artisans, merchants
Shudras	Servants, workers

Society divided into the varnas presumably in the 2nd millennium BCE.

Birth determined one’s membership in a particular varna and, correspondingly, profession. Only representatives of the upper classes—Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas—could participate in religious life. There was a special initiation rite for them.

According to the Arthashastra, only Vaishyas had to pay taxes. The supreme purpose of their existence was to support living conditions for themselves and the rest of the varnas. They had to support Shudras, pay taxes to Kshatriyas, and present gifts and alms to Brahmins. Their obligations included performing sacrifices and studying, but their primary tasks were farming, cattle breeding, and trade. Vaishyas could also engage in usury. For them, religion dictated the need to pay taxes, and was considered the norm.

Vaishya farmers contributed part of their harvest as a tax, and artisans had to do public work 1–2 days a month for free or pay a monetary tax. The social status of Vaishyas did not change even when they became rich merchants.

Kshatriyas protected people, learned to perform sacrifices, and collected taxes, but did not pay them.

Brahmins had to study and teach others, conduct sacrificial rites, and accept and give gifts. They could not be punished and executed and were exempt from all taxes and civil conscription. Their duty was to teach the lower classes about religious rites and to perform them. They were not supposed to have property and lived off gifts and alms collected by their followers. Any surplus had to be distributed as alms. The whole society, including the king, were obliged to support the Brahmins.

There were “clean” and “unclean” Shudras. Their status depended on their profession and the customs of a particular area. Shudras had many obligations and few rights. According to the theory of karma, Shudras had committed evil acts in the past and could improve their position in the next life through good deeds in the current one.

Shudras also did not accumulate wealth and pay taxes. They depended on other varnas and served Brahmins.

If a Shudra owned property, then instead of paying the tax, he had to perform civic obligations. Shudras received only food for the public work they performed.

The “unclean” Shudras and untouchables had to do the dirtiest work. Some of them were forbidden to live in cities and villages.

Students, women, and children were not supposed to pay taxes, but we don’t know for certain what happened in practice. In any case, the tax system was built so that the poor, as a rule, paid more taxes than the rich.

INCOME AND EXPENSES

According to the Arthashastra, the sources of income included fortresses, the country, mines, irrigation facilities, forests, pastures, and trade routes.

Fortresses gave duties, charges, levies on weights and measures; income from city governors and the superintendents of coinage and seals; fees for the sale of beverages, threads, vegetable oil, ghee, and sugar; duties from goldsmiths, markets, gamblers, buildings, handicraft and artisan workshops, and superintendents of gods; taxes collected at gates and from aliens, etc.

The country brought in income from arable land, the king’s share (one-sixth of the harvest), sacrifices, taxes, income from trade, court fees; fees for moving along rivers and crossings; duties from trading towns, meadows, and guards (guards apparently accepted certain funds on behalf of the king).

Mines provided precious metals, stones, salt, and other minerals.

The irrigation facilities generated income as a share of the harvest from irrigated lands. Forests produced animals and wood for construction. Pastures yielded domestic animals. Trade routes generated income from their use.

The tax revenues were recommended to be spent as follows: 1/6 to be stored in the state treasury, since it was believed that wealth was the basis of power, 1/2 for the army, and 1/12 for the personal needs of the king, salaries to officials, charity, and religious donations. The remaining part apparently went to fulfill the king’s numerous obligations. They included expenses for alms, benevolence, maintenance of prisons, embassies, treasuries, the arsenal, trading establishments, facilities for raw materials, and handicraft workshops. The treasury paid for forced labor, cattle pens, and nature reserves of tame and wild animals, birds, predators, fuel, and grass.

LAND TAX

The Arthashastra instructed the king to populate unoccupied territories with foreigners or residents of overpopulated regions. The treatise describes in detail how and where to construct buildings and structures, how to protect people, and how to collect taxes. The king had to maintain and develop the irrigation system for farmers, and to help those who were building it independently. The king’s concern also included the construction of roads, trading cities, and fortresses; the formation of mines, pastures, and gardens; and much more.

The king had to give the taxpayers cultivated fields for personal use and take back uncultivated fields from negligent farmers and transfer them to people capable of cultivating them. What’s more, the king was supposed to grant a tax exemption only if it would contribute to the growth of the treasury in the future. People who expanded the cultivated area were exempt from taxes from the newly cultivated lands for five years.

“He shall protect agriculture from the molestation of oppressive fines, free labour, and taxes…; herds of cattle from thieves, tigers, poisonous creatures and cattle-disease.”

Kautilya’s Arthashastra.^[10]

Brahmins, superintendents, accountants, officials, doctors, and representatives of certain other professions were supposed to get land exempt from taxes and other charges.

Distinguished citizens could gain the right to sustenance, that is, the right to collect taxes from several households, communities, villages, or regions for personal purposes.

The Arthashastra recommends granting tax benefits to residents of the colonized lands to win their favor. Exceptions were also made for villages involved in the construction and cleaning of irrigation facilities.

In lean years, this was supposed to reduce the amount of tax or even completely exempt farmers from paying it. Taxes were also waived for areas ravaged by enemy troops or plagued by epidemics and poverty.

The treatise advised collecting a fairly high tax in the amount of 1/4 or even 1/3 of the harvest. The Dharmashastras, ancient Indian religious instructions, determined trade duties and the amount of tax for royal patronage. According to these texts, farmers had to give 1/6 of their harvest.

In practice, the amount of tax depended on the ruler’s wishes, often on his greed. As a rule, it was at least 1/4 of the harvest.

There is a hypothesis that the tax was taken not from the entire harvest, but from the “profit,” that is, from what remained after taking out grain for future sowing and feeding the family.

In addition to the land tax, there were many other taxes levied on almost everything: houses, tools, animals, etc. A duty was charged for the use of water from irrigation facilities. If the plot was watered manually, then 1/5 of the harvest had to be paid. If the water was delivered by oxen, 1/4. And if it was delivered with the help of mechanical tools, 1/3. And it did not matter where the water came from—whether from an artificial irrigation system or a natural source. The duty had to be paid in any case.

Any income was taxed, with 1/6 going to the king. For example, fishers and pearl divers paid 1/6 of their catch.

Almost all the Dharmashastras call on rulers to be moderate in collecting taxes. According to historians, such calls were generally unheard, which explains why they were repeated.

TAXES ON TRADE

The Arthashastra explains basic economic concepts. According to it, a thing’s value is determined by the number of days spent on its creation. But its selling price could depend on competition between buyers. Profit was the incentive for trading.

Trading activities were strictly regulated. Profit margins and the amount of tax on trading operations were stipulated. The government was supposed to not only monitor trade but also set fair prices, considering real costs and seasonal fluctuations. Profits above the set amount were allowed but were subject to additional tax. Illegal income was punishable by a fine in the amount of eight times the cost of the goods.

“He [Superintendent of Commerce] shall avoid such large profits as will harm the people.”

Kautilya’s Arthashastra.^[11]

The profit was included in the cost of goods: 5% of its price for local goods, and 10% for foreign goods. In addition, merchants were required to pay special fees for the sale of gold, silver, and other jewelry. Additional measures to combat excess profits included forced loans, confiscation of precious metals, and loss of privileges and benefits.

Merchants paid a special tax, known as vyaji, to the treasury in the amount of 1/16 for goods sold by measure, 1/20 for goods sold by weight, and 1/11 for goods sold by count.

In addition, there was a trade duty, the sulka, in the amount of 1/6 of the cost, but it could vary for some goods. For example, people paid a duty of 50% when selling elephants and horses, 40% for medicines, 30% for grain, 20% for glass, 10% for handicrafts, and 5% for firewood. This duty was paid at the customs house outside the city. At the gate, another additional duty was paid in the amount of 1/20 of the sulka.

Every four months, merchants paid a fee to have their scales inspected. Anyone who had uninspected scales was fined.

The ruler had to protect merchants from bankruptcy. For example, if the market had a glut of certain goods, the ruler had to issue a decree prohibiting other merchants from selling similar goods until the merchant sold off his stock.

Price collusion between sellers was forbidden.

Merchants paid tolls for the use of roads, crossings, and bridges. Additionally, they paid road charges, which were a kind of insurance premium: in the event of a robbery, the government compensated for the loss.

Imports were strictly regulated. Foreign merchants and goods were registered, and the import of some goods was prohibited. By contrast, exports were supported, even if they turned out to be unprofitable. But if exports were not profitable, it was necessary to prove their future economic viability. The customs house levied a duty on imported goods at 1/5 of their cost but could reduce it to 1/10 or even 1/25 for essential products. The duty on exported goods was 1/10 of the cost. Lower duties were imposed on some imported goods, for example, 1/6 from the cost of flowers and fruits, 1/10 or 1/15 from fabrics, and 1/20 or 1/25 from grain and sugar. 20% of the collected duties went to the collector.

“Whatever causes harm or is useless to the country shall be shut out; and whatever is of immense good as well as seeds not easily available shall be let in free of toll.”

Kautilya’s Arthashastra.^[12]

TAXES ON ACTIVITIES

Some activities were taxed. For example, actors gave half of their income to the government. Gamblers and manufacturers of alcoholic beverages paid taxes of 40%. Liquor distributors paid an additional tax of 5% on the sale of liquor that did not belong to the king.

All activities were regulated by royal officials, who were given detailed instructions and necessary information in the Arthashastra. For example, customs officers were recommended to “erect near the large gate of the city both a tollhouse facing either the east or the north and its flag.”^[13] Those who supervised gold in a goldsmith’s workshop were advised how to give gold different color shades.

TAX COLLECTION

Tax collection was organized by a special department that monitored tax revenues to the treasury and supervised all income and expenses. Responsibility for budget revenues was assigned to the chief revenue collector, the superintendent of the accountant’s office, and the manager of mines and workshops. The collectors were assisted by city governors and numerous superintendents responsible for seals, sales of beverages, slaughterhouses, threads, vegetable oil and ghee, and sugar, as well as the work of goldsmiths, markets, buildings, artisan and handicraft workshops, guards, etc.

The work of the chief tax collector’s office was regulated in detail. The territory of the country was divided into four categories according to income levels: highest, middle, lowest, and tax exempt but performing certain obligations (providing soldiers or workers, army supplies, etc.).

A quarter tax inspector was responsible for 5–10 villages and for 10, 20 or 40 families in cities. His duties included cadastral registration of all types of land with their division by type of land use and cultivated crops, surveying, and recordkeeping for dwellings and all types of buildings, irrigation facilities, roads, and livestock. He kept records of taxpayers by their activities and tax benefits, indicating their marital status and dependent children and elderly. In villages, the village head was responsible for collecting taxes. He could gain a land tax exemption and other tax benefits i the form of a “stipend.”

The work of quarter inspectors was organized and supervised by district inspectors. They were responsible for every fourth part of the city and for a certain number of villages (about 400) in rural areas.

There were following territorial units: a county (800 hamlets), a district (400 hamlets), a township (200 hamlets), and a community (ten hamlets).

There were taxes whose meaning is not entirely clear, such as taxes on coins that were in circulation and subject to payment to the treasury: rupika (8%), vyaji (5%), and parikshika (1/8).

Special officials collected customs receipts and taxes from various crafts.

Many activities were monopolized by the government. The sale of goods not belonging to the king was allowed, but the treasury’s potential losses had to be compensated. For example, imported salt was taxed in the amount of 1/6; after payment (after this part had been transferred to the treasury), the merchant could sell the remaining salt but had to pay the vyaji tax (5%), the rupa tax (1/8, the same as parikshika), and the rupika tax (8%). In addition, the buyer had to pay the duty and the difference between the cost of the purchased salt and royal salt.

TAX AUDITS

During the reign of the Mauryan dynasty, there was an extensive state apparatus that audited and recorded almost all aspects of life. Special state inspectors monitored the turnover of liquor, other goods and services, and gambling. Many enterprises were state-owned or controlled by officials. When farming out an activity, the government was entitled to a certain share of profit.

To control merchants, a whole system of superintendents was created. There were superintendents of customs duties, superintendents of road tolls, superintendents of trading cities, superintendents of markets, and superintendents of weights and measures.

Official tax collectors were assisted by a wide network of secret informants who acted under the guise of merchants, artists, priests, etc. There were specific instructions on how to determine other people’s real financial condition. The informants collected information about the income and expenses of people, market prices, and tax violations. On the other hand, they also monitored tax officials’ compliance with the law.

Besides a financial punishment (payment of the amount beheld back from taxes, fines, and penalties), there was also religious consequence, as it was believed that non-payment of taxes negatively affected the violator’s karma. To the Hindu believers, the karmic punishment seemed even more serious than the financial one since it influenced fate not only in the present but also in subsequent lives. So, religion contributed to the tax system’s high efficiency.

A penalty is a monetary sanction for late payment of tax or failure to fulfill other obligations on time.

Farmers who hid grain were fined eight times the amount, kidnappers were fined fifty times, and foreign thieves were executed.

POST-VEDIC (CLASSICAL) PERIOD

The last stage in the history of ancient India is the post-Vedic or classical period, which lasted from the 2nd century BCE to the 7th century CE.

In the 3rd century, the Gupta dynasty began to rule the country. This period is also called India’s “golden age.” This is when the canons of national literature, painting, philosophy, and architecture were developed.

Under the Guptas, the government system was weakly centralized. A big role was played by local councils responsible for collecting taxes from the public on behalf of the emperor.

LAWS OF MANU

The post-Vedic period saw the appearance of one of the most interesting documents in terms of taxation. It is called the “Manava Dharma-Sastra” or Laws of Manu (also known as “Manu-smriti” and “Manava-dharma-shastra”).

The Laws of Manu are presented in the form of couplets in Sanskrit, the literary language of ancient India. They contain 2,685 teachings and recommendations for the public.

Manu is the common name of humankind’s fourteen mythical ancestors, who replace each other as time moves from one epoch to another.

The Laws of Manu appeared in connection with a decrease in Brahmin influence on society and were created to restore it. The Laws were designed to protect the Vedic religion from non-Vedic movements, mainly from Buddhism, whose spread was gaining speed. However, there is no convincing evidence that they were popular at all. As for taxation, the Laws repeat the recommendations of previous times. Accordingly, there is an assumption that they were reworked from the Dharmasutras, the more ancient Vedic collections of laws.

According to the Laws of Manu, the king’s main task was to protect his subjects. For this, he had the right to take taxes, but within limits. The grain tax was set at 1/6, 1/8, or 1/12 of the harvest, and the tax on gold and livestock at 1/20 (but not less than a karshapana, a silver coin weighing 2.7–3.4 g). Shudras and artisans had to perform work instead of paying taxes.

“Chapter 9, 254: The realm of that king who takes his share in kind, though he does not punish thieves, (will be) disturbed and he (will) lose heaven.”

“Chapter 9, 307: A king who does not afford protection, (yet) takes his share in kind, his taxes, tolls and duties, daily presents and fines, will (after death) soon sink into hell.

Chapter 9, 308: They declare that a king who affords no protection, (yet) receives the sixth part of the produce, takes upon himself all the foulness of his whole people.”

Laws of Manu.^[15]

For handicrafts and other sources of income, such as the collection of berries, medicinal plants, honey, the production of wood, oil, meat, etc., the tax was set at 1/6 of the total amount of goods.

The Laws also regulated loan interest depending on one’s membership in a certain varna. It was 2% per month for Brahmins, 3% for Kshatriyas, 4% for Vaishyas, and 5% for Shudras.

The Laws advise the king to show generosity for his subjects’ loyalty and faithful service by giving them gifts from the taxes received.

“Chapter 7, 80: Let him cause the annual revenue in his kingdom to be collected by trusty (officials), let him obey the sacred law in (his transactions with) the people, and behave like a father towards all men.”

“Chapter 7, 133: Though dying (with want), a king must not levy a tax on Srotriyas [those who possess knowledge of the Vedas], and no Srotriya, residing in his kingdom, must perish from hunger.”

Laws of Manu.^[16]

By the 6th–7th centuries, the empire broke up into many separate states and was conquered by the Hephthalites, Iranian-speaking nomads. Liberation from the Hephthalites did not help India: the country entered the Middle Ages conquered by Muslims.

[1] Image by Saqib Qayyum (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mohenjo-daro.jpg), „Mohenjo-daro,“ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode

[2] Image by Gary Todd (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Buddha_Head,_Gupta,_5th_Century_AD,_Sarnath,_Uttar_Pradesh.jpg), „Buddha Head, Gupta, 5th Century AD, Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh,“ https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode

[3] Image by आशीष भटनागर at hi.wikipedia (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chandragupt_maurya_Birla_mandir_6_dec_2009_(31).JPG), „Chandragupt maurya Birla mandir 6 dec 2009 (31),“ marked as public domain. Edited: cropped, corrected perspective and colors, removed the wire in the background., https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode

[4] Image by Sntshkumar750 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acharya_Chanakya_(_महान_भारतीय_दार्शनिक_–_आचार्य_चाणक्य_).jpg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode

[5] Cited in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. English translation of Arthashastra of Kautilya by R. Shamasastry. p. 31. Internet Archive. URL: https://archive.org/details/Arthasastra_English_Translation/page/n31/mode/2up. Accessed: July 19, 2023.

[6] Cited in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. English translation of Arthashastra of Kautilya by R. Shamasastry. p. 62. Internet Archive. URL: https://archive.org/details/Arthasastra_English_Translation/page/n61/mode/2up. Accessed: July 19, 2023.

[7] Cited in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. English translation of Arthashastra of Kautilya by R. Shamasastry. p. 341. Internet Archive. URL: https://archive.org/details/Arthasastra_English_Translation/page/n341/mode/2up. Accessed: July 19, 2023.

[8] Sage Jajali is honored by the Vaishya Tuladhara. Illustration of Hindi Gita Press Mahabharata. Public domain photograph of India under British rule, free to use, no copyright restrictions image. URL: https://picryl.com/media/sage-jajali-is-honoured-by-the-vaishya-tuladhara-c2e093. Accessed: July 19, 2023.

[9] Author: Romesh Chunder Dutt. Editor: A.V. Willians Jackson (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Type_of_Brahman_Woman_-_Page_153_-_History_of_India_Vol_1_(1906).jpg), „Type of Brahman Woman – Page 153 – History of India Vol 1 (1906),“ marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-old

[10] Cited in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. English translation of Arthashastra of Kautilya by R. Shamasastry. p. 63. Internet Archive. URL: https://archive.org/details/Arthasastra_English_Translation/page/n63/mode/2up. Accessed: July 19, 2023.

[11] Cited in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. English translation of Arthashastra of Kautilya by R. Shamasastry. p. 137. Internet Archive. URL: https://archive.org/details/Arthasastra_English_Translation/page/n137/mode/2up. Accessed: July 19, 2023.

[12] Cited in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. English translation of Arthashastra of Kautilya by R. Shamasastry. p. 158. Internet Archive. URL: https://archive.org/details/Arthasastra_English_Translation/page/n157/mode/2up. Accessed: July 19, 2023.

[13] Cited in Kautilya’s Arthashastra. English translation of Arthashastra of Kautilya by R. Shamasastry. p. 155. Internet Archive. URL: https://archive.org/details/Arthasastra_English_Translation/page/n157/mode/2up. Accessed: July 19, 2023.

[14] Image by V& A Museum. Unknown author (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Matsya_Avatar,_ca_1870.jpg), „Matsya Avatar, ca 1870,“ marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:PD-India

[15] Cited in “The Laws of Manu.” Translated by George Bühler, Vol. 25 of The Sacred Books of the East. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886. URL: https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm. Accessed: July 19, 2023.

[16] Cited in “The Laws of Manu.” Translated by George Bühler, Vol. 25 of The Sacred Books of the East. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1886. URL: https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/manu.htm. Accessed 19 of July, 2023.

[17] Image by WeeKeeEditor (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mahabodhi_Temple_-_Bodh_Gaya.jpg), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode