- The Mauryan government was a centralised bureaucracy of which the nucleus was the King. According to Chanakya(Kautilya), there are 7 elements of states (Saptanga theory):
- Raja: The King
- Amatya: The Secretaries
- Janapada: Territory
- Durg: Fort
- Kosha: Treasure
- Sena: Army
- Mitra: Friend
- The king was assisted by Mantri Parishad:
- The Yuvaraja: Crown prince
- The Purohita: Chief priest
- The Senapati: Commander in chief
- Other ministers like Samaharta (the collector general of revenue),sannidhata(Chief Treasury officer), Rashtrapala(the viceroys in charge of a province), etc.
- The empire was divided into a number of provinces and placed under a prince, a son of the royal dynasty. The province was divided into smaller units. Patliputra, Kausambhi, Ujjain, and Taxila were the most important cities.
- They maintained a huge army and also maintained a navy.
- According to the Megasthenese the Mauryan administration of the Army was carried out by a board of 30 officers divided into 6 committee, each committee consisting of 5 members, they are:
- Infantry
- Cavalry
- Elephants
- Chariots
- Navy
- Transport
