Question

Describe the functions of the “Gramabhojaka”. Why do you think he was powerful?

Answer 1

Hint: The support of flourishing villages was required by the kings and powerful kingdoms. There was a system of social stratification i.e. the categorization of people on the basis of their socio-economic conditions which was followed in villages firstly, in the social ladder were landowners followed by ordinary ploughmen and then were the landless laborers called Adimai.

Complete answer: In the northern part of India, the village headman was known as the Gramabhojaka. The Functions of the Gramabhojaka,deals with providing employment and recruiting workers as he owned a very large piece of land and got it cultivated by his slaves and hired workers. Since Gramabhojaka, were powerful in the social hierarchy of power and therefore he had the authority to collect taxes from the village, by the order of the king. Apart from revenue collection they also functioned as a judge and sometimes as a policeman.
 Gramabhojaka was a powerful man as usually, men from the same family held the position for generations because the post was hereditary and ascribed. Mostly, people like potters, weaver, blacksmith spent their lives working for the landowners and were referred as Dasa Karmakara.

Note: Land was a defining feature of wealth, prestige, position and prosperity as the landed labourers were the kings of their heap. Sometimes there was gross abuse of power where the labourers were ill treated and were underpaid for their labor.