Chandragupta had at his disposal a formidable army numbering about
6,00,000 men. It was controlled by a war office consisting of thirty members,
divided into six boards of five each. The respective Boards were in charge of
different departments, e.g., Admiralty, Infantry, Cavalry, War-chariots,
Elephants and Commissariat and Transport.
    According to Megasthenes soldiers formed the most numerous class in
the society. They were not mere militia or a contingent as they received
regular pay from the state which also supplied them with arms and
equipment. The equipment of the army was adequate. The chariots usually
drawn by four-horses. Each chariot had at least two warriors in addition to
the driver. The infantry carried the broadsword as their principal weapon.
Javelins, bows and arrows were additional arms.
Municipal and Local Administration
Chandragupta’s municipal organisation for his imperial capital was based on
wise and sound systems. Megasthenes calls the town officials astynomoi. The
Municipal Commission, consisting of thirty members, was divided into six
Boards or Committees of five members each.
    • The first Board looked after everything relating to industrial arts-
        regulating wages, enforcing the use of pure and sound materials and
        exacting full work in exchange for fair wages. Artisans were regarded
        as sacrosanct and any interference with their work was visited with
        capital punishment.
    • The second Board was required to look after the comforts of
        foreigners, to keep them under observation and in case of sickness or
        death provide for the treatment or burial of the stranger, whose
        property they were obliged to protect.
    • The third Board was responsible for the systematic registration of
        births and deaths, designed both to facilitate taxation and for
        government records.
    • Trade and commerce was under the fourth Board, which regulated
        sales and enforced the use of stamped weights and measures.
        Merchants paid a license tax.
    • The fifth Board controlled manufactured articles. Old goods were