The Gupta Empire was divided into provinces known as deshas or bhuktis.
They were administered by governors who were usually designated as uparikas.
The uparika was directly appointed by the king and he, in turn, frequently appointed the head of the district administration and the district board.
Uparika carried on the administration “with the enjoyment of the rule consisting of elephants, horses and soldiers”, indicating his control over the military machinery as well.
The fact that the uparika had the title maharaja in three of the Damodarpur plates indicates his high status and rank in the administrative hierarchy.
The Eran pillar inscription of Budhagupta, dated Gupta year 165 CE, refers to maharaja Surashmichandra as a lokpala, governing the land between the Kalinndi and Narmada rivers.
Lokpala here seems to refer to a provincial governor.
The provinces of the Gupta Empire were divided into districts known as visayas, which were controlled by officers known as vishyapatis.
The vishyapatis seems to have been generally appointed by the provincial governor. Sometimes, even the kings directly appointed the vishyapatis.
Prominent members of the town assisted the vishyapati in administrative duties.
Administrative Units below the District level
The administrative units below the district level included clusters of settlements known variously as vithi, bhumi, pathaka and peta.
There are references to officials known as ayuktakas and vithi-mahattaras.
At the village level, villagers chose functionaries such as gramika and gramadhyaksha.
The Damodarpur copper plate of the reign of Budhagupta mentions an ashtakula-adhikarana (a board of eight members) headed by the mahattara.
Mahattara has a range of meanings including village elder, village headman, and head of a family community.
The Sanchi inscription of the time of Chandragupta II mentions the panch-mandali, which may have been a corporate body.
Army
Seals and inscriptions mention military designations such as baladhikrita and mahabaladhikrita (commander of infantry and cavalry).
The standard term “senapati” does not occur in Gupta inscriptions, but the term could be found in some Vakataka epigraphs.
A Vaishali seal mentions the ranabhandagar- adhikarana, which is the office of the military storehouse.
Another Vaishali seal mentions the adhikarana (office) of the dandapashika, which may have been a district-level police office.
The officials connected specifically with the royal establishment included the mahapratiara (chief ofthepalace guards) and the khadyatapakita (superintendent of the royal kitchen).
A Vaishali seal mentions a person both as a mahapratihara and a taravara.
The top layer of the administrative structure also included amatyas and sachivas, who were executive officers in charge of various departments.
The system of espionage included spies known as dutakas.
The ayuktakas were another cadre of high-ranking officers.
