A remarkable fea­ture of the Mauryan administration was the unin­hibited manner in which the organisation of a Secret Service was recommended and the use of Secret Agents for a variety of purposes. To keep a complete vigil over the entire administration, including the conduct of officers, a well-knit espionage system was evolved.

A large number of detectives (gudhapurushas), secret agents, double agents, news agents, spies, counter-spies, etc. were posted all over the kingdom. Kautilya has given an elaborate description of the various aspects of espionage. He divides them into sansthan (stationary) and sanchari (wandering), each having several sub-divisions.

Only the most efficient, smart and extremely honest males and females were recruited in this department. Cipher writing, code words, secret language, etc. were used and the services of courier pigeons were enlisted. The king was kept always informed of the working of the bureaucratic machinery. The spies were “the ears and eyes of the king”. The normal life of the people, though watched and reported upon, was not affected.

A number of agents have been suggested by Kautilya such as fraudulent disciples, recluses, householders, merchants, as­cetics, classmates, firebrands, and women of many kinds including vishakanyas or poisonous girls. Serpent charmers, acrobats and many other professionals were engaged on a part- time or full-time basis.

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The spies had to perform their duties very skilfully, carefully and secretly. There were spies against the spies and on impor­tant matters more than one agent was asked to collect information, which was then tallied and cross-referenced.

According to Strabo, “There were overseers to overlook what is done throughout the country and in the cities and to report privately to the king.” Asoka, in one of his Edicts, ordered that he must constantly be kept informed of the happenings of the State. Ambas­sadors (dutas) appointed in foreign countries were ‘open spies’.