KOTTAM AS VILLAGE UNITS BY SATAVAHANAS

Every village was a self-governing unit. A number of villages constituted a larger entity known as a Kurram,KOTTAM, depending on the area. A number of Kurrams constituted a valanadu. These structures underwent constant change and refinement throughout the period

Justice was mostly a local matter in the Empire; minor disputes were settled at the village level.Punishment for minor crimes were in the form of fines or a direction for the offender to donate to some charitable endowment. Even crimes such as manslaughter or murder were punished with fines. Crimes of the state, such as treason, were heard and decided by the king himself; the typical punishment in these cases was either execution or the confiscation of property.

However both KOTILINGALA,NAGARJUNAKONDA were considered to be regional capitals, in which occasional courts were held. The king was the supreme commander and a benevolent dictator. His administrative role consisted of issuing oral commands to responsible officers when representations were made to him. A powerful bureaucracy assisted the king in the tasks of administration and in executing his orders. Due to the lack of a legislature or a legislative system in the modern sense, the fairness of king’s orders dependent on the goodness of the man and in his belief in Dharma—a sense of fairness and justice.

The kings built temples and endowed them with great wealth.The temples acted not only as places of worship but also as centres of economic activity, benefiting their entire community.