In the Vedic period, each village had a head known as gramani. A group of villages formed a vish, whose head was called vishpati. Several vish formed a jana. Later, when the jana settled into a specific region, it came to be known as a janapad. The head of the jana was known as nripa or raja (king). The main duties of the king were to protect the people, collect taxes and run the administration efficiently.
The purohit (priest) and the senapati of the army were officers of special importance. The officer who collected the taxes was known as bhagdugh. Bhag means share. The person who collected the king’s share of the produce of a jana was called bhagdugh.
There were four institutions who guided the king - sabha, samiti, vidath and jana. The people of the State participated in their working. Women, too, participated in the working of sabha and vidath. The sabha consisted of senior citizens of the State whereas the samiti was a general body of the people.