In medieval India, the designations 'Mahattara' and 'Pattakila' were u

In medieval India, the designations ‘Mahattara’ and ‘Pattakila’ were used for

military officers

village headmen

specialists in Vedic rituals

chiefs of craft guilds

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This question was previously asked in

UPSC IAS – 2014

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In medieval India, the designations ‘Mahattara’ and ‘Pattakila’ were used for village headmen or village officials responsible for local administration, especially land revenue.

These terms appear in various inscriptions and historical texts, particularly from periods like the Gupta, post-Gupta, and early medieval Rajput dynasties. ‘Mahattara’ literally means ‘elder’ or ‘great man’ and was a common term for village elders or headmen. ‘Pattakila’ was also used for a village official, often associated with the collection of land revenue or management of village lands.

The village headman played a crucial role in rural administration, acting as an intermediary between the state authorities and the villagers, responsible for law and order, dispute resolution, and revenue collection at the local level.

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