Kings, Farmers and Towns: Early States and Economies (c. 600 BCE - 600 CE)

Developments in the Post-Harappan Era ($1,500$ Years Following the Civilisation's End)

• Agricultural and Pastoral Transformations: Following the end of the Harappan civilisation, agricultural settlements emerged across north India, the Deccan Plateau, and parts of Karnataka. Evidence of pastoral populations exists in the Deccan and further south.

• The Rigveda: This period ($c. 1,500$ years post-Harappa) saw the composition of the Rigveda by people living along the Indus and its tributaries.

• Megaliths: From the first millennium BCE, new modes of disposing of the dead emerged in central and south India. Elaborate stone structures called megaliths were constructed. Burials often included a rich range of iron tools and weapons.

• Emergence of Early States: From $c. 6th$ century BCE, visible trends included the rise of early states, empires, and kingdoms. These political processes were linked to changes in agricultural production and the appearance of new towns across the subcontinent.

• Historical Sources: Historians reconstruct these developments using inscriptions, texts, coins, and visual materials. This is a complex process as sources often provide only a partial narrative.

Epigraphy and the Decipherment of Early Scripts

• Definition of Epigraphy: The study of inscriptions.

• James Prinsep and the 1830s: A major breakthrough occurred in the $1830s$ when James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi. These were the two scripts used in the earliest inscriptions and coins.

• Piyadassi and Asoka: Prinsep discovered that most inscriptions mentioned a king referred to as Piyadassi (meaning “pleasant to behold”). Some inscriptions also referred to the king as Asoka, a famous ruler known from Buddhist texts.

• Impact on Historiography: This decipherment allowed European and Indian scholars to reconstruct the lineages of major dynasties. Focus later shifted from purely political history to investigating links between political, economic, and social developments.

• Nature of Inscriptions: Inscriptions are writings engraved on hard surfaces (stone, metal, or pottery). They record activities, achievements, or ideas of those who commissioned them (kings or donors). Some are dated; others are dated via palaeography (study of writing styles). For example, the letter ‘a’ changed from a specific form in $c. 250 BCE$ to another by $c. 500 CE$.

• Languages: The earliest inscriptions were in Prakrit (the language of ordinary people). Other languages used included Pali, Tamil, and Sanskrit.

The Sixteen Mahajanapadas and the Rise of Magadha

• The Sixth Century BCE Turning Point: This era is associated with early states, cities, increased iron use, and the development of coinage. It saw the rise of Buddhism and Jainism.

• The States: Early Buddhist and Jaina texts mention $16$ states known as mahajanapadas. Key names include Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara, and Avanti.

• Governance Systems:

  • Monarchies: Most mahajanapadas were ruled by kings.

  • Oligarchies (Ganas/Sanghas): Power was shared by a group of men collectively called rajas. The Roman Republic is a historical parallel. Mahavira and the Buddha belonged to these ganas. In the Vajji sangha, resources like land were controlled collectively.

• Infrastructure: Each mahajanapada had a fortified capital city. This required resources to maintain incipient armies and bureaucracies.

• The Dharmasutras: From $c. 6th$ century BCE, Brahmanas composed Sanskrit texts laying down norms for rulers (ideally Kshatriyas). Rulers were advised to collect taxes and tribute from cultivators, traders, and artisans. Raids on neighbors were considered a legitimate way to acquire wealth.

• The Primacy of Magadha ($6th$ to $4th$ Century BCE):

  • Geographical Factors: Highly productive agriculture; accessible iron mines in present-day Jharkhand (for tools/weapons); elephants available in regional forests; Ganga and its tributaries provided cheap communication.

  • Human Agency: Buddhist and Jaina writers attributed Magadha's success to the policies of ambitious kings like Bimbisara, Ajatasattu, and Mahapadma Nanda, and their ministers.

  • Capitals: Initially Rajagaha (Prakrit for ‘house of the king’), a fortified settlement in hills. Later shifted in the $4th$ century BCE to Pataliputra (Patna), which controlled riverine routes.

The Mauryan Empire

• Foundation: Founded by Chandragupta Maurya ($c. 321 BCE$), who controlled the northwest up to Afghanistan and Baluchistan.

• Asoka and Kalinga: Chandragupta’s grandson, Asoka ($c. 272/268–231 BCE$), conquered Kalinga (coastal Orissa).

• Reconstructing Mauryan History:

  • Archaeological finds: Especially stone sculptures.

  • Megasthenes: A Greek ambassador to Chandragupta’s court; his account survives in fragments.

  • Arthashastra: Authored in part by Kautilya (Chanakya).

  • Literary Sources: Buddhist, Jaina, Puranic, and Sanskrit works.

  • Asokan Inscriptions: The first ruler to inscribe messages to subjects on natural rocks and polished pillars. He used these to proclaim Dhamma.

• Dhamma Principles: Included respect for elders, generosity to Brahmanas and those who renounced the world, kind treatment of slaves/servants, and respect for all religions.

• Administration:

  • Five Major Centres: Pataliputra (capital), Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali, and Suvarnagiri.

  • Regional Variation: Control was likely strongest near the capital and provincial hubs. Taxila and Ujjayini were on trade routes; Suvarnagiri (the ‘golden mountain’) was vital for Karnataka’s gold mines.

  • Military Organisation: According to Megasthenes, a committee with $6$ subcommittees managed the military: ($1$) Navy, ($2$) Transport and provisions, ($3$) Foot-soldiers, ($4$) Horses, ($5$) Chariots, and ($6$) Elephants. The second subcommittee managed bullock carts, food, fodder, and recruitment.

  • Dhamma Mahamatta: Special officers appointed to spread Asoka's message.

New Notions of Kingship ($c. 2nd$ Century BCE onwards)

• Chiefs and Kings in the South: In Tamilakam (Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu), the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas emerged. Chiefdoms relied on gifts from subordinates and kin support rather than regular taxes.

• Satavahanas and Shakas: The Satavahanas (Western/Central India, $c. 2nd$ century BCE–$2nd$ century CE) and Shakas (Central Asian origin) gained revenue from long-distance trade. They sought high social status after acquiring power.

• Divine Kingship (Kushanas): The Kushanas ($c. 1st$ century BCE–$1st$ century CE) identified themselves with deities. Colossal statues were found at Mat (near Mathura) and in Afghanistan. They used the title devaputra (‘son of god’).

• The Gupta Empire ($4th$ Century CE): Relied on samantas (local lords) who provided military support. Histories are reconstructed from literature, coins, and prashastis (poems in praise of kings).

• Prayaga Prashasti: Composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, court poet to Samudragupta. It equates the king to gods like Kubera (wealth), Varuna (ocean), Indra (rains), and Yama (death).

The Countryside: Production and Society

• Popular Perceptions: Ordinary people’s views are explored through the Jatakas (written in Pali) and the Panchatantra. The Gandatindu Jataka describes subjects cursing a wicked king and fleeing to the forest to escape high taxes and robbers.

• Agricultural Strategies:

  • Plough Agriculture: Shift to iron-tipped ploughshares in the Ganga and Kaveri valleys from $c. 6th$ century BCE.

  • Transplantation: Used for paddy to increase yields in water-rich areas.

  • Irrigation: Construction of wells, tanks, and canals. The Sudarshana Lake in Gujarat was an artificial reservoir repaired by the Shaka ruler Rudradaman ($c. 2nd$ century CE) and later by Gupta rulers.

• Social Differences: Growing differentiation between landless labourers, small peasants, and large landholders. The term gahapati was used for masters of households or wealthy urban elites.

• Tamil Categories: Large landowners (vellalar), ploughmen (uzhavar), and slaves (adimai).

• Land Grants: Recorded on copper plates or stone. Notable grant by Prabhavati Gupta (daughter of Chandragupta II), who married into the Vakatakas. Grants like the village of Danguna mentioned exemptions from taxes and military entry. Agrahara was land granted to Brahmanas.

Towns and Trade

• Urban Centres: Many were capitals of mahajanapadas. Pataliputra (riverine), Ujjayini (land routes), and Puhar (coastal) were key. Mathura was a cultural and commercial hub.

• Urban Artifacts: Recovered items include Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW), ornaments, and tools of gold, ivory, and shell.

• Guilds (Shrenis): Organisations of craft producers that regulated production and marketed goods.

• Trade Networks: Extended to Central Asia, West Asia (Arabian Sea), Southeast Asia, and China (Bay of Bengal). Goods included salt, cloth, medicinal plants, and pepper (highly demanded in the Roman Empire).

• Coinage Evolution:

  • Punch-marked coins: Made of silver and copper; earliest to be used ($c. 6th$ century BCE).

  • Indo-Greek coins: First to bear names and images of rulers ($c. 2nd$ century BCE).

  • Kushana Gold Coins: First gold coins in India ($c. 1st$ century CE), identical in weight to Roman and Parthian coins.

  • Gupta Gold Coins: Remarkable for their purity; facilitated long-distance transactions.

Historical Evidence and Limitations

• Decipherment of Brahmi: James Prinsep used Bengali and Devanagari comparisons to decipher Asokan Brahmi in $1838$.

• Decipherment of Kharosthi: Achieved by comparing Indo-Greek coins which featured names in both Greek and Kharosthi.

• Limitations of Epigraphy:

  • Technical: Faint engravings, damaged letters, or missing records.

  • Interpretive: Meaning of words may be site-specific; not all inscriptions have been deciphered or found.

  • Content: Inscriptions often represent only the perspective of political/economic elites, ignoring routine agricultural practices and the daily lives of marginalized groups.

Questions & Discussion

• Source 1 (Megasthenes): Great officers superintended rivers, measured land (as in Egypt), and inspected sluices for water distribution. They supervised woodcutters, carpenters, and miners. Why? To regulate production and tax collection.

• Source 2 (Arthashastra on Elephants): Guards tracked herds via urine/dung and caught them using female elephants for tethering. Scale: Greek sources claim the Mauryan army had $600,000$ infantry, $30,000$ cavalry, and $9,000$ elephants.

• Source 3 (Silappadikaram): People brought gifts (ivory, honey, sandalwood, baby tigers, spices) to the Pandyan chief Senguttuvan. Function: These were redistributed to supporters to maintain leadership.

• Source 5 (Sudarshana Lake): Repaired by Rudradaman without imposing taxes on subjects. Significance: Demonstrates the ruler's responsibility for irrigation.

• Source 8 (Prabhavati Gupta's Charter): Exempted the village of Danguna from providing grass, hides, charcoal, or milk to royal officers. Gave rights to mines and hidden treasures to the teacher Chanalasvamin.

• Source 11 (Asoka's Anguish): Describes the Kalinga war where $150,000$ were deported and $100,000$ killed. This led Asoka to follow Dhamma. Anomaly: This inscription is missing from the actual region of Orissa.

Major Political and Economic Timeline

• $c. 600–500 BCE$: Paddy transplantation; mahajanapadas; punch-marked coins.

• $c. 327–325 BCE$: Invasion of Alexander of Macedon.

• $c. 321 BCE$: Accession of Chandragupta Maurya.

• $c. 272/268–231 BCE$: Reign of Asoka.

• $c. 185 BCE$: End of the Mauryan Empire.

• $c. 200–100 BCE$: Indo-Greek rule; Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas; Satavahanas.

• $c. 78 CE?$: Accession of Kanishka (Kushanas).

• $c. 320 CE$: Beginning of Gupta rule.

• $c. 606–647 CE$: Harshavardhana of Kanauj; visit of Xuan Zang.

• $c. 712 CE$: Arabs conquer Sind.