Chapter 2. Kings, Farmers And Towns Early States And Economies (C. 600 Bce-600 Ce)

Following the decline of the Harappan civilisation around 1800 BCE, various developments unfolded across the Indian subcontinent over the subsequent 1,500 years.

This period saw the composition of the Rigveda by people settled near the Indus River and its tributaries. Agricultural settlements emerged in different parts of the subcontinent, including north India, the Deccan Plateau, and Karnataka.

Evidence also points to the presence of pastoral communities in the Deccan and further south.

From around the first millennium BCE, new burial practices appeared in central and south India, including the construction of large stone structures called megaliths. Often, the dead were buried along with a significant collection of iron tools and weapons during this time.

Beginning around the sixth century BCE, other significant trends became visible, most notably the rise of early states, empires, and kingdoms. These political changes were underpinned by transformations in how agricultural production was organized. Simultaneously, new urban centres developed across almost the entire subcontinent.

Historians study these developments by drawing upon a variety of sources, including inscriptions, texts, coins, and visual materials. Understanding this period is a complex task, and as we will see, none of these sources alone provides a complete historical narrative.

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The study of inscriptions is called Epigraphy.

Prinsep And Piyadassi

A pivotal moment in understanding early Indian inscriptions occurred in the 1830s. James Prinsep, an officer working in the East India Company's mint, successfully deciphered two key ancient Indian scripts: Brahmi and Kharosthi. These scripts were commonly used in the earliest inscriptions and on ancient coins.

Prinsep discovered that many of these inscriptions referred to a king using the title Piyadassi, meaning "pleasant to behold." A few inscriptions also explicitly mentioned the king's name as Asoka. This connection was significant because Asoka was already known as a famous ruler from Buddhist texts.

This decipherment provided a new direction for historical research. European and Indian scholars utilized these newly readable inscriptions and texts written in various languages to reconstruct the history and lineages of major dynasties that had ruled the subcontinent.

By the early 20th century, the basic framework of early Indian political history had been established based on this work.

Later, historians began to explore the broader context of this political history, investigating the links between political changes and developments in the economy and society. They realized that while connections existed, they were often complex and not always simple cause-and-effect relationships.

The Earliest States

The sixth century BCE is considered a major turning point in early Indian history.

Key characteristics of this era include:

• Emergence of early states.
• Development of cities.
• Increasing use of iron technology.
• Beginning of coinage.
• Growth of new religious and philosophical systems, notably Buddhism and Jainism.

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Early Buddhist and Jaina texts are important sources for this period. These texts mention the existence of sixteen prominent states or kingdoms, known as mahajanapadas.

The Sixteen Mahajanapadas

While the specific lists of the sixteen mahajanapadas vary across different texts, certain names appear frequently, indicating their significance. These include Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara, and Avanti.

Most mahajanapadas were ruled by kings (monarchies). However, some were governed as ganas or sanghas, which were oligarchies – forms of government where power was shared among a group of men, often referred to collectively as rajas. Both Mahavira (founder of Jainism) and the Buddha belonged to such ganas.

In some ganas, resources like land might have been controlled collectively by the rajas (e.g., the Vajji sangha). Reconstructing the history of these oligarchic states is challenging due to limited sources, but some are believed to have lasted for nearly a thousand years.

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Every mahajanapada had a capital city, which was frequently fortified (protected by walls).

Maintaining these fortified capitals and supporting emerging armies and bureaucracies required significant resources.

From around the sixth century BCE, Brahmanas began composing Sanskrit texts called the Dharmasutras. These texts laid down guidelines and norms for rulers and other social groups. Rulers were ideally expected to belong to the Kshatriya varna (warrior class) according to these texts.

The Dharmasutras advised rulers on collecting resources, primarily through taxes and tribute from cultivators, traders, and artisans. It is less clear from these texts whether resources were also extracted from pastoralists or forest inhabitants.

Raids on neighboring states were considered a legitimate way for states to acquire wealth.

Over time, some states developed standing armies and established regular administrative systems (bureaucracies). Others continued to rely on recruiting militia forces, often drawn from the peasantry.

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Inscriptions: These are writings engraved on hard surfaces like stone, metal, or pottery, serving as relatively permanent records. They often document achievements, activities, or ideas of those who commissioned them, including rulers' exploits or donations to religious institutions. Inscriptions can be dated directly or estimated based on the style of writing (palaeography).

Early inscriptions were mostly in Prakrit, languages commonly spoken by ordinary people. Names of rulers known from these texts and inscriptions are often found in their Prakrit forms (e.g., Ajatasattu, Asoka). Later inscriptions used other languages like Pali, Tamil, and Sanskrit. It's likely people spoke other languages not used in writing.

A Janapada signifies the territory or land where a group of people (jana, clan, or tribe) first settles.

An Oligarchy is a system of government where power is held and exercised by a small group of people.

First Amongst The Sixteen: Magadha

Among the sixteen mahajanapadas, Magadha (located in modern-day Bihar) became the most dominant and powerful between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.

Modern historians attribute Magadha's rise to several factors:

• Its geographical location in a region with highly productive agriculture, providing a strong economic base.
• Accessibility to rich iron mines in nearby Jharkhand, providing resources for making tools and weapons.
• Presence of elephants in the region's forests, which were a critical component of the army.
• The location along the Ganga River and its tributaries provided cheap and efficient means of transport and communication.

Early Buddhist and Jaina texts, however, emphasize the role of individuals in Magadha's rise to power, highlighting the ambitious policies of certain rulers and their ministers. The most well-known among these rulers were Bimbisara, Ajatasattu, and Mahapadma Nanda, described as ruthlessly ambitious kings.

Initially, the capital of Magadha was Rajagaha (present-day Rajgir). Its name meaning "house of the king" reflects its status. Rajagaha was a fortified settlement strategically located among hills.

In the fourth century BCE, the capital was moved to Pataliputra (present-day Patna). This new capital commanded crucial communication routes along the Ganga River, further enhancing Magadha's strategic advantage.

An Early Empire

The expansion and growing power of Magadha eventually led to the emergence of the Mauryan Empire.

Chandragupta Maurya founded the empire around c. 321 BCE. He extended Mauryan control significantly, reaching as far northwest as parts of Afghanistan and Baluchistan.

His grandson, Asoka (reigned c. 272/268-231 BCE), is arguably the most renowned ruler of early India. Asoka further expanded the empire by conquering Kalinga (the coastal region of present-day Orissa).

Finding Out About The Mauryas

Historians reconstruct the history of the Mauryan Empire using a variety of sources:

• Archaeological finds: Especially significant is the sculpture from the Mauryan period.
• Contemporary accounts: The account of Megasthenes, a Greek ambassador to Chandragupta Maurya's court, is valuable, though only fragments survive. The Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft and administration, is another key source. Parts of it are traditionally attributed to Kautilya or Chanakya, believed to be Chandragupta's minister.

Source 2: Excerpt from the Arthashastra on capturing elephants.

The Arthashastra details administrative/military organisation, including elephant capture: guards of elephant forests and elephant rearers, enchainers, boundary guards, forest dwellers, elephant nurses, assisted by 5-7 female elephants for tethering wild ones, track herds by following urine/dung. Greek sources mention the Mauryan ruler had a standing army of 600,000 foot-soldiers, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000 elephants, though some historians consider these exaggerated.

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The excerpt highlights the detailed, systematic approach described in the Arthashastra for various state functions, including managing resources (elephants from forests) and military needs. It details specific roles and procedures for capturing elephants. The mention of the large army size in Greek sources, even if exaggerated, suggests the significant scale of Mauryan military organisation. Maintaining such a large force would require vast resources in terms of food for soldiers, fodder for animals, equipment, and personnel for transport and logistics.

• Later literature: Mauryas are mentioned in later Buddhist, Jaina, and Puranic texts, as well as other Sanskrit literary works.
• Asokan inscriptions: The inscriptions commissioned by Asoka on rocks and pillars are considered among the most valuable sources for understanding the Mauryan Empire, particularly Asoka's reign and his ideas.

Asoka was unique as a ruler in early India for inscribing his messages directly to his subjects and officials on durable stone surfaces (natural rocks and polished pillars). He used these inscriptions to propagate his understanding of Dhamma (a set of moral principles).

Key principles of Dhamma promoted by Asoka included respect for elders, generosity towards Brahmanas and ascetics (those who renounced worldly life), kindness towards slaves and servants, and tolerance and respect for all religions and traditions.

Administering The Empire

The Mauryan Empire had several major political and administrative centres mentioned in Asoka's inscriptions:

• The capital city: Pataliputra
• Provincial centres: Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali, and Suvarnagiri

Asoka's inscriptions conveying his message were found widely distributed across the empire, from present-day Pakistan in the northwest to parts of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and Uttarakhand in India. Despite the widespread uniformity of the message, historians believe it's unlikely the entire vast empire had a single, uniform administrative system. The regions included were too geographically and culturally diverse (e.g., mountainous Afghanistan vs. coastal Orissa).

Administrative control was probably strongest in the core areas around the capital and the main provincial centres. These provincial centres were likely chosen strategically:

• Taxila and Ujjayini were located on important long-distance trade routes.
• Suvarnagiri ("golden mountain") was possibly important for its proximity to gold mines, perhaps in Karnataka.

Maintaining connectivity across the empire was vital, relying on both land and riverine routes. Travel between the capital and provinces could take a long time, requiring arrangements for provisions and protection for travelers. The army was crucial for providing protection.

Megasthenes' account mentions a committee with six subcommittees responsible for coordinating military activities (navy, transport/provisions, foot-soldiers, horses, chariots, elephants). The transport and provisions subcommittee had varied tasks, including arranging carts for equipment, sourcing food for soldiers and fodder for animals, and recruiting necessary support staff.

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Asoka also sought to unify the empire by propagating his principles of Dhamma, which were simple and broadly applicable, intended to promote the well-being of people in this life and the next. Special officers called Dhamma mahamatta were appointed to spread this message throughout the empire.

How Important Was The Empire?

When historians first reconstructed early Indian history in the 19th century, the rise of the Mauryan Empire was seen as a monumental achievement. India was under British colonial rule, and the idea of an earlier empire in India was seen as both impressive and exciting by Indian historians.

Mauryan archaeological finds, particularly stone sculpture, were considered examples of magnificent imperial art. Asoka's inscriptions were viewed as unique compared to later rulers, presenting him as a powerful, industrious, and humble figure who was inspiring to nationalist leaders in the 20th century.

However, later historians have questioned the overall significance of the Mauryan Empire in the long term. It lasted for only about 150 years, a relatively short duration in the vast history of the subcontinent.

Furthermore, the empire did not encompass the entire subcontinent (refer to Map 2). Even within its boundaries, administrative control was likely not uniform across all regions.

By the second century BCE, new chiefdoms and kingdoms had emerged in various parts of the subcontinent, indicating that the Mauryan dominance was followed by a fragmentation of political power.

New Notions Of Kingship

After the decline of the Mauryan Empire, new forms of political organization emerged in different regions, along with changing ideas about kingship and the status of rulers.

Chiefs And Kings In The South

In the Deccan and further south, new kingdoms and chiefdoms arose, some of which became stable and prosperous. Notable among these were the chiefdoms of the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas in Tamilakam (the ancient Tamil country).

Information about these southern states comes from various sources, including early Tamil Sangam texts, which contain poems describing chiefs and their methods of acquiring and distributing resources.

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Many rulers, including the Satavahanas (western and central India, c. 2nd century BCE - 2nd century CE) and the Shakas (Central Asian origin, established kingdoms in northwestern/western India), derived income from long-distance trade.

The social origins of these rulers were often not clear or high. However, once they gained power, they attempted to claim higher social status through various means, such as claiming lineage from respected groups or performing religious rituals.

A chief is a powerful leader whose position may or may not be hereditary. Support comes from kin. Functions include rituals, warfare leadership, and dispute arbitration. Receives gifts from subordinates and distributes them. Chiefdoms generally lack regular armies/officials.

Divine Kings

One prominent way rulers sought to legitimize and enhance their status was by identifying themselves with deities or claiming divine connections. This strategy is notably seen with the Kushanas (c. 1st century BCE - 1st century CE), who ruled a vast kingdom from Central Asia to northwest India.

Kushana history is reconstructed from inscriptions and texts, but their coins and sculpture best illustrate their ideas of kingship.

Large, impressive statues of Kushana rulers have been found in shrines, such as at Mat near Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and in Afghanistan. Some historians interpret this as an indication that the Kushanas considered themselves godlike.

Many Kushana rulers adopted the title devaputra, meaning "son of god." This title was possibly inspired by Chinese rulers who referred to themselves as "sons of heaven."

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By the 4th century CE, evidence emerges of even larger states, including the Gupta Empire. Many Gupta rulers relied on samantas – men who maintained power and resources locally, often through control over land. Samantas paid homage and provided military support to the king. The relationship was dynamic: powerful samantas could become kings, while weak rulers might find themselves dependent on or even subordinate to their samantas.

Gupta history is reconstructed from literature, coins, and inscriptions, including prashastis. Prashastis are inscriptions, usually composed by poets in praise of kings or patrons, highlighting their achievements and virtues. While providing some factual information, prashastis were often works of poetry meant to extol the ruler rather than strictly historical accounts.

The Prayaga Prashasti (Allahabad Pillar Inscription), composed in Sanskrit by Harishena (court poet of Samudragupta, a powerful Gupta ruler in the 4th century CE), is a famous example. It extols Samudragupta in glowing terms.

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A Changing Countryside

Understanding what ordinary subjects thought about their rulers is challenging, as they rarely left written records. Historians use indirect evidence from stories like the Jatakas and the Panchatantra, which likely originated as popular oral tales before being written down (Jatakas in Pali, c. mid-1st millennium CE).

Popular Perceptions Of Kings

The Gandatindu Jataka story describes the suffering of subjects under a wicked king, who were harassed by robbers and oppressive tax collectors. To escape, people abandoned their village and moved to the forest.

This story suggests that the relationship between rulers and their subjects, particularly the rural population, could be strained due to high tax demands. Peasants often found these demands oppressive, and seeking refuge in forests was one way to escape.

To meet the growing demand for taxes by states, new strategies were also adopted to increase agricultural production.

Strategies For Increasing Production

One major strategy to boost agricultural production was the shift to plough agriculture, which spread in fertile alluvial river valleys (like the Ganga and Kaveri) from c. sixth century BCE.

• The use of an iron-tipped ploughshare was effective for turning the alluvial soil in areas with high rainfall.
• In parts of the Ganga valley, the introduction of transplantation for paddy cultivation dramatically increased yields. This method, however, required intensive, back-breaking labor.

While the iron ploughshare increased productivity, its use was limited geographically: it was not adopted in semi-arid regions (like parts of Punjab and Rajasthan) until much later (20th century), and in hilly or forested areas (northeastern, central subcontinent), hoe agriculture remained more suitable for the terrain.

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Another strategy to increase production was the development and use of irrigation systems, including wells, tanks, and occasionally canals. These irrigation works were sometimes organized by communities, but often by powerful individuals, including kings, who sometimes recorded their construction activities in inscriptions.

Differences In Rural Society

While new agricultural technologies and irrigation often led to increased production, the benefits were not distributed evenly across rural society. Evidence from texts, particularly Buddhist ones, indicates a growing differentiation among people engaged in agriculture.

Rural society included:

• Landless agricultural labourers (those who did not own land and worked for others).
• Small peasants (cultivators with small landholdings).
• Large landholders (those owning significant amounts of land).

The term gahapati was used in Pali texts for the second and third categories (small peasants and large landholders), referring to the head/owner of a household with control over its members and resources (land, animals). Sometimes, the term also denoted status for urban elites and wealthy merchants.

In early Tamil literature (Sangam texts), different categories of village inhabitants are mentioned: large landowners (vellalar), ploughmen (uzhavar), and slaves (adimai).

These differences in rural society were likely based on unequal access to critical resources like land and labor, as well as differential access to new agricultural technologies.

In this context of growing disparities, issues of control over land became increasingly important and were often addressed in legal texts.

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Land Grants And New Rural Elites

From the early centuries of the Common Era (c. 1st century CE onwards), evidence of grants of land being made emerges, recorded in inscriptions, mostly on copper plates (Fig 2.13). Many grants were made to religious institutions (temples, monasteries) or Brahmanas.

Most early land grant inscriptions were in Sanskrit, but from the 7th century onwards, parts were often in local languages like Tamil or Telugu.

An interesting example is the inscription of Prabhavati Gupta, daughter of the powerful Gupta ruler Chandragupta II, who was married into the Vakataka ruling family in the Deccan.

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These land grants, found across India with regional variations in size and rights, provide insights into state-society relations.

The impact of land grants is debated: some historians see them as a way for rulers to encourage agriculture in new areas, while others interpret them as a sign of weakening royal power, where kings granted land to win allies (samantas) and projected exaggerated divine status (as seen in prashastis) to compensate for loss of actual control.

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Land grants often brought new elites (recipients) into villages. However, certain groups remained largely outside the direct control of state officials or samantas, including pastoralists, fisherfolk, hunter-gatherers, mobile artisans, and shifting cultivators. These groups typically did not keep detailed written records of their lives.

An agrahara was a grant of land to a Brahmana, often exempt from land revenue and other dues to the king, and sometimes granting the Brahmana the right to collect dues from the local villagers.

Towns And Trade

Returning to urban centres, new cities emerged across the subcontinent from around the sixth century BCE. Many served as capitals of the mahajanapadas.

New Cities

Virtually all major towns were strategically located along important communication routes:

• Riverine routes (e.g., Pataliputra on the Ganga).
• Land routes (e.g., Ujjayini).
• Coastal locations or points where sea routes began (e.g., Puhar near the coast).

Many cities, such as Mathura, became significant centres of commercial, cultural, and political activity.

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Urban Populations: Elites And Craftspersons

Kings and ruling elites lived in fortified cities. Extensive excavations in these areas are difficult today because many are still inhabited. However, archaeological finds provide insights into the lives of urban populations.

Artefacts recovered include fine pottery (Northern Black Polished Ware, likely used by the wealthy), ornaments, tools, weapons, and vessels made from diverse materials (gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell, terracotta).

Short votive inscriptions (recording gifts to religious institutions) from the 2nd century BCE onwards, found in many cities, provide information about urban inhabitants and their occupations. They mention professions such as washing folk, weavers, scribes, carpenters, potters, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, officials, religious teachers, merchants, and kings.

These inscriptions also sometimes mention guilds or shrenis, which were organizations of craft producers and merchants. Guilds likely procured raw materials, regulated production standards, and marketed finished products, catering to the growing demands of urban elites.

Craftspersons in cities probably used various iron tools to meet the needs of the urban population and elites.

Trade In The Subcontinent And Beyond

From the sixth century BCE, trade networks expanded significantly. Land and river routes criss-crossed the subcontinent and extended beyond – overland into Central Asia and overseas across the Arabian Sea to Africa and West Asia, and through the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia and China.

Rulers often sought to control these trade routes, possibly by offering protection to traders in exchange for fees.

People involved in trade included peddlers traveling on foot, merchants with caravans (bullock carts, pack animals), and seafarers undertaking risky but profitable maritime ventures. Successful merchants were prominent figures, known by terms like masattuvan (Tamil) or setthis and satthavahas (Prakrit).

A wide variety of goods were transported along these routes: salt, grain, cloth, metal ores, finished metal products, stone, timber, medicinal plants, and spices.

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Spices (especially pepper), textiles, and medicinal plants from India were in high demand in the Roman Empire and transported across the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean region.

"Periplus" means sailing around, "Erythraean" refers to the Red Sea (Greek names).

Coins And Kings

The introduction of coinage significantly facilitated exchanges and trade.

• Punch-marked coins: Among the earliest coins, made of silver and copper (c. sixth century BCE onwards), with symbols punched onto the metal surface. Recovered from many sites, they are studied by Numismatists (specialists in coins) to reconstruct trade networks. Identifying symbols sometimes linked to ruling dynasties (including Mauryas) suggests kings issued some. Merchants, bankers, and townspeople may also have issued some.
• Indo-Greek coins: The first coins to feature the names and images of rulers were issued by the Indo-Greeks (who controlled northwest subcontinent, c. 2nd century BCE).
• Kushana coins: The Kushanas issued large quantities of gold coins (first gold coins c. 1st century CE), often identical in weight to contemporary Roman and Parthian coins. Found widely in north India and Central Asia, indicating the large scale of transactions.
• Tribal Republic coins: Issued by tribal republics like the Yaudheyas (Punjab/Haryana, c. 1st century CE). Thousands of copper coins found indicate their participation in economic exchanges.
• Gupta coins: The Gupta rulers issued spectacular gold coins, known for their purity. These facilitated long-distance transactions benefiting the kings.

Finds of Roman coins in south India indicate direct trade connections between south India and the Roman Empire, showing that trade networks extended beyond political boundaries.

From c. sixth century CE, finds of gold coins decrease. This is debated: some see it as evidence of economic crisis (perhaps due to the decline of the Western Roman Empire and long-distance trade), while others argue new trade networks emerged and fewer coins were found because they were actively circulating rather than being hoarded.

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Numismatics is the study of coins, analyzing their visual elements (scripts, images), composition (metallurgical analysis), and discovery context to understand economic history.

Back To Basics How Are Inscriptions Deciphered?

Understanding the content of inscriptions is essential for historians. This section explains the process of deciphering ancient scripts found in inscriptions.

Deciphering Brahmi

Most scripts used today for modern Indian languages are derived from Brahmi, the script used in the majority of Asokan inscriptions. European scholars, assisted by Indian pandits, began deciphering Brahmi in the late 18th century. They worked backward, comparing letters in contemporary manuscripts (like Bengali and Devanagari) with older examples of Brahmi letters found in inscriptions.

Early scholars sometimes mistakenly assumed early inscriptions were in Sanskrit. However, the earliest inscriptions were, in fact, in Prakrit. It took decades of dedicated work by epigraphists before James Prinsep successfully deciphered Asokan Brahmi in 1838.

How Kharosthi Was Read

The decipherment of Kharosthi, the script used in inscriptions primarily in the northwest (like those found near present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan), followed a different path. It was facilitated by the discovery of coins issued by Indo-Greek kings (c. 2nd-1st centuries BCE) who ruled this region.

These coins typically had the king's name written in two scripts: Greek (which European scholars could read) and Kharosthi. By comparing the letters in the known Greek script with the corresponding letters in the Kharosthi script (for names like Apollodotus), scholars could identify the phonetic value of Kharosthi letters.

Once James Prinsep identified the language of the Kharosthi inscriptions as Prakrit (a language related to Pali and Sanskrit), it became possible to read and understand longer inscriptions written in the Kharosthi script.

Historical Evidence From Inscriptions

To understand how historians use inscriptions as historical evidence, we can look closely at some Asokan inscriptions. Some inscriptions refer to Asoka using titles like Devanampiya ("beloved of the gods") and Piyadassi ("pleasant to behold"), but do not explicitly mention the name Asoka.

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The Limitations Of Inscriptional Evidence

While inscriptions are invaluable sources, they have limitations in what they can reveal about the past:

• Technical Limitations: Inscriptions can be faintly engraved, damaged, or have missing letters, making decipherment and reconstruction uncertain. Debates among scholars about alternative readings are common.
• Language and Meaning: It can be challenging to be certain about the exact meaning of ancient words, especially if they were specific to a certain region or time.
• Survival Bias: Although thousands of inscriptions have been found, many others that existed likely did not survive the effects of time and climate. The available corpus is only a fraction of what was originally inscribed.
• Limited Content: Not everything considered politically or economically significant by historians today was necessarily recorded. Inscriptions often focus on grand events (kings' exploits, donations) and rarely mention routine daily life, agricultural practices, or the experiences of ordinary people.
• Perspective Bias: Inscriptions almost always reflect the viewpoint of the person(s) who commissioned them (the ruler or donor). They present a particular perspective and need to be compared with other sources to get a more balanced understanding.

Therefore, epigraphy alone cannot provide a complete historical narrative. Historians must constantly evaluate evidence, juxtaposing inscriptions with information from texts, coins, archaeology, and other sources.

Furthermore, the focus of historical research has evolved. Earlier historians prioritized the histories of kings and dynasties. From the mid-20th century, there's been increasing interest in economic and social changes and the emergence of different social groups. Recent decades show greater focus on marginalized groups. This evolving focus leads to re-examination of old sources and development of new analytical strategies to extract different kinds of information from the past.