Chapter 9 Traders, Kings And Pilgrims

Jagini At The Market

Markets, especially village fairs, showcase goods brought from other places, highlighting the role of traders. Traders are people who buy goods in one location (often where they are made) and transport them to sell in other places, requiring constant movement.

How To Find Out About Trade And Traders

Historical trade activities can be inferred from archaeological finds. The discovery of certain types of pottery, like the fine Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) mentioned in Chapter 8, at various archaeological sites across the subcontinent suggests that traders transported these goods from their place of manufacture to other regions for sale.

South India was particularly known for valuable resources desired elsewhere, including gold, spices (especially pepper), and precious stones. Pepper was highly valued in the Roman Empire, referred to as 'black gold'. Traders transported these goods to the Roman Empire via sea routes in ships and land routes using caravans. The presence of many Roman gold coins found in south India indicates the significant volume of trade between the two regions; these coins likely reached India as payment for the goods exported to Rome.

Evidence from Texts: A Poem About Trade

Literary sources, such as the Sangam poems (early Tamil literature), also provide evidence of trade. A poem describing goods brought into Puhar (or Kaveripattinam), an important port city on the east coast, lists various items arriving via different modes of transport:

• Horses imported by sea in ships.
• Bales of black pepper brought in carts (implying land transport from inland areas).
• Gems and gold from the Himalayas.
• Sandalwood from the western hills.
• Pearls from the southern seas.
• Corals from the eastern oceans.
• Yields from the Ganga and crops from the Kaveri (implying inter-regional trade within India).
• Foodstuffs from Sri Lanka and pottery from Myanmar (implying international trade).

These goods were likely used for various purposes: precious items like gems, gold, pearls, corals, sandalwood, silk, and perfumes were probably luxury items for the wealthy; pepper was a valuable spice; horses were important for transport and military; foodstuffs and crops were for consumption; pottery was for utility. The poem illustrates the extensive network of trade, involving both inland and overseas routes, and the variety of goods exchanged.

Traders utilized several sea routes. Some followed the coastline, while others crossed larger bodies of water like the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Sailors on these longer voyages took advantage of monsoon winds to travel more quickly across the seas. Sturdy ships were necessary for these long-distance maritime journeys.

New Kingdoms Along The Coasts

The southern part of the Indian subcontinent is characterized by a long coastline and features like hills, plateaus, and fertile river valleys, particularly the Kaveri valley. Chiefs and kings who controlled these fertile river valleys and the advantageous coastal areas became prosperous and powerful due to their control over agricultural production and trade routes.

The Sangam poems mention the **muvendar**, a Tamil term meaning 'three chiefs'. This term referred to the heads of three powerful ruling families who dominated south India around 2300 years ago: the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas (Map 7, page 105 shows their regions).

Each of these three chiefs maintained two centers of power: one located inland (controlling agricultural areas) and one on the coast (controlling ports and maritime trade). Among these six centers, two were particularly important: Puhar or Kaveripattinam (the port of the Cholas) and Madurai (the capital of the Pandyas).

These chiefs had a different system of resource collection compared to the rajas of mahajanapadas. They did not collect regular taxes. Instead, they demanded and received gifts from the people under their control. They also conducted military expeditions and collected **tribute** from neighboring areas. The wealth obtained was distributed among their supporters, including family members, soldiers, and poets. Poets who composed praises for these chiefs were often richly rewarded with precious items like stones, gold, horses, elephants, chariots, and fine cloth.

Around 200 years after the rise of the muvendar, the Satavahanas dynasty gained prominence in western India (Map 7, page 105). The most important Satavahana ruler was Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni, known from an inscription composed by his mother. Satavahana rulers were referred to as lords of the dakshinapatha, a term meaning 'the route leading to the south', which also became a name for the entire southern region. Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni notably sent his army to the eastern, western, and southern coasts, indicating his interest in controlling these vital trade routes.

He likely wanted to control the coasts because coastal areas were crucial for maritime trade, providing access to valuable imports and exports, and generating wealth and power for those who controlled the ports and trade routes.

The Story Of The Silk Route

Silk was a highly prized fabric in ancient societies due to its rich color, glossy appearance, and smooth texture. The process of making silk is complex, involving extracting raw silk from silkworm cocoons, spinning thread, and weaving cloth.

The technique for making silk was first invented in **China** around 7000 years ago. For thousands of years, this knowledge remained a closely guarded secret within China. However, some people traveling from China carried silk with them, spreading its presence to other lands. The paths they followed became known as the Silk Route (Map 6, pages 76-77 show the route and its branches).

Silk was sometimes sent as gifts from Chinese rulers to rulers in Iran and West Asia, facilitating the spread of knowledge about silk further west. Around 2000 years ago, wearing silk became fashionable among rulers and wealthy people in Rome. It was extremely expensive in Rome because it had to be transported all the way from China along challenging land routes, through mountains and deserts. People living along the route often demanded payments from traders for passage, adding to the cost.

Some kings along the Silk Route sought to control large sections of it. This was because they could significantly benefit by collecting taxes, tributes, and gifts from the traders. In return, these rulers often provided protection to the traders against robbers, making the route safer for commerce.

The **Kushanas** were among the most famous rulers who controlled parts of the Silk Route. They ruled over Central Asia and northwest India around 2000 years ago, with major centers of power in Peshawar and Mathura. Taxila was also part of their kingdom. During their rule, a branch of the Silk Route extended from Central Asia down to the seaports at the mouth of the Indus River, from where silk was shipped westwards to the Roman Empire.

The Kushanas were also among the earliest rulers in the subcontinent to issue **gold coins**, which were used by traders along the Silk Route, facilitating trade transactions.

Using carts along parts of the Silk Route would have been difficult due to the challenging terrain, including mountains and deserts, which were more suited for transport by foot, horses, and camels.

Silk was also transported from China by sea. Sea transport could offer advantages like carrying larger quantities of goods and potentially avoiding land-based obstacles and tolls. However, problems could include dangers from storms, pirates, and the difficulty of navigation in open seas.

The Spread Of Buddhism

---

The most famous Kushana ruler was Kanishka, who ruled around 1900 years ago. He was a significant patron of Buddhism and organized a Buddhist council where scholars debated important matters of the faith.

Ashvaghosha, a poet who wrote a biography of the Buddha called the Buddhacharita, lived in Kanishka's court. Ashvaghosha and other Buddhist scholars began writing in **Sanskrit**, a significant development as earlier Buddhist texts were primarily in Prakrit.

During this period, a new form of Buddhism known as Mahayana Buddhism developed. It had two key distinguishing features compared to the older form (Theravada Buddhism):

1. Image Worship: Earlier, the Buddha's presence or enlightenment was represented symbolically in sculpture (e.g., an empty seat under a peepal tree to show enlightenment). In Mahayana Buddhism, **statues of the Buddha were made** for worship. Many of these statues were created in centers like Mathura and Taxila.
2. Belief in Bodhisattvas: Mahayana Buddhism introduced the concept of **Bodhisattvas**. These were individuals who had attained enlightenment but chose to remain in the world to help and teach other people, delaying their own final liberation out of compassion. The worship of Bodhisattvas became very popular.

Mahayana Buddhism and the worship of Bodhisattvas spread widely through Central Asia, China, and later to Korea and Japan. Buddhism also spread to western and southern India, where many **caves were carved out of hills** to serve as residences for monks to live and meditate in (cave monasteries).

These cave monasteries were often sponsored by kings, queens, merchants, and farmers. Many were located near passes through the Western Ghats, along roads connecting prosperous coastal ports with inland cities in the Deccan. Traders traveling these routes likely stopped and possibly provided support to the monks in these cave monasteries.

Buddhism also spread southeastwards to countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia. In these areas, the older form of Buddhism, known as Theravada Buddhism, was more popular.

---

The Quest Of The Pilgrims

---

Alongside traders, pilgrims also undertook long journeys. Pilgrims are individuals who travel to **holy places** for worship or spiritual reasons.

Some of the most famous pilgrims who visited the Indian subcontinent were Chinese Buddhists:

• Fa Xian: Came about 1600 years ago.
• Xuan Zang: Came around 1400 years ago.
• I-Qing: Came about 50 years after Xuan Zang.

These pilgrims traveled to India to visit places associated with the life of the Buddha (like Bodh Gaya and Sarnath, Chapter 6) and famous Buddhist monasteries. They left detailed accounts of their journeys, describing the dangers they faced, the places they visited, and the religious texts (manuscripts) and statues they collected to carry back to China.

---

How Fa Xian Returned To China

---

Fa Xian's journey back to China from Bengal by sea was arduous. He faced a severe storm where merchants had to discard goods to lighten the ship. Fa Xian prioritized saving his collected Buddhist books and Buddha statues over his personal belongings, highlighting the value placed on religious texts and artifacts. His description of sea navigation emphasizes reliance on celestial bodies and winds in the absence of visible landmarks. After a long and challenging sea journey, including a stop in Java, he eventually reached China, demonstrating the dedication and risks involved in pilgrimage and the transmission of knowledge.

Xuan Zang, returning by the land route through the northwest and Central Asia, carried back a significant collection of statues and over 600 manuscripts, some of which were lost when his boat capsized in the Indus River. He dedicated the rest of his life to translating the remaining Sanskrit manuscripts into Chinese, a monumental task that contributed greatly to the spread of Buddhist teachings in China.

---

Nalanda – A Unique Centre Of Buddhist Learning

---

Several Chinese pilgrims, including Xuan Zang, studied at Nalanda (Bihar), renowned as the most famous Buddhist monastery and center of learning during that period. Xuan Zang described Nalanda as a unique institution:

• Its teachers were highly talented and strictly followed the Buddha's teachings.
• The monastery had strict rules that everyone adhered to.
• Discussions were held throughout the day, with mutual help between older and younger members.
• Scholars from different cities visited to resolve doubts.
• Entrance was challenging; the gatekeeper posed difficult questions, and only those who could answer were admitted (often only 7 or 8 out of 10).

Xuan Zang's desire to study at Nalanda stemmed from its reputation for having highly learned teachers, strict discipline, vibrant intellectual discussions, and being a center where complex doubts about Buddhist teachings could be resolved, making it an unparalleled institution for deepening his understanding of Buddhism.

---

The Beginning Of Bhakti

---

Around the time of the spread of Buddhism and Jainism, the worship of certain deities, which would become central to later Hinduism, gained importance. These deities included Shiva, Vishnu, and goddesses like Durga.

A significant concept that became very popular during this period was Bhakti, understood as a person's personal devotion to their chosen deity. The path of Bhakti was accessible to anyone, regardless of their social status (rich or poor, high or low caste), gender (man or woman).

The idea of Bhakti is articulated in the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu text within the epic Mahabharata. It emphasizes devotion to God (Krishna in the Gita), suggesting that taking refuge in God can free one from suffering and evil, transcending other duties or 'dharmas'.

This form of worship spread throughout the country, emphasizing personal devotion and individual worship of a chosen deity, in contrast to the performance of complex, elaborate sacrifices.

According to the Bhakti belief system, a devotee worshiping with a pure heart could experience the deity appearing in a form desired by the devotee, whether human, animal (like a boar), or any other manifestation. This idea led artists to create beautiful images or statues of these deities for worship.

The word 'Bhakti' comes from the Sanskrit term 'bhaj', meaning 'to divide or share'. This suggests an intimate, reciprocal relationship where the devotee shares in the deity's 'bhaga' (good fortune or bliss). The devotee is known as a 'bhakta' or 'bhagavata'.

The Vishnu as Varaha image from Eran (Madhya Pradesh) depicts Vishnu in his boar form rescuing the Earth, which is shown as a woman, referencing stories from the Puranas.

Bhakti literature often conveys that devotion is more valuable than social status, wealth, or learning in establishing a connection with the divine. A poem by Appar, a Shiva devotee and a vellala (landowner, Chapter 8) from about 1400 years ago, exemplifies this by stating his worship of even the socially marginalized (lepers, those regarded low by brahmins, scavengers) if they are devotees of Shiva, considering them as gods. This highlights devotion as the paramount value over social hierarchy.

Temples were built as special places to house and worship the images of these deities. Bhakti significantly influenced art forms like sculpture, poetry, and architecture.

The term 'Hindu', like 'India', originated from the river Indus, used by Arabs and Iranians to refer to people living to the east of the river and their cultural and religious practices.

---

Elsewhere

---

Around 2000 years ago, Christianity emerged in West Asia. Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, within the Roman Empire. Christ taught that he was the Savior and emphasized love and trust for others, promoting the principle of treating others as one wishes to be treated.

The holy book containing Christ's teachings is the Bible. Verses from the Bible emphasize virtues like righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, and peacemaking. Christ's message resonated with ordinary people and spread across West Asia, Africa, and Europe.

The first Christian preachers arrived on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent from West Asia within a hundred years of Christ's death. The Christians of Kerala, known as Syrian Christians, are among the oldest Christian communities globally, believed to have originated from these early migrations from West Asia. Map 6 (pages 76-77) can be used to trace the potential sea route they may have used.

---

Imagine

---

This section prompts an imaginative exercise to describe a conversation involving the exchange of a manuscript between the reader (implied as living in India) and a Chinese pilgrim who wishes to take it back to China, drawing on the historical context of pilgrims collecting manuscripts and the potential value placed on such texts.

---

Let’s Recall

---

This section includes questions and a matching exercise to check the recall of key figures, terms, and concepts from the chapter.

Column A	Column B
Muvendar	Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas
Lords of the dakshinapatha	Satavahana rulers
Ashvaghosha	Buddhacharita
Bodhisattvas	Mahayana Buddhism
Xuan Zang	Chinese pilgrim

---

Let’s Discuss

---

This section contains questions encouraging discussion and critical thinking about the chapter's themes, such as the reasons for kings controlling the Silk Route, the types of historical evidence used to study trade, the motivations of Chinese pilgrims visiting India, and the reasons why ordinary people were drawn to the Bhakti movement.

---

Let’s Do

---

This section suggests activities to apply the concepts learned and conduct further exploration, including listing items bought from markets and identifying their origin (local vs. brought by traders), and researching contemporary pilgrimages in India.

---

Keywords

---

This section lists important terms introduced in the chapter:

• trader
• muvendar
• route
• silk
• Kushanas
• Mahayana
• Theravada
• Bodhisattva
• pilgrim
• Bhakti

---

Some Important Dates

---

This section provides a timeline of key periods and events mentioned in the chapter, helping to establish chronological context:

• Discovery/invention of silk making in China: about 7000 years ago.
• Rise of the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas (muvendar): about 2300 years ago.
• Growing demand for silk in the Roman Empire: about 2000 years ago.
• Kanishka, the Kushana ruler, reigns: about 1900 years ago.
• Fa Xian comes to India: about 1600 years ago.
• Xuan Zang comes to India, Appar composes devotional poems: about 1400 years ago.

---

Map : 6 Showing Important Trade Routes Including The Silk Route

---

This section refers to a map (pages 76-77) illustrating major ancient trade routes across Eurasia, including the famous Silk Route and its branches. It shows the connections between China, Central Asia, India, West Asia, and the Roman Empire, highlighting both land and sea routes and indicating the regions controlled by various empires (Chinese, Kushanas, Roman) along these routes. It also marks important trading participants and centers like ports in south India.

---

Looking Ahead

---

This section, found at the end of the book (pages 78), provides a brief overview of the historical developments that followed the periods discussed in Chapter 7 (end of Mauryan Empire) and sets the stage for later chapters. It describes the emergence of various new dynasties and kingdoms in different parts of India (Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas, Shungas, Kanvas, Satavahanas, Vakatakas, Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas, Pallavas, Chalukyas). It also notes other significant societal changes occurring simultaneously, driven by ordinary people, including the spread of agriculture, urban growth, craft production, trade expansion (both internal and external), construction of religious buildings (temples, stupas), writing of new texts, and scientific discoveries. This section encourages readers to keep these parallel developments in mind while reading the rest of the book.