PART I ○○○○○○○○

THEME ONE ○○○○○○○ 1 BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES

The Harappan Civilisation ○○○○○○○

THEME TWO ○○○○○○○ 28 KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS Early States and Economies

(c.600 BCE-600 CE) ○○○○○○○

THEME THREE ○○○○○ 53 KINSHIP, CASTE AND CLASS Early Societies (c. 600 BCE-600 CE)

THEME F OUR ○○○○○○○○○○○○○ 82 THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS Cultural Developments (c. 600 BCE-600 CE)

PART II*

THEME FIVE THROUGH THE EYES OF TRAVELLERS: Perceptions of Society (c. tenth to seventeenth centuries)

THEME SIX BHAKTI –SUFI TRADITIONS: Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts (c. eighth to eighteenth centuries) THEME SEVEN AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA (c. fourteenth to sixteenth centuries)

THEME EIGHT PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE: Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire (c. sixteenth-seventeenth centuries)

THEME NINE KINGS AND CHRONICLES: The Mughal Courts (c. sixteenth-seventeenth centuries)

PART III*

THEME TEN COLONIALISM AND THE COUNTRYSIDE: Exploring Official Archives

THEME ELEVEN REBELS AND THE RAJ: 1857 Revolt and its Representations

THEME TWELVE COLONIAL CITIES: Urbanisation, Planning and Architecture

THEME THIRTEEN MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT: Civil Disobedience and Beyond

THEME FOURTEEN UNDERSTANDING PARTITION: Politics, Memories, Experiences

THEME FIFTEEN FRAMING THE CONSTITUTION: The Beginning of a New Era

*Parts II and III will follow THEME Bricks, Beads and Bones ONE The Harappan Civilisation

The Harappan seal (Fig.1.1) is possibly the most distinctive artefact of the Harappan or Indus valley civilisation. Made of a stone called steatite, seals like this one often contain animal motifs and signs from a script that remains undeciphered. Yet we know a great deal about the lives of the people who lived in the region from what they left behind – their houses, pots, ornaments, tools and seals – in other words, from archaeological evidence. Let us see what we know about the Harappan civilisation, and how we know about it. We will explore how archaeological material is interpreted and how interpretations sometimes change. Of course, there Fig. 1.1 are some aspects of the civilisation that are as yet A Harappan seal unknown and may even remain so.

Terms, places, times The Indus valley civilisation is also called the Harappan culture. Archaeologists use the term “culture” for a group of objects, distinctive in style, that are usually found together within a specific geographical area and period of time. In the case of the Harappan culture, these distinctive objects include seals, beads, weights, stone blades (Fig. 2.2) and even baked bricks. These objects were found from areas as far apart as Afghanistan, Jammu, Baluchistan (Pakistan) and Gujarat (Map 1). Named after Harappa, the first site where this unique culture was discovered (p. 6), the civilisation is dated between c. 2600 and 1900 BCE. There were earlier and later cultures, often called Early Harappan and Late Harappan, in the same area. The Harappan civilisation is sometimes called the Mature Harappan culture to distinguish it from these cultures.

Fig. 1.2 Beads, weights, blades 2 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Manda

Jhelum Chenab

Ravi

Harappa Rakhigarhi

Banawali Ganga Sutlej Mitathal Kalibangan Yamuna Ganweriwala Indus You will find certain abbreviations, related to Mohenjodaro Kot Diji dates, in this book. BP stands for Before Sutkagendor Chanhudaro Chambal Present Amri Balakot BCE stands for Before Common Era CE stands for the Common Arabian Sea Dholavira Era. The present year is 2007 according to this Sabarmati Mahi dating system. Map 1 Lothal c. stands for the Latin Some important Nageshwar Rangpur word circa and means Mature Harappan sites Narmada “approximate.” Sketch map not to scale

1. Beginnings There were several archaeological cultures in the Early and Mature region prior to the Mature Harappan. These cultures were associated with distinctive pottery, evidence of Harappan cultures agriculture and pastoralism, and some crafts. Look at these figures for the Settlements were generally small, and there were number of settlements in Sind virtually no large buildings. It appears that there and Cholistan (the desert area was a break between the Early Harappan and the of Pakistan bordering the Thar Harappan civilisation, evident from large-scale Desert). burning at some sites, as well as the abandonment SIND CHOLISTAN Total number 106 239 of certain settlements. of sites 2. Subsistence Strategies Early Harappan 52 37 sites If you look at Maps 1 and 2 you will notice that the Mature Harappan culture developed in some of the Mature 65 136 areas occupied by the Early Harappan cultures. Harappan sites These cultures also shared certain common elements Mature Harappan 43 132 including subsistence strategies. The Harappans ate settlements on a wide range of plant and animal products, including new sites fish. Archaeologists have been able to reconstruct Early Harappan 29 33 dietary practices from finds of charred grains and sites abandoned seeds. These are studied by archaeo-botanists, who are specialists in ancient plant remains. Grains BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 3 found at Harappan sites include wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and sesame. Millets are found from sites in Gujarat. Finds of rice are relatively rare. Animal bones found at Harappan sites include those of cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo and pig. Studies done by archaeo-zoologists or zoo- SISWAL DAMB Indus archaeologists indicate that these SADAAT animals were domesticated. KOT Bones of wild species such as DIJI boar, deer and gharial are also found. We do not know AMRI-NAL whether the Harappans hunted these animals themselves or obtained meat from other hunting Arabian Sea communities. Bones of fish and fowl are also found. Map 2 Areas of Early Harappan 2.1 Agricultural technologies occupation While the prevalence of agriculture is indicated by finds Sketch map not to scale of grain, it is more difficult to reconstruct actual agricultural practices. Were seeds broadcast (scattered) on ploughed lands? Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull was known, and archaeologists extrapolate from this that oxen Fig. 1.3 were used for ploughing. Moreover, terracotta A terracotta bull models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and at Banawali (Haryana). Archaeologists have also found evidence of a ploughed field at Kalibangan (Rajasthan), associated with Early Harappan levels (see p. 20). The field had two sets of furrows at right angles to each other, suggesting that two different crops were grown together. Archaeologists have also tried to identify the tools used for harvesting. Did the Harappans use stone blades set in wooden handles or did they use metal tools? ^ Most Harappan sites are located in semi-arid Discuss... lands, where irrigation was probably required for Are there any similarities or agriculture. Traces of canals have been found at differences in the distribution the Harappan site of Shortughai in Afghanistan, but of settlements shown on Maps not in Punjab or Sind. It is possible that ancient 1 and 2? 4 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

canals silted up long ago. It is also likely that water drawn from wells was used for irrigation. Besides, water reservoirs found in Dholavira (Gujarat) may have been used to store water for agriculture. Source 1 How artefacts are identified

Processing of food required grinding equipment as well as vessels for mixing, blending and cooking. These were Fig. 1.4 made of stone, metal and terracotta. This is an excerpt Copper tools from one of the earliest reports on excavations at Mohenjodaro, the best-known Harappan site: ^Do you think these tools could have been used Saddle querns … are found in considerable numbers for harvesting? … and they seem to have been the only means in use for grinding cereals. As a rule, they were roughly made of hard, gritty, igneous rock or sandstone and mostly show signs of hard usage. As their bases are usually convex, they must have been set in the earth or in Fig. 1.5 mud to prevent their rocking. Two main types have Reservoir at Dholavira been found: those on which another smaller stone was Note the masonry work. pushed or rolled to and fro, and others with which a second stone was used as a pounder, eventually making a large cavity in the nether stone. Querns of the former type were probably used solely for grain; the second type possibly only for pounding herbs and spices for making curries. In fact, stones of this latter type are dubbed “curry stones” by our workmen and our cook asked for the loan of one from the museum for use in the kitchen.

FROM ERNEST MACKAY, Further Excavations at Mohenjodaro, 1937.

Fig. 1.6 Saddle quern

^Archaeologists use present-day analogies to try ^ Discuss... and understand what ancient artefacts were used What is the evidence used by for. Mackay was comparing present-day querns archaeologists to reconstruct with what he found. Is this a useful strategy? dietary practices? BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 5

3. Mohenjodaro A Planned Urban Centre Perhaps the most unique feature of the Harappan civilisation was the development of urban centres. Let us look at one such centre, Mohenjodaro, more closely. Although Mohenjodaro is the most Fig. 1.7 well-known site, the first site to be discovered Layout of Mohenjodaro was Harappa. ^ The settlement is divided into two sections, one How is the Lower Town smaller but higher and the other much larger but different from the Citadel?

metres 6 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

lower. Archaeologists designate these as the Citadel and the Lower Town respectively. The Citadel owes The plight of Harappa its height to the fact that buildings were constructed Although Harappa was the on mud brick platforms. It was walled, which first site to be discovered, it meant that it was physically separated from the was badly destroyed by brick Lower Town. robbers. As early as 1875, The Lower Town was also walled. Several buildings Alexander Cunningham, the were built on platforms, which served as foundations. first Director-General of the It has been calculated that if one labourer moved Archaeological Survey of roughly a cubic metre of earth daily, just to put the India (ASI), often called the foundations in place it would have required four father of Indian archaeology, million person-days, in other words, mobilising noted that the amount labour on a very large scale. of brick taken from the Consider something else. Once the platforms were ancient site was enough in place, all building activity within the city was to lay bricks for “about restricted to a fixed area on the platforms. So it 100 miles” of the railway seems that the settlement was first planned and line between Lahore and then implemented accordingly. Other signs of Multan. Thus, many of the ancient structures at the site planning include bricks, which, whether sun-dried were damaged. In contrast, or baked, were of a standardised ratio, where the Mohenjodaro was far better length and breadth were four times and twice the preserved. height respectively. Such bricks were used at all Harappan settlements. 3.1 Laying out drains One of the most distinctive features of Harappan cities was the carefully planned drainage system. If you look at the plan of the Lower Town you will notice Fig. 1.8 that roads and streets were laid out along an A drain in Mohenjodaro approximate “grid” pattern, intersecting at right Notice the huge opening of the angles. It seems that streets with drains were laid drain. out first and then houses built along them. If domestic waste water had to flow into the street drains, every house needed to have at least one wall along a street.

Citadels While most Harappan settlements have a small high western part and a larger lower eastern section, there are variations. At sites such as Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat), the entire settlement was fortified, and sections within the town were also separated by walls. The Citadel within Lothal was not walled off, but was built at a height. BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 7

3.2 Domestic architecture Source 2 The Lower Town at Mohenjodaro provides examples The most ancient of residential buildings. Many were centred on a system yet discovered courtyard, with rooms on all sides. The courtyard was probably the centre of activities such as cooking About the drains, Mackay and weaving, particularly during hot and dry noted: “It is certainly the most weather. What is also interesting is an apparent complete ancient system as yet concern for privacy: there are no windows in the discovered.” Every house was walls along the ground level. Besides, the main connected to the street drains. entrance does not give a direct view of the interior The main channels were made or the courtyard. of bricks set in mortar and were Every house had its own bathroom paved with covered with loose bricks that bricks, with drains connected through the wall to could be removed for cleaning. the street drains. Some houses have remains of In some cases, limestone was staircases to reach a second storey or the roof. Many used for the covers. House houses had wells, often in a room that could be drains first emptied into a sump reached from the outside and perhaps used by or cesspit into which solid passers-by. Scholars have estimated that the total matter settled while waste water number of wells in Mohenjodaro was about 700. flowed out into the street drains. Very long drainage channels were provided at intervals with sumps for cleaning. It is a wonder of archaeology that “little heaps of material, mostly sand, have frequently been found lying alongside drainage channels, which shows … that the debris was not always carted away when the drain was cleared”.

FROM ERNEST MACKAY, Early Indus Civilisation , 1948. Drainage systems were not unique to the larger cities, but were found in smaller settlements as well. At Lothal for example, while houses were built of mud bricks, drains were made of burnt bricks.

Fig. 1.9 ^Where is the courtyard? Where are the two This is an isometric drawing of a staircases? What is the entrance to the house like? large house in Mohenjodaro. There was a well in room no 6. 8 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

3.3 The Citadel It is on the Citadel that we find evidence of structures that were probably used for special public purposes. These include the warehouse – a massive structure of which the lower brick portions remain, while the upper portions, probably of wood, decayed long ago – and the Great Bath. The Great Bath was a large rectangular tank in a courtyard surrounded by a corridor on all four sides. There were two flights of steps on the north and south leading into the tank, which was made watertight by setting bricks on edge and using a mortar of gypsum. There were rooms on three sides, in one of which was a large well. Water from the tank flowed into a huge drain. Across a lane to the north lay a smaller building with eight bathrooms, four on each side of a corridor, with drains from each bathroom connecting to a drain that ran along the corridor. The uniqueness of the structure, as well as the context in which it was found (the Citadel, with several distinctive Fig. 1.10 buildings), has led scholars Plan of the Citadel to suggest that it was meant for some kind of a special ritual bath. ^ Discuss... Which of the architectural ^Are there other structures on the Citadel apart from features of Mohenjodaro the warehouse and the Great Bath? indicate planning? BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 9

4. Tracking Social Differences 4.1 Burials Archaeologists generally use certain strategies to find out whether there were social or economic differences amongst people living within a particular culture. These include studying burials. You are probably familiar with the massive pyramids of Egypt, some of which were contemporaneous with the Harappan civilisation. Many of these pyramids were royal burials, where enormous quantities of wealth was buried. At burials in Harappan sites the dead were generally laid in pits. Sometimes, there were differences in the way the burial pit was made – in some instances, the hollowed-out spaces were lined with bricks. Could these variations be an indication of social differences? We are not sure. Some graves contain pottery and ornaments, perhaps indicating a belief that these could be used in the afterlife. Jewellery has been found in burials of both men and women. In fact, in the excavations at the cemetery in Harappa in the mid-1980s, an ornament consisting of three shell rings, a jasper Fig. 1.11 (a kind of semi-precious stone) bead and hundreds A copper mirror of micro beads was found near the skull of a male. In some instances the dead were buried with copper mirrors. But on the whole, it appears that the Harappans did not believe in burying precious things with the dead. 4.2 Looking for “luxuries” Another strategy to identify social differences is to study artefacts, which archaeologists broadly Fig. 1.12 classify as utilitarian and luxuries. The first category A faience pot includes objects of daily use made fairly easily out of ordinary materials such as stone or clay. These include querns, pottery, needles, flesh-rubbers (body scrubbers), etc., and are usually found distributed throughout settlements. Archaeologists assume objects were luxuries if they are rare or made from costly, non-local materials or with complicated technologies. Thus, little pots of faience (a material made of ground sand or silica mixed with colour and a gum and then fired) were probably considered precious because they were difficult to make. The situation becomes more complicated when we find what seem to be articles of daily 10 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Hoards are objects kept use, such as spindle whorls made of rare materials carefully by people, often inside such as faience. Do we classify these as utilitarian containers such as pots. Such or luxuries? hoards can be of jewellery or If we study the distribution of such artefacts, we metal objects saved for reuse find that rare objects made of valuable materials by metalworkers. If for some are generally concentrated in large settlements like reason the original owners do Mohenjodaro and Harappa and are rarely found in not retrieve them, they remain the smaller settlements. For example, miniature pots where they are left till some of faience, perhaps used as perfume bottles, are found archaeologist finds them. mostly in Mohenjodaro and Harappa, and there are none from small settlements like Kalibangan. Gold too was rare, and as at present, probably precious – all the gold jewellery found at Harappan sites was ^ Discuss... recovered from hoards. What are the modes of 5. Finding Out About Craft disposal of the dead prevalent at present? To what extent do Production these represent social Locate Chanhudaro on Map 1. This is a tiny differences? settlement (less than 7 hectares) as compared to Mohenjodaro (125 hectares), almost exclusively devoted to craft production, including bead-making, shell-cutting, metal-working, seal-making and weight-making. The variety of materials used to make beads is remarkable: stones like carnelian (of a beautiful red colour), jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite; metals like copper, bronze and gold; and shell, faience and terracotta or burnt clay. Some beads were made of two or more stones, cemented together, some of stone with gold caps. The shapes were numerous – disc- shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrel-shaped, Fig. 1.13 segmented. Some were decorated by incising or A tool and beads painting, and some had designs etched onto them. BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 11

Techniques for making beads differed according to the material. Steatite, a very soft stone, was easily worked. Some beads were moulded out of a paste made with steatite powder. This permitted making a variety of shapes, unlike the geometrical forms made out of harder stones. How the steatite micro bead was made remains a puzzle for archaeologists studying ancient technology. Archaeologists’ experiments have revealed that the red colour of carnelian was obtained by firing the yellowish raw material and beads at various stages of production. Nodules were chipped into rough shapes, and then finely flaked into the final form. Grinding, polishing and drilling completed the process. Specialised drills have been found at Chanhudaro, Lothal and more recently at Dholavira. If you locate Nageshwar and Balakot on Map 1, you will notice that both settlements are near the coast. These were specialised centres for making shell objects – including bangles, ladles and Fig. 1.14 inlay – which were taken to other settlements. Pottery Some of these can be seen in the Similarly, it is likely that finished products (such National Museum, Delhi or in the as beads) from Chanhudaro and Lothal were taken site museum at Lothal. to the large urban centres such as Mohenjodaro and Harappa. 5.1 Identifying centres of production In order to identify centres of craft production, archaeologists usually look for the following: raw material such as stone nodules, whole shells, copper ore; tools; unfinished objects; rejects and waste material. In fact, waste is one of the best indicators of craft work. For instance, if shell or stone is cut to make objects, then pieces ^ Discuss... of these materials will be Should the stone artefacts discarded as waste at the illustrated in the chapter be place of production. considered as utilitarian objects or as luxuries? Are Fig. 1.15 there any that may fall into A terracotta figurine both categories? 12 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Sometimes, larger waste pieces were used up to make smaller objects, but minuscule bits were usually left in the work area. These traces suggest that apart from small, specialised centres, craft production was also undertaken in large cities such as Mohenjodaro and Harappa. 6. Strategies for Procuring Materials As is obvious, a variety of materials was used for craft production. While some such as clay were locally available, many such as stone, timber and metal had to be procured from outside the alluvial plain. Terracotta toy models of bullock carts suggest that this was one important means of transporting goods and people across land routes. Riverine routes along the Indus and its tributaries, as well as coastal routes were also probably used.

6.1 Materials from the subcontinent and beyond The Harappans procured materials for craft production in various ways. For instance, they established settlements such as Nageshwar and Balakot in areas where shell was available. Other Fig.1.16 such sites were Shortughai, in far-off Afghanistan, Copper and bronze vessels near the best source of lapis lazuli, a blue stone that was apparently very highly valued, and Lothal which was near sources of carnelian (from Bharuch in Gujarat), steatite (from south Rajasthan and north Gujarat) and metal (from Rajasthan). Another strategy for procuring raw materials may have been to send expeditions to areas such as the Khetri region of Rajasthan (for copper) and south India (for gold). These expeditions established communication with local communities. Occasional finds of Harappan artefacts such as steatite micro beads in these areas are indications of such contact. There is evidence in the Khetri area for what archaeologists call the Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture, with its distinctive non-Harappan pottery and an unusual wealth of copper objects. It is possible that the inhabitants of this region supplied copper to the Harappans. BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 13

Caspian Mediterranean Sea Altyn Depe Sea

MESOPOTAMIA

TURAN

Uruk Ur Shahr i Sokhta

Harappa

Tepe Yahya

MELUHHA DILMUN Sutkagendor

Red MAGAN Lothal Sea Rasal’ Janayz

Arabian Sea

Map 3 The Harappan Civilisation and West Asia

Sketch map not to scale

6.2 Contact with distant lands Recent archaeological finds suggest that copper was Fig. 1.17 also probably brought from Oman, on the south- A Harappan jar found in Oman eastern tip of the Arabian peninsula. Chemical analyses have shown that both the Omani copper and Harappan artefacts have traces of nickel, suggesting a common origin. There are other traces of contact as well. A distinctive type of vessel, a large Harappan jar coated with a thick layer of black clay has been found at Omani sites. Such thick coatings prevent the percolation of liquids. We do not know what was carried in these vessels, but it is possible that the Harappans exchanged the contents of these vessels for Omani copper. Mesopotamian texts datable to the third millennium BCE refer to copper coming from a region called Magan, perhaps a name for Oman, and interestingly enough copper found at 14 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Mesopotamian sites also contains traces of nickel. Other archaeological finds suggestive of long- distance contacts include Harappan seals, weights, dice and beads. In this context, it is worth noting that Mesopotamian texts Fig. 1.18 mention contact with regions named Dilmun This is a cylinder seal, typical of (probably the island of Bahrain), Magan and Mesopotamia, but the humped bull Meluhha, possibly the Harappan region. They motif on it appears to be derived mention the products from Meluhha: carnelian, from the Indus region. lapis lazuli, copper, gold, and varieties of wood. A Mesopotamian myth says of Meluhha: “May your bird be the haja-bird, may its call be heard in the royal palace.” Some archaeologists think the haja-bird was the peacock. Did it get this name from its call? It is likely that Fig. 1.19 The round “Persian Gulf” seal found communication with Oman, in Bahrain sometimes carries Bahrain or Mesopotamia was Harappan motifs. Interestingly, by sea. Mesopotamian texts local “Dilmun” weights followed refer to Meluhha as a the Harappan standard. land of seafarers. Besides, we find depictions of ships and boats on seals.

Fig. 1.20 Seal depicting a boat

^ Discuss... What were the possible routes from the Harappan region to Oman, Dilmun and Mesopotamia? BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 15

Fig. 1.21 7. Seals, Script, Weights Letters on an ancient signboard 7.1 Seals and sealings Seals and sealings were used to facilitate long- distance communication. Imagine a bag of goods being sent from one place to another. Its mouth was tied with rope and on the knot was affixed some wet clay on which one or more seals were pressed, leaving an impression. If the bag reached with its sealing intact, it meant that it had not been tampered with. The sealing also conveyed the identity of the sender. 7.2 An enigmatic script Harappan seals usually have a line of writing, probably containing the name and title of the owner. Fig. 1.22 Scholars have also suggested that the motif A sealing from Ropar (generally an animal) conveyed a meaning to those ^ who could not read. How many seals are Most inscriptions are short, the longest containing impressed on this piece of clay? about 26 signs. Although the script remains undeciphered to date, it was evidently not alphabetical (where each sign stands for a vowel or a consonant) as it has just too many signs – somewhere between 375 and 400. It is apparent that the script was written from right to left as some seals show a wider spacing on the right and cramping on the left, as if the engraver began working from the right and then ran out of space. Consider the variety of objects on which writing has been found: seals, copper tools, rims of jars, copper and terracotta tablets, jewellery, bone rods, even an ancient signboard! Remember, there may have been writing on perishable materials too. Could ^ Discuss... this mean that literacy was widespread? What are some of the present- 7.3 Weights day methods used for long- Exchanges were regulated by a precise system of distance exchange of goods? weights, usually made of a stone called chert and What are their advantages generally cubical (Fig. 1.2), with no markings. The and problems? 16 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

lower denominations of weights were binary (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. up to 12,800), while the higher denominations followed the decimal system. The smaller weights were probably used for weighing jewellery and beads. Metal scale-pans have also been found. 8. Ancient Authority There are indications of complex decisions being taken and implemented in Harappan society. Take for instance, the extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artefacts as evident in pottery (Fig. 1.14), seals, weights and bricks. Notably, bricks, though obviously not produced in any single centre, were of a uniform ratio throughout the region, from Jammu to Gujarat. We have also seen that settlements were strategically set up in specific locations for various reasons. Besides, labour was mobilised for making bricks and for the construction of massive walls and platforms. Who organised these activities?

8.1 Palaces and kings If we look for a centre of power or for depictions of people in power, archaeological records provide no immediate answers. A large building found at Mohenjodaro was labelled as a palace by archaeologists but no spectacular finds were associated with it. A stone statue was labelled and Fig. 1.23 A “priest-king” continues to be known as the “priest-king”. This is because archaeologists were familiar with Mesopotamian history and its “priest-kings” and have found parallels in the Indus region. But as we will see (p.23), the ritual practices of the Harappan civilisation are not well understood yet nor are there any means of knowing whether those who performed them also held political power. Some archaeologists are of the opinion that Harappan society had no rulers, and that everybody enjoyed equal status. Others feel there was no single ruler but several, that Mohenjodaro had a separate ruler, Harappa another, and so forth. Yet others ^ argue that there was a single state, given the Discuss... similarity in artefacts, the evidence for planned Could everybody in Harappan settlements, the standardised ratio of brick size, and society have been equal? the establishment of settlements near sources of raw BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 17 material. As of now, the last theory seems the most plausible, as it is unlikely that entire communities could have collectively made and implemented such complex decisions. 9. The End of the Civilisation There is evidence that by c. 1800 BCE most of the Mature Harappan sites in regions such as Cholistan had been abandoned. Simultaneously, there was an expansion of population into new settlements in Gujarat, Haryana and Map 4 western Uttar Pradesh. Areas of Late Harappan occupation In the few Harappan sites that continued to be occupied after 1900 BCE there appears to have been a transformation of material culture, marked by the disappearance of the SWAT distinctive artefacts of the civilisation – weights, seals, special beads. Writing, long-distance trade, and

Indus craft specialisation also disappeared. CEMETERY H LATE In general, far fewer materials were SISWAL used to make far fewer things. House construction techniques deteriorated and large public structures were no JHUKAR longer produced. Overall, artefacts and settlements indicate a rural way of life in what are called “Late RANGPUR II B C Harappan” or “successor cultures”. Arabian Sea What brought about these changes? Several explanations have Sketch map not to scale been put forward. These range from climatic change, deforestation, excessive floods, the shifting and/or drying up of rivers, to overuse of the landscape. Some of these “causes” may hold for certain settlements, but they do not explain the collapse of the entire civilisation. It appears that a strong unifying element, perhaps the Harappan state, came to an end. This is evidenced by the disappearance of seals, the script, distinctive beads and pottery, the shift from a standardised weight system to the use of local weights; and the decline and abandonment of cities. The subcontinent would have to wait for over a millennium for new cities to develop in a completely different region. 18 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY Source 3 Evidence of an “invasion”

Deadman Lane is a narrow alley, varying from 3 to 6 feet in width … At the point where the lane turns westward, part of a skull and the bones of the thorax and upper arm of an adult were discovered, all in very friable condition, at a depth of 4 ft 2 in. The body lay on its back diagonally across the lane. Fifteen inches to the west were a few fragments of a tiny skull. It is to these remains that the lane owes its name.

FROM JOHN MARSHALL, Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilisation , 1931. Sixteen skeletons of people with the ornaments that they were wearing when they died were found from the same part of Mohenjodaro in 1925.

Much later, in 1947, R.E.M. Wheeler, then Director-General of the ASI, tried to correlate this archaeological evidence with that of the Rigveda, the earliest known text in the subcontinent. He wrote: The Rigveda mentions pur , meaning rampart, fort or stronghold. Indra, the Aryan war-god is called puramdara, the fort-destroyer. Where are – or were – these citadels? It has in the past been supposed that they were mythical … The recent excavation of Harappa may be thought to have changed the picture. Here we have a highly evolved civilisation of essentially non- Aryan type, now known to have employed massive fortifications … What destroyed this firmly settled civilisation? Climatic, economic or political deterioration may have weakened it, but its ultimate extinction is more likely to have been completed by deliberate and large-scale destruction. It may be no mere chance that at a late period of Mohenjodaro men, women, and children, appear to have been massacred there. On circumstantial evidence, Indra stands accused.

FROM R.E.M. WHEELER, “Harappa 1946”, Ancient India, 1947.

In the 1960s, the evidence of a massacre in Mohenjodaro was questioned by an archaeologist named George Dales. He demonstrated that the skeletons found at the site did not belong to the same period: Whereas a couple of them definitely seem to indicate a slaughter, … the bulk of the bones were found in contexts suggesting burials of the sloppiest and most irreverent nature. There is no destruction level covering the latest period of the city, no sign of extensive burning, no bodies of warriors clad in armour and surrounded by the weapons of war. The citadel, the only fortified part of the city, yielded no evidence of a final defence.

FROM G.F. DALES, “The Mythical Massacre at Mohenjodaro”, Expediton , 1964.

As you can see, a careful re-examination of the data can sometimes lead to a reversal of earlier interpretations.

^ Discuss... What are the similarities and differences between Maps 1, 2 and 4? BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 19

10. Discovering the Harappan Civilisation So far, we have examined facets of the Harappan civilisation in the context of how archaeologists have used evidence from material remains to piece together parts of a fascinating history. However, there is another story as well – about how archaeologists “discovered” the civilisation. When Harappan cities fell into ruin, people gradually forgot all about them. When men and women began living in the area millennia later, they did not know what to make of the strange artefacts that occasionally surfaced, washed by floods or exposed by soil erosion, or turned up while ploughing a field, or digging for treasure. 10.1 Cunningham’s confusion When Cunningham, the first Director-General of the ASI, began archaeological excavations in the mid- nineteenth century, archaeologists preferred to use the written word (texts and inscriptions) as a guide to investigations. In fact, Cunningham’s main interest was in the archaeology of the Early Historic (c. sixth century BCE-fourth century CE) and later periods. He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the fourth and seventh centuries CE to locate early settlements. Cunningham also collected, documented and translated inscriptions found during his surveys. When he excavated sites he tended to recover artefacts that he thought had cultural value. A site like Harappa, which was not part of the itinerary of the Chinese pilgrims and was not known as an Early Historic city, did not fit very neatly within Fig. 1.24 his framework of investigation. So, although Cunningham’s sketch of the first- Harappan artefacts were found fairly often during known seal from Harappa the nineteenth century and some of these reached Cunningham, he did not realise how old these were. A Harappan seal was given to Cunningham by an Englishman. He noted the object, but unsuccessfully tried to place it within the time-frame with which he was familiar. This was because he, like many others, thought that Indian history began with the first cities in the Ganga valley (see Chapter 2). Given his specific focus, it is not surprising that he missed the significance of Harappa. 20 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

10.2 A new old civilisation Sites, mounds, layers Subsequently, seals were discovered at Harappa by Archaeological sites are formed archaeologists such as Daya Ram Sahni in the early through the production, use decades of the twentieth century, in layers that were and discarding of materials definitely much older than Early Historic levels. It and structures. When people was then that their significance began to be realised. continue to live in the same Another archaeologist, Rakhal Das Banerji found place, their constant use and similar seals at Mohenjodaro, leading to the reuse of the landscape results conjecture that these sites were part of a single in the build up of occupational archaeological culture. Based on these finds, in 1924, debris, called a mound. Brief John Marshall, Director-General of the ASI, or permanent abandonment announced the discovery of a new civilisation in the results in alteration of the Indus valley to the world. As S.N. Roy noted in landscape by wind or water The Story of Indian Archaeology, “Marshall left India activity and erosion. Occupations three thousand years older than he had found her.” are detected by traces of This was because similar, till-then-unidentified ancient materials found in seals were found at excavations at Mesopotamian layers , which differ from one sites. It was then that the world knew not only of a another in colour, texture and new civilisation, but also of one contemporaneous the artefacts that are found with Mesopotamia. in them. Abandonment or In fact, John Marshall’s stint as Director-General desertions, what are called of the ASI marked a major change in Indian “sterile layers”, can be archaeology. He was the first professional identified by the absence of archaeologist to work in India, and brought his such traces. experience of working in Greece and Crete to the Generally, the lowest layers field. More importantly, though like Cunningham he are the oldest and the highest too was interested in spectacular finds, he was are the most recent. The study equally keen to look for patterns of everyday life. of these layers is called Marshall tended to excavate along regular stratigraphy. Artefacts found in horizontal units, measured uniformly throughout the layers can be assigned to mound, ignoring the stratigraphy of the site. This specific cultural periods and meant that all the artefacts recovered from the same can thus provide the cultural unit were grouped together, even if they were found sequence for a site. at different stratigraphic layers. As a result, valuable

Fig. 1.25 The stratigraphy of a small mound Notice that the layers are not exactly horizontal. BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 21 information about the context of these finds was irretrievably lost. Wheeler at Harappa 10.3 New techniques and questions It was R.E.M. Wheeler, after he took over as Director- Early archaeologists were often driven by a sense of adventure. General of the ASI in 1944, who rectified this This is what Wheeler wrote problem. Wheeler recognised that it was necessary about his experience at to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather Harappa: than dig mechanically along uniform horizontal It was, I recall, on a warm lines. Moreover, as an ex-army brigadier, he brought May night in 1944 that a four with him a military precision to the practice miles’ tonga -ride brought me of archaeology. as the newly appointed The frontiers of the Harappan civilisation have Director General of the little or no connection with present-day national Archaeological Survey with boundaries. However, with the partition of the my local Muslim officer from subcontinent and the creation of Pakistan, the major a little railway-station labelled sites are now in Pakistani territory. This has spurred “Harappa” along a deep Indian archaeologists to try and locate sites in India. sand track to a small rest- An extensive survey in Kutch has revealed a number house beside the moonlit of Harappan settlements and explorations in Punjab mounds of the ancient site. and Haryana have added to the list of Harappan Warned by my anxious sites. While Kalibangan, Lothal, Rakhi Garhi and colleague that we must start most recently Dholavira have been discovered, our inspection at 5.30 next explored and excavated as part of these efforts, fresh morning and finish by 7.30 explorations continue. “after which it would be too Over the decades, new issues have assumed hot”, we turned in with the dark figure of the punka-walla importance. Where some archaeologists are often crouched patiently in the keen to obtain a cultural sequence, others try to entrance and the night understand the logic underlying the location of air rent by innumerable specific sites. They also grapple with the wealth of jackals in the neighbouring artefacts, trying to figure out the functions these wilderness. may have served. Next morning, punctually Since the 1980s, there has also been growing at 5.30, our little procession international interest in Harappan archaeology. started out towards the sandy Specialists from the subcontinent and abroad have heaps. Within ten minutes I been jointly working at both Harappa and stopped and rubbed my eyes Mohenjodaro. They are using modern scientific as I gazed upon the tallest techniques including surface exploration to recover mound, scarcely trusting my traces of clay, stone, metal and plant and animal vision. Six hours later my remains as well as to minutely analyse every scrap embarrassed staff and I were of available evidence. These explorations promise to still toiling with picks and yield interesting results in the future. knives under the blazing sun, the mad sahib (I am afraid) setting a relentless pace. ^ Discuss... FROM R.E.M. WHEELER, Which of the themes in this chapter would have My Archaeological Mission interested Cunningham? Which are the issues to India and Pakistan, 1976. that have been of interest since 1947? 22 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

11. Problems of Piecing Together the Past As we have seen, it is not the Harappan script that helps in understanding the ancient civilisation. Rather, it is material evidence that allows archaeologists to better reconstruct Harappan life. This material could be pottery, tools, ornaments, household objects, etc. Organic materials such as cloth, leather, wood and reeds generally decompose, especially in tropical regions. What survive are stone, burnt clay (or terracotta), metal, etc. It is also important to remember that only broken or useless objects would have been thrown away. Other things would probably have been recycled. Consequently, valuable artefacts that are found intact were either lost in the past or hoarded and never retrieved. In other words, such finds are accidental rather than typical. 11.1 Classifying finds Recovering artefacts is just the beginning of the archaeological enterprise. Archaeologists then classify their finds. One simple principle of classification is in terms of material, such as stone, clay, metal, bone, ivory, etc. The second, and more complicated, is in terms of function: archaeologists have to decide whether, for instance, an artefact is a tool or an ornament, or both, or something meant for ritual use. An understanding of the function of an artefact is often shaped by its resemblance with present-day things – beads, querns, stone blades and pots are obvious examples. Archaeologists also try to identify the function of an artefact by investigating the context in which it was found: was it found in a house, in a drain, in a grave, in a kiln? Sometimes, archaeologists have to take recourse to indirect evidence. For instance, though there are traces of cotton at some Harappan sites, to find out about clothing we have to depend on indirect evidence including depictions in sculpture. Archaeologists have to develop frames of reference. We have seen that the first Harappan seal that was found could not be understood till archaeologists had a context in which to place it – both in terms of the cultural sequence in which it was found, and in terms of a comparison with finds in Mesopotamia. BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 23

11.2 Problems of interpretation The problems of archaeological interpretation are perhaps most evident in attempts to reconstruct religious practices. Early archaeologists thought that certain objects which seemed unusual or unfamiliar may have had a religious significance. These included terracotta figurines of women, heavily jewelled, some with elaborate head-dresses. These were regarded as mother goddesses. Rare stone statuary of men in an almost standardised posture, seated with one hand on the knee – such as the “priest-king” – was also similarly classified. In other instances, structures have been assigned ritual significance. These include the Great Bath and fire altars found at Kalibangan and Lothal. Attempts have also been made to reconstruct religious beliefs and practices by examining seals, some of which seem to depict ritual scenes. Others, with plant motifs, are thought to indicate nature worship. Some animals – such as the one-horned animal, often called the “unicorn” – depicted on seals seem to be mythical, composite creatures. In some seals, a figure shown seated cross-legged in a “yogic” posture, sometimes surrounded by animals, has been regarded as a depiction of “proto-Shiva”, that is, an early form of one of the major deities of Hinduism. Besides, conical stone objects have been Fig. 1.26 classified as lingas. Was this a mother goddess? Many reconstructions of Harappan religion are made on the assumption that later traditions provide parallels with earlier ones. This is because archaeologists often move from the known to the unknown, that is, from the present to the past. While this is plausible in the case of stone querns and pots, it becomes more speculative when we extend it to “religious” symbols. Let us look, for instance, at the “proto-Shiva” seals. The earliest religious text, the Rigveda (compiled c. 1500-1000 BCE) mentions a god named Rudra, which is a name used for Shiva in later Puranic traditions (in the first millennium CE; see also Chapter 4). Fig. 1.27 However, unlike Shiva, Rudra in the Rigveda is A “proto-Shiva” seal neither depicted as Pashupati (lord of animals in general and cattle in particular), nor as a yogi. In other words, this depiction does not match the A linga is a polished stone description of Rudra in the Rigveda. Is this, then, that is worshipped as a possibly a shaman as some scholars have suggested? symbol of Shiva. 24 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Shamans are men and What has been achieved after so many decades of women who claim magical archaeological work? We have a fairly good idea of and healing powers, as well the Harappan economy. We have been able to tease as an ability to communicate out social differences and we have some idea of how with the other world. the civilisation functioned. It is really not clear how much more we would know if the script were to be deciphered. If a bilingual inscription is found, questions about the languages spoken by the Harappans could perhaps be put to rest. Several reconstructions remain speculative at present. Was the Great Bath a ritual structure? How widespread was literacy? Why do Harappan cemeteries show little social differentiation? Also unanswered are questions on gender – did women make pottery or did they only paint pots (as at present)? What about other craftspersons? What were the terracotta female figurines used for? Very few scholars have investigated issues of gender in the context of the Harappan civilisation and this is a whole new area for future work. Fig. 1.28 Gamesmen or lingas? This is what Mackay, one of the earliest excavators, had to say about these stones: Various small cones made of lapis lazuli, jasper, chalcedony, and other stones, most beautifully cut and finished, and less than two inches in height, are also thought to be lingas … on the other hand, it is just as possible that they were used in the board-games …

FROM ERNEST MACKAY, Early Indus Civilisation , 1948.

^ Discuss... What are the aspects of Harappan economy that have been reconstructed from Fig. 1.29 archaeological evidence? A terracotta cart BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 25

Timeline 1 Major Periods in Early Indian Archaeology

2 million BP Lower Palaeolithic (BEFORE PRESENT) 80,000 Middle Palaeolithic 35,000 Upper Palaeolithic 12,000 Mesolithic 10,000 Neolithic (early agriculturists and pastoralists) 6,000 Chalcolithic (first use of copper)

2600 BCE Harappan civilisation

1000 BCE Early iron, megalithic burials

600 BCE-400 CE Early Historic

(Note: All dates are approximate. Besides, there are wide variations in developments in different parts of the subcontinent. Dates indicated are for the earliest evidence of each phase.)

Timeline 2 Major Developments in Harappan Archaeology

Nineteenth century 1875 Report of Alexander Cunningham on Harappan seal Twentieth century 1921 M.S. Vats begins excavations at Harappa 1925 Excavations begin at Mohenjodaro 1946 R.E.M. Wheeler excavates at Harappa 1955 S.R. Rao begins excavations at Lothal 1960 B.B. Lal and B.K. Thapar begin excavations at Kalibangan 1974 M.R. Mughal begins explorations in Bahawalpur 1980 A team of German and Italian archaeologists begins surface explorations at Mohenjodaro 1986 American team begins excavations at Harappa 1990 R.S. Bisht begins excavations at Dholavira 26 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Answer in 100-150 words

1. List the items of food available to people in Harappan cities. Identify the groups who would have provided these. 2. How do archaeologists trace socio-economic differences in Harappan society? What are the differences that they notice? 3. Would you agree that the drainage system in Harappan cities indicates town planning? Give reasons for your answer. 4. List the materials used to make beads in the Harappan civilisation. Describe the process by which any one kind of bead was made. 5. Look at Fig. 1.30 and describe what you see. How is the body placed? What are the objects placed near it? Are there any artefacts on the body? Do these indicate the sex of the skeleton?

Fig. 1.30 A Harappan burial BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES 27

Write a short essay (about 500 words) on the following:

6. Describe some of the distinctive features of Mohenjodaro. 7. List the raw materials required for craft production in the Harappan civilisation and discuss how these might have been obtained. 8. Discuss how archaeologists reconstruct the past. 9. Discuss the functions that may have been performed by rulers in Harappan society.

Map work

10. On Map 1, use a pencil to circle sites where evidence of agriculture has been recovered. Mark an X against sites where there is evidence of craft production and R against sites where raw materials were found.

Project (any one)

11. Find out if there are any museums in your town. Visit one of them and write a report on any ten If you would like to know items, describing how old they are, where they more, read: were found, and why you think they are on Raymond and Bridget Allchin. display. 1997. Origins of a Civilization. 12. Collect illustrations of ten things made of stone, Viking, New Delhi. metal and clay produced and used at present. Match these with the pictures of the Harappan G.L. Possehl. 2003. The Indus Civilization. civilisation in this chapter, and discuss the Vistaar, New Delhi. similarities and differences that you find. Shereen Ratnagar. 2001. Understanding Harappa. Tulika, New Delhi.

For more information, you could visit: http://www.harappa.com/har/ harres0.html 

THEME Kings, Farmers and Towns TWO Eararly Statees and EEconomies o i s (((c. 600 000 0 BCEE-6006 CEE)))

There were several developments in different parts of the subcontinent during the long span of 1,500 years following the end of the Harappan civilisation. This was also the period during which the Rigveda was composed by people living along the Indus and its tributaries. Agricultural settlements emerged in many parts of the subcontinent, including north India, the Deccan Plateau, and parts of Karnataka. Besides, there is evidence of pastoral populations in the Deccan and further south. New modes of disposal of the dead, including the making of elaborate stone structures known as megaliths, emerged in central and south India from the first millennium BCE. In many cases, the dead were buried with a rich range of iron tools and weapons. Fig. 2.1 From c. sixth century BCE, there is An inscription, Sanchi evidence that there were other trends as well. Perhaps (Madhya Pradesh), the most visible was the emergence of early states, empires c. second century BCE and kingdoms. Underlying these political processes were other changes, evident in the ways in which agricultural production was organised. Simultaneously, new towns appeared almost throughout the subcontinent. Historians attempt to understand these developments by drawing on a range of sources – inscriptions, texts, coins and visual material. As we will see, this is a complex process. You will also notice that these sources do not tell the entire story.

1. Prinsep and Piyadassi Some of the most momentous developments in Indian epigraphy took place in the 1830s. This was when James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi, two scripts used in the earliest inscriptions and coins. He found that most of these mentioned a king Epigraphy is the study of referred to as Piyadassi – meaning “pleasant to inscriptions. behold”; there were a few inscriptions which also KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 29 referred to the king as Asoka, one of the most famous rulers known from Buddhist texts. Inscriptions This gave a new direction to investigations into Inscriptions are writings early Indian political history as European and engraved on hard surfaces Indian scholars used inscriptions and texts such as stone, metal or composed in a variety of languages to reconstruct pottery. They usually record the lineages of major dynasties that had ruled the the achievements, activities subcontinent. As a result, the broad contours of or ideas of those who political history were in place by the early decades commissioned them and of the twentieth century. include the exploits of kings, Subsequently, scholars began to shift their focus or donations made by to the context of political history, investigating women and men to religious whether there were connections between political institutions. Inscriptions are changes and economic and social developments. It virtually permanent records, was soon realised that while there were links, these some of which carry dates. were not always simple or direct. Others are dated on the basis of palaeography or 2. The Earliest States styles of writing, with a fair amount of precision. For 2.1 The sixteen mahajanapadas instance, in c. 250 BCE The sixth century BCE is often regarded as a major the letter “a” was written like turning point in early Indian history. It is an era this: . By c. 500 CE, it was associated with early states, cities, the growing written like this: . use of iron, the development of coinage, etc. It The earliest inscriptions also witnessed the growth of diverse systems of were in Prakrit, a name for languages used by ordinary thought, including Buddhism and Jainism. Early people. Names of rulers such Buddhist and Jaina texts (see also Chapter 4) as Ajatasattu and Asoka, mention, amongst other things, sixteen states known from Prakrit texts and mahajanapadas. known as Although the lists vary, inscriptions, have been spelt in some names such as Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, their Prakrit forms in this Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti occur chapter. You will also find frequently. Clearly, these were amongst the most terms in languages such as Pali, important mahajanapadas. Tamil and Sanskrit, which While most mahajanapadas were ruled by kings, too were used to write some, known as ganas or sanghas, were oligarchies inscriptions and texts. It is (p. 30), where power was shared by a number of possible that people spoke in men, often collectively called rajas. Both Mahavira other languages as well, even and the Buddha (Chapter 4) belonged to such ganas. though these were not used In some instances, as in the case of the Vajji sangha, for writing. the rajas probably controlled resources such as land collectively. Although their histories are often difficult to reconstruct due to the lack of sources, some of these states lasted for nearly a thousand years. Janapada, meaning the land Each mahajanapada had a capital city, which was where a jana (a people, clan or often fortified. Maintaining these fortified cities as tribe) sets its foot or settles. It well as providing for incipient armies and is a word used in both Prakrit bureaucracies required resources. From c. sixth and Sanskrit. 30 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

KAMBOJA Map 1 Early states and their capitals

Pushkalavati

GANDHARA Taxila

Indraprastha Ahichchhatra MALLA KURU SHURASENA PANCHALA Kusinagara Shravasti Mathura VAJJI (VRIJJI) ANGA MATSYA KOSHALA Vaishali KASHI MAGADHA Champa Kaushambi Varanasi Rajir VATSA CHEDI VANGA AVANTI

Ujjayini

Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal

ASHMAKA Sketch map not to scale

^Which were the areas where states and cities were century BCE onwards, Brahmanas began composing most densely clustered? Sanskrit texts known as the Dharmasutras. These laid down norms for rulers (as well as for other social categories), who were ideally expected to be Kshatriyas (see also Chapter 3). Rulers were advised to collect taxes and tribute from cultivators, traders and artisans. Were resources also procured from pastoralists and forest peoples? We do not really know. What we do know is that raids on Oligarchy refers to a form of neighbouring states were recognised as a legitimate government where power is means of acquiring wealth. Gradually, some states exercised by a group of men. acquired standing armies and maintained regular The Roman Republic, about bureaucracies. Others continued to depend on which you read last year, was militia, recruited, more often than not, from the an oligarchy in spite of its name. peasantry. KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 31

2.2 First amongst the sixteen: Magadha Between the sixth and the fourth centuries BCE, ^ Discuss... Magadha (in present-day Bihar) became the most What are the different powerful mahajanapada. Modern historians explain explanations offered by early this development in a variety of ways: Magadha was writers and present-day a region where agriculture was especially productive. historians for the growth of Besides, iron mines (in present-day Jharkhand) were Magadhan power? accessible and provided resources for tools and weapons. Elephants, an important component of the army, were found in forests in the region. Also, the Ganga and its tributaries provided a means of cheap and convenient communication. However, early Buddhist and Jaina writers who wrote about Magadha attributed its power to the policies of individuals: ruthlessly ambitious kings of whom Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadma Nanda are the best known, and their ministers, who helped implement their policies. Initially, Rajagaha (the Prakrit name for present- day Rajgir in Bihar) was the capital of Magadha. Interestingly, the old name means “house of the Fig. 2.2 king”. Rajagaha was a fortified settlement, located Fortification walls at Rajgir amongst hills. Later, in the fourth century BCE, the ^ capital was shifted to Pataliputra, present-day Why were these walls built? Patna, commanding routes of communication along the Ganga. 32 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

3. An Early Empire Languages and scripts The growth of Magadha culminated in the emergence of the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta Maurya, who Most Asokan inscriptions were in founded the empire (c. 321 BCE), extended control as the Prakrit language while those in the northwest of far northwest as Afghanistan and Baluchistan, and the subcontinet were in Aramaic his grandson Asoka, arguably the most famous ruler and Greek. Most Prakrit of early India, conquered Kalinga (present-day inscriptions were written in the coastal Orissa). Brahmi script; however, some, in 3.1 Finding out about the Mauryas the northwest, were written in Historians have used a variety of sources to Kharosthi. The Aramaic and reconstruct the history of the Mauryan Empire. Greek scripts were used for These include archaeological finds, especially inscriptions in Afghanistan. sculpture. Also valuable are contemporary works, such as the account of Megasthenes (a Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya), which survives in fragments. Another source that is often used is the Arthashastra, parts of which were probably composed by Kautilya or Chanakya, traditionally believed to be the minister of Chandragupta. Besides, the Mauryas are mentioned in later Buddhist, Jaina and Puranic literature, as well as in Sanskrit literary works. While these are useful, the inscriptions of Asoka (c. 272/268-231 BCE) on rocks and pillars are often regarded as amongst the most valuable sources. Asoka was the first ruler who inscribed his messages to his subjects and officials on stone surfaces – natural rocks as well as polished pillars. He used the inscriptions to proclaim what he understood to be dhamma. This included respect towards elders, generosity towards Brahmanas and those who renounced worldly life, treating slaves and servants kindly, and respect for religions and traditions other than one’s own. 3.2 Administering the empire There were five major political centres in the empire – the capital Pataliputra and the provincial centres of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri, all mentioned in Asokan inscriptions. If we examine the content of these inscriptions, we find virtually the same message engraved everywhere Fig. 2.3 – from the present-day North West Frontier The lion capital Provinces of Pakistan, to Andhra Pradesh, Orissa ^Why is the lion capital and Uttaranchal in India. Could this vast empire considered important today? have had a uniform administrative system? Historians have increasingly come to realise that KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 33

Map 2 Distribution of Asokan inscriptions

Mansehra Shahbazgarhi Taxila

Kandahar Kalsi Topra Meerut Bahapur Nigalisagar Rummindei Rampurwa Bairat Lauriya Nandangarh Lauriya Araraj Sarnath Bhabru Gujarra Pataliputra Kaushambi Sahasram Ahraura

Ujjayini Sanchi

Girnar

Shishupalgarh Arabian Sea Jaugada Sopara KALINGA

Sannati

Maski Gavimath Udegolam Palkigundu Rajula Mandagiri Nittur Jatinga Rameshwar Brahmagiri Siddapur Bay of Bengal

 MAJOR ROCK EDICTS CHOLAS MINOR ROCK EDICTS PILLAR INSCRIPTIONS KERALAPUTRAS PANDYAS ^ Sketch map not to scale Could rulers have engraved inscriptions in areas that were not included within this is unlikely. The regions included within the their empire? empire were just too diverse. Imagine the contrast between the hilly terrain of Afghanistan and the coast of Orissa. It is likely that administrative control was strongest in areas around the capital and the provincial centres. These centres were carefully chosen, both Taxila and Ujjayini being situated on important long-distance trade routes, while Suvarnagiri (literally, the golden mountain) was possibly important for tapping the gold mines of Karnataka. 34 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 1 Communication along both land and riverine What the king’s routes was vital for the existence of the empire. officials did Journeys from the centre to the provinces could have taken weeks if not months. This meant arranging Here is an excerpt from the for provisions as well as protection for those who account of Megasthenes: were on the move. It is obvious that the army was an important means for ensuring the latter. Of the great officers of state, Megasthenes mentions a committee with six some … superintend the subcommittees for coordinating military activity. Of rivers, measure the land, as these, one looked after the navy, the second managed is done in Egypt, and inspect transport and provisions, the third was responsible the sluices by which water is let out from the main canals for foot-soldiers, the fourth for horses, the fifth for into their branches, so that chariots and the sixth for elephants. The activities every one may have an of the second subcommittee were rather varied: equal supply of it. The same arranging for bullock carts to carry equipment, persons have charge also procuring food for soldiers and fodder for animals, of the huntsmen, and are and recruiting servants and artisans to look after entrusted with the power of the soldiers. rewarding or punishing them Asoka also tried to hold his empire together by according to their deserts. propagating dhamma, the principles of which, as we They collect the taxes, and have seen, were simple and virtually universally superintend the occupations applicable. This, according to him, would ensure the connected with land; as those well-being of people in this world and the next. of the woodcutters, the Special officers, known as the dhamma mahamatta, carpenters, the blacksmiths, were appointed to spread the message of dhamma. and the miners. 3.3 How important was the empire? ^ When historians began reconstructing early Indian Why were officials history in the nineteenth century, the emergence appointed to supervise these of the Mauryan Empire was regarded as a major occupational groups? landmark. India was then under colonial rule, and was part of the British empire. Nineteenth and early twentieth century Indian historians found the possibility that there was an empire in early India both challenging and exciting. Also, some of the archaeological finds associated with the Mauryas, including stone sculpture, were considered to be examples of the spectacular art ^ Discuss... typical of empires. Many of these historians found Read the excerpts from the message on Asokan inscriptions very different Megasthenes and the from that of most other rulers, suggesting that Arthashastra (Sources 1 and Asoka was more powerful and industrious, as also 2). To what extent do you more humble than later rulers who adopted think these texts are useful in grandiose titles. So it is not surprising that reconstructing a history of nationalist leaders in the twentieth century Mauryan administration? regarded him as an inspiring figure. KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 35

Yet, how important was the Mauryan Empire? It Source 2 lasted for about 150 years, which is not a very long Capturing elephants time in the vast span of the history of the for the army subcontinent. Besides, if you look at Map 2, you will notice that the empire did not encompass the entire The Arthashastra lays down subcontinent. And even within the frontiers of the minute details of administrative empire, control was not uniform. By the second and military organisation. This is century BCE, new chiefdoms and kingdoms emerged what it says about how to in several parts of the subcontinent. capture elephants: 4. New Notions of Kingship Guards of elephant forests, assisted by those who rear 4.1 Chiefs and kings in the south elephants, those who The new kingdoms that emerged in the Deccan and enchain the legs of further south, including the chiefdoms of the Cholas, elephants, those who guard Cheras and Pandyas in Tamilakam (the name of the the boundaries, those who ancient Tamil country, which included parts of live in forests, as well as by those who nurse elephants, present-day Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, in addition shall, with the help of five or to Tamil Nadu), proved to be stable and prosperous. seven female elephants to help in tethering wild ones, trace the whereabouts of Chiefs and chiefdoms herds of elephants by A chief is a powerful man whose position may or may following the course of urine not be hereditary. He derives support from his kinfolk. and dung left by elephants. His functions may include performing special rituals, According to Greek sources, leadership in warfare, and arbitrating disputes. He the Mauryan ruler had a receives gifts from his subordinates (unlike kings who standing army of 600,000 usually collect taxes) and often distributes these amongst foot-soldiers, 30,000 cavalry his supporters. Generally, there are no regular armies and 9,000 elephants. Some and officials in chiefdoms. historians consider these accounts to be exaggerated. We know about these states from a variety of sources. For instance, the early Tamil Sangam texts ^ If the Greek accounts (see also Chapter 3) contain poems describing chiefs were true, what kinds of and the ways in which they acquired and resources do you think the distributed resources. Mauryan ruler would have Many chiefs and kings, including the required to maintain such Satavahanas who ruled over parts of western and a large army? central India (c. second century BCE-second century CE) and the Shakas, a people of Central Asian origin who established kingdoms in the north-western and western parts of the subcontinent, derived revenues from long-distance trade. Their social origins were often obscure, but, as we will see in the case of the Satavahanas (Chapter 3), once they acquired power they attempted to claim social status in a variety of ways. 36 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 3 4.2 Divine kings The Pandya chief One means of claiming high status was to identify with a variety of deities. This strategy is best Senguttuvan visits exemplified by the Kushanas (c. first century BCE- the forest first century CE), who ruled over a vast kingdom extending from Central Asia to northwest India. Their This is an excerpt from the history has been reconstructed from inscriptions and Silappadikaram, an epic written textual traditions. The notions of kingship they in Tamil: wished to project are perhaps best evidenced in their (When he visited the forest) coins and sculpture. people came down the Colossal statues of Kushana rulers have been mountain, singing and found installed in a shrine at Mat near Mathura dancing … just as the defeated (Uttar Pradesh). Similar statues have been found in show respect to the victorious a shrine in Afghanistan as well. Some historians king, so did they bring gifts – feel this indicates that the Kushanas considered ivory, fragrant wood, fans made themselves godlike. Many Kushana rulers also adopted the title devaputra, or “son of god”, possibly of the hair of deer, honey, inspired by Chinese rulers who called themselves sandalwood, red ochre, sons of heaven. antimony, turmeric, cardamom, By the fourth century there is evidence of larger pepper, etc. ... they brought states, including the Gupta Empire. Many of these coconuts, mangoes, medicinal depended on samantas, men who maintained plants, fruits, onions, sugarcane, themselves through local resources including control flowers, areca nut, bananas, baby over land. They offered homage and provided military tigers, lions, elephants, monkeys, support to rulers. Powerful samantas could become bear, deer, musk deer, fox, kings: conversely, weak rulers might find themselves peacocks, musk cat, wild cocks, being reduced to positions of subordination. speaking parrots, etc. … Histories of the Gupta rulers have been reconstructed from literature, coins and inscriptions, including prashastis, composed in praise of kings in particular, and patrons in general, by poets. While ^Why did people bring historians often attempt to draw factual information these gifts? What would the from such compositions, those who composed and chief have used these for? read them often treasured them as works of poetry

Fig. 2.4 A Kushana coin Obverse: King Kanishka Reverse: A deity

^How has the king been portrayed? KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 37 rather than as accounts that were literally true. The Prayaga Prashasti (also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription) composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the Fig. 2.5 court poet of Samudragupta, arguably the most Sandstone sculpture of a powerful of the Gupta rulers (c. fourth century CE), Kushana king is a case in point. ^What are the elements in Source 4 the sculpture that suggest In praise of Samudragupta that this is an image of a king?

This is an excerpt from the Prayaga Prashasti: He was without an antagonist on earth; he, by the overflowing of the multitude of (his) many good qualities adorned by hundreds of good actions, has wiped off the fame of other kings with the soles of (his) feet; (he is) Purusha (the Supreme Being), being the cause of the prosperity of the good and the destruction of the bad (he is) incomprehensible; (he is) one whose tender heart can be captured only by devotion and humility; (he is) possessed of compassion; (he is) the giver of many hundred-thousands of cows; (his) mind has received ceremonial initiation for the uplift of the miserable, the poor, the forlorn and the suffering; (he is) resplendent and embodied kindness to mankind; (he is) equal to (the gods) Kubera (the god of wealth), Varuna (the god of the ocean), Indra (the god of rains) and Yama (the god of death)…

^ Discuss... Why do you think kings claimed divine status? 38 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 5 5. A Changing Countryside The Sudarshana 5.1 Popular perceptions of kings (beautiful) lake in Gujarat What did subjects think about their rulers? Obviously, inscriptions do not provide all the answers. Find Girnar on Map 2. The In fact, ordinary people rarely left accounts of their Sudarshana lake was an artificial thoughts and experiences. Nevertheless, historians reservoir. We know about it from a rock inscription have tried to solve this problem by examining stories contained in anthologies such as the Jatakas and (c. second century CE) in Sanskrit, composed to record the Panchatantra. Many of these stories probably the achievements of the Shaka originated as popular oral tales that were later ruler Rudradaman. committed to writing. The Jatakas were written in Pali around the middle of the first millennium CE. The inscription mentions that One story known as the Gandatindu Jataka the lake, with embankments and describes the plight of the subjects of a wicked king; water channels, was built by a these included elderly women and men, cultivators, local governor during the herders, village boys and even animals. When the rule of the Mauryas. However, king went in disguise to find out what his subjects a terrible storm broke thought about him, each one of them cursed him for the embankments and water gushed out of the lake. their miseries, complaining that they were attacked Rudradaman, who was then by robbers at night and by tax collectors during the ruling in the area, claimed to day. To escape from this situation, people abandoned have got the lake repaired using their village and went to live in the forest. his own resources, without As this story indicates, the relationship between imposing any tax on his subjects. a king and his subjects, especially the rural population, could often be strained – kings Another inscription on the frequently tried to fill their coffers by demanding same rock (c. fifth century) high taxes, and peasants particularly found such mentions how one of the rulers demands oppressive. Escaping into the forest of the Gupta dynasty got the remained an option, as reflected in the Jataka story. lake repaired once again. Meanwhile, other strategies aimed at increasing production to meet growing demand for taxes also ^Why did rulers make came to be adopted. arrangements for 5.2 Strategies for increasing production irrigation? One such strategy was the shift to plough agriculture, which spread in fertile alluvial river valleys such as those of the Ganga and the Kaveri from c. sixth century BCE. The iron-tipped Transplantation is used for ploughshare was used to turn the alluvial soil in paddy cultivation in areas areas which had high rainfall. Moreover, in some where water is plentiful. Here, parts of the Ganga valley, production of paddy was seeds are first broadcast; when dramatically increased by the introduction of the saplings have grown they transplantation, although this meant back-breaking are transplanted in waterlogged work for the producer. fields. This ensures a higher While the iron ploughshare led to a growth in ratio of survival of saplings and agricultural productivity, its use was restricted to higher yields. certain parts of the subcontinent – cultivators in KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 39 areas which were semi-arid, such as parts of Punjab Source 6 and Rajasthan did not adopt it till the twentieth The importance of century, and those living in hilly tracts in the north- boundaries eastern and central parts of the subcontinent practised hoe agriculture, which was much better The Manusmrti is one of the suited to the terrain. best-known legal texts of early Another strategy adopted to increase agricultural India, written in Sanskrit and production was the use of irrigation, through compiled between c. second wells and tanks, and less commonly, canals. century BCE and c. second Communities as well as individuals organised the century CE. This is what the text construction of irrigation works. The latter, usually advises the king to do: powerful men including kings, often recorded such Seeing that in the world activities in inscriptions. controversies constantly arise 5.3 Differences in rural society due to the ignorance of While these technologies often led to an increase in boundaries, he should … production, the benefits were very uneven. What is have … concealed boundary evident is that there was a growing differentiation markers buried – stones, amongst people engaged in agriculture – stories, bones, cow’s hair, chaff, especially within the Buddhist tradition, refer to ashes, potsherds, dried cow landless agricultural labourers, small peasants, as dung, bricks, coal, pebbles well as large landholders. The term gahapati was and sand. He should also have other similar substances often used in Pali texts to designate the second and that would not decay in third categories. The large landholders, as well as the soil buried as hidden the village headman (whose position was often markers at the intersection hereditary), emerged as powerful figures, and often of boundaries. exercised control over other cultivators. Early Tamil literature (the Sangam texts) also mentions different ^ categories of people living in the villages – large Would these boundary landowners or vellalar, ploughmen or uzhavar and markers have been adequate to resolve disputes? slaves or adimai. It is likely that these differences were based on differential access to land, labour and some of the new technologies. In such a situation, questions of control over land must have become crucial, as these were often discussed in legal texts.

Gahapati A gahapati was the owner, master or head of a household, who exercised control over the women, children, slaves and workers who shared a common residence. He was also the owner of the resources – land, animals and other things – that belonged to the household. Sometimes the term was used as a marker of status for men belonging to the urban elite, including wealthy merchants. 40 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 7 5.4 Land grants and new rural elites Life in a small village From the early centuries of the Common Era, we find grants of land being made, many of which were The Harshacharita is a biography recorded in inscriptions. Some of these inscriptions of Harshavardhana, the ruler of were on stone, but most were on copper plates Kanauj (see Map 3), composed (Fig. 13) which were probably given as a record of in Sanskrit by his court poet, the transaction to those who received the land. The Banabhatta (c. seventh century records that have survived are generally about grants CE). This is an excerpt from to religious institutions or to Brahmanas. Most the text, an extremely rare inscriptions were in Sanskrit. In some cases, and representation of life in a especially from the seventh century onwards, part settlement on the outskirts of a of the inscription was in Sanskrit, while the rest forest in the Vindhyas: was in a local language such as Tamil or Telugu. The outskirts being for the Let us look at one such inscription more closely. most part forest, many Prabhavati Gupta was the daughter of one of the parcels of rice-land, threshing most important rulers in early Indian history, ground and arable land were Chandragupta II (c. 375-415 CE). She was married being apportioned by small into another important ruling family, that of the farmers … it was mainly Vakatakas, who were powerful in the Deccan (see spade culture … owing to the Map 3). According to Sanskrit legal texts, women difficulty of ploughing the were not supposed to have independent access to sparsely scattered fields resources such as land. However, the inscription covered with grass, with their indicates that Prabhavati had access to land, which few clear spaces, their black she then granted. This may have been because she soil stiff as black iron … was a queen (one of the few known from early Indian There were people moving history), and her situation was therefore exceptional. along with bundles of bark … It is also possible that the provisions of legal texts countless sacks of plucked were not uniformly implemented. flowers, … loads of flax and The inscription also gives us an idea about rural hemp bundles, quantities populations – these included Brahmanas and of honey, peacocks’ tail peasants, as well as others who were expected to feathers, wreaths of wax, provide a range of produce to the king or his logs, and grass. Village wives representatives. And according to the inscription, hastened en route for they would have to obey the new lord of the village, neighbouring villages, all and perhaps pay him all these dues. intent on thoughts of sale and Land grants such as this one have been found in bearing on their heads several parts of the country. There were regional baskets filled with various variations in the sizes of land donated – ranging gathered forest fruits. from small plots to vast stretches of uncultivated land – and the rights given to donees (the recipients of the grant). The impact of land grants is a subject ^How would you classify of heated debate among historians. Some feel that the people described in the text in terms of their land grants were part of a strategy adopted by ruling occupations? lineages to extend agriculture to new areas. Others suggest that land grants were indicative of weakening political power: as kings were losing control over their samantas, they tried to win allies KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 41 by making grants of land. They also feel that kings tried to project themselves as supermen (as we saw in the previous section) because they were losing control: they wanted to present at least a façade of power. Source 8 Prabhavati Gupta and the An agrahara was land granted village of Danguna to a Brahmana, who was usually exempted from paying land revenue and other dues to This is what Prabhavati Gupta states in her inscription: the king, and was often given the Prabhavati Gupta … commands the gramakutumbinas right to collect these dues from (householders/peasants living in the village), the local people. Brahmanas and others living in the village of Danguna … “Be it known to you that on the twelfth (lunar day) of the bright (fortnight) of Karttika, we have, in order to increase our religious merit donated this village with the pouring out of water, to the Acharya (teacher) Chanalasvamin … You should obey all (his) commands … We confer on (him) the following exemptions typical of an agrahara …(this village is) not to be entered by soldiers and policemen; (it is) exempt from (the obligation to provide) grass, (animal) hides as seats, and charcoal (to touring royal officers); exempt from (the royal prerogative of) purchasing fermenting liquors and digging (salt); exempt from (the right to) mines and khadira trees; exempt from (the obligation to supply) flowers and milk; (it is donated) together with (the right to) hidden treasures and deposits (and) together with major and minor taxes …” This charter has been written in the thirteenth (regnal) year. (It has been) engraved by Chakradasa.

^What were the things produced in the village?

Land grants provide some insight into the ^ relationship between cultivators and the state. Discuss... However, there were people who were often beyond Find out whether plough the reach of officials or samantas: pastoralists, agriculture, irrigation and fisherfolk and hunter-gatherers, mobile or semi- transplantation are prevalent sedentary artisans and shifting cultivators. in your state. If not, are there Generally, such groups did not keep detailed records any alternative systems in of their lives and transactions. use? 42 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

6. Towns and Trade The history of 6.1 New cities Pataliputra Let us retrace our steps back to the urban centres Each city had a history of its own. that emerged in several parts of the subcontinent Pataliputra, for instance, from c. sixth century BCE. As we have seen, many of began as a village known as these were capitals of mahajanapadas. Virtually all Pataligrama. Then, in the fifth major towns were located along routes of century BCE, the Magadhan communication. Some such as Pataliputra were on rulers decided to shift their riverine routes. Others, such as Ujjayini, were along capital from Rajagaha to this land routes, and yet others, such as Puhar, were settlement and renamed it. By near the coast, from where sea routes began. Many the fourth century BCE, it was cities like Mathura were bustling centres of the capital of the Mauryan commercial, cultural and political activity. Empire and one of the largest cities in Asia. Subsequently, 6.2 Urban populations: its importance apparently Elites and craftspersons declined. When the Chinese We have seen that kings and ruling elites lived in pilgrim Xuan Zang visited the fortified cities. Although it is difficult to conduct city in the seventh century CE, extensive excavations at most sites because people he found it in ruins, and with a live in these areas even today (unlike the Harappan very small population. cities), a wide range of artefacts have been recovered from them. These include fine pottery bowls and dishes, with a glossy finish, known as Northern Black Polished Ware, probably used by rich people, and ornaments, tools, weapons, vessels, figurines, made of a wide range of materials – gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell and terracotta.

Fig. 2.6 The gift of an image This is part of an image from Mathura. On the pedestal is a Prakrit inscription, mentioning that a woman named Nagapiya, the wife of a goldsmith (sovanika) named Dharmaka, installed this image in a shrine. KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 43

Map 3 Some important kingdoms and towns

Taxila KUSHANAS

Kanauj Shravasti Mathura GUPTAS Vaishali Varanasi Pataliputra Kaushambi Rajgir Mahasthan

SHAKAS Vidisha Chandraketugarh Ujjayini

VAKATAKAS Bharukachchha ARABIAN SEA Shishupalgarh Sopara Paithan SATAVAHANAS

Dhanyakataka

BAY OF BENGAL CHOLAS Kodumanal Puhar CHERAS PANDYAS

Sketch map not to scale ^ Were there any cities in the By the second century BCE, we find short votive region where the Harappan inscriptions in a number of cities. These mention civilisation flourished in the the name of the donor, and sometimes specify his/ third millennium BCE? her occupation as well. They tell us about people who lived in towns: washing folk, weavers, scribes, carpenters, potters, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, officials, religious teachers, merchants and kings. Sometimes, guilds or shrenis, organisations of craft producers and merchants, are mentioned as well. These guilds probably procured raw materials, regulated production, and marketed the finished product. It is likely that craftspersons used a range of iron tools to meet the growing Votive inscriptions record gifts demands of urban elites. made to religious institutions. 44 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 9 6.3 Trade in the subcontinent and beyond The Malabar coast From the sixth century BCE, land and river routes (present-day Kerala) criss-crossed the subcontinent and extended in various directions – overland into Central Asia and Here is an excerpt from Periplus beyond, and overseas, from ports that dotted the of the Erythraean Sea , coastline – extending across the Arabian Sea to East composed by an anonymous and North Africa and West Asia, and through the Greek sailor (c. first century CE): Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia and China. Rulers often attempted to control these routes, possibly by They (i.e. traders from offering protection for a price. abroad) send large ships to Those who traversed these routes included these market-towns on account of the great quantity peddlers who probably travelled on foot and and bulk of pepper and merchants who travelled with caravans of bullock malabathrum (possibly carts and pack-animals. Also, there were seafarers, cinnamon, produced in these whose ventures were risky but highly profitable. regions). There are imported Successful merchants, designated as masattuvan here, in the first place, a great in Tamil and setthis and satthavahas in Prakrit, quantity of coin; topaz … could become enormously rich. A wide range of antimony (a mineral used as goods were carried from one place to another – salt, a colouring substance), coral, grain, cloth, metal ores and finished products, crude glass, copper, tin, lead stone, timber, medicinal plants, to name a few. … There is exported pepper, Spices, especially pepper, were in high demand in which is produced in quantity the Roman Empire, as were textiles and medicinal in only one region near these plants, and these were all transported across the markets … Besides this there Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean. are exported great quantities of fine pearls, ivory, silk 6.4 Coins and kings cloth, … transparent stones To some extent, exchanges were facilitated by the of all kinds, diamonds and introduction of coinage. Punch-marked coins made sapphires, and tortoise shell. of silver and copper (c. sixth century BCE onwards) were amongst the earliest to be minted and used. Archaeological evidence of a These have been recovered from excavations at a bead-making industry, using number of sites throughout the subcontinent. precious and semi-precious Numismatists have studied these and other coins to stones, has been found in reconstruct possible commercial networks. Kodumanal (Tamil Nadu). It is likely that local traders brought Attempts made to identify the symbols on punch- the stones mentioned in the marked coins with specific ruling dynasties, Periplus from sites such as including the Mauryas, suggest that these were these to the coastal ports. issued by kings. It is also likely that merchants, bankers and townspeople issued some of these coins. ^Why did the author The first coins to bear the names and images of compile this list? rulers were issued by the Indo-Greeks, who established control over the north-western part of the subcontinent c. second century BCE. “Periplus” is a Greek word The first gold coins were issued c. first century CE meaning sailing around and by the Kushanas. These were virtually identical in “Erythraean” was the Greek weight with those issued by contemporary Roman name for the Red Sea. KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 45 emperors and the Parthian rulers of Iran, and have Numismatics is the study of been found from several sites in north India and coins, including visual elements Central Asia. The widespread use of gold coins such as scripts and images, indicates the enormous value of the transactions metallurgical analysis and the that were taking place. Besides, hoards of Roman contexts in which they have coins have been found from archaeological sites in been found. south India. It is obvious that networks of trade were not confined within political boundaries: south India was not part of the Roman Empire, but there were close connections through trade. Coins were also issued by tribal republics such as that of the Yaudheyas of Punjab and Haryana (c. first century CE). Archaeologists have unearthed several thousand copper coins issued by the Yaudheyas, pointing to the latter’s interest and participation in economic exchanges. Some of the most spectacular gold coins were issued by the Gupta rulers. The earliest issues are remarkable for their purity. These coins facilitated long-distance transactions from which Fig. 2.7 A punch-marked coin, so named kings also benefited. because symbols were punched or From c. sixth century CE onwards, finds of gold stamped onto the metal surface coins taper off. Does this indicate that there was some kind of an economic crisis? Historians are divided on this issue. Some suggest that with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire long-distance trade declined, and this affected the prosperity of the states, communities and regions that had benefited from it. Others argue that new towns and networks of trade started emerging around this time. They also point out that though finds of coins of that time are fewer, coins continue to be mentioned in inscriptions and texts. Could it be that there are fewer finds because coins were in circulation rather Fig. 2.8 than being hoarded? A Yaudheya coin

^ Discuss... What are the transactions involved in trade? Which of these transactions are apparent from the sources mentioned? Are there any Fig. 2.9 that are not evident from the A Gupta coin sources? 46 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Fig. 2.10 7. Back to Basics An Asokan inscription How Are Inscriptions Deciphered? So far, we have been studying excerpts from inscriptions amongst other things. But how do historians find out what is written on them? 7.1 Deciphering Brahmi Most scripts used to write modern Indian languages are derived from Brahmi, the script used in most Asokan inscriptions. From the late eighteenth century, European scholars aided by Indian pandits worked backwards from contemporary Bengali and Devanagari (the script used to write Hindi) manuscripts, comparing their letters with older specimens. Scholars who studied early inscriptions sometimes assumed these were in Sanskrit, although the earliest inscriptions were, in fact, in Prakrit. It was only after decades of painstaking investigations by several epigraphists that James Prinsep was able to Fig. 2.11 decipher Asokan Brahmi in 1838. Asokan Brahmi with Devanagari equivalents 7.2 How Kharosthi was read ^ The story of the decipherment of Kharosthi, the script Do some Devanagari letters used in inscriptions in the northwest, is different. appear similar to Brahmi? Are Here, finds of coins of Indo-Greek kings who ruled there any that seem different? over the area (c. second-first centuries BCE) have KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 47 facilitated matters. These coins contain the names Source 10 of kings written in Greek and Kharosthi scripts. The orders of the king European scholars who could read the former compared the letters. For instance, the symbol Thus speaks king Devanampiya for “a” could be found in both scripts for writing Piyadassi: names such as Apollodotus. With Prinsep identifying the language of the Kharosthi inscriptions as Prakrit, In the past, there were no it became possible to read longer inscriptions as well. arrangements for disposing affairs, nor for receiving 7.3 Historical evidence from inscriptions regular reports. But I To find out how epigraphists and historians work, have made the following let us look at two Asokan inscriptions more closely. (arrangement). Pativedakas Note that the name of the ruler, Asoka, is not should report to me about the mentioned in the inscription (Source 10). What is affairs of the people at all used instead are titles adopted by the ruler – times, anywhere, whether I devanampiya, often translated as “beloved of the am eating, in the inner gods” and piyadassi, or “pleasant to behold”. The apartment, in the bedroom, name Asoka is mentioned in some other inscriptions, in the cow pen, being carried which also contain these titles. After examining all (possibly in a palanquin), or these inscriptions, and finding that they match in in the garden. And I will terms of content, style, language and palaeography, dispose of the affairs of the epigraphists have concluded that they were issued people everywhere. by the same ruler. You may also have noticed that Asoka claims that ^Epigraphists have earlier rulers had no arrangements to receive reports. translated the term If you consider the political history of the pativedaka as reporter. subcontinent prior to Asoka, do you think this In what ways would the statement is true? Historians have to constantly functions of the assess statements made in inscriptions to judge pativedaka have been whether they are true, plausible or exaggerations. different from those we Did you notice that there are words within generally associate with brackets? Epigraphists sometimes add these to make reporters today? the meaning of sentences clear. This has to be done carefully, to ensure that the intended meaning of the author is not changed.

Fig. 2.12 A coin of the Indo-Greek king Menander 48 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 11 Historians have to make other assessments as well. If a king’s orders were inscribed on natural The anguish of the king rocks near cities or important routes of When the king Devanampiya communication, would passers-by have stopped to Piyadassi had been ruling read these? Most people were probably not literate. for eight years, the (country Did everybody throughout the subcontinent of the) Kalingas (present- understand the Prakrit used in Pataliputra? Would day coastal Orissa) was the orders of the king have been followed? Answers conquered by (him). to such questions are not always easy to find. Some of these problems are evident if we look at One hundred and fifty an Asokan inscription (Source 11), which has often thousand men were deported, been interpreted as reflecting the anguish of the a hundred thousand were ruler, as well as marking a change in his attitude killed, and many more died. towards warfare. As we shall see, the situation After that, now that (the becomes more complex once we move beyond reading country of) the Kalingas has the inscription at face value. been taken, Devanampiya (is While Asokan inscriptions have been found in devoted) to an intense study present-day Orissa, the one depicting his anguish of Dhamma, to the love of is missing. In other words, the inscription has not Dhamma, and to instructing been found in the region that was conquered. What (the people) in Dhamma. are we to make of that? Is it that the anguish of the recent conquest was too painful in the region, and This is the repentance of therefore the ruler was unable to address the issue? Devanampiya on account of his conquest of the (country 8. The Limitations of Inscriptional of the) Kalingas. Evidence For this is considered very By now it is probably evident that there are limits to painful and deplorable what epigraphy can reveal. Sometimes, there are by Devanampiya that, technical limitations: letters are very faintly while one is conquering engraved, and thus reconstructions are uncertain. an unconquered (country) Also, inscriptions may be damaged or letters missing. slaughter, death and Besides, it is not always easy to be sure about the deportation of people (take exact meaning of the words used in inscriptions, place) there … some of which may be specific to a particular place or time. If you go through an epigraphical journal (some are listed in Timeline 2), you will realise that scholars are constantly debating and discussing alternative ways of reading inscriptions. Although several thousand inscriptions have been discovered, not all have been deciphered, published and translated. Besides, many more inscriptions ^ Discuss... must have existed, which have not survived the Look at Map 2 and discuss ravages of time. So what is available at present is the location of Asokan probably only a fraction of what was inscribed. inscriptions. Do you notice There is another, perhaps more fundamental, any patterns? problem: not everything that we may consider KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 49 politically or economically significant was necessarily recorded in inscriptions. For instance, routine agricultural practices and the joys and sorrows of daily existence find no mention in inscriptions, which focus, more often than not, on grand, unique events. Besides, the content of inscriptions almost invariably projects the perspective of the person(s) who commissioned them. As such, they need to be juxtaposed with other perspectives so as to arrive at a better understanding of the past.

Thus epigraphy alone does not provide a full understanding of political and economic history. Also, historians often question both old and new evidence. Scholars in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were primarily interested in the histories of kings. From the mid-twentieth century onwards, issues such as economic change, and the ways in which different social groups emerged have assumed far more importance. Recent decades have seen a much greater preoccupation with histories of marginalised groups. This will probably lead to fresh investigations of old sources, and the development of new strategies of analysis.

Fig. 2.13 A copperplate inscription from Karnataka, c. sixth century CE 50 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Timeline 1 Major Political and Economic Developments

c.600-500 BCE Paddy transplantation; urbanisation in the Ganga valley; mahajanapadas; punch-marked coins

c. 500-400 BCE Rulers of Magadha consolidate power

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 in the northwest; Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in south India; Satavahanas in the Deccan

c. 100 BCE-200 CE Shaka (peoples from Central Asia) rulers in the northwest; Roman trade; gold coinage

c. 78 CE? Accession of Kanishka

c.100-200 CE Earliest inscriptional evidence of land grants by Satavahana and Shaka rulers

c. 320 CE Beginning of Gupta rule

c. 335-375 CE Samudragupta

c. 375-415 CE Chandragupta II; Vakatakas in the Deccan

c. 500-600 CE Rise of the Chalukyas in Karnataka and of the Pallavas in Tamil Nadu

c. 606-647 CE Harshavardhana king of Kanauj; Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang comes in search of Buddhist texts c. 712 Arabs conquer Sind

(Note: It is difficult to date economic developments precisely. Also, there are enormous subcontinental variations which have not been indicated in the timeline. Only the earliest dates for specific developments have been given. The date of Kanishka’s accession is not certain and this has been marked with a‘?’) KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS 51

Timeline 2 Major Advances in Epigraphy

Eighteenth century 1784 Founding of the Asiatic Society (Bengal)

Nineteenth century 1810s Colin Mackenzie collects over 8,000 inscriptions in Sanskrit and Dravidian languages 1838 Decipherment of Asokan Brahmi by James Prinsep 1877 Alexander Cunningham publishes a set of Asokan inscriptions 1886 First issue of Epigraphia Carnatica, a journal of south Indian inscriptions 1888 First issue of Epigraphia Indica

Twentieth century 1965-66 D.C. Sircar publishes Indian Epigraphy and Indian Epigraphical Glossary

Answer in 100-150 words

1. Discuss the evidence of craft production in Early Historic cities. In what ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities? 2. Describe the salient features of mahajanapadas. 3. How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people? 4. Compare and contrast the list of things given to the Pandyan chief (Source 3) with those produced in the village of Danguna (Source 8). Do you notice any similarities or differences? 5. List some of the problems faced by epigraphists. 52 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Write a short essay (about 500 words) on the following:

6. Discuss the main features of Mauryan administration. Which of these elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied? 7. This is a statement made by one of the best-known epigraphists of the twentieth century, D.C. Sircar: “There is no aspect of life, culture and activities of the Indians that is not reflected in inscriptions.” Discuss. 8. Discuss the notions of kingship that developed in the post-Mauryan period. If you would like to know more, read: 9. To what extent were agricultural practices D.N. Jha. 2004. transformed in the period under consideration? Early India: A Concise Histor y. Manohar, New Delhi. Map work R. Salomon. 1998. Indian Epigraphy.Munshiram 10. Compare Maps 1 and 2, and list the mahajanapadas Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd, that might have been included in the Mauryan New Delhi. Empire. Are any Asokan inscriptions found in these areas? R.S. Sharma. 1983. Material Culture and Social Formation in Early India. Project (any one) Macmillan, New Delhi. 11. Collect newspapers for one month. Cut and paste all D.C. Sircar. 1975. the statements made by government officials about Inscriptions of Asoka. public works. Note what the reports say about the Publications Division, Ministry of resources required for such projects, how the Information and Broadcasting, resources are mobilised and the objective of the Government of India, New Delhi. project. Who issues these statements, and how and why are they communicated? Compare and contrast Romila Thapar. 1997. these with the evidence from inscriptions discussed Asoka and the Decline of the in this chapter. What are the similarities and Mauryas. Oxford University Press, differences that you notice? New Delhi. 12. Collect five different kinds of currency notes and coins in circulation today. For each one of these, describe what you see on the obverse and the reverse (the front and the back). Prepare a report on the common features as well as the differences in terms of pictures, For more information, scripts and languages, size, shape and any other you could visit: element that you find significant. Compare these with http:/projectsouthasia.sdstate. the coins shown in this chapter, discussing the edu/Docs/index.html materials used, the techniques of minting, the visual symbols and their significance and the possible functions that coins may have had. THEME Kinship, Caste and Class THREE EEarly Socie i tiese (((C. 600 0 BCEC -6000 CE)

In the previous chapter we saw that there were several changes in economic and political life between c. 600 BCE and 600 CE. Some of these changes influenced societies as well. For instance, the extension of agriculture into forested areas transformed the lives of forest dwellers; craft specialists often emerged as distinct social groups; the unequal distribution of wealth sharpened social differences. Historians often use textual traditions to understand these processes. Some texts lay down norms of social behaviour; others describe and occasionally comment on a wide range of social situations and practices. We can also catch a glimpse of some social actors from inscriptions. As we will see, each text (and inscription) was written from the perspective of specific social categories. So we need to keep in mind who composed what and for whom. We also need to consider the language used, and the ways in which the text circulated. Used carefully, texts allow us to piece together Fig. 3.1 attitudes and practices that shaped social histories. A terracotta sculpture In focusing on the Mahabharata, a colossal epic running depicting a scene from the in its present form into over 100,000 verses with depictions Mahabharata (West Bengal), of a wide range of social categories and situations, we draw c. seventeenth century on one of the richest texts of the subcontinent. It was composed over a period of about 1,000 years (c. 500 BCE onwards), and some of the stories it contains may have been in circulation even earlier. The central story is about two sets of warring cousins. The text also contains sections laying down norms of behaviour for various social groups. Occasionally (though not always), the principal characters seem to follow these norms. What does conformity with norms and deviations from them signify? 54 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

1. The Critical Edition of the Mahabharata One of the most ambitious projects of scholarship began in 1919, under the leadership of a noted Indian Sanskritist, V.S. Sukthankar. A team comprising dozens of scholars initiated the task of preparing a critical edition of the Mahabharata. What exactly did this involve? Initially, it meant collecting Sanskrit manuscripts of the text, written in a variety of scripts, from different parts of the country. The team worked out a method of comparing verses from each manuscript. Ultimately, they selected the verses that appeared common to most versions and published these in several volumes, running into over 13,000 pages. The project took 47 years to complete. Two things became apparent: there were several common elements in the Sanskrit versions of the story, evident in manuscripts found all over the subcontinent, from Kashmir and Nepal in the north to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south. Also evident were enormous regional variations in the ways in which the text had been transmitted over the centuries. These variations were documented in footnotes and appendices to the main text. Taken together, more than half the 13,000 pages are devoted to these variations. In a sense, these variations are reflective of the complex processes that shaped early (and later) social histories – through dialogues between dominant traditions and resilient local ideas and practices. These dialogues are characterised by Fig. 3.2 moments of conflict as well as consensus. A section of a page from the Critical Our understanding of these processes is derived Edition primarily from texts written in Sanskrit by and for The section printed in large bold Brahmanas. When issues of social history were letters is part of the main text. explored for the first time by historians in the The smaller print lists variations nineteenth and twentieth centuries, they tended to in different manuscripts, which take these texts at face value – believing that were carefully catalogued. everything that was laid down in these texts was actually practised. Subsequently, scholars began studying other traditions, from works in Pali, Prakrit and Tamil. These studies indicated that the ideas contained in normative Sanskrit texts were on the whole recognised as authoritative: they were also questioned and occasionally even rejected. It is important to keep this in mind as we examine how historians reconstruct social histories. KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 55

2. Kinship and Marriage Many Rules and Varied Practices 2.1 Finding out about families We often take family life for granted. However, you may have noticed that not all families are identical: Terms for family they vary in terms of numbers of members, their and kin relationship with one another as well as the kinds Sanskrit texts use the term kula of activities they share. Often people belonging to to designate families and jnati the same family share food and other resources, for the larger network of kinfolk. and live, work and perform rituals together. Families The term vamsha is used for are usually parts of larger networks of people lineage. defined as relatives, or to use a more technical term, kinfolk. While familial ties are often regarded as “natural” and based on blood, they are defined in many different ways. For instance, some societies regard cousins as being blood relations, whereas others do not. For early societies, historians can retrieve information about elite families fairly easily; it is, however, far more difficult to reconstruct the familial relationships of ordinary people. Historians also investigate and analyse attitudes towards family and kinship. These are important, because they provide an insight into people’s thinking; it is likely that some of these ideas would have shaped their actions, just as actions may have led to changes in attitudes. 2.2 The ideal of patriliny Can we identify points when kinship relations Patriliny means tracing descent changed? At one level, the Mahabharata is a story from father to son, grandson about this. It describes a feud over land and power and so on. between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and Matriliny is the term used when the Pandavas, who belonged to a single ruling family, descent is traced through the that of the Kurus, a lineage dominating one of the mother. janapadas (Chapter 2, Map 1). Ultimately, the conflict ended in a battle, in which the Pandavas emerged victorious. After that, patrilineal succession was proclaimed. While patriliny had existed prior to the composition of the epic, the central story of the Mahabharata reinforced the idea that it was valuable. Under patriliny, sons could claim the resources (including the throne in the case of kings) of their fathers when the latter died. Most ruling dynasties (c. sixth century BCE onwards) claimed to follow this system, although there were variations in practice: sometimes there were no sons, 56 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Map 1 Hastinapura The Kuru Panchala region and neighbouring areas KURU

Indraprastha SAKYA SHURASENA Ganga Kapilavastu Shravasti MALLA Lumbini Virata Mathura KOSHALA Pava Yamuna MATSYA Kushinagara Ayodhya

Vaishali

VATSA Pataliputra Sarnath Varanasi Kaushambi Bodh Gaya

Ujjayini

AVANTI Sketch map not to scale

in some situations brothers succeeded one another, sometimes other kinsmen claimed the throne, and, in very exceptional circumstances, women such as Prabhavati Gupta (Chapter 2) exercised power. The concern with patriliny was not unique to ruling families. It is evident in mantras in ritual texts such as the Rigveda. It is possible that these attitudes were shared by wealthy men and those who claimed high status, including Brahmanas. Source 1 Producing “fine sons”

Here is an excerpt of a mantra from the Rigveda, which was probably inserted in the text c. 1000 BCE, to be chanted by the priest while conducting the marriage ritual. It is used in many Hindu weddings even today: I free her from here, but not from there. I have bound her firmly there, so that through the grace of Indra she will have fine sons and be fortunate in her husband’s love. Indra was one of the principal deities , a god of valour, warfare and rain. “Here” and “there” refer to the father’s and husband’s house respectively.

^In the context of the mantra, discuss the implications of marriage from the point of view of the bride and groom. Are the implications identical, or are there differences? KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 57

Source 2 Why kinfolk quarrelled

This is an excerpt from the Adi P arvan (literally, the first section) of the Sanskrit Mahabharata, describing why conflicts arose amongst the Kauravas and Pandavas: The Kauravas were the … sons of Dhritarashtra, and the Pandavas … were their cousins. Since Dhritarashtra was blind, his younger brother Pandu ascended the throne of Hastinapura (see Map 1) … However, after the premature death of Pandu, Dhritarashtra became ^ king, as the royal princes were still very young. As the Read the passage and list princes grew up together, the citizens of Hastinapura the different criteria suggested began to express their preference for the Pandavas, for becoming king. Of these, for they were more capable and virtuous than the how important was birth in a Kauravas. This made Duryodhana, the eldest of the particular family? Which of Kauravas, jealous. He approached his father and said, these criteria seem justified? “You yourself did not receive the throne, although it Are there any that strike you fell to you, because of your defect. If the Pandava as unjust? receives the patrimony from Pandu, his son will surely inherit it in turn, and so will his son, and his. We ourselves with our sons shall be excluded from the royal succession and become of slight regard in the eyes of the world, lord of the earth!” Passages such as these may not have been literally true, but they give us an idea about what those who wrote the text thought. Sometimes, as in this case, they contain conflicting ideas.

2.3 Rules of marriage While sons were important for the continuity of the patrilineage, daughters were viewed rather Types of marriages differently within this framework. They had no claims Endogamy refers to marriage to the resources of the household. At the same time, within a unit – this could be a marrying them into families outside the kin was kin group, caste, or a group considered desirable. This system, called exogamy living in the same locality. (literally, marrying outside), meant that the lives of Exogamy refers to marriage young girls and women belonging to families that outside the unit. claimed high status were often carefully regulated to ensure that they were married at the “right” time Polygyny is the practice of and to the “right” person. This gave rise to the belief a man having several wives. that kanyadana or the gift of a daughter in marriage Polyandry is the practice of was an important religious duty of the father. a woman having several With the emergence of new towns (Chapter 2), husbands. social life became more complex. People from near 58 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 3 and far met to buy and sell their products and share ideas in the urban milieu. This may have led to a Eight forms of marriage questioning of earlier beliefs and practices (see also Chapter 4). Faced with this challenge, the Here are the first, fourth, fifth Brahmanas responded by laying down codes of social and sixth forms of marriage behaviour in great detail. These were meant to be from the Manusmriti: followed by Brahmanas in particular and the rest of First: The gift of a daughter, society in general. From c. 500 BCE, these norms were after dressing her in costly compiled in Sanskrit texts known as the clothes and honouring her Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras. The most with presents of jewels, to important of such works, the Manusmriti, was a man learned in the compiled between c. 200 BCE and 200 CE. Veda whom the father While the Brahmana authors of these texts himself invites. claimed that their point of view had universal validity Fourth: The gift of a and that what they prescribed had to be obeyed by daughter by the father after everybody, it is likely that real social relations were he has addressed the couple more complicated. Besides, given the regional with the text, “May both of diversity within the subcontinent and the difficulties you perform your duties of communication, the influence of Brahmanas was together”, and has shown by no means all-pervasive. honour to the bridegroom. What is interesting is that the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras recognised as many as eight forms Fifth: When the bridegroom receives a maiden, after having of marriage. Of these, the first four were considered given as much wealth as he as “good” while the remaining were condemned. It is can afford to the kinsmen and possible that these were practised by those who did to the bride herself, according not accept Brahmanical norms. to his own will. 2.4 The gotra of women Sixth: The voluntary union One Brahmanical practice, evident from c. 1000 BCE of a maiden and her lover onwards, was to classify people (especially … which springs from Brahmanas) in terms of gotras. Each gotra was named desire … after a Vedic seer, and all those who belonged to the same gotra were regarded as his descendants. Two rules about gotra were particularly important: ^For each of the forms, women were expected to give up their father’s gotra discuss whether the and adopt that of their husband on marriage and decision about the members of the same gotra could not marry. marriage was taken by One way to find out whether this was commonly (a) the bride, followed is to consider the names of men and women, (b) the bridegroom, which were sometimes derived from gotra names. (c) the father of the bride, These names are available for powerful ruling (d) the father of the lineages such as the Satavahanas who ruled over bridegroom, parts of western India and the Deccan (c. second (e) any other person. century BCE-second century CE). Several of their inscriptions have been recovered, which allow historians to trace family ties, including marriages. KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 59

Source 4 Names of Satavahana kings from inscriptions

These are the names of several generations of Satavahana rulers, recovered from inscriptions. Note the uniform title raja. Also note the following word, which ends with the term puta , a Prakrit word meaning “son”. The term Gotami-puta means “son of Gotami”. Names like Gotami and Vasithi are feminine forms of Gotama and Vasistha, Vedic seers after whom gotras were named. raja Gotami-puta Siri-Satakani raja Vasithi-puta (sami-) Siri-Pulumayi raja Gotami-puta sami-Siri-Yana-Satakani raja Madhari-puta svami-Sakasena raja Vasathi-puta Chatarapana-Satakani

raja Hariti-puta Vinhukada ^How many Gotami-putas and Chutukulanamda-Satakamni how many Vasithi (alternative raja Gotami-puta Siri-Vijaya- Satakani spelling Vasathi)-putas are there?

Fig. 3.3 A Satavahana ruler and his wife This is one of the rare sculptural depictions of a ruler from the wall of a cave donated to Buddhist monks. This sculpture dates to c. second century BCE.

Metronymics in the Upanishads The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, one of the earliest Upanishads (see also Chapter 4), contains a list of successive generations of teachers and students, many of whom were designated by metronymics. 60 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 5 Some of the Satavahana rulers were polygynous (that is, had more than one wife). An examination of A mother’s advice the names of women who married Satavahana rulers The Mahabharata describes how, indicates that many of them had names derived from when war between the Kauravas gotras such as Gotama and Vasistha, their father’s and the Pandavas became gotras. They evidently retained these names instead almost inevitable, Gandhari of adopting names derived from their husband’s gotra made one last appeal to her name as they were required to do according to the eldest son Duryodhana: Brahmanical rules. What is also apparent is that some of these women belonged to the same gotra. As By making peace you honour is obvious, this ran counter to the ideal of exogamy your father and me, as well recommended in the Brahmanical texts. In fact, it as your well-wishers … it is exemplified an alternative practice, that of endogamy the wise man in control of his or marriage within the kin group, which was (and senses who guards his kingdom. Greed and anger is) prevalent amongst several communities in south drag a man away from his India. Such marriages amongst kinfolk (such as profits; by defeating these cousins) ensured a close-knit community. two enemies a king conquers It is likely that there were variations in other parts the earth … You will happily of the subcontinent as well, but as yet it has not enjoy the earth, my son, been possible to reconstruct specific details. along with the wise and 2.5 Were mothers important? heroic Pandavas … There is We have seen that Satavahana rulers were identified no good in a war, no law through metronymics (names derived from that of (dharma) and profit (artha ), the mother). Although this may suggest that mothers let alone happiness; nor is were important, we need to be cautious before we there (necessarily) victory in arrive at any conclusion. In the case of the the end – don’t set your mind on war … Satavahanas we know that succession to the throne was generally patrilineal. Duryodhana did not listen to this advice and fought and lost the war.

^Does this passage give you an idea about the way in which mothers were viewed in early Indian societies?

^ Discuss... How are children named Fig. 3.4 today? Are these ways of A battle scene naming similar to or different This is amongst the earliest sculptural depictions of a scene from the Mahabharata, a terracotta sculpture from from those described in this the walls of a temple in Ahichchhatra (Uttar Pradesh), section? c. fifth century CE. KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 61

3. Social Differences: Within and Beyond the Framework of Caste You are probably familiar with the term caste, which refers to a set of hierarchically ordered social categories. The ideal order was laid down in the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras. Brahmanas claimed that this order, in which they were ranked first, was divinely ordained, while placing groups classified as Shudras and “untouchables” at the very bottom of the social order. Positions within the order were supposedly determined by birth. 3.1 The “right” occupation The Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras also contained rules about the ideal “occupations” of the four categories or varnas. Brahmanas were supposed to study and teach the Vedas, perform sacrifices and get sacrifices performed, and give and receive gifts. Kshatriyas were to engage in warfare, protect people and administer justice, study the Vedas, get sacrifices performed, and make gifts. The last three Source 6 “occupations” were also assigned to the Vaishyas, A divine order? who were in addition expected to engage in agriculture, pastoralism and trade. Shudras were assigned only one occupation – that of serving the To justify their claims, three “higher” varnas. Brahmanas often cited a verse The Brahmanas evolved two or three strategies from a hymn in the Rigveda for enforcing these norms. One, as we have just seen, known as the Purusha sukta , was to assert that the varna order was of divine describing the sacrifice of origin. Second, they advised kings to ensure that Purusha, the primeval man. All the elements of the universe, these norms were followed within their kingdoms. including the four social And third, they attempted to persuade people that categories, were supposed to their status was determined by birth. However, this have emanated from his body: was not always easy. So prescriptions were often reinforced by stories told in the Mahabharata and The Brahmana was his other texts. mouth, of his arms was made the Kshatriya. His thighs became the Vaishya, of his feet the Shudra was born.

^Why do you think the Brahmanas quoted this verse frequently? 62 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 7 “Proper” social roles

Here is a story from the Adi Parvan of the Mahabharata: Once Drona, a Brahmana who taught archery to the Kuru princes, was approached by Ekalavya, a forest- dwelling nishada (a hunting community). When Drona, who knew the dharma, refused to have him as his pupil, Ekalavya returned to the forest, prepared an image of Drona out of clay, and treating it as his teacher, began to practise on his own. In due course, he acquired great skill in archery. One day, the Kuru princes went hunting and their dog, wandering in the woods, came upon Ekalavya. When the dog smelt the dark nishada wrapped in black deer skin, his body caked with dirt, it began to bark. Annoyed, Ekalavya shot seven arrows into its mouth. When the dog returned to the Pandavas, they were amazed at this superb display of archery. They tracked down Ekalavya, who introduced himself as a pupil of Drona. ^What message do you think Drona had once told his favourite student Arjuna, this story was meant to convey that he would be unrivalled amongst his pupils. Arjuna to the nishadas? now reminded Drona about this. Drona approached What message would it convey Ekalavya, who immediately acknowledged and to Kshatriyas? honoured him as his teacher. When Drona demanded Do you think that Drona, as a his right thumb as his fee, Ekalavya unhesitatingly cut Brahmana, was acting it off and offered it. But thereafter, when he shot with according to the Dharmasutras his remaining fingers, he was no longer as fast as he when he was teaching archery? had been before. Thus, Drona kept his word: no one was better than Arjuna.

3.2 Non-Kshatriya kings According to the Shastras, only Kshatriyas could be kings. However, several important ruling lineages probably had different origins. The social background of the Mauryas, who ruled over a large empire, has been hotly debated. While later Buddhist texts suggested they were Kshatriyas, Brahmanical texts described them as being of “low” origin. The Shungas and Kanvas, the immediate successors of the Mauryas, were Brahmanas. In fact, political power was effectively open to anyone who could muster support and resources, and rarely depended on birth as a Kshatriya. Other rulers, such as the Shakas who came from Central Asia, were regarded as mlechchhas, KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 63 barbarians or outsiders by the Brahmanas. However, one of the earliest inscriptions in Sanskrit describes how Rudradaman, the best-known Shaka ruler (c. second century CE), rebuilt Sudarshana lake (Chapter 2). This suggests that powerful mlechchhas were familiar with Sanskritic traditions. It is also interesting that the best-known ruler of the Satavahana dynasty, Gotami-puta Siri-Satakani, claimed to be both a unique Brahmana (eka bamhana) and a destroyer of the pride of Kshatriyas. He also claimed to have ensured that there was no intermarriage amongst members of the four varnas. At the same time, he entered into a marriage alliance with the kin of Rudradaman. As you can see from this example, integration within the framework of caste was often a complicated process. The Satavahanas claimed to be Brahmanas, whereas according to the Brahmanas, kings ought to have been Kshatriyas. They claimed to uphold the fourfold varna order, but entered into marriage alliances with people who were supposed to be excluded from the system. And, as we have seen, they practised endogamy instead of the exogamous system recommended in the Brahmanical texts. 3.3 Jatis and social mobility These complexities are reflected in another term used in texts to refer to social categories – jati. In Brahmanical theory, jati, like varna, was based on birth. However, while the number of varnas was fixed at four, there was no restriction on the number of jatis. In fact, whenever Brahmanical authorities encountered new groups – for instance, people living in forests such as the nishadas – or wanted to assign a name to occupational categories such as the goldsmith or suvarnakara, which did not easily fit Fig. 3.5 into the fourfold varna system, they classified them Silver coin depicting a Shaka ruler, as a jati. Jatis which shared a common occupation c. fourth century CE or profession were sometimes organised into shrenis or guilds. We seldom come across documents that record the histories of these groups. But there are exceptions. One interesting stone inscription (c. fifth century CE), found in Mandasor (Madhya Pradesh), records the history of a guild of silk weavers who originally lived in Lata (Gujarat), from where they 64 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

migrated to Mandasor, then known as Dashapura. The case of the It states that they undertook the difficult journey merchants along with their children and kinfolk, as they had heard about the greatness of the local king, and Sanskrit texts and inscriptions wanted to settle in his kingdom. used the term vanik to designate The inscription provides a fascinating glimpse of merchants. While trade was complex social processes and provides insights into defined as an occupation for the nature of guilds or shrenis. Although membership Vaishyas in the Shastras, a was based on a shared craft specialisation, some more complex situation is members adopted other occupations. It also indicates evident in plays such as the that the members shared more than a common Mrichchhakatika written by profession – they collectively decided to invest their Shudraka (c. fourth century CE), Here, the hero Charudatta was wealth, earned through their craft, to construct a described as both a Brahmana splendid temple in honour of the sun god. and a sarthavaha or merchant Source 8 And a fifth-century inscription describes two brothers who What the silk weavers did made a donation for the construction of a temple as Here is an excerpt from the inscription, which is kshatriya-vaniks. in Sanskrit: Some are intensely attached to music (so) pleasing to the ear; others, being proud of (the authorship of) a hundred excellent biographies, are conversant with wonderful tales; (others), filled with humility, are ^Do you think the silk absorbed in excellent religious discourses; … some excel weavers were following the in their own religious rites; likewise by others, who were occupation laid down for them self-possessed, the science of (Vedic) astronomy was in the Shastras? mastered; and others, valorous in battle, even today forcibly cause harm to the enemies.

3.4 Beyond the four varnas: Integration Given the diversity of the subcontinent, there were, and always have been, populations whose social practices were not influenced by Brahmanical ideas. When they figure in Sanskrit texts, they are often described as odd, uncivilised, or even animal-like. In some instances, these included forest-dwellers – for whom hunting and gathering remained an important means of subsistence. Categories such as the nishada, to which Ekalavya is supposed to have belonged, are examples of this. Others who were viewed with suspicion included populations such as nomadic pastoralists, who could not be easily accommodated within the framework of settled agriculturists. Sometimes those who spoke non-Sanskritic languages were labelled as KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 65 mlechchhas and looked down upon. There was nonetheless also a sharing of ideas and beliefs between these people. The nature of relations is evident in some stories in the Mahabharata. Source 9 A tiger-like husband

This is a summary of a story from the Adi Parvan of the Mahabharata: The Pandavas had fled into the forest. They were tired and fell asleep; only Bhima, the second Pandava, renowned for his prowess, was keeping watch. A man-eating rakshasa caught the scent of the Pandavas and sent his sister Hidimba to capture them. She fell in love with Bhima, transformed herself into a lovely maiden and proposed to him. He refused. Meanwhile, the rakshasa arrived and challenged Bhima to a wrestling match. Bhima accepted the challenge and killed him. The others woke up hearing the noise. Hidimba introduced herself, and declared her love for Bhima. She told Kunti: “I have forsaken my friends, my dharma and my kin; and good lady, chosen your tiger-like son for my man … whether you think me a fool, or your devoted servant, let me join you, great lady, with your son as my husband.” Ultimately, Yudhisthira agreed to the marriage on condition that they would spend the day together but that Bhima would return every night. The couple roamed all over the world during the day. In due course ^ Hidimba gave birth to a rakshasa boy named Identify the practices Ghatotkacha. Then the mother and son left the described in this passage Pandavas. Ghatotkacha promised to return to the which seem non-Brahmanical. Pandavas whenever they needed him. Some historians suggest that the term rakshasa is used to describe people whose practices differed from those laid down in Brahmanical texts.

3.5 Beyond the four varnas Subordination and conflict While the Brahmanas considered some people as being outside the system, they also developed a sharper social divide by classifying certain social categories as “untouchable”. This rested on a notion that certain activities, especially those connected with the performance of rituals, were sacred and by 66 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

extension “pure”. Those who considered themselves pure avoided taking food from those they designated as “untouchable”. In sharp contrast to the purity aspect, some activities were regarded as particularly “polluting”. These included handling corpses and dead animals. Those who performed such tasks, designated as chandalas, were placed at the very bottom of the hierarchy. Their touch and, in some cases, even seeing them was regarded as “polluting” by those who claimed to be at the top of the social order. The Manusmriti laid down the “duties” of the Fig. 3.6 chandalas. They had to live outside the village, use Depiction of a mendicant seeking alms, stone sculpture (Gandhara) discarded utensils, and wear clothes of the dead and c. third century, CE ornaments of iron. They could not walk about in villages and cities at night. They had to dispose of the bodies of those who had no relatives and serve as executioners. Much later, the Chinese Buddhist monk Fa Xian (c. fifth century CE) wrote that “untouchables” had to sound a clapper in the streets so that people could avoid seeing them. Another Chinese pilgrim, Xuan Zang (c. seventh century), observed that executioners and scavengers were forced to live outside the city. By examining non-Brahmanical texts which depict the lives of chandalas, historians have tried to find out whether chandalas accepted the life of degradation prescribed in the Shastras. Sometimes, these depictions correspond with those in the Brahmanical texts. But occasionally, there are hints of different social realities. KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 67

Source 10 The Bodhisatta as a chandala

Did chandalas resist the attempts to push them to the bottom of the social order? Read this story, which is part of the Matanga Jataka, a Pali text, where the Bodhisatta (the Buddha in a previous birth) is identified as a chandala. Once, the Bodhisatta was born outside the city of Banaras as a chandala’s son and named Matanga. One day, when he had gone to the city on some work, he encountered Dittha Mangalika, the daughter of a merchant. When she saw him, she exclaimed “I have seen something inauspicious” and washed her eyes. The angry hangers-on then beat him up. In protest, he went and lay down at the door of her father’s house. On the seventh day they brought out the girl and gave her to him. She carried the starving Matanga back to the chandala settlement. Once he returned home, he decided to renounce the world. After attaining spiritual powers, he returned to Banaras and married her. A son named Mandavya Kumara was born to them. He learnt the three Vedas as he grew up and began to provide food to 16,000 Brahmanas every day. One day, Matanga, dressed in rags, with a clay alms bowl in his hand, arrived at his son’s doorstep and begged for food. Mandavya replied that he looked like an outcaste and was unworthy of alms; the food was meant for the Brahmanas. Matanga said: “Those who are proud of their birth and are ignorant do not deserve gifts. On the contrary, those who are free from vices are worthy of offerings.” Mandavya lost his temper and asked his servants to throw the man out. Matanga rose in the air and disappeared. When Dittha Mangalika learnt about the incident, she followed Matanga and begged his forgiveness. He asked her to take a bit of the leftover from his bowl and give it to Mandavya and the Brahmanas …

^ Discuss... Which of the sources mentioned in this section ^Identify elements in the story that suggest that suggest that people followed it was written from the perspective of Matanga. the occupations laid down by Brahmanas? Which sources suggest other possibilities? 68 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

4. Beyond Birth Resources and Status If you recall the economic relations discussed in Chapter 2, you will realise that slaves, landless agricultural labourers, hunters, fisherfolk, Source 11 pastoralists, peasants, village headmen, craftspersons, merchants and kings emerged as social actors in Draupadi’s question different parts of the subcontinent. Their social positions were often shaped by their access to Draupadi is supposed to have economic resources. Here we will examine the asked Yudhisthira whether he social implications of access to resources in certain had lost himself before staking specific situations. her. Two contrary opinions were expressed in response to this 4.1 Gendered access to property question. Consider first a critical episode in the Mahabharata. During the course of the long-drawn rivalry between One, that even if Yudhisthira the Kauravas and the Pandavas, Duryodhana invited had lost himself earlier, his wife Yudhisthira to a game of dice. The latter, who was remained under his control, so deceived by his rival, staked his gold, elephants, he could stake her. chariots, slaves, army, treasury, kingdom, the Two, that an unfree man (as property of his subjects, his brothers and finally Yudhisthira was when he had himself and lost all. Then he staked their common lost himself) could not stake wife Draupadi and lost her too. another person. Issues of ownership, foregrounded in stories such as this one (Source 11), also figure in the The matter remained unresolved; Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras. According to ultimately, Dhritarashtra restored to the Manusmriti, the paternal estate was to be divided the Pandavas and Draupadi their equally amongst sons after the death of the parents, personal freedom. with a special share for the eldest. Women could not claim a share of these resources. However, women were allowed to retain the gifts ^Do you think that this they received on the occasion of their marriage as episode suggests that stridhana (literally, a woman’s wealth). This could wives could be treated as be inherited by their children, without the husband the property of their having any claim on it. At the same time, the husbands? Manusmriti warned women against hoarding family property, or even their own valuables, without the husband’s permission. You have read about wealthy women such as the Vakataka queen Prabhavati Gupta (Chapter 2). However, cumulative evidence – both epigraphic and textual – suggests that while upper-class women may have had access to resources, land, cattle and money were generally controlled by men. In other words, social differences between men and women were sharpened because of the differences in access to resources. KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 69

Source 12 How could men and women acquire wealth?

For men, the Manusmriti declares, there are seven means of acquiring wealth: inheritance, finding, purchase, conquest, investment, work, and acceptance of gifts from good people. For women, there are six means of acquiring wealth: what was given in front of the fire (marriage) or the bridal procession, or as a token of affection, and what she got from her brother, mother or father. She could also acquire ^Compare and contrast the wealth through any subsequent gift and whatever her ways in which men and “affectionate” husband might give her. women could acquire wealth.

4.2 Varna and access to property According to the Brahmanical texts, another criterion (apart from gender) for regulating access to wealth was varna. As we saw earlier, the only “occupation” prescribed for Shudras was servitude, while a variety of occupations were listed for men of the first three varnas. If these provisions were actually implemented, the wealthiest men would have been the Brahmanas and the Kshatriyas. That this corresponded to some extent with social realities is evident from descriptions of priests and kings in other textual traditions. Kings are almost invariably depicted as wealthy; priests are also generally shown to be rich, though there are occasional depictions of the poor Brahmana. At another level, even as the Brahmanical view of society was codified in the Dharmasutras and Dharmashastras, other traditions developed critiques of the varna order. Some of the best-known of these were developed within early Buddhism (c. sixth century BCE onwards; see also Chapter 4). The Buddhists recognised that there were differences in society, but did not regard these as natural or inflexible. They also rejected the idea of claims to status on the basis of birth. 70 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY Source 13 The wealthy Shudra

This story, based on a Buddhist text in Pali known as the Majjhima Nikaya, is part of a dialogue between a king named Avantiputta and a disciple of the Buddha named Kachchana. While it may not be literally true, it reveals Buddhist attitudes towards varna. Avantiputta asked Kachchana what he thought about Brahmanas who held that they were the best caste and that all other castes were low; that Brahmanas were a fair caste while all other castes were dark; that only Brahmanas were pure, not non-Brahmanas; that Brahmanas were sons of Brahma, born of his mouth, born of Brahma, formed by Brahma, heirs to Brahma. Kachchana replied: “What if a Shudra were wealthy … would another Shudra …or a Kshatriya or a Brahmana or a Vaishya … speak politely to him?” Avantiputta replied that if a Shudra had wealth or corn or gold or silver, he could have as his obedient ^Read Avantiputta’s first servant another Shudra to get up earlier than he, to statement again. What are the go to rest later, to carry out his orders, to speak politely; ideas in it that are derived from or he could even have a Kshatriya or a Brahmana or a Brahmanical texts/traditions? Vaishya as his obedient servant. Can you identify the source of Kachchana asked: “This being so, are not these four any of these? varnas exactly the same?” What, according to this text, explains social difference? Avantiputta conceded that there was no difference amongst the varnas on this count.

4.3 An alternative social scenario: Sharing wealth So far we have been examining situations where people either claimed or were assigned status on the basis of their wealth. However, there were other possibilities as well; situations where men who were generous were respected, while those who were miserly or simply accumulated wealth for themselves were despised. One area where these values were cherished was ancient Tamilakam, where, as we saw earlier (Chapter 2), there were several chiefdoms around 2,000 years ago. Amongst other things, the chiefs were patrons of bards and poets who sang their praise. Poems included in the Tamil Sangam anthologies often illuminate social and economic KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 71 relationships, suggesting that while there were differences between rich and poor, those who controlled resources were also expected to share them. Source 14 The poor generous chief

In this composition from the Puranaruru, one of the anthologies of poems of the Tamil Sangam literature (c. first century CE), a bard describes his patron to other poets thus : He (i.e. the patron) doesn’t have the wealth to lavish on others everyday Fig. 3.7 A chief and his follower, stone Nor does he have the pettiness to say that he has sculpture, Amaravati (Andhra nothing and so refuse! Pradesh), c. second century CE … ^ he lives in Irantai (a place) and is generous. He is an How has the sculptor enemy to the hunger of bards! shown the difference between the chief and his follower? If you wish to cure your poverty, come along with me, bards whose lips are so skilled! If we request him, showing him our ribs thin with hunger, he will go to the blacksmith of his village And will say to that man of powerful hands: “Shape me a long spear for war, one that has a straight blade!”

^What are the strategies which the bard uses to try and persuade the chief to be generous? What is the chief expected to do to acquire wealth in order to give some to the bards?

^ Discuss... How do social relationships operate in present-day societies? Are there any similarities or differences with patterns of the past? 72 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

5. Explaining Social Differences: A Social Contract The Buddhists also developed an alternative understanding of social inequalities, and of the institutions required to regulate social conflict. In a myth found in a text known as the Sutta Pitaka they suggested that originally human beings did not have fully evolved bodily forms, nor was the world of plants fully developed. All beings lived in an idyllic state of peace, taking from nature only what they needed for each meal. However, there was a gradual deterioration of this state as human beings became increasingly greedy, vindictive and deceitful. This led them to wonder: “What if we were to select a certain being who should be wrathful when indignation is right, who should censure that which should rightly be censured and should banish him who deserves to be banished? We will give him in return a proportion of the rice … chosen by the whole people, he will be known as mahasammata, the great elect.” This suggests that the institution of kingship was based on human choice, with taxes as a form of payment for services rendered by the king. At the same time, it reveals recognition of human agency in creating and institutionalising economic and social relations. There are other implications as well. For instance, if human beings were responsible for the creation of the system, they could also change it in future. 6. Handling Texts Historians and the Mahabharata If you look through the sources cited in this chapter once more you will notice that historians consider several elements when they analyse texts. They examine whether texts were written in Prakrit, Pali or Tamil, languages that were probably used by ordinary people, or in Sanskrit, a language meant almost exclusively for priests and elites. They also consider the kinds of text. Were these mantras, learnt and chanted by ritual specialists, or stories that people could have read, or heard, and then retold if they found them interesting? Besides, they try to find out about the author(s) whose perspectives and ideas shaped the text, as well as the intended KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 73 audience, as, very often, authors keep the interests of their audience in mind while composing their work. And they try and ascertain the possible date of the composition or compilation of the texts as well as the place where they may have been composed. It is only after making these assessments that they draw on the content of texts to arrive at an understanding of their historical significance. As you can imagine, this is a particularly difficult task for a text as complex as the Mahabharata. 6.1 Language and content Let us look at the language of the text. The version of the Mahabharata we have been considering is in Sanskrit (although there are versions in other languages as well). However, the Sanskrit used in the Mahabharata is far simpler than that of the Vedas, or of the prashastis discussed in Chapter 2. As such, it was probably widely understood. Historians usually classify the contents of the present text under two broad heads – sections that Didactic refers to something narrative contain stories, designated as the , and that is meant for purposes of sections that contain prescriptions about social instruction. norms, designated as didactic. This division is by no means watertight – the didactic sections include stories, and the narrative often contains a social message. However, generally historians agree that the Mahabharata was meant to be a dramatic, moving story, and that the didactic portions were probably added later.

Fig. 3.8 Krishna advises Arjuna on the battlefield This painting dates to the eighteenth century. Perhaps the most important didactic section of the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita, which contains the advice offered by Lord Krishna to Arjuna. This scene is frequently depicted in painting and sculpture. 74 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Interestingly, the text is described as an itihasa within early Sanskrit tradition. The literal meaning of the term is “thus it was”, which is why it is generally translated as “history”. Was there a real war that was remembered in the epic? We are not sure. Some historians think that the memory of an actual conflict amongst kinfolk was preserved in the narrative; others point out that there is no other corroborative evidence of the battle. 6.2 Author(s) and dates Who wrote the text? This is a question to which there are several answers. The original story was probably composed by charioteer-bards known as sutas who generally accompanied Kshatriya warriors Fig. 3.9 to the battlefield and composed poems celebrating Lord Ganesha the scribe their victories and other achievements. These According to tradition, Vyasa compositions circulated orally. Then, from the fifth dictated the text to the deity. century BCE, Brahmanas took over the story and This illustration is from a Persian began to commit it to writing. This was the time translation of the Mahabharata, when chiefdoms such as those of the Kurus and c. 1740-50. KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 75

Panchalas, around whom the story of the epic revolves, were gradually becoming kingdoms. Did the new kings want their itihasa to be recorded and preserved more systematically? It is also possible that the upheavals that often accompanied the establishment of these states, where old social values were often replaced by new norms, are reflected in some parts of the story. We notice another phase in the composition of the text between c. 200 BCE and 200 CE. This was the period when the worship of Vishnu was growing in importance, and Krishna, one of the important figures of the epic, was coming to be identified with Vishnu. Subsequently, between c. 200 and 400 CE, large didactic sections resembling the Manusmriti were added. With these additions, a text which initially perhaps had less than 10,000 verses grew to comprise about 100,000 verses. This enormous composition is traditionally attributed to a sage named Vyasa. 6.3 The search for convergence The Mahabharata, like any major epic, contains vivid descriptions of battles, forests, palaces and settlements. In 1951-52, the archaeologist B.B. Lal excavated at a village named Hastinapura in Meerut (Uttar Pradesh). Was this the Hastinapura of the epic? While the similarity in names could be coincidental, the location of the site in the Upper Ganga doab, where the Kuru kingdom was situated, suggests that it may have been the capital of the Kurus mentioned in the text. Lal found evidence of five occupational levels, of which the second and third are of interest to us. This is what Lal noted about the houses in the second phase (c. twelfth-seventh centuries BCE): “Within the limited area excavated, no definite plans of houses were obtained, but walls of mud and mud-bricks were duly encountered. The discovery of mud-plaster with prominent reed-marks suggested that some of the houses had reed walls plastered over with mud.” For the third phase (c. sixth-third centuries BCE), he noted: “Houses of this period were built of mud-brick as well as burnt bricks. Soakage jars and brick drains were used for draining out refuse water, while terracotta ring-wells may have been used both as wells and drainage pits.” 76 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 15 Was the description of the city in the epic added Hastinapura after the main narrative had been composed, when (after the sixth century BCE) urban centres flourished This is how the city is described in the region? Or was it a flight of poetic fancy, which in the Adi Parvan of the cannot always be verified by comparisons with other Mahabharata: kinds of evidence? Consider another instance. One of the most The city, bursting like the challenging episodes in the Mahabharata is ocean, packed with hundreds Draupadi’s marriage with the Pandavas, an instance of mansions, displayed with of polyandry that is central to the narrative. If we its gateways, arches and examine the section of the epic that describes this turrets like massing clouds event, it is evident that the author(s) attempted to the splendour of Great Indra’s city. explain it in a variety of ways.

Source 16 ^Do you think Lal’s finds match the description of Draupadi’s marriage Hastinapura in the epic? Drupada, the king of Panchala, organised a competition where the challenge was to string a bow and hit a target; the winner would be chosen to marry his daughter Draupadi. Arjuna was victorious and was garlanded by Draupadi. The Pandavas returned with her to their mother Fig. 3.10 A wall excavated at Hastinapura Kunti, who, even before she saw them, asked them to share whatever they had got. She realised her mistake when she saw Draupadi, but her command could not be violated. After much deliberation, Yudhisthira decided that Draupadi would be their common wife. When Drupada was told about this, he protested. However, the seer Vyasa arrived and told him that the Pandavas were in reality incarnations of Indra, whose wife had been reborn as Draupadi, and they were thus destined for each other. Vyasa added that in another instance a young woman had prayed to Shiva for a husband, and in her enthusiasm, had prayed five times instead of once. This woman was now reborn as Draupadi, and Shiva had fulfilled her prayers. Convinced by these stories, Drupada consented to the marriage.

^Why do you think the author(s) offered three explanations for a single episode? KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 77

Present-day historians suggest that the fact that the author(s) describe a polyandrous union indicates that polyandry may have been prevalent amongst ruling elites at some point of time. At the same time, the fact that so many different explanations are offered for the episode (Source 16) suggests that polyandry gradually fell into disfavour amongst the Brahmanas, who reworked and developed the text through the centuries. Some historians note that while the practice of polyandry may have seemed unusual or even undesirable from the Brahmanical point of view, it was (and is) prevalent in the Himalayan region. Others suggest that there may have been a shortage of women during times of warfare, and this led to polyandry. In other words, it was attributed to a situation of crisis. Some early sources suggest that polyandry was not the only or even the most prevalent form of marriage. Why then did the author(s) choose to associate this practice with the central characters of the Mahabharata? We need to remember that creative literature often has its own narrative requirements and does not always literally reflect social realities. 7. A Dynamic Text The growth of the Mahabharata did not stop with the Sanskrit version. Over the centuries, versions of the epic were written in a variety of languages through an ongoing process of dialogue between peoples, communities, and those who wrote the texts. Several stories that originated in specific regions or circulated amongst certain people found their way into the epic. At the same time, the central story of the epic was often retold in different ways. And episodes were depicted in sculpture and ^ Discuss... painting. They also provided themes for a wide range Read the excerpts from the of performing arts – plays, dance and other kinds Mahabharata included in this of narrations. chapter once more. For each of these, discuss whether they could have been literally true. What do these excerpts tell us about those who composed the text? What do they tell us about those who must have read or heard the epic? 78 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Most retellings or re-enactments of the epic draw on the main narrative in creative ways. Let us look at one example, an episode from the Mahabharata that has been transformed by Mahashweta Devi, a contemporary Bengali writer known for raising her voice against all forms of exploitation and oppression. In this particular instance, she works out alternative possibilities from the main story of the Mahabharata and draws attention to questions on which the Sanskrit text is silent. The Sanskrit text describes how Duryodhana plotted to kill the Pandavas by inviting them to stay in a specially prepared house of lac, which he planned to set on fire. Forewarned, the Pandavas dug a tunnel to ensure their escape. Then Kunti arranged for a feast. While most of the invitees were Brahmanas, a nishada woman came with her five sons. When they were satiated with drink and fell off to sleep, the Pandavas escaped, setting fire to the house. When the bodies of the woman and her sons were discovered, people thought that the Pandavas were dead. In her short story titled “Kunti O Nishadi”, Mahashweta Devi takes up the narrative from where the Mahabharata ends it. She sets the story in a forest, where Kunti retires after the war. Kunti now has time to reflect on her past, and often confesses to what she regards as her failings, talking with the earth, the symbol of nature. Every day she sees the nishadas who come to collect wood, honey, tubers and roots. One nishadi (a nishada woman) often listens to Kunti when she talks with the earth. One day, there was something in the air; the animals were fleeing the forest. Kunti noticed that the nishadi was watching her, and was startled when she spoke to her and asked if she remembered the house of lac. Yes, Kunti said, she did. Did she remember a certain elderly nishadi and her five young sons? And that she had served them wine till they were senseless, while she escaped with her own sons? That nishadi … “Not you!” Kunti exclaimed. The nishadi replied that the woman who was killed had been her mother-in-law. She added that while Kunti had been reflecting on her past, not once did she remember the six innocent lives that were lost because she had wanted to save herself and her sons. As they spoke, the flames drew nearer. The nishadi escaped to safety, but Kunti remained where she was. KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 79

Timeline 1 Major Textual Traditions

c. 500 BCE Ashtadhyayi of Panini, a work on Sanskrit grammar

c. 500-200 BCE Major Dharmasutras (in Sanskrit)

c. 500-100 BCE Early Buddhist texts including the Tripitaka (in Pali)

c. 500 BCE-400 CE Ramayana and Mahabharata (in Sanskrit)

c. 200 BCE-200 CE Manusmriti (in Sanskrit); composition and compilation of Tamil Sangam literature

c. 100 CE Charaka and Sushruta Samhitas, works on medicine (in Sanskrit)

c. 200 CE onwards Compilation of the Puranas (in Sanskrit)

c. 300 CE Natyashastra of Bharata, a work on dramaturgy (in Sanskrit)

c. 300-600 CE Other Dharmashastras (in Sanskrit)

c. 400-500 CE Sanskrit plays including the works of Kalidasa; works on astronomy and mathematics by Aryabhata and Varahamihira (in Sanskrit); compilation of Jaina works (in Prakrit)

Timeline 2 Major Landmarks in the Study of the Mahabharata

Twentieth century 1919-66 Preparation and publication of the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata

1973 J.A.B. van Buitenen begins English translation of the Critical Edition; remains incomplete after his death in 1978 80 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Answer in 100-150 words

1. Explain why patriliny may have been particularly important among elite families. 2. Discuss whether kings in early states were invariably Kshatriyas. 3. Compare and contrast the dharma or norms mentioned in the stories of Drona, Hidimba and Matanga. 4. In what ways was the Buddhist theory of a social contract different from the Brahmanical view of society derived from the Purusha sukta? 5. The following is an excerpt from the Mahabharata, in which Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava, speaks to Sanjaya, a messenger: Sanjaya, convey my respectful greetings to all the Brahmanas and the chief priest of the house of Dhritarashtra. I bow respectfully to teacher Drona … I hold the feet of our preceptor Kripa … (and) the chief of the Kurus, the great Bhishma. I bow respectfully to the old king (Dhritarashtra). I greet and ask after the health of his son Duryodhana and his younger brother ... Also greet all the young Kuru warriors who are our brothers, sons and grandsons … Greet above all him, who is to us like father and mother, the wise Vidura (born of a slave woman) ... I bow to the elderly ladies who are known as our mothers. To those who are our wives you say this, “I hope they are well-protected”… Our daughters-in- law born of good families and mothers of children greet on my behalf. Embrace for me those who are our daughters … The beautiful, fragrant, well-dressed courtesans of ours you should also greet. Greet the slave women and their children, greet the aged, the maimed (and) the helpless … Try and identify the criteria used to make this list – in terms of age, gender, kinship ties. Are there any other criteria? For each category, explain why they are placed in a particular position in the list. KINSHIP, CASTE AND C LASS 81

Write a short essay (about 500 words) on the following:

6. This is what a famous historian of Indian literature, Maurice Winternitz, wrote about the Mahabharata: “just because the Mahabharata represents more of an entire literature … and contains so much and so many kinds of things, … (it) gives(s) us an insight into the most profound depths of the soul of the Indian folk.” Discuss. 7. Discuss whether the Mahabharata could have been the work of a single author. 8. How important were gender differences in early societies? Give reasons for your answer. If you would like to know more, read: 9. Discuss the evidence that suggests that Uma Chakravarti. 2006. Brahmanical prescriptions about kinship and Everyday Lives, Everyday marriage were not universally followed. Histories. Tulika, New Delhi.

Irawati Karve. 1968. Map work Kinship Organisation in India. Asia Publishing House, Bombay. 10. Compare the map in this chapter with Map 1 in Chapter 2. List the mahajanapadas and cities R.S. Sharma. 1983. located near the Kuru-Panchala lands. Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India. Munshiram Manoharlal, Project (any one) New Delhi.

11. Find out about retellings of the Mahabharata in V.S. Sukthankar. 1957. other languages. Discuss how they handle any On the Meaning of the two of the episodes of the text described in this Mahabharata. Asiatic Society of chapter, explaining any similarities or differences Bombay, Bombay. that you notice. Romila Thapar. 2000. 12. Imagine that you are an author and rewrite the Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early story of Ekalavya from a perspective of your Indian Histor y.Oxford University choice. Press, New Delhi.

For more information, you could visit: http://bombay.indology.info/ mahabharata/statement.html  Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings THEME FOUR Culturul tu ral Developmentse ts (ccc. 6006 0 BCE - 6000 CCECCE)

In this chapter we shall go on a long journey across a thousand years to read about philosophers and their attempts to understand the world they inhabited. We will also see how their ideas were compiled as oral and written texts as well as expressed in architecture and sculpture. These are indicative of the enduring influence these thinkers had on people. While we will be focusing on Buddhism, it is important to remember that this tradition did not develop in isolation – there were several other traditions, each engaged in debates and dialogues with the others. The sources that historians use to reconstruct this exciting world of ideas and beliefs include Buddhist, Jaina Fig. 4.1 and Brahmanical texts, as well as a large and impressive A sculpture from Sanchi body of material remains including monuments and inscriptions. Among the best preserved monuments of the time is the stupa at Sanchi which is a major focus in this chapter.

Fig. 4.2 1. A Glimpse of Sanchi Shahjehan Begum

Sanchi in the nineteenth century The most wonderful ancient buildings in the state of Bhopal are at Sanchi Kanakhera, a small village under the brow of a hill some 20 miles north-east of Bhopal which we visited yesterday. We inspected the stone sculptures and statues of the Buddha and an ancient gateway … The ruins appear to be the object of great interest to European gentlemen. Major Alexander Cunningham … stayed several weeks in this neighbourhood and examined these ruins most carefully. He took drawings of the place, deciphered the inscription, and bored shafts down these domes. The results of his investigations were described by him in an English work …

FROM SHAHJEHAN BEGUM, NAWAB OF BHOPAL (ruled 1868-1901), Taj- ul Iqbal Tarikh Bhopal (A Histor y of Bhopal) , translated by H.D. Barstow, 1876. THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 83

Nineteenth-century Europeans were very interested in the stupa at Sanchi. In fact, the French sought Shahjehan Begum’s permission to take away the eastern gateway, which was the best preserved, to be displayed in a museum in France. For a while some Englishmen also wanted to do the same, but fortunately both the French and the English were satisfied with carefully prepared plaster-cast copies and the original remained at the site, part of the Bhopal state. The rulers of Bhopal, Shahjehan Begum and her successor Sultan Jehan Begum, provided money for the preservation of the ancient site. No wonder then that John Marshall dedicated his important volumes on Sanchi to Sultan Jehan. She funded the museum that was built there as well as the guesthouse where Fig. 4.3 he lived and wrote the volumes. She also funded The Great Stupa at Sanchi the publication of the volumes. So if the stupa If you travel from Delhi to Bhopal complex has survived, it is in no small measure by train, you will see the majestic due to wise decisions, and to good luck in escaping stupa complex on top of a hill, the eyes of railway contractors, builders, and those crowning it as it were. If you looking for finds to carry away to the museums of request the guard he will stop the train at the little station of Sanchi Europe. One of the most important Buddhist for two minutes – enough time for centres, the discovery of Sanchi has vastly you to get down. As you climb up transformed our understanding of early Buddhism. the hill you can see the complex of Today it stands testimony to the successful structures: a large mound and restoration and preservation of a key archaeological other monuments including a site by the Archaeological Survey of India. temple built in the fifth century. 84 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

But what is the significance of this monument? ^ Discuss... Why was the mound built and what did it contain? Compare what Shahjehan Why is there a stone railing around it? Who built Begum described with what the complex or paid for its construction? When was you see in Fig. 3. What it “discovered”? There is a fascinating story that we similarities and differences do can uncover at Sanchi for which we must combine you notice? information from texts, sculpture, architecture and inscriptions. Let us begin by exploring the background of the early Buddhist tradition. 2. The Background: Sacrifices and Debates Source 1 The mid-first millennium BCE is often regarded as a turning point in world history: it saw the emergence A prayer to Agni of thinkers such as Zarathustra in Iran, Kong Zi in China, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Greece, and Here are two verses from the Mahavira and Gautama Buddha, among many Rigveda invoking Agni, the god others, in India. They tried to understand the of fire, often identified with the sacrificial fire, into which mysteries of existence and the relationship between offerings were made so as to human beings and the cosmic order. This was also reach the other deities: the time when new kingdoms and cities were developing and social and economic life was changing Bring, O strong one, this in a variety of ways in the Ganga valley (Chapters 2 sacrifice of ours to the gods, and 3). These thinkers attempted to understand O wise one, as a liberal giver. these developments as well. Bestow on us, O priest, abundant food. Agni, obtain, 2.1 The sacrificial tradition by sacrificing, mighty wealth There were several pre-existing traditions of thought, for us. religious belief and practice, including the early Vedic tradition, known from the Rigveda, compiled between Procure, O Agni, for ever c.1500 and 1000 BCE. The Rigveda consists of hymns to him who prays to you (the in praise of a variety of deities, especially Agni, Indra gift of) nourishment, the and Soma. Many of these hymns were chanted when wonderful cow. May a son be sacrifices were performed, where people prayed for ours, offspring that continues our line … cattle, sons, good health, long life, etc. At first, sacrifices were performed collectively. Verses such as these were Later (c. 1000 BCE-500 BCE onwards) some were composed in a special kind of performed by the heads of households for the well- Sanskrit, known as Vedic being of the domestic unit. More elaborate sacrifices, Sanskrit. They were taught such as the rajasuya and ashvamedha, were orally to men belonging to performed by chiefs and kings who depended on priestly families. Brahmana priests to conduct the ritual.

^ 2.2 New questions List the objectives of Many ideas found in the Upanishads (c. sixth century the sacrifice. BCE onwards) show that people were curious about the meaning of life, the possibility of life after death, THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 85 and rebirth. Was rebirth due to past actions? Such issues were hotly debated. Thinkers were concerned with understanding and expressing the nature of the ultimate reality. And others, outside the Vedic tradition, asked whether or not there even was a single ultimate reality. People also began speculating on the significance of the sacrificial tradition. 2.3 Debates and discussions We get a glimpse of lively discussions and debates from Buddhist texts, which mention as many as 64 sects or schools of thought. Teachers travelled from place to place, trying to convince one another as well as laypersons, about the validity of their philosophy or the way they understood the world. Debates took place in the kutagarashala – literally, a hut with a pointed roof – or in groves where travelling mendicants halted. If a philosopher succeeded in convincing one of his rivals, the followers of the latter also became his disciples. So support for any particular sect could grow and shrink over time. Many of these teachers, including Mahavira and the Buddha, questioned the authority of the Vedas. They also emphasised individual agency – suggesting that men and women could strive to attain liberation from the trials and tribulations of worldly existence. This was in marked contrast to the Brahmanical position, wherein, as we have seen, an individual’s existence was thought to be determined by his or her birth in a specific caste or gender.

Source 2 Verses from the Upanishads

Here are two verses from the Chhandogya Upanishad, a text composed in Sanskrit c. sixth century BCE:

The nature of the self This self of mine within the heart, is smaller than paddy or barley or mustard or millet or the kernel of a seed of millet. This self of mine within the heart is greater than the earth, greater than the intermediate space, greater than heaven, greater than these worlds.

The true sacrifice This one (the wind) that blows, this is surely a sacrifice … While moving, it sanctifies all this; therefore it is indeed a sacrifice. 86 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

How Buddhist texts were prepared and preserved The Buddha (and other teachers) taught orally – through discussion and debate. Men and women (perhaps children as well) attended these discourses and discussed what they heard. None of the Buddha’s speeches were written down during his lifetime. After his death (c. fifth-fourth century BCE) his teachings were compiled by his disciples at a council of “elders” or senior monks at Vesali (Pali for Vaishali in present-day Bihar). These compilations were known as Tipitaka – literally, three baskets to hold different types of texts. They were first transmitted orally and then written and classified according to length as well as subject matter. The Vinaya Pitaka included rules and regulations for those who joined the sangha or monastic order; the Buddha’s teachings were included in the Sutta Pitaka ; and the Abhidhamma Pitaka dealt with philosophical matters. Each pitaka comprised a number of individual texts. Later, commentaries were written on these texts by Buddhist scholars. As Buddhism travelled to new regions such as Sri Lanka, other texts such as the Dipavamsa (literally, the chronicle of the island) and Mahavamsa (the great chronicle) were written, containing regional histories of Buddhism. Many of these works contained biographies of the Buddha. Some of the oldest texts are in Pali, while later compositions are in Sanskrit. When Buddhism spread to East Asia, pilgrims such as Fa Xian and Xuan Zang travelled all the way from China to India in search of texts. These they took back to their own country, where they were translated by scholars. Indian Buddhist teachers also travelled to faraway places, carrying texts to disseminate the teachings of the Buddha. Buddhist texts were preserved in manuscripts for several centuries in monasteries in different parts of Asia. Modern translations have been prepared from Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan texts.

Fig. 4.4 A Buddhist manuscript in Sanskrit, c. twelfth century THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 87

Source 3 Fatalists and materialists?

Here is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka , describing a conversation between king Ajatasattu, the ruler of Magadha, and the Buddha: On one occasion King Ajatasattu visited the Buddha and described what another teacher, named Makkhali Gosala, had told him: “Though the wise should hope, by this virtue … by this penance I will gain karma … and the fool should by the same means hope to gradually rid himself of his karma, neither of them can do it. Pleasure and pain, measured out as it were, cannot be altered in the course of samsara (transmigration). It can neither be lessened or increased … just as a ball of string will when thrown unwind to its full length, so fool and wise alike will take their course and make an end of sorrow.” And this is what a philosopher named Ajita Kesakambalin taught: “There is no such thing, O king, as alms or sacrifice, or offerings … there is no such thing as this world or the next … A human being is made up of the four elements. When he dies the earthy in him returns to the earth, the fluid to water, the heat to fire, the windy to air, and his senses pass into space … The talk of gifts is a doctrine of fools, an empty lie … fools and wise alike are cut off and perish. They do not survive after death.” The first teacher belonged to the tradition of the Ajivikas. They have often been described as fatalists: those who believe that everything is predetermined. The second teacher belonged to the tradition of the Lokayatas, usually described as materialists. Texts from these traditions have not survived, so we know about them only from the works of other traditions.

^ Discuss... ^Do you think it is appropriate to describe What are the problems in these men as fatalists or materialists? reconstructing histories of ideas and beliefs when texts are not available or have not survived? 88 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

3.Beyond Worldly Pleasures The Message of Mahavira The basic philosophy of the Jainas was already in existence in north India before the birth of Vardhamana, who came to be known as Mahavira, in the sixth century BCE. According to Jaina tradition, Mahavira was preceded by 23 other teachers or tirthankaras – literally, those who guide men and women across the river of existence. The most important idea in Jainism is that the entire world is animated: even stones, rocks and water have life. Non-injury to living beings, especially to humans, animals, plants and insects, is central to Jaina philosophy. In fact the principle of ahimsa, emphasised within Jainism, has left its mark on Indian thinking as a whole. According to Jaina teachings, the cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped through karma. Asceticism and penance are required to free oneself from the cycle of karma. This can be achieved only by renouncing the world; therefore, Fig. 4.5 monastic existence is a necessary condition of An image of a tirthankara from salvation. Jaina monks and nuns took five vows: to Mathura, c. third century CE abstain from killing, stealing and lying; to observe celibacy; and to abstain from possessing property. Source 4 The world beyond the palace

Just as the Buddha’s teachings were compiled by his followers, the teachings of Mahavira were also recorded by his disciples. These were often in the form of stories, which could appeal to ordinary people. Here is one example, from a Prakrit text known as the Uttaradhyayana Sutta, describing how a queen named Kamalavati tried to persuade her husband to renounce the world: If the whole world and all its treasures were yours, you would not be satisfied, nor would all this be able to save you. When you die, O king and leave all things behind, dhamma alone, and nothing else, will save you. As a bird dislikes the cage, so do I dislike (the world). I shall live as a nun without offspring, without desire, without the love of gain, and without hatred … Those who have enjoyed pleasures and renounced them, move about like the wind, and go wherever they please, unchecked like birds in their flight … Leave your large kingdom … abandon what pleases the senses, be without attachment and property, then practise severe penance, being firm of energy …

^Which of the arguments advanced by the queen do you find most convincing? THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 89

3.1 The spread of Jainism Gradually, Jainism spread to many parts of India. Like ^ Discuss... the Buddhists, Jaina scholars produced a wealth of Is ahimsa relevant in the literature in a variety of languages – Prakrit, Sanskrit twenty-first century? and Tamil. For centuries, manuscripts of these texts were carefully preserved in libraries attached to temples. Some of the earliest stone sculptures associated with religious traditions were produced by devotees of the Jaina tirthankaras, and have been recovered from several sites throughout the subcontinent.

Fig. 4.6 A page from a fourteenth-century 4.The Buddha and the Quest Jaina manuscript

for Enlightenment ^Can you identify the script? One of the most influential teachers of the time was the Buddha. Over the centuries, his message spread across the subcontinent and beyond – through Central Asia to China, Korea and Japan, and through Sri Lanka, across the seas to Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia. How do we know about the Buddha’s teachings? These have been reconstructed by carefully editing, Hagiography is a biography of translating and analysing the Buddhist texts a saint or religious leader. mentioned earlier. Historians have also tried to Hagiographies often praise the reconstruct details of his life from hagiographies. saint’s achievements, and may Many of these were written down at least a century not always be literally accurate. after the time of the Buddha, in an attempt to They are important because preserve memories of the great teacher. they tell us about the beliefs of According to these traditions, Siddhartha, as the the followers of that particular Buddha was named at birth, was the son of a chief tradition. 90 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

of the Sakya clan. He had a sheltered upbringing within the palace, insulated from the harsh realities of life. One day he persuaded his charioteer to take him into the city. His first journey into the world outside was traumatic. He was deeply anguished when he saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse. He realised in that moment that the decay and destruction of the human body was inevitable. He also saw a homeless mendicant, who, it seemed to him, had come to terms with old age, disease and death, and found peace. Siddhartha decided that he too would adopt the same path. Soon after, he left the palace and set out in search of his own truth. Siddhartha explored several paths including bodily mortification which led him to a situation of near Fig. 4.7 death. Abandoning these extreme methods, he A sculpture (c. 200 CE) from meditated for several days and finally attained Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), enlightenment. After this he came to be known as depicting the departure of the Buddha from his palace the Buddha or the Enlightened One. For the rest of his life, he taught dhamma or the path of righteous living.

^ Discuss... If you did not know about the life of the Buddha, would you be able to tell what the sculpture depicts? THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 91

5. The Teachings of the Buddha The Buddha’s teachings have been reconstructed from stories, found mainly in the Sutta Pitaka. Although some stories describe his miraculous powers, others suggest that the Buddha tried to convince people through reason and persuasion rather than through displays of supernatural power. For instance, when a grief-stricken woman whose child had died came to the Buddha, he gently convinced her about the inevitability of death rather than bring her son back to life. These stories were narrated in the language spoken by ordinary people so that these could be easily understood. According to Buddhist philosophy, the world is transient (anicca) and constantly changing; it is also soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it. Within this transient world, sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human existence. It is by following the path of moderation between severe penance and self-indulgence that human beings can rise above these worldly troubles. In the earliest forms of Buddhism, whether or not god existed was irrelevant.

Source 5 Buddhism in practice

This is an excerpt from the Sutta Pitaka , and contains the advice given by the Buddha to a wealthy householder named Sigala: In five ways should a master look after his servants and employees … by assigning them work according to their strength, by supplying them with food and wages, by tending them in sickness; by sharing delicacies with them and by granting leave at times … In five ways should the clansmen look after the needs of samanas (those who have renounced the world) and Brahmanas: by affection in act and speech and mind, by keeping open house to them and supplying their worldly needs. There are similar instructions to Sigala about how to behave with his parents, teacher and wife.

^Suggest what the instructions regarding parents, teacher and wife may have been. 92 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

The Buddha regarded the social world as the ^ Discuss... creation of humans rather than of divine origin. Compare the Buddha’s advice Therefore, he advised kings and gahapatis (see also to Sigala with Asoka’s advice Chapter 2) to be humane and ethical. Individual effort to his subjects (Chapter 2). was expected to transform social relations. Do you notice any similarities The Buddha emphasised individual agency and and differences? righteous action as the means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation and nibbana, literally the extinguishing of the ego and desire – and thus end the cycle of suffering for those who renounced the world. According to Buddhist tradition, his last words to his followers were: “Be lamps unto yourselves as all of you must work out your own liberation.” 6. Followers of the Buddha Soon there grew a body of disciples of the Buddha and he founded a sangha, an organisation of monks who too became teachers of dhamma. These monks lived simply, possessing only the essential requisites for survival, such as a bowl to receive food once a day from the laity. As they lived on alms, they were known as bhikkhus. Initially, only men were allowed into the sangha, but later women also came to be admitted. According to Buddhist texts, this was made possible through the mediation of Ananda, one of the Buddha’s dearest disciples, who persuaded him to allow women into the sangha. The Buddha’s foster mother, Mahapajapati Gotami was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni. Many women who entered the sangha became teachers of dhamma and went on to become theris, or respected women who had attained liberation. The Buddha’s followers came from many social groups. They included kings, wealthy men and gahapatis, and also humbler folk: workers, slaves and craftspeople. Once within the sangha, all were regarded as equal, having shed their earlier social identities on becoming bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. The internal functioning of the sangha was based on the traditions of ganas and sanghas, where consensus was arrived at through discussions. If that failed, decisions were taken by a vote on the subject. THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 93

Source 6 The Therigatha

Fig. 4.8 This unique Buddhist text, part of the Sutta Pitaka , is a A woman water-carrier, Mathura, collection of verses composed by bhikkhunis . It provides c. third century CE an insight into women’s social and spiritual experiences. Punna, a dasi or slave woman, went to the river each morning to fetch water for her master’s household. There she would daily see a Brahmana performing bathing rituals. One morning she spoke to him. The following are verses composed by Punna, recording her conversation with the Brahmana: I am a water carrier: Even in the cold I have always gone down to the water frightened of punishment Or the angry words of high class women. So what are you afraid of Brahmana, That makes you go down to the water (Though) your limbs shake with the bitter cold?

The Brahmana replied: I am doing good to prevent evil; anyone young or old who has done something bad is freed by washing in water.

Punna said: Whoever told you You are freed from evil by washing in the water?… In that case all the frogs and turtles Would go to heaven, and so would the water snakes and crocodiles! (Instead) Don’t do that thing, the fear of which leads you to the water. Stop now Brahmana! Save your skin from the cold …

^Which of the teachings of the Buddha are evident in this composition? 94 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Source 7 Rules for monks and nuns

These are some of the rules laid down in the Vinaya Pitaka: When a new felt (blanket/rug) has been made by a bhikkhu , it is to be kept for (at least) six years. If after less than six years he should have another new felt (blanket/rug) made, regardless of whether or not he has disposed of the first, then – unless he has been authorised by the bhikkhus – it is to be forfeited and confessed. In case a bhikkhu arriving at a family residence is presented with cakes or cooked grain-meal, he may accept two or three bowlfuls if he so desires. If he should accept more than that, it is to be confessed. Having accepted the two or three bowlfuls and having taken them from there, he is to share them among the bhikkhus . This is the proper course here. Should any bhikkhu , having set out bedding in a lodging belonging to the sangha – or having had it set out – and then on departing neither put it away nor have it put away, or should he go without taking leave, it is to be confessed.

^Can you explain why these rules were framed?

Buddhism grew rapidly both during the lifetime of the Buddha and after his death, as it appealed to many people dissatisfied with existing religious practices and confused by the rapid social changes taking place around them. The importance attached to conduct and values rather than claims of superiority based on birth, the emphasis placed on metta (fellow feeling) and karuna (compassion), especially for those who were younger and weaker than oneself, were ideas that drew men and women to Buddhist teachings.

^ Discuss... Why do you think a dasi like Punna wanted to join the sangha? THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 95

7. Stupas We have seen that Buddhist ideas and practices emerged out of a process of dialogue with other traditions – including those of the Brahmanas, Jainas and several others, not all of whose ideas and practices were preserved in texts. Some of these interactions can be seen in the ways in which sacred places came to be identified. From earliest times, people tended to regard Chaitya may also have been certain places as sacred. These included sites derived from the word chita, with special trees or unique rocks, or sites of awe- meaning a funeral pyre, and by inspiring natural beauty. These sites, with small extension a funerary mound. shrines attached to them, were sometimes described as chaityas. Buddhist literature mentions several chaityas. It also describes places associated with the

Map 1 Major Buddhist sites

Ganga

Indus Yamuna Lumbini Shravasti Kusinagara

Sarnath Barabar Bodh Bharhut Gaya

Narmada Sanchi

Mahanadi Ajanta Nasik Godavari Junnar Karle ARABIAN Nagarjunakonda SEA Krishna Amaravati BAY OF BENGAL

Krishna

Sketch map not to scale 96 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Buddha’s life – where he was born (Lumbini), where he attained enlightenment (Bodh Gaya), where he gave his first sermon (Sarnath) and where he attained nibbana (Kusinagara). Gradually, each of these places came to be regarded as sacred. We know that about 200 years after the time of the Buddha, Asoka erected a pillar at Lumbini to mark the fact that he had visited the place. Source 8 7.1 Why were stupas built Why were stupas built There were other places too that were regarded as sacred. This was because relics of the Buddha such This is an excerpt from the as his bodily remains or objects used by him were Mahaparinibbana Sutta , part of buried there. These were mounds known as stupas. the Sutta Pitaka: The tradition of erecting stupas may have been pre-Buddhist, but they came to be associated with As the Buddha lay dying, Buddhism. Since they contained relics regarded as Ananda asked him: sacred, the entire stupa came to be venerated as an “What are we to do Lord, emblem of both the Buddha and Buddhism. with the remains of the According to a Buddhist text known as the Tathagata (another name for Ashokavadana, Asoka distributed portions of the the Buddha)?” Buddha’s relics to every important town and ordered The Buddha replied: the construction of stupas over them. By the second “Hinder not yourselves century BCE a number of stupas, including those at Ananda by honouring the Bharhut, Sanchi and Sarnath (Map 1), had been remains of the Tathagata. Be built. zealous, be intent on your 7.2 How were stupas built own good.” Inscriptions found on the railings and pillars of But when pressed further, stupas record donations made for building and the Buddha said: decorating them. Some donations were made by kings such as the Satavahanas; others were made by “At the four crossroads guilds, such as that of the ivory workers who they should erect a thupa financed part of one of the gateways at Sanchi. (Pali for stupa) to the Hundreds of donations were made by women and Tathagata. And whosoever men who mention their names, sometimes adding shall there place garlands or the name of the place from where they came, as perfume … or make a salutation there, or become well as their occupations and names of their in its presence calm of heart, relatives. Bhikkhus and bhikkhunis also contributed that shall long be to them for towards building these monuments. a profit and joy.” 7.3 The structure of the stupa The stupa (a Sanskrit word meaning a heap) ^Look at Fig. 4.15 and see originated as a simple semi-circular mound of earth, whether you can identify later called anda. Gradually, it evolved into a more some of these practices. complex structure, balancing round and square shapes. Above the anda was the harmika, a balcony- like structure that represented the abode of the gods. THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 97

Fig. 4.9 A votive inscription from Sanchi Hundreds of similar inscriptions have also been found at Bharhut and Amaravati.

Arising from the harmika was a mast called the yashti, often surmounted by a chhatri or umbrella. Around ^ Discuss... the mound was a railing, separating the sacred space What are the similarities and from the secular world. differences between the plan The early stupas at Sanchi and Bharhut were plain of the Great Stupa, Sanchi except for the stone railings, which resembled a (Fig. 4.10a) and the bamboo or wooden fence, and the gateways, which photograph (Fig. 4.3)? were richly carved and installed at the four cardinal points. Worshippers entered through the eastern gateway and walked around the mound in a clockwise direction keeping the mound on the right, imitating the sun’s course through the sky. Later, the mound of the stupas came to be elaborately carved with niches and sculptures as at Amaravati, and Shah- ^What are the features of ji-ki-Dheri in Peshawar (Pakistan). the building that are clearest in the plan? What are the features that are best seen in the elevation?

Fig. 10b An elevation of the Great Stupa An elevation provides a vertical perspective. Fig. 4.10a Plan of the Great Stupa at Sanchi A plan provides a horizontal perspective of a building. 98 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

8. “Discovering” Stupas The Fate of Amaravati and Sanchi Each stupa has a history of its own – as we have just seen, some of these are histories of how they were built. But there are histories of discoveries as well, and let us now turn to some of these. In 1796, a local raja who wanted to build a temple stumbled upon the ruins of the stupa at Amaravati. He decided to use the stone, and thought there might be some treasure buried in what seemed to be a hill. Some years later, a British official named Colin Mackenzie (see also Chapter 7) visited the site. Although he found several pieces of sculpture and Fig. 4.11 made detailed drawings of them, these reports were The eastern gateway, Sanchi never published. Notice the vibrant sculpture. In 1854, Walter Elliot, the commissioner of Guntur (Andhra Pradesh), visited Amaravati and collected several sculpture panels and took them away to Madras. (These came to be called the Elliot marbles after him.) He also discovered the remains of the western gateway and came to the conclusion that the structure at Amaravati was one of the largest and most magnificent Buddhist stupas ever built. By the 1850s, some of the slabs from Amaravati had begun to be taken to different places: to the Asiatic Society of Bengal at Calcutta, to the India Office in Madras and some even to London. It was not unusual to find these sculptures adorning the gardens of British administrators. In fact, any new official in the area continued to remove sculptures from the site on the grounds that earlier officials had done the same. One of the few men who had a different point of view was an archaeologist named H.H. Cole. He wrote: “It seems to me a suicidal and indefensible policy to allow the country to be looted of original works of ancient art.” He believed that museums should have plaster-cast facsimiles of sculpture, whereas the originals should remain THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 99 where they had been found. Unfortunately, Cole did not succeed in convincing the authorities about ^ Discuss... Amaravati, although his plea for in situ preservation Read Section 1 again. was adopted in the case of Sanchi. Give your reasons why Why did Sanchi survive while Amaravati did not? Sanchi survived. Perhaps Amaravati was discovered before scholars understood the value of the finds and realised how critical it was to preserve things where they had been found instead of removing them from the site. In situ means on the spot. When Sanchi was “discovered” in 1818, three of its four gateways were still standing, the fourth was lying on the spot where it had fallen and the mound was in good condition. Even so, it was suggested that the gateway be taken to either Paris or London; Fig. 4.12 finally a number of factors helped to keep Sanchi as A section of the gateway it was, and so it stands, whereas the mahachaitya Do you think the sculptors at at Amaravati is now just an insignificant little Sanchi wanted to depict a scroll mound, totally denuded of its former glory. being unfurled? 9. Sculpture We have just seen how sculptures were removed from stupas and transported all the way to Europe. This happened partly because those who saw them considered them to be beautiful and valuable, and wanted to keep them for themselves. Let us look at some of these more closely. 9.1 Stories in stone You may have seen wandering storytellers carrying scrolls (charanachitras) of cloth or paper with pictures on them and pointing to the pictures as they tell the story. Look at Figure 4.13. At first sight the sculpture seems to depict a rural scene, with thatched huts and trees. However, art historians who have carefully studied the sculpture at Sanchi identify it as a scene from the Vessantara Jataka. This is a story about a generous prince who gave away everything to a Brahmana, and went to live in the forest with his wife and children. As you can see in this 100 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Fig. 4.13 case, historians often try to understand the meaning A part of the northern gateway of sculpture by comparing it with textual evidence. 9.2 Symbols of worship Art historians had to acquire familiarity with hagiographies of the Buddha in order to understand Buddhist sculpture. According to hagiographies, the Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating Fig. 4.14 (far right) under a tree. Many early sculptors did not show the Worshipping the Bodhi tree Buddha in human form – instead, they showed his Notice the tree, the seat, and the presence through symbols. The empty seat (Fig. 4.14) people around it. Fig. 4.15 (middle right) was meant to indicate the meditation of the Buddha, Worshipping the stupa and the stupa (Fig. 4.15) was meant to represent Fig. 4.16 (below) the mahaparinibbana. Another frequently used Setting in motion the wheel of symbol was the wheel (Fig. 4.16). This stood for the dharma first sermon of the Buddha, delivered at Sarnath. As is obvious, such sculptures cannot be understood literally – for instance, the tree does not stand THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 101

simply for a tree, but Fig. 4.17 symbolises an event The woman at the gate in the life of the Buddha. In order to understand such symbols, historians have to familiarise themselves with the traditions of those who produced these works of art. 9.3 Popular traditions Other sculptures at Sanchi were perhaps not directly inspired by Buddhist ideas. These include beautiful women swinging from the edge of the gateway, holding onto a tree (Fig.4.17). Initially, scholars were a bit intrigued about this image, which seemed to have little to do with renunciation. However, after examining other literary traditions, they realised that it could be a representation of what is described in Sanskrit as a shalabhanjika. According to popular belief, this was a woman whose touch caused trees to flower and bear fruit. It is likely that this was regarded as an auspicious symbol and integrated into the decoration of the stupa. The shalabhanjika motif suggests that many people who turned to Buddhism Fig. 4.18 An elephant at Sanchi enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and even non-Buddhist beliefs, practices and ideas. Some of the recurrent motifs in the sculpture at Sanchi were evidently derived from these traditions. There are other images as well. For instance, some of the finest depictions of animals are found there. These animals include elephants, horses, monkeys and cattle. While the Jatakas contain several animal stories that are depicted at Sanchi, it is likely that many of these animals were carved to create lively scenes to draw viewers. Also, animals were often used as symbols of human attributes. Elephants, for example, were depicted to signify strength and wisdom. 102 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Paintings from the past While stone sculpture survives the ravages of time and is therefore most easily available to the historian, other visual means of communication, including paintings, were also used in the past. Those that have survived best are on walls of caves, of which those from Ajanta (Maharashtra) are the most famous. The paintings at Ajanta depict stories from the Jatakas . These include depictions of courtly life, processions, men and women at work, and festivals. The artists used the technique of shading to give a three-dimensional quality. Some of the paintings are extremely naturalistic. Fig. 4.19 Gajalakshmi

Fig. 4.20 A painting from Ajanta Note the seated figure and those serving him.

Fig. 4.21 A serpent at Sanchi

Another motif is that of a woman surrounded by lotuses and elephants (Fig. 4.19), which seem to be sprinkling water on her as if performing an abhisheka or consecration. While some historians identify the figure as Maya, the mother of the Buddha, others identify her with a popular goddess, Gajalakshmi – literally, the goddess of good fortune – who is associated with elephants. It is also possible that THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 103 devotees who saw these sculptures identified the figure with both Maya and Gajalakshmi. ^ Discuss... Consider, too, the serpent, which is found on Bone, terracotta and metal several pillars (Fig. 4.21). This motif seems to be can also be used for derived from popular traditions, which were not sculpture. Find out more always recorded in texts. Interestingly, one of the about these. earliest modern art historians, James Fergusson, considered Sanchi to be a centre of tree and serpent worship. He was not familiar with Buddhist literature – most of which had not yet been translated – and arrived at this conclusion by studying only the images on their own. 10. New Religious Traditions Fig. 4.22 10.1 The development of Mahayana An image of the Buddha from Buddhism Mathura, c. first century CE By the first century CE, there is evidence of changes in Buddhist ideas and practices. Early Buddhist teachings had given great importance to self-effort in achieving nibbana. Besides, the Buddha was regarded as a human being who attained enlightenment and nibbana through his own efforts. However, gradually the idea of a saviour emerged. It was believed that he was the one who could ensure salvation. Simultaneously, the concept of the Bodhisatta also developed. Bodhisattas were perceived as deeply compassionate beings who accumulated merit through their efforts but used this not to attain nibbana and thereby abandon the world, but to help others. The worship of images of the Buddha and Bodhisattas became an important part of this tradition. This new way of thinking was called Mahayana – literally, the “great vehicle”. Those who adopted these beliefs described the older tradition as Hinayana or the “lesser vehicle”.

Hinayana or Theravada? Supporters of Mahayana regarded other Buddhists as followers of Hinayana. However, followers of the older tradition described themselves as theravadins , that is, those who followed the path of old, respected teachers, the theras . 104 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

10.2 The growth of Puranic Hinduism The notion of a saviour was not unique to Buddhism. We find similar ideas being developed in different ways within traditions that we now consider part of Hinduism. These included Vaishnavism (a form of Fig. 4.23 Hinduism within which Vishnu was worshipped as The Varaha or boar avatar of Vishnu rescuing the earth goddess, the principal deity) and Shaivism (a tradition within Aihole (Karnataka) c. sixth which Shiva was regarded as the chief god), in which century CE there was growing emphasis on the worship of a chosen deity. In such worship the bond between the ^What does the proportion devotee and the god was visualised as one of love of the figures suggest? and devotion, or bhakti. In the case of Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars or incarnations of the deity. Ten avatars were recognised within the tradition. These were forms that the deity was believed to have assumed in order to save the world whenever it was threatened by disorder and destruction because of the dominance of evil forces. It is likely that different avatars were popular in different parts of the country. Recognising each of these local deities as a form of Vishnu was one way of creating a more unified religious tradition. Some of these forms were represented in sculptures, as were other deities. Shiva, for instance, was symbolised by the linga, although he was occasionally represented in human form too. All such representations depicted a complex set of ideas about the deities and their attributes through symbols such as head- dresses, ornaments and ayudhas – weapons or auspicious objects the deities hold in their hands – how they are seated, etc. To understand the meanings of these sculptures historians THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 105

have to be familiar with the stories behind them – Fig. 4.24 many of which are contained in the Puranas, An image of Durga, Mahabalipuram compiled by Brahmanas (by about the middle of the (Tamil Nadu), c. sixth century CE first millennium CE). They contained much that had ^Identify the ways in which been composed and been in circulation for centuries, the artists have depicted including stories about gods and goddesses. movement. Find out more Generally, they were written in simple Sanskrit verse, about the story depicted in and were meant to be read aloud to everybody, this sculpture. including women and Shudras, who did not have access to Vedic learning. Much of what is contained in the Puranas evolved through interaction amongst people – priests, merchants, and ordinary men and women who travelled from place to place sharing ideas and beliefs. We know for instance that Vasudeva-Krishna was an important deity in the Mathura region. Over centuries, his worship spread to other parts of the country as well. 10.3 Building temples Around the time that the stupas at sites such as Sanchi were acquiring their present form, the first temples to house images of gods and goddesses were also being built. The early temple was a small square room, called the garbhagriha, with a single doorway for the worshipper to enter and offer worship to the image. Gradually, a tall structure, known as the 106 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Fig. 4.25 A temple in Deogarh shikhara, was built over the central shrine. Temple (Uttar Pradesh), c. fifth century CE walls were often decorated with sculpture. Later temples became far more elaborate – with assembly ^Identify the remains of the halls, huge walls and gateways, and arrangements shikhara and the entrance to for supplying water (see also Chapter 7). the garbhagriha. One of the unique features of early temples was that some of these were hollowed out of huge rocks, as artificial caves. The tradition of building artificial caves was an old one. Some of the earliest (Fig. 4.27)

Fig. 4.26 Vishnu reclining on the serpent Sheshnag, sculpture from Deogarh (Uttar Pradesh), c. fifth century CE THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 107 of these were constructed in the third century BCE on the orders of Asoka for renouncers who belonged to the Ajivika sect. This tradition evolved through various stages and culminated much later – in the eighth century – in the carving out of an entire temple, that of Kailashnatha (a name of Shiva). A copperplate inscription records the amazement of the chief sculptor after he completed the temple at Ellora: “Oh how did I make it!”

Fig. 4.27 Entrance to a cave at Barabar (Bihar), c. third century BCE

Fig. 4.28 Kailashnatha Temple, Ellora (Maharashtra). This entire structure is carved out of a single piece of rock.

11. Can We “See” Everything? By now you have had a glimpse of the rich visual traditions that existed in the past – expressed in brick and stone architecture, sculpture and painting. We have seen that much has been destroyed and lost over the centuries. Nevertheless, what remains and has been preserved conveys a sense of the vision of the artists, sculptors, masons and architects who created these spectacular works. Yet, do we always automatically understand what they wanted to convey? Can we ever know what these images meant to people who saw them and venerated them about 2,000 years ago? 11.1 Grappling with the unfamiliar It will be useful to recall that when nineteenth- century European scholars first saw some of the sculptures of gods and goddesses, they could not understand what these were about. Sometimes, they were horrified by what seemed to them grotesque 108 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

figures, with multiple arms and heads or with combinations of human and animal forms. These early scholars tried to make sense of what appeared to be strange images by comparing them with sculpture with which they were familiar, that from ancient Greece. While they often found early Indian sculpture inferior to the works of Greek artists, they were very excited when they discovered images of the Buddha and Bodhisattas that were evidently based on Greek models. These were, more often than not, found in the northwest, in cities such as Taxila and Peshawar, where Indo-Greek rulers had established kingdoms in the second century BCE. As these images were closest to the Greek statues these scholars were familiar with, they were considered to be the best examples of early Indian art. In effect, these scholars adopted a strategy we all frequently use – devising yardsticks derived from the familiar to make sense of the unfamiliar. 11.2 If text and image do not match … Consider another problem. We have seen that art historians often draw upon textual traditions to understand the meaning of sculptures. While this is certainly a far more efficacious strategy than comparing Indian images with Greek statues, it is not always easy to use. One of the most intriguing examples of this is a famous sculpture along a huge rock surface in Mahabalipuram (Tamil Nadu). Clearly, Fig. 4.30 is a vivid depiction of a story. But which story is it? Art historians have searched through the Puranas to identify it and are sharply divided in their opinions. Some feel that this depicts the descent of the river Ganga from heaven – the

Fig. 4.29 A Bodhisatta from Gandhara Note the clothes and the hairstyle. THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 109 natural cleft through the centre of the rock surface might represent the river. The story itself is narrated in the Puranas and the epics. Others feel that it represents a story from the Mahabharata – Arjuna doing penance on the river bank in order to acquire arms – pointing to the central figure of an ascetic.

Finally, remember that many rituals, religious beliefs and practices were not recorded in a permanent, visible form – as monuments, or sculpture, or even paintings. These included daily practices, as well as those associated with special occasions. Many communities and peoples may not have felt the need for keeping lasting records, even as they may have ^ Discuss... had vibrant traditions of religious activities and Describe any religious activity philosophical ideas. In fact, the spectacular you have seen. instances we have focused on in this chapter are Is it permanently recorded in just the tip of the iceberg. any form?

Fig. 4.30 A sculpture in Mahabalipuram 110 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Timeline 1 Major Religious Developments

c. 1500-1000 BCE Early Vedic traditions

c. 1000-500 BCE Later Vedic traditions

c. sixth century BCE Early Upanishads; Jainism, Buddhism

c. third century BCE First stupas c. second century Development of Mahayana Buddhism, Vaishnavism, BCE onwards Shaivism and goddess cults

c. third century CE Earliest temples

Timeline 2 Landmarks in the Discovery and Preservation of Early Monuments and Sculpture Nineteenth century 1814 Founding of the Indian Museum, Calcutta 1834 Publication of Essay on the Architecture of the Hindus, by Ram Raja; Cunningham explores the stupa at Sarnath 1835-1842 James Fergusson surveys major archaeological sites 1851 Establishment of the Government Museum, Madras 1854 Alexander Cunningham publishes Bhilsa Topes, one of the earliest works on Sanchi 1878 Rajendra Lala Mitra publishes Buddha Gaya: The Heritage of Sakya Muni

1880 H.H. Cole appointed Curator of Ancient Monuments 1888 Passing of the Treasure Trove Act, giving the government the right to acquire all objects of archaeological interest Twentieth century 1914 John Marshall and Alfred Foucher publish The Monuments of Sanchi

1923 John Marshall publishes the Conservation Manual 1955 Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru lays the foundation stone of the National Museum, New Delhi 1989 Sanchi declared a World Heritage Site THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 111

Answer in 100-150 words

1. Were the ideas of the Upanishadic thinkers different from those of the fatalists and materialists? Give reasons for your answer. 2. Summarise the central teachings of Jainism. 3. Discuss the role of the begums of Bhopal in preserving the stupa at Sanchi. 4. Read this short inscription and answer: In the year 33 of the maharaja Huvishka (a Kushana ruler), in the first month of the hot season on the eighth day, a Bodhisatta was set up at Madhuvanaka by the bhikkhuni Dhanavati, the sister’s daughter of the bhikkhuni Buddhamita, who knows the Tipitaka, the female pupil of the bhikkhu Bala, who knows the Tipitaka, together with her father and mother. (a) How did Dhanavati date her inscription? (b) Why do you think she installed an image of the Bodhisatta? (c) Who were the relatives she mentioned? (d) What Buddhist text did she know? (e) From whom did she learn this text? 5. Why do you think women and men joined the sangha? Fig. 4.31 A sculpture in Sanchi 112 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

Write a short essay (about 500 words) on the following:

6. To what extent does knowledge of Buddhist literature help in understanding the sculpture at Sanchi? 7. Figs. 4.32 and 4.33 are two scenes from Sanchi. Describe what you see in each of them, focusing on the architecture, plants and animals, and the activities. Identify which one shows a rural scene and which an urban scene, giving reasons for your answer. 8. Discuss the development in sculpture and architecture associated with the rise of Vaishnavism and Shaivism. 9. Discuss how and why stupas were built.

Fig. 4.33

Fig. 4.32 THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS 113

Map work

10. On an outline world map, mark the areas to which Buddhism spread. Trace the land and sea routes from the subcontinent to these areas. If you would like to know more, read: A.L. Basham. 1985. Project (any one) The Wonder that was India . Rupa, Calcutta. 11. Of the religious traditions discussed in this chapter, is there any that is practised in your N.N. Bhattacharyya. 1996. neighbourhood? What are the religious texts Indian Religious Historiography . used today, and how are they preserved and Munshiram Manoharlal, transmitted? Are images used in worship? If so, New Delhi. are these similar to or different from those described in this chapter? Describe the buildings M.K. Dhavalikar. 2003. used for religious activities today, comparing Monumental Legacy of Sanchi. them with early stupas and temples. Oxford University Press, New Delhi. 12. Collect at least five pictures of sculpture or painting, belonging to different periods and Paul Dundas. 1992. regions, on the religious traditions described in The Jains. this chapter. Remove their captions, and show Routledge, London. each one to two people, and ask them to describe what they see. Compare their descriptions and Gavin Flood. 2004. prepare a report on your findings. Introduction to Hinduism . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Richard F. Gombrich. 1988. Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.

Benjamin Rowland. 1967. The Art and Architecture of India: Buddhist/Hindu/Jain. Penguin Books, Harmondsworth.

For more information, you could visit: http://dsal.uchicago.edu/ images/aiis/ 114 

Credits for Illustrations

Theme 1 Fig.1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 1.11, 1.12, 1.13, 1.14, 1.15, 1.16, 1.20, 1.22, 1.23, 1.26, 1.28, 1.29, Fig 1.30 of exercises: Archaeological Survey of India and National Museum, New Delhi Fig. 1.7, 1.9, 1.10, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, 1.21, 1.24: Prof. Gregory L. Possehl Fig. 1.27: Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi

Theme 2 Fig. 2.1: American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurgaon Fig. 2.2, 2.6: Archaeological Survey of India Fig. 2.3, 2.5, 2.10: Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi Fig. 2.4, 2.7, 2.9, 2.12, 2.13: National Museum, New Delhi Fig. 2.8: Wikipedia

Theme 3 Fig. 3.1, 3.10: Archaeological Survey of India Fig. 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9: National Museum, New Delhi

Theme 4 Fig. 4.1, 4.5, 4.8, 4.9, 4.12, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15, 4.16, 4.17, 4.18, 4.19, 4.21, 4.22, 4.23, 4.24, 4.25, 4.26, 4.27, 4.29, 4.31, fig 4.32 and 33 in exercise: American Institute of Indian Studies, Gurgaon Fig. 4.2: Wikipedia Fig. 4.3, 4.11, 4.28, 4.30: Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, New Delhi Fig. 4.4, 4.6, 4.7, 4.20: National Museum, New Delhi

CONTENTS

PART II

THEME FIVE THROUGH THE EYES OF TRAVELLERS 115 Perceptions of Society (c. tenth to seventeenth century)

THEME SIX BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 140 Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts (c. eighth to eighteenth century)

THEME SEVEN AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 170 (c. fourteenth to sixteenth century)

THEME EIGHT PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 196 Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire (c. sixteenth-seventeenth centuries)

THEME NINE KINGS AND CHRONICLES 224 The Mughal Courts (c. sixteenth-seventeenth centuries)

PART III*

THEME TEN COLONIALISM AND THE COUNTRYSIDE Exploring Official Archives

THEME ELEVEN REBELS AND THE RAJ 1857 Revolt and Its Representations

* Part III will follow xii

THEME TWELVE COLONIAL CITIES Urbanisation, Planning and Architecture

THEME THIRTEEN MAHATMA GANDHI AND THE NATIONALIST MOVEMENT Civil Disobedience and Beyond

THEME FOURTEEN UNDERSTANDING PARTITION Politics, Memories, Experiences

THEME FIFTEEN FRAMING THE CONSTITUTION The Beginning of a New Era PART I (Pages 1-114)

THEME ONE BRICKS, BEADS AND BONES The Harappan Civilisation

THEME TWO KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNS Early States and Economies (c. 600 BCE -600 CE)

THEME THREE KINSHIP, CASTE AND CLASS Early Societies (c. 600 BCE - 600 CE)

THEME FOUR THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGS Cultural Developments (c. 600 BCE -600 CE) THEME Through the Eyes of Travellers Perceptionserce o oof f Society ci e t FIVE Perceptionserce o of Society ciet (((ccc. tentht h to o seventeenth e nt nt century) nt )

Women and men have travelled in search of work, to escape from natural disasters, as traders, merchants, soldiers, priests, pilgrims, or driven by a sense of adventure. Those who visit or come to stay in a new land invariably encounter a world that is different: in terms of the landscape or physical environment as well as customs, languages, beliefs and practices of people. Many of them try to adapt to these differences; others, somewhat exceptional, note them carefully in Fig. 5.1a accounts, generally recording what they find Paan leaves unusual or remarkable. Unfortunately, we have practically no accounts of travel left by women, though we know that they travelled. The accounts that survive are often varied in terms of their subject matter. Some deal with affairs of the court, while others are mainly focused on religious issues, or architectural features and monuments. For example, one of the most important descriptions of the city of Vijayanagara (Chapter 7) in the fifteenth century comes from Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi, a diplomat who came visiting from Herat. In a few cases, travellers did not go to distant lands. For example, in the Mughal Empire (Chapters 8 and 9), administrators sometimes travelled within the empire and recorded their observations. Some of them were interested in looking at popular customs and the folklore and traditions of their own land. In this chapter we shall see how our knowledge of the past can be enriched through a consideration of descriptions of social life provided by travellers who visited the subcontinent, focusing on the accounts of three Fig. 5.1b men: Al-Biruni who came from Uzbekistan (eleventh A coconut century), Ibn Battuta who came from Morocco, in The coconut and the paan northwestern Africa (fourteenth century) and the were things that struck many Frenchman François Bernier (seventeenth century). travellers as unusual. 116 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Source 1 As these authors came from vastly different Al-Biruni’s objectives social and cultural environments, they were often more attentive to everyday activities and practices which were taken for granted by indigenous Al-Biruni described his work as: writers, for whom these were routine matters, not a help to those who want to worthy of being recorded. It is this difference in discuss religious questions perspective that makes the accounts of travellers with them (the Hindus), and interesting. Who did these travellers write for? As as a repertory of information to those who want to we will see, the answers vary from one instance associate with them. to the next.

Read the excerpt from 1. Al-Biruni and the Al-Biruni (Source 5) and discuss whether his work Kitab-ul-Hind met these objectives. 1.1 From Khwarizm to the Punjab Al-Biruni was born in 973, in Khwarizm in present- day Uzbekistan. Khwarizm was an important centre of learning, and Al-Biruni received the best education available at the time. He was well versed in several languages: Syriac, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew and Sanskrit. Although he did not know Greek, he was familiar with the works of Plato and other Greek philosophers, having read them in Arabic translations. In 1017, when Sultan Mahmud invaded Khwarizm, he took several scholars and poets back to his capital, Ghazni; Al-Biruni was one of them. He arrived in Ghazni as a hostage, but gradually developed a liking for the city, where he spent the rest of his life until his death at the age of 70. It was in Ghazni that Al-Biruni developed an interest in India. This was not unusual. Sanskrit works on astronomy, mathematics and medicine had Translating texts, been translated into Arabic from the eighth century sharing ideas onwards. When the Punjab became a part of the Al-Biruni’s expertise in several Ghaznavid empire, contacts with the local population languages allowed him to helped create an environment of mutual trust and compare languages and understanding. Al-Biruni spent years in the company translate texts. He translated of Brahmana priests and scholars, learning Sanskrit, several Sanskrit works, including and studying religious and philosophical texts. While Patanjali’s work on grammar, his itinerary is not clear, it is likely that he travelled into Arabic. For his Brahmana widely in the Punjab and parts of northern India. friends, he translated the Travel literature was already an accepted part of works of Euclid (a Greek Arabic literature by the time he wrote. This literature mathematician) into Sanskrit. dealt with lands as far apart as the Sahara desert in the west to the River Volga in the north. So, while THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 117 few people in India would have read Al-Biruni before Metrology is the science of 1500, many others outside India may have done so. measurement. 1.2 The Kitab-ul-Hind Al-Biruni’s Kitab-ul-Hind, written in Arabic, is simple and lucid. It is a voluminous text, divided into Hindu 80 chapters on subjects such as religion and The term “Hindu” was derived philosophy, festivals, astronomy, alchemy, manners from an Old Persian word, and customs, social life, weights and measures, used c. sixth-fifth centuries iconography, laws and metrology. BCE, to refer to the region east Generally (though not always), Al-Biruni adopted of the river Sindhu (Indus). a distinctive structure in each chapter, beginning The Arabs continued the with a question, following this up with a description Persian usage and called this based on Sanskritic traditions, and concluding region “al-Hind” and its with a comparison with other cultures. Some people “Hindi”. Later the present-day scholars have argued that this almost Turks referred to the people geometric structure, remarkable for its precision and east of the Indus as “Hindu”, predictability, owed much to his mathematical their land as “Hindustan”, and orientation. their language as “Hindavi”. Al-Biruni, who wrote in Arabic, probably intended None of these expressions his work for peoples living along the frontiers of the indicated the religious identity subcontinent. He was familiar with translations of the people. It was much and adaptations of Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit texts later that the term developed into Arabic – these ranged from fables to works on religious connotations. astronomy and medicine. However, he was also critical about the ways in which these texts were

written, and clearly wanted to improve on them. Discuss... If Al-Biruni lived in the twenty-first century, which are the areas of the world where he could have been easily understood, if he still knew the same languages?

Fig. 5.2 An illustration from a thirteenth- century Arabic manuscript showing the Athenian statesman and poet Solon, who lived in the sixth century BCE, addressing his students Notice the clothes they are shown in.

✁ Are these clothes Greek or Arabian? 118 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Source 2 2. Ibn Battuta’s Rihla The bird leaves its nest 2.1 An early globe-trotter Ibn Battuta’s book of travels, called Rihla, written in This is an excerpt from the Rihla: Arabic, provides extremely rich and interesting My departure from Tangier, details about the social and cultural life in the my birthplace, took place on subcontinent in the fourteenth century. This Thursday ... I set out alone, Moroccan traveller was born in Tangier into one of having neither fellow- the most respectable and educated families known traveller ... nor caravan for their expertise in Islamic religious law or shari‘a. whose party I might join, but True to the tradition of his family, Ibn Battuta swayed by an overmastering received literary and scholastic education when he impulse within me and a was quite young. desire long-cherished in my Unlike most other members of his class, Ibn bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. So I Battuta considered experience gained through travels braced my resolution to quit to be a more important source of knowledge than all my dear ones, female and books. He just loved travelling, and went to far-off male, and forsook my home places, exploring new worlds and peoples. Before he as birds forsake their nests ... set off for India in 1332-33, he had made pilgrimage My age at that time was trips to Mecca, and had already travelled extensively twenty-two years. in Syria, Iraq, Persia, Yemen, Oman and a few Ibn Battuta returned home in trading ports on the coast of East Africa. 1354, about 30 years after he Travelling overland through Central Asia, Ibn had set out. Battuta reached Sind in 1333. He had heard about Muhammad bin Tughlaq, the Sultan of Delhi, and lured by his reputation as a generous patron of arts and letters, set off for Delhi, passing through Fig. 5.3 Multan and Uch. The Sultan was impressed by Robbers attacking travellers, a his scholarship, and appointed him the qazi or judge sixteenth-century Mughal painting of Delhi. He remained in that position for several years, until he fell out of favour and was thrown

How can you distinguish the travellers from the robbers? into prison. Once the misunderstanding between him and the Sultan was cleared, he was restored to imperial service, and was ordered in 1342 to proceed to China as the Sultan’s envoy to the Mongol ruler. With the new assignment, Ibn Battuta proceeded to the Malabar coast through central India. From Malabar he went to the Maldives, where he stayed for eighteen months as the qazi, but eventually decided to proceed to Sri Lanka. He then went back once more to the Malabar coast and the Maldives, and before resuming his mission to China, visited Bengal and Assam as well. He took a ship to Sumatra, and from there another ship for the Chinese port town of THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 119

Zaytun (now known as Quanzhou). He travelled Fig. 5.4 extensively in China, going as far as Beijing, but did A boat carrying passengers, not stay for long, deciding to return home in 1347. a terracotta sculpture from a temple in Bengal His account is often compared with that of Marco (c. seventeenth-eighteenth centuries) Polo, who visited China (and also India) from his home base in Venice in the late thirteenth century. Why do you think some of Ibn Battuta meticulously recorded his observations the passengers are carrying about new cultures, peoples, beliefs, values, etc. arms? We need to bear in mind that this globe-trotter was travelling in the fourteenth century, when it was much more arduous and hazardous to travel than it is today. According to Ibn Battuta, it took forty days to travel from Multan to Delhi and about fifty days from Sind to Delhi. The distance from Daulatabad to Delhi was covered in forty days, while that from Gwalior to Delhi took ten days.

The lonely traveller Robbers were not the only hazard on long journeys: the traveller could feel homesick, or fall ill. Here is an excerpt from the Rihla: I was attacked by the fever, and I actually tied myself on the saddle with a turban- cloth in case I should fall off by reason of my weakness ... So at last we reached the town of Tunis, and the townsfolk came out to welcome the shaikh ... and ... the son of the qazi ... On all sides they came forward with greetings and questions to one another, but not a soul said a word of greeting to me, since there was none of them I knew. I felt so sad at heart on account of my loneliness that I could not restrain the tears that started to my eyes, and wept bitterly. But one of the pilgrims, realising the cause of my distress, came up to me with a greeting ... 120 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Map 1 Places visited by Tirmidh Ibn Battuta in Andkhoy Qunduz Afghanistan, Balkh Sind and Punjab Many of the Parwan place-names have been spelt as Kabul Ibn Battuta would have known them. Ghazna

Qandahar

Sutlej

Ajudahan Abuhar Multan Sarasati

Use the scale on the map to Uja Hansi Dehli calculate the distance in miles between Multan and Delhi.

Indus

0 100 200 300

ARABIAN SEA Lahari

Sketch map not to scale

Travelling was also more insecure: Ibn Battuta was attacked by bands of robbers several times. In fact he preferred travelling in a caravan along with companions, but this did not deter highway robbers. While travelling from Multan to Delhi, for instance, his caravan was attacked and many of his fellow travellers lost their lives; those travellers who survived, including Ibn Battuta, were severely wounded. 2.2 The “enjoyment of curiosities” As we have seen, Ibn Battuta was an inveterate traveller who spent several years travelling through north Africa, West Asia and parts of Central Asia (he may even have visited Russia), the Indian subcontinent and China, before returning to his native land, Morocco. When he returned, the local ruler issued instructions that his stories be recorded. THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 121

Source 3

Education and entertainment

This is what Ibn Juzayy, who was deputed to write what Ibn Battuta dictated, said in his introduction: A gracious direction was transmitted (by the ruler) that he (Ibn Battuta) should dictate an account of the cities which he had seen in his travel, and of the interesting events which had clung to his memory, and that he should speak of those whom he had met of the rulers of countries, of their distinguished men of learning, and their pious saints. Accordingly, he dictated upon these subjects a narrative which gave entertainment to the mind and delight to the ears and eyes, with a variety of curious particulars by the exposition of which he gave edification and of marvellous things, by referring to which he aroused interest.

In the footsteps of Ibn Battuta In the centuries between 1400 and 1800 visitors to India wrote a number of travelogues in Persian. At the same time, Indian visitors to Central Asia, Iran and the Ottoman empire also sometimes wrote about their experiences. These writers followed in the footsteps of Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta, and had sometimes read these earlier authors. Among the best known of these writers were Abdur Razzaq Samarqandi, who visited south India in the 1440s, Mahmud Wali Balkhi, who travelled very widely in the 1620s, and Shaikh Ali Hazin, who came to north India in the 1740s. Some of these authors were fascinated by India, and one of them – Mahmud Balkhi – even became a sort of sanyasi for a time. Others such as Hazin were disappointed and even disgusted with India, where they expected to receive a red carpet treatment. Most of them saw India as a land of wonders.

Fig. 5.5 An eighteenth-century painting depicting travellers gathered around a campfire

Discuss... Compare the objectives of Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta in writing their accounts. 122 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

3. François Bernier A Doctor with a Difference Once the Portuguese arrived in India in about 1500, a number of them wrote detailed accounts regarding Indian social customs and religious practices. A few of them, such as the Jesuit Roberto Nobili, even translated Indian texts into European languages. Among the best known of the Portuguese writers is Duarte Barbosa, who wrote a detailed account of trade and society in south India. Later, after 1600, we find growing numbers of Dutch, English and French travellers coming to India. One of the most famous was the French jeweller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who travelled to India at least six times. He was particularly fascinated with the trading conditions in India, and compared India to Iran and the Ottoman empire. Some of these travellers, like the Italian doctor Manucci, never returned to Europe, and settled down in India. François Bernier, a Frenchman, was a doctor, political philosopher and historian. Like many Fig. 5.6 others, he came to the Mughal Empire in search of A seventeenth-century painting opportunities. He was in India for twelve years, from depicting Bernier in European 1656 to 1668, and was closely associated with the clothes Mughal court, as a physician to Prince Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan, and later as an intellectual and scientist, with Danishmand Khan, an Armenian noble at the Mughal court. 3.1 Comparing “East” and “West” Bernier travelled to several parts of the country, and wrote accounts of what he saw, frequently comparing what he saw in India with the situation in Europe. He dedicated his major writing to Louis XIV, the king of France, and many of his other works were written in the form of letters to influential officials and ministers. In virtually every instance Bernier described what he saw in India as a bleak situation in comparison to developments in Europe. As we will see, this assessment was not always accurate. However, when his works were published, Bernier’s writings became extremely popular.

Fig. 5.7 A painting depicting Tavernier in Indian clothes THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 123

Source 4

Travelling with the Mughal army

Bernier often travelled with the army. This is an excerpt from his description of the army’s march to Kashmir: I am expected to keep two good Turkoman horses, and I also take with me a powerful Persian camel and driver, a groom for my horses, a cook and a servant to go before my horse with a flask of water in his hand, The creation and according to the custom of the country. I am also circulation of ideas provided with every useful article, such as a tent of moderate size, a carpet, a portable bed made of four about India very strong but light canes, a pillow, a mattress, round The writings of European leather table-cloths used at meals, some few napkins of travellers helped produce an dyed cloth, three small bags with culinary utensils which image of India for Europeans are all placed in a large bag, and this bag is again carried through the printing and in a very capacious and strong double sack or net made circulation of their books. of leather thongs. This double sack likewise contains Later, after 1750, when Indians the provisions, linen and wearing apparel, both of master and servants. I have taken care to lay in a stock like Shaikh Itisamuddin and of excellent rice for five or six days’ consumption, of Mirza Abu Talib visited Europe sweet biscuits flavoured with anise (a herb), of limes and confronted this image and sugar. Nor have I forgotten a linen bag with its that Europeans had of their small iron hook for the purpose of suspending and society, they tried to influence draining dahi or curds; nothing being considered so it by producing their own refreshing in this country as lemonade and dahi. version of matters.

✁ What are the things from Bernier’s list that you would take on a journey today?

Bernier’s works were published in France in 1670-71 and translated into English, Dutch, German and Italian within the next five years. Between 1670 and 1725 his account was reprinted eight times in French, and by 1684 it had been reprinted three Discuss... times in English. This was in marked contrast to There is a very rich travel the accounts in Arabic and Persian, which circulated literature in Indian as manuscripts and were generally not published languages. Find out about before 1800. travel writers in the language you use at home. Read one such account and describe the areas visited by the traveller, what s/he saw, and why s/he wrote the account. 124 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

4. Making Sense of an Alien World A language with an Al-Biruni and the Sanskritic enormous range Tradition Al-Biruni described Sanskrit as follows: 4.1 Overcoming barriers to understanding As we have seen, travellers often compared what If you want to conquer this they saw in the subcontinent with practices difficulty (i.e. to learn with which they were familiar. Each traveller Sanskrit), you will not find adopted distinct strategies to understand what they it easy, because the language is of an enormous observed. Al-Biruni, for instance, was aware of the range, both in words and problems inherent in the task he had set himself. inflections, something like He discussed several “barriers” that he felt the Arabic, calling one and obstructed understanding. The first amongst these the same thing by various was language. According to him, Sanskrit was so names, both original and different from Arabic and Persian that ideas and derivative, and using one concepts could not be easily translated from one and the same word for a language into another. variety of subjects, which, The second barrier he identified was the difference in order to be properly in religious beliefs and practices. The self-absorption understood, must be and consequent insularity of the local population distinguished from each according to him, constituted the third barrier. other by various qualifying What is interesting is that even though he was aware epithets. of these problems, Al-Biruni depended almost exclusively on the works of Brahmanas, often citing passages from the Vedas, the Puranas, the Bhagavad Gita, the works of Patanjali, the Manusmriti, etc., to provide an understanding of Indian society. 4.2 Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system Al-Biruni tried to explain the caste system by looking for parallels in other societies. He noted that in ancient Persia, four social categories were recognised: those of knights and princes; monks, fire-priests and lawyers; physicians, astronomers God knows best! and other scientists; and finally, peasants and Travellers did not always believe artisans. In other words, he attempted to suggest what they were told. When that social divisions were not unique to India. At faced with the story of a wooden the same time he pointed out that within Islam all idol that supposedly lasted for men were considered equal, differing only in their 216,432 years, Al-Biruni asks: observance of piety. How, then, could wood In spite of his acceptance of the Brahmanical have lasted such a length of description of the caste system, Al-Biruni disapproved time, and particularly in a of the notion of pollution. He remarked that place where the air and the everything which falls into a state of impurity strives soil are rather wet? God and succeeds in regaining its original condition of knows best! purity. The sun cleanses the air, and the salt in the sea prevents the water from becoming polluted. If it THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 125 were not so, insisted Al-Biruni, life on earth would have been impossible. The conception of social pollution, intrinsic to the caste system, was according to him, contrary to the laws of nature.

Source 5 The system of varnas

This is Al-Biruni’s account of the system of varnas: The highest caste are the Brahmana, of whom the books of the Hindus tell us that they were created from the head of Brahman. And as the Brahman is only another name for the force called nature, and the head is the highest part of the … body, the Brahmana are the choice part of the whole genus. Therefore the Hindus consider them as the very best of mankind.

The next caste are the Kshatriya, who were created, ✁ Compare what Al-Biruni as they say, from the shoulders and hands of Brahman. wrote with Source 6, Chapter 3. Their degree is not much below that of the Brahmana. Do you notice any similarities and differences? Do you think After them follow the Vaishya, who were created from the thigh of Brahman. Al-Biruni depended only on Sanskrit texts for his The Shudra, who were created from his feet . . . information and understanding Between the latter two classes there is no very of Indian society? great distance. Much, however, as these classes differ from each other, they live together in the same towns and villages, mixed together in the same houses and lodgings.

As we have seen, Al-Biruni’s description of the caste system was deeply influenced by his study of normative Sanskrit texts which laid down the rules governing the system from the point of view of the Brahmanas. However, in real life the system was not quite as rigid. For instance, the categories defined as antyaja (literally, born outside the system) were often expected to provide inexpensive labour to both peasants and zamindars (see also Chapter 8). In other words, while they were often subjected to social oppression, they were included within Discuss... economic networks. How important is knowledge of the language of the area for a traveller from a different region? 126 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

5. Ibn Battuta and the Excitement of the Unfamiliar By the time Ibn Battuta arrived in Delhi in the fourteenth century, the subcontinent was part of a global network of communication that stretched from China in the east to north-west Africa and Europe in the west. As we have seen, Ibn Battuta himself travelled extensively through these lands, visiting Source 6 sacred shrines, spending time with learned men and Nuts like a man’s head rulers, often officiating as qazi, and enjoying the cosmopolitan culture of urban centres where people The following is how Ibn Battuta who spoke Arabic, Persian, Turkish and other described the coconut: languages, shared ideas, information and anecdotes. These included stories about men noted for their These trees are among the piety, kings who could be both cruel and generous, most peculiar trees in kind and about the lives of ordinary men and women; and most astonishing in habit. They look exactly anything that was unfamiliar was particularly like date-palms, without highlighted in order to ensure that the listener or any difference between the reader was suitably impressed by accounts of them except that the one distant yet accessible worlds. produces nuts as its fruits 5.1 The coconut and the paan and the other produces dates. The nut of a coconut Some of the best examples of Ibn Battuta’s strategies tree resembles a man’s of representation are evident in the ways in which head, for in it are what look he described the coconut and the paan, two kinds of like two eyes and a mouth, plant produce that were completely unfamiliar to and the inside of it when it is his audience. green looks like the brain, and attached to it is a fibre which looks like hair. They Source 7 make from this cords with which they sew up ships The paan instead of (using) iron nails, and they (also) make from it Read Ibn Battuta’s description of the paan: cables for vessels. The betel is a tree which is cultivated in the same manner as the grape-vine; … The betel has no fruit

What are the and is grown only for the sake of its leaves … The comparisons that Ibn manner of its use is that before eating it one takes Battuta makes to give his areca nut; this is like a nutmeg but is broken up until it readers an idea about is reduced to small pellets, and one places these in his what coconuts looked mouth and chews them. Then he takes the leaves of like? Do you think these betel, puts a little chalk on them, and masticates them are appropriate? How along with the betel. does he convey a sense

that this fruit is unusual? Why do you think this attracted Ibn How accurate is his Battuta’s attention? Is there anything you description? would like to add to this description? THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 127

5.2 Ibn Battuta and Indian cities Ibn Battuta found cities in the subcontinent full of exciting opportunities for those who had the necessary drive, resources and skills. They were densely populated and prosperous, except for the occasional disruptions caused by wars and invasions. It appears from Ibn Battuta’s account that most cities had crowded streets and bright and colourful markets that were stacked with a wide

What were the architectural variety of goods. Ibn Battuta described Delhi as a features that Ibn Battuta vast city, with a great population, the largest in India. noted? Daulatabad (in Maharashtra) was no less, and easily Compare this description with rivalled Delhi in size. the illustrations of the city Source 8 shown in Figs. 5.8 and 5.9. Dehli

Here is an excerpt from Ibn Battuta’s account of Delhi, often spelt as Dehli in texts of the period: The city of Dehli covers a wide area and has a large population ... The rampart round the city is without parallel. The breadth of its wall is eleven cubits; and inside it are houses for the night sentry and gate- keepers. Inside the ramparts, there are store-houses for storing edibles, magazines, ammunition, ballistas and siege machines. The grains that are stored (in these ramparts) can last for a long time, without rotting ... In the interior of the rampart, horsemen as well as infantrymen move from one end of the city to another. The rampart is pierced through by windows which open on the side of the city, and it is through these windows that light enters inside. The lower part of the rampart is built of stone; the upper part of bricks. It has many towers close to one another. There are twenty eight gates of this city which are called darwaza, and of these, the Budaun darwaza is the greatest; inside the Mandwi darwaza there is a grain market; adjacent to the Gul darwaza there is an orchard ... It (the city of Dehli) has a fine cemetery in which graves have domes over them, and those that do not have a dome, have an arch, for sure. In the cemetery they sow flowers such as tuberose, jasmine, wild rose, etc.; and flowers blossom there in all seasons.

Fig. 5.8 (top) An arch in Tughlakabad, Delhi

Fig. 5.9 (left) Part of the fortification wall of the settlement 128 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

The bazaars were not only places of economic transactions, but also the hub of social and cultural activities. Most bazaars had a mosque and a temple, and in some of them at least, spaces were marked for public performances by dancers, musicians and singers. While Ibn Battuta was not particularly concerned with explaining the prosperity of towns, historians have used his account to suggest that towns derived a significant portion of their wealth through the appropriation of surplus from villages. Ibn Battuta found Indian agriculture very productive because of the fertility of the soil, which allowed farmers to cultivate two crops a year. He also noted that the subcontinent was well integrated with inter-Asian networks of trade and commerce, with Indian manufactures being in great demand in both West Asia and Southeast Asia, fetching huge profits for artisans and merchants. Indian textiles, particularly cotton cloth, fine muslins, silks, brocade and satin, were in great demand. Ibn Battuta informs us that certain varieties of fine muslin were so expensive that they could be worn only by the nobles and the very rich.

Source 9 Music in the market

Read Ibn Battuta’s description of Daulatabad: In Daulatabad there is a market place for male and female singers, which is known as Tarababad. It is one of the greatest and most beautiful bazaars. It has numerous shops and every shop has a door which leads into the house of the owner ... The shops are decorated with carpets and at the centre of a shop Fig. 5.10 there is a swing on which sits the female singer. She is Ikat weaving patterns such as this decked with all kinds of finery and her female attendants were adopted and modified at swing her. In the middle of the market place there stands several coastal production centres a large cupola, which is carpeted and decorated and in the subcontinent and in in which the chief of the musicians takes his place every Southeast Asia. Thursday after the dawn prayers, accompanied by his servants and slaves. The female singers come in successive crowds, sing before him and dance until dusk after which he withdraws. In this bazaar there are mosques for offering prayers ... One of the Hindu rulers ... alighted at the cupola every time he passed by this

Why do you think Ibn market place, and the female singers would sing before Battuta highlighted these him. Even some Muslim rulers did the same. activities in his description? THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 129

5.3 A unique system of communication The state evidently took special measures to encourage merchants. Almost all trade routes were A strange nation? well supplied with inns and guest houses. Ibn The travelogue of Abdur Razzaq Battuta was also amazed by the efficiency of the written in the 1440s is an postal system which allowed merchants to not only interesting mixture of emotions send information and remit credit across long and perceptions. On the one distances, but also to dispatch goods required at hand, he did not appreciate short notice. The postal system was so efficient that what he saw in the port of while it took fifty days to reach Delhi from Sind, Calicut (present-day Kozhikode) the news reports of spies would reach the Sultan in Kerala, which was populated by “a people the likes of whom I through the postal system in just five days. had never imagined”, describing them as “a strange nation”. Source 10 Later in his visit to India, he arrived in Mangalore, and On horse and on foot crossed the Western Ghats. Here he saw a temple that filled him with admiration: This is how Ibn Battuta describes the postal system: Within three leagues (about In India the postal system is of two kinds. The horse- nine miles of Mangalore, I post, called uluq, is run by royal horses stationed at a saw an idol-house the likes distance of every four miles. The foot-post has three of which is not to be found stations per mile; it is called dawa, that is one-third of a in all the world. It was a mile ... Now, at every third of a mile there is a well- square, approximately ten populated village, outside which are three pavilions in yards a side, five yards in which sit men with girded loins ready to start. Each of height, all covered with cast them carries a rod, two cubits in length, with copper bronze, with four porticos. bells at the top. When the courier starts from the city In the entrance portico was he holds the letter in one hand and the rod with its a statue in the likeness of a bells on the other; and he runs as fast as he can. When human being, full stature, the men in the pavilion hear the ringing of the bell they made of gold. It had two get ready. As soon as the courier reaches them, one of red rubies for eyes, so them takes the letter from his hand and runs at top cunningly made that you speed shaking the rod all the while until he reaches the next dawa. And the same process continues till the would say it could see. letter reaches its destination. This foot-post is quicker What craft and artisanship! than the horse-post; and often it is used to transport the fruits of Khurasan which are much desired in India.

✁ Do you think the foot-post system could have operated throughout the subcontinent?

Discuss... How did Ibn Battuta handle the problem of describing things or situations to people who had not seen or experienced them? 130 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

6. Bernier and the “Degenerate” East If Ibn Battuta chose to describe everything that impressed and excited him because of its novelty, François Bernier belonged to a different intellectual tradition. He was far more preoccupied with comparing and contrasting what he saw in India with the situation in Europe in general and France in particular, focusing on situations which he considered depressing. His idea seems to have been to influence policy-makers and the intelligentsia to ensure that they made what he considered to be the “right” decisions. Bernier’s Travels in the Mughal Empire is marked by detailed observations, critical insights and reflection. His account contains discussions trying to place the history of the Mughals within some sort of a universal framework. He constantly compared Mughal India with contemporary Europe, generally emphasising the superiority of the latter. His representation of India works on the model of binary opposition, where India is presented as the inverse of Europe. He also ordered the perceived differences hierarchically, so that India appeared to be inferior to the Western world. 6.1 The question of landownership According to Bernier, one of the fundamental differences between Mughal India and Europe was Widespread poverty the lack of private property in land in the former. He was a firm believer in the virtues of private Pelsaert, a Dutch traveller, visited property, and saw crown ownership of land as the subcontinent during the early decades of the seventeenth being harmful for both the state and its people. He century. Like Bernier, he was thought that in the Mughal Empire the emperor shocked to see the widespread owned all the land and distributed it among his poverty, “poverty so great and nobles, and that this had disastrous consequences miserable that the life of the for the economy and society. This perception was people can be depicted or not unique to Bernier, but is found in most accurately described only as the travellers’ accounts of the sixteenth and home of stark want and the seventeenth centuries. dwelling place of bitter woe”. Owing to crown ownership of land, argued Bernier, Holding the state responsible, landholders could not pass on their land to their he says: “So much is wrung children. So they were averse to any long-term from the peasants that even dry investment in the sustenance and expansion of bread is scarcely left to fill production. The absence of private property in land their stomachs.” had, therefore, prevented the emergence of the class of “improving” landlords (as in Western Europe) with THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 131 a concern to maintain or improve the land. It had led to the uniform ruination of agriculture, excessive oppression of the peasantry and a continuous decline in the living standards of all sections of society, except the ruling aristocracy.

Source 11 The poor peasant

An excerpt from Bernier’s description of the peasantry in the countryside: Of the vast tracts of country constituting the empire of Hindustan, many are little more than sand, or barren mountains, badly cultivated, and thinly populated. Even a considerable portion of the good land remains untilled for want of labourers; many of whom perish in consequence of the bad treatment they experience from Governors. The poor people, when they become incapable of discharging the demands of their rapacious lords, are not only often deprived of the means of subsistence, but are also made to lose their children, who are carried away as slaves. Thus, it happens that the peasantry, driven to despair by so excessive a tyranny, abandon the country. In this instance, Bernier was participating in contemporary debates in Europe concerning the nature of state and society, and intended that his description of Mughal India would serve as a warning to those who did not recognise the “merits” of private property. Fig. 5.11 Drawings such as this nineteenth-century example

What, according to Bernier, were the often reinforced the notion of problems faced by peasants in the an unchanging rural society. subcontinent? Do you think his description would have served to strengthen his case?

As an extension of this, Bernier described Indian society as consisting of undifferentiated masses of impoverished people, subjugated by a small minority of a very rich and powerful ruling class. Between the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich, there was no social group or class worth the name. Bernier confidently asserted: “There is no middle state in India.” 132 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Source 12 This, then, is how Bernier saw the Mughal Empire – its king was the king of “beggars and barbarians”; A warning for Europe its cities and towns were ruined and contaminated with “ill air”; and its fields, “overspread with bushes” and full of “pestilential marishes”. And, all this was Bernier warned that if European kings followed the because of one reason: crown ownership of land. Mughal model: Curiously, none of the Mughal official documents suggest that the state was the sole owner of land. Their kingdoms would be For instance, Abu’l Fazl, the sixteenth-century very far from being well- cultivated and peopled, official chronicler of Akbar’s reign, describes the land so well built, so rich, so revenue as “remunerations of sovereignty”, a claim polite and flourishing as made by the ruler on his subjects for the protection we see them. Our kings he provided rather than as rent on land that he are otherwise rich and owned. It is possible that European travellers powerful; and we must regarded such claims as rent because land revenue avow that they are much demands were often very high. However, this was better and more royally actually not a rent or even a land tax, but a tax on served. They would soon be the crop (for more details, see Chapter 8). kings of deserts and Bernier’s descriptions influenced Western solitudes, of beggars and barbarians, such as those theorists from the eighteenth century onwards. The are whom I have been French philosopher Montesquieu, for instance, used representing (the Mughals) this account to develop the idea of oriental despotism, … We should find the according to which rulers in Asia (the Orient or the great Cities and the great East) enjoyed absolute authority over their subjects, Burroughs (boroughs) who were kept in conditions of subjugation and rendered uninhabitable poverty, arguing that all land belonged to the king because of ill air, and to and that private property was non-existent. fall to ruine (ruin) without According to this view, everybody, except the emperor any bodies (anybody) taking and his nobles, barely managed to survive. care of repairing them; the hillocks abandon’d, This idea was further developed as the concept of and the fields overspread the Asiatic mode of production by Karl Marx in the with bushes, or fill’d nineteenth century. He argued that in India (and with pestilential marishes other Asian countries), before colonialism, surplus (marshes), as hath been was appropriated by the state. This led to the already intimated. emergence of a society that was composed of a large number of autonomous and (internally) egalitarian village communities. The imperial court presided

How does Bernier depict over these village communities, respecting their a scenario of doom? Once you have read autonomy as long as the flow of surplus was Chapters 8 and 9, return unimpeded. This was regarded as a stagnant system. to this description and However, as we will see (Chapter 8), this picture analyse it again. of rural society was far from true. In fact, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, rural society was characterised by considerable social and economic differentiation. At one end of the spectrum were the big zamindars, who enjoyed superior rights in land and, at the other, the “untouchable” landless THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 133 labourers. In between was the big peasant, who used hired labour and engaged in commodity production, and the smaller peasant who could barely produce for his subsistence. 6.2 A more complex social reality While Bernier’s preoccupation with projecting the Mughal state as tyrannical is obvious, his descriptions occasionally hint at a more complex social reality. For instance, he felt that artisans had no incentive to improve the quality of their manufactures, since profits were appropriated by the state. Manufactures were, consequently, everywhere in decline. At the same time, he conceded that vast quantities of the world’s precious metals flowed into India, as manufactures were exported in exchange for gold and silver. He also noticed the existence of a prosperous merchant community, engaged in long-distance exchange.

Source 13 A different socio-economic scenario

Read this excerpt from Bernier’s description of both agriculture and craft production: It is important to observe, that of this vast tract of country, a large portion is extremely fertile; the large kingdom of Bengale (Bengal), for instance, surpassing Egypt itself, not only in the production of rice, corn, and other necessaries of life, but of innumerable articles of commerce which are not cultivated in Egypt; such as silks, cotton, and indigo. There are also many parts of the Indies, where the population is sufficiently abundant, and the land pretty well tilled; and where the artisan, although naturally indolent, is yet compelled by necessity or otherwise to employ himself in manufacturing carpets, brocades, embroideries, gold and silver cloths, and the various sorts of silk and cotton goods, which are used in the country or exported abroad. Fig. 5.12 It should not escape notice that gold and silver, after A gold spoon studded with circulating in every other quarter of the globe, come at emeralds and rubies, an example of the dexterity of length to be swallowed up, lost in some measure, in Mughal artisans Hindustan.

In what ways is the description in this excerpt different from that in Source 11? 134 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Source 14 In fact, during the seventeenth century about The imperial karkhanas 15 per cent of the population lived in towns. This was, on average, higher than the proportion of urban population in Western Europe in the same period. Bernier is perhaps the only In spite of this Bernier described Mughal cities as historian who provides a detailed “camp towns”, by which he meant towns that owed account of the working of their existence, and depended for their survival, the imperial karkhanas or on the imperial camp. He believed that these came workshops: into existence when the imperial court moved in Large halls are seen and rapidly declined when it moved out. He at many places, called suggested that they did not have viable social and karkhanas or workshops economic foundations but were dependent on for the artisans. In one hall, imperial patronage. embroiderers are busily As in the case of the question of landownership, employed, superintended Bernier was drawing an oversimplified picture. by a master. In another, There were all kinds of towns: manufacturing you see the goldsmiths; in a towns, trading towns, port-towns, sacred centres, third, painters; in a fourth, varnishers in lacquer-work; pilgrimage towns, etc. Their existence is an index in a fifth, joiners, turners, of the prosperity of merchant communities and tailors and shoe-makers; in professional classes. a sixth, manufacturers of silk, Merchants often had strong community or kin ties, brocade and fine muslins … and were organised into their own caste-cum- The artisans come every occupational bodies. In western India these groups morning to their karkhanas were called mahajans, and their chief, the sheth. In where they remain urban centres such as Ahmedabad the mahajans employed the whole day; were collectively represented by the chief of the and in the evening return to merchant community who was called the nagarsheth. their homes. In this quiet Other urban groups included professional regular manner, their time classes such as physicians (hakim or vaid), teachers glides away; no one aspiring (pundit or mulla), lawyers (wakil), painters, for any improvement in the condition of life wherein he architects, musicians, calligraphers, etc. While happens to be born. some depended on imperial patronage, many made their living by serving other patrons, while still others served ordinary people in crowded markets How does Bernier or bazaars. convey a sense that although there was a great deal of activity, there was little progress?

✁ Discuss... Why do you think scholars like Bernier chose to compare India with Europe? THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 135

7. Women Source 15 Slaves, Sati and Labourers Slave women Travellers who left written accounts were generally men who were interested in and Ibn Battuta informs us: sometimes intrigued by the condition of women in the subcontinent. Sometimes they It is the habit of the emperor ... to took social inequities for granted as a keep with every noble, great or “natural” state of affairs. For instance, small, one of his slaves who spies on the nobles. He also appoints slaves were openly sold in markets, like any female scavengers who enter the other commodity, and were regularly houses unannounced; and to them exchanged as gifts. When Ibn Battuta the slave girls communicate all the reached Sind he purchased “horses, camels information they possess. and slaves” as gifts for Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq. When he reached Multan, he Most female slaves were captured in presented the governor with, “a slave and raids and expeditions. horse together with raisins and almonds”. Muhammad bin Tughlaq, informs Ibn Battuta, was so happy with the sermon of a preacher named Nasiruddin that he gave him Source 16 “a hundred thousand tankas (coins) and two hundred slaves”. The child sati It appears from Ibn Battuta’s account that there was considerable differentiation among This is perhaps one of the most slaves. Some female slaves in the service of poignant descriptions by Bernier: the Sultan were experts in music and dance, and Ibn Battuta enjoyed their performance At Lahore I saw a most beautiful at the wedding of the Sultan’s sister. Female young widow sacrificed, who could not, I think, have been more slaves were also employed by the Sultan to than twelve years of age. The poor keep a watch on his nobles. little creature appeared more dead Slaves were generally used for domestic than alive when she approached labour, and Ibn Battuta found their services the dreadful pit: the agony of her particularly indispensable for carrying mind cannot be described; she women and men on palanquins or dola. The trembled and wept bitterly; but price of slaves, particularly female slaves three or four of the Brahmanas, required for domestic labour, was very low, assisted by an old woman who held and most families who could afford to do so her under the arm, forced the kept at least one or two of them. unwilling victim toward the fatal spot, seated her on the wood, tied Contemporary European travellers and her hands and feet, lest she should writers often highlighted the treatment of run away, and in that situation the women as a crucial marker of difference innocent creature was burnt alive. between Western and Eastern societies. Not I found it difficult to repress my surprisingly, Bernier chose the practice of feelings and to prevent their sati for detailed description. He noted that bursting forth into clamorous and while some women seemed to embrace death unavailing rage … cheerfully, others were forced to die. 136 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

However, women’s lives revolved around much else

Discuss... besides the practice of sati. Their labour was crucial Why do you think the lives of in both agricultural and non-agricultural production. ordinary women workers did Women from merchant families participated in not attract the attention of commercial activities, sometimes even taking travellers such as Ibn Battuta mercantile disputes to the court of law. It therefore and Bernier? seems unlikely that women were confined to the private spaces of their homes.

You may have noticed that travellers’ accounts provide us with a tantalising glimpse of the lives of men and women during these centuries. However, their observations were often shaped by the contexts from which they came. At the same time, there were many aspects of social life that these travellers did not notice. Also relatively unknown are the experiences and observations of men (and possibly women) from the subcontinent who crossed seas and mountains and ventured into lands beyond the subcontinent. What did they see and hear? How were their relations with peoples of distant lands shaped? What were the languages they used? These and other questions will hopefully be systematically addressed by historians in the years to come.

Fig. 5.13 A sculpted panel from Mathura depicting travellers

✁ What are the various modes of transport that are shown? THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 137

Timeline Some Travellers who Left Accounts

Tenth-eleventh centuries 973-1048 Muhammad ibn Ahmad Abu Raihan al-Biruni (from Uzbekistan)

Thirteenth century 1254-1323 Marco Polo (from Italy)

Fourteenth century 1304-77 Ibn Battuta (from Morocco)

Fifteenth century 1413-82 Abd al-Razzaq Kamal al-Din ibn Ishaq al-Samarqandi (from Samarqand) 1466-72 Afanasii Nikitich Nikitin (years spent in India) (fifteenth century, from Russia)

Sixteenth century 1518 Duarte Barbosa, d.1521 (from Portugal) (visit to India) 1562 Seydi Ali Reis (from Turkey) (year of death) 1536-1600 Antonio Monserrate (from Spain)

Seventeenth century 1626-31 Mahmud Wali Balkhi (from Balkh) (years spent in India) 1600-67 Peter Mundy (from England) 1605-89 Jean-Baptiste Tavernier (from France) 1620-88 François Bernier (from France)

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, the dates mentioned are those of the lifespan of the traveller. 138 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Answer in100-150 words

1. Write a note on the Kitab-ul-Hind. 2. Compare and contrast the perspectives from which Ibn Battuta and Bernier wrote their accounts of their travels in India. 3. Discuss the picture of urban centres that emerges from Bernier’s account. 4. Analyse the evidence for slavery provided by Ibn Battuta. 5. What were the elements of the practice of sati that drew the attention of Bernier?

Write a short essay (about 250-300 words) on the following:

6. Discuss Al-Biruni’s understanding of the caste system. 7. Do you think Ibn Battuta’s account is useful in arriving at an understanding of life in contemporary urban centres? Give reasons for your answer. 8. Discuss the extent to which Bernier’s account enables historians to reconstruct contemporary rural society. 9. Read this excerpt from Bernier: Numerous are the instances of handsome pieces of workmanship made by persons destitute of tools, and who can scarcely be said to have received instruction from a master. Sometimes they imitate so perfectly articles of European manufacture that the difference between the original and copy can hardly be discerned. Among other things, the Indians make excellent muskets, and fowling- pieces, and such beautiful gold ornaments that it may be doubted if the exquisite workmanship of those articles can be exceeded by any European goldsmith. I have often admired the beauty, softness, and delicacy of their paintings. List the crafts mentioned in the passage. Compare these with the descriptions of artisanal activity in the chapter. THROUGH THE E YES OF T RAVELLERS 139

Map work

If you would like to know 10. On an outline map of the world mark the countries more, read: visited by Ibn Battuta. What are the seas that he may have crossed? Muzaffar Alam and Sanjay Subrahmanyam. 2006. Indo-Persian Travels in the Age of Discoveries, 1400-1800. Projects (choose one) Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

11. Interview any one of your older relatives (mother/ Catherine Asher and Cynthia father/grandparents/uncles/aunts) who has Talbot. 2006. travelled outside your town or village. Find out India Before Europe. Cambridge University Press, (a) where they went, (b) how they travelled, Cambridge. (c) how long did it take, (d) why did they travel (e) and did they face any difficulties. List as many François Bernier. nd. similarities and differences that they may have Travels in the Mogul Empire noticed between their place of residence and the AD 1656-1668. place they visited, focusing on language, clothes, Low Price Publications, food, customs, buildings, roads, the lives of men New Delhi. and women. Write a report on your findings. H.A.R. Gibb (ed.). 1993. 12. For any one of the travellers mentioned in The Travels of Ibn Battuta. the chapter, find out more about his life and Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi. writings. Prepare a report on his travels, noting in particular how he described society, and Mushirul Hasan (ed.). 2005. comparing these descriptions with the excerpts Westward Bound: included in the chapter. Travels of Mirza Abu Talib. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

Fig. 5.14 H.K. Kaul (ed.). 1997. A painting depicting travellers at rest Travellers’ India – an Anthology. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

Jean-Baptiste Tavernier. 1993. Travels in India. Munshiram Manoharlal, Delhi.

For more information, you could visit: www.edumaritime.org

Bhakti- Sufi Traditions THEME ChangesC a gges e s ini ReligiousRRel e l i u Beliefs i fs anda SIX Devoootionaltna nal l Textss (c. eighthei t to o eighteenth t h century) e t r )

We saw in Chapter 4 that by the mid-first millennium CE the landscape of the subcontinent was dotted with a variety of religious structures – stupas, monasteries, temples. If these typified certain religious beliefs and practices, others have been reconstructed from textual traditions, including the Puranas, many of which received their present shape around the same time, and yet others remain only faintly visible in textual and visual records. New textual sources available from this period include compositions attributed to poet-saints, most of whom expressed themselves orally in regional languages used by ordinary people. These compositions, which were often set to music, were compiled by disciples or devotees, generally after the death of the poet-saint. What is more, these traditions were fluid – generations of devotees tended to elaborate on the original message, and occasionally modified or even abandoned some of the ideas that appeared problematic or irrelevant in different political, social or cultural contexts. Using these sources thus poses a challenge to historians. Historians also draw on hagiographies or biographies of saints written by their followers (or members of their religious sect). These may not be literally accurate, but allow a glimpse into the ways in which devotees perceived the lives of these path- breaking women and men. As we will see, these sources provide us with insights into a scenario characterised by dynamism and diversity. Let us look at some elements of these more closely.

Fig. 6.1 A twelfth-century bronze sculpture of Manikkavachakar, a devotee of Shiva who composed beautiful devotional songs in Tamil BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 141

1. A Mosaic of Religious Beliefs and Practices “Great” and “little” Perhaps the most striking feature of this phase is traditions the increasing visibility of a wide range of gods and The terms great and little goddesses in sculpture as well as in texts. At one traditions were coined by a level, this indicates the continued and even extended sociologist named Robert worship of the major deities – Vishnu, Shiva and Redfield in the twentieth the goddess – each of whom was visualised in a century to describe the cultural variety of forms. practices of peasant societies. He found that peasants 1.1 The integration of cults observed rituals and customs Historians who have tried to understand these that emanated from dominant developments suggest that there were at least two social categories, including processes at work. One was a process of disseminating priests and rulers. These he Brahmanical ideas. This is exemplified by the classified as part of a great composition, compilation and preservation of Puranic tradition. At the same time, texts in simple Sanskrit verse, explicitly meant to peasants also followed local be accessible to women and Shudras, who were practices that did not generally excluded from Vedic learning. At the same necessarily correspond with time, there was a second process at work – that of those of the great tradition. the Brahmanas accepting and reworking the beliefs These he included within the and practices of these and other social categories. In category of little tradition. He fact, many beliefs and practices were shaped through also noticed that both great a continuous dialogue between what sociologists have and little traditions changed described as “great” Sanskritic Puranic traditions over time, through a process of and “little” traditions throughout the land. interaction. One of the most striking examples of this process While scholars accept the significance of these categories is evident at Puri, Orissa, where the principal deity and processes, they are was identified, by the twelfth century, as Jagannatha often uncomfortable with the (literally, the lord of the world), a form of Vishnu. hierarchy suggested by the terms great and little. The use of quotation marks for “great” and “little” is one way of indicating this.

Fig. 6.2 Jagannatha (extreme right) with his sister Subhadra (centre) and his brother Balarama (left) 142 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

If you compare Fig. 6.2 with Fig. 4.26 (Chapter 4) you will notice that the deity is represented in a very different way. In this instance, a local deity, whose image was and continues to be made of wood by local tribal specialists, was recognised as a form of Vishnu. At the same time, Vishnu was visualised in a way that was very different from that in other parts of the country. Such instances of integration are evident amongst goddess cults as well. Worship of the goddess, often simply in the form of a stone smeared with ochre, was evidently widespread. These local deities were often incorporated within the Puranic framework by providing them with an identity as a wife of the principal male deities – sometimes they were equated with Lakshmi, the wife of Vishnu, in other instances, with Parvati, the wife of Shiva. Fig. 6.3 Sculpture of a Buddhist goddess, 1.2 Difference and conflict Marichi (c.tenth century, Bihar), Often associated with the goddess were forms an example of the process of of worship that were classified as Tantric. Tantric integration of different religious practices were widespread in several parts of the beliefs and practices subcontinent – they were open to women and men, and practitioners often ignored differences of caste and class within the ritual context. Many of these ideas influenced Shaivism as well as Buddhism, especially in the eastern, northern and southern parts of the subcontinent. All of these somewhat divergent and even disparate beliefs and practices would come to be classified as Hindu over the course of the next millennium. The divergence is perhaps most stark if we compare Vedic and Puranic traditions. The principal deities of the Vedic pantheon, Agni, Indra and Soma, become marginal figures, rarely visible in textual or visual representations. And while we can catch a glimpse of Vishnu, Shiva and the goddess in Vedic mantras, these have little in common with the elaborate Puranic mythologies. However, in spite of these obvious discrepancies, the Vedas continued to be revered as authoritative. Not surprisingly, there were sometimes conflicts as well – those who valued the Vedic tradition often condemned practices that went beyond the closely regulated contact with the divine through the performance of sacrifices or precisely chanted mantras. On the other hand those engaged in Tantric practices BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 143 frequently ignored the authority of the Vedas. Also, devotees often tended to project their chosen deity, either Vishnu or Shiva, as supreme. Relations with other traditions, such as Buddhism or Jainism, were also often fraught with tension if not open conflict. The traditions of devotion or bhakti need to be located within this context. Devotional worship had a long history of almost a thousand years before Discuss... the period we are considering. During this time, Find out about gods and expressions of devotion ranged from the routine goddesses worshipped in your worship of deities within temples to ecstatic town or village, noting their adoration where devotees attained a trance-like names and the ways in which state. The singing and chanting of devotional they are depicted. Describe compositions was often a part of such modes of the rituals that are worship. This was particularly true of the Vaishnava performed. and Shaiva sects. 2. Poems of Prayer Early Traditions of Bhakti In the course of the evolution of these forms of worship, in many instances, poet-saints emerged as leaders around whom there developed a community of devotees. Further, while Brahmanas remained important intermediaries between gods and devotees in several forms of bhakti, these traditions also accommodated and acknowledged women and the “lower castes”, categories considered ineligible for liberation within the orthodox Brahmanical framework. What also characterised traditions of bhakti was a remarkable diversity. At a different level, historians of religion often classify bhakti traditions into two broad categories: saguna (with attributes) and nirguna (without attributes). The former included traditions that focused on the worship of specific deities such as Shiva, Vishnu and his avatars (incarnations) and forms of the goddess or Devi, all often conceptualised in anthropomorphic forms. Nirguna bhakti on the other hand was worship of an abstract form of god. 2.1 The Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu Some of the earliest bhakti movements (c. sixth century) were led by the Alvars (literally, those who are “immersed” in devotion to Vishnu) and Nayanars (literally, leaders who were devotees of Shiva). They travelled from place to place singing hymns in Tamil in praise of their gods. 144 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Source 1 During their travels the Alvars and Nayanars The chaturvedin (Brahmana identified certain shrines as abodes of their chosen versed in the four Vedas) deities. Very often large temples were later built at and the “outcaste” these sacred places. These developed as centres of pilgrimage. Singing compositions of these poet-saints This is an excerpt from a became part of temple rituals in these shrines, as composition of an Alvar named did worship of the saints’ images. Tondaradippodi, who was a 2.2 Attitudes towards caste Brahmana: Some historians suggest that the Alvars and You (Vishnu) manifestly like Nayanars initiated a movement of protest against those “servants” who express the caste system and the dominance of Brahmanas their love for your feet, or at least attempted to reform the system. To some though they may be born extent this is corroborated by the fact that bhaktas outcastes, more than hailed from diverse social backgrounds ranging from the Chaturvedins who are Brahmanas to artisans and cultivators and even strangers and without from castes considered “untouchable”. allegiance to your service. The importance of the traditions of the Alvars and Nayanars was sometimes indicated by the claim that their compositions were as important

Do you think as the Vedas. For instance, one of the major Tondaradippodi was opposed to the caste anthologies of compositions by the Alvars, the Nalayira system? Divyaprabandham, was frequently described as the Tamil Veda, thus claiming that the text was as significant as the four Vedas in Sanskrit that were cherished by the Brahmanas. 2.3 Women devotees Source 2 Perhaps one of the most striking features of these Shastras or devotion? traditions was the presence of women. For instance, the compositions of Andal, a woman Alvar, were This is a verse composed by widely sung (and continue to be sung to date). Andal Appar, a Nayanar saint: saw herself as the beloved of Vishnu; her verses express her love for the deity. Another woman, O rogues who quote the law Karaikkal Ammaiyar, a devotee of Shiva, adopted books, the path of extreme asceticism in order to attain Of what use are your gotra and kula? Just bow to Marperu’s lord (Shiva who resides in Marperu, in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu) as Compilations of devotional literature your sole refuge. By the tenth century the compositions of the 12 Alvars were

Are there any compiled in an anthology known as the Nalayira similarities or differences Divyaprabandham (“Four Thousand Sacred Compositions”). in the attitudes of The poems of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar form Tondaradippodi and Appar the Tevaram, a collection that was compiled and classified towards Brahmanas? in the tenth century on the basis of the music of the songs. BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 145 her goal. Her compositions were preserved within the Nayanar tradition. These women renounced their social obligations, but did not join an alternative order or become nuns. Their very existence and their compositions posed a challenge to patriarchal norms.

Source 3 A demon?

This is an excerpt from a poem by Karaikkal Ammaiyar in which she describes herself: The female Pey (demoness) with . . . bulging veins, protruding eyes, white teeth and shrunken stomach, red haired and jutting teeth lengthy shins extending till the ankles, shouts and wails while wandering in the forest. This is the forest of Alankatu, which is the home of our father (Shiva) who dances … with his matted hair thrown in all eight directions, and with cool limbs.

List the ways in which Karaikkal Ammaiyar depicts herself as presenting a contrast to Fig. 6.4 traditional notions of feminine beauty. A twelfth-century bronze image of Karaikkal Ammaiyar

2.4 Relations with the state We saw in Chapter 2 that there were several important chiefdoms in the Tamil region in the early first millennium CE. From the second half of the first millennium there is evidence for states, including those of the Pallavas and Pandyas (c. sixth to ninth centuries CE). While Buddhism and Jainism had been prevalent in this region for several centuries, drawing support from merchant and artisan communities, these religious traditions received occasional royal patronage. Interestingly, one of the major themes in Tamil bhakti hymns is the poets’ opposition to Buddhism and Jainism. This is particularly marked in the 146 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

compositions of the Nayanars. Historians have attempted to explain this hostility by suggesting that it was due to competition between members of other religious traditions for royal patronage. What is evident is that the powerful Chola rulers (ninth to thirteenth centuries) supported Brahmanical and bhakti traditions, making land grants and constructing temples for Vishnu and Shiva. In fact, some of the most magnificent Shiva temples, including those at Chidambaram, Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram, were constructed under the patronage of Chola rulers. This was also the period when some of the most spectacular representations of Shiva in bronze sculpture were produced. Clearly, the visions of the Nayanars inspired artists. Both Nayanars and Alvars were revered by the Vellala peasants. Not surprisingly, rulers tried to win their support as well. The Chola kings, for Fig. 6.5 instance, often attempted to claim divine support An image of Shiva as Nataraja and proclaim their own power and status by building splendid temples that were adorned with stone and metal sculpture to recreate the visions of these popular saints who sang in the language of the people. These kings also introduced the singing of Tamil Shaiva hymns in the temples under royal patronage, taking the initiative to collect and organise them into a text (Tevaram). Further, inscriptional evidence from around 945 suggests that the Chola ruler Parantaka I had consecrated metal images of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple. These were carried in processions during the festivals of these saints.

Discuss... Why do you think kings were interested in proclaiming their connections with bhaktas? BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 147 3. The Virashaiva Tradition in Karnataka The twelfth century witnessed the emergence of a new movement in Karnataka, led by a Brahmana named Basavanna (1106-68) who was initially a Jaina and a minister in the court of a Chalukya Source 4 king. His followers were known as Virashaivas Rituals and the (heroes of Shiva) or Lingayats (wearers of the linga). real world Lingayats continue to be an important community in the region to date. They worship Shiva in his manifestation as a linga, and men usually wear a Here is a vachana composed small linga in a silver case on a loop strung over the by Basavanna: left shoulder. Those who are revered include the When they see a serpent jangama or wandering monks. Lingayats believe carved in stone they pour that on death the devotee will be united with Shiva milk on it. and will not return to this world. Therefore they do If a real serpent comes they not practise funerary rites such as cremation, say: “Kill. Kill.” prescribed in the Dharmashastras. Instead, they To the servant of the god who ceremonially bury their dead. could eat if served they say: The Lingayats challenged the idea of caste and “Go away! Go away!” the “pollution” attributed to certain groups by But to the image of the god Brahmanas. They also questioned the theory of which cannot eat they offer rebirth. These won them followers amongst those dishes of food. who were marginalised within the Brahmanical social order. The Lingayats also encouraged certain Describe Basavanna’s practices disapproved in the Dharmashastras, attitude towards rituals. such as post-puberty marriage and the remarriage How does he attempt to of widows. Our understanding of the Virashaiva convince the listener? tradition is derived from vachanas (literally, sayings) composed in Kannada by women and men who joined the movement.

New religious developments This period also witnessed two major developments. On the one hand, many ideas of the Tamil bhaktas (especially the Vaishnavas) were incorporated within the Sanskritic tradition, culminating in the composition of one of the best-known Puranas, the Bhagavata Purana. Second, we find the development of traditions of bhakti in Maharashtra in the thirteenth century. 148 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

4. Religious Ferment in North India During the same period, in north India deities such as Vishnu and Shiva were worshipped in temples, often built with the support of rulers. However, historians have not found evidence of anything resembling the compositions of the Alvars and Nayanars till the fourteenth century. How do we account for this difference? Some historians point out that in north India this was the period when several Rajput states emerged. In most of these states Brahmanas occupied positions of importance, performing a range of secular and ritual functions. There seems to have been little or no attempt to challenge their position directly. At the same time other religious leaders, who did not function within the orthodox Brahmanical framework, were gaining ground. These included the Naths, Jogis and Siddhas. Many of them came from artisanal groups, including weavers, who were becoming increasingly important with the development of organised craft production. Demand for such production grew with the emergence of new urban centres, and long-distance trade with Central Asia and West Asia. Many of these new religious leaders questioned the Fig. 6.6 authority of the Vedas, and Fragment of a page from the expressed themselves in languages spoken by ordinary Qur’an, belonging to a people, which developed over centuries into the ones manuscript dating to the used today. However, in spite of their popularity these eighth or ninth century religious leaders were not in a position to win the support of the ruling elites. A new element in this situation was the coming of the Turks which culminated in the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate (thirteenth century). This undermined the power of many of the Rajput states and the Brahmanas who were associated with these kingdoms. This was accompanied by marked changes in the realm of culture and religion. The coming of the sufis (Section 6) was a significant part of these developments. BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 149

5. New Strands in the Fabric Islamic Traditions Just as the regions within the subcontinent were not isolated from one another, so too, contact with lands beyond the seas and mountains had existed for millennia. Arab merchants, for instance, frequented ports along the western coast in the first millennium CE, while Central Asian peoples settled in the north-western parts of the subcontinent during the same period. From the seventh century, with the advent of Islam, these regions became part of what is often termed the Islamic world. 5.1 Faiths of rulers and subjects One axis of understanding the significance of these Ulama (plural of alim, or one connections that is frequently adopted is to focus on who knows) are scholars of the religions of ruling elites. In 711 an Arab general Islamic studies. As preservers of named Muhammad Qasim conquered Sind, which this tradition they perform became part of the Caliph’s domain. Later (c. thirteenth various religious, juridical and century) the Turks and Afghans established the teaching functions. Delhi Sultanate. This was followed by the formation of Sultanates in the Deccan and other parts of the subcontinent; Islam was an acknowledged religion of rulers in several areas. This continued with the establishment of the Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century as well as in many of the regional states that emerged in the eighteenth century. Theoretically, Muslim rulers were to be guided by the ulama, who were expected to ensure that they ruled according to the shari‘a. Clearly, the situation Shari‘a was complicated in the subcontinent, where there The shari‘a is the law governing were populations that did not subscribe to Islam. the Muslim community. It is It is in this context that the category of the zimmi, based on the Qur’an and the meaning protected (derived from the Arabic word hadis, traditions of the Prophet zimma, protection) developed for peoples who followed including a record of his revealed scriptures, such as the Jews and Christians, remembered words and deeds. and lived under Muslim rulership. They paid a tax With the expansion of Islamic called jizya and gained the right to be protected by rule outside Arabia, in areas Muslims. In India this status was extended to Hindus where customs and traditions as well. As you will see (Chapter 9), rulers such as were different, qiyas (reasoning the Mughals came to regard themselves as emperors by analogy) and ijma of not just Muslims but of all peoples. (consensus of the community) In effect, rulers often adopted a fairly flexible policy were recognised as two other towards their subjects. For instance, several rulers sources of legislation. Thus, the gave land endowments and granted tax exemptions shari‘a evolved from the to Hindu, Jaina, Zoroastrian, Christian and Jewish Qur’an, hadis, qiyas and ijma. religious institutions and also expressed respect and 150 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

devotion towards non-Muslim religious leaders. These grants were made by several Mughal rulers, including Akbar and Aurangzeb.

Source 5 A church in Khambat

Fig. 6.7 This is an excerpt from a farman (imperial order) issued A Mughal painting depicting by Akbar in 1598: Emperor Jahangir with a Jogi Whereas it reached our eminent and holy notice that the padris (fathers) of the Holy Society of Jesus wish to build a house of prayer (church) in the city of Kambayat (Khambat, in Gujarat); therefore an exalted mandate … is being issued, … that the dignitaries of the city of Kambayat should in no case stand in their way but should allow them to build a church so that they may engage themselves in their own worship. It is necessary that the order of the Emperor should be obeyed in every way.

Who were the people from whom Akbar anticipated opposition to his order?

Source 6

Reverence for the Jogi

Here is an excerpt from a letter written by Aurangzeb to a Jogi in 1661-62: The possessor of the sublime station, Shiv Murat, Guru Anand Nath Jio! May your Reverence remain in peace and happiness ever under the protection of Sri Shiv Jio! … A piece of cloth for the cloak and a sum of twenty five rupees which have been sent as an offering will reach (Your Reverence) … Your Reverence may write to us whenever there is any service which can be rendered by us.

Identify the deity worshipped by the Jogi. Describe the attitude of the emperor towards the Jogi. BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 151

5.2 The popular practice of Islam The developments that followed the coming of Islam were not confined to ruling elites; in fact they permeated far and wide, through the subcontinent, amongst different social strata – peasants, artisans, warriors, merchants, to name a few. All those who adopted Islam accepted, in principle, the five “pillars” of the faith: that there is one God, Allah, and Prophet Muhammad is his messenger (shahada); offering prayers five times a day (namaz/salat ); giving alms (zakat); fasting during the month of Ramzan (sawm); and performing the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj ). However, these universal features were often overlaid with diversities in practice derived from sectarian affiliations (Sunni, Shi‘a), and the influence of local customary practices of converts from different social milieus. For example, the Khojahs, a branch Fig. 6.8 of the Ismailis (a Shi‘a sect), developed new modes A Khojaki manuscript of communication, disseminating ideas derived from The ginan were transmitted the Qur’an through indigenous literary genres. These orally before being recorded in the Khojaki script that was derived included the ginan (derived from the Sanskrit jnana, from the local landa (“clipped” meaning “knowledge”), devotional poems in Punjabi, mercantile script) used by the Multani, Sindhi, Kachchi, Hindi and Gujarati, sung linguistically diverse community in special ragas during daily prayer meetings. of Khojahs in the Punjab, Sind Elsewhere, Arab Muslim traders who settled and Gujarat. along the Malabar coast (Kerala) adopted the local language, Malayalam. They also adopted Matrilocal residence is a local customs such as matriliny (Chapter 3) and practice where women after matrilocal residence. marriage remain in their natal The complex blend of a universal faith with local home with their children and traditions is perhaps best exemplified in the the husbands may come to stay architecture of mosques. Some architectural features with them.

Fig. 6.9 A mosque in Kerala, c. thirteenth century Note the shikhara-like roof. 152 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

of mosques are universal – such as their orientation towards Mecca, evident in the placement of the mihrab (prayer niche) and the minbar (pulpit). However, there are several features that show variations – such as roofs and building materials (see Figs. 6.9, 6.10 and 6.11). 5.3 Names for communities We often take the terms Hindu and Muslim for granted, as labels for religious communities. Yet, these terms did not gain currency for a very Fig. 6.10 long time. Historians who have studied Atiya mosque, Mymensingh district, Sanskrit texts and inscriptions dating Bangladesh, built with brick, 1609 between the eighth and fourteenth centuries point out that the term musalman or Muslim was virtually never used. Instead, people were occasionally identified in terms of the region from which they came. So, the Turkish rulers were designated as Turushka, Tajika were people from Tajikistan and Parashika were people from Persia. Sometimes, terms used for other peoples were applied to the new migrants. For instance, the Turks and Afghans were referred to as Shakas (Chapters 2 and 3) and Yavanas (a term used for Greeks). Fig. 6.11 A more general term for these migrant The Shah Hamadan mosque in communities was mlechchha, indicating that they did Srinagar, on the banks of the not observe the norms of caste society and spoke Jhelum, is often regarded as the languages that were not derived from Sanskrit. Such “jewel in the crown” of all the terms sometimes had a derogatory connotation, but they existing mosques of Kashmir. rarely denoted a distinct religious community of Muslims Built in 1395, it is one of the best examples of Kashmiri wooden in opposition to Hindus. And as we saw (Chapter 5), architecture. Notice the spire and the term “Hindu” was used in a variety of ways, not the beautifully carved eaves. It is necessarily restricted to a religious connotation. decorated with papier mache.

Discuss... Find out more about the architecture of mosques in your village or town. What are the materials used to build mosques? Are these locally available? Are there any distinctive architectural features? BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 153

6. The Growth of Sufism In the early centuries of Islam a group of religious- Sufism and tasawwuf minded people called sufis turned to asceticism and Sufism is an English word mysticism in protest against the growing materialism coined in the nineteenth of the Caliphate as a religious and political institution. century. The word used for They were critical of the dogmatic definitions and Sufism in Islamic texts is scholastic methods of interpreting the Qur’an and sunna tasawwuf. Historians have (traditions of the Prophet) adopted by theologians. understood this term in Instead, they laid emphasis on seeking salvation several ways. According to through intense devotion and love for God by following some scholars, it is derived His commands, and by following the example of the from suf, meaning wool, Prophet Muhammad whom they regarded as a perfect referring to the coarse human being. The sufis thus sought an interpretation woollen clothes worn by of the Qur’an on the basis of their personal experience. sufis. Others derive it from safa, meaning purity. It may 6.1 Khanqahs and silsilas also have been derived from By the eleventh century Sufism evolved into a well- suffa, the platform outside developed movement with a body of literature on the Prophet’s mosque, Quranic studies and sufi practices. Institutionally, where a group of close the sufis began to organise communities around the followers assembled to learn hospice or khanqah (Persian) controlled by a teaching about the faith. master known as shaikh (in Arabic), pir or murshid (in Persian). He enrolled disciples (murids) and appointed a successor (khalifa). He established rules for spiritual conduct and interaction between inmates as well as between laypersons and the master. Sufi silsilas began to crystallise in different parts of the Islamic world around the twelfth century. The word silsila literally means a chain, signifying a continuous link between master and disciple, stretching as an unbroken spiritual genealogy to the Prophet Muhammad. It was through this channel that spiritual power and blessings were transmitted to devotees. Special rituals of initiation were developed in which initiates took an oath of allegiance, wore a patched garment, and shaved Names of silsilas their hair. Most sufi lineages were When the shaikh died, his tomb-shrine (dargah, a named after a founding Persian term meaning court) became the centre of figure. For example, the devotion for his followers. This encouraged the practice Qadiri order was named of pilgrimage or ziyarat to his grave, particularly on after Shaikh Abd’ul Qadir his death anniversary or urs (or marriage, signifying Jilani. However, some like the union of his soul with God). This was because the Chishti order, were people believed that in death saints were united with named after their place God, and were thus closer to Him than when living. of origin, in this case the People sought their blessings to attain material and town of Chisht in central spiritual benefits. Thus evolved the cult of the shaikh Afghanistan. revered as wali. 154 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

khanqah Wali (plural auliya) or friend of 6.2 Outside the God was a sufi who claimed Some mystics initiated movements based on a proximity to Allah, acquiring radical interpretation of sufi ideals. Many scorned His Grace (barakat) to perform the khanqah and took to mendicancy and observed miracles (karamat). celibacy. They ignored rituals and observed extreme forms of asceticism. They were known by different names – Qalandars, Madaris, Malangs, Haidaris, etc. Because of their deliberate defiance of the shari‘a

Discuss... they were often referred to as be-shari‘a, in contrast Are there any khanqahs or to the ba-shari‘a sufis who complied with it. dargahs in your town or village? Find out when these were built, and what are the 7. The Chishtis in the activities associated with Subcontinent them. Are there other places Of the groups of sufis who migrated to India in where religious men and the late twelfth century, the Chishtis were the women meet or live? most influential. This was because they adapted successfully to the local environment and adopted several features of Indian devotional traditions. 7.1 Life in the Chishti khanqah The khanqah was the centre of social life. We know about Shaikh Nizamuddin’s hospice (c. fourteenth century) on the banks of the river Yamuna in Ghiyaspur, on the outskirts of what was then the city of Delhi. It comprised several small rooms and a big hall ( jama’at khana) where the inmates and visitors lived and prayed. The inmates included family members of the Shaikh, his attendants and disciples. The Shaikh lived in a small room on the roof of the hall where he met visitors in the morning and evening. A veranda surrounded the courtyard, and a boundary wall ran around the complex. On one occasion, fearing a Mongol invasion, people from the neighbouring areas flocked into the khanqah to seek refuge.

MAJOR TEACHERS OF THE CHISHTI SILSILA

SUFI TEACHERS YEAR OF DEATH LOCATION OF DARGAH Shaikh Muinuddin Sijzi 1235 Ajmer (Rajasthan) Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki 1235 Delhi Shaikh Fariduddin Ganj-i Shakar 1265 Ajodhan (Pakistan) Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya 1325 Delhi Shaikh Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Dehli 1356 Delhi BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 155

There was an open kitchen (langar), run on futuh (unasked-for charity). From morning till late night The story of people from all walks of life – soldiers, slaves, Data Ganj Bakhsh singers, merchants, poets, travellers, rich and poor, Hindu jogis (yogi) and qalandars – came In 1039 Abu’l Hasan al Hujwiri, seeking discipleship, amulets for healing, and the a native of Hujwir near Ghazni intercession of the Shaikh in various matters. Other in Afghanistan, was forced to visitors included poets such as Amir Hasan Sijzi cross the Indus as a captive of and Amir Khusrau and the court historian Ziyauddin the invading Turkish army. He Barani, all of whom wrote about the Shaikh. settled in Lahore and wrote a book in Persian called the Kashf- Practices that were adopted, including bowing before ul-Mahjub (Unveiling of the the Shaikh, offering water to visitors, shaving the Veiled) to explain the meaning heads of initiates, and yogic exercises, represented of tasawwuf, and those who attempts to assimilate local traditions. practised it, that is, the sufi. Shaikh Nizamuddin appointed several spiritual Hujwiri died in 1073 and was successors and deputed them to set up hospices in buried in Lahore. The grandson various parts of the subcontinent. As a result the of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni teachings, practices and organisation of the Chishtis constructed a tomb over his as well as the fame of the Shaikh spread rapidly. grave, and this tomb-shrine This in turn drew pilgrims to his shrine, and also to became a site of pilgrimage for the shrines of his spiritual ancestors. his devotees, especially on his 7.2 Chishti devotionalism: ziyarat and qawwali death anniversary. Even today Hujwiri is revered Pilgrimage, called ziyarat, to tombs of sufi saints is as Data Ganj Bakhsh or “Giver prevalent all over the Muslim world. This practice who bestows treasures” and his is an occasion for seeking the sufi’s spiritual grace mausoleum is called Data (barakat). For more than seven centuries people of Darbar or “Court of the Giver”. various creeds, classes and social backgrounds have expressed their devotion at the dargahs of the five great Chishti saints (see chart on p.154). Amongst these, the most revered shrine is that of Khwaja Muinuddin, popularly known as “Gharib Nawaz” (comforter of the poor). The earliest textual references to Khwaja Muinuddin’s dargah date to the fourteenth century. It was evidently popular because of the austerity and piety of its Shaikh, the greatness of his spiritual successors, and the patronage of royal visitors. Muhammad bin Tughlaq (ruled, 1324-51) was the

Fig. 6.12 A seventeenth-century painting of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya and his disciple Amir Khusrau

Describe how the artist differentiates between the Shaikh and his disciple. 156 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

first Sultan to visit the shrine, but the earliest construction to house the tomb was funded in the late fifteenth century by Sultan Ghiyasuddin Khalji of Malwa. Since the shrine was located on the trade route linking Delhi and Gujarat, it attracted a lot of travellers. By the sixteenth century the shrine had become very popular; in fact it was the spirited singing of pilgrims bound for Ajmer that inspired Akbar to visit the tomb. He went there fourteen times, sometimes two or three times a year, to seek blessings for new conquests, fulfilment of vows, and the birth of sons. He maintained this tradition until 1580. Each of these visits was celebrated by generous gifts, which were recorded in imperial documents. For example, in 1568 he offered a huge cauldron (degh) to facilitate cooking for pilgrims. He also had a mosque constructed within the compound of the dargah.

Fig. 6.13 Shaikhs greeting the Mughal emperor Jahangir on his pilgrimage to Ajmer, painting by an artist named Manohar, c.1615

Find his signature on the painting. BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 157

Source 7 The pilgrimage of the Mughal princess The lamp of the Jahanara, 1643 entire land Each sufi shrine was associated The following is an excerpt from Jahanara’s biography with distinctive features. This is of Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti, titled Munis al Arwah what an eighteenth-century (The Confidant of Spirits): visitor from the Deccan, Dargah After praising the one God … this lowly faqira Quli Khan, wrote about the (humble soul) Jahanara ... went from the capital shrine of Nasiruddin Chiragh-i Agra in the company of my great father (Emperor Dehli in his Muraqqa-i Dehli Shah Jahan) towards the pure region of (Album of Delhi): incomparable Ajmer … I was committed to this idea, The Shaikh (in the grave) that every day in every station I would perform two is not the lamp of Delhi cycles of optional prayer … but of the entire country. For several days ... I did not sleep on a leopard skin People turn up there in at night, I did not extend my feet in the direction of the crowds, particularly on blessed sanctuary of the revered saving master, and I Sunday. In the month did not turn my back towards him. I passed the days of Diwali the entire beneath the trees. population of Delhi visits On Thursday, the fourth of the blessed month of it and stays in tents Ramzan, I attained the happiness of pilgrimage to the around the spring tank for illuminated and the perfumed tomb … With an hour of days. They take baths to daylight remaining, I went to the holy sanctuary and obtain cures from chronic rubbed my pale face with the dust of that threshold. diseases. Muslims and From the doorway to the blessed tomb I went barefoot, Hindus pay visits in the kissing the ground. Having entered the dome, I went same spirit. From morning around the light-filled tomb of my master seven times till evening people come … Finally, with my own hand I put the finest quality of and also make themselves itar on the perfumed tomb of the revered one, and busy in merrymaking in having taken off the rose scarf that I had on my head, I placed it on the top of the blessed tomb ... the shade of the trees.

What are the gestures that Jahanara records to indicate her devotion to the Shaikh? How does she suggest that the dargah was a special place?

Also part of ziyarat is the use of music and dance including mystical chants performed by specially trained musicians or qawwals to evoke divine ecstasy. The sufis remember God either by reciting the zikr (the Divine Names) or evoking His Presence through sama‘ (literally, “audition”) or performance of mystical music. Sama‘ was integral to the Chishtis, and exemplified interaction with indigenous devotional traditions. 158 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

7.3 Languages and communication Amir Khusrau and It was not just in sama‘ that the Chishtis adopted local languages. In Delhi, those associated with the qaul the Chishti silsila conversed in Hindavi, the language Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), the of the people. Other sufis such as Baba Farid great poet, musician and disciple composed verses in the local language, which were of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, incorporated in the Guru Granth Sahib. Yet others gave a unique form to the Chishti composed long poems or masnavis to express ideas sama‘ by introducing the qaul of divine love using human love as an allegory. For (Arabic word meaning “saying”), example, the prem-akhyan (love story) Padmavat a hymn sung at the opening or composed by Malik Muhammad Jayasi revolved closing of qawwali. This was around the romance of Padmini and Ratansen, the followed by sufi poetry in Persian, king of Chittor. Their trials were symbolic of the soul’s Hindavi or Urdu, and sometimes journey to the divine. Such poetic compositions were using words from all of these often recited in hospices, usually during sama‘. languages. Qawwals (those who sing these songs) at the shrine of A different genre of sufi poetry was composed in Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya always and around the town of Bijapur, Karnataka. These start their recital with the qaul. were short poems in Dakhani (a variant of Urdu) Today qawwali is performed in attributed to Chishti sufis who lived in this region shrines all over the subcontinent. during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These poems were probably sung by women while performing household chores like grinding grain and spinning. Other compositions were in the form of lurinama or lullabies and shadinama or wedding songs. It is likely that the sufis of this region were inspired by the pre-existing bhakti tradition of the Kannada vachanas of the Lingayats and the Marathi abhangs of the sants of Pandharpur. It is through this medium that Islam gradually gained a place in the villages of the Deccan.

Source 8 Charkhanama Fig. 6.14 Qawwali at the dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya A song set to the rhythm of the spinning wheel: As you take the cotton, you do zikr-i jali As you separate the cotton you should do zikr-i qalbi And as you spool the thread you should do zikr-i aini Zikr should be uttered from the stomach through the chest,

In what ways are the ideas And threaded through the throat. and modes of expression used The threads of breath should be counted one by one, in this song similar to or oh sister. different from those used by Up to twenty four thousand. Jahanara to describe her Do this day and night, ziyarat (Source 7)? And offer this to your pir as a gift. BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 159

7.4 Sufis and the state A major feature of the Chishti tradition was austerity, including maintaining a distance from worldly power. However, this was by no means a situation of absolute isolation from political power. The sufis accepted unsolicited grants and donations from the political elites. The Sultans in turn set up charitable trusts (auqaf ) as endowments for hospices and granted tax-free land (inam). The Chishtis accepted donations in cash and kind. Rather than accumulate donations, they preferred to use these fully on immediate requirements such as food, clothes, living quarters and ritual necessities (such as sama‘). All this enhanced the moral authority of the shaikhs, which in turn attracted people from all walks of life. Further, their piety and scholarship, and people’s belief in their miraculous powers made sufis popular among the masses, whose support kings wished to secure. Kings did not simply need to demonstrate their association with sufis; they also required legitimation from them. When the Turks set up the Delhi Sultanate, they resisted the insistence of the ulama on imposing shari‘a as state law because they anticipated opposition from their subjects, the majority of whom were non-Muslims. The Sultans then sought out the sufis – who derived their authority directly from God – and did not depend on jurists to interpret the shari‘a. Besides, it was believed that the auliya could intercede with God in order to improve the material Sufis and the state and spiritual conditions of ordinary human beings. This explains why kings often wanted their tombs to Other sufis such as the be in the vicinity of sufi shrines and hospices. Suhrawardi under the Delhi Sultans and the Naqshbandi However, there were instances of conflict between under the Mughals were also the Sultans and the sufis. To assert their authority, associated with the state. both expected that certain rituals be performed such However, the modes of their as prostration and kissing of the feet. Occasionally association were not the same the sufi shaikh was addressed with high-sounding as those of the Chishtis. In titles. For example, the disciples of Nizamuddin some cases, sufis accepted Auliya addressed him as sultan-ul-mashaikh (literally, courtly offices. Sultan amongst shaikhs). 160 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II Source 9 Declining a royal gift ✁ Discuss... What are the potential sources of conflict in the This excerpt from a sufi text describes the proceedings at relationship between religious Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya’s hospice in 1313: and political leaders? I (the author, Amir Hasan Sijzi) had the good fortune of kissing his (Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya’s) feet … At this time a local ruler had sent him the deed of ownership to two gardens and much land, along with the provisions and tools for their maintenance. The ruler had also made it clear that

What aspects of the he was relinquishing all his rights to both the relationship between the sufis gardens and land. The master … had not accepted and the state do you think are that gift. Instead, he had lamented: “What have I to best illustrated in this account? do with gardens and fields and lands? … None of … What does the account tell us our spiritual masters had engaged in such activity.” about the modes of Then he told an appropriate story: “… Sultan communication between the Ghiyasuddin, who at that time was still known as Shaikh and his disciples? Ulugh Khan, came to visit Shaikh Fariduddin (and) offered some money and ownership deeds for four Fig. 6.15 villages to the Shaikh, the money being for the benefit The dargah of Shaikh Salim Chishti of the dervishes (sufis), and the land for his use. (a direct descendant of Baba Farid) Smiling, Shaikh al Islam (Fariduddin) said: ‘Give me constructed in Fatehpur Sikri, the money. I will dispense it to the dervishes. But as Akbar’s capital, symbolised the for those land deeds, keep them. There are many who bond between the Chishtis and the long for them. Give them away to such persons.’” Mughal state. BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 161

8. New Devotional Paths Source 10 Dialogue and Dissent in The One Lord Northern India Many poet-saints engaged in explicit and implicit Here is a composition attributed dialogue with these new social situations, ideas and to Kabir: institutions. Let us now see how this dialogue found Tell me, brother, how can expression. We focus here on three of the most there be influential figures of the time. No one lord of the world 8.1 Weaving a divine fabric: Kabir but two? Kabir (c. fourteenth-fifteenth centuries) is perhaps Who led you so astray? one of the most outstanding examples of a poet-saint God is called by many names: who emerged within this context. Historians have painstakingly tried to reconstruct his life and times Names like Allah, Ram, Karim, through a study of compositions attributed to him Keshav, Hari, and Hazrat. as well as later hagiographies. Such exercises have Gold may be shaped into proved to be challenging on a number of counts. rings and bangles. Verses ascribed to Kabir have been compiled in Isn’t it gold all the same? three distinct but overlapping traditions. The Kabir Distinctions are only words Bijak is preserved by the Kabirpanth (the path or we invent … sect of Kabir) in Varanasi and elsewhere in Uttar Kabir says they are both Pradesh; the Kabir Granthavali is associated with mistaken. the Dadupanth in Rajasthan, and many of his Neither can find the only Adi Granth Sahib compositions are found in the (see Ram. One kills the goat, the Section 8.2). All these manuscript compilations other cows. were made long after the death of Kabir. By the They waste their lives in nineteenth century, anthologies of verses attributed disputation. to him circulated in print in regions as far apart as Bengal, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

Kabir’s poems have survived in several languages What is Kabir’s and dialects; and some are composed in the special argument against the language of nirguna poets, the sant bhasha. Others, distinction made known as ulatbansi (upside-down sayings), are between gods of different communities? written in a form in which everyday meanings are inverted. These hint at the difficulties of capturing the nature of the Ultimate Reality in words: expressions such as “the lotus which blooms without flower” or the “fire raging in the ocean” convey a sense of Kabir’s mystical experiences. Also striking is the range of traditions Kabir drew on to describe the Ultimate Reality. These include Islam: he described the Ultimate Reality as Allah, Khuda, Hazrat and Pir. He also used terms drawn from Vedantic traditions, alakh (the unseen), nirakar (formless), Brahman, Atman, etc. Other terms with mystical connotations such as shabda (sound) or shunya (emptiness) were drawn from yogic traditions. 162 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Diverse and sometimes conflicting ideas are expressed in these poems. Some poems draw on Islamic ideas and use monotheism and iconoclasm to attack Hindu polytheism and idol worship; others use the sufi concept of zikr and ishq (love) to express the Hindu practice of nam-simaran (remembrance of God’s name). Were all these composed by Kabir? We may never be able to tell with certainty, although scholars have tried to analyse the language, style and content to establish which verses could be Kabir’s. What this Fig. 6.16 rich corpus of verses also signifies is that Kabir was Roadside musicians, a seventeenth- and is to the present a source of inspiration for century Mughal painting those who questioned entrenched religious and It is likely that the compositions of the sants were sung by social institutions, ideas and practices in their such musicians. search for the Divine. Just as Kabir’s ideas probably crystallised through dialogue and debate (explicit or implicit) with the traditions of sufis and yogis in the region of Awadh (part of present-day Uttar Pradesh), his legacy was claimed by several groups, who remembered him and continue to do so. This is most evident in later debates about whether he was a Hindu or a Muslim by birth, debates that are reflected in hagiographies. Many of these were composed from the seventeenth century onwards, about 200 years after Kabir’s lifetime. Hagiographies within the Vaishnava tradition attempted to suggest that he was born a Hindu, Kabirdas (Kabir itself is an Arabic word meaning “great”), but was raised by a poor Muslim family belonging to the community of weavers or julahas, who were relatively recent converts to Islam. They also suggested that he was initiated into bhakti by a guru, perhaps Ramananda. BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 163

However, the verses attributed to Kabir use the words guru and satguru, but do not mention the name of any specific preceptor. Historians have pointed out that it is very difficult to establish that Ramananda and Kabir were contemporaries, without assigning improbably long lives to either or both. So, while traditions linking the two cannot be accepted at face value, they show how important the legacy of Kabir was for later generations. 8.2 Baba Guru Nanak and the Sacred Word Baba Guru Nanak (1469-1539) was born in a Hindu merchant family in a village called Nankana Sahib near the river Ravi in the predominantly Muslim Punjab. He trained to be an accountant and studied Persian. He was married at a young age but he spent most of his time among sufis and bhaktas. He also travelled widely. The message of Baba Guru Nanak is spelt out in his hymns and teachings. These suggest that he advocated a form of nirguna bhakti. He firmly repudiated the external practices of the religions he saw around him. He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims. For Baba Guru Nanak, the Absolute or “rab” had no gender or form. He proposed a simple way to connect to the Divine by remembering and repeating the Divine Name, expressing his ideas through hymns called “shabad” in Punjabi, the language of the region. Baba Guru Nanak would sing these compositions in various ragas while his attendant Mardana played the rabab. Baba Guru Nanak organised his followers into a community. He set up rules for congregational worship (sangat) involving collective recitation. He appointed one of his disciples, Angad, to succeed him as the preceptor (guru), and this practice was followed for nearly 200 years. It appears that Baba Guru Nanak did not wish to establish a new religion, but after his death his followers consolidated their own practices and distinguished themselves from both Hindus and Muslims. The fifth preceptor, Guru Arjan, compiled Baba Guru Nanak’s hymns along with those of his four successors and other religious poets like Baba Farid, Ravidas (also known as Raidas) and Kabir in the Adi Granth Sahib. These hymns, called “gurbani”, are composed in various 164 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

languages. In the late seventeenth century the tenth preceptor, Guru Gobind Singh, included the compositions of the ninth guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, and this scripture was called the Guru Granth Sahib. Guru Gobind Singh also laid the foundation of the Khalsa Panth (army of the pure) and defined its five symbols: uncut hair, a dagger, a pair of shorts, a comb and a steel bangle. Under him the community got consolidated as a socio-religious and military force. 8.3 Mirabai, the devotee princess Mirabai (c. fifteenth-sixteenth centuries) is perhaps the best-known woman poet within the bhakti tradition. Biographies have been reconstructed primarily from the bhajans attributed to her, which were transmitted orally for centuries. According to these, she was a Rajput princess from Merta in Fig. 6.17 Marwar who was married against her wishes to a A fifteenth-century stone sculpture prince of the Sisodia clan of Mewar, Rajasthan. She (Tamil Nadu) depicting Krishna defied her husband and did not submit to the playing the flute, a form of the deity worshipped by Mirabai traditional role of wife and mother, instead recognising Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu, as her lover. Her in-laws tried to poison her, but she escaped from the palace to live as a wandering singer composing songs that are characterised by intense expressions of emotion.

Source 11 Love for the Lord

This is part of a song attributed to Mirabai: I will build a funeral pyre of sandalwood and aloe; Light it by your own hand When I am burned away to cinders; Smear this ash upon your limbs. … let flame be lost in flame.

In another verse, she sings: What can Mewar’s ruler do to me? If God is angry, all is lost, But what can the Rana do?

What does this indicate about Mirabai’s attitude towards the king? BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 165

According to some traditions, her preceptor was Raidas, a leather worker. This would indicate her Shankaradeva defiance of the norms of caste society. After rejecting the comforts of her husband’s palace, she In the late fifteenth century, is supposed to have donned the white robes of a Shankaradeva emerged as one widow or the saffron robe of the renouncer. of the leading proponents of Although Mirabai did not attract a sect or Vaishnavism in Assam. His group of followers, she has been recognised as a teachings, often known as the Bhagavati dharma because they source of inspiration for centuries. Her songs were based on the Bhagavad continue to be sung by women and men, especially Gita and the Bhagavata Purana, those who are poor and considered “low caste” in focused on absolute surrender Gujarat and Rajasthan. to the supreme deity, in this case Vishnu. He emphasised the need for naam kirtan, recitation of the names of the lord in sat Discuss... sanga or congregations of pious Why do you think the traditions of Kabir, Baba devotees. He also encouraged Guru Nanak and Mirabai remain significant in the establishment of satra or the twenty-first century? monasteries for the transmission of spiritual knowledge, and naam ghar or prayer halls. 9. Reconstructing Histories of Many of these institutions and practices continue to flourish Religious Traditions in the region. His major We have seen that historians draw on a variety compositions include the of sources to reconstruct histories of religious Kirtana-ghosha. traditions – these include sculpture, architecture, stories about religious preceptors, compositions attributed to women and men engaged in the quest of understanding the nature of the Divine. As we have seen in Chapters 1 and 4, sculpture and architecture can only be understood if we have a grasp of the context – the ideas, beliefs and practices of those who produced and used these images and buildings. What about textual traditions regarding religious beliefs? If you return to the sources in this chapter, you will notice that they include a wide variety, written in several different languages and styles. They range from the apparently simple, direct language of the vachanas of Basavanna to the ornate Persian of the farman of the Mughal emperors. Understanding each type of text requires different skills: apart from a familiarity with several languages, the historian has to be aware of the subtle variations in style that characterise each genre. 166 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Varieties of sources used to reconstruct the history of sufi traditions

A wide range of texts were produced in and around sufi khanqahs. These included: 1.Treatises or manuals dealing with sufi thought and practices – The Kashf-ul-Mahjub of Ali bin Usman Hujwiri (died c. 1071) is an example of this genre. It enables historians to see how traditions outside the subcontinent influenced sufi thought in India. 2. Malfuzat (literally, “uttered”; conversations of sufi saints) – An early text on malfuzat is the Fawa’id-al-Fu’ad, a collection of conversations of Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya, compiled by Amir Hasan Sijzi Dehlavi, a noted Persian poet. Source 9 contains an excerpt from this text. Malfuzats were compiled by different sufi silsilas with the permission of the shaikhs; these had obvious didactic purposes. Several examples have been found from different parts of the subcontinent, including the Deccan. They were compiled over several centuries. 3. Maktubat (literally, “written” collections of letters); letters written by sufi masters, addressed to their disciples and associates – While these tell us about the shaikh’s experience of religious truth that he wanted to share with others, they also reflect the life conditions of the recipients and are responses to their aspirations and difficulties, both spiritual and mundane. The letters, known as Maktubat-i Imam Rabbani, of the noted seventeenth-century Naqshbandi Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (d.1624), whose ideology is often contrasted with the liberal and non-sectarian views of Akbar, are amongst those most frequently discussed by scholars. 4. Tazkiras (literally, “to mention and memorialise”; biographical accounts of saints) – The fourteenth-centurySiyar-ul-Auliya of Mir Khwurd Kirmani was the first sufi tazkira written in India. It dealt principally with the Chishti saints. The most famous tazkira is the Akhbar-ul-Akhyar of Abdul Haqq Muhaddis Dehlavi (d. 1642). The authors of the tazkiras often sought to establish the precedence of their own orders and glorify their spiritual genealogies. Many details are often implausible, full of elements of the fantastic. Still they are of great value for historians and help them to understand more fully the nature of the tradition. Remember that each of the traditions we have been considering in this chapter generated a wide range of textual and oral modes of communication, some of which have been preserved, many of which have been modified in the process of transmission, and others are probably lost forever. BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 167

Virtually all these religious traditions continue to flourish to date. This continuity has certain advantages for historians as it allows them to compare contemporary practices with those described in textual traditions or shown in old paintings and to trace changes. At the same time, because these traditions are part of peoples’ lived beliefs and practices, there is often a lack of acceptance of the possibility that these may have changed over time. The challenge for historians is to undertake such investigations with sensitivity, while at the same time recognising that religious traditions, like other traditions, are dynamic and change over time.

Timeline Some Major Religious Teachers in the Subcontinent

c. 500-800 CE Appar, Sambandar, Sundaramurti in Tamil Nadu c. 800-900 Nammalvar, Manikkavachakar, Andal, Tondaradippodi in Tamil Nadu c.1000-1100 Al Hujwiri, Data Ganj Bakhsh in the Punjab; Ramanujacharya in Tamil Nadu c.1100-1200 Basavanna in Karnataka c.1200-1300 Jnanadeva, Muktabai in Maharashtra; Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti in Rajasthan; Bahauddin Zakariyya and Fariduddin Ganj- i Shakar in the Punjab; Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Delhi c.1300-1400 Lal Ded in Kashmir; Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sind; Nizamuddin Auliya in Delhi; Ramananda in Uttar Pradesh; Chokhamela in Maharashtra; Sharafuddin Yahya Maneri in Bihar c.1400-1500 Kabir, Raidas, Surdas in Uttar Pradesh; Baba Guru Nanak in the Punjab; Vallabhacharya in Gujarat; Abdullah Shattari in Gwalior; Muhammad Shah Alam in Gujarat; Mir Sayyid Muhammad Gesu Daraz in Gulbarga, Shankaradeva in Assam; Tukaram in Maharashtra c.1500-1600 Sri Chaitanya in Bengal; Mirabai in Rajasthan;Shaikh Abdul Quddus Gangohi, Malik Muhammad Jaisi, Tulsidas in Uttar Pradesh c.1600-1700 Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi in Haryana; Miyan Mir in the Punjab

Note: These time frames indicate the approximate period during which these teachers lived. 168 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Answer in100-150 words

1. Explain with examples what historians mean by the integration of cults. 2. To what extent do you think the architecture of mosques in the subcontinent reflects a combination of universal ideals and local traditions? 3. What were the similarities and differences between the be-shari‘a and ba-shari‘a sufi traditions? 4. Discuss the ways in which the Alvars, Nayanars and Virashaivas expressed critiques of the caste system. 5. Describe the major teachings of either Kabir or Baba Guru Nanak, and the ways in which these have been transmitted.

Write a short essay (about 250-300 words) on the following:

6. Discuss the major beliefs and practices that characterised Sufism. 7. Examine how and why rulers tried to establish connections with the traditions of the Nayanars and the sufis. 8. Analyse, with illustrations, why bhakti and sufi thinkers adopted a variety of languages in which to express their opinions. 9. Read any five of the sources included in this chapter and discuss the social and religious ideas that are expressed in them.

Map work

10. On an outline map of India, plot three major sufi shrines, and three places associated with temples (one each of a form of Vishnu, Shiva and the goddess). BHAKTI-SUFI TRADITIONS 169

Projects (choose one)

If you would like to know more, read: 11. Choose any two of the religious teachers/thinkers/ saints mentioned in this chapter, and find out more Richard M. Eaton (ed). 2003. about their lives and teachings. Prepare a report India’s Islamic Traditions. about the area and the times in which they lived, Oxford University Press, their major ideas, how we know about them, and New Delhi. why you think they are important. John Stratton Hawley. 2005. 12. Find out more about practices of pilgrimage Three Bhakti Voices associated with the shrines mentioned in this Mirabai, Surdas and Kabir chapter. Are these pilgrimages still undertaken? in their times and ours. When are these shrines visited? Who visits these Oxford University Press, shrines? Why do they do so? What are the activities New Delhi. associated with these pilgrimages? David N. Lorenzen (ed.). 2004. Religious Movements in South Asia 600-1800. Oxford University Press, New Delhi,

A.K. Ramanujan. 1981. Hymns for the Drowning. Penguin, New Delhi.

Annemarie Schimmel. 1975. Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Univesity of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.

David Smith. 1998. The Dance of Siva: Religion Art and Poetry in South India. Cambridge Univesity Press, New Delhi.

Charlotte Vaudeville. 1997. A Weaver Named Kabir. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

For more information, Fig. 6.18 you could visit: The dargah of Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya, http://www.alif-india.com Multan (Pakistan)

THEME An Imperial Capital SEVEN Vijayanagara (c. fourteenth o e h to o ssixteenth i t e nt century)ce n t )

Vijayanagara or “city of victory” was the name of both a city and an empire. The empire was founded in the fourteenth century. In its heyday it stretched from the river Krishna in the north to the extreme south of the peninsula. In 1565 the city was sacked and subsequently deserted. Although it fell into ruin in the seventeenth-eighteenth centuries, it lived on in the memories of people living in the Krishna-Tungabhadra doab. They remembered it as Hampi, a name derived from that of the local mother goddess, Pampadevi. These oral traditions combined with archaeological finds, monuments and inscriptions and other records helped scholars to rediscover the Vijayanagara Empire.

Fig. 7.1 A part of the stone wall that was built around the city of Vijayanagara

1. The Discovery of Hampi The ruins at Hampi were brought to light in 1800 by an engineer and antiquarian named Colonel Colin Mackenzie. An employee of the English East India Company, he prepared the first survey map of the site. Much of the initial information he received was based on the memories of priests of the Virupaksha temple and the shrine of Pampadevi. Subsequently, from 1856, photographers began to record the monuments which enabled scholars to study them. As early as 1836 epigraphists began collecting several dozen inscriptions found at this and other temples at Hampi. In an effort to reconstruct the history of the city and the empire, historians collated information from these sources with accounts of foreign travellers and other literature written in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Sanskrit. AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 171 Source 1 Colin Mackenzie

Born in 1754, Colin Mackenzie became famous as an engineer, surveyor and cartographer. In 1815 he was appointed the first Surveyor General of India, a post he held till his death in 1821. He embarked on collecting local histories and surveying historic sites in order to better understand India’s past and make governance of the colony easier. He says that “it struggled long under the miseries of bad management … before the South came under the benign influence of the British government”. By studying Vijayanagara, Mackenzie believed that the East India Company could gain “much useful information on many of these institutions, laws and customs whose influence still prevails among the various Tribes of Natives forming the general mass of the population to this day”.

Fig. 7.2 Mackenzie and his assistants This is a copy by an 2. Rayas, Nayakas and Sultans unknown artist of an oil According to tradition and epigraphic evidence two painting by the portrait brothers, Harihara and Bukka, founded the painter Thomas Hickey. It dates to c.1825 and belongs Vijayanagara Empire in 1336. This empire included to the collection of the Royal within its fluctuating frontiers peoples who spoke Asiatic Society of Britain and different languages and followed different religious Ireland. On Mackenzie’s left traditions. is his peon Kistnaji holding On their northern frontier, the Vijayanagara kings a telescope, on his right are competed with contemporary rulers – including the Brahmana assistants – a Jaina pandit (right) and Sultans of the Deccan and the Gajapati rulers of behind him the Telugu Orissa – for control of the fertile river valleys and Brahmana Cauvellery the resources generated by lucrative overseas trade. Ventak Letchmiah. At the same time, interaction between these states led to sharing of ideas, especially in the field of architecture. The rulers of Vijayanagara borrowed How has the artist concepts and building techniques which they then portrayed Mackenzie developed further. and his indigenous informers? What ideas about him and his informants are sought to Karnataka samrajyamu be impressed upon the While historians use the term Vijayanagara Empire, viewers? contemporaries described it as the karnataka samrajyamu. 172 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Fig. 7.3 The gopuram or gateway of the Brihadishvara temple at Thanjavur

Some of the areas that were incorporated within Elephants, horses the empire had witnessed the development of powerful states such as those of the Cholas in Tamil and men Nadu and the Hoysalas in Karnataka. Ruling elites Gajapati literally means lord in these areas had extended patronage to elaborate of elephants. This was the name temples such as the Brihadishvara temple at of a ruling lineage that was Thanjavur and the Chennakeshava temple at Belur. very powerful in Orissa in the The rulers of Vijayanagara, who called themselves fifteenth century. In the popular rayas, built on these traditions and carried them, traditions of Vijayanagara the as we will see, literally to new heights. Deccan Sultans are termed as ashvapati or lord of horses and 2.1 Kings and traders the rayas are called narapati or As warfare during these times depended upon lord of men. effective cavalry, the import of horses from Arabia and Central Asia was very important for rival kingdoms. This trade was initially controlled by Arab traders. Local communities of merchants known as kudirai chettis or horse merchants also participated in these exchanges. From 1498 other actors appeared on the scene. These were the Portuguese, who arrived on the west coast of the subcontinent and attempted to establish trading and military stations. Their superior military technology, especially the use of muskets, enabled them to become important players in the tangled politics of the period. In fact, Vijayanagara was also noted for its markets dealing in spices, textiles and precious stones. Trade was often regarded as a status symbol for such cities, which boasted of a wealthy population that demanded high-value exotic goods, especially precious stones and jewellery. The revenue derived AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 173 from trade in turn contributed significantly to the Source 2 prosperity of the state. Kings and traders 2.2 The apogee and decline of the empire Within the polity, claimants to power included members of the ruling lineage as well as military Krishnadeva Raya (ruled 1509-29), commanders. The first dynasty, known as the the most famous ruler of Sangama dynasty, exercised control till 1485. Vijayanagara, composed a work on statecraft in Telugu known They were supplanted by the Saluvas, military as the Amuktamalyada. About commanders, who remained in power till 1503 traders he wrote: when they were replaced by the Tuluvas. Krishnadeva Raya belonged to the Tuluva dynasty. A king should improve the Krishnadeva Raya’s rule was characterised by harbours of his country and so encourage its expansion and consolidation. This was the time commerce that horses, when the land between the Tungabhadra and elephants, precious gems, Krishna rivers (the Raichur doab) was acquired sandalwood, pearls and (1512), the rulers of Orissa were subdued (1514) and other articles are freely severe defeats were inflicted on the Sultan of Bijapur imported … He should (1520). Although the kingdom remained in a constant arrange that the foreign state of military preparedness, it flourished under sailors who land in conditions of unparalleled peace and prosperity. his country on account Krishnadeva Raya is credited with building some of storms, illness and fine temples and adding impressive gopurams to exhaustion are looked after in a suitable manner … many important south Indian temples. He also Make the merchants of founded a suburban township near Vijayanagara distant foreign countries called Nagalapuram after his mother. Some of the who import elephants and most detailed descriptions of Vijayanagara come from good horses be attached his time or just after. to yourself by providing Strain began to show within the imperial structure them with daily audience, following Krishnadeva Raya’s death in 1529. His presents and allowing successors were troubled by rebellious nayakas or decent profits. Then those military chiefs. By 1542 control at the centre had articles will never go to shifted to another ruling lineage, that of the Aravidu, your enemies. which remained in power till the end of the seventeenth century. During this period, as indeed Why do you think earlier, the military ambitions of the rulers the king was interested of Vijayanagara as well as those of the Deccan in encouraging trade? Sultanates resulted in shifting alignments. Which groups of people Eventually this led to an alliance of the Sultanates would have benefited against Vijayanagara. In 1565 Rama Raya, the chief from these minister of Vijayanagara, led the army into battle transactions? at Rakshasi-Tangadi (also known as Talikota), where his forces were routed by the combined armies of Bijapur, Ahmadnagar and Golconda. The victorious armies sacked the city of Vijayanagara. The city was totally abandoned within a few years. Now the focus of the empire shifted to the east where the Aravidu 174 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Map 1 Bidar Warangal Gulbarga South India, Bhima Golconda c. fourteenth-eighteenth century Bijapur

Krishna Tungabhadra

Vijayanagara

Pennar

Chitradurga Ikkeri

Chandragiri Bay of Bengal Arabian Sea Kolar Kanchipuram

Mysore Gingee

Kaveri Chidambaram

Thanjavur

Vaigai Madurai

Ramanathapuram Quilon Tirunelveli

Identify the present-day states Sri Lanka that formed part of the empire. Indian Ocean Sketch map not to scale

dynasty ruled from Penukonda and later from Chandragiri (near Tirupati). Although the armies of the Sultans were responsible for the destruction of the city of Vijayanagara, relations between the Sultans and the rayas were not always or inevitably hostile, in spite of religious differences. Krishnadeva Raya, for example, supported some Yavana is a Sanskrit word used claimants to power in the Sultanates and took pride for the Greeks and other peoples in the title “establisher of the Yavana kingdom”. who entered the subcontinent Similarly, the Sultan of Bijapur intervened to resolve from the north west. succession disputes in Vijayanagara following the death of Krishnadeva Raya. In fact the Vijayanagara kings were keen to ensure the stability of the Sultanates and vice versa. It was the adventurous policy of Rama Raya who tried to play off one Sultan against another that led the Sultans to combine together and decisively defeat him. AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 175

2.3 The rayas and the nayakas Among those who exercised power in the empire were military chiefs who usually controlled forts and had armed supporters. These chiefs often moved from one area to another, and in many cases were accompanied by peasants looking for fertile land on which to settle. These chiefs were known as nayakas and they usually spoke Telugu or Kannada. Many nayakas submitted to the authority of the kings of Vijayanagara but they often rebelled and had to be subdued by military action. The amara-nayaka system was a major political innovation of the Vijayanagara Empire. It is likely that many features of this system were derived from the iqta system of the Delhi Sultanate. The amara-nayakas were military commanders who were given territories to govern by the raya. They collected taxes and other dues from peasants, craftspersons and traders in the area. They retained part of the revenue for personal use and for maintaining a stipulated contingent of horses and elephants. These contingents provided the Vijayanagara kings with an effective fighting force with which they brought the entire southern peninsula under their control. Some of the revenue was also used for the maintenance of temples and irrigation works. The amara-nayakas sent tribute to the king annually and personally appeared in the royal court Amara is believed to be derived samara with gifts to express their loyalty. Kings occasionally from the Sanskrit word , meaning battle or war. It also asserted their control over them by transferring them resembles the Persian term from one place to another. However, during the course amir, meaning a high noble. of the seventeenth century, many of these nayakas established independent kingdoms. This hastened the collapse of the central imperial structure.

Discuss... Locate Chandragiri, Madurai, Ikkeri, Thanjavur and Mysore, all centres of nayaka power, on Map 1. Discuss the ways in which rivers and hills may have facilitated or hindered communication with Vijayanagara in each case. 176 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

3. Vijayanagara The Capital and its Environs Like most capitals, Vijayanagara, was characterised by a distinctive physical layout and building style.

Fig. 7.4 Plan of Vijayanagara

Identify three major zones on the plan. Look at the central part. Can you see channels connecting up with the river? See how many fortification walls you can trace. Was the sacred centre fortified?

Finding out about the city A large number of inscriptions of the kings of Vijayanagara and their nayakas recording donations to temples as well as describing important events have been recovered. Several travellers visited the city and wrote about it. Notable among their accounts are those of an Italian trader named Nicolo de Conti, an ambassador named Source 3 Abdur Razzaq sent by the ruler of Persia, a merchant named A sprawling city Afanasii Nikitin from Russia, all of whom visited the city in the fifteenth century, and those This is an excerpt from Domingo Paes’s description of of Duarte Barbosa, Domingo Vijayanagara: Paes and Fernao Nuniz from The size of this city I do not write here, because it Portugal, who came in the cannot all be seen from any one spot, but I climbed a sixteenth century. hill whence I could see a great part of it; I could not see it all because it lies between several ranges of hills. What I saw from thence seemed to me as large as Rome, and very beautiful to the sight; there are many groves of

Would you find these features trees within it, in the gardens of the houses, and many in a city today? Why do you conduits of water which flow into the midst of it, and in think the gardens and water places there are lakes; and the king has close to his bodies were selected for special palace a palm-grove and other rich fruit-bearing trees. mention by Paes? AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 177

3.1 Water resources Source 4 The most striking feature about the location of Vijayanagara is the natural basin formed by the How tanks were built river Tungabhadra which flows in a north-easterly direction. The surrounding landscape is characterised About a tank constructed by by stunning granite hills that seem to form a girdle Krishnadeva Raya, Paes wrote: around the city. A number of streams flow down to The king made a tank … at the river from these rocky outcrops. the mouth of two hills In almost all cases embankments were built along so that all the water these streams to create reservoirs of varying sizes. which comes from either As this is one of the most arid zones of the peninsula, one side or the other elaborate arrangements had to be made to store collects there; and, besides rainwater and conduct it to the city. The most this, water comes to it important such tank was built in the early years from more than three of the fifteenth century and is now called leagues (approximately 15 kilometres) by pipes which Kamalapuram tank. Water from this tank not only run along the lower parts of irrigated fields nearby but was also conducted the range outside. This through a channel to the “royal centre”. water is brought from a lake One of the most prominent waterworks to be seen which itself overflows into a among the ruins is the Hiriya canal. This canal drew little river. The tank has three water from a dam across the Tungabhadra and large pillars handsomely irrigated the cultivated valley that separated the carved with figures; these “sacred centre” from the “urban core”. This was connect above with certain apparently built by kings of the Sangama dynasty. pipes by which they get water when they have to 3.2 Fortifications and roads irrigate their gardens and Before we examine the different parts of the city in rice-fields. In order to make detail let us look at what enclosed them all – the this tank the said king broke great fortress walls. Abdur Razzaq, an ambassador down a hill … In the tank I sent by the ruler of Persia to Calicut (present-day saw so many people at work Kozhikode) in the fifteenth century, was greatly that there must have been impressed by the fortifications, and mentioned fifteen or twenty thousand men, looking like ants … seven lines of forts. These encircled not only the city but also its agricultural hinterland and forests. The outermost wall linked the hills surrounding the city. The massive masonry construction was Fig. 7.5 slightly tapered. No mortar or cementing agent was An aqueduct leading into the royal employed anywhere in the construction. The stone centre blocks were wedge shaped, which held them in place, and the inner portion of the walls was of earth packed with rubble. Square or rectangular bastions projected outwards. What was most significant about this fortification is that it enclosed agricultural tracts. Abdur Razzaq noted that “ between the first, second and the third walls there are cultivated fields, gardens and houses”. And Paes observed: “From this first circuit until you 178 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

enter the city there is a great distance, in which are fields in which they sow rice and have many gardens and much water, in which water comes from two lakes.” These statements have been corroborated by present-day archaeologists, who have also found evidence of an agricultural tract between the sacred centre and the urban core. This tract was serviced by an elaborate canal system drawing water from the Tungabhadra. Why do you think agricultural tracts were incorporated within the fortified area? Often, the objective of medieval sieges was to starve the defenders into submission. These sieges could last for several months and sometimes even years. Fig. 7.6 Normally rulers tried to be prepared for such A gateway in the fortification wall situations by building large granaries within fortified areas. The rulers of Vijayanagara adopted a more expensive and elaborate strategy of protecting

Describe the similarities the agricultural belt itself. and differences between A second line of fortification went round the these two entrances. inner core of the urban complex, and a third line Why do you think the rulers surrounded the royal centre, within which each set of Vijayanagara adopted elements of Indo-Islamic of major buildings was surrounded by its own architecture? high walls. The fort was entered through well-guarded gates, which linked the city to the major roads. Gateways Fig. 7.7 were distinctive architectural features that often A gopuram defined the structures to which they regulated access. The arch on the gateway leading into the fortified settlement as well as the dome over the gate (Fig. 7.6) are regarded as typical features of the architecture introduced by the Turkish Sultans. Art historians refer to this style as Indo-Islamic, as it grew continually through interaction with local building practices in different regions. Archaeologists have studied roads within the city and those leading out from it. These have been identified by tracing paths through gateways, as well as by finds of pavements. Roads generally wound around through the valleys, avoiding rocky terrain. Some of the most important roads extended from temple gateways, and were lined by bazaars. 3.3 The urban core Moving along the roads leading into the urban core, there is relatively little archaeological evidence of the houses of ordinary people. Archaeologists have AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 179 found fine Chinese porcelain in some areas, including in the north-eastern corner of the urban core and suggest that these areas may have been occupied by rich traders. This was also the Muslim residential quarter. Tombs and mosques located here have distinctive functions, yet their architecture resembles that of the mandapas found in the temples of Hampi. This is how the sixteenth-century Portuguese traveller Barbosa described the houses of ordinary people, which have not survived: “The other houses Fig. 7.8 of the people are thatched, but nonetheless well built Part of an excavated pavement and arranged according to occupations, in long streets with many open places.” Field surveys indicate that the entire area was dotted with numerous shrines and small temples, pointing to the prevalence of a variety of cults, perhaps supported by different communities. The surveys also indicate that wells, rainwater tanks as well as temple tanks may have served as sources of water to the ordinary town dwellers.

Fig. 7.9 Shards of Chinese porcelain

What kinds of vessels do you think these shards were originally parts of?

Fig. 7.10 A mosque in Vijayanagara

Does the mosque have the typical features of 4. The Royal Centre Indo-Islamic architecture? The royal centre was located in the south-western part of the settlement. Although designated as a royal centre, it included over 60 temples. Clearly, the patronage of temples and cults was important for rulers who were trying to establish and legitimise their authority through association with the divinities housed in the shrines. ✁ Discuss... About thirty building complexes have been Compare the layout of identified as palaces. These are relatively large Vijayanagara with that of structures that do not seem to have been associated your town or village. 180 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

with ritual functions. One difference between A House of Victory? these structures and temples is that the latter were constructed entirely of masonry, while the This is what Paes had to say superstructure of the secular buildings was made about the audience hall and of perishable materials. the mahanavami dibba, which together he called the “House 4.1 The mahanavami dibba of Victory”: Some of the more distinctive structures in the area These buildings have have been assigned names based on the form of two platforms one above the buildings as well as their functions. The “king’s the other, beautifully palace” is the largest of the enclosures but has not sculpted … On the upper yielded definitive evidence of being a royal residence. platform … in this House It has two of the most impressive platforms, usually of Victory the king has a called the “audience hall” and the “mahanavami room made of cloth … dibba”. The entire complex is surrounded by high where the idol has a shrine double walls with a street running between them. ... and in the other in the The audience hall is a high platform with slots for middle is placed a dais on wooden pillars at close and regular intervals. It had which stands a throne of a staircase going up to the second floor, which rested state, (the crown and the on these pillars. The pillars being closely spaced, royal anklet) … would have left little free space and thus it is not clear what the hall was used for. Located on one of the highest points in the city, the “mahanavami dibba” is a massive platform rising from a base of about 11,000 sq. ft to a height of 40 ft. There is evidence that it supported a wooden structure. The base of the platform is covered with relief carvings (Fig. 7.12). Rituals associated with the structure probably coincided with Mahanavami (literally, the great ninth day) of the ten-day Hindu festival during the autumn months of September and October, known variously Fig. 7.11 as Dusehra (northern India), Durga Puja (in Bengal) The mahanavami dibba

Fig. 7.12 Carvings on the mahanavami dibba

Can you identify the themes of the carvings? AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 181

Fig. 7.13 An elevation drawing of the Lotus Mahal An elevation is a vertical view of any object or structure. It gives you an idea of features that cannot be seen in a photograph. Notice the arches. These were probably inspired by Indo-Islamic techniques.

Compare Figs. 7.13 and 7.15, and make a list of the features that are common to both, as well as those that can be seen in only one. Also compare the arch in Fig. 7.14 with the arch in Fig. 7.6. The Lotus Mahal had nine towers – a high central one, and eight and Navaratri or Mahanavami (in peninsular India). along the sides. How many can The Vijayanagara kings displayed their prestige, power you see in the photograph and how many in the elevation? and suzerainty on this occasion. If you had to rename the Lotus The ceremonies performed on the occasion included Mahal, what would you call it? worship of the image, worship of the state horse, and the sacrifice of buffaloes and other animals. Dances, wrestling matches, and processions of caparisoned horses, elephants and chariots and soldiers, as well as ritual presentations before the king and his guests by the chief nayakas and subordinate kings marked the occasion. These ceremonies were imbued with deep symbolic meanings. On the last day of the festival the king inspected his army and the armies of the nayakas in a grand ceremony in an open field. On this occasion the nayakas brought rich gifts for the king as well as the stipulated tribute. Was the “mahanavami dibba” that stands today the centre of this elaborate ritual? Scholars have pointed out that the space surrounding the structure does not seem to have been adequate for elaborate processions of armed men, women, and large numbers of animals. Like some of the other structures in the royal centre, it remains an enigma. 4.2 Other buildings in the royal centre One of the most beautiful buildings in the royal centre is the Lotus Mahal, so named by British Fig. 7.14 travellers in the nineteenth century. While the name Detail of an arch of is certainly romantic, historians are not quite sure the Lotus Mahal 182 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Fig. 7.15 A photograph of the Lotus Mahal

what the building was used for. One suggestion, Compare Figs. 7.16 a and 7.16 b with Fig. 7.17, found in a map drawn by Mackenzie, is that it making a list of features may have been a council chamber, a place where visible in each one. the king met his advisers. Do you think these were While most temples were located in the sacred actually elephant stables? centre, there were several in the royal centre as well.

Fig. 7.16 a Elevation of the “elephant stables”

Fig. 7.16 b Plan of the “elephant stables”. A plan gives a horizontal view of a structure.

Fig. 7.17 “Elephant stables” located close to the Lotus Mahal AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 183

Fig. 7.18 Sculpture from the Hazara Rama temple

✁ Can you identify scenes of dancing? Why do you think elephants and horses were depicted on the panels?

One of the most spectacular of these is one known as the Hazara Rama temple. This was probably meant to be used only by the king and his family. The images in the central shrine are missing; however, sculpted panels on the walls survive. These include scenes from the Ramayana sculpted on the inner walls of the shrine. While many of the structures at Vijayanagara were destroyed when the city was sacked, traditions of building palatial structures were continued by the nayakas. Many of these buildings have survived.

Fig. 7.19 Discuss... Interior of the audience hall nayakas Why did the continue with the building at Madurai traditions of the rulers of Vijayanagara? Note the arches. 184 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

5. The Sacred Centre 5.1 Choosing a capital We now move to the rocky northern end of the city on the banks of the Tungabhadra. According to local tradition, these hills sheltered the monkey kingdom of Vali and Sugriva mentioned in the Ramayana. Other traditions suggest that Pampadevi, the local mother goddess, did penance in these hills in order to marry Virupaksha, the guardian deity of the kingdom, also recognised as a form of Shiva. To this day this marriage is celebrated annually in the Virupaksha temple. Among these hills are found Jaina temples of the pre-Vijayanagara period as well. In other words, this area was associated with several sacred traditions. Temple building in the region had a long history, going back to dynasties such as the Pallavas, Chalukyas, Hoysalas and Cholas. Rulers very often encouraged temple building as a means of associating themselves with the divine – often, the deity was explicitly or implicitly identified with the king. Temples also functioned as centres of learning. Besides, rulers and others often granted land and other resources for the maintenance of temples. Consequently, temples developed as significant religious, social, cultural and economic centres. From the point of view of the rulers, constructing, repairing and maintaining temples were important means of winning support and recognition for their power, wealth and piety. It is likely that the very choice of the site of Vijayanagara was inspired by the existence of the shrines of Virupaksha and Pampadevi. In fact the Vijayanagara kings claimed to rule on behalf of the god Virupaksha. All royal orders were signed “Shri Virupaksha”, usually in the Kannada script. Rulers also indicated their close links with the gods by using the title “Hindu Suratrana”. This was a Sanskritisation of the Arabic term Sultan, meaning king, so it literally meant Hindu Sultan. Even as they drew on earlier traditions, the rulers of Vijayanagara innovated and developed these. Royal portrait sculpture was now displayed in temples, and the king’s visits to temples were treated as important state occasions on which he was accompanied by the important nayakas of the empire. AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 185

Fig. 7.20 An aerial view of the Virupaksha temple

5.2. Gopurams and mandapas In terms of temple architecture, by this period certain new features were in evidence. These included structures of immense scale that must have been a mark of imperial authority, best exemplified by the raya gopurams (Fig. 7.7) or royal gateways that often dwarfed the towers on the central shrines, and signalled the presence of the temple from a great

Fig. 7.21 A plan of the Virupaksha temple Most of the square structures are shrines. The two major gateways Tank are shaded in black. Each tiny dot represents a pillar. Rows of pillars arranged in lines within a square or rectangular frame appear to demarcate major halls, pavilions and corridors.

Using the scale in the plan, measure the distance from the main gopuram Shrine to the central shrine. What would have been the easiest

30m access from the tank to the shrine? 186 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Fig. 7.22 A kalyana mandapa, meant to celebrate divine weddings

Fig. 7.23 A line drawing of a sculpted pillar

Describe what you see on the pillar.

distance. They were also probably meant as reminders of the power of kings, able to command the resources, techniques and skills needed to construct these towering gateways. Other distinctive features include mandapas or pavilions and long, pillared corridors that often ran around the shrines within the temple complex. Let us look at two temples more closely – the Virupaksha temple and the Vitthala temple. The Virupaksha temple was built over centuries. While inscriptions suggest that the earliest shrine dated to the ninth-tenth centuries, it was substantially enlarged with the establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire. The hall in front of the main shrine was built by Krishnadeva Raya to mark his accession. This was decorated with delicately carved pillars. He is also credited with AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 187 the construction of the eastern gopuram. These additions meant that the central shrine came to occupy a relatively small part of the complex. The halls in the temple were used for a variety of purposes. Some were spaces in which the images of gods were placed to witness special programmes of music, dance, drama, etc. Others were used to celebrate the marriages of deities, and yet others were meant for the deities to swing in. Special images, distinct from those kept in the small central shrine, were used on these occasions.

Fig. 7.24 The chariot of the Vitthala temple

Do you think chariots would have actually been built like this?

Fig. 7.25 Swing pavilion from Gingee 188 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Another shrine, the Vitthala temple, is also interesting. Here, the principal deity was Vitthala, a form of Vishnu generally worshipped in Maharashtra. The introduction of the worship of the deity in Karnataka is another indication of the ways in which the rulers of Vijayanagara drew on different traditions to create an imperial culture. As in the case of other temples, this temple too has several halls and a unique shrine designed as a chariot (Fig. 7.24). A characteristic feature of the temple complexes is the chariot streets that extended from the temple gopuram in a straight line. These streets were paved with stone slabs and lined with pillared pavilions in which merchants set up their shops. Just as the nayakas continued with and elaborated on traditions of fortification, so they did with traditions of temple building. In fact, some of the most spectacular gopurams were also built by the local nayakas.

Fig. 7.26 A gopuram built by the nayakas

of Madurai Discuss... How and why did the rulers of Vijayanagara adopt and adapt earlier traditions of ritual architecture?

6. Plotting Palaces, Temples and Bazaars We have been examining a wealth of information on Vijayanagara – photographs, plans, elevations of structures and sculpture. How was all of this produced? After the initial surveys by Mackenzie, information was pieced together from travellers’ accounts and inscriptions. Through the twentieth century, the site was preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India and the Karnataka Department of Archaeology and Museums. In 1976, Hampi was recognised as a site of national importance. Then, in the early 1980s, an important project was launched to document the material remains at Vijayanagara in detail, through extensive and intensive surveys, using a variety of recording techniques. Over nearly twenty years, dozens of AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 189 scholars from all over the world worked to compile and preserve this information. Let us look at just one part of this enormous exercise – mapping – in more detail. The first step was to divide the entire area into a set of 25 squares, each designated by a letter of the alphabet. Then, each of the small squares was subdivided into a set of even smaller squares. But this was not all: each of these smaller squares was further subdivided into yet smaller units. As you can see, these detailed surveys have been extremely painstaking, and have recovered and documented traces of thousands of structures – from tiny shrines and residences to elaborate temples. They have also led to the recovery of traces of roads, paths, bazaars, etc.

Fig. 7.27 A detailed map of the site (top right)

Which is the letter of the alphabet that was not used? Using the scale in the map, measure the length of any one of the small squares.

Fig. 7.28 Square N of Fig. 7.27 (right)

What is the scale used on this map? 190 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Fig. 7.29 Square NM of Fig. 7.28

Identify a temple. Look for walls, a central shrine, and traces of paths leading to the temple. Name the squares on the map which contain the plan of the temple.

The latter have been located through finds of pillar bases and platforms – all that remain of thriving markets. It is worth remembering something that John M. Fritz, George Michell and M.S. Nagaraja Rao, who worked for years at the site, wrote: “In our study of these monuments of Vijayanagara we have to imagine a whole series of vanished wooden elements – columns, brackets, beams, ceilings, overhanging eaves, and towers – decorated with plaster and painted, perhaps brightly.” Although wooden structures are lost, and only stone structures survive, the descriptions left by travellers allow us to reconstruct some aspects of the vibrant life of the times.

Fig. 7.30 Plan of the temple in Fig 7.29

Identify the gopuram, halls, colonnades and central shrine. Which areas would you pass through to reach the central shrine from the outer entrance? AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 191

Source 5 The bazaar

Paes gives a vivid description of the bazaar: Going forward, you have a broad and beautiful street … In this street live many merchants, and there you will find all sorts of rubies, and diamonds, and emeralds, and pearls, and seed-pearls, and cloths, and every other sort of thing there is on earth and that you may wish to buy. Then you have there every evening a fair where they sell many common horses and nags, and also many citrons, and limes, and oranges, and grapes, and every other kind of garden stuff, and wood; you have all in this street. More generally, he described the city as being “the best- provided city in the world” with the markets “stocked with provisions such as rice, wheat, grains, India corn and a certain amount of barley and beans, moong, pulses and horse-gram” all of which were cheaply and abundantly available. According to Fernao Nuniz, the Vijayanagara markets were “overflowing with abundance of fruits, grapes and oranges, limes, pomegranates, jackfruit and mangoes and all very cheap”. Meat too was sold in abundance in the marketplaces. Nuniz describes “mutton, pork, venison, partridges, hares, doves, quail and all kinds of birds, sparrows, rats and cats and lizards” as being sold in the market of Bisnaga (Vijayanagara).

7. Questions in Search of Answers Buildings that survive tell us about the way spaces were organised and used, how they were built, with what materials and techniques. For example, we can assess the defence requirements and military preparedness of a city by studying its fortifications. Buildings also tell us about the spread of ideas and cultural influences if we compare them with buildings in other places. They convey ideas which the builders or their patrons wished to project. They are often suffused with symbols which are a product of their cultural context. These we can understand when we combine information from other sources like literature, inscriptions and popular traditions. 192 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Investigations of architectural features do not Krishnadeva Raya tell us what ordinary men, women and children, comprising the vast majority of the people who lived To recapitulate about some of in the city and its outskirts, thought about these the problems of perspective, impressive buildings. Would they have had access look at this beautiful statue to any of the areas within the royal centre or the of Krishnadeva Raya placed sacred centre? Would they hurry past the sculpture, on the gopuram of the temple at Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu. or would they pause to see, reflect and try and This is obviously the way in understand its complicated symbolism? And what which the ruler wanted to did the people who worked on these colossal project himself. construction projects think of the enterprises to And this is how Paes which they had contributed their labour? describes the king: Of medium height, and of fair complexion and good While rulers took all important decisions about the figure, rather fat than thin; buildings to be constructed, the site, the material to he has on his face signs of be used and the style to be followed, who possessed smallpox. the specialised knowledge required for such enormous enterprises? Who drew up the plans for Fig. 7.31 the buildings? Where did the masons, stonecutters, sculptors who did the actual building come from? Were they captured during war from neighbouring regions? What kind of wages did they get? Who supervised the building activity? How was building material transported and where did it come from? These are some of the questions that we cannot answer by merely looking at the buildings or their remains. Continuing research using other sources might provide some further clues. AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 193

Fig. 7.32 Part of a structure known as the queen’s bath Timeline 1 Major Political Developments

c.1200-1300 Establishment of the Delhi Sultanate (1206) c.1300-1400 Establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire (1336?); establishment of the Bahmani kingdom (1347); Sultanates in Jaunpur, Kashmir and Madura c.1400-1500 Establishment of the Gajapati kingdom of Orissa (1435); Establishment of the Sultanates of Gujarat and Malwa; Emergence of the Sultanates of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur and Berar (1490) c.1500-1600 Conquest of Goa by the Portuguese (1510); Collapse of the Bahmani kingdom, emergence of the Sultanate of Golconda (1518); Establishment of the Mughal empire by Babur (1526)

Note: Question mark indicates uncertain date.

Timeline 2 Landmarks in the Discovery and Conservation of Vijayanagara

1800 Colin Mackenzie visits Vijayanagara 1856 Alexander Greenlaw takes the first detailed photographs of archaeological remains at Hampi 1876 J.F. Fleet begins documenting the inscriptions on the temple walls at the site 1902 Conservation begins under John Marshall 1986 Hampi declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO

194 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Answer in100-150 words

1. What have been the methods used to study the ruins of Hampi over the last two centuries? In what way do you think they would have complemented the information provided by the priests of the Virupaksha temple? 2. How were the water requirements of Vijayanagara met? Fig. 7.33 3. What do you think were the advantages and disadvantages of enclosing agricultural land within the fortified area of the city? 4. What do you think was the significance of the rituals associated with the mahanavami dibba? 5. Fig. 7.33 is an illustration of another pillar from the Virupaksha temple. Do you notice any floral motifs? What are the animals shown? Why do you think they are depicted? Describe the human figures shown.

Write a short essay (about 250-300 words) on the following:

6. Discuss whether the term “royal centre” is an appropriate description for the part of the city for which it is used. 7. What does the architecture of buildings like the Lotus Mahal and elephant stables tell us about the rulers who commissioned them? 8. What are the architectural traditions that inspired the architects of Vijayanagara? How did they transform these traditions? 9. What impression of the lives of the ordinary people of Vijayanagara can you cull from the various descriptions in the chapter? AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJAYANAGARA 195

Map work

10. On an outline map of the world, mark approximately Italy, Portugal, Iran and Russia. Trace the routes the travellers mentioned on p.176 would have taken to reach Vijayanagara.

Project (choose one)

11. Find out more about any one of the major cities which flourished in the subcontinent during If you would like to know c. fourteenth-seventeenth centuries. Describe the more, read: architecture of the city. Are there any features to suggest that these were political centres? Are there Vasundhara Filliozat. 2006 (rpt). buildings that were ritually significant? Is there Vijayanagara. an area for commercial activities? What are the National Book Trust, features that distinguish the urban layout from that New Delhi. of surrounding areas? George Michell. 1995. 12. Visit a religious building in your neighbourhood. Architecture and Art of Describe, with sketches, its roof, pillars and Southern India. arches if any, corridors, passages, halls, entrance, Cambridge University Press, water supply, etc. Compare these features with Cambridge. those of the Virupaksha temple. Describe what each part of the building is used for. Find out K.A. Nilakanta Sastri. 1955. about its history. A History of South India. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

Burton Stein. 1989. Vijayanagara (The New Cambridge History of India Vol.1, Part 2). Foundation Books, New Delhi.

For more information, you could visit: http://www.museum.upenn.edu/ new/research/Exp_Rese_Disc/ Asia/vrp/HTML/Vijay_Hist.shtml

Peasants, Zamindars THEME and the State EIGHT AAAgggrarianan Socie ety anand the MughalM ghalg hal Em mpirpipirip e (((c. ssixteentsi i ene n hhh - seventeenthe ene n h centuries) e u s

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries about 85 per cent of the population of India lived in its villages. Both peasants and landed elites were involved in agricultural production and claimed rights to a share of the produce. This created relationships of cooperation, competition and conflict among them. The sum of these agrarian relationships made up rural society. At the same time agencies from outside also entered into the rural world. Most important among these was the Mughal state, which derived the bulk of its income from agricultural production. Agents of the state – revenue assessors, collectors, record keepers – sought to control rural society so as to ensure that cultivation took place and the state got its regular share of taxes from the Fig. 8.1 produce. Since many crops were grown for sale, A rural scene Detail from a seventeenth-century trade, money and markets entered the villages and Mughal painting linked the agricultural areas with the towns.

1. Peasants and Agricultural Production The basic unit of agricultural society was the village, inhabited by peasants who performed the manifold seasonal tasks that made up agricultural production throughout the year – tilling the soil, sowing seeds, harvesting the crop when it was ripe. Further, they contributed their labour to the production of agro-based goods such as sugar and oil. But rural India was not characterised by settled peasant production alone. Several kinds of areas such as large tracts of dry land or hilly regions were not cultivable in the same way as the more fertile PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 197 expanses of land. In addition, forest areas made up a substantial proportion of territory. We need to keep this varied topography in mind when discussing agrarian society. 1.1 Looking for sources Our understanding of the workings of rural society does not come from those who worked the land, as peasants did not write about themselves. Our major source for the agrarian history of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries are chronicles and documents from the Mughal court (see also Chapter 9). One of the most important chronicles was the Ain-i Akbari (in short the Ain, see also Section 8) authored by Akbar’s court historian Abu’l Fazl. This text meticulously recorded the arrangements made by the state to ensure cultivation, to enable the collection of revenue by the agencies of the state and to regulate the relationship between the state and rural magnates, the zamindars. The central purpose of the Ain was to present a vision of Akbar’s empire where social harmony was provided by a strong ruling class. Any revolt or assertion of autonomous power against the Mughal state was, in the eyes of the author of the Ain, predestined to fail. In other words, whatever we learn from the Ain about peasants remains a view from the top. Fortunately, however, the account of the Ain can be supplemented by descriptions contained in sources emanating from regions away from the Mughal capital. These include detailed revenue records from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan dating from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Further, the extensive records of the East India Company (see also Chapter 10) provide us with useful descriptions of agrarian relations in eastern India. All these sources record instances of conflicts between peasants, zamindars and the state. In the process they give us an insight into peasants’ perception of and their expectations of fairness from the state. 1.2 Peasants and their lands The term which Indo-Persian sources of the Mughal period most frequently used to denote a peasant was raiyat (plural, riaya) or muzarian. In addition, we also encounter the terms kisan or asami. Sources of the seventeenth century refer to two kinds of peasants – khud-kashta and pahi-kashta. The former 198 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Source 1 were residents of the village in which they held their lands. The latter were non-resident cultivators who Peasants on the move belonged to some other village, but cultivated lands elsewhere on a contractual basis. People became This was a feature of agrarian pahi-kashta either out of choice – for example, when society which struck a keen terms of revenue in a distant village were more observer like Babur, the first favourable – or out of compulsion – for example, Mughal emperor, forcefully forced by economic distress after a famine. enough for him to write about it Seldom did the average peasant of north India in the Babur Nama, his memoirs: possess more than a pair of bullocks and two In Hindustan hamlets and ploughs; most possessed even less. In Gujarat villages, towns indeed, are peasants possessing about six acres of land were depopulated and set up in considered to be affluent; in Bengal, on the other a moment! If the people of a hand, five acres was the upper limit of an average large town, one inhabited peasant farm ; 10 acres would make one a rich asami. for years even, flee from it, Cultivation was based on the principle of individual they do it in such a way that ownership. Peasant lands were bought and sold in not a sign or trace of them the same way as the lands of other property owners. remains in a day and a half. This nineteenth-century description of peasant On the other hand, if they fix their eyes on a place to holdings in the Delhi-Agra region would apply equally settle, they need not dig to the seventeenth century: water courses because their The cultivating peasants (asamis), who plough crops are all rain-grown, up the fields, mark the limits of each field, for and as the population of identification and demarcation, with borders of Hindustan is unlimited it (raised) earth, brick and thorn so that thousands swarms in. They make a tank of such fields may be counted in a village. or a well; they need not build houses or set up walls … 1.3 Irrigation and technology khas-grass abounds, wood is unlimited, huts are made, The abundance of land, available labour and the and straightaway there is a mobility of peasants were three factors that village or a town! accounted for the constant expansion of agriculture. Since the primary purpose of agriculture is to feed

Describe the aspects people, basic staples such as rice, wheat or millets of agricultural life that were the most frequently cultivated crops. Areas struck Babur as which received 40 inches or more of rainfall a year particular to regions in were generally rice-producing zones, followed by northern India. wheat and millets, corresponding to a descending scale of precipitation. Monsoons remained the backbone of Indian agriculture, as they are even today. But there were crops which required additional water. Artificial systems of irrigation had to be devised for this. PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 199

Source 2

Irrigating trees and fields

This is an excerpt from the Babur Nama that describes the irrigation devices the emperor observed in northern India: The greater part of Hindustan country is situated on level land. Many though its towns and cultivated lands are, it nowhere has running waters … For … water is not at all a necessity in cultivating crops and orchards. Autumn crops grow by the downpour of the rains themselves; and strange it is that spring crops grow even when no rains fall. (However) to young trees Compare the water is made to flow by means of buckets or wheels … irrigation devices In Lahore, Dipalpur (both in present-day Pakistan) and those observed by Babur with other parts, people water by means of a wheel. They make two what you have learnt circles of rope long enough to suit the depths of the well, fix about irrigation in strips of wood between them, and on these fasten pitchers. Vijayanagara The ropes with the wood and attached pitchers are put over (Chapter 7). What kind the wheel-well. At one end of the wheel-axle a second wheel is of resources would each fixed, and close to it another on an upright axle. The last wheel of these systems the bullock turns; its teeth catch in the teeth of the second require? Which systems (wheel), and thus the wheel with the pitchers is turned. A could ensure the trough is set where the water empties from the pitchers and participation of peasants from this the water is conveyed everywhere. in improving In Agra, Chandwar, Bayana (all in present-day Uttar Pradesh) agricultural technology? and those parts again, people water with a bucket … At the well-edge they set up a fork of wood, having a roller adjusted Fig. 8.2 between the forks, tie a rope to a large bucket, put the rope A reconstructed Persian over a roller, and tie its other end to the bullock. One person wheel, described here must drive the bullock, another empty the bucket. 200 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Irrigation projects received state support as well. The spread of tobacco For example, in northern India the state undertook digging of new canals (nahr, nala) and also repaired This plant, which arrived first old ones like the shahnahr in the Punjab during Shah in the Deccan, spread to Jahan’s reign. northern India in the early years Though agriculture was labour intensive, peasants of the seventeenth century. The did use technologies that often harnessed cattle Ain does not mention tobacco energy. One example was the wooden plough, which in the lists of crops in northern was light and easily assembled with an iron tip or India. Akbar and his nobles came coulter. It therefore did not make deep furrows, which across tobacco for the first time in 1604. At this time smoking preserved the moisture better during the intensely tobacco (in hookahs or chillums) hot months. A drill, pulled by a pair of giant oxen, seems to have caught on in was used to plant seeds, but broadcasting of a big way. Jahangir was so seed was the most prevalent method. Hoeing and concerned about its addiction weeding were done simultaneously using a narrow that he banned it. This was totally iron blade with a small wooden handle. ineffective because by the 1.4 An abundance of crops end of the seventeenth century, Agriculture was organised around two major tobacco had become a major seasonal cycles, the kharif (autumn) and the rabi article of consumption, cultivation (spring). This would mean that most regions, except and trade all over India. those terrains that were the most arid or inhospitable, produced a minimum of two crops a year (do-fasla), whereas some, where rainfall or irrigation assured a continuous supply of water, even gave three crops. This ensured an enormous variety of produce. For instance, we are told in the Ain that the Mughal provinces of Agra produced 39 varieties of crops and Delhi produced 43 over the two seasons. Bengal produced 50 varieties of rice alone. However, the focus on the cultivation of basic Agricultural prosperity staples did not mean that agriculture in medieval India was only for subsistence. We often come across and population growth the term jins-i kamil (literally, perfect crops) in our One important outcome of such sources. The Mughal state also encouraged peasants varied and flexible forms of to cultivate such crops as they brought in more agricultural production was revenue. Crops such as cotton and sugarcane were a slow demographic growth. jins-i kamil par excellence. Cotton was grown over a Despite periodic disruptions great swathe of territory spread over central India caused by famines and and the Deccan plateau, whereas Bengal was famous epidemics, India’s population for its sugar. Such cash crops would also include increased, according to various sorts of oilseeds (for example, mustard) and calculations by economic lentils. This shows how subsistence and commercial historians, by about 50 million production were closely intertwined in an average people between 1600 and 1800, peasant’s holding. which is an increase of about 33 per cent over 200 years. During the seventeenth century several new crops from different parts of the world reached the Indian PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 201 subcontinent. Maize (makka), for example, was

introduced into India via Africa and Spain and by Discuss... the seventeenth century it was being listed as one Identify the technologies of the major crops of western India. Vegetables like and agricultural practices tomatoes, potatoes and chillies were introduced from described in this section that the New World at this time, as were fruits like the appear similar to or different pineapple and the papaya. from those described in Chapter 2. 2. The Village Community The above account makes it clear that agricultural production involved the intensive participation and initiative of the peasantry. How did this affect the structure of agrarian relations in Mughal society? To find out, let us look at the social groups involved in agricultural expansion, and at their relationships and conflicts. We have seen that peasants held their lands in individual ownership. At the same time they belonged to a collective village community as far as many aspects of their social existence were concerned. Fig. 8.3 There were three constituents of this community – An early nineteenth-century the cultivators, the panchayat, and the village painting depicting a village in headman (muqaddam or mandal). the Punjab 2.1 Caste and the rural milieu

✁ Describe what women and Deep inequities on the basis of caste and other caste- men are shown doing in the like distinctions meant that the cultivators were a illustration as well as the highly heterogeneous group. Among those who tilled architecture of the village. the land, there was a sizeable number who worked as menials or agricultural labourers (majur). Despite the abundance of cultivable land, certain caste groups were assigned menial tasks and thus relegated to poverty. Though there was no census at that time, the little data that we have suggest that such groups comprised a large section of the village population, had the least resources and were constrained by their position in the caste hierarchy, much like the Dalits of modern India. Such distinctions had begun permeating into other 202 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

communities too. In Muslim communities menials like the halalkhoran (scavengers) were housed outside the boundaries of the village; similarly the mallahzadas (literally, sons of boatmen) in Bihar were comparable to slaves. There was a direct correlation between caste, poverty and social status at the lower strata of society. Such correlations were not so marked at intermediate levels. In a manual from seventeenth- century Marwar, Rajputs are mentioned as peasants, sharing the same space with Jats, who were accorded a lower status in the caste hierarchy. The Gauravas, who cultivated land around Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh), sought Rajput status in the seventeenth century. Castes such as the Ahirs, Gujars and Malis rose in the hierarchy because of the profitability of cattle rearing and horticulture. In the eastern regions, intermediate pastoral and fishing castes like the Sadgops and Kaivartas acquired the status of peasants. 2.2 Panchayats and headmen The village panchayat was an assembly of elders, usually important people of the village with hereditary rights over their property. In mixed-caste villages, the panchayat was usually a heterogeneous body. An oligarchy, the panchayat represented various castes and communities in the village, though the village menial-cum-agricultural worker was unlikely to be represented there. The decisions made by these panchayats were binding on the members. The panchayat was headed by a headman known as muqaddam or mandal. Some sources suggest that the headman was chosen through the consensus of the village elders, and that this choice had to be ratified by the zamindar. Headmen held office as long Corrupt mandals as they enjoyed the confidence of the village elders, failing which they could be dismissed by them. The The mandals often misused their positions. They were principally chief function of the headman was to supervise the accused of defrauding village preparation of village accounts, assisted by the accounts in connivance with the accountant or patwari of the panchayat. patwari, and for underassessing The panchayat derived its funds from the revenue they owed from contributions made by individuals to a common their own lands in order to pass financial pool. These funds were used for defraying the additional burden on to the the costs of entertaining revenue officials who smaller cultivator. visited the village from time to time. Expenses for community welfare activities such as tiding over PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 203 natural calamities (like floods), were also met from these funds. Often these funds were also deployed in construction of a bund or digging a canal which peasants usually could not afford to do on their own. One important function of the panchayat was to ensure that caste boundaries among the various communities inhabiting the village were upheld. In eastern India all marriages were held in the presence of the mandal. In other words one of the Fig. 8.4 duties of the village headman was to oversee the An early nineteenth-century conduct of the members of the village community painting depicting a meeting of village elders and tax collectors “chiefly to prevent any offence against their caste”. Panchayats also had the authority to levy fines

How has the artist and inflict more serious forms of punishment like differentiated between the expulsion from the community. The latter was a village elders and the drastic step and was in most cases meted out for a tax collectors? limited period. It meant that a person forced to leave the village became an outcaste and lost his right to practise his profession. Such a measure was intended as a deterrent to violation of caste norms. In addition to the village panchayat each caste or jati in the village had its own jati panchayat. These panchayats wielded considerable power in rural society. In Rajasthan jati panchayats arbitrated civil disputes between members of different castes. They mediated in contested claims on land, decided whether marriages were performed according to the norms laid down by a particular caste group, determined who had ritual precedence in village functions, and so on. In most cases, except in matters of criminal justice, the state respected the decisions of jati panchayats. Archival records from western India – notably Rajasthan and Maharashtra – contain petitions presented to the panchayat complaining about extortionate taxation or the demand for unpaid labour (begar) imposed by the “superior” castes or officials of the state. These petitions were usually made by villagers, from the lowest rungs of rural society. Often petitions were made collectively as 204 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

well, by a caste group or a community protesting against what they considered were morally illegitimate demands on the part of elite groups. These included excessive tax demands which, especially in times of drought or other disasters, endangered the peasants’ subsistence. In the eyes Fig. 8.5 of the petitioners the right to the basic minimum for A seventeenth-century painting depicting textile production survival was sanctioned by custom. They regarded the village panchayat as the court of appeal that would ensure that the state carried out its moral Describe the activities that are shown in the illustration. obligations and guaranteed justice. The decision of the panchayat in conflicts between “lower-caste” peasants and state officials or the local zamindar could vary from case to case. In cases of excessive revenue demands, the panchayat often suggested compromise. In cases where reconciliation failed, peasants took recourse to more drastic forms of resistance, such as deserting the village. The relatively easy availability of uncultivated land and the competition over labour resources made this an effective weapon in the hands of cultivators. 2.3 Village artisans Another interesting aspect of the village was the elaborate relationship of exchange between different producers. Marathi documents and village surveys made in the early years of British rule have revealed the existence of substantial numbers of artisans, sometimes as high as 25 per cent of the total households in the villages. At times, however, the distinction between artisans and peasants in village society was a fluid one, as many groups performed the tasks of both. Cultivators and their families would also participate in craft production – such as dyeing, textile printing, baking and firing of pottery, making and repairing PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 205 agricultural implements. Phases in the agricultural calendar when there was a relative lull in activity, as between sowing and weeding or between weeding and harvesting, were a time when cultivators could engage in artisanal production. Village artisans – potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, barbers, even goldsmiths – provided specialised services in return for which they were compensated by villagers by a variety of means. The most common way of doing so was by giving them a share of the harvest, or an allotment of land, perhaps cultivable wastes, which was likely to be decided by the panchayat. In Maharashtra such lands became the artisans’ miras or watan – their hereditary holding. Another variant of this was a system where artisans and individual peasant households entered into a mutually negotiated system of remuneration, most of the time goods for services. For example, eighteenth-century records tell us of zamindars in Bengal who remunerated blacksmiths, carpenters, even goldsmiths for their work by paying them “a small daily allowance and diet money”. This later came to be described as the jajmani system, though the term was not in vogue in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Such evidence is interesting because it indicates the intricate ways in which exchange networks operated at the micro-level of the village. Cash remuneration was not entirely unknown either. 2.4 A “little republic”? How does one understand the significance of the village community? Some British officials in the nineteenth century saw the village as a “little republic” made up of fraternal partners sharing resources and labour in a collective. However, this was not a sign of rural egalitarianism. There was individual ownership of assets and deep inequities based on caste and gender distinctions. A group of powerful individuals decided the affairs of the village, exploited the weaker sections and had the authority to dispense justice. More importantly, a cash nexus had already developed through trade between villages and towns. In the Mughal heartland too, revenue was assessed and collected in cash. Artisans producing for the export market (for example, weavers) received their 206 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

advances or wages in cash, as did producers of Money in the village commercial products like cotton, silk or indigo. The seventeenth-century French traveller Jean-Baptiste Tavernier Discuss... found it remarkable that in In what ways do you think the panchayats “India a village must be very small described in this section were similar to or indeed if it has not a money- different from present-day gram panchayats? changer called a Shroff. (They) act as bankers to make remittances of money (and who) enhance the rupee as 3. Women in Agrarian Society they please for paisa and the As you may have observed in many different societies, paisa for these (cowrie) shells”. the production process often involves men and women performing certain specified roles. In the contexts that we are exploring, women and men had to work shoulder to shoulder in the fields. Men tilled and ploughed, while women sowed, weeded, threshed and winnowed the harvest. With the growth of nucleated villages and expansion in individuated peasant farming, which characterised medieval Indian agriculture, the basis of production was the labour and resources of the entire household. Naturally, a gendered segregation between the home (for women) and the world (for men) was not possible in this context. Nonetheless biases related to women’s biological functions did continue. Menstruating Fig. 8.6 A shroff at work women, for instance, were not allowed to touch the plough or the potter’s wheel in western India, or enter the groves where betel-leaves (paan) were grown in Bengal. Artisanal tasks such as spinning yarn, sifting and kneading clay for pottery, and embroidery were among the many aspects of production dependent on female labour. The more commercialised the product, the greater the demand on women’s labour to produce it. In fact, peasant and artisan women worked not only in the fields, but even went to the houses of their employers or to the markets if necessary. Women were considered an important resource in agrarian society also because they were child bearers in a society dependent on labour. At the same time, high mortality rates among women – owing to malnutrition, frequent pregnancies, death during childbirth – often meant a shortage of wives. This Fig. 8.7 led to the emergence of social customs in peasant A woman spinning thread and artisan communities that were distinct from PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 207 those prevalent among elite groups. Marriages in many rural communities required the payment of bride-price rather than dowry to the bride’s family. Remarriage was considered legitimate both among divorced and widowed women. The importance attached to women as a reproductive force also meant that the fear of losing control over them was great. According to established social norms, the household was headed by a male. Thus women were kept under strict control by the male members of the family and the community. They could inflict draconian punishments if they suspected infidelity on the part of women. Documents from Western India – Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra – record petitions sent by women to the village panchayat, seeking redress and justice. Wives protested against the infidelity of their husbands or the neglect of the wife and children by the male head of the household, the grihasthi. While male infidelity was not always punished, the state and “superior” caste groups did intervene when it came to ensuring that the family was adequately provided for. In most cases when women petitioned to the Fig. 8.8 a The construction of Fatehpur Sikri – panchayat, their names were excluded from the women crushing stones record: the petitioner was referred to as the mother, sister or wife of the male head of the household. Amongst the landed gentry, women had the right to inherit property. Instances from the Punjab show that women, including widows, actively participated in the rural land market as sellers of property inherited by them. Hindu and Muslim women inherited zamindaris which they were free to sell or mortgage. Women zamindars were known in eighteenth-century Bengal. In fact, one of the biggest and most famous of the eighteenth-century zamindaris, that of Rajshahi, had a woman at the helm.

Fig. 8.8 b Women carrying loads Discuss... Migrant women from neighbouring Are there any differences in the access men and villages often worked at such women have to agricultural land in your state? construction sites. 208 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

4. Forests and Tribes 4.1 Beyond settled villages There was more to rural India than sedentary agriculture. Apart from the intensively cultivated provinces in northern and north-western India, huge swathes of forests – dense forest (jangal) or Fig. 8.9 scrubland (kharbandi) – existed all over eastern Painting of Shah Jahan hunting India, central India, northern India (including the nilgais ( from the Badshah Nama) Terai on the Indo-Nepal border), Jharkhand, and in peninsular India down the Western Ghats and the

Describe what you see Deccan plateau. Though it is nearly impossible to in this painting. What is the set an all-India average of the forest cover for this symbolic element that helps period, informed conjectures based on contemporary establish the connection sources suggest an average of 40 per cent. between the hunt and Forest dwellers were termed jangli in ideal justice? contemporary texts. Being jangli, however, did not mean an absence of “civilisation”, as popular usage of the term today seems to connote. Rather, the term described those whose livelihood came from the gathering of forest produce, hunting and shifting agriculture. These activities were largely season specific. Among the Bhils, for example, spring was reserved for collecting forest produce, summer for fishing, the monsoon months for cultivation, and autumn and winter for hunting. Such a sequence presumed and perpetuated mobility, which was a distinctive feature of tribes inhabiting these forests. For the state, the forest was a subversive place – a place of refuge (mawas) for troublemakers. Once again, we turn to Babur who says that jungles provided a good defence “behind which the people of the pargana become stubbornly rebellious and pay no taxes”. 4.2 Inroads into forests External forces entered the forest in different ways. For instance, the state required elephants for the army. So the peshkash levied from forest people often included a supply of elephants. PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 209

In the Mughal political ideology, the hunt Pargana was an administrative symbolised the overwhelming concern of the state subdivision of a Mughal province. to ensure justice to all its subjects, rich and poor. Regular hunting expeditions, so court historians tell us, enabled the emperor to travel across the extensive territories of his empire and personally attend to the grievances of its inhabitants. The hunt was a subject frequently painted by court artists. The painter Peshkash was a form of tribute resorted to the device of inserting a small scene collected by the Mughal state. somewhere in the picture that functioned as a symbol of a harmonious reign.

Source 3 Clearance of forests for agricultural settlements

This is an excerpt from a sixteenth-century Bengali poem, Chandimangala, composed by Mukundaram Chakrabarti. The hero of the poem, Kalaketu, set up a kingdom by clearing forests: Hearing the news, outsiders came from various lands. Kalaketu then bought and distributed among them Heavy knives, axes, battle-axes and pikes. From the north came the Das (people) One hundred of them advanced. They were struck with wonder on seeing Kalaketu Who distributed betel-nut to each of them. From the south came the harvesters Five hundred of them under one organiser. From the west came Zafar Mian, Together with twenty-two thousand men. Sulaimani beads in their hands They chanted the names of their pir and paighambar (Prophet). Having cleared the forest

What forms of intrusion into They established markets. the forest does the text evoke? Hundreds and hundreds of foreigners Compare its message with that Ate and entered the forest. of the miniature painting in Hearing the sound of the axe, Fig. 8.9. Who are the people identified as “foreigners” from the Tigers became apprehensive and ran away, roaring. perspective of the forest dwellers? 210 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II Source 4 Trade between the hill tribes and the plains, c. 1595

This is how Abu’l Fazl describes the transactions between the hill tribes and the plains in the suba of Awadh (part of present-day Uttar Pradesh): From the northern mountains quantities of goods are carried on the backs of men, of stout ponies and of goats, such as gold, copper, lead, musk, tails of the kutas cow (the yak), honey, chuk (an acid composed of orange juice and lemon boiled together),

What are the modes of pomegranate seed, ginger, long pepper, majith (a plant transport described in this producing a red dye) root, borax, zedoary (a root passage? Why do you think resembling turmeric), wax, woollen stuffs, wooden they were used? Explain what ware, hawks, falcons, black falcons, merlins (a kind of each of the articles brought from bird), and other articles. In exchange they carry back the plains to the hills may have white and coloured cloths, amber, salt, asafoetida, been used for. ornaments, glass and earthen ware.

The spread of commercial agriculture was an important external factor that impinged on the lives Fig. 8.10 of those who lived in the forests. Forest products – A peasant and a hunter listening like honey, beeswax and gum lac – were in great to a sufi singer demand. Some, such as gum lac, became major items of overseas export from India in the seventeenth century. Elephants were also captured and sold. Trade involved an exchange of commodities through barter as well. Some tribes, like the Lohanis in the Punjab, were engaged in overland trade, between India and Afghanistan, and in the town-country trade in the Punjab itself. Social factors too wrought changes in the lives of forest dwellers. Like the “big men” of the village community, tribes also had their chieftains. Many tribal chiefs had become zamindars, some even became kings. For this they required to build up an army. They recruited people from their lineage groups or demanded that their fraternity provide military service. Tribes in the Sind region had armies comprising 6,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry. In Assam, the Ahom kings had their paiks, people who were obliged to render military service in exchange for land. The capture of wild elephants was declared a royal monopoly by the Ahom kings. PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 211

Though the transition from a tribal to a

monarchical system had started much earlier, the Discuss... process seems to have become fully developed only Find out which areas are by the sixteenth century. This can be seen from currently identified as forest the Ain’s observations on the existence of tribal zones in your state. Is life in kingdoms in the north-east. War was a common these areas changing today? occurrence. For instance, the Koch kings fought Are the factors responsible for and subjugated a number of neighbouring tribes in these changes different from a long sequence of wars through the sixteenth and or identical to those seventeenth centuries. mentioned in this section? New cultural influences also began to penetrate into forested zones. Some historians have indeed suggested that sufi saints (pirs) played a major role in the slow acceptance of Islam among agricultural communities emerging in newly colonised places (see also Chapter 6).

5. The Zamindars Our story of agrarian relations in Mughal India will not be complete without referring to a class of people in the countryside that lived off agriculture but did not participate directly in the processes of agricultural production. These were the zamindars who were landed proprietors who also enjoyed certain social and economic privileges by virtue of their superior status in rural society. Caste was one factor that accounted for the elevated status of zamindars; another factor was that they performed certain services (khidmat) for the state. The zamindars held extensive personal lands termed milkiyat, meaning property. Milkiyat lands were cultivated for the private use of zamindars, often with the help of hired or servile labour. The zamindars could sell, bequeath or mortgage these lands at will. Zamindars also derived their power from the fact that they could often collect revenue on behalf of the state, a service for which they were compensated financially. Control over military resources was another source of power. Most zamindars had fortresses (qilachas) as well as an armed contingent comprising units of cavalry, artillery and infantry. Thus if we visualise social relations in the Mughal countryside as a pyramid, zamindars clearly constituted its very narrow apex. Abu’l Fazl’s account indicates that an “upper-caste”, Brahmana-Rajput 212 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

combine had already established firm control over rural society. It also reflects a fairly large representation from the so-called intermediate castes, as we saw earlier, as well as a liberal sprinkling of Muslim zamindaris. Contemporary documents give an impression that conquest may have been the source of the origin of some zamindaris. The dispossession of weaker people by a powerful military chieftain was quite often a way of expanding a zamindari. It is, however, unlikely that the state would have allowed such a show of aggression by a zamindar unless he had been confirmed by an imperial order (sanad ). More important were the slow processes of zamindari consolidation, which are also documented in sources. These involved colonisation of new lands, by transfer of rights, by order of the state and by A parallel army! purchase. These were the processes which perhaps According to the Ain, the permitted people belonging to the relatively “lower” combined military strength of castes to enter the rank of zamindars as zamindaris the zamindars in Mughal India were bought and sold quite briskly in this period. was 384,558 cavalry, 4,277,057 A combination of factors also allowed the infantry, 1,863 elephants, 4,260 consolidation of clan- or lineage-based zamindaris. cannons, and 4,500 boats. For example, the Rajputs and Jats adopted these strategies to consolidate their control over vast swathes of territory in northern India. Likewise, peasant-pastoralists (like the Sadgops) carved out powerful zamindaris in areas of central and south- western Bengal. Zamindars spearheaded the colonisation of agricultural land, and helped in settling cultivators by providing them with the means of cultivation, including cash loans. The buying and selling of zamindaris accelerated the process of monetisation in the countryside. In addition, zamindars sold the produce from their milkiyat lands. There is evidence to show that zamindars often established markets (haats) to which peasants also came to sell their produce. Although there can be little doubt that zamindars were an exploitative class, their relationship with the peasantry had an element of reciprocity, paternalism and patronage. Two aspects reinforce this view. First, the bhakti saints, who eloquently condemned caste-based and other forms of oppression (see also Chapter 6), did not portray the zamindars (or, interestingly, the moneylender) as exploiters or oppressors of the peasantry. Usually it was the PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 213 revenue official of the state who was the object of their ire. Second, in a large number of agrarian uprisings Discuss... which erupted in north India in the seventeenth The zamindari system was century, zamindars often received the support of the abolished in India after peasantry in their struggle against the state. Independence. Read through this section and identify reasons why this was done. 6. Land Revenue System Revenue from the land was the economic mainstay of the Mughal Empire. It was therefore vital for the state to create an administrative apparatus to ensure control over agricultural production, and to fix and collect revenue from across the length and breadth of the rapidly expanding empire. This apparatus included the office (daftar) of the diwan who was responsible for supervising the fiscal system of the empire. Thus revenue officials and record keepers penetrated the agricultural domain and became a decisive agent in shaping agrarian relations. The Mughal state tried to first acquire specific information about the extent of the agricultural lands in the empire and what these lands produced before fixing the burden of taxes on people. The land revenue arrangements consisted of two stages – first, assessment and then actual collection. The jama was the amount assessed, as opposed to hasil, the amount collected. In his list of duties of the amil-guzar or revenue collector, Akbar decreed that while he should strive to make cultivators pay in cash, the option of payment in kind was also to be kept open. While fixing revenue, the attempt of the state was to maximise its claims. The scope of actually realising these claims was, however, sometimes thwarted by local conditions. Both cultivated and cultivable lands were measured in each province. The Ain compiled the aggregates of such lands during Akbar’s rule. Efforts to measure lands continued under subsequent emperors. For instance, in 1665, Aurangzeb expressly instructed his revenue officials to prepare annual records of the number of cultivators in each village (Source 7). Yet not all areas were measured successfully. As we have seen, forests covered huge areas of the subcontinent and thus remained unmeasured. 214 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II Source 5 Amin was an official responsible Classification of lands under Akbar for ensuring that imperial regulations were carried out in the provinces. The following is a listing of criteria of classification excerpted from the Ain: The Emperor Akbar in his profound sagacity classified the lands and fixed a different revenue to be paid by each. Polaj is land which is annually cultivated for each crop in succession and is never allowed to lie fallow. Parauti is land left out of cultivation for a time that it may recover its strength. Chachar is land that has lain fallow for three or four years. Banjar is land uncultivated for five years and more. Of the first two kinds of land, there are three classes, good, middling,

What principles did the and bad. They add together the produce of each sort, Mughal state follow while and the third of this represents the medium produce, classifying lands in its territories? one-third part of which is exacted as the Royal dues. How was revenue assessed?

Map 1 Samarqand The expansion of the Mughal Empire Balkh Babur’s reign, 1530

What impact do you think Akbar’s reign, 1605 the expansion of the empire Kabul would have had on land revenue Aurangzeb’s reign, 1707 Qandahar collection? Lahore

Panipat Delhi Agra Amber Ajmer Patna Rohtas The mansabdari system The Mughal administrative system had at its apex a military- cum-bureaucratic apparatus (mansabdari) which was responsible for looking after the civil and military affairs of the state. Some mansabdars were Arabian Sea Goa Bay of Bengal paid in cash (naqdi), while the majority of them were paid through assignments of revenue (jagirs) in different regions of the empire. They were transferred periodically. See also Chapter 9. Sketch map not to scale PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 215

Source 6 Source 7 Cash or kind? The jama

The Ain on land revenue collection: This is an excerpt from Let him (the amil-guzar) not make it a practice of Aurangzeb’s order to his taking only in cash but also in kind. The latter is revenue official, 1665: effected in several ways. First, kankut : in the Hindi He should direct the amins of language kan signifies grain, and kut, estimates … If the parganas that they should any doubts arise, the crops should be cut and discover the actual conditions estimated in three lots, the good, the middling, and of cultivation (maujudat), the inferior, and the hesitation removed. Often, too, village by village, peasant-wise the land taken by appraisement, gives a sufficiently (asamiwar), and after minute accurate return. Secondly, batai, also called bhaoli, scrutiny, assess the jama, the crops are reaped and stacked and divided by keeping in view the financial agreement in the presence of the parties. But in this interests (kifayat) of the case several intelligent inspectors are required; government, and the welfare otherwise, the evil-minded and false are given to of the peasantry. deception. Thirdly, khet-batai, when they divide the fields after they are sown. Fourthly, lang batai, after cutting the grain, they form it in heaps and divide it ✁ Why do you think among themselves, and each takes his share home the emperor insisted and turns it to profit. on a detailed survey?

✁ What difference would each of the systems of assessment and collection of revenue have made to the cultivator?

Discuss... Would you consider the land revenue system of the Mughals as a flexible one?

7. The Flow of Silver The Mughal Empire was among the large territorial empires in Asia that had managed to consolidate power and resources during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These empires were the Ming (China), Safavid (Iran) and Ottoman (Turkey). The political stability achieved by all these empires helped create vibrant networks of overland trade from China to the Mediterranean Sea. Voyages of discovery and the opening up of the New World resulted in a massive expansion of Asia’s (particularly India’s) trade with Fig. 8.11 Europe. This resulted in a greater geographical A silver rupya issued by Akbar diversity of India’s overseas trade as well as an (obverse and reverse) 216 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

expansion in the commodity composition of this trade. An expanding trade brought in huge amounts of silver bullion into Asia to pay for goods procured from India, and a large part of that bullion gravitated towards India. This was good for India as it did not have natural resources of silver. As a result, the period between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries was also marked by a remarkable stability in the availability of metal currency, particularly the silver rupya in India. This facilitated an unprecedented expansion of minting of coins and the circulation of money in the economy as well as the ability of the Mughal state to extract taxes and revenue in cash. The testimony of an Italian traveller, Giovanni Careri, who passed through India c. 1690, provides Fig. 8.12 a graphic account about the way silver travelled A silver rupya issued by Aurangzeb across the globe to reach India. It also gives us an idea of the phenomenal amounts of cash and commodity transactions in seventeenth-century India.

Fig. 8.13 An example of textiles produced in the subcontinent to meet the demands of European markets

Discuss... Find out whether there are any taxes on agricultural production at present in your state. Explain the similarities and differences between Mughal fiscal policies and those adopted by present-day state governments. PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 217

Source 8

How silver came to India

This excerpt from Giovanni Careri’s account (based on Bernier’s account) gives an idea of the enormous amount of wealth that found its way into the Mughal Empire: That the Reader may form some idea of the Wealth of this (Mughal) Empire, he is to observe that all the Gold and Silver, which circulates throughout the World at last Centres here. It is well known that as much of it comes out of America, after running through several Kingdoms of Europe, goes partly into Turky (Turkey), for several sorts of Commodities; and part into Persia, by the way of Smirna for Silk. Now the Turks not being able to abstain from Coffee, which comes from Hyeman (Oman), and Arabia … nor Persia, Arabia, and the Turks themselves to go without the commodities of India, send vast quantities of Mony (money) to Moka (Mocha) on the Red Sea, near Babel Mandel; to Bassora (Basra) at the bottom of the Persian Gulgh (Gulf); … which is afterwards sent over in Ships to Indostan (Hindustan). Besides the Indian, Dutch, English, and Portuguese Ships, that every Year carry the Commodities of Indostan, to Pegu, Tanasserri (parts of Myanmar), Siam (Thailand), Ceylon (Sri Lanka) … the Maldive Islands, Mozambique and other Places, must of necessity convey much Gold and Silver thither, from those Countries. All that the Dutch fetch from the Mines in Japan, sooner or later, goes to Indostan; and the goods carry’d hence into Europe, whether to France, England, or Portugal, are all purchas’d for ready Mony, which remains there.

8. The Ain-i Akbari of Abu’l Fazl Allami The Ain-i Akbari was the culmination of a large historical, administrative project of classification undertaken by Abu’l Fazl at the order of Emperor Akbar. It was completed in 1598, the forty-second regnal year of the emperor, after having gone through five revisions. The Ain was part of a larger project of history writing commissioned by Akbar. This history, known as the Akbar Nama, comprised three books. The first two provided a historical narrative. We will look at these parts more closely in Chapter 9. The Ain-i Akbari, the third book, was organised as a compendium of imperial regulations and a gazetteer of the empire. The Ain gives detailed accounts of the organisation of the court, administration and army, the sources of revenue and the physical layout of the provinces of Akbar’s empire and the literary, cultural and religious traditions of the people. Along with a description of the various departments of Akbar’s government and elaborate descriptions of the 218 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

various provinces (subas) of the empire, the Ain gives us intricate quantitative information of those provinces. Collecting and compiling this information systematically was an important imperial exercise. It informed the emperor about the varied and diverse customs and practices prevailing across his extensive territories. The Ain is therefore a mine of information for us about the Mughal Empire during Akbar’s reign. It is important, however, to keep in mind that this is a view of the regions from the centre, a view of society from its apex. The Ain is made up of five books (daftars), of which the first three books describe the administration. The first book, called manzil-abadi, concerns the imperial household and its maintenance. The second book, sipah-abadi, covers the military and civil administration and the establishment of servants. This book includes notices and short biographical sketches of imperial officials (mansabdars), learned men, poets and artists. Fig. 8.14 The third book, mulk-abadi, is the one which deals Abu’l Fazl presenting the with the fiscal side of the empire and provides rich manuscript of the completed quantitative information on revenue rates, followed Akbar Nama to his patron by the “Account of the Twelve Provinces”. This section has detailed statistical information, which includes the geographic, topographic and economic profile of all subas and their administrative and fiscal divisions (sarkars, parganas and mahals), total measured area, and assessed revenue ( jama ). After setting out details at the suba level, the Ain goes on to give a detailed picture of the sarkars below the suba. This it does in the form of tables, which have eight columns giving the following information: (1) parganat/mahal; (2) qila (forts); (3) arazi and zamin-i paimuda (measured area); (4) naqdi, revenue assessed in cash; (5) suyurghal, grants of revenue in charity; (6) zamindars; columns 7 and 8 contain details of the castes of these zamindars, and their troops including their horsemen (sawar), foot-soldiers (piyada) and elephants (fil ). The mulk-abadi gives a fascinating, detailed and highly complex view of agrarian society in northern India. The fourth and fifth books (daftars) deal with the religious, literary and cultural traditions of the people of India and also contain a collection of Akbar’s “auspicious sayings”. PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 219

Source 9

“Moistening the rose garden of fortune”

In this extract Abu’l Fazl gives a vivid account of how and from whom he collected his information: ... to Abu’l Fazl, son of Mubarak … this sublime mandate was given. “Write with the pen of sincerity the account of the glorious events and of our dominion-conquering victories … Assuredly, I spent much labour and research in collecting the records and narratives of His Majesty’s actions and I was a long time interrogating the servants of the State and the old members of the illustrious family. I examined both prudent, truth-speaking old men and active-minded, right- actioned young ones and reduced their statements to writing. The Royal commands were issued to the provinces, that those who from old service remembered, with certainty or with adminicle of doubt, the events of the past, should copy out the notes and memoranda and transit them to the court. (Then) a second command shone forth from the holy Presence-chamber; to wit – that the materials which had been collected should be ... recited in the royal hearing, and whatever might have to be written down afterwards, should be introduced into the noble volume as a supplement, and that such details as on account of the minuteness of the inquiries and the minutae of affairs, (which) could not then be brought to an end, should be inserted afterwards at my leisure. Being relieved by this royal order – the interpreter of the Divine ordinance – from the secret anxiety of my heart, I proceeded to reduce into writing the rough draughts (drafts)which were void of the grace of arrangement and style. I obtained the chronicle of events beginning at the Nineteenth Year of the Divine Era, when the Record Office was established by the enlightened intellect of His Majesty, and from its rich pages, I gathered the accounts of many events. Great pains too, were taken to procure the originals or copies of most of the orders which had been issued to the provinces from the Accession up to the present-day … I also took much trouble to incorporate many of the reports which ministers and high officials had submitted, about the affairs of the empire and the events of foreign countries. And my labour-loving soul was satiated by the apparatus of inquiry and research. I also exerted myself energetically to collect the rough notes and memoranda of sagacious and well-informed men. By these means, I constructed a reservoir for irrigating and moistening the rose garden of fortune (the Akbar Nama).

List all the sources that Abu’l Fazl used to compile his work. Which of these sources would have been most useful for arriving at an understanding of agrarian relations? To what extent do you think his work would have been influenced by his relationship with Akbar? 220 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Although the Ain was officially sponsored to record Translating the Ain detailed information to facilitate Emperor Akbar govern his empire, it was much more than a Given the importance of the Ain, reproduction of official papers. That the manuscript it has been translated for use by was revised five times by the author would suggest a number of scholars. Henry a high degree of caution on the part of Abu’l Fazl Blochmann edited it and the and a search for authenticity. For instance, oral Asiatic Society of Bengal, testimonies were cross-checked and verified before Calcutta (present-day Kolkata), being incorporated as “facts” in the chronicle. In published it in its Bibliotheca Indica series. The book has the quantitative sections, all numeric data were also been translated into English reproduced in words so as to minimise the chances in three volumes. The standard of subsequent transcriptional errors. translation of Volume 1 is that Historians who have carefully studied the Ain point of Henry Blochmann (Calcutta out that it is not without its problems. Numerous 1873). The other two volumes errors in totalling have been detected. These are were translated by H.S. Jarrett ascribed to simple slips of arithmetic or of (Calcutta 1891 and 1894). transcription by Abu’l Fazl’s assistants. These are generally minor and do not detract from the overall quantitative veracity of the manuals. Another limitation of the Ain is the somewhat skewed nature of the quantitative data. Data were not collected uniformly from all provinces. For instance, while for many subas detailed information was compiled about the caste composition of the zamindars, such information is not available for Bengal and Orissa. Further, while the fiscal data from the subas is remarkable for its richness, some equally vital parameters such as prices and wages from these same areas are not as well documented. The detailed list of prices and wages that the Ain does provide is mainly derived from data pertaining to areas in or around the imperial capital of Agra, and is therefore of limited relevance for the rest of the country.

These limitations notwithstanding, the Ain remains an extraordinary document of its times. By providing fascinating glimpses into the structure and organisation of the Mughal Empire and by giving us quantitative information about its products and people, Abu’l Fazl achieved a major breakthrough in the tradition of medieval chroniclers who wrote mostly about remarkable political events – wars, conquests, political machinations, and dynastic turmoil. Information about the country, its people PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 221 and its products was mentioned only incidentally and as embellishments to the essentially political thrust of the narrative. The Ain completely departed from this tradition as it recorded information about the empire and the people of India, and thus constitutes a benchmark for studying India at the turn of the seventeenth century. The value of the Ain’s quantitative evidence is uncontested where the study of agrarian relations is concerned. But it is the information it contains on people, their professions and trades and on the imperial establishment and the grandees of the empire which enables historians to reconstruct the social fabric of India at that time.

Timeline Landmarks in the History of the Mughal Empire

1526 Babur defeats Ibrahim Lodi, the Delhi Sultan, at Panipat, becomes the first Mughal emperor 1530-40 First phase of Humayun’s reign 1540-55 Humayun defeated by Sher Shah, in exile at the Safavid court 1555-56 Humayun regains lost territories 1556-1605 Reign of Akbar 1605-27 Reign of Jahangir 1628-58 Reign of Shah Jahan 1658-1707 Reign of Aurangzeb 1739 Nadir Shah invades India and sacks Delhi 1761 Ahmad Shah Abdali defeats the Marathas in the third battle of Panipat 1765 The diwani of Bengal transferred to the East India Company 1857 Last Mughal ruler, Bahadur Shah II, deposed by the British and exiled to Rangoon (present day Yangon, Myanmar) 222 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Answer in100-150 words

1. What are the problems in using the Ain as a source for reconstructing agrarian history? How do historians deal with this situation? 2. To what extent is it possible to characterise agricultural production in the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries as subsistence agriculture? Give reasons for your answer. 3. Describe the role played by women in agricultural production. 4. Discuss, with examples, the significance of monetary transactions during the period under consideration. 5. Examine the evidence that suggests that land revenue was important for the Mughal fiscal system.

Write a short essay (about 250-300 words) on the following:

6. To what extent do you think caste was a factor in influencing social and economic relations in agrarian society? 7. How were the lives of forest dwellers transformed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries? 8. Examine the role played by zamindars in Mughal India.

Fig. 8.15 9. Discuss the ways in which panchayats and village A seventeenth-century painting headmen regulated rural society. depicting jewellers PEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE 223

Map work

10. On an outline map of the world, mark the areas which had economic links with the Mughal Empire, If you would like to know and trace out possible routes of communication. more, read: Sumit Guha. 1999. Environment and Ethnicity Project (choose one) in India. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 11. Visit a neighbouring village. Find out how many people live there, which crops are grown, which Irfan Habib. 1999. The Agrarian System of Mughal animals are raised, which artisanal groups reside India 1556-1707 (Second edition). there, whether women own land, how the local Oxford University Press, panchayat functions. Compare this information New Delhi. with what you have learnt about the sixteenth- seventeenth centuries, noting similarities and W.H. Moreland. 1983 (rpt). differences. Explain both the changes and the India at the Death of Akbar: continuities that you find. An Economic Study. 12. Select a small section of the Ain (10-12 pages, Oriental, New Delhi. available online at the website indicated below). Tapan Raychaudhuri and Read it carefully and prepare a report on how it Irfan Habib (eds). 2004. can be used by a historian. The Cambridge Economic History of India. Vol.1. Orient Longman, New Delhi.

Fig. 8.16 Dietmar Rothermund. 1993. A painting depicting a woman selling sweets An Economic History of India – from Pre-colonial Times to 1991. Routledge, London.

Sanjay Subrahmanyam (ed.).1994. Money and the Market in India, 1100-1700. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

For more information, you could visit: http://persian.packhum.org persianindex.jsp?serv= pf&file=00702053&ct=0

THEME Kings and Chronicles NINE TheT Mughal u hal Courts ou tst s (c. sixteent xt e e h - sseventeenthe e n e nt centuries) nt r i e )

The rulers of the Mughal Empire saw themselves as appointed by Divine Will to rule over a large and heterogeneous populace. Although this grand vision was often circumscribed by actual political circumstances, it remained important. One way of transmitting this vision was through the writing of dynastic histories. The Mughal kings commissioned court historians to write accounts. These accounts recorded the events of the emperor’s time. In addition, their writers collected vast amounts of information from the regions of the subcontinent to help the rulers govern their domain. Modern historians writing in English have termed this genre of texts chronicles, as they present a continuous chronological record of events. Chronicles are an indispensable source for any scholar wishing to write a history of the Mughals. At one level they were a repository of factual information about the institutions of the Mughal state, painstakingly collected and classified by Fig. 9.1 The mausoleum of Timur at individuals closely connected with the court. At Samarqand, 1404 the same time these texts were intended as conveyors of meanings that the Mughal rulers sought to impose on their domain. They therefore give us a glimpse into how imperial ideologies were created and disseminated. This chapter will look at the workings of this rich and fascinating dimension of the Mughal Empire. KINGS AND CHRONICLES 225

1. The Mughals and Their Empire The name Mughal derives from Mongol. Though today the term evokes the grandeur of an empire, it was not the name the rulers of the dynasty chose for themselves. They referred to themselves as Timurids, as descendants of the Turkish ruler Timur on the paternal side. Babur, the first Mughal ruler, was related to Ghenghiz Khan from his mother’s side. He spoke Turkish and referred derisively to the Mongols as barbaric hordes. During the sixteenth century, Europeans used the term Mughal to describe the Indian rulers of this branch of the family. Over the past centuries the word has been frequently used – even the name Mowgli, the young hero of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, is derived from it. The empire was carved out of a number of regional states of India through conquests and political alliances between the Mughals and local chieftains. The founder of the empire, Zahiruddin Babur, was driven from his Central Asian homeland, Farghana, by the warring Uzbeks. He first established himself Fig. 9.2 at Kabul and then in 1526 pushed further into An eighteenth-century depiction of Humayun’s wife Nadira crossing the Indian subcontinent in search of territories and the desert of Rajasthan resources to satisfy the needs of the members of his clan. His successor, Nasiruddin Humayun (1530-40, 1555-56) expanded the frontiers of the empire, but lost it to the Afghan leader Sher Shah Sur, who drove him into exile. Humayun took refuge in the court of the Safavid ruler of Iran. In 1555 Humayun defeated the Surs, but died a year later. Many consider Jalaluddin Akbar (1556-1605) the greatest of all the Mughal emperors, for he not only expanded but also consolidated his empire, making it the largest, strongest and richest kingdom of his time. Akbar succeeded in extending the frontiers of the empire to the Hindukush mountains, and checked the expansionist designs of the Uzbeks of Turan (Central Asia) and the Safavids of Iran. Akbar had three fairly able successors in Jahangir (1605-27), Shah Jahan (1628-58) and Aurangzeb (1658-1707), much as their characters varied. Under them the territorial expansion continued, though at a much reduced pace. The three rulers maintained and consolidated the various instruments of governance. 226 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the institutions of an imperial structure were created. These included effective methods of administration and taxation. The visible centre of Mughal power was the court. Here political alliances and relationships

Discuss... were forged, status and hierarchies defined. The Find out whether the state in political system devised by the Mughals was based which you live formed part on a combination of military power and conscious of the Mughal Empire. policy to accommodate the different traditions they Were there any changes in encountered in the subcontinent. the area as a result of the After 1707, following the death of Aurangzeb, the establishment of the empire? power of the dynasty diminished. In place of the vast If your state was not part of apparatus of empire controlled from Delhi, Agra or the empire, find out more Lahore – the different capital cities – regional powers about contemporary regional acquired greater autonomy. Yet symbolically the rulers – their origins and prestige of the Mughal ruler did not lose its aura. In policies. What kind of records 1857 the last scion of this dynasty, Bahadur Shah did they maintain? Zafar II, was overthrown by the British. 2. The Production of Chronicles Chronicles commissioned by the Mughal emperors are an important source for studying the empire and its court. They were written in order to project a vision of an enlightened kingdom to all those who came under its umbrella. At the same time they were meant to convey to those who resisted the rule of the Mughals that all resistance was destined to fail. Also, the rulers wanted to ensure that there was an account of their rule for posterity. The authors of Mughal chronicles were invariably courtiers. The histories they wrote focused on events centred on the ruler, his family, the court and nobles, wars and administrative arrangements. Their titles, such as the Akbar Nama, Shahjahan Nama, Alamgir Nama, that is, the story of Akbar, Shah Jahan and Alamgir (a title of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb), suggest that in the eyes of their authors the history of the empire and the court was synonymous with that of the emperor. 2.1 From Turkish to Persian Mughal court chronicles were written in Persian. Under the Sultans of Delhi it flourished as a language of the court and of literary writings, Chaghtai Turks traced descent alongside north Indian languages, especially Hindavi from the eldest son of Ghengiz and its regional variants. As the Mughals were Khan. Chaghtai Turks by origin, Turkish was their mother KINGS AND CHRONICLES 227 tongue. Their first ruler Babur wrote poetry and his memoirs in this language. It was Akbar who consciously set out to make Persian the leading language of the Mughal court. Cultural and intellectual contacts with Iran, as well as a regular stream of Iranian and Central Asian migrants seeking positions at the Mughal court, might have motivated the emperor to adopt the language. Persian was elevated to a language of empire, conferring power and prestige on those who had a command of it. It was spoken by the king, the The flight of the royal household and the elite at court. Further, it written word became the language of administration at all levels In Abu’l Fazl’s words: so that accountants, clerks and other functionaries also learnt it. The written word may Even when Persian was not directly used, its embody the wisdom of vocabulary and idiom heavily influenced the language bygone ages and may of official records in Rajasthani and Marathi and become a means to even Tamil. Since the people using Persian in the intellectual progress. The spoken word goes to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries came from heart of those who are many different regions of the subcontinent and present to hear it. The written spoke other Indian languages, Persian too became word gives wisdom to those Indianised by absorbing local idioms. A new who are near and far. If it was language, Urdu, sprang from the interaction of not for the written word, the Persian with Hindavi. spoken word would soon Mughal chronicles such as the Akbar Nama were die, and no keepsake would written in Persian, others, like Babur’s memoirs, be left us from those who are were translated from the Turkish into the Persian passed away. Superficial Babur Nama. Translations of Sanskrit texts such as observers see in the letter a the Mahabharata and the Ramayana into Persian dark figure, but the deep- were commissioned by the Mughal emperors. The sighted see in it a lamp of Mahabharata was translated as the Razmnama wisdom (chirag-i shinasai ). (Book of Wars). The written word looks black, notwithstanding the thousand 2.2 The making of manuscripts rays within it, or it is a light All books in Mughal India were manuscripts, that with a mole on it that wards is, they were handwritten. The centre of manuscript off the evil eye. A letter production was the imperial kitabkhana. Although (khat) is the portrait of kitabkhana can be translated as library, it was a wisdom; a rough sketch from scriptorium, that is, a place where the emperor’s the realm of ideas; a dark collection of manuscripts was kept and new light ushering in day; a manuscripts were produced. black cloud pregnant with The creation of a manuscript involved a number knowledge; speaking though of people performing a variety of tasks. Paper makers dumb; stationary yet were needed to prepare the folios of the manuscript, travelling; stretched on the scribes or calligraphers to copy the text, gilders to sheet, and yet soaring illuminate the pages, painters to illustrate scenes upwards. 228 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

from the text, bookbinders to gather the individual folios and set them within ornamental covers. The finished manuscript was seen as a precious object, a work of intellectual wealth and beauty. It exemplified the power of its patron, the Mughal emperor, to bring such beauty into being. At the same time some of the people involved in the actual production of the manuscript also got recognition in the form of titles and awards. Of these, calligraphers and painters held a high social standing while others, such as paper makers or bookbinders, have remained anonymous artisans. Calligraphy, the art of handwriting, was considered a skill of great importance. It was practised using different styles. Akbar’s favourite was the nastaliq, a fluid style with long horizontal strokes. It is written using a piece of trimmed reed with a tip of five to 10 mm called qalam, dipped in carbon ink (siyahi). The nib of the qalam is usually split in the middle to facilitate the absorption of ink.

Discuss... In what ways do you think the production of books today is similar to or different from the ways in which Mughal chronicles were produced? 3. The Painted Image As we read in the previous section, painters too were involved in the production of Mughal manuscripts. Chronicles narrating the events of a Mughal emperor’s reign contained, alongside the written text, images that described an event in visual form. When scenes or themes in a book were to be given visual expression, the scribe left blank spaces on nearby pages; paintings, executed separately by artists, were Fig. 9.3 inserted to accompany what was described in words. A folio in nastaliq, the work of Muhammad Husayn of Kashmir These paintings were miniatures, and could therefore (c.1575-1605), one of the finest be passed around for viewing and mounting on the calligraphers at Akbar’s court, who pages of manuscripts. was honoured with the title “zarrin Paintings served not only to enhance the beauty of qalam” (golden pen) in recognition a book, but were believed to possess special powers of the perfectly proportioned of communicating ideas about the kingdom and the curvature of his letters power of kings in ways that the written medium could The calligrapher has signed his name on the lower section of not. The historian Abu’l Fazl described painting as the page, taking up almost a “magical art”: in his view it had the power to make one-fourth of its space. inanimate objects look as if they possessed life. KINGS AND CHRONICLES 229

The production of paintings portraying the Source 1 emperor, his court and the people who were part of it, was a source of constant tension between rulers In praise of taswir and representatives of the Muslim orthodoxy, the ulama. The latter did not fail to invoke the Islamic Abu’l Fazl held the art of painting prohibition of the portrayal of human beings in high esteem: enshrined in the Qur’an as well as the hadis, which described an incident from the life of the Prophet Drawing the likeness of anything is called taswir. His Muhammad. Here the Prophet is cited as having Majesty from his earliest youth, forbidden the depiction of living beings in a has shown a great predilection naturalistic manner as it would suggest that the for this art, and gives it every artist was seeking to appropriate the power of encouragement, as he looks creation. This was a function that was believed to upon it as a means both of study belong exclusively to God. and amusement. A very large number of painters have been set to work. Each week, several supervisors and clerks of the imperial workshop submit before the emperor the work done by each artist, and His Majesty gives a reward and increases the monthly salaries of the artists according to the excellence displayed. … Most excellent painters are now to be found, and masterpieces, worthy of a Bihzad, may be placed at the side of the wonderful works of the European painters who have attained worldwide fame. The minuteness in detail, the general finish and the boldness of execution now observed in pictures are incomparable; even inanimate objects look as if they have life. More than a hundred painters have become famous masters of the art. This is especially true of the Hindu artists. Their pictures surpass our conception of things. Few, indeed, in the whole world are found equal to them.

Why did Abu’l Fazl Fig. 9.4 A Mughal kitabkhana consider the art of painting important?

Identify the different tasks involved in the production How did he seek to of a Mughal manuscript depicted in this miniature. legitimise this art? 230 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Yet interpretations of the shari‘a changed with time. The body of Islamic tradition was interpreted in different ways by various social groups. Frequently each group put forward an understanding of tradition that would best suit their political needs. Muslim rulers in many Asian regions during centuries of empire building regularly commissioned artists to paint their portraits and scenes of life in their kingdoms. The Safavid kings of Iran, for example, patronised the finest artists, who were trained in workshops set up at court. The names of painters – such as that of Bihzad – contributed to spreading the cultural fame of the Safavid court far and wide. Artists from Iran also made their way to Mughal India. Some were brought to the Mughal court, as in the case of Mir Sayyid Ali and Abdus Samad, who were made to accompany Emperor Humayun to Delhi. Others migrated in search of opportunities to win patronage and prestige. A conflict between the emperor and the spokesmen of orthodox Muslim opinion on the question of visual representations of living beings was a source of tension at the Mughal Discuss... court. Akbar’s court historian Abu’l Fazl cites the Compare the painter’s emperor as saying: “There are many that hate representation (Fig. 9.4) of painting, but such men I dislike. It appears to me literary and artistic that an artist has a unique way of recognising God production with that of when he must come to feel that he cannot bestow Abu’l Fazl (Source 1). life on his work ...”

4. The Akbar Nama and the Badshah Nama Among the important illustrated Mughal chronicles the Akbar Nama and Badshah Nama (The Chronicle of a King) are the most well known. Each manuscript contained an average of 150 full- or double-page paintings of battles, sieges, hunts, building construction, court scenes, etc. The author of the Akbar Nama, Abu’l Fazl grew up in the Mughal capital of Agra. He was widely read in Arabic, Persian, Greek philosophy and Sufism. Moreover, he was a forceful debater and independent thinker who consistently opposed the views of the conservative ulama. These qualities impressed Akbar, who found Abu’l Fazl ideally suited as an adviser and a spokesperson for his policies. One major KINGS AND CHRONICLES 231 objective of the emperor was to free the state from the control of religious orthodoxy. In his role as court historian, Abu’l Fazl both shaped and articulated the ideas associated with the reign of Akbar. Beginning in 1589, Abu’l Fazl worked on the Akbar Nama for thirteen years, repeatedly revising the draft. The chronicle is based on a range of sources, including actual records of events (waqai ), official documents and oral testimonies of knowledgeable persons. The Akbar Nama is divided into three books of which the first two are chronicles. The third book is the Ain-i Akbari. The first volume contains the history of mankind from Adam to one celestial cycle of Akbar’s life (30 years). The second volume closes in the forty- sixth regnal year (1601) of Akbar. The very next year Abu’l Fazl fell victim to a conspiracy hatched by Prince Salim, and was murdered by his accomplice, A diachronic account traces Bir Singh Bundela. developments over time, The Akbar Nama was written to provide a detailed whereas a synchronic account description of Akbar’s reign in the traditional depicts one or several situations diachronic sense of recording politically significant at one particular moment or events across time, as well as in the more novel sense point of time. of giving a synchronic picture of all aspects of Akbar’s empire – geographic, social, administrative and cultural – without reference to chronology. In the Ain-i Akbari the Mughal Empire is presented as having Travels of the a diverse population consisting of Hindus, Jainas, Badshah Nama Buddhists and Muslims and a composite culture. Abu’l Fazl wrote in a language that was ornate Gifting of precious manuscripts and which attached importance to diction and was an established diplomatic rhythm, as texts were often read aloud. This Indo- custom under the Mughals. In emulation of this, the Persian style was patronised at court, and there Nawab of Awadh gifted the were a large number of writers who wanted to write illustrated Badshah Nama to like Abu’l Fazl. King George III in 1799. Since A pupil of Abu’l Fazl, Abdul Hamid Lahori is then it has been preserved in known as the author of the Badshah Nama. Emperor the English Royal Collections, Shah Jahan, hearing of his talents, commissioned now at Windsor Castle. him to write a history of his reign modelled on the In 1994, conservation work Akbar Nama. The Badshah Nama is this official required the bound manuscript history in three volumes (daftars) of ten lunar years to be taken apart. This made each. Lahori wrote the first and second daftars it possible to exhibit the comprising the first two decades of the emperor’s paintings, and in 1997 for the rule (1627-47); these volumes were later revised by first time, the Badshah Nama Sadullah Khan, Shah Jahan’s wazir. Infirmities of paintings were shown in old age prevented Lahori from proceeding with the exhibitions in New Delhi, third decade which was then chronicled by the London and Washington. historian Waris. 232 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

During the colonial period, British administrators began to study Indian history and to create an archive of knowledge about the subcontinent to help them better understand the people and the cultures of the empire they sought to rule. The Asiatic Society of Bengal, founded by Sir William Jones in 1784, undertook the editing, printing and translation of many Indian manuscripts. Edited versions of the Akbar Nama and Badshah Nama were first published by the Asiatic Society in the nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century the Akbar Nama was translated into English by Henry Beveridge after years of hard labour. Only excerpts of the Badshah Nama have been translated into English to date; the text in its entirety still awaits translation.

Discuss... Find out whether there was a tradition of illustrating manuscripts in your town or village. Who prepared these manuscripts? What were the subjects that they dealt with? How were these manuscripts preserved?

5. The Ideal Kingdom 5.1 A divine light Court chroniclers drew upon many sources to show that the power of the Mughal kings came directly from God. One of the legends they narrated was that of the Mongol queen Alanqua, who was impregnated The transmission of by a ray of sunshine while resting in her tent. The notions of luminosity offspring she bore carried this Divine Light and passed it on from generation to generation. The origins of Suhrawardi’s Abu’l Fazl placed Mughal kingship as the highest philosophy went back to station in the hierarchy of objects receiving light Plato’s Republic, where God is emanating from God (farr-i izadi). Here he was represented by the symbol of inspired by a famous Iranian sufi, Shihabuddin the sun. Suhrawardi’s writings Suhrawardi (d. 1191) who first developed this idea. were universally read in the According to this idea, there was a hierarchy in Islamic world. They were which the Divine Light was transmitted to the king studied by Shaikh Mubarak, who transmitted their ideas to who then became the source of spiritual guidance his sons, Faizi and Abu’l Fazl, for his subjects. who were trained under him. Paintings that accompanied the narrative of the chronicles transmitted these ideas in a way that KINGS AND CHRONICLES 233

Fig. 9.5 This painting by Abu’l Hasan shows Jahangir dressed in resplendent clothes and jewels, holding up a portrait of his father Akbar. Akbar is dressed in white, associated in sufi traditions with the enlightened soul. He proffers a globe, symbolic of dynastic authority. In the Mughal empire there was no law laying down which of the emperor’s sons would succeed to the throne. This meant that every dynastic change was accompanied and decided by a fratricidal war. Towards the end of Akbar’s reign, Prince Salim revolted against his father, seized power and assumed the title of Jahangir.

How does this painting describe the relationship between father and son? Why do you think Mughal artists frequently portrayed emperors against dark or dull backgrounds? What are the sources of light in this painting?

left a lasting impression on the minds of viewers. Mughal artists, from the seventeenth century onwards, began to portray emperors wearing the halo, which they saw on European paintings of Christ and the Virgin Mary to symbolise the light of God. 5.2 A unifying force Mughal chronicles present the empire as comprising many different ethnic and religious communities – Hindus, Jainas, Zoroastrians and Muslims. As the source of all peace and stability the emperor stood above all religious and ethnic groups, mediated among them, and ensured that justice and peace prevailed. Abu’l Fazl describes the ideal of sulh-i kul (absolute peace) as the cornerstone of enlightened rule. In sulh-i kul all religions and schools of thought had freedom of expression but on condition that they did not undermine the authority of the state or fight among themselves. The ideal of sulh-i kul was implemented through state policies – the nobility under the Mughals was a composite one comprising Iranis, Turanis, Afghans, Rajputs, Deccanis – all of whom were given positions and awards purely on the basis of their service and 234 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

loyalty to the king. Further, Akbar abolished the tax on pilgrimage in 1563 and jizya in 1564 as the two were based on religious discrimination. Instructions were sent to officers of the empire to follow the precept of sulh-i kul in administration. All Mughal emperors gave grants to support the building and maintenance of places of worship. Even when temples were destroyed during war, grants were later issued for their repair – as we know from the reigns of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. However, during the reign of the latter, the jizya was re- imposed on non-Muslim subjects. 5.3 Just sovereignty as social contract Abu’l Fazl defined sovereignty as a social contract: the emperor protects the four essences of his subjects, namely, life (jan), property (mal), honour (namus) and faith (din), and in return demands obedience and a share of resources. Only just sovereigns were thought to be able to honour the contract with power and Divine guidance.

Fig. 9.6 Jahangir presenting Prince Khurram with a turban jewel Scene from the Badshah Nama painted by the artist Payag, c.1640. KINGS AND CHRONICLES 235

Fig. 9.7 Jahangir shooting the figure of poverty, painting by the artist Abu’l Hasan The artist has enveloped the target in a dark cloud to suggest that this is not a real person, but a human form used to symbolise an abstract quality. Such a mode of personification in art and literature is termed allegory. The Chain of Justice is shown descending from heaven. This is how Jahangir described the Chain of Justice in his memoirs: After my accession, the first order that I gave was for the fastening up of the Chain of Justice, so that if those engaged in the administration of justice should delay or practise hypocrisy in the matter of those seeking justice, the oppressed might come to this chain and shake it so that its noise might attract attention. The chain was made of pure gold, 30 gaz in length and containing 60 bells.

✁ Identify and interpret the symbols in the painting. Summarise the message of this painting.

A number of symbols were created for visual representation of the idea of justice which came to stand for the highest virtue of Mughal monarchy. One of the favourite symbols used by artists was the motif of the lion and the lamb (or goat) peacefully nestling next to each other. This was meant to signify Discuss... a realm where both the strong and the weak could Why was justice regarded as exist in harmony. Court scenes from the illustrated such an important virtue of Badshah Nama place such motifs in a niche directly monarchy in the Mughal below the emperor’s throne (see Fig. 9.6). Empire? 236 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

6. Capitals and Courts 6.1 Capital cities The heart of the Mughal Empire was its capital city, where the court assembled. The capital cities of the Mughals frequently shifted during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Babur took over the Lodi capital of Agra, though during the four years of his reign the court was frequently on the move. During the 1560s Akbar had the fort of Agra constructed with red sandstone quarried from the adjoining regions. In the 1570s he decided to build a new capital, Fatehpur Sikri. One of the reasons prompting this may have been that Sikri was located on the direct road to Ajmer, where the dargah of Shaikh Muinuddin Chishti had become an important Fig. 9.8 pilgrimage centre. The Mughal emperors entered The Buland Darwaza, into a close relationship with sufis of the Chishti Fatehpur Sikri silsila. Akbar commissioned the construction of a white marble tomb for Shaikh Salim Chishti next to the majestic Friday mosque at Sikri. The enormous arched gateway (Buland Darwaza) was meant to remind visitors of the Mughal victory in Gujarat. In 1585 the capital was transferred to Lahore to bring the north-west under greater control and Akbar closely watched the frontier for thirteen years. Shah Jahan pursued sound fiscal policies and accumulated enough money to indulge his passion for building. Building activity in monarchical cultures, as you have seen in the case of earlier rulers, was the most visible and tangible sign of dynastic power, wealth and prestige. In the case of Muslim rulers it was also considered an act of piety. In 1648 the court, army and household moved from Agra to the newly completed imperial capital, Shahjahanabad. It was a new addition to the old residential city of Delhi, with the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, a tree-lined esplanade with KINGS AND CHRONICLES 237 bazaars (Chandni Chowk) and spacious homes for the nobility. Shah Jahan’s new city was appropriate to a more formal vision of a grand monarchy.

6.2 The Mughal court The physical arrangement of the court, focused on the sovereign, mirrored his status as the heart of society. Its centrepiece was therefore the throne, the takht, which gave physical form to the function of the sovereign as axis mundi. The canopy, a Axis mundi is a Latin phrase for symbol of kingship in India for a millennium, was a pillar or pole that is visualised believed to separate the radiance of the sun from as the support of the earth. that of the sovereign. Chronicles lay down with great precision the rules defining status amongst the Mughal elites. In court, status was determined by spatial proximity to the king. The place accorded to a courtier by the ruler was a sign of his importance in the eyes of the emperor. Once the emperor sat on the throne, no one was permitted to move from his position or to leave without permission. Social control in court society was exercised through carefully defining in

Source 2 Darbar-i Akbari

Abu’l Fazl gives a vivid account of Akbar’s darbar: Kornish was a form of Whenever His Majesty (Akbar) holds court (darbar) ceremonial salutation in which a large drum is beaten, the sounds of which are the courtier placed the palm of accompanied by Divine praise. In this manner, people his right hand against his of all classes receive notice. His Majesty’s sons and forehead and bent his head. It grandchildren, the grandees of the Court, and all suggested that the subject other men who have admittance, attend to make the placed his head – the seat of the kornish, and remain standing in their proper places. senses and the mind – into the Learned men of renown and skilful mechanics pay hand of humility, presenting it their respects; and the officers of justice present their to the royal assembly reports. His Majesty, with his usual insights, gives orders, and settles everything in a satisfactory manner. During the whole time, skilful gladiators and wrestlers from all countries hold themselves in readiness, and singers, male and female, are in waiting. Clever jugglers and funny tumblers also are anxious to exhibit their dexterity and agility.

Describe the main activities taking place in the darbar. 238 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

full detail the forms of address, courtesies and speech which were acceptable in court. The slightest infringement of etiquette was noticed and punished Chahar taslim is a mode of on the spot. salutation which begins with The forms of salutation to the ruler indicated the placing the back of the right person’s status in the hierarchy: deeper prostration hand on the ground, and represented higher status. The highest form of raising it gently till the person submission was sijda or complete prostration. Under stands erect, when he puts the Shah Jahan these rituals were replaced with chahar palm of his hand upon the taslim and zaminbos (kissing the ground). crown of his head. It is done The protocols governing diplomatic envoys at the four (chahar) times. Taslim Mughal court were equally explicit. An ambassador literally means submission. presented to the Mughal emperor was expected to offer an acceptable form of greeting – either by bowing deeply or kissing the ground, or else to follow the Persian custom of clasping one’s hands in front of the chest. Thomas Roe, the English envoy of James I, simply bowed before Jahangir according to European custom, and further shocked the court by Shab-i barat is the full moon demanding a chair. night on the 14 Shaban, the The emperor began his day at sunrise with eighth month of the hijri personal religious devotions or prayers, and then calendar, and is celebrated with appeared on a small balcony, the jharoka, facing the prayers and fireworks in the east. Below, a crowd of people (soldiers, merchants, subcontinent. It is the night craftspersons, peasants, women with sick children) when the destinies of the waited for a view, darshan, of the emperor. Jharoka Muslims for the coming year darshan was introduced by Akbar with the objective are said to be determined and of broadening the acceptance of the imperial sins forgiven. authority as part of popular faith.

The jewelled throne This is how Shah Jahan’s jewelled throne (takht-i murassa) in the hall of public audience in the Agra palace is described in the Badshah Nama: This gorgeous structure has a canopy supported by twelve-sided pillars and measures five cubits in height from the flight of steps to the overhanging dome. On His Majesty’s coronation, he had commanded that 86 lakh worth of gems and precious stones, and one lakh tolas of gold worth another 14 lakh, should be used in decorating it. … The throne was completed in the course of seven years, and among the precious stones used upon it was a ruby worth one lakh of rupees that Shah Abbas Safavi had sent to the late emperor Jahangir. And on this ruby were inscribed the names of the great emperor Timur Sahib-i qiran, Mirza Shahrukh, Mirza Ulugh Beg, and Shah Abbas as well as the names of the emperors Akbar, Jahangir, and that of His Majesty himself. KINGS AND CHRONICLES 239

Fig. 9.9 Shah Jahan honouring Prince Aurangzeb at Agra before his wedding, painting by Payag in the Badshah Nama

Identify the emperor. Aurangzeb is shown dressed in a yellow jama (upper garment) and green jacket with little blossoms. How is he placed and what does his gesture to his father suggest? How are the courtiers shown? Can you locate figures with big turbans to the left? These are depictions of scholars.

After spending an hour at the jharoka, the emperor walked to the public hall of audience (diwan-i am) to conduct the primary business of his government. State officials presented reports and made requests. Two hours later, the emperor was in the diwan-i khas to hold private audiences and discuss confidential matters. High ministers of state placed their petitions before him and tax officials presented their accounts. Occasionally, the emperor viewed the works of highly reputed artists or building plans of architects (mimar). On special occasions such as the anniversary of accession to the throne, Id, Shab-i barat and Holi, Fig. 9.10 the court was full of life. Perfumed candles set in Prince Khurram being weighed in rich holders and palace walls festooned with precious metals in a ceremony colourful hangings made a tremendous impression called jashn-i wazn or tula dan on visitors. The Mughal kings celebrated three major (from Jahangir’s memoirs) 240 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Fig. 9.11a Fig. 9.11b Dara Shukoh’s wedding Weddings were celebrated lavishly in the imperial household. In 1633 the wedding of Dara Shukoh and Nadira, the daughter of Prince Parwez, was arranged by Princess Jahanara and Sati un Nisa Khanum, the chief maid of the late empress, Mumtaz Mahal. An exhibition of the wedding gifts was arranged in the diwan-i am. In the afternoon the emperor and the ladies of the harem paid a visit to it, and in the evening nobles were allowed access. The bride’s mother similarly arranged her presents in the same hall and Shah Jahan went to see them. The hinabandi (application of henna dye) ceremony was performed in the diwan-i khas. Betel leaf (paan), cardamom and dry fruit were distributed among the attendants of the court. Fig. 9.11c The total cost of the wedding was Rs 32 lakh, of which Rs six lakh was contributed by the imperial treasury, Rs 16 lakh by Jahanara (including the amount earlier set aside by Mumtaz Mahal) and the

Describe what you rest by the bride’s mother. These paintings from the Badshah Nama depict some of the activities associated with the occasion. see in the pictures. KINGS AND CHRONICLES 241 festivals a year: the solar and lunar birthdays of the monarch and Nauroz, the Iranian New Year on the vernal equinox. On his birthdays, the monarch was weighed against various commodities which were then distributed in charity. 6.3 Titles and gifts Grand titles were adopted by the Mughal emperors at the time of coronation or after a victory over an enemy. High- sounding and rhythmic, they created an atmosphere of awe in the audience when announced by ushers (naqib). Mughal coins carried the full title of the reigning emperor with regal protocol. The granting of titles to men of merit was an important aspect of Mughal polity. A man’s ascent in the court hierarchy could be traced through the titles he held. The title Asaf Khan for one of the highest ministers originated with Asaf, the legendary minister of the prophet king Sulaiman (Solomon). The title Mirza Raja was accorded by Aurangzeb to his two highest-ranking nobles, Jai Singh and Jaswant Singh. Titles could be earned or paid for. Mir Khan offered Rs one lakh to Aurangzeb for the letter alif, that is A, to be added to his name to make it Amir Khan. Other awards included the robe of honour (khilat), a garment once worn by the emperor and imbued with his benediction. One gift, the sarapa (“head to foot”), consisted of a tunic, a turban and a sash (patka). Jewelled ornaments were often given as gifts by the emperor. The lotus blossom set with jewels (padma murassa) was given only in exceptional circumstances. A courtier never approached the emperor empty handed: he offered either a small sum of money (nazr) or a large Fig. 9.12 A Mughal turban box amount (peshkash). In diplomatic relations, gifts were regarded as a sign of honour and respect. Ambassadors performed the important function of negotiating treaties and relationships between competing political powers. In such a context gifts had an important symbolic role. Thomas Roe was disappointed when a ring he had presented to Asaf Khan was returned to him for the reason that it was worth merely 400 rupees.

Discuss... Are some of the rituals and practices associated with the Mughals followed by present-day political leaders? 242 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

7. The Imperial Household The term “harem” is frequently used to refer to the domestic world of the Mughals. It originates in the Persian word haram, meaning a sacred place. The Mughal household consisted of the emperor’s wives and concubines, his near and distant relatives (mother, step- and foster-mothers, sisters, daughters, daughters-in-law, aunts, children, etc.), and female servants and slaves. Polygamy was practised widely in the Indian subcontinent, especially among the ruling groups. Both for the Rajput clans as well as the Mughals marriage was a way of cementing political relationships and forging alliances. The gift of territory was often accompanied by the gift of a daughter in marriage. This ensured a continuing hierarchical relationship between ruling groups. It was through the link of marriage and the relationships that developed as a result that the Mughals were able to form a vast kinship network that linked them to important groups and helped to hold a vast empire together. In the Mughal household a distinction was maintained between wives who came from royal families (begams), and other wives (aghas) who were Fig. 9.13 not of noble birth. The begams, married after Part of the inner apartments in receiving huge amounts of cash and valuables as Fatehpur Sikri dower (mahr), naturally received a higher status and greater attention from their husbands than did aghas. The concubines (aghacha or the lesser agha) occupied the lowest position in the hierarchy of females intimately related to royalty. They all received monthly allowances in cash, supplemented with gifts according to their status. The lineage- based family structure was not entirely static. The agha and the aghacha could rise to the position of a begam depending on the husband’s will, and provided that he did not already have four wives. Love and motherhood played important roles in elevating such women to the status of legally wedded wives. Apart from wives, numerous male and female slaves populated the Mughal household. The tasks they performed varied from the most mundane to those requiring skill, tact and intelligence. Slave eunuchs (khwajasara) moved between the external and KINGS AND CHRONICLES 243 internal life of the household as guards, servants, and also as agents for women dabbling in commerce. After Nur Jahan, Mughal queens and princesses began to control significant financial resources. Shah Jahan’s daughters Jahanara and Roshanara enjoyed

Describe the activities that an annual income often equal to that of high imperial the artist has depicted in each mansabdars. Jahanara, in addition, received revenues of the sections of the painting. from the port city of Surat, which was a lucrative centre On the basis of the tasks being of overseas trade. performed by different people, Control over resources enabled important women identify the members of the of the Mughal household to commission buildings and imperial establishment that gardens. Jahanara participated in many architectural make up the scene. projects of Shah Jahan’s new capital, Shahjahanabad (Delhi). Among these was an imposing double-storeyed caravanserai with a courtyard and garden. The bazaar of Chandni Chowk, the throbbing centre of Shahjahanabad, was designed by Jahanara. An interesting book giving us a glimpse into the domestic world of the Mughals is the Humayun Nama written by Gulbadan Begum. Gulbadan was the daughter of Babur, Humayun’s sister and Akbar’s aunt. Gulbadan could write fluently in Turkish and Persian. When Akbar commissioned Abu’l Fazl to write a history of his reign, he requested his aunt to record her memoirs of earlier times under Babur and Humayun, for Abu’l Fazl to draw upon. What Gulbadan wrote was no eulogy of the Mughal emperors. Rather she described in great detail the conflicts and tensions among the princes and kings and the important mediating role elderly women of the family played in resolving some of these conflicts.

Fig. 9.14 Birth of Prince Salim at Fatehpur Sikri, painted by Ramdas, Akbar Nama 244 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

8. The Imperial Officials 8.1 Recruitment and rank Mughal chronicles, especially the Akbar Nama, have bequeathed a vision of empire in which agency rests almost solely with the emperor, while the rest of the kingdom has been portrayed as following his orders. Yet if we look more closely at the rich information these histories provide about the apparatus of the Mughal state, we may be able to understand the ways in which the imperial organisation was dependent on several different institutions to be able to function effectively. One important pillar of the Mughal state was its corps of officers, also referred to by historians collectively as the nobility. The nobility was recruited from diverse ethnic and religious groups. This ensured that no faction was large enough to challenge the authority of the state. The officer corps of the Mughals was described as a bouquet of flowers (guldasta) held together by loyalty to the emperor. In Akbar’s imperial service, Turani and Iranian nobles were present from the earliest phase of carving out a political dominion. Many had accompanied Humayun; others migrated later to the Mughal court.

The Mughal nobility This is how Chandrabhan Barahman described the Mughal nobility in his book Char Chaman (Four Gardens), written during the reign of Shah Jahan: People from many races (Arabs, Iranians, Turks, Tajiks, Kurds, Tatars, Russians, Abyssinians, and so on) and from many countries (Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Arabia, Iran, Khurasan, Turan) – in fact, different groups and classes of people from all societies – have sought refuge in the imperial court, as well as different groups from India, men with knowledge and skills as well as warriors, for example, Bukharis and Bhakkaris, Saiyyads of genuine lineage, Shaikhzadas with noble ancestry, Afghan tribes such as the Lodis, Rohillas, Yusufzai, and castes of Rajputs, who were to be addressed as rana, raja, rao and rayan – i.e. Rathor, Sisodia, Kachhwaha, Hada, Gaur, Chauhan, Panwar, Bhaduriya, Solanki, Bundela, Shekhawat, and all the other Indian tribes, such as Ghakkar, Khokar, Baluchi, and others who wielded the sword, and mansabs from 100 to 7000 zat, likewise landowners from the steppes and mountains, from the regions of Karnataka, Bengal, Assam, Udaipur, Srinagar, Kumaon, Tibet and Kishtwar and so on – whole tribes and groups of them have been privileged to kiss the threshold of the imperial court (i.e. attend the court or find employment). KINGS AND CHRONICLES 245

Two ruling groups of Indian origin entered the imperial service from 1560 onwards: the Rajputs and the Indian Muslims (Shaikhzadas). The first to join was a Rajput chief, Raja Bharmal Kachhwaha of Amber, to whose daughter Akbar got married. Members of Hindu castes inclined towards education and accountancy were also promoted, a famous example being Akbar’s finance minister, Raja Todar Source 3 Mal, who belonged to the Khatri caste. Nobles at court Iranians gained high offices under Jahangir, whose politically influential queen, Nur Jahan (d. 1645), was an Iranian. Aurangzeb appointed Rajputs to high The Jesuit priest Father Antonio positions, and under him the Marathas accounted Monserrate, resident at the for a sizeable number within the body of officers. court of Akbar, noticed: All holders of government offices held ranks In order to prevent the great (mansabs) comprising two numerical designations: nobles becoming insolent zat which was an indicator of position in the through the unchallenged imperial hierarchy and the salary of the official enjoyment of power, the (mansabdar), and sawar which indicated the King summons them to number of horsemen he was required to maintain court and gives them in service. In the seventeenth century, mansabdars imperious commands, as of 1,000 zat or above ranked as nobles (umara, though they were his slaves. The obedience to these which is the plural of amir). commands ill suits their The nobles participated in military campaigns with exalted rank and dignity. their armies and also served as officers of the empire in the provinces. Each military commander recruited,

What does Father equipped and trained the main striking arm of Monserrate’s observation the Mughal army, the cavalry. The troopers suggest about the maintained superior horses branded on the flank by relationship between the the imperial mark (dagh). The emperor personally Mughal emperor and reviewed changes in rank, titles and official postings his officials? for all except the lowest-ranked officers. Akbar, who designed the mansab system, also established spiritual relationships with a select band of his nobility by treating them as his disciples (murid). For members of the nobility, imperial service was a way of acquiring power, wealth and the highest possible reputation. A person wishing to join the Tajwiz was a petition service petitioned through a noble, who presented a presented by a nobleman to tajwiz to the emperor. If the applicant was found the emperor, recommending suitable a mansab was granted to him. The mir that an applicant be recruited bakhshi (paymaster general) stood in open court on as mansabdar. the right of the emperor and presented all candidates for appointment or promotion, while his office prepared orders bearing his seal and signature as well as those of the emperor. There were two other important ministers at the centre: the diwan-i ala 246 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

(finance minister) and sadr-us sudur (minister of grants or madad-i maash, and in charge of appointing local judges or qazis). The three ministers occasionally came together as an advisory body, but were independent of each other. Akbar with these and other advisers shaped the administrative, fiscal and monetary institutions of the empire. Nobles stationed at the court (tainat-i rakab) were a reserve force to be deputed to a province or military campaign. They were duty-bound to appear twice daily, morning and evening, to express submission to the emperor in the public audience hall. They shared the responsibility for guarding the emperor and his household round the clock. 8.2 Information and empire The keeping of exact and detailed records was a major concern of the Mughal administration. The mir bakhshi supervised the corps of court writers (waqia nawis) who recorded all applications and documents presented to the court, and all imperial orders (farman). In addition, agents (wakil ) of nobles and regional rulers recorded the entire proceedings of the court under the heading “News from the Exalted Court” (Akhbarat-i Darbar-i Mualla) with the date and time of the court session (pahar ). The akhbarat contained all kinds of information such as attendance at the court, grant of offices and titles, diplomatic missions, presents received, or the enquiries made by the emperor about the health of an officer. This information is valuable for writing the history of the public and private lives of kings and nobles. News reports and important official documents travelled across the length and breadth of the regions under Mughal rule by imperial post. Round-the-clock relays of foot-runners (qasid or pathmar ) carried papers rolled up in bamboo containers. The emperor received reports from even distant provincial capitals within a few days. Agents of nobles posted outside the capital and Rajput princes and tributary rulers all assiduously copied these announcements and sent their contents by messenger back to their masters. The empire was connected by a surprisingly rapid information loop for public news. KINGS AND CHRONICLES 247

8.3 Beyond the centre: provincial administration The division of functions established at the centre was replicated in the provinces (subas) where the ministers had their corresponding subordinates (diwan, bakhshi and sadr). The head of the provincial administration was the governor (subadar) who reported directly to the emperor. The sarkars, into which each suba was divided, often overlapped with the jurisdiction of faujdars (commandants) who were deployed with contingents of heavy cavalry and musketeers in districts. The local administration was looked after at the level of the pargana (sub-district) by three semi-hereditary officers, the qanungo (keeper of revenue records), the chaudhuri (in charge of revenue collection) and the qazi. Each department of administration maintained a large support staff of clerks, accountants, auditors, messengers, and other functionaries who were technically qualified officials, functioning in accordance with standardised rules and procedures, and generating copious written orders and records. Persian was made the language of administration throughout, but local languages were used for village accounts. The Mughal chroniclers usually portrayed the emperor and his court as controlling the entire administrative apparatus down to the village level. Yet, as you have seen (Chapter 8), this could hardly have been a process free of tension. The relationship between local landed magnates, the zamindars, and the representatives of the Mughal emperor was sometimes marked by conflicts over authority and a share of the resources. The zamindars often succeeded in mobilising peasant support against the state.

Discuss... Read Section 2, Chapter 8 once more and discuss the extent to which the emperor’s presence may have been felt in villages. 248 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

9. Beyond the Frontiers Writers of chronicles list many high-sounding titles assumed by the Mughal emperors. These included general titles such as Shahenshah (King of Kings) or specific titles assumed by individual kings upon ascending the throne, such as Jahangir (World-Seizer), or Shah Jahan (King of the World). The chroniclers often drew on these titles and their meanings to reiterate the claims of the Mughal emperors to uncontested territorial and political control. Yet the same contemporary histories Fig. 9.15 provide accounts of diplomatic relationships and The siege of Qandahar conflicts with neighbouring political powers. These reflect some tension and political rivalry arising from competing regional interests. 9.1 The Safavids and Qandahar The political and diplomatic relations between the Mughal kings and the neighbouring countries of Iran and Turan hinged on the control of the frontier defined by the Hindukush mountains that separated Afghanistan from the regions of Iran and Central Asia. All conquerors who sought to make their way into the Indian subcontinent had to cross the Hindukush to have access to north India. A constant aim of Mughal policy was to ward off this potential danger by controlling strategic outposts – notably Kabul and Qandahar. Qandahar was a bone of contention between the Safavids and the Mughals. The fortress-town had initially been in the possession of KINGS AND CHRONICLES 249

Fig. 9.16 Jahangir’s dream An inscription on this miniature records that Jahangir commissioned Abu’l Hasan to render in painting a dream the emperor had had recently. Abu’l Hasan painted this scene portraying the two rulers – Jahangir and the Safavid Shah Abbas – in friendly embrace. Both kings are depicted in their traditional costumes. The figure of the Shah is based upon portraits made by Bishandas who accompanied the Mughal embassy to Iran in 1613. This gave a sense of authenticity to a scene which is fictional, as the two rulers had never met.

Look at the painting carefully. How is the relationship between Jahangir and Shah Abbas shown? Compare their physique and postures. What do the animals stand for? What does the map suggest?

Humayun, reconquered in 1595 by Akbar. While the Safavid court retained diplomatic relations with the Mughals, it continued to stake claims to Qandahar. In 1613 Jahangir sent a diplomatic envoy to the court of Shah Abbas to plead the Mughal case for retaining Qandahar, but the mission failed. In the winter of 1622 a Persian army besieged Qandahar. The ill-prepared Mughal garrison was defeated and had to surrender the fortress and the city to the Safavids. 9.2 The Ottomans: pilgrimage and trade The relationship between the Mughals and the Ottomans was marked by the concern to ensure free movement for merchants and pilgrims in the territories under Ottoman control. This was especially true for the Hijaz, that part of Ottoman Arabia where the important pilgrim centres of Mecca and Medina were located. The Mughal emperor usually combined religion and commerce by exporting valuable merchandise to Aden and Mokha, both Red Sea ports, and distributing the proceeds 250 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

of the sales in charity to the keepers of shrines and religious men there. However, when Aurangzeb discovered cases of misappropriation of funds sent to Arabia, he favoured their distribution in India which, he thought, “was as much a house of God as Mecca”. 9.3 Jesuits at the Mughal court Europe received knowledge of India through the Source 4 accounts of Jesuit missionaries, travellers, merchants and diplomats. The Jesuit accounts are The accessible emperor the earliest impressions of the Mughal court ever recorded by European writers. Following the discovery of a direct sea route In the account of his to India at the end of the fifteenth century, experiences, Monserrate, who Portuguese merchants established a network of was a member of the first trading stations in coastal cities. The Portuguese Jesuit mission, says: king was also interested in the propagation of It is hard to exaggerate how Christianity with the help of the missionaries of accessible he (Akbar) makes the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). The Christian himself to all who wish missions to India during the sixteenth century were audience of him. For he part of this process of trade and empire building. creates an opportunity Akbar was curious about Christianity and almost every day for any of the common people or of dispatched an embassy to Goa to invite Jesuit the nobles to see him and priests. The first Jesuit mission reached the Mughal to converse with him; and court at Fatehpur Sikri in 1580 and stayed for about he endeavours to show two years. The Jesuits spoke to Akbar about himself pleasant-spoken Christianity and debated its virtues with the ulama. and affable rather than Two more missions were sent to the Mughal court severe towards all who at Lahore, in 1591 and 1595. come to speak with him. It The Jesuit accounts are based on personal is very remarkable how observation and shed light on the character and great an effect this courtesy mind of the emperor. At public assemblies the Jesuits and affability has in attaching him to the minds were assigned places in close proximity to Akbar’s of his subjects. throne. They accompanied him on his campaigns, tutored his children, and were often companions of his leisure hours. The Jesuit accounts corroborate ✁ Compare this account with Source 2. the information given in Persian chronicles about state officials and the general conditions of life in Mughal times.

Discuss... What were the considerations that shaped the relations of the Mughal rulers with their contemporaries? KINGS AND CHRONICLES 251

10. Questioning Formal Religion The high respect shown by Akbar towards the members of the Jesuit mission impressed them deeply. They interpreted the emperor’s open interest in the doctrines of Christianity as a sign of his acceptance of their faith. This can be understood in the light of the prevailing climate of religious intolerance in Western Europe. Monserrate remarked that “the king cared little that in allowing everyone to follow his religion he was in reality violating all”. Akbar’s quest for religious knowledge led to interfaith debates in the ibadat khana at Fatehpur Sikri between learned Muslims, Hindus, Jainas, Parsis and Christians. Akbar’s religious views matured as he queried scholars of different religions and sects and gathered knowledge about their doctrines. Increasingly, he moved away from the orthodox Islamic ways of understanding religions towards a self-conceived eclectic form of divine worship focused on light and the sun. We have seen that Akbar and Abu’l Fazl created a philosophy of light and used it to shape the image of the king and ideology of the state. In this, a divinely inspired individual has supreme sovereignty over his people and complete control over his enemies.

Fig. 9.17 Hom in the haram Religious debates in the court This is an excerpt from Abdul Qadir Badauni’s Muntakhab-ut Tawarikh. Padre Rudolf A theologian and a courtier, Badauni was critical of his employer’s policies Acquaviva was the and did not wish to make the contents of his book public. leader of the first Jesuit mission. From early youth, in compliment to his wives, the daughters of His name is Rajas of Hind, His Majesty had been performing hom in the haram, written on top of which is a ceremony derived from fire-worship (atish-parasti ). But the painting. on the New Year of the twenty-fifth regnal year (1578) he prostrated publicly before the sun and the fire. In the evening the whole Court had to rise up respectfully when the lamps and candles were lighted. 252 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

These ideas were in harmony with the perspective of the court chroniclers who give us a sense of the processes by which the Mughal rulers could effectively assimilate such a heterogeneous populace within an imperial edifice. The name of the dynasty continued to enjoy legitimacy in the subcontinent Fig. 9.18 Blue tiles from a shrine in Multan, for a century and a half, even after its geographical brought by migrant artisans extent and the political control it exercised had from Iran diminished considerably.

Timelineie l e Some Major Mughal Chronicles and Memoirs

c.1530 Manuscript of Babur’s memoirs in Turkish – saved from a storm – becomes part of the family collection of the Timurids c.1587 Gulbadan Begum begins to write the Humayun Nama 1589 Babur’s memoirs translated into Persian as Babur Nama 1589-1602 Abu’l Fazl works on the Akbar Nama 1605-22 Jahangir writes his memoirs, the Jahangir Nama 1639-47 Lahori composes the first two daftars of the Badshah Nama c.1650 Muhammad Waris begins to chronicle the third decade of Shah Jahan’s reign 1668 Alamgir Nama, a history of the first ten years of Aurangzeb’s reign compiled by Muhammmad Kazim KINGS AND CHRONICLES 253

Answer in100-150 words

1. Describe the process of manuscript production in the Mughal court. 2. In what ways would the daily routine and special festivities associated with the Mughal court have conveyed a sense of the power of the emperor? 3. Assess the role played by women of the imperial household in the Mughal Empire. 4. What were the concerns that shaped Mughal policies and attitudes towards regions outside the subcontinent? 5. Discuss the major features of Mughal provincial administration. How did the centre control the provinces?

Write a short essay (about 250-300 words) on the following:

6. Discuss, with examples, the distinctive features of Mughal chronicles. 7. To what extent do you think the visual material presented in this chapter corresponds with Abu’l Fazl’s description of the taswir (Source 1)? 8. What were the distinctive features of the Mughal nobility? How was their relationship with the emperor shaped? 9. Identify the elements that went into the making of the Mughal ideal of kingship.

Fig. 9.19 Many Mughal manuscripts contained drawings of birds 254 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Map work

If you would like to know 10. On an outline map of the world, plot the areas more, read: with which the Mughals had political and cultural Bamber Gascoigne. 1971. relations. The Great Moghuls. Jonathan Cape Ltd., London. Project (choose one) Shireen Moosvi. 2006 (rpt). Episodes in the Life of Akbar. National Book Trust, 11. Find out more about any one Mughal chronicle. New Delhi. Prepare a report describing the author, and the language, style and content of the text. Describe at Harbans Mukhia. 2004. least two visuals used to illustrate the chronicle The Mughals of India. Blackwell, of your choice, focusing on the symbols used to Oxford. indicate the power of the emperor. John F. Richards. 1996. 12. Prepare a report comparing the present-day system The Mughal Empire of government with the Mughal court and (The New Cambridge History administration, focusing on ideals of rulership, of India, Vol.1). court rituals, and means of recruitment into the Cambridge University Press, imperial service, highlighting the similarities Cambridge. and differences that you notice. Annemarie Schimmel. 2005. The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

For more information, you could visit: www.mughalgardens.org

Fig. 9.20 A Mughal painting depicting squirrels on a tree

Credits for Illustrations

Theme 5 Fig. 5.1: Ritu Topa. Fig. 5.2: Henri Stierlin, The Cultural History of the Arabs, Aurum Press, London, 1981. Fig. 5.4, 5.13: FICCI, Footprints of Enterprise: Indian Business Through the Ages, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1999. Fig. 5.5: Calcutta Art Gallery, printed in E.B. Havell, The Art Heritage of India, D.B. Taraporevala Sons & Co., Bombay, 1964. Fig. 5.6, 5.7, 5.12: Bamber Gascoigne, The Great Moghuls, Jonathan Cape Ltd., London, 1971. Fig. 5.8, 5.9: Sunil Kumar. Fig. 5.10: Rosemary Crill, Indian Ikat Textiles, Weatherhill, London, 1998. Fig. 5.11, 5.14: C.A. Bayly (ed). An Illustrated History of Modern India, 1600-1947, Oxford University Press, Bombay, 1991.

Theme 6 Fig. 6.1: Susan L. Huntington, The Art of Ancient India, Weatherhill, New York, 1993. Fig. 6.3, 6.17: Jim Masselos, Jackie Menzies and Pratapaditya Pal, Dancing to the Flute: Music and Dance in Indian Art, The Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 1997. Fig. 6.4, 6.5: Benjamin Rowland, The Art and Architecture of India, Penguin, Harmondsworth, 1970. Fig. 6.6: Henri Stierlin, The Cultural History of the Arabs, Aurum Press, London, 1981. Fig. 6.8: http://www.us.iis.ac.uk/view_article.asp/ContentID=104228 Fig. 6.9: http://www.thekkepuram.ourfamily.com/miskal.htm Fig. 6.10: http://a-bangladesh.com/banglapedia/Images/A_0350A.JPG Fig. 6.11: [email protected] Fig. 6.12: Stuart Cary Welch, Indian Art and Culture 1300-1900, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985. Fig. 6.13: Bamber Gascoigne, The Great Moghuls, Jonathan Cape Ltd., London, 1971. Fig. 6.15: CCRT. Fig. 6.16: C. A. Bayly (ed). An Illustrated History of Modern India, 1600-1947, Oxford University Press, Bombay, 1991. Fig. 6.18: Ahmad Nabi Khan, Islamic Architecture in Pakistan, National Hijra Council, Islamabad, 1990.

Theme 7 Fig. 7.1, 7.11, 7.12, 7.14, 7.15, 7.16, 7.18: Vasundhara Filliozat and George Michell (eds), The Splendours of Vijayanagara, Marg Publications, Bombay, 1981. Fig. 7.2: C.A. Bayly (ed). An Illustrated History of Modern India, 1600-1947, Oxford University Press, Bombay, 1991. 256 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY – PART II

Fig. 7.3: Susan L. Huntington, The Art of Ancient India, Weatherhill, New York, 1993. Fig. 7.4, 7.6, 7.7, 7.20, 7. 23, 7.26, 7.27, 7.32: George Michell, Architecture and Art of South India, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995. Fig. 7.5, 7.8, 7.9, 7.21 http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/ research/Exp_Rese_Disc/Asia/vrp/HTML/Vijay_Hist.shtml Fig 7.10: Catherine B. Asher and Cynthia Talbot. India Before Europe, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2006. Fig. 7.17, 7.22, 7.24, 7.28, 7.29, 7.30, 7.31, 7.33: George Michell and M.B.Wagoner, Vijayanagara: Architectural Inventory of the Sacred Centre, Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi. Fig. 7.25: CCRT.

Theme 8 Fig. 8.1, 8.9: Milo Cleveland Beach and Ebba Koch, King of the World, Sackler Gallery, New York, 1997. Fig. 8.3: India Office Library, printed in C.A. Bailey (ed). An Illustrated History of Modern India, 1600-1947, Oxford University Press, Bombay, 1991. Fig. 8.4: Harvard University Art Museum, printed in Stuart Cary Welch, Indian Art and Culture 1300-1900, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985. Fig. 8.6, 8.11, 8.12, 8.14: C.A. Bayly (ed). An Illustrated History of Modern India, 1600-1947, Oxford University Press, Bombay, 1991. Fig. 8.13, 8.15: Bamber Gascoigne, The Great Moghuls, Jonathan Cape Ltd., London, 1971.

Theme 9 Fig. 9.1, 9.2, 9.12, 9.13, 9.19: Bamber Gascoigne, The Great Moghuls, Jonathan Cape, London, 1971. Fig. 9.3, 9.4, 9.17: Michael Brand and Glenn D. Lowry, Akbar’s India, New York, 1986. Fig. 9.5, 9.15: Amina Okada, Indian Miniatures of the Mughal Court. Fig. 9.6, 9.7: The Jahangirnama (tr. Wheeler Thackston) Fig. 9.8: Photograph Friedrich Huneke. Fig. 9.9, 9.11 a, b, c : Milo Cleveland Beach and Ebba Koch, King of the World, Sackler Gallery, New York, 1997. Fig. 9.10, 9.16, 9.20: Stuart Carey Welch, Imperial Mughal Painting, George Braziller, New York, 1978. Fig. 9.14: Geeti Sen, Paintings from the Akbarnama. Fig. 9.18: Hermann Forkl et al. (eds), Die Gärten des Islam.