Social Formation in Early India

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UNIVERSITY OF CALICUT

SCHOOL OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

THIRD SEMESTER M.A. HISTORY

PAPER- IV

SOCIAL FORMATION IN EARLY INDIA

(2008 Admission onwards)

Prepared by

Dr.N.PADMANABHAN

Reader

P.G.Department of History

C.A.S.College, Madayi

P.O.Payangadi-RS-670358

Dt.Kannur-Kerala.

CHAPTERS CONTENTS PAGES

1 PRE-AND PROTO HISTORIC LEGACY 03-172

11 THE VEDIC SOCIETY 172-186

111 LATER VEDIC SITUATION 187-201

1V DISSENT, PROTEST AND REFORM 201-221

V THE SUBCONTINENTAL REACHE 221-282

CHAPTER-1

PRE-AND PROTO HISTORIC LEGACY

PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES.

India is a vast country well marked off from the rest of Asia by its mountain wall on the north, north-east, and north-west, and the sea on the remaining sides.Roughly speaking; the territory comprised within it is about 2,500 miles from east to west and 2,000 miles from north to south, with an approximate area of 1,800,000 sq. miles. It has 6,000 miles of land frontier and 5,000 miles of sea-frontier. Looking broadly at the physical features of the country we can easily distinguish three main parts, viz. (1) the great mountain wall; (2) the great lowland plain of Hindustan; and (3) the great Deccan plateau.

1. The Great Mountain Wall.

The Himalayas which run in a south-east curve all along the northern front of India, and separate it from the plateau of Tibet, include several parallel ranges of lofty mountains, with deep valleys between them. They cover a region about 1,500 miles long and 150 to 200 miles in breadth. The Himalayas contain altogether about 114 peaks of over 20,000 feet, of which 75 exceed 24,000 feet.The best known are Everest or Gauri Sankar (29,140 feet), the highest mountain in the world, Kanchanjangha (28,176 feet), Dhaulagiri (26,826 feet), Nanga Parbat (26, 620 feet) and Nanda Devi (25,661 feet).The Hindu Kush mountains which run from the Pamirs in a south-westerly direction may be considered as the natural boundary of India in the north-west, though considerable portions of the hilly regions to the south and east are now included in

Afghanistan.Further, south, the Safed Koh, Sulaiman and Khirthar mountains are now generally regarded as the north-western boundary of India, separating it from the Table land of Iran.But large stretches of land to the west of this line in modern Afghanistan and Baluchistan, like those to the south and east of the Hindu Kush, were for long both culturally and politically parts of India.

Running roughly southwards from the eastern end of the Himalayas are a series of ranges which form the mountain wall separating India from Burma.In the north are the Patkoi Hills which broaden into the Naga Hills and the Manipur Plateau and send out a branch westwards forming the Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills.South of Manipur are the Lushai and Chin Hills, which narrow into a long single range, the Arakan Yoma, which reaches the sea at Cape Negrais.These mountainous regions contain some high plateaus and valleys. Beginning from the west we have the plateaus of Baluchistan and Afghanistan which may be regarded as the continuation of the great plateau of Iran.In these and the neighbouring hilly regions there are many secluded valleys which have been the home of sturdy tribes from time immemorial.They converted their high hills into so many impregnable citadels and maintained their independence even against powerful foes.The detailed accounts which we possess of the brave resistance which these small communities put up against such world-conquerors as Alexander or the Arabs form a brilliant chapter in the heroic annals of India.

Coming next to the Himalayan region we have the famous Kashmir Plateau, one of the most beautiful in the whole world. The green valley, at an elevation of 6,000 feet, is about 80 miles long and 25 miles broad. It is watered by the Jhelum River and is surrounded by snowy mountains 18,000 feet high. It has been justly considered as “the earthly

4 paradise”.Further east lies Nepal, stretching for 500 miles along the Himalayan region proper, which is above 5,000 feet and the sub- Himalayan region below that height.The latter may again be sub-divided into two parts.The part near the Gangetic plain, known as the Terai, is very low and covered with marshes and coarse tall grass.The part near the mountains is covered with forest.Both are damp and unhealthy.The Nepal valley proper covers a small area round its capital Katmandu.It lies between the basins of the Gandak and Kosi and is watered by the Baghmati River.It is a rich fertile plain surrounded by high hills and although only about 25 miles long and 14 miles wide, nearly a quarter of all the inhabitants of Nepal live in this valley.The hilly regions of the east contain the plateau on which Shillong is situated.It juts westward from the main hills and separates the valley of the Brahmaputra on the north from that of the Surma on the south.The main hill ranges running north to south contain small plains like those of Manipur.

The plateaus mentioned above have been, generally speaking, detached from the currents of life in the country proper. The history of Kashmir, Nepal, and Assam forms, therefore, almost isolated chapters in the history of India, and only very rarely comes into contact with it. Afghanistan, being on the main highway between India and the world outside, has however, played a more important part than would otherwise have been the case.

The mountains form an admirable defensive rampart of India against invasion by land. The Himalayas present a formidable barrier to an army, though small bodies of traders and missionaries can pass over it through difficult routes. The mountains in the north-east, though not an equally effective barrier, have for all practical purposes served India well. They are so steep and so densely forest-covered that to cross them is a task of

5 abnormal difficulty, and no considerable body of foreigners is know to have passed through this route to the interior of the Country.The Mountains in the north-west, however, have proved to be more vulnerable. There are several passes across the Hindu Kush and along almost all the chief rivers in this region, viz. the Swat and the Chitral running south, and the Kabul, the Kurram, the Tochi and the Gomal, running east to the Indus. But by far the most important route is the one that crosses the Hindu Kush through one of its passes, runs along the Kabul valley, and then descends to Peshawar through the Khyber Pass, a winding and narrow defile about 20 miles long.

Another well-known route runs, beyond the fringe of the Afghan mountains, from Heart to Kandahar, and then descends to the Indus valley through the Bolan Pass or the Mula Pass further south.The 3rd well-known route from the west followed the coast-line and reached the Indus valley through the narrow gap between the Khirthar range and the sea.But the inhospitable Makran coast made this route far less frequented than would otherwise have been the case.The 2 routes last mentioned were less important as gateways to India than the first.For just beyond the region where they debouch into the Indian plain stretches the great desert of Rajputana, which bars access to the interior of India.The Khyber route, on the other hand, leads directly across the plains of the Punjab to the interior through the narrow gap between the desert and the mountains.Therefore the northern route has been more frequently used by the foreign invaders of India.This explains the strategical position of the Khyber Pass as the first line of defence, and that of the narrow plains to the west of the Jumna, above Delhi, as the second.Thus although the mountains around India have not definitely shut it off from the rest of Asia, they have made even peaceful

6 communication with the neighbouring countries a difficult process. Further, they have proved an almost insurmountable barrier against foreign invasion except through the Khyber Pass, which has been in all ages the gateway of India, and the key of its security from foreign aggression.

The Himalayas have not only served as a great barrier against outside intruders, but have also otherwise contributed to the welfare of India. By protecting her against the cold dry winds from Tibet, and serving as a great screen for the monsoon winds, they have increased the fertility and prosperity of the Indo-Gangetic plains. The numerous rivers fed by the glaciers of the Himalayas have served the same end. Some of these rise behind the Himalayas, in a valley which forms part of the Tableland of Tibet.In the centre of this valley lies the lake Manasasarovara (Manasarowar), and near it rises the lofty mountain Kailasa, both famous in Indian mythology. Close to this spot, at a height of 16,000 feet, are the sources of the Indus and the Brahmaputra which run for a considerable distance, respectively, towards the west and the east, before they skirt round the edge of the Himalayas and take a southern bend to enter into the Indian plains.The great Himalayan ranges are thus held “within the arms of the two mighty rivers whose southern bends form the western and eastern limits of the greatest mountain ranges in the world”.

2. The Plain of Hindustan.

Within the mountain-wall described above, and stretching from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal in a great curve, lies the great plain of Hindustan, nearly 2,000 miles long and 150 to 200 miles broad. It is formed by the basins of the three great rivers, the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, and their various affluents and tributaries. Not a hill

7 is to be seen in this vast area. The great rivers all rise in the Himalayas and are supplied perennially from the gradual melting of the snow and the rains on the hills.Many of these rivers wind through small shallow rocky beds in the hills for a considerable distance, but as soon as they reach the plains their course becomes slow over the flat valley, their beds are broadened, and not infrequently these are shifted, often over a considerable distance.These rivers play a very important part in the life of the people.Carrying sediment from the hills they have formed alluvial delta, often of considerable extent. Their perennial supply of water is an inexhaustible source of irrigation. Their long lazy courses through broad valleys have not only made the lands fertile but have provided good highways of communication.In consequence of all these, highly developed centres of culture and civilization have flourished on the banks of these rivers from remote antiquity.

The two chief river-systems are those of the Indus and the Ganges.The Indus rising in the Tibetan plateau runs west and north-west for nearly 800 miles between the great Karakoram Range and the Himalayas.Passing through a tremendous gorge beyond Skarda it is joined by the Gilgit River and turning south cuts its way through the mountains to the Plains. 5 rivers, all originating from the Himalayas and winding through the hills, reach the plains and eventually join to form the Panchanad (5 rivers) or Punjab. These are, from west to east, the Beas, the Chenab, the Jhelum, the Ravi, and the Sutlej.They have changed their courses even in historic times, and the last two formerly ran in parallel beds for a long distance below their present junction. These 5 rivers, combined, ultimately join the Indus. The Punjab province, covered by them, is a broad flat alluvial plain.On leaving the Punjab plain the Indus flows through a narrow rocky gorge into a broad dry

8 alluvial plain bounded by the Plateau of Baluchistan on the west and the great Thar Desert in the east. The region of the lower Indus valley – the modern province of Sind – would have been a desert but for this river which irrigates and renders fertile a considerable portion of territory on both sides of it.The Indus is to Sind what the Nile is to Egypt.

The Ganges issues from the Himalayas and has the character of a mountain torrent until it reaches Hardwar. It then runs, first from north- west to south-east, then almost due east, and finally takes a southern course before it reaches the sea. Its most important tributary is the Jumna on the west which, after a long parallel course, joins it near Allahabad. The tract between the two rivers is called the Ganges-Jumna Doab.Some of the rivers issuing from the hills of the Central Indian plateau, such as the Betwa, the Chambal, the Kali Sindh and the Ken fall into the Jumna, while the Son, further east, falls into the Ganges. On the north the Ganges is fed by important tributaries issuing from the Himalayas, the chief among which are the Gandak, the Gumti, the Gogra and the Kosi. The Ganges falls into the sea through several mouths. The most important in ancient times was the western most called the Bhagirathi (the Hooghly), on which stand Murshidabad, Hooghly, and Calcutta. We can still trace some of its old beds like the Saraswati which were dried up in the 16th or 17th century. At present the main waters of the Ganges flow through the Padma, the easternmost mouth.

The mighty Brahmaputra has its source near the eastern base of the Kailasa Mountain. Under its Tibetan name of Tsan-po, it runs east for nearly 700 miles till it bends southwards and enters Indian Territory under the name of Dihang near Sadiya. It is then joined by the Dibang and the Luhit, and the united stream takes the name of Brahmaputra. In old days it was known as Lauhitya, the trace of which evidently survives

9 in Luhit.The Brahmaputra “rolls in a vast sheet of water, broken by numerous islands” through a narrow valley, about 500 miles long and 50 miles wide, shut in between the Himalayas in the north and the Assam hills in the south. It then passes through the plains of Bengal and joins the easternmost mouth of the Ganges, viz. the Padma.Before the combined waters of the two falls into the sea, they are joined by other rivers from the eastern watershed between Bengal and Burma through the channels of the Meghna, another mighty river. As a matter of fact, the last part of the course of these united rivers is now popularly known as Meghna.The Ganges-Brahmaputra Doab and the deltas formed by them constitute the rich fertile province of Bengal.

3. The Plateau.

To the south of the plain of Hindustan lies the great plateau which stretches over the whole of Peninsular India, except the coast-strips, up to its southern extremity.The plateau is divided into two important sections by ranges of mountains, which run across almost its whole breadth from east to west.These are the two parallel lines of hills, the Vindhyas in the north and the Satpura mountains, a little to the south, which are continued eastwards as Mahadeo hills and Maikal range, and pass into Chota Nagpur Plateau.The Vindhya and Satpura mountains are separated by a narrow valley through which flows the great Narmada (Narbada) river.These hills with other outlying spurs and ranges constitute what may be called the Central Highlands, a formidable barrier which cuts off Northern India from the Deccan. The portion of the plateau north of the Central belt of mountains is known as the Central Indian plateau and that to its south, the Deccan plateau.

(a) The Deccan Plateau: The surface of the Deccan plateau slopes down from the west to the east. The western edge of the tableland forms a high precipice above the sea and is known as the Western Ghats, with a narrow plain between it and the sea. On the eastern edge, which is much lower, are the Eastern Ghats, consisting of groups of low hills separated by wide gaps, through which the great rivers from the north and the west flow down to the coastal plain and then to the sea. As we go southward the hills gradually recede from the sea leaving a coastal plain from 100 to 150 miles wide towards the east. Ultimately they take a sharp bend to the west and join the Western Ghats at the Nilgiris.The crest of the Western Ghats, exceeding 3,000 feet in height, forms a sort of protective barrier to the plateau which is consequently dry. The Western Ghats are about 1,000 miles in length and throw out many spurs in the east across the Deccan plateau.The plateau is higher in the south, being about 2,000 feet in the region of Mysore and half that height in Hyderabad.The southern point of the plateau is formed by the Nilgiri Hills where the Eastern and Western Ghats meet.Beyond it are the Cardamom Hills which may be regarded as the continuation of the Western Ghats.

The two major rivers in the Central Highlands, the Narmada and the Tapti, immediately to the north and south of the Satpura range, flow from east to west.The rivers in Peninsular India, however, run from west to east.Many of them rise in the Western Ghats, only a few miles from the western sea-coast, but traverse the whole breadth of the plateau and cut their way through the Eastern Ghats. These rivers are very different from those of Northern India.Being only fed by the monsoon rains; they become so dry in the hot season that they are hardly navigable even by small boats.In the absence of a constant supply of water they are also less valuable for irrigation purposes.

There are several important river-systems in the peninsula.The valley of the Godavari and its tributaries constitutes a large stretch of flat land in the north (in C.P.), but it is narrow in the south and there are dangerous rapids where the river cuts through the Eastern Ghats.The valley of the Mahanadi also forms a broad plain (the Chattisgarh Plain) in the north-east, growing narrower as it passes through the Orissan hills to the sea.The Krishna (Kistna) and its tributaries, of which the chief is the Tungabhadra, form another important river system which almost divides the Deccan plateau into two sections.This division is emphasized by the high Mysore plateau which lies immediately to the south.In the Mysore plateau rises the Kaveri, another large river, which with its tributaries forms an important river-system in the extreme south.

(b) The Coastal Region: There is a coastal plain on each side of the plateau.On the west a narrow low-lying strip stretches from the head of the Gulf of Cambay along the whole coast. Its northern part is now called the Konkan, and its southern is the Malabar Coast. As the full force of the monsoon winds strikes against the Western Ghats the rainfall is heavy in this region and several small and short streams flow across it, but there are no big rivers.In Malabar these rivers form many backwaters along the coast, which facilitate easy communication by boat and favour the growth of a few fine harbours.There are some good harbours also in the northern Konkan.There is a similar low-lying strip on the east stretching south from the delta of the Ganges.It is much wider than the western strip and its southern part, known as the Coromandel Coast, is very broad.Unlike the western strip, again, it is traversed by many big rivers.In addition to the lower courses of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri (Cauvery), a number of smaller streams flow

12 across it.The deltas of these 4 rivers form important features in the economic geography of the eastern coast.The Deccan plateau is also more easily accessible from the eastern coastal plains than from the western, where the steep cliffs of the Ghats rise abruptly from the plains to a great height.The eastern coast has few natural harbours, but there are open roadsteads having easy communications with the interior.

The two coastal regions running for a thousand miles along the entire lengths of the eastern and western sides of the triangular plateau gradually approach each other as the Peninsula narrows down towards the south, and at last meet at Cape Comorin, the southernmost point of India.There is a small gap, about 20 miles broad, between the Nilgiri and the Cardamom hills, which provides an easy access from the western to the eastern coastal region, i.e. from the Malabar to the Coromandel coast. It is known as the Coimbatore or Palghat gap.To the south-east of Cape Comorin lies the island of Ceylon, which, though not an integral part, has been closely associated with India throughout the course of history.The Gulf of Manar which separates it from India narrows northward to Palk Strait which is so nearly closed in one part by a chain of islands and shoals that the name Adam’s Bridge has been given to it. Ceylon is shaped like a mango and its area is a little less than that of Mysore.It is mountainous in the centre, sloping down to flat and broad low-lying coasts all around.There are a few good harbours on the coast and, as in Malabar; there are many backwaters along the seashore.

(c) The Central Indian Plateau: Between the valleys of the Indus and the Ganges lies the vast Thar Desert, this stretches almost up to the Aravalli range.The Punjab plain, south of the Sutlej, rises gradually and fades away into this sandy waste, with bare rocky hills and waterless valleys.Beyond the Aravalli is the Central Indian Plateau which slopes

13 gradually from the Central Highlands to the Gangetic plain, in the south, and ends in the east in the hilly and forested region of Chota Nagpur, which extends up to the plains of Bengal and Orissa. To the south lies the rich valley of the Narmada, which rises in the Maikal range and flowing almost due west, falls into the Gulf of Cambay. The Vindhyas rise abruptly from the Narmada valley like a high rocky wall, and seen from the south, look like a regular mountain range with short spurs. But they slope gently to the north, without any steep fall or well-marked spurs, forming the Malwa plateau, the valleys of Eastern Rajputana and the tablelands of Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand.As noted above, all the rivers on this side flow into the Ganges or the Jumna.

The north-eastern outliers of the Vindhyas, such as the Bhanrer and Kaimur ranges, extend almost up to the Ganges south of Benares and then run parallel to this river, leaving only a narrow passage between them, till the Rajmahal Hills.Here a little beyond the modern Colgong, only a very narrow defile separates the mighty Ganges from the high cliffs of the Rajmahal range stretching for about 80 miles to the south. A little further to the east, beyond the defile, the Ganges takes a sharp bend to the south and the hills gradually recede from its bank to the west of the wide plains of Bengal.This configuration of the land invested the long narrow passage between Chunar on the west and Teliagarhi on the east with great strategic importance from the military point of view. This, the only high road between Western and Eastern India, could be effectively commanded by hill forts, and this explains the value of Rohtas, Chunar and, further west, of Kalinjar and Gwalior. Further east, the passes of Shahabad and Teliagarhi, separated by a distance of 3½ miles, served as the bottleneck through which every invading army had to pass, and this “gateway” served as an admirable defence for Bengal.

The hills and forests of the Central Indian plateau from Bundelkhand to Chota Nagpur include many regions forming comparatively inaccessible retreats.They have given shelter to primitive tribes and enabled comparatively weaker peoples to defy the superior powers of the Indo-Gangetic plain.Thus the Central Indian plateau has profoundly influenced the history of India in many ways.To the south of the desert and west of the pl lie the rich lowlands of Gujarat covered by numerous low hills and watered by the rivers Mahi, Sabarmati, and the lower courses of the Narmada and the Tapti.This region includes the characteristic projection, known as the Kathiawar Peninsula, and the Rann of Cutch, immediately to the west of it, which is now a great marsh and almost dry in the hot weather.

INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY UPON HISTORY

Like most other countries in the world the history of India has been profoundly influenced by its geographical features.These have been partly noted above and will be further evident as we gradually proceed with our historical narrative from age to age; but some general broad issues may be discussed here.

In the first place we must note the vast dimensions and the varied physical features of the country.In extent India is almost equal to Europe with the exclusion of Russia.It contains the highest mountain ranges, lofty plateaus, extensive plains only slightly higher than the sea-level, sandy deserts, large rivers, fertile river-valleys and forests of all types and descriptions. Every variety of climates from extreme cold to extreme heat is to be found in the country.All these factors tended to separate India into different local zones, each with a regional spirit of its own. Nevertheless India, being effectively shut off by mountains and seas from

15 the other countries and forming a compact territory, developed as a distinctive political and cultural unit, as compared with the rest of the world. The Indian horizon was a large but limited one and the common natural boundaries gradually led to a sense of a common motherland. The vision of a fundamental unity always loomed large and coloured the political ideals of the country.This ideal of political unity was rarely realized in actual practice but, as a political theory, it can be traced throughout the long course of Indian history.The cultural unity was, however, more manifest, being inspired by a common language, literature, and religious and social ideals. In spite of seeming diversity there was a large measure of cultural unity, and the goal of political union was never lost sight of.This unity in diversity is the keynote of the tangled history of India, and forms the background against which the seemingly complex developments in the various aspects of Indian civilization must be viewed.

The natural barriers of hills and rivers largely determined the different political (and partly cultural) units into which India was divided. These natural divisions favoured the growth of a local and regional spirit and fostered separatist tendencies.The marked distinction between North India, the Deccan plateau and the peninsular plains to the south and east of the latter, led to the growth of three broad regions which maintained distinctive characteristics and generally played a separate role in politics throughout the long course of Indian history. In each of these regions political unity was frequently achieved or attempted with a large measure of success. But the attainment of political unity between any two of these regions, even those to the north and south of the Krishna, was more difficult, and though there was almost a continuous struggle for achieving it, successful attempts were few and far between.

The unity of the Hindustan plains, together with the Central Indian plateau, was rendered more difficult by the very large extent of the country.It was, however, not infrequently realized, at least to a large extent, and the struggle for its achievement was a constant feature of the history of India.But the occasions were, comparatively speaking, rare when a deliberate attempt was made to unite all the regions to the north and south of the Vindhyas.

The political history of India, generally speaking, thus resolves itself into separate histories of the three regions.But the points of contact between them though infrequent, were not altogether absent, and under powerful dynasties, in all periods of Indian history; a considerable part of each of the 3 regions was brought under a common sceptre.The three regions also exhibit similar, though somewhat less prominent, distinctions in cultural history.While the Aryan language and civilization swept over the whole of Northern India obliterating almost all traces of the pre-existing state of things, its success was less phenomenal in the south.Over a considerable part of the Deccan plateau, and all over the South Indian Peninsula to its south and east, the non-Aryan languages still prevail, and some older customs and ideas can yet be traced. On the other hand, these regions were profoundly affected by the civilization of the north.The primitive languages have accepted a considerable Aryan vocabulary, whereas religious and social ideas of the Aryans have almost completely transformed the old order of things.

Within each of the 3 natural divisions, again, there are sub-divisions caused by physical barriers, which have stood in the way of regional unity and affected the course of history.The great Thar Desert, intervening between the plains of the Indus and the valley of the Ganges, has practically converted these two regions into separate units. This has

17 been very unfortunate from the point of view of Indian defence. As noted above, the mountain passes through which foreigners could invade the country all converge on the Indus valley, and the bulk of the North Indian plains being separated from this region by the great desert, the resources of North India, far less the whole of India, could seldom be employed to guard these gateways.Moreover the desert, though effectively checking any aggression from the lower Indus region, permitted the invaders to bypass it through an opening on its north. The narrow plain above Delhi, bounded by the desert, the Jumna and the hills, was the bottleneck through which foreign invaders had to pass from the valley of the Indus to that of the Ganges.This explains the strategic position of Delhi as an imperial capital and also how it is that the battle-fields of Panipat, and others near it, have often decided the fate of India.But the foreign invaders had the great advantage of forcing the main gateway and getting a strong foothold in the country, before they had to reckon with the main strength of Indian defence.Illustration of this meets us at almost every step as we go through the history of the foreign conquests of India.

The Thar Desert offers a great contrast to the fertile plains around it, but its peoples, though scanty, have imbibed from the soil a sturdy character and love of freedom which sharply distinguish them from their neighbours.The hills and forests have imparted a similar hardihood to the people and supplied means of defence which are lacking in the plains. Besides, these regions, less favoured by nature and more difficult of access, have afforded shelter to the wild primitive tribes who were dispossessed of their hearth and home in the fertile plains by the more civilized conquerors of the land.Thus it is in the desert and the fastnesses of the hills and forests of India that we still meet with the

18 earlier strata of population like the Kols and Bhils who have maintained, almost intact, the primitive characteristics which distinguished them thousands of years ago.To these geographical factors also largely belongs the credit that certain regions have earned by successful struggle for independence against heavy odds.The heroic struggle of the Rajputs and the Marathas, for example, against the imperial powers of Delhi, was probably as much due to the nature of their lands as to the bravery of the people.To a less extent the strategic position of the Teliagarhi passes explains the frequent rebellion of Bengal against the Central authority of Delhi.

The extensive valley of the Ganges has been divided into several local regions by the large rivers, and the Indus valley, though comparatively smaller, is broadly divided into two by the middle and lower courses of the river.Thus in Northern India the modern provinces of Bihar, Bengal, Punjab, Sind,and U.P., as well as the desert region of Rajputana, the plains of Northern Gujarat, plateaus of Malwa and Bundelkhand, and the isolated hilly tracts of Chota Nagpur have the roots of their separate entities as distinct units dug deep into the past.No doubt racial and linguistic factors played some part in creating these natural regions, but no one can ignore the very large influence of the geographical factors, including the strategic means of defence afforded by nature.The Deccan plateau was divided into several distinct regions by the two mighty rivers, the Godavari and the Krishna, and their tributaries; it was also separated from the coastal plains on the east and the west.The eastern coastal plain was divided by the Orissa hills and the estuaries of the two rivers named above. The region south of the plateau was sharply split into an eastern and western zone by the Nilgiris and Cardamom Hills, and the former was again subdivided, to a certain extent, by the Kaveri

19 river.All these geographical regions had generally speaking developed into separate distinct units and retained their individuality through the ages.

Apart from these broad regional distinctions, even smaller barriers of hills and rivers have tended to keep alive the spirit of local autonomy in well-marked political units created by them.Not only in the vast Hindustan Plains and Central Indian plateau, but even in the comparatively narrower regions of the Deccan plateau and South Indian plains, we find the influence of such regional politics from time immemorial, with a surprising tenacity that has kept up the isolationist spirit even amidst political catastrophes and kaleidoscopic changes of rulers and dynasties.The old kingdoms of Avanti,Gauda, Kosala, Magadha, Vanga, Lata, and Surashtra in the north, and Andhra, Kalinga, Maharashtra, Karnata, Chera, Chola, and Pandya in the south, among others, seem to possess eternal lives. Empires rose and fell, the whole country passed through a series of foreign invasions, but these states, under different names and various ruling dynasties, continued their individual existence almost throughout the course of history.

The popular view about the lack of political unity in India ignores the vastness of its area and the natural barriers that tend to separate its different regions.When we deplore political disunion in India we really view it on the footing of a comparatively small kingdom like Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia or Iran in the ancient world or a state in mediaeval or modern Europe.But we forget that there was not a single kingdom in any part of the world before the 19th century, of a size comparable to that of India, which maintained political unity for a considerable length of time.On the other hand, the important kingdoms of India, such as Chalukya, Chola, Magadha, Kosala, Malava, etc. which, under varying names, have formed its constituent parts since remote antiquity, can well

20 be compared with the single states in Asia and Europe, both in ancient and modern times.As in Asia and Europe, so in India, two or more of these kingdoms have often been politically united, and we have occasionally even mighty empires comprising most of them.

India is almost as large as Europe, excluding Russia, or the whole of Western Asia, and can no more be treated as a single political unit than any of them. The consolidation of large kingdoms was very difficult before modern scientific achievements eliminated the effects of distance and natural barriers, but these were important factors in old days, and operated more or less in the same way all over the world. India, as a consolidated united kingdom, is well within the range of practical politics today, when the whole country is closely knit together by a system of railways, and even two of the remotest regions of India are more familiar to each other than were two neighbouring provinces in the good old days. Now the news of a revolt in the most distant part of India would be conveyed instantly to its political centre, and a large force could reach the scene of disturbance in a few hours or a few days. But things were very different in the days of Asoka when the peoples of his frontiers such as those of Taxila (Punjab) and Suvarnagiri (Mysore) hardly knew each other.If we remember that the emperor would not receive the news of any disaffection in these places in less than a month, and many months would perhaps elapse before his army could reach there, we need hardly wonder that the Maurya empire did not last for more than 137 years. A considerable part of Indian history is a chronicle of unsuccessful attempts to set up a stable empire over the whole or greater part of India, the impulse to which was partly caused by political ambition, but in part arose or received its strength from a common consciousness of the cultural and geographical unity of India.

The vast extent of the country, and its comparative seclusion from the rest of the world, had other important historical consequences. As noted above, it made India a distinct and self-sufficient geographical unit, almost a little world by itself. An Indian ruler or a military genius had enough scope for his political ambition or martial enterprises within the natural limits of the country, and so the comparatively unknown regions beyond the high hills or seas held out no temptation to him.The distances covered by the campaigns of the most famous military leaders in the ancient world, and the extent of territory conquered by the largest empire-builders in ancient times, could well be comprised within the limits of India.A Chandragupta Maurya or a Samudra-gupta, not to mention lesser names, could quench his inordinate thirst for military glory without crossing the natural boundaries of India. It is only very rarely that rulers like Rajendra Chola overstepped them and carried arms beyond the seas or hills.Thus while foreign conquest is an important feature in the history of Egypt and many ancient kingdoms in Mesopotamia and Iran, it never figured as an important element in Indian polity. As a natural consequence of this, an Indian ruler would scarcely be expected ever to emulate the exploits of Thutmose III, Cyrus, Xerxes, or Alexander, and the vision of a Roman Empire extending over three continents would be altogether out of place in Indian history. But at the same time, the conception of a distinct unity, as against the rest of the world, was promoted in India in a manner which was not to be seen in any part of the ancient world of equal magnitude.

The physical features of the country affected the lives and habits of the people.The valleys of the numerous rivers, specially the Indus, the Ganges, and their tributaries, offered easy means of communication and cheap livelihood.Therefore their banks were studded with flourishing

22 seats of civilization from very early times.The absence of keen struggle for existence gave opportunities for intellectual pursuits, and the wild beauty of nature favoured a speculative turn of mind and the development of philosophical ideas.But nature’s bounty was unfavourable to the growth of physical world leading to a scientific spirit. This at least partly explains why art, literature, and philosophy flourished, but positive sciences made comparatively little progress in India.The extensive coast-line of India fostered trade and maritime activity and made the Indians hardy mariners.From an early period they navigated the seas, both in the east as well as in the west, and their bold sea-faring exploits carried them to distant and unknown parts of the world.

The very narrow sea-board on the west was shut off from the interior by the precipitous Western Ghats and hence flourishing sea-ports arose only on its northern and southern extremities.For they had to be sustained by constant supply of industrial products from the interior. As the gap between the Nilgiris and Cardamom Hills in South India offered an easy means of communication between the eastern and western coasts of the peninsula, we find a number of important harbours on the western coast in this neighbourhood.The eastern sea-board contained important harbours near the mouths of the big rivers viz. the Ganges, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri, as they were important channels of communication with the interior.The Ganges being the only outlet to the sea for the extensive and populous regions in Northern India, the ports at its mouths became flourishing centres of trade.

The trade gave impetus to colonization and Indian colonies were planted even in the most distant regions in the Far East.The maritime activities of India were, however, almost solely devoted to peaceful

23 pursuits. This is mainly due to the vast expanse of the sea on both sides of the peninsula.The direct voyage between the Indian coast and the opposite shore, either of Africa on the west or Indo-China and the East Indies in the east, was long and risky. The Indian rulers having enough scope for military enterprise and imperial ambition in the mainland itself, the dubious chances of success afforded by the sea could scarcely tempt them to devote their energy and resources to building a powerful navy in order to establish an overseas empire.Only one Indian power, the Cholas, attempted such a bold enterprise after having acquired possession of almost the whole length of the eastern sea-board.But in spite of brilliant success in the beginning, it proved too heavy a burden and had to be abandoned.If India had the advantage, like Greece or Rome, of having a narrow sea with islands and mainland beyond it within easy reach, she might have developed into a naval power as did many of her colonies in Malaya and Indo-China, regions which offered these facilities.

Indian colonization was therefore the result of private individual enterprise, and not due to military conquest or an organized undertaking backed up by the State.No colony was the result of a single mass migration sent forth by an Indian ruler to relieve congestion or to expand his dominions.Sporadic settlements and gradual infiltration by bold Indians, who left home for various reasons and at different times, slowly built up these colonies, and consequently they had no political tie or even intimate association with the mother country. But they proved to be the milestones in the triumphant progress of Indian culture across a vast region.Had these colonies been within easy reach of India she might have built up a colonial empire such as the Greeks and Romans had done.But geographical factors determined the character of Indian colonization.It was to be a means to cultural conquest rather than political

24 aggrandizement, of commercial enterprise rather than economic exploitation.This brief review has sufficiently demonstrated the profound influence which geography has exercised upon the history of India. It is easy, but not necessary, to dwell upon many other particulars, for these will be evident as we proceed with our historical narrative.

In conclusion we must consider the effect of climate on the history of India. It is generally assumed that the tropical climate has enervated the people of India and mainly accounts for their failure to check the hardy mountaineers from colder regions, less favoured by nature, who were tempted to their country by its wealth and fertility. It has been regarded as an irony of fate that the agreeable climate and the vast plains watered by rivers, which have been the source of India’s wealth and happiness, have also proved to be the main causes of her ruin by making their inhabitants fond of ease and luxury, devoted to the ideals and pursuits of peace, and less hardy and persevering than their opponents schooled in the hardship of nature.On the other hand, it has been pointed out that at least a considerable section of the Indians have been always noted for their prowess and bravery, that the Marathas, Rajputs, and Sikhs in modern times have not proved less hardy than any other peoples, and that the defeat of the Indians at the hands of the Western invaders cannot be ascribed solely or even mainly to the influence of climate. The facts of history seem to uphold this contention, as on a careful consideration of the details of the various campaigns, so far known, it would be difficult to maintain that the discomfiture of the Indians is to be attributed exclusively or even mainly to their lack of physical strength.

It is, however, a singular fact worth noting, that in the numerous recorded instances of the foreign invasions from the West, the Indians have almost always been defeated by the new-comers. This can hardly be

25 regarded as a pure accident.Nor can it be explained away by a lack of unity among the defenders, for the invaders did not always possess a numerical superiority over their opponents.The true explanation seems to lie in India’s ignorance of the outside world.The rise of political powers or new political combinations, the evolution of military tactics, and the invention of new military weapons or fresh equipment, even in Central or Western Asia, not to speak of remoter countries, hardly ever interested India, though, as events proved, she fell a constant victim to one or other of them. The details of the defensive campaigns waged by Indian rulers leave no doubt that they were both unaware of the impending danger, and consequently not sufficiently prepared, or were outmatched by the new military formations or weapons to which they were complete strangers.The charge of a compact and well-disciplined cavalry force, held in reserve, has often proved decisive against the mass of elephants and infantry of the Indians, and yet they have never learnt the value of cavalry or the strategic importance of a reserve force. It may be noted as a typical instance that the Indian opponents of Babur were ignorant of the fire-arms which the latter used with such dreadful effect.

The reason for such ignorance is not merely to be sought in a spirit of isolation fostered by almost insurmountable barriers. It is also partly due to the fact that, for reasons stated above, Indian rulers had no occasion or temptation to carry on campaigns outside India.They lived and fought in their little world, vast enough for their personal ambitions and enterprises, and cared little for what was happening in the outside world. Unfortunately, the physical barriers which shut off the vision of Indian rulers from the outside world were not strong or powerful enough to keep out all foreign invaders from Indian soil. When some of them did cross the barriers into India, they brought with them new ideas and forces of a

26 progressive world with which India could not cope. But so strongly did the geographical factor operate, that as soon as these foreign invaders settled in India, they imbibed the insular spirit so congenial to her soil, and themselves fell victims to it. So it has been in the past, and so it is destined to be in the future, so long as the political vision of India confines itself within her natural boundaries of hills and seas, and does not look beyond to the world outside.

PRE-HISTORY

Pre-history refers to that phase of human history when earth was still taking shape and man was evolving biologically through various extinct species from the primates to its present form.It is a history of early man’s struggle for survival in adverse environment and is marked by his steady progress from an animal-hunting and wild food-collecting wandering life to that of a food-producing and cattle-herding settled life.Since early human did not know writing, his artifacts, i.e. the things which are deliberately fashioned by him to meet his needs and requirements, such as tools of stone, bone or any other material, pottery and pieces of ornaments form the only source which stands mute witness to his cultural and material progress.Besides these, the traces of huts, hearths, querns and burials too help us in gaining information on the life-pattern and thought-process of the early humans.During that last half a century, the fresh excavations and new dating techniques along with growing multi-disciplinary approach have not only greatly added to our knowledge but have also changed our perspective and understanding of Pre-history.Today, the Pre-historic tools and artifacts are treated not an end but as the means to understand early human’s endeavour to feed and protect himself in adverse climatic conditions.

In archaeological terminology, there are, besides “Pre-history”, two other stages in which human civilization is divided, and these are termed as “Proto-history” and “History”.Proto-history is a period when man had become literate but on account of our inability to decipher his records, as in the case of the Harappan Civilization, the data derived from the discovered material objects remains unsupplemented, and our information on his life pattern continues to be hazy and incomplete. Proto-history is also treated as a phase that bridges the gulf between 3000 B.C and 600 B.C. The period referred to as “History,” on the other hand, is the one when we come across ample records in the form of literary texts and epigraphs which help us to cross-examine the data and help us in reinforcing our knowledge on human history with greater precision.

Chronologically, Pre-history covers the largest period of human history. Since stone was the chief material that was used by early man to procure food or to protect himself, this period is also described as the Stone Age. In Europe the study of Pre-history began in the mid-19th century when Christian J. Thomsen, a Danish Scholar, for the first time in 1836 defined the past of human society in terms of technological and chronological stages marked by the successive use of tools made of stone, bronze and iron which is called Three-Age System. In 1851, Daniel Wilson coined the term Pre-history, and in 1865 John Lubbock used the terms Paleolithic and Neolithic to emphasize the change and progress in tool-types.Documentation of evidence for the Stone Age in India began with the first discovery of a hand-axe at Pallavaram near Madras (now Chennai) by Robert B.Foote, called Father of Indian Pre- history, in 1863.Since then, particularly during the last five decades, there has been a significant progress in Indian archaeological studies

28 which have enriched greatly our knowledge of the remote past of the Indian subcontinent.

Pre-history of India, as elsewhere is divided into three broad periods - Palaeolithic (paleo-old, lithic-stone i.e., Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (meso-middle, lithic-stoneie., MiddleStone Age) and Neolithic (neo-new, lithic stone, ie., New Stone Age).Each of these periods is marked by distinct features as well as gradual improvement in tool-making skill and technology.Thus, while the Paleolithic period witnessed a shift from heavy and asymmetrical to flake-based tools, the Mesolithic period was characterized by the use of “microliths”or small “geometric tools” in the form of triangles, crescents, etc.The Neolithic period, the last phase of Pre-history, was marked by the use of polished and ground tools having better and sharper cutting edge.This period also witnessed the emergence of first farming communities, i.e., the communities which domesticated plants and animals, used pottery and lived in hut-lied structures in different eco-zones of the country.Since tools and tool-technologies have a direct impact on the production capacity and material life of the human beings, gradual improvement in tool-types from palaeolithic to Neolithic period is viewed as a primary factor which led to change in early human’s subsistence pattern form hunting and gathering to food-production.This concept of reciprocal relationship between technological growth and material progress was first expounded by Gordon Childe and later popularized by Braidwood and others.Childe used the term “Neolithic Revolution” to emphasize the dynamic impact which the beginning of farming and settled life had one human kind during the Neolithic period. But the new archaeological data tends to reveal that the transition to farming was one of

29 gradualness and what one notices is more of a “transformation” or“evolution” rather than a “revolution”.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS.

The physical environment is viewed by many scholars as a major determining factor which influenced the process of change and progress during the Pre-historic times.The physical environment is characterized by topography, climate and the nature of soil which in turn determine the fauna (animal life) and flora (vegetation) – the two primary sources of subsistence for the early humans.Palaeolithic period covered the Pleistocene (Greek term for “most recent”) or the “Ice-age” dated from around 2 million years ago to 10,000 Before Present. It was an age when a large part of the world was covered by ice-sheets and the climate was extremely cold and arid.As this climate could sustain only limited flora and fauna in the form of bushes and hedges, giant animals with thick and hairy skin, the human ancestors had limited food resources and they lived the life of hunter-gatherers or scavengers. But with the onset of Holocene (a Greek term for “recent”) period in around 10,000 Before Present, there was a change in climate which became warm and wet, very much like the present one. It resulted in the melting of snow and the formation of rivers and forests; even the animals became smaller and swifter.This climate change made available not only new resources but also created opportunity for early humans for production of cereals and domestication of animals, ultimately enabling them to move from hunting-gathering to food-production and settled life.

The theory that the change in early human’s life pattern was on account of change in environment is known as “environmental determinism”.In its essence it means that humans are a component

30 element of physical environment, and their life and activities are conditioned and governed by it.However, this theory is not fully accepted presently.It is argued that physical surroundings do play an important role in determining human activities but it does not mean that we humans are passive robots helplessly programmed to act according to the climatic conditions.The physical environment permits and at times even restricts the use of certain resources, but a human being is capable enough to overcome the hurdles in the path of progress through his skill and endeavour.It is argued that many other factors, such as cultural traditions, i.e. earlier experience, cultural contact i.e., social and economic interaction with other contemporary social groups, and demographic profile, i.e., the need to feed larger number of people, are also possible factors which could trigger a change. In short, many factors in combination, not the physical environment alone, may encourage technological innovations leading to progress in material and cultural life.

It may be worthwhile to note here that Indian Prehistory, on the whole, presents a picture of “cultural continuum” – a process in which each step marks a further growth or evolution over the earlier one. There is nothing static about Indian society and, as in other parts of the world, lithic technology in India too evolved gradually from heavier to smaller and sharper tools, creating necessary conditions for stage-wise cultural growth.

HUMAN EVOLUTION AND PRE-HISTORY OF INDIA.

Pre-history is intimately connected with the evolution of man and his efforts to survive in adverse environment through technological modification of his tools and weapons.Though the earth was formed

31 around 4,600 million years ago and organic life appeared in the form of algae or seaweed as far back as some 2,000 million years ago, the man emerged much later as a result of a long and gradual process of biological change in the last geological epoch called Quarternary period which is subdivided into two phases – (i) Pleistocene and (ii) Holocene. All humans, zoologically speaking, belong to a family called hominid, having the genus or structural characteristics called homo. Initially, they along with apes and gibbons formed a part of a group called the primates, the earliest order of mammals.At some point of time, the hominids, for uncertain reasons, diverged from the apes and gradually developed into modern man through various, now extinct, sub-species such as Homo habilis (handy-man), Homo erectus (upright-man) and Homo sapiens (wise-man).

From biological point of view, the human evolution was marked by three distinct functional features – (i) perfect bipedal instead of guadrupedal locomotion; it is associated with the modification of pelvis and lower extremities; (ii) changes in the upper part of the body; it resulted in rotating movement of the shoulders; and (iii) increase in the cranial capacity or brain size – the brain size of modern man is estimated to be 1200-1450, roughly three times that of his most ancient ancestor. The significance of these changes is that whereas bipedalism permitted man to use hands, now freed from walking, to make and use tools, the brain size made him plan and evolve new strategies in search for food. It is now generally believed that the oldest member of the human family who walked, though partially, on two legs appeared first in the tropical or sub-tropical belt of Africa, away from the ice-barrier, about 4 million years ago or may be even earlier.This bow-legged ape-man is called Australopithecine africanus (lit. Southern ape of Africa). His fossils have

32 been recovered from various places in central and eastern part of Africa. Its upright position is indicated by the foot-prints found on cold lava-ash at Laetoli (Tanzania), and from the small skeleton of a female nick-named Lucy, discovered at Hadar (Ethiopia) in 1974. While the foot-prints are dated around 3.8 million years ago, the “Lucy” skeleton is estimated to be 3.2 Million year’s old.This species is not associated with any type of tools.The earliest known evidence of stone tools found in association with hominid fossils are reported from Hadar (Ethiopia) and are considered to be 2.3 million years old.These tools are made on pebbles by striking one against the other to get a sharp edge and are called Oldowan because such tools were first recovered from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.In spite of some difference of opinion, the scholars by and large agree with Leakey and Tobias, the anthropodogists, that these tools were the product of a later species called Homo habilis (the handy-man) who happen to be the earliest tool-makers. What is significant here is the recognition of the fact that around 2.5 million years ago human ancestors had started making tools which in the course of time gave them mastery over their environmental.The Homo habilis survived from 2.5 million years ago to 1.5 million years ago when there developed a new species called Homo erectus from whom emerged ultimately Homo sapiens around 40,000 Before Present. An important feature of the human evolution is that with each new species we notice a progressive improvement and refinement in tool-types.

An important discovery made by early man was that of fire, traditionally ascribed to the Homo erectus.It provided him light, heat and protection from predators.It also enabled him to move out from the tropical areas to new places in a colder region.There is, however, considerable debate regarding the time and place where fire came to be

33 used first.Some scholars find its earliest evidence in the lump of a burnt clay from Chesowanga (Kenya) dated 1.4 million years ago., while others look for it in temple caves of Swartkrans (South Africa) dated 1 million years ago.But as there is no evidence of fire place at these places, it is difficult to assert that this fire was deliberate. It is suggested that better evidence of fire comes from the caves at Choukou-tien (China) where a piece of charcoal has been found in the context of 5, 00,000 BC.It is suggested that Homo erectusat one point of time moved out of their original homeland in Africa and colonised different places in China, Europe,South Africa and Western Asia where they developed subsequently into various local species wuch as Java man (Pithecanthropas), Peking man (Sinathropas),and Neanderthal man of Europe.This assumption is based on the study of early stone tools which show remarkable similarity across the globe.But not all scholars accept this view because the nature and factors of dispersal and diffusion from Africa are not clear.Besides, it is argued that human mind is so constituted and endowed that it may develop similar culture (tools and weapons) in similar ecological conditions without any necessary outside influence. The debate on this issue, however, is not fully settled yet.

As far as the Indian sub-continent is concerned, there is no definite evidence of the occurrence of a true hominid fossil. The fossils designated as Ramapithecus found in the Siwalik Hills in north-western India in 1932 were at one time thought to be of a human ancestor but are now considered to have belonged to an ancestor of an orangutan. However, a large number of Palaeolithic tools and artifacts discovered over a large part of India do confirm the presence and activities of the early humans’ here.Some of the tools found at Riwat, near Rawalpindi, are believed to be as old as 2 million years. The discovery of a skull-cap from Hathnora,

40 km from Hoshangabad in the Narmada Valley of M.P in 1982 marks an important land-mark in the study of Pre-historic cultures in India.This skull has been identified by some with that of a Homo erectus, while others believe that it is of an archaic Homo sapiens. Though the exact date of the skull of this so called “Narmada man” is not confirmed its antiquity cannot be doubted as it is found in association with the Lower Palaeolithic tool-types such as hand-axes and cleavers.It may, however, be pointed out that at one time the peninsular India was joined together with Africa and Australia, South America in a supercontinent or a landmass called Gondwana land which supposedly began to drift apart during the geological time-period called the Mesozoic era (225 million years ago– 65 million years ago).The geological evidence for this land connection between currently separated continents comes from a study of glacial deposits indicating similarities in flora and fauna not found in northern hemisphere.It is thus not improbable that early humans and their tool-technologies might have evolved in Indian tropical or sub- tropical regions independently of the African species.But this view needs further investigation.

SCIENTIFIC DATING AND RELATED TECHNIQUES.

An essential prerequisite to the study of Pre-history is the knowledge of a sound chronological framework. It is necessary for understanding and analyzing the process of change and continuity in the evolution of human culture.For a long time, Pre-historians had to be satisfied with the traditional method of “relative chronology”, the chronology based on the twin principles of stratigraphy and typology of tools, implements and other material remains. The doctrine of stratigraphy underlines that the lowest layer would be earlier in date than the one above it whereas typology suggests that material remains with more refined features

35 should be treated later in date than those with less refined ones. It was also based on the concept that tools or pottery having similar form and fabric found at different sites should be treated as contemporary.But with the introduction of new scientific dating techniques since 1950, the archaeologists are now able to establish “absolute” or “chronometric chronology”, based on specific time-frame.The new techniques may not still give us an exact date but in view of a long period of Pre-history even an approximation to within a few centuries may be considered satisfactory.Some of the most commonly used dating methods are as follows.

1. Radio-Carbon (C14) Dating.

It is the most widely used dating technique. It was introduced by an American physicist, W.F. Libby, in 1949 and is based on the principle that all living things such as humans, plants and animals contain a fixed proportion of C12 and C14. After their death or decay, while C12 remains stable, C14 decreases at a steady rate, and if the ratio between C12 and

C14. Present in a sample is calculated; its original date can be specified.

It was originally suggested that half-life of C14 was 5568 years, but later when cross-examined against dendrochronology (i.e. dating based on the growth of yearly rings n certain long-lasting trees, as old as 8,000 years, growing in America and elsewhere), it was found that it needed some correction or calibration and consequently its half-line now is estimated to 5730 years.(Half-line means half of the carbon will disappear in 5730 years, and half of the other half, i.e. one quarter will take another 5730 years, and so on).This correction has pushed back the original C14 dates by a few centuries on the basis of a duly prepared graph.Thus, for example, 3000 B.C obtained earlier by C14 becomes 3700 B.C upon calibration.

The main shortcoming of C14 dating or radiocarbon dating is that it could be used more effectively for a period going back to about 40 to 50 thousand years.Theoretically, the method could be applied for dates as old as 80,000 years but it becomes less accurate as the quantity of C14 surviving in samples tends to get very small. This problem has now been overcome by the introduction of a new technique called AMS (accelerated mass spectrometry).It requires as little as a milligram of carbon in a sample to provide a date. Another advantage of AMS is that the range of

C14 dates can be safely extended as far back as 1, 00,000 years ago.

2. Thermo luminescence Dating. (Abbreviated as TL dating)

While C14 dating technique could be used only on organic materials (bone, wood, etc.), the TL method is helpful in dating inorganic objects such as pottery, the most abundant material found at the archaeological sites.It is based on the principle that at the time of pottery making, the clay of which pottery is made entraps certain minerals having electrons, and if a piece of a particular sample is heated in the laboratory, it will release accumulated energy in the form of light which can be measured to indicate the period when it was first fired or baked.

3. Potassium-argon or K-AR dating.

This method is used to determine the age of a rock by measuring the proportion of potassium (C40) and argon in the volcanic ash containing Prehistoric remains.With this method dates can be obtained for objects as far back as 5,000 million years ago.It has made possible to date early human fossils and foot-prints in eastern Africa.

4. Palaeomagnetic dating.

It is based on the analysis of particles contained in the sediments which can indicate the time when old rocks containing human artifacts or fossils were formed.There are various other dating methods most of which are still in experimental or limited use.One of these is Uranium Thorium (U-TH) dating.It is based on measuring the radioactive decay of isotope of uranium, and has proved useful for dating an object belonging to a period from 5, 00,000 – 50,000 years, which otherwise lies outside the time range of C14 dating.The Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) method is used for a material which decomposes when heated, and is thus useful for dating such objects as tooth enamel.Besides wide-ranging scientific dating techniques, an archaeologist today is also utilizing many other scientific methods in discovering the past.The Optical Emission Spectrometry, for example, is a technique that is being used to analyze the trace element in artifacts, particularly beads, pottery and metals.It involves the excitation of atoms in a sample by means of a laser beam and measuring the wave length of light. It helps in identifying the source of raw material, and thus examining the trade contacts between different regions using the particular raw material or the finished product.

The “micro-wear” or ‘use-wear analysis’, developed in 1964 by a Soviet archaeologist, Semenov, involves examination of, under microscope, the traces of wear left on a stone implement.It makes it possible for an archaeologist to determine the purpose for which the particular tool was used, i.e., whether it was used for cutting a piece of wood or bone or meat.The archaeological studies in recent years have also benefited from new techniques to locate the past material remains. A technique which has proved quite fruitful to the archaeologists is Remote Sensing from high altitude through LANDSAT (a name for a U.S. satellite that records

38 earth’s natural resources using a remote sensing apparatus).In this system scanners record infra-red radiation from earth’s surface and convert them electronically into photographic images. Landsat imagery or photographs have been used to trace underground channels in different parts of the world, such as Mesopotamia and Egypt. In India, it has brought to light in Rajasthan an underground river bed identified with the course of the lost Sarasvati. Some time back, certain scientists from NASA (U.S.A.) released the photographs of an undersea landmass or geological formation connecting India with Sri Lanka, and identified it, though without any solid evidence, with the Ramasetu mentioned in the Ramayana.

A technique used for underwater archaeology is known as Sonar, a term that comes from the words “sound navigation and ranging”. Normally, this device is used by warships and military aircraft to locate enemy submarines.It sends out sharp pulses of sound which are reflected back when they strike an object undersea, and these vibrations are recorded to calculate the range and direction of the object.It is greatly useful in promoting marine archaeology and has helped in locating shipwrecks and undersea sites in different parts of the world. In India, it was recently used to locate a “township” off the Bay of Cambay in Gujarat, and its data is being processed.The development of new techniques in the field of microbiology, since 1980s, has led to greater interest in the study of DNA cells known as mitrochondria (mt DNA) which are only inherited from mothers.It is based on the examination of very small quantities of DNA extracted from bones and teeth, as opposed to soft-tissues, and has opened up the possibility of finding out the genetic differences or similarities between the fossil remains of early humans. M. Walpoff, for example, on the basis of his study has offered

39 the view that modern humans may have emerged roughly simultaneously in different regions of the world.

In short, the use of various scientific techniques today has made it possible for the archaeologists to reassess their archaeological data in the light of better chronological framework.In this context it may be pointed out that new dates have given a blow to the old theory of “diffusion” propounded by such scholars as Gordon Childe who believed that the earliest evidence of agriculture and metal technology came from Mesopotamia, and it was from here that these spread later to other parts of the world.The new dates, however, suggest that there might have been different pockets or eco-zones where these activities developed independently and simultaneously, not necessarily diffused from West Asia.

NEW THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES.

In the study of Pre-history, archaeology is the primary source of information.The terms Pre-history and Archaeology are in fact interlinked – while Pre-history is a period in the history of humanity for which there are no written records, archaeology is a method to excavate and recover the unwritten records of the past in the form of material remains of the early humans.However, excavation is just one aspect of archaeology.The excavated material is of no use if it is not interpreted and analyzed to understand early man’s mind and behaviour. In fact, as it is remarked, archaeology is not just digging up “things”, it is digging up “people”. Therefore an archaeologist has to interact with scholars from other disciplines such as anthropology, chemistry, sociology,and zoology and follow a multi-disciplinary approach for a better and holistic understanding of the past.Earlier the archaeologists followed what is

40 called a cultural-historical or collection and narration approach.This approach puts emphasis on two features – (a) detailed description of the typology of tools and pottery, i.e., their shapes, forms and fabrics, and (b) the concept of diffusion which argues that such activities as tool- technology or pottery-making or agricultural production spread from one single core area to other regions.The excavated material was dated on the basis of their successive layers of deposits (called seriation) suggesting that the bottom-most layer was the earliest whereas the uppermost was the latest. It also argued that the inferior tool-types must be earlier in time than the more refined ones. The proponents of this approach also followed the concept propounded by Gordon Childe that the archaeological remains such as pots, implements, and ornaments, “constantly occurring together” reflect the “culture” of the people.In Indian context, Stuart Piggott and Wheeler were the main followers of this perspective, though even today it has not lost its favour with some.

Since 1950, on account of the use of scientific dating techniques and the discovery of many new sites, there has been a great progress in the field of Pre-historic research. It has led to the broadening of the definition of archaeological culture. In 1960s the scholars such as Lewis Binford, Flannery and David Clark propounded a new methodological approach which once-called “new archaeology” is now termed as “processual archaeology”.This approach focuses not on the mere physical description of tools, pottery and other material remains, but aims to analyze them to understand the process of socio-economic change and progress.It raises questions about the possible life-pattern of the ancient humans and then tries to look for their answers in the material remains. It attempts to deal with such diverse issues as mechanism of trade and exchange, social inequality, role of political authority, etc.It views culture

41 as a “system” having various “sub-systems” or components such as society, economy, environments, and argues that it is the interaction and interrelationship between them that triggers the process of change.An important feature of “processual archaeology” is that it proposes to utilize the knowledge from other disciplines, particularly anthropology (a branch of study which deals with the origin of man, his beliefs and customs), to analyze the Prehistoric material remains.It also draws parallel from ethno-archaeology, the study of existing societies using similar tools and artifacts as those of Pre-historic times. It may be noted that ethno- archaeology does not emphasize historical continuity of traditions but attempts to understand the limitations and opportunities offered by environment in which the early humans’ lived.The “processual archaeology” also puts great emphasis on the study of environment to determine the animal and vegetal food resources of the early man. Thus, subjects such as palaeobotany and palaeozoology are also drawn into the study of archaeology.

In recent years, there has come up a new school of thought called “post-processual”, a term coined by a British archaeologist Ian Hodder in1986.It does not favour the “processual method” which first raises hypothetical questions and then looks for their answers in the ancient remains. It advocates that the archaeology of a region should be viewed in the context of history of the people concerned rather than from an alien point of view. It believes that each area follows its own trajectory of development; and argues that the hardware, i.e., our brain may be the same but the “soft-wave”, i.e., the cultural traditions are generated independently.The concept of “cognitive archaeology”, i.e., the study of ancient remains and symbols to gain an insight into the mind, belief and ideology of the early humans is also emphasized. Another concept which

42 is gaining ground today is “gender archaeology”. It aims to present early woman as an active rather than passive partner in the process of cultural transformation, and tends to highlight her role in various activities such as agriculture, craft-production, religion, etc.

In short, with new approaches to the study of archaeology, the focus of investigation has shifted from mere narration and description of archaeological data to their interpretation from the perspectives of socio- economic, political, and religious behaviour of the early humans. In India, it was S.C. Malik who in 1968 first gave a call for a change in descriptive method and advocated an anthropological and analytical approach, but his plea went unnoticed. It was only after H.D. Sanikalia examined the relevance of “new” archaeology in the Indian context in 1977 that more and more scholars began to follow it, and today it is reflected in the writings of such archaeologists as D.K. Chakrabarti, K. Paddayya, D.P. Agarwal, and Ravi Korisettar.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES IN INDIA DURING THE LAST FIVE DECADES.

Archaeological research in India began officially from 1861 when a separate department of Archaeological Survey of India was established with A.Cunningham as its head.Although some random discoveries of lithic tools and Pre-historic structures were reported from various places before 1861, these were based on insufficient fieldwork and there was little idea of relating them to the overall progress of Pre-historic man in South Asia.Cunningham’s appointment too was made not to carry out excavations but to locate and identify important places mentioned in the ancient texts, particularly in those of the Chinese pilgrims, Fahien and Hiuen-Tsang.A few Harappan seals did come to his knowledge but he

43 could not comprehend their importance. It was with the appointment of Sir John Marshall as the Head of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1902 that there began a system of excavations.But again these excavations were concentrated primarily on early historic cities or the Buddhist sites.However, it was during his tenure that the spectacular discovery of Harappan Civilization was made during 1920-22. It may be mentioned that Mohenjodaro, the mega city of the Harappans was discovered during the course of an excavation of a Buddhist stupa. Later, the appointment of Wheeler in 1944 brought about a major change in the archaeological studies in India.He introduced the proper technique of site exploration and excavation and put emphasis on the concept of cultural sequence and stratigraphy.He also undertook to train a number of Indian students in the field of archaeology, and it were these students, first and but foremost among them being H.D. Sankalia, who played an important role in promoting the cause of archaeology in India after independence.

Among the persons who are credited with initiating Palaeolithic studies in India, it is Robert Bruce Foote, a geologist, who occupies the most important position.He discovered a hand-axe belonging to the early Palaeolithic period at Pallavaram, near modern Chennai in 1863, and later reported similar tools from many other sites.His collections, published posthumously in 1916, gave the study of Indian Pre-history a “clearly visible window”.A significant stride in Palaeolithic studies in India was made in 1930s when A.Cammiade and M.C.Burkitt highlighted the interrelationship between the stratigraphic profile of Pre-historic tools and the palaeoenvironment with regard to the artifacts collected from A.P. Later, Dewan Terra and Patterson of the Yale-Cambridge university team to India (1939) went beyond the palaeoclimatic correlations and

44 introduced a geochronological scale.They attempted to determine the chronological sequence of different tool-bearing terraces along the river Soan, a tributary of the river Indus in Pakistan, on the basis of glacial sequence or cycle of the “Ice-age”. The above studies provided the base for further archaeological research in India after 1947.

During the past 50 years, there have been vibrant activity and vigorous developments in the field of archaeology.An increased number of explorations and excavations, better field work as well as multi- disciplinary approach have greatly enriched our knowledge on the Pre- history and proto-history of the Indian subcontinent. The introduction of new scientific techniques of dating the past remains has also vastly enlarged our horizon. As a result the tool technology and its impact on the behaviour and activities of early humans have come to be studied more deeply.The process of transition from the stage of hunting and food-gathering to that of food-producing has also become quite clear. Pre-historic rock paintings as well as the south Indian Neolithic and Megalithic cultures too have acquired a new focus.But, the most important feature of the post-1947 archaeological studies has been to bring forth the significance of the Proto-historic period.This period which forms a bridge between the Pre-historic and the early historical period was earlier treated as a “dark period” as there was no clear information available on it.Today the identification of different types of potteries such as Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) and Painted Grey Ware (PGW) has helped us to clear the mist and place it in a specific time-frame.The excavations since 1950 at various sites particularly in Western U.P have brought to light a complete profile of occupation from OCP to PGW to NBPW, from 1800 B.C to 600 B.C.The Proto-historic period thus represents continuity in Indian history.

Recent archaeological studies in India have begun to incorporate new methodologies and theoretical perspectives.Initially,archaeologists followed the “culture-history”, i.e., the traditional collection and narration approach, but since 1970s they have been concentrating more and more on understanding the socio-economic aspects of Pre-historic man with the help of other disciplines such as anthropology,botany and sociology.The two aspects which have been engaging their attention are the palaeoclimatic changes and the environmental setting, as these determine not only the food resources but also the availability of raw material needed for tools and implements. Gurdeep Singh on the basis of pollen analysis and salt lake profiles has attempted to highlight the climatic fluctuations between general aridity and wetness in Rajasthan in ancient past.Earlier archaeology was dominated by the “diffusionists”, the scholars who traced the origin and spread of most of the Indian Pre- historic cultural traits, such as lithic tools, pottery forms, agricultural activities, etc., to West Asia or sometimes to South-East Asia. Even the Harappan Civilization was seen as a secondary and derivative product of urban “idea” from Mesopotamia.Today, the concept of diffusion either in terms of “idea” or “migration” from outside is being discarded, and attempts are being made to follow a “processual” approach to emphasize the indigenous nature of cultural growth.Even the question of introduction of iron technology in India from outside has become a matter of debate. Whereas most of the scholars ascribe it to the Indo- Aryans who came in groups from Central Asia to India, D.K. Chakrabarti argues that instead of viewing iron in India as diffusion from outside, India may be treated as an independent and separate entity for the growth of iron technology.

The introduction of different scientific dating methods, especially that of radiocarbon dating since 1950 and its calibrated graph, has greatly revolutionized the chronology of the archaeological data the world over, including India.These have led to the revision of many earlier dates. For example, an earlier published C14 date of 1950 B.C when calibrated (on the basis of 5730 years as half-life of the carbon) is pushed back by 400 years to 2350 B.C. It has a major impact on adjusting the dates of Harappan Civilization in particular as the new chronological table brings Harappan Civilization (2600 B.C – 1900 B.C) directly in line with the Mesopotamian Civilization which was once believed to be earlier in date and therefore a source of inspiration for the growth of urban cities in the Indus region.An important event in the history of Indian archaeology in recent years has been the discovery of a fossil (a skull cap) of a Homo sapiens at Hathnora in the Narmada Valley. It is found in association with the Early Palaeolithic tools.Though it is a lone find, it does put India on the global map of hominid fossil finds.It may be mentioned that Pre- historic tools recovered from Riwat, south-east of Rawalpindi, have been dated by Rendell and others to as far back as 2 million years ago. Though no fossil as old as that has been found so far, the presence of stone tools does confirm the existence of Prehistoric human species in this region in the remote past.

Another important development in the post-1950 archaeology in India has been a clear cut demarcation and identification of Palaeolithic period in three successive phases – Lower, Middle and Upper. The stratigraphic profiles of tools clearly indicate that these phases were marked by gradual, stage by stage, progress in type and technology of tools from chopper-chopping and hand-axe to flake-based tools.What is equally noticeable is a corresponding change in the preference on raw material,

47 from quartzite in the Early Palaeolithic period to fine-grained stone in the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic periods. It was H.D. Sankalia who for the first time identified the Middle Palaeolithic tools at Nevasa (District. Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra) in 1950’s.There has also been a major expansion in our knowledge on the geographical and distributional pattern of the Palaeolithic sites.They have been reported from almost all over the country including the regions of Assam, Bengal and Orissa.This wide distribution has made it clear that Indian Pre-historical features may not be viewed as an isolated phenomenon but should be studied in different regional and ecological contexts.It has also led to the use of ethno-archaeology for better understanding of the Pre-historic past.

The Palaeolithic sites are being studied today not from the viewpoint of tool assemblages alone, and there are efforts to highlight the subsistence implications of these settlements in relation to local soils and vegetation. This concept termed as settlement-subsistence pattern, borrowed by archaeologists from geography, proposes to study the Prehistoric settlements on the basis of the size of sites or site-size hierarchy, their inter-spacing and distribution in relation to the resources (food and raw material) required by the early humans.Archaeological excavations reveal that there are certain regions which contain settlements of different sizes (small, middle and extensive) situated close to each other. It is taken to indicate that large settlements were centres of power, political or religious, while the smaller ones supplied the required resources, and in this way the whole area was integrated into one “unit”.The functional areas for different activities such as cattle penning, butchering and tool- making within a site are also being identified. K. Paddayya’s studies on Hunsgi in Karnataka, M.K.Dhavalikar’s on Inamgaon and U.C. Chattopadhyaya’s on Middle Gangetic valley are some important

48 contributions in this field.A related aspect which is being highlighted is that of site-catchment analysis as advocated by Vita-Finzi and Higgs. It is argued that early human settlements were based on the consideration of availability of resources lying within a radius of about 10 km – a distance which early man could cover by walking to collect the resources and reach back home by the evening.

Microliths were discovered as early as the 19th century but it was only in 1950s and 1960s that H.D. Sankalia, after the excavations at Langhnaj and other places in Gujarat, brought to light their real significance. He ascribed them to a separate phase called, the Mesolithic Period, a period of transition linking Upper Palaeolithic (also sometimes called Epipalaeolithic) with the Neolithic period. Today, a large number of Mesolithic sites, including Mohrana Pahara in Mirzapur (U.P), have been reported from different parts of the country and they have added greatly to our information on the life pattern of the Mesolithic people.The burials, the earliest evidence of which in India comes from this period, along with the goods placed with the dead, help us in gaining an insight into the socio-economic behaviour and the ritual system of these people. An increase in the number and density of Mesolithic sites, viewed from the point of demographical changes, indicates increase in population during the Mesolithic period.

There has also been a better understanding on the nature and character of the Neolithic cultures.The identification of a large number of Neolithic sites all over the country, right from Mehrgarh (Baluchistan) in the west to Daojali Hading (Assam) in the east, and from Burzahom and Gufkral (Kashmir) in the north to Paiyampalli (Tamil Nadu) in the south has brought to light a pan-Indian character of the Neolithic cultures. Besides, the study of tool-types and pottery fabrics, the issues relating to

49 the origin and spread of plant cultivation and animal domestication during the Neolithic times have also come into sharper focus. Contrary to earlier views, the history of agriculture in the Indian subcontinent now begins at Mehrgarh around the 7th millennium B.C.The excavations conducted here by Jarrige in late 1970s have confirmed the indigenous growth of wheat-barley cultivation and cattle-sheep domestication.The Mehrgarh excavations which are treated as a land-mark in the history of Indian archaeology, have given a blow to the concept of “Neolithic Revolution” as propounded by G. Childe because it is now clear that the transition from food-gathering to food-cultivation was gradual and not sudden.The evidence of agricultural activities has also come from other regions in Northern and southern India, though it is later in date. G.R. Sharma and his team in 1970s brought to light the evidence of rice at Koldihwa (District. Allahabad, U.P) where rice-husk was found embedded in the clay of a number of potsherds.It had led many scholars to argue that rice might have been an indigenous crops rather than an import from China or South-East Asia.The cultivation of wheat, barley and rice at Chirand (District. Saran, Bihar) has been confirmed by the recovery of the grains of these crops in charred condition.

The discovery of Stone Age sites in the Mid-Gangetic Valley marks an important chapter in the Indian archaeological studies during the post- 1950 period, as earlier nobody could believe that such sites could exist in a region where stone is not available locally.These sites, according to G.R. Sharma, indicate early human’s ability to adjust to a particular environment by bringing the raw material of stone from some distance or by using more of bone tools.A large number of sites excavated in south India have now made it possible to formulate a coherent pattern of chronological and regional variations within the Southern Neolithic.The

50 nature and character of the “ashmounds” is also being debated in a broader context of South Indian Pre-history.Since 1960s, there are attempts to highlight the interrelationship between the South Indian Neolithic Cultures and the village cultures further north, i.e. the Deccan Chalcolithic Cultures which used primarily Neolithic tools, and very little copper.

The studies on the Megalithic cultures in India have also come a long way since the excavation by Wheeler at Brahmagiri in 1947-48. A large number of Megalithic sites have been discovered all over the country, maximum numbers of which are in the peninsular India. Today there is enough data base to understand the chronology and the character of the Megalithic people who used iron tools and Black-and-Red ware. Earlier studies based on the mere description of types and forms of Megaliths have been superceded by studies highlighting the socio-economic and religious implications of the mortuary practices of the builders of Megaliths.The interrelationship between the Megalithic Culture and the succeeding cultures as represented in the Sangam literature is also being highlighted.

It may be noted that progress in studies on archaeobotany, the study of food-grains recovered in archaeological excavations, and archaeozoology, the study of animal remains found in archaeological excavations have been of great help in enhancing our knowledge on the Pre-historic agricultural and animal husbandry. While presence of stone querns and grinding stones indicate indirectly the use of food-grains by a particular group of people, the technique of flotation (the process of recovering carbonised seeds or grains by adding water to the soil and sieving it), which is being used increasingly since 1970 has been quite beneficial in having an exact idea of the type of food-grains which were

51 cultivated and used. Vishnu-mittre, M.D. Kajale and others have made a valuable contribution in this field. Dorian Fuller on the basis of a large number of floating samples collected from different sites in south India has tried to explain the crop pattern among the south Indian Neolithic cultures.The archaeobotanical studies have generated a fresh debate among the Pre-historians as to which crops are indigenous to India and which are foreign in nature.

Similarly, the studies on archaeozoology are gaining ground to understand the man-animal relationship in the context of a particular region and environment. P.K. Thomas, for example, on the basis of his studies on the faunal data collected from various Pre-historic sites has highlighted the fact that animal domestication in the Indian subcontinent may go back to the Mesolithic times, much ahead of agricultural activity. It may be noted that the recovery of an ostrich egg- shell from Patna (Maharashtra) indicates that this giant bird which once roamed around in India during the Upper Palaeolithic period became extinct later, probably because of climatic changes. The progress made in archaeobiology has also added a new dimension to our perspective.Earlier human skeletons were studied primarily to identify their physical features with regard to different races, viz., Negroloid, and Mongoloid.This approach is, however, losing favour and now efforts are being directed towards understanding the human remains in the context of wider issues relating to biological affinities, the impact of changing food habits on human osteology (bone structure), migration and intermixing of the people.K.A.R. Kennedy and J.R. Luckacs are prominent among those scholars who are focusing on these aspects of archaeology in India.

The research on Pre-historic rock art during the last three decades has grown from stray individual studies to an organized effort by a number of scholars.The painstaking surveys and documentation of a large number of rock art sites in central India by V.S. Wakankar in 1970s is considered as an important turning point in this context. Rock art represents not only the aesthetic activity but also furnishes an evidence of the subsistence pattern and socio-religious activities of the early humans.Indian Pre-historic rock art has received today an international recognition and the site of Bhimbetka which contains the maximum number of rock shelters and paintings in India has acquired a status of a World Heritage Site.

In recent decades, beads made of organic material (bone, ivory, and shell) or of stones (agate, carnelian, etc.) are also being treated as an evidence of Pre-historic art. The bone beads recovered from Kurnool caves in south India and the ostrich egg-shell beads from Patne in Maharashtra have been dated back to 25000 B.C to 12000 B.C (Upper Palaeolithic period).These are regarded as the earliest evidence of “portable” art in India. The beads are considered not just as symbols or expressions of love and beauty but are also studied to draw information on the sources of their raw material, centres of production, manufacturing technology, and exchange mechanism.Kenoyer and Vidale have made important contribution to the studies on bead technology during the Harappan times.

The Indus Civilization or the Harappan Civilization as it is called now, has been engaging the attention of scholars all over the world ever since it was discovered in 1920-22.Large scale excavations and fresh data since 1950 have not only added to our information but have also cleared the mist on many questions regarding the origin and decline of

53 this civilization. Today, the Harappan civilization is no more considered as an import from outside whether in the form of migration of people or an “idea” nor its decline attributed to “massacre” committed by the in- coming Indo-Aryans. The whole process of its rise and fall is now viewed against the backdrop of internal dynamics of change demarcated in three phases, viz., Early Harappan (3500 B.C – 2600BC; rural), Mature Harappan (2600 B.C – 1900 B.C; urban) and Late Harappan (1900 B.C – 1400 B.C; rural). It is also now evident that the Harappan Civilization did not “collapse” or disappear all of a sudden but was gradually transformed into a rural culture with no big structures, specialized craft or exchange system. A large number of Late Harappan sites discovered in Haryana, Punjab and western U.P demonstrate more than anything else that the Harappan people after the decline of their cities were on a major move towards the east.Almost the same picture is suggested by the map of the Late Harappan Gujarat where a move was towards Malwa region. The overlapping of Late Harappan pottery with the Painted Grey Ware (PGW), ascribed to the Indo-Aryans, at certain sites such as Dadheri (Ludhiana) and Katpalon and Nagar (District. Jullundhar) in Punjab is taken as an indication of coexistence of Late Harappans with the local people.

The identification of a large number of new Harappan sites in India and Pakistan since 1950 has led to a better picture of the extent of Harappan Civilization, and it is now regarded as the largest among the Bronze Age Civilizations in the ancient world. Rafiq Mughal’s researches in the region along the river Hakara (Ghaggar-Saraswati course, called so in Pakistan territory) in Cholistan have revealed that there was a major concentration of Harappan sites in this area too. Harappan sites are being studied on the basis of their functional utility and have been

54 designated as port towns, trading outposts, and factory sites. The earlier view based on the Mesopotamian model that the Harappan Civilization was an “empire” under the rule of a “Priest-king” is also being discarded. Instead, it is now viewed by many scholars as a combination of a number of “domains” or regional centres closely related to their hinterland to procure necessary resources. There has also been a better understanding on the nature and character of the Harappan urbanization. For example, the discovery of a ploughed field at Kalibangan (Rajasthan) and of a terracotta model of a ploughshare from Banawali (Haryana) confirms that the Harappan cities had a strong agricultural base. A subject which has come under sharper focus these days is the internal and external trade contacts of the Harappan people. The discovery of a Persian Gulf seal at Lothal by S.R. Rao in 1950s and the archaeological excavations in the Persian Gulf region by Tosi and others in the last two decades have tended to highlight the role of Oman (Makan of the Mesopotamian inscriptions) as an important intermediary in the Indo-Mesopotamian trade.

The archaeological findings during the last 50 years have thus greatly enlarged our vision on various aspects of the Harappan civilization. However, two important issues which are being hotly debated among the historians and the archaeologists presently are,(1) the nature of Harappan legacy, i.e. whether the Harappan socio-religious traditions continued to survive in one form or the other in later periods or not, and(2) the authorship of the Harappan Civilization, i.e., whether the credit of founding the glory of the Harappan Civilization should be attributed to the Sanskrit-speaking Indo-Aryans or to the Dravidian- speaking local people.The crucial point on which the authorship debate hinges is the question of the presence or the absence of horse (an animal

55 dear to the Indo-Aryans) during the Harappan times.While most of the historians argue that true horse came to India with the Indo-Aryans who immigrated from Central Asia in around 1800 B.C, many archaeologists insist on having identified the horse remains from various Harappan sites including Surkotda.Though Harappan Civilization continues to be an important subject of interest, there has been after 1950 a shift in focus from north-west to the Gangetic plains on the onehand and the Deccan and south India on the other. And one of the most important results of it has been to bring into light the Chalcolithic period of Indian history – the period of which there had been no clear evidence earlier.It could become possible because of the systematic integration of archaeological data from various sites in Central India, Deccan and western U.P,i.e., the region outside the Harappan influence.The importance of Chalcolithic period lies in the fact that it represents the continuum of human endeavour in Indian subcontinent right from the end of the Harappan cities in around 1900 B.C to the rise of cities or “Second Urbanisation” in the Gangetic valley in the 6th century B.C.

The Chalcolithic Cultures in Central India and the Deccan were first brought to light by Sankalia’s excavations at Jorwe (District. Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra) in 1950s. As more and more sites of similar nature came to be discovered over a wider area later, the picture on the life-pattern of the Chalcolithic people tended to become better. M.K. Dhavalikar made a detailed study of the local subsistence base and the environmental setting of the Chalcolithic people of Inamgaon (District. Pune) – temple chief site of the Jorwe culture in the Deccan. The Copper Hoards (called so because a variety of copper tools comprising axes, and harpoons have been found in hoards) were reported earlier but their cultural significance came to be recognised only in 1950s when a large

56 number of these were discovered from Bisauli, Rajpur Parasu and other places in western U.P.As these hoards were found located below the PGW levels of iron using people, their correlation with the copper using OCP people is almost accepted. However, their authorship is still a matter of debate.

Studies on potteries since 1950s have also acquired a new dimension. For a long time pottery was classified on the basis of its form and texture, and its origin, spread and chronological sequence was explained on the basis of its similarity with those found in other regions. But now it is being treated more as a means to highlight the change and continuity in material life of the people in the light of contemporary literature.Thus, for example, while OCP has been associated with the copper-using Rigvedic culture (1500 B.C – 1000 B.C), the PGW has been identified with the iron-using Later Vedic people.Similarly, NBPW, a pottery much better in form and fabric, has been regarded as an important component of the urban life in the 6th century B.C.The excavations since 1950 at various sites in the Upper Gangetic region, such as Atranjikhera (District. Etah), Hastinapur, Kaushambi and also at Jodhpura (District. Jaipur) and Noh (Bharatpur) in Rajasthan have revealed a complete profile of occupation from OCP to PGW to NBPW periods.Incidentally changing pottery traditions also indicate a shift in the centre of socio-economic activity from the Upper Gangetic (Eastern Haryana and Western U.P) to a more fertile Middle Gangetic region (Eastern U.P. and Bihar).

Among the important pottery types, Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) was first reported by B.B. Lal from Badaun and Bijnore districts of western U.P, and later many more OCP-related sites came to be discovered.OCP is thick and ill-fired, and is called so because on rubbing

57 it leaves reddish colour on fingers. It is suggested that this phenomenon is because of its having been lying in the water-logged area for a long time.The archaeological evidence reveals that OCP people used copper but had no knowledge of iron. If Copper-Hoards are to be attributed to the OCP people, as it has been done, it may be presumed that they were adept in the field of copper technology. Since western U.P. does not have copper mines, it can be fairly assumed that copper must have been acquired from Khetri mines of Rajasthan or the Kumaon hills of Uttaranchal or elsewhere.Some Thermo luminescence (TL), dates give OCP a wide range from 2650 B.C – 1180 B.C, but it is mostly dated to the 2nd millennium B.C.

Similarly, Painted Grey Ware (PGW) though noticed first at Ahicchatra in Western U.P. in the mid-1940s, its cultural significance came to be realized only in 1950s when B.B. Lal excavated Hastinapur. On the basis of the evidence of flood at this site, B.B. Lal put forward the hypothesis that PGW culture represented the period of Mahabharata because, as per the reference in the text, people of Hastinapur deserted the town and migrated to Kaushambi because of the floods. PGW is a smooth surfaced grey coloured pottery with paintings in form of dots, lines, etc. in black. Clay used for the ware is of high quality. It is made on a fast rotating wheel for thinness.Its flawless finish along with uniform texture and colour suggest a better firing technique and indicate a great improvement on the earlier OCP. It is distributed over a vast area extending up to Ujjain in south and Kaushambi in east but is largely concentrated in western U.P. It is dated from 1100 B.C to 600 B.C, and thus coincides with the Later Vedic period of Indian history.

The presence of iron tools and weapons in the form of arrowheads, daggers, spearheads, and also axes, chisels, sickles, etc. at the PGW

58 levels indicates that iron came to be used in a regular way for war, hunting and agricultural activities from the PGW period.Apart from Hastinapur, Jakhera (Distt. Etah, U.P.),and Kaushambi, is an important PGW site.It has yielded various iron tools and implements such as sickles, hoes and ploughshare.The evidence of storage jars suggests surplus production necessitating storage of grains. The use of iron, as it is normally believed, led to the clearance of forests, growth of agricultural production and the movement of people towards the Middle Gangetic Valley which later became the focal point of political as well as social, economic and religious activities in the 6th century B.C.

The significance of Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) and its relationship with the material progress in the form of trade, craft and towns in India from the 6th century B.C onwards has also acquired a greater focus over the last 50 years. NBPW is a ware of a very fine quality with a thin black slip (coating with semifluid clay).The most important characteristic feature of this ware is its mirror like polish which can’t be easily scratched.It appears to be very expensive and highly prized as is evident from the copper riveting joining the broken parts of a vessel found at Ropar. It must have been used by the people of higher strata. It is dated from 600 B.C – 200 B.C.It is distributed over a vast area extending from Somnath in Gujarat to Chandraketugarh and Tamluk in West Bengal, but it is mainly concentrated in the Middle Gangetic Valley (Allahabad-Patna region).NBPW is found along with the earliest metallic coins, called Punch-marked coins, indicating economic progress during the period.Reference may also be made to fresh light that is being shed on the origin and nature of the Rouletted Ware.It is a distinctive ceramic which was first noticed by Wheeler at Arikamedu, an important Indo- Roman centre of trade during the early centuries of temple Christian era,

59 situated near Pondicherry. It is made of extremely fine and well-levigated clay and has a thin fine slip.The most distinctive feature of it is its decoration in two or three lines of rouletted (dotted) pattern produced by rotating a toothed wheel.Wheeler argued that it was not an Indian feature and therefore designated it as a Roman pottery. This view is now being controverted as at several sites this pottery occurs in a period much earlier than the beginning of the Roman trade in the 1st century A.D. At Chandraketugarh (24 Pargana District, W. Bengal), it goes back to the Mauryan period in the 3rd century B.C. Moreover, the trace element analysis of its mineral contents had led V.D. Gogte to argue that the Rouletted ware was probably made in Tamluk-Chandraketugarh region of West Bengal from where it was sent to other areas. It is, therefore, likely that this ware is an Indian invention from where it went to the Mediterranean region rather than vice-versa.

As with pottery, the subject of metal and metallurgy is also being studied more deeply to understand their socio-economic implications. In this field, N.R. Bannerji, D.K. Chakrabarti, and D.P. Agarwal have made valuable contributions.Copper and iron tools are being studied from various viewpoints such as their resource areas, the technology of smelting and forging (heating metal to make it soft to hammer into desired shape). Though there is some controversy among scholars on the origin and spread of iron technology in India, it is normally accepted that the development in iron technology was an important factor in the growth of trade and towns in the mid-Gangetic valley in the 6th century B.C.As far as historical archaeology is concerned, it may be mentioned that there has not been as much progress in this field as it should have been, but even then the excavations at a number of towns have yielded quite useful information.For example, the excavations at Arikamedu,

Alagankulam,and Kaveripattinam have confirmed the significant role that Tamil Nadu coast was playing in the Indo-Roman trade during the early centuries of the Christian era. Rich structures and Roman gold coins found at Kushan and Satavahana levels in northern India and the Deccan offer an evidence of economic progress during the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. At the same time, poor structures and paucity of coins as reported in the archaeological excavations in the mid-Gangetic Valley have made R.S. Sharma to postulate a disturbed economic condition leading to the growing tendency of feudalism during the Gupta and post- Gupta periods.The discovery of beads of semi-precious stones such as agate and carnelian in the recent excavations in Burma, Malaysia and other places has pushed back the antiquity of India’s contact with South- East Asia as far back as 500 B.C.

In short, intensive field work as well as new analytical approaches during the last 50 years has greatly enlarged our geographical and conceptual horizons on Indian Pre-history and Proto-history. Archaeological studies have come considerably away from the past tradition of collection and narration of archaeological data to focus on various other features such as ecology and environment, settlement and subsistence patterns and other subjects to reconstruct the early human behaviour in a holistic manner.

PALAEOLITHIC PERIOD: HUNTERS AND FOOD GATHERERS

The Palaeolithic period or the Old Stone Age constitutes the longest phase of Pre-history and covers the whole range of the Pleistocene epoch from about 2 million years ago to 10,000 Before Present. In this period, the early humans, who shared the landscape with various wild and giant animals or megafauna such as buffalo, rhino, tiger, and elephant, started

61 making stone tools to survive in a hostile environment.The Palaeolithic Age is divided into three cultural phases, viz. Early or Lower Palaeolithic, Middle Palaeolithic, and Late or Upper Palaeolithic. This division is based on progressive improvement in tool-types which gradually came to acquire better efficiency in their cutting edge and operating ease.Thus, while Lower Palaeolithic period was marked by the use of heavy pebble tools, termed as chopper-chopping tools and hand-axes, the Middle Palaeolithic was characterized by tools made on flakes, and Upper Palaeolithic by sharp blades and burins.These tools, with some regional variations, exhibit remarkable similarity in their form, technique and raw material all over the Indian subcontinent.

It must be pointed out that transition from one stage to another was not sudden, and, wherever clear stratigraphic profiles are available, a clear evolution of lithic industry undergoing transformation from Lower to Middle to Upper Palaeolithic is noticeable. De Terra and Patterson of the Yale and Cambridge mission (1939) found in the valley of River Soan, which flows near Rawalpindi in Pakistan, five different terraces containing tools which were, in initial stages, heavier and cruder but progressively became thinner and finer.Similarly, in the Belan Valley (the region from Allahabad to Varanasi) a complete sequence of Stone Age cultures from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Neolithic, and even to the Chalcolithic is noticed. Bhimbetka, near Bhopal in M.P, also has yielded evidence of continuous Pre-historic occupation from the Early Palaeolithic and Middle Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic period.Patne, in District. Jalagaon in Maharashtra also shows continuous sequence of Stone Age cultures from Middle Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic Age.Our knowledge of the exact function of most of the Palaeolithic tools, in spite of the micro-wear analysis, is quite imperfect but it seems certain that

62 they served a variety of purposes like hunting, butchering, skinning of animals, digging of roots and making wooden tools or weapons.

Chronology.

The earliest stone tools in India are pebble tools and their evidence comes from Riwat, south-east of Rawalpindi in Pakistan. These tools on the basis of Palaeomagnetic dating have been dated by Rendell and Denell to around 2 million years ago.It is a significant discovery as it puts Pre-historic tools found in India at par with those in Africa.A related evidence of tools comes from Dina and Jalalpur in the Jhelum basin (Pakistan) where the assemblage is believed to be 1.2 million to 2 million year old.Sometime back, the tools found at Bori, District. Pune in Maharashtra were considered to be 1.38 million years old but, after rigorous examination, the date of these tools is believed to be around 6, 70,000 year ago.Though the debate on the date of these tools is still not over, the Bori tools are important as they represent the earliest artifacts in the interior of the sub-continent away from the north-western region. Thus, though the earliest tools in the Indian subcontinent are believed to be as old as 2 million years ago, most of the early Palaeolithic tools, broadly speaking, belong to a period from around 6,00,000 to 1,50,000 Before present, while those of Middle Palaeolithic and Upper Palaeolithic Ages are dated between 1,50,000 to 40,000 Before Present and 40,000 to 10,000 Before Present, respectively.The tool-types of the above three phases are believed to represent the technological skill of the three different human species, viz. Homo erectus, Homo sapiens, Homo sapien sapiens.

It may be noted that chronological framework as mentioned above provides just a working basis for studying the large assemblage of tools

63 and weapons as it is difficult to fix a definite dividing line for the periods so remote in time.The dates may vary from site to site, but what is significant is that they indicate the presence of different phases of Palaeolithic Cultures in India in the Pleistocene period or the Ice-Age.

Tools and Technologies.

The lithic tools form the primary source of our information regarding early human’s activities and behaviour, his culture and tradition. Lithic technology, like any other craft, is a combination of two factors: the first is planning, i.e., to draw up a picture in mind and think of a method to make a tool out of a given raw material, and the second is technique, i.e., the use of hands and fingers to give the tool a desired shape.The Pre- historic man, who was primarily interested in fabricating stone tools having pointed end or sharp cutting edge, came to learn the art of making desired tools gradually through hit and trial mechanism.The texts on Pre-history refer to a number of lithic techniques, such as anvil or block-on-block technique, free hand-held technique, Clactonian technique, Levallosian technique,and Mousterian technique.The last three being named after the European sites where similar type of tools were first found.However, broadly speaking, there are basically three tool making techniques which can be described as based on percussion or direct percussion, indirect percussion and pressure application. Each of these refers to a varying degree of force applied on the core to make a tool of a desired shape.

In direct percussion technique, a stone/pebble was hit perpendicularly on the edge of another stone to produce a big and massive flake with wide angles or zig-zag edges. Gradually, in the course of time, the early man learnt to control his strokes and, directing his

64 blows at a specific angle near the edge of a stone, he was able to produce flakes with sharper and better cutting edge.What is important is that by now the early man was able to understand the difference between the core and flake tools.Flakes were those pieces which were removed from a large block either by hard hammer (stone) or soft hammer (the one made of bone, antler or hard wood), while core tools were those from which flakes were removed.Man also realized that flakes could be further retouched to acquire a shape or an edge for a specific job. Thus, while earlier tools were all-purpose implements, the later ones became job or task specific.

In indirect percussion technique, the pressure on the core is put not directly but indirectly through an object of either stone or bone or hard wood to take out the flakes of desired shape or size.The pressure technique, on the other hand, refers to the method in which flakes are removed not by hitting, directly or indirectly, but by putting pressure at one specified point to make flakes jump out of the core.The flakes thus produced could be retouched further to obtain a desired shape such as that of scrapers, borers or awls.This technique was more suitable for use on softer and fine-grained stones like agate, chert, etc., which came to be used as a raw material in the Middle and Upper phases of the Palaeolithic period.There are certain sites in Hunsgi Valley (Karnataka) and Belan Valley (U.P.) which have been characterized as “factory sites”, i.e. the sites where tools were made of local raw material and sent to other places.It may suggest the beginning of some sort of barter exchange among the Pre-historic societies.

Many of the lithic techniques followed by the Prehistoric man in India are named after the French or other European sites, for example, Acheulian after St. Acheul and Levallosian after Levallois, both in France

65 where particular types of tools were discovered first. These terms, it may be noted, just indicate similarity in tool-types and do not imply any cultural connection or diffusion from these areas.But it is certainly amazing than Indian tool-types are so similar to those from Africa and Europe that one really wonders how such uniformity could be achieved in such distant time and space. Whether it should be attributed to the migration of idea or of the people from outside or to the indigenous and independent process, it can’t be said definitely, but the possibility of indigenous growth of Indian tool-types is far greater.

The Early Palaeolithic period was marked by two types of tool cultures and these are known as theSoan or Sohan culture, named after River Soan, a tributary of the Indus in Potwar Plateau of northern Pakistan, and the Acheulian culture, named after the site of St. Acheul (France). The Soan culture was represented by pebble-based tools called chopper- chopping tools and formed the chief lithic tradition in thesub-Himalayan region, i.e. north and north-western India. The Acheulian culture, on the other hand was characterized by the tools called hand-axes and cleavers. Once known as the “Madrasian” Culture, as hand-axes were first discovered near erstwhile Madras in 1863, it was a popular tool-making tradition in peninsular India. Earlier these two traditions were believed to be distinct but as some hand-axes have been found in northern region as well, it has been argued by Mohapatra that these two were part of the same cultural tradition and whatever difference we notice in their form is on account of difference in ecological setting and the availability of raw material.

As far as chopper and chopping tools are concerned, the main distinction between the two types is that choppers are worked on one side and are thus “unifacial”, while the chopping-tools are worked on

66 both sides and are “bifacial”, though both seemed to have served the same purpose of either chopping a tree or a piece of flesh from an animal body.These tools were acquired by direct percussion or straight hitting. In the next stage we notice another tool-type called hand-axe, an axe used by hand rather than with a handle. It occupies the most significant position in the Early Palaeolithic period.It is basically a core-tool and was produced by knocking off flake systematically from several directions by the use of either hard or soft hammer. It is a heart or pear shaped piece with a thick blunt butt or holding end, and a tapering working end to form a point.There are many types of hand-axes, identified according to their shapes and fabrication techniques, but the most important one is known as Acheulian.It is shorter, neater and has a strikingly symmetrical shape than other types known as Clactonian or Abbevillian (named after European sites).Another important tool which occurs regularly in the Early Palaeolithic context is called cleaver. It is a flat tool made from a big rectangular flake and has a broad axe like cutting edge. Sometimes it has a U-shape to the entire cutting edge of the tool.

The choice of raw material used for tool-making varied from region to region and depended upon its availability.Thus, in the Early Palaeolithic period whereas quartzite, which is widely available in different hill ranges in India, was used over much of the country, in Maharashtra basalt and in Hunsgi region of Karnataka limestone were preferred.But interestingly, the tools, though made of different materials, present a picture of remarkable similarity in form and techniques.The Middle Palaeolithic period was marked by further advance in tool-making technology.It was characterized by the use of tools made on medium-sized flakes.These tools were thinner and smaller than those of Early Palaeolithic period and were largely made on fine grained material like agate, jasper ad

67 chert.The chopper-chopping tools become extinct, and hand-axes and cleavers are rare.

The assemblages now comprise a variety of scrapers, borers and points.A scraper was a tool which was manipulated by the force of fingers rather than that of palm as in the case of hand-axe.The predominant technique followed in the Middle Palaeolithic period is known as Levallosian, named after a French site. In this technique, the core was first dressed or trimmed to obtain a flat surface or a “tortoise” shape, and flakes of desired size were produced after hitting at a specific point preferably by a soft-hammer made of bone or hard wood. In this way, symmetrical and thinner flakes were obtained.This process indicates greater insight and fore-thought on the part of early humans. These flake-based tools were first identified in 1956 by H.D. Sankalia at Nevasa in Maharashtra, and he provisionally named them as “Nevasa Culture”, but subsequently excavations at other places revealed that these tools were not a local phenomenon but formed a general feature of the Middle Palaeolithic Cultures spread over different regions in India.

The Upper Palaeolithic period notices further reduction in size and weight of the tools.This phase is dominated by tool types described as flakes and burins. Burin is a chisel like tool made on a blade-like flake. It has a sharp and straight cutting edge of common screw driver and could be used for making grooves in a wooden or bone handle to fix the blades.The elongated flakes with deliberately worked sharp edge have been called as knife or knife-blades.The technique used in the Upper Palaeolithic period was that of pressure flaking, a technique in which pressure was applied by chisel-like stone so that parallel sided blades with regular width and thickness would jump off the core material. This technique not only yielded smaller tools with better cutting edges but

68 also led to less wastage of precious raw material.The blades or flakes thus made could be further retouched or trimmed to form an arrow or a harpoon.The main advantage of the Upper Palaeolithic tools, according to Allchin, was that being lighter they could be carried over a long distance, if necessary, far from their sources of supply or “factory sites”. The use of bone tools formed an important feature of the Upper Palaeolithic age in Europe, but in India these tools in the shape of scrapers, chisels, etc., have been reported only from the cave called Muchchatta Chintamani Gavi at Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.Therefore, as Chakrabarti points out, it is not known whether bone tools formed a component of Upper Palaeolithic man’s tool-kit at other places in India too or their use was limited to this part of Andhra alone. A significant aspect of the Upper Palaeolithic technology was the choice and selection of raw material. The use of soft and fine grained stones had already begun but it became so important in this period that, with rare exceptions, this was the only material which was being utilized whether available in the nearby areas or not. This is evident from sites in the Belan Valley which reveal that the stone was brought from mid-Soon Valley at some distance. It clearly indicates the beginning of some sort of exchange system in the Prehistoric times.

Palaeolithic Sites: Spread and Distribution.

The explorations and excavations over the last few decades have brought to light a large number of Palaeolithic sites.These are spread almost all over the Indian subcontinent, from the foot-hills of the Himalayas in the north to Tamil Nadu in the south, and from Peshawar and Sind in the west to Meghalaya (Garo Hills) and Bengal in the east. The only areas which are devoid of Palaeolithic remains are the alluvial plains of the Ganges and the Indus and the Western Ghats. It is believed

69 that the non-availability of stone as a raw material for tools in these regions was probably the main factor which restrained the early man to settle here.

In the north, Riwat in the valley of River Soan in the Potwar Plateau has reported the earliest pebble tools dating back to 2 million years. Pebble tools belonging to later dates are found from various other regions such as Jhelum basin (Dina and Jalalpur), the river terraces of Beas and Banganga (H.P) and Ladakh and Pahalgaon in Kashmir Valley.In Sind, Sukkur-Rohri hills have reported Acheulian tools, while Sanghao Cave near Peshawar has yielded evidence of Middle and Upper Palaeolithic occupation.In Rajasthan, the evidence of Palaeolithic Cultures comes from both Marwar and Mewar – one to the west of the Aravallis and the other to its east.An important place in this state is Didwana (District. Nagaur) where a nearby site of Singhi Talav contains successive layers of Lower to Upper Palaeolithic material.In Western India, the tools made on agate and jasper have been reported from various sites in South Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch.

In Maharashtra, the most important sites are those of Nevasa, on a stream called Pravara (a tributary of Godavari) and Patne (Distt. Jalagaon) in the Tapti river system.Patne reveals an evolution of stone culture from the Middle Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic period.Among Upper Palaeolithic remains found here is a disc-bead made of a fragment of an ostrich egg-shell.In Madhya Pradesh, the rock shelters at Bhimbelka (near Bhopal) and Adamgarh (District. Hoshangabad) have yielded evidence of Pre-historic occupation from Early Palaeolithic to the Mesolithic period.These rock shelters also contain a good number of rock-paintings, generally considered to be of the Mesolithic period, though some of them might belong to the Upper Palaeolithic phase.The

70 site of Baghor in Sidhi District has also reported Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic tools.

In U.P., Palaeolithic remains have been discovered from various places but most prominently from the Belan Valley, the region broadly from Allahabad to Varanasi. It has revealed a complete sequence of the Stone Age Cultures from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Neolithic, extending even to the later periods.The site of Chopani Mando, 77 km from Allahabad, too has reported artifacts of the period from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. Towards the east, Assam and theneighbouring areas including Meghalaya (Garo Hills) contain some Prehistoric artifacts but, as Chakrabarti argues, “more positive reports” are needed before they are included in the Palaeolithic distribution map of the subcontinent. In the region of Bengal, Palaeolithic tools occur in Birbhum, Burdwan, Purulia and Midnapore regions.Orissa is also rich in Palaeolithic material and it is mainly recovered from the districts of Mayurbhanj (where Kuliana is an important site), Bolangi, Sundargarh, and Sambalpur. In Jharkhand, the districts of Singhbhum and Hazaribagh have yielded Palaeolithic artifacts.An important site in Bihar is Paisara (District. Munger) where Acheulian working floors of a factory site containing finished and semi- finished tools have been recovered.

In penisular India, Andhra Pradesh is rich in Palaeolithic material, and it is reported mainly from the districts of Kurnool, Chittoor and Nalagonda.In Kurnool region, an important habitation site is the Muchchatha Chintamani Gavi cave which has revealed not only the earliest bone tools but also the earliest trace of hearth-fire in India.In Karnataka, the Malaprabha – Ghataprabha region, a tributary system of the river Krishna, contains a number of Palaeolithic sites such as Hunsgi (District.Gulbarga) and Kovalli and Anangwadi (both in District.

Bijapur).The site of Kovalli is considered to have been an open air “factory-site”.In north Tamil Nadu, Attirampakkam (District. Chingleput) is one of the key sites of the south Indian or the “Madrasian” Lower Palaeolithic industry.The wide spread of Palaeolithic settlements clearly indicates that early man in India had adapted himself to a variety of eco- zones and that the Palaeolithic culture in India was not an isolated or a local phenomenon.

Pattern of Settlement and Subsistence.

The concept of settlement pattern was first used in archaeology by the American scholar G.R. Willey in his study on Pre-historic settlements in Perk, South America. It takes into consideration not only the spatial distribution of sites but also focuses on the factors behind the location of sites and the efforts made by man to exploit the immediate neighbourhood for food resources and raw material. An analysis of the Palaeolithic sites in India indicates that human ancestors generally lived in open-air sites or in rock or cave shelters, wherever possible.The latter are few in number and are mostly located in Madhya Pradesh (Bhimbetka and Adamgarh area).The sites were mostly close to the higher river banks or the hill terraces and their location was governed by the con of easy availability of perennial water, enough plant and animal food and the raw material for making tools.

These settlements were basically temporary camping sites or seasonal camps where hunter-gatherers returned after moving out for food for a short while. The rock shelters at Bhimbetka and other places, according to V.N. Misra, appear to have been occupied only during monsoons and the winter seasons, and in summer months human groups preferred to camp in the open. It is pointed out that these people lived in a group of

20 or 25 (called band) and their movement was determined by the seasonal availability of food resources not far away from their base near a hill or the water source.Vita-Finzi and Higgs in their studies on the Prehistoric economy of the Palestine region propounded the concept of “Site Catchment Analysis” and argued that early humans could not have walked more than 10 km away from their base to exploit food and mineral resources. K. Paddaya confirming this assertion points out that the sites in the Hunsgi region (Karnataka) did have their resources within a radius of 10 km.

There is little evidence available about the dwellings or habitation structures of the early humans in Palaeolithic period.However, the indications of alignment of slab-like pieces or granite blocks at Hunsgi (Karnataka) and of post-holes at Paisara (Munger, Bihar), according to some scholars, suggest the use of some thatched roof-like structures. There is also no direct evidence of their subsistence practices but there is no doubt tat animal food acquired through hunting or scavenging formed the chief item of their diet, though some plant food also must have been a part of it.The craft activity of the Palaeolithic people is demonstrated in the growing skill in making finer and sharper stone tools and in the selection of better and more compatible raw material. Some of the sites such as Hunsgi and Kovali in Karnataka, Paisara in Bihar, and many others in the Belan valley have been termed as “factory sites” as they have yielded not only finished tools but also flakes and unfinished tools. It is possible that these places supplied finished tools to other regions, indicating some inter-regional contact, the exact nature of which cannot be determined.However; similarity in tool-making techniques over a far- flung area in the Indian sub-continent may suggest a fair amount of socio-economic communicability among different regions.

As regard the religious beliefs and practices of the Palaeolithic people, some efforts have been made to draw conjectural inferences on the basis of limited data.For example, in the Upper Palaeolithic layer at Baghor (M. P), there has been found a rubble-built platform with a triangular piece of natural stone in the centre.Some scholars, on the basis of its similarity with the present day local shrines in the region, identify it with a place where mother-goddess was worshipped.This contention, however, is not free from doubt.Similarly, a bone object belonging to the Upper Palaeolithic phase from Lohanda Nala (Allahabad) in the Belan Velley has been identified by G.R. Sharma as a figurine of a mother goddess, but Wakankar and Bednarik prefer to describe it as a harpoon.As for their artistic activity, an important evidence of it comes from an engraved ostrich egg-shell fragment with criss-cross designs within horizontal lines found at Patna, Maharashtra.Besides, the earliest layers of rock- paintings at Bhimbetka might have belonged to the Upper Palaeolithic Age.

In short, in the Palaeolithic period, which forms the longest phase of human history, man lived by hunting animals and gathering wild fruits. He inhabitated the area close to river banks and hilly terraces where there were enough food and mineral resources for his requirements. His survival depended upon his efficiency to make stone tools which, with experience, became sharper and handier. The tool-making required a great deal of knowledge and expertise not only in selecting a suitable raw material but also in technique to turn it into a desired shape.The gradual refinement in tool-types represented the cultural growth of Palaeolithic man and set the stage for further progress in the next phase called the Mesolithic phase.

MESOLITHIC AGE: HUNTERS AND HERDERS

The Mesolithic or the Middle Stone Age Cultures represent a stage of transition from the preceding hunting and food gathering stage of the Palaeolithic period to that of farming and herding in the succeeding Neolithic period.The earliest evidence of thepresence of Mesolithic man in India was noted as early as 1867-68 by A.C.L.Carlyle who had discovered a large number of microliths in the caves and rock shelters in the Kaimur range (Mirzapur District of U.P).But there had been no significant progress in our knowledge of Mesolithic period until H.D. Sankalia undertook excavations in 1950s at Langhnaj and other places in Gujarat. Sometimes Mesolithic period is treated as a later part of the Palaeolithic Age (Epipalaeolithic) but in Indian context the term Mesolithic has come to be accepted as a separate phase of the Pre-historic culture.It was marked by a significant improvement in tool technology and life pattern though some of the earlier traditions continued to exist.

Features of Mesolithic Culture.

The Mesolithic period coincides with the beginning of the Holocene age, around 10,000 Before Present or 8,000 B.C.This age witnessed a change in climate from cold and arid to warm and wet on account of the gradual recession of the glaciers.This change led to the melting of snow and the formation of rivers resulting in temple growth of forests and vegetation.Though our knowledge on palaeoclimatic variation in India is still limited, the study of pollens and sediments by Gurdip Singh and his associates in Rajasthan and the geological studies by Williams and Clark in eastern M.P indicate that there was a marked increase in rainfall in these regions at the beginning of the Holocene age. The change in climate naturally affected both flora and fauna.The giant animals that roamed

75 the surface of earth in the “Ice-age” gradually vanished and these were replaced with swifter and smaller animals such as various species of deer, cattle, sheep, goat, etc. The fish also became more abundant.The new environment thus created conditions for the availability of new resources, and in order to exploit them more effectively, it became essential for the Mesolithic man to make necessary modifications in his tool-types.The characteristic tool of the Mesolithic period was “microlith”, a small-sized stone tool of different shapes which could be hafted on a wooden or a bone handle to make a “composite tool” or a weapon such as arrow, spear, sickle or saw.These tools could be employed more profitably for hunting as well as for collecting vegetal food.

An important feature of the Mesolithic period was the growth in population and the change in demographic profile.It, according to V.N. Misra is evident from the fact that sites of this period are much larger in number than those of the preceding Palaeolithic stage.At Bhimbetka, for example, while the evidence of Palaeolithic occupation has been found in only a few shelters, that of the Mesolithic period is found in almost every shelter.Further, it is during this period that the humans extended their habitat into the alluvial plains of the Ganga in the south-central U.P.Interestingly, two of the sites, viz., Chopani Mando and Sarai Nahar Rai (Allahabad-Pratapgarh area) in this region are situated as far as eighty km from the nearest source of basic raw material of stone.It has led V.N. Misra to argue that it was the growth in population which must have forced these human groups to settle in far off areas where they had to import stone for their requirements. U.C. Chattopadyaya is of the opinion that these people of the Gangetic valley might have been producing, on account of better environment, meat in excess of their

76 requirement and were thus in a position to exchange it with the raw material for their stone tools from the neighbouring regions.

It is suggested that greater availability of food and better health of the people were probably the main factors which led to decrease in mortality rate and the increase in population. While better rainfall in Holocene age contributed to greater plant growth as well as increase in fish and animal population, the use of microliths as arrows or spear-heads greatly improved the hunting efficiency of the Mesolithic man. The evidence of querns and mullers which appear for the first time in this period further confirms that plant food was supplementing the animal diet.Thus, assured of better food supply, the Mesolithic man led a healthier and a longer life.The Mesolithic period is also significant because the evidence of burials or the ritual of intentional disposal of the dead appears for the first time during this period.The grave goods such as bone beads, rings, etc., put along with the dead in some of the graves, are greatly helpful in giving us an insight into the beliefs, rituals and the craft activities of the Mesolithic man.Finally, the earliest rock paintings in India belong primarily to this period.They throw valuable light not only on the aesthetic sense and artistic taste of the Mesolithic people but also enable us to reconstruct their socio-economic behaviour.Chronologically, Indian Mesolithic cultures are normally placed between 8,000 BC to 5,000-4,000 BC. But on the basis of a copper knife reported from

Langhnaj (Gujarat) and the C14 dates received from various other sites, it is assigned to a broad time-span ranging from 8,000 BC – 2,000 BC, surviving well into the Neolithic and Chalcolithic phases.

Regional Distribution.

In the last 50 decades, a large number of Mesolithic sites have been discovered and excavated.They are located all over the country, except in the regions of north-east India and the delta of Bengal in the east, the Punjab plains and the Gangetic plain beyond Allahabad in the north, and Kerala in the south. It is believed that the absence of microlithic sites in these areas was due either to the lack of stone for making tools or to the heavy rainfall and dense vegetation. However, their density is far greater in some areas like Marwar and Mewar in Rajasthan, north Gujarat and the alluvial plain of the Ganga in south-central U.P., i.e. Allahabad – Mirzapur area.Among the important microlithic sites reference may be made to Bagor (25 km west of District. Bhilwara) and Tilwara (District. Barmer, on the left bank of the river Luni) in Rajasthan; Langhnaj (District. Mehsana) in Gujarat; Bhimbetka (45 km sough of Bhopal), Adamgarh (District.Hoshangabad) and Baghor (District. Sidhi) in M.P; Chopani Mando (77 km south-east of Allahabad in the Belan Valley), Sarai Nahar Rai (Districtt. Pratapgarh), Mahadaha, Damdama, Lekhania (District. Mirzapur) – all in UP; Birbhanpur (District. Burdwan) in West Bengal; Kuchai (District. Mayurbhanj) in Orissa; Sanaganakallu (Distt. Bellery) in Karnataka; and Tuticorin in south Tamil Nadu.In the last region, the microliths have been reported in temple red sand dunes which are locally known as teris, and thus this industry is known as teri industry.

An overview of the spread of microlithic sites will indicate that the Mesolithic communities were settled in a variety of environments which included sand dunes, rock shelters and also the alluvial plains of the mid-Ganga valley where they had enough water, food resources and raw

78 material for tools.They also extended their habitat into areas previously either totally unoccupied or occupied only sparsely.

Tools and Technologies.

The chief feature of the Mesolithic period was the use of a large number of microliths or blades and bladelets, produced from a well- prepared cylindrical or rectangular core by pressure flaking with the help of a bone or a wooden hammer.It represents a technological improvement on the earlier tool-making techniques which were based on direct or indirect hitting or flaking.There was also a change in the use of raw material in most areas. Except in parts of south India where fine type of quartzite was available, in all other areas people switched over to chert, chalcedony, agate, jasper and other fine-grained stones which occur in the form of small nodules.The pressure technique economized the precious raw material and produced more blades in lesser time.The blades thus produced were further retouched or trimmed on one or more edges to produce a variety of “geometric” type microliths in the shape of triangles, lunates or crescents, trapezes, etc. These tools, the size of which varied from less than one centimetre to five centimetres could be hafted on bone or wooden handles with natural gum to produce a “composite tool” or a weapon such as arrow or spear.Many contemporary paintings at Bhimbetka and other places reveal the use of such arrowheads and spearheads.The microliths could also be arranged in a linear series to provide a serrated edge to make a composite tool to serve as a saw or a sickle.The main advantage of these ‘composite tools’ was that being made of a number of microliths, if one of the teeth broke down, it could easily be replaced without having to discard the whole tool as was the case with a single-piece tool of earlier times.

Besides microliths, small non-geometric tools also formed a part of the Mesolithic tool-kit.These were usually made on flakes by secondary trimming along the margin.This group of tools included various types of scrapers, burins, etc.The site of Mohrana Pahar in Mirzapur (U.P.) reveals a gradual process of evolution of lithic tools from non-geometric to geometric ones. Large flake-tools like chopper and chopping tools are by and large absent, though some examples of these could be found in Tamil Nadu region.Apart from flake stone tools, the Mesolithic people also used other tools which included hammer stone, perforated discs or ring stones, querns and rubbers.The hammer-stone was used, besides other things, for splitting animal bones; the function of the ring stone appears to have been to serve either as a mace-head or a weight for a digging stick with the help a wooden handle. Querns and rubbers must have been used for processing both plant and animal food. It may be mentioned that some of the sites such as Langhnaj and Bagor have also reported hand-made pottery.The sherds are, however, very small and generally shapeless, and there is no evidence that these vessels were used for cooking.There is also evidence of the use of tools and ornaments made of bone and antler by the Mesolithic people.These include arrowheads, blades, and knives and also rings which have been found worn as earrings and necklaces in temple burials. Such bone tools have been reported from Sarai Nahar Rai and Mahadaha in the Gangetic Valley. (Antler is a solid bony horn shed by a male deer once a year. It grows back again next year).

Pattern of Material Culture and Subsistence.

Our knowledge on the dwellings and material culture of the Mesolithic people is quite limited. However, the excavations at certain sites such as Bagor, Tilwara, and Sarai Nahar Rai have revealed that they lived in

80 semi-permanent hut-like structures having wattle and daub walls (walls made of tree twigs and branches plastered with mud) and paved floors. The post-holes found on the periphery of hutments suggest the presence of a roof-like structure for protection. In central India, these people preferred to stay in readily available rock shelters. The animal bones and stone tools found at various sites form the chief evidence of the subsistence pattern of the Mesolithic people.This direct evidence is supplemented by the depiction of scenes of hunting, fishing, trapping of mice and plant food collection in the contemporary rock paintings.The animal species identified on the basis of bones include both domesticated and non-domesticated varieties such as wild bear, cattle, goat, sheep, wolf, and rhino. At Bagor, a paved floor littered with bones has been identified by V.N. Misra as a place for butchering animals or a slaughter house.The bones found in broken, split open and charred conditions indicate that the meat was cooked or roasted on open fire. At Bagor and Adamgarh there is evidence of domestication of cattle, sheep and goat. Allchin however doubts the domestication of cattle but agrees that sheep/goat were “certainly domesticated” in this period.Anyway, the Mesolithic period presents the earliest evidence of the domestication of animals in India, and suggests that the early humans had now started combining hunting with stock-breeding.

The earliest evidence of human burials in India also comes from the Mesolithic period, and these are reported from various sites such as Langhnaj, Bagor and Sarai Nahar Rai.The deads were buried inside the habitational area, and the most common form of burial was the extended burial, a body lying on the back with face upward.There are, how, some variations also.Sometimes, the dead were buried in a flexed position with arms and legs folded as if in a sleeping position. There is also evidence of

81 secondary or fractional burials, having only a few bones. It is, however, not known whether different types of burials represent different ethnic groups or communities living together. Generally, one grave contained a single individual, but sometimes two, three and even more bodies were placed in one and the same grave. At Sarai Nahar Rai, a grave contains four individuals in two pairs of a male and a female each, the male being placed on the right of the female. It, according to R.K. Varma, makes one ponder whether the concept of a family in the form of a wife-husband unit had already evolved during the Mesolithic period.Anyhow, the meticulous way in which the burials were made and the way in which the dead bodies and grave goods were placed clearly indicate the performance of some ritual at the time of death and the emergence of belief in life after death.

The grave goods obtained from the graves give us an important insight into the material culture of the Mesolithic people.These goods include microliths and bone ornaments. At Mahadaha, one skeleton is wearing an earring along with a necklace of beads made of antler bone. Mahadaha has in fact been identified as a place where bone tools and ornaments were manufactured. Beads of semi-precious stones such as jasper and agate have been reported from Bagor, Bhimbetka and Adamgarh. It appears that the ornaments were probably used by the people of higher status and may indicate the beginning of some sort of social division or stratification in the Mesolithic period, temple nature and characteristics of which are not clear. This period, anyway, reveals the earliest use of ornaments and sheds enough light on the craft activity and aesthetic sensibility of the Mesolithic people.

In short, the Mesolithic phase of Pre-history was characterized by the introduction of new tool technology in the form of microliths and

‘composite tools’ as well as by some progress towards the domestication of animals and plant collection.The evidence from Langhnaj (Gujarat), Bagor (Rajasthan) and Adamgarh (M.P) which have reported the bones of sheep and cattle indicates that initial microlithic phase of hunting economy was being gradually replaced by cattle-herding.The beads of shell in the skeletal remains from Langhnaj, which must have been imported from distant sea, and the microlithic tools from Sarai Nahar Rai (U.P.), a site which is away from the source of raw material, suggest that some sort of exchange system or trade mechanism had grown among the Mesolithic societies.The existence of hut-like structures and the food- processing artifacts such as querns and mullers indicate the beginning of a quasi-sedentary or semi-settled life.Though it is not possible at the present stage to define how settled was their life, it may be surmised that wherever food and water was available all the year round, the Mesolithic people might have lived permanently.Thus, the life pattern in the Mesolithic period suggests that man was already on the threshold of the Neolithic phase – a phase dominated by the beginning of farming activities, cattle-herding and settled life.

ROCK ART

The Rock art represents the earliest evidence of aesthetic taste and expression of man in India and constitutes a valuable source of visual information on the lives, beliefs and preoccupations of the pre-historic hunting and gathering communities.It includes paintings as well as engravings made on the rock surface.The rock paintings in India were first discovered by A. Carlleyle on the walls and ceilings of rock shelters in District.Mirzapur (U.P.) in 1867-68. Since then more than one hundred and fifty rock art sites have come to light.These are spread all over the Indian subcontinent from the Himalayas in the north to Kerala

83 in the south.Their major concentration, however, is in M.P and central U.P.(south Mirzapur region).Bhimbetka with around six hundred painted rocks within an area of ten sq.km is the largest centre of rock paintings in the country. As for the line drawings, the evidence has come from the regions which include Chilas in Gilgit-Karakorum area, Leh in Ladakh, Burzahom in Kashmir, and Koppugallu and Sanaganakallu in Karnataka. It may be pointed out that Rock art sites, though these are distributed all over the country and exhibit regional variations, reflect broad uniformity in terms of subject matter, technique, style and the pigments used.

Almost three-fourths of the total rock art sites in India are situated in the sand-stone hills of the Vindhyas in central India.The reason for this is that sand-stone being soft is susceptible to erosion as a natural process under the effect of weather.Therefore, sometimes massive rock pieces when thus eroded slip and come to rest against other rocks, thereby forming a natural rock shelter. Besides, this area contains thick forests with plentiful animals and enough supply of water from nearby springs.It thus provided the early man with an ideal place for inhabitation.The rock art in India covers a fairly long period and depicts different themes and styles.Efforts have been made to fix its chronology on the basis of subject matter, style and the nature of stone tools discovered at the site.Sometimes, the later artists have drawn their own paintings without caring to erase the earlier ones.These superimpositions also have been helpful in establishing the relative chronology of the paintings.V.S.Wakankar believes that the paintings at Bhimbetka executed in green pigment appear to have been the earliest and may be dated to the Upper Palaeolithic period.But, other scholars such as Mathpal, Allchin and Chakrabarti argue that changing themes and styles

84 rather than pigments of the paintings may be a better method of fixing the chronology, and suggest that the paintings which depict only animals or men in hunting and gathering activities may be treated as the earliest and should be assigned to the Mesolithic period going back to 8,000B.C. However, as these paintings come to us in a mature and developed form, an older tradition of art going back in time to Upper Palaeolithic period cannot be ruled out.

On the basis of style and subject matter, Indian rock art has been divided broadly into three phases:(i) Pre-historic, Upper Palaeolithic/Mesolithic phase, dominated by wild animals and hunting gathering scenes; (ii) transitional, Neolithic-Chalcolithic phase, depicting domesticated animals and agriculture related activities; and (iii) historical, going up to the Gupta period, portraying warriors carrying swords and spears seated on horses and elephants. As far as the Pre- historic paintings are concerned, the cave artists used the colours prepared out of the locally available minerals.The most common colour is red derived from ochre. It is found in various shades such as vermilion, orange and light red. The second common colour is white, derived from lime. Green and yellow colours have also been used but rarely.

It appears that mineral nodules were diluted with water and then mixed with animal fat and plant-juice or glue to make pigments. Paintings are basically monochromic and are drawn on natural rock surface without any preparation of background such as smoothening or plastering. The brushes made of twig or animal hair were used.The subject matter of the Pre-historic art consists primarily of wild animals and hunting scenes.A great variety of animals are depicted, and these include boar, deer, nilgai, wild buffalo, rhino,and tiger. At some sites such as Lakhajuar near Bhimbetka, fish is a common theme.The

85 representation of birds and plants is insignificant suggesting absence of agricultural activities.The animals are portrayed in different postures and moods such as standing, moving, running and grazing.They are realistically drawn and their size varies from a few centimeters to life size.The outlines of their bodies are often filled and decorated with various geometric patterns such as straight or wavy lines or criss-cross patterns.

It is pointed out that in the earliest paintings animals were shown alone but gradually human figures came to be associated with them. The humans are mostly drawn in a conventional manner, and are stick- shaped and disproportionately long. The hunting scenes which are quite common usually depict an individual hunter hunting one or more animals or a group of hunters hunting a large herd. The men are shown carrying sticks, spears, bows and arrows. In several cases, the arrows and spears are barbed or tipped with what appears to be microlithic chips.The positioning of hunters around the animal indicates that hunting was done in a planned manner. In one scene from Bhimbetka, several animals are shown falling down a steep cliff suggesting they were chased down to meet their end. There are also scenes of hunting big animals such as elephants and rhinos. In one hunting scene, a hunter is tossed up in the air by the horn of the rhino indicating the danger which such activities posed.The scenes portraying the use of stick to draw the rats out of the hole as well as of fishing are also recorded.Other subsistence activities depicted are the collection of honey and fruits by men and women climbing the tree.

Family groups and their related activities too form a theme of some of the rock paintings.At Bhimbetka, there is a pathetic scene of a child burial mourned by males and females.There is also a picture which

86 depicts a man, a woman and a child in a house eating together. It may suggest the beginning of a family group, the exact nature of which one cannot be ascertained.There are scenes of women either in higher stage of pregnancy or nursing children or indulging in sexual activity.At Kupgallu (Karnataka) there is a scene showing abduction of females by excited males.It can’t be ascertained whether this depiction refers to some war or a tribal ritual connected with marriage system.It may be pointed out that the Pre-historic paintings normally project males as more conquering and domineering than women. Women are no doubt depicted in hunting scenes but they are never shown as part of the active hunting group, and stand aloof with digging sticks.They are normally portrayed as involved in less hazardous activities such as vegetable and food gathering or fish and rationalist catching or working on querns and rubber stones.Thus, as Neumayer observes, the Indian Pre-historic rock paintings clearly depict a sex-defined or “sex-based division of labour”.

Some of the rock paintings seem to refer to the religious beliefs and superstitions of the Pre-historic man.However, it is difficult to assess their actual significance.There are, for example, paintings in which hunters are shown wearing masks. This depiction may be associated with some ritual or occult practice, but its real context cannot be explained.Similarly, the group-dancing scenes have been associated with some ritual to appease an unknown power or with the celebration of some social function or with happiness on killing a big game. A painting from Bhimbetka depicts an animal with the combined features of a bull and a boar angrily chasing a human figure and a large crab.As this scene is repeated in two other rock-shelters, it is believed to refer to some tribal mythology.

What was the main motive or purpose behind the rock art of Prehistoric man, we do not know but it is certain that it was not inspired just by the desire to decorate rock shelters and did carry some silent message.While some scholars believe that these paintings may have been the medium to express and explain the thoughts and planning, perhaps on hunting tactics, before the advent of the language, many others relate them with Pre-historic man’s magico-ritual urge and suggest that painted rock shelters might have been the places for performing sacred rituals.The latter presumption is based on the fact that the most profusely painted shelters have little or no indication of human occupation as they contain no evidence of smoke or other organic material, whereas shelters indicating long occupation are poor in paintings.The ritual function of the painted shelters is also attested from the ethnological studies on the life of the Australian aborigines. In short, the Pre-historic art belonging to the Mesolithic period adds a great deal to our knowledge on the hunting and gathering techniques of the early cave-dwellers.The paintings depicting masked hunters, pregnant women, conjugal life, mourning and dancing scenes give us an insight into their socio-religious behaviour not known from other archaeological data.

NEOLITHIC AGE: FOOD PRODUCERS

The Neolithic Cultures constitute the concluding phase of the Stone Age. These were marked by the use of ground and polished tools and the pottery – the features which set them apart from the preceding Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Cultures.The term “Neolithic” was first used by the Danish pre-historian, Thomsen, in the 19th century to denote the stage of technological progress achieved by early man. But it was Gordon Childe who highlighted the true socio-economic significance of these cultures by associating them with the emergence of the practice of plant

88 cultivation and animal domestication leading to the growth of farming communities and a settled village life.He used the term “Neolithic Revolution” to emphasize this progress. He also argued that farming was first invented in a single “nuclear region” in Mesopotamia or Near- East from where it diffused and spread to India and other parts of the world.

The hypothesis of Gordon Childe, however, is not substantiated by modern research.The pre-historians though by and large agree that new subsistence economy based on farming and stock-raising was a turning point in the development of human civilization, they disapprove the use of the term ‘Revolution’.According to them, the term ‘Revolution’ conveys the idea of some sudden or abrupt change whereas the transition to Neolithic life was a part of a long drawn process, the beginnings of which could be noticed in the earlier Palaeolithic and the Mesolithic phases. Childe had initially put forward his idea in the book, ‘New Light on Most Ancient’, but later in ‘The Pre-history of European Society’, while he retained the term “Neolithic Revolution”, he conceded that it did not imply a single catastrophic change and that this change was “the culmination of a gradual progress, begun centuries earlier”. It is now generally agreed that progress in Neolithic period may be treated more as a “transformation” or “evolution” rather than a “revolution”. Childe had also erred when he argued for the diffusion of agricultural activities from Middle-East to other parts of the world. Modern researches indicate that wherever geographical factors permitted, the Neolithic people took up farming activities in a normal way and, therefore, there could be not one but several regions in the world where farming communities might have developed independently.In fact, the shift from earlier hunting and gathering society to food-producing farming communities may be viewed

89 in the context of several factors including the change in climate which became more conducive to plant growth with the onset of the Holocene Age, technological experience of the earlier societies and the increase in population.

Features of Neolithic Culture.

Technologically speaking, the Neolithic period was characterized by the ground and polished tools having smooth and round surface for better cutting edge.These tools mark an improvement on earlier ones which once damaged had to be discarded, but now after grinding them they could once more be rendered serviceable. Thus, with the growth of grinding technique, there was an economy of effort as well as of the raw material.The chief tool-type of this age is designated by the common term ‘Celt’ which is basically an axe or adze. It might have been used to clear the area of wild vegetation and make it fit for cultivation.

Pottery, though initially rough and hand-made, also appears for the first time in this age.It was used not only for cooking but also for storing the food-grains.The growing reliance on cereals is reflected in the discovery of a large number of stone querns, pestles and ring-stones (the flat stone slabs with a hole in the centre to fix a rod or a shaft) which could be used for crushing or pounding an agricultural produce. As the cultivation of cereals and the domestication of animals provided a greater certainty of food supply, the growth of larger communities with settled life became possible. The man started living in wattle-and-daub houses, the houses made of twigs and sticks plastered with mud.There also developed certain religious beliefs and practices as is evident from the planned burials belonging to the period.The presence of beads and ornaments of sea-shell and lapis lazuli and other semi-precious stones at

90 certain sites, for example at Mehrgarh, suggest that these products or the raw materials for them were brought from their resource areas far away in distance. It indicates the existence of some sort of rudimentary exchange system.In other words, Neolithic period was marked by qualitative changes not only in tool-making techniques but also in the socio-economic spheres of humankind.

Pattern of Chronology and Distribution.

A Neolithic Celt in India was found as early as 1842 by Legislative Mesurie in the Raichur district of Karnataka, and later by John Lubbock in 1867 in the Brahmaputra valley of Upper Assam. Today, as a result of vast explorations and excavations, the evidence of the spread of Neolithic Cultures in India comes from as many as 6 different geographical regions, each with its own distinctive features and chronological time- span.These regions are, (i) North-western, i.e., Baluchistan and its adjoining area in Pakistan (7th to mid 4th millennium B.C), (ii) Northern, i.e., Kashmir Valley (2500 B.C – 1500 B.C), (iii) Central India, i.e., Vindhyan region, south of Allahabad (4000 B.C – 1200 B.C), (iv) mid- Gangetic basin, i.e., eastern U.P. and Bihar (2000 B.C – 1500 B.C), (v) Eastern India, i.e., Bengal, Orissa and Assam, (village) Peninsular or south India, i.e., Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu (2500B.C – 1500 B.C).

An overview of the above time-frame will indicate that the Neolithic phase in India did not develop everywhere at the same time nor did it end simultaneously.In fact, there were many Neolithic cultures which were co-existing with the copper-using urban Harappan Civilization (2600 B.C – 1900 BC).These cultures, besides having different time-frame, exhibit some regional variations too.

For example, in the north-east region, Neolithic tools have been found but there is no evidence of plant cultivation. Similarly, while most of the Neolithic Cultures evolved out of the preceding Mesolithic Cultures, no such evidence is reported from Kashmir Valley. In the matter of food production too it is noticed that while wheat and barley were predominant cereals at Mehrgarh in Baluchistan, it was rice that formed an important crop in the central region around Allahabad. In south India the Neolithic Cultures were characterized by millet and ragi cultivation with “ashmounds” as their chief characteristic features.

The variations in different Neolithic Cultures as classified above suggest that each of them was conditioned by its own geographical setting, and therefore they need to be studied separately.It must be mentioned that with all their diversity in terms of time, space and local features, the net result of the Neolithic Cultures wherever they developed, was broadly the same, i.e., the rise of farming and sedentary village communities.The large spread of the Neolithic Cultures also indicates that farming activity in India was not an isolated feature but was an all-India phenomenon.

NORTH-WEST INDIA.

The earliest evidence of the Neolithic Culture marked by growth of farming and animal husbandry in the Indian subcontinent is obtained from the regions of Baluchistan and the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan.The relevant sites include Mehrgarh, Killi Gul Muhammad, Rana Gundai in Baluchistan; and Gumla, Rehman Dheri, Tarakai Qila and Sarai Khola in NWFP.Mehrgarh is the chief representative site where the excavations carried out by J.F. Jarrige and others in 1970s and 1980s revealed continuity in the growth and consolidation of village life

92 which gradually merged with the urbanised Harappan culture later. Mehrgarh presents a picture of continuous growth dating back from the 7th millennium B.C to the 3rd millennium B.C. A transition from aceramic (pre-pottery) phase to hand-made and wheel-turned pottery is also clearly marked here.Mehrgarh is situated on the banks of the River Bolan in Kachi plains, about 150 km south-east of Quetta in Baluchistan.Kachi plains lie in a semi-arid region where three environmental zones, viz., hills, plains and rivers, come together and make the region quite suitable for the development of farming economy.It is postulated by Jarrige that in the Late Paleistocene period, local hunters and gatherers fed themselves by collecting wild grass and fruits in the foot-hills and by hunting on open slopes or in the plains near watering points, but gradually they took up cereal cultivation as an important means of subsistence.It is now generally believed that the process of farming and animal domestication in the region was a local phenomenon rather than an import from outside.

Chronologically, the Neolithic cultures of north-western region are assigned to a time bracket from the 7th millennium B.C to the mid 4th millennium B.C, and are divided into a number of periods and sub- periods to mark out the change and continuity in the subsistence patterns.Though on account of a number of overlapping dates, the time- frame for each phase is not particularly clear, the sequence of Neolithic culture at Mehrgarh may be divided broadly in three periods, viz., Period I from 7000 – 5500 B.C; Period II, from 5500 B.C – 4500 B.C; Period III, 4500 B.C – 3500 B.C.Among other sites which reveal the evidence of Neolithic Culture are Killi Gul Muhammad, dating from 5500 B.C; Rana Gundai from 4500 B.C; and Damb Saadat from 3000 B.C.

The earliest phase at Mehrgarh, Pd. I (7000 BC – 5500 B.C), was largely aceramic and was dominated by stone and bone tools.The stone tools included polished axes, chisels, querns and also microliths such as lunates and triangles.The bone tools comprised awls (pointed tool for making a hole),and needles.This period has also yielded the evidence of agriculture and domestication of animals. Though hunting continued to be a dominant occupation, the bones of cattle, sheep and goat indicate their domestication.There are also bones of water-buffalo which, according to some scholars, represent the earliest evidence of the domestication of this animal in South Asia. People wlived in mud-brick houses which were small in the beginning but gradually became bigger. Some of the buildings have revealed small cell-like compartments suggesting that these might have been used for the storage of grains. The evidence of agriculture comes from the finds of charred seeds of wheat and barley, the latter being more prominent.The other plant-food which people consumed was the Indian jujube (ber) and dates.The craft activity in this period is reflected in the grave goods which include the microbeads of steatite, lapis lazuli and turquoise and also the rings and bangles of seashell.Since the raw material for these goods is not available in the immediate neighbourhood of Mehrgarh, it is obvious that lapis lazuli came from Afghanistan, turquoise from central Asia or north-east Iran, and seashell from the coastal area about five hundred kilometres away.This is a clear indication that the people of Mehrgarh even in Pd. I were not isolated to the world around and were involved in economic interaction with other contemporary cultures.It also indicates the emergence of craft activity and the gradual diversification of economic base. The use of ornaments by some persons may suggest the beginning of social stratification marked by rich and poor.

Pd. II (5500 BC – 4500 B.C) was more or less the continuation of Pd. I as far as tool-types are concerned, but a special feature of this phase was the introduction of handmade pottery with no floral or faunal motif; the wheel-turned pottery begins to appear later in the phase. The mud-brick structures were now larger and they had facilities for storage of grains. A structure found at the site has been assumed to be a “granary”. This assumption seems tobe valid because besides a large number of seeds of barley and wheat, there have been found two “sickle” like tools, each consisting of three stone blade pieces set obliquely in a wooden handle. This is the earliest evidence of a ‘composite tool’ in India.It might have been used for agricultural activity. Another important discovery is that of a steatite workshop where raw materials for making beads as well as several finished bead pieces have been found. A large number of charred cotton seeds have also been found near this place. This constitutes the earliest evidence of cotton plantation in the world, and it may be fairly assumed that spinning and weaving might have begun in India as far back as the 5th millennium B.C.There also occurs an elephant tusk bearing groove marks.This is again taken as the earliest evidence of ivory-working in the Indian subcontinent.Terracotta human figurines have also been found.Beads of lapis lazuli and turquoise continue to appear in the graves suggesting interaction with distant areas of their origin.The second phase of Mehrgarh has thus characterized by a greater diversification of the economic base.

Pd. III begins with c. 4500 BC, and it witnesses a consolidation of agricultural and cattle-herding activities marked by surplus production. A number of collective graves which appear in this period may indicate an increase in population, probably on account of better and more assured food supply. A study of dental remains made by J.R. Lukacs and

95 his associates suggests that the people in this period suffered from increasing dental problems such as dental caries and tooth-loss which may be on account of greater reliance on carbohydrated-cultivated food. This period is associated with further growth in craft activities.The wheel-turned pottery with paintings depicting human and floral designs makes its appearance in this period.The waste material of carnelian, turquoise, and shell found at the site indicates that crafts associated with these were a local feature. The traces of copper found in crucibles suggest that the people at Mehrgarh were also engaged in copper- smelting. According to D.K. Chakrabarti, this is the earliest evidence of copper smelting in the Indian subcontinent.

In short, Mehrgarh presents a picture of continuous growth of village life and the diversification of socio-economic activities which ultimately merged with the urbanised Harappan Civilization in the region.The trajectory of progress noticed at Mehrgarh continued to grow at a nearby site of Nausharo, 6 km south of Mehrgarh, during the Mature Harappan period.

NORTHERN INDIA.

The Neolithic Cultures in northern India, (Kashmir Valley) are represented by a large number of sites above the flood-plains of River Jhelum, but the most important among them are Burzahom (north-east of Srinagar) and Gufkral (south-east of Srinagar).These are multi- cultural sites which reveal, besides Neolithic phase, the evidence of Megalithic and early Historical periods.The cultural process in the valley is divided broadly into two phases to highlight the change and continuity in its subsistence economy, and these are assigned to a time bracket of 2500 B.C – 2000 B.C and 2000 B.C – 1500 B.C, respectively. At Gufkral,

96 there is an evidence of aceramic phase, i.e., the phase before the introduction of pottery when man was still learning the food vale of plants, and it goes back to 2800 B.C.An important feature of the northern Neolithic is the absence of a preceding microlithic industry.

In the first phase, people lived in underground pits, circular or rectangular, with a wooden roof-cover overhead for protection from cold. It is indicated by the post-holes on the mouth of the pits.In the later period, the underground chambers were abandoned and overground dwelling units of mud or mud-bricks came into use.The life-pattern too showed greater advancement.The people domesticated sheep, goat, cattle and also dogs and pigs.They cultivated barley, lentils, wheat and common peas.As per Allchin’s observation, the meat element in diet was “markedly reduced” in the final phase of the Neolithic period.The Neolithic people used a variety of tools and weapons fashioned on stone and bone. The stone tools included polished axes, points, pestles, querns and also the ‘harvesters’. The ‘harvesters’ are rectangular stone knives with two or more holes on the blunt side.D.P. Agrawal points out that this type of tool is not found anywhere in India, but may be noticed in the Chinese Neolithic sitesThe bone industry at Burzahom is most developed of all the Neolithic Cultures of India and forms its distinctive feature.It comprises arrowheads,harpoons, needles, spear-joints, and daggers.

The pottery is generally handmade, but the wheel-turned pottery appears at a later stage and includes bowls, and high-necked jars.The mat impression on the pottery, particularly on its bottom, indicates the knowledge of weaving. About a thousand beads of carnelian and agate found in a wheel-made post-structuralist suggest a trade contact with the regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, the source areas of these stones.

Similarly, a painted poststructuralist with a horned figure of a “deity” (?) like the one found at Kot Diji (Sind) may indicate cultural contact between these two regions, but the process of contact is not clear. Reference may also be made to a stone slab containing an engraving depicting a hunting scene in which an antler deer is being attacked by two men with spear and bow and arrow from back and front. The slab also contains the figures of two suns and a dog. It is suggested that this engraving may have some ritualistic significance.

The burial practice in the Kshmir Valley furnishes some interesting data.The burials are found in the residential areas or house compounds. Both primary and secondary burials were practised – the former contained the whole skeleton while in the latter only a few bones were buried.Red ochre has been found sprinkled on the human bodies. However, the ritual significance of ochre, if any, cannot be correctly ascertained. An evidence of a human skull with holes has been taken to suggest the prevalence of the ancient surgical practice of trepanning or drilling to draw out excessive fluid. At times, animal bones, generally of dogs are found along with human bones.It indicates the practice of burying the pets along with their masters. Another interesting feature is the ritualistic burial of a group of animals. In one case five dogs are found buried with an antler. Other animals represented in the burials include deer, pig, wolf, humped cattle, goat, and sheep.The horse, however, is missing at all levels.

In short, the Kashmir Valley on account of its special features such as pit dwellings, the use of ‘harvesters’, prolific use of bone tools fashioned out of antlers, the practice of placing the domestic dogs in the graves of their masters, the ritualistic sacrifice of animals, and the use of red ochre on the dead bodies occupies a distinctive place in the Neolithic

Cultures of India.So far there has been no indication that the Neolithic Cultures of Kashmir had anydirect contact with the Harappan Culture which was existing contemporaneously and as it appears, they developed and existed independently.The evidence of horned “figure” on a poststructuralist and the discovery of a large number of beads of non- locally available agate and carnelian may indicate some relationship with other contemporary cultures of the period, but the nature and process of this contact is not clear.It is suggested that as the tradition of pit- dwellings and the practice of burying dogs with their masters are noticed at the Chinese Neolithic sites, Kashmir Neolithic Cultures may have been closer to the Chinese rather than other Neolithic cultures in India. But here again the picture is not clear.

CENTRAL INDIA

In central India, the evidence of the Neolithic settlements has come from various sites in the Vindhayan region of U.P and M.P, i.e., the area bound by Ganges in thenorth and River Son in the south.Among the important sites, mention may be made of Koldihwa and Mahagara in the Belan Valley (District. Allahabad, U.P), Sinduria in Mirzapur Distt., and Kunjun in the Sidhi District. of M.P. The chronology of these cultures is beset with difficulties.While Allchin places them between 4000 B.C – 2500 B.C, Possehl and Rissman assign them to a calibrated time range from 3500 B.C – 1250 B.C. However, there are others who believe that the beginning of Neolithic culture at Koldihwa may be pushed back to 6000 B.C.

The Neolithic people lived in wattle-and-daub hutments. It is indicated by the presence of reed or split bamboo impressions on burnt clay.The post-holes on the periphery of the floor suggest a temporary roof over-

99 head.Since these cultures developed out of the preceding Mesolithic phase, both microlithic and neolithic tools have been recovered.These include blades, flakes, lunates as well as polished and ground axes and celts.These were fashioned on different material such as chalcedony, agate, quartz and basalt. There are also heavy tools such as querns and pestles which are associated with crushing of grains.From Mahadah come some bone implements.This site has also reported a cattle pen. The ceramic used by the people was hand-made and poorly-fired. It is of coarse clay with straw and rice-husk used as tempering material.The principal ware is ‘corded-ware’ or cord-impressed ware of different types including bowls and storage jars.The wares sometimes contain incised designs in the form of criss-cross or zig-zag lines.

The sites of Koldihwa and Mahagara furnish ample evidence of farming and animal husbandry.The bones of cattle recovered from here include those of cattle, deer, goat, and sheep. Bones of turtles and fish have also been recovered.The most important feature of this region, however, is the cultivation of rice. The evidence for it comes from the carbonised seeds as well as from the rice-husk embedded in the pottery. These rice remains are believed to be of cultivated variety. As Chopani- Mando, a nearby site of the late Mesolithic period dated to 6000 has reported a wild variety of rice, its cultivation and domestication during the Neolithic period at Koldihwa, it is argued, may not be treated as a matter of surprise.

The scholars, however, are sharply divided in their opinion on the date and dispersal of rice cultivation in India.The earliest evidence of it tat comes from Koldihwa is dated by G.R. Sharma and others to around 5500 B.C.It tends to bring India at par with China where the evidence of rice cultivation goes back to 6000 B.C and suggests that India may be

100 one of the earliest places where rice cultivation began.Other scholars however express their reservations and feel that the early dates proposed for Koldihwa need to be re-examined.In the opinion of Possehl too, these dates are incorrect. He believes that the earliest evidence of the use of domesticated rice in the subcontinent comes from Pirak in north-west India from 1800 B.C, and argues that rice cultivation in India may have begun in the Mature Harappan period during 2600 B.C – 1900 BC. D.P. Agrawal takes another extreme view and suggests that rice-cultivation in central India may go back to the early Holocene period, i.e., around 8000 B.C.With regard to the dispersal of rice cultivation in India, many scholars, on the basis of some similarity in linguistic terms between the languages of South-East Asia and eastern India, believe that it might have travelled along with the migrants from South China to central India via South-East Asia and Brahmaputra Valley. But there are many other who feel that rice cultivation might have started in central India and other regions in the subcontinent independent of any outside influence, may be on account of the wetter climate in the post-“Ice-age” period. The controversy, however, goes on.

In short, the Neolithic cultures of central India developed out of the preceding Mesolithic Cultures but were distinguished from them by certain important features which included polished tools, domestication of animals, presence of cattle pen, and, most importantly, the cultivation of rice.

MID-GANGETIC REGION.

The important Neolithic sites reported from the mid-Gangetic region are Narhan (on the banks of the River Saryu), Imlidih (on a stream called Kuwana), and Sohgaura (on the River Rapti) near Gorkhpur in U.P.; and

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Chirand (on the banks of River Ghaghra in District, Saran), Teradih (Bodhgaya), Senuwar (near Sasaram) in Bihar.Among these Chirand may be taken as a representative site.It has revealed cultural material belonging to the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Iron Age phases.The beginning of Neolithic culture here is dated from 2100 B.C to 1400 B.C. The people lived, as elsewhere, in circular on semi-circular huts, made of reed and bamboo, often plastered with mud (wattle and daub houses). It is evident from the impression of reed on the burnt pieces of clay. The post-holes to support a roof and hearths for cooking have also been noticed.

The Neolithic people of Chirand practiced plant cultivation and animal domestication.The cereals known to them included rice, wheat, barley, moong, masur.The knowledge of these plant foods, according to V.D. Misra, suggests that the people were raising two crops a year (winter and autumn). It may, however, be noted that the growth of agriculture in the region did not have much impact on the economic life of the people as the yield was still limited on account of vast forests which could not be cleared with the primitive stone tools. The bones of buffalo, elephant, ox, and rhino. have been found, and of these the first two were certainly domesticated.The stone tools found include microliths such as blades, lunates and arrowheads fashioned on chalcedony, agate or jasper, and also the neoliths such as polished axes, querns and pestles made of quartzite, basalt and granite.

The bone and antler objects constitute an important feature of the Neolithic culture of the mid-Gangetic valley, and Chirand as well as other sites in the region have reported plenty of such objects which include needles, scrapers, borers and arrowheads.The bone ornaments such as pendants, bangles and earrings have also been obtained.As a matter of

102 fact, besides Burzahom in the Kashmir valley, Chirand is the only Neolithic site in India to produce bone objects in such large quantity and variety.Terracotta figurines of humped bulls and birds have also been reported. All these indicate a growth in craft activity.The pottery of the period is generally coarse and handmade.There is, however, some evidence of wheel-turned pottery too.The principal pottery types include vase, jars, bowls, spoons or ladles.Decorations, though not very common, consist of post-firing painted designs in the form of criss-cross, wavy lines or concentric circles.In short, the Neolithic cultures of the mid- Gangetic Valley coincide with the declining phase of the Harappan Civilization and were marked by the prolific use of bone objects and the cultivation of rice, besides other cereals.

EASTERN INDIA

The important sites which have yielded evidence of Neolithic cultures in the eastern zone include Barudih (Distt. Singhbhum) in Jharkhand; Kuchai (District.Mayurbhanj) and Golabai Sasan (District. Puri) in Orissa; Daojali Hading (in North Cachar Hills) and Sarutaru (District. Kamrup, 24 km north-east of Gauhati) in Assam.The earlier phase at Pandu Rajar Dhibi in the Ajay Valley of West Bengal has also reported Neolithic artifacts.On account of limited explorations and excavations in the region, the data available to us is scanty and even the chronology is uncertain.But as it appears, the people used a variety of tools which included polished axes and adzes fashioned on basalt or quartzite. Shouldered axes have also been reported from various sites particularly in Assam.Since this type of axe is widely distributed in South-East Asia, it is considered by some scholars to be an import in to India from outside.

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The people had started domestication of sheep; goat and cattle, though hunting continued to be their main occupation. No grain has been found, but the presence of querns and mullers along with hand-made pottery suggests some kind of agricultural activity among the people.The majority of potsherds found in Assam belongs to the hand-made vessels of coarse clay and carry cord impression.It suggests that the vessels were enlarged and shaped by beating with a wooden mallet (hammer) wrapped with a cord.It is pointed out that as this cord-impressed pottery has close affinity with the pottery from China and South-East Asia, there may have been a close link between east Indian and South-East Asian Neolithic cultures and that the Neolithic cultures of north-east India may be dated between 2500 B.C – 1500 B.C. However, the process of this interaction and its chronology need further investigation.

SOUTHERN NEOLITHIC CULTURES.

The Neolithic cultures in south India were spread over Karnataka, A.P and Tamil Nadu, and thus, geographically speaking, covered the area bound by the River Bhima (a tributary of Krishna) in the north and the River Kaveri in the south.The important sites pertaining to these cultures are Brahmagiri, Kupgal, Sangankallu, Hallur, Tekkalakota, Maski, T. Narsipur in Karnataka; Utnur, Palavoy, Kodekal, Budihal in Andhra Pradesh; and Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu. A combined testimony of dates from various sites suggests for these cultures a broad time-bracket from 2335 B.C to 1350 B.C (calibrated).The ashmounds which are an accumulation of burnt cow-dung form an important feature of the south Indian Neolithic Cultures. F.R. Allchin in 1960 suggested a west Asian origin of these cultures but today their growth and development is viewed in the context of earlier indigenous Stone Age traditions.A syncretic view of Neolithic Cultures of south India reveals that the people lived near the

104 hills or hillocks.Their settlements were guided by the consideration of the availability of perennial water, plentiful games, pastures for cattle and raw material for tools.They lived in wattle and daub houses, and their hutments were normally circular in shape with a conical thatched roof.Hearths and storage jars have been found practically in all the huts. There are also small pits which were used for throwing refuge and rubbish.

The subsistence economy of the people was based on animal husbandry supplemented by farming.A variety of charred grains from various sites including Hallur (District. Dharward, Karnataka) and Tekkalakota indicate the cultivation of barley, millet, horse gram legumes, black gram and green gram.Some scholars believe that the cultivation of millet and barley might have been introduced in south India from South Africa, but others doubt it and favour the possibility of indigenous growth of these crops.There is also evidence of domestication of animals such as buffalo, dog, cattle, sheep, goat and pig. The bones of elephant, deer, and nilgai along with those of fish indicate hunting and fishing activities. The occurrence of charred and split bones of animals in profuse quantity demonstrates that animal meat formed an important part of the diet.The people used stone tools made of granite and sandstone, and these comprised ground axes, chisels, querns and mullers.The microliths such as blades, points and trapezes have also been reported.Though bone tools are rare in south Indian Neolithic cultures, some of these are reported from Palavoy in A.P. According to K. Paddayya, the evidence of working centres or workshops at certain places indicates that tools were made not only to meet the local needs but also for delivery to other regions which lacked suitable raw material.

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The pottery used by the people in the early phase was all hand-made. The decoration was minimal and mainly consisted of incised diagonal or horizontal lines.The vessels were available in various shapes and forms such as jars, bowls and spouted pots. In the later phase, wheel-made pottery appears.It is argued that as spouted vessels and constricted necked jars of south Indian Neolithic Cultures are similar to those of the Jorwe culture of Maharashtra (1500 B.C – 1000 B.C), there may have been a close cultural contact between the two.The mat impressions on potsherds indicate mat weaving. The Neolithic period in south India was also marked by rock paintings and bruisings, the evidence of which comes from various places including Kupgal, also known as Peacock Hill, near Bellary in Karnataka. The motifs in paintings and bruisings include deer, goat, sheep, and humans.The southern Neolithic people had developed an elaborate burial system and they practiced extended as well as secondary burials, the latter containing limited bones.The dead were buried within the residential area, and in many cases within the house itself.The funerary goods consisted of pottery,and stone tools. Tekkalakota has yielded the maximum number of Neolithic burials.

Ashmounds.

Ashmounds constitute a distinctive and to some extent, a controversial feature of the south Indian Neolithic Cultures.These are vast mounds of burnt cattle dung ash accumulated as a result of periodical burnings.There are well over a hundred such ashmounds concentrated around the River Krishna in the regions of Karnataka and A.P.The major ashmound sites are Kupgal (District. Bellary), Piklihal (District. Raichur) and Budihal (District. Gulbarga) in Karnataka; and Utnur, and Palavoy in A.P.Several widely divergent views have been put forward about the origin and nature of these ashmounds. For example,

106 while some consider them as deposits of volcanic ash of remote past, others date them to the medieval period and treat them as physical remains of women who performed sati after the wars between the Vijaynagar rulers and the Deccan Sultans.Another class of opinion links them with some sort of industrial activity such as iron or gold smelting.However, the absence of physical remains in terms of human bones or the traces of iron or gold smelting or brick-making in the ash rules out the possibility of any association of these mounds with the above mentioned views.

Robert B. Foote was the first person to recognize these mounds as a feature of Neolithic Culture, and his view was confirmed by the presence of Neolithic tools such as ground stone axes, querns and blades, in the ash. In his opinion, these mounds represented nothing special and were just formed by the repeated burning of the collected cow dung for cleaning the premises.F.R.Allchin endorsing Foote’s view on the association of ashmounds with the Neolithic age, interpreted them as cattle pen areas and distinguished temporary from human settlements. Further, on the basis of ethno-archaeological data, he related the cow dung burning to some annual religious festival or function, such as ritual burnings during the Holi, Pongal or Govardhan Puja in India. He thus speculated that cow dung was delibrately burnt to secure some boon in the form of fertility or better means of subsistence.

Recently, K. Paddaya on the basis of a detailed survey of an ashmound site of Budihal in north Karnataka, has put forward the view that the ashmounds were “regular pastoral settlements” situated in hilly areas having limited agriculture.Referring to Budihal, he points out that it was a big site which had separate areas for specific activities, such as cattle penning, cow dung disposal, human settlement, animal butchering,

107 workshops to make and polish chert tools, etc. He further argues that some big sites like Budihal may have probably served as a local regional centre where periodic congregation similar to present day cattle-fairs were held.Anyway, the debate on exact nature and origin of the ashmounds, an important feature of the south Indian Neolithic Cultures is still on.

In short, the Neolithic Cultures are largely defined in terms of transition from hunting and food-gathering to herding and food producing subsistence economy with a sedentary way of life.It could become possible because of better tool-types and more conducive environment with the commencement of Holocene Age. The transition did not appear simultaneously in different regions nor was it uniform in all respects but still the Neolithic Cultures exhibited a considerable amount of commonality among them.For example, the Neolithic people used well- polished and ground axes and adzes called ‘celts’, but the microlithic blade tools of the preceding Mesolithic phase also continued to be utilized. Bone tools were also used and they have been reported mainly from Burzahom (Kashmir Valley) and Chirand (Bihar), though also found occasionally from other sites such as Palavoy in south India.The domestication of animals and cultivation of cereals by the Neolithic folks is evident from the discovery of charred pieces of grain and animal bones.The presence of querns, mullers and storage jars also suggests the same.This period marks the beginning of the use of pottery which was largley handmade, coarse and ill-fired; aceramic stage of Neolithic is, however, reported from north-west and the Kashmir Valley.The dominant type of pottery used in the Vindhyan region, mid-Gangetic Valley and the north-east was cord-impressed ware.The evidence of wattle-and-daub hutments indicates a sedentary way of life.Pit-dwellings are the

108 characteristic feature of the Kashmir Valley, though these are also reported from Sarai Khola in north-west India and Nagarjunakonda in A. P. Burials and burial-gods are reported from many sites, but the burial of pet animals is reported from the Kashmir Valley alone.The origin of Neolithic Cultures or the emergence of early farming communities in India is viewed today in the context of an evolution of preceding indigenous cultural traditions rather than as an inspiration or import from outside, which South-East Asia or West Asia.

NON-HARAPPAN CHALCOLITHIC CULTURES

The end of the Neolithic phase marks the end of the Stone Age and the beginning of the Proto-historic period – a period which is characterized by the use of Chalcolithic tools, the tools made of copper in addition to those of stone (lithic).It is a period that bridges the gulf between the Prehistoric and the Historic phases of Indian history. In Indian context, the proto-historic period includes broadly three copper using cultures – the Harappan Culture, located chiefly along the river Indus and its tributaries; the Chalcolithic Cultures situated outside the Harappan zone, covering a vast area extending from western to eastern part of India and the Deccan; and, the Copper Hoard Cultures, so named as most of the finds have been recovered in hoards, primarily from the regions in western U.P. While the Harappan Culture was urban in nature and was based on surplus agriculture, specialised crafts, inter-regional trade, fortified towns, and art of writing; the other two cultures were represented by farming communities and rural settlements with no pretensions to urbanity.These non-Harappan Chalcolithic Cultures were marked by limited use of copper implements (except at Ahar in Rajasthan) and abundance of stone tools.The economies of these

109 cultures were more akin to non-metal using Neolithic people and are, therefore, sometimes termed as Neolithic-Chalcolithic Cultures.

It is argued that non-urban nature of these cultures was partly because of the geographical constraints.Whereas Malwa and Maharashtra in western India lay in the semi-arid region containing sticky black-soil, U.P and other regions in the east had monsoonal forests and kankar ridden soil. Both these regions could not be cultivated effectively with meagre and primitive copper implements which the Chalcolithic people possessed.These people were, therefore, forced to confine themselves to the narrow alluvial strips of the rivers. It naturally imposed a restraint on their ability to produce surplus or to create a situation for the growth of trade and towns.These cultures are, however, significant as they represent the early farming communities in non- Harappan India.They serve as a base for the growth of surplus agriculture and urbanism later in the 6th century B.C when, in eastern U. P and Bihar, iron tools became an important means of agricultural production.

Cultures outside the Harappan Zone.

Ever since the chance discovery of a Chalcolithic site at Jorwe (District. Ahmednagar, Maharashtra), a large number of sites belonging to Characterized Cultures have been reported from the upper half of India from Gujarat to Assam and the Deccan. These cultures are named after their key-sites or the region to which they belonged and reveal broadly a basic uniformity in their settlement and subsistence patterns.The prominent non-Harappan Chalcolithic Cultures in western part of India are as follows:

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1. Banas Culture (2600 B.C – 1900 B.C, Calibrated).

It flourished in the valley of river Banas in south-east Rajasthan. As its key-site is Ahar, on the outskirt of Udaipur, it is also known as Ahar culture. Ahar, known as Tambavati (the city of copper) in ancient times, lies close to the Khetri copper mines and has yielded the largest number of copper artifacts in the form of axes, bangles and rings. Its nearby site Gilund has reported good amount of stone tools made on chalcedony.

2. Kayatha Culture (2400 B.C – 2000 B.C, Calibrated).

It is named after its key-site Kayatha located on the River Kali Sindh, a tributary of the river Chambal in M.P.It has reported a large number of stone blade tools but more significantly, two fine examples of copper axes with sharp cutting edge. These were cast in moulds in sharp contrast to those from other Chalcolithic sites where they were made by hammering into a desired shape, and indicate a “notable” technological advancement. Another important characteristic of Kayatha culture is the “combed ware”. This were is so called because it contains patterns in the form of wavy or zigzag lines in groups of four or sometimes five executed by means of a comb-like instrument.

3. Malwa Culture (1700 B.C – 1400 B.C).

It is represented by anumber of sites including Eran, Nagda and Navdatoli in western M.P.Among these Navdatoli, literally meaning a “village of the boatmen”, situated on the southern bank of the River Narmada, is the most important and it has yielded the evidence of the cultivation of different types of crops.

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4. Jorwe Culture (1400 B.C – 700 B.C).

Its representative sites are Inamgaon, Sonegaon and Chandoli (District. Pune), Prakash (District.Dhulia) and Jorwe and Nevasa (District. Ahmednagar) – all in the state of Maharashtra. Inamgaon located on the terrace of a stream called Ghod, eight km east of Pune, has yielded more information about the Chalcolithic way of life than any other site in India.Among other Cultures, reference may be made to Prabhas Culture on the Saurashtra Coast (1800 B.C – 1200 B.C), Rangpur Culture also known as Lustrous Red Ware Culture in the mainland of Saurashtra (1700 B.C – 1200 B.C), and Savalda Culture in the Tapti Valley, extending up to the River Godavari.

In northern and eastern part of India the important sites which have yielded the evidence of Chalcolithic Culture are Narhan and Sohgaura (both in district Gorakhpur), Imlidih (near Narhan), Kharadih (District. Balia) – in eastern U.P; Chirand (district Saran), Taradih (Bodhgaya), Senuwar (District. Rohtas) – in Bihar; Pandu Rajar Dhibi and Mangalkot (both in District. Burdwan), Mahisdal in the Ajay river valley of West Bengal and, Golbai Sasan (District, Puri) in Orissa.The site of Napchik in Manipur has also yielded some Chalcolithic material but its sequence is not clear.

As for the Ecological setting, the Chalcolithic Cultures flourished in two different regions which may be broadly described as eastern and western parts of India.In the western region, the cultures of Ahar, Banas and Jorwe covered the area drained by the River Chambal on the one hand and the River Godavari on the other and included the Deccan as well. It was a semi-arid area and contained the moisture retaining black soil. It had access to different types of raw materials such as copper from

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Rajasthan, chalcedony from Malwa and Gujarat and basalt from Deccan for tools and artifacts. The crops grown in this area were largely wheat and barley though the evidence of rice has come from Inamgaon (Maharashtra) and Ahar (Rajasthan).

The Chalcolithic Cultures in the eastern part, on the other hand, flourished in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Orissa, and lay in the region marked by plenty of water and thick forests.These cultures were characterized by certain distinctive features.Firstly, for example, these cultures used larger number of the bone tools which have been found more profusely in comparison to those of stone or copper. It might have been because of the non-availability of suitable raw material for stone tools as also to the greater effectiveness of bone tools in the forest infested area.Copper ore for copper tools, which are otherwise scarce in number, might have been obtained from the Singhbhum area of Jharkhand rather than the Khetri mines in Rajasthan.Secondly, these were basically rice-based cultures, and it was probably because of the better availability of water in the region.Thirdly, these cultures in the eastern part of India, as the excavation reports reveal, evolved out of the preceding Neolithic Cultures in the region. Finally, the radiometric dates indicate that these cultures continued upto 700 BC, and ultimately merged with the iron-using urban cultures in the Gangetic valley. Thus, they fill the gap between the decline of the Harappan cities and the rise of “Second Urbanisation” in India.

It may, however, be noted that the non-Harappan Chalcolithic Cultures, though flourished in different regions and displayed some regional variations in their ceramic styles and cultural patterns, were marked by basic uniformity in various aspects. And it may be noticed in their mud structures, subsistence pattern based on farming and hunting

113 and domestication of animals, use of wheel-made and well-backed pottery with decorative motifs in the form of wavy lines or other geometric designs.They also used a large number of microlithics (blades, lunates and triangles) as well as heavy tools (querns and mullers), latter as kitchen equipment.The evidence of copper tools is limited, except at Ahar in Rajasthan.

The time range of these cultures is mainly 2nd millennium BC though, when calibrated, their dates, particularly at Ahar and Kayatha, have been pushed back by three or four hundred years, making them contemporary or part contemporary with the Harappan Culture.But what role did the Harappans play in the origin or growth of these Chalcolithic Cultures is not clear. In fact, the wide differences in the cultural traits of the urban Harappan and the rural Chalcolithic people had led scholars to argue that there was no direct contact between the two, but in the opinion of Chakrabarti, it cannot be completely ruled out. According to him, as the influence of the Harappans is known to have extended up to Alamgirpur in U.P and Lothal in Gujarat, it is quite possible that they could not avoid getting mixed up with the cultural flow of central India and the upper Deccan.The authorship of the Chalcolithic Cultures is also not clear. Sankalia, on the basis of similarities in pottery desings, once postulated the West Asian origin for them, but his view has not found favour with others.These cultures also cannot be associated with the early Aryans as they are known to have remained confined to Sapta- Singhu region (Punjab-Haryana) only.Their possible association with the Later Harappans who moved towards the east after the decline and devastation of the Mature Harappan Culture is too without any definite evidence.

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On account of lack of complete archaeological reports, our information on the general life and subsistence pattern of the Chalcolithic people remains hazy and it has led to a number of speculations and controversies. However, an analysis of the combined data from various sites such as Ahar (Rajasthan), Navdatoli (M.P), Inamgaon (Maharashtra), Narhan (Eastern U.P) and Chirand (Bihar) does enable us to draw a broad picture of their settlement pattern, social and economic activities and religious beliefs and practices.

Pattern of Settlement.

The Chalcolithic people lived normally in thatched huts with walls made of split bamboos plastered with mud.At Gilund (Rajasthan) and Nagda (Malwa), there is also some evidence of the use of mud-bricks. A number of circular huts have been reported from Navdatoli and other places.Some scholars believe that these circular structures may have been used for keeping fodder, but Dhavalikar argues that these were “definitely” meant for residential purpose. He goes further to add that a cluster of huts with a single hearth indicates a polygamous society. Basing his argument on the tradition of some local tribes, he points out that every time a person acquired a new wife, a new hut was built for her.At Inamgaon, huts were laid almost in a row with an open space in between, may be for a road or a by-lane. It may suggest some moderate form of town-planning on the part of the Chalcolithic people. Besides this, an important feature of the Jorwe set was that the houses of the craftsmen such as potters and bead-makers were located at the entrance of the habitational area, a practice still followed in the Maharashtra villages.The houses of the Chalcolithic period contained hearths or chulah as well as pit silos or jars for storing grains.In Maharashtra, there is evidence of the presence of a cluster of huts with only one single but

115 containing a hearth (chulah) and the storage facility. It suggests that the families may have lived in different huts but used a common kitchen, indicating the prevalence of a joint family system.

On the basis of the evidence gathered from western India and the Deccan, Dhavalikar and V.S. Shinde believe that these regions were organised in a “chiefdom society”.According to them the various characteristic features of a chiefdom society, such as site hierarchy, developed craft specialisation, trade with other communities, special houses and burials for the chief, etc.; can be noticed during the Chalcolithic period in the region.As for the settlement hierarchy, V.S. Shinde identified sites of different categories termed as regional centres, agricultural settlements, hunting units, factory-sites, and camp-sites for exploiting the local resources. The evidence of a group of small-sized sites clustered around a larger and more important site such as Inamgaon or Prakash or Navdatoli suggests a two-tier site hierarchy with main control in the hands of some chief living in the bigger site. At Inamgaon, a large structure with five rooms, in sharp contrast to single roomed houses of the common people, with a “granary” adjacent to it has been identified as the residence of a ruling chief.It is suggested that the chief collected taxes in form of grain which was stored in the granary. Besides this, a massive embankment, may be to divert flood water, has been reported from Inamgaon.It is argued that it is indicative of some administrative authority, political or religious, which alone could muster collective public effort to build such an embankment and enforce rules for proper distribution of water.

Some evidence of social stratification or a ranked society can also be gathered from the burials, largely reported from the Deccan.As it appears, the normal practice was that the adults were buried in a pit

116 with the body laid in a supine position (flat on the back) with feet below the ankle chopped off so that, as per the prevailing superstition, the dead may not become a ghost and walk out of the grave. But one of the graves found in the above mentioned multi-roomed structure contains a four- legged clayjar having a skeleton of an adult male, placed insitting, cross- legged position with the feet intact. This special treatment is indicative of the fact that this person was different from the rest of the community and might have been holding some high rank, political or religious. There is also a burial nearby containing the skeletons of two children wearing necklaces of beads of copper, jasper and seashell indicating their superior status in comparison to others.Thus, the evidence of social stratification as revealed from the burials in Inamgaon suggests that in Jorwe soythere were some persons or groups who claimed the authority to collect tributes from the rest.The burials, in the opinion of Dhavalikar, indicate that it was a male-dominated patriarchal society. It may be mentioned that a skeleton reported from Golbai Sassan (Orissa) also has legs below the ankles chopped off.Whether it is just a coincidence or indicative of some contact with the Jorwe culture of Maharashtra, it is not clear.

Pattern of Subsistence.

The Neolithic-Chalcolithic Cultures which represent the early farming communities in India subsisted on agriculture, fishing and hunting. They reared cattle, buffalo, goat , and sheep, which they also slaughtered for food.In the semi-arid region, the Chalcolithic people, according to Dhavalikar, appear to have followed dry-farming, i.e., leaving a piece of land fallow or uncultivated for sometime for earth to regain its vitality. The embankment at Inamgaon as noted above indicates the use of artificial irrigation by the people.A large amount of charred seeds

117 collected by flotation at Inamgaon reveal that the number of crops which were cultivated here included barley, wheat, rice, jowar besides horse- gram, black gram (urad), green gram (moong), lentils and field peasantry. Rice and jowar are also reported from Ahar while bajra occurs at Rangpur.Normally one crop a year was grown but the Jorwe people appear to have raised two crops a year – rabi and kharif.Apart from cereals, fish-hooks and fish bones indicate that fish also formed a part of the diet of the Chalcolithic people. In Uttar Pradesh and other part of eastern India various sites such as Narhan and Chirand have yielded the evidence of the cultivation of rice, wheat, barley, moong and masur. The evidence of rice which is quite profuse in this region comes in the form of carbonised seeds and husks embedded in the pottery. At Mahisdal (West Bengal) a large quantity of charred seeds of rice were found scattered on the floor.

Tools and Technologies.

The Chalcolithic people had made a considerable progress in the field of arts and crafts.They normally used Black-and-Red pottery with painted designs in the form of parallel or wavy lines, dashes and dots. It was wheel-made and well-baked.It has been found in various shapes and forms including bowls, storage jars, etc.This pottery is termed Black-and- Red because in its interior up to the rim it is black, and the remaining part of the external surface is red.This biochromic effect is believed to have been the result of keeping post-structuralist in inverted position in the kiln.A big kiln has been reported from Inamgaon.Kayatha, as mentioned earlier has yielded a distinctive type of pottery called “combed ware” bearing incised pattern probably drawn with a comb-like instrument.The pottery used by the people of Rangpur culture is termed as Lustrous Red ware.Metal technology also shows advancement and it is

118 reflected in many copper objects such as axes, chisels, knives, beads, bangles, and fish-hooks, which have been reported from various sites. Two copper axes from Kayatha, which are made in mould rather than by hammering, are treated as the finest examples of casting.Some of the many hearths found at Ahar, according to Sankalia, may have been used of smelting. It is believed that Khetri mines in Rajasthan were the chief source of supply of copper to the Chalcolithic Cultures in western India and the Deccan, whereas in eastern part of India it was the copper belt of Singhbhum and Hazaribagh in Jharkhand which was exploited by the people.

The evidence of gold ornaments, though extremely rare, comes from some sites of the Jorwe culture (Maharashtra).One specimen of ear ornament has been reported from the site of Prakash. It is possible that the source of this gold was either Hatti in Gulbarga or the Kolar mines. Technological progress is also seen in the process of making beads of different materials such as steatite, agate and carnelian.

Trade Contacts.

The Chalcolithic Cultures do not appear to have existed in isolation. The evidence furnished by the presence of beads, copper tools and gold ornaments, which were made of non-local raw material, suggests that there was some sort of reciprocal exchange or trade among different communities.Internally, similarity in pottery forms and fabric may indicate that pots were an item of exchange between different sites within a particular cultural zone. As it has been mentioned above, certain large sites such as Ahar, Kayatha, Navdatoli and Inamgaon might have served as the focal points of collection and distribution of goods of both internal and external nature.

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Religious Beliefs and Practices.

The data at our disposal is too meagre to review the religious beliefs and practices of the Chalcolithic people, but some scholars such as Dhavalikar, D.P. Agrawal, and Shinde have attempted to analyse the material obtained from various sites in western India in this respect. They suggest that there was a prevalence of the worship of bull and also of mother goddess among the people.Their argument is based on the recovery of a large number of terracotta figurines of bull from Ahar, Gilund and Kayatha, and those of females with big breasts from Nevasa, Inamgaon and other places. The bull figurines are made of fine clay and have a delicate modelling as reflected in their long pointed horns and a prominent hump.A painting on a huge storage jar from Navdatoli has been taken to represent mother goddess worship. It depicts a female figure, a deity (?), flanked by a woman (worshipper?) on the one hand and a lizard or crocodile on the other, with what looks like a “shrine” indicated by three concentric arches on one side. Dhavalikar and Shinde also believe that the people followed the practice of “fire-worship”. This argument is based on the so called “fire-pits” reported from Navdatoli which according to them might have been used for performing sacrifices or some related rituals. But, as already mentioned, our data is quite limited and therefore all the arguments on religious life of the Chalcolithic people remain highly speculative and controversial.

The Chalcolithic sites were deserted around 1000 B.C though at certain places they continued to exist upto 700 B.C.Their decline and desertion is normally attributed by Dhavalikar to change in climate which around 1000 B.C became more arid. The chemical analysis of soil profile from Nevasa and the pollen analysis of lake deposits in Rajasthan indicate a decline in rain pattern and the beginning of dry period from

120 about 1200 B.C.As the local people found it difficult to meet the challenges of the new situation, those settled in western India and the Deccan tended to move out to other places. V.S. Shinde, on the other hand, argues that there is “strong possibility” that these people were forced to move out of their original habitats after Megalithic people equipped with iron implements started arriving at the scene, though he concedes that he has no definite evidence to confirm it.

However, it is worth noting that unlike the Chalcolithic sites in western and central India, those in the mid-Ganga plain were not deserted. In the opinion of R.S. Sharma, possibly the non-availability of iron and its technology to the people of central and we India ruled out any expansion of the old settlements after the exhaustion of the fertility of local soil, whereas the people in the mid-Ganga basin did not face this problem and, therefore, several Chalcolithic settlements in this region gradually grew into full-fledged Iron Age settlements.

In short, the Chalcolithic Cultures existing outside the Harappan zone were non-urban is nature but still they mark a great progress and improvement over the preceding Neolithic Cultures. And this is evident in the use of wheel-made and well-baked painted pottery, introduction of copper tools and the cultivation of larger number of crops in different ecozones.These Cultures prepared a ground for a take-off for “Second Urbanisation” later in the 6th century B.C when iron came to be used on a larger scale for productive activities.

COPPER-HOARD CULTURES

The term Copper-Hoard Culture refers to a number of Copper implements discovered accidentaly, generally in hoards, while ploughing a field or making a road.The first Copper-Hoard was reported from Bithur

121 in Kanpur in 1822 and since then many such hoards have come to light from different parts of the Indian subcontinent extending from Rajasthan in the west to Bengal and Orissa in the east, and from Haryana in the north to Karnataka in the south.Even in Pakistan, the site of Shalozan has revealed the presence of these hoards. As the artifacts discovered show great similarity in shape and form, all these hoards have been clubbed together under the term Copper-Hoard Culture.The largest number of Copper-Hoard sites numbering 40 is in U.P, followed by 19 in Bihar and eight in M.P. Gungeria in district Balaghat (M.P) is the biggest Copper-Hoard site containing 424 copper implements, besides 102 thick sheets of silver. As these Copper-Hoard sites are chance discoveries, there is considerable amount of difference of opinion among scholars with regard to their date, authorship and archaeological association.

The important tools and implements recovered from the Copper- Hoards include hatchet or parasu, celts, harpoons, antennae swords and anthropomorphic figures. The antennae sword is called so because on its hilt there is a bifurcation like that of an antenna of an insect, probably for fixing it to a wooden handle.Harpoon is like a mid-ribbed sword having barbs, i.e., curved arms pointing backwards. It could be used for killing a fish or a big game as shown in a rock-painting from Mirzapur, U.P.The anthropomorphic figures are quite unique and have no parallel in the world.They are confined to Ganga valley alone.They are human shaped objects with incurved arms and spread out legs and curved top indicating a head.One such figure was reported from Lothal by S.R. Rao who associated it with the Harappan Culture. But, because of the uncertain date of the object, his view is doubted.Since anthropomorphic figures suggest human forms, they have been identified as some ritualistic or cult object of worship, though D.P. Agrawal argues that

122 these could have been used as missiles or boomerangs to kill birds, etc. (Boomerang is made of a particular shape so that when properly thrown it returns back to the thrower. It is used as a weapon by the aborigines of Australia and other places).Interestingly, figures with similar shape, made in iron sheet, is still worshipped by certain people in northern India as the representation of Saturn (Shani).

An analysis of the copper tools recovered from the hoards indicates that they were primarily used in such activities as hunting, fishing and clearing the jungles. No agricultural implement has so far been found. In the opinion of D.P. Agrawal, the use-marks on the bar celts indicate that they were probably used for copper-mining.He also points out that the chemical analysis of the Copper-Hoard objects indicates that these were made of pure copper, having 98% purity and argues that the Copper- Hoard people might have received copper from the Chota Nagpur region of Jharkhand or even from Kumaon in Uttaranchal in contrast to the Khetri mines of Rajasthan which were a source of copper to the Harappan people. As for the technology, the Copper-Hoard artifacts were made by hammering and cutting metal sheets as well as by closed casting i.e., by pouring melted metal into a mould to harden.

Archaeologically speaking, it was B.B. Lal who in 1950s for the first time associated the Copper-Hoard cultures with the people using Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP).His contention was based on the excavations at Bisauli (District. Badaun, U.P.) and Rajpur Parsu (District. Bijnore, U.P) where both Copper-Hoard tools and OCP were found together at the same level, suggesting their contemporaneity.It was further confirmed in 1970 when Saipai (Distt. Etawah, U.P) also reported the same situation. The OCP is mostly reported from the alluvial plains of the Gangetic Doab and is called so because, as mentioned earlier, on rubbing it leaves an

123 ochreous colour on the fingers. It is suggested that its ochre colour or surface was probably due to either its deposit for a long time in the water-logged area or ill-firing or both. In fact, B.B. Lal once argued that pottery called OCP might have been just Black on Red ware as used by the Chalcolithic Cultures on northern and western India.The OCP is found below the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) which is associated with the iron-using people.It is thus believed that the OCP related cultures did not have the knowledge of iron and represented a non-urban character of the society.The people lived in temporary huts or shelters and followed a mixed pastoral-cum-agricultural economy.

Though most of the scholars associate Copper-Hoard objects with the Ochre Coloured Pottery, M.C.Joshi and Krishna Deva tend to strike a note of caution. According to Joshi, the Copper-Hoard tools indicate the use of highly refined and complicated copper technology, whereas the standard of economy reflected in the excavated material from the Chalcolithic sites appears to be very poor.In his opinion, these fine implements could not have been made by people of ordinary culture and might have belonged to the earlier Copper-Bronze Age, i.e., the Harappan Culture. K.Deva supporting Joshi’s view also argues that the Copper- Hoard people who were so proficient in smelting copper could not have made such poor pottery as OCP. The real picture, however, continues to be dim and hazy. Chronologically, the radiocarbon dates from Ganeswar- Jodhpura region in Rajasthan suggest that the OCP in that area may go back to 2800 B.C, while the Copper-Hoard cultures of U.P appear to be much later in date and are placed broadly in the time bracket of 2000 B.C – 1500 B.C.These cultures are thus contemporary with the Late Harappan cultures which are dated around c. 1900 B.C – 1400 B.C, and therefore the Harappan impact on them may not be ruled out.

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The question of authorship of the Copper-Hoard cultures is also not clear and has led to wide speculations among the scholars. While Heine- Gelden and Allchin, on the basis of some parallels and similarities between Copper-Hoard implements and those from West Asia attribute these hoards to Indo-Aryans while on their march towards India during 1200 B.C, D.P. Agrawal on similar grounds of similarity finds South-East Asian inspiration behind these cultures. In the opinion of B.B. Lal these cultures could be pre-Aryan and he associates them with the Munda or other aboriginal tribes of northern India.R.C. Gaur suggests that these Copper-Hoards might have belonged to the early Vedic Aryans, while V.N. Misra and D.K.Chakrabarti link them with the Late Harappans.Though the question of authorship is still being debated, some points in this context need to be noted. Firstly, the presence of similar type of tools in far flung areas, either in West Asia or South-East Asia, is not enough to suggest their interrelation unless the process of contact is made clear through intermediary sites.Secondly, it is doubtful whether Mundas or other local aborigines had enough technological skill to make such sophisticated implements as found in the Copper-Hoards.Thirdly, the Vedic Aryans too may not have been associated with the Copper-Hoards, because, as the Rigveda suggests, their area of influence was mainly confined to Sapta Sindhu, i.e., the region west of River Yamuna whereas most of the Copper-Hoards have been located in the east of that river.In this scenario, there is ony one possibility, i.e., the Copper-Hoards might have been associated with the Late Harappans who after the decline of the Harappan Culture in around 1900 B.C moved eastwards and dispersed their knowledge of copper technology in the local areas. The presence of the Late Harappan Ware together with the OCP at Ambakheri and Bargaon, both in western U.P, indicates the possibility of association

125 between the Late Harappans and thelocal people.Though some tool-types such as antennae swords or harpoons have not been found in the Harappan assemblages, their association with the Late Harappans cannot be ruled out. As V.D. Misra argues, the Harappan cultural zone was arid in nature whereas the Copper-Hoards in the Upper Ganga Valley lay in a different climatic zone having higher rainfall and dense forestation, and it is thus quite possible that the Late Harappans, after having left the Indus region, invented new types of tools to adjust themselves to new ecological situation. Anyway, there is as yet no final word on the Copper-Hoard Cultures and the debate on their origin, authorship and archaeological significance continues.

THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

Until as recently as 1922, early Indian history had little actual remains to offer besides the meagre palaeolithic and neolithic finds, and the Piprahwa relic was the oldest object of which the date (5th century B.C) could be approximately determined.The antiquity of Indian history and culture as gleaned from Vedic literature is also not supposed to go beyond the second millennium before Christ.But the archaeological discoveries at Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and other localities. in the Indus valley have pushed back this limit, at a single stretch, to 3000 B.C., if not to a still remoter period, and India can now lay claim to the honour of being a pioneer of civilization along with Akkad, Babylon, Egypt, Sumer, and Assyria.The fascinating story of the excavations at various places in the Indus valley has been told above and we shall now try to reconstruct a picture of the culture and civilization that flourished in this region from the remains found principally at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.

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THE TOWN.

A visitor to the ruins at Mohenjo-daro (the city of the dead) is struck by the remarkable skill in town-planning and sanitation displayed by the ancients, and, as an English writer has observed, “feels himself surrounded by ruins of some present-day working town in Lancashire”. The city was entered from the north and south by the First Street, which is amply wide for both wheeled traffic and pedestrians.East Street, which is the main thoroughfare through the ruins, is wider than First Street. The junction of these two is nicknamed “Oxford Circus” by archaeologists.The city was the creation of careful forethought and planning, as is indicated by the striking regularity of the divisions, the successfully aligned streets, the orientation of all principal streets to the points of the compass, the correspondence of the houses and public buildings with the orientation of thoroughfares. Streets varied from 9 feet to 34 feet in width and ran straight sometimes as far as half a mile.They intersected at right angles dividing the city into square or rectangular blocks. Inside this square or oblong, the area is intersected by a number of narrow lanes crowded with houses. Each lane has a public well, and most of the houses have each a private well and a bath. Nowhere was a building allowed to encroach on a public highway as in Sumer.The angles of the smaller by-ways appear to have been rubbed by pack- animals, and the corners of some buildings were rounded off in order that loads might not be dislodged.The city had an elaborate drainage system consisting of horizontal and vertical drains, street drains, soakpits, etc, which is described later on. The industrial and commercial quarters as well as the lowly abodes of artisans and shop-keepers and the palatial mansions of the rich can easily be distinguished among the

127 ruins.The general impression is that of “a democratic bourgeois economy” as in Crete.

The architecture of Mohenjo-daro, in general, is plain and utilitarian, rather solid than beautiful.There are no sumptuous temples as in Sumer or monumental tombs as on the Nile. In contrast to Sumer, there is an absence of round columns, recessed doorways, and semi-circular pilasters.The true arch was unknown and the corbelled arch and square or rectangular columns were used instead.The aim in the Indus Valley was to make life comfortable and luxurious rather than refined or artistic. Harappa is larger in extent than Mohenjo-daro, and had a longer span of life, but presents nearly the same features.Wells at Harappa are rare as compared to Mohenjo-daro.The most remarkable and largest building at Harappa is the Great Granary, measuring 169 feet by 135 feet, which comprises two similar blocks with an aisle, 23 feet wide, between them.Each block has 6 halls, alternating regularly with five corridors, and each hall is further partitioned into four narrow divisions.Another discovery at Harappa is the workmen’s quarters, which comprise fourteen small houses built in two blocks separated by a long narrow lane.Each house is open on all sides, rectangular, and consists of a courtyard and two rooms.

At the hill sites in the narrow corridor between the Indus and the Kirthar range, excavated by Mr. Majumdar, bricks were never used as at Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, and other sites. Hill-side houses were made of stone at the base up to a height of two to three feet. Mud, reed, and wood were used in building superstructures. No fortifications were discovered at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa; on the outskirts of Ali Murad and Kohtras were found fortified palaces made of stone, which was but rarely used in the plains, not being easily available there.At sites around Lake

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Manchar, people lived in pile dwellings.In building walls, pavements, bath-rooms, drains, wells, etc. burnt brick, possibly made from ordinary alluvial soil, was lavishly used.Sun-dried brick was used only for foundations, and packing of terraces. Bricks are ordinarily rectangular in shape, well made, and excellently preserved.Even at the lowest levels we find well-made bricks which would be a credit even to a modern brick- maker.Wedge-shaped bricks were invariably used in constructing wells and were made in a mould.Sawn bricks were used in bath-rooms to ensure evenness of floor.Curved bricks, which were used for the building of bins lining of wells, have hitherto been found only at Chanhu- daro.None of the bricks have grooves or depressions. Brick kilns have been found at Mohenjo-daro. The colour of the bricks ranges from straw to bright red.

Seven different layers have been recognized in the excavations at Mohenjo-daro.The antiquities in all these levels are homogeneous, the only point of difference being the deterioration of masonry in the later occupation of the cities. Mud mortar was generally used as a cementing material. In drains, where more strength or binding force was required, lime and gypsum mortar were used. The joints in some of the brick-work are so fine that even a thin knife cannot be inserted in them. Occasionally, bitumen was used for water proofing.Foundations were carried to considerable depths and crude brick was used for infilling.Buildings were erected on artificial mud platforms as a precaution against floods to which ancient Sind was subject.In most walls bricks were laid in the English Bond method, in alternate headers and stretchers, care being taken to break the joints.A filling of clay or rubble was used between the faces in very thick walls in order to economize bricks.In most cases the vertical alignment of buildings is

129 marvellous, indicating that a plumb bob or a similar instrument was used.This was done by placing each course a little back from the course below or by employing specially moulded bevelled edged bricks.Walls surmounting pavement were wainscotted with bricks laid on edge standing three feet above the floor level.

The buildings thus far unearthed in the Indus Valley fall into three main classes: (i) dwelling houses, (ii) larger buildings, and (iii) public baths.There is much variation in the size of dwelling houses.The smallest have no more than two rooms, while the largest are so vast as to rank almost as palaces.Outside walls of the dwelling houses were severely plain.Ordinarily there was an entrance from the street side.The houses were quite commodious, divided into well sized rooms, containing wells and bath-rooms, and provided with covered drains connected with street drains.The open court was the basic feature of house planning in the Indus Valley, as in Babylon.The courtyard which was usually paved with bricks laid flat was surrounded by chambers, and doors and windows opened into it.The kitchen was placed in a sheltered corner of the courtyard, and the ground floor contained store rooms, well chambers, and bath. Every house had a separate bath-room, placed at the street side, paved with carefully laid burnt bricks, which sloped to a corner containing the drain carrying off waste water.Vertical drain pipes suggest that baths were constructed on the upper storeys also.Doors were possibly made of wood and were placed at the ends of the walls, not in the middle.Ordinary houses very rarely had windows in their outer walls. Possibly perforated lattices were used as windows or ventilators at the top of the wall.Stairways, made of solid masonry, are found in nearly every house.They were built straight and steep, with treads unusually narrow and high. In some cases, the stairways led to the upper storeys

130 which contained the bath and the living and sleeping apartments. Roofs were flat and made of wood. It appears that no latrines were ordinarily provided, or they were situated at the top. Doorless chambers in some houses have variously been taken to be cellars or cess pits for latrines, or sleeping apartments, or solid foundations as a precaution against floods, or treasure rooms. Practically every house had its own well, and public wells were placed between two houses, with a pavement of burnt brick which sloped down to a drain at one corner.Two wells have a square coping at the top, and two are elliptical in shape.Some form of windlasses appears to have been used for drawing water.

The elaborate drainage system is a unique feature of the Indus Valley Civilization, the like of which has not yet been found in any other city of the same antiquity.Below the principal streets and many lanes ran a main drain, 1 to 2 feet deep, covered with brick or stone, and provided with sumps and inspection traps at regular intervals. Individual house drains, each one with its own sump pit, opened into the street drains, which in their turn opened into great culverts emptying into the river. All soak pits and drains were occasionally cleared by workmen, and drains were provided with manholes at intervals for cleaning. This elaborate drainage system, like the town-planning, constitutes a notable point of difference with Sumer, where the inhabitants had, in most cases, vertical pottery drainage shafts beneath their courtyards, but these had no outlet.

As regards larger buildings, some, which were earlier indicated as temples, were later taken to be khans. With the possible exception of the building housing the Great Bath, no building has yet been cleared which can definitely be called religious.The great structure near the Stupa, with extra-thick outer walls, has been named the Collegiate Building, and

131 probably housed some high official, the high priest, or a college of priests.A pillared hall, 80 feet square, divided into long corridors interspersed with low benches having even seats, has the chief seat at right angles to the corridors. It may probably have served for a public assembly.

The Great Bath, which has been taken to be a part of a vast hydropathic establishment is “a swimming bath on a scale which would do credit to a modern seaside hotel”.The overall dimensions of the building housing it are 180 feet by 108 feet.The actual bathing pool, measuring 39 feet by 23 feet with a depth of 8 feet, is situated in the middle of a quadrangle having verandahs on all sides.At either end, there is a raised platform and a flight of steps, with another platform at the base of each flight of steps.The floor is made of bricks laid on edge, and the walls have been made water-tight by employing specially trimmed brick in gypsum mortar with an inch of damp proof course of bitumen. There is a vaulted culvert, 6 feet 6 inches high, at the south-western corner, which could fill and empty the tank.On three sides at the back of the verandahs, are various rooms and galleries.There is a spacious verandah with small rooms at the southern end. There are six entrances to the building containing the bath. It cannot be definitely stated which the Great Bath was used entirely for secular purposes or for religious ceremonies.Near the south-west corner of the Great Bath is a hammam or hot air bath. It has a number of rectangular platforms of brick about 5 feet high, having a series of vertical chases sunk in their sides.There is another similar building at Mohenjo-daro which shows that the Indus people understood the principle of the hypocaust and had Turkish baths. Another bath-room establishment consisted of two rows of bath-rooms separated by a narrow passage, each bath-room having a stairway, a

132 narrow doorway and carefully paved floor.According to Dr. Mackay, these ablution places were meant for the priests, while the Great Bath was for the general public.

The careful town-planning, adequate water supply and efficient drainage system presuppose an advanced state of civic authority.Lamp- posts at intervals indicate the existence of street lighting.There was also a watch and ward system for different quarters, and large caravanserais and public store-houses were provided.That the sanitation was well looked after is seen from the rubbish heap consisting of broken pottery, ashes and humus found in deep trenches outside the city. Trees and plants were allowed to grow in the enclosures. The later levels of the city, however, show the decline of civic authority, as buildings were erected in a haphazard manner, there were encroachments upon lanes, and potters were quartered in the city.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC LIFE.

All the skeletons unearthed at Mohenjo-daro belong to the chalcolithic period and may he taken as representative of an urban population. Craniological tests reveal the presence of four racial types at Mohenjo- daro, viz., (i) Proto-Avstraloid: (ii) Mediterranean: (iii) Mongoloid and (iv) Alpinoid.The cosmopolitan character of the population in a place like Mohenjo-daro with easy land and water communications is quite natural. It was evidently the meeting ground of temple people from different parts of Asia. Sculptural representations also speak of the mingling of diverse races.Only a country capable of producing food on a large scale, and the presence of a river sufficiently large to facilitate transport, irrigation, and trade, can give rise to cities of this size.The large number or saddle querns found in the excavations indicates cultivation on an extensive

133 scale.Though little is yet known about the actual methods of agriculture adopted by the people, the examination of the specimens of wheat and barley found in the ruins shows that they were not of the wild species. The same variety of wheat is cultivated in the Punjab today. The unit of weight indicates that rice was also grown.The date palm was also an article of diet as is shown by the stones found.

Besides wheat, barley, and rice, milk, too, must have been an important item of food, and doubtless vegetables and other fruits besides the date were included in the dietary.Harappa cultivated peas and sesamums.In addition, animal food was eaten, including beef, mutton, pork, poultry, the flesh of the gharial, turtle and tortoise, fresh-river fish and dried fish from the sea, and also shell fish. The half-burnt shells and bones of these animals found in houses, lanes, and streets definitely indicate that they were articles of diet. Animals were both domesticated and wild. Actual skeletal remains of the Indian humped bull, the buffalo, the sheep, the elephant, the pig, and the camel have been recovered.The Indian humped ox, or “Brahmani bull”, is frequently represented on the seals. It seems to have been a sacred animal, as it is today. Bones of the horse have also been found, but not far below the surface. There is some difference of opinion on the subject, but on the grounds to be subsequently stated, it seems reasonable to suppose that horse was known to the Indus people. The cow was known, and so probably was the lion.Clay models of toys indicate that the Indian bison, the rhinoceros, the tiger, the monkey, the dog, the bear, and the hare were known to the inhabitants. The donkey was known, and among smaller animals may be included the mongoose, the squirrel, the parrot, the peacock, and the domestic fowl.Harappa knew of the domestic cat.

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As regards dress, no actual specimens of ancient clothing have been discovered and we have to depend on the indications supplied by figurines and statuary.One alabaster statue shows that two garments were worn. A shawl-like cloth, worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm so as to leave the right arm free, formed the upper garment. The lower garment resembled modern dhoti and was worn quite close to the body. Female attire did not differ from that of the male.Garments were of cotton and perhaps of wool, and possibly they were sewn, as would appear from the needles found at the site.With regard to the various fashions of hair-dressing, we know more about male styles because the head-dresses worn by the female figurines prevent the hair from being seen. It is likely that women had a plait tied with a bow at the end, a favourite way of dressing the hair in modern India.Men wore long hair; this was either parted in the middle and the short locks at the back kept tidy by a woven fillet; or was coiled in a ring on the top of the head, similar side rings concealing the ears, or were carried in a mass to the back; or a plaited lock was carried forward from behind in a large loop which turned in again and was secured by a fillet.Short hair was secured by means of a fillet or was coiled in a knot with hair pins.These fillets were made mostly of gold, silver or copper. Men grew short beards or close-cropped those along with the upper lip, which was sometimes, clean shaven.

With the traditional oriental fondness for ornaments, men and women, both rich and poor, decorated themselves with them and all known semi- precious stones and metals were utilized for manufacturing various ornaments.Women wore a fan-shaped head-dress. Small cones of gold, silver, copper, and faience, as also of shell, were worn on the sides of the head.The forehead was decorated with a fillet or a headband. Ear-rings

135 were made of coils of gold, silver, copper, or faience.It is doubtful whether any nose-ornaments were used.There was a variety of necklaces having pendants in the middle with a number of rows of beads of various shapes and materials artistically arranged using spacers and terminals. Finger- rings were plentiful, and bangles and bracelets were commonly used. Materials for bangles and bracelets were gold, silver, copper, bronze, faience, shell, and pottery.Gold and silver bangles were penannular in shape with their hollows filled with a fibrous or a lac core. A bracelet with six strings of globular beads is an excellent specimen of workmanship. Girdles, of which two fine specimens have been found, were worn round the waist.Anklets of the type still used by hill women round the Simla Hills were worn.Various stones such as carnelian, steatite, agate, chalcedony, jasper, etc., were pressed into service in the manufacture of beads which evince fine workmanship and technical skill on the part of the lapidary.Of the various ornaments mentioned above, men wore fillets, necklaces, finger-rings, and armlets.A yellow steatite pectoral was probably the insignia of office of a priest.

We can also form some idea about the toilet and cosmetics of the people.The “vanity case” found at Harappa, with its combination of piercer, ear-scoop, and tweezers, invites comparison with similar finds from Ur, Kish and Khafaje, both types showing the same peculiar construction of the looped head.Toilet jars were made of ivory, metal, pottery, and stone. Small faience vessels having four compartments were used for keeping expensive perfumes or cosmetics. It appears that the ladies at Mohenjo-daro knew of the use of collyrium, face-paint, and other cosmetics. Small cockle shells containing red ochre rouge, lumps of green earth, white face-paint and black beauty-substance show that the belles in ancient Sind attended to beauty and toilet culture.It is

136 interesting to note that Chanhu-daro finds indicate the use of lip-sticks. Carbonate of lead, a face-paint, may also have been employed as an eye- ointment or hair-wash.Round metal rods in copper and bronze, with both ends rounded and polished, were probably used for applying cosmetics. There were small toilet tables specially designed for women.Other articles on the dressing-table included mirrors, made of bronze, oval in shape, and combs of different shapes made of ivory. Some combs were probably worn in the hair. Razors of various types, made of bronze, served for the toilet of the male.

Various household articles have been found at Mohenjo-daro.These were made of pottery, stone, shell, faience, ivory, and metal. Copper and bronze appear to have replaced stone as the material for household implements.Pottery supplied for the kitchen numerous articles including flesh-rubbers, cake-moulds, dippers, beakers, bowls, goblets, dishes, basins, pans, saucers, ladles, heaters, jar stands, storage jars, etc. Goblets with pointed bases were the customary drinking vessels, which were possibly to be used only once.Querns, palettes, and jar stands figure among articles of stone. Jar covers and ladles were also made of shell.There were needles, awls, axes, saws, sickles, knives, fish hooks, chisels, etc., made of bronze or copper, the first two also in ivory. Blocks of lead were probably used as net-sinkers. Chairs, bedsteads, and stools were used to decorate the drawing room.Possibly there were wooden beds like charpais, and stools were made of wicker work and mats of reeds.There were lamps of copper, shell, and pottery.A pottery candlestick found in the ruins indicates that candles, probably made of wax or tallow with wicks of cotton, played their part in illuminating the houses at Mohenjo-daro.

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Marbles, balls, and dice were used for games. Marbles were used as playthings both in Sumer and Egypt.That dicing was a common pastime just as it was in Vedic times is indicated by the large number of dice unearthed.Both cubical and tabular specimens are found, the latter being the commoner.Unlike the oblong pieces in common use in India at present, they are usually cubic in shape like the European dice; but the arrangement of numbers differs from the European system (where the sum of points on any two opposite sides amounts to 7), 1 being opposite to 2,3 to 4, and 5 to 6. The tabular dice invariably made of ivory; have three sides marked with numbers 1, 2, 3 and the remaining side is decorated with longitudinal lines. Of the seven pieces found at Harappa, four bear markings like those of Mohenjo-daro; on two are marked 1 opposite to 2,3 to 4, and 5 to 6; and one has markings like the modern dice (i.e., 1 opposite to 6, 2 to 5, and 3 to 4).Thus there were three different ways of marking dice in the Indus Valley.It is not certain whether the throwing of dice constituted a game in itself. Possibly dice were used in conjunction with board games, as two incomplete specimens of game boards of brick have been found.Some flat models of fish in ivory appear to have been used in some game.

Some representations on amulet seals showing men shooting a wild goat and a large antelope with bows and arrows, and the remains of large antlers of deer and stags indicate that hunting was indulged in.Bull fighting was probably another pastime.There are indications to show that birds were kept as pets, and also for fighting.A certain amount of trapping was also carried on, and fishing was a regular occupation. Clay modelling appears to have been a favourite pastime with children, as is indicated by the large number of crude specimens of childish workmanship.Specimens of toys are various, interesting, and ingenious.

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Little clay carts appear to have been the favourite toy with children as would appear from the large number found.Pottery rams, with the fleece indicated by lines of red paint and mounted on two wheels with a hole through the neck for a draw-string were common play things.The toy carts are particularly interesting as being among the earliest representatives of wheeled vehicles known to us. Usually toys were clay models of men, women, and animals, whistles, rattles, etc. There were also toy birds provided with stock legs, small animals climbing up a pole, and figures with movable arms.The bull with a nodding head worked by a stiff fibre, and a monkey like animal with movable arms figure among the more ingenious toys. Complex toys like figures moving up and down a string whose progress could be accelerated by manipulating a cord were also manufactured.

Bullock-carts were the chief means of conveyance.In addition to models of carts found at Mohenjo-daro similar to the farm carts in common use at present in Sind and the Punjab, a copper specimen has been found at Harappa, which looks like an ekka of the present day, with a canopy for protection from the sun and rain. It thus appears that the ancients also used the same type of the bullock cart as is found in modern Sind, which was probably drawn by two animals yoked to a pole. Bullock carts with a gabled roof over a wooden frame were also in use.

Weights have been found in large numbers, and range from large specimens which had to be lifted with a rope to very small ones used by jewellers. Cubical weights seem to be by far the most common. Some small weights of dark grey slate resemble the barrel-shaped weights of Elam and Mesopotamia, and are more accurate and consistent than those of Susa and Iraq.The sequence of ratios is binary in the case of the smaller weights as at Susa, and decimal in the case of larger ones. There

139 is no evidence of a sexagesimal system.The unit weight has the calculated value of .8750 gms, the largest weight being 10970 gms. The most frequently discovered weight is one of 13.64 gms. which stands in the ratio of 16 to the standard unit of weight indicating the dominance of the number 16 in Indian culture? It appears that a strict control was exercised over the maintenance of the proper standard of weight.The poor used ordinary pebbles as weights.

The few specimens of scales used with the weights appear to be of a very ordinary pattern, consisting of a bronze bar with suspended copper pans.Heavy weights must have required much larger beams, which were most probably made of wood.There is no evidence that the steelyard was known.It is more difficult to form an idea of the measurement of length. A slip of shell, 6.62 inches long, which now preserves nine definite divisions each averaging 0.264 inches, has been taken by Dr. Mackay to be part of a linear measure.As groups of five appear to bear special marks, it seems that the decimal system was known, the measure indicating a decimal scale of 1.32 inches rising probably to a foot of 13.2 inches. Egypt was familiar with the decimal system of linear measure since the 4th Dynasty, and a purely decimal system is found on Proto- Elamite tablets.Early Sumer used both the decimal and the sexagesimal systems.Probably the decimal system originated independently in the Indus Valley.Harappa ruins have yielded a fragmentary measure, a bronze rod, 1.5 inches long, broken at both ends, bearing four complete divisions accurately marked. It seems to have been based on the standard cubit of 20.62 inches which was widely used in the ancient world.Thus, the Mohenjo-daro and Harappa measures indicate that both the foot and cubit systems were current simultaneously in the Indus Valley.

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Of the medicines used by the people we know but little.Pieces of a coal-black substance forming a dark-brown solution of water have been identified with silajit, which is known to be a specific for dyspepsia, diabetes, diseases of the liver, and rheumatism. Several cuttle fish bones have been found stored in pottery.Cuttle bone is internally used as an appetiser, and externally in diseases of ear, eye, throat, and skin.The horns of the deer and antelope (and possibly also of the rhinoceros) were valued for their medicinal qualities.Coral and leaves of the nim tree (azadirachta indica) were possibly used as medicines.All these specifies are still prescribed in ayurvedic medicine, and thus the origin of the indigenous medicinal system of India may be traced to the Indus Valley Civilization.

Abundant specimens of weapons, tools, and implements have been discovered.Weapons of war or the chase were axes, spears, daggers, bows, arrows, maces, slings, perhaps catapults, and swords, made generally of copper or bronze. Blade axes resemble the early specimens found at Susa.Spear heads are thin and broad, without the strengthening mid rib, and with a tang instead of a socket. The daggers and knives are generally long and leaf-shaped, some with a single edge and others with two. Arrow heads are thin, flat pieces of copper with long narrow barbs and no tang.Maces were made of alabaster, sandstone, limestone, or hard green-coloured stone, and the pear-shaped mace, resembling the specimens from Elam, Mesopotamia, and Egypt, was most common.Swords are considerably thickened in the middle, but have blunt points suggesting that they were not used for thrusting. A kind of scale armour prepared from thin domed pieces of copper perforated with two minute holes was worn as for protection, and the shield was probably used for defensive purposes.Lance heads, chisels, celts, axes,

141 adzes, and saws figure among the tools and implements.Axes are either long and narrow or short and broad: the latter being probably used for cutting wood. A single specimen of a socketed bronze adze-axe is known which can be compared to some finds in the Caucasus region. The cutting edge of the saw is semi-circular in shape and the toothed edge is wavy.Toothed saws were unknown among other peoples of antiquity.

The people of Mohenjo-daro maintained close contact with the outside world.For the import of various metals, precious stones,and other articles the Indus Valley had connections with Southern and Eastern India, Kashmir, Mysore, and the Nilgiri Hills, as also with the countries immediately to the West and Central Asia. Evidence as to relations with Sumer is overwhelming, and trade contacts were maintained with Egypt and Crete.The representation on a seal of a mastless ship, with a central cabin and a steersman seated at the rudder, indicates that the people of the Indus Valley were acquainted with maritime vessels. The boat has a sharply up-turned prow and stern similar to the archaic representations on Early Minoan seals, cylinders of Sumer, and the Pre-Dynastic pottery of Egypt.Dr. Mackay thinks that the Indus Valley was in touch with Sumer and Elam by the sea route also. Mohenjo-daro thus appears to have been a great inland port carrying on trade with Ur and Kish, probably also with Egypt.

The remains unearthed at Mohenjo-daro demonstrate the existence of different sections of people who may be grouped into four main classes, the learned class, warriors, traders and artisans, and finally manual labourers, corresponding roughly to the four Varnas of the Vedic period. The learned class probably comprised priests and physicians, astrologers, and sorcerers.According to archaeologists there is practically no vestige of the fighting classes; but the existence of “palaces” with

142 ancient foundations, of substantial swords showing that some of the people were well armed, of watchmen’s quarters at Mohenjo-daro, and of ancient fort walls at other sites in Sind, points to a class similar to the Kshatriyas, whose duty was to protect the people. A commercial class and various artisans such as the mason, engraver, shell-worker, weaver, and gold-smith, formed the third class. Domestic servants and manual labourers like leather-workers basket-makers, peasants, and fishermen, etc., belonged to the last class.

ARTS, CRAFTS, AND INDUSTRIES.

There is very little sign of art for art’s sake in the Indus Valley. There is no trace of ornamentation in houses and public buildings.Tools, weapons, vessels, etc., are quite plain and practical, but lack subtle grace. Even the painted pottery has commonplace designs. Specimens of art are to be sought only in figurines, seals, amulets, and other small objects.All figurines are well baked, and some of them are painted in red. The majority of human figures are female, and they are nude except for a narrow girdle round the loins.Animal figures are found in large numbers in pottery; the squirrel and monkeys are made in faience, and a turtle in shell.The short-horned bull is realistically portrayed as on the seals.The mastiff cut from steatite is quite life-like and resembles the English mastiff of today.The small carvings, presumably used as amulets, are most charming; notably little squirrels in faience not a couple of inches high, sitting up with tails erect and munching something from beneath their fore-paws; little monkeys with a worried expression, almost identical to what is so noticeable on the faces of their descendants today; and perhaps most delightful of all, a bead carved with three monkeys sitting round in a circle, clasping one another’s waists with their arms. The exquisite bronze figure of an aboriginal dancing girl with her hand

143 on the hip, in an almost impudent posture, is a noteworthy object. Her hands and legs are disproportionately long and she wears bracelets right up to the shoulder.The legs are put slightly forward with the feet beating time to the music. “Though more impressionistic in style than the stone sculptures, this figure, which is cast in one piece, astonishes one by the ease and naturalness of its posture”.

Of the seal engravings the best are those of such animals as the humped bull, the buffalo, and the bison, which the artist had an opportunity of studying at first hand.The humped bull is frankly realistic and spirited, and in its portrayal the artist has tempered realism with breadth of treatment and restraint. The buffalo is very effectively shown with a slightly raised head, displaying its great horns in the act of bellowing. The bison with powerful arched shoulders and relatively small hind quarters is quite lifelike.The blue faience tablet, depicting a deity seated cross-legged on a throne with a kneeling devotee on either side and a snake behind; “serves well to illustrate how instructive and illuminating a background this new-found prehistoric art of India is likely to supply to the later art of historic India”. The best of the engraved seals are master-pieces of the engraver’s art, as vivid in their drawing as they are skilful in execution, which could only have been turned out by people possessed of marked artistic ability and great technical skill.

Statuary is rare, only a few specimens being found.Statues were cut from comparatively soft stones, grey and yellow limestone, alabaster, and steatite.A steatite male head looks like an attempt at portraiture.The figure is draped in a shawl, decorated with trefoil patterns, which is worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm.The eyes are long, and half closed in a yoga attitude.The nose is well formed and of medium size; the mouth is of average size with close-cut moustache and a short

144 beard and whiskers; the ears resemble double shells with a hole in the middle.The hair is parted in the middle, and a plain woven fillet is passed round the neck suggest a necklace. The noticeable features in all statues are the prominent cheek-bones, the thick, short, sturdy neck, and narrow oblique eyes, in contrast to the Sumerian statues, which have round and full eyes, and full, fleshy lips. The heads are brachycephalic, dolichocephalic and mesaticranial.

Two statuettes from Harappa have revolutionized the current ideas about early Indian art. In both, there are socket holes in the neck and shoulders for the attachment of head and arms, made in separate pieces in the red-stone torso, the frontal pose is adopted, the shoulders are well backed, and the abdomen slightly prominent. In the opinion of eminent art critics, for pure simplicity and feeling nothing to compare with this masterpiece was produced until the great age of Hellas.The other statuette represents a dancer standing on the right legislature with the left legislature raised in front, the body above the waist and both arms bent round to the left.The pose is full of movement.The neck is abnormally thick; possibly it may represent Siva Nataraja, or the head may have been that of an animal.The anatomical faithfullness in these statuettes is striking. Specimens of art in lapidary work are found in the remarkably well-made stone beads, especially those of clear and clouded agate, red translucent carnelian, etc.An instance of the considerable skill exhibited in the manufacture of stone beads is one that was made of five segments of chalcedony and deep red carnelian, which were cemented together to imitate a bead cut out of a piece of regularly veined stone.

From the discovery of many spindles and spindle whorls in the houses in the Indus Valley it is evident that spinning of cotton and wool was very common.That both the rich and poor practiced spinning is indicated by

145 the whorls being made of the expensive faience as also of the cheap pottery and shell.No textiles of any description have been preserved in the Indus Valley owing to the nature of the soil. A close and exhaustive examination, in the Technological Laboratory, of the pieces of cotton which were found attached to a silver vase, shows the specimen to be a variety of the coarser Indian cotton, cultivated in upper India today, and not of the wild species.Some more specimens of woven material adhering to various copper objects have also been found to be mostly cotton, but some were bast fibres.There is no indication from the ruins as to the existence of flax, which is largely grown in India at present and was known in ancient Elam and Egypt. The purple dye on a piece of cotton has been taken to have been produced from the madder plant. Dyers’ vats found on the site indicate that dyeing was practised.

The Indus Valley pottery consists chiefly of very fine wheel-made wares, plain pottery being more common than the painted ware or ware with designs.In marked contrast to the delicate thinness of much of the Iranian and Mesopotamian wares, the Indus Valley pottery is heavy and utilitarian.The clay used was the alluvium from the Indus, tempered with sand generally containing fine particles of mica or lime. Most of the specimens are wheel-turned; very few being hand-made.Pottery, brick, and terracotta were fired in kilns which were circular in shape with arrangements for heating underneath a floor provided with flues.The plain ware is usually of red clay, with or without a fine red or grey “slip”. It includes knobbed ware which is a curious type ornamented with rows of knobs.Imported Indian vases of this type have been found at Tell Asmar.The black-painted ware has a fine coating of red slip on which geometric and animal designs are executed in glossy black paint. Polychrome pottery is rare and mainly comprised of small vases

146 decorated with geometric patterns in red, black, and green, rarely white and yellow.

Incised ware also is rare and the incised decoration was confined to the bases of the pans, always inside, and to the dishes of offering stands. Egg-shell pottery, locally known as Kagzi, is of exquisitely delicate workmanship and is absent in Susa and Babylon. Perforated pottery has a large hole at the bottom and small holes all over the wall, and was probably used for straining liquor.Pottery for household purposes is found in as many shapes and sizes as could be conceived for daily practical use.Straight and angular shapes are the exception, and graceful curves the rule, with the Indus Valley pottery.Miniature vessels, mostly less than half an inch in height, are particularly so marvelously executed as to evoke the admiration of visitors. Shanhu-daro appears to have been a manufacturing centre of toys, judging from the large number unearthed there.Pottery rattles, gaily decorated, and model pottery carts in various shapes with humped oxen are exceedingly common.Pottery rattles are so substantially made that hardly a broken specimen is found. There is a wide variety in the types of toy cart.

Seals discovered in the various strata constitute one of the most interesting features of the finds.Hitherto over 2,000 seals have been recovered from the various sites.Steatite, faience, ivory, and pottery are the materials used for manufacturing seals.Stamped seals were invariably made of steatite, which came from Aravalli.Steatite was cut into shape with a saw, after which the boss was cut.The boss was then rounded off after the groove by a knife and finished off with an abrasive. The designs appear to have been cut by a burin.The body was first carved before outlining other parts. Inscriptions were added later.Almost all seals were coated with a smooth glossy glaze. Steatite was hardened

147 by heating.Seals are of various sizes and shapes, the most popular shape being square or oblong, with a pierced hump at the back for suspension, and a flat face decorated with exquisite designs, generally of animals, and with inscriptions in a pictographic script.The inscriptions on the seals, however, do not seem to have any connection with the figures on them, as the same animal figure is found in company with completely different inscriptions.The Svastika design, which is found in Crete, Cappadocia, Troy, Susa,and Musyan, but not in Babylonia or Egypt, appears on particular types of seals and indicates their religious use or significance. Though cylinder seals were universally used in Sumer, only three specimens have so far been found in the Indus Valley, having purely Indian devices.

A number of small steatite tablets recovered from the lowest levels at Harappa, having almost identical legends, are considered as receipts by Dr. Hunter.There are square or rectangular copper tablets, with an animal or human figure on one side and an inscription on the other, or an inscription on both sides. The figures and signs are carefully cut with a burin.These copper tablets appear to have been amulets.Unlike inscriptions on seals which vary in each case, inscriptions on copper tablets seem to be associated with the animals portrayed on them.

It has generally been assumed that the designs on the Indus Valley seals, like those on the cylinder seals of Babylonia, were of a religious character and showed that the people were animal-worshippers.The commonest animal appears to be the so-called unicorn or antelope, resembling a bull, but without a hump, and a single protruding horn shown in profile.In front of the unicorn is placed a curious object, the lower portion of which is a bowl-like receptacle, with an upper part resembling a cage.Probably both the animal and the object have a

148 ceremonial significance connected with the principal deity of Mohenjo- daro.The other animals are the short-horned bull, the Brahmani bull, the elephant, the tiger, the rhinoceros, the gharial and the antelope. A flat- bottomed low manger or through appears on some seals, and it is seen only before wild animals.The short-horned bull, the buffalo, and the rhinoceros are very carefully and realistically portrayed.The tiger with an open mouth and protruding tongue sometimes gazes at a tree on whose branches a man is perched.Alongside there appear mythological creatures and composite animals, such as human figures with bull’s ears, horns, hoof, and tail; or a horned tiger; or a urus-like animal with additional heads of antelope and short-horned bull; or a most fantastic abortion, a curious human-faced animal partaking of the characteristics of a goat, a bull, a tiger, and an elephant. One circular seal shows six animal heads radiating from a boss.

The uses to which seals were put at Mohenjo-daro are uncertain and have been the subject-matter of various conjectures. The large variations in the inscriptions speak against their use as money. Reversed writing on 99% of these objects becomes inexplicable if they are taken as amulets, and the projecting boss at the back disproves their use for this purpose. Their use in other countries indicates that they were stamped on some plastic material like clay in order to authenticate property or seal the mouths of jars or doors.Owing to their fragile nature, actual clay impressions have been found of only a few specimens.Terra-cotta sealings were probably used for some specific purpose.Their large number and the fact that they have been found in the houses of the rich and poor alike indicate that the inhabitants attached great importance to them, and probably every citizen carried one on his person.The attempts in some seals to replace the legend after cutting it indicate that after the

149 death of the original owner of the seal, it was taken by another by making appropriate changes in the inscription.

Among semi-precious stones used for ornament amazon and amethyst came from the south, and lapis lazuli, turquoise, and jadeite from the west.Rajputana and Kathiawar supplied plasma, agate, jasper, and blood-stone.All these were used for manufacturing beads, regard being paid to their colour-scheme, size, and markings.Great technical skill is displayed in the manufacture of beads. The holes in the carnelian beads are well polished and testify to the great skill in boring such hard stones. Some unfinished beads of agate show that they were shaped and smoothed before being bored, for the translucency of the polished stone helped the lapidary in drilling straight.The accuracy of chert weights shows that the people were proficient in the working of flint, agate, gneiss, and other hard stones.

The gold used in the Indus Valley appears to have come from the gold mines at Kolar and in the Anantapur district. Different kinds of beads of gold were variously made by soldering cup-like pieces together or by casting or by beating out and soldering together. Bangles were made of thin sheets of gold with the metal slightly overlapping on the inside. Afghanistan, Armenia, and Persia range among the probable sources of silver.Large globular silver beads were cast or beaten out. Ear-rings were made of silver wire roughly bent round.Silver bracelets were made on core like gold bracelets. Copper and bronze are found side by side to the lowest levels at Mohenjo-daro.Copper may have come from Rajputana, Baluchistan or Madras. The use of bronze indicates a great advance over contemporary civilizations in metal working.Though thus superior to the Sumerians in possessing the secret of smelting bronze. Indian metal- workers could not rival the beauty and delicacy of the gold and copper

150 objects from Ur. Copper vessels were raised from sheet metal; those of bronze were cast by the cire perdue process.Eyes of needles and awls were formed either by drilling holes close together and then breaking the intervening material, or by bending the head over as in some pre- Sargonic needles at Kish. Copper and bronze finger-rings were generally made of coiled wire. Lead was extensively mined in ancient India, and Ajmer may have supplied lead to the Indus Valley. It is significant that the people of the Indus Valley were not conversant with the metallurgy of iron.

Shell is extensively used especially in the making of ornaments and pieces of inlay. Most of the shell might have come from places along the coast of India and the Persian Gulf. Mussel shell was also fairly common and was probably used as a spoon. Oliva was worn as an ornament and had some magic value attached to it. Cockle shells were probably used, as in early Sumer, to hold cosmetics. Mother of pearl is conspicuous by its absence, while it was used by the Sumerians for inlay. Shell was apparently available in large quantities.The manufacturers experienced great difficulties in cutting shell.Columella was first hollowed out by means of a saw and a hammer, and the tubular piece remaining was sawn into bracelets. Beads of different shapes and pieces for inlay work were made out of the columella, and the whole of the shell was utilized. The comparative paucity of ivory objects may possibly be due to the sanctity attached to elephants.The wild elephant, which is totally extinct in North-Western India at present, probably roamed in Sind and the Punjab in the 3rd millennium B.C. At that period the climate of the Indus Valley, if we may judge by the flora and fauna, resembled that of the Ganges delta today.Though no true glass has yet been unearthed, the art of glazing appears to have been practised.Vitrified paste and faience were

151 used for glazed work.Faience was extensively manufactured in the Indus Valley and is found at all levels.Ordinary articles of faience are composed of a white or a greyish paste, granular in appearance, coated with a glaze, which has now faded to a light blue or green.Great skill in glazing is exhibited in a pottery bead covered by two coloured glazes, brown and white, which was first taken to have been made of glass.

RELIGION.

No buildings have so far been discovered in the Indus Valley which may be definitely regarded as temples, and even those doubtfully classed as such have yielded no religious relics. There are no shrines, altars, or any definite cult objects. It is indeed curious that the Indus finds do not include any positive religious material, for religion has always played a dominant part in ancient cultures, and especially in India, where it was the prime factor moulding the lives of people for ages. All that we have to rely on for reconstructing the religion of the people is the testimony of the seals, sealings, figurines, stone images, etc. In spite of the meagreness of the material the light it throws on ancient religion is invaluable. Here we can only refer to a few leading ideas.

The first in point of importance is the cult of the Mother Goddess. A number of figurines of terra-cotta, and faience portray a standing and semi-nude female figure, wearing a girdle or band round her loins, with elaborate head-dress and collar, occasionally with ornamental cheek cones and necklace; sometimes the ear-ornaments are like capitalists suspended on either side of the head. Some of the figures are smoke- stained, and it is possible that oil, or perhaps incense, was burnt before them in order that the goddess might hearken favourably to a petition. Figurines similar to those in the Indus Valley have been discovered in

152 many countries in Western Asia between Persia and the Ægean, and also round wayside trees and village shrines in South India. These figures are rightly taken to represent the Mother or Nature Goddess.There is no reason to believe that the cult of the Mother Goddess originated in Anatolia or any other particular country because the concepts of the motherhood of God and of the divinity of Nature are quite common among the primitive peoples of the world, and are wide-spread and deep- rooted in India. The Mother Goddess is represented in every village as the tutelary deity (grama devata) and is known under various names, such as Mata, Amba, Amma, Kali, and Karali sometimes to be dreaded, sometimes warding off evil spirits, and imparting fertility.It may be mentioned that the Rigveda refers to Prithvi and Aditi which are akin to the Mother Goddess.

An interesting sealing from Harappa shows a nude female figure, turned upside down, with out-spread legs and a plant issuing from the womb.The reverse side has a man with a sickle-shaped knife in hand and a woman seated on the ground with hands raised in supplication. Obviously this depicts a human sacrifice to the Earth Goddess, portrayed on the obverse with two genii. A similar figure of the Gupta Age has been discovered in the United Provinces with a lotus issuing out of the neck of the goddess.Perhaps the sealing represents a river gushing out of the goddess’s womb.The representation of a figure standing in the bifurcated branch of a pipal tree also appears to depict the Mother Goddess. To this goddess the worshipper brings a goat, probably for sacrifice, and a number of people standing in the lower register seem to be taking part in the sacrifice.The Pipal tree is still held to be sacred in India, but not associated with the cult of the Mother Goddess.The goat sacrifice has survived in the worship of Sakti, another form of the Mother Goddess, in

153 which the sacrifice of animals is the most characteristic feature. It is still uncertain whether the female deity represented by pottery figurines was regarded as a virgin goddess or as the consort of the male god on the seal amulets.

Among the male gods the most remarkable is a three-faced deity wearing a horned head-dress, seated cross-legged on a throne, with penis erectus, and surrounded by elephant, tiger, buffalo, and rhinoceros, with deer appearing under the seat. It wears a number of bangles and has a pectoral round the neck, and an inscription of seven letters appears at the top.This representation has at least three concepts which are usually associated with Siva viz., that he is (i) trimukha (three-faced), (ii) pasupati (lord of animals), and (iii) Yogisvara or Mahayogi. The first two aspects are apparent from the seal itself. The deity is sitting cross-legged in a padmasana posture with eyes turned towards the tip of the nose which evidences the Yogisvara aspect of the deity. It has been suggested by some scholars that this Siva-cult was borrowed by the Indo-Aryans from the Indus culture but as there is a reference to Siva in the Rigveda itself, Siva may not be a later intruder in the Hindu pantheon.Two more seals of Siva have been found in the course of further excavations.The deity is always nude save for a cincture round the waist, and has a horned head-dress.In one sealthe deity is three-faced and seated on a low dais, while the second has one face in profile; both have a sprig of flowers or leaves rising from the head between the horns. This sprig suggests that the deity so ornamented is a vegetation or fertility god – another link with Siva, who personifies the reproductive powers of nature.A horned archer dressed in a costume of leaves displays the divine hunter aspect of Siva.

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It thus appears that Siva was one of the principal deities of the people along with the Mother Goddess.His worship was, however, not merely iconic, but also phallic, as would appear from the presence of a large number of conical and cylindrical stones. These conical and cylindrical stones probably symbolize fertility, and are connected with the cult of Siva as Lingas.Many scholars find a contemptuous reference in the Rigveda to phallus worship and regard it as a veiled allusion to the religious customs of the pre-Aryan people of the Indus Valley, but it has been suggested by others that the passage in question simply alludes to sensuous or lustful-persons.Small ring stones suggest that the worship of the Yoni, the female symbol of generation, was also prevalent though not to such an extent as Linga worship.It is, however, possible to take the group of ring stones as pedestals or bases of pillars.Therefore until the linga and one of the ring stones are found in close association, the question of the prevalence of phallic worship cannot be definitely settled.The Vedic religion, it may be observed, was originally aniconic, the worship of icons arising at a later stage.

That animal worship or zoolatry formed part of the religious beliefs of the people is indicated by the representations of animals on seals and sealings, or in terra-cotta, faience, and stone figurines.The animals fall into three groups: (i) mythical animals, e.g. a semi-human, semi-bovine creature, attacking a horned tiger resembling Eabani or Enkidu in Sumerian mythology; or, complex animals, with the heads of different animals attached to a central boss, which may possibly be an attempt to bring together the representations of various deities; (ii) ambiguous animals, which are not completely mythical, like the strange unicorn, accompanied with manager or incense-burner; or animals figuring as officiant genii.The frequency with which the unicorn appears has been

155 taken to indicate that it was the tutelary deity of the city. Lastly there are (iii) actual animals, including the rhinoceros, the bison, the tiger, the elephant, the buffalo, the humped bull or zebra, the short-horned bull, etc.The feeding troughs which appear before some of these have been taken as symbolizing food offerings to beasts which could not be domesticated, indicating the animals as objects of worship.Some of these animals were regarded as the vahana or vehicles of the gods. The bull, for instance, is closely associated with Siva. It may be suggested that the limestone statues of animals resting on rectangular plinths represent gods in their animal form. Possibly the unicorn has some connection with the boar incarnation of Vishnu, which is said to be eka-sringa (one- horned).

Apart from their use as pictographic signs, no birds appear on seals or other amulets.It seems, however, that the dove was looked upon as sacred, as some of the pottery models on little pedestals exactly resemble those found at very early sites in Mesopotamia, where the dove was regarded as sacred to the Mother Goddess.The worship of tree, fire, and water also seems to have been in vogue.The existence of tree worship is evidenced by the representations on several seals and sealings.The most interesting of these depicts the trisula-horned deity standing nude, with long hair, between two branches of a tree with the half-kneeling figure of a worshipper with long hair, armlets, and horns, behind whom is a composite animal; in the lower register appear seven standing figures, with dresses down to the knees, in procession. The leaves of the tree appear like those of the pipal: Some sealings from Harappa show trees enclosed by a wall or a railing. It cannot at present be stated definitely whether tree worship pertained to trees in their natural state or to their indwelling spirits.

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Rectangular aisles, separated from each other by long walls, suggest the Vedic sacrificial altar of a rectangular shape (agnisala paved with bricks), in which offerings were made to Fire and other gods.Though no direct evidence has been found to river worship, the important part played by water in the daily life of the Indus people, as indicated by the elaborate arrangements for bathing and the Great Bath, seems to show that ceremonial ablutions formed a feature of their religion.The Great Bath has been suggested as the temple of the River-God.The crocodile probably represented the river Indus.The cult of the gharial survives in Sind even today.The representations, on some seals, of Svastika and the wheel, which are the symbols of the sun, suggest that the sun was not represented anthropomorphically but symbolically.Svastika and the cross appear to be religious or magical symbols as in Babylonia and Elam.From a faience tablet showing a seated deity with a worshipper on both side and a hooded cobra over the head, it appears that some form of Naga worship was practised.

FUNERARY CUSTOMS.

The evidence with regard to the customs about the disposal of the dead in the ancient Indus Valley is yet far too meagre for any definite conclusions, and though Harappa records more ample material, it relates to a period subsequent to the occupation of Mohenjo-daro.

Three forms of burial have been found at Mohenjo-daro, viz., complete burials, fractional burials, and post-cremation burials. Complete burial means the burial of the whole body, ceremonially performed in various forms, along with the grave furniture, offerings, etc. About 30 skeletons, evidencing complete burials, have been found in different groups. Some of these appear to have been victims of accidental

157 death. All these burials appear, on stratigraphical evidence, to relate to the declining years of Mohenjo-daro.Fractional burial represents a collection of some bones after the exposure of the body to wild beasts and birds.Five such burials have been found, the best specimen being an urn containing a skull and some fragmentary bones, along with a number of earthenware vessels, and a variety of small objects including balls, beads, shell spoon, bits of ivory, and miniature vessels. Human bones are not found in all specimens, probably because after exposure bones were ground to dust before interment.

Post-cremation burials have been inferred from large wide-mouthed urns containing a number of smaller vessels, bones of animals, and of birds or fish, and a variety of small objects, such as beads, bangles, figurines, etc., sometimes mixed with charcoal ashes.These are generally found underneath a floor or a street. Human bones are seldom found, these generally being the bones of lambs, goats, etc., as bones are hardly necessary for post-cremation burials. The uniform character of the urns, quite distinct from the domestic varieties, as also the offerings in the form of objects of special interest to the departed, and the burial of these urns within dwelling houses or in close proximity, leave no doubt as to their being burial urns.These have been discovered at six places in Mohenjo-daro, distributed among strata of all periods.

THE INDUS SCRIPT.

The Indus script has been characterized by most scholars as pictographic, but saves for a small number of signs representing birds, fish, etc., and varieties of the human form, the rest bear more or less a conventional character.Originally pictographic, the signs, as we know them, have become standardized, but not so conventionalized by usage

158 as to have become mere stereotyped summaries like the cuneiform characters of Mesopotamia. During all the centuries of Mohenjo-daro’s occupation, the script presents no development in the form of the letters. The script is found in one stage only, so that we cannot trace its genesis from the pictographic to the ideographic or phonetic, or its later development to any of the scripts of India.The most remarkable features of the Indus script are its clarity and straight rectilinear character, and the extent and variety of its signs.Admirable ingenuity is displayed in modifying the signs by the addition of strokes or accents, and in combining one sign with another in the form of conjuncts.The large number of signs precludes the possibility of the script being alphabetic.It was mainly phonetic, most of the signs apparently standing for open or closed syllables, and the remainder functioning as determinatives or ideograms.Nearly 400 distinct signs have been listed from the script so far.

From the recurrence of certain characters, the facing of the animals and a few other indications, it has rightly been inferred that the direction of writing is from the right to the left, though in a very few inscriptions the direction is from left to right. In legends covering two or more lines the direction is boustrophedon.There are resemblances between some characters in the Indus script and those in the Sumerian, proto-Elamite, Hittite, Egyptian, Cretan, Cypriote, and Chinese scripts.Similarities have also been traced with the script of the Easter Islands, and the Tantric pictographic alphabets.All these scripts are possibly interrelated, but only up to a certain point. Some scholars even claim the Brahmi to have been derived from the Indus script.

It is not possible, in the present stage of our knowledge, to determine the language of the script.Some scholars take it to be Sanskrit and

159 others as Dravidian.In their attempts to decipher the script several scholars have taken for granted the identity of the Indus language with one or the other of the known languages or their prototypes.In connection with the resemblances of the Indus signs with other scripts, Rao Bahadur Dikshit observes that the resemblance with Sumerian and proto-Elamite signs presages a close connection, at least in the formative stages; similarities with the Egyptian and Chinese pictographs are superficial, and the Indus script developed independently on Indian soil. With regard to interpreting the script in terms of the Dravidian equivalents, it may be stated that we have nothing to rely on as to the original or the proto-Dravidian language; the language could not have been static during these 5,000 years. Much more extensive research in Southern India, moreover, will be necessary before definite links can be forged between the later stages of the Indus Valley civilization and the dawn of civilization in Southern India.

The material at our disposal is sufficiently large, but despite earnest attempts by scholars no real light can be thrown on the subject which may find general acceptance.In the absence of a real solution that would stand the test of any and every investigator, all attempts to decipher the script will have merely an academic interest.The Indus Valley had trade relations with Sumer and Elam, and Indus seals have been found at the latter sites. It is likely that some bilingual inscription, turned up by the spade of the archaeologist in Iraq, will give us the right clue to the decipherment of the Indus script.

THE ANTIQUITY OF THE CULTURE.

Despite its definite individual characteristics, the Indus Valley civilization is not isolated and unique, but has sister civilizations

160 elsewhere, with several outstanding common features, which indicate its contemporaneity with the western city cultures in Mesopotamia. At none of the sites in the Indus Valley has iron been found, which gives us the lower limit of the age of the civilization, as iron was known everywhere in the Middle East in the later half of the 2nd millennium B.C.The civilization that we find in the Indus Valley is still of the chalcolithic age displaying remarkable similarity with the Second Pre-Diluvian Culture of Elam and Mesopotamia, and the proto-historic period of Sumer (c. 2750 B.C.).Excavation has brought to light seven different layers of buildings at Mohenjo-daro, which have been assigned to three periods, viz. Early, Intermediate, and Late. Earlier layers lie submerged under subsoil water. The phase of the Indus Valley civilization found at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa is known as the “Harappa Culture”. Explorations in Sind have brought to light three different “cultures”, viz., those of Amri, Jhukar, and Jhangar, the first of which preceded and the last two followed the Harappa culture.Chanhu-daro displayed races of Jhukar and Jhangar cultures in the upper levels.

On the analogies of Troy and Rome, normally a period of one thousand years should be assigned for the occupation of the seven cities of Mohenjo-daro; but as the decay at Mohenjo-daro was much quicker on account of the imminent danger of floods (of which we get evidence), and as the re-occupation of the cities was much more rapid as seen from the uniformity of antiquities in all layers, a period of only 500 years has been assigned for the whole strata. As, however, the civilization is already in a developed stage, roughly a period of 1000 years has been allotted for the antecedent evolution.The latest settlement of Mohenjo-daro has been attributed to 2750 B.C., so that the occupation of the seven cities ranges between 3250-2750 B.C.This rough dating, however, has been brought

161 down by a few centuries by the find of various Indus Valley objects in datable strata in Sumer and Mesopotamia.

An Indus seal confined to the Late Period at Mohenjo-daro was found at Eshnunna in layers pertaining to 2600-2500 B.C., so that the early period at Mohenjo-daro reaches back to about 2800 B.C. A similar seal, however, has been found at Ur in a tomb which is not older than 2150 B.C. Dr.Frankfort’s discovery of cylinder seals of Indian origin at Tell Asmar and of a green steatite vase depicting a Brahmani bull at Tell Agrab carry back the date of the Indus Valley civilization to about 2800 B.C.The seals of the Indus Valley type found in Mesopotamia by Dr. Gadd indicate 2800 B.C. as the upper limit of the Harappa culture.Dr. Fabri places the main culture period at Mohenjo-daro between 2800- 2500 B.C. on the evidence of a pottery jar with a Sumero-Babylonian inscription found at Mohenjo-daro.A comparison of the plain and painted ware in the Indus Valley with similar specimens at Sumer, Elam, and Egypt shows the Indus Valley civilization to have flourished about 2500 B.C.Ceramic evidence shows that the earliest stage of the Indus Valley civilization is represented at Amri, which may go back to 3000 B.C., followed by the Harappa, Jhukar, and Jhangar cultures.

On a careful consideration of all available material for the age of the Indus civilization, some of which has been indicated above, it appears that the main culture period at Mohenjo-daro or the “Harappa culture” ranged between 2800-2500 B.C. Though it must have had a long history of antecedent development before it reached the stage we meet, no idea of that period can be had, as the lowermost strata cannot be reached at Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Jhukar, or Chanhu-daro, because of subsoil water.The civilization for all we know may well reach beyond 3500 B.C. The uppermost layers of Chanhu-daro, as suggested by Dr. Mackay, can

162 be assigned to 2300-2200 B.C., whereas the lower strata go back to 2600-2500 B.C.The culture period of the Indus Valley civilization, as revealed by its finds, thus seems to have lasted roughly from c. 2800 to 2200B.C.The cultures at different sites in the Indus Valley are to be placed between these two extreme dates.

AUTHORS OF THE INDUS CIVILIZATION.

The only definite material available with regard to the authorship of the Indus Valley civilization is the human skeletons and skulls found among the ruins.As mentioned above, these show that the population of Mohenjo-daro was heterogeneous and comprised at least four different racial types, viz.Proto-Australoid, Mediterranean, Alpinoid, and Mongoloid.The Mohenjo-daro population is, however, generally believed to have mainly consisted of the Mediterranean type, which has been described before.The craniological evidence speaks not only of the diverse racial elements, but also of free racial mixture.No accuracy or scientific precision in this respect can be expected in sculptured pieces, as the artists were not anthropologists.Whatever meagre evidence is supplied by the statuary confirms the craniological evidence as to the existence of different races.The anthropological and statuary evidence does not aid us in pointing at the authors of the civilization.There has been quite an amount of speculation among scholars and archaeologists with regard to the ascription of the authorship of the Indus civilization to any particular race. Words like Aryan and Dravidian which primarily denote linguistic groups have been indiscriminately used in an ethnic sense in this connection.Thus the authorship has been ascribed to Dravidians, Brahuis, Sumerians, Panis, Asuras, Vratyas, Vahikas, Dasas, Nagas, and Aryans.

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The majority view prefers to hold the authors of the Indus civilization as speakers of “Dravidian”.So far; however, as the funeral customs are concerned it is impossible to ascribe the Indus Valley culture to the “Dravidians”, among whom burial was the prevalent form of interring the dead. Further, excavation in the south has hitherto revealed no traces of the Indus Valley civilization.The Brahuis, though speaking a Dravidian language, are of Turko-Iranian origin, and the ethnically quite distinct from the various peoples speaking Dravidian languages in Central and Southern India. There is no definite evidence to support the Brahui authorship of the Indus culture.We know nothing definite as to the racial features of the Sumerians.They were, no doubt, in close contact with the Indus Valley in ancient days, and probably formed part of the population at Mohenjo-daro; but there is nothing to credit them with the authorship of the Indus culture.As regards the Panis, Vratyas, Vahikas, Asuras, Dasas, and Nagas, we have no material to identify them with any of the known races.

Sir John Marshall has compared the Vedic civilization with that of the Indus Valley and has found that they are quite distinct; and as the entry of the Aryans into India, according to his view of the date of the Rigveda, is subsequent to 1500 B.C., more than a thousand years after the last vestige of the Indus Valley Civilization disappeared, he cannot think of the Aryans in connection with the Indus Valley civilization.Now the presumed age of the Rigveda is really no barrier to the Aryan authorship of the Indus culture (if other evidence proves that hypothesis) for, in the first instance, that age is not known with even an approximate degree of certainty, and secondly, because the Rigveda can safely be taken to have represented a period long posterior to the advent of the Aryans into India.As to the existence of the Aryans in the Indus Valley at so early a

164 period as the age of the Indus culture, it is held by some, on the evidence of skeletal material, that the Aryans formed part of the diverse population of these days.

Various arguments have been advanced by Sir John Marshall in order to prove that the Indus Valley civilization was quite distinct from, and earlier than, the Vedic civilization.One of his principal arguments, viz., the borrowing of the Siva cult of Mohenjo-daro by the Vedic Aryans, has been noted above.Among others may bementioned the absence of the horse and presence of icons. As regards the first, Dr. Mackay takes the model animal to represent a horse, and has conjectured that the Indus Valley people probably knew the horse at about 2500 B.C. at the latest. The finds of saddles in some of the lowest strata at Mohenjo-daro, and the representation of the horse in the Indus Valley art seem to prove that the horse was known. As to the second, it is true that the Vedic religion was aniconic to a very great extent. But it is not unlikely that the Rigveda represents an earlier phase of the culture found in the Indus Valley. The use of icons in the Indus Valley, as seen in the phallic cult, probably followed in the wake of Siva worship in the Rigveda.Later on, owing to contact with alien or non-Aryan elements, some concepts such as phallic worship, magic and carms, etc., were perhaps incorporated in the comprehensive Hindu religious system.Similarly, the Mother Goddess (Aditi and Prithvi in the Rigveda) and Siva were developed in the period of the Indus Valley by synthesis and fusion with non-Aryans.There was thus a co-mingling of cultures, Vedic and non-Vedic, and for the authorship of the composite Indus Valley civilization, we need not look to any particular race.

Although Sir John Marshall’s view is now generally accepted, some scholars still regard the Vedic civilization as older than that of the Indus

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Valley.It is impossible, at the present state of our knowledge, to come to any definite conclusion, but it has to be admitted that there is no conclusive evidence against the view that ascribes the authorship of the Indus Valley civilization to the Rigvedic Aryans, and regards it as a logical corollary, a lineal descendant, of the culture described in the Rigveda.But even then the authorship of the Indus Valley civilization cannot be ascribed to any particular race, as every element in the diverse population contributed its share to the civilization. Even assuming that the Rigvedic civilization was earlier, we must remember that during the period that intervened between it and the Indus Valley civilization, the Vedic religion was incorporating many alien and non-Aryan features such as phallus worship, Naga worship, magic and spells, etc., and was already tending to become comprehensive, composite and all-embracing, harmonising different constituent elements and catering to the needs of the various strata.It would not, therefore, be correct to ascribe the authorship of the Indus Valley culture to the Aryan or any other particular race.It represents the synthesis of the Aryan and non-Aryan cultures.The utmost that we can say is that the Rigveda Aryans probably formed an important part of the populace in those days, and contributed their share to the evolution of the Indus Valley civilization.

EXTENT, CONNECTIONS, AND SURVIVALS OF THE INDUS CIVILIZATION.

The very fact that Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, the first two prehistoric sites excavated in the Indus Valley, although about 400 miles apart, present a homogeneous culture, shows that the civilization was neither local nor regional, nor confined to any restricted area. Subsequent excavations in a large number of other sites have brought to light prehistoric antiquities representing the identical civilization, and

166 these indicate that Mohenjo-daro and Harappa do not mark the extreme limits of its extent.The late Mr. N.G. Majumdar’s exploration in Sind revealed various settlements of the Indus Valley civilization in many places in Sind, from the modern Hyderabad, 60 miles north-east of Karachi in the south, to Gujo, Vijnot, and Jacobabad in the north, forming a long chain of mounds between the present course of the Indus and the foot-hills of the Kirthar range.It shows that these pre-historic sites follow the old lines of communication between southern and northern Sind through the hill range.Chanhu-daro, over a hundred miles south-east of Mohenjo-daro, and Amri, the same distance down-stream from Mohenjo-daro, are important sites at which the same civilization has been found. On the west bank of the Indus Lohumjo-daro, Ali Murad, Jhukar, Ghazi Shah, and Alor are the principal sites from which several objects of the Indus culture were recovered. Further west, Sir Aurel Stein’s explorations have proved the extension of the Indus Valley civilization to Dabar Kot, Sur Jangal, and Periano Ghundal in Northern Baluchistan and Kulli and Mehi in Southern Baluchistan.According to Stein, Shahi Tump mark the outpost of the Indus Valley civilization.

Terra-cottas recovered at Buxar and at Pataliputra (Patna) indicate the extent of the cultural influence of the Indus Valley eastward.In the Ghazipur and Benares districts were found pictographs, carnelian beads, and objects exactly similar to those found in the Indus Valley. There are various ancient sites in the United Provinces in the Gangetic basin from which relics of copper civilization have been reported.Kotla Nihang Khan, near Rupar on the Sutlej in the Ambala district below the Simla hills, about 220 miles due east of Harappa, also records finds typical of the Indus Valley sites.Thus the Indus Valley civilization seems to have embraced the whole of Sind and the Punjab, the bulk of Kathiawar, a

167 part of the coastal region, the valleys of North-West Frontier Province, and a part at least of the Gangetic basin.

The extent of the Indus Valley civilization indicates its connections practically with the whole of Northern India, and in the west, with all the contemporary cultures.Immediately the discoveries in the Indus Valley were published, Sumerologists came forward with affinities of the Indus Valley civilization with Sumer, and at the outset the Indus Valley civilization was designated Indo-Sumerian.But despite its close contact with ancient Sumer, the Indus Valley civilization has peculiarities of its own.It has recently been shown that the similarities between the two cultures have been over-emphasized and the differences overlooked. At any rate there is an overwhelming mass of evidence showing that a flourishing trade, probably through the land routes in Baluchistan, existed between the Indus Valley and Sumer in ancient times. Numerous seals of Indian design and workmanship have been found at various Sumerian and E, amite sites.Importations from Sumer recovered in the Indus Valley, however, are comparatively very few. A white marble seal, an engraved steatite vessel, an etched carnelian bead, a model ram, an adze axe, and small pottery rings used as net-weights have been recorded as probable importations from Sumer, indicating trading intercourse.The most important piece of evidence testifying to the influence of the Indus Valley on Sumer is the fashion of hair-dressing adopted by Sumerian women from the Indus Valley.

For associations with Egypt, however, we have to depend only on indirect connection suggested by certain objects and motifs. No definite object of Egyptian workmanship has been found in the Indus Valley, nor has any Egyptian site recorded an Indus Valley object.Segmented beads and hemispherical terminals of necklaces, bull-legged stools, small model

168 beds with recumbent female figurines, female figurines suckling a child, faceted beads, fly-shaped beads, cord designs, candle stands and mussel-shell-shaped spoons, are among the various objects that link the Indus Valley and Egypt.The borrowings appear to have taken place through Sumer and Elam as intermediaries.Though Stein’s researches clearly show that the population of Baluchistan was far greater than it is now, and that various land routes through Baluchistan were extensively used in ancient times for trade purposes, it appears probable that the Indus Valley people also used sea-routes, despite lack of corroborative evidence.

Before dealing with the survivals of the Indus Valley civilization, we may consider the causes that led to its decay and disappearance.The progressive desiccation of the lower Indus Valley was the main cause of the evacuation of the Indus cities.The growing danger of floods was certainly responsible for the evacuation of Mohenjo-daro.The Indus floods, however, cannot account entirely for the desertion of the Indus settlement, though possibly climatic changes were an important reason. There is a remarkable dearth of means of defence both structural, such as walls, and turrets and mechanical, such as weapons and it is probable that these rich, unguarded cities, with their unwarlike mercantile population, were sacked by invading tribes, some of whom may have been Aryans.The skeletons found at Mohenjo-daro bear out this conjecture. A similar fate overtook the palace of Minos at Crete.

The discovery of the Indus Valley civilization has pushed back the history of India to the period 3000-2500 B.C. if not earlier still. It is generally believed that there is a hiatus in Indian culture of at least 1000 years, up to 1500 B.C. when the Aryans set foot in India. It will be shown later that according to the traditional history of the Hindus as recorded

169 in the Puranas, ancient history ends with the Mahabharata war, which was fought in 1400 B.C., and goes back to the period immediately after the Flood.As Mohenjo-daro culture is a post-Flood event, we may hold that there is a continuity of historical traditions right from the Mohenjo- daro period down to the Mahabharata war, and these grow more and more reliable as we come to later times ending in the Gupta Age (4th century A.D.).

Punch-marked coins, with their symbols reminiscent of the Indus Valley script, and with their standard of weight conforming to the weight system at Mohenjo-daro, constitute an important survival of the Indus Valley dating from before 400 B.C.The die-struck and cast varieties of ancient Indian coins appear to be indebted to the Indus Valley for their form.Some of the motifs, designs, shapes, and forms found in the pottery and terra-cotta objects at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa find their counter- part in the objects discovered in the Punjab and the North-West, belonging to the early centuries before the Christian era.In the field of religious symbols, it may be suggested that the horn-crown on the head of Siva Pasupati in the Indus Valley has survived as a symbol of great significance in the nandipada, and the images of Siva as Dakshinamurti and of Buddha as Yogi are due to the influence of the Indus culture.These instances indicate that there was probably no complete break or hiatus after the Indus Valley civilization.

What brought the Indus cities to an end has for long been a matter of debate.The occurrence in the habitation area at Mohenjo-daro of some human skeletons, including one of which the skull bears the mark of a cut, has been interpreted as evidence of a massacre at the hands of the invading Aryans.This view, however, now seems untenable. In the first place, the skeletons do not all belong to one and the same occupation-

170 level, which should also be the latest, marking the end of the Indus settlement.Secondly at the site there is no evidence of an alien culture immediately overlying the Indus one.To save the situation, the post- Indus Cemetery H at Harappa has been brought into the picture. It has, however, been demonstrated elsewhere by the present writer that there was an appreciable time-lag between the end of the Indus civilization and the beginning of Cemetery H. Thus the Cemetery H people can hardly be regarded as the invaders if those invaded had ceased to exist at the time. And to regard the Cemetery H people as Aryans is fraught with still greater difficulties. In the present state of our knowledge, such people are conspicuously absent from the Ghaggar (ancient Sarasvati), Satluj, and upper Ganga valleys – regions where the early Aryans are known from their own literature to have resided.

Another theory ascribes the end of the Indus civilization to heavy flooding.This may, however, be only partly true.For, while some evidence of devastation by floods is to be found at Mohenjo-daro and Lothal, there is no such evidence in respect of other sites, for example Kalibangan. At this site, neither the invader nor the flood can be invoked. Here perhaps the drying up of the Ghaggar – gradual or sudden, owing either to climatic changes or to the diversion of the waters resulting from factors at or near their source – may have been the cause of the desertion of the site.Pestilence and the erosion of the surrounding landscape owing to over-exploitation may also be reasons for the end of certain settlements.

Be that as it may, there is enough evidence to show that the great Indus civilization did not come to a sudden dead end.For example, at Lothal, from its Period A (Indus) to B (post-Indus), there is a gradual change in the pottery and the disappearance or replacement by others of certain kinds of antiquities.This devolution is further continued at the

171 neighbouring site of Rangpur. Likewise a change of face is also indicated by the evidence from sites in eastern Punjab and north-western U.P.The Indus civilization no doubt fell; all the same it left many indelible imprints on the latter-day cultures of the subcontinent.

CHAPTER-11

THE VEDIC SOCIETY

THE VEDIC LITERATURE

The word Veda means knowledge or the knowledge par excellence, i.e., the spiritual or the religious knowledge. It does not mean one single literary work, but a whole literature which developed in the course of many centuries and was handed down from generation to generation by verbal transmission. The Vedic literature consists of four different classes of works: The Samhitas or collections of hymns, prayers, incantations, benedictions, and sacrificial formulas.There are 4 Samhitas.The oldest and most important of all the Samhitas is the Rigveda Samhita which consists of a collection of 1,028 hymns (Suktas) and divided into ten books (mandalas). It is a collection of hymns by a number of priestly families, recited or chanted by them on sacrificial occasions.A study of the Rigveda is indispensable for any adequate study of the development of Indian thought.“We find freshness and simplicity and an inexplicable carm as of the breath of the spring or the flower of the morning about these first efforts of the human mind to comprehend and express the mystery of the world”.

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The Samaveda Samhita consists of 1603 verses of which all but 99 are found in the Rigveda.The word Saman means melody and that the Samaveda is nothing but a collection on melodies.The literary and historical value of the Samaveda is insignificant.The Yajurveda is essentially a guide-book for the Adhvaryu priest. There are no less than six complete recensions of the Yajurveda of which two (Madhyandina and Kanva) constitute the White Yajurveda, and the rest (Taittiriya, Kathaka, Maitrayani and Kapishthala) the Black Yajurveda. In the Yajurveda we can trace very clearly the transition from prayers to magic formulas. The Atharvaveda is a collection of 731 hymns which contain about six thousand verses.It is divided into 20 books.Compiled after the Rigveda and the Yajurveda; the Atharvaveda consists mainly of magical spells and incantations in verse. It possesses an atmosphere of simple animism and magic on mundane level.The Atharvaveda forms an intermediate step in the transition of the Vedic religion and the later Hinduism as it embodies the religious beliefs of the Aryans when they had accepted some non-Aryan beliefs as their religion.

The Brahmanas are the ritual textbooks intended to guide the priests through the complicated web of sacrificial rites.The Brahmanas are loaded with symbolic subtleties which are ultimately lost in a soulless mechanism of idle rites and pedantries of formalism. The following are the most important of the Brahmanas. The Aitareya Brahmana and the Kaushitaki or Sankhayana Brahmana belongs to the Rigveda. To the Samaveda belongs the Tandya-Maha-Brahmana also called Panchavimsa as well as Jaiminya-Brahmana.The latter is of special interest as it combines religion and legend, but unfortunately our knowledge is inhibited by the fragmentary nature of material. To the Yajurveda belong the Taittiriya and the Satapatha-Brahmana. The former contains only

173 later additions to the Samhita, while the latter, so called because it consists of one hundreds Adhyayas or chapters is the best known, the most extensive and the most important of all the Brahmanas.The Gopatha-Brahmana of the Atharvaveda consisting mostly of slightly modified quotations from other sources is of comparatively late origin.

The Aranyakas.

The Aranyakas or ‘firest texts’ from appendices to the Brahmanas. “These texts comprise everything which was of a secret character and which for that reason, might only be taught and learnt in the forest, and not in the villages. The main contents of these Aranyakas are no longer rules for the performance of the sacrifices and the explanation of ceremonies, but the mysticism and symbolism of sacrifice, and priestly philosophy”.The oldest Upanishads are in part appended to these ‘forest- texts’ obliterating the sharp distinction between the two literatures.

The Upanishads.

The word Upanishad which means ‘sitting down near’ was the secret communication or doctrine imparted by the teacher to his pupil.There are said to be 108 Upanishads altogether, but many of these are of little importance. The earlier Upanishads – like the great Brihadaranyaka and the Chhandogya – are written in prose, while the later compositions, like the Katha and Svetasvatara, are in verse.The Upanishads which form the component parts of the Brahmanas are the Aitareya Upanishad, the Kaushitaki Upanishad, the Taittiriya Upanishad, the Chhandogya Upanishad and the Kena Upanishad.To the later period (probably pre- Buddhistic) belong the Katha, the Svetasvatara, the Mahanarayana, the Isa, the Mundaka and the Prasna Upanishads. The Upanishads are rich

174 in deep philosophical content and are the bed-rock on which all the later philosophical development rests.

ORIGIN AND HOME OF THE ARYANS

There is good archaeological evidence to show that in the centuries following 2000 B.C., north-west India was invaded by some tribes from the west.They were called Aryans who ultimately occupied the greater part of the northern India and forced the vanquished natives, the Dravidians, to migrate to the south.The most bewildering source of controversy veers round the original home of the Aryans. A number of scholars, attaching great importance to the Puranic evidence, strongly maintain the indigenous origin of the Aryans.Ganganath Jha tried to prove that the original home was the Brahmarshi-desa. Another scholar, D.S. Trivedi, suggests the region of the river Devika in Multan as the original home of the Aryans. Kashmir and the Himalayan regions have been held by L.D. Kalla to be the Aryan homeland.

The Aryans belonged to a very ancient stock of the human race and lived in the great steppeland which stretches from Poland to Central Asia. Owing to pressure of population and desiccation of pasture lands, the Aryans, migrated in bands westwards, southwards and eastwards. Some invaded Europe to become the forefathers of the Greeks, Latins, Celts and Teutons, while others appeared in Anatolia to become the progenitor foreign the Hittite empire. Others remained in their old home, the ancestors of the later Baltic and Slavonic peoples, while others moved southwards to the Caucasus and the Iranian tableland.The Kassites, who conquered Babylon, were led by men of this stock. Further to the north in the Hurri region arose the great state of Mittanni, whose Kings had Indo-Iranian names and a few of whose gods – Indara, Uruvna (Varuna),

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Mitira and Nasatiya are familiar to the Vedic religion.The Aryan invasion of India was not a single concerted action, but one covering centuries and involving many tribes. The Aryans who settled in India were racially and culturally akin to the ancient Iranians.The same gods; Indra, Varuna, Mitra, etc. were worshipped by Iranians till Zoroaster taught them to worship Ahura-Mazda in the sixth century B.C. Only the Indo- Aryan god of fire (Agni) was worshipped by both. The Sanskrit word deva for ‘god’ stood for ‘demon’ in the Iranian language. “Not only single words and phrases but even whole stanzas may be transliterated from the dialect of India into the dialects of Iran without change of vocabulary or construction”.But later on the two peoples developed their distinctive cultures apparently without the mutual influence.

ARYAN SETTLEMENTS IN INDIA

The hymns of the Rigveda afford an interesting glimpse of the Aryan settlements in India.The centre of their activities was the Punjab.The rivers most often referred to are the Indus itself, the Sarasvati and the Drishadvati and the five streams – the Sutudri (Sutlej), Vipas (Beas), Parushni (Ravi), Asikni (Chenab) and Vitasta (Jhelum).The rivers mentioned outside the Indus basin are the Ganga, the yamuna and the Sarayu.The Ganga was not an important river in the period of the Rigveda while Yamuna has been mentioned only three times.The Rigveda also mentions some rivers of Afghanistan namely Kubha (Kabul), Gomati (Gomal) Krumu (Kurram) and Suvastu (Swat).

The Rigveda mentions one outstanding historical event, i.e., the victoryof King Sudas over the Ten-king confederacy. Sudas was the chief of the Bharatas.At first Visvamitra was the priest of Sudas who, however, dismissed the former and appointed Vasishtha as his priest. Thereupon

176 a long and bitter struggle ensued between the two rival priests. Visvamitra led a tribal confederacy of ten kings against the Bharatas, the federation consisting of the five well-known tribes Puru, Yadu, Turvasa, Adu and Druhyu along with five others namely – Alina, Paktha, Bhalanas, Siva and Vishanin.The Bharatas utterlyrouted the confederacy on the bank of the Parushni, modern Ravi. Soon after this battle Sudas had to fight with three other non-Aryan tribes – Ajas, Sigrus and Yakshus.The Bharatas were settled in the region between the Sarasvati and the Yamuna while temple Purus remained in the Harappa region. Though defeated the Purus were a very important tyribe and were closely connected with the Tritsus and the Bharatas. Out of the amalgamation of these rival tribes in later Vedic period emerged the Kurus.

In their migration to the east and south-east the Aryans came into conflict with the Dasas or Dasyus.The Kiratas, Kikatas, Chandalas, Parnakas, Simyus, etc. were Dasa tribes who inhabited the Gangetic valley. The Dasas were dark-complexioned, snub-nosed, worshippers of the phallus, rich in cattle and lived in fortified strongholds, pura.It would be too facile to suppose that there was perpetual enmity between the native dasyus ad the invading Aryans. A gradual fusion took place and the process by which this sense of unity developed was called Aryanization.

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS.

Monarchy was the prevailing system of government, the tribe as a political unit being under the rule of a king. The king occupied a position of pre-eminence which are emphasized by a formal consecration and laudatory hymns. Kingship was normally hereditary, but the election of a worthy monarch from among the members of the royal family or of the

177 nobility was not rare. In some states existed the oligarchical form of government in which several members of the royal family shared the power in common? The king’s primary duty was to protect his people.In return he received the obedience of his people, and contributions made by them for the maintenance of royalty, called bali.He was, therefore called bali-hrit (receiver of tributes). Hostile tribes defeated in battle were forced to pay some kind of Bali or tribute to the king.Among the most important officials of the king was Purohita who acted as preceptor, guide, philosopher and friend. He was the alter ego of the king in all religious matters.Next in importance were the Senani, the leader of the army and the Gramani, the headman of the village. There were also dutas or messengers acting as links between different states and spasa or spies engaged in securing information about the kingdom and the people.

The king also performed the duties of a judge, probably as a court of final appeal in civil justice, while in criminal justice he exercised a wide jurisdiction.Theft, burglary, robbery cheating, gambling and cattle-lifting were the principal crimes.The usual form of punishment was to tie the criminal to a stake.The system of wergeld (Vairadeya) or monetary compensation to relatives of the man killed was probably in force as is evidenced by the term Satodaya, i.e. one, the price of whose blood was one hundred coins or cows.The king’s authority was to a certain extent curbed by the two popular assemblies called Sabha and Samiti.While the precise distinction between them is not clear, the two terms occuring in the same context, they wielded considerable power.The Sabha, less popular than the Samiti, was somewhat restricted in its composition, conferring its membership to a select body.The Samiti was more comprehensive including the common people, learned Brahmanas and

178 the rich.Presided over by the king it mainly dealt with the political business.Though discussions were lively by the exchange of opinions, the common ideal sought was to secure concord not only between the king and the assembly but also among members of the assembly. In summing up the functions of the Sabha and the Samiti, U.N. Ghosal observes:‘As regards the composition and functions of the two assemblies all that can be correctly predicated of them is that the Samiti was the Folk-assembly par excellence of the Vedic Aryans and occupied as such a position of sufficient importance to make it the king’s most valuable asset, that the parallel assembly of the Sabha which enjoyed equal prestige tended at an early period to be narrowed down into the king’s council and court, and finally that both the assemblies enjoyed the right of debate’.

SOCIAL ORGANISATIONS.

Family which formed the basic unit of Aryan society was patriarchal. Monogamy was the usual form of marriage, though polygamy was not unknown and practically confined to the Rajanya class.There was considerable freedom in the selection of a wife or husband; only the marriage of brother and sister and of father and daughter were banned. Child marriage was unknown.Vedic marriage was considered an indissoluble sacrament. Though the remarriage of a widow was unusual, there is a reference to the widow married to the brother of her husband who died without issue.Dowry at marriage was usual.Happiness and harmony were set ideals for conjugal life.The wife enjoyed an honoured place in the family and participated in the sacrificial offerings of her husband.In a patriarchal society, abundance of sons was constantly prayed for as the son alone could perform the funeral rites for the father and inherit the father’s property.

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The caste system with its strictly hereditary and rigid exclusiveness did not exist in Vedic society; it was a later development when the Vedic Aryans had settled in the middle country.The genesis of the caste system may be found in a late hymn of the Rigveda, the Purush-Sukta which describes that when the gods divided Purusha (the primeval giant or creator) “the Brahmana was his mouth; the Rajanya was made his arms; the being (called) the Vaisya, he was his thighs; the Sudra sprang from his feet”.The Rigveda describes the three higher castes of later times as Varna (colour) differentiating them from dasya-varna or aboriginal colour.The Brahman and Kshatriya classes in the early Vedic times were not hereditary.There was neither a hereditary priesthood nor a hereditary warrior class as the latter was drawn from the people at large. Heredity of occupation was not yet accepted principle and the rigidity of the caste system i.e., prohibition of interdining and intermarriage was not practised in the Rigveda age.

The home of the teacher was temple school where the pupil was initiated to the discipline of a Brahmachari.In the celebrated Gayatri verse an Arya prays to Savitri for sharpening his intellect.The entire instruction was imparted orally.The Rigveda refers to the repetition by the pupil of the words taught by his teacher. The fundamental aim of education was the development of character achieved through a process of self-realization. After a period of austerity and concentration on the acquisition of true knowledge followed by enlightenment the pupil became qualified to be a teacher ‘just its frogs, after a season of slumber, were quickened into activity by the clouds’.

Music was well known.The Aryans played the Jute, flute and harp to the accompaniment of cymbals and drums.Other forms of amusement were chariot-racing, horse-racing, dicing and dancing. The chariot race, a

180 favourite sport, was a source of entertainment. Dicing, often played with stakes, led to ruin and slavery for paying the debts incurred. Propensity of the Aryans to gambling and its pernicious effect is referred to in a hymn of the Rigveda.Milk and its products, butter, rice, barley, beans and sesamum formed the principal food-stuff. Vegetables and fruits were also largely used.Meat – the flesh of the ox, the sheep and the goat – was also eaten specially on occasions of sacrifice, which were numerous in those days.The cow regarded as a valued possession, was deemed aghuya (not to be killed) in the Rigveda.Sura, probably distilled from grain, was the popular intoxicating drink and Soma, the juice of a plant, was an exhilarating and invigorating beverage.

The dress of the people consisted of the undergarment (nivi), a garment and an over-garment called adhivasa.There were various kinds of clothing – woolen clothings, embroidered garments and a special garment worn by the bride at the marriage ceremony.Several kinds of ornaments, both of gold and precious stones, were used by men as well as women. Karna-sibhana or ear-rings, Kursa, a kind of head-ornament worn by females, Khadi, a kind of ring, worn as an armlet or an anklet, Nishka, a gold ornament worn on the neck, Mani, a kind of jewel worn round the neck and garlands are frequently mentioned.Both men and women oiled and combed their hair. Women wore it plaited. The men kept beard and moustaches and occasionally shaved them.The physicians occupied a prominent place in the social hierarchy for their professional skill in curing the disease. Among diseases Yakshma or consumption was most frequent. Miraculous cures were attributed to the twin-gods, the Asvins, experts both in medical and surgical art.

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ECONOMIC LIFE.

Agriculture formed the chief occupation of the Rigvedic Aryans and the latter valued cows and bullocks as their treasured possession. Bulls and oxen were used for ploughing and drawing carts.Some form of irrigation was in vogue.Manure was also used.‘Ploughing, sowing, reaping and threshing’ were the main parts of agricultural operations as described in the Satapatha Brahmana.Hunting as a sport and profession was widely practiced by the Rajanya class. Birds and wild animals were caught in nets (pasa) and snares; bow and arrow were also used in hunting.Barter economy seems to have prevailed in Rigvedic times. Cow was regarded as a unit of value.By using nishkas – a piece of metal possessing a definite weight – money economy was evolved which prepared the way for the use of coined money later. In an enumeration of gifts in the Rigveda, there is a reference to the golden mana which has been indentified by some scholars with the Babylonian weight-unit, the manah.

Specialisation in industry was prevalent. The carpenter, takshan, did all sorts of work in wood including fine carving.The worker in metal, Karmara, made household utensils like kettles.The metal used was called ayas which might have signified copper, or bronze.The goldsmith, hiranyakara, made ornaments of gold.The tanner made articles of leather like bowstrings, stings, thongs to fasten part of the chariot, reins and the lash of the whip.Both men and women were weavers.They worked with looms called veman.Among the cottage industries, sewing and the plaiting of mats from grass or reeds were done mostly by women. Besides extensive inland trade, the Aryans carried on sea-borne trade. ‘Samudra’ in the Rigveda does not stand for the wide stream of the Indus but also high seas like the Arabian Sea and the Indian Occean.The story

182 of the Asvins rescuing Bhujya in the ocean with a ship of a hundred oars, points to marine navigation.If the indentification of Vedic mana with the Babylonian manah is accepted, then the Vedic Indians must have maintained commercial intercourse with distant lands beyond the seas.

RELIGION.

The most interesting aspect of Rigveda religion was their polytheistic character in which a number of gods were worshipped. The Vedic hymns reflect a poetic attitude.The Rigveda Aryans worshipped nature with intense feeling and endowed it with animated souls. The sky and the sea, the dawn, the sun and the moon were regarded as divine.The Vedic Aryans thus had faith in the reality of an unseen world. Naturalism and anthropomorphism marked the first stages of the Vedic religion. The Vedic religion has sometimes been regarded as henotheism i.e., belief in individual gods, alternately regarded as the highest. But there was not a strict hierarchy among the gods.

The oldest among the gods of heaven was Dyaus, identical with Greek Zeus.The earth, Prithivi, was also defied. Heaven and Earth were the universal parents and they are generally addressed in pairs in the Rigveda.Varuna, the Encompassing Sky, was the most sublime deity and ethically the highest. He was identical with the Greek Ouranos and the Ahuramazda of the Avesta. As a moral god of the Vedas ‘he watches over the world, punishes the evil doers and for gives the sins of those who implore his pardon.The Sun is his eye, the sky is his garment and the storm is his breath.Rivers flow by his command; the Sun shines, the star and the moon are in their courses for fear of him. He is the supreme god, the god of gods, harsh to the guilty and gracious to the penitent’.Varuna

183 was the custodian of rita, the latter regulated the cosmic order in its regular course, which the day following the night and season succeeding season.Another all-pervasive characteristic of Varuna was that it was the over-lord of the waters.

Associated with Varuna was Mitra, the personification of the Sun’s beneficent energy.Surya, the Sun, was the all seeing god, often called the eye of Mitra, Varuna and Agni. Savitri was another solar god, who was invoked in the famous Gayatri stanza to confer his spendour on and enlighten the thoughts of the devotee.He was also a source of fertility. Vishnu was the swift moving Sun who covered the earth in three paces. Asvins were inseparable twins corresponding to the dawn and the dusk. They gradually became the physicians of gods and men, protectors of conjugal love and life. Agni the sacrificial fire was regarded as a friend of the mortals and acted as a mediator between them and the gods. He was the god of the priest, who dealt with him at the fire-sacrifice. He was the god of the householder.He is called master of the house (grihapati). Analogous to the Hoama of the Avesta, Soma was the god of the Soma juice which was an invigorating drink of the Aryans. Parjanya was the god of cloud and rain.

Indra the god of Thunder and Rain became the greatest national god of the Aryans.He slew Vrtra, the evil dragon with his thunderbolt who had held back the waters and brough back the water to the parched earth. He wielded the thunderbolt (Vajra) and destroyed the enemies.He acquired the highest divine attributes and displaced Varuna from his pedestal in the Vedic pantheon. As chief of gods he is celebrated in the following Vedic hymns:

He who just born as chief god full of spirit

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Went far beyond the other gods in wisdon;

Before whose majesty and mighty manhood

The two worlds trembled: he, O men, is Indra.

Associated with Indra were several minor deities representing other atmospheric phenomena – the Maruts, the storm-gods, Vata or Vayu, the windgod and Rudra, the howler. As constant companion of Indra, Maruts were powerful and destructive, but they were also kind and beneficent. Rudra was the lord and father of the world.Though regarded as malevolent, Rudra had healing and beneficent powers as well.Ushas, the goddess of Dawn, made a sage describe her beauty in a Vedic hymn. She opened the gates of heaven, and stepped forth radiant out of them. Sometimes rivers were also regarded as goddesses. The most important among them was the Saraswati which later became the goddess of learning.Certain abstract deities like Sraddha, faith, Manyu,wrath were also worshipped.

An important feature of the Vedic Religion was the predominance of the male gods. The goddesses occupied a subordinate position with the notable exception of Ushas. Another characteristic of Vedic religion was its tendency towards monotheism and even monism.The plurality of the gods was questioned and the ultimate unity of one God was realized, different designation to whom such as Visvakarma, Hiranya-garbha, Prajapati or Aditi, the primeaval mother was given.Vedic hymn clearly states that God is one although he bears different names:

They call him Indra, Mitra Varuna,

And Agni; he is the heavenly bird Gauratmat;

To what is one, the poets give many a name,

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They call it Agni, Yama, Matarisvan.

The Nasadiya hymn of the Rigveda describes creation from the highest monistic level. “In the beginning, there was no ‘Non-existent’, because this creation arose therefrom, nor the ‘Existent’, because its usual manifestations – the firmament or the heaven beyond it – were not then. The one breathed by itself, breathless, and there was nothing beyond it. There was no death then; how could there be anything immortal then? There was no light which could give us distinctions like night or day”.The Nasadiya hymn makes nature and spirit twin aspects of the one, the Absolute, which is neither the self nor the non-self.Sacrifice occupied a prominent position in the fig religion its chief purpose was to appease the gods in order to obtain boons from them. Sacrifices associated with simple ceremonies consisted of offering of milk, ghee, grain or flesh. The grand sacrifices – specially the Soma-sacrifices – could only be undertaken by kings and wealthy men.

The Vedic Aryans had no special doctrines a life after death, though they formed some nebulous ideas about heaven and hell. The Vedic Aryans felt that death was not the end of all things. After his death a man was supposed to reach the Yama’s kingdom. The goal of human endeavour was to become like gods. To attain immortality a man had to propitiate gods by worship and sacrifice.The Rigveda by laying emphasis on Rita or moral order and anticipated the law of Karma.In the unalterable law of good or bad effects flowing from good or bad conduct, are to be found the genesis of the law of Karman. “The Vedic hymns form the foundation of subsequent Indian thought.The theism of the Bhagavadgita is only an idealisation of the Varuna-worship. The dualistic metaphysics of the Samkhya is the logical development of the conception of Hiranyagarbha floating on the waters”.

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CHAPTER-111

LATER VEDIC SITUATION (1500 B.C – 600 B.C.)

The Battle of Ten Kings in which the Bharatas and Sudas emerged victorious took place much before the texts of the Rigveda emerged in their final collected form.The Rigveda was followed by the other Vedas which were in a way elaborations of the Rigveda in giving in them more for conducting prayers and ritualistic rites and observations.The pure texts or Samhitas were soon followed by other texts – the Brahmanas and Aranyakas which not only explain the purpose and utility of the Vedic texts but also develop through them a philosophy of life, creation, after-life, and so on.Many of the Brahmanas are considered part of the Vedas themselves.Following the Brahmanas and Aranyakas, came the purely philosophical texts of the Upanishads in which the concepts of the abstract and the absolute, of man, God, soul and of cause and effect of things in their conceivable as well as non-conceivable aspects, etc., are discussed at length in the form of discussions between the teacher and the taught.

These later Vedas, i.e., the Sambandham, Yajur and Atharva Vedas along with their Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads reflect the social and political environment of the times in which a culture operates and lays down the foundation of that which is to follow it.The Yajur Veda Samhita lays such emphasis on the rituals which go with the recitation of hymns that only the eleborate knowledge and experienced practice of the priests can deliver the goods.The Atharvaveda Samhita brought in factors of magic and charm which were yet outside the pale of Aryan

187 culture and mode of prayer as well as action for achievement of health, wealth, distinction,and affection or power.Thus, while the Brahmanas, Aranyakas and specially the Upanishads provided impetus to philosophical thought and cultivation of a superior moral conduct thereby, the charms, incantations and practices of the Atharva Veda sought to provide short cuts to everything through intercession of the supposed power of magical words, figures and base rituals.

THE PURANAS.

The Puranas provide us with geneologies of kings and give descriptions of their times as well of the territories they held.This literature gives us indications about the Aryan expansion over the length and breadth of the Indian sub-continent. The Puranas do not give dates or chronological data, but these are obtainable through other means and sources.

EXPANSION.

The post-Rigveda texts have much to tell us about how the various Aryan tribes spread, acquired territory and set up kingdoms over most of India.The story begins with Vaisvata Manu, the first ever king of the Aryans according to the Puranas.Kingship which was not a character of early Aryans, arose according to the Aitareya Brahmana of the Rigveda because of a defeat the Aryans suffered at the hands of the Asuras. The victory was attributed to the Asuras having a king while the Aryans did not have any. So they decided to choose a king for themselves too. Manu being the first king is supported by the Mahabharata and Kautilya’s Arthashastra’ also.

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THE SOLAR DYNASTY.

Manu’s descendants set up a number of kingdoms in time according to families which emerged from his descendants, the main being the Ikhavakus of Ayodhya.Mithila of the Janaka kings was also of this dynasty, called the Suryavanshis or the Solar dynasty.The 19th king of Ayodhya, Mandhata is said to have conquered all the kings towards the west including those of the Pauravas, Anavas, Druhyus and others. Harish Chandra of Kasi and Raghu of Ayodhya of whom Kalidasa has written in his Raghuvamsa were also of this dynasty.After Raghu, it came to be called as the Raghuvamsa; Rama also belonged to this line.

THE LUNAR DYNASTY.

Another line, that of the Chandravamsa or the lunar dynasty was of as much pre-eminence as the solar dynasty. It was the dynasty of Pururava Aila, son of Vaisvata Manu’s daughter ILA.This line was established at Pratishthan, the ruins of which are pointed out near Allahabad at Jhusi. Kings of this dynasty later on spread to Kanyakubja (Kanauj). Nahusha was a grandson of Pururava. His sone Yayati was a great warrior king and is said to have his domain extending as far west as the Saraswati.Yadu, Turvasu, Druhyu, Anu and Puru his sons also set up kingdoms, Puru holding the parental throne.After him, the dynasty came to be known as the Pauravas.Kings of this dynasty are said to have been defeated and pushed westwards towards Punjab by the Ikshavaku king Mandhata.

THE YADAVAS.

The descendants of Yadu, son of Puru came to be known as the Yadavas who set up a kingdom across the Yamuna south-west of Pratishthan; his other sons also set up kingdoms of their own westwards

189 of the Yamuna towards Punjab and as far as Gandhara which was in north-west Punjab (now in Pakistan).The Yadavas rose in power and prominence in the regions south of the Yamuna and even across the Vindhyas and several dynasties arose. The last of these, the Haihayas, worsted the Ikshavaku dynasties and built up a vast empire from the Narmada to the Himalayas. But they too were contained at the hands of Parasurama, son of their priest, Richika, a Bhrigu Brahmin, and Satyavati, daughter of king Gaadhi of Kanyakubja.Their last hold was in the kingdom of Chedi between the Ken and Chambal rivers.

THE BHARATAS.

We have already noted that how the Bharatas held their sway in the region between the Yamuna and the Saraswati.Hastinapur is said to be named after Hasti, a famous king of the dynasty of the Pauravas. Bharata, son of Dushyanta is said to be the king after whom the Bharatas and Bharatavarsha are so named.Kalidasa has immortalized Dushyanta and Bharata in the great drama, Abhijnan Shakuntalam. The Bharatas also divided into several branches; some moving away east of the Ganga to establish the kingdoms of Panchala, with capitals at Ahichhatra and Kampilya.Sudasa of the Battle of Ten Kings is said to have been the king of the Northern Panchala of Ahichhatra.His adversary at Hastinapur was Samvarana, the leader of the confederacy against Sudasa. His son Kuru later conquered Southern Panchala, extending his kingdom up to the confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna. In the time of the Pauravas, Vasu rose to be a powerful king and brought even Magadha under his control.Vasu’s kingdom was divided after him between his five sons.Kings of this line were ruling in Bihar in the times of the Buddha, when the later Vedic period came to a close.

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From the foregoing we can at least see that the Aryans had control over the whole of northern India and extended into the south as well by the time of the Mahabharata war, in which all the kings of the time took part.The Kuru-Panchala alliance had become a dominant factor in the later Vedic period, which not only ended with the Bharata battle but also brought about the end of the Kurus. The date of the battle is not very certain, but 950 B.C. is agreed upon by many scholars.This also agrees with the pottery and other remains excavated at the Hastinapur site.

THE P.G.W: IRON PHASE.

Pottery has been in evidence throughout the ancient cultures, from the Stone Age onwards.The Burzahom People of about 2400 B.C. used a grey pottery, the Stone-Copper phase people produced a black and red pottery occasionally also bearing linear designs in white. They had dishes with stands as well as spouted vessels and their age ranges between 1800 to 800 B.C. at different sites spread over a very large area. Besides this kind os pottery is the ochre coloured pottery, often associated with the Copper-hoard people, ranging in time from 1800 B.C. to 1500 B.C. It is found mostly on the fringes of the Harappan culture, in Rajasthan, the Ganga-Yamuna doab as also in the central Ganga basin, etc.After a lapse of several centuries, the Painted Grey Ware (PGW) appeared at many sites, often in association with the earlier Blafk and Red ware as also with the Ochre Coloured pottery.This PGW is of about 1000 B.C. onwards.By 500 B.C. or so, another kind of pottery known as the Northern Black Polished Ware made its appearance. Excavations at different sites have yielded pottery shreds which helps us infixing the date of the culture which existed there.

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The Upper Ganga Basin and areas in its west as well as east are full of mounds of the PGW age. Nearly 500 sites are known, but only a few have so far been properly excavated and examined such as at Hastinapur and Atranjikhera (U.P.). More facts are likely to come to light when other sites in other areas are also excavated.The Painted Grey Ware which we find from Ropar in Punjab to Sonpar and chirand in Bihar gives us indications of later Aryans expansion and settlement in extent as well as in time. Associated with it are also finds of iron implements, the first of them appearing in the Gandhara region of north-west Punjab in Pakistan as well in Baluchistan in about 1000 BC? The use of iron in western Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and eastern Punjab is also of about the same time, or about 800 BC. The iron weapons of the Aryans gave them an upper hand over the Copper-hoard people of the ochre coloured pottery living in the doab for about 800 years when the Aryans over-threw them.Living also in these as well in areas further east in the Ganga basin were the black and red pottery people.These people were also probably easily subdued and either displaced or enslaved.

Areas in the Ganga basin east of the Ganga were at that time densely forested, especially in the northern part.We hears of the Pandavas escaping into these forests from the wrath of Duryodhana and meeting there Hidimba, a girl of non-Aryan blood whom Bhima married. The use of iron axes most surely helped the Aryans to clear these forests, which the copper tool people could not for obvious reasons.The clearing of forest not only helped growth of agriculture and settlement but also facilitated movement on land and therefore further expansion towards the east through the plains.The earlier people of the Neolithic culture were obliged to move along the southern edge of the plains near the highlands of the Vindhyas.The use of iron grew rapidly. It was called the

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Shyama or Krishna ayas as against ayas for copper to make a distinction.Within a century, its use spread to the eastern region of U.P. as well.

ECONOMIC LIFE.

The later Vedic Aryans depended largely on agriculture and may have used a wooden plough with an iron share as is still used in the Ganga plains.But this cannot be ascertained in the absence of any finds.As with other things in Aryan life, even ploughing was begun with ritualistic fanfare with the king drawing the first furrow.They grew crops of barley and wheat as well as of rice where enough rainfall or water was available. This is so even now.In ritualistic offerings, the Aryans used barley; rice also found similar use in later Vedic period, but not wheat.This is so even now; rice is used in ‘Puja’ and as ‘Dhan’ or paddy finds due place with barley in many marriage rites.The earliest finds of rice from Hastinapur date from about 800 B.C.

Arts and Crafts.

While copper was still in use in about 1000 B.C., more and more iron began to be used about the same time for making weapons, implements and tools.The copper ores of Khetri were already available and iron may have come at first from sources outside India, before the ores of Bihar and Bengal were exploited.The characteristic pottery of the early period of the Later Vedic Age as we have seen was the Painted Grey Ware. But other kinds of pottery also existed such as the Black and Red and the Red and the Black-slipped ware.The PGW was perhaps for the use of the richer upper classes or for use in rituals or for both. More abundant than these is the tougher red-ware, which must have been in use of the common people at large.Ornaments made of copper, glass bangles and

193 other jewellery unearthed at several places not only indicate their use for personal adornment but also of the craftsmen behind them.The find of glass is quite distinctive as the Harappans perhaps did not know of it. Spinning and weaving, leather craft, and carpentry were the other crafts which the later Vedic Aryans knew well.

The description given in Later Vedic and Puranic texts about the houses, palaces, and cities are not corroborated by archaeological finds. The Hstinapur and Atranjikhera (Distt. Etah, U.P) sites show that most houses were mud-brick ones along with those built with wattle and daub.The towns of Hastinapur and Kaushambi, the later seat of the Kurus, were but in the early phase of urban development and in no way ostentatious.Mathura, Kasi, Ayodhya,and Janakapur must have been like-wise.From the Rig Vedic period to the Later Vedic period was an age of great conflicts and movements, but all the same of development of agriculture, arts and crafts, urbanisation, trade and political organization.

POLITY.

As we have seen, a number of kingdoms had sprung up all over the sub-continent.The Aryans appear to have both the practices – of dividing a kingdom between the several sons of the ruler as well as of giving the throne to the eldest and encouraging the rest to go out to establish their own by subduing the non-Aryans across the borders or even by conquering other Aryan kingdoms.Kings like Mandhata, Sudasa and Nahusha had been able to establish, acct to the Puranas, veritable empires.The hated king of Magadha, Jarasandha was a ruler feared by the Yadavas and the Kurus alike.The victorious Pandavas could not earn the title of ‘Chakravartin’ or emperor for their brother Yudhishthir

194 without having to contend with Jarasandha, who had already subdued and even imprisoned nearly a hundred kings and princes. In such an atmosphere the ruler had to be an autocrat and peoples’ say in political and administrative matters had to dip down to the wishes of the ruler, although some of the older democratic elements were still to be seen in some kingdoms.

With the idea of imperialism gaining hold on the minds of the Aryan rulers, the priestly class did not lag behind and formulated a number of ‘Yajnas’ without performing which the king could not be a king – The Rajasuya for kinship (Raja), the Vajapeya for emperorhood (Samrat), the Ashvamedha for total overlordship (Swarat) and Purushmedha and Sarvamedha for being Virat and Sarvarat – rulers of continents and even the whole earth.How much desire and greed to expand, fight and dominate such titles, rituals and priestly incitement must have caused is left to imagination.But in this description from the Gopatha Brahmana there were happily some checks as the Atharva Veda gives. A ruler could also be elected, deposed and even elected and installed again by the people.The king had also to take oaths, and pronounce before the people that he would be liable to deposement and removal if found lacking in his duties as a ruler or in his conduct as a righteous person.He was reminded at the time of his coronation that he, even the king was not above law by the Adhvarya ceremony in which he was struck on the back by the rod of justice, even that which he was to wield.The king only saw to the implemention of the law, it was not his to make it.

The Sabha and the Samiti still existed but now the dominant voice in these was that of the ruler.The Vidatha ceased to exist and women lost their say in the assemblies.In earlier days, an area was known by the name of tribe which held it. Gradually, the tribal control became rigid;

195 the area began to be identified in terms of boundaries and territory with the tribal name on it.Thus, states known as Janapadas, were born.These do not find mention in the Rigveda.Further identification with tribal rights over it brought in the name ‘Rashtra’ or nation.Some of these political divisions had more than one janapada of different tribes in them such as that of the Kuru-Panchalas’.

During this period, administration must have become a more complex affair so that we see an increase in the number of functionaries above the three of the Rigveda Vedic period, i.e., the Senani, Purohita and the Gramani.The Later Vedic period had officials for looking after the kings household (Kshata), controlling the treasury (Samgrahita), collecting taxes (Bhagadugh), auditing accounts (Akshavapa), protecting forests (Govikaratta) besides the Purohita, Senani and Gramani.There were Sutas to keep records of affairs concerning the state and Palagalas to receive, send and keep messages and information.Alongwith the chief queen or the rajamahishi and the rajanyas, these twelve were also the ratnis, i.e., those who confirmed the kingship of a ruler.These office bearers appear to have been at the centre of power only to assist the ruler.In the villages and towns, the tribal chiefs and gramani continued to carry on administration with the help of the samities.

SOCIETY.

The institution of varnas was now confirmed with four classes in it with the addition of the Sudras.However, before the formulation of the Dharmasutras, the Varna system was not so rigid as it became later – its flexibility had remained to accommodate a person’s abilities or his preference for a certain kind of work or duty he chose for himself. But because of the growing complexity of the ritualistic aspect in religion and

196 therefore increase in the importance and influence of the priestly class, the varnas became rigid, coming upon people by birth and no more by deed.The Brahmanas too, found a way in the ritualistic practices to seek and gain ascendancy over the other classes of priests of the earlier period, of whom they were only one of the sixteen.This was due to their close association with the rulers in conducting rituals and sacrifices, which was very often, and through saying prayers for them and also lauding their deeds and actions. In the process, the Brahmana got many concessions even in matters of breaking law. He was punished lightly for grave crime even, and was never awarded the death sentence.And because he received gifts so often, he became rich too. The warrior-priest conjunction came to have a tight grip on the people.

The vaisyas continued to work and till the land, tend the flocks as well carry on the crafts.In time they took to trade and their place was filled by the still numerous non-Aryans as well as those born out of marriages between different varnas, which though not taboo, came to be looked down upon and the progeny of such marriage was assigned separate castes, and given work not considered fit for the others.While a Vaisya was the only one perhaps to pay taxes, he could be oppressed for it and even beaten up anytime the Brahmana or the Kshatriya felt to do so.But worst was the lot of the Shudra; he could not be but a slaving servant and be beaten anytime and all the time at anybody’s will.However, the sudras too had a great right; they had a function to perform at the king’s coronation.Not only that, therefore’s was the right and not the Brahmana’s and still is to certain kinds of alms as at the time of eclipses.

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The Family.

The society was patriarchal though women still wielded enough power to affect matters.The chief queen was one of the ratnis and a uajna could not be performed without the lady of the house.Women still could participate in debates, etc. But, on the whole, their position became secondary.The right to property remained the son’s and only the eldest male of the family could hold a throne or other seat of honour. A home without a son was considered one without light. And the Aitareya Brahmana called the daughter as the source of all sorrows of life. Paradoxically, all men desired good wives.About this time, the gotra concept also grew. It was a linking thread for people of common ancestry who were in danger of losing their identity because of the loosening of the tribal structure and way of life.Thus, all people who had a common ancestor had one gotra irrespective of the place where they lived, near or far from the real ‘gotra’ or cow-pen of their original tribe.All people of the same gotra were considered near kin, like brother and sisters in a family, so no intra-gotra marriages could take place, only extra-gotra marriages were sanctioned.

The Ashramas and Education.

An institution of far reaching effect that grew in the Later Vedic period was that of the Ashramas – dividing the life of man into four stages, each of 25 years duration.The Vedic Aryans had always prayed for a life of hundred years.The first stage was that of the Brahmachari or student; the boy was sent to spend his time with a guru in his gurukula and acquire knowledge in almost all fields.Thereafter, he married and became a Grihastha, the householder, engaged in earning a livelihood and bringing up a family.This ended when he had grown up children and

198 went away to live and pray in the woods as a Vanaprastha, where he, though kept contact with active society as a thinker, writer and often as a teacher.The last stage of ashrama was that of complete detachment from the world – Sanyasa.This ashrama was the most difficult and taxing, coming as it did towards the fag end of life. Naturally, it took longer to be well established even after the Later Vedic period.

Marriage.

As we have noted, marriage was contracted between different gotras of a kula or Varna. It was firmly established by then and was a sacred bond.However inter-varna marriages could still be held in the early stage of this period. Monogamy was the general practice, but the rich and the influential could indulge in polygamy.

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY.

The simple methods of Rig-Vedic worship in which recitation of prayers was more important than the ritual, underwent a drastic change. And the Brahmanas who managedto emerge above all classes of priest made ritual the principal part of worship and brought in such complexity in it that their expertise became indispensable. As a result, sacrifices and conferring of gifts on the priests became important. The old ature gods of the Rigveda were thrown into the background.In their place more resplendant and imposing gods appeared.Rudra the god of animals and Vishnu the preserver and also the creator through Brahma now came to the forefront, and the Avataras of Vishnu gave a new turn to the modes of worship. Although the Aryans were monotheistic and did not have any images or idols of gods, this age reversed the whole thing – idols and symbolic objects began to be worshipped as gods’ themselves.The four

199 varnas also came to have their own separate gods; Pushan, the protector of cows and cattle went over to the Sudras.

Not only did Indra, Agni and other gods go into recession and ritual assumed frightening proportions with its sacrifices, gifts and costs, magical and obscure practices also took a hold on the people, confounding simple submission to gods through prayer into forcing gods to act through charms and incantations.All this so confused the mind that many began to believe that the world was only ‘maya’, a deceptive illusion of a life-span and must be got rid of by not being born again. Achievement of moksha or riddance from re-birth began to look as the only solution.Therefore, a new school of thought sprang up – that of Adhyatma which built up a philosophy to explain all the intricacies of life, creation, cause of sorrow and pleasure and the achievement of a life of tranquil stability.In such thinking lay the seed of the Upanishads which were compiled about 600 BC in the land of Panchala.The Upanishads lay emphasis on the realisation of the self or the Atman – the soul which is indestructible and in itself a part of the Supreme, who is Brahma, the creator.The arman, they teach, is changeless and stable, neither suffering nor enjoying and therefore the wise choose the course of detatchment from worldly life while yet steeped in it to reach a stability of the mind.Such philosophy, though great in itself, also served the cause of the rulers, who could go on without the people having to say much about how they were governed, right or wrong.

The people irked under the greedy stronghold of Brahmanism on them and revolted.Brahmanas could claim not only gifts of as many as 2,40,000 cows with horns loaded with gold but also lay claim to land now, in any direction and up to any extent.So even kings and rulers joined in the casting away of the heavy yoke of rituals.Many of the rulers

200 like Janaka of Videh, Ashvapati of Kekaya and Pravahana Jabali of Panchala were known as thinkers and philosophers of repute and their views were held in due respect.Sacrifies and ceremonial killing of animals must have caused great loss of useful cattle and other animals.The very gory aspect of the practice must also have moved many a heart to pity and remorse. The Mahabharata tells us how in the time of good king Vasu Chaidyoparichara, the practice was condemned. In Iran, Zarathustra had also revolted against this very aspect of the Aryan ritual, giving rise to a new religion.Here in India; the Bhagwatadharma of simple bhakti began to find favour.

CHAPTER-1V

DISSENT, PROTEST AND REFORM

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHANGES.

The complexity and multiplicity of the rituals alongwith the high costs and sacrifices of innumerable animals including cattle confounded not only the masses but the Kshatriya rulers also in the Later Vedic phase. We have already seen how the Brahmana priests managed to edge out the other priests of the yajna ritual to grind their own axe and gain importance as well as earn rich gifts not only in cattle, gold and apparel, but also in land. We have also seen how the simple nature-gods were put in the pale by the enthronement of newer and more resplendant ones and how even the mighty rulers could not take a step without the priest taking his fees first. All this created such dejection in the mass mind that people began considering life as maya and not worth living at all.A feeling

201 of defeatism came over them and a fatalistic psychology began to prevail. In this atmosphere, it was no wonder that escapism in the form of magic and charms found easy victims among the people, providing them some hope through a practice equally beyond the mind as the ritual of the Brahmanas, albeit easier and less costly. But the thinking ones did not accept it.New sects began to grow in revolt of the Brahmanism of the day and some even put God asides, advocating a life to be lived as best as one could, eating, drinking and merry-making.This was what Charvaka taught and his doctrines attracted all the wayward and confused people around him.We learn that as many as 62 sects grew up during this period, mostly in eastern India where the Brahmanas had exercised a tighter hold because of the larger non-Aryan and mixed population there.The Sudras and women were now considered unfit for even education, to say nothing of participating in public or religious functionsand life.

Society stood on a dangerous crag around 600 B.C. – it was either to fall into an abyss or to save itself from destruction by revolt and reform. The Aranyakas and the Upanishads had already been composed to show the path; these texts were clearly in opposition of the rituals and gave a philosophy of life for the attainment of tranquility in mind and stableness in deed, making life a more fruitful affair even in its austere aspects.It was indeed a very confused state in which the people at large found themselves.They were impoverished and oppressed, and took to any new school of thought in the hope of redemption and amelioration of misery. Even atheism and penance were welcome.

The Aryan world was in confusion not only in India but also elsewhere – in Iran where Zarathustra revolted against gory sacrifices and reversed the whole order of gods, confounding Indra to hell and raising Varun up

202 as Ahura Mazada; in Greece where Pythagoras gave a new philosophy to the god-ridden Greeks and in Asia minor, too, where a new synthesis of ideas of gods and nature grew up. No wonder then that here in India a revolution in ideas should have occurred at this juncture.That revolution was brought by two Kshatriya princes – Vardhamana and Siddharta, separately though and in their own ways.We have already seen how the rulers had been disciplinary-illusioned and several of them had became famous for their philosophical views. We have seen how iron implements helped the eastward expansion of the Aryans.They cleared forests and brought land under their plough.The very existence of the people depended on the cattle needed for farming operations and they could not afford to see it slaughtered by the thousand and gone, either in teir own sacrifices or for meat for which cattle were further decimated, by the non-Aryan tribes living in the eastern Ganga basin.

A New Economy and Trade.

We have seen that on cattle wealth depended the agricultural economy and therefore resentment at the slaughter of these animals was natural. Further more, crafts and trade had increased, giving rise to cities as much as in the Harappan culture. Thus we find several prosperous cities in those times such as Varanasi, Kushinagar, Vaisali, Rajgir and Kaushambi, to mention some. Expansion of trade required use of coins – copper, silver and even gold. It was in eastern India that the first coins, known as the punch-marked coins were released and used for trade in about 500 BC. But as it was, the people in general were averse to growth of wealth in private hands in keeping with the earlier Aryan norms, when most property was tribal property and people led simple lives without any ostentations.This thrust the vaisyas into the camp which could allow them to keep wealth as well raise their status to equality with the upper

203 two classes, and that certainly was not the Brahmanical camp. It was one in their opposition.

CAUSES OF ORIGIN OF JAINISM AND BUDDHISM

In the above context of social and economic changes, we can understand why the people should cry for being un-burdened of the weight of the priestly class and oppressors.Other factors besides the above which kept the minds smouldering were as follows:

1. Conservatism in Vedic Doctrines.

Once laid down in texts, the samhitas were considered absolute.The Brahmanas further elaborated on the texts without giving anything new. The simple prayers meant to be recited and sung, slowly assumed the character of unassailable and unchallengeable almost magical pronouncements in the hand of the Brahmana priests, closing doors on growth of new ideas and their admission.

2. Brahmanical Ritual.

It made life costly and miserable for the masses and kept even the rulers under its hold.The sacrifices began to be hated for their animal slaughter and therby loss of invaluable cattle in an area where agriculture was the mainstay of the people.

3. Emergence of New Gods.

As we have seen, the simple nature gods were replaced by gods who were powerful and even wrathful instead of being kind and beneficient. This process made god something remote – an all-powerful being at whose will and mercy the universe and the people were.As a result, many came to despise the new gods and even denied their existence.

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4. The Varna System.

It had become very rigid and Varna now was not related to Karma but to birth.The social status of the sudras, therefore, touched a very low level making even their existence precarious. It was at this time that the sudras also became the untouchables.

5. Denial of Women’s Rights.

Earlier, women too could enjoy the privilege of the brahmacharya ashrama, don the sacred thread and get education as their brothers’ could.But this came toan end when orthodoxy gained the upper hand. They were denied public appearance as well as participation in assemblies.They had therefore no voice.

6. Denial of Right to Nirvana.

Women alongwith the sudras could not be redeemed of the damnation of sin and, therefore, could not also be merged with the supreme spirit after death. They were, therefore, condemned to be forever involved in the cycle of births.This in a way was saying that for these two – women and sudras – good action and piety were useless, and therefore, they could as well lead a life even of degradation – to the brahmanas’ advantage.

7. Language of the Sacred Texts.

All the sacred texts were in Sanskrit and continued to be compiled in same. Sanskrit therefore became the language of the elite and the priestly class.No recitation of the mantras could be made except in Sanskrit and that too in the most correct pronunciation and with the most appropriate inflexion.On the other hand, the simple people had developed several languages based on Sanskrit and absorbing into them many non-Aryan words too. These Apabhramsa languages were despised

205 by the learned priests and looked down upon. So the general masses got more and more remote from the very texts which were meant for their good and salvation, while the supremacy of the priests gained ever increasing heights.

8. A Corrupt Society and Corrupt Priests

The Brahmana priests were no more the pious figures they used to be. Instead, with growing riches and power, they fell prey to all vices of the world. Such priests could not inspire people to piety or even command the least respect.In order to keep their supremacy, they declared themselves above punishment.For the same crime, the other varnas could be punished with increasing severity – the sudra even with life but the Brahmana got off free. Since the vaishyas had the money to give and pay all the taxes, they were also given the right to wear the sacred thread.But the Sudra never got it and was made an untouchable. All this sent a wave of anger through the various sections of the society. Naturally, any who could show them a way out of this rigid system of shame was a welcome saviour.

The saviours that appeared on the scene now were Mahavira and the Buddha.They not only had the required personality of prophets but also the persuasion of the meek through their own examples and deeds of piety and concern for the down trodden. It was natural for people of the vaisya and sudra classes in particular, and others in general, that they should have listened to Buddha and Mahavira and flock to them when they came up with their message of non-vio, equality and a life of simple purity.They did not forbid accumulation of wealth or money lending, and condemned the varna system.Besides, they considered women also on equal footing with men.

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GAUTAMA BUDDHA AND BUDDHISM.

Gautama Buddha was a contemporary of Mahavira and was a Kshatriya prince like him.His real life name was Siddhartha, and he too was born in a republican state – Kapilavastu which lay north-east of Vaisali in the Nepal Terai. He was born to queen Maya of the Sakyas in 563 B.C. at a place called Lumbini. Queen Maya died soon after his birth and he was brought up by her sister Gautami, hence the name Gautama. Siddhartha’s father, Shuddhodana brought him up in all the luxury that the rich royal father could provide for an only son. But Siddhartha had begun to show tendencies from early childhood that spoke of the future greatness.He was moody and meditative and brooded over problems of life. King Shuddhodana felt concerned, and married him to the beautiful princes Yashodhara by whom Siddhartha had a son too, Rahula by name.But all the pleasures and pomp of the palaces and even the love of a young wife and infant son could not hold him. His mind would not be diverted from the disturbing fact that there was misery all around and people suffered from it.Therefore he left home one dark night when he was only 20 years old in search for the truth of life.

Siddhartha wantered about for 7 long years, doing penance at Uruvela and indulging in ascetic practices of the recluses of the time.But he found no satisfaction in torturing the body for the attainment of inner light of the mind.His wanderings at last took him to Gaya, where while meditating under a peepal tree, he attained the Buddha-hood – the state of knowledge and inner tranquility, or enlightenment.Thenceforth, he was called the Buddha.The Buddha now made his way to Sarnath, near Varanasi where he met the same fiveascetics who had tried to ordain him at Uruvela, but had given him up when he left for Gaya.To them; he gave his first sermon and made them his first disciples.Then onwards, he

207 moved about from place to place, preaching and making more disciples, often walking scores of kilometres each day and resting only outside towns and villages in groves of trees.

The Sangha.

For 40 years he thus wandered about from place to place with his large body of disciples called ‘Bhikshus’ or ‘Bhikkus’ as they were called in Pali, the vernacular of the people, living on alms and stopping only when the rainy season came.His body of disciples, called the ‘Sangha’ was organised on the parallel of the republican state he hailed from and its atmosphere was totally democratic. Included in this Sangha were men and women of all varnas, even the dudras for no distinctions were made and all were treated on the same footing. In later years of the Sangha, even women were taken in an ordained as Bhikkunis.

Wherever the Buddha went, people welcomed him and listened to his sermons eagerly. Youngmen of many rich and even powerful clans and families became his disciple, renouncing the world. At a time, some even expressed the doubt that the Buddha was out to render wives as widows and children as orphans. Kashyapa, who was earlier a Brahmana priest from Uruvela, was one of the chief disciples of the Buddha and his entry into the Sangha caused a stir in Brahmana circles.At Rajgriha, two yound Brahmana friends, Sariputta and Mogallayana were also attracted to the Buddha.They joined the Sangha and in time became the chief disciples as propagators of Buddhism. A Bhikku had only to take three simple vows. “I go into the protection of the Buddha, I go into the protection of the Dharma, I go into the protection of the Sangha”, he had to say.Thereafter he was to lead an austere life of perfect discipline and self-control.

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The Buddha died in 483 B.C. on way to Kushinagar, very near the place on the bank of the Hiranyavati river.He was then returning from Vaishali. The people of both these places assembled and cremated him in Kushinagar – now identified as Kasia, a village in eastern Uttar Pradesh in the Deoria district.

Doctrines of Buddhism.

As a result of reaction against the elaborate ritual of the Brahmanas, a new school of speculative philosophy was also developing at this time, laying more stress on self-realisation and obtaining redemption though abstract concepts.The Buddha steered clean of this as well as the Brahmanical ideas of redemption through rituals only. He formulated a ‘middle path’, a path that all people, men or women, Brahmana or Sudra could follow with ease and with perfect understanding.According to the Buddha, Nirvana or redemption was a state of the mind, in which through right knowledge or gyana, the darkness of the agyana or ignorance was totally dispelled.It was also moksha, freeing a man from the cycle of births.The Buddha did not consider any merit in rituals and condemned them.He did not find any usefulness or piety in the study or recital of the Vedic texts., unless there was right character and morality in the people. For the upliftment of the self, he said, neither philosophy nor rituals or recitation were required.

The ‘eight fold way’ or the astangika marg as propounded by the Buddha was:(1).right vision or observation, (2) right determination, (3) right speech, (4) right action, (5) right livelihood, (6) right effort, (7) right thought, and (8) right meditation.This middle way or path lay between the extremes of austere ascetism and indulgence in luxury.

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The Buddha advocated that the four great truths of life were misery, cause of misery, removal of misery and methods of removal of misery. Thus knowing, one should shun greed and desire which lead to attachment and misery, which arise out of them.So he laid down a simple code of conduct for his followers, similar to that of the Jainas and in fact all other religions. Its main points of emphasis are: (1) The abstain from violence, (2) to abstain from un-truth, (3) to abstain from desire for the wealth and property of others, (4) to abstain from intoxicants, and (5) to abstain from corrupt practices. Contenment, self- discipline and conduct are thus rightly stressed.

Causes for the Spread of Buddhism.

Buddhism spread very rapidly and it had covered a good part of the country even during the lifetime of the Buddha. It did not take long to jump across the parent country’s boundaries across the mountains, deserts and seas to reach far off lands such as Afghanistan, Central Asia, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, South-East Asia, Burma, Sri Lanka and so on. The popularity of the faith lay in its simplicity and novel approach through which even the un-educated rustic could reach to its very heart. ‘Esa Dhammo Sanatano’ – ‘it is the Sanatana Dharma’ the time honoured continuity of the tradition of duties of faith, said the Buddha in his meekness, not claiming the pronouncement of any new faith.The beauty and acceptance of Buddhism lay in this great fact. As the masses saw it, it was a revolutionary step, ridding people of the rigidity of varnas and the burdensome authority of the Brahmanas without in the least their having to feel the guilt of giving up the dharma of their fore-fathers. We may list the causes of spread of Buddhism, therefore, as the following:

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1.Redeeming Hinduism of the evils of ritual, caste, sex-distinction and paramouncy of the Brahmanas was welcomed by the people, especially those of Magadha which was an area formerly considered outside the boundaries of the holy Aryavart.In some texts, Magadha people were spoken of as non-Aryans and were cursed with the visit of the fevers on them.In any case, Magadha had a large population which though forced to bear the burden of Brahmanism, had nevertheless no faith in the Vedic and other religious texts and practices.This very reason also brought royal patronage to Buddhism and helped it to prosper and spread.

2. Simplicity of the teachings of the Buddha, the use of the people’s own language and giving all, including women and sudras, an equal status had such appeal that could not be resisted even by the orthodox.Many Brahmanas and Kshatriya also came into the fold of the Dhamma.The Buddha wanted the people to follow the ‘eight-fold path’ only. In place of the pompous Brahmanas, he gave them the simple bhikshus as their guides.

3.The personality of the Buddha in itself was irresistible – he had chosen the bleak path of Dhamma for the redemption of the people in place of a life of luxury of the palaces. Besides, he was very soft-spoken, full of love and kindness and totally free from vices of any kind, so that he drew spontaneous respect and acceptance.The sangha which he organised was another great factor in the spread of Buddhism.The Bhikshus lived simple and pure lives and preached with all the ardent zeal at their command.The people responded to the personality of the Buddha and the meak ways and simple lives of the Bhikshus by not only accepting the Buddhist path but also by giving land and building monasteries on it for the sangha.

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The eastern kingdoms of Magadha, Kosala and Kaushambi had adopted Buddhism and helped its spread.The most enthusiastic of the royal patrons was Asoka the Great of the Maurya dynasty who sent missionaries to many lands of the then civilized world with the Buddha’s word.This, as we have noted, spread Buddhism far and wide. But, while Buddhism still held its sway in lands outside India, it came to an end in the parent country and almost ceased to exist by about the 12th century A.D.

Causes for the Decline of Buddhism.

Buddhism had a meteoric rise but its end in India was even faster. It fell because it elevated the Buddha into god-hood, and thus brought in idolatery and its attendant ritual into its practices, the very things against which it had built its bulwarks. Idols of the Buddha had appeared as early as the 1st century A.D. The worship of images naturally led to rituals and offerings by devotees, which were often rich gifts. These not only made the bhikshus and the sangha greedy but also brought in vice of all kinds among them.The Buddhists while thus falling victim to practices similar to those of the Brahmanas, awakened the Hindu priests to adjust to the times and simplify their own practices. Thus, a simplified Hinduism arose; stemming growth of Buddhism.On the other hand, many Buddhists began to be irked by the vice among them and returned to Hinduism.This reformed faith had atleast also granted the sudras and the women the long waited right to redemption. It had also given protection to cattle, so much needed by the agriculturists.

In copying the ways of the Brahmanas, the Buddhist scholars gradually gave up Pali and began to compose in chaste Sanskrit, so that

212 they became as estranged from the people as the priests of Vedic faith were.This also narrowed and limited the leadership to a few, so that in time the Buddhists ceased to have any capable leadership. Meanwhile, the decline of the Mauryas left the Buddhists without state patronage. The Hindu kings who followed the Mauryas did not show any interest in the sangha.The masses followed suit. Many scholars believe that the very patronage of Buddhism was also a strong factor in the downfall of the Imperial Mauryas.The Buddhists had also became divided into two warring sects, the Mahayana and the Hinyana.This caused much unrest in Buddhist ranks and almost destroyed it Mahayana doctrines brought Buddhism so close to Hinduism that distinctions were almost negligible.

The monasteries, enriched by gifts and grants, had attracted many lazy and degraded people to them.Women were also admitted to the sangha. The ease afforded by the luxury of wealth soon made the monasteries the very centres of vice and intrigue so that their downfall was imminent.The monasteries came to be as rich as any temple and, therefore, attracted the attention of the marauding Turkish invaders.With no military tradition, Buddhists were killed off and massacred in large numbers and their shrines were looted and destroyed.Many of the Buddhists were converted to Islam and others fled to Nepal and elsewhere. This was the final blow: Buddhism became extinct in India by the 12th century A.D.

Importance and Influence of Buddhism.

Though Buddhism disappeared from India, it left an indelible mark on all aspects of her life.It has, therefore, great importance in Indian history. The Buddha had taken stock of all the problems and evils of the later Vedic times and in that context given soya new angle of vision.

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Buddhism gave a crushing blow to the social inequalities prevalent because of the Varna system and caused economy to develop enormouslyby advocating non-violence even for animals, thus saving useful cattle and by giving sanction for trade and its development. It held poverty a curse as damaging as was accumulation of wealth.So, Buddhism thus encouraged development of facilities for each class of working people – wealth for the trader, land, seeds and implements for the agriculturist and work and wages for the labouring hand. Buddhism was in a way a return towards the simple and cumberless society of the early Vedic period. It forbade luxury and excesses and laid down a life of simplicity in all matters including dresses, speech, social intercourse and attitudes towards the opposite sex.It tried to do away with the evils which luxury had brought into the society of 600 B.C.

By taking to Pali, Buddhism not only came nearer to the people but also enriched the people’s language, thereby also encouraging them to read and write.The Buddhist monasteries became great centres of learning and teaching.Those of Nalanda and Vikramasila in Bihar and Valabhi in Gujarat attained great fame, attracting scholars and students from far and wide as universities of repute.Not only that, free thinking was also encouraged and as the Buddha had taught, nothing was to be taken for granted without seeing the logic behind it. The people were free to discuss, argue and debate upon any point of concern so that a strong current of intellectual growth and awareness was generated.This put occult, superstition and mysticism in the background and put logical rationalism on the fore-front. In such an atmosphere, a spurt of literary activity was bound to come.The monks collected the saying and teachings of the Buddha as well as the stories about his previous births – the Jatakas – and wrote them down.The rules to be followed by the

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Bhikshus and the sangha were given in the texts.Not only that, brilliant texts were compiled on the philosophical aspects of Buddhism.

Buddhism left its mark on the rulers, their administration and the political atmosphere too. It generated a sense of equality among people, made rulers more benevolent and concerned with public good rather than live on people’s labour, and gave them a rejuvinated democratic attitude.Asoka, the king who helped Buddhism spread was also the most benevolent and kind of rulers, who spent all his life in seeing to their good.Buddhist art and sculpture as we see it even today after many centuries makes us wonder at the skill, devotion and talent of the people, who could only be inspired ones.The fine specimens of buildings, sculpture and paintings as we see at Sanchi, Sarnath, Ajanta and a number of other places gave much to Indians culture.The Gandhara school of art as well as that of Mathura created beautiful images of the Buddha.This may have led to worship of idols in India, penetrating even into Hinduism which also went enthusiastically for it.The panels in stone and paintings done on the Buddha’s life and his teaching are not only beautiful but also tell us a lot about the incidents, culture, dress, habits and so on of the times.

The Buddhist missionaries went across the borders of India and Buddhist pilgrims came to India, establishing thus contacts with foreign lands and creating a friendly understanding between them and India. Much of Buddhist tradition and many of the texts were found preserved outside India while they were totally lost in the land itself. We thus see that Buddhism had a great influence on India through reform in society, religion, economy, trade and through development of literature, languages, art and architecture, education, polity and above all in bringing about changes in the very attitudes of the people.

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MAHAVIRA AND JAINISM.

The real life name of Mahavira (the most brave) also called the Jina (the conqueror) was Vardhamana.He was born in 540 B.C. in the home of Siddhartha, head of a Kshatriya clan, the Jantrikas of a suburb of Vaishali, one of the federation of republican states of northern Bihar. His mother, Trishala was sister of Chetaka, prince of the Lichchavis and ruler of Vaishali. This Chetaka had married his daughters to the rulers of several powerful states in northern India.Udayana of Sindhu Sauvira, Dadhivahana of Champa, Satanikara of Kaushambi and Pradyota of Avanti were thus related to him.Vardhamana himself was married to Yashoda a princess of the powerful kingdom of Magadha, of whom he had a daughter.This daughter was later married to a Kshatriya chief, Jamali, who in time became one of the chie followers of Mahavira.

Vardhamana led the normal life of a householder till the age of 30 years. His parents had died by then. Life of a householder did not appeal to Vardhamana, who saw misery and oppression all around him.Come as he did from a democratic set-up, he desired to see all men equal, irrespective of Varna, birth or status. So he decided to leave home and hearth and became a wandering ascetic, desiring nothing. For 12 long years he wandered about from place to place and did not even have a change of clothes, so that they fell off his body.He never stayed in a village for more than a day and in a city, beyond five days. Often he was tormented by the people for his unkempt looks. But at last he attained the Kevalya state – the state of being freed of the pains and pleasures of the world and its attachments, a being separate from every other thing of the world – the ‘Kavala’ or ‘only one’.

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Vardhamana thus suffering inhis wanderings and austerities overcame his desires and senses completely to be entitled to be called Mahavira – The ‘Brave Supreme’ and ‘Jina’, the Conqueror. He was now free of all bonds and so withhim was now born the path without bonds – the Nirgrantha way.Those who followed him came to be known as the Jainas.As we know, Mahavira was highly connected – he was related to a number of royal families and was received well wherever he went in Magadha, Kosala and Champa.It is told that he preached his simple doctrine for 30 years before passing away at the age of 72 at Pavapuri in 468 B.C. This place is a great centre of pilgrimage and is situated about 9.5 km from the Bihar-Sharif railway station in Bihar.

Doctrines and Jainism.

The Jainas hold that Mahavira was the 24th and the last tirthankara of the way lighted in the beginning by Rishabhadeva, who according to the Jaina texts was India’s first Chakravartin king or Bharata. Rishabhadeva was the first tirthankara.Preceding Mahavira was Parsavanath, the 23rd tirthankara who was son of Ashvasena, king of Varanasi and lived centuries before Mahavira as the texts say. He too had achieved Kevalya state after 83 days of deep meditation after he had lived the life of a household for 30 years.The 4 main doctrines of Jainism are said to have been given by him, Mahavira only adding the fifth and last to them.The five doctrines of Jainism called the anuvratas are:(1).Not to indulge in violence, (2) not to speak a lie, (3) not to steal, (4) not to acquire property, and (5) to abide in brahmacharya or continence.

Mahivira called upon his followers to observe austerity to the extent of even discarding clothes, although his predecessor, Parsvanath had recommended that only the upper and lower parts of the body be

217 covered.This difference in later times caused emergence of two sects of the Jainas- 0ne the Digambara who remained naked and the Svetambara who covered the body on a simple white dress.Mahavira made a distinction between the householder and the Muni for whom the doctrines, though the same as for a householder, were required to be observed with perfectness.A shravaka or householder could not avoid, for example, violence in the matter of punishments to the guilty.This was allowed, but to an extent only.

Mahavira advocated that all, even the sudras and women, could attain liberation without having to indulge in rituals and yajnas through attainment of knowledge and right actions. He held that a man was born in a Varna because of the merits of his previous birth. So to acquire a higher Varna, virtue was required. He thus did not condemn the Varna system but gave it a logical causation.

Spread of Jainism.

The doctrines of Mahavira and his simple principles welcome and much needed relief to all the varnas, even though he did not uphold the worship of idols or even faith in a supreme spirit.The Aryans as well as the non-Aryans were nearer to nature in ancient times and liked simplicity in beliefs, prayer and worship.Jainism gave the way through the three ratnas or jewels as they were called.There were full knowledge, right action and liberation.Since not much beyond following the five doctrines was required, it appealed to the people. Mahavira propagated his way in the mid-eastern parts of India only, i.e., Vaisali, Kosala and Rajgrih, in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.But the faith did not become very popular as it gave sanction to the varnas, so that Mahavira had just about 14,000 followers in his lifetime.Jainism had become the state

218 religion of Vaisali because of the Lichchavi prince Abhaya’s respect and attachment to Mahavira.But perhaps the Mallas of Magadha gave him more recognition amongst whom he died.

Jainism reached southern India due to a natural calamity. It is said that a very severe famine struck Magadha during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya (322-298 BC) lasting 12 years and devastating the land.A large part of the Jaina community fled to escape death and settled in Karnataka at Sravana Belgola.This section was led by Bhadrabahu who brought the community back to Magadha after the 12 years stay in South India.The Jainas who had remained behind in Magadha under the leadership of Sthalabahu declared the other group as heretical, having transgressed the doctrines of Jainism.The Bhadrabahu group said the same thing about those who had stayed back so that some difference arose between them. The Magadhan group called for a council at Pataliputra to discuss the differences and to patch up, but the Southern group refused to participate and did not accept the decisions made therein to establish once again the Jaina canon.Thus a division of the Jainas into two sects came about – the Svetambaras who had tried to establish the canon through the Pataliputra council and the Digambaras who had returned from the south and held that the original canon was altogether lost.That was two hundred years after the death of Mahavira.

Though Bhadrabahu’s stay in Karnataka is said to have been during the Mayryan days, no evidence about this is available.However, inscriptions and texts support the spread of Jainism in Karnataka from the 3rd to the 6th century A.D. Jaina basadis or monasteries were granted land by benevolent rulers, who must have shown respect for the faith. However, Jainism had reached and prospered in Kalinga much earlier –

219 in the 4th century BC and enjoyed royal patronage from King Kharavela, a powerful ruler who had defeated both Magadha and Andhra on the battlefield.From Kalinga, Jainism spread to the Tamil country in the succeeding centuries. It reached the far away Gujarat and Rajasthan though Malwa, carried thither by Jaina traders who were pious rich men. These areas still have a large section of rich Jainamerchants and traders. But, as we can see today, Jainism remained stay put in the areas where it had managed to reach by the end of the ancient period and did not spread further.It was still very near Hinduism and might have been taken for granted as a reform without the need for conversion.The Jainas struck too many Hindu beliefs and modes of worship.The worship within the Jaina household continued to be conducted by Brahmana priests. The Jaina canon, as we know it today was given shape in a convention held at Valabhi in Gujarat in the 5th Century A.D. under Devariddhi Gani, a Jaina scholar.

Contributions of Jainism.

1. It made religion a simple affair by doing away with complicated and costly rituals and thus freed the people of a burden, as well as of the overlordship of the Brahmanas.Besides, it gave a new approach to the attainment of a higher varna through good deeds, and attainment of knowledge.Detachment of the people from them also forced the Brahmanas to bring about suitable reform and adjustments in their religious practices.These socio-religious reforms had far-reaching influence on the minds of the people.

2. Jainism adopted the Prakrit, the language of the people and not Sanskrit for its teachings. They wrote their literature in Ardhamagadhi. The finalisation and compilation of the Jaina texts took place in the 6th

220 century A.D. at Valabhi, i.e., after the great council to do so had been held there.The adoption of Prakrit gave impetus to the development of several regional languages.Jaina literature is not religious only but also contains compositions on other aspects, too, including poetry, novels, grammar and so on.However, in medieval times, Jaina scholars, like the Buddhists, wrote much in Sanskrit too. Besides, the Jainas contributed much to Tamil and Kannada literature as well as laid the foundation of Telugu literary activity. Of the many Jaina scholars, Hemchandra (b- 1088 A.D.) was the foremost.

3. The Jainas contributed much to art and crafts as well. Their temples and shrines such as those at Udayagiri, Ellora, Mount Abu, Khajuraho, etc., are some of the finest examples of the builder’s and sculptor’s art. Many of the best mosques inIndia have been built out of material taken from Jaina temples such as at Ajmer, Kanauj and Dhar.

4. In trade and commerce, the Jainas led, as many still do, and gave it great impetus.At the same time, the doctrines of Jainism opposed amassing of wealth and thus helped to rid society of social inequalities to a certain extent.However, the orthodox way in which Ahimsa was stressed led to the fading away of the fighting spirit and quality even in the Kshatriya warriors so that foreign invading armies often scored easy success in India.

CHAPTER-V

THE SUBCONTINENTAL REACH

The history of south India is an integral part of the history of India and constitutes an important chapter in the history of the world’s civilizations.The 221

Deccan and the Far South formed the advanced bases from which the maritime movement originated in the early centures before and after the Christian era.But unfortunately most historians of ancient India are primarily concerned with the history of the north relegating the history of Deccan plateau and the Far South to a secondary position.Historians ,ofcourse,are handicapped by the absence of ancient records concerning the peninsula which have to a certain extent been filled up by the painstaking and praiseworthy researches in modern times

THE CHALUKYAS

The foundation of the imperial dynasty of the Chalukyas was laid by the Chalukyas of Badami or Vatapi (District Bijapur).They are also known as early western Chalukyas.There were other branches also of Chalukyas.One was that of the eastern Chalukyas, who established an independent kingdom at Vengi or Pishtapura in the first half of the 7th century A.D., another was that of the Chalukyas of Vemulavada, who were the feudatories of the Rashtrakutas and yet another was that of the later Western Chalukyas of Kalyani, who overthrew the Rashtrakutas in the second half of the 10th century A.D. and established once more the lost glory of the Chalukyas.

1. The Chalukyas of Badami.

The Chalukyas of Badami ruled over Dakshinapatha (the territories between Mt. Vindhya and the river Krishna which included Maharashtra in the west and the territories of Telugu speaking people in the east) from the middle of the 8th century.They ruled it for nearly the next two hundred years.Dr. V.A. Smith described the Chalukyas as of foreign origin and related them to the Gurjaras. But modern historians neither accept the Gurjaras nor the Chalukyas as of foreign origin. According to Dr. D.C. Ganguly the Chalukyas of Badami represented an indigenous Kanarese family that claimed the status of Kshatriyas.It appears that

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Chalukyas, the name of the dynasty, was derived from that of an ancestor, called Chalka, Chalika or Chaluka.The first ruler of this dynasty, about whom something’s is known, was Jayasinha. He was followed by his son Ranaraga. Both flourished in the Badami region of Bijapur district in the first half of the 6th century A.D. However the first independent ruler of this dynasty was Pulakesin I, son of Ranaraga.He ruled during 535-566 A.D, made Badami his capital and constructed a fort. He was succeeded by his son Kirti Varman I (566 to 587A.D.)Who assumed the title of Maharaja.He defeated the Nalas, the Mauryas and the Kadambas and thereby extended his kingdom. After his death, his brother Mangalesa ruled over the kingdom on behalf of his son, Pulakesin II.

Pulakesin II (610 - 642 A.D.).When Pulakesin II became an adult, he claimed the throne for himself which was desisted by his uncle Mangalesa.This led to a civil war between the two, in which Pulakesin emerged victorious, killed his uncle and ascended the throne. Pulakesin started his rule when his kingdom was passing through a great crisis. While the civil war between the uncle and the nephew had disrupted and divided the kingdom internally, it was also endangered by the attacks of the neighbouring rulers, Appayika and Govinda.But Pulakesin proved equal to the occasion.He befriended Govinda, defeated Appayika and subjugated the disaffected subordinates.After consolidating his position at home, Pulakesin pursued a policy of conquest, extended the territories of his kingdom and brought glory to the Chalukyas.He defeated the Kadambas, the Mauryas of Konkon and forced the Gangas of Mysore, the Latas, the Malavas and the Gurjaras to accept his suzerainty.He attacked Kalinga, occupied its capital Pishtapura and handed over its rule to his brother, Vishnu Vardhana, who afterwards, established the

223 independent kingdom of the Eastern Chalukyas. However, his greatest success was against Emperor Harsha Vardhan of Kannauj. Harsha was defeated by Pulakesin and, therefore, his advance towards the South was checked.Pulakesin also fought against the Pallavas of the far South which resulted in hereditary enmity between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas. Pulakesin attacked the territories of Pallava king Mahendra Varman I, defeated him and occupied part of his northern territories. He befriended the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Keralas so that they might be helpful to him against the Pallavas.But the Pallavas took their revenge under themselves leadership of Narasinha Varman I, the successor of Mahendra Varman.Narasinha Varman I repeatedly attacked the kingdom of the Chalukyas, defeated them and even occupied their capital Badami. Pulakesin was killed in one of these battles against the Pallavas nearabout 642 A.D.Of course, Pulakesin ended his life with defeat against the Pallavas, yet he has been regarded as the greatest king of the Chalukyas. Even his death could not put an end to the glory of the Chalukyas which was brought about by him.The Chalukyas continued their fight against the Pallavas and revived the glory of their dynasty after Pulakesin.

Vikramaditya I (655 – 681 A.D.) When Pulakesin II died, Badami and the southern part of the kingdom of the Chalukyas was under occupation of the Pallavas.It encouraged the governors and the feudatory chiefs of the Chalukyas to assert their independence.The sons ad successors of Pulakesin, probably, remained occupied in suppressing these revolts or fighting against each other and we find no name of any Chalukya-king during the period from 642 to 655 A.D.Ultimately, Vikramaditya I, the younger son of Pulakesin II, succeeded in these wars and ascended the throne.He also captured Badami and turned the Pallavas out of the territories of the Chalukyas. Vikramaditya I proved a

224 worthy son of his father. He took revenge for the defeat and disgrace of his father from the Pallavas, fought against the Pallavas rulers Mahendra Varman II and Paramesvar Varman I defeated them and once, even captured their capital Kanchi, though, of course, Parmesvara I defeated him afterwards and recovered not only his capital but all his territories.

After Vikramaditya I, the important rulers of this dynasty were Vinayaditya and Vikramaditya II. Vinayaditya fought against the Pallavas and also made successful attacks in the north, while Vikramaditya II succeeded in defeating the Pallavas king Paramesvar Varman. Kirti Varman II was the last ruler of the Chalukyas of Badami.The constant fighting of the Chalukyas against the Pallavas had sapped their strength.Kirti Varman could not pay attention to his governors of the northern provinces.Among them, one Rashtrakuta governor Dantidurga, asserted his independence, occupied large portions of the kingdom of Kirti Varman and laid the foundation of the empire of the Rashtrakutas.Kirti Varman tried to recapture the lost part of the kingdom after the death of Dantidurga but failed. Instead, Krishna I, the successor of Dantidurga, snatched away even the rest of his kingdom from him and thus destroyed the empire of the Chalukyas of Badami forever.

2. The Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi.

Pulakesin II had appointed his brother, Vishnu Vardhana, as the governor of Pishtapura. There he declared his independence, established the empire of the eastern Chalukyas and ruled between 615 – 633 A.D. The first capital of the Eastern Chalukyas was Pishtapura.Then, it was transferred to the ancient city of Vengi and lastly to Rajamahendri. Vishnu Vardhana was succeeded by Jayasinha I (633 – 663 A.D.), Indra

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Varman (663 A.D.), Vishnu Vardhana II. (672 – 696 A.D.), Jayasinha II (696 – 709 A.D.), Kokuli Vikramaditya (709 A.D.), Vishnuvardhana III (709 – 746 A.D.), and Vijayaditya I (746 – 764 A.D.) respectively. By this time, the Rastrakutas had destroyed the kingdom of Chalukyas of Badami.Now, during the region of Vijayaditya I; the Rashtrakutas started their attempts to destroy the kingdom of the eastern Chalukyas as well. It led to constant fighting between the Rashtrakutas and the Eastern Chalukyas.

Vijayaditya I was succeeded by his son Vishnu Vardhana IV who ruled during 764 – 799 A.D. In 769 A.D., the Rashtrakutas defeated and forced him to acknowledge their suzerainty.In 799 A.D., there ensued a struggle between Govinda II and his younger brother, Dhruva, for the throne of the Rashtrakutas.The Chalukyas supported the cause of Govinda II but Govinda II was defeated by Dhruva.When Dhruva captured his throne, he decided to punish the allies of his brother, including the Chalukyas, Vishnu Vardhana IV was forced to accept the suzerainty of Dhruva.Vijayaditya II succeeded Vishnu Vardhana IV in 799 A.D. and continued to rule up to 847 A.D. except for a few years in between when his kingdom was snatched away by his brother, Bhima, with the help of the Rashtrakuta king Govinda III. Vijayaditya II fought against the Gangas and the Rashtrakutas as for continuously 12 years.In the beginning, he succeeded too, but, in the end, the Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha I forced him to accept his suzerainty.

Vijayaditya II was succeeded by his son Vishnu Vardhana V but he ruled only for 18 or 20 months and died about 84 A.D. Then Vijayaditya III, son of Vishnu Vardhana V, ascended the throne. He ruled during 848 – 892 A.D. and proved himself as the greatest king of the eastern Chalukyas.He undertook wars of conquests in every direction, succeeded

226 in all and revived the glory of the Chalukyas. He defeated the Pallavas, the Pandyas, the Gangas, the Kosalas, the Kalachuris, the ruler of Kalinga and his hereditary enemies, the Rashtrakutas.

Chaluka Bhima I (892 – 922 A.D.) succeeded Vijayaditya III.He constantly fought against the ruler Krishna II, was defeated several times but, ultimately, succeeded in turning the Rashtrakutas out of his territories. But, the continuous struggle of the Chalukyas weakned them very much and their empire moved towards disintegration.Chalukya Bhima I was succeeded by Vijayaditya IV (922 A.D.), Amma I (922 – 929 A.D.), and Vijayaditya V, respectively. Vijayaditya V ruled only for fifteen days and was deposed from the throne by Tala, grandson of Vishnu Vardhana V. From that time onwards, the rival princes of the Chalukyas fought against each other to capture the throne. Tala was deposed from the throne just after a month by Vikramaditya V. who himself ruled for only about 10 months.Bhima II, who deposed him from the throne, could rule for only eight months and was sent out of power by Yuddhamalla II who ruled during 930 – 935 A.D. By this time, the Rashtrakutas had become very powerful in Andhra Pradesh. Yuddhamalla II was deposed by Bhima III, who ruled for nearly 12 years.Then followed Amma II (946 – 956 A.D.), Badapa Tala II, Amma II once more, Danarnava and Choda- Bhima, respectively.Sakti Varman, son of Danarnava, killed Choda- Bhima and captured Vengi in 999 A.D. with the help of the Chola king Rajaraja I.Soon after, the Chalukyas lost their independence and became the feudatory chiefs of the Cholas.Thus, the conflict against the Rashtrakutas and the fratricidal was among the royal princes brought about the destruction of the eastern Chalukyas by the end of the 10th century A.D.

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3. The Later Chalukyas of Kalyan.

The Chalukyas of Kalyan were the feudatories of the Rashtrakutas. During the reign of Rashtrakuta Karkka II, his Chalukya noble, Taila II, revolted, defeated him and occupied the kingdom of the Rashtrakutas. Indra, one of the descendants of the Rashtrakutas, attempted to recover the throne of his ancestors with the help of his uncle Mara Singh, the ruler of the Gangas, but failed. Thus, Chalukya Taila II established the rule of the later Chalukyas of Kalyan on the remnants of the Rashtrakuta Empire.Taila II (993 – 997 A.D.) was a capable commander.He defeated the Chedis, the rulers of Kuntala and Orissa, the Chalukyas of Gujarat, Parmara of Malwa and king Uttam of the Cholas. He conquered Lata and Panchal Pradesh.He extended his kingdom, claimed to be the descendant of the Chalukyas of Badami, and once more revived their glory.

The successor of Taila II was Satyasraya (997 – 1008 A.D.) who, too, fought many battles.The Parmaras Sindhuraja attacked his kingdom and recovered the territories which were wrested by Taila II from Munja. The Kalachuri Kokalla II also defeated him. But, he defeated the Silaharas of northern Konkan and also, probably, Chalukya Chammundaraja of Gujarat.However, his greatest success was against Chola Rajaraja whoattacked his kingdom. He was able to defeat Rajaraja and forced him to return to his country.Satyasraya was succeeded by Vikramaditya V (1008 – 1014 A.D.) and Ayyana II (1014 – 1015 A.D.) respectively. Nothing important could be achieved during their reigns.Then, Jayasinha II ascended the throne in 1015 A.D.The Cholas and the Chalukyas attempted to conquer the kingdom of the Chalukyas during his time. Kalachuri Gangayadeva, Paramara Bhoja and Rajendra Chola formed a confederacy and launched simultaneous attacks on the Chalukya

228 kingdom.But Jayasinha II successfully repulsed their attacks and kept intact the territories of his kingdom.

Jayasinha II was succeeded by his son Somesvara I who ruled during 1043 – 1068 A.D. Somesvara I conquered Konkan and attacked Gujarat, south Kosala and Kerala.He also fought against the Kalachuri ruler Karna.But his greatest enemy was Chola Rajadhiraj. Rajadhiraj once succeeded in conquering even his capital, Kalyan, but ultimately Somesvara I killed Rajadhiraj in a battle. But, the Cholas repulsed the attacks of Somesvara under the leadership of their new king, Rajendra II, and finally succeeded in giving a crushing defeat to Somesvara I in 1063 A.D. Somesvara I was succeeded by Somesvara II (1068 – 1076 A.D.) and Vikramaditya VI (1076 – 1125 A.D.) respectively. The struggle with the Cholas continued during their time as well. However, Vikramaditya VI proved a capable commander, fought many battles against his foes and extended his kingdom. His empire extended from the river Narmada in the north to Mysore in the south.He was succeeded by Somesvara III (1126 – 1138 A.D.), Jagadekamalla (1138 – 1151 A.D.) and Taila III (1151 – 1156 A.D.) respectively. The kingdom of the Chalukyas was destroyed during the reign of Taila III primarily due to internal revolts.Taila III succeeded in repelling the attacks of the Chalukyas Kumarapala and the Chola Kulottunga II but failed to suppress the revolt of the Kakatiyas of Talingana.Taila III was imprisoned by the Kakatiyas, though, afterwards, released from the prison. But the incident destroyed the prestige of the Chalukyas and encouraged other feudatory chiefs to rise in revolt. In 1156 A.D.the feudatory chief, Bijjala of the Kalachuri dynasty, succeeded in capturing the kingdom of the Chalukyas after the death of Taila III. He and his successors ruled over the Deccan for nearly a quarter of a century till the fortunes of the Chalukyas were once again revived by

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Somesvara IV, son of Taila III. But the success of Somesvara IV (1181 – 1189 A.D.) was temporary. He was driven out of his kingdom by the Yadava Bhillama in or before 1189 A.D. Somesvara IV, the last ruler of the Chalukyas, then, passed his life under the shelter of one of his feudatory chiefs, the Kadamba Jayakesin II of Goa.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHALUKYAS.

The Chalukyas established an extensive empire in the Deccan.They brought glory to their family, first under the Chalukyas of Badami for nearly 200 years, and, the, for nearly the same period of time, under the Chalukyas of Kalyan.Thus the dynasty ruled over an extensive area of south India for quite a long time. It produced many capable rulers both as military commanders and good administrators. Many rulers of this dynasty fought against the mighty rulers of both the south and the north of India and succeeded many times.They assumed high titles like Parameswara, Paramabhattaraka, etc., and governed their empire well. Thus, this dynasty played an important part in the politics of south India for quite a long time. The Chalukyas also helped in the progress of south Indian culture.The kingdom of the Chalukyas was economically prosperous and it had several big cities and ports which were the centres of internal and external trade even with countries outside India.The Chalukyas utilised this prosperity for the development of literature and fine arts.

The Chalukyas were the followers of Hinduism.The Chalukyas performed many yajnas according to Vedic rites and many religious texts were written or compiled during their rule.They constructed many temples also in honour of Siva and Vishnu.But the Chalukyas were tolerant rulers.They showed respect to other religions.Jainism was a

230 popular faith in sough Maharashtra and, therefore, the Chalukyas treated it with respect.The famous Jain scholar Ravikirti was given the highest honour in the court of Pulakesin II.Vijayaditya and Vikramaditya also donated many villages to Jain scholars. Buddhism was certainly on the decline in India but the Chalukyas treated it with tolerance. The Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang found many well established Vitharas and monasteries during his visit to the kingdom of the Chalukyas. Even the Parsees were allowed to settle down and practice this faith, without any interference by others, in the Thana district of Bombay.

Among fine arts, primarily, it was painting and architecture that flourished under the patronage of the Chalukyas. Some of the frescos of the caves of Ajanta were built during the reign of the Chalukyas. One of these fresco-paintings exhibits the scene of welcome to the ambassador of Persia at the court of Pulakesin II. In the field of architecture, the temples, constructed during the rule of the Chalukyas, helped in the progress of the art. Many temples were built under the patronage of the Chalukyas.One important feature of this temple architecture was that practically all temples were carved out of mountains. Many cave-temples and Chaitya halls, which were constructed during their rule, have found at different places.The cave-temple in honour of Vishnu was constructed at Badami by king Mangalesh.The temple of Siva at Meguti, which has the Prasasti of king Pulakesin II prepared by Ravikirti, was built in 634 A.D.The temple of Vishnu at Aihole, which also has an inscription of king Vikramaditya II, has been regarded as a fine specimen of temple- architecture of the age of the Chalukyas.King Vijayaditya constructed the Siva temple of Sangameswara. A sister of king Vijayaditya constructed a Jaina temple at Lakshameswara, while the wife of king Vikramaditya constructed another temple in honour of Siva in the Bijapur district,

231 called the Lokeswara temple.Now, this temple is called the temple of Virapaksya.Mr Havell has praised the art of this temple very much. Another wife of kind Vikramaditya built the temple of Trilokeswara near this temple.All these temples have been regarded as fine specimens of south Indian architecture.Thus, the Chalukyas contributed not only to the politics of the Deccan but also to the economic and cultural progress of south India.

THE RASHTRAKUTAS

The Rashtrakutas established their empire after destroying the empire of the Chalukyas of Badami.They maintained their ascendancy in the Deccan for nearly 223 years and then were destroyed by later Chalukyas of Kalyana.Several views have been expressed regarding the origin of the Rashtrakutas.Some scholars have maintained that, originally, the family lived in Maharashtra and was related to the ancient family of Yadu (Yadavas); some others regard them as related to the Reddi-family of Telugu; a few others accept them as Kshatriyas, while yet others opined that they are peasants of Andhra Pradesh who were made hereditary officers at their places by the Chalukya rulers.However, the most acceptable view is that they were head of district administration under the rule of the Chalukyas and their title was Rashtrakuta from which they derived their family name.Afterwards, when their family assured Imperial dignity, they claimed to be the descendants of one or other famous ancient Kshatriya ruling family. Dr. A.S. Altekar describes that their original homeland was Karnataka from where their different family units moved to Maharashtra and settled there.

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THE RULERS.

In the 7th century A.D., the Rashtrakutas, who rose to the Imperial rank afterwards, were simply feudatory chiefs of the Chalukyas. One of their ancestors, Indra I, established a strong principality at Ellichpur in Berar.He further strengthened his position by marrying a Chalukya princess.His son and successor, Dantidurga, has been regarded as the founder of the Imperial Dynasty of the Rashtrakutas.

Dantidurga (753 – 758 A.D.) Dantidurga became the ruler of the principality of his father in 733 A.D.He was able, ambitious and sagacious and managed to become the master of the Deccan in about 20 years.When he had ascended the throne, he was a feudatory of the Chalukyas and accepted Chalukya Vikramaditya II as his overlord. He fought from his side against the Pallavas and the Arabs and won glory for himself.After the death of Vikramaditya II in 744 A.D., he tried to extend his power and territories but not at the cost of the Chalukyas. He annexed the Gurjara kingdom of Nandipuri, led an expedition into Malwa and brought eastern Madhya Pradesh under his influence. Thus, by 750 A.D. he became the master of central and southern Gujarat and the whole of Madhya Pradesh and Berar. The Chalukya king Kirti Varman II became jealous of his power and tried to crush him. This resulted in a battle between the two in 753 A.D. in which Dantidurga emerged victorious.Kirti Varman II fled after this battle and Maharashtra was occupied by Dantidurga.Thus, Dantidurga destroyed the empire of the Chalukyas and laid the foundation of the empire of the Rashtrakutas.

Krishna (758 – 773 A.D). During the reign of Krishna I, the successor of Dantidurga, the Chalukya king Kirti Varman tried to reconquer his lost empire.Krishna I met the challenge, defeated Kirti Varman and, thus,

233 finally finished the power of the Chalukyas, Krishna I extended his empire further.He attacked the Gangas of Mysore, defeated the Chalukyas of Vengi and snatched away Hyderabad state from them and included Konkan in his empire. Krishna was not only a great fighter but also a great builder.The famous rock-cut Siva temple at Ellora was constructed under his patronage.

Govinda II 773 – 780 A.D) Govinda II, the son and successor of Krishna I, was a pleasure-loving king who engaged himself in debauchery. He left the entire administrative work to his younger brother, Dhruva. Dhruva took advantage of it, revolted and succeeded in dethroning his brother.

Dhruva (780-813 A.D) Dhruva captured the throne nearabout 780 A.D. He proved a capable king and extended his kingdom and influence. He defeated the Pallavas Danti Varman and the Chalukya Vishnu Vardhana IV, and, thus, established his supremacy in south India.Not being satisfied with his successes in the south, he attacked north India with a view to capturing Kannauj, the prestigious city and capital of north India.He defeated the Pratihara Vatsaraja and also the Pala Dharmapala who were contesting among themselves for the sovereignty of the north. Dhruva occupied Kannauj. But he could not consolidate his conquest of the north and had to return to the south to settle the affairs of his empire, particularly, to settle the problems of succession.However, he made the Rashtrakuta power as the greatest power of India at that time. While the Gangas and the Pallavas in the south acknowledged his suzerainty, the mighty Palas and the Pratiharas of the north were defeated and left humiliated. At that time, there was no power in India to challenge the supremacy of the Rashtrakutas.

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Govinda III (793 – 814 A.D.) Dhruva had several sons.He abdicated his throne to his son Govinda III in 793 A.D. in his old age. Govinda III was challenged by his elder brother Stambha but was defeated and sent as viceroy to the territories of the Gangas. Afterwards, he remained loyal to the throne.Govinda, then, proceeded on his conquests. He was a great commander and extended further the power and prestige of the Rashtrakutas.Govinda III also decided to establish the glory of the Rashtrakutas in the north and occupy Kannauj again.After the return of Dhruva to the south India, the Pratihara Nagabhata II, the son of Vatsaraja, had extended his empire and the Pala Dharmapala had placed Chakrayudha on the throne of Kannauj under his tutelage after defeating the previous ruler Indrayudha.Thus, the influence of the Rashtrakutas was wiped away from the north after the return of Dhruva. Govinda was determined to establish it once again.He attacked the north. The Pala Dharmapala and Chakrayudha of Kannauj accepted his suzerainty and Nagabhata II was defeated somewhere in Bundelkhanda. Thus, the glory and influence of the Rashtrakutas was once again established in the north by Govinda III. However, Govinda III, too, could not consolidate his success in the north and once he was back to the south, Nagabhata II again increased his power and even occupied Kannauj. Yet, Gujarat and Malwa remained with the Rashtrakutas. In the south too, Govinda III had to fight to assert his supremacy. He placed Bhima on the throne of Vengi under his tutelage, defeated the confederacy of the Pallavas, the Pandyas and the Gangas against him and extended his empire up to Kanchi in the south.The ruler of Sri Lanka was so terrorised by the success of Govinda III that he sought his favour.Thus, Govinda III was decidedly the greatest emperor of the Rashtrakutas, unrivalled in courage, generalship, statesmanship, and martial exploits. Whenever he

235 attacked, he succeeded and his power remained unchallenged from Kannauj in the north to Cape Comorin in the south.

Sarva or Amoghavarsha I (814 – 878 A.D.) Amoghavarsha was no born military leader. Moreover, he was a boy of 13 or 14 years of age when he ascended the throne of his father.Therefore, he had to face many rebellions during his reign.Yet, he succeeded in defeating the Chalukyas of Vengi and in suppressing most of the revolts. But the Gangas could drive the Rashtrakutas out of the major part of their country. Amoghavarsha, however, succeeded more in peace than in war. He was a good administrator, built the capital city of Manyakheta, patronised scholars like Jinasena and Mahaviracharya and remained tolerant towards all religious faiths.He himself was a scholar and wrote Kavirajamarga, the earliest Kanarese work on poetics.

Krishna II (878 – 914 A.D.) Krishna II, who succeeded his father, fought many battles.He won against the Chalukyas of Vengi but was defeated by the Pratihara Bhoja who snatched away Malwa and Kathiawar from him. He was defeated by the Cholas as well. Krishna II was succeeded by Indra III (914 – 927 A.D.), Govinda IV (927 – 936 A.D.) and Amoghavarsha III (936 – 939 A.D.) respectively.They succeeded only marginally. However, Kannauj was once more occupied during the period of Indra III, though it was lost again afterwards.Then Krishna III, who ascended the throne in 939 A.D., revived the lost glory of the Rashtrakutas.He sought the help of the Gangas, attacked the kingdom of the Cholas and conquered Kanchi and Tanjore.He annexed Vengi, defeated the Parmara king Siyaka and occupied Ujjayani.However, his campaign in the north was not as successful as the campaigns of Dhruva, Govinda III, or even Indra III.However; he extended his empire up to Rameswarama towards the south.

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But the period of the rule of Krishna III was the last period of the success of the Rashtrakutas.He was succeeded by his brother Khottiga (965 – 972 A.D.).The Parmara ruler Siyaka attacked Manyakheta and plundered it during his time.Khottiga was succeeded by his nephew Karkka II. He proved an incapable ruler. His feudatory chief, Chalukya Taila II, took advantage of it, deposed Karkka II after defeating him, occupied the kingdom of the Rashtrakutas and laid the foundation of the empire of the Chalukyas of Kalyan.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RASHTRAKUTAS.

The Rashtrakutas occupied the most important place in the history of the Deccan at one time. No other ruling dynasty of South India was able to create such an extensive, powerful, glorious and durable empire in the south prior to the Rashtrakutas nor could anybody achieve it after them till the rise of the Marathas in the 18th century.Therefore, the Rashtrakutas have been regarded as the most powerful rulers of the south in the history of ancient India.Dr. A.S. Altekar has tightly remarked:“No other ruling dynasty in the Deccan played such a dominant part in the history till the rise of Marathas as an imperial power in the eighteenth century”.The rulers of this dynasty once held their sway over the entire southern India, Krishna III reached as Ramesvarama in the course of his victorious career. Besides, among the rulers of the south, the Rashtrakutas were the first who attacked north India and seriously affected the course of its history, Dhruva, Govinda III and Indra III successively attacked the north, defeated the Pratiharas and the Palas, who were the most powerful ruling dynasties of the north at that time, and occupied Kannauj in turn. Of course, they could not consolidate their power in the north because of the difficulty of communication at time.Yet, their success was unique because no other

237 ruling dynasty of south India penetrated into the north as far as the Rashtrakutas.The Rashtrakutas, too, met reverses in their turn, but during the rule of their powerful rulers, they remained unchallenged throughout India.Rather, they defeated all powerful ruling dynasties of India at one time or the other. The powerful Pratiharas and the Palas of the north and the Chalukyas and the Cholas of the south, in turn, were defeated and left humiliated before the Rashtrakutas. After the mighty Guptas no other ruling dynasty had achieved such a brilliant success in arms as the Rashtrakutas.This alone is sufficient to place the Rashtrakutas among the most respectable ruling dynasties of India.

The Rashtrakutas assumed high sounding titles like Parmesvara, Parambhattarak, Maharajadhiraja, etc.Thus, they regarded themselves as all powerful and the representative of God on earth.The succession was hereditary and the eldest of the sons was regarded as the legitimate successor to the throne.The emperors, however, pursued the ancient rules of polity based on Rajya-Dharma and regarded the welfare of their subjects as their foremost duty.The emperor was supported by his ministers and other high officials.The empire was divided into Rastras, Bhuktis and villages.The important officers of district administration were called Rastrapatis or Vispatis. Provincial governors enjoyed wide powers concerning their provinces. They were supposed to support the emperor with their armies in times of war.

The Rashtrakutas were the followers of Hinduism.They performed many yajnas according to Vedic rites and worshipped Hindu gods and goddesses.Hinduism, certainly, flourished under their protection, though a few of them gave protection to Jainism also. The Rashtrakutas were extremely liberal rulers in religious affairs.Emperor Amoghavarsha worshipped Hindu goddess Lakshmi and Jaina Tirthankara Mahavira as

238 well. During the reign of Krishna II, Prithvi Raja and his son constructed many Jaina temples.Of course, Buddhism was on the decline at that but it was because of its own weaknesses.The policy of the Rashtrakutas had nothing to do with its decline.Even Islam was treated well by the Rashtrakutas.The Arabs were permitted not only to trade but also to settle down and pursue their religion freely within the empire of the Rashtrakutas.All this testifies to the liberal and progressive views of the Rashtrakutas.

The Rashtrakutas patronised education and learning.Besides Sanskrit, Kanarese literature grew during their age.The emperors gave encouragement to both Hindu and Jaina scholars.Emperor Amoghavarsha was himself a scholar who wrote Kavirajamarga, the earliest Kanarese work on poetics. His court was adorned by a number of scholars as Jinasena, the author of Adipurana and Harivamsha. Mahaviracharya, the author of Ganitasarasangraha and Sakatayana, the author of Amoghavritti.Besides, Ponna, Pamma and Ranna, the famous scholars of Kanarese language also flourished during the age of the Rashtrakutas.Though no new school of architecture or sculpture flourished during the period of Rashtrakutas the emperors certainly constructed many temples and images of different gods and goddesses.However, there remains only one temple now from among those which were constructed by the Rashtrakutas.And that is the Kailash Temple of Ellora, which is the most famous among the temples of south India and has been regarded as a unique example of the art of architecture of Hindu India. Dr. V.A. Smith has described it as the most wonderful piece of architecture.

Thus, the Rashtrakutas played an effective role not only in the politics of south India but also in that of northern India. Of course, their

239 interference in the politics of the North ultimately proved detrimental to the interest of India because, neither they themselves built up a strong empire in the North nr they allowed the Pratiharas to build such an empire, which alone could provide security to India against impending foreign aggressions of the Turks. Yet, it gave them power and prestige which placed them among the most powerful Indian rulers of their age. As regards the South, they prevailed on the politics of the South for a long time and determined its course and also helped in the cultural development of the South which, in turn, contributed fairly to the culture of India.

THE PALLAVAS

The southernmost part of the Indian sub-continent, which has been separated from the plateau of Deccan by the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra, has been called the Far South.It has also been called Tamil-Pradesh.The earliest dynasties which established their rule there were the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras.The literature of Sangam (which was a seat of learning) provides us the source material to the history of the Far South. It describes that the Cholas, the Pandyas and the Cheras constantly fought against each other for the supremacy of the Far South for a long time.In turn, first the Cholas, then the Pandyas and lastly the Cheras gained supremacy. Yet, none of them succeeded in establishing a great empire in the Far South, consolidating its entire territory.The task was first fulfilled by the Pallavas. After the downfall of the Satavahanas, their southeastern territories were occupied by the Pallavas who made Kanchi their capital.

There is as yet no consensus among scholars regarding the origin of the Pallavas.Some European scholars identified Pallavas with the

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Pahlwas or Parthians but now nobody accepts their viewpoint.Some other historians described them belonging to the Chola-Naga family. However, it is generally accepted that the Pallavas were the original residents of Tondamandalam which was a province in the empire of Asoka enjoying the benefits of Mauryan administration for nearly fifty years.Tondiyara is a Tamil word whose equivalent word in Sanskrit is Pallava.Therefore, the residents of Tondamandalam were called the Pallavas.That is why their ruling dynasty was also called the Pallava dynasty. As regards their family the opinion is again divided.While some scholars have regarded them as Kshatriyas, there are others who describe them as Brahmanas.Dr. K.P. Jayaswal regards them as an offshoot of the Vakatakas for the reason that they were both Brahmanas of the Bharadvaja gotra. Dr. Dashratha Sharma also describes them as Brahmanas.The Pallavas raised themselves to the status of a ruling dynasty in the middle of the 3rd century A.D. and their early important rulers were Sivaskanda Varman, Vishnugopa, etc. But the beginning of the greatness of the Pallavas was attempted by Sinhavishnu in the later part of the 6th century A.D.

THE RULERS.

Sinhavishnu (575 – 600 A.D.) The foundation of the greatness of the Pallavas was laid by Sinhavishnu. He was a capable commander as well as a patron of learning on fine arts.He defeated a number of enemies including the Kalabhras who were the enemies of the Brahmanas and had attacked Tamil Pradesh. He conquered Cholamandalam as well. His empire extended to the territories between the rivers Kaveri and Krishna. The great Sanskrit poet, Bharavi, author of Kirtrjuniyam was at his court and he took the first step in making Mahabalipuram a centre of fine arts.

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Mahendra Varman I (600 – 630 A.D.) Mahendra Varman, who succeeded his father Sinhavishnu, was one of the great kings of the Pallavas. During his reign, the Chalukyas attempted to crush the power of the Pallavas as they could not tolerate the emergence of a rival power in the south.The aggressive policy of the Chalukyas resulted in a longdrawn battle between the two dynasties. Mahendra Varman I allied himself with the Kadambas and tried to check the power of Chalukyas under Pulakesin II. But, Pulakesin II succeeded in penetrating deep into the territory of the Pallavas. Mahendra Varman gave him a battle fifteen miles away from his capital, Kanchi. He was successful in defending his capital but Pulakesin II captured his northern most territory including Vengi where arose the independent empire of the Eastern Chalukyas.

Mahendra Varman was a poet and a musician himself and patronised learning and fine arts. He wrote Mattavilasa-Prahasana in Sanskrit and, probably, a book on music also.In the beginning, he was a Jaina but afterwards became a Saiva.He constructed many temples in honour of Vishnu and Siva at Trichinopoly, Vallam, Mahendravadi and Arcot, and excavated a famous tank at Mahendravadi, Mahendra Varman also patronised painting.

Narasinha Varman (630 – 668 A.D.) Mahendra Varman was succeeded by his son Narasinha Varman I who proved to be the greatest Pallavas ruler and made the power of the Pallavas supreme in South India.The contest between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas for the supremacy of the South continued during his reign. Pulakesin II, the mighty ruler of the Chalukyas, again took the offensive but Narasinha Varman I defeated him in three battles and forced him to retire back to his kingdom. Now, Narasinha Varman took the offensive, attacked the Chalukyas and even occupied their capital Badami in 642 A.D. Pulakesin died during the

242 course of this conflict and his death was followed by political confusion for thirteen years in the dominions of the Chalukyas. Narasinha Varman I took advantage of it and occupied the southern part of the empire of the Chalukyas. Afterwards, he defeated Cholas, the Cheras and the Pandyas of the South and extended his empire. He sent two naval expeditions to Ceylon to reinstate the Sinhalese prince Mavavarma and finally succeeded.In 665 A.D., however, he was defeated by the Chalukya Vikramaditya I, who succeeded in recovering from him the lost territories of his empire.Yet, Narasinha Varman established an extensive empire of the Pallavas.He constructed many temples at Trichinopoly.The Rath- temples constructed by him at Mahabalipuram, are unique pieces of the art of architecture.The Chinese traveller, Hiuen Tsang, visited Kanchi during his reign and described it as a beautiful and prosperous city.

Mahendra Varman II, son of Narasinha Varman, ruled only for two years (668 – 670 A.D.).He was succeeded by his son Paramesvara Varman I, who ruled between 670 – 695 A.D.During his reign the Chalukya Vikramaditya I occupied Kanchi and proceeded towards Trichinopoly.But Paramesvara Varman I faced him at Peruvalanallur and forced him to retire to his kingdom.Thus, Paramesvara Varman succeeded in safeguarding his empire.

Narasinha Varman II (695 – 722 A.D.) The reign of Narasinha Varman II, son and successor of Paramesvara Varman, was that of peace and Order.The Empire grew prosperous during his reign, a situation which he fruitfully utilised for the purpose of the cultural progress of his empire. He constructed the Kailasanatha temple at Kanchi and the Sore temple at Mahabalipuram.He patronised scholars.Some scholars have suggested that Dandin, the great prose-writer and the author of

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Dasakumaracharita, flourished at his court.He also sent an ambassador to China.

He was succeeded by his son Paramesvara Varman II (722 – 730 A.D.).During the later part of his reign, his empire was attacked by the Chalukyas emperor, Vikramaditya II. Paramesvara Varman bought the peace of his empire by giving money and presents to Vikramaditya II.

Nandi Varman II (730 – 795 A.D.) Nandi Varman was not the son of Paramesvara Varman II but a member of the junior branch of the family. He was elected emperor by the assembly of ministers and nobles at the age of twelve.Certain members of the royal family opposed his succession but failed in their attempts. He was attacked by the neighbouring rulers as well.The Pandya ruler, Rajasinha I, attacked him, fought many battles, but was, ultimately, forced to retire.The struggle between the Pandyas and Pallavas persisted and it resulted in the conquest of Kongu by the Pandya ruler Parantaka, successor of Rajasinha. The Chalukya king Vikramaditya II also attacked Nandi Varmanand kept Kanchi under his occupation for some time. His successor the Chalukya Kirti Varman also succeeded in plundering the territories of the Pallavas. Nearabout 750 A.D., the Rashtrakuta ruler Dantidurga also captured Kanchi, though, afterwards decided to keep good relations with the Pallavas, returned Kanchi to Nandi Varman and also married his daughter to him. The Rashtrakuta ruler, Dhruva, also defeated Nandi Varman and received large sum as booty.The only success of NandiVarman was against the Gangas from whom he snatched away a part of their territories.But the attacks of the Pandyas, the Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas weakened very much the power of Pallavas during the reign of Nandi Varman.But, Nandi Varman helped in the growth of learning and fine arts.He constructed the temple of Muktesvara and,

244 probably, the Vaikuntha temple at Kanchi. Nandi Varman was himself a scholar and patronised scholars.Tirumangai Alwar, saint and scholar, flourished during his reign.

Nandi Varman was succeeded by his son, Dandi Varman.The Rashtrakutas and the Pandyas attacked his empire and the Pandyas succeeded in capturing the Kaveri region from him. Dandi Varman was succeeded by Nandi Varman III, Nripatunga and Aparajita respectively. In 880 A.D.Aparajita succeeded in defeating the Pandyas.This was, however, the last successful battle of the Pallavas.Aparajita was immensely helped in the battle against the Pandyas by his Chola feudatory ruler, Aditya I.However, Aditya I himself, ultimately, killed Aparajita, occupied the kingdom of the Pallavas in 893 A.D., and, thus, laid the foundation of the mighty Chola empire in the South.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PALLAVAS.

The administration of the Pallavas was mostly like that of the great Guptas.The emperor was the head of the State and all powers were concentrated in his hands.He held titles like Paramesvara, Parambhattaraka, etc. But the emperor was not despotic. His primary duty was to look after the welfare of his subjects and he performed his duty according to ancient Rajya-Dharma.The emperor was assisted by ministers and many other high officials of the state.The empire was divided into Rashtras, Kottamas and villages for the convenience of administration. The Pallavas had succeeded in providing an efficient and good administration to their empire.

The Pallavas were the devotees of Hinduism. They performed different yajnas, and constructed temples and images of different Hindu gods and goddesses like Vishnu, Siva, Brahma, Lakshmi, etc.They encouraged

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Hindu religion and Sanskrit literature and, thus, helped in the process of Aryanisation in the South.The Hindu religious movements which flourished in South India in the eighth century originated within the frontiers of the Pallava Empire. Kanchi became a great centre of learning in South India and its university helped in the progress of Aryan culture in the South, while the city itself was accepted as one of the seven religious cities of the Hindus. However, the Pallavas were tolerant rulers. They patronised, of course, Saivism and Bhagavatism but gave protection to Jainism and Buddhism as well.

The period of the Pallavas was marked by literary progress.The University of Kanchi mostly contributed to this progress.The celebrated Buddhist scholar, Diganaga, remained at the University of Kanchi for several years. A few of the Pallava rulers were scholars themselves, while most of them patronised scholars.Emperor Mahendra Varman wrote Mattavilasa-Prahasana, Emperor Vishnu Varman had invited the well- known scholar of his age Bharavi to visit his court and Dandin, another celebrated scholar, received the patronage of the royal court. Besides, Sanskrit literature, Tamil literature also developed during the period of the Pallavas.

In the far south, the temple architecture began with the Pallavas. Many temples were constructed in honour of different Hindu gods and goddesses under the royal patronage.The Pallava architecture grew in stages.Its progress has been marked in four different stages according to the changes which were introduced in it from time to time.The art, when it made its beginning between the period 600 – 625 A.D. has been called the Mahendra school of art, the art which developed during the period 625 – 647 A.D. has been called the Mamalla school of art.The Rath temples of Mamallapurama (Mahabalipuram) were constructed during

246 this period.These have been regarded as the finest pieces of the art of architecture in south India. Besides, temple of the five Pandavas and the Varaha temple were also constructed during this period. These temples have got beautiful images of gods and goddess and fine specimens of paintings as well.The art, developed during the period of emperor Rajasinha in the 8th century, has been called the Rajasinha School. Some of the temples of Kanchi and Mahabalipuram were constructed during this period among which temple Kailashnatha (Siva) at Kanchi has been regarded as the finest.The last school was named Aparajita school after the name of king Aparajita.The temple of Bahasara was constructed under this school.This was the highest stage of the growth of the art of architecture under the Pallavas.

Thus, the period of the Pallavas witnessed the growth of literature, both Sanskrit and Tamil, the growth of fine arts, particularly that of architecture, and, Hindu religion and economic prosperity also.The Pallavas succeeded not only in establishing a durable empire but also in the growth of culture, particularly, that of Aryan culture in the south. Besides, the Pallavas contributed to the progress of Indian culture in the countries of South-East Asia as well.Thus, the period of Pallavas has been regarded as one of the remarkable periods in the history of south India.

THE CHOLAS OF TANJORE

The Chola dynasty was one of the ancient ruling dynasties of the Far South.The dynasty maintained its power and prestige during the Sangama age but afterwards it was reduced to feudatory status. In turn, the Cholas remained subordinate chiefs of the Rashtrakutas, the Chalukyas and the Pallavas.During the middle of the 9th century A.D.,

247 they got the opportunity not only to revive their independence but to establish themselves as a supreme power of the far south.The Cholas maintained a extensive empire which included all the territories of south of the river Tungabhadra and many islands of the Arabian sea for more than two hundred years.They contributed fairly to the polity and culture of south India.

THE RULERS.

Vijayalaya (850 – 871 A.D.) The founder of the Chola dynasty of Tanjore was Vijayalaya, a feudatory of the Pallavas.There was rivalry between the Pandyas and the Pallavas, his overlords, at that time. He took advantage of it and attacked Tanjore, which was in the hands of a feudatory chief of the Pandyas, and occupied it. He also conquered the valley of Kolsana and the lower valley of Kaveri.

Aditya I (871- 907 A.D.) The independent kingdom of the Chola was created by Aditya I, the son and successor of Vijayalaya. Aditya helped his overlord, the Pallava king Aparajita, against the Pandyas but did not remain loyal to him for long.Near about 893 A.D. he fought against Aparajita and killed him in a battle. He then occupied the entire territory of Tondamandalam and became a sovereign ruler.He also occupied most of the territories of the Pandyas and the Western Gangas.He made Tanjore his capital, beautified it, and built several temples of Siva there. Thus, the foundation of the greatness of the Cholas was laid by Aditya I.

Parantaka I (907 – 953 A.D.) Parantaka I was an ambitious ruler and engaged himself in wars of conquest from the beginning of his reign. His main conquest was that of the Madura.The Pandya ruler, Rajasinha II, sought the help of the Ceylonese king.Yet, he could not defend his kingdom against the attacks of Parantaka.It was a difficult task but

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Parantaka succeeded in capturing Madura and reduced it to obedience and order though the task kept him busy for many years.Parantaka also defeated the Banas and the aidumbas of the Revadu country with the help of his ally Prithvipati II, the Western Ganga ruler.Thus, Buddhism his successive victories, he established an extensive empire.

The Rashtrakutas could not tolerate the new rising power of the Cholas in their neighbourhood.The Rashtrakuta king Krishna III attacked Parantaka I and defeated the Cholas in a decisive battle at Takkolam in 949 A.D.This defeat gave a rude shock to the imperialist ambitions of the Cholas.Rather, for the next thirty-two years they remained an insignificant power in the politics of the south, though something during the reign of Sundara Chola or Parantaka II, the successors of Parantaka I, the Cholas,probably, succeeded it recovering Tondamandalam from the Rashtrakutas.

Rajaraja the Great (985 – 1014 A.D.) The credit for reviving the last glory of the Cholas went to Rajaraja who had been truly the Great ruler of the Cholas.He pursued a policy of war and conquest, defeated the Western Gangas, the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi, the Pandyas of Madura; the Gangas of Kalinga, and the Cheras of Kerala and, thus, extended his empire and influence to the far south. Rajaraja also laid the foundation of the greatness of the navy of the Cholas.He conquered Kurga, the entire Malabara coast and part of Ceylon, because of the support of its navy. He also conquered the Maldive islands and attacked the islands of the south-east.He befriended King Tungavamana of Srivijaya Empire of South-East Asia. He placed Vimladitya, the younger brother of Sakti Varmana I, on the throne of Vengi and married his daughter to him which ultimately prepared the way for the union of the

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Eastern Chalukyas and the Cholas.Thus Rajaraja succeeded in the establishment of a fairly extensive empire in the far south.

Rajaraja was one of the greatest rulers of South India.He was a conqueror, an empire builder, a good administrator and a patron of art and literature.He laid the foundation of the greatness of the navy of the Cholas who, afterwards, became one of the foremost naval power in South-East Asia.He also laid the foundation of the local self-government in the administration of the Cholas. Thus, the two unique features of the Cholas administration, viz., the navy and the local self-government, were primarily the contributions of Rajaraja to the Chola dynasty.Rajaraja was a Saiva.He constructed the Saiva-temple of Rajarajeshvara, which has been regarded as a remarkable specimen of Ramil architecture. But he was a pious and tolerant ruler. He also patronised Buddhist Viharas and monasteries.

Rajendra I (1014 – 1044 A.D.) Rajendra pursued further the policy of conquest and annexation adopted by his father and raised the power and prestige of the Cholas to its highest. His period was the period of zenith of the glory of the Cholas. He defeated and annexed the kingdoms of the Pandyas and the Cheras of the extreme south.He conquered Ceylon, though, in 1029 A.D. south Ceylon became free from his control.He foiled the attempt of the Chalukya Jayasingha to conquer Vengi and, during his later years, attacked and plundered the kingdom of the Chalukya king, Somesvara I.The Western Chalukyas accepted the river Tungabhadra as the dividing line between their boundary and the boundary of the Chola kingdom. Proceeding through Kalinga, Orissa and Bastara, Rajendra attacked West Bengal and defeated the Pala ruler, Mahipala.But he annexed no territory in north India. Its main purpose in attacking the north was to get fame.His navy attacked the Srivijaya

250 empire which was a great naval power in South-East Asia at that time, and forced it to accept his suzerainty. Thus, he increased the prestige of his naval power in the Arabian Sea and succeeded in safeguarding the trade of his empire on high seas.

Rajendra, thus, was a great conqueror.He was the first Indian ruler who established the supremacy of Indian navy in the Arabian Sea. Besides, he was a capable ruler and a good administrator. He patronised art and learning. He gave liberal grants to educational institutions.He founded the city of Ganghikondacholapuram and made it his capital. Therein he built beautiful palaces and temples and a lake named Cholagangam, which was sixteen miles in length. Rajendra proved even greater than his father, Rajaraja the Great, and expanded the glory of the Cholas which was established by his father.

Rajadhiraja I (1044 – 1052 A.D.) Rajendra was succeeded by his son Rajadhiraja I.Mostly, he remained busy in suppressing the revolts in Ceylon and the Pandya territory.He succeeded in defeating the Chalukya ruler Somesvara in 1052 but was himself killed during the course of the battle. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Rajendra II.

Rajendra II (1052 – 1063 A.D.) Rajendra fought against the kings of Ceylon and the Western Chalukyas and succeeded in defending the frontiers of his empire.

Virarajendra I (1063 – 1970 A.D.) Rajendra II was succeeded by his younger brother Virarajendra I. He kept his suzerainty over Ceylon and Srivijaya Empire and defeated the Chalukya rulers, Somesvara I and Somesvara II.

Adhirajendra succeeded his father Virarajendra but he was soon killed in a rebellion.The main dynasty of the Cholas ended with the death of

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Adhirajendra.After him, Kulottunga I (1070 – 1118 A.D.), the great- grandson of Rajaraja I, ascended the throne, Kulottunga I defeated the ruler of the Pandya kingdom and that of Kerala.He married his daughter to a Ceylonese Prince and kept diplomatic relations with Kannauj, Kamboja, China and Burma. He also brought prosperity to his empire.

Kulottunga I was succeeded by Vikram Chola, Kulottunga II, Rajaraja II, Rajadhiraja II, Kulottunga III, Rajaraja III and Rajendra III respectively, who, put together, ruled for more than a century. But the powers of the Cholas gradually declined during their reign.The neighbouring rulers of Pandya, Hoysala, Kakatia and Eastern Gangas constantly threatened their territory and went on occupying parts of it. Ultimately, the Pandya ruler, Sundara forced the Chola Rajendra III to accept his suzerainty in 1258 and that finished the independent status of the Cholas.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHOLAS.

(i) The Central and Provincial Administration: The king was the head of the administration and all powers were concentrated in his hands. The Chola king assumed high sounding titles.Tanjore, Gangaikondacholapuram, Mudikondan and Kanchi remained the various capitals of different Chola rulers at various times. The Chola Empire was extensive and prosperous and the rulers enjoyed high powers and prestige.The images of the kings and their wives were also maintained in various temples which indicated that they believed in the divine origin of kingship.Yet, the Chola rulers were not despotic rulers.They accepted the welfare of their subjects as their primary duty.The Chola rulers started the practice of electing their successor or Yuvaraja and of associating him with administration during their life-time.That is why there were no wars of succession among the Cholas.The position of the king was

252 hereditary and, normally, the eldest son of the king was nominated as the successor.But, sometimes, if the eldest son was found incompetent, the successor was chosen from amongst the younger sons or brothers of the king.The king was assisted by ministers and other high officials of the state in administration, who were given high titles, honours and lands as jagirs.The Cholas had organised an efficient bureaucracy and their administration was successful.

The Cholas maintained powerful armies and navies.The infantry, the cavalry and the war elephants constituted the main parts of the army of the Cholas.It seems that the Cholas had seventy regiments.Probably, the army consisted of 1, 50,000 soldiers and 60,000 war elephants.The Cholas spent huge amounts to maintain an efficient cavalry and imported the best horses from Arab countries to equip their army. In peace time, the army remained in cantonments where proper arrangements were made for its training and discipline. The kings kept their personal bodyguards, called the Velaikkaras, who were sworn to defend the person of the king at the cost of their lives. The soldiers and the officers, who distinguished themselves in war, were given titles like Kshatriyasikhamani.The credit of maintaining a strong navy, both for offensive and defensive purposes, went first to the Cholas among Indian rulers.The Cholas attacked and forced the kings of Ceylon and Srivijaya empire to accept their suzerainty, defended their trade on high seas and became the masters of the Bay of Bengal.But, the Cholas did not observe the Hindu morality of warfare, i.e. Dharma Yudha.The Chola army caused much injury to the civil population, including women.The soldiers engaged themselves in loot, destruction, killing of civil population and dishonouring of women during warfare.

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The primary source of the income of the state was land revenue. Rajaraja I took 1/3rd of the produce as land revenue from his subjects. The revenue was collected both in cash and kind. The land was divided into different categories on the bass of its productivity; it was measured and revenue was charged on the actual produce.The revenue was charged directly from the cultivators but, in certain cases, from the entire village as one unit.The officers observed severity while collecting the revenue.But, the Cholas also tried their best to develop artificial means of irrigation.They built several dams on the river Kaveri and also made lakes for the purposes of irrigation.Besides land revenue, taxes on trade, various professions, forests, mines, irrigation, salt etc. were other sources of the income of the state.The main items of expenditure of the State were the expenses of the king and his palace, the army, the civil services and public welfare works.

The empire was divided into Mandals for the conveniences of administration.They were either seven or eight in number. The Mandals were divided into Nadus and Nadus into Kurrams or Kottams.Every Kurram had several villages which were the smallest units of administration.

(ii) Local Self-Government: The arrangement of local self-government has been regarded as the basic feature of the administration of the Cholas. Probably, no other ruling dynasty of either the north or the south had such an extensive arrangement of local self-government at different units of the administration as the Cholas.The administration of the Cholas had the provision of local self-government beginning from the village up to the Mandal level at the top.The Mahasabha of the village played an important role in the administration of the village.Besides, there was provision of representative bodies at the level of Kurram, Nadu

254 and Mandal as well, which all helped in the administration.An assessment can be made of the nature of the local self-government by the rights and duties of the Mahasabha of the village.

For the formation of Mahasabha, first a village was divided into thirty wards.The people of each ward used to nominate a few people possessing the following qualifications: ownership of about an acre and a half of land; residence in a house built at one’s own site; age between thirty-five and seventy; knowledge of one Veda and a Bhahsya; and be or any of his relations must not have committed any wrong and received punishment. Besides, those who had been on any of the committees for the past three years and those who had been on temperature committee, but had failed to submit the accounts, were excluded from being nominees.From among the persons duly nominated, one was chosen from every ward to be the member of the Mahasabha.At this stage the members were not chosen by election but by the lot system. Names of persons were written on palm- leaf tickets which were put into a pottery and shuffled, and a young boy was directed to take out the ticket. The same procedure was followed for the formation of the different committees of the Mahasabha.Thus; the Mahasabha of a village was constituted of educated and economically independent persons of the village and, in all, had thirty members. There were also different committees of the Mahasabha to look after different things concerning the village, like the judicial committee, the garden committee, the committee to look after tanks and irrigation, etc.

The Mahasabha enjoyed wide powers.It possessed proprietary rights over community lands and controlled the private lands within its jurisdiction.The Central or the provincial government consulted the Mahasabha of the village concerning any change in the management of the land of the village.It helped the officials of the government in the

255 assessment of production and revenue of the village. It collected revenue and, in cases of default, had the power to sell the land in question by public auction. It looked after the reclamation of waste land and forest which were within its jurisdiction. It imposed taxes and appointed paid officials to look after the administration of the village.The judicial committee of the Mahasabha, called the Nyayattar, settled cases of disputes, both civil and criminal. It looked after the roads, cleanliness, lighting of temples, tanks, rest-houses and security of the village. Thus, the Mahasabha looked after civic, police, judicial, revenue, and all other functions concerning the village.It was an autonomous body and functioned mostly independently.The Central Government interfered in its working only when it was felt absolutely necessary. Thus, the villages under the administration of the Cholas were practically “little republics” which drew admiration from even British administrators.Dr. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri writes, “Between an able bureaucracy and the active local assemblies, which in various ways fostered a lively sense of citizenship, there was attained a high standard of administrative efficiency and purity, perhaps the highest ever attained by the Hindu state”.

(iii) Social Condition: Society was based on Varna-Asram Dharma but the different Varnas or castes lived peacefully with each other. Inter- caste marriages were permitted and it had led to the formation of different sub-castes.The position of women was good.They were free from many restrictions which came to be imposed on them by the Hindu society later on.There was no purdah-system and women participated freely in all social and religious functions.They inherited and owned property in their own right.There were stray cases of sati but it was not a widely practised custom. Normally, monogamy was the prevalent rule but

256 the kings, the Samantas and the rich people kept several wives.The Devadasi system was also in vogue and there were prostitutes also in cities.The slave system was also prevalent.

(iv) Economic Condition: The Chola Empire enjoyed widespread prosperity.The Cholas had arranged for proper means of irrigation which had helped in the reclamation of waste land and increased agricultural production, which provided the base for the prosperity of both rulers and the ruled.The Cholas maintained peace and security within their territory, constructed well-connected roads, provided safety to travellers and traders and, above all, kept a strong navy on high seas. In such conditions, trade, both internal and external, grew resulting in increased prosperity of the state. The traders had brisk trade with China, Malaya, Western gulf and the islands of South-East Asia. Industries also grew up under the protection of the Cholas. Cloth, ornaments, metals and their different products, production of salt and constructions of images and temples were a few of the important industries which grew and prospered under the protection of the Cholas.

(v) Religious Condition: The Chola emperors were the devotees of either Bhagavatism or Saivism, both of which were the most important sects of Hinduism.Both of these sects became very popular in South India under the protection of the Cholas. The reign of emperor Vijayapala marked the beginning of the rise of these sects and, then, every Chola emperor contributed in his own way to their progress. During this period, temples of different gods and goddesses were constructed in large numbers and they became the predominant feature of Hinduism. Hindu temples not only became centres of worship but also those of education, arts and social welfare.The temples satisfied not only the religious urge of the people but also served the purpose of social welfare and progress.The

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Chola emperors helped in the progress of Hindu society and religion by constructing a large number of temples of Hindu gods and goddesses. The Cholas were tolerant rulers.Barring one or two examples, every Chola emperor respected and gave equal protection to every religious faith.And, whenever intolerance was attempted, it resulted in revolt among the people.This proves that tolerance in religion was observed not only by the rulers but even the ruled accepted and pursued it as a matter of rightful duty.

(vi) Literature: The period of the rule of the Cholas was the golden age of Tamil literature.Mostly, the texts were written as Kavya (poetry). Different scholars received patronage from different rulers and engaged themselves in scholarly writings. Among noted scholars of this period were Tirutakadevara, who wrote Jiwana-Chintamani, Tolamokti, who wrote Sulamani, Jayagodar, who wrote Kalingatuppani and Kambaba, who wrote Ramavatrama.Kambaba was one of the greatest figures in Tamil poetry.His Ramayana known as Kamba Ramayana has been regarded as a masterpiece of Tamil literature.The Buddhist scholar, Buddhamitra, wrote the text named Rasoliyan while another Buddhist scholar wrote Kundalakesha and Kalladama. Scholars, like Dandina and Pugalenda, also flourished under the patronage of the Cholas. Besides Tamil, texts were written in the Sanskrit language also. During the reign of Parantaka I, Venkatmadhava wrote has commentary of the Rigveda while Keshavaswamina wrote his scholarly work titled Nanartharanova. Thus, literature, both in Tamil and Sanskrit, progressed under the rule of the Cholas.

(vii) Fine Arts: The Cholas constructed cities, lakes, dams, tanks, etc. at different places.Rajendra I constructed a huge lake at his capital, Gangaikondacholapuram, which was filled up by the waters of the rivers

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Kalerun and Bellara and which supplied water to many canals constructed for irrigation purposes.The same way, many dams at different rivers, canals and tanks were constructed by different Chola rulers.

But the chosen fields of the Cholas were architecture and sculpture. Huge and beautiful temples cut out from rocks or from hills and images of different Hindu gods and goddesses were constructed by the Cholas. The best specimens of the Chola art of early period are the temples of Vijayalaya-Cholesvara, the Nagesvara temple, the Koranganatha temple and the Muvarakovitha temple.Temperature Vijayalaya-Cholesvara temple, at Narttamalai, is interesting for its circular shrine chamber enclosed within a square ambulatory.The Nagesvara temple has many beautiful images of men and women on its stone walls, while Koranganatha temple at Srinivasanallur, which was, probably, constructed during the reign of Parantaka I, has been regarded as the best example of the initial phase of the Chola development of the Dravida temple art. However, when the Chola Empire grew in strength and its prosperity also increased, still more grand temples were constructed by the Cholas.Rajaraja I constructed the Rajarajesvara temple at Tanjore and the temple of Viruvalisvarama in the Timnaveli district. Rajendra Chola also constructed a huge temple of Siva at his capital Gangaikondacholapuram.Rajaraja II constructed the temple of Airavatesvara at Darasuram, while Kulottunga II constructed the temple of Kampaharesvara at Tribhuvanam. All these temples possess both the grandeur and the beauty of the art of architecture. The Rajarajesvara temple at Tanjore stands within a walled quadrangle, 500 feet by 250 feet. It has fourteen storeys which rise up to 190 feet from the ground. At the top of it is a 25 feet high tomb which weighs 80 tonnes, and has

259 been constructed by cutting a single rock. The entire temple is covered with beautiful images of different Hindu gods and goddesses carved in stone walls.Precy Brown writes of it, “It is the touchstone of Indian architecture as a whole”. These various temples justify the opinion that the south Indian architecture or the Dravida temple art had reached the stage of perfection during the reign of the Chola emperors. Of course, it was inspired by the Pallavas art in its early stages but, afterwards, it developed its own qualities and perfected itself.

The art of sculpture also progressed during this period.The Cholas worshipped all Hindu gods and goddesses and, therefore, built the images of all. Besides, images were carved out on the stone walls of the temples.The Chola emperors also built their own images as well as of their wives and placed them also in temples. But, the finest specimens of images constructed during the period of the Cholas were the bronze statues out of which the statue of Nataraja Siva has been regarded as the best and which has become widely popular even during modern times. Painting also progressed during the period of Cholas.The wall-paintings at the Siva temple of Tanjore can be favourably compared to the frescoes at the caves of Ajanta.

Thus, the period of the Cholas was remarkable from many aspects. It contributed fairly to the polity and culture of south India and thereby, to Indian polity and culture.Its contribution has been widely accepted in the domain of local self-government, construction of a powerful navy, growth of Tamil literature and in the fields of architecture and sculpture.

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THE AGE OF THE SATAVAHANAS

The most important of the native successors of the Mauryas in the north were the Shungas followed by the Kanvas.In the Deccan and in central India, the Satavahanas succeeded the Mauryas although after a gap of about 100 years.The Satavahanas are considered to be identical with the Andhras who are mentioned in the Puranas. The Puranas speak only of temperature Andhra rule and not of the Satavahanas rule. On the other hand the name Andhra does not occur in Satavahana inscriptions. Pre-Satavahana settlements are attested by the finds of red ware, black- and-red ware and russet-coated painted ware at many sites in the Deccan.Most of these are associated with the iron-using megalith builders who were stimulated to new activity by contacts with the material culture from the north.The use of ironshare, paddy transplantation and the coming of urbanism, writing, etc, created conditions for state formation under the Satavahanas. According to some Puranas, altogether the Andhras ruled for 300 years and this period is assigned to the rule of the Satavahana dynasty. The earliest inscriptions of the Satavahanas belong to the 1st century B.C., when they defeated the Kanvas and established their power in parts of central India.The early Satavahana kings appeared not in Andhra, but in north Maharashtra where their earliest coins and inscriptions have been found. They set up their power in the upper Godavari valley, which at present produces rich and diverse crops in Maharashtra.

Gradually the Satavahanas extended their power over Karnataka and Andhra.Their greatest competitors were the Shakas, who had established their power in the upper Deccan and western India.At one stage the Satavahanas were dispossessed of their dominions by the Shakas in Maharashtra and western India.The fortunes of the family were restored

261 by Gautamiputra Satakarni (A.D. 106 – 130). He called himself the only brahmana.He defeated the Shakas and destroyed many Kshatriya rulers. He claims to have destroyed the Kshaharata lineage to which his adversary Nahapana belonged.This claim is true, because more than 8,000 silver coins of Nahapana, found near Nasik, bear marks of being restruck by the Satavahana king. He also occupied Malwa and Kathiawar which lay under the control of the Shakas.It seems that the empire of Gautamiputra Satakarni extended from Malwa in the north to Karnataka in the south. Possibly he also enjoyed general authority over Andhra.

The successors of Gautamiputra ruled till A.D. 220.The coins and inscriptions of his immediate successor Vashishthiputra Pulumayi (A.D. 130 – 154) are found in Andhra, and show that by the middle of the second century this area had become a part of the Satavahana kingdom. He set up his capital of Paithan or Pratishthan on the Godavari in Aurangabad district.The Shakas resumed their conflict with the Satavahanas for the possession of the Konkan coast and Malwa. Rudradaman I (A.D. 130 – 150), the Shaka ruler of Saurashtra (Kathiawar), defeated the Satavahanas twice, but did not destroy them on account of matrimonial relations.Yajna Sri Satakarni (A.D. 165 – 194), one of the later kings, recovered north Konkan and Malwa from the Shaka rulers.He was a lover of trade and navigation. His coins have been found not only in Andhra but also in Maharashtra; Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.His love for navigation and overseas trade is shown by the representation of a ship on his coins.

Aspects of Material Culture.

The material culture of the Deccan under the Satavahanas was a fusion of local elements and nor ingredients.The megalith builders of the

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Deccan were fairly acquainted with the use of iron and agriculture. Although before 200 B.C. we find some hoes made of iron, the number of such tools increased substantially in the first two or three centuries of the Christian era.We do not notice much change in the form of the hoes from the megalithic to the Satavahana phase.Only hoes were now fully and properly socketed.Besides socketed hoes, sickles, spades, ploughshares, axes, adzes, razors, etc., belong to the Satavahana layers of the excavated sites.Tanged and socketed arrow-heads as well as daggers have also been discovered. At a site in Karimnagar district even a blacksmith’s shop has been discovered.The Satavahanas may have exploited the iron ores of Karimnagar and Warangal, for in these districts indications of iron workings as early as the megalithic phase have been found.Evidence of ancient gold workings has been found in the Kolar fields in the pre-Christian centuries and later.The Satavahanas may have used gold as bullion, for they did not issue gold coins as the Kushans did.They issued mostly coins of lead, which is found in the Deccan.They also issued potin, copper and bronze money.The Ikshvakus, who succeeded the Satavahanas in the early 3rd century A.D. in the eastern Deccan, also issued their coins.Both the Satavahanas and Ikshvakus seem to have exploited the mineral resources of the Deccan.

The people of the Deccan knew the art of paddy transplantation, and in the first two centuries the area between the Krishna and the Godavari especially at the mouths of the two rivers, formed a great rice bowl. The people of the Deccan also produced cotton. In foreign accounts, Andhra is considered to be famous for its cotton products. Thus, a good portion of the Deccan developed a very advanced rural economy. According to Pliny, the Andhra Kingdom maintained an army of 100,000infantry, 2000 cavalry and 1000 elephants.This presupposes a large rural

263 population, and apparently the peasants produced enough to support this military strength.

Through contacts with the north, the people of the Deccan learnt the use of coins, burnt bricks, ring-wells, art of writing, etc.These components of material life had become quite important in the Deccan a couple of centuries later.In Peddabankur (200 B.C. – A.D. 200) in Karimnagar district, we find regular use of fire-baked bricks, and use of flat, perforated roof tiles. All this must have contributed to the longevity of constructions. What is further remarkable is the fact that as many as 22 brick wells belonging to the 2nd century A.D. have been discovered at that site.Naturally these facilitated dense habitations, and we find there covered drains underground to lead waste water into soakage pits. Towns appeared in Maharashtra by the 1st century B.C., when we find several crafts.They emerged in the eastern Deccan a century later. Pliny informs us that the Andhra country in the eastern Deccan included 30 walled towns, besides numerous villages.Several towns of the second and third centuries in this area are known from inscriptions and excavations, increasing trade is indicated by numerous Roman and Satavahana coins. They appeared about a century later in the eastern Deccan, in the Godavari-Krishna area.

Social Organization.

The Satavahana originally seem to have been a tribe of the Deccan. But they were brahmanized, and their most famous king Gautamiputra Satakarni claims to have established the four-fold Varna system which had fallen into disorder. He boasts that he put an end to the intermixture between the people of different social orders.Such confusion was probably caused by the Shaka infiltration and by the thin and superficial

264 brahmanization of the tribes living in the Deccan. The absorption of the Shakas in brahmanical society as kshatriyas was facilitated by intermarriage between the Shakas and the Satavahanas. Similarly, the indigenous tribal people were more and more acculturated by the Buddhist monks, who were induced by land grants to settle in the western Deccan.It is suggested that traders also supported the Buddhist monks, for the earliest caves seem to have been located on the trade routes.The Satavahanas were also the first rulers tomake land grants to the brahmanas, although we have more instances of grants being made to Buddhist monks.

According to the Dharmashastras, it was the function of the kshatriyas to rule, but the Satavahana rulers called themselves brahmanas. Gautamiputra boasts that he was the true brahmana. Since the Andhras are identified with the early Satavahanas, probably they were a local tribe who were converted to Brahmanism.The orthodox brahmanas of the north looked upon the Andhras as a mixed caste.This shows that Andhras were, a tribal people who were brought within the fold of Brahmanical society as a mixed caste.

Increasing craft and commerce in this period brought many merchants and artisans to the forefront. Merchants took pride in naming themselves after the towns to which they belonged. Both artisans and merchants made generous donations to the Buddhist cause.They set up small memorial tablets. Among the artisans the gandhikas or the perfumers are repeatedly mentioned as donors. At a later stage the term gandhika became so general as to connote all kinds of shopkeepers.The modern title Gandhi is derived from this ancient term.

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The most interesting detail about the Satavahanas relates to their family structure.In Aryan society in north India, father enjoyed greater importance than mother, and the north-Indian princes whom we have considered so far seem to have belonged to a patriarchal society. But the Satavahanas show traces of a matrilineal social structure.It was customary for their king to be named after his mother. Such names as Gautamiputra and Vashishthiputra indicate that in their society mother enjoyed a great deal of importance.At present in peninsular India the son’s name includes a part of the father’s name, and there is no place for mother in it; this shows patriarchal influence.Queens made important religious gifts in their own right, and some of them acted as regents. But basically the Satavahana ruling family was patriarchal because succession to the throne passed to the male member.

Pattern of Administration.

The Satavahana rulers strove for the royal ideal set forth in the Dharmashastras.The king was represented as the upholder of dharma. To him were assigned a few divine attributes.The Satavahana king is represented as possessing the qualities of mythical heroes such as Rama, Bhima, Keshava, Arjuna, etc. He is compared in prowess and lustre to these legendary figures and to super-natural forces.This was evidently meant to attribute divinity to the Satavahana king.The Satavahanas retained some of the administrative units found in Ashokan times.Their district was called ahara, as it was known in the time of Ashoka.Their officials were known as amatyas and mahamatras, as they were known in Maurya times.

But we notice certain military and feudal traits in the administration of the Satavahanas.It is significant that the senapati was appointed

266 provincial governor.Since the tribal people in the Deccan were not thoroughly brahmanized and reconciled to the new rule, it was necessary to keep them under strong military control.The administration in the rural areas was placed in the hands of gaulmika, who was the head of a military regiment consisting of nine chariots, nine elephants, 25 horses and 45 foot-soldiers.The head of the army platoon was therefore posted in the countryside to maintain peace and order. The military character of the Satavahana rule is also evident from the common use of such terms as kataka and skandhavaras in their inscriptions.These were military camps and settlements which served as administrative centres so long as the king was there.Thus coercoin played a key role in the Satavahana administration.

The Satavahana started the practice of granting tax-free villages to brahmanas and Buddhist monks.The cultivated fields and villages granted to them were declared free from modestation by royal policemenand soldiers, and all kinds of royal officers.These areas therefore became small independent islands within the Satavahana kingdom. Possibly the Buddhist monks also preached peace and rules of good conduct among the people they lived with, and taught them to respect political authority and social order.The brahmanas, of course, helped enforce the rules of the varna system which made society stable. The Satavahana kingdom had three grades of feudatories.The highest grade was formed by the king who was called raja and who had the right to strike coins. The second grade was formed by the mahabhoja and the third grade by the senapati.It seems that these feudatories and landed beneficiaries enjoyed some authority in their respective localities.

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Religion.

The Satavahana rulers were brahmanas, and they represented the march of triumphant Brahmanism.From the very beginning kings and queens performed the Vedic sacrifices such as the ashvamedha vajapeya, etc.They also worshipped a large number of Vaishnava gods such as Krishna, Vasudeva and others.They paid liberal sacrificial fees to the brahmanas.However, the Satavahana rulers promoted Buddhism by granting land to the monks.In their kingdom the Mahayana form of Buddhism commanded considerable following especially in the artisan class.Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh became important seats to Buddhist culture under the Satavahanas and more so under their successors, the Ikshvakus. Similarly, Buddhism flourished in the Nasik and Junar areas in the western Deccan in Maharashtra, where it seems to have been supported by the traders.

Architecture.

In the Satavahana phase many chaityas (sacred shrines) and monasteries were cut out of the solid rock in the north-western Deccan or Maharashtra with great skill and patience.In fact the process had started about a century earlier in about 200 B.C.The two common religious constructions were the Buddhist temple which was called chaitya and the monastery which was called vihara.The chaitya was a large hall with a number of columns, and the vihara consisted of a central hall entered by a doorway from a verandah in front.The most famous chaitya is that of Karle in the western Deccan.It is about 40 metres long, 15 metres wide and 15 metres high. It is a most impressive specimen of massive rock architecture.The viharas or monasteries were excavated near the chaityas for the residence of monks in the rainy

268 season.At Nasik we have three viharas.Since they carry the inscriptions of Nahapana and Gautamiputra, it seems that they belong to the first- second centuries A.D.

Eoxk-cut architecture is also to be found in Andhra in the Krishna- Godavari region, but the region is really famous for independent Buddhist structures, mostly in the form of stupas.The most famous of them are Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda.The stupa was a large round structure erected over some relic of the Buddha.The Amaravati stupa began in about 200 B.C. but was completely reconstructed in the second half of the 2nd century A.D.Its dome measured 53 metres across the base, and it seems to have been 33 metres in height.The Amaravati stupa is full of sculptures which depict the various scenes from the life of the Buddha.Nagarjunakonda prospered most in the second-third centuries under the patronage of the Ikshvakus, the successors of the Satavahanas. It contains not only Buddhist monuments but also the earliest brahmanical brick temples.Nearly two dozen monasteries can be counted here.Together with its stupas and mahachaityas it appears to be the richest in structure in the early centuries of the Christian era.

Language.

The official language of the Satavahanas was Prakrit.All inscriptions were composed in this language and written in the Brahmi script, as was the case in Ashokan times. Some Satavahana kings may have composed Prakrit books.One Prakrit text called Gathasattasai or the Gathasaptasati is attributed to a Satavahana king called Hala.It consisted of 700 verses, all written in Prakrit, but it seems to have been finally re-touched much later, possibly after the 6th century A.D.

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THE DAWN OF HISTORY IN THE DEEP SOUTH

THE MEGALITHIC BACKGROUND.

After the pre-historic age several elements mark the beginning of the historical period.These are: settlements of large scale rural communities which carry on plough agriculture with the help of the ironshare, formation of the state system, rise of social classes, use of writing, use of metal money, beginnings of written literature.All these phenomena are not found at the tip of the peninsula with the Kaveri delta as the nuclear zone until about the 2nd century B.C.Up to this period the upland portions of the peninsula were inhabited by people who are called megalith builders.They are known not from their actual settlements which are rare, but from their graves.These graves are called megaliths because they were encircled by big pieces of stone. They contain not only skeletons of people who were buried but also pottery and iron objects. The people used various types of pottery including red ware, but black- and-red ware seems to have been popular with them.Obviously the practice of burying goods in the graves with the dead bodies was based on the belief that the dead would need all these in the next world.These goods give us an idea of their sources of livelihood.We find arrowheads, spearheads and also hoes and sickles, all made of iron.Tridents, which later came to be associated with Shiva, have also been found in the megaliths.However, compared to the number of agricultural tools that were buried, those meant for fighting and hunting are larger in number. This would show that megalithic people did not practice an advanced type of agriculture.

The megaliths are found in all upland areas of the peninsula, but their concentration seems to be in eastern Andhra and in Tamil Nadu.The

270 beginnings of the megalithic culture can be traced to circa 1000 B.C., but in many cases the megalithic phase lasted from about the fifth to the 1st century B.C., in a few places this phase persisted even as late as the early centuries of the Christian era.The Cholas, Pandyas and Keralaputras (Cheras) mentioned in Ashokan inscriptions were probably in the late megalithic phase of material culture.The megalithic people in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu had certain peculiar characteristics.They buried the skeletons of the dead in urns made of red pottery in pits. In many cases these urns were not surrounded by stone circles, and grave goods were not too many. The practice of urn burial was different from that of cist-burial or pit-burial surrounded by stone circles, which prevailed in the Krishna-Godavari valley.But at any rate, in spite of the use of iron, the megalithic people depended partly for settlement and burials on the slopes of the hills.Although the megalithic people produced paddy and ragi, apparently the area of cultivable land used by them was very limited, and generally they did not settle on the plains or the low lands due to the thick forest cover.

STATE FORMATION AND THE RISE OF CIVILIZATION.

By the 3rd century B.C., the megalithic people had moved from the uplands into fertile river basins and reclaimed marshy deltaic areas. Under the stimulus of contact with the elements of material culture brought from the north to the extreme end of the peninsula by traders, conquerors and Jaina, Buddhist and some brahmana missionaries, they came to practice wet paddy cultivation, founded numerous villages and towns, and came to have social classes.Cultural and economic contacts between the north and the deep south known as Tamizhakam became extremely important from the 4th century B.C.The route to the south called the Dakshinapatha was valued by the northerners because the

271 south supplied gold, pearls and various precious stones.The Pandya country was known to Megasthenes who lived in Pataliputra.The earlier Sangam texts are familiar with the rivers Ganga and Son and also with Pataliputra which was the capital of the Magadhan empire.The Ashokan inscriptions mention the Cholas, Pandyas, Keralaputras and Satyaputras living on the borders of the empire; of these only the Satyaputras are not clearly identified.Tamraparnis or the people of Sri Lanka are also mentioned.Ashoka’s title ‘dear to gods’ was adopted by a Tamil chief. All this was the result of the missionary and acculturating activities of the Jainas, Buddhists, Ajivikas and brahmanas as well as the traders who went along in their train.It is significant that Ashokan inscriptions were set up on important highways.In the earliest stage much of the influence of Gangetic culture over the south was felt through the activities of the heterodox sects which are mentioned in the earliest Tamil Brahmi inscriptions.The brahmanical influence also percolated in a large measure to the Tamizhakam, but this really happened after the 4th century A.D.Eventually many elements of Tamil culture spread to the north, and in the brahmanical texts the Kaveri came to be regarded as one of the holy rivers in the country.

These southern kingdoms would not have developed without the spread of iron technology which promoted forest clearing and plough cultivation.The distribution of the punch-marked coins of the janapada and of the Imperial Magadhan type show the development of north-south trade.Flourishing trade with the Roman Empire contributed to the formation of the three states respectively under the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas. From the 1st century A.D. onwards the rulers of these peoples derived benefit from the exports and imports that went on between the

272 coastal parts of south India on the one hand and the eastern dominions of the Roman empire, especially Egypt, on the other.

THREE EARLY KINGDOMS.

The southern end of the Indian peninsula situated south of the Krishna River was divided into three kingdoms – Chola, Pandya and Chera or Kerala.The Pandyas are first mentioned by Megasthenes, who says that their kingdom was celebrated for pearls. He also speaks of its being ruled by a woman, which may suggest some matriarchal influence in the Pandya society.

The Pandya territory occupied the southern-most and the southeastern portion of the Indian peninsula, and it roughly included the modern districts of Tirunelveli, Ramnad and Madura in Tamil Nadu. It had its capital at Madurai.The literature compiled in the Tamil academies in the early centuries of the Christian era and called the Sangam literature refers to the Pandya rulers, but it does not give any connected account.One or two Pandya conquerors are mentioned. However, it is evident from this literature that the country was wealthy and prosperous.The Pandya kings profited from trade with the Roman Empire and sent embassies to the Roman emperor Augustus.The brahmanas enjoyed considerable influence, and the Pandya king performed Vedic sacrifices in the early centuries of the Christian era.

The Chola kingdom, which came to be called Cholamandalam (Coromandel) in early medieval times, was situated to the north-east of the territory of the Pandyas, between the Pennar and the Velar Rivers. We have some idea of the political history of the Cholas from the Sangam texts.Their chief centre of political power laid at Uraiyur, a place famous for cotton trade. It seems that in the middle of the 2nd century B.C., a

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Chola king named Elara conquered Sri Lanka and ruled over it for nearly 50 years.A firmer history of the Cholas begins in the 2nd century A.D. with their famous king Karikala.He founded Puhar and constructed 160 km of embankment along the Kaveri river.This was built with the labour of 12,000 slaves who were brought as captives from Sri Lanka. Puhar is identical with Kaveripattanam, which was the Chola capital.It was a great centre of trade and commerce, and excavations show that it had a large dock.One of the main sources of the wealth of the Cholas was trade in cotton cloth.They maintained an efficient navy.Under Karikala’s successors the Chola power rapidly declined.Their capital, Kaveripattanam, was overwhelmed and destroyed.Their two neighbouring powers, the Cheras and the Pandyas, extended at the cost of the Cholas.What remained of the Chola power was almost wiped out by the attacks of the Pallavas from the north.From the fourth to the 9th century A.D. the Cholas played only a marginal part in south Indian history.

The Chera or the Kerala country was situated to the west and north of the land of the Pandyas. It included the narrow strip of land between the sea and the mountains and covered portions of both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.In the early centuries of the Christian era, the Chera country was as important as the country of the Cholas and the Pandyas. It owed its importance to trade with the Romans.The Romans set up two regiments at Muziris identical with Cranganore in the Chera country to protect their interests.It is said that they also built there a temple of Augustus. The history of the Cheras was marked by continuous fight with the Cholas and the Pandyas.Although the Cheras killed the father of the Chola king Karikala, the Chera king also lost his life.Later the two kingdoms temporarily became friends and concluded a matrimonial alliance.The Chera king next allied himself with the Pandya rulers

274 against the Cholas. But the Cholas defeated the allies, and it is said that since the Chera king was wounded in the back he committed suicide out of shame.According to the Chera poets their greatest king was Senguttuvan, the Red or Good Chera.He routed his rivals and established his cousin securely on the throne.It is said that he invaded the north and crossed the Ganga.But all this seems to be exaggerated. After the 2nd century A.D. the Chera power declined, and we know nothing of its history until the 8th century A.D.

The main interest of the political history of these three kingdoms lies in the continuous wars they fought with one another and also with Sri Lanka.Although the wars weakened these states, they very much profited from their natural resources and foreign trade.These kingdoms were fairly rich.They grew spices, especially pepper, which was in great demand in the western world.Their elements supplied ivory, which was highly valued in the West.The sea yielded pearls and their mines produced precious stones, and both these were sent to the West in good quantity. In addition to this they produced muslin and silk. We hear of cotton cloth as thin as the slough of snake.The early Tamil poems also mentions the weaving of complex patterns on silk. Uraiyur was noted for its cotton trade.In ancient times the Tamils traded with the Greek or Hellenistic kingdom of Egypt and Arabia on the one side, and with the Malay Archipelago and from there with China on the other. As a result of trade the words for rice, ginger, cinnamon and several other articles in Greek language were derived from Tamil language. When Egypt became a Roman province and when the monsoon was discovered about the beginning of the 1st century A.D., this trade received great impetus. Thus for the first two and a half centuries A.D. the southern kingdoms

275 carried on lucrative trade with the Romans.With the decline of this trade, these kingdoms also began to decay.

The Purse and the Sword.

Trade, local and long-distance, constituted a very important source of royal revenue.We know how the customs officials functioned in Puhar. Transit duties were also collected from merchants who moved with their goods from place to place. For the safety of merchants and prevention of smuggling, soldiers maintained constant vigil on the road. Spoils of war further added to royal income. But the real foundation of war and polity lay in regular income from agriculture.The share of the agricultural produce, claimed and collected by the king, is not specified. The tip of the peninsula and the adjacent regions were extremely fertile.The land produced paddy, ragi and sugarcane. It was said of the Kaveri delta that the space in which an elephant could lie down produced enough to feed seven persons.In additions to this, the Tamil region produced grains, fruit, pepper and turmeric. It seems that the king had a share in all this produce.

Apparently out of the taxes collected from the peasantry, the state maintained a rudimentary army. It consisted of chariots drawn by oxen, of elephants, cavalry and infantry. Elephants played an important part in war.Horses were imported by sea into the Pandyan kingdom. The nobles and princes or captains of army rode on elephants, and the commanders drove on chariots.The footmen and horsemen wore leather sandles for the protection of their feet.

RISE OF SOCIAL CLASSES.

Income from trade, war booty and agricultural produce enabled the kingpnot only to maintain groups of professional warriors but also to pay

276 the bards and priests, who were mainly brahmanas. The brahmanas first appear in the Tamil land in the Sangam age.An ideal king was one who never hurt the brahmanas.Many brahmanas functioned as poets, and in this role they were generously rewarded by the king. Karikala is said to have given one poet 1,600,000 gold pieces but this seems to be an exaggeration.Besides gold, the poets or bards also received cash, land, chariots, horses and even elephants.The Tamil brahmanas took meat and wine.The kshatriyas and vaishyas appear as regular varnas in the Sangam texts.But the class of warriors was an important element in polity and society.Captains of the army were invested with the title of enadi at a formal ceremony.Civil and military offices were held under both the Cholas and the Pandyas by vellalas or rich peasants. The ruling class was called arasar, and its members had marriage relations with the vellalas, who formed the fourth caste. They held the bulk of the land and thus constituted the peasantry, divided into the rich and the poor. The rich did not plough the land themselves but employed labourers for these purpose.Agricultural operations were generally carried on by members of the lowest class (kadaisiyar), whose status appears to have differed little from that of the slave.

Some artisans were not different from agricultural labourers.The pariyars were agricultural labourers who also worked in animal skins and used them as mats.Several out-castes and forest tribes suffered from extreme poverty and lived from hand to mouth.We notice sharp social inequalities in the age of the Sangam.The rich lived in houses of brick and mortar, and the poor in huts and humbler structures. In the cities the rich merchants lived in the upper storey of their houses. But it is not clear whether rites and religion were used to maintain social inequalities. We notice the emergence of the brahmanas and the ruling caste, but

277 acute caste distinctions which appeared in later times are lacking in the early Sangam age.

BEGINNINGS OF BRAHMINISM.

The state and society that were formed in the Tamil land in the early centuries of the Christian era developed under the impact of Brahmanism.But the brahmanical influence was confined to a small part of the Tamil territory and only to the upper levels of Tamil society in that area.The kings performed Vedic sacrifices.The brahmanas, who were the followers of the Vedas, carried on disputations.But the chief local god worshipped by the people of the hilly region was Murugan, who came to be called Subramaniya in early medieval times. The worship of Vishnu is also mentioned, although it may have been a later practice.The megalithic practice of providing for the dead continued.People offered paddy to the dead.Cremation was introduced, but inhumation followed in the megalithic phase was not abandoned.

TAMIL LANGUAGE AND SANGAM LITERATURE.

All that has been stated above about the life of the Tamils in the beginning of the historical period is based on the Sangam literature. As shown earlier, the Sangam was a college or assembly of Tamil poets held probably under chiefly or royal patronage.But we do not know the number of Sangams or the period for which they were held. It is stated in a Tamil commentary of the middle of the 8th century A.D. that three Sangams lasted for 9,990 years.They were attended by 8,598 poets, and had 197 Pandya kings as patrons. All this is wild exaggeration. All that can be said is that a Sangam was held under royal patronage in Madurai.The available Sangam literature, which was produced by these assemblies, was compiled in circa A.D. 300 – 600.But parts of this

278 literature look back to at least the 2nd century A.D.The Sangam literature can roughly be divided into two groups, narrative and didactic.The narrative texts are called Melkannakku or 18 Major Works.They comprise 18 major works consisting of 8 anthologies and 10 idylls. The didactic works are called Kilkanakku or 18 Minor Works.

SOCIAL EVOLUTION FROM SANGAM TEXTS.

Both types suggest several stages of social evolution.The narrative texts are considered works of heroic poetry in which heroes are glorified and perpetual wars and cattle raids frequently mentioned.They show that the early Tamil people were primarily pastoral. Traces of early megalithic life appear in the Sangam texts.The earliest megalithic people seem to be primarily pastoralists, hunters and fishermen although they also produced rice. Hoes and sickles occur at many sites in peninsular India but not the ploughshares.Other iron objects include wedges, flat celts, arrowheads, long swords and lances, spikes and spearheads, horse-bits, etc. These tools were meant mainly for war and hunting. This has some parallels in the Sangam texts which speak of perpetual war and cattle raids.The texts suggest that war booty was an important source of livelihood. They also state that when a hero dies he is reduced to a piece of stone. This reminds us of the circles of stone which were raised on the graves of the megalithic people. It may have led to the later practice of raising hero stones called virarkal in honour of the heroes who died fighting for kine and other objects. It is likely that he earliest phase of social evolution reflected in the Sangam works relates to the early megalithic stage.

The narrative Sangam texts also give some idea of the state formation in which the army consisted of groups of warriors, and the taxation

279 system and judiciary appeared in a rudimentary state. The texts also tell us about trade, merchants, craftsmen and farmers. They speak of several towns such as Kanchi, Korkai, Madurai, Puhar and Uraiyur.Of them Puhar or Kaveripattanam was the most important.The Sangam references to towns and economic activities are attested by Greek and Roman accounts, and by the excavation of the Sangam sites. A good deal of Sangam texts, including the didactic texts, was the work of the brahmana Prakrit-Sanskrit scholars.The didactic texts cover the early centuries of the Christian era and prescribe a code of conduct not only for the king and his court but also for various social groups and occupations.All this could have been possible only after the 4th century A.D. when brahmanas appear in good numbers under the Pallavas. The texts also refer to grants of villages, and also to the descent of kings from solar and lunar dynasties: this practice started in north India around the 6th century A.D.

Besides the Sangam texts, we have a text calledTolkkappiyam, which deals with grammar and poetics.Another important Tamil text deals with philosophy and wise maxims; this text is called Tirukkural. In addition to this we have the twin Tamil epics of Silappadikaram and Manimekalai. The two were composed around the 6th century A.D.The first is considered to be the brightest gem of early Tamil literature. It deals with a love story in which a dignitary called Kovalan prefers a courtesan called Madhavi of Kaveripattanam to his noble wedded wife Kannagi.The author apparently seems to be a Jaina and tries to locate the scenes of the story in all the kingdoms of the Tamil country.The other epic Manimekalai was written by a grain merchant of Madurai. It deals with the adventures of the daughter born of the union of Kovalan and Madhavi though this epic is of more religious than literary interest. It is claimed in the prologues to

280 the two epics that the authors were friends and contemporaries of the Chera king Senguttuvan, who ruled in the 2nd century A.D.Though the epics cannot be dated so early, they throw light on the social and economic life of the Tamils up to about the 6th century A.D.

The art of writing was doubtless known to the Tamils before the beginning of the Christian era.More than 75 short inscriptions in the Brahmi script have been found in natural caves, mainly in the Madurai region.They provide the specimens of the earliest form of Tamil mixed with Prakrit words.They belong to the second-first centuries B.C. when the Jaina and Buddhist missionaries appeared in this area.Inscribed potsherds during recent excavations have been found at several places, and they provide examples of Tamil language in the beginning of the Christian era.It is therefore no wonder that considerable Sangam literature was produced in the early centuries of the Christian era, although it was finally compiled by 600 A.D.