Ancient India

Introduction

Ancient India

This period is a very significant epoch in the history of ancient India as this is the formative period when there was the beginning of historic developments and we find the beginning of developments like advancements in economy, emergence of new religions and changes in the existing religions, formation of state, social stratification and various other aspects like invasion of foreign nomadic groups.

The course begins with the study of nature of polity, economy and society in the beginning of 4th century B.C. It provides the background regarding the emergence of political units within the pre state pastoral society. It mentions the emergence of social stratification in the form of emergence of four varnas, brahmanas, ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras. Subsequently it studies the developments in economy and religions like the use of iron in agricultural production leading to emergence of agrarian surplus which resulted in the growth of prosperous trading community and urbanization, the emergence of new religions like Buddhism since there was need for a new philosophical school to protect the cattle wealth in a predominantly agrarian economy and this was precisely what was taught by Buddha that cattle should not be sacrificed in the vedic sacrifices which was a practice suited to a pastoral economy. The new religions like Buddhism, Jainism, Ajavikaism, Carvakaism, etc. encouraged the new social groups like ksatriyas and traders to demand a greater social status in a society dominated by brahmanical rules.

In this section we also deal with state formation with the emergence of state of Magadha which was the result of constant wars that were waged against important neighboring principalities like Kasi, Vanga, Anga, Licchavi, etc. It is in Magadha that ultimately there was the emergence of the Mauryan Empire, the largest empire of ancient India comparable in size with the British empire of the later period. Before the emergence of Mauryan empire there was the invasion of Alexander of certain parts of India. He defeated some of the principalities and some of them surrendered and some others like the kingdom of Porus tried to challenge Alexander. However, due this invasion it was possible for the Mauryans during the later time to conquer the territories that belonged to the region of Punjab.

The Greek scholars have left their accounts regarding their experiences in India and these sources are very important to reconstruct ancient history of India. After this invasion Indians could develop better contact with the western world even though India was aware the existence of these powers. Information regarding the Mauryans is found in Kautalya’s Arthashastra, accounts of Greek ambassador to Chandragupta Mauryas’ court Megasthenes and the large of inscriptions issued by Asoka. It was Chandragupta Maurya who was the first emperor to expand the frontiers of the empire to all directions of India. He maintained friendly relations with the Greek successors. However, Asoka is considered as the greatest monarch of the Mauryan Empire. He fought a battle against Kalinga and was responsible for the killing of thousands of people which led to him accepting Buddhism, the religion which preached peace and non violence. He followed the policy of ‘dhamma’ which is considered both as a religious and administrative policy. He issued many inscriptions in different parts of his empire particularly on the border territories and also in important regions. The Mauryan administration was known for an elaborate bureaucratic structure. The important ministers were hand picked by the king himself and attempts were made to control the activities of higher officials. Administration comprised of imperial administration where there existed the imperial administrators and provincial administration, where there existed the provincial officials like for example kumara, rajuka, etc. It is said that through his policy of dhamma Asoka was able to control the vast empire by preaching peace and non violence. With this policy of dhamma, there was no need for the use of force by the state authorities.

Another important aspect of Mauryan administration was the existence of well distributed espionage system. There were reporters who submitted periodic information to the king regarding important developments in his state. Asoka sent Buddhist missions to various countries like Srilanka, Syria, Bacria, etc. It is said that through these missions he was able to consolidate his empire. However within fifty years of death of Asoka the Mauryan Empire collapsed followed by the emergence of new kingdoms like Sungas and Kanvas. Regarding the Mauryan administration there has been a debate among historians like Gerard Fussman and Romila Thapar regarding the real nature of Mauryan state. Romila Thapar in her book, Asoka and the decline of the Mauyan Empire maintained that the Mauryan Empire was an empire controlled and managed by a king who was able to do so with the help of elaborate bureaucracy. However Gerard Fussman who argued that there are many evidences that the local, provincial officials were given certain freedom or autonomy in pursuing certain important decisions regarding certain administrative matters has challenged this theory of centralized administration of the Mauryans. Further it was very difficult for a single person to move about and govern the various regions of the empire at the same time.

Later Romila Thapar in another book ‘The Mauryas Revisited’ revised her thesis regarding nature of the Mauryan state by stating that there existed different cadres of political structures like the Metropolitan state, the core territory and peripheries. The latter region enjoyed relative autonomy from the central control. Thus it is accepted by historians the same pattern of administration did not exist for all the regions of Mauryan Empire.

In the post Mauryan period there was the conquest of Indian territories by the foreign tribes like Sakas, Pahlavas, Parthians, Bactrians, Hunas and Kushanas. In the region of Punjab the Indo-Greeks established their kingdom and ruled this territory for several years and they issued several coins. It was the Kushanas who established the most powerful kingdom by the foreign tribes. The Kushanas controlled not only the territories of India, but also certain territories of Central Asia and as a result they maintained very prosperous trade contacts with foreign traders. When the Kushanas lost their political authority, this led to decline of their economic power as well.

Another important aspect which this course discusses is the process of state formation in the Kalinga and Andhra. In Kalinga it is argued there was the secondary state formation. The main factors which led to this state formation are divided into internal and external factors. The internal factors were the existence of natural resources like minerals and rivers or river based agrarian settlements. External factors were the contact with Mauryans and trade contacts. Kalinga region was known for its trade centres. In fact, this made the Mauryan state set out to conquer Kalinga region through which it is possible to maintain trade contact with south-east Asian trade centres. After defeating Kalingans, the Mauryans established their administrative institutions in Kalinga and as a result there was attempt made to exploit the economic resources in a better way. It is due to these two factors that there was the emergence of the state in the form of Mahameghvahana family. Similarly in the region of Andhra there was the emergence of the Satavahanas. Initially there existed the primitive tribes which lived on the basis of primitive occupations. But due to contact with north Indian elements like conquest of this region by the Mauryans and also the trade contacts with north India and the foreign countries like Greece and Rome, there was the emergence of state in the form of Satavahanas.

It is argued that under the Satavahanas the state supported both brahmanas and Buddhism. Land grants were given to these sections of society. This led to increased agricultural production in those regions where hitherto there was less agricultural production. The trade with foreign traders likes Greeks and Romans and also others regions of India led to the emergence of prosperous trading communities who started demanding better status in the society. Another important development in this area was the emergence of Buddhism which was the result of patronage that was given by the trading communities and the kings. It was the Buddhist sanghas (religious orders) and the brahmanas who patronized he legitimized the authority of the ruling class in this region. Here we find social assimilation, acculturation and legitimacy.

The last part of this course concentrates on the social and state formation in the deep south i.e. the Tamil country. Initially in this region there existed the non agrarian or pastoral tribes who lived in the areas where we have discovered the megalithic burials and monuments which indicate the beginning of iron age. The study of Tamil literature called collectively Sangam literature gives information regarding the nature of society, polity and economy.

During this period we find pre state society, polity and economy. However, gradually there were developments which led to social stratification. With improved agricultural production in the plains there was the emergence of trade. With the existing of flourishing trade, Indians maintained contact with foreign countries like the Greco-Roman world, Srilanka, Burma, Malaya, Java, Sumatra, Arab world, China, etc. With this there was the growth of trading communities in South India as well. The trade centres came to be controlled by the petty chiefdoms and it is these chiefdoms which established the first kingdoms of South India namely, Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas. There was the emergence of new social classes and groups and state formation in this region.

Lessons

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