Ancient India

Lesson 4: Post-Mauryan India

State Formation in Kalinga

KALINGA STATE FORMATION
Another important post Mauryan empire that was established was the royal family of Kalingans. Before the coming of the Mauryans, this region was not developed economically and politically. Perhaps the people were nomadic people who had some knowledge of agricultural production. There existed different tribes. We discover the iron age culture in this region. Thus there was transformation from stone age to iron age civilization.

The region was fertile and it consisted of navigable rivers like Mahanadi. We have mentioned that under Asoka, they were defeated and subjugated by the Mauryans who established their administrative centre in the region of Kalinga which became the capital of the eastern part of the Mauryan empire. It is stated that in Kalinga, there was secondary state formation. This kind of state emerges in those regions where the greater empires established their model of administration which was imitated in the locality.

REASONS FOR STATE FORMATION
State formation in Kalinga was due to internal and external factors. The Kalinga region, which is the present state of Orissa in eastern India, consists of rich raw materials needed for craft production and they were consumed for trade. The ports on the eastern coast connected Kalinga with the eastern world especially south east Asia and China. The existence of Mahanadi river made it suitable for production. These resources were exploited by the Mauryans when they subjugated this territory.

After the fall of Mauryans, the regional leading royal families utilised the opportunity and they established their power over these regions. The contact with Mauryan administration had introduced certain aspects of administration to the people of this region. There existed one governor in this region. There also existed the bureaucracy. This administrative setup established by the Mauryans helped the later state formation. These factors led to the emergence of the Mahameghavahana family in Kalinga. They were able to subjugate other tribal rulers in the region and established their domination in the region.

Among the rulers, Kharavela was known to be the greatest. He consolidated the fortunes of his state by conquering neighbouring territories and he encouraged both the Brahmanas and the Buddhists. His inscriptions reveal that he gave donations to both Brahmanas and Buddhist sanghas.

BRAHMANAS AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
The arrival of Brahmanas encouraged systematic social stratification. Different kinds of tax were introduced by the state and they tried to exploit the economic resources of the region.

Reference:

1. Romila Thapar, A History of India, Vol. I, Penguin Books, England, 1985.

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