THEMES in Indian

History Part I
Chapter 1: Bricks, Beads & Bones
The Harappan Civilisation
-The distinctive artefact of Harappan or Indus valley civilisation is the Harappan
seal made of steatite containing animal motifs and signs of an undeciphered
script.
-Indus valley civilisation is also called as Harappan culture.
Culture: This term is used by archaeologists for a group of objects, distinctive in
style, that are usually found together within a specific geographical area and
period of time. In case of Indus valley civilisation the items found are seals,
beads, weights, stone blades and even baked bricks.
-The culture is named after its first site that was discovered i.e. Harappa
-Civilisation is dated between 2600BCE 1900BCE
-There were earlier and later cultures in the same area which now are called as
Early Harappan and Late Harappan to distinguish from Harappan culture which is
also called as Mature Harappan culture.
It appears that there was a break between
the Early Harappan and the Harappan
civilisation, evident from large-scale
burning at some sites, as well as the
abandonment of certain settlements.
Food items Harappan ate:
1). wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and
sesame. Millets found in Gujarat. Finds of
Rice are relatively rare.
2). Animal bones found at Harappan sites
include those of cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo
and pig indicating that these animals were
domesticated.
Agricultural practices:
-Prevalence of agriculture is indicated by
the discovery of grain.
-Representations on terracotta sculptures
and seals indicate that Bull was known. Archaeologists extrapolate from this that
oxen might have been used for ploughing.
-terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and at
Banawali (Haryana).
Archaeologists have also found evidence of a ploughed field at Kalibangan
(Rajasthan), associated with Early Harappan levels.
-Semi-arid locations: Most Harappan sites are located in semi-arid areas where
irrigation was required for agriculture. Traces of canals have been found in
Shortughai in Afghanistan but not in Punjab & Sind (Mostly due to silting up of
canals)
Dholavira: Water reservoirs found.

Mohenjodaro: A planned Urban centre:

The most unique feature of Harappan civilisation was the development of urban
centres; Mohenjodaro is the most famous of them.
-Divided into two parts,
1). Citadel: smaller but higher (Western Part)
2). Lower town: larger but lower (Eastern Part)
Citadel: Buildings were constructed on mud brick platforms so its height was
greater than of lower town. It was walled from all sides. Citadel at Lothal was not
walled off but was built at a height.
Citadel had structures that were used for special public purposes. Examples of
such structures are, Warehouse, The Great Bath.
The Great Bath:
Features:
The Great Bath was a large rectangular tank in a courtyard surrounded by
a corridor on all four sides.
There were two flights of steps on the north and south leading into the
tank, which was made watertight by setting bricks on edge and using a
mortar of gypsum.
There were rooms on three sides, in one of which was a large well. Water
from the tank flowed into a huge drain.
Across a lane to the north lay a smaller building with eight bathrooms,
four on each side of a corridor, with drains from each bathroom connecting
to a drain that ran along the corridor.
The uniqueness of the structure, as well as the context in which it was
found (the Citadel, with several distinctive buildings), has led scholars to
suggest that it was meant for some kind of a special ritual bath
Lower town: It was also walled like the citadel. Several buildings were built on
platforms.

Signs of planning:
-The platforms indicate that the architecture was planned beforehand and then
implemented.
-Use of standardised ratio in the bricks used in all the Harappan settlements i.e.
length = 4*Height, Breadth=2*Height
-Carefully planned drainage system
Domestic architecture:
Residential buildings:
-Centered around a courtyard with rooms on all sides
-Cooking and weaving done in the courtyard
-An apparent concern for privacy: there are no windows in the walls along the
ground level
-Each house had drains connected to the main drainage.
-Many houses had wells, often in a room that could be reached from the outside
and perhaps used by passers-by.
Social differences:

Whether any social or economic differences were prevalent during Harappan

civilisation?
One method to verify the answer to the above question is to study the burials.
Burials during Harappan period:
-Dead were laid in pits. Sometimes the inner lining of the pits was lined with
Bricks.
-Some pits contained jewellery, ornaments indicating a belief in afterlife
From burials it is not clear whether the social or economic differences existed.
Another method to verify is to study the artefacts which are classified into
1).Utilitarian: objects of daily use made out of stone or clay like pottery, querns
etc
2).Luxurious: Objects made out of costly, non-local materials or from complex
methods like faience pottery. Such objects are found in large settlements like
Harappa and Mohenjodaro but not in small settlements
Craft-Production:
Chanhudaro: Centre of craft production bead-making, shell-cutting, metalworking, seal-making and
Weight-making.
Nageshwar & Balakot: Located on coast. Specialised centres of shell-making
including bangles, ladles and inlay and transported to other settlements.
Chanhudaro and Lothal: finished products like beads from here were taken
into large urban centres like Mohenjodaro and Harappa.
How are the craft production centres identified?
By looking for the following,
1). Raw materials like stone nodules, whole shells, copper ore; tools; unfinished
objects; rejects and waste material.
Procuring of materials for craft:
Clay: was available locally
Stone, timber, metal etc had to be procured from outside.
Methods used by Harappans:
1). By establishing settlements in areas like
Nageshwar and Balakot where shell was easily available,
Shortughai in Afghanistan where lapis lazuli (a highly valued blue stone)
was available
Lothal which was near sources of carnelian (from Bharuch in Gujarat),
steatite (from south Rajasthan and north Gujarat)
metal (from Rajasthan)
2). Another method used was to send expeditions to areas like Khetri in
Rajasthan for Copper & South India for Gold. Steatite micro beads found in such
areas corroborates the fact.
There is evidence in the Khetri area for what archaeologists call the
Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture,
with its distinctive non-Harappan pottery and an unusual wealth of copper
objects. It is possible that the inhabitants of this region supplied copper to the
Harappans

Modes of transportation:
1). Terracotta models of bullock cart suggest it was a popular method for
transportation
2). Riverine routes across Indus and tributaries were also used
Copper was also brought from Oman as is indicated by the Harappan artefacts
found there. Both Omani and Harappan artefacts contain traces of Nickel
indicating common origin.
Mesopotamian texts mention the following places,
Magan: Oman
Dilmun: Bahrain
Meluha: Harappa. Products mentioned are carnelian, lapis lazuli, copper, gold,
and varieties of wood.
Seals & Sealings were used to facilitate long distance communication
Harappan script was written from right to left
Weights:
Exchanges were regulated by precise system of cubical weights made from stone
called chert.
The lower denominations were Binary while Higher denominations were in
decimal system.

Ancient authority:
The theory that there was a single state looks plausible bcz of following,
1).The extraordinary uniformity of Harappan artefacts notably in bricks from
Jammu to Gujarat
2).Setting up of settlements in specific locations
3). Planned settlements
Such complex decisions could not have been taken by large communities.
End of the Civilisation:
By 1800BCE most of the Mature Harappan civilisations had been abandoned.
Simultaneously, there was an expansion of population into new settlements in
Gujarat, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
Those settlements that remained after 1900BCE following can be observed,
1). Disappearance of distinctive artefacts of the civilisation like weights, seals,
special beads,
2). Writing, long-distance trade, and craft specialisation also disappeared.
3). House construction techniques deteriorated and large public structures were
no longer produced.
What caused these changes?
-These range from climatic change, deforestation, excessive floods, the shifting
and/or drying up of rivers, to overuse of the landscape. Some of these causes
may hold for certain settlement but still they do not explain the disappearance of
an entire civilisation.

So what could have been the reason?

The collapse of the Harappan state which acted as a strong unifying element
which is evidenced by the disappearance of seals, the script, distinctive beads
and pottery, the shift from a standardised weight system to the use of local
weights; and the decline and abandonment of cities

Harappan Civilisation started around 2600BCE and flourished till 1800BCE. The
1500yrs after the Harappan civilisation there were many developments in the
different parts of the country.
2600BCE
1800BCE
600BCE ........ 400BCE

Harappan
Civilisation

[1500yrs]

1000BCE

End of Harappan
Civilisation

New developments during these

1500yrs:
1). Rigveda was composed by
people living across Indus and
tributaries
2). Agricultural settlements
emerged in North India, Deccan and
parts of Ktka
3). Pastoral populations in Deccan
and further south
4). Megaliths, new modes of burial
emerged in Central & south India
during 1000BCE

Developments from 600BCE:

1). Emergence of Early states,
empires and Kingdoms
2). Changes in the ways
agricultural production was
organised
3). Emergence of new towns
throughout the subcontinent

During 600BCE and 400BCE,

Magadha, became the most powerful of
the mahajanapadas
Why?
Reasons explained later in the chapter

James Prinsep: Deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts.

What he found?
-These scripts mention of a king named Piyadassi meaning pleasant to behold.
Few referred to King Asoka
Inscriptions:
Writings engraved on hard surfaces such as stone, metal or pottery. They usually
record the achievements, activities or ideas of those who commissioned them
and include the exploits of kings,
or donations made by women and men to religious institutions. Inscriptions are
virtually permanent records, some of which carry dates. Others are dated on the
basis of palaeography or styles of writing, with a fair amount of precision.
The Earliest States:
600BCE was a turning point in the history of India. Why?
-Emergence of early states, kingdoms, empires
-Growing use of Iron
-Development of coinage
-Growth of diverse system of thought including Jainism & Buddhism
-Brahmanas began composing Dharamasutras. These laid down norms for
the rulers (and all other social categories) who were expected to behave like
kshatriyas
Early Buddhist and Jaina texts mention of 16 Mahajanapadas.
Janapada: A land where jana (people, clan or a tribe) sets its foot or settles. It
is a word used in both Prakrit and Sanskrit
Important mahajanapadas:
1). Vajji
2). Koshala
3). Gandhara
4). Magadha
5). Kuru
6). Panchala
7). Avanti
Characteristics of Mahajanapadas:
1). Most were ruled by kings but some, ganas or sanghas were oligarchies.
2). Each mahajanapada had a capital city which was fortified.
Raids on neighbouring states were considered a legitimate way of acquiring
wealth so some states began maintaining armies.
Magadha:
Magadha emerged as the most powerful of the 16 mahajanapadas during periods
between 6th century and 4th century BCE. Its capital initially was Rajagaha (prakrit
for present day Rajgir in Bihar) a fortified settlement but was later shifted to
Pataliputra (patna) in 400BCE to command routes of communication along
Ganga.
Reasons attributed for Magadhas power are,
1). Very productive area for agriculture
2). Iron-mines (in present Jharkhand) provided tools and resources for
manufacturing weapons.
3). Elephants, an important component of the army those days, was found in the
forest regions of Magadha.
4). Ganga and its tributaries provided an easy mode of communication
5). Early Jaina and Buddhist texts attribute this power to the individual policies of
the ruthlessly ambitious kings like Ajatasattu, Bimbisara and Mahapadma Nanda

An Early Empire:
The growth of Magadha led to the culmination of Mauryan Empire. It was founded
by Chandragupta Maurya in 321BCE. The empire extended as far as Afghanistan
and Baluchistan in the NW.
Sources used by the historians to reconstruct Mauryan History:
1). Archaeological finds such as sculptures
2). Contemporary works such as the account of Megasthenes (a Greek
ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya), arthashastra parts of which
were written by Chanakya (Kautliya)
3). Mauryas find their mention in the Buddhist, Jaina & Puranic literature and
Sanskrit works.
4). Inscriptions of Asoka on rocks & pillars are often regarded as the most
valuable sources of info on Mauryan empire.
Inscriptions of Asoka:
-Most were written in Prakrit language
-Script: Brahmi
-In the NW script is Kharosthi & language is Aramaic or Greek

Administration of the Empire:

Mauryan Empire was vast extending from NW Pakistan to Andhra Pradesh and
Orissa in India. The administrative control was not uniform. It was more
prominent in the areas around the capital and the provincial centres. Tthere were
5 major political centres, namely,
1). Taxila
2). Ujjayini
3). Tosali
4). Suvarnagiri

5). Pataliputra (Capital)

These political centres were chosen carefully for eg: Taxila and Ujjayini were on
situated on long-distance trade routes, Suvarnagiri was important for its gold
mines in Ktka.
Armies were maintained with the help of committee which had 6 sub-committees
to look into the different aspects of managing the military activity.
Importance of the Mauryan Empire for the national struggle for the
freedom of India:
Archaeological finds associated with the Mauryas, including stone sculpture,
were considered to be examples of the spectacular art typical of empires. Many
of the historians found the message on Asokan inscriptions very different from
that of most other rulers, suggesting that Asoka was more powerful and
industrious, as also more humble than later rulers who adopted grandiose titles.
So, nationalist leaders in the 20th century (when the history of Mauryan Empire
began to be reconstructed) considered Asoka to be an inspiration.
By the 200BCE, new chiefdoms and kingdoms emerged in several parts of the
subcontinent.
New notions of Kingship:
Kingship means dignity, position or rank of a King.
New kingdoms emerged in the Deccan and further south like chiefdoms of
Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in Tamilkam (Tamil country that included parts of
AP, Kerala and Tamilnadu).

Chief: He is a powerful man whose position may or may not be hereditary. He

derives support from his kinfolk. His functions may include performing special
rituals, leadership in warfare, and arbitrating disputes. He receives gifts from his
subordinates (unlike kings who usually collect taxes) and often distributes these
amongst his supporters. Generally, there are no regular armies and officials in
chiefdoms.
Kushanas (200BCE 200CE):
Ruled over kingdom stretching from Central Asia till NW India. They adopted the
strategy of identifying with deities to claim high status.
Sources of their historic reconstruction:
Textual traditions and Inscriptions
-Finding of colossal statues of kushana rulers in a shrine in Mat near Mathura in
India and in Afghanistan indicate that Kushanas considered themselves as
godlike.
-Possibly inspired by Chinese rulers they named themselves as Devaputra
meaning son of god.
By the 400CE Gupta Empire emerged.
Sources of reconstruction:
Prashastis, literature, coins and inscriptions.

The Prayaga Prashasti(also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription)

was composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta,
arguably the most powerful of the Gupta rulers (c.fourth century CE)
Sudarshana lake : It was an artificial reservoir. We know about it from a rock
inscription (200CE) in Sanskrit, composed to record the achievements of the
Shaka ruler Rudradaman.
Popular perception of Kings:
How did the common people felt about their kings?
-Ordinary people rarely left the accounts of their thoughts & experiences. So,
historians have tried to solve this problem by examining stories contained in the
anthologies such as jatakas and panchtantra.
Jatakas written around 500BCE. AS per the jatakas kings tried to fill their coffers
while peasants finding the rule oppressive left for the forests.
To meet the growing demands for taxes new modes of cultivation were also
adopted like,
Plough agriculture which spread in the fertile alluvial plains of Ganga and
Kaveri from 600BCE. In some parts of Ganga valley through
transplantation yield of paddy was increased. Iron ploughshare didnt
spread to semi-arid areas such as Punjab and Rajasthan while those living
in hilly tracts of NE and central parts of the subcontinent practised hoe
agriculture.
Another strategy adopted to increase agricultural production was the use
of irrigation, through wells and tanks, and less commonly, canals
Differences in rural society:
Though the agricultural production increased but its benefits were not evenly
distributed due to growing differentiation between those who were engaged in
agriculture like landless agricultural labourers, small peasants, as well as large
landholders.
Large landholders and the village headman (hereditary position) emerged as
powerful figures & often exercised control over other cultivators. Early Tamil
literature (the Sangam texts) also mentions different categories of people living
in the villages large landowners or vellalar, ploughmen or uzhavar and slaves
or adimai. It is likely that these differences were based on differential access to
land, labour and some of the new technologies.
Gahapati:
A gahapati was the owner, master or head of a household, who exercised control
over the women,
children, slaves and workers who shared a common residence. He was also the
owner of the resources land, animals and other things that belonged to the
household. Sometimes the term was used as a marker of status for men
belonging to the urban elite, including wealthy merchants.
Land grants and new rural elites:
From early centuries of CE there were instances of land grants being made and
recorded on inscriptions. Most inscriptions were on Cu plates, some on stone,
given as a record of the transaction to those who received the land.
Language: Sanskrit. From 700CE onwards a part of inscription was in Sanskrit
and part in local language like Tamil or Telugu.

Why were these land grants given?

Some feel that land grants were part of a strategy adopted by ruling
lineages to extend agriculture to new areas.
Others suggest that land grants were indicative of weakening political
power: as kings were losing control over their samantas, they tried to win
allies by making grants of land.
They also feel that kings tried to project themselves as supermen (as we
saw in the previous section) because they were losing control and they
wanted to present at least a facade of power.
Agrahara: A land grant given to a Brahmana.
Trade in subcontinent and beyond:
From the sixth century BCE, land and river routes criss-crossed the subcontinent
and extended in various directions overland into Central Asia and beyond, and
overseas, from ports that dotted the
coastline extending across the Arabian Sea to East and North Africa and West
Asia, and through the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia and China. Rulers often
attempted to control these routes, possibly by offering protection for a price.
Various merchants, peddlers and seafarers travelled through these routes.
Successful merchants, were designated as masattuvan in Tamil and setthis
and satthavahas in Prakrit
Spices, especially pepper, were in high demand in the Roman Empire, as were
textiles and medicinal plants, and these were all transported across the Arabian
Sea to the Mediterranean.
Coins and Kings:
To some extent these trade exchanges were facilitated through the introduction
of the coinage. Punch-marked coins made of silver and copper (600BCE onwards)
were amongst the earliest to be minted and used.
-These were issued by the Kings. It is also likely that merchants, bankers and
townspeople issued some of these coins.
-The first coins to bear the names and images of rulers were issued by the IndoGreeks, who established control over the NW part of the subcontinent 200BCE.
- The first gold coins were issued 100 CE by the Kushanas. These gold coins have
been found from several sites in north India and Central Asia. The widespread
use of gold coins indicates the enormous value of the transactions that were
taking place.
-Hoards of Roman coins have been found in South India indicating trade
connections
Coins (Cu) were also issued by tribal republics such as that of the Yaudheyas of
Punjab and Haryana (100 CE)
Gupta rulers also issued gold coins and they were of very high purity.
From 600ce onwards the finds of gold coins taper off. Does this indicate an
economic crisis?
Some suggest that with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire longdistance trade declined, and this affected the prosperity of the states,
communities and regions that had benefited from it.

Others argue that new towns and networks of trade started emerging
around this time.
They also point out that though finds of coins of that time are fewer, coins
continue to be mentioned in inscriptions and texts. Could it be that there
are fewer finds because coins were in circulation rather than being
hoarded?

Kinship and Marriages:

Many rules and different practices
For early societies retrieving information about the elite families is easy but the
reconstruction of the familial relationships of ordinary people is difficult. Attitude
towards family and kinship often provide an insight into their thinking.
Sanskrit Mahabharata:
Adi Parvan literally means the 1st section of Mahabharata. Sanskrit used in
Sanskrit version is far simpler than the Vedas or of prashastis and hence it was
widely understood.
Mahabharata
2 sections
Narrative: containing stories
about social norms

Didactic: contains prescriptions

The original story was probably composed by charioteer-bards known as sutas

who generally accompanied Kshatriya warriors to the battlefield and composed
poems celebrating their victories and other achievements. These compositions
circulated orally. Then, from the 500BCE, Brahmanas took over the story and
began to commit it to writing.
Between 200BCE and 200CE, a period when worship of Vishnu was growing in
importance and Krishna one of the important figures of the epic was coming to
be identified with the Vishnu.
Between 200CE and 400CE large didactic sections resembling Manusmriti were
added to Mahabharata thereby increasing the number of verses to 100,000

Kula: Sanskrit term to designate families

Jati: Large network of kinfolk (relatives)
Patriliny: It means tracking descent from father to son to grandson. IT was
prevalent before Mahabharata. Most ruling dynasties (600BCE onwards) claimed
to follow this system.
Matriliny: Term used when descent is traced through mother.
Rules of Marriage:
Position of Son
Sons were important for the continuity of patrilineage.
Position of Daughter
They had no claims to the resources of the household. At the same time,
marrying them into families outside the kin was considered desirable. This

system, called exogamy (literally, marrying outside), meant that the lives of
young girls and women belonging to families that claimed high status were often
carefully regulated to ensure that they were married at the right time and to
the right person. This gave rise to the belief that kanyadana or the gift of a
daughter in marriage was an important religious duty of the father.
As societies evolved and people from far and wide came into contact they began
to question these beliefs and practices so Brahmanas laid down the codes of
social behaviour in great detail from 500BCE as Sanskrit texts known as
Dharamashastra or Dharmasutras.
8 forms of marriage were listed in them and only first 4 were considered good
while the next four were deemed to be bad.
The 6th form of marriage is voluntary union of maiden and her lover out of desire
indicating that Love marriages were considered to be bad even during that
times
Manusmriti: A dharamashastra which was compiled between 200BCE and
200CE.
Brahmanas claimed that these rules had universal applicability while its clear
that it could not have been followed universally because of the diversity of the
subcontinent and the difficulties in communication.
The gotra of women:
The Brahamanical practice of classifying people into gotras started from
1000BCE onwards. Each
Gotra was named after Vedic seers and people having same gotra were
regarded as his descendants. Two rules about gotra were particularly important:
women were expected to give up their fathers gotra and adopt that of
their husband on marriage
members of the same gotra could not marry.
A look at the lineages of Satavahana (200BCE-200CE)rulers clearly shows that
gotra system was followed among elite.
Traits of Satavahana rulers that went against the prescribed system in
Dharmashastras:
1). some rulers were polygynous (had more than 1 wife)
2). Some women who married Satvahana rulers, retained their names instead of
adopting their husbands gotra name.
3). Some of these women belonged to same gotra i.e. endogamy instead of
exogamy wasprevalent as an alternative practice in South India.
Though Satavahana rulers were identified through metronymics, it doesnt
means that mothers were accorded a special place at that time because even in
Satavahana rulers succession was patrilineal.
Social Differences:
Caste, hierarchically ordered social categories were listed in Dharmashastras.
Brahamanas placed themselves at the top of the ladder and Shudras and
Untouchables were placed at the lowest rung.
Positions were determined by birth meaning a son or daughter of Shudra was
also deemed a Shudra by caste.
Ideal occupations as per Dharmashastras:

Brahmanas were supposed to study and teach the Vedas, perform

sacrifices and get sacrifices performed, and give and receive gifts.
Kshatriyas were to engage in warfare, protect people and administer
justice, study the Vedas, get sacrifices performed, and make gifts.
The last three occupations were also assigned to the Vaishyas, who were
in addition expected to engage in agriculture, pastoralism and trade.
Shudras were assigned only one occupation that of serving the three
higher varnas.

How did Brahamanas got these standards enforced?

By asserting that the Varna order was of divine origin
Advised kings to make sure that these norms are followed within their
kingdoms
By attempting to persuade people that their
status is determined by their birth. As this was not
easy so prescriptions were often re-enforced
through stories told in Mahabharata and other
texts.

Non-Kshatriya King:
As per shastras only Kshatriyas could become kings but
this was not true as anyone who could muster resources
and support became king.
Social background of Mauryas is a highly debated topic
as Buddhist texts designated them as Kshatriyas while Brahmanical texts
designated them as of Low origin.
Shakas who came from Central Asia were regarded as mlechchas or Barbarians
or outsiders by Brahmans. However they were familiar with Sanskritic traditions.
The most famous ruler of Satavahana dynasty gotami puta satakani considered
himself to be a unique Brahmana (eka bahmana) and a destroyer of the pride of
Kshatriyas.
Hence, integration within a framework of a caste was a complicated process. The
Satavahanas claimed to be Brahmanas, whereas according to the Brahmanas,
kings ought to have been Kshatriyas. They claimed to uphold the fourfold varna
order, but entered into marriage alliances with people who were supposed to be
excluded from the system. And, as we have seen, they practised endogamy
instead of the exogamous system recommended in the Brahmanical texts.
Jatis and social mobility:
These complexities are reflected in another term used in texts to refer to social
categories jati. In
Brahmanical theory, jati, like varna, was based on birth. However, while the
number of varnas was fixed at four, there was no restriction on the number
of jatis. In fact, whenever Brahmanical authorities encountered new groups for
instance, people living in forests such as the nishadas or wanted to assign a
name to occupational categories such as the goldsmith or suvarnakara, which
did not easily fit into the fourfold varna system, they classified them as a jati.

Jatis which shared a common occupation or profession were sometimes

organised into shrenis or guilds.
One interesting stone inscription (500CE), found in Mandasor (Madhya Pradesh),
records the history of a guild of silk weavers who originally lived in Lata
(Gujarat), from where they migrated to Mandasor, then known as Dashapura. It
states that they undertook the difficult journey along with their children and
kinfolk, as they had heard about the greatness of the local king, and wanted to
settle in his kingdom.
Vanik: Sanskrit term for merchant.
Given the diversity of the subcontinent there were and always have been
populations whose social practices were not influenced by Brahamanical ideas
and whenever they are mentioned in sanskritic texts they are referred to as odd,
uncivilised and animal-like. For eg: Forest dwellers, nomadic pastoralists.
Beyond the four varnas:
Brahamanas developed a sharper social divide b classifying some social
categories untouchables.
Performance of rituals was considered a sacred task and so certain activites were
avoided like taking food from the Untouchables. Chandalas who handled dead
corpses and dead animals were placed at the very bottom of the hierarchy. Their
touch and even seeing them was regarded as polluting.
The Manusmriti laid down the duties of the chandalas. They had to live outside
the village, use
discarded utensils, and wear clothes of the dead and ornaments of iron. They
could not walk about in villages and cities at night. They had to dispose of the
bodies of those who had no relatives and serve as executioners. Much later, the
Chinese Buddhist monk Fa Xian (c. fifth century CE) wrote
that untouchables had to sound a clapper in the streets so that people could
avoid seeing them. Another Chinese pilgrim, Xuan Zang (c.seventh century),
observed that executioners and scavengers were forced to live outside the city.
Beyond Birth: Resources and Status
Gendered access to property:
As per Manusmriti paternal estate had to be divided amongst sons with a special
share for the eldest but women could not claim a share of these resources.
Women were however allowed to keep the gifts they received during their
marriage (stridhana). These gifts could be inherited by their children and
husband would have no claim on them. At the same time Manusmriti warned
women against hoarding any valuables or property without the permission of
their husbands.
All in all, land, resources and cattle were generally controlled by men and this
discriminatory access to resources endorsed by Manusmriti created or rather
sharpened the already present social differences between men and women.

Varna and access to property:

Another criterion of regulating access to the property was Varna.
Shudras could only engage in servitude while other 3 varnas could engage in
variety of jobs. So evidently priests and kings were the wealthiest while Shudras
were the poorest without any acces to property whatsoever.
Early Buddhists (600BCE onwards) criticised this system and developed their own
wherein they rejected the idea of claim to status by birth.
A system where sharing of the resources and wealth was considered to be
respectful was prevalent in the ancient Tamilakam.
Explaining social differences: Buddhist theory of social contract
Buddhists developed an alternative understanding of the social inequalities and
the social institutions to regulate social conflict.
In a myth found in a text known as the Sutta Pitaka they suggested that
originally human beings did not have fully evolved bodily forms, nor was the
world of plants fully developed. All beings took only what they needed from the
nature. Gradually as people became greedy they decided to appoint a
mahasammatta (the great elect) who was to be chosen by them.
This suggests,
the institution of kingship was based on human choice, with taxes as a
form of payment for services rendered by the king.
recognition of human agency in creating and institutionalising economic
and social relations

Mid 1st millennium BCE is regarded as a turning point in the history of the world.
Why?
Reasons:
1). it saw the emergence of thinkers such as Zarathustra in Iran, Kong Zi in
China, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle in Greece, and Mahavira and Gautama
Buddha, among many others, in India. They tried to understand the mysteries of
existence and the relationship between human beings and the cosmic order.
2).This was also the time when new kingdoms and cities were developing and
social and economic life was changing in a variety of ways in the Ganga valley.
Buddha & Buddhism:
Buddha aka Siddhartha was son of a chief of sakya clan. His visit to city one day
led him to believe in the frugality of this life and he left the palace in search of
his own truth. Siddhartha explored several paths including bodily mortification
which led him to a situation of near death. Abandoning these extreme methods,

he meditated for several days and finally attained enlightenment. After this he
came to be known as the Buddha or the Enlightened One. For the rest of his life,
he taught dhamma or the path of righteous living.
Researchers have found that 64 schools of thought in Buddhism were there.
Debates took place in kutagarshala (a hut with a pointed roof).
Born at Lumbini
Attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya
Gave his first sermon at Sarnath
Attained nibbana (Nirvana) at Kusinagara
Teachings of Buddha:
Buddhas teachings have been reconstructed using stories, mainly from sutta
pitaka.

According to Buddhist philosophy, the world is transient (anicca) and

constantly changing;
it is also soulless (anatta) as there is nothing permanent or eternal in it.
Within this transient world, sorrow (dukkha) is intrinsic to human
existence. It is by following the path of moderation between severe
penance and self-indulgence that human beings can rise above these
worldly troubles. In the earliest forms of Buddhism, whether or not god
existed was irrelevant.
The Buddha regarded the social world as the creation of humans rather
than of divine origin. Therefore, he advised kings and gahapatis() to be
humane and ethical. Individual effort was expected to transform social
relations.
The Buddha emphasised individual agency and righteous action as the
means to escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain self-realisation and
nibbana, literally the extinguishing of the ego and desire and thus end
the cycle of suffering for those who renounced the world.

Followers of Buddha:
Buddhas disciples grew and he founded a sangha, an organisation of monks.
These monks later became teachers of Dhamma. They lived only on what they
needed through alms and were therefore known as Bhikkhus.
Buddhas followers came from diverse backgrounds like kings, gahapatis, slaves
etc and once they were within sangha they were all treated equal. The internal
functioning of the sangha was based on the traditions of ganas and
sanghas,where consensus was arrived at through discussions. If that failed,
decisions were taken by a vote on the subject.
Women & sangha
At first women were not allowed into sangha but one of his disciples named
ananda persuaded him to allow women into sangha. The Buddhas foster mother,
Mahapajapati Gotami was the first woman to be ordained as a bhikkhuni. Many
women who entered the sangha became teachers of dhamma and went on to
become theris, or respected women who had attained liberation.
How Buddhist texts were prepared and preserved?
The Buddha and other teachers taught orally. None of his speeches were written
during his lifetime.
After his death (500-400BCE) his teachings were compiled by his disciples at a
council of elders or senior monks at Vesali (Pali for Vaishali in present-day

Bihar). These compilations were known as Tipitaka literally, three baskets to

hold different types of texts.
Vinay pitaka: included rules and regulations for those who joined the
sangha or monastic order;
Sutta Pitaka: contained Buddhas teachings;
Abhidhamma Pitaka: dealt with philosophical matters.
Each pitaka comprised a number of individual texts.
Spread of Buddhism:
Buddhism grew rapidly both during the lifetime of the Buddha and after his
death. Why?
Because,
it appealed to many people dissatisfied with existing religious practices
and confused by the rapid social changes taking place around them.
Of the importance it attached to conduct and values rather than claims of
superiority based on birth, the emphasis placed on metta (fellow feeling)
and karuna (compassion), especially for those who were younger and
weaker than oneself
As, Buddhism travelled to new regions like Srilanka, other texts such as
Dipavamsa (chronicle of the island) and Mahavamsa (Grea chronicle) were
written containing regional histories of Buddhism. Buddhist texts were preserved
in manuscripts for several centuries in monasteries in different parts of Asia.
Modern translations have been prepared from Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan
texts.
Over the centuries, Buddhas message spread across the subcontinent and
beyond through Central Asia to China, Korea and Japan, and through Sri Lanka,
across the seas to Myanmar, Thailand and Indonesia.
Hagiographies (Biography of a religious saint or a leader. They tell us about the
beliefs of the followers of that particular tradition) have been helpful in
reconstructing details of his life.
Mahavira & Jainism:
The basic philosophy of Jainism was already present in North India before
Vardhamana (Mahavira)s arrival on the scene in 600BCE. There were 23
teachers or literally Tirthankaras before Mahavira who guided men and women
across the river of existence.
Central idea of Jainism
The entire world is animated.
Teachings of Jainism:
even stones, rocks and water have life.
Non-injury to living beings, especially to humans, animals, plants and
insects, is central to Jaina philosophy. In fact the principle of ahimsa,
emphasised within Jainism, has left its mark on Indian thinking as a whole.
According to Jaina teachings, the cycle of birth and rebirth is shaped
through karma. Asceticism and penance are required to free oneself from
the cycle of karma. This can be achieved only by renouncing the world;
therefore, monastic existence is a necessary condition of salvation.
5 Vows of Jain monks and nuns:

Jaina monks and nuns took five vows:

To abstain
from killing,
stealing
lying
to observe celibacy
to abstain from possessing property
STUPAS:
From earliest times, people tended to regard certain places as sacred. These
included sites
with special trees or unique rocks, or sites of awe inspiring natural beauty. These
sites, with small shrines attached to them, were sometimes described as
chaityas.
Apart from the places like Sarnath, Lumbini etc there were some other places
where relics of Buddha such as his bodily remains or the things he used were
buried. Such places were mounds known as Stupas.
Why were stupas built?
The tradition of building stupas may have been pre-buddhist but they came to be
associated with Buddhism. Whole stupa was venerated as an emblem of both
Buddha and Buddhism. According to a Buddhist text known as the
Ashokavadana, Asoka distributed portions of the Buddhas relics to every
important town and ordered the construction of stupas over them. By the
200BCE a number of stupas, including those at Bharhut, Sanchi (Sanchi was
discovered in 1818) and Sarnath had been built
How were stupas built?
-Railings and pillars of stupas have records of donations by kings and guilds such
as ivory workers who financed part of one of the gateways at Sanchi.
Ordinary men and women also contributed towards building of stupas
Architectural features of Stupa:
The stupa (a Sanskrit word meaning a heap) originated as a simple semi-circular
mound of earth, later called anda. Gradually, it evolved into a more complex
structure, balancing round and square
shapes.
Above the anda was the harmika, a balcony like structure that
represented the abode of the gods.
Arising from the harmika was a mast called the yashti, often surmounted
by a chhatri or umbrella.
Around the mound was a railing, separating the sacred space
The early stupas at Sanchi and Bharhut were plain except the stone railings
unlike the stupas elaborately carved with niches and sculptures that were built
much later on Amravati (Andhra Pradesh), and Shah-ji ki Dheri in Peshawar
(Pakistan)
Scrolls Charanachitras
Symbols of Worship:
Many early sculptors did not show the Buddha in human form instead, they
showed his presence through symbols. The empty seat was meant to indicate

the meditation of the Buddha, and the stupa was meant to represent the
mahaparinibbana.

Worshipping the Bodhi tree

wheel of Dharma

Worshipping the stupa

Setting in motion the

Another frequently used symbol was the wheel. This stood for the first sermon of
the Buddha, delivered at Sarnath.
Shalabhanjika: A woman shown in sculptures at Sanchi. She is swinging by the
edge of the gateway while holding on to a tree. This was a woman whose touch
caused trees to flower and bear fruit. It is likely that this was regarded as an
auspicious symbol and integrated into the decoration of the stupa.
What does Shalabhanjika motif (a unifying idea
that is a recurring element in the literary or
artistic work) suggests?
The shalabhanjika motif suggests that many people
who turned to Buddhism enriched it with their own
pre-Buddhist and even non-Buddhist beliefs, practices
and ideas. Some of the recurrent motifs in the
sculpture at Sanchi were evidently derived from these
traditions.

The woman at the gate

Gajalakshmi motif:
A woman surrounded by lotuses and elephants which seem to be sprinkling
water on her as if performing an abhisheka or consecration. Some historians

identify her as Maya (the mother of Buddha) while some identify it as

Gajalakshmi (literally the goddess of fortune).

Gajalakshmi

New religious traditions:

Emergence of Mahayana:
By 1st Century CE the practices and ideas of Buddhism changed. The original idea
of Buddhism gave great importance to self effort in attaining nibbana like
Buddha did through his own effort but gradually the idea of saviour emerged.
Saviour was the one who could ensure salvation. Simultaneously, the idea of
Bodhisattas also developed.
Who were Bodhisattas?
Bodhisattas were perceived as deeply compassionate beings who accumulated
merit through their efforts but used this not to attain nibbana and thereby
abandon the world, but to help others. The worship of Buddha and Bodhisattas
became an important part of this tradition called as Mahayana (literally the
greater vehicle. Those who practiced this tradition regarded the other Buddhists
as followers of Hinayana (lesser vehicle).
Followers of the older tradition described themselves as theravadins, that is,
those who followed the path of old, respected teachers, the theras.
The growth of Puranic Hinduism:
The notion of a saviour was not unique to Buddhism. We find similar ideas being
developed in different ways within traditions that we now consider part of
Hinduism. These included Vaishnavism (a form of Hinduism within which Vishnu
was worshipped as the principal deity) and Shaivism (a tradition within which
Shiva was regarded as the chief god), in which there was growing emphasis on
the worship of a chosen deity.
In the case of Vaishnavism, cults developed around the various avatars or
incarnations of the deity. Deity was believed to take avatars whenever there was
disorder or destruction in the world by evil forces. It is likely that different avatars
were popular in different parts of the country. Recognising each of these local
deities as a form of Vishnu was one way of creating a more unified religious
tradition.
Shiva was represented through linga and sometimes through human form too.
Such sculptures of deities represented comples set of ideas which could only be
deciphered by historians by familiarising themselves with the stories behind
them.

Puranas:
Such stories of gods and goddesses were contained in Puranas, which were
composed by Brahmanas in the mid of 1st millennium CE. They were generally
written in simple Sanskrit verse were meant to be read aloud to everybody,
including women and Shudras, who did not have access to Vedic learning. Much
of what is contained in the Puranas evolved through interaction amongst people
priests, merchants, and ordinary men and women who travelled from place to
place sharing ideas and beliefs.
Building temples:
Around the time that the stupas at sites such as Sanchi were acquiring their
present form, the first temples to house images of gods and goddesses were also
being built.
Features of Early temples:
The early temple was a small square room, called the garbhagriha, with a
single doorway for the worshipper to enter and offer worship to the image.
One of the unique features of early temples was that some of these were
hollowed out of huge rocks, as artificial caves.
The tradition of building artificial caves was an old one. Some of the earliest of
these were constructed in the 3rd century BCE (200-300BCE) on the orders of
Asoka for renouncers who belonged to the Ajivika sect. This tradition evolved
through various stages and culminated much later in the eighth century in
the carving out of an entire temple, that of Kailashnatha (a name of Shiva).
A copperplate inscription records the
amazement of the chief sculptor after
he completed the temple at Ellora: Oh
how did I make it!!
Indeed, the work of the sculptor in this
case is just mesmerising. Just WOW!!!
Kailashnatha Temple (Ellora)

Gradually, a tall structure, known as the shikhara, was built over the central
shrine. Temple walls were often decorated with sculpture. Later temples became
far more elaborate with assembly halls, huge walls and gateways, and
arrangements for supplying water