THEME -2

KINGS FARMERS AND TOWNS

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the evidence of craft production in Early Historic cities. In what

ways is this different from the evidence from Harappan cities?
Ans: Evidence of craft production in early historic cities are collaborated
from wide range of artefacts that have been recovered from them. These
include fine pottery known as Northern Black Polished Ware, probably
used by rich people. other relate to ornaments. Tools, weapons, vessels,
figurines made from wide range of materials – gold, silver, copper,
bronze, ivory, glass, shell and terracotta. The donor inscriptions tell us tht
the washermen, weaver, scribes, carpenters, potters, goldsmiths,
blacksmiths, officials and religious teachers lived in these towns. The
craft producers and merchants had form their guilds or shrenis.
While evidence of craft production in early cities are based on
remains, inscription and trade linkages, those in Harappan cities are based
on remains of raw materials , tools and unfinished object. The Harappan
cities unlike the early historic cities suggest apart from small specialised
centres of production, craft production was also undertaken in large cities
such as Mohenjodaro and Harappa.

2. Describe the salient features of Mahajanapadas.

Ans: The sixth century BCE was marked by 16 states known as
Mahajanapadas. Amongst the most important ones were Magadha,
Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti.
a) Most Mahajanapadas were ruled by kings.
b) Some, known as ganas or sanghas, were oligarchies where power was
shared by a number of men, often collectively called rajas.
c) In some cases, as in the case of the Vajji sangha, the rajas probably
controlled resources such as land collectively.
d) Each mahajanapada had a capital city, which was often fortified.

e) Brahmanas composed the Dharmasutras which laid down norms for

rulers as well as for other social categories. The rulers were ideally
expected to be Kshatriyas. Rulers were advised to collect taxes and
tribute from cultivators, traders and artisans.
 f) Sometimes raids on neighbouring states were conducted for acquiring
wealth. These raids were recognised as legitimate means.
g) Gradually, some states acquired standing armies and maintained
regular bureaucracies. Others continued to depend on militia, recruited
from the peasantry.

3. How do historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people?

Ans: inscriptions were generally proclamations of the king to his
subjects and officials or eulogised the achievements and attributes of the
kings and conquerors. They ever speak of their defects and weaknesses.
Moreover ordinary people rarely left accounts of their thoughts and
experiences.
Thus historians have tried to reconstruct the lives of ordinary
people by examine stories contained in anthologies such as the Jatakas
and Panchatantra. These stories originated as popular oral tales and were
later committed to writing.
The Jatakas were written in Pali around the middle of the first
millennium C.E.
The story thus reflected how the relationship between the subjects
and the king could be often strained, the oppressive high taxes that were
levied, and escaping to forest was used as an alternative.
4. Compare and contrast the list of things given to the Pandyan chief
(Source 3) with those produced in the village of Danguna (Source 8). Do
you notice any similarities or differences?

5. List some of the problems faced by epigraphists.

Ans: Epigraphy is the study of inscriptions. The job of an epigraphist is

to study and find out the history of the time on the basis of epigraphs. The
problems faced by epigraphists are:
a) Sometimes, the letters of inscriptions are very faintly engraved, and
thus reconstructions are uncertain.
b) Sometimes, the inscriptions may be damaged or letters missing.
c) On certain occasions it is not easy to be sure about the exact meaning
of the words used in the inscriptions, some of which maybe specific to
 a particular place or time. That is why scholars are constantly debating
and discussing alternative ways of reading inscriptions.
d) Several thousand inscriptions have been discovered but not all have
been deciphered, published and translated.
e) Many more inscriptions must have existed, which have not survived the
ravages of time. Whatever is available, is only a fraction of all
inscriptions.
f) There is also a possibility that what we consider politically or
economically significant may not have been recorded in inscriptions.
For example, there is no mention of routine agricultural practices and
the joys and sorrows of daily existence in the inscriptions.
6. Discuss the main features of Mauryan administration. Which of these
elements are evident in the Asokan inscriptions that you have studied?
Ans: The growth of Magadha culminated in the emergence of the
Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the empire (c. 321
BCE), extended control as far northwest as Afghanistan and Baluchistan,
and his grandson Asoka, arguably the most famous ruler of early India,
conquered Kalinga (present-day coastal Orissa).
The Mauryas Historians have used a variety of sources to reconstruct the
history of the Mauryan Empire.
a) Administering the empire, there were five major political centres
in the empire – the capital Pataliputra and the provincial centres
of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri, all mentioned in
Asokan inscriptions. If we examine the content of these
inscriptions, we find virtually the same message engraved
everywhere – from the present-day North West Frontier
Provinces of Pakistan, to Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and
Uttarakhand in India.
b) It is likely that administrative control was strongest in areas
around the capital and the provincial centres. These centres were
carefully chosen, both Taxila and Ujjayini being situated on
important long-distance trade routes, while Suvarnagiri was
possibly important for tapping the gold mines of Karnataka.
c) Communication along both land and riverine routes was vital for
the existence of the empire. Journeys from the centre to the
provinces could have taken weeks if not months. This meant
arranging for provisions as well as protection for those who were
on the move. It is obvious that the army was an important means
for ensuring the latter.
 Megasthenes mentions a committee with six subcommittees for
coordinating military activity. Of these, one looked after the navy, the
second managed transport and provisions, the third was responsible for
foot-soldiers, the fourth for horses, the fifth for chariots and the sixth for
elephants.
The activities of the second subcommittee were rather varied:
arranging for bullock carts to carry equipment, procuring food for
soldiers and fodder for animals, and recruiting servants and artisans to
look after the soldiers. Asoka also tried to hold his empire together by
propagating dhamma, the principles of which, as we have seen, were
simple and virtually universally applicable. This, according to him, would
ensure the well-being of people in this world and the next. Special
officers, known as the dhamma mahamatta, were appointed to spread the
message of dhamma.
7. This is a statement made by one of the best-known epigraphists of the
twentieth century, D.C. Sircar: “There is no aspect of life, culture and
activities of the Indians that is not reflected in inscriptions.” Discuss.
Ans: The statement of eminent epigraphist D.C. Sirkar has highlighted
the importance of inscription as single source of information that touch
upon all areas of our life. Following are the main areas we get
information about from the inscriptions
1. Determination of state’s boundaries: the inscriptions were carved in
the territories of the kings and even more important is not often close to
the borders. This helps us find out boundaries of kingdoms and their
expansions thereto.
2. Names of Kings: The names of the kings are mentioned in the
inscriptions. The names and titles used by Asoka the Great got revealed
through inscriptions only.
3. Historic events: The important historical events are mentioned in the
inscriptions. The best example is how the event of the Kalinga war is
mentioned in the inscription and how Asoka takes to Dhamma.
4. Information about conduct of Kings: Inscriptions describe the
conduct and character of the kings quite well. It is through the
inscriptions only that we know Asoka worked for the welfare of the
masses.
5. Information about administration: Inscriptions gave information
 about administration. It is through the inscription. We know that Asoka
appointed his son as a Viceroy.
6. Land settlement and Taxes: inscriptions mention how land were
granted or gifted. It also talks about various taxes imposed by the ruler.
There is hardly any area of governance of our life that is not
mentioned in the inscriptions. Hence, we are inclined to agree with D.C.
Sirkar who says, “There is no aspect of life, culture, activities of Indians
that is not reflected in the inscriptions.”

8. Discuss the notions of kingship that developed in the post-Mauryan

period.

Ans: The new kingdoms that emerged in the Deccan and further south,
including the chiefdoms of the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in Tamilakam
the name of the ancient Tamil country, which included parts of present-day
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, in addition to Tamil Nadu, proved to be stable
and prosperous.

We know about these states from a variety of sources. For instance, the
early Tamil Sangam texts contain poems describing chiefs and the ways in
which they acquired and distributed resources.

Many chiefs and kings, including the Satavahanas who ruled over parts of
western and central India and the Shakas, a people of Central Asian origin
who established kingdoms in the north-western and western parts of the
subcontinent, derived revenues from long-distance trade.

One means of claiming high status was to identify with a variety of

deities. This strategy is best exemplified by the Kushanas (c. first century
BCE first century CE), who ruled over a vast kingdom extending from
Central Asia to northwest India. Their history has been reconstructed from
inscriptions and textual traditions. The notions of kingship they wished to
project are perhaps best evidenced in their coins and sculpture. Colossal
statues of Kushana rulers have been found installed in a shrine at Mat near
Mathura (Uttar Pradesh). Similar statues have been found in a shrine in
Afghanistan as well. Some historians feel this indicates that the Kushanas
considered themselves godlike. Many Kushana rulers also adopted the title
devaputra, or “son of god”, possibly inspired by Chinese rulers who called
themselves sons of heaven.

By the fourth century there is evidence of larger states, including the

Gupta Empire. Many of these depended on samantas, men who maintained
themselves through local resources including control over land. They offered
homage and provided military support to rulers. Powerful samantas could
become kings: conversely, weak rulers might find themselves being reduced
to positions of subordination.

Histories of the Gupta rulers have been reconstructed from literature,

coins and inscriptions, including prashastis, composed in praise of kings in
particular, and patrons in general, by poets. While historians often attempt to
draw factual information from such compositions, those who composed and
read them often treasured them as works of poetry. rather than as accounts
that were literally true. The Prayaga Prashasti also known as the Allahabad
Pillar Inscription composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of
Samudragupta, arguably the most powerful of the Gupta rulers c. fourth
century CE, is a case in point.

9. To what extent were agricultural practices transformed in the period

under consideration?
Ans: The demand for taxes increased in the post 600 BC. In order to
meet the demand of excessive taxes, without taking lesser produce, forced
the farmers to increase productivity. This resulted in the use of new tools
and practices of agriculture. The important ones are as follows:
1.Use of plough: Ploughs became commonplace. They were hardly heard
of in the past. The use of ploughs began in the Ganga and Cauvery basins.
In places where rain was abundant, the plough was used with iron tip.This
increased the paddy production manifold.
2. Use of spade: Another tool that changed the system of agriculture is
spade. Those farmers who lived in the areas of harsh land used spade.
3. Artificial Irrigation: Apart from rainfall, the farmers now began to
look at artificial form of irrigation. This prompted farmers to build wells,
ponds, and – canals often collectively. This increased the agricultural
production.
Yet another strategy was increased in agriculture by settling new
lands. The Arthashastra lays great stress on increasing the revenue
potential by settling new lands. Peasants’ migrations from over populated
areas were to be encouraged. One of the Asokan edicts speaks of the
deportation of prisoners after the Kalinga war. These may have been used
for establishing new settlements but this seems to be the only instance of
its kind. There is no confirmation from other sources of any such effort
made by the state. Other way was by granting virgin lands to religious
people e.g. Brahmanas.
Strategies leading to increase in agriculture productivity led to
according to Buddhist text growing differentiation amongst people
engaged in agriculture and new rural elites. Terms like Gahapati used to
designate large landowners and small peasants and ‘dasa’ for agricultural
labourers reveal benefits were very uneven. Early Tamil literature also
mention different categories based on access to land e.g., large
landowners or ‘vellar’ ploughmen or ‘uzhavar’ and slaves or ‘adimai’.