The Penguin History of Early India

by Romila Thapar

  Other economic factors had a more direct bearing on the question. Kautilya’s advice that virtually every human activity should be taxed has also led to the suggestion that there was a fiscal crisis. Although an agrarian economy prevailed in the Ganges Plain, there was still a great variation in economic patterns throughout the empire. Significantly, despite increasing the land under cultivation, there is a record of famine in eastern India, which suggests that the lines of supply were not adequate. This variation may well have prevented an economic equilibrium in the state, with the revenue from agrarian areas not being sufficient to maintain the entire empire. Possibly the Mauryan administration was content to cream off the revenue as and when it could, and did not restructure the economy sufficiently to provide longer-term support for an imperial system. The economic development of the core areas of the empire, such as Gandhara and Kalinga, led to the emergence of new states that coincided with the decline of the empire. It has therefore been argued that, although Mauryan control may have declined, this was nevertheless a period of local economic development.

  As an imperial system it was short-lived when compared to those of other parts of the world, and perhaps features at the root of the system were not conducive to long-lasting empires. An imperial structure requires a well-organized administration with built-in factors to ensure its continuity. The Mauryan bureaucracy was centralized, with the ruler – or king – as the key figure towards whom loyalty was directed. A change of king meant a realignment of loyalty or, worse, even a change of officials. The system of recruitment was arbitrary, with local governors choosing their officers, and the same pattern is likely to have been repeated throughout the hierarchy of office. This might have been avoided if some form of recruitment had been adopted to eliminate the possibility of particular social groups and local cliques monopolizing administrative control. The building of institutions requires some distancing from personal concerns and choices, with the replacement of these by social and civic concerns.

  The lack of any representative institutions to stabilize public opinion would have added to the problem. The system used by the Mauryas, as also by other ancient imperial systems, was espionage. This must have created manifold tensions in both political and administrative activity. The mood of the Arthashastra is hostile to notions of representation – however limited – and the participation of larger numbers in decision-making. This can be seen in the section where various methods are suggested for sowing dissension and terminating the existence of the gana-sanghas. They are not merely to be conquered and incorporated into the kingdom, but are to be rooted out as a system. Even if the gana-sangha system was not exactly one of representation, nevertheless it did endorse a wider distribution of authority than in kingship.

  Among its essentials, the factor of political loyalty implies loyalty to the state, the state being a concept that is over and above that of the king and the government. The monarchical system, which increasingly leaned on religious orthodoxy, tended to blur the concept of the state, and instead loyalty was directed to the social order. The interdependence of caste and politics had gradually led to caste being accorded higher status than political institutions. This is partly seen in the changing attitude towards kingship and the functions of the king. To begin with, the divinity of the king had been emphasized in brahmanical sources, but the Buddhists and Jainas had introduced a contractual concept for the origin of the state. In order to lay stress on the necessity for a controlling authority, brahmanical sources also introduced the idea of a contract. Not only was the king invested with divinity, but his status and power resulted from a contract between the people and the gods. The earlier theory of matsyanyaya had reflected a fear of anarchy, which was believed to be inevitable in a society without kingship.

  The essential constituents of a state are discussed in the Arthashastra in its reference to the saptanga, the seven limbs of the state. These were the king, the territory, the administration, the treasury, the capital, coercive powers (as invested in the army and in punishments) and allies. Two factors were gradually being emphasized in brahmanical texts as essential to the existence of the state. One was danda (coercion), which gave the state the power to coerce and to enforce laws even if this involved punishment, the other, which became more important, was varna-ashrama-dharma (social and ritual obligations in accordance with vama). Gradually the latter took precedence over the state. This was rooted in the idea that the king was required to protect his subjects and to ensure the preservation of the vama-ashrama-dharma, which encapsulates the acceptance of social duties and obligations set out in the Dharmashastras. The Buddhist requirement had a different emphasis in that the universal monarch or cbakravartin/chakkavatti should rule righteously, which also meant ensuring the welfare of all his subjects irrespective of upholding varna. If he did so the wheel of law would roll through his kingdom. An unrighteous act would stop the wheel and lead to its sinking into the ground. In political theory from brahmanical sources, the highest authority on the empirical plane was accorded to the king and, on the abstract plane, dharma. The latter changed by slow degrees and the change was consequently hardly noticed, which ensured continued and unabated loyalty. Dharma obtained its sanction from divine sources, which made it imperative to defend it as a sacred duty.

  There are multiple aspects of the Mauryan period that make it a time of great historical interest. The state controlled many activities and was sustained by systems of revenue collection. The focus therefore was on the state as an agency of control, largely through administrative functionaries concerned with assessing sources of revenue and collecting taxes. The relationship between the state and the peasant or the artisan was without effective intermediaries, other than the bureaucracy. The peasant was largely free, except where he worked on land under the control of the state, and even in the latter case a variety of tenures could apply. The state, however, appears to have taken the initiative in extending agriculture. Peasant discontent was articulated largely in the form of migration, but nevertheless the state was being advised to open up new areas to settlement. Systems of exchange were varied, but coined money played a visible role and the potentialities of commerce were beginning to be tapped. The absence of reference to varna in the edicts of Ashoka suggests that other social categories were more significant, such as family, clan and sect. Varna categories would have been observed, for instance, in the reference to brahmans, but possibly jatis were more prominent in the social landscape. This could have been closely related to the prevalence of, and patronage to, the heterodox sects. These aspects gradually changed in the post-Mauryan period and by the mid-first millennium AD were superseded by other forms that gave a new direction to historical activity.

  By the early second century BC the first experiment in imperial government in India had ended. Other experiments were to be made in later centuries but the conditions were never quite the same. The degree of central control attempted in the Mauryan polity, particularly in the metropolitan area, became increasingly difficult in later periods when officials and landowners, to whom the king delegated much of his power, became the intermediaries between king and subject. The desire for empire did not disappear, but there was no longer the same compulsion and intensity which accompanied the first of the empires. And beyond that there remains the solitary figure of Ashoka as a ruler with a commitment to a social ethic. This was unique in Indian history and rare in the histories of other societies.

  7

  Of Politics and Trade c.200 BC – AD 300

  Shungas, Kharavela, Oligarchies

  Political events in India became diffuse after the Mauryan period, involving a variety of kings, eras and people. Evidence is gleaned from yet more diverse sources than in earlier times, and texts are consulted from as far afield as the history of contemporary China by Ssu-ma-chien/Sima Qian. Whereas the people of the peninsula and south India were seeking to define their polities and experiencing the reach of maritime trade, northern India was caught up in the
turmoil of happenings in central Asia. The Mauryas had begun to explore the potential for activities, not only in various parts of the subcontinent but also in areas beyond, particularly looking westwards. The need to extend the horizon and consider participation in new ventures was recognized by the successor states. The many new states with their growth and interrelations can be confusing, unlike the relatively uncomplicated picture of the Mauryan period.

  There is a tendency to give primacy to events of the north-west since there is a range of evidence, including much from Hellenistic and Roman sources, but events in other parts of the subcontinent were equally consequential. The focus of politics did not shift to the north-west, as there were multiple centres of political ambition. This was a recurring pattern with the disintegration of large kingdoms. That which followed the break-up of the Mauryan Empire anticipated and shaped the emergence of regional states in the next few centuries. From a superficial view, there appears to have been no connecting theme in the post-Mauryan period. Yet there was a theme, even though it was less immediately apparent in political events.

  Coins and inscriptions provide primary evidence but both are different in form from their predecessors, the punch-marked coins and the Ashokan edicts. Indo-Greek coins in particular are miniatures of aesthetic excellence, of precise economic value, providing information on centres of exchange and on emerging religious sects and cults that were prominent in north-western India and its vicinity. Inscriptions from this time on tended to record donations and grants, or else were royal eulogies and annals. The King’s attempt to ‘speak’ to his subjects through inscriptions, as was Ashoka’s intention, was not to be repeated. Either the problems were less pressing than affairs of state, or, as is more likely, kings were not inspired to do so.

  The immediate heirs of what remained of the Mauryan Empire were the Shungas, a brahman family, who were officials under the Mauryas. The founder of the dynasty, Pushyamitra, assassinated the last of the Mauryas while commanding the Mauryan army, and usurped the throne. Kalidasa’s romantic play, Malavika-agnimitram, presents an image of Shunga rule which differs from that of the Buddhist narrative text, the Divyavadana. Buddhist sources claim that they persecuted the Buddhists and destroyed their monasteries and places of worship. This could have been an exaggeration, but archaeological evidence reveals that Buddhist monuments in the Shunga domain were at this time in disrepair and being renovated. However, if the chronology of these monuments shifts forward as is now being suggested, then this would make them post-Shunga renovations. Nevertheless, even if some renovations were of a later date, the damage to the stupa at Sanchi and to the monastery at Kaushambi dates to Shunga times. Added emphasis is given to this from Pushyamitra having performed ashvamedhas, or horse sacrifices. This is sometimes viewed as indicating support of Vedic Brahmanism and a disapproval of the heterodox sects. The sacrifices are also linked to his having held back Yavana forays from the north-west.

  The Shungas were occupied with wars: they campaigned against their southern neighbours in the Deccan, against the Hellenistic Greek inroads from the north-west and against Kalinga to the south-east. Intense competition in the creation of kingdoms followed the decline of the Mauryan Empire. The Shunga kingdom may have originally comprised a large part of the Ganges Plain, although some of the more distant regions were probably not directly under their control and merely owed them political allegiance. Within a hundred years, however, the kingdom had dwindled to the boundaries of Magadha and its fringes, and even here the Shunga hold was precarious: a situation that continued for a half-century under another brahman dynasty, the Kanvas, whose founder usurped the Shunga throne, and its kings reigned uneventfully until the late first century BC.

  One striking feature of this period is the reappearance of what are sometimes called the tribal or the clan-based polities in Punjab and Haryana -especially clustered around the watershed – and in Ra jasthan. Their presence is established largely through their coins and we know of the Arjunayanas, Kunindas, Audambaras, Trigartas, Agastyas, Shibis and Yaudheyas. Some among them migrated to adjoining areas, as and when local politics required it. Thus the Abhiras are found in the northern Deccan. The Malavas moved to southern Rajasthan and may have been later associated with the era of 58-57 BC, perhaps because of their connection with Ujjain.

  Many of these clans claimed kshatriya status; implicit in this claim was descent from the kshatriya heroes of epic and legend. Some of their rajas took tides that implied an approximation to kingship, but their coins were more often minted in the name of the gana or the janapada, revealing a structure similar to the gana-sangha as in the case of the Yaudheyas. The repeated reference to kings attacking the kshatriyas was possibly a reference to such polities, which would indirectly underline their continuing political significance as an alternative to kingship.

  Monarchical systems, however, were more widespread by now. Kalinga in Orissa was an independent kingdom in the mid-first century BC under Kharavela. This was an example of secondary-state formation, as it had been a core area in the Mauryan system and had been imprinted with the structure of a state through being under Mauryan administration. The Mauryan centre at Tosali developed into a Buddhist site, but Kalinga was also associated with Jaina monasteries, encouraged no doubt by the initial patronage of Kharavela. A long inscription that includes an almost year-by-year biographical sketch of Kharavela survives at Hathigumpha – the Elephant’s Cave. The inscription is tantalizing as it is damaged, and permits of alternative readings. Kharavela was of the Meghavahana lineage associated with the Chedis. (Curiously, Ravana is said to be of the same lineage in the Paumachariyam, a Jaina version of the Ramayana that was probably composed in the third century AD.) Despite his support for Jainism, Kharavela protected the independence of Kalinga through raids against neighbours. Kharavela refers to irrigation canals built by the Nandas, but proudly mentions his own efforts in this direction. There is no reference to the Mauryas, unless it was included in the sections of the inscription that are now illegible, yet there are a few hints of ideas that seem to echo those of Ashoka, such as his veneration for all sects. He also lays claim to investing much wealth in the welfare of his subjects, although this could be the predictable rhetoric of royalty.

  The inscription is among the early biographical sketches of a king and deserves a more detailed summary as it represents the beginnings of a style of royal eulogy. An adaptation of the lengthy inscription would read:

  Salutation to the Arhats (Jinas)… by illustrious Kharavela, the Aira, the great king, the descendant of Mahameghavahana, increasing the glory of the Chedi dynasty, endowed with excellent and auspicious marks and features, possessed of virtues that have reached the four quarters, overlord of Kalinga.

  Fifteen years were spent in youthful sports with a body ruddy and handsome.

  Administration as an heir apparent lasted for nine years and he mastered correspondence, currency, finance, civil and religious law and was well-versed in all branches of learning.

  On attaining manhood he was crowned king in the dynasty of Kalinga. In his first year he repaired the gates, walls and buildings of the city damaged in a storm; built embankments on the lake, and tanks and cisterns in the city; and restored the gardens.

  This was done at the cost of thirty-five thousand and pleased the people.

  In the second year his strong army of the fourfold units of cavalry, elephants, infantry and chariots was sent against the western regions controlled by Satakarni [the Satavahana king], and also threatened the city of the Mushika peoples.

  The third year was given to dance performances and music at festivals and assemblies.

  In the fourth year the Rathikas and Bhojakas were attacked and they submitted to him.

  In the fifth year he extended the canal originally built by the Nanda king.

  Since he was performing the rajasuya sacrifice he remitted taxes and cesses and bestowed many hundreds of thousands on the institutions of the city and the realm.

&
nbsp; In the seventh year his wife became a mother.

  In the eighth year he threatened the capital of Magadha which led to the king Dimita [Demetrius, the Indo-Greek king], retreating to Mathura.

  More gifts follow – golden trees, elephants, chariots, residences and rest-houses as well as the declaration that brahmans were exempt from tax.

  A royal residence was built at the cost of thiry-eight hundred thousand.

  In the tenth year he sent an expedition to conquer Bharatavarsha.

  Another expedition went south towards the Krishna river and attacked the town of Pithunda which was ploughed with a plough yoked to asses. He broke up the confederacy of the Tramira [Tamil countries] which had been a threat to Kalinga.

  In the twelfth year his armies turned northwards causing panic among the people of Magadha. He retrieved the image of the Jina which had been taken away from Kalinga by the Nandas and brought back the riches of Magadha and Anga.

  He settled a hundred builders, giving them exemption from land revenue, to build towers and carved interiors and stockades for elephants and horses.

  Precious stones were brought to his court and pearls from the Pandya realm in the south.

  In the thirteenth year he offered maintenance and gifts to the monks of a Jaina monastery.

  An assembly was held of ascetics and sages and monks and the depository of the relic of the Arhat was embellished. He caused Jaina texts to be compiled.