Among the more valuable sources on Buddhism in recent times is the unravelling of the Buddhist scrolls from Gandhara, now placed in the British Library. These birchbark rolls that had been packed into earthen pots are being unrolled, read and conserved, a process requiring the most delicate handling and careful study. The texts are composed in the Gandhari version of Prakrit and written in kharoshthi, expressive of a strong regional tradition. They form an interesting counterpart both to the northern Buddhist texts written in a hybrid Sanskrit and to the Buddhist Canon as recorded by the southern Theravada tradition in Pali. Dating to about the first century AD, they were in the library of a monastery in Gandhara, probably Hadda. The texts are parts of the Buddhist Canon and of some anthologies of stories linked to Buddhism, and are associated with the Dharmaguptaka sect of Buddhism. Although not conforming to the Mahayana school, the Dharmaguptakas accepted some of its teaching, for example anticipating the coming of Maitreya. Packing the scrolls tightly in pots could indicate they were no longer required, perhaps having been copied on to fresh birchbark, and being stored because such texts could not be thrown away. These were the texts and forms of Buddhism that travelled to central Asia where Gandhari Prakrit was used in Buddhist circles.
Voyages to south-east Asian ports were encouraged by the search for spices. Graffiti in brahmi on sherds, carnelian beads and rouletted ware surface in south-east Asia at places accessible to ships from the Bay of Bengal: the Irrawady Delta; the Malay peninsula; and even as far as Oc-eo in the Mekong Delta, and the island of Bali. The prosperity of towns such as Mahasthan and Chandraketugarh near the Ganges Delta, and those of the eastern coast, may have been linked to these new connections. Legends about the origin of kingdoms in south-east Asia often trace the story back to Indian princes and merchants. An Indian brahman, Kaundinya, who is said to have married a Cambodian princess, is remembered as having introduced Indian culture to Cambodia. The story was an attempt to explain cultural practices. The Kalingans who came as traders are said to have settled in the Irrawady Delta of Myanmar. Indian literature narrates the adventures, some weird and fantastic, of Indian travellers in these parts. In local narratives the formation of states in south-east Asia is sometimes linked to the arrival of Indians as traders and as ritual specialists, and there has been much discussion related to identifying the catalyst in this process. The transition was from chiefdoms to states and, perhaps because of the presence of Indians, appropriate Indian practices and beliefs were adapted. The epithet of suvarna, gold, with place-names in south-east Asia suggests that the Indian perception of south-east Asia was initially probably linked to profits from trade.
Education, Literature and Systems of Knowledge
Apart from their role in the economy, the guilds provided education, although ‘formal’ education remained largely in the hands of the brahmans and the monks of the Buddhist and other monasteries. By restricting membership to artisans of a particular craft, the guilds became centres for technical education. Knowledge of mining, metallurgy, weaving, dyeing, carpentry and suchlike would have been maintained by the relevant guild. The spectacular progress achieved in this way is visible even in the minting of coins, or in the near perfection reached in stonecutting, polishing and carving. Engineering skill in the building of dams and irrigation tanks is evident from their remains. Geometry, which had first been recorded as an aid in the building of altars and sacrificial structures, was later applied to more complex architecture. Building initially followed the constructional methods of wooden buildings, but gradually shifted to stone structures that necessitated new formulations in engineering and architecture. Religious edifices at this stage did not provide much occasion for exploring constructional skill and variation, since the Buddhists contented themselves with tumuli surrounded by gateways and railings, or else caves of a simple kind cut into hillsides. The architecture of freestanding monasteries was an extension of domestic architecture.
Knowledge benefiting from familiarity with developments in other parts of the world was applied to astronomy, mathematics and medicine. Mid-ocean navigation required a reliable study of the stars, and no doubt mercantile patronage was forthcoming for this study. But astronomy was also linked to mathematical knowledge and to astrology. Communication with western Asia led to an exchange of knowledge on astronomy and astrology, with some texts from Alexandria, such as the Sphujidhvaja, being translated from Greek into Sanskrit. Hellenistic ideas on astrology were of interest to Indians and in astronomy earlier systems used in India were being augmented by those based on the zodiac. This was also the period when astronomers and cosmologists began a dialogue that enriched theories of time. Cyclical notions from cosmology interacted with the more linear forms of historical time. A sharpened sense of time in relation to past events associated with human activities took shape as linear time, implicit in literature of a historical kind, and in a multiplicity of eras.
A gradual distancing from the bhishaja, the healer or shaman, was registered by a move towards the formal study and systemization of medical knowledge. Texts written in Sanskrit generally endorsed the latter. However, the tradition of the shaman did not disappear: it had its own clients and there was still a place for it within the formal tradition. The shift was from knowledge based on experience alone to an inclusion of experiment and analyses, derived from practice and from formal knowledge. The Indian medical system was based on the theory of the three humours – air, bile and mucus – the correct balance of these resulting in a healthy body. The processes involved in the functioning of the body drew from the five vayus, winds, and their interaction. Medical pharmacopoeias and discussions on medical practices were composed at this time, the most famous being that of Charaka. Another study was that of Sushruta, focusing on surgery. Some of the earliest medical texts have been found in central Asia, where the dry climate of the desert oases preserved birchbark manuscripts. It is evident that Indian herbal knowledge reached the western world, since the Greek botanist Theophrastus gave details of the medicinal use of various Indian plants and herbs in his History of Plants.
The texts were obviously written by those who had received a formal education. Yet brahmanical rules placed the practitioners of medicine low on the social scale, although those who wrote on medical matters pertaining to humans, horses and elephants were often accorded brahman status. Because of its study of the human body, and its utility in veterinary sciences, medical knowledge became independent of orthodoxy. This was to become an underlying contradiction in Indian society. Some professions were theoretically rated as low, but when their utility was valued socially technical treatises were written in Sanskrit which gave status to the profession. These were naturally written by authors with a formal education, generally brahmans or those associated with them. Presumably some of them were practitioners of that profession.
Linguistic analyses had resulted in Panini’s grammar of Sanskrit, which became the bedrock of the language. The grammarian of this period was Patanjali whose Mahabhashya, a commentary on the earlier grammar, is an impressive study of syntax and the evolution of words which teases out the more abstruse rules. In addition, it provides some historical material through references in its grammatical examples. Patanjali was doubtless also aware of the usefulness of a grammar to the mlechchhas, those who did not know Sanskrit but wished to learn it. Analysis of language through grammar was to remain a monumental contribution of early Indian thought. It is curious, though, that with all the interest in Greek writings, no Indian grammarian stumbled on the parallels in Sanskrit and Greek.
Literary output was not restricted to Dharmashastras and grammars, for poetry and drama were popular. The short poems in Prakrit by Hala, the Gathasaptashati, touched on love, some being sentimental and others rather bawdy but enjoyably witty. Among works in Sanskrit, the Vajrasuchi, ascribed to Ashvaghosha, is a Buddhist tract critical of both brahmans and the social system which they upheld. He is better known for his long poem on the life of the Buddha, the Buddhacharita,
which was also seminal to the evolution of historical biographies. Ashvaghosha handled Sanskrit with dexterity. It became the preferred language for reflecting on Buddhism. Sanskrit developed into the language of the literati and of philosophical debate in all but peripheral areas. The philosopher Nagarjuna, possibly the most influential mind of this period, chose to write in Sanskrit, using it extensively in Buddhist discourse and in response to brahmanical and other philosophies. This did not however lead to the abandoning of the local languages or the local Prakrits. The tendency to demarcate the culture of the elite and the formally educated – what is said to be high culture – from popular culture, became more marked.
Fragments of Ashvaghosha’s plays were found in a distant monastery in Turfan in central Asia. The interest of the audience would have been as much in the Buddhist themes as in a relatively new genre of literature. A more accomplished playwright, Bhasa, whose cycle of plays included the now famous Svapnavasavadattam, sought to capture the courtly mood. The dates for Bhasa are controversial but it is thought that he preceded Kalidasa in the early Christian era. His themes concerned incidents from the epics or historical romances, and court audiences enjoyed the amorous exploits of Kings. Bhasa wrote for the limited audience of the court circle, whereas Ashvaghosha’s plays could have been performed for a wider audience at religious assemblies.
Unlike earlier periods, much of the literature drew on an urban background in its authorship, content and style. City life was by now distinctive, as evidenced by references to major cities such as Taxila, Mathura, Shishupalgarh, Mahasthan, Nagarjunakonda and Kaveripartinam. Brahmanical sources remained dubious about or even hostile to urban life, particularly where it was a commercial centre, and viewed the city as acceptable primarily as the location of the court.
Social Forms
The increase in trade and the coming of people from western and central Asia resulted in a visible, new population which included former ruling families with their own ancestral identities. The assimilation of those not born into a caste-based society would have posed a problem for brahman theorists who either ignored or downgraded such people – not that their caste-ranking made much difference to their activities. Social laws continued to be projected as rigid and the patriarchal theories of the Manu Dharmashastra regarded as authoritative.
The sharpening of stratification at the theoretical level may have been a brahmanical response to the more flexible attitudes reflected, for example, in Buddhist texts. These resulted both from trading with non-Indians and from the opening up of new lands within the subcontinent, necessitating relations with people of different customs and cultures. One of the basic requirements of a stable varna identity, other than birth and occupation, was continuity in a particular place which established locational identity. But with the emphasis on new occupations, migration and identities from distant lands, it was difficult to insist on varna, other than in the category of the brahmans. The fluidity of an urban population was doubtless one reason for urban life being downplayed in the Dharmashastras. Theoretically, the four varnas were precisely and clearly defined, with rules pertaining to their lawful activities and functions set out in the Dharmashastras. Yet in practice there were many discrepancies.
Conversion to Vaishnava or Shaiva sects was theoretically not so easy because of the interdependence of birth, caste and sectarian practice, although these sects did find ways around this problem. A large non-Hindu group could be gradually assimilated through its becoming a jati, but the conversion of a single individual would raise the problem of appropriate caste-ranking which depended on birth. It was therefore easier for the incoming individual to become a Buddhist, although some also joined a Bhagavata sect. Votive inscriptions from Buddhist sites in the Deccan register the adoption of Buddhism by Yavanas. Mention is made of a Theodorus Datiaputta making a donation, and also a Yavana Indragnidatta, the son of the northerner Dhamadeva who came from Dattamiti (thought to be the town of Demetrius in Arachosia). As Buddhism was in the ascendant at that time, its prestige made the adjustment of the newly converted much easier.
While brahman orthodoxy maintained a distance from lower ranks it also had to come to terms with the new ruling elite, since those with political power could not be treated as outcastes. The ‘fallen kshatriya’ status was a strategic concession to the new ruling dynasties, although the qualifier vratya, degenerate or fallen, would hardly have been appreciated by those to whom it was applied. The presence in India of such people, prominent in political and economic spheres, must have challenged the theoretical structure of varna, even though the political arena and particularly kingship had earlier been relatively open, irrespective of varna status. Doubtless those in an inferior caste would have attempted to move up the scale by associating with the newcomers. Expansion in trade and commerce also meant an increase in guilds, with employment of many more artisans and greater access to wealth. The latter were largely drawn from the shudra caste, some of whom aimed to improve their caste status by changing their occupation and location. The category of sankirna jati, mixed caste, was also intended to keep such groups in check. The lower castes were theoretically to be located in the particular areas where they carried out their occupations, often on the margins of the city, and the untouchables were expected to remain outside city limits.
Some jatis, normally ranked in the lower half of the social scale, may have exploited the demands of urban life by attempting an improvement of their status, causing concern to the upholders of orthodox social law and usage. This may explain the reiteration in the Dharmashastras of the inherent superiority of the brahman compared to other members of society, stressing he should be shown the utmost respect. The texts read as if the status of the brahman was being challenged. There seems to be a counterpoint between the rigidity of social laws within normative texts, and greater flexibility in the functioning of society. The earlier Dharmasutras were written when urbanization in the Ganges Plain was upsetting the mores of the Vedas, and the ‘heterodox’ sects were questioning brahmanical norms. The Manu Dharmashastra, perhaps the most conservative of these texts, dates to the period of the rule of the ‘degenerate kshatriyas’ with the opening up of the subcontinent to trade and new ideas. The post-Gupta period saw the rapid emergence of new jatis, cults and states, challenging set ideas, which again produced a crop of normative texts and commentaries.
Votive inscriptions recording donations at stupa sites such as Sanchi and Bharhut complement the bâs-relief panels in presenting a picture of the reasonably well-off. With few exceptions, these inscriptions record donations from guilds, artisans, small landowners, monks and nuns. Donors identified themselves by occupation and place of residence, and not necessarily by varna or jati. The geographical spread covers the Deccan and its fringes. Many came from big towns such as Ujjain and Bhogavardhana, but the smaller places are now often unidentifiable. Almost half the donations at the Deccan sites are from monks and nuns, which raises the question of the source of this wealth. Were the donations made at the time of their ordination? Or did they still have shares in family property, and if so were they permitted to inherit wealth? Or did they invest their initial wealth in trade and donate the profits to the Sangha? Categories of donors varied according to location: at Mathura there were larger numbers of Jaina women donors than Buddhist, and this pattern was different from Buddhist sites in central India.
The presence of nuns, recorded in Jaina and Buddhist centres, is striking both in terms of their numbers and the fact of personal wealth which enabled them to make grants. Life as a monk or a nun was a possible alternative life offered by the Sangha, and as the Sangha became prosperous it was not so far removed from the working of other institutions. Although the Sangha ranked nuns lower than monks, this did not prevent women joining the Order. For women, it was attractive inasmuch as it offered security within a socially approved institution. In a seemingly contradictory way, entering the Order enabled them to play a socially useful role of a kind different from the
usual. Jaina nuns, for example, were quite assertive as members of society. It also released women from the chores of household duties, as stated in one of the hymns which glories in the release from the quern, the mortar and the husband, adding that becoming a nun is also a release from rebirth. Women donors identified themselves in kinship terms as sisters, daughters, mothers and wives, and the latter two are frequent.
Where the donation is by a nun the source of the wealth is unclear. Was the wealth of the women their stridhana – the wealth given to a woman by her mother, a kinswoman or a relative and over which, in theory, she alone had control? The right to stridhana was partially to balance the exclusion of women as heirs to patrimonial property, except in the absence of male heirs when the patrimony might be allocated to the daughter. The Dharmashastras carry discussions on what constituted stridhana and the right of the woman to dispose of it as she wished. It rarely made a difference to the general status of the woman, since it was not consolidated wealth but more frequently scattered, movable wealth, variously collected. These donations to Buddhist stupas contradict the statements about women and their rights to property, as formulated in the Dharmashastras. It would be incorrect to take the latter as the normal practice and the social code for these times. It is not that women are depicted as relatively free in the inscriptions, but that there is a difference in the perceived activities open to women and their role in the family compared to the more rigid stance of the Dharmashastras. This emphasizes the point that knowing the authorship, intention and audience of texts is essential to understanding what they say.
Architecture and Visual Expression
The Penguin History of Early India Page 39