You may have heard of the LTTE, a separatist organization in Sri Lanka fighting for eelam or a Land of their own for the Tamils. The Tamil rebels chose to call themselves the ‘Tigers’, as opposed to the Sinhalese who use the lion as their symbol. The ancient rivalry between the two big cats is still dominant in our imagination though both animals are close to extinction.
There are now a mere 411 Asiatic lions left in the wild. The Gir National Park in Gujarat is their last refuge. Less than 200 years ago, this magnificent animal could be found around Delhi and was probably common in the Aravalli ridges in the south of Gurgaon. Now these places are full of highways and speeding vehicles. The lion was last seen in Iran in 1942 and in Iraq in 1917.
CHOPPED NOSE? NO PROBLEM!
By the late Iron Age (eighth to fifth century BCE), a number of urban centres were growing to the size of the old Harappan cities. Kausambi, near today’s Allahabad, is said to have been founded after the king of Hastinapur, a descendant of the Pandavas, who was forced by a devastating flood to shift his capital further east. Spread over an area of 150–200 hectares, Kausambi had a population of around 36,000 people at its peak. There were other major cities like Rajgir and Sravasti that were equally large. These were similar to Mohenjodaro, the largest of the Harappan sites, which had a population of around 40,000. It’s hard to say just how many people were there in the entire subcontinent but it’s likely to have been around 30 million.
The late Iron Age towns were fortified with moats and ramparts. Wood and mud bricks were materials commonly used to build but the people had not forgotten the kiln-fired bricks that the Harappans used. Kausambi has many buildings that used this technology. The towns also had drains, soakage pits and other urban facilities though the designs were different from those of the Harappans. But the courtyard continued to exist and the streets were levelled to allow the movement of vehicles with wheels.
The Ganga would have been full of merchant boats travelling between Kausambi, Kashi and Pataliputra (modern Patna). There would have also been ships that could travel across the ocean. The legend of Prince Vijaya who travelled from India to Sri Lanka suggests coastal trade links along the Bay of Bengal, extending from Bengal to Sri Lanka. Both the Uttara Path and the Dakshina Path would have been busy highways with people carrying goods and ideas. This was a time of great intellectual expansion—the philosophies of the Upanishads, Mahavira and Gautama Buddha are all from this time period!
The Buddha was born in Kapilavastu (on the Indo-Nepal border) but he attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, just south of the old Magadhan capital of Rajgir. But he did not deliver his first sermon in Bodh Gaya, the nearby towns and villages or even in the royal capital. Instead, he headed west to Varanasi (also called Kashi). Why did he go all the way there to spread his message?
This may have been because Varanasi stood at the crossroads between the Uttara Path and a highway that came down from the Himalayas and then continued south as the Dakshina Path. It was already a place where goods and ideas were being exchanged.
Did you know?
Even today, the east-west National Highway 2 meets the north-south National Highway 7 at Varanasi. NH7 then runs all the way down to the southern tip of India. The alignment of the modern north-south Highway runs somewhat east of the ancient trade route but isn’t it amazing that the logic of India’s transport system has remained the same? Even when the British built the railways in the nineteenth century, they used Mughalsarai—just outside Varanasi—as the nerve centre of the railway network.
When the Buddha went there in the sixth century BCE, Varanasi was already a big urban settlement built on the Ganga. The city was built between where the Varuna and Asi streams flow into the Ganga and was therefore called Varanasi. The Varuna still exists but the Asi has been reduced to a polluted municipal drain.
And so, the Buddha chose to deliver his first sermon in a deer park at Sarnath, just outside Varanasi, the centre for commercial and intellectual activity. The spot is not sacred for the Buddhists alone. Just outside the site, there is a large Jain temple dedicated to the eleventh ‘tirthankara’. Similarly, the archaeological museum next door contains many idols and artefacts of the Brahminical tradition. The name Sarnath is a short form for Saranganath, meaning Lord of the Deer, another name for Shiva. Varanasi has always been a very important place for the Hindus, especially those who worship Shiva. It may explain why the Buddha found a park with sacred deer at this place. There is a temple dedicated to Saranganath, less than a kilometre from the archaeological site, even now.
Apart from religious philosophy, the period also saw the systemization of Ayurveda, India’s traditional medical system. Sushruta, who lived near Varanasi, put together the medical knowledge of that time and also included a long list of sophisticated surgical instruments and procedures. There are detailed descriptions of plastic surgery, surgeries on the eyes, and other complex procedures. There is even information on the dissection of dead bodies to learn about anatomy.
Medieval India refers to the Post Classical Era, i.e. eighth to eighteenth century CE in the Indian subcontinent. It is divided into two periods: the ‘early medieval period’, which lasted from the eighth to the thirteenth century, and the ‘late medieval period’, which lasted from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century in some definitions, though many end the period with the start of the Mughal Empire in 1526.
However, much of this knowledge was lost in the medieval era, we don’t know why. Possibly the destruction of centres of learning during the Turkic invasions is partly responsible for this. Still, some techniques survived and were witnessed by European visitors in the eighteenth century. This includes the famous ‘rhinoplasty’ operation that took place in Pune in March 1973, which greatly influenced plastic surgery in Europe and the rest of the world. Cowasjee was a Maratha (more likely Parsi) bullock-cart driver with the English army during its campaigns against Tipu Sultan of Mysore. He was captured and had his nose and one of his hands cut off. After a year without a nose, he and four others who had suffered a similar fate allowed an Indian surgeon to use the skin from their foreheads to repair the noses. We know little about the surgeon but two senior British surgeons from Bombay Presidency witnessed this operation and sent back detailed descriptions and diagrams. The publication in Europe in 1816 of their account gave birth to modern plastic surgery.
Of course, there was cultural and intellectual activity of this period happening in other parts of the subcontinent too and not just in the Gangetic heartland. For example, Panini, the famous grammarian who standardized the Sanskrit language in the fifth century BCE, was said to have been born in Gandhara (eastern Afghanistan) and lived in Taxila (near modern Islamabad). This part of the subcontinent was about to see the first attempt by a European power to conquer India.
HE CAME, HE SAW, HE ROARED
The world of small tribal kingdoms described above went through a major change in the third and fourth centuries BCE. This happened around the same time all over the world. This was not really because of a change in technology but because of a change in political ideas and ambition. Within a couple of generations, quite a few leaders were inspired by the idea of an empire. These leaders then began looking at how they could conquer other parts of the world.
The first of the empire-builders was cyrus the Great of Persia in the sixth century BCE. But it is only in the fourth century BCE that we begin to see empire-building on a totally different scale. In China, King Hui of Qin began a cycle of conquest around 330 BCE that would lead to building the first empire under Shi Huangdi a century later. At around the same time, Alexander the Great took control of Greece, Egypt, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Bactria and Persia.
Then, in the winter of 327–326 BCE, Alexander marched into India. He built an alliance with ambhi, the king of Taxila. Together they defeated Porus on the banks of the Jhelum. It’s possible that the name Porus refers to the Puru tribe that had inhabited the area since Rig Vedic times. Alexander wanted to march eas
twards but his troops were tired. There were also stories about a large Magadhan army waiting to attack them in the Gangetic plains. With an unwilling army, Alexander had little choice. He decided to return. But he did not go back the way he had come—he chose to sail down the Indus under the mistaken belief that the Indus was part of the upper reaches of the Nile. He thought that if they just sailed down the Indus, they would end up in the Mediterranean!
Alexander and his people reached this conclusion because of the similarities between the plants and animals of India and those of the upper reaches of the Nile. As they sailed down the Indus, they defeated many tribes and destroyed several settlements. There is also a fascinating account of how a local chieftain entertained Alexander with a gladiatorial match between a lion and a group of ferocious dogs that he claimed had been bred from tigresses!
On reaching the sea, Alexander discovered his mistake. They were then forced to march along the dry Makran and Persian Gulf coast—the same route that early humans had used when they migrated east to the subcontinent. However, climatic conditions and the coastline had changed a lot since then. Without proper maps, provisions and water, the desert proved to be a nightmare. Soldiers and pack animals died in large numbers. Much of the wealth they had acquired from their conquests had to be abandoned because there weren’t enough men and animals to carry the loot. When Alexander’s army finally reached Babylon they remained undefeated but they had suffered heavy losses. Alexander died soon afterwards, possibly poisoned by followers who no longer believed in his leadership. His empire was divided up amongst his generals and his young son was murdered. It was the lack of geographical knowledge that proved to be Alexander’s undoing, not a sword. As we shall see, when Europeans attempted to take control of India two millennia later, they would take great care to map it.
Alexander’s invasion is not mentioned directly in Indian texts but Greek writers have left us detailed accounts of their adventures. Some of them seem quite fantastic—there’s one about giant ants that were used to dig for gold! But for the most part, their observations were accurate. Nearchus, Alexander’s admiral, tells us that Indians wore clothes made from white cotton. Their lower garment reached below the knee, halfway to the ankles. The upper garment was thrown over the shoulder and the turban was worn on the head.
Nearchus was describing the dhoti and angavastra—clothes that have been worn since Vedic times and continue to be used even today! he goes on to say that wealthy Indians flaunted ivory earrings and carried umbrellas against the sun. They also wore thick leather sandals with elaborate trimmings and thick soles to make themselves look taller!
Alexander’s invasion did not really have much of an impact in the Indian heartland but it did trigger a chain of events. One that would lead to the founding of India’s first great empire—that of the Mauryans. The empire was created by two extraordinary characters: Chanakya (also called Kautilya) and his student Chandragupta Maurya. Most empires were created by princes and warriors but Chanakya was a professor of Political Economy in Taxila. When Alexander entered into an alliance with the king of Taxila, the Brahmins of the city opposed this. Historical accounts say that Alexander had several of them hanged to death.
According to legend, Chanakya travelled east to Pataliputra (modern Patna), the capital of the powerful kingdom of Magadh to ask for help against Alexander. But he was insulted and thrown out. An angry Chanakya decided to return to Taxila to plot his revenge. On the way he came across a boy called Chandragupta Maurya. There are many stories about Chandragupta’s origins and how the two met, but these cannot be verified.
Chanakya took the boy back with him and began to train him to become a king. He also wrote the Arthashastra (Treatise on Prosperity), a detailed manual on how to run the future empire. When Alexander died, Chanakya decided that this was the right time to put together a band of rebels and fight for power. However, their initial efforts at throwing over the Nanda king of Magadh failed. It is said that Chandragupta had to flee into the forests to escape. He was so tired that he fell into a deep slumber. A lion appeared and licked him clean of all the grime and dust. Then it stood guard over him till he awoke. When Chandragupta realized what had happened, he accepted it as a good omen and attacked the Nandas once again. It’s quite possible that this rather fantastical tale was cooked up by later Mauryan supporters but once again, it underlines the symbolic importance of the lion.
After many years of effort, Chanakya managed to put together a large army, possibly with the help of the hill tribes of Himachal. He and Chandragupta slowly took control of the north-west of the country. Then they set their eyes on the Gangetic plains. Around 321 BCE, they defeated the Nanda king of Magadh and became the most powerful in the subcontinent. However, Chanakya did not take the throne for himself. He crowned Chandragupta Maurya instead. Then they spent over a decade establishing control over central India.
By around 305 BCE, Chandragupta felt confident enough to directly confront the Macedonians left behind by Alexander. One of Alexander’s most trusted generals, Seleucus Nikator, was in control of the conqueror’s Asian domains, including Persia and Central Asia. He also laid claim to the Indian territories conquered by Alexander. Judging by the terms of a treaty between the two in 303 BCE, it appears as if the Mauryan army decisively won the war. Chandragupta gained control over Baluchistan and Afghanistan. Seleucus also gave his daughter in marriage to a Mauryan prince, possibly Chandragupta himself or his son.
For three generations, the Mauryan empire covered the whole subcontinent from the edge of eastern Iran to what is now Bangladesh. Only the Southernmost tip of India was out of their direct control. At its height, it was the largest and most populous empire in the world, much greater than Alexander’s domains and those of Shi Huangdi in China. It also lasted for a much longer duration as a complete unit.
But there was something unique about this empire-building. Chanakya was happy to remain a minister and according to one version, he actually went back to teach in Taxila once the empire had been stabilized. Chandragupta Maurya himself placed his son Bindusara on the throne and became a Jain monk, giving up all his wealth and comforts. He took the Dakshina Path and travelled down to Sravana Belagola (in Karnataka) and according to Jain tradition, starved himself to death to cleanse his soul. The hill on which he spent his last days meditating and fasting is still called Chandragiri in his honour.
The idea of renouncing power has remained a powerful theme in later Indian history. When India became independent in 1947, Mahatma Gandhi refused all positions of power and made way for his protégé Jawaharlal Nehru to become modern India’s first prime minister.
The second Mauryan Emperor, Bindusara, ruled from 297 to 272 BCE. His reign was mostly peaceful. There are records that talk of how the Mauryan Emperor exchanged ambassadors and improved trade relations with Alexander’s successors in the Middle East. There is also a tale that Bindusara asked Antiochus of Syria to send him figs, wine, and a Greek scholar. Antiochus sent him the figs and wine but refused to send the scholar, saying that Greek law did not permit the sale of scholars!
There seems to have been a struggle to decide Bindusara’s successor. The winner of this clash was Ashoka who was crowned in 268 BCE. He was not his father’s chosen successor but he ruled the empire for forty years. In 260 BCE, Ashoka expanded the empire for one last time to include Kalinga (roughly modern Orissa). He now ruled the whole subcontinent except for the small kingdoms of the extreme south with whom he had friendly relations.
These southern kingdoms were called Chola, Pandya, Keralaputra and Satiyaputra. The Cholas would remain a powerful clan for the next one and half millennia and head a powerful empire of their own in the tenth and eleventh century CE. We will read more about them later. Keralaputra, if you haven’t guessed already, lent its name to the state at the south-western tip of the Indian peninsula—Kerala.
FROM PILLAR TO PILLAR
Ashoka is the first Indian monarch who has left us artefacts that belong
to his reign without any doubt. The name Ashoka does not appear on any major declaration or inscription. They were issued by a king who called himself ‘Piyadassi’ or ‘Beloved of the Gods’. However, there is strong evidence that links Piyadassi to Buddhist legends about a great king called Ashoka. This evidence suggests that Ashoka was Chandragupta Maurya’s grandson.
The best-known Ashokan artefacts are a series of inscriptions engraved on rocks and stone pillars scattered across the empire. These pillars and inscriptions have been found across the subcontinent from Afghanistan in the north to Karnataka in the south, Gujarat in the west to Bengal in the east. They are also scattered across the northern plains, including one in Delhi (near Greater Kailash). We can assume that there must have been many more pillars and inscriptions that did not survive over the centuries. Still, what remains is impressive and gives us a sense of the scale and extent of the Mauryan empire.
These artefacts have been of great interest since they were interpreted in the nineteenth century. This is not surprising, given their age as well as their contents! Ashoka openly regretted the invasion of Kalinga and the bloodshed it caused. He said, ‘On conquering Kalinga, the Beloved of the Gods felt remorse, for when an independent country is conquered, the slaughter, death and deportation of the people is extremely grievous to the Beloved of Gods and weighs heavily on his mind.’ he asks his subjects to be good citizens while committing himself to their welfare.
The Kalinga campaign was brutal. About 1,50,000 people were forced to move away from their homes, over 1,00,000 were killed, and even larger numbers eventually died because of wounds and famine. India’s population at this stage would have been around sixty-five million. So many deaths at this stage would have been devastating for a small province like Kalinga. Excavations at Kalinga’s capital of Tosali reveal structures that still bear marks of this attack. The large number of arrowheads found embedded in a small section of the ramparts tell of a blizzard of arrows.
The Incredible History of India's Geography Page 6