Class 12 History Notes Chapter 2 (Kings; farmers and towns: early states and economies) – Themes in Indian History-I Book
Alright class, let's delve into Chapter 2, 'Kings, Farmers, and Towns'. This period, roughly from 600 BCE to 600 CE, is absolutely crucial as it witnessed foundational changes in the Indian subcontinent's political and economic landscape. Pay close attention, as understanding this era is vital for many government exams.
Chapter 2: Kings, Farmers, and Towns: Early States and Economies (c. 600 BCE – 600 CE)
I. Introduction: The Turning Point (c. 6th Century BCE)
- This era marks a significant transition in early Indian history.
- Key Developments:
- Emergence of early states and empires.
- Growth of new towns and urban centres.
- Significant changes in agriculture leading to surplus production.
- Development of diverse economic activities, including trade and coinage.
- Sources: Our understanding relies heavily on:
- Epigraphy: Study of inscriptions (on stone, metal, pottery). Crucial for understanding political ideologies, donations, etc.
- Texts: Buddhist and Jaina texts (like the Tripitakas and Jatakas), Brahmanical texts (Dharmasutras, Arthashastra), Tamil Sangam literature, accounts of foreign travellers (like Megasthenes).
- Numismatics: Study of coins. Reveals information about economy, trade routes, dynasties, and rulers' claims.
- Archaeology: Excavations reveal settlement patterns, material culture, agricultural tools, urban layouts.
II. Political Transformations: From Janapadas to Empires
- The Sixteen Mahajanapadas (c. 600 BCE):
- Meaning 'great realms' or territories ruled by kings (rajas) or oligarchies (ganas or sanghas like Vajji).
- Most Mahajanapadas had a fortified capital city.
- Developed standing armies and bureaucracies, financed through taxes collected from cultivators, traders, and artisans.
- Important Mahajanapadas: Kashi, Kosala, Anga, Magadha, Vajji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchala, Machchha, Surasena, Assaka, Avanti, Gandhara, Kamboja.
- The Rise of Magadha (c. 6th - 4th Century BCE):
- Emerged as the most powerful Mahajanapada.
- Reasons for its dominance:
- Strategic Location: Fertile Gangetic plains ensured agricultural productivity.
- Natural Resources: Abundant iron ore deposits (for tools and weapons) in present-day Jharkhand. Forest resources provided timber and elephants for the army.
- Riverine Communication: Ganga and its tributaries facilitated cheap and convenient communication and transport.
- Ambitious Rulers: Powerful and ambitious kings like Bimbisara, Ajatasattu, and Mahapadma Nanda employed effective policies.
- Capital Cities: Rajagaha (Rajgir - fortified naturally by hills) and later Pataliputra (Patna - commanding riverine routes).
- The Mauryan Empire (c. 321 – 185 BCE):
- Founded by Chandragupta Maurya, who overthrew the Nandas, possibly with the aid of Chanakya/Kautilya.
- Sources:
- Arthashastra (attributed to Kautilya/Chanakya): Detailed treatise on statecraft, economic policy, and military strategy.
- Indica (by Megasthenes, Greek ambassador to Chandragupta's court): Survives only in fragments quoted by later Greek writers; describes Mauryan administration, society, Pataliputra.
- Ashokan Inscriptions: Earliest deciphered inscriptions in India (in Prakrit language; Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts). Provide insights into Ashoka's reign and Dhamma.
- Buddhist, Jaina, and Puranic literature.
- Archaeological finds (e.g., NBPW pottery, remnants of structures).
- Extent: Vast empire extending from Afghanistan and Baluchistan in the northwest to Odisha in the east and deep into the south (except the extreme south).
- Administration:
- Centralized Structure: King held supreme authority.
- Capital: Pataliputra.
- Provincial Centres: Five major political centres - Pataliputra (capital), Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali (Kalinga), and Suvarnagiri (South India). These were crucial for controlling vast territories.
- Communication: Vital land and riverine routes maintained for administration and army movement.
- Military: Megasthenes mentions a committee with six subcommittees coordinating military activity (navy, transport, infantry, cavalry, chariots, elephants).
- Officials: A large bureaucracy managed various state functions. Dhamma Mahamattas were special officers appointed by Ashoka to spread the message of Dhamma.
- Ashoka (c. 268 – 232 BCE):
- Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya.
- Kalinga War: A turning point; the immense bloodshed led Ashoka to abandon conquest through war (bherighosha) and adopt conquest through righteousness (dhammaghosha).
- Ashoka's Dhamma: Not a specific religion, but a moral code based on ethical principles: respect for elders, generosity towards Brahmanas and ascetics, kindness to slaves and servants, religious tolerance, non-violence. Propagated through inscriptions and Dhamma Mahamattas.
- Decline: Empire began to decline after Ashoka's death, likely due to weak successors, vastness of the empire, administrative challenges, and possibly financial strain.
III. New Notions of Kingship (Post-Mauryan Era, c. 200 BCE – 300 CE)
- Emergence of numerous chiefdoms and kingdoms in different parts of the subcontinent.
- Chiefs and Kings in the South:
- Chiefdoms: Power often based on kinship and ritual performance rather than standing armies or regular taxes (though they received gifts). Examples: Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas in Tamilakam (ancient Tamil country).
- Sources: Tamil Sangam literature provides rich details about chiefs, poets, patronage, warfare, and social life.
- Divine Kings:
- Some rulers projected higher status by identifying with deities or claiming divine origin.
- Kushanas (c. 1st - 3rd Century CE): Ruled a vast kingdom extending from Central Asia to Northwest India. Adopted titles like Devaputra ("Son of God"), possibly inspired by Chinese rulers. Erected colossal statues of themselves in shrines (e.g., Mat near Mathura, Afghanistan). Issued extensive gold coins.
- Gupta Empire (c. 4th - 6th Century CE):
- Relied more on samantas (subordinate rulers/feudatories) who maintained their own armies and provided military support.
- Claimed legitimacy through genealogies, titles (Maharajadhiraja, Parameshvara), and prashastis (eulogies composed by court poets, often inscribed).
- Example: Prayaga Prashasti (Allahabad Pillar Inscription) composed by Harishena in Sanskrit, praising Samudragupta's conquests and qualities.
- Histories often constructed from inscriptions, coins, and literature.
IV. Economic Life: Agriculture, Trade, and Urbanization
- Agricultural Intensification:
- Iron Ploughshare: Increased use in fertile alluvial river valleys (Ganga, Kaveri) boosted productivity. Hoes used in semi-arid areas.
- Irrigation: Wells, tanks, and less commonly, canals were constructed to enhance agricultural output. Communities and powerful individuals organized construction.
- Paddy Transplantation: Introduced in the Ganga valley, dramatically increasing yields.
- Rural Society:
- Variations: Growing differentiation; large landowners, village headmen (gramabhojaka - often hereditary, powerful, collected taxes), small peasants, and landless agricultural labourers (dasa karmakara).
- Gahapati (Pali term): Head of a household who owned land, slaves, and workers, exercising control over resources. Often wealthy and powerful figures in the village.
- Land Grants (Agraharas): Grants of land (often tax-free) made, usually to Brahmanas, starting from the early centuries CE. Recorded in inscriptions (often on copper plates).
- Purpose: Extend agriculture to new areas, win allies, project power.
- Implications: Weakened central political control in the long run, rise of local landed intermediaries. Regional variations in the extent and nature of grants.
- Urban Centres:
- Emergence: Many towns emerged from c. 6th century BCE onwards, mostly along communication routes.
- Types: Capital cities (Pataliputra, Mathura, Ujjayini), centres of trade (Vaishali, Taxila), craft production centres, religious centres (Varanasi).
- Characteristics: Often fortified, dense population, diverse occupations (rulers, officials, artisans, merchants, religious teachers).
- Life in Towns: Evidence from inscriptions (mentioning donations by guilds, artisans), texts (Jatakas describe city life, social groups), and archaeology (structures, artefacts like fine pottery - NBPW, ornaments, tools).
- Trade and Commerce:
- Flourishing Trade: Both internal and external trade expanded significantly.
- Routes: Well-established overland routes (e.g., Uttarapatha connecting northwest to Gangetic plains, routes into peninsular India - Dakshinapatha) and riverine routes. Maritime routes extended along the coastline, across the Arabian Sea to East Africa and West Asia (Roman Empire), and across the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia.
- Merchants & Traders: Successful merchants (setthis, satthavahas) organised caravans and trade. Sea traders known as masattuvan in Tamil.
- Goods: Spices (especially pepper), textiles, medicinal plants, precious stones, timber, pottery were major exports. Imports included wine, olive oil, pottery (from Roman Empire), horses (Central Asia), silk (China - though Kushanas controlled parts of the Silk Route).
- Guilds (Shrenis): Organisations of craft producers and merchants. Procured raw materials, regulated production, marketed finished goods, sometimes acted as banks.
- Coinage:
- Punch-marked Coins (c. 6th BCE onwards): Earliest coins, mostly silver and copper. Symbols punched onto metal surfaces; issued by monarchies and merchant guilds. Circulation facilitated trade.
- Indo-Greek Coins (c. 2nd BCE): First coins bearing names and images of rulers. Set a standard.
- Kushana Coins (c. 1st CE): Issued large quantities of gold coins, identical in weight to contemporary Roman coins. Also issued copper coins. Widespread use indicates flourishing trade.
- Gupta Coins: Issued remarkable gold coins (dinaras) known for their purity and artistic merit (depicting rulers, deities). Decline in long-distance trade reflected in fewer gold coins from the 6th century CE onwards.
V. Interpreting the Past: Epigraphy and its Limits
- Decipherment of Scripts:
- James Prinsep: Officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts in the 1830s.
- Brahmi: Script used in most Ashokan inscriptions. Found references to a king called "Piyadassi" (Pleasant to behold). Buddhist texts linked Ashoka with this title, clarifying identities.
- Kharosthi: Used in inscriptions in the northwest. Deciphered with the help of Indo-Greek coins which had names in both Greek and Kharosthi scripts.
- Historical Evidence from Inscriptions:
- Provide valuable information on rulers' names, titles, dates, genealogies, administrative structure, extent of empires, religious beliefs, patronage, land grants, social conditions.
- Limitations of Inscriptions:
- Technical: Letters may be faintly engraved, damaged, or missing. Exact meanings of words can be uncertain.
- Content Bias: Not everything considered politically or economically significant was recorded. Mostly focus on grand, unique events or achievements of elites (kings, religious institutions). Routine agricultural practices, joys and sorrows of common people are rarely mentioned.
- Perspective: Inscriptions reflect the perspective of the person who commissioned them (often rulers). They are usually proclamations or records of achievements/donations, not objective history.
- Survival: Only a fraction of inscriptions produced have survived the ravages of time.
Conclusion:
The period from 600 BCE to 600 CE laid the groundwork for many political, social, and economic patterns in subsequent Indian history. The rise of states, agricultural expansion, vibrant trade networks, diverse urban centres, and the use of coinage and inscriptions fundamentally reshaped the subcontinent. However, we must always critically evaluate our sources, especially inscriptions, acknowledging their inherent limitations while appreciating the invaluable insights they offer.
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs):
-
Which officer, appointed by Ashoka, was responsible for spreading the message of Dhamma?
(a) Rajukas
(b) Amatyas
(c) Dhamma Mahamattas
(d) Samahartas -
The earliest coins issued in India, mostly made of silver and copper, are known as:
(a) Dinaras
(b) Punch-marked coins
(c) Kushana gold coins
(d) Indo-Greek coins -
The Prayaga Prashasti (Allahabad Pillar Inscription) provides a detailed account of the conquests and qualities of which Gupta ruler?
(a) Chandragupta I
(b) Samudragupta
(c) Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya)
(d) Skandagupta -
What was the primary reason for the rise of Magadha as the most powerful Mahajanapada?
(a) Strong naval power
(b) Alliance with Greek invaders
(c) Control over sea trade routes
(d) Strategic location, fertile land, and access to iron resources -
The term gahapati, often found in Pali texts, refers to:
(a) A landless agricultural labourer
(b) The head of a wealthy household controlling land and labour
(c) A Buddhist monk
(d) A city administrator in the Mauryan period -
James Prinsep's major contribution to Indian historical studies was:
(a) Excavating Harappan sites
(b) Translating the Vedas into English
(c) Deciphering the Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts
(d) Writing a comprehensive history of the Mauryan Empire -
Agraharas, frequently mentioned in inscriptions from the early centuries CE, were:
(a) Military outposts
(b) Guilds of merchants
(c) Land grants made, usually to Brahmanas
(d) Royal palaces in provincial capitals -
Which of the following sources provides significant information about the Mauryan administration, particularly the capital city Pataliputra and its military organization, though it survives only in fragments?
(a) Arthashastra
(b) Ashokan Edicts
(c) Indica by Megasthenes
(d) Tamil Sangam Literature -
The Kushana rulers projected their high status and claimed divine affinity by adopting titles like:
(a) Maharajadhiraja
(b) Piyadassi
(c) Devaputra
(d) Satthavaha -
Which agricultural technique significantly boosted rice production in the Ganga valley during this period?
(a) Use of wooden ploughs
(b) Introduction of crop rotation
(c) Construction of large dams
(d) Transplantation of paddy saplings
Answer Key:
- (c) Dhamma Mahamattas
- (b) Punch-marked coins
- (b) Samudragupta
- (d) Strategic location, fertile land, and access to iron resources
- (b) The head of a wealthy household controlling land and labour
- (c) Deciphering the Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts
- (c) Land grants made, usually to Brahmanas
- (c) Indica by Megasthenes
- (c) Devaputra
- (d) Transplantation of paddy saplings
Make sure you revise these notes thoroughly. Understanding the linkages between political structures, economic activities, and social changes is key. Good luck with your preparation!