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BHA VAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY
THE HISTORY AND CULTURE
OF THE
INDIAN PEOPLE
ifiJS
BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN
MUMBAI
* Allahabad * Amritsar * Andheri * Aurangabad Baroda * Belgaum * Bellary * Bharuch * Bharwari
* Bhopal * Bhubaneshwar * Bhusawal * Chandigarh
Agartala * Ahmedabad Bagalkot * Bangalore *
Bhatpara * Bhimavaram Chatrapur (Bhatti Mines) * Chennai * Coimbatore * Dakor * Dehradun * Guntur Guruvayur * Guwahati * Haldia * Hazira * Hosur * Hubli-Dharwad * Hyderabad Indore * Irinjalakuda * Jabalpur * Jaipur * Jalgaon * Jammu Tawi * Jamnagar Jodhpur * Kakinada * Kammam * Kanchipuram * Kannur * Kanpur * Khor * Kochi Kodagu * Kodaikanal * Kodinar * Kodungallur * Kolhapur * Kolkata * Kollam Korba * Kosamba * Kota * Kottayam * Kozhikode * Kurkunta * Kutch * Lucknow Machilipatnam * Madurai * Malkhed * Mangalore * Mankapur * Modipuram Mukundgarh * MUMBAI H.O. * Mysore * Nadiad * Nagercoil * Nagpur * Nasik Noida * Navi Mumbai * New Delhi * Ottappalam * Palakkad * Panchkula * Patna Ponnani * Pune * Puthucode * Raipur * Ramachandrapuram * Ramanattukara Ratangarh * Reddipalayam * Renukoot * Roorkee * Rourkela * Salav * Satna Secunderabad * Serampore * Shimoga * Siliguri * Suchindram * Surat. Tadepalligudam * Thaliparamba * Thirunavaya * Thiruvananthapuram * Thrissur Tirupati * Udipi-Manipal * Ujjain * Valanchery * Varanasi * Visakhapatnam Wadakkancherry * Wardha * Wayanad : Overseas Centres * London'* New York Toronto * Mexico City Lisbon * Durban * Sydney * Singapore * Kuwait.
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The first volume of this history begins with an introductory section dealing with certain general topics bearing upon the history of India as a whole.
Although dealing with the Vedic age, it gives the necessary geological, geographical and biological background before proceeding to the first stage of human activity in India.
the third section is devoted to a general consideration of the Indo- Aryans; the fourth deals with the political history of the period and the remaining sections, with language and literature, political and legal institutions, social and economic conditions, and religion and philosophy.
In short, this volume covers what may be regarded as, the dawn of Hindu Civilization.
The contributors to this volume are:
R. C. Majumdar
K. N. Dikshit
D. N. Wadia
G. P. Majumdar
B. K. Chatterjee
H. D. Sankalia
S. K. Chatterjee
A. D. Pusalkar
B. K. Ghosh
V. M. Apte
M. A. Mahendale
Foreword by Dr. K. M. Munshi
aTTRT'W: sfTcTcfr qrg fepgRT:
Le/ noble thoughts come to us from every side
— Rigveda, I-89-i
BHAVAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY
THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE
VOLUME I
THE VEDIC AGE
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from Public.Resource.Org
https://archive.org/details/vedicageOObhar
BHAVAN’S BOOK UNIVERSITY
THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE
THE VEDIC
AGE
FOREWORD BY
K. M. MUNSHI
B.A., LL.B., D.LITT. LL.D.
President, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
GENERAL EDITOR
R. C. MAJUMDAR
M.A.,PHD., F.A.S., F.B.B.R.A.S.
Ex. Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History Dacca University
Hon, Head of the Department of History Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
ASSISTANT EDITORS
A. D. PUSALKER
M.A., LL.,B., PH.D.
Assistant Director and Head of the Department of Ancient Indian Culture
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
AND
A. K. MAJUMDAR, \i.a., d. phill
Director
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Delhi Kendra
BHARATIYA VIDYA BHAVAN
Kulapati K. M. Munshi Marg Mumbai - 400007
All Rights Reserved
© Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Kulapati K.M.Munshi Marg, Mumbai - 400007
First Edition : 1951
Second Edition : 1952
Third Edition : 1957
Fourth Edition : 1965
Fifth Edition : 1988
Sixth Edition : 1996
Seventh Edition : 2010
Eight Edition : 2015
Ninth Edition : 2017
Price ? 900/-
PRINTED IN INDIA
byAtul GoradiaatSiddhi Printers, 13/14, Bhabha Building, 1 3th Khetwadi Lane, Mumbai 400004 and Published by P.V.Sankarankutty, Joint Director, for Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Kulapati K. M. Munshi Marg, Mumbai - 400007. E-mail: bhavan@bhavans.info Website: http://www.bhavans.info
CONTRIBUTORS
R. C. MAJUMDAR
M.A., PH.D., F.R.A.S.B.
Formerly Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History In the University of Dacca
RAO BAHADUR K. N. DIKSHIT
M.A., F.R.A.S.B.
Formerly Director-General of Archaeology, Government of India
D. N. WADIA
M.A., B.SC., F.O.S., F.R.G.S., FJLA.S.B., F.N.I.
Special Adviser to the Government of India
G. P. MAJUMDAR m.sc., ph.d. (Leeds)
Professor of Botany tn the Presidency College, Calcutta
B. K. CHATTER J I M.sc.
Lecturer in Zoology in the Presidency College , Calcutta
H. D. SANKALIA m.a., ll.b., ph.d. (London)
Professor of History in the Deccan College Post-Graduate and
Research Institute , Poona
S. K. CHATTERJI
M.A., D.L1TT. (LOfldon) F.R.A.S.B.
Khaira Professor of Indian Linguistics and Phonetics in the University of Calcutta
A. D. PUSALKER
M.A., LLB., PH.D.
Assistant Director and Head of the Department of Sanskrit Bharatiya Vldya Bhavan
B. K. GHOSH
d.phjl. (Munich), d.litt. (Paris)
Lecturer in Philology In the University of Calcutta
V. M. APTE m.a., ph.d. (Cantab.)
Professor of Sanskrit in the Karnatak College , Dharwar
M. A. MEHENDALE
M.A., PH.D.
Professor of Sanskrit in S. B. Garda College , Navasarl, Bombay
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FOREWORD
By Dr. K. M. MUNSHI
In the course of my studies I had long felt the inadequacy of our so- called Indian histories. For many years, therefore, I was planning an elaborate history of India in order not only that India’s past might be described by her sons, but also that the world might catch a glimpse of her soul as Indians see it. The Bharatiya Vidya Bha- van, an educational society which I founded in 1938, took over the scheme. It was, however, realized only in 1944, when my generous friend Mr. G. D. Birla, one of India’s foremost industrialists, lent me his co-operation and the support of the Shri Krishnarpan Charity Trust of which he is the Chairman. As a result, the Bharatiya Itihasa Samiti, the Academy of Indian History, was formed with the specific object of preparing this series, now styled The History and Culture of the Indian People.
The Samiti was lucky in securing the services of Dr. R. C. Ma- jumdar, formerly Vice-Chancellor of Dacca University and one of India’s leading historians, as full-time editor, and of Dr. A. D. PusaL ker, a young and promising scholar, Assistant Director of the Bhara- - tiya Vidya Bhavan, as assistant editor. A large number of Indian scholars of repute have lent their co-operation to the scheme. Pro¬ fessor H. G. Rawlinson has been good enough to undertake the task of revising the MS. Messrs. George Allen and Unwin Ltd. rendered my work easy by undertaking its first publication in 1951, despite difficult publishing conditions in England, and have now been good enough to remit the publication rights to the Bhavan. To all of them I owe a deep debt of gratitude which f hasten to acknowledge.
The General Editor in his introduction has given the point of view of the scientific historian, to which category the contributors belong. My own work for the past thirty-five years has lain in the humbler sphere of weaving historical romances afid literary and cul¬ tural studies out of materials so heroically salvaged by Indian and European scholars. As a result I have seen and felt the form, Con¬ tinuity and meaning of India’s past.1 History, as I see it, is being’ consciously lived by Indians. Attempts to complete what has hap¬ pened in the past form no small part of our modern struggle; there is a conscious as well as an unconscious attempt to carry life to per¬ fection, to join the fragments of existence, and to discover the mean¬ ing of the visions which they reveal. It is not enough, therefore, to conserve, record and understand what has happened: it is neces¬ sary also to assess the nature and direction of the momentous forces working through the life of India in order to appreciate the fulfil¬ ment which they seek.
7
THE VEDIC AGE
Some years ago, therefore, I defined the scope of history as follows: 4 ‘To be a history in the true sense of the word, the work must be the story of the people inhabiting a country. It must be a record of their life from age to age presented through the life and achievements of men whose exploits become the beacon lights of tradition; through the characteristic reaction of the people to physi¬ cal and economic conditions; through political changes and vicissi¬ tudes which create the forces and conditions which operate upon life; through characteristic social institutions, beliefs and forms; through literary and artistic achievements; through the movements of thought which from time to time helped or hindered the growth of collective harmony; through those values which the people have accepted or reacted to and which created or shaped their collective will; through efforts of the people to will themselves* into an organic unity. The central purpose of a history must, therefore, be to in¬ vestigate and unfold the values which age after age have inspired the inhabitants of a country to develop their collective will and to express it through the manifold activities of their life. Such a history of India is still to be written.” .
I know the difficulties which beset the path of any enterprise which seeks to write such a history. In the past Indians laid little store by history. Our available sources of information are inade¬ quate, and in so far as they are foreign, are almost invariably taint¬ ed with a bias towards India’s conquerors. Research is meagre and disconnected.
Itihdsa, or legends of the gods, and Purdna, legends of origin, had different spheres in the ancient literary tradition of India. But later., both came to mean the same thing, traditional history. The Kali Yuga, the current Iron Age, was considered too degenerate a period to deserve recording. The past was only cherished as the pattern for the present and the future. Works by ancient Indian authors which throw light on history are few. Religious and lite¬ rary sources like the Purdnas and the Kdvyas have not yet fully yielded up their chronological or historical wealth. Epigraphic re¬ cords, though valuable, leave many periods unrelated.
' Foreign travellers from other countries of Asia and from Eurdpe, like Megasthenes of Greece, Hiuen Tsang of China, Al- Masudi of Arabia, Manucci of Venice, and Bernier from France, have left valuable glimpses of India, but they are the results of superficial observation, though their value in reconstructing the past is immense. Chroniclers in the courts of the Turk, Afghan or the Mughal rulers wrote “histories” which, in spite of the wealth of historical material, are partially legendary and partially lauda¬ tory. The attempts of British scholars, with the exception of Tod, wherever they have taken these “histories” as reliable source-books,
8
FOREWORD
have hindered rather than helped the study of Indian history. Sir H. M. Elliot, the foremost of such scholars, for instance, has translated extracts from Persian and Arabic “histories” with a political objec¬ tive, viz. to make, to use his own words, “the native subjects of British India more sensible of the immense advantages accruing to
them under the mildness and equity of the present rule . ” So
high an authority as Dr. Maulana Nadvi, in his Presidential Address at the “Early Medieval India” Section of the Seventh Session of the Indian History Congress, expressed the verdict of modern scholars, that both the selection and translation of these extracts have not been honest. But unfortunately, Elliot’s volumes became the source-book for most of our modern histories of Medieval India, As a result, they do not present a true picture of India’s past, nor do they explain how Indians resisted the Turk, Afghan and Mughal incursions, how they reacted to the vicissitudes through which in consequence they passed, and how a Renaissance sprang up out of the impact of Indian with Persian and Turkish cultures.
The treatment of the British period in most of our histories is equally defective. It generally reads like an unofficial report of the British conquest and of the benefits derived by India from it. It does not give us the real India; nor does it present a picture of what we saw, felt and suffered, of how we reacted to foreign influ¬ ences, or of the values and organizations we created out of the im¬ pact with the West.
The history of India, as dealt with in most of the works of this kind, naturally, therefore, lacks historical perspective. Unfortu¬ nately for us, during the last two hundred years we had not only to study such histories but unconsciously to mould our whole outlook on life upon them.' Few people realize that, the teaching of such histories in our schools and universities has substantially added to the difficulties which India has had to face during the last hundred years, and never more than during recent years.
Generation after generation, during their school or college career, were told about the successive foreign invasions of the country, but little about how we resisted them and less about our victories. They were taught to decry' the Hindu social system; but they were not told how this system came into existence as a synthesis of political, social, economic and cultural forces; how it developed in the people the tenacity to survive catastrophic changes for millennia; how it protected life and culture in times of difficulty by its conser¬ vative strength and in favourable times developed an elasticity which made ordered progress possible; and how its vitality enabled the national culture to adjust its central ideas to new conditions.
Readers were regaled with Alexander’s short-lived and unfruc- tuous invasion of India; they were left in ignorance of the magni-
9
THE VEDIC AGE
iicent empire and still more enduring culture which the Gangetic Valley had built up at the time. Lurid details of intrigues in the palaces of the Sultans of Delhi — often a camp of bloodthirsty inva¬ ders — are given, but little light is thrown on the exploits of the race of heroes and heroines who for centuries resisted the Central Asiatic barbarians when they flung themselves on this land in successive waves. Gruesome stories of Muslim atrocities are narrated, but the harmony which was evolved in social and economic life between the two communities remains unnoticed. The Mutiny of 1857 — the Bri¬ tish name for the Great National Revolt— -gave the readers a glimpse of how the brave foreigner crushed India; it is only outside the so-called historical studies that the reader found how at the time patriotic men of all communities in most parts of India rallied round the last Mughal Emperor of Delhi, the national symbol, to drive out the hated foreigner.
The multiplicity of our languages and communities is widely advertised, but little emphasis is laid on certain facts which make India what she is. Throughout the last two millennia, there was linguistic unity Some sort of a lingua franca was used by a very large part of the country; and Sanskrit, for a thousand years the language of royal courts and at all times the language of culture, was predominant, influencing life, language, and literature in most provinces. For over three thousand years, social and family life had been moulded or influenced by the Dharma-Sdstra texts, con¬ taining a comprehensive code of personal law, which, though adapt¬ ed from time to time to suit every age and province, provided a continuous unifying social force. Aryan, or rather Hindu culture (for there was considerable Dravidian influence) drew its inspira¬ tion in every successive generation from Sanskrit works on religion, philosophy, ritual, law and science, and particularly the two epics, the Mahubharata and Rdmdyana, and the Bhagavata, underwent recensions from time to time, and became the one irresistible creative force which has shaped the collective spirit of the people. Age after age the best of Indians, from the mythical Vasishtha to the. modem Gandhlji, found self-fulfilment in living up to an ideal of conduct in accordance with a code of life which may be traced back as far as the Upanishads.
The# British conquest and the benefits of British rule are gene¬ rally described in histories in “Rudyard Kipling” style. The im¬ pact of western culture, however, came in the wake of the British connection. In our histories we completely lose sight of how this impact awoke the sleeping giant to a consciousness of its ancient strength and modern possibilities; how under the influence of European ideas and British democratic traditions, the Collective Spirit, without losing its grip over the essentials of its culture, adjusted itself to modern conditions, creating new intellectual
10
FOREWORD
and artistic movements and making the democratic traditions of Great Britain its own; how, under the European concept of nationa¬ lism Arya-Dharma (Indian Culture) slowly broadened out into a powerful neo-nationalism seeking a secular democratic state, Indian in conception and technique.
The older school of historians believed that imperialism of the militaristic political type was unfamiliar to this “mystic land.” But the Aryan conquest of India, which forms the subject matter of Vol. I of this series, was as much militaristic-political as religious and •cultural. If instead of treating by dynasties, stress is laid on the rise and fall of Imperial power, Magadhan sovereignty and Sata- vahana imperialism from .600 B.C. to A.D. 320 (Vol. II) were, for the age, outstanding phenomena. If the territory involved, the population affected, and the heroism and power of organization displayed and the cultural activities pursued are taken into account, the Classical- Age, A.D. 320-750 (Vol. Ill), which saw the empire of the Guptas and of Sri Harsha, was one of the culminating points in history. The age between A.D. 750-1000 (Vol. IV) saw the empire of the Pratih aras, the Rashtrakutas and the Palas. Between A.D. 1000 and 1300 (Vol. V), the Paramlaras and the Cholas founded em¬ pires; different states struggled for imperial power; the barbarian in¬ roads from Central Asia rendered all indigenous efforts at consoli¬ dation unfruitful.
The rise of the Turkish Power under Ala-ud-din Khiljl found¬ ed a new and powerful imperialism, the Sultanate of Delhi, which lasted from 1300 to 1526 (Vol. VI). From A.D. 1526-1707 the Mughals held sway at Delhi (Vol. VII) when the world witnessed one of the most magnificent empires of all time. The Maratha supremacy, which lasted from 1707-1818 (Vo\. VIII), brought about the downfall of the Mughal Empire, but before it could consolidate its power, the British stepped in. British domination from 1818-1947 (Vols. IX and X) was a period of complete subjection; but it saw the national resurgence which, on August 15, 1947, under Mahatma Gandhi, secured freedom by non-violent means. It also saw the birth of a Renaissance which gave fresh vitality to all that India stood for in history. These militaristic-political movements in India were in no wise less vigorous or worldly than similar movements in other parts of the world in the corresponding age. To say that the country was lost in contemplation all the time would be to ignore the salient facts of history.
The role of alien invasions in the history of India, hitherto exag¬ gerated, deserves to be reduced to its appropriate proportions. India, like most other countries, has had its foreign incursions, which, like Mahmud of Ghazni’s raids between A.D. 999 and 1024, glittering episodes from the raiders’ point of view, were at best only shaping
11
THE VEDIC AGE
influences. Of foreign conquests, which changed the coytrse of history and the texture of life and culture, there were only three. First, the Aryan conquests in pre-historic times, which wove the essential pattern of national life and culture. Second, the Turko- Afghan conquests, which introduced Islamic influence into India and added new colours to the pattern of life. These conquests, however, soon lost their character of foreign military occupation, for the conquerors threw in their lot with the country and produc¬ ed some of its best rulers and its most powerful political organiza¬ tions. This so-called Muslim period, scientifically the Turko-Mu- ghal period, dominated the country for about four centuries rough¬ ly from A.D. 1300 to 1700. Third, the British occupation from 1818-1947, perhaps the only period of foreign rule in the sense that the country was governed essentially by foreigners from a foreign country and in foreign interests. It brought in its wake contact with Europe, a new awakening and a new cultural synthesis.
But during all this period the vitality of the race and culture, altered from time to time in direction and objective, expressed itself with unabated vigour in resistance movements, military, political, and cultural. The History of India is not the story of how she un¬ derwent foreign invasions, but how she resisted them and eventual¬ ly triumphed over them. Traditions of modern historical research founded by British scholars of repute were unfortunately coloured by their attitude towards ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, which have a dead past and are, in a sense, museum exhibits. A post¬ mortem examination of Indian past would be scientifically inaccu¬ rate; for every period of Indian History is no more than an expres¬ sion in a limited period of all the life forces and dominant ideas created and preserved by the national culture, which are rushing forward at every moment through time. The modern historian of India must approach her as a living entjty with a central continuous urge, of which the apparent life is a mere expression. Without such an outlook it is impossible to understand India, which, though a part of it has seceded in search of an independent existence, stands today three hundred and fifty million strong, with a new apparatus of state, determined not to be untrue to its ancient self, and yet to be equal to the highest demands of modern life.
12
CONTENTS
Page
Foreword by K. M • Munshi 7
Preface by R. C. Majumdar 23
Abbreviations 31
BOOK I. INTRODUCTION
I. Indian History, its nature, scope and method 37
by R. C. Majumdar , m.a., ph.d., f.r.a.s.b.
Formerly Vice-Chancellor and Professor of History in the University of Dacca
II. Sources of Indian History 47
by R. C. Majumdar ,
1. Ancient Period- A — Literary Sources. B — Archaeology (I. Inscriptions. II. Numismatics-
III. Monuments). C— Foreign Accounts (Greek Writers. Chinese Travellers. Arab Writers)
2. Mediaeval Period
3. Modern Period
III. Archaeological Explorations and excavations . 66
by the late Rao Bahadur K. N. Dikshit, m.a., f.r.a.s.b.
Formerly Director General of Archaeology, Govern¬ ment of India.
Decipherment of the Brahml Script. Begin¬ nings of Archaeological Survey. Establishment of Archaeological Department. Regular and Syste¬ matic Excavations (Mohenjo-daro, Punjab and N.W.F.P., Kashmir, United Provinces, Bengal) Prehistoric remains in Gujarat (Bombay, Mysore, Madras). Explorations in Greater India
IV. The Geological Background of Indian History 80
by D, N. Wadia, m.a., b.sc., f.g.s., f. r.g.s., f.r.a.s.b., f.n.i. Special Adviser to the Government -of India
1 . The Setting of the Stage for Early Man in India
2. The Indo-Gangetic Alluvium of the Plains of North India
3 . Human cave-dwellers of India: Their animal contemporaries
4 . Laterite cap of the Peninsula and Soil Deposits
5. Changes in the River Systems of North India during the human epoch
6. The Great Prehistoric River of Northern India
7. The Deserts of Western India: The Rann of Cutch
8. The meteorological influence of the Himalaya Mountains
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
13
9.
THE VEDIC AGE
10. Late earth-movements and local Alterations of level
V. The Geographical Background of Indian History by R. C. Majumdar
1 . Physical Features (I. The great mountain wall.
II. The Plain of Hindustan. III. The Plateau: A — The Deccan Plateau, B — The Coastal Region, C — The Central Indian Plateau).
2. Influence of Geography upon History. Division into several political and cultural units. India, a distinct geographical unit. Effect of physical features. Indian Colonization. Effect of climate
VI. Flora and Fauna Part I. The Flora
by G- P. Majumdar , m.sc., ph.d. (leeds)
Professor of Botany in the Presidency College, Cal¬ cutta
1. Forest Vegetation; its types
2. Freshwater Vegetation *
3 . Cultivated Vegetation
Part II. The Fauna by B. K. Chatterji, m.sc.
Lecturer in Zoology in the Presidency College, Cal¬ cutta
1. The Vertebrates. Mammals. Birds. Reptiles. Batrachians. Fishes. Lower Chordates
2. The Invertebrates. Molluscs. Arthropods. Echi- noderms
BOOK II. THE PREHISTORIC AGE
VII. Palaeolithic, Neolithic And Copper Ages by H. D. Sankalia, m.a., ll.b., ph.d, (London)
Professor of History in the Deccan College Post- Graduate and Research Institute, Poona.
1 . Palaeolithic Age (I. First Inter-Glacial Age. II. Second Inter-Glacial Age and Early Soan In¬ dustry. III. Third Ice Age and Late Soan In¬ dustry. IV. Third Inter-Glacial Age; Chauntra Industry. V- Fourth Ice Age Tools).
2 . Mesolithic Age.
3 . Neolithic Age.
4. Copper and Bronze Age.
5 . Iron Age
VIII. Race-Movements and Prehistoric Culture
by S. K. Chatterji , m.a., d.litt. (London), f.r.a.s.b.
Khaira Professor of Indian Linguistics and Phone¬ tics in the University of Calcutta.
14
CONTENTS
Page
Six main races with sub-types. Evolution of Com¬ mon Indian Culture. Contribution of (a) the Neg¬ roid or Negrito, (b) the Proto-Australoids, (c) Dra- vidian-speakers. Synthesis of the Aryan and non- Aryan Culture.
IX. The Indus Valley Civilization 172
by A . D. Pusalker, m.a., ll.b., ph.d.
Assistant Director and Head of the Department of Sanskrit, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
1. The Town (Buildings. Drainage- The Great Bath) .
2. Social and Economic Life (Food. Animals- Dress. Ornaments. Toilet Articles. Household Utensils. Games. Conveyance. Weight and Linear Measures. Medicine. Weapons, Tools, and Implements. Trade and Commerce. Classes of People).
3. Arts, Crafts, and Industries (Figures. Seal- engravings. Statues. Spinning and Weaving. Pottery. Seals- Precious Stones and Metals.
Shell, Ivory, and Faience).
4. Religion (Mother Goddess. Siva. Animal Wor¬ ship. Worship of Tree, Fire, and Water)
5 . Funerary Customs
6. The Indus Script
7 . The Antiquity of the Culture
8 . Authors of the Indus Civilization
9. Extent, Connections, and Survivals of the Indus Civilization
BOOK III THE ARYANS IN INDIA
X. The Aryan Problem 205
by B. K. Ghosh, d.phll., (Munich), d.litt. (Paris)
Lecturer in Philology in the University of Calcutta
Original home of the Indo-Europeans. Earliest trace of the Indo-Iranians. Lithuanian, the most archaic of Indo-European Languages. No case for original home in Europe. Scandinavia not the original home. Tripolje culture. Brandenstein’s theory of the Original Home. Relation between Indo-Euro¬ pean and non-Indo-European languages Appendix — India, the original home of the Aryans by S. Srikanta Sastri , Professor Maharaja’s College, Mysore
XI. Indo-Iranian Relations 222
by B • K. Ghosh
Cleavage between the Aryans of India and Iran. Antagonism between the Worshippers of Daiva- gods and Asura-gods. Reforms of Zarathustra. Pre-
15
THE VEDIC AGE
Page
Zarathustra Iranian Culture essentially the Same as Vedic
XII. Vedic Literature — General View 229
by B. K. Ghosh
1. The Saihhitas (I. Rigveda. II. Samaveda. III-
Yajurveda. IV. Atharvaveda).
2. The Brahmanas
9
3 . The Srauta-sutras
XIII. Aryan Settlements in India 245
by A. D. Pusalker
1 . Geographical Names in the Ttf gveda
2. The Tribes in the Higveda
3. The Period of the Later Samhitas, Brahmanas, Upanishads and Sutras (I. Geographical Names. II. The Tribes)
BOOK IV. HISTORICAL TRADITIONS
XIV. Traditional History from the Earliest Time to the
Accession of Parlkshit 271
*
by A. D. Pusalker
1 . Sources of Information
2 . Chronological Scheme of Traditional History according to the Puranas
3. Pre-Flood Traditions and Dawn of History
4. Flood and Manu Vaivasvata c. 3100 B.C.
5. Yayati Period (c. 3000-2750 B.C.) (L The Lunar Dynasty. II. The Solar Dynasty. III. Brah¬ mana Families)
6. Mandhatri Period (c. 2750-2550 B.C.) (I- The Solar Dynasty. II. The Lunar Dynasty)
7. Parasurama Period (c. 2550-2350 B.C.) (I. The Bhrigus. II- The Haihayas. III. Other Lunar Dynasties. IV. The Solar Dynasty; V. Brahmana Families)
8. Ramachandra Period (c. 2350-1950 B C.) (I. The Solar Dynasty. II- The Lunar Dynasty. III. Brahmana Families)
9. Krishna Period (c. 1950-1400 B.C.) (F. The Panchalas. II. The Pauravas III. The Yadavas.
IV. The Eastern Anavas, V. The Solar Dynasty)
10. The Bharata War (c. 1400 B.C ) (I. The Kaura- vas and Pantfavas. II. The Bharata War)
11. Comparative Value of the Vedas and the Pura¬ nas as Sources of Traditional History
12. The Expansion of the Aryans and Aryan Cul¬ ture
Appendix I : Development of different dy¬ nasties
Appendix II : Genealogical Tables
16
CONTENTS
Page
XV. Traditional History from the Accession of.Parlkshit
to the end of the Barhadratha Dynasty 323
by A. D . Pusalkcr
1. The Pauravas
2. The Kosalas
3 . Magadha
4. Other Kingdoms
BOOK V. THE AGE OF THE RIK-SAMHITA
XVI. Language and Literature 337
by B. K. Ghosh
1 . Language (Not homogeneous. Artificial. Re¬ handling of original texts. The Verbal system- Tenth Mannjala distinctly later)
2. Literature (Yaska’s classification of Vedic hymns not quite satisfactory. Hymn to Ushas.
Spirit of the hymns. Hymn to Parjanya. Mar¬ tial hymns. Dialogue-hymns. Frog-hymn- Danastuti. Apri-hymns. Funeral-hjmns. Philo¬ sophical hymns)
XVII. Political and Legal Institutions 355
by V. M. Apte, m.a., ph.d. (cantab)
Professor of Sanskrit in the Karnatak College, Dharwar
1 . Political Institutions (Monarchy. Sabhd and Samiti . Purohita)
2. Administrative. Organization (Grama)
3. Law and Legal Institutions (Individual owner¬ ship of Land)
XVIII. Religion and Philosophy 363
by V. M. Apte
1 . Mythology (I. Origin. II- The Nature and Classi¬ fication of Gods. III. The Celestial Gods- IV. The Atmospheric Gods. V- The Terrestrial Gods)
2 . Sacrifice
3 . Philosophy
4. Ethical and Spiritual Thought
XIX. Social and Economic Conditions 387
by V . M. Apte
1 . Social Condition (I. Family Lifei II. The Caste System. Ill- Marriage and the Position of Women. IV. Education. V. Amusements and Entertainments. VI. Food and Drink- VII. Dress and Decoration. VIII. Knowledge of Medicine and Sanitation)
2. Economic Condition (I. Agriculture and Cattle.
II. Trade and Commerce. III. Occupations and Industries. IV. House-building and Means of Transport, etc.)
17
THE VEDIC AGE
Page
BOOK VI. THE AGE OF THE LATER SAMHITAS
XX. Language and Literature 407
by B. K . Ghosh (Section 4 by V- M. Apte)
1. The Language of the Samhitas (I. Samaveda- II. Yajurveda. III. Atharvaveda)
2 . The Samhita Literature (I. Atharvaveda, Arro¬ gance of the Brahmanas, Coronation hymn, Bhumi-sukta, the National Anthem of Vedic India, Magic and Charms, Hymn to Vanina- II. Yajurveda)
3. The Brahmanas (I. Language. II. Literature)
4. The Aranyakas
XXI. Political and Legal Institutions 429
by V . M. Apte
1. Political Theory (Origin of Kingship. Growth oi royal power- Sabha and Samiti)
2. Administrative Organization (Royal Officials. Taxation)
3. Law and Legal Institutions (Evidence. Crimi¬ nal law. Civil law. Civil procedure- Owner¬ ship of Land)
XXII. Religion and Philosophy 442
by V. M. Apte
1 . Atharvaveda (Magic Formulae. Philosophical hymns)
2. The Skmaveda and the Yajurveda Samhitas and the Brahmanas (Grand Sacrifices- Groups of priests. The Gods. Ethical Ideas- The con¬ ception of Heaven and Hell. The Circuit of Birth and Death)
3 . The Aranyakas
XXIII. Social and Economic Conditions 453
by V. M. Apte
1. Social Condition (I. Family Life. II- The Caste System. III. Marriage and the Position of Women. IV. Education. V. Amusements and Entertainments. VI. Food and Drink. VII.
Dress and Decoration. VIII. Knowledge of Medicine)
2. Economic Condition (I. Agriculture and Cattle.
II. Trade and Commerce. III. Occupations and Industries. IV- House-Building and Means of Transport)
BOOK VII. THE AGE OF THE UPA NISH ADS AND SUTRAS
XXIV. Language and Literature 471
by M- A. Mehendale m.a., ph.i>.
Professor of Sanskrit in S. B. Garda College. Nava- sari, Bombay
18
CONTENTS
Page
1 . The Upanishads (Chronological classification. Composed mainly by the Kshatriyas. Prin¬ cipal teachings. The doctrines of Atman and Brahman. Transmigration)
2. The Sutras (I. Siksha. II. Kalpa. Srauta-sutra. Grihya-sutra. Dharma-sutra. Sulva-sutra. Date of the Kalpa-sutra. texts. III. Vyakaraija.
IV. Nirukta. V. Chhandas. VI. Jyotisha)
3. Language (I- The Upanishads. II. The Sutras)
XXV. Political and Legal Institutions 487
by V. M. Apte
1 . Political Theory (Principle of Dharma. Life and duty of king. Position of the Brahmana in the State. Parishad)
2. Administrative Organization (Taxation. Vil¬ lage)
3. Law and Legal Institutions (Beginnings of Civil and Criminal Law. Judicial tribunals. Punishments. Rules of Inheritance. Title to Property. Rate of Interest)
XXVI. Religion and Philosophy 498
by V. M. Apte
1 . The Upanishads (Protest against ritual. Identity of Brahman and Atman. Prana. The transmigration of the soul. Ethical concepts. Fundamental doctrines)
2. The Sutras (The Srauta sacrifices. The Grihya ritual. Meaning and nature of sacrifice. Diffe¬ rent classes of priests. Magic and ritual^. Ethi¬ cal concepts)
XXVII. Social and Economic Conditions 512
by V. M. Apte
1. Social Condition (I. Family Life. II. The Caste System. III. Marriage and the Position of Women. IV. Education. V. Manners and Morals,
Habits and Customs. VI. Amusements and Entertainments. VII. Food and Drink. VIII.
Dress and Decoration. IX. Health and Hygiene)
2. Economic Condition (I. Agriculture and Cattle. II. Trade and Commerce, Arts and In¬ dustries. Ill- House-building and Means of Transport)
|
Bibliographies |
533 |
|
Appendix |
549 |
|
Index |
554 |
19
'
.
. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
between pages 176 and 177
PLATE
I. Corbelled Drain, Mohenjo-daro
II. Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro
III. Jewellery — Necklaces, Mohenjo-daro
IV. Personal Ornaments, Mohenjo-daro
V. Arts and Crafts, Mohenjo-daro
VI. Statuary, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
VII . Seals, Mohenjo-daro
VIII. fl) Fractional Burial, Mohenjo-daro (2) Model Animal, Mohenjo-daro
MAPS AND PLANS
%
1 . Map of India, showing types of Forest Vegetation and Botanical Regions of India page
2. Prehistoric and Vedic India page
. <£
V
PREFACE
by R. C. Majumdar, M.A.. PH.D., F.R.A.S.B.
The genesis of this work and its scope and nature have been explained in the Foreword. But it is necessary to add a few words about its general planning. After having decided that the work would consist of ten volumes of approximately five hundred pages each, it was not an easy task to distribute the subject-matter among them on a basis which would be both equitable and rational- It has been hitherto customary to divide Indian history into the Hindu, Muslim and British periods, and assign equal space to each. The Cambridge History of India has set its seal of approval/ upon this plan, which has also been adopted by the Indian History Congress for its projected history of India. But it can hardly be regarded as equitable. Looking at the matter from a broad standpoint, it would be difficult to maintain that the 4,000 years of pre-Muslim India, of the history and culture of which we posses a definite know¬ ledge, though in brief outline, should rank in importance as equal with that of the Muslim period of about 400 or 500 years, or the British period of less than 200 years. It is true that we possess more historical material for the later ages, but if we are to judge by that standard alone, the British period should have twice or thrice the number of volumes assigned to the Musliih period. After all, the contribution of different ages to the evolution of national history and culture should be the main criterion of their relative importance, though the space devoted to each should also be largely determined by the amount of historical material available- There is, no doubt, a dearth of material for the political history of ancient India, but this is to a large extent made up for by the corresponding abundance for the cultural side. Taking everything into consideration we have modified the hitherto -accepted plan, and have allotted nearly half of the entire work to the Hindu period.
Some difference will also be noticed in our conception of the beginning and end of the Muslim period. It is usual to regard the accession of Qutb-ud-din to the throne of Delhi in A.D- 1206 as the commencement of this period, and some historians even include within it the period of Ghazni vite supremacy in the Punjab two centuries earlier. It should be remembered, however, that the major part of India remained under Hindu rule almost throughout the thirteenth century A.D. and the same was also largely true of the century following the death of Aurangzeb. To include these two centuries under the Muslim period can therefore be hardly re¬ garded as historically accurate.
These difficulties can best be overcome by avoiding altogether
23
THE VEDIC AGE
the terms Hindu and Muslim. As a matter of fact, one may rightly question the reasonableness of designating historical periods by the religious denomination of the ruling dynasties* In that case, in order to be consistent, we should style the third period of Indian his¬ tory Christian rather than British. This is sufficient to demonstrate the absurdity of the present system of nomenclature, deep-rooted though it has become. We have accordingly divided Indian history into three chronological periods— Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern — which are generally adopted for the history of Europe.
In the case Of Europe, the overthrow of the Western Homan Empire by the irruption of barbarian hordes, which brought about the disappearance of classical learning, is taken to be the dividing line between Ancient and Mediaeval periods. In the case of India, there is no general agreement on this subject, but the onslaught of Islam, accompanied by a marked decadence of culture and the dis¬ appearance of the creative spirit in art and literature, seems to mark A.D. 1000 as the beginning of the Mediaeval Age.
The decline of the Mughal Empire and the growing power of the European nations in Indian politics may be reasonably regarded as marking the end of one and the beginning of another epoch in Indian history, and hence the eighteenth century has been taken as the commencement of the Modem Period. In Europe the Modern Period dates from the overthrow of the Eastern Roman Empire and the subversion of the age of faith and tradition by the awaken¬ ing of humanism through the agency of the revival of classical learning. On this analogy one might be inclined to include the eighteenth century within the Mediaeval rather than the Modern period. But the political considerations referred to above, especially the establishment of the British power on a solid basis, are strong arguments in favour of dating the beginning of the Modern Period from the eighteenth century rather than the nineteenth.
For reasons given above, neither the thirteenth nor the eigh¬ teenth century A.D* has been included within what is usually des¬ cribed as the Muslim Period. The first is taken as a part of a long period of protracted struggle for political supremacy, both between the Indians and foreign invaders and among the Indians themselves, which ultimately ended in the next century in favour of the Khiljls. So far as the eighteenth century is concerned there is no doubt that the Mara{has were the leading political power in India. These two volumes have been styled accordingly.
So far by way of explanation of the general division into three broad periods — Ancient, Mediaeval, and Modern — and the titles given to Volumes V and VIII, which mark a great departure from current practice- It must be remembered,^ however, that while specific dates had to be assigned to each volume for the sake of pre-
24
PREFACE
cision and accuracy, they should not be strictly equated with the title given to it. The period of Maratha supremacy, for example, cannot be said to cover exactly the years A.D. 1707 to 1818, but nevertheless these have been taken to be the limiting dates of Volume VIII, which bears that title, because they mark definite events of great importance connected with the central theme, viz. the death of Aurangzeb which facilitated the growth of Maratha power, and the Third Maratha War which put an end to the Maratha
supremacy.
The same is more or less true of the other volumes and the justification for the titles and dates will be discussed in the preface of each. For the present we may confine our attention to the pre¬ sent volume. Although it is entitled the Vedic Age it begins from the dawn of human activity in India, so far as it is known to us. Being the first volume of the series, it contains an introductory section dealing with certain general topics bearing upon the history of India as a whole. As there are some special characteristics which distinguish Indian history from that of other countries, it has been thought desirable to explain at the very outset its meaning and methods of approach as well as the nature of the material from which it has been reconstructed. The first three chapters have been de¬ voted to this subject. The next three deal with the background of Indian history, geological, geographical and biological. “ These chap¬ ters, particularly the first and third, may appear too technical for the historical student, and some may even regard them as too ela¬ borate for a treatise on history at all. But a knowledge of these topics is essential for a proper understanding of the evolution of Indian culture, and being written by acknowledged experts, these two chapters, it may be hoped, will place at the disposal of the reader adequate information on difficult but relevant subjects, which it would not be possible for them to acquire except by the patient study of bulky volumes of a highly technical nature, which
few would be disposed to undertake.
The next section, which may be regarded as the beginning of history proper, deals with the period before the Vedic Aryans settled in this country. This, however, involves certain assumptions which are not unanimously accepted- Some scholars hold the view that India was the original home of these Aryans, and that there cannot be any question of their immigration into this country. Some have referred the Aryans to such hoary antiquity — tens of thousands of years ago according to more than one theory— that there can be no question of any historical period prior to them.
Similarly there is a divergence of opinion regarding the question whether the Indus valley civilization was pre-Aryan or post-Vedic. In the present state of our knowledge no dogmatic answer can be
25
THE VEDIC AGE
given to these questions, and there is no theory that is likely to meet with general acceptance. Even our own contributors do not agree on these points. Dr. Pusalker, who has written on the Indus Valley Civilization, is inclined to regard it as not fundamentally different from the Aryan, and possibly posterior to Rigvedic culture, while Dr. B. K. Ghosh and Dr. S. K. Chatterji, who have written on the Aryan and pre-Aryan peoples, take the opposite view. Such differences are inevitable in a co-operative undertaking of this kind. It has not been thought advisable to suppress these individual view-points, but cross-references have been given in order to impress upon the readers that such questions do admit of different answers and to enable them to judge for themselves the cogency of the arguments on which different theories are based.
It has been the constant attempt of the Editor, by free and frank discussions, to reconcile the different points of view as far as practi¬ cable, and where complete agreement was unattainable, to have them presented in a manner which would convey the impression that they are not dogmatic assertions of contradictory views, but alternative solutions, each equally valid, of the problem concerned. Beyond that the Editor did not choose to go, by way of forcing a definite solution of an admittedly controversial problem. It has been thought better to risk even a seeming inconsistency among the different parts of the book rather than convey a false idea of a general agreement of views where no such unanimity really exists, or is possible under the present circumstances.
The third section is devoted to a general consideration of the Indo- Aryans. It begins with a detailed discussion of the chief problems concerning them, viz. their original home, the date and route of their immigration into India, the antiquity of their chief literary production, the Rigveda, and their relations with the Ira¬ nians with whom they must have lived in close and intimate contact long after their separation from the other branches of the Indo- European family. These are some of the most intriguing problems on which opinions differ widely, and an attempt has been made to present the different viewpoints, with emphasis on the one which appears to be most reasonable in the light of the evidence available to 11S4 Although few scholars today believe India to be the original home of the Aryans, this theory has naturally a sentimental appeal to Indians, and has therefore been discussed in some detail in an Appendix to Chapter X.
The fourth section deals with the political history of the period. It has been customary hitherto to rely for such knowledge only on the few scattered historical notices contained in the Rigveda . Par- giter’s attempt to reconstruct a continuous historical narrative from the data, particularly the royal genealogies, contained in the Pura- ijas and the Epics, has been systematically ignored in historical
26
PREFACE
works, even in the comprehensive Cambridge History of India • But, in spite of obvious shortcomings, Pargiter’s theories cannot be altogether discarded even on their merits, and the fact remains that they offer the only fair basis on which the ancient political history of India can be built up. So instead of being content to glean a few isolated facts from the Riigveda , as has hitherto been done, we have tried to trace a brief outline of the traditional history of early India on the lines laid down by Pargiter. This must not, of course, be confused with history proper, but it possesses none the less great value of its own, both as a tangible framework for connecting a number of well-authenticated facts, and as a basis for further in¬ vestigation of our historical knowledge of this obscure period. Par¬ giter has at least successfully demonstrated that it is a mistake to regard such great historical figures of antiquity as Puru, Mandhata, Nahusha, Yayati, Kartavlrya Arjuna, etc., as mere fanciful and mythological names, and any theory which gives them some sort of historical setting cannot but be regarded as of great value to students of Indian history.
In spite of the limitations of our knowledge of. the political history of the period, there can be no doubt that its chief interest and importance lie in the picture of culture and civilization offered by the vast .field of Vedic literature. Whereas everything else is but vaguely known, we possess nearly full information about the growth and gradual evolution of the Indian civilization from the well-marked stratification of the mass of literature, collectively known as the Vedas. It is also a matter of general knowledge that this civilization is the common basis on which succeeding generations of diverse races and localities have built up the imposing structure known as the Hindu civilization. This would explain why this volume has been entitled The Vedic Age , and detailed study has been made of it in three different sections, corresponding to the three well-marked stages of the evolution of Vedic literature.
There is a general agreement among scholars about the chrono¬ logical sequence of Vedic literature: the Rik-Samhita representing the earliest stage, the other Saihhitas and Brahmanas the next, and the Upanishads and Sutras the concluding one. But while these chronological divisions are, broadly speaking, accurate, it is to be noted that they are to some extent overlapping, and it is difficult to draw an absolutely rigid line of demarcation between them. It is likely, for example, that some portions of the Atharva-Samhitd are as old as, if not older than, portions of the Rik-Samhita, and some of the oldest Upanishads certainly reach back to the Brahmana period. Nevertheless the general outlook of the three different categories of literature is sufficiently distinct to label them as be¬ longing to three successive chronological periods, and they have been dealt with accordingly in three separate sections.
27
It is, however, a difficult problem to assign definite dates to the three literary stages of the Vedic period. In spite of extravagant theories about the antiquity of the Rik-Samhita , the view that it received its present form about 1000 B.C. has much to commend itself. Though mainly based on philological grounds, as enunciated in Chapter XII, this theory finds unexpected support even from Indian traditions. For some of the kings referred to in the Hik- Samhita seem to be identical with those mentioned in the royal genealogies and occupying a low place in the dynastic list. Further, as Pargiter has pointed out, “the Epic and Puranic tradition unani¬ mously and repeatedly declares that the Veda was arranged by Vyasa,” who flourished about the time of the Bharata War, which has been dated between 1500 and 1000 B.C. by .many scholars.
Whatever we might think of this date, it is important to remember
%
that along with the doctrine that “the Veda is eternal and everlast¬ ing,’* there are also ancient traditions to the effect that it was com¬ piled by Vvasa not long before the great Bharata War. The view that dates the Rik-Samhita , in its present form . to about 1000 B C.. cannot therefore be regarded as absolutely wide of the mark and altogether Without any basis of support in Indian tradition, put it must be remembered that although the Rik-Samhita might have received its final shape in about 1000 B.C., some of its contents arc much older, and go back certainly to 1500 B.C.. and not improbably even to a much earlier date.
There is no doubt whatsoever that the oldest Upanishads are pre- Buddhist, and some of them at any rate belonged to the seventh century B.C-, if not earlier still. The later Samhitas and Brahmanas accordingly may be placed, generally speaking, in the ninth and eighth centuries B.C. These dates are of course only provisional and are set down here as merely working hypotheses.'
No precise date can be assigned to the end of the Vedic Age. for the Sutras and Upanishads, representing the last stage of Vedic literature, contain texts of varying antiquity. While, as mentioned above,- some of them are probably as old as the seventh century B.C., if not older still, others are probably as late as the third or fourth century B.C. Although, therefore, the Vedic Age cannot be regarded, strictly speaking, as having come to an end in 600 B.C. with which this volume closes, this date has been selected mainly for two reasons. In the first place, the sixth century B.C. saw the rise of Buddhism, Jainism, and other religious sects heralding that Protestant movement which was destined to bring to an end the unquestioned supremacy of Vedic religion and culture* Se¬ condly, our knowledge of political history becomes more precise and definite from the sixth century B.C.. and we can clearly perceive how the stage was gradually set for the rise of the great Magadha
28
PREFACE
empire which constitutes the most distinguishing feature of the succeeding period.
Although the age of the Sutras and Upanishads extends beyond 600 B.C., culturally it is a direct offshoot and a continuation of the earlier Vedic^ civilization, . and reflects no special characteristic of the later era, such as we find in the Epics, Puranas, or Buddhist and Jaina literature. It has, therefore, been included in the volume dealing with the Vedic Age even in disregard of the strict limitations of chronology.
This volume attempts a picture of what may be regarded as the dawn of Hindu civilization. To continue this metaphor, we may say that the next two volumes reflect its full morning glory and noonday splendour; in the fourth volume we come across the sha¬ dows of the declining day, while dusk sets in with the fifth. Then follows the darkness of the long night, so far as Hindu civilization is concerned, a darkness which envelops it even now- This gives a broad idea of the distribution of the first five volumes of this series,
The Editor takes this opportunity of offering his sincere thanks to the contributors of this volume for their hearty co-operation, and to Professor H.G- Rawlinson for having kindly revised the MS.
He notes with great regret that one of the contributors, Rao Bahadur K. N. Dikshit, late Director-General of Archaeology, Gov¬ ernment of India, passed away while the book was in the press, and takes this opportunity to convey his condolence to the bereaved family. His death has been a serious loss to Indian Archaeology.
The Department of Archaeology, Government of India, has kindly supplied us with photographs for which we express our hearty thanks to the authorities.
Some amount of repetition or overlapping is inevitable in a book of this kind where different authors deal with literature and the philosophical, religious, and social ideas .mainly derived from it, and where the different chapters are closely related to one another.
The system of transliteration adopted in this volume is that followed in the Epigraphia Indica. The geographical names have been spelt as in the Imperial Gazetteer, with a few exceptions such as “Krishna” for “Kistna,” “Narmada” for “Narbada.” Diacritical marks have not been used, as a rule, in geographical names and oriental words with an English suffix (Puranic, Rigvedic, Brahma- nical, etc ) except to indicate ^the long a sound (a). In the word Aryan, however, the a has not been lengthened as it may now be regarded as almost a naturalized "English word.
In addition to fobtnotes, general references have been added at the beginning of some chapters in order to vindicate books or articles in periodicals which have been extensively used or frequently referred to in the body of the text. No footnotes have been given
29
THE VEDIC AGE
in Chapter II as all the works cited therein will be dealt with in detail in subsequent chapters.
A Bibliography has been added for the convenience of those readers who wish to make special studies of any particular topic. As most of our knowledge regarding the history and culture of the Vedic Age is derived from Vedic literature, and a large number of secondary texts also deal with the period as a whole, a General Bibliography has been given at the end which covers the topics dealt with in Books IV, V, VI, and VII. Generally speaking the Biblio¬ graphy is selective in character and does not aim at giving an exhaustive list of works on the subject. The only exception to this is the Bibliography to Chapter IX where an attempt has been made to give a list of all important contributions on the Indus Valley civilization, as the subject is comparatively new and controversial in character, and it is difficult to assess the proper value of the different theories. As copious footnotes have been given in many chapters, important references indicated therein have not been included.
30
ABIA.
ABOKI.
AE.
AIHT.
Ait. Br.
AJA.
AL.
Anthrop. Soc. Jub. Vol.
AP.
Ap. Dh.S. Ap. S.S.
ASL
ASS.
AV.
Bau. Dh.S. Bau. S.S. BDCRI.
BEFEO.
BIR.
BMFA.
Br.
Brih.
BSOS.
BV.
CAG.
CAH.
CAL
Chan-d.
Chhand.
CHI-
Comm. Vol. CR.
Cuit. Her.
Dh. S.
DKA.
EI.
ERE.
ABBREVIATIONS
Annual Bibliography of Indian Archaeology , Leyden.
Annals of the Bhandai'kar Oriental Research In - stilute , Poona.
Ancient Egypt , London.
Ancient Indian Historical Tradition , by F. E. Pargiter.
Aitareya Brahmana.
American Journal of Archaeology , Philadelphia. Altindisches Leben, by H. Zimmer .
Bom.
Anthropological Society of Bombay , Jubilee Volume.
Aryan Path , Bombay.
Apastamba Dharma-sutra.
Apastamba Srauta-siitra.
Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India. ^
Anandasrama Sanskrit Series , Poona. Atharvaveda. ::
Baudhayana Dharma-sutra.
Baudhayana Srauta-sutra.
Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Insti¬ tute , Poona.
Bulletin de-VEcole Franqaise d* Extreme-Orient t Hanoi
Bharatiya Itihasaki Ruparekha (in Hindi), Vol.
I, by Jay a Chandra Vidyalankar.
Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Brahmana.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad.
Bulletin of the School of Oriental (and African ) Studies, London.
Bharatiya Vidya , Bombay.
Cunningham/ s Ancient Geography of India, Ed.
by S. N. Majumdar.
Cambridge Ancient History.
Chronology of Ancient India, by S. N. Pradhan. Chanhu-daro Excavations , 1933-36, by E. J. H. Mackay.
Chhdndogya Upanishad.
Cambridge History of India.
Commemoration Volume.
Calcutta Review, Calcutta..
Current Science, Bangalore.
Cultural Heritage of India. Published by Sri Rdmakrrshna Centenary Committee, Calcutta- Dharma-sutra.
Dynasties of the Kali Age, by F. E. Pargiter. Epigraphia Indica, Delhi.
Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Ed. bv J- Hastings.
31
THE VEJD1C AGE
Gau. Dh.S.
GD.
Geol. Mag.
Gr. S*
Harappa.
Hari.
HASL.
HIL.
HIP.
HOS.
HSL.
LA.
IAL.
IC.
IHQ.
ILN.
Ind. Antiquities.
Ind. Sc. Congress. Ind. Stud.
IP.
JA.
JAHRS.
Jai. G.S.
JAOS.
JASB.
JBHS.
JBHU.
JBORS.
JGIS.
JGRS.
JIH.
JISOA.
JMU.
JOR.
JRAI.
JRAS.
JRASB(L).
JRASB(S).
JRSA.
JSHS.
Gautama Dharma-sutra.
Geographical Dictionary of Ancient and Medie¬ val India, 2nd Edn., oy N. L. Dey.
Geological Magazine.
Grinya-sutra.
Excavations at Harappa, by M. S. Vats.
Hanvamsa (Bombay Edition).
History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature, by F. Max Muller .
History of Indian Literature.
tiisiory of Indian Philosophy, Vol II, Creative Period, by S. K. Belvalkar and R. D. Ranade.
Harvard Oriental Series , Cambridge , Mass.
History of SaTiskiit Literature, by A. B. Keith.
Indian Antiquary, Bombay .
Indian Art and Letters, London.
Indian Culture, Calcutta.
Indian Historical Quarterly, Calcutta .
Illustrated London News, London.
Studies in Indian Antiquities, by H. C. Raychau- dhuri.
Indian Science Congress.
lndische Studien, by A. Weber.
Indian Philosophy, by S. Radhakrishnan.
Journal Asiatique, Paris.
Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society, Rajahmundry .
Jaiminiya Gjihya-sutra.
Journal of the American Oriental Society.
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Cal¬ cutta.
Journal of the Bombay Historical Society, Bom¬ bay.
Journal of the Benares Hindu University, Bena¬ res.
Journal of the Behar and Orissa Research So¬ ciety, Patna.
Journal of the Greater India Society, Calcutta.
Journal of the Gujarat Research Society, Bom¬ bay.
Journal of Indian History, Madras.
Journal of the Indian Society of Oriental Art, Calcutta.
Journal of the Madras University, Madras.
Journal of Oriental Research, Madras.
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, London.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, London.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Letters, Calcutta.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal, Science, Calcutta.
Journal of the Royal Society of Arts, London.
Journal of the Sind Historical Society, Karachi .
ax
ABBREVIATIONS
JUB.
JUPHS.
Ka(ha.
Kau. S.
Kaushi.
Kena.
KHDS.
KHR.
\C7
MAGW.
Manava G.S. Manu.
MASI.
Mbh.
Mbh. (Cr. Ed.).
Mem. Geol. Surv Ind.
Moh. Exc.
Moh. Ind-
MR.
Mun^.
New Light.
NIA.
NR.
OLZ.
P.
Panch. Br.
PBA.
PHAI.
PIHC.
POC.
PPL.
Preh. Civ. Prolegomena.
QJMS-
Rec. Geol. Surv.
Ind.
Rivers.
RPVU.
Journal oj the University oj Bombay, Bombay.
Journal oj the U.P. Historical Society, Lucl c- now.
Kafha (or Kaphakaj Upanishad.
Kausika Sutra.
Kaushiiaki Upanishad .
Kena Upanishad.
History oj Dharmasdstra, by P. V. Kane.
Karnatak Historical Review, Dharwar.
Kuhn's Zeitschrift.
Mitteilungun der Anthropologischen Gesells - chajt in Wien.
Manava Grihya-sutra.
Manusmriti.
Memoirs oj the Archaeological Survey oj India.
Mahabhdrata (— Bombay Edition , unless spe¬ cifically stated otherwise ).
Critical Edition of the Mahabhdrata , published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Insti¬ tute, Poona (used for the first five Parvans hitherto published).
Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India.
Further Excavations at Mohenjo-daro, by E. J< H. Mackay.
Mohenjo-daro and the Indus Civilisation, by J . Marshall.
Modern Review, Calcutta.
Murujaka Upanishad.
New Light on the Most Ancient East, by V. Gordon Childe.
New Indian Antiquary, Bombay.
New Review, Calcutta .
Orientalische Literaturzeitung , Leipzig.
Purdna.
Panchavimsa Brdhmana.
Proceedings of the British Academy.
Political History of Ancient India, 4th Edn., by H. C. Raychaudhuri.
Proceedings of the Indian History Congress.
Proceedings of the All-India Oriental Confe¬ rence.
Das Purdna Panchalaksharta , by W. Kirfel.
Prehistoric Civilisation of the Indus Valley, by K. N. Dikshit.
Die Hymnen des Rigveda, Vol. I.: Metrische und text-geschichtliche Prolegomena, by H. Oldenberg.
Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society, Ban¬ galore.
Records of the Geological Survey of India.
A
Rivers of India, by B. C. Law.
Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upa- nishads, by A. B. Keith.
33
THE VEDIC AGE
RV.
Sankh &r.S. Sat. Br- SAWM.
SBA.
SBE.
SC-
Sript.
SD.
SPAW.
SS.
SV.
Sve.
Taitt.
Taitt. Br. Taitt. Sarh. Tribes.
Vas. Dh.S. Ved. Ind.
Vcd. Myth. Vcd. Stud-
VM.
WZKM.
YV.
ZDMG.
Z IT.
Rigveda.
Sdnkhayana srauia-su.tr a.
SatapaUia Brdhmana.
Sitzungsberichte der Bayerischen Akademie dcr Wissensckaften , Munchen.
Sitzungsberichte der Berliner Akademie der Wissensckaften.
Sacred Books of the East , Oxford.
Science and Culture, Calcutta .
The Script of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, by G. R. Hunter.
Sanskrit Drama, by A. B. Keith.
Sitzungsberichte der Preussischen Akademie der Wissensckaften.
Srauta-sutra.
Sdmaveda.
Svetdsvatara Upanishad.
Taittiriya Upanishad.
Taittiriya Brdhmana.
Taittiriya Samhitd.
Tribes in Ancient India, by B. C. Law.
Vasishtha Dharma-sutra.
Vedic Index, by A. A. Macdonell and A. B. Keith.
Vedische Mythologie, by A. Hillebrandt.
Vedische SUidien, by R. Pischel and K. F. Gcldner.
Vedic Mythology, by A. A. Macdonell.
Wiener !Zeitschrift fur die Kunde des Morgen - landcs .
Yajurveda.
Zeiischrift der Deutschen Morgenlandische Gcscllschaft , Leipzig.
Zeiischrift fiir Indologie und Iranistik, Leipzig.
THE VEDIC AGE
BOOK ONE
INTRODUCTION
.
■»
.
CHAPTER I
INDIAN HISTORY— ITS NATURE,
SCOPE AND METHOD
History has been defined as “the study of man’s dealings with other men, and the adjustment of working relations between human groups.” The beginnings of the history of India, therefore, go back to that remote period when man first settled in this country. We need not discuss whether he migrated from outside or emerged here by a process of evolution from his animal ancestors. But in any case the earliest man has left little evidence to enable us to investigate his thoughts, desires, activities or achievements. We can only dimly discern his gradual growth as a sentient being amid the geological changes and physical and biological environment in which he found himself. To begin with, he was essentially a part of the plant and animal life that surrounded him, reacting passively to the climate and geographical configuration of the land. But he slowly gained consciousness of those powers and potentialities which distinguished him from other animals and enabled him to dominate over nature rather than remain its slave.
The greater part of this process of evolution, which must have covered a long period of time, is only a matter of inference based on very slender evidence. The study of this fascinating subject has made some progress in Europe, while so far as India is concerned, it is still in its infancy. But the little that is known shows that the prehistoric period in India presents features very similar to what we meet with in Western Asia and Europe. Here, as elsewhere, “man's prehistory merges in the pageant of the animal world,” and is largely determined by his natural surroundings.
This volume, therefore, begins with a short account of the geo logical, geographical, and biological background of primitive man. This setting of the stage is followed by a study of the peoples who played their part therein. In the absence of any written record, the little that we know of their history and culture is based on ar¬ chaeological finds, such as tools and implements made of stone, bone or metal, potsherds, rude paintings and skeletal remains — exactly the same type of evidence on which the prehistoric study of other countries is based.
As we proceed with our narrative we gradually realize that the different phases of Indian history present a striking parallel to those of other countries which can boast of a culture and civilization going back to remote antiquity. The stone implements and other remains of the palaeolithic and neolithic periods prove that human civiliza¬ tion began here in the same way, if not at the same time, as in other
37
THE VEDIC AGE
parts of the world. The development of this civilization through the copper and iron ages, presents features which, though not iden¬ tical, yet offer sufficient similarity in detail with what we know of many other countries. The discoveries in the Indus Valley and ad¬ jacent regions have further emphasized the close association bet¬ ween the cultures of India and those oi Western Asia, and thereby link up Indian history with that of the most ancient period of the world known to us.
India now takes her place, side by side with Egypt and Mesopota¬ mia, as a country where we can- trace the dawn of human civilization and the beginnings of those thoughts, ideas, activities and movements which have shaped the destinies of mankind all over the civilized world. The history of India thus possesses an aspect of univer¬ sality which so strikingly distinguishes the history of Egypt, Babylonia, and Assyria in the early, and Persia, Greece, and Rome in a some¬ what later age. In the case of each of these the universal aspect far transcends in importance the individual or regional aspect. This is not, however, the case with India. This difference has modified the outlook and treatment of the history of India and made it a problem almost sui generis.
The chief difference between India and the other ancient coun¬ tries mentioned above lies in the continuity of her history and civiliza¬ tion. The culture and civilization of Egypt, Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria, and Persia have long ceased to exist. They are now mere past memories and their history possesses only an academic interest. Indian history and institutions, however, form an unbroken chain by which the past is indissolubly linked up with the present. The modern peoples of Egypt and Mesopotamia have no bond whatsoever with the civilization that flourished there millennia ago and its memorials have no more (usually very very much less) meaning to them than to any enlightened man in any part of the world.
But not so in India. The icons discovered at Mohenjo-daro are those of gods and goddesses who are still worshipped in India, and Hindus from the Himalaya to Cape Comorin repeat even today the Vedic hymns which were uttered on the banks of the Indus nearly four thousand years ago. This continuity in language and literature, and in religious and social usages, is more prominent in India than even in Greece and Italy, where we can trace the same continuity in history. The social and religious ideas of ancient Greece and Rome and their philosophy and outlook on life, in short, some of the most essential factors which give individuality to a nation and preserve its continuity, are almost foreign to the peoples now inhabiting those lands. An artificial continuity is no doubt maintained in these two countries, and the link with the past is not altogether snapped, as in the cases of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Nevertheless, the difference can only be regarded as. one of degree and not of kind: and neither
38
INDIAN HISTORY, ITS NATURE, SCOPE AND METHOD
Greece nor Italy offers a parallel to India, in respect of either anti¬ quity or continuity of civilization.
To this difference may be added the present position of India. Her political subjection and lack of material power have relegated her to a position of marked inferiority in the eyes of the world. Both these causes have affected the study of the history of India in more ways than one. It has not been easy, for instance, to bring a de¬ tached scientific spirit to bear on the study of the history of India. This spirit, which so conspicuously distinguishes European writers of the history of Egypt and ancient countries in Western Asia, is not seldom lamentably absent while they deal with the history of India. The reason is not far to seek, and may be traced to a psychological instinct or political prejudice. The India of today has cast its shadow on the past, and few writers have been able to disentangle the two and view each of them in its true perspective. The political history of India, even of ancient times, has been almost invariably viewed through the spectacles of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. V. A. Smith, the well-known historian of ancient India, and a dis¬ tinguished member of the Indian Civil Service, never concealed his anxiety to prove the beneficence of the British Raj by holding before his readers the picture of anarchy and confusion which, in his view, has been the normal condition in India with rare intervals. To him, as to many others before and after him, ancient Indian history after the death of Harsha-vardhana was merely a pathetic tale of political chaos and internecine struggles, pointing to the inevitable moral: “such was India and such it always has been till the British establish¬ ed a stable order.”
Sometimes the pendulum swings to the opposite extreme, and Indian writers seek to find in ancient India a replica of the most advanced political institutions of the West. From isolated phrases of doubtful import they conjure up a picture of a full-fledged modern democracy and even of an up-to-date parliamentary form of govern¬ ment. This is a counterblast, from the Indian side, to the inveterate belief of European writers in undiluted autocracy as the only form of government that ever prevailed in India. To them “Oriental des¬ potism” is an article of faith that colours their whole outlook. Some have also inherited the classical idea that wisdom and enlighten¬ ment were always a sort of monopoly of the West, and the East, comparatively as backward as she is today, must have acquired all the elements of higher culture from the West.
The squalid poverty of modern India colours the outlook on economic conditions in ancient and mediaeval times. Even enlighten¬ ed historians find it difficult to accept the view that Indians built ships and navigated the seas, for no better reason than that modern Indians show such an aversion from, and ineptitude for, maritime activities. Such instances may be multiplied to almost any extent.
39
THE VEDIC AGE
There are no doubt exceptions, but one cannot deny, or overlook, the broad fact that Indian history has suffered much from an instinct to read the present into the past.
The opposite danger of reading the past into the present has been no less a potential factor in distorting the history of India. To many the most glaring imperfections and even the most degrading features of modern Indian social life are sanctified by antiquity. They have a tendency to judge everything they see before them, not by its present form and effect, but by a reference to what they conceive to be its original character, and the part it is supposed to have played in building up an ideal society in the past. This almost necessarily leads to the artificial creation of a golden age which rests mainly on imagination and intuition, independent of historical evidence. This intellectual support of false doctrines and bad institutions in the name of India’s past often proceeds from a perverted form of patrio¬ tic sentiments or an inborn sense of national pride. In either case it is a wrong interpretation of Indian history, and what is worse, such interpretation is often devised as an instrument for consecrating all deep-seated prejudices.
The student of Indian history must avoid these pitfalls and follow the modern method of scientific research. Our aim should be the discovery of the truth, and nothing but the truth, and in order to attain this goal we must apply our minds fearlessly and without pre¬ judice and preconceptions to the study of all available evidence. We should properly sift these data by all rational methods, handle them in the spirit of a judge rather than an advocate, and formulate our conclusions only as far as they permit us to do so. We may not achieve definite results in many cases, and final and decisive conclu¬ sions would probably be few and far between. But it is better to plead ignorance, express doubts and put forward alternative possi¬ bilities rather than definitely uphold a view on meagre and insuffi¬ cient grounds. We must be particularly on our guard where any such view is likely to evoke strong sentiments and passions or affect the interest of any class or community. The history of India’s past touches the present life of India on many points, and we may legiti¬ mately expect the one to guide and control the other. This makes it all the more difficult, especially for an Indian writer, to take a detached view of the history of India and approach it in a purely scientific attitude. Nevertheless the difficulty, great as it is, must be overcome, and a proper critical spirit should be cultivated, if we are to read aright the story of India’s past and correctly understand its implications for the future.
We have so far dealt with the peculiar difficulties that confront us in the study of Indian history in view of its continuity. Another obstacle, also of a somewhat special character, arises from the nature of the evidence on which the study must necessarily be based. The
40
INDIAN HISTORY, ITS NATURE, SCOPE AND METHOD
different classes of evidence and their nature, scope and value will be discussed in detail in the next chapter. But some general points must be noted here in order to indicate both the limitations and the specific directions of our study.
The first thing to remember is that for the longest period of Indian history, viz., from the earliest time down to the Muslim con¬ quest in the thirteenth century A.D., a period of about four thousand years, we possess no historical text of any kind, much less such a detailed narrative as we possess in the case of Greece, Rome, and China. The history of ancient India resembles, therefore, that of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. In all these cases it has only been possible to reconstruct the skeleton with the help of archaeological evidence discovered in comparatively recent times. This history differs radically from what we normally understand by the word. It is mostly a string of names and incidents, often with wide gaps, and almost always without that fullness of detail which enables us to trace the causes and consequences of specific events, examine the various forces at work in their true perspective, mark the general tendencies of the epoch, explain the inner causes of the rise and fall of kingdoms and empires, or the progress and decay of races and nations, and determine the exact relation between the different elements of the body politic or the different aspects of life and society. These and many other features which make history a social science in the real sense of the term are lacking in the history of ancient India, more or less to the same extent as in that of other ancient civilizations that flourished in Egypt or Western Asia.
But there is one very important difference. Ancient India has bequeathed to us a vast treasury of texts which represent the intel¬ lectual and literary activities of more than two thousand years and cover a wide field. The earliest literary work, the Sarhhita of the Rigveda , is at least three thousand years old and may be even con¬ siderably older. A continuous stream of literature flowing since that remote age, widening in course of centuries, and embracing almost all fields of human endeavour excepting political activity, throws a light on the civilization of India such as we do not meet with in cases of other ancient cultures. This mass of literature deals with philosophy and religion, including ethics, ritual, and ceremonial; cosmogony, cosmology, geography, astronomy, and the allied sciences; political and economic doctrines and practices; and, in a minor way, with almost all branches of secular life. It includes, besides a mass of religious texts, purely literary works such as epics, lyrics, Kdvyas (poems), dramas and prose romances, as well as biographies and folk tales. This literature is as bulky in volume as it is varied in its con¬ tents. Although it does not help us very much in reconstructing the political history of ancient India, it throws a flood of light on, and enables us to trace the various stages in the development of, culture
41
THE VEDIC AGE
and civilization in ancient India, such as is not possible in the case of ancient Egypt, Westei'n Asia and China, and even Greece and Rome.
This fact must be borne in mind in any approach to the study of ancient Indian history. We should not expect any critical and detailed narrative of the political events, or a proper estimate of the life and character of great historical personages of whom we catch but. fleeting glimpses in the moving panorama of the history of two thousand years that passes before our eyes in a haze of mist or gloom. The galaxy of kings, generals, and statesmen which crowd, for ins¬ tance, the canvas of the history of Greece and Rome, the moving stories of their lives and activities, the surging mass of internal and external forces that shape the destiny of the state and set it going, sometimes in slow evolution and sometimes in revolutionary ardour, and the ebb and tide of national glory from age to age with its intense human appeal and great lessons for posterity — all these and many other factors which form the spell of the history of Greece and Rome do not constitute the main force or the chief interest of ancient Indian history. That these elements were not lacking in the evolution of Indian history is proved by the occasional glimpses of great men and great events, of the same genre. But these are- mostly shadows, without that glow and colour which endow them with life and spirit. Hence the picture is dull and lifeless and, being devoid of general interest, makes no passionate appeal to human mind.
But though admittedly deficient in this respect, Indian history is abundantly rich in its delineation of the progress of the human mind and society from its earliest infancy to a comparatively mature state. Other civilizations must have passed through the same or similar stages, but we lack the means to trace them in such fullness of details. In no other case, for example, can we go back to the dim beginnings of those intellectual and moral ideas which appear to us in full matu¬ rity in the shape of a set form of religion, theology, and philosophy. Thanks to the vast mass of Indian literature, we can not onlv do this but follow, in a general wav, the long and tortuous ways which human civilization, at least in a large part of the world, has had to pursue in its weary and tedious onward march for thousands of vears. This constitutes a claim for universal interest which should not be less keen than that inspired by the political history of Greece and Rome.
The genius of each considerable group of humanity is perhaps adapted more to one kind of end than to another. It has been argued that the Indians had a bent of mind which looked more to the inner self than the outer body, to matters spiritual rather than the material world. In the absence of a fuller knowledge of the political history or secular life of ancient India, it is difficult to set the final seal of ap¬ proval to this view, although it is very generally held. But so far as available evidence goes, there cannot be the slightest doubt i hat Indian civilization manifests itself in a way and a form very different from
42
INDIAN HISTORY, ITS NATURE, SCOPE AND MEBHQD
that with which we are familiar in the rest of the world. We have consequently to approach the history of India in a different spirit, and adopt a different scale of values in order to appraise her culture and civilization. The wars and conquests, the rise and fall of empires and nations, and the development of political ideas and institutions should not be regarded as the principal object of our study, and must be relegated to a position of secondary importance. On the other hand, more stress should be laid upon philosophy, religion, art, and letters, the development of social and moral ideas, and the general progress of those humanitarian ideals and institutions which form the distinctive feature of the spiritual life of India and her greatest con¬ tribution to the civilization of the world.
Nevertheless, the political history of each period, as far as it is known to us, must be the starting point of our study, as it forms th$ backbone of history. Its function may be compared to that of the skeleton in a human body which gives shape and distinctness to the mass of flesh and skin and marks it with the stamp of individuality.
The greatest handicap , in the treatment of the history of ancient India, both political and cultural, is the absence of a definite chrono¬ logy. The dates of political events and of the vast mass of literature which forms the basis of cultural study are but imperfectly known, and the farther back we recede, even a close approximation of these dates becomes more and more difficult and uncertain. This gives scope for endless discussions and wide differences of opinion. We experience a similar difficulty in the interpretation of data, as they are often vague and meagre. It is not always possible, and in many cases neither desirable nor profitable, in a general comprehensive history of India, to review the different standpoints, and the historian is often obliged to adopt one particular view, as against others, with or some¬ times even without brief reference to them. For minute discussions of the merits of conflicting views the reader must be referred to. special treatises or articles in journals. Great care should, however, always be taken to distinguish clearly the known from the unknown, and the doubtful from the certain, and to indicate-, as far as possible, the range
of our ignorance and uncertainty. Ignorance may not be bliss in
• *
historical studies, but it is certainly folly to be wise where wisdom is based on imperfect knowledge and serves merely as a cloak for dogmatism. As the following pages will show, the path of the histo¬ rian is beset with difficulties, doubts, and uncertainties; he has often to advance laboriously through dubious tracks and not seldom loses them altogether. His task frequently resolves itself into weighing one set of doubtful evidence against another in order to arrive tit what appears to him to be the most reasonable conclusion. More often than not, such theories are all that he can offer. The historian, no less than his readers, must clearly recognize the provisional nature
43
THE VEDIC AGE
of these hypotheses and be ready to see them modified or upset and replaced by others with the discovery of fresh data. They are slen¬ der but necessary foundations on which the history of India has been built up in the past and has to be built in future.
The observations hitherto made apply more particularly to the ancient period of Indian history. With the beginning of the next period the situation is considerably improved by the existence of a series of chronicles, dealing with the history of India from the founda¬ tion of the political power by foreign Muslim invaders up to the eigh¬ teenth century A.D. These chronicles include detailed narratives of contemporary events as well as compilations of past history from older sources now lost to us. They cannot be regarded as an absolute¬ ly authentic account or impartial review of historical events, but supply ample data for the reconstruction of the history of the period. Both in scope and value they are comparable to the chronicles and historical treatises in Europe of the same period. Unfortunately these historical texts concern themselves primarily with the events and fdrtunes of the principal Muslim ruling dynasties, and dwell only very incidentally on the history of the smaller states, specially the Hindu kingdoms. Nor, with a few exceptions, do they throw much light on the life of the people at large outside the royal courts. Although, therefore, there is a great advance in our historical know¬ ledge over the earlier period, and in some cases we have got a pretty good historical account, it is, generally speaking, neither as definite nor as full as our modern historical sense would demand, in spite of the valuable additional help that the historian gets from other sources such as the archaeological evidence, official documents, contemporary literature, accounts of foreign travellers, etc. Never¬ theless it would be unjust to deny that from about 1200 A.D. India possesses a written history which would not suffer very much in comparison with the history of contemporary Europe, and might differ from it in degree, but not in kind. It is a fairly good and detailed history, but of kings and states, not of the country and the people.
The thirteenth century A.D. may be regarded as a broad dividing line in Indian history in more than one sense. The sovereign power passed into the hands of foreigners who belonged to alien races and professed a new religion of somewhat militant type. The establishment, for the first time, of two diverse systems of culture and civilization led to a definite cleavage between the rulers and the ruled such as India had never known before. Indian history gains in content and becomes richer in detail, but loses unity of treatment. The stories of the ruling powers grow in volume, but we know little of the lot of the ruled who formed the vast mass of the people.
The first three or four centuries of Muslim rule in India form
44
INDIAN HISTORY. ITS NATURE. SCOPE AND METHOD
a very important period of transition. The foreign rulers and the new religion with its exotic culture took a long time to take root in the soil. But we have little reliable knowledge of the struggle for independence and the steps by which the resistance of the people was broken down. Of the early reaction of Hinduism to¬ wards Islam, and the process by which the latter gradually made headway in this land of conservatism and orthodoxy, we know even less. The Muslim chroniclers, our sole source of information, generally speaking, record only a series of cheap military victories over the rebellious or recalcitrant infidels, and these are looked down upon as merely hewers of wood and drawers of water whose life and fortunes are hardly of any consequence to them. They would have us believe that the triumphant banner of Islam merrily floated from one end of the land to the other, and nothing else counted in the country.
But this is merely one side of the picture, and that of the lion painted by himself. We know that there was always a Hindu India, side by side with Muslim India, and it again asserted itself, both in politics and culture, in the fullness of time. It was not dead, but lay dormant in the early centuries of the foreign rule. The history of the Hindus, except in South India and Rajputana. during this period is, however, almost a blank page. The scanty remains of their literature throw some faint light on the social and religious changes that came over them, but the little that we know merely casts into greater relief the depth of our ignorance.
Light dawns again in the sixteenth century. The establishment of the Mughal power ushers in a new period of Indian history in which our knowledge of India as a whole is much fuller, and we begin to see things in their true perspective. The vision of a new India, built upon the only stable foundation of the love and con¬ fidence of the ruled and the fusion of the two great cultures, now emerges in clear light. History, though it still continues mainly to be the court history of the Muslim rulers, begins to visualize India as a whole, and takes note of Hindu India. The rosy dream of a politically united India, on a common cultural basis, is soon shatter¬ ed, but Hindu India comes to stay and the historian no longer loses sight of it. The balance is restored and the unity of Indian history is securely established. In spite of many vicissitudes, we can trace the fortunes of India as a whole through the pages of history. This unity of treatment is never lost in later times.
It is not necessary to dwell at length upon the modern history of India. Strictly speaking, it offers no peculiarities, in respect of sources of information or method of treatment, save and except the restrictions imposed by political considerations. The archives of the British Government are gradually being thrown open, and the Indian states also have recently adopted a more liberal policy
THE VED1C AGE
in this respect. Contemporary historical documents are ample, though they have not yet been worked out as fully or as inde¬ pendently as one could have desired.
It will be hardly any exaggeration to say that Indian history, in a comprehensive sense, has so far been neither written nor even conceived in a proper spirit. A clear grasp of the subject is general¬ ly lacking. An attempt has been made above to analyse the different factors that account for this lamentable state of things. We have also tried to indicate the true spirit in which the study of Indian history should be approached, the inherent defects and shortcomings imposed by lade of materials, and the likely dangers and pitfalls which the historian should avoid.
The observations made above would also convey some idea of what the “History of India” means to its readers; what they might legitimately look for, and what they are likely to miss; the proper value they should attach to different aspects, and the profit they may derive from them; the resemblances as well as the differences which it offers to the history of other countries; and lastly, the ex¬ tent to which the interest of the subject is confined to the particular region and people of whom it treats or concerns a wider range of humanity.
y'
46
CHAPTER II
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
It will be abundantly clear from what has been said in the pre¬ vious chapter that the sources of Indian history differ considerably in its different periods. Broadly speaking, we may distinguish three such periods, viz.: (1) from the most ancient times to the end of the twelfth century A.D.; (2) from the thirteenth to the eighteenth century; and (3) the subsequent period. It will be convenient, therefore, to treat these three periods separately.
1. THE ANCIENT PERIOD A. Literary Sources
The absence of any regular historical chronicle is the leading feature of this period. When we consider the vast mass of contem¬ porary literature and its extremely wide range, the almost utter lack of historical texts certainly appears as a somewhat strange phenomenon. Some people are, therefore, inclined to believe that such literature did exist, and explain its absence by a theory of wholesale destruction. It must be regarded, however, as extremely singular that the agencies of destruction should have singled out this particular branch of literature as their special target. But the strongest argument against the supposed existence of regular his¬ torical literature is the absence of any reference to historical texts. We have, therefore, to admit that the literary genius of India, so fertile and active in almost all conceivable branches of study, was not applied to chronicling the records of kings and the rise and fall of states and nations. It is difficult to give a rational explana¬ tion of this deficiencju but the fact admits of no doubt.
The deficiency- is all the more strange as there are indications that the ancient Indians did not lack in historical sense. This is proved by the carefully preserved lists of teachers in various Vedic texts, as well as in writings of the Buddhists, Jains and other re¬ ligious sects. That this spirit also extended to the political field is shown not only by the songs and poems in praise of kings and heroes referred to in Vedic literature, but also by the practice of reciting eulogies of kings and royal families on ceremonial occasions. Even so late as the seventh century A.D. Hiuen Tsang noticed that each province in India had its own official for maintaining written records in which were mentioned good and evil events, with calamities and fortunate occurrences. That this practice con¬ tinued for centuries after Hiuen Tsam? is proved by a large number of local chronicles and the preambles in old land-grants which
47
THE VEDIC AGE
record the genealogies of royal families, sometimes for several generations.
We may thus presume that neither historical sense nor his¬ torical material was altogether wanting in ancient India. What was lacking was either the enthusiasm or the ability to weave the scattered raw materials into a critical historical text with a proper literary setting which the people would not willingly let die. In other words, in spite of great intellectual and literary activity, Tndia did not produce a Herodotus or Thucydides, not even a Livy or Tacitus. It has been argued that this was partly due to the peculiar temperament of the people who, to use the words of Hiuen Tsang, ‘‘made light of the things of the present world.” But this explanation can be hardly regarded as satisfactory when we re¬ member the great progress of the Indians in various branches of secular literature, including law, political science, and the art of administration.
Whatever may be the reason, the fact remains that the only concrete result of historical study in the most ancient period is to be found in long lists of kings preserved in the Puranas and the epics. These lists profess to trace the unbroken royal lines from the first human king that ruled down to about the third or fourth century A.D. The earlier part of them is obviously mythical, and the last part is undoubtedly historical; but it is a moot point to decide where the myth ends and reliable tradition begins.
It is interesting to trace the gradual changes in the views of scholars regarding the historical value of these traditional royal lists preserved in the Puranas and epics. At first they were re¬ jected wholesale without much ceremony. Later, the accounts of the dynasties ruling in the sixth century B.C. and later were ac¬ cepted as fairly reliable, as they were partially corroborated by the Buddhist literature and archaeological evidence. Next, the pre¬ ceding dynasties going back to the time of the Great War described in the M.cihdbharata , which event is approximately placed in round numbers between 1500 and 1000 B.C., were also regarded by some scholars as furnishing a secure basis for history, though they were loath to accept as correct all the details about names and dates. So far as the account of the royal dynasties before the Great War is concerned, Pargiter was the first to make a bold attempt to co¬ ordinate the varying details into a skeleton of political history, and others have since followed in his footsteps. The difficulty of the task is increased by the strongly marked differences in the various traditions, and the conclusions reached by the few scholars who have so far worked in this field show great divergences. The attempt to reconstruct the skeleton of political history before the Great War cannot, therefore, be regarded as yet leading to any satisfactory result. For the period following that (1000-600 B.C.)
48
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
we have at least a working hypothesis, and it is not till we come to tlie beginning oi the sixtn century B.C. that we can firmly grasp the thread of. the dynastic history of Northern India.
The traditions preserved in ancient Indian literature, notably the Puranas, thus form the main source of information for the hisr tory of the earliest period, and for the period before the sixth century B.C. they constitute our only source. The Buddhist and Jain literatures of the succeeding period form a valuable supplement and corrective to the evidence of the Puranas, and isolated references in other literary works, even grammatical texts, have proved to be very important historical data.
For the later period, beginning with the Guptas, we have no texts like the Puranas, giving even bare dynastic lists. But although Indian literature practically ignores the history of the long period of one thousand years that follow, it does not altogether cease to be of help. Apart from isolated references scattered in the vast mass of literature of all types, we have two classes of works that contribute directly to our knowledge of history, viz. biographies and local chronicles.
It is fortunate that certain writers took the lives of their royal patrons as the theme of their literary works. Banabhatta, that great master of Sanskrit prose, wrote the Harsha-charit a (life of the em¬ peror Harsha), and two poets, Vakpati and Bilhana, described the ex¬ ploits of Yasovarman and Vikramaditya (of the later Chalukya dynasty) in two epics, the Gaudavaho and the Vikramanka-deva charitu. We have also a curious poetical work, the Rama-charita , in which the author uses throughout verses of double entendre , which, taken one way, describe the story of the Ramayana, and taken the other way, recount the story of king Ramapala of Bengal.
Among other biographical works may be mentioned the Kuma- rapala-charita of Jayasimha, Kumar apdla-chartta or Dvydsraya - kdvya of Hemachandra, Hammird-kdvya of Nayachandra, Nava - sdhasanka-charita of Padmagupta, Bhojaprabandha by Ballala, Prithviraja^charita of Chand Bardai and Prithvlraja-vijaya (frag¬ mentary) by an anonymous writer.
These and other works of the same class cannot be regarded as genuine history, although they contain valuable historical infor¬ mation. Their object was the glorification of the king rather than to give a true picture of his life and times, and they were mostly conceived by their authors not as historical texts, but primarily as mediums for showing their literary skill and ingenuity.
Among the local chronicles, the most famous is the Rajatarangini. It is a history of Kashmir, written throughout in verse, by Kalhana in A.D. 1149-50. This is the only work in ancient Indian literature that may be regarded as an historical text in the true sense of the word. The author has not only taken great pains to collect his
49
THE VEDIC AGE
material from the existing chronicles and other sources but, at the beginning of his work, he has laid down a few general principles for writing history which are remarkable as being far in advance of his age. Indeed they may be regarded as anticipating, to a large extent, the critical method of historical research which was not fully developed till the nineteenth century A.D. In view of the lamentable paucity of historical talent in ancient India, it is worth while quoting a few of Kaihana ’s observations, showing the high level which the Indian intellect had attained even in this much neglected sphere of activity. Regarding the strict impartiality to be observed by an historian Kaihana remarks:
“That virtuous poet alone is worthy oi praise who, free from love or hatred, ever restricts his language to the exposition of facts." (I. 7.).
As to the method of collecting data we may quote the follow¬ ing verses among others (I. 14, 15):
“I have examined eleven works of former scholars which con*
»
tain the chronicles of the kings, as well as the views of the sage Nila ( Nlldpurana ).
“By the inspection of ordinances {sdsana) of former kings re¬ lating to religious foundations and grants, laudatory inscriptions ( prasasti-'pattCL ) as well as written records Isastra), all wearisome error has been set at rest."
In spite of his excellent equipment and high ideals, Kaihana was unable to reconstruct the early history of Kashmir, for his enthu¬ siasm and industry could not make up for the lack of authentic material. His account of the period before the seventh century A.D. cannot be regarded as trustworthy, and it becomes more and more unreliable as we go back to more ancient periods. Nevertheless his attempt was creditable, and it is refreshing to find that he alone, of all Indian writers, has preserved some accounts of such for¬ gotten Indian rulers as Kanishka. From the seventh century A.D., however, the Rdjataranginl may be regarded *.as a reliable history of Kashmir. The author narrates the career of each king in chronological order with a fair amount of detail, showing scru¬ pulous impartiality in his criticism of men and events, and exhibit¬ ing soundness of judgment and healthy liberality in his general ex pression of views. As he gradually comes nearer his own age the history becomes fuller and more and more replete with interesting accounts of men and things. It ceases to be merely a chronicle of dry details and faithfully presents the ebb and flow of national life, the periods of glory and misery, and the greatness and weak*
50
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
ness of men and rulers — in short all those minute details which make history a record of intense human interest, faithfully portraying the march of events through which a people works out its own destiny. We close the book with a poignant regret that we do not possess such a history for the whole of India, or many more texts of the same kind dealing with other parts of the country.
Kalhana’s example was not lost upon his countrymen and several writers of Kashmir continued his chronicle. Jonaraja, who died in A.D. 1459, imitated Kalhana’s style and brought the histo¬ rical narrative up to the reign of Zain-ul-Abidln. . The Jaina- Rajata'rO’Tigini by his pupil Srivara covers the period A.D. 1459-86. Then came Prajya Bhafcta and his pupil Suka who carried on the history till a few years after the conquest of Kashmir by Akbar. These later works are, however, much inferior to the Rdjataranglni both in literary style and in historical accuracy.
Next to Kashmir, reference may be made to a large number of chronicles of Gujarat. These include well-known works like Ras-Mala, Kxrtikaumudi of Somesvara, Sukrlta-sCmklrtana of Arisimha, Prabandha-Chintamani by Merutuhga, Prabandha-kosa by Rajasekhara, Hammira»mada-mardana and Vastupdla-Tejahpdla-pra- sdsti of Jayasimha, Sukritakirti-kallolini of Udayaprabha, Vasanta- vildsa of Balachandra, etc., which are treasure-houses of stories and fables as well as historical anecdotes. The two biographies of Kumarapala, referred to above, and these chronicles enable us to trace the history of Gujarat, specially under the Chaulukyas, with fullness of details such as is not possible in the case of any other kingdom in ancient India except Kashmir.
There were probably local chronicles of Sind which formed the basis of an Arabic history of which we possess a Persian transla¬ tion, the Chachnama , composed at the beginning of the thirteenth century A.D. It gives a detailed account of the Arab conquest of Sind and briefly refers to its history during the previous century.
We have also local chronicles of Nepal, which merely contain a list of kings and the duration of their reigns, with only a few de¬ tails here and there. The earlier portion of these Vavisavans — as they are called — is purely mythical, but there seems to be an histo¬ rical basis for the accounts relating to the period commencing from the first century A.D. The list is not, however, carefully compiled. There are wide divergences between the different chronicles, and many details are proved to be wrong by epigraphic evidence. These chronicles were never worked into historical texts by a genius of the type of Kalhana, and although in the absence of other sources they supply the framework for the history of Nepal, they cannot be regarded as a satisfactory substitute for real and genuine history.
The existence of historical chronicles in Kashmir, Guiarat, Sind, and Nepal supports the presumption that the archives of different
51
THE VEDIC AGE
states, as a rule, contained such royal chronicles, as stated by Hiuen Tsang. These chronicles, unless raised to the status of a literary work of the type of Rajatarangini, or included in pretentious or sacred works like the Puranas, are not likely to long survive the fortunes of the dynasty whose history they recorded. This pro¬ bably accounts for their general destruction, though a few have been preserved in outlying places, like Kashmir, Gujarat, Nepal, and Assam (in a later period).
B. Archaeology
If we had to depend on literary sources alone we would have known very little indeed of the history of India for the thousand years that elapsed since the fall of the Andhras in the third cen¬ tury A.D. Our knowledge of this period would have been even much less than that of the thousand years preceding it. Fortu¬ nately the gap has been filled by the actual remains of this ancient period in the shape of coins, inscriptions, and monuments. They have enabled us to reconstruct an outline of the history of the period which, vague and imperfect though it is, forms the only sure foundation on which the history of India will have to be built up in future.
Indian archaeology is a science of recent growth, and is barely a century old. Its pioneers were a few enterprising European scholars who took a deep interest in the antiquities of India and made an earnest effort to unravel her past. The origin and progress of this fascinating labour of love, which culminated in organized departments of research and exploration, achieving wonderful results, has been reviewed in the next chapter. Here we may merely tabulate these results by way of indicating their bearing on the history of India.
I. Inscriptions. — Inscriptions have proved a source of the highest value for the reconstruction of the political history of ancient India. Being engraved on stone and metal they are free from the process of tampering to which books or other documents written on perishable materials are liable. Their value as contemporary documents thus remains unimpeachable. Although not always dated, the character of the script enables us to determine their ap¬ proximate age. Thus as historical evidence they take precedence over the mass of literature, as the age of most of the texts is uncer¬ tain and they all must have undergone considerable modifications in the course of being preserved in copies through hundreds of years.
Apart from these considerations, the nature of many of these inscriptions invests them with a high degree of historical importance. The series of Indian inscriptions opens with the memorable edicts of the great Maurya Emperor Asoka, engraved on rocks and pillars
52
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
throughout his vast empire, from beyond the Indus in the west to the Mysore plateau in the south. These are royal proclama¬ tions and commandments, mostly in his own words, and convey across twenty-two centuries the life and personality of a great man and a great ruler with a striking vividness to which there is hardly any parallel in the history of the world. It is either the strangest freak of nature or the rare good fortune of India, if not a divine dispensation, that in the midst of an almost wholesale destruc¬ tion of historical materials of the period, one fragment alone should have been spared, so faithfully reflecting that spiritual greatness which constitutes the glory of Indian civilization and its special cha¬ racteristic. The records of Asoka form a class by themselves, and contribute largely to our knowledge of the history of the period and the spirit that animated one of the greatest men that ever sat on a royal throne. No other inscriptions make even a near approach to them in point of interest or historical importance.
One form of alphabet is used in all these records, excepting two groups in the north-west, which are written in an altogether different script. The latter, known as Kharoshthi, was obviously derived from Aramaic and, like the Semitic alphabet, was written from right to left. It continued in use in the north-western corner of India for many centuries, but vanished without leaving any trace behind.
The script in which all the other inscriptions of Aioka were written is known as Brahmi, and is written from left to right. It is the earliest form of Indian writing known to us, and from it have been derived, by slow evolution through ages, all the Indian charac¬ ters current today, including Tamil, Telugu, and Kanarese. When the records of Aioka first came to notice towards the close of the eighteenth century, their script was as much an enigma to all as in the fourteenth century A.D., when the Emperor Flruz Tughluk brought a pillar with Aioka’s inscription to Delhi, and made a vain attempt to have it read by the Indian Pundits. The deciphering of the Asokan inscriptions by Prinsep (described in detail in the next chapter) is one of the romances of archaeology comparable to those associated with the discovery of the clue to the hierogly¬ phics and cuneiform writings. It was accomplished in A.D. 1837, and in course of the next fifty years Indian epigraphy was placed on a firm footing. By the devoted and patient labour of a number of scholars the different types of Indian scripts were thoroughly studied, analysed, and classified, and a scientific basis laid down for Indian palaeography, which has made it possible to corelate them to diffe¬ rent ages and localities. Apart from their intrinsic interest as his¬ torical records, the Asokan inscriptions have thus proved of great value as the starting-point of epigraphic and palaeographic studies in India.
The inscriptions of the post- Asokan period may be broadly
53
THE VEDIC AGE
divided into two classes, official and private. The official records are in most cases either prasastis, i.e. eulogies of kings written by their court-poets, or land-grants. The most famous example of the former is furnished by the long record of Samudra-gupta engraved on an Asokan pillar, now in the Allahabad fort. It describes in great detail the personal qualities and the military achievements of the great Gupta emperor and forms the chief document of his memorable reign. The age of the Imperial Guptas is now justly regarded as the Golden Age of India. But all memories of it, and even the very name of Samudra-gupta — the Indian Napoleon — who laid the foundations of the Gupta empire, were lost to Indian tradi¬ tion. The Allahabad prasasti has preserved from oblivion the name and fame of this great hero and, along with a number of other inscriptions, forms the main basis of our knowledge of the Grupta period. The Gwalior prasasti of Bhoja has similarly thrown a flood of light on the imperial Pratlharas, another forgotten dynasty of ancient India.
Among other prasastis , supplying valuable historical informa¬ tion, may be mentioned that of king Vijayasena of the Sena dynasty of Bengal engraved on a slab of stone found at Deopara. Its nomi¬ nal object is to record the building of a temple by Vijayasena, but it is almost wholly devoted to a panegyric of the great king, record¬ ing his victories and achievements in the most high-flown language. The Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II, the Chalukya king, belongs to exactly the same type.
By far the largest number of official documents are charters conveying the sale or gift of lands! These are mostly engraved on copper-plates, though in very rare instances they are also found on stone pillars and in temples. These charters define the boun¬ daries of the lands and specify the object and conditions of the grant, often enumerating other interesting details such as the price of land, the mode of its measurement, exhortations to future kings not to confiscate the grants, and quotations from the scrip¬ tures threatening severe punishment after death for those who vio¬ late the grants in any way.
Interesting though these details are in many ways, they do not contain much that is of historical importance. But by a form¬ al convention, fortunately followed in many if not in all cases, these charters begin with a sort of royal prasasti which gives a short account of the donor’s family for several generations, and describes in greater detail the life and achievements of the ruling king. These formal and introductory portions in the land-grants have supplied us with invaluable historical material. Sometimes, as in the Chola inscriptions, this introductory part runs to a very great length, and forms a valuable historical document by itself. Very often this portion was wholly or partially stereotyped in the
54
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
royal archives and used in several grants. Sometimes the portion was independently engraved on copper-plates and these were kept ready in the office, so that when occasion arose, only the details of the grant had to be added to make them formal charters. In short, this historical part had little organic connection with the grant it¬ self, and may be regarded as a prasasti prefixed to it.
These pra&astis were composed by court-poets or other royal officials, and one would naturally hesitate to take them at their face value. There is undoubtedly a great deal of exaggeration in the effusions of the poets. It is customary for them to endow their patron-kings with all the ideal virtues and to represent them as the rulers of the whole world girdled by the four oceans. Such general expressions must be discarded as of no historical value. But greater value attaches to the specific enumerations of cam¬ paigns, victories, and conquests; for these documents were public property, and their authors would be justly exposed to ridicule if they had made categorical statements without any basis whatsoever. Of course they were expected to exaggerate the achievements of their masters, but even such exaggeration implies a sub¬ stratum of fact. A great deal of caution is therefore needed to assess the proper value of the claims made on behalf of a king, and they should be checked^ by all possible means. Such checks are furnished by the statements made on behalf of the rival kings, and sometimes welcome corroboration is afforded by independent evidence.
In cases where the inscriptions are engraved on rocks or objects not easily portable, their find-spots become of great impor¬ tance as indicating the territorial jurisdiction of the king. Some¬ times the records of vassal chiefs and finds of coins corroborate the claims of territorial conquests. By these and other means it is almost always possible to make legitimate inferences from these documents about* the achievements of the kings.
The official documents, however, form only a very small pro¬ portion of the inscriptions. By far the' larger majority are private records. They cover a wide range, from a short votive inscrip¬ tion of two or three words to pompous poetical compositions glori¬ fying an individual or family. They throw light on various aspects of society even where they do not directly contribute to political history. A good many are engraved on images of gods and religious buildings, recording pious donations. These consti¬ tute the chief means of fixing the dates of these images and build¬ ings, and have been of incalculable help in tracing the evolution of art and religion, and determining their general condition in any specified period. Similarly the language and style of the inscrip¬ tions have been of immense value to the linguistic and literary history of India. The evidence of the inscriptions, taken in mass,
55
THE VEDIC AGE
is unerring in these respects. If we analyse, for example, the 1500 or more inscriptions prior to the Gupta age that have so far come to light, we find an overwhelmingly large number — more than 95 per cent — written in Prakrit and concerned with non-Brahmanical religious sects, mainly Buddhist and Jain. The proportion is almost just the reverse in favour of the Sanskrit language and the Brahmanical religion, if we take the inscriptions of the period sub¬ sequent to the Gupta age. Even allowing for all accidental factors, this one fact betokens a sweeping change in the life of the people both in respect of the religious ideas and the medium of literary expression.
These inscriptions also throw important light on political history. Many of them refer to ruling kings otherwise unknown, and some of them even supply dates, either in regnal years or in a specified or unspecified era. This has been a prolific source of the constant addition to our historical knowledge, though where supple¬ mentary evidence is lacking we know little more than the royal name, his approximate date and the location of his kingdom. But even such scraps of information, pieced together, have enabled* the historian to reconstruct a clear outline of the history of a locality or even of a definite period, of which little was known before.
In a few cases the private records throw more direct light on the political history of India, as they emanate from persons closely connected with a royal family. We have, for example, interesting records of families whose members for generations held high offices like ministers or generals. In others the importance of an indi¬ vidual is indicated by the office he held, or the part he played in the affairs of state. These inscriptions, though issued by or in honour of private individuals, therefore incidentally give us a great deal of information about the kings and political condition of the time.
On the whole it may be said without any hesitation that the epigraphic records of ancient India have been the principal source of our information regarding the political history, and have also proved to be of great value by supplementing literary evidence in regard to the social, religious, and economic condition of India.
2. Numismatics . — Next to the inscriptions, coins are the most important source of the history of ancient India. Many thousands of these have come to light. Hoards have been unearthed in dif¬ ferent parts of the country — a single hoard sometimes yielding many thousands — and individual specimens have constantly been found on or near the surface of ancient sitesl. Most of them at first passed into the hands of private individuals, but a number were recovered by scholars or acquired by public institutions. There is no doubt, however, that quite a large proportion was
56
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
melted or otherwise lost to antiquarian study, and this deplorable state of things is unfortunately still going^ on. A systematic study and collection of coins has been possible only in cases of regular archaeological excavations. Not only were many coins, otherwise acquired, lost to us, but no systematic record has been kept of the provenance of those which have survived. This has been a serious handicap to the scientific study of the coinage, as much of the historical importance of a coin is lost if we cannot determine the exact locality of which it formed the currency.
The importance of numismatics for the study of the economic condition of a country is too obvious to need a detailed considera¬ tion. Here we shall only indicate how coins have helped us to reconstruct the political history of the various periods.
The earliest coins of India bear only figures, devices, or symbols, but with few exceptions, no legends. These coins were sometimes cast in dies, but more often the symbols were punched on the metallic pieces. Sometimes there are many symbols, pun¬ ched at different times. They were most probably deliberately stamped by the issuing authority, in order to guarantee their genuineness and value. These authorities might have been kings or states, but also certainly included individual merchants, trade- guilds, city-corporations, and similar bodies, for the idea of a state monopoly of minting coins was yet unknown. In the absence of legends, it is impossible to allot the different coins to these differ¬ ent categories. The meaning of the figures and symbols, once familiar to the people using these coins, is no longer clear to us, though some of them are familiar objects or well-known conven¬ tional designs. Various suggestions have been made regarding their significance, but they are highly speculative and rest on no secure foundations. Apart from conveying some vague religious ideas and artistic conventions these coins do not supply any histo¬ rical information. The rare legends on them refer to the mercan¬ tile corporations which issued them.
It is not till after the Greek invasion that we come across coins with the names of kings clearly engraved on them. Except¬ ing, perhaps, a few coins of the time of Alexander, the most im¬ portant series of such coins were those issued by the Greek rulers of Bactria who ultimately conquered the Punjab and North-West¬ ern Frontier. The artistic excellence of these coins has never been surpassed in India, and the portraits of kings and other figures on them show Hellenistic art at its best. These coins of the Graeco-Bactrians set a new fashion and may be said to have revo¬ lutionized Indian numismatics. The most important feature added to Indian coins from this time forward was the name, and some¬ times even the portrait, of the sovereign who issued them. How greatly it has helped our knowledge of political history will be
57
THE VEDIC AGE
apparent from the fact that it is from these coins alone that we know of nearly thirty Greek kings and queens who ruled in India. The classical writers have referred to only four or five of them, but not only were the names of the rest unknown to them, but even the very memory of the Greek domination over a corner of India for nearly two centuries was absolutely lost. This remarkable historical episode, interesting alike to Greece and India, came to the knowledge of the world, after nearly two thousand years, by the discovery of those fine series of coins — of gold, silver, and copper — which now adorn many public museums in Europe and India.
The coinage of the Greeks was imitated by the Scythian and Parthian invaders who followed in their footsteps, and although the execution of their coins is far inferior, they are equally impor¬ tant for historical purposes. Here, too, the coins alone have enabled us to reconstruct an outline of their history, and recover the names of quite a large number of their rulers. One branch of the Scythian invaders, who settled permanently in Gujarat and the Kathiawar Peninsula, issued coins which not only gave the name of the ruling king and that of his father, but very often also the date in the well-known Saka era. This has enabled us to reconstruct the history of the Western Satraps — as these rulers are called — for a period of more than three hundred years. With the exception of a few inscriptions and literary references, which otherwise would
have been of little helD. the coins have been the sole source of our
*
information regarding the Greeks, the Sakas and the Parthians that entered India after the dissolution of the Mauryan Empire. The Kushanas who followed them likewise issued a large number of .coins, but the history of this dynasty is also known from other sources.
The coins have also been the principal source of our informa¬ tion regarding the various Indian states — both monarchical and republican — that flourished during the same period. Most of them, like the Malavas. Yaudheyas. the Mitra rulers of Panchala etc., are almost exclusively known from their coins. In other cases, like the Satavahanas of the Deccan, the Puranic account is corroborated, corrected, and supplemented by their coins and inscriptions.
The Guptas, who founded the greatest emnire in Tndia after the Maurvas. issued a lar^e varietv of fine coins. Although we know a great deal of their history from eoigraphic records, the coins form an important additional source of information.
With the downfall of the Guptas the numismatic evidence ceases to be an important source of history. Isolated coins, here and there, have no doubt proved to be of great value, but they seldom afford us material information not otherwise available. It
58
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
is a curious fact that coins of even great emperors like Harsha or ruling dynasties like the Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Pratlharas and Palas, not to speak of lesser kings and dynasties, are either un¬ known or of little significance.
3. Monuments. — In addition to coins and inscriptions we have other antiquarian remains, such as buildings or parts thereof, statues of stone or metal, terra cotta, ornamental and decorative fragments, pottery, and various other objects of a miscellaneous character. They are of great importance in tracing the history and evolution of Indian art. The art of a country is generally regarded to be a fair index of its culture, and it throws light on some higher aspects of its civilization which cannot be easily understood from other sources. The remains of Indian monuments have thus con¬ siderably helped towards a proper appreciation of the life and spirit of ancient India.
In addition to individual monuments, sometimes we have the vast remains of an ancient city laid bare before us. Some of them, like those of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, have opened before us an altogether new type of civilization, reaching back to an age of which no memorials in India were known before. This has carried back the antiquity of Indian culture and civilization by several thousands of years and opened up a new vista of its history, cha¬ racter, and association with the outside world. It has also trans¬ formed our ideas of the origin of Indian civilization. We can no longer derive from the simple fact of the Aryan migration the com¬ plex structure of later Indian civilization, but must look for more than one source which fed the mighty stream. Even in concrete matters our ideas have undergone great changes. As an instance may be cited the origin of the Brahmi script (used in the Asokan records) which, as noted above, is the parent-stock from which all Indian alphabets have been derived.
Scholars have almost unanimously held the view that Brahmi was derived from a foreign source, though they widely differ about its identity. But more than five hundred seals have been discover¬ ed at Mohenjo-daro which contain a species of pictorial writing. This has not been deciphered yet, but the probability of the Brahmi alphabet being derived from it is now being seriously considered. Similarly the deep-rooted conviction that Indian art originated from a foreign source not much earlier than the third century B.C.. has been considerably shaken by the discovery at Mohenjo-daro of finely carved stone figures of the third millennium B.C. which would not unfavourably compare with the statues of the classical period in Athens. The archaeological excavation of the Indus valley is still at its infancy, and we may look forward to its continuation
59
THE VEDIC AGE
as opening up a brilliant chapter of Indian history as yet unknown or even undreamt of.
Coming down to historical times, the systematic excavations of ancient sites like the city of Taxila or the monastic establishments at Sarnath (near Benares) have thrown light upon various aspects of life of which there is little or no record in literature. Such ex¬ cavations, as will be noted in the next chapter, have been few and far between. Still, meagre though they are, compared with the vast extent of the country, these archaeological excavations have enabled us to realize some interesting aspects of Indian civilization which would have been otherwise unknown.
C. Foreign Accounts
In addition to literature and archaeological remains we have another interesting source of information in the accounts left by foreign writers. The earliest among them are the two Greek writers Herodotus and Ctesias, both of whom must have derived their information indirectly through Persian sources. Herodotus gives some useful information along with a great deal of fairy tales, but the account of Ctesias largely consists of incredible fables. Far greater interest attaches to the writings of those Greeks who accom¬ panied Alexander to India, and the account of Megasthenes, who lived for some time in the court of Chandragupta Maurya as an ambassador of Seleucus. Though these works are mostly lost, much has been preserved in books, based upon them, written by later authors. These accounts contain a great deal of information that is both inte¬ resting and authentic, but they suffer from the defects inherent in the writings of foreigners, ignorant of the language and customs of the country. While great importance naturally attaches to what they recorded from personal observation, we must treat with great reserve their accounts based on others’ reports or hearsay evidence. Due allowance must also be made for the necessarily limited circle within which a Greek must have moved in India, and his natural proneness to see everything through Hellenic eyes and distort or exaggerate anything that was strange or unfamiliar to him. Tt would be foolish to belittle the importance of the classical accounts of India, but it would be equally unwise to put implicit faith in everything contained in them.
Special reference must be made to the classical writers who have elucidated the geography and natural history of India. The earliest of them is the anonymous author of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. He was a Greek, settled in Egypt, who made a voyage to the Indian coast about A.D. 80 and left a record of its ports, harbours, and merchandise. This short account, full of in¬ teresting information, is worth its weight in gold, as it has preserv¬ ed from oblivion a phase of the trade and maritime activity in
60
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
ancient India, otherwise unknown. Ptolemy wrote a geographical account of India in the second century A.D. on scientific lines. His data being derived from secondary sources, he has fallen into nume¬ rous errors, and his general -conception of the shape of India is also faulty in the extreme. Nevertheless the attempt was praiseworthy and has supplied valuable information. The same may be said of Pliny’s account of Indian animals, plants, and mine¬ rals written in the first century A.D. There were also many other writers of a later date.
These classical accounts, most of which have been translated into English by J. W. McCrindle, were generally prompted by a spirit of exploration of unknown lands, and reflect great credit on their authors and the scientific spirit of the age in which they lived. The same spirit was displayed a few centuries later by Arab sailors and merchants, some of whom, like Sulaiman and A1 Mas’udI, have left brief records of India. The gap in the interval between the two periods is filled by Chinese writers, both chroniclers at home and pilgrims who visited India.
The writings of the Chinese travellers to India form a valuable supplement to the classical accounts. Three of them, Fa-hien (fifth century A. D.), Hiuen Tsang, and I-tsing (seventh century A.D.) are better known than others, and have recorded their experiences in fairly bulky volumes which are happily preserved in their original forms and have been translated into English. All three spent a num¬ ber of years in India and learnt its language, and the first two travelled widely almost all over the country. In these respects they had an undoubted advantage over the Greek travellers. But unfortunately for the historian of India, these eminent Chinese visitors were all devout Buddhist monks, whose journey to India was merely a pilgrimage to holy lands, and whose outlook was purely religious. Neither Fa-hien nor I-tsing refer to secular matters, except very incidentally, nor do they even mention the name of the king or kings whose dominions were visited by them. Hiuen Tsang is not so circumscribed, but gives some interesting infor¬ mation about his royal patron Harsha-vardhana and other contem¬ porary kings of India. He also briefly refers to the political con¬ dition of the kingdoms through which he passed, and devotes an entire chapter to a general account of India. These are, no doubt, very valuable, but they form only a very small part of his extensive records which, like those of Fa-hien and I-tsing, are otherwise, devoted to a minute and detailed description of Buddhism in India —its rituals and practices, sanctuaries and memorials, sects and doc¬ trines, scriptures and traditions.
The Chinese travellers have rendered a great service by depict¬ ing the state of Buddhism in India. But devout pilgrims as they were, their intense religious faith impaired to a certain extent their
61
THE VEDIC AGE
rational instincts and power of impartial observation. We must therefore be on our guard against accepting as literally true all their statements, especially those which concern the Buddhist faith in any way, even when based on personal observation. Their judg¬ ment on men and things was warped, if not vitiated, by an absolute and implicit faith in the superiority of Buddhism, and the too inti¬ mate, if not exclusive, association with men and institutions con¬ nected with that religion. Buddhism alone loomed large in their eyes, everything else taking a subordinate and almost an insigni¬ ficant place. Such an attitude is hardly compatible with recording an account that may be regarded as strictly historical.
From the eighth century A.D. India attracted the attention of the Arab writers. Apart from the account of the Arab merchants and sailors, the Indian borderland finds prominent mention in Arab historical chronicles on account of the political aggrandisement of that militant nation which culminated in the conquest of Sind early in the eighth century A.D. Two and a half centuries later the Ghaznavid Turks followed in the footsteps of the Arabs and carried the banner of Islam far into the interior of India. India now figured prominently in the Muslim chronicles. The best foreign account of India that this age produced was written by Abu Rlhan, better known as Alberuni, a contemporary of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. While the ruthless conqueror was harrying India by fire and sword, destroying and plundering its cities and temples, the great Arabic scholar engaged himself in studying the culture and civilization of the country. He learned Sanskrit and studied its different branches of literature. The bulky volume which he wrote is in many res¬ pects the most rational and comprehensive account of India ever written by a foreigner until modern times. He is singularly free from religious enthusiasm, bordering on fanaticism, and the racial superiority-complex which mark the Muslim writings of the age. He patiently laboured hard to acquire knowledge of Indian society and culture in a laudable spirit of quest for truth, and brought to his task a liberal and rational mind enriched by profound know¬ ledge, remarkable for his age. But from the point of view of Indian history, Alberuni’s great work, highly valuable though it is, suffers from two serious defects. In the first place, he says little or noth¬ ing of the political condition of India. Secondly, his account rests primarily on his study of Indian literature, and is not based on per¬ sonal observations. In other words, he saw India, not with his own eyes, but through literary works. Alberuni gives an admirable survey of the mathematics, physics, chemistry, cosmogony, astro¬ nomy, astrology, geography, philosophy, religious rites, customs, social ideas, etc., of India, but we feel at almost every step — and he does not conceal the fact — that he is merely reproducing what he read about these things in books written by Indian authors dead and
62
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
gone long ago, and draws little or no inspiration from the living India of his age.
2. THE MEDIAEVAL PERIOD (THIRTEENTH TO EIGHTEENTH CENTURY)
AlberunTs work closes a long series of accounts written by foreigners about ancient India. Two centuries later the Muslim Turks established their political supremacy over India, and intro¬ duced the art of compiling chronicles recording the political events of the country. The earliest work of this kind, Tabaqat-i-Nasiri by Minhaj-ud-din, composed in the middle of the thirteenth century A.D., traces the history of Muslim rule in India from the very begin¬ ning with such fullness of detail as the author could derive from a patient study of all the materials available to him. It was follow¬ ed by other works at regular intervals among which the following deserve special mention: Ta*rikh-i-Firuz Sh&hi by Ziya-ud-dln Bararil and Shams-i-Siraj ‘Aflf; Gulshan-i-lbrahimi by Muhammad Qasim Firishta; Ain-i-Akbari and Akbar-n&ma by Abu’l-Fazl, Tabaq&t-i- Akbari by Nizam-ud-dln Ahmad, and Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh by *Abd-ul-Qadir Budauni.
There are besides a number of other works dealing with general history as well as provincial states or particular individuals. A fair idea of the nature and extent of these works may be had from that excellent compendium — The History of India as told by Us own Historians— compiled by Elliot and Dowson, in which an attempt has been made to cover the history of the whole period by extracts (in an English translation) from indigenous historical texts.
The autobiographies of the Mughal emperors Babur and Jahan¬ gir, and the biographies of other emperors, kings, and various gran¬ dees form a valuable supplement to regular historical works. A part of the official correspondence, both of the Central Government and of the various provinces and subordinate states, has also been preserved.
Official despatches or the letters of military commanders, gov¬ ernors, and diplomatic agents are valuable sources of information, and often give accurate dates and details not available from any other source. Mention may also be made of court diaries and news- reports. These contain reports of the occurrences and sayings at the Public Durbars of Delhi and provincial courts which were taken down by men specially employed for the purpose by subordinate rulers or important officials. These form valuable materials for the reconstruction of the history of the period, and the monumental work Ain-i-Akbari gives a most detailed and comprehensive picture of the complex administrative machinery set up by the great Mughal emperor. The bardic chronicles of the Rajputs form an important
63
THE VEDIC AGE
class of historical documents concerning the Hindu states of Raj- putana. It is unnecessary to dwell at length on these familiar sources of history, as they will be reviewed in detail in lsiter parts of this work.
t
The archaeological evidence of the period, highly valuable from the point of view of the history of art, ceases to be of as much special importance as in the ancient period for the purpose of political history. The coins of the early rulers with their dates and mint- marks, as well as inscriptions, often supply valuable additional information, particularly in respect of provincial history which is not so fully dealt with by the Court historians. But they are at best valuable supplements, and save in rare instances, not the sole or even principal sources of information.
The accounts of foreign travellers are also an important, though supplementary, source for the history of this period. • One of the earliest is Marco Polo who visited India and other parts of Asia towards the close of the thirteenth century A.D. He does not, how¬ ever, tell us much of the political history. The most important in this respect is Ibn Batuta, an African Muhammadan, who spent several years in the court of Muhammad Tughluq. He returned to his native country in A.D. 1349, after twenty-five years of travel, full of adventures, in various parts of Asia. He has left a vivid account of India of his time whose general accuracy there is no reason to dispute. Another important traveller was Nicolo de’ Conti, the Venetian, in the fifteenth century. A number of other European travellers in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries have left interesting information about various parts of India, parti¬ cularly the powerful kingdom of Vijayanagar. For the Mughal period the voluminous writings of European travellers, including reports of Jesuit missionaries, and official despatches of the Portu¬ guese, French, and English trading settlements, supply a mass of authentic information.
For the second period (A.D. 1200-1800), therefore, the histo¬ rian of India is no longer hampered by lack of material as in the first or earlier period. He can trace the main outline of the poli¬ tical history with essential details, and has not to piece together frag¬ mentary data from coins and inscriptions by a tedious and laborious process. His principal difficulty is to sift the truth from a mass of data which sometimes contradict one another, and to assess correct¬ ly the statements of historians which are not infrequently coloured by passions and prejudices. But these are difficulties which are common to historians of all ages and countries.
3. THE MODERN PERIOD
It is unnecessary to say much on the materials for the history of the modem period, as they present no unusual features. It should
64
SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY
be emphasized, however, that state-papers, i.e. contemporary official documents, now take the chief place among these materials, as in the case of European countries. Such state-papers are not altogether wanting for the Mughal period, but they are, comparatively speak¬ ing, few in number and play a minor role in the construction of the history of the period. From the eighteenth century they in¬ crease in volume and importance, and the Peshwa’s Daftars may be cited as a striking example. With the establishment of the British ascendancy these state-papers form the most elaborate and valuable source of information. The servants of the East India Company in India had to keep very detailed written records of their transac¬ tions and deliberations for the perusal of their masters in England, and this fortunate circumstance has undoubtedly increased the mass of documents which supply abundant historical material of first- rate importance. The correspondence of the various Indian States among themselves and with the British is also very valuable. These materials have been partially lost, but a great deal has been preserved and is now kept in the Imperial Records Office in Delhi and the India Office in London. The Records Office in Delhi has been recently reorganized, and proper arrangements have been made for making the records available to students of history and helping their study by means of classification, indexing, and printing select documents. Numbers of important state papers in Provin¬ cial Record Offices, Indian States, and in private possession are also gradually coming to light. These and other materials, to which detailed reference will be made in due course, have considerably facilitated the task of the historian of modern India.
65
CHAPTER HI
GENERAL REVIEW OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS
I
In every country the historian is dependent upon the archaeo¬ logist lor information about periods to which written records do not, go back* This particularly is the case in India, where practi¬ cally .the entire history ©f the ' pre-Muslim period is built up on the study of materials recovered by the investigator and excavator during the last century and a hail. The splendid achievements of Indian culture throughout the ages were unfortunately not matched by a sense of historical and geographical accuracy, and except for the metrical chronicle of Kashmir, no other sober history is available for the whole sub-continent. The Muslim period witnessed a mark¬ ed interest in the recording of contemporary history, and occasional¬ ly an exceptional monarch such as Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351-1388) even made an attempt to explore and preserve ancient relics such as the inscribed pillars of Asoka, but without any tangible result. The study of Indian antiquities was, however, initiated in Bengal soon after the establishment, of British power by scholars like Sir William Jones, who founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784. At first, only linguistic and literary researches occupied the Society's attention. With the turning of the century, a comprehensive sur¬ vey of the country was started under the orders of the East India Company, and Dr. Buchanan Hamilton was the first explorer who carried out this task first in Mysore and Southern India, and then 1st, North Bengal, Bihar, and Assam, in the second decade of ihe nineteenth century. His report contains the earliest notices of Indian antiquities, and these are recorded with great accuracy and sound judgment. In* Western India the caves of Ajanta, Elephants, and Kanheri were also discovered and described before the turn of the twenties.
The labours of these pioneers brought to light a number of ancient inscriptions recorded on rocks and pillars, but these were written in a script which no one could read. They thus remained a sealed book to scholars till their mystery was solved by James Prinsep in 1837. Prinsep, who was then Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, has left an interesting account of this great dis¬ covery. It is a romance of archaeology fit to rank by the side’ of the decipherment of the hieroglyphic and cuneiform scripts. For seven years* we are told, Prinsep spread before him, every morning, the estampages of the inscriptions collected from different parts of India and wistfully gazed at the unknown alphabets which con-
66
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS
cealed the mystery of India’s past. At last the numerous short votive records on the famous stupa at Sanchl gave him the key. How he hit upon it, almost 'by a lucky chance, may best be told in his own words, as recorded in Volume VI of the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (p p. 460-77, 566-609).
. “In laying open a discovery of this nature, some little expla¬ nation is generally expected of the means by which it has been attained. Like most other inventions, when once found it appears extremely simple; and as in most others, accident, rather than study, has had the merit of solving the enigma which has so long baffled the learned.
“While arranging and lithographing the numerous scraps of facsi¬ miles, for Plate XXVII [i.e. the Sanchl inscriptions] I was struck at their all terminating with the same two letters, JL Coupling this circumstance with their extreme brevity and insulated position, which proved that they could not be fragments of a continuous text, it immediately occurred that they must record either obituary notices, or more probably the offerings and presents of votaries, as is known to be the present custom in the Buddhist temples of Ava; where numerous dhwajas or flag-staffs, images and small chaityas are crowded within the enclosure, surrounding the chief cupola, each7 bearing the name of the donor. The next point noted was the
frequent occurrence of the letter / [j, already set down incontes-
.. -
tably as s, before the final word: now this I had learnt from the Saurdshpra coins, deciphered only a day or two before, to be one sign of the genitive case singular, being the ssa of the Pali, or sya of the Sanscrit. ‘Of so and so the gift,’ must then be the form of each brief sentence; and the vowel d and anusuxira led to the speedy recognition of the word danam (gift) teaching me the very two letters, d and n, most different from the known forms, and which had foiled me most in my former attempts. Since 1834 also my acquaintance with ancient alphabets had become so familiar that most of the remaining letters in the present examples could be named at once on re-inspection. In the course of a few minutes I thus became possessed of the whole alphabet, which I tested by applying it to the inscription on the Delhi column.”
Prinsep then applied, with success, the Sanchl alphabet, as he called it, to the Buddhist group of ancient coins and to other in¬ scriptions, particularly those on the lats, meaning the A£okan Edict columns, in Upper India, and gave an analysis of the alphabet. Next, by the application of the alphabet to the inscriptions on the celebrated A&okan pillars at Delhi and Allahabad, he gave detailed readings and interpretations of these inscriptions. Thus was the master-key of the ancient Brahmi alphabet discovered.
Prinsep’s great discovery ushered in a new era by lifting the
67
THE VEDIC AGE
veil from the earlier Indian inscriptions, and laid the foundation of research in Indian history and practically every branch of Indian archaeology. Hereafter it became possible to evaluate each dis¬ covery and assign it to its proper period by a systematic study of contemporary writings. Scholars like Fergusson, Cunningham, Dr. Bhau Daji, and Dr. Rajendra Lai Mitra handed on the torch lighted by Prinsep, and built up the foundations of our present knowledge of Indian architecture, Indian geography, Indian coins and other branches of Indology during the next generation.
The first official step taken by the Government of India was the appointment of General Alexander Cunningham as Archaeolo¬ gical Surveyor to the Government in 1862. This was due to the initiative of Lord Canning, who for the first time realized that the British Government had a duty towards India in rescuing from oblivion her splendid heritage of the past. The choice of so genuine a lover of Indian antiquities as General Cunningham for this pioneer work of exploration and research was very happy, and the record of his devoted labours for nearly half a century, extending over a vast field covering almost every branch of knowledge^ is in many ways unique. Starting with the data supplied by the Greek his¬ torians and the Chinese travellers, he laid the foundations of an exact knowledge of ancient Indian geography by personal investiga¬ tions and an almost uncanny gift of spotting and identification of ancient sites. His unrivalled knowledge of Indian coins, particularly those of the north-west, laid the foundation of Indian numismatics, which still has to depend upon his published works in certain branches. Many of his speculations and conjectures may not have been confirmed by subsequent research, but this can be excused in a pioneer who covered so much new ground in half # dozen different fields. Such digging as was attempted at places like Bodh Gaya, Bharhut, Sanchl, Sarnath, and Taxila cannot be considered as systematic excavation, but we must remember that the science of archaeology had not then developed anywhere else beyond quarrying for sensational finds.
After Cunningham’s retirement followed a period of nearly fifteen years in which no clear archaeological policy was laid down or followed, although Dr. Burgess and his colleagues were able to publish excellent volumes on the results of the Surveys, mostly of Western Indian caves as also in Southern India. Provincial surveys on a very limited scale and without any central direction or support could accomplish little, but in the closing years of the last century, Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India, ushered in a new era for Indian archaeology. He accepted the encouragement of research and the promotion of archaeological study as a duty and obligation which Government owed to this ancient country and established a Central Department of Archaeology. Thereafter, the course of archaeology
68
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS
has been fairly continuous, though subject to periodic stimulation and depression.
The Department contained several keen and sound Sanskrit scholars of various nationalities, notably Dr, Vogel, Dr. Stein, Dr. Bloch, and afterwards Dr. Spooner, all of whom were very much interested in archaeological exploration; but none of them had the benefit of taking actual part in tne work of excavation as Dr. Marshall (.afterwards Sir John), the newly appointed Director General of Archaeology, had in Greece before his appointment. His direction and guidance soon proved to be of the greatest benefit to Indian archaeology, and not only did the European officers of the Depart¬ ment hereafter take a share in the work of excavation, but young Indian probationers were enlisted for training as they were even¬ tually to replace scholars from abroad. In the first few years (1903-12) the programme of excavation largely centred round such famous Buddhist sites as Sanchi, Sarnath, Kasia- (Kusinagara) and - Sahefc Mahet (Sravasti). City-sites like Charsadda (Pushkalavatl) near Mar dan, Bhi|a near Allahabad, Basarh (Vais all) near Muzaffarpur, and Rajgir the ancient capital of Magadha, were also touched but not persisted in, although they yielded sufficient finds of great im¬ portance for the reconstruction of cultural history. The reason for , this, as explained by Sir John Marshall himself, was that the re¬ searches of the earlier generation of archaeologists had thrown more light on Buddhist antiquities, and besides there was a greater chance of making some spectacular finds in the Buddhist sites than in the more extensive city-sites where it is difficult to locate spots of special importance. Buddhist sites, generally clustered around lofty stupas and readily recognizable from their configuration, are certainly easier to excavate and there is greater probability of making such sensational finds as, for example, the relics of the Buddha enshrined by Kanishka in the stupa near Peshawar city. At Sarnath, the famous lion capital of an Asokan pillar and the great sculptural wealth of the Gupta empire were among the sensational discoveries made.
The idea of bringing to light the successive cultural periods of Indian history by regular excavations at city-sites was entertained about 1912, when Sir John Marshall took up his work at Taxila which was to continue for over two decades. At Pataliputra (Patna) Dr. Spooner began in 1913 his examination of the ancient Maury an capital which was to continue for a number of years, thanks to the liberality of Sir Ratan Tata who provided the entire funds. Un¬ fortunately the latter site, being waterlogged and buried deep under alluvium, did not yield proportionately large results. Strangely enough, some of the most striking finds came from the lower levels exposed in the course of sewage operations and foundations of modem buildings. The excavations at Taxila, on the other hand,
69
V.A*— 8
THE VED1C AGE
have yielded steadily growing material which has fulfilled the expectations raised by a city-site situated on the main highway from the north-west, forming, as it were, the crucible in which Indian culture was blended with that of other races coming from that direction during the three or four centuries on either side of the Christian era. The most comprehensive operations ever carried out at any single site in India are those at Taxila, where about a dozen sites have been excavated within an area of some 25 square miles, embracing three separate cities and half a dozen large Buddhist establishments. The earliest city going back to the Mauryan .period is that under the Bhir mound, which was superseded by the second and most important city at the site of Sirkap, founded by the Indo- Greek rulers and inhabited during the Indo-Greek and the 6 aka periods. The wealth of finds, mainly from the second city, that enriches the museum established -on the site makes it the most attractive archaeological collection in the country.
While the lay-out of the Mauryan city was irregular and the construction unimpressive, the second town, with its regularly ar¬ ranged streets and lanes and well-built houses with spacious rooms and courtyards, is one of the best preserved ancient cities, the relics found being among the most representative and valuable dug out anywhere in India. Among the religious sites at Taxila the most prominent and extensive is the Dharmarajika stupa, said to have been founded by the great Aioka and built over during successive ages and surrounded by scores of smaller stupas , chapels, and large monasteries. Some of the retreats for the Buddhist monks perched on the neighbouring hillocks, such as those at Jauiian, Kalawan, and Mohra Moradu, provide ample evidence of the flourishing state of Buddhism in the palmy days of Taxila, which came to ah end at the close of the fifth century A.D. with the. invasions of the Huna hordes.
World War I interfered with the progress of exploration, as it was not possible for the Government to spare funds for scientific research. However, the Royal Asiatic Society of London sanctioned a small , grant for the excavation of the great Buddhist site of Nalanda, and this enabled Dr. Spooner to commence work in 1917 which continued unabated for nearly two decades. Besides the complex of stupas, temples, and monasteries brought to light in the course of these excavations, Nalanda has yielded unique bronzes and sculptures of great artistic merit as well as inscriptions which have thrown a flood of light on the history of Northern India and the development of Buddhism in Eastern India. The main building here shows signs of having been enlarged and rebuilt no less than seven times, and some of the monasteries show at least three periods of occupation and reconstruction. Nalanda has been the main centre of archaeological work in Bihar since it was taken up nearly thirty
70
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS
years ago. Rajgir (ancient Rajagyiha) has also yielded some re¬ markable finds, notably from the site known as Maniyar Math, but no large-scale examination of this ancient city, one of the earliest historical capitals of India, has yet bean attempted.
An epoch-making discovery which changed the course of Indian Archaeology and pushed back Indian antiquities from the Buddhist to prehistoric times was made in 1922-23 when Mr. R. D. Banerji, excavating the ruins of a Buddhist establishment at Mohenjo-daro in Sind, lighted upon certain inscribed seals with pictographic characters which were till then known only from the. site of Harappa in the Punjab. The full significance of the discovery was not apparent till two years later, when a comparison of the finds from both the sites convinced Sir John Marshall that they belonged to a prehistoric civilization far earlier than any known so far. Although at first labelled Indo- Sumerian, owing to its obvious affinities with the Sumerian civilization of the third millennium B.C., the newly discovered civilization was subsequently renamed after the Indus Valley, as it was found to be its main habitat. The discoveries stimu¬ lated public interest in Indian Archaeology to an unprecedented degree, and the Government of India began to finance liberally schemes of archaeological exploration and research in the different parts of India. For about seven years from 1924-25 the Government grant for exploration gradually rose until it reached the figure of two and a half lakhs which has been the high-water mark in this country. For this the discoveries at Mohenjo-daro are mainly res¬ ponsible, and under that name is epitomized the progress of Indian Archaeology during the last two decades.
Preliminary excavations were carried on at a large number of sites in Sind and archaeological explorations were extended even to distant parts of Baluchistan (see Map 2). But these subsequent researches have failed to shed any considerable light on the manner in which this well-developed city civilization of the Indus Valley sprang up, as if from howhere, and also about its equally inexplicable disappearance without leaving any considerable traces of its survival in the Indus Valley or its surrounding regions. Some seven epochs, either slightly earlier or slightly later than the main stream of culture presented by Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, hayb been identi fied, but all of them -together do not help to bridge the wide gull between this chalcolithic civilization and that of the historic period which flourished in the upper and middle Gangetic basin from the middle of the first millennium B.C. This indeed is one of the most important tasks before Indian archaeology, and demands a great deal of patient and systematic work over a number of years. Field research of this type cannot be attempted by compartments but will require an all-India organization with ample resources at its back and co-operation of various regional units.
71
THE VJEJDIC AGE
The initial success of the Archaeological Department of the Government of India induced many of the Indian States to open their own Archaeological Departments. We shall now review the position regarding exploration in each province and important state. In the province of Sind, which leaped into prominence with the Indus Valley discoveries, the record of archaeology is still very meagre, apart from the Indus Valley finds. Besides a few Buddhist stupas and monasteries, mostly assignable to the Gupta period as at Mirpur Khas, none of the remains can be assigned to a period earlier than the Arab invasion in the eighth century. One reason for this must have been the gradual desiccation of the lower Indus Valley. The main interest of the province will therefore vest in the large number of sites of the prehistoric period, scattered over its western half, which have not yet been adequately explored.
In the North-West Frontier Province the great Buddhist sites of Sahr-i-Bahlol, Takht-i-Bahi, and Jamalgarhi have yielded valuable treasures. They fill the local museum at Peshawar, which is natu¬ rally the most important for the Graeco-Buddhist school of Gan- dhara. The whole district of Peshawar teems with mounds which
i
are being fast levelled by cultivators to the great detriment of science.
In the Punjab, Harappa and Taxila have been the most im¬ portant centres of archaeological works so far. The province, how¬ ever, possesses very interesting possibilities of exploration in the earlier phases of culture. The De Terra expedition, which came to study the Ice Age in Kashmir and the Punjab foot-hills, brought to light important palaeolithic industries in the Soan valley which con¬ stitute the earliest relics of the Stone Age in the north. The find of a small isolated site of the Indus period near Rupar in the Sutlej Valley, coupled with the presence of a number of mounds in the submontane region of Ambala, gives the hope that further interesting discoveries concerning the extension of the Indus Valley culture and its survival may be made in this region.
Kashmir, the beautiful valley in the lap of the Himalayas, is the only part of India for which, as noted before, an indigenous written history is available for the pre-Muslim period. The task of identi¬ fication of the many historical places mentioned in Kalhana’s Chro¬ nicle fell to Sir Aurel Stein, who successfully accomplished it and thereby laid the foundation of his world-wide fame as an explorer and archaeologist. When the Government of Kashmir opened an Archaeological Department in 1922, it turned its attention to the ancient sites, and eventually some of these were excavated, the result being in most cases a confirmation of Stein’s painstaking examination of Kalhana.
The most interesting remains discovered are those of a Buddhist settlement of Kusha^a period at Harwan (ancient Shatfahradvana )
72
ARCHAEOLOGICAL, EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS
consisting of a stupa and monasteries on a hill slope with unique terra-cotta plaques ornamenting the walls. Ushkar or Hu vis hkapura was another early Buddhist site (named after the well-known Kushana emperor) where investigation brought to light an early stupa built in- the eighth century. Other sites where excavation was carried out are Parihaspur, Avantipur and the well-known Martand, all belonging to the period from sixth to ninth century A.D.
The United Provinces, constituting throughout the historic period “the middle country” (Madhyadesa) or the heart of the Indian sub-continent, hold the key to the solution of many a problem con¬ cerning the development of Indian culture. The vestiges of human occupation from the earliest times to the present day can be recog¬ nized here in the shape of mounds representing such famous cities of old as Mathura, Varanasi, ^ravastl, KauiambI and Ahichchhatra. Mathura and its neighbourhood have yielded to the digger the largest number of sculptural treasures, but systematic excavations in the modern sense have not been attempted on a proper scale. The small antiquities from the ancient site of Kauiambi, picked up by casual visitors, are more artistic and more numerous than those found anywhere else.
It is by systematic work on the city mounds that Indian archaeo¬ logy can hope to lay the foundation of a more comprehensive knowledge of Indian antiquities. Such work was commenced at the site of Ahichchhatra in 1941-42 and continued for three seasons, with the object of separating and classifying the different strata of buildings and studying the finds associated with each cultural layer. As a result, the pottery, terra-cottas, and minor antiauities found in the excavation of the ancient cities of Northern India can now be assuredly relegated to definite historic periods such as Maurva. 6uiiga, Kushana. Gupta and Medieval, on the reliable basis of archaeological stratification instead of merely on grounds of style. One great desideratum to which attention has been drawn by critics from abroad is the absence of a properly classified corpus of Indian pottery through the ages. For this, ample material has now been collected from the Ahichchhatra excavation and from other regular excavations, though on a smaller scale, carried out at such sites as Raj ghat (Benares), Mathura, and one or two sites in the Punjab and north-west. The continental nature of the civili¬ zation of North India makes it inevitable that in each of the main periods the standard form adopted by the craftsmen of the central parts should be the guide for other .regions, no doubt with local variations. In certain special periods such as the Mauryan, when the Imperial influence radiated from the capital, it has been found that the special black glazed ware must have been centrally manu¬ factured and specimens exported to outlying districts.
Apart from this the characteristic grey ware of the Sunga period.
73
THE VEDIC AGE
the variety of forms prevalent in Kushana times, and the beautiful decorated pottery of the Guptas can now hardly be mistaken, al¬ though they may have been manufactured in places as distant from each other as the Punjab and Bengal. The value of the accurate dating of pottery, which is the most abundant material found in surface explorations, has now been sufficiently realized, and this opens the way to a better approximation of the age of surface re¬ mains in the absence of such datable material as coins and inscrip¬ tions which are not always forthcoming.
In Bengal archaeological excavation has added a new chapter to the cultural history of the province where relics of the pre- Muhammadan period were almost non-existent on the surface. This was at the great site of Paharpur in the Raj shah i district which took the best part of a decade to excavate and preserve. Here the most remarkable find is the gigantic Buddhist establishment con¬ sisting of a towering central temple rising in terraces and surrounded by a vast quadrangle of monastic cells. The plan of the temple showing a grand square cross with projections between the arms, and the scheme of decoration of the walls by rows of terra-cotta plaques interspersed by fine stone images, have thrown a flood of light on the early history of art and architecture in Bengal. Some work has. also been attempted at Mahasthana, the site of ancient Pundravardhana, and at Bangarh, ancient Kotivarsha, two important cities of North Bengal. The latter work, conducted by the Univer¬ sity of Calcutta, constitutes the only attempt made by an Indian University in the field of excavation, which has been thrown open to non-official effort by virtue of an amendment of the Ancient Monument Preservation Act passed by the Central Legislature in 1933. The casual removal of earth for erecting military establish¬ ments during World War II has brought to light many remains of ancient structures in the Mainamati Hill near Comilla. A preli¬ minary survey indicates that they are the remnants of Buddhist establishments comparable to those of Paharpur, but no systematic excavation has yet taken place in this region.
In the provinces of Assam and Orissa the efforts of archaeolo¬ gists have so far been confined to the investigation of standing monuments and existing ruins. ,
The Central Provinces and Central India constitute the richest field for epigraphieal discoveries, but no systematic excavation of ancient sites has so far been attempted in the Central Provinces. In Central India good work has been carried on ip Gwalior State where the remains of the ancient cities of Vidi&a (Besnagar), Pad- mavati (Padpia-Pav/aya) , and Ujjain have been excavated by the state archaeological department. The great site of Sanchl in Bhopal has been well excavated by Sir John Marshall. There is a great scope for the detailed investigation of remains, both of the historic and
74
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS
prehistoric periods, particularly in the basin of the Narmada river which has already yielded remains of palaeolithic and microlithic industries.
In Rajputana, the late Sir Aurel Stein’s examination of the dried bed of Hakra (ancient Sarasvatl) has brought to light a number of pre-historic sites in the Bikaner and particularly B^hawalpur States. Systematic excavation in Rajputana is confined to Jaipur where the ancient sites of Bairat, Rairh, and Sambhar have yielded a large number of antiquities, including hoards of punch-marked coins and terra-cotta figurines. Bairat has a unique circular temple of the Mauryan times, and Rairh appears to have been a flourishing metal¬ lurgical centre and trade mart. The most extensive site in Jaipur is the city of Nagar or Karkotnagar, now represented by extensive mounds recently taken up for excavation which, if carried through, is sure to shed light on the history of the Malava tribe whose capital it was.
An important undertaking, recently initiated by the Archaeo¬ logical Department and now taken over by the Ancient History De¬ partment of the Deccan College Research Institute, Poona, is the expedition which has investigated the prehistoric remains in Gujarat. This expedition, undertaken at first with a view to determine the relation of the paleolithic and neolithic remains found in the Sabar- mati valley by Bruce Foote, the pioneer of Indian prehistory, has succeeded in bringing to light at Langhnaj, near Mehsana, Baroda, State, skeleton remains in an advanced stage of calcination in asso¬ ciation with microlithic implements. The success of the expedition has induced help from the Tata Trust fund, and the further conti¬ nuance of the work by a non-official body like the Institute ist thus assured. Minor excavations at various ancient sites such as Anhil- pur, Patan, Amreli, and Mul Dwaraka were carried out by the Archaeological Department of the Baroda State.
In the Province of Bombay the prevalence of trap throughout the Maharashtra area accounts for the paucity of stratified accumu¬ lations at ancient sites. In portions of the Karnatak district of Bijapur recent examination of the surface has brought to light the existence of several strata going back to the pre-Mauryan age. Re¬ cent work at the ancient city of Kolhapur has also yielded conside¬ rable material of the Satavahana and later periods, incidentally throwing light on contacts with Rome.
The most important centres of Satavahana power were in the Deccan, and it is there that we must look for further extensive evi¬ dence of culture in the Satavahana period. The Hyderabad Gov¬ ernment has conducted excavations in the ancient capital of Paithan (Pratishthanal and more recently at Kondapur in the Bidar district. The latter site is a veritable mine of antiquities which include numerous specimens of all types such as terra-cotta and stucco
75
THE VEDIC AGE
figures, coins and medals numbering several thousand, and pottery. The material discovered here and at the great site of Maski has not yet been adequately studied, and it is essential that it should be properly published if its scientific value is to be enhanced. The Archaeological Department of the Hyderabad State, started in 1915, has recently taken up the programme of archaeological exploration and excavation, and it may be confidently hoped that its work will be commensurate with the great importance of the remains situat¬ ed in the dominions.
Mysore led the way among Indian States in archaeological in¬ vestigation by starting a regular department over- sixty years ago. At first the activities of the Department were concentrated on a survey of the epigraphic material in which the state abounds, and on which the history of the dynasties that ruled Mysore is almost wholly based. Latterly some attention has been devoted Ip the ex¬ cavation of ancient sites of which two have proved to be of very great value. The site of Chandravali near Chitaldrug was exca¬ vated in 1928 and shows several strata of occupation in which the Satavahana period seems to be most important. Brahmagiri, in the northernmost part of Mysore, shows not only the relics of the Maur- yan town of Isila, but also those of later historic periods, and, what is more, was founded on earlier settlements of microlithic age.
In the Madras Presidency, the vast number of existing temples and inscriptions have absorbed the main attention of the Archaeo¬ logical Survey. Although the number of sites of every period are numerous, excavation has so far been attempted only in some of the Buddhist sites in the northern districts and the well-known pre¬ historic burials at Adichanallur in the extreme south. Of the Bud¬ dhist sites the most important are those in the Krishna valley in which the local rulers of the Ikshvaku dynasty seem to have patro¬ nized art in a larger measure than any of their predecessors. Many ancient monuments before the organization of the Archaeological Department, such as the Amaravatl stupa in the Guntur district, had already been well nigh destroyed by villagers and other vandals and their sculptures distributed among different museums, includ¬ ing the British Museum. Recently the discovery of an important site at Nagarjunikonda has to some extent made up for the loss. Systematic excavation has brought to light another group of stupas and monasteries, arranged in a characteristic manner, which have yielded a vast number of sculptures and inscriptions. The site is beautifully situated in the Krishna valley and was anciently known as Sri-Parvata. A local museum has been built on the spot for housing the sculptures and architectural specimens unearthed. Some work was done recently at the site of Virampattanam, near Pondicherry, the seaport in which, as in many other south Indian sites, evidences of commercial contacts with Rome during the
76
/
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS
Imperial period are abundant. The problem of Megalithic burials in South India is vast and complicated, and much damage has already been inflicted by ill-advised digging on the gTaves associated with stone circles, urn burials, sarcophagi, etc., which occur over exten¬ sive areas in Southern India. At Adichanallur a large number of antiquities; including iron swords, daggers, gold and bronze diadems, bronze vessels and animal figures, etc., were found, along with a large amount of red-and-black polished pottery, forming the accom¬ paniments of the burials.
The whole subject has now been assiduously studied and we can expect the results of these studies to throw light on the movement and settlement of different types of people in the Peninsula. The entire field of palaeolithic, neolithic, and megalithic as well as iron age cultures in Southern India is so vast, and transcends in interest investigations relating to the historic periods, that it is likely to form a major preoccupation for several years. The states of Southern India, including Travancore, Cochin, and Pudukottai, have each its own contribution to make to this subject, not to speak of the larger states of Hyderabad and Mysore.
No account of the activities of Indian exploration can be com¬ plete without reference to the work carried out in what may be called Greater India. The most brilliant work carried out by the late Sir Aurel Stein constitutes the greatest achievement that can fall to the lot of a single scholar and explorer. Sir Aurel Stein’s activities were spread over a very wide field, including Baluchistan, Iran, and the border lands of India. But his most famous explora¬ tions were conducted in Chinese Turkistan. In the course of the several expeditions which Sir Aurel Stein carried out for the Gov¬ ernment of India, he discovered numerous relics of the ancient civi¬ lization which developed in the region. These have been preserved in the dry sandy wastes and show the highly important part which India played in the Far East, and the way in which Indian cultural influences were spread there. The state of preservation of the fresco paintings in the Buddhist temples, wooden, silk, and paper docu¬ ments, and other perishable objects is remarkable. These objects, recovered from Central Asia, have been carefully brought back and preserved in a special museum erected at New Delhi by the Govern¬ ment of India.
In Burma, which formed part of India till ten years ago, acti¬ vities were mostly confined to the centres of Prome, Pegu, and Pagan. Excavation has been generally confined to opening up small mounds lying in abundance at these centres, particularly Prome, marking the sites of old stupas or temples. The earliest finds are those at Prome in which Indian influence is very prominent. Al¬ though Hinayana Buddhism and the Pali tradition have now acquired a great hold on Burmese Buddhism, it is clear that a large propor-
77
THE VEDIC AGE
tion of the earlier colonizers were followers of the Mahayana sect and the Brahmanical religion, and it was not till a comparatively later period that the Hxnayana triumphed over its rivals. Bilin¬ gual inscriptions from Prome show the language of the old Pyu inhabitants side by side with Sanskrit. At Pagan excavations have brought to light a number of finds belonging to the eleventh and twelfth centuries, when modern Burmese culture may be said to have originated. At this period Burma was subject to a great deal of influence from India, especially Bengal, in sculpture, painting, terra-cotta, and architecture. It has now been well established that the plannihg and scheme of decoration of Burmese temples and pagodas is based on Indian prototypes developed in the alluvial plains of Northern India for centuries.
In the Malay Peninsula exploration work has not proceeded on a large scale, but whatever has been done shows a strong Indian influence in the beginning of cultural history. The existence of the great, &rl- Vi jay a Kingdom in Indonesia, and its paramount influence over i the islands in the Netherlands Indies, has now been clearly established by researches. The great monuments in Java, belong¬ ing la the Brahmanical as well as Buddhist faiths, such as the Bara- budur, Chan^i Sewu, and Chaodi Lara-Jongnang amply demons¬ trate the extent of Indian culture. Lastly, reference may be made to the researches and explorations of the French archaeologists in Indo-China wliich have thrown a flood of light on Indian colonies of Champa (Annam), Kambuja (Cambodia), and D vara vat I (Siam), and led to the discovery of such monuments as Angkor Vat and Angkor Thom of world-wide fame.
In Ceylon there is yet a vast field for exploration and excava¬ tion, but work so far has been mainly confined to the ancient capi¬ tals of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Originally European scholars were in charge of the work, but a properly trained Cey¬ lonese scholar has now been appointed Archaeological Commis¬ sioner t and he is responsible for the excellent work done at th6 hill site of Mihintale stupa which is reminiscent of Sanchi. Several
i
of the religious sites at Anuradhapura have received attention, but the vast remains of the ancient city have not yet been tackled. A large number of smaller sites in the south of the island have yet to be explored, specially for prehistoric remains in which Ceylon seems to be particularly rich, and a good beginning has been made in this direction by the Director Of Museums in Ceylon. Of all countries bordering on India, Ceylon is the most intimately con¬ nected with her culture both in the prehistoric and historic periods, and it is but natural that research in both countries should go hand in hand in close co-operation.
Afghanistan has in several periods of its history formed part of India, and some of its most striking remains, as at Hadda, testify
78
ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS
to the influence of Buddhism in that country. Some of the most important contributions to early Indian Epigraphy and Numisma¬ tics were based on finds made in Afghanistan. Recently a French mission conducted a series of excavations at Begram and other places which have thrown considerable light on its Indian connec¬ tions.
In conclusion it may be observed that while archaeological ex¬ ploration has been placed on a fairly strong foundation in this country and much has been achieved so far in bringing to light and interpreting first-rate material for the reconstruction of India's ancient history, a good deal yet remains to be done, and it would require the unabated efforts of generations of properly equipped archaeologists to bring the task to a reasonable state of complete¬ ness. While interest in the subject should be progressively widened throughout the length and breadth of this country, it is necessary that proper co-ordination should be established and much more financial support assured. Above all it is essential that a strong centre should foster and guide the activities of workers throughout the country. Indian unity, as exemplified throughout its history, is all the more necessary in the study of India's past, and any com¬ partments] treatment is bound to result in stagnation. Through the immensity and diversity of India there runs a thread of unity which must be kept in view in any attempt to organise work for the systematic investigation of the past, and it is hoped that this consideration will never be lost sight of.
c
79
CHAPTER IV
THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF
INDIAN HISTORY
It is a truism that the course of human history in a region is, in a considerable measure, shaped by its physical and geographical features, which, in turn, in the ultimate, are determined by the geological history the region has passed through in the dim vista of time. Five thousand to ten thousand years ago North India must have offered to the early settlers fr6m Asia, whatever race they belonged to, or from wherever they came, a congenial habitat, in pleasing contrast to the arid and inhospitable steppes of the Aralo- Caspian region, or the rugged mountains of the I ran- Af ghanistan- Turkistan plateau. This migration to a quite new physical environ¬ ment could not but have influenced and largely shaped the trend of history and civilization of the races involved.
Of the three natural physical divisions of India, as we shall see in the sequel, the part which was most suitable for human occupation and to function as the nursery of civilization is the great central tract of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Here were present all factors favour¬ able for life — climate, food-supply, water, and vegetation. This vast expanse of flat alluvial plains of high fertility, watered by a number of perennial rivers, deriving their fertilizing waters from the snows of the Himalayas, must have attracted hordes of migra¬ tory peoples in successive waves from many parts of Western and Central Asia. The great alluvial plains of India extending from Sind through northern Raj pu tana, Punjab, U.P., Bihar, and Bengal to Assam, an area of over 300.000 square miles, must have offered, as the centuries passed by, an exceedingly delectable home to early man long before the earliest beginnings of recorded history. But the geological beginnings of the sub-continent of India, as we know it today, date back to an antiquity of which it is difficult to give a concent save in terms of astronomical figures of years.
Human history, proto-history, and archaeology begin where the last chapter of our planet’s geological history ends. Man’s existence on earth dates a long time behind the oldest known re¬ cords of authentic archaeology, but fragmentary documents of his life in various regions of the earth, of his slow progress in culture and industry, and the relics of his contemporary animals lie buried in the top layers of the earth’s crust — the strata of geology which form what has been called its Sub-Recent period. Thus the back¬ ground of the history of all human races on earth is this zone of strata in the upper crust or shell of the earth’s body, laid down in
80
THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY
surface deposits, river valleys, deltas, lake-basins, glaciers, etc. In these are preserved traces of the existence of man and of the physi¬ cal and climatic conditions of the time; they are designated in general as the Pleistocene system, representing the last epoch of the third and latest division of geological time, the Cainozoic Era.
A full account of the Pleistocene under these heads is luckily preserved in India: it is of great value as linking up prehistory with the geological history of a large section of southern Asia. It was this age that saw the completion of the main outlines and relief of the earth as we see it today — its seas and continents, mountains, plateaux, and plains; though climatically the world had yet to witness one of the greatest revolutions, viz. the gradual freezing of the northern regions culminating in what is known as the Ice Age.
INDIA IN THE PLEISTOCENE PERIOD
1. The Setting of the Stage for Early Man in India
Pleistocene geological records found in India form an extensive and varied storehouse of materials for the last million years or so, immediately preceding the Recent and Sub-Recent epochs. They carry the human records forward to so late a date as the Neolithic (circa 10,000 years B.C). In terms of years the Pleistocene dates back, according to modem estimates, to one million to two million years. The formations enumerated below have an important bearing on man’s prehistory as they contain in them numerous documentary relics entombed in the form of his skeletal remains, his artifacts and other proofs of his handiwork, industry, and culture. It is in these that the key to the stages of human evolution might be found.
The principal Pleistocene and Sub-Recent remains in India may be classified as follows: —
(i) Deposits of the Ice Age in India: Glacials of Outer and Middle Himalayas.
(ii) The Indo-Gangetic alluvium of the plains of North India.
(iii) The older alluvium of the peninsular rivers; high-level river terraces of the Himalayan valleys.
(iv Old Lake Deposits (Karewa Series) of the Upper Jhelum Valley in Kashmir.
(v) Cave Deposits: Human cave-dwellers and their animal contemporaries.
(vi) Laterite Cap of the Peninsula: Loess and soil. deposits.
(vii) Changes in the river-systems and drainage of North India.
(viii) The Desert of North India: the growth of desert conditions.
(ix) Late Earth Movements, volcanoes and earthquakes.
81
THE VEDIC AGS
Interesting glaciological investigations have been made in the Kashmir Himalayas and in the Karakoram by a number of explo¬ rers and naturalists. The Central and Eastern Himalayas have not received the same* attention. It is, however, well Known that throughout these mountains grooved and polished rock-surfaces, produced by the scouring action of the glaciers, occur at elevations above 6,000 feet, whereas the present limit of Himalayan glaciers is 13,000 to 15,000 feet. Numerous lakes and rock-basins of Kash¬ mir, Ladakh, and Kumaon directly owe their origin to the action of glaciers now no longer existing. Four distinct phases of glacia¬ tion, separated by three inter-glacial intervals, have been recognized in Kashmir by their moraines.
Whether India, south of the Himalayas, passed through an Ice Age has been a much-discussed subject. It must be understood, however, that the present zonal distribution of climate being assum¬ ed, we cannot look for the presence of ice even on the highlands of South India, because a refrigeration which can produce ice-caps in the latitudes of Europe would not be enough to depress the tem¬ peratures in India beyond that of the present temperate zones. But some indirect evidences of considerably lowered temperature are observed in the increased humidity and a succession of cold pluvial periods having affected the distribution of several cold-loving species of animals and plants then living in India. This enables us to ex¬ plain the occurrence today of some Himalayan temperate flora and fauna in such isolated centres as Mt. Abu, Parasnath, in the Nilgiris and even in the mountains of Ceylon, and their absence throughout the intervening plains of India.
Man was contemporaneous, in N. W. India probably, with the two later glacial advances, as some late discoveries tend to show. De Terra records the presence of implements worked by man in de¬ posits in the outer ranges of Kashmir and in the Soan valley, belong¬ ing approximately to the - second Glacial He correlates the European Chellean and Acheulian with the early Soan cultures and dates this as Mid-Pleistocene.
2. The IndoGangetic Alluvium of the Plains of North India
As noted above, by early Pleistocene time, the dominant features of India’s geography had taken shape, and the country had acquired almost its present form and its leading topography except that the land in front of the newly upheaved Himalayas formed a great longitudinal depression, complementary to the rising moun¬ tains, and parallel with them. This trough, at first occupied by salt-water lagoons, gradually freshened, and, receiving constant influx of detritus from the high ground above it, from hundreds of descending streams, began rapidly to be filled by the waste of the Himalayas. This long-continued vigorous sedimentation loading
82
THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY s
a narrow, slowly sinking belt of country, the deposition of the debris keeping pace with the subsidence, has given rise to the great Indian plains. The continuous upheaving of the mountains must have rejuvenated the streams, multiplying their sediment-depositing power. Thus, these plains have come to acquire the simplest geo¬ logical structure, the alluvial filling a large structural basin in the framework of India.
The greater part of the Indo-Gangetic plains is built up of very late alluvial flood deposits of the rivers of the Indus-Ganges systems, borne down from the Himalayas and deposited at their foot. But most of this terrain became firm and dry enough to be habitable for man only some 5,000-7,000 years ago. Buried beneath this mantle of clay and sand are valuable geological records linking up the Deccan with the Himalaya system. Its geological structure, composition and history therefore possess no great interest though, humanly speaking, it is of the greatest economic as .well as historical importance. It has no mineral resources, but its agricultural wealth and fresh underground water stored in the more porous and coarser strata, accessible by ordinary wells and tube-wells, are the highest economic asset of India. Though devoid of records other than those of the yesterday of geological time, these alluvial plains are the stage of the main drama of Indian history since the Aryan occupation.
The area of these plains is 300,000 square miles, covering the most thickly populated and the most fertile part of India. The total thickness of the alluvium consisting of beds of clay, silt, and sand is not ascertained, for the deepest borings (for water down to about 2,000 feet) have not reached the bed-rock. There is a con¬ siderable amount of flexure and dislocation at the north margin of the trough, where it passes into the zone of the parallel boundary faults at the foot of the Himalayas. This structural strain explains the well-known seismic instability of this part of India, it being the belt encompassing the epicentres of the majority of the known Indian earthquakes. Many of the river courses of the plains have undergone great alterations. These rivers are bringing enor¬ mous loads of silt from the mountains and, depositing it on their beds, raise them to, and even above, the level of the surrounding flat country through which the streams flow in ever-shifting chan¬ nels. This has been the history of many of the rivers of the plains. The deltas of the large rivers were mostly constructed within pre¬ historic times, though their surface and outline have undergone material changes during the last few centuries. The Indus and Ganges deltas each cover about forty thousand square miles.
The extensive alluvial tract of Gujarat on the west coast is of the same age as, though quite unrelated to, the Indo-Gangetic system. Its constitution shows that it is not wholly the work of
83
THE VEDIC AGE
the rivers, but that in its making the combined agency of river, estuarine and marine coastal depositions has operated.
These ancient alluvial deposits are of value in the study of early and middle Pleistocene as they are characterized by the pre¬ sence of some of the earliest undoubted traces of man’s existence in India, and furnish an easily accessible field to the student of early human culture in India.
The alluvial plains of the Narmada and Tapti are remarkable as lying in deep rock-basins at over 500 feet elevation above the present beds of these rivers. Scattered in the clay, sand, and gravel beds are bones of the buffalo, horse, bear, an extinct species of rhinoceros, hippopotamus, elephant, and crocodile. A chipped stone hatchet, fashioned out of quartzite rock, was discovered hr 1872, buried in the steep face of a gravel terrace of the Narmada at a site eight miles north of Gadawara. This is the earliest pre¬ historic relic oi man discovered in India and is regarded as of the pre-Chellean Age. This fact suggests the settlement of the Narmada valley by an early palaeolithic race. Another valuable relic, also believed to be of genuine human workmanship, was discovered in a terrace of the upper Godavari at a level of about twenty-five feet above the present bed of the river. It is a knife fashioned put of an agate flake, 2\ inches long, the sharp cutting edge of which is blunted by long usage. From the association of human remains with large mammalia which differ from the existing Indian fauna in some material respects, the age of these implements can be taken to be Lower Pleistocene. The distance in time of these animals from their present-day descendants gives us some measure of the antiquity of the human settlements on the Narmada and the Goda¬ vari.
Various alluvial deposits of the Jumna-Ganges rivers and their tributaries are somewhat newer in age and have been assigned an antiquity intermediate between the Narmada-Godavarx beds and the Mid-Pleistocene, from the evidence of fossil-bones and the few artifacts that have been found in them. Lately signs of the exis¬ tence of palaeolithic man have also been obtained from the valleys of the Tungabhadra and the Orsang. Recent discoveries since 1935 in the valleys of the Soan (near Rawalpindi) and in the Sabarmati of north Gujarat of interesting suites of stone tools, axes, scrapers, and choppers also throw light on the length of the epoch that inter¬ vened between the palaeolithic and the commencement of historic time.
3. Human Cave-Dwellers of India: Their Animal Contemporaries
But few caves of archaeological interest exist in India and out of these only one group has received the attention of palaeonto¬ logists and been subjected to systematic exploration. The only
84
THE GEOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF INDIAN HISTORY
ones that have been systematically investigated and yielded data on Pleistocene cave life are the group of small caves (Billa Surgam) near Banganapalli in the Kurnool district. From the stalagmitic floor a large assemblage of bones has been dug out, belonging to a mixture of Recent and Sub-Recent species, viz. a monkey, a hyaena, several cats, bear, a small equus, mongoose, bat, squirrel, a shrew, rats, small deer, gazelle, wild boar, along with an extinct type of rhinoceros, wild boar, civet-tiger and giant pangolin. Palaeon¬ tologists have assigned to