Literature of Vedic people: Prakrit and Sanskrit

 

Rigveda manuscript on birch bark in Sharada script (a writing system of the Brahmic family of scripts), was found in Kashmir. (Photo: Twitter/@AnupamSharmaIFS)

Historians generally believe that Vedic Sanskrit came to India with the entry of the Aryans. Some of new researchers, however, assert on having a relook on this belief. They reject the Aryan migration theory. If there is no Aryan incoming to India then there would no introduction of Vedic Sanskrit to India. Simply put, both Aryans and Sanskrit are indigenous to India, according to these scholars.

First Literary Material

Vedic literature comes as the first literary material on the Indian continent. Indus Valley writings have not been deciphered. Indus people’s language remains unknown. The language of Vedic literature is Sanskrit, called Vedic Sanskrit to differentiate it from more popular Classical Sanskrit. All Vedic Age literature is in Vedic Sanskrit with an evolution streak from complex to simpler language.

The language of Vedic literature shows that Vedic Sanskrit was already in a well-developed state. Sanskrit literally means well-cultured, finely cultivated and well-nuanced. However, it was not the language of the masses. Historians believe Sanskrit probably was the lingua franca of the elite, rich or educated class. Bigger population was possibly uninitiated in Sanskrit language and literature.

A spoken simplified version of Sanskrit was possibly the language was the medium of communication in homes and society. Historians and linguists commonly hold that three new languages evolved from Vedic Sanskrit. They are secular Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali.

Rethinking Prakrit

However, there could be another point of view. Let’s briefly consider Prakrit, meaning the natural language in contrast to refined Sanskrit. In their names, Prakrit and Sanskrit reflect a linguistic dichotomy – natural versus artificial or cultivated.

The names suggest that Sanskrit might have followed from Prakrit since it was the language that meant refined, revised, cultured or cultivated. Natural or organically developed form comes first and revision or refinement can only take place thereafter. As such, Sanskrit logically should have arrived later. If that was the case, the dominant narrative of Indian languages evolving from Sanskrit gets reversed.

This also signals that Prakrit or the natural language could have evolved in two streams. One led to refinement bound by strict rules of grammar. The other flowed freely in spoken and popular languages. Sanskrit always accommodated popular words into the refined language.

In other words, popular usages were sanskritised to conform to the rules of the grammar. That could be the reason why when social reformation movements took place, all of them focused on popular languages and not Sanskrit whereas puritan movements brought Sanskrit to central scheme. This created another social dichotomy of Sanskrit elite and vernacular commoner.

Of the three Vedic age languages, secular Sanskrit was primarily sourced from Vedic Sanskrit and did not have the elements of common writing-spoken language. In comparison, Pali had common or public elements in plenty compared to Vedic elements. Same is also true about Prakrit. 

Both Prakrit and Pali were spoken in different areas and both were essentially Aryan languages but the public elements dominated these languages as against Vedic character of the Vedic Sanskrit. All three – secular Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali – developed around sixth century BC, historians believe.

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Literature

Some of these people are from this period and some others emerge in later periods. All these six Vedangas have their own relevance, and all are necessary but from the socio-religious view Kalpa is the most important part. Kalp is  linked to Karmakand (religious rituals) and Dharma (religious beliefs). Religious rituals or Karmakand could not be performed without hand (hasta), that is why Kalpa was also called hasta or hand.

What a person following Vedic-Brahmin faith should be doing during one’s lifetime and in which manner those religious rituals should be performed are contained in the Kalpa literature. It prescribes that every person has some duties towards oneself (includes spiritualism), some towards the family and to society as well. The Kalpa literature helps that person in undertaking these duties adequately. It is contained in the Kalpa Sutra.

All the personal, familial and social prescriptions are mentioned in the form of Sutras or formulae in the Kalpa literature. This is why it is also known as the Sutra literature.

Shraut Sutra: Duty towards onself

Gruh Sutra: Duty towards family

Dharma Sutra: Duty towards society

Dharma Sutra is extremely important in Vedic literature. Owing to changes, modifications and evolution of Vedic belief system, Dharma Sutra is often linked to the origin of Smruti-Brahmin faith.

Due to dominance of Sutra literature, the phase is also known as Vedang-Sutra Age.

How India’s history has been written: Approaches to ancient Indian history

 

History-writing is most of the times like having an eagle's eye view. The writer is always looking to catch her or his prey. (Photo: Prabhash K Dutta)

History is what happened in the past. But it is not fully recorded. It is often reconstructed like an investigator recreates a scene of crime. And, it is often open to interpretation. The most dominant interpretation comes as a textbook of history. It is held as the accepted true version of the past. It may or not exclude certain facts of the past. This is why scholars agree to have different schools of thought interpreting history during its reconstruction. The distant the subject in the past more difficult it is to get it accurate. There have been certain accepted views that reconstructed ancient Indian history. Here’s a look at those approaches to reconstruction of ancient India.

COLONIAL VIEW

Modern research on ancient Indian history began in the second half of the eighteenth century because of the needs of the colonial administration set up by the British, who ruled over India. When Bengal and Bihar came under the rule of the East India Company in 1765, they found it difficult to administer, particularly the Hindu law of inheritance.. Hence, in 1776, the law book of Manu, Manusmriti was translated into English as A Code of Gentoo Laws.

Pundits were associated with the British judges to administer the Hindu civil laws and the manuals to govern the civil laws, and Maulavis to govern the civil laws of the Muslims.

[This was possibly the first instance in India when a uniform civil code was shredded to pieces. Earlier, the king would roll out a uniform code of law although that code, as Manusmriti shows, were prescribed harsher punishment to people belonging to the lower rungs of the highly stratified society and milder for upper class. 

However, Mahabharata presented another account where the upper class offenders were given harsher punishment and lower rung holders lesser on the basis that people with more social power had greater responsibility to behave as a civilian. 

During the phases of Islamic rule in India, the sultans and badshahs imposed Islamic civil as interpreted by Maulavis. The Islamic law-prescribed punishments were given to both Hindus and Muslims. Hindus paid additional taxes, according to Islamic laws, under the Sultanate and Mughal rules. 

The East India Company officials sensed the fragile sentiments of Hindus and Muslims for their religious beliefs and tried not to attract unwarranted hostility and cause unity among the two powerful social groups.]

Initial efforts by the East India Company officials to understand the ancient laws and customs culminated in the establishment of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 in Kolkata, then called Calcutta, by Sir William Jones.

Jones translated great Sanskrit dramatist Kalidasa’s Abhijnanshakuntalama into English in 1789. Thje Bhagavadgita had already been rendered into English in 1785. The Bombay Asiatic Society was set up in 1804, and the Asiatic Society of Great Britain was set up in 1823 in London.

William Jones emphasised the point that originally European languages were very much similar to Sanskrit and Iranian languages. This finally resulted in the establishment of chairs in England and other European countries.

The greatest push to Indological studies was given by F Max Mueller, who spent most of his time in England. The Revolt of 1857 was an eye-opener to the British. It was strongly realised in Britain that it badly needed to understand the manners and social systems of an alien people over whom it had to rule. Similarly, the Christian missionaries wanted to find out the vulnerable points in the Hindu religion to win converts and strengthen the British empire.

To meet these needs, the ancient scriptures were translated on a massive scale under the editorship of Max Mueller. Altogether, fifty volumes were published under the title of “The Sacred Books of the East” series. Although a few Chinese and Iranian texts were included, the ancient Indian texts dominated the series.

In the introduction to these volumes, Max Mueller and other western scholars made some generalisations about the nature of ancient Indian history and society. They said that the ancient Indians lacked the sense of history especially of time factor in historiography and chronology. They said that the Indians were accustomed to despotic rule. 

Further, the natives were engrossed in the problems of spiritualism or of the next world, and least bothered about the problems of this world. The caste system was considered as the most vicious form of social discrimination. They stressed that the Indians had experienced neither a feeling of nationhood nor any kind of self-government.

Many of these generalisations appeared in “Early History of India” by WA Smith, who prepared the first systematic history of ancient India in 1904. It served as a textbook for nearly fifty years and is still used by scholars.

Smith’s approach to history was pro-colonialist. He emphasised the role of foreigners in India. Macedonian warrior emperor Alexander’s invasion accounted for almost-one-third of his book. India was presented as the land of despotism which did not experience political unity until the establishment of the British rule.

In sum, British interpretation of Indian served to denigrate Indian character and achievements and justify the colonial rule. A few of these observations appeared to be somewhat valid. Thus, compared to the Chinese, the Indians did not show any strong sense of chronology although in the earlier stage, important events were dated with reference to the death of Gautam Buddha.

However, generalisations made by historians were either false or grossly exaggerated. They could serve as good propaganda material for the penetration of the despotic British rule. Their emphasis on the Indian tradition of one-man rule could justify the system which vested all powers in the hands of the viceroy.

Similarly, if the Indians wee obsessed with the problems of the other world, the British colonial masters had no option but to look after their lives in this world. Truly, at the heart of such generalisations lay the need to demonstrate that the Indian were incapable of governing themselves.

NAITONALIST APPROACH

The colonialist view came as a great challenge to the western-educated Indian scholars. They were irked by the colonialist distortions of their past and at the same time distressed by the contrast between the decaying feudal society of India and the progressive capitalist society of England. They took upon themselves not only the mission to reform Indian society but also to reconstruct ancient Indian history in such a manner as to make a case for social reforms and more importantly for self-government.

In doing so, most historians were guided by the nationalist ideas of Hindu revivalism but there was no dearth of scholars who adopted a rationalist and objective approach of historiography. To the second category belonged Rajendra Lal Mitra. He wrote a book entitled Indo-Aryans.

Rajendra Lal Mitra took a rational view of ancient society and produced a forceful tract to show that in ancient times, people consumed beef. Others tried to prove that in spite of its peculiarities, the caste system was not basically different from the class system based on division of labour found in pre-industrial and ancient societies of Europe.

In Maharashtra, RG Bhandarkar and VK Rajwade emerged as two great dedicated scholars who pieced together varied sources to reconstruct the social and political history of the country. RG Bhandarkar reconstructed the political history of the Satavahanas and the history of Vaishnavism and other sects. Through his researches, Bhandarkar advocated widow marriages and the evils of the caste system and child marriage.

VK Rajwade laboured hard in search of Sanskrit manuscripts and sources of Maratha history. He produced the history of the institution of marriage that he wrote in Marathi in 1926. It is considered a classic text because of its solid base in Vedic and other texts and also because of the author’s insight into the stages in the evolution of marriage in India.

Pandurang Vaman Kave continued the earlier tradition of scholarship. His “History of the Dharmashastra” is an encyclopaedia of ancient social laws and customs.

The Indian scholars diligently studied polity and political history to demonstrate that India did have its political history and that the Indians possessed expertise in administration. DR Bhandarkar published books on Ashoka and on ancient Indian political institutions.

HC Roychaudhury reconstructed the history of ancient India from the time of Bharat war (tenth century BC) to the end of the Gupta period. His writings are marked by impeccable scholarship but show a streak of militant Brahmanism when he criticised Ashoka’s policy of peace. A stronger element of Hindu revivalism appeared in the writings of RC Majumdar, who edited “History and Culture of the Indian People”.

Most writers on early Indian history did not give adequate attention to South India. Even KA Nilakanta Shastri followed the same approach in his “A History of Ancient India”. This was more than rectified in his “History of South India”. His style is terse but his writing is lucid. However, his general observations on the nature of polity and society in South India are questioned by several historians.

Shastri emphasised the cultural supremacy of Brahmins and also highlighted the harmony that prevailed in early Indian society. Until 1960, political history attracted the largest number of Indian scholars who also glorified the histories of their respective regions on dynastic lines. Those who wrote history books at a pan-India level were inspired by the ideas of nationalism.

Some scholars such as KP Jayasawal and AS Altekar overplayed the role of indigenous ruling dynasties in liberating the country from the rule of the Shakas and Kushanas, little realising that central Asian and some other people became part and parcel of India’s life and did not exploit its resources for their original homeland.

However, the greatest merit of KP Jayasawal lay in exploding the myth of Indian despotism. He showed that the republics existed in ancient times and Indians enjoyed a measure of self-government. His findings finally appeared in his “Hindu Polity” in 1924. Although Jayasawal is charged with projecting nationalist ideas into ancient institutions, and the nature of the republican government presented by him is attacked by many writers including VN Ghoshal, his basic thesis regarding the practice of republic experiment is widely accepted.

SHIFT TO NON-POLITICAL HISTORY

AL Basham questioned the wisdom of looking India from the modern point of political view. His book, “Wonder That Was India” is a sympathetic survey of various facets of ancient Indian culture and civilisation free from the prejudices that plague the writings of VA Smith and other British writers.

Basham’s book marks a great shift from political to non-political history. The same shift is evident in DD Koshambi’s “An Introduction to the Study of Indian History” published in 1959, later popularised in “The Civilisation of Ancient Indian in Historical Outline”.

Koshambi blazed a new trail in the Indian history. His treatment followed the materialist interpretation of history, which is derived from the writings of Karl Marx. He presented the history of ancient Indian society, economy and culture as an integral part of the development of the forces and relations of production. His was the first survey book to show the stages of social and economic development in terms of tribal and class processes.

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH

In the last few decades, there has been a sea change in the methods and orientation of those who work on ancient India. They lay greater emphasis on social, economic and cultural processes, and try to relate them to political developments. They take account of the stratification of the texts and compare their conventional nature with archaeological and anthropological evidence. All this bodes well for the future of historical studies.

Unfortunately, a few Indian writers magnify the role of religion, and believe that everything good and great originated in their country.

Western writers no longer insist that all such things came to India from outside. But some of them hold that religious ideas, rituals, caste, kinship and tradition are the main forces in Indian history. They also underscore various divisive features which made for stagnation. They are more concerned about the problem of stability and continuity. They seem to be fascinated by old, exotic elements and want to preserve them forever.

Such an approach implies that Indian society has not changed and cannot be changed. It means that underdevelopment is an integral part of the Indian character. Thus, the chauvinists and sophisticated colonialists use the study of India’s past to prevent its progress. It is therefore essential to take a balanced and objective view of ancient India.

(Note was prepared during preparation for civil services exam. I don’t really remember the source.)

PS: If  you read and like it, please do tell me in the comment box below.

History: North India before Gautam Buddha

Remains at Kapilvastu: Brick structure dating back to 6th century BC at Ganwaria near Piprahwa, Balrampur, UP. Twenty-five rooms were found during excavation leading to identification of the lost city of Kapilvastu, the capital of King Shuddhodhan, the father of Mahatma Buddha. (Photo: Twitter/Indianhistorypics)

This period is also known as the era of Mahajanapadas. There were 16. This is also the phase of socio-religious movements that saw emergence or consolidation of Jainism, Buddhism, Bhagavat belief system and Brahmanism.

Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya provides details of the 16 Mahajanapadas, also in Pali literature. Another text Janavasabhasutta talks about 12 Mahajanapadas while Chullaniddesha has a slightly different list of Mahajanapadas. It counts 17 by adding Kalinga to the list and replacing Gandhara by Yona. Mahavastu’s list is also a little modified with Shivi and Dasharna coming in place of Gandhara and Kamboja.

The commonly held 16 Mahajanapadas were:

1.    Kashi in Varanasi

2.    Koshal in Ayodhya-Shravasti region or the Awadh region

3.    Anga in East Bihar around Champa, Bhagalpur-Munger

4.    Magadha in South Bihar around Girivraj, Rajgriha

5.    Vajji in North Bihar, around Vaishali, a congregation of tribes

6.    Malla in Pava in East UP, around Gorakhpur-Deoria, a congregation of tribes

7.    Chedi, in Bundelkhand region

8.    Vatsa in Kaushambi, near Allahabad/Prayagraj in UP

9.    Kuru in Indraprastha, in Delhi-Haryana region

10. Panchal in Kampilya, around Ruhelkhand region

11. Matsya in Viratnagar in Rajasthan

12. Shurasena in Mathura, in West UP and around Delhi

13. Asmaka or Asika, in Potana or Paithan in the source region of the Narmada

14. Avanti in Ujjaini and Mahishmati in Malwa region, Central India

15. Gandhara in Takshashila, NW Pakistan

16. Kamboja in Rajpur, west of Gandhara

Jain text Bhagavatisuttra provides the list with slightly different names for some of the Mahajanapadas. They are:

1.    Kashi

2.    Koshal

3.    Anga

4.    Vajji

5.    Magadh

6.    Banga

7.    Malaya

8.    Malaw

9.    Achchha

10. Vachchha

11. Kochchha

12. Padhya or Pundra

13. Ladha or Radh

14. Moli

15. Awadha

16. Sambhuttara

The Bhagavatisuttra mentions new Mahajanapadas not mentioned in Buddhist Anguttara Nikaya, such as Banga and Radh. The geographical location of Sambhuttara Mahajanapada is not clearly known. It is speculated that it might have been somewhere in the northwest region of ancient India. Achchha and Vachchha Mahajanapadas might have been located in Gujarat. Pundra was possibly located near Banga.

It is clear that two literary sources give two different sets of 16 Mahajanapadas. Some of the names are different. Historians have given more credibility to the list mentioned by the Anguttara Nikaya. What is significant is that the lists emphasise that big state-like units emerged in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and Pakistan. All these Mahajanapadas were located north of the Vindhyas.

The thing is that Anguttara Nikaya mentions the names of Mahajanapadas that existed before Buddha. During Buddha’s period, Kashi was annexed by Koshal and Anga by Magadh, and thus ceased to exist. Asmaka was also probably annexed by Avanti during this period. The listing of Vajji indicates that the statehood of Videha had collapsed by this time.

Based on Anguttara Nikaya, the Mahajanapadas could be grouped into two: monarchy and republic.

1.    Monarchy: Anga, Magadha, Kashi, Koshal, Chedi, Vatsa, Kuru, Panchal, Shurasena, Asmaka, Matsya, Avanti, Gandhara and Kamboj

2.    Republic: Vajji and Malla

KASHI

Varanasi was the capital of Kashi Mahajanapada. Varanasi was situated in the doab of the Varuna in the north and Asi in the south. Brahmadatta was its most notable and powerful king. He vanquished Koshal. Later, the equation changed and Kansa annexed Kashi to Koshal.

KOSHAL

Koshal was in the Awadh region. Shravasti was the capital of Koshal. During the Ramayana period, Ayodhya was the capital of Koshal. During Buddha’s time, Koshal split into two with Saket becoming the capital of the northern part and Shravasti of the southern part. Koshal was marked by Panchal on the west, the Gandak river in the east, Nepal in the north and River Sai in the south.

ANGA

Anga was situated in Bihar’s Bhagalpur and Munger districts. Champa was the capital of Anga. Champa has a unique contribution to the human history of personal hygiene. Shampoo owes its origin to Champa. Back then it was some kind of mixed oil that was used to clean and lubricate hair. The mixture was called Champu. The word ‘champi’ for head massage has its origin in Champa. Champu travelled to the west but it lost its presence and knowledge in India. Many centuries later, champu made its way back as shampoo.

Champa’s old name was Malini during the age of Mahabharata and Puranas. Dighanikaya tells that Mahagovinda was the architect of Champa. Its ruler Brahmadatta defeated Bhattiya of Magadha.

Champa has been mentioned as one of the six metropolises of the time in Mahaprinrvanasutra. Other metropolitan towns were Rajagriha, Shravasti, Saket, Kaushambi and Varanasi.

MAGADHA

Magadha was in South Bihar spread over Patna and Gaya. River Champa separated Magadha from Anga. Rajgriha, also known as Girivraja, was the capital of Magadh. Rajgriha was guarded by stone fortresses. It was marked by River Son in the west, Ganga in the north, Vindhyas in the south and Champa in the east.

VAJJI

Vajji was a federation of eight states. It has been considered as a republic by historians – an early form of republic. Four of the eight constituents were Vajji, Lichchhavi of Vaishali, Videha in Mithila and Jnatrika of Kundagram. The four others were Ugra, Bhoga, Ikshvaku and Kaurava.

Vaishali has been identified with Basadh in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district, Videha in Nepal’s Janakpur district and Kundagram in North Vaishali.

MALLA

Malla was situated in Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district. It was a federation that included the Mallas of Pava in Padrauna district and Kushinara in Kushinagar district. According to Kusa Jatak, Okkaka was the chief of Malla federation.

CHEDI/CHETI

Chedi was situated in the region now known as Bundelkhand. Sotthivati was its capital. Sottivati has been recognised as Shuktimati of Mahabharata. Shishupala was its ruler back then. Chetiya Jataka names Upachara as one of its kings.

VATSA

Vats was located in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj (Allahabad) and Banda districts. Its capital was Kaushambi on the bank of River Yamuna. Vishnu Purana traces the origin of Kaushambi to Mahabharata’s Hastinapur.

Vishnu Purana says that after Hastinapur was swept away by River Ganga, its king Nichakshu (man without eyes) founded the city of Kaushambi. During Buddha’s time, its ruler was Udayan of Paurava dynasty.

Puranas identify Udayan’s father as Prantapa, who had conquered Champa. Remains of Udayan’s royal palace and a vihara (monastery) built by Shresthi Ghoshita (also known as Ghoshitaram) have been found at Kaushambi.

KURU

Kuru was located in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut, Delhi and Thanesar. Its capital was Indraprastha. Hastinapur was within the Kuru Mahajanapada. Koravya was its ruler during Buddha’s time. Later, a republic was established here.

PANCHAL

Panchal was situated in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly, Badaun and Farrukhabad districts. Northern Panchal had its capital in Ahichhatra in Ramnagar in Bareilly. Southern Panchal had its capital in Kampilya in Kampil in Farrukhabad.

Famous city of Kanyakubja was situated in Panchal. In 600 BC, Kuru and Panchal constituted a republic.

MASTYA

Matsya Mahajanapada was in Rajasthan’s Jaipur, Alwar and Bharatpur. Its capital was Viratnagar, a city founded by a king named Virat.

SHURASENA

In Brajmandal, its capital was Mathura. Ancient Greeks termed this state as Saurasanoi and its Methora. According to Mahabharata and Purana, Shurasena was ruled by Yadu dynasty and Krishna was its ruler.

In Buddha’s time, Avantiputra was its ruler. He was a disciple of Buddha. His mother was an Avanti princess, daughter of Pradyot. Avantiputra facilitated propagation of Buddhism in Mathura.

AVANTI

Avanti was located in western and central Malwa region. Puranas attribute the foundation of Avanti to one of the Yadus called Haihaya. Avanti was ruled in two parts with River Vetravati dividing the northern Avanti from southern part.

North Avanti had its capital in Ujjayini and South Avanti in Mahishmati. North Avanti had iron mines and Ujjayini had blacksmiths who manufactured very high quality iron-weapons.

ASMAKA

Asmaka was situated on the bank of River Godavari in Andhra Pradesh. Its capital was Polti, also known by the names of Paithan, Pratishthan and Potan. Asmaka was the only Mahajanapada of the 16 such states to have been situated in South India. Puranas say Asmaka was founded by Ikshvaku rulers who established a monarchy here. According to Chullakalinga Jataka, its ruler Arun had conquered Kalinga.

GANDHARA

It is commonly held that Afghanistan’s Kandahar has its origin in Gandhara Mahajanapada, whose principal territories were around Peshawar and Rawalpindi in Pakistan. Takshashila was its capital. According to Ramayana, Takshashila was founded by Taksha, the son of Bharat.

Its second capital was Pushkaravati. Around 600 BC, Pukkusati or Pushkarsarin was its ruler. He established diplomatic ties with Bimbisar. He defeated Prodyot of Avanti.

KAMBOJ

Its principal region was South-West Kashmir including the territories of Poonch and Kapisha that corresponds to what is known as Kafiristan extending from Hindukush to Kabul. Its capital was Rajpur or Hataka. Later, a federal state was established here. Kautilya has described agriculture, animal husbandry, commerce and weapon-making as economic activities of Kambojians. Kamboj was noted for breeding high-quality horses.

EMERGENCE OF FOUR POWERFUL MONARCHIES

The 16 Mahajanapadas in the course of time gave rise to four powerful monarchical states. All the Mahajanapadas assimilated into one or the other monarchies. Mutual rivalry was the force behind the annihilation of these Mahajanapadas – a natural evolution of political power and ambition. The four resultant monarchies were:

1.    Koshal

2.    Vatsa

3.    Avanti

4.    Magadh

KOSHAL

Koshal continued to have its capital in Shravastri, identified with Setamohata village near Gonda in Uttar Pradesh. Before the advent of Buddha, Kansa was the king of Koshal and had annexed Kashi to expand his state. Mahakoshal, the son and successor of Kansa, expanded Koshal’s territories and economic might. Gain of Kashi made Koshal a very influential state. Kashi was an important centre of trade and hosiery. Its trade contact with Takshashila, Sauvira and other distant places were strong. The growing economic power of Koshal was the main reason behind its rivalry with Magadh.

During the time of Buddha, Prasenjit was the king of Koshal. He had established friendly relationship with Magadh by marrying his sister Mahakoshala, also known as Koshaladevi to Bimbisar. He had given Kashi or at least a portion of it to Bimbisar in marriage as gift.

However, during the reign of Bimbisar’s son Ajatshatru, relationship between Magadh and Koshal embittered. Samyukta Nikaya provides details of revival of rivalry. The reason for bitterness was Kashi, which Prasenjit had taken back after the death of Bimbisar. Prasenjit made another move to make peace with Ajatshatru by marrying his daughter Wajira to him. He also returned Kashi to Magadh.

During the reign of Prasenjit, Koshal was at the pinnacle of its glory. It ruled over Shakyas of Kapilvastu, Kalam of Ksaputta, Malla of Pava and Kushinara, Koliya of Ramagama, Moriya of Pippalivana et al. Prasenjit was a follower of Buddha and preaching.

Prasenjit was succeeded by Vidudabh, who had usurped the throne with the help of Dighacharan, a minister of Prasenjit. It was said that Vidudabh was the son of a Shakya maid-servant (daasi). This became a cause of strife between the Shakyas and Vidudabh. The maid-servant was known by the name of Vasabhakhattiya and was married to Prasenjit.

Nothing is known about the successors of Vidudabh. Koshal was perhaps soon annexed by Magadh.

River Rapti was an important river in Koshal. Its name back then was Achiravati.

VATSA

Udayan was the most famous king of Vatsa. Once on hunting, Udayan was captured by Pradyot, the king of Avanti. During his captivity, Udayan fell in love with Pradyot’s daughter Vasavdatta and fled Avanti with her. Later, they married and consequently, friendship between Vats and Avanti was established.

According to Sumsumargiri (?, Bhagga republic accepted the suzerainty of Udayan and Udayan’s son Bodhikumar resided there.

According to Bhash, Udayan had married Pdmavati, the daughter of Darshaka, the king of Magadha – thus befriending Magadha as well.

Udayan turned to Buddhism and was initiated into it by famous monk Pindol. This time, Kaushambi had several Buddhist mathas, the most famous of them was Ghoshitaram’s.

AVANTI

Pradyot was its famous king. He owed his crowning to his father Ripunjaya’s minister Pulik, who was the last Amatya or a high-ranking minister of Magadha’s Brihadatta or Brihadrath dynasty. Pulik dethroned Ripunjaya and installed Pradyot as the king. Buddhist text Mahavagg calls him Chand-Pradyot signaling a strong and stubborn military policy adopted by him.

Avanti was a powerful and prosperous state due to its richness in resources that included iron mines and blacksmith skills of its workers. Pradyot was once treated by Magadh king Bimbisar’s physician Jeevak for jaundice.

Pradyot was initiated into Buddhism by Mahakachchayan, a famous monk of the time. Pradyot was succeeded by Palak, Vishakhayupa, Ajak, Nandivardhan in sequence. They were eliminated by Shishunag of Magadh.

MAGADH

The real founder of Magadh monarchy was Bimbisar. Magadh emerged as the most powerful empire of ancient India. Patliputra became its imperial capital. Bimbisar’s son Ajatshatru founded Patliputra, which was built under the supervision of his ministers Sumidha and Vassakara.

REPUBLICS IN INDIA DURING BUDDHA’S TIME

Initially, it was believed that only monarchies existed in India. Ridge Davids was the first scholar to rediscover the existence of republics in ancient India. Both Buddhist and Jain texts mention about the existence of republics in various parts of india. Panini also wrote about republics. Kautilya classifies republics into two groups:

1.    Vartashastropajivi: Those living or thriving on agriculture, animal husbandry, commerce and weapon-making as economic activities. Kamboja and Saurashtra were listed as examples.

2.    Rajashabdopjivi:  Those republics which used the tile of Raja for their chiefs. Lichchhavi, Vrijji, Malla, Madra, Kukar, Panchal etc were listed as examples.

The coins of Malwa, Yaudheya and Arjunayan talk about republics and not kings.

The republics of the past were not the same in character that we see today. They could be called aristocracy. The administration or statehood sought its authority not from the masses directly but from an elite class of electors.

SHAKYAS OF KAPILVASTU

Kapilvastu identified with Tilaurakot in Nipal was its capital. Other important towns of the republic were Chatuma, Samagama, Khomadussa, Shilavati, Nagarak, Devadaha, Sakkar etc.

Shakyas did not marry outside their own blood. Buddha was from the Shakya clan. His mother was from Devadaha. This republic was destroyed by Vidudabh, the son of Koshal king Prasenjit by his marriage with a Shakya maid-servant.

Kapilvastu was bordered in the north by the Himalayas, in the west and south by River Rapti, and in the east by River Rohini.

BHAGGA OF SUMSUMAR OR SUSHMAGIRI

Sumsumar or Sushmagiri mountain is now identified with Chunar in Mirzapur district in Uttar Pradesh. Bhaggas accepted the suzerainty of the Vatsas. Bodhikumar resided here.

BULI OF ALAKAPPA

Alakappa is identified with Shahabad-Ara-Muzaffarpur axis of Bihar. Probably, Vethadwipa (Betia) was its capital. Bulis or Buliyas were Buddhists. Accordring to Mahaparinirvanasutta, they acquired ashes of Buddha after his death and built a stupa there.

KALAM OF KESAPUTTA

Kesaputta was situated west of Koshal. Alar Kalam, one of Buddha’s early teachers who taught him yoga and meditation, was from this state. He lived near Uruvela. Kalama accepted suzerainty of Koshal.

KOLIYA OF RAMAGRAMA

Ramagrama was situated east of Shakyas. In the south, it was bordered by River Sarayu. River Rohini separated Koliyas from Shakyas. Its capital Ramagrama has been identified with modern Ramgarh in Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh. Koliyas were famous for their police force.

MALLA OF KUSHINARA

Kushinara is identified with present-day Kasiya. According to Balmiki Ramayana, Mallas of Kushinara were descendents of Chandraketu, the son of Lakshamana.

MALLA OF PAVA

Pava is identified with Padrauna in eastern Uttar Pradesh. They were militant in nature. They fought against Ajatshatru of Patliputra by forming a federation with Lichchhavis of Vaishali. They were defeated by Ajatshatru.

MORIYA OF PIPPALIVANA

They were a branch of Shakyas. According to Mahavamsatika, Moriyas fled towards the Himalayas to escape the wrath of Vidudabh, the Koshal king and the son of Prasenjit by a Shakya maid-servant.

The fleeing Moriyas developed Pippalivana. Here, they organised and developed peacock rearing. Peacock, called Mayur in Sanskrit, possibly led to them being called Moriyas, and probably developed into mighty Mauryas of Magadh empire.

Pippalivana is identified with a village, Rajadhani near Kusumhi in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh.

LICHCHHAVIS OF VAISHALI

Its capital was at Basad. Lichchhavis built the famous Kuttagarshala in Mahavana, where Buddha delivered his sermon. Lichchhavis were powerful and prosperous. In Buddha’s time, Chetak was its ruler. His daughter Chellana was married to Bimbisara. His sister Trishala was the mother of Mahavir Jain.

VIDEHA OF MITHILA

Videha spread from Nepal to Bhagalpur in Bihar with Darbhanga falling in centre. Its capital was Janakpur, in Nepal. Mithila was a famous trading centre where traders from Shravasti would come to trade with the locals.

LAW AND ADMINISTRAION IN REPUBLICS

Not much information is available about enactment of law and working of administration in these republic states.

Head or president of the executive of the republic was an elected person or official, called Raja. The position was held by men. His prime concern was to maintain peace and internal coordination.

Other top officials were Uparaja, Senapati, and Bhandagarik or treasurer. But the real power was vested in a central committee of large membership. These members were also sometimes called Rajas. It appears that Raja could have been the title or address for the chief of units of administration.

According to Ekapanna Jataka, there were 7,707 Rajas in the central committee of Lichchhavis. In Shakyas’, the number of Rajas stood at 500.

Ekapanna Jataka gives maximum information about Lichchhavis.

Whenever a dispute or crisis arose, the rajas of the central committee met and decided the course of action by voting. For example, when a dispute arose between the Shakyas and Koshal over the Rohini river water, the Shakya’s central committee voted in favour of war. But later when Koshal king Vidudabh laid a seize of Shakya capital, the central committee decided to surrender to Vidudabh’s forces to end the war accepting his lordship.

The central committee decided the appointment of Senapati in the Lichchhavi republic. In one instance, after the death of military commander called Khanda, the central committee of the Lichchhavis elected Singh to be the new military commander.

Mallas of Kushinara held a discussion in their central committee regarding Buddha’s cremation and articles belonging to him. Buddha breathed his last in the Kushinara.

The general working of these republics was probably similar to modern democratic parliaments. The working of the committee was looked after by an official called Asannapannapaka. Literature confirms that the concept of quorum was there. Secret ballot system for voting was prevalent. Official conducting voting was called Shlaka-grahaka. A vote was called Chhand.

REMARKS

It is often said that the sword that Bimbisar drew from its case was put back in the case by Ashoka in the eleventh year of his rule. By then, the Magadh empire had reached its territorial climax.

Progression of society in history: Rig Vedic age was of the age of tribes. There were tribal communities. Later Vedic age was of Janpadas formed by consolidation of tribal communities. It was followed by the age of Mahajanapadas that was characterized by bigger and massive Janapadas which were controlled by one or more tribal communities. This was the age of the beginning of state in India.

Mahajanapada was the highest unit of state. Information about this age is available in literature. But literature places these Mahajanapadas north of the Vindhyas. Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya gives the list of 16 Mahajanapadas, all north of the Vindhyas.

Buddhist text, Diggha Nikaya’s Janavasabh Sukta gives a list of 10 Mahajanapadas of the time. It mentions them in the pair of five. Besides Mahajanapadas, it also talks about Janpadas, smaller units.

Other sources say that there were other Janas and “half-civilised” tribes. Since the Mahajanapadas were in lead role, the period is called the Age of Mahajanapadas. This was also the age of advent of Magadh imperialism. The Mahajanapadas and Janapadas of the period did not have same administrative system. Same administrative systems were not there even during the Later Vedic Age. Like that, all three forms of administration continued to be in vogue – monarchy, republican and federal. Of these, republican and federal administrative systems were closer in nature.

These three forms of governance found practical expression in two forms – monarchical and republican-federal mixed. Republican-federal system were primarily found in Bihar and the terai of Nepal, and also in the northwestern region of India.

Government in Surasena and Chedi were essentially federal in nature. Vajji and Mala had republican form of government. Bihar and Nepal’s terai were important regions for republican governments. Such states were:

•         Shakya of Kapilvastu
•         Buliya of Alakappa
•         Koliya of Ramagrama
•         Malla of Pava
•         Malla of Kushinara
•         Moriya of Pippalivana
•         Lichchhavi of Vaishali
•         Nay/Nath of Vaishali
•         Kalam of Kelaputra (New Vaishali)
•         Magga of Sushmagiri

Videh of Mithila is also spoken in the same vein of republican government. All these republics were in North Bihar and the terai of Nepal. They were numerous and some of them had formed a federation. One such federation was Vajji Federation, which comprised of most republics of the region. The federation was formed for security or protection and facilitation of civic works.

They felt threatened from monarchical governments or states. There were several Janapadas that followed monarchical form of government but four were more influential. They were:

-        Magadh Mahajanapada of Girivraj or Rajgriha

-        Vatsa Mahajanapada of Kaushambi

-        Koshal Mahajanapada of Ayodhya-Shravasti

-        Avanti Mahajanapada of Ujjaini or Mahishmati

These four Mahajanapadas were special in military power. They were efficient in the use of iron. They believed in the principle of centralization of power. They followed the principle of expansion in foreign policy.

During this period, these four Mahajanapadas expanded their territories at the cost of the Janapadas, Mahajanapadas and Janas irrespective of their form of government, monarchical or republican.

Of these, the position of Magadh Mahajanapada was different from other three due to specific reasons:

• Geographic
• Economic
• Military
• Technological
• Degree of propensity of centralization of power

Magadha Mahajanapada saw continued expansion of its territories due to these factors. Its size continued to increase. The expansion process that began in sixth century BC continued till fourth century BC almost without a break. The expansion happened at the cost of others.

Propensity of expansion remained a constant with the Magadh Mahajanapada even though the ruling dynasty kept changing. Magadh was ruled by Haryanka dynasty, followed by Shishunag and Nanda ruling families. But change of dynasties did not bring a change in expansion policy.

The Maurya dynasty took the Magadh dynasty’s expansion to its climax. Due to the dominance of Magadh Mahajanapada during this period, it is also known as the age of the rise and growth of Magadh imperialism.

Divisions of Himalayas, The Northern Mountains

Snow-capped Great Himalaya (Photo: Himachal Pradesh government tourism department)

Prabhash K Dutta

Geographically, the entire Himalayan region can be divided into three:

i.        The Himalayan ranges

ii.        The trans-Himalayan ranges

iii.       The Eastern hill

The Himalayan ranges

The Himalayan ranges are not a single chain but a series of more or less parallel or converging ranges. The ranges are separated by deep-cut valleys. As in all young fold mountains, the Himalayas are a densely dissected ridge-and-valley topography. Normally, the Himalayas are divided into three chains

a.  The Great Himalaya — Himadri

b.  The Middle Himalaya — Himachal

c.  The Siwalik

The Great Himalaya is the northern-most and loftiest range. It is about 2,400 km-long running from the Nanga Parvat in the west to the Namcha Barwa in the east, where it bends abruptly. It is made up of central crystalline rocks — granite and gneiss. The folds in this range are asymmetrical having steep slope southwards and obscurantly merges with the edges of the Tibetan Plateau.

The Great Himalaya boasts of the tallest peaks of the world such as the Mt Everest (and its ancillary peaks), Kanchenjunga, Makalu, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna Devi etc. Even the passes available in the Great Himalaya range are at such great heights that they are very difficult to cross.

 

A pass in Great Himalaya (Photo: Ministry of Culture, GOI)

Some of the famous passes are Burzil and Zoji La in Jammu and Kashmir, Bara Lach La and Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh, Lipu Lekh, Niti Lal and Thaga La in Uttarakhand, Jelep La and Nathu La in Sikkim. Shipki La and Jelep La provide good connectivity between India and Tibet.

The Lesser Himalaya

The Lesser Himalaya range or the Middle Himalaya runs almost parallel to the Greater Himalaya. It is more amicable and attracts more people.. It consists of a few individual mountain ranges such as the Pir Panjal, the Dhaulaldhar, the Mussoorie, the Naga Tibba and the Mahabharata Lekh. Of these, the Pir Panjal is the longest range running from River Jhelum to upper Beas for a distance of 300-400 km.

Pir Panjal range is separated from the Zaskar range by the Valley of Kashmir. Its elevation is 5,000 metres and more, and contains mostly volcanic peaks. Pir Panjal, Bidil, Gopalghar and Banihal passes are important gaps in the range. The Jammu-Srinagar highway passes through the Banihal pass.

South-east of Ravi, the Pir Panjal range is continued by the Dhauladhar range passing through Dalhousie, Dharamshala and Shimla. This range attains elevation higher than 4,000 metres.

Further east are situated the Mussoorie and the Nag Tibba ranges. The Mussoourie range has an average elevation of less than 3,000 metres, and runs from Mussoorie to Lansdowne for about 120 km. Mussoorie, Nainital, Chakrata and Ranikhet are important hill stations on the Mussoorie range.

Great Himalaya (Photo: HP Tourism)

The Mahabharata Lekh range is in Nepal. Crossing Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan, the Lesser Himalaya marks its presence in Arunachal Pradesh. The Lesser Himalayan topography has some beautiful valleys such as the Kashmir Valley, Kangra Valley and Kulu Valley. 

The Kashmir Valley is supposed to have been occupied by a lake during Pleistocene but later an uplift and sedimentation did away with the lakh. It is generally believed to be a synclinal valley which is floor3ed with a variety of alluvial deposits, lacustrine [relating to or associated with lakes] fluvial and fluvo-glacial depositis. River Jhelum meanders through it majestically.

The Kangra Valley is a strike valley, and runs from the foot of the Dhauladhar range to the south of the Beas. Kulu Valley, on the other hand, in the upper course of river Ravi, is a transverse valley.

The Trans-Himalayan ranges

The trans-Himalayan mountain consists of the Zaskar, Ladakh, Kailash and Karakoram ranges. The Zaskar range separates at 80-degree East longitude from the Greater Himalaya and runs eastward. North of it is situated the Ladakh range which continues eastward to give off the Kailash range as an offshoot. River Indus originates from the northern slope of the Kailash range.

The Karakoram Range is the northernmost mountain range of India, and it has the highest peak of India as K-2 at 8,611 metres. It serves as the watershed between India and Tajikistan, and forms India’s boundary with Afghanistan and China.

(Photo: Niti Aayog)

To the northeast of the Karakoram range is situated the Ladakh Plateau which is the driest place of India — it is a cold desert. It is highly dissected and divided into several plains, for example, Soda Plains, Aksai Chin, Lingzi Tanga, Depsang Plans and Chang Chenmo.

The Eastern Hills

Beyond the Namcha Barwa-Brahmaputra Gorge, the Himalayas make a sharp southward turn and goes into the Arakan Yoma mountain of Myanmar. In between several small mountain ranges are situated. These are Patkai Bum, Naga Hills, Manipur Hills, Mizo Hills, Barail Hills, Kohima Hills, and Garo-Khasi-Jaintia Hills.

Patkai Bum is the northernmost among them and forms the boundary between India and Myanmar. It is made up of strong sandstone. Towards south, it merges with the Naga Hills. Patkai Bum and Naga Hills together form the watershed between India and Myanmar. In the Naga Hills is situated the highest peak of the Northeast India called the Saramati at 3,826 metres.

Further south is situated Manipur Hills forming border with Myanmar. In the extreme south is situated Mizo Hills having the highest peak in the southern NE India. It is called the Blue Mountain which reaches up to 2,157 metres.

There are also some outcrop hills such as Barail Range, which separates the Naga and the Manipur hills. Between the Barail Range and the Manipur Hills is situated the Loktak basin.

Another range is the Kohima Hills situated west of the Naga Hills made up of sandstone and slate, and are very rough topography. Besides, there are three hills, ranges or plateaus in Meghalaya called Garo, Khasi and Jaintia. They are rather considered as a portion of the Peninsular Plateau detached by the Bengal Basin.

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