NCERT Summary: New Empires & Kingdoms - Notes | Study Social Studies (SST) Class 6 - Class 6

Prashastis

• Prashasti is a Sanskrit word, meaning ‘in praise of’ which were composed for some of the rulers.
• In Samudragupta’s prashasti the poet praised the king in glowing terms - as a warrior, as a king who won victories in battle, who was learned and the best of poets.
• Various maps are drawn as per the information provided by prashastis.

Genealogies

• Most prashastis also mention the ancestors of the ruler.
• Inscriptions and coins provides information about Chandragupta II, son of Samudragupta.
  • He led an expedition to western India, where he overcame the last of the Shakas.

Harshavardhana and Harshacharita

• Some information are also provided from the biographies of kings.
• Banabhatta, a court poet of Harshavardhana wrote his biography, the Harshacharita, in Sanskrit.
  • This gives us the genealogy of Harsha, and ends with his becoming king.
  • Xuan Zang also spent a lot of time at Harsha’s court and left a detailed account of what he saw.

The Pallavas, Chalukyas and Pulkeshin's Prashasti

• During this period, the Pallavas and Chalukyas were the most important ruling dynasties in south India during this period.
• The kingdom of the Pallavas spread from the region around their capital, Kanchipuram, to the Kaveri delta.
• The Chalukyas was centred around the Raichur Doab, between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra.
• Aihole, the capital of the Chalukyas, was an important trading centre.
• The Pallavas and Chalukyas frequently raided one another’s lands.
• The best-known Chalukya ruler was Pulakeshin II.
  • The information about him is provided by a prashasti, composed by his court poet Ravikirti.
  • According to Ravikirti, he led expeditions along both the west and the east coasts.
  • He defeated Harsha.

How were these Kingdoms administered?

• Land revenue remained important for these rulers.
• The village remained the basic unit of administration.
• Administrative posts became hereditary, one person held many offices and important people influenced local administration.
  • They maintained a well-organised army.
  • Military leaders, called samantas, provided troops to the king.
• Kings adopted a number of steps to win the support of men who were powerful, either economically, or socially, or because of their political and military strength.
  • For instance: some important administrative posts were now hereditary.
• Due to this, some of these powerful men grew strong enough to set up independent kingdoms.

A New Kind of Army

• Some of these kings maintained a well-organised army, with elephants, chariots, cavalry and foot soldiers.
• Also, there were military leaders who provided the king with troops whenever he needed them.
  • They collected revenue from the land and used this to maintain soldiers and horses, and provide equipment for warfare. These men were known as samantas.

Assemblies in the Southern Kingdoms

• The inscriptions of the Pallavas mention a number of local assemblies.
  • These included the sabha, which was an assembly of brahmin land owners functioned through sub-committees, which looked after irrigation, agricultural operations, making roads, local temples, etc.
• The ur was a village assembly in the areas where the land owners were not brahmins.
• The assemblies were controlled by powerful merchants and landowners.

Ordinary People in the Kingdoms

• The lives of ordinary people can be taken from plays, and other accounts.
• The plays of Kalidasa depicted life in the king’s court.
• The kings and brahmins were shown speaking Sanskrit, while ordinary men and women spoke Prakrit in these plays.
• The Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian noticed the practice of untouchability by the high and powerful people.
• Banabhatta provided an account of the marches of the large armies of the king.