Old NCERT Textbook (RS Sharma): Spread of Civilization in Eastern India | History for UPSC CSE PDF Download

 Page 1


CHAPTER 21: Spread of Civilization in Eastern India
Signs of Civilization
A region is considered to be civilized if its people know the art of writing, have a system
for collecting taxes and maintaining order, and possess social classes and specialists for
performing priestly, administrative, and producing functions. Above all, a civilized soci-
etyshouldbeable toproduce enoughto support not only the actual producers consisting
of artisans and peasants but also consumers who are not engaged in production. All
these elements make for civilization. But they appear in a large part of eastern India
on a recognizable scale very late. Practically no written records are found in the greater
portions of eastern Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining areas of Orissa, of West Bengal,
of Bangladesh, and of Assam till the middle of the fourth century A.D.
The period from the fourth to the seventh century is remarkable for the di?usion of an
advanced rural economy, formation of state systems, and delineation of social classes in
eastern Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, eastern Bengal, south-east Bengal, and Assam. This is
indicated by the distribution of a good number of inscriptions in these areas in Gupta
times. Many inscriptions dated in the Gupta era are found in those areas. They are
generally in the form of land grants made by feudatory princes and others for religious
purposes to Buddhists and brahmanas and also to Vaishnavite temples and Buddhist
monasteries. Thesebene?ciariesplayedanimportantroleinspreadingandstrengthening
elementsofadvancedculture. Theprocesscanbeunderstoodbyattemptingaregion-wise
survey.
Orissa and Eastern and Southern Madhya Pradesh
Kalinga,orthecoastalOrissa,southoftheMahanadi,leaptintoimportanceunderAsoka,
but a strong state was founded in that area only in the ?rst century B.C. Its ruler Khar-
avela advanced as far as Magadha. In the ?rst and second centuries A.D., the ports of
Orissa carried on brisk trade in pearls, ivory, and muslin. Excavations at Sisupalgarh,
the site of Kalinganagari, which was the capital of Kharavela at a distance of 60 km
from Bhubaneswar, have yielded several Roman objects indicating trade contacts with
the Roman empire. But the greater part of Orissa, particularly northern Orissa, neither
experienced state formation nor witnessed much commercial activity. In the fourth cen-
tury, Kosala and Mahakantara ?gure in the list of conquests made by Samudragupta.
They covered parts of northern and western Orissa. From the second half of the fourth
century to the sixth century, several states were formed in Orissa, and at least ?ve of
them can be clearly identi?ed. The most important of them is the state of the Matharas,
who are also called Pitribhaktas. At the peak of their power, they dominated the area
between the Mahanadi and the Krishna. Their contemporaries and neighbors were the
Vasisthas, the Nalas, and the Manas. The Vasisthas ruled on the borders of Andhra in
southKalinga, theNalasintheforestareaofMahakantara, andtheManasinthecoastal
area in the north beyond the Mahanadi. Each state developed its system of taxation,
administration, and military organization. The Nalas, and probably the Manas, also
evolved their system of coinage. Each kingdom favored the brahmanas with land grants
and even invited them from outside, and most kings performed Vedic sacri?ces not only
for spiritual merit but also for power, prestige, and legitimacy.
In this period, elements of advanced culture were not con?ned to the coastal belt known
1
Page 2


CHAPTER 21: Spread of Civilization in Eastern India
Signs of Civilization
A region is considered to be civilized if its people know the art of writing, have a system
for collecting taxes and maintaining order, and possess social classes and specialists for
performing priestly, administrative, and producing functions. Above all, a civilized soci-
etyshouldbeable toproduce enoughto support not only the actual producers consisting
of artisans and peasants but also consumers who are not engaged in production. All
these elements make for civilization. But they appear in a large part of eastern India
on a recognizable scale very late. Practically no written records are found in the greater
portions of eastern Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining areas of Orissa, of West Bengal,
of Bangladesh, and of Assam till the middle of the fourth century A.D.
The period from the fourth to the seventh century is remarkable for the di?usion of an
advanced rural economy, formation of state systems, and delineation of social classes in
eastern Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, eastern Bengal, south-east Bengal, and Assam. This is
indicated by the distribution of a good number of inscriptions in these areas in Gupta
times. Many inscriptions dated in the Gupta era are found in those areas. They are
generally in the form of land grants made by feudatory princes and others for religious
purposes to Buddhists and brahmanas and also to Vaishnavite temples and Buddhist
monasteries. Thesebene?ciariesplayedanimportantroleinspreadingandstrengthening
elementsofadvancedculture. Theprocesscanbeunderstoodbyattemptingaregion-wise
survey.
Orissa and Eastern and Southern Madhya Pradesh
Kalinga,orthecoastalOrissa,southoftheMahanadi,leaptintoimportanceunderAsoka,
but a strong state was founded in that area only in the ?rst century B.C. Its ruler Khar-
avela advanced as far as Magadha. In the ?rst and second centuries A.D., the ports of
Orissa carried on brisk trade in pearls, ivory, and muslin. Excavations at Sisupalgarh,
the site of Kalinganagari, which was the capital of Kharavela at a distance of 60 km
from Bhubaneswar, have yielded several Roman objects indicating trade contacts with
the Roman empire. But the greater part of Orissa, particularly northern Orissa, neither
experienced state formation nor witnessed much commercial activity. In the fourth cen-
tury, Kosala and Mahakantara ?gure in the list of conquests made by Samudragupta.
They covered parts of northern and western Orissa. From the second half of the fourth
century to the sixth century, several states were formed in Orissa, and at least ?ve of
them can be clearly identi?ed. The most important of them is the state of the Matharas,
who are also called Pitribhaktas. At the peak of their power, they dominated the area
between the Mahanadi and the Krishna. Their contemporaries and neighbors were the
Vasisthas, the Nalas, and the Manas. The Vasisthas ruled on the borders of Andhra in
southKalinga, theNalasintheforestareaofMahakantara, andtheManasinthecoastal
area in the north beyond the Mahanadi. Each state developed its system of taxation,
administration, and military organization. The Nalas, and probably the Manas, also
evolved their system of coinage. Each kingdom favored the brahmanas with land grants
and even invited them from outside, and most kings performed Vedic sacri?ces not only
for spiritual merit but also for power, prestige, and legitimacy.
In this period, elements of advanced culture were not con?ned to the coastal belt known
1
as Kalinga but appeared in the other parts of Orissa. The ?nd of the Nala gold coins
in the tribal Bastar area in Madhya Pradesh is signi?cant. It presupposes an economic
system in which gold money was used in large transactions and served as a medium of
payment to high functionaries. Similarly, the Manas seemed to have issued copper coins,
whichimpliestheuseofmetallicmoneyevenbyartisansandpeasants. Thevariousstates
added to their income by forming new ?scal units in rural areas. The Matharas created a
district called Mahendrabhoga in the area of the Mahendra mountains. They also ruled
over a district called Dantayavagubhoga, which apparently supplied ivory and rice-gruel
to its administrators and had thus been created in a backward area. The Matharas
made endowments called agraharas, which consisted of land and income from villages
and were meant for supporting religious and educational activities of the brahmanas.
Some agraharas had to pay taxes, although elsewhere in the country they were tax-free.
The induction of the brahmanas through land grants in tribal, forest, and red soil areas
brought new lands under cultivation and introduced better methods of agriculture, based
on improved knowledge of weather conditions. Formerly, the year was divided into three
units,eachconsistingoffourmonths,andtimewasreckonedonthebasisofthreeseasons.
Under the Matharas, in the middle of the ?fth century, began the practice of dividing the
year into twelve lunar months. This implied a detailed idea of weather conditions, which
was useful for agricultural operations.
In the coastal Orissa, writing was certainly known from the third century B.C., and
inscriptions up to the middle of the fourth century A.D. appeared in Prakrit. But from
about A.D. 350, Sanskrit began to be used. What is more signi?cant, charters in this
language appear outside the coastal belt beyond the Mahanadi in the north. Thus, the
art of writing and Sanskrit language spread over a good portion of Orissa, and some of
the ?nest Sanskrit verses are found in the epigraphs of the period. Sanskrit served as
the vehicle of not only brahmanical religion and culture but also of property laws and
social regulations in new areas. Verses from the Puranas and Dharmasastras are quoted
in Sanskrit charters, and kings claim to be the preservers of the varna system. The
a?liation of the people to the culture of the Gangetic basin is emphasized. A dip in the
Ganga at Prayag at the con?uence of the Ganga and the Yamuna is considered holy, and
victorious kings visit Prayag.
Bengal
As regards Bengal, portions of north Bengal, now in Bogra district, give evidence of the
prevalence of writing in the time of Asoka. An inscription indicates several settlements
maintaining a storehouse ?lled with coins and foodgrains for the upkeep of Buddhist
monks. Clearly, the local peasants were in a position to spare a part of their produce for
paying taxes and making gifts. Further, people of this area knew Prakrit and professed
Buddhism. Similarly, an inscription found in the coastal district of Noakhali in south-
east Bengal shows that people knew Prakrit and Brahmi script in that area in the second
century B.C. But for the greater part of Bengal, we do not hear anything till we come to
the fourth century A.D. In about the middle of the fourth century, a king with the title
of maharaja ruled in Pokharna on the Damodara in Bankura district. He knew Sanskrit
and was a devotee of Vishnu, to whom he possibly granted a village.
The area lying between the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, now covering Bangladesh,
emergedasasettledandfairlySanskrit-educatedareainthe?fthandsixthcenturies. The
2
Page 3


CHAPTER 21: Spread of Civilization in Eastern India
Signs of Civilization
A region is considered to be civilized if its people know the art of writing, have a system
for collecting taxes and maintaining order, and possess social classes and specialists for
performing priestly, administrative, and producing functions. Above all, a civilized soci-
etyshouldbeable toproduce enoughto support not only the actual producers consisting
of artisans and peasants but also consumers who are not engaged in production. All
these elements make for civilization. But they appear in a large part of eastern India
on a recognizable scale very late. Practically no written records are found in the greater
portions of eastern Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining areas of Orissa, of West Bengal,
of Bangladesh, and of Assam till the middle of the fourth century A.D.
The period from the fourth to the seventh century is remarkable for the di?usion of an
advanced rural economy, formation of state systems, and delineation of social classes in
eastern Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, eastern Bengal, south-east Bengal, and Assam. This is
indicated by the distribution of a good number of inscriptions in these areas in Gupta
times. Many inscriptions dated in the Gupta era are found in those areas. They are
generally in the form of land grants made by feudatory princes and others for religious
purposes to Buddhists and brahmanas and also to Vaishnavite temples and Buddhist
monasteries. Thesebene?ciariesplayedanimportantroleinspreadingandstrengthening
elementsofadvancedculture. Theprocesscanbeunderstoodbyattemptingaregion-wise
survey.
Orissa and Eastern and Southern Madhya Pradesh
Kalinga,orthecoastalOrissa,southoftheMahanadi,leaptintoimportanceunderAsoka,
but a strong state was founded in that area only in the ?rst century B.C. Its ruler Khar-
avela advanced as far as Magadha. In the ?rst and second centuries A.D., the ports of
Orissa carried on brisk trade in pearls, ivory, and muslin. Excavations at Sisupalgarh,
the site of Kalinganagari, which was the capital of Kharavela at a distance of 60 km
from Bhubaneswar, have yielded several Roman objects indicating trade contacts with
the Roman empire. But the greater part of Orissa, particularly northern Orissa, neither
experienced state formation nor witnessed much commercial activity. In the fourth cen-
tury, Kosala and Mahakantara ?gure in the list of conquests made by Samudragupta.
They covered parts of northern and western Orissa. From the second half of the fourth
century to the sixth century, several states were formed in Orissa, and at least ?ve of
them can be clearly identi?ed. The most important of them is the state of the Matharas,
who are also called Pitribhaktas. At the peak of their power, they dominated the area
between the Mahanadi and the Krishna. Their contemporaries and neighbors were the
Vasisthas, the Nalas, and the Manas. The Vasisthas ruled on the borders of Andhra in
southKalinga, theNalasintheforestareaofMahakantara, andtheManasinthecoastal
area in the north beyond the Mahanadi. Each state developed its system of taxation,
administration, and military organization. The Nalas, and probably the Manas, also
evolved their system of coinage. Each kingdom favored the brahmanas with land grants
and even invited them from outside, and most kings performed Vedic sacri?ces not only
for spiritual merit but also for power, prestige, and legitimacy.
In this period, elements of advanced culture were not con?ned to the coastal belt known
1
as Kalinga but appeared in the other parts of Orissa. The ?nd of the Nala gold coins
in the tribal Bastar area in Madhya Pradesh is signi?cant. It presupposes an economic
system in which gold money was used in large transactions and served as a medium of
payment to high functionaries. Similarly, the Manas seemed to have issued copper coins,
whichimpliestheuseofmetallicmoneyevenbyartisansandpeasants. Thevariousstates
added to their income by forming new ?scal units in rural areas. The Matharas created a
district called Mahendrabhoga in the area of the Mahendra mountains. They also ruled
over a district called Dantayavagubhoga, which apparently supplied ivory and rice-gruel
to its administrators and had thus been created in a backward area. The Matharas
made endowments called agraharas, which consisted of land and income from villages
and were meant for supporting religious and educational activities of the brahmanas.
Some agraharas had to pay taxes, although elsewhere in the country they were tax-free.
The induction of the brahmanas through land grants in tribal, forest, and red soil areas
brought new lands under cultivation and introduced better methods of agriculture, based
on improved knowledge of weather conditions. Formerly, the year was divided into three
units,eachconsistingoffourmonths,andtimewasreckonedonthebasisofthreeseasons.
Under the Matharas, in the middle of the ?fth century, began the practice of dividing the
year into twelve lunar months. This implied a detailed idea of weather conditions, which
was useful for agricultural operations.
In the coastal Orissa, writing was certainly known from the third century B.C., and
inscriptions up to the middle of the fourth century A.D. appeared in Prakrit. But from
about A.D. 350, Sanskrit began to be used. What is more signi?cant, charters in this
language appear outside the coastal belt beyond the Mahanadi in the north. Thus, the
art of writing and Sanskrit language spread over a good portion of Orissa, and some of
the ?nest Sanskrit verses are found in the epigraphs of the period. Sanskrit served as
the vehicle of not only brahmanical religion and culture but also of property laws and
social regulations in new areas. Verses from the Puranas and Dharmasastras are quoted
in Sanskrit charters, and kings claim to be the preservers of the varna system. The
a?liation of the people to the culture of the Gangetic basin is emphasized. A dip in the
Ganga at Prayag at the con?uence of the Ganga and the Yamuna is considered holy, and
victorious kings visit Prayag.
Bengal
As regards Bengal, portions of north Bengal, now in Bogra district, give evidence of the
prevalence of writing in the time of Asoka. An inscription indicates several settlements
maintaining a storehouse ?lled with coins and foodgrains for the upkeep of Buddhist
monks. Clearly, the local peasants were in a position to spare a part of their produce for
paying taxes and making gifts. Further, people of this area knew Prakrit and professed
Buddhism. Similarly, an inscription found in the coastal district of Noakhali in south-
east Bengal shows that people knew Prakrit and Brahmi script in that area in the second
century B.C. But for the greater part of Bengal, we do not hear anything till we come to
the fourth century A.D. In about the middle of the fourth century, a king with the title
of maharaja ruled in Pokharna on the Damodara in Bankura district. He knew Sanskrit
and was a devotee of Vishnu, to whom he possibly granted a village.
The area lying between the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, now covering Bangladesh,
emergedasasettledandfairlySanskrit-educatedareainthe?fthandsixthcenturies. The
2
Gupta governors seem to have become independent after about A.D. 550, and occupied
north Bengal; a portion may have been seized by the rulers of Kamarupa. Local vassal
princes called samanta maharajas had created their own administrative apparatus and
built their military organization consisting of horses, elephants, foot soldiers, and boats
to ?ght their rivals and collect taxes from the local peasantry. By A.D. 600, the area
came to be known as Gauda with its independent state ruled by Sasanka, the adversary
of Harsha.
For a century from A.D. 432-33, we notice a series of land sale documents recorded on
copper-plates in Pundravardhanabhukti, which covered almost the whole of north Ben-
gal, now mostly in Bangladesh. Most land grants indicate that land was purchased with
gold coins called dinara. But once land was given for religious purposes, the donees did
not have to pay any tax. The land transactions show the involvement of leading scribes,
merchants, artisans, landed classes, etc., in local administration, which was manned by
the governors appointed by the Gupta emperors. The land sale documents not only indi-
cate the existence of di?erent social groups and local functionaries but also shed valuable
light on the expansion of agriculture. Mostly, land purchased for religious endowments
is described as fallow, uncultivated, and therefore untaxed. Without doubt, the e?ect of
the grants was to bring plots of land within the purview of cultivation and settlement.
The deltaic portion of Bengal formed by the Brahmaputra and called Samatata was
made to acknowledge the authority of Samudragupta. It covered south-east Bengal. A
portion of this territory may have been populated and important enough to attract the
attention of the Gupta conqueror. But possibly it was not ruled by brahmanized princes,
and consequently, it neither used Sanskrit nor adopted the varna system, as was the
case in north Bengal. From about A.D. 525, the area came to have a fairly organized
state covering Samatata and a portion of Vanga, which lay on the western boundary
of Samatata. It issued a good number of gold coins in the second half of the sixth
century. In addition to this state, in the seventh century, we come across the state of
the Khadgas, literally swordsmen, in the Dacca area. We also notice the kingdom of a
brahmana feudatory called Lokanatha and that of the Ratas, both in the Comilla area.
All these princes of south-east and central Bengal issued land grants in the sixth and
seventh centuries. Like the Orissan kings, they also created agraharas. The land charters
showcultivationofSanskrit,leadingtotheuseofsomesophisticatedmetersinthesecond
half of the seventh century. At the same time, they attest the expansion of cultivation
and rural settlements. A ?scal and administrative unit called Dandabhukti was formed
in the border areas lying between Bengal and Orissa. Danda means punishment, and
bhukti enjoyment. Apparently, the unit was created for taming and punishing the tribal
inhabitants of that region. It may have promoted Sanskrit and other elements of culture
in tribal areas. This was also true of Vardhamanabhukti (Burdwan), of which we hear
in the seventh century. In south-east Bengal, in the Faridpur area, ?ve plots of land
granted to a Buddhist monastery were waste and water-logged, paying no tax to the
state. Similarly, 200 brahmanas were given a large area in Comilla district within a
forest region full of deer, boars, bu?aloes, tigers, serpents, etc. All such instances are
su?cient proof of the progress of colonization and civilization in new areas.
The two centuries from about the middle of the ?fth century appear to be very momen-
tous in the history of Bengal. They saw the formation of about half a dozen states, some
large and others small, some independent and others feudatory. But each had its victory
3
Page 4


CHAPTER 21: Spread of Civilization in Eastern India
Signs of Civilization
A region is considered to be civilized if its people know the art of writing, have a system
for collecting taxes and maintaining order, and possess social classes and specialists for
performing priestly, administrative, and producing functions. Above all, a civilized soci-
etyshouldbeable toproduce enoughto support not only the actual producers consisting
of artisans and peasants but also consumers who are not engaged in production. All
these elements make for civilization. But they appear in a large part of eastern India
on a recognizable scale very late. Practically no written records are found in the greater
portions of eastern Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining areas of Orissa, of West Bengal,
of Bangladesh, and of Assam till the middle of the fourth century A.D.
The period from the fourth to the seventh century is remarkable for the di?usion of an
advanced rural economy, formation of state systems, and delineation of social classes in
eastern Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, eastern Bengal, south-east Bengal, and Assam. This is
indicated by the distribution of a good number of inscriptions in these areas in Gupta
times. Many inscriptions dated in the Gupta era are found in those areas. They are
generally in the form of land grants made by feudatory princes and others for religious
purposes to Buddhists and brahmanas and also to Vaishnavite temples and Buddhist
monasteries. Thesebene?ciariesplayedanimportantroleinspreadingandstrengthening
elementsofadvancedculture. Theprocesscanbeunderstoodbyattemptingaregion-wise
survey.
Orissa and Eastern and Southern Madhya Pradesh
Kalinga,orthecoastalOrissa,southoftheMahanadi,leaptintoimportanceunderAsoka,
but a strong state was founded in that area only in the ?rst century B.C. Its ruler Khar-
avela advanced as far as Magadha. In the ?rst and second centuries A.D., the ports of
Orissa carried on brisk trade in pearls, ivory, and muslin. Excavations at Sisupalgarh,
the site of Kalinganagari, which was the capital of Kharavela at a distance of 60 km
from Bhubaneswar, have yielded several Roman objects indicating trade contacts with
the Roman empire. But the greater part of Orissa, particularly northern Orissa, neither
experienced state formation nor witnessed much commercial activity. In the fourth cen-
tury, Kosala and Mahakantara ?gure in the list of conquests made by Samudragupta.
They covered parts of northern and western Orissa. From the second half of the fourth
century to the sixth century, several states were formed in Orissa, and at least ?ve of
them can be clearly identi?ed. The most important of them is the state of the Matharas,
who are also called Pitribhaktas. At the peak of their power, they dominated the area
between the Mahanadi and the Krishna. Their contemporaries and neighbors were the
Vasisthas, the Nalas, and the Manas. The Vasisthas ruled on the borders of Andhra in
southKalinga, theNalasintheforestareaofMahakantara, andtheManasinthecoastal
area in the north beyond the Mahanadi. Each state developed its system of taxation,
administration, and military organization. The Nalas, and probably the Manas, also
evolved their system of coinage. Each kingdom favored the brahmanas with land grants
and even invited them from outside, and most kings performed Vedic sacri?ces not only
for spiritual merit but also for power, prestige, and legitimacy.
In this period, elements of advanced culture were not con?ned to the coastal belt known
1
as Kalinga but appeared in the other parts of Orissa. The ?nd of the Nala gold coins
in the tribal Bastar area in Madhya Pradesh is signi?cant. It presupposes an economic
system in which gold money was used in large transactions and served as a medium of
payment to high functionaries. Similarly, the Manas seemed to have issued copper coins,
whichimpliestheuseofmetallicmoneyevenbyartisansandpeasants. Thevariousstates
added to their income by forming new ?scal units in rural areas. The Matharas created a
district called Mahendrabhoga in the area of the Mahendra mountains. They also ruled
over a district called Dantayavagubhoga, which apparently supplied ivory and rice-gruel
to its administrators and had thus been created in a backward area. The Matharas
made endowments called agraharas, which consisted of land and income from villages
and were meant for supporting religious and educational activities of the brahmanas.
Some agraharas had to pay taxes, although elsewhere in the country they were tax-free.
The induction of the brahmanas through land grants in tribal, forest, and red soil areas
brought new lands under cultivation and introduced better methods of agriculture, based
on improved knowledge of weather conditions. Formerly, the year was divided into three
units,eachconsistingoffourmonths,andtimewasreckonedonthebasisofthreeseasons.
Under the Matharas, in the middle of the ?fth century, began the practice of dividing the
year into twelve lunar months. This implied a detailed idea of weather conditions, which
was useful for agricultural operations.
In the coastal Orissa, writing was certainly known from the third century B.C., and
inscriptions up to the middle of the fourth century A.D. appeared in Prakrit. But from
about A.D. 350, Sanskrit began to be used. What is more signi?cant, charters in this
language appear outside the coastal belt beyond the Mahanadi in the north. Thus, the
art of writing and Sanskrit language spread over a good portion of Orissa, and some of
the ?nest Sanskrit verses are found in the epigraphs of the period. Sanskrit served as
the vehicle of not only brahmanical religion and culture but also of property laws and
social regulations in new areas. Verses from the Puranas and Dharmasastras are quoted
in Sanskrit charters, and kings claim to be the preservers of the varna system. The
a?liation of the people to the culture of the Gangetic basin is emphasized. A dip in the
Ganga at Prayag at the con?uence of the Ganga and the Yamuna is considered holy, and
victorious kings visit Prayag.
Bengal
As regards Bengal, portions of north Bengal, now in Bogra district, give evidence of the
prevalence of writing in the time of Asoka. An inscription indicates several settlements
maintaining a storehouse ?lled with coins and foodgrains for the upkeep of Buddhist
monks. Clearly, the local peasants were in a position to spare a part of their produce for
paying taxes and making gifts. Further, people of this area knew Prakrit and professed
Buddhism. Similarly, an inscription found in the coastal district of Noakhali in south-
east Bengal shows that people knew Prakrit and Brahmi script in that area in the second
century B.C. But for the greater part of Bengal, we do not hear anything till we come to
the fourth century A.D. In about the middle of the fourth century, a king with the title
of maharaja ruled in Pokharna on the Damodara in Bankura district. He knew Sanskrit
and was a devotee of Vishnu, to whom he possibly granted a village.
The area lying between the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, now covering Bangladesh,
emergedasasettledandfairlySanskrit-educatedareainthe?fthandsixthcenturies. The
2
Gupta governors seem to have become independent after about A.D. 550, and occupied
north Bengal; a portion may have been seized by the rulers of Kamarupa. Local vassal
princes called samanta maharajas had created their own administrative apparatus and
built their military organization consisting of horses, elephants, foot soldiers, and boats
to ?ght their rivals and collect taxes from the local peasantry. By A.D. 600, the area
came to be known as Gauda with its independent state ruled by Sasanka, the adversary
of Harsha.
For a century from A.D. 432-33, we notice a series of land sale documents recorded on
copper-plates in Pundravardhanabhukti, which covered almost the whole of north Ben-
gal, now mostly in Bangladesh. Most land grants indicate that land was purchased with
gold coins called dinara. But once land was given for religious purposes, the donees did
not have to pay any tax. The land transactions show the involvement of leading scribes,
merchants, artisans, landed classes, etc., in local administration, which was manned by
the governors appointed by the Gupta emperors. The land sale documents not only indi-
cate the existence of di?erent social groups and local functionaries but also shed valuable
light on the expansion of agriculture. Mostly, land purchased for religious endowments
is described as fallow, uncultivated, and therefore untaxed. Without doubt, the e?ect of
the grants was to bring plots of land within the purview of cultivation and settlement.
The deltaic portion of Bengal formed by the Brahmaputra and called Samatata was
made to acknowledge the authority of Samudragupta. It covered south-east Bengal. A
portion of this territory may have been populated and important enough to attract the
attention of the Gupta conqueror. But possibly it was not ruled by brahmanized princes,
and consequently, it neither used Sanskrit nor adopted the varna system, as was the
case in north Bengal. From about A.D. 525, the area came to have a fairly organized
state covering Samatata and a portion of Vanga, which lay on the western boundary
of Samatata. It issued a good number of gold coins in the second half of the sixth
century. In addition to this state, in the seventh century, we come across the state of
the Khadgas, literally swordsmen, in the Dacca area. We also notice the kingdom of a
brahmana feudatory called Lokanatha and that of the Ratas, both in the Comilla area.
All these princes of south-east and central Bengal issued land grants in the sixth and
seventh centuries. Like the Orissan kings, they also created agraharas. The land charters
showcultivationofSanskrit,leadingtotheuseofsomesophisticatedmetersinthesecond
half of the seventh century. At the same time, they attest the expansion of cultivation
and rural settlements. A ?scal and administrative unit called Dandabhukti was formed
in the border areas lying between Bengal and Orissa. Danda means punishment, and
bhukti enjoyment. Apparently, the unit was created for taming and punishing the tribal
inhabitants of that region. It may have promoted Sanskrit and other elements of culture
in tribal areas. This was also true of Vardhamanabhukti (Burdwan), of which we hear
in the seventh century. In south-east Bengal, in the Faridpur area, ?ve plots of land
granted to a Buddhist monastery were waste and water-logged, paying no tax to the
state. Similarly, 200 brahmanas were given a large area in Comilla district within a
forest region full of deer, boars, bu?aloes, tigers, serpents, etc. All such instances are
su?cient proof of the progress of colonization and civilization in new areas.
The two centuries from about the middle of the ?fth century appear to be very momen-
tous in the history of Bengal. They saw the formation of about half a dozen states, some
large and others small, some independent and others feudatory. But each had its victory
3
or military camp where it maintained its infantry, cavalry, elephants, and boats. Each
had its ?scal and administrative districts with its machinery for tax collection and main-
tenance of order. Each practiced expansion through war and land grants to Buddhists
and brahmanas. The number of endowments had increased so much that ultimately an
o?cer called agraharika had to be appointed to look after them. Land gifts led to rural
expansionandcreated new rightsinland. Generally, land wasunder the possession ofin-
dividual families. But its sale and purchase was subject to the overall control of the local
communities dominated by leading artisans, merchants, landowners, and scribes. They
helped the local agents of the king. But ordinary cultivators were also consulted about
the sale of land in the village. It seems that originally, only the tribe or the community
could grant land because they possessed it. Therefore, even when individuals came to
possess their own lands and made gifts for religious purposes, the community continued
to have a say in the matter. Probably at an earlier stage, the community donated land
to the priests for religious services and paid taxes to the princes for military and polit-
ical services. Later, the king received from the community a good part of the land and
arrogated to himself much more, which enabled him to make land grants. The king was
entitledtotaxesandalsopossessedrightsoverwasteandfallowland. Theadministrative
functionariesofeachstateknewSanskrit, whichwastheo?ciallanguage. Theywerealso
familiarwiththeteachingsofthePuranasandtheDharmasastras. Theperiod,therefore,
is very signi?cant because of the onward march of civilization in this area.
Assam
Kamarupa, identical with the Brahmaputra basin running from east to west, shot into
prominence in the seventh century. Excavations, however, show settlements in Ambari
near Gauhati from the fourth century of the Christian era. In the same century, Samu-
draguptareceivedtributesfromDavakaandKamarupa. Davakapossiblyaccountedfora
portion of Nowgong district, and Kamarupa covered the Brahmaputra basin. The rulers
who submitted to Samudragupta may have been chiefs living on the tributes collected
from the tribal peasantry.
TheAmbariexcavationsshowthatsettlementswerefairlydevelopedinthesixthandsev-
enth centuries. This is supported by inscriptions. By the beginning of the sixth century,
the use of Sanskrit and the art of writing are clearly in evidence. The Kamarupa kings
adopted the title varman, which obtained not only in northern, central, and western In-
dia but also in Bengal, Orissa, Andhra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. They strengthened
their position through land grants to the brahmanas. In the seventh century, Bhaskar-
avarmanemergedastheheadofastatewhichcontrolledagooddealoftheBrahmaputra
basin and some areas beyond it. Buddhism also acquired a foothold, and the Chinese
traveler Hsuan Tsang (Hieun Tsang) visited this state.
The Formative Phase
Although di?erent parts of eastern India acquired prominence at di?erent times, the
formative phase ranged from the fourth to the seventh century. In this period, writing,
Sanskrit learning, Vedic rituals, brahmanical social classes, and state systems spread and
developed in eastern Madhya Pradesh, in north Orissa, in West Bengal, in a good part
of Bangladesh, and in Assam. Cultural contacts with the Gupta empire stimulated the
spreadofcivilizationintheeasternzone. NorthBengalandnorth-westOrissacameunder
4
Page 5


CHAPTER 21: Spread of Civilization in Eastern India
Signs of Civilization
A region is considered to be civilized if its people know the art of writing, have a system
for collecting taxes and maintaining order, and possess social classes and specialists for
performing priestly, administrative, and producing functions. Above all, a civilized soci-
etyshouldbeable toproduce enoughto support not only the actual producers consisting
of artisans and peasants but also consumers who are not engaged in production. All
these elements make for civilization. But they appear in a large part of eastern India
on a recognizable scale very late. Practically no written records are found in the greater
portions of eastern Madhya Pradesh and the adjoining areas of Orissa, of West Bengal,
of Bangladesh, and of Assam till the middle of the fourth century A.D.
The period from the fourth to the seventh century is remarkable for the di?usion of an
advanced rural economy, formation of state systems, and delineation of social classes in
eastern Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, eastern Bengal, south-east Bengal, and Assam. This is
indicated by the distribution of a good number of inscriptions in these areas in Gupta
times. Many inscriptions dated in the Gupta era are found in those areas. They are
generally in the form of land grants made by feudatory princes and others for religious
purposes to Buddhists and brahmanas and also to Vaishnavite temples and Buddhist
monasteries. Thesebene?ciariesplayedanimportantroleinspreadingandstrengthening
elementsofadvancedculture. Theprocesscanbeunderstoodbyattemptingaregion-wise
survey.
Orissa and Eastern and Southern Madhya Pradesh
Kalinga,orthecoastalOrissa,southoftheMahanadi,leaptintoimportanceunderAsoka,
but a strong state was founded in that area only in the ?rst century B.C. Its ruler Khar-
avela advanced as far as Magadha. In the ?rst and second centuries A.D., the ports of
Orissa carried on brisk trade in pearls, ivory, and muslin. Excavations at Sisupalgarh,
the site of Kalinganagari, which was the capital of Kharavela at a distance of 60 km
from Bhubaneswar, have yielded several Roman objects indicating trade contacts with
the Roman empire. But the greater part of Orissa, particularly northern Orissa, neither
experienced state formation nor witnessed much commercial activity. In the fourth cen-
tury, Kosala and Mahakantara ?gure in the list of conquests made by Samudragupta.
They covered parts of northern and western Orissa. From the second half of the fourth
century to the sixth century, several states were formed in Orissa, and at least ?ve of
them can be clearly identi?ed. The most important of them is the state of the Matharas,
who are also called Pitribhaktas. At the peak of their power, they dominated the area
between the Mahanadi and the Krishna. Their contemporaries and neighbors were the
Vasisthas, the Nalas, and the Manas. The Vasisthas ruled on the borders of Andhra in
southKalinga, theNalasintheforestareaofMahakantara, andtheManasinthecoastal
area in the north beyond the Mahanadi. Each state developed its system of taxation,
administration, and military organization. The Nalas, and probably the Manas, also
evolved their system of coinage. Each kingdom favored the brahmanas with land grants
and even invited them from outside, and most kings performed Vedic sacri?ces not only
for spiritual merit but also for power, prestige, and legitimacy.
In this period, elements of advanced culture were not con?ned to the coastal belt known
1
as Kalinga but appeared in the other parts of Orissa. The ?nd of the Nala gold coins
in the tribal Bastar area in Madhya Pradesh is signi?cant. It presupposes an economic
system in which gold money was used in large transactions and served as a medium of
payment to high functionaries. Similarly, the Manas seemed to have issued copper coins,
whichimpliestheuseofmetallicmoneyevenbyartisansandpeasants. Thevariousstates
added to their income by forming new ?scal units in rural areas. The Matharas created a
district called Mahendrabhoga in the area of the Mahendra mountains. They also ruled
over a district called Dantayavagubhoga, which apparently supplied ivory and rice-gruel
to its administrators and had thus been created in a backward area. The Matharas
made endowments called agraharas, which consisted of land and income from villages
and were meant for supporting religious and educational activities of the brahmanas.
Some agraharas had to pay taxes, although elsewhere in the country they were tax-free.
The induction of the brahmanas through land grants in tribal, forest, and red soil areas
brought new lands under cultivation and introduced better methods of agriculture, based
on improved knowledge of weather conditions. Formerly, the year was divided into three
units,eachconsistingoffourmonths,andtimewasreckonedonthebasisofthreeseasons.
Under the Matharas, in the middle of the ?fth century, began the practice of dividing the
year into twelve lunar months. This implied a detailed idea of weather conditions, which
was useful for agricultural operations.
In the coastal Orissa, writing was certainly known from the third century B.C., and
inscriptions up to the middle of the fourth century A.D. appeared in Prakrit. But from
about A.D. 350, Sanskrit began to be used. What is more signi?cant, charters in this
language appear outside the coastal belt beyond the Mahanadi in the north. Thus, the
art of writing and Sanskrit language spread over a good portion of Orissa, and some of
the ?nest Sanskrit verses are found in the epigraphs of the period. Sanskrit served as
the vehicle of not only brahmanical religion and culture but also of property laws and
social regulations in new areas. Verses from the Puranas and Dharmasastras are quoted
in Sanskrit charters, and kings claim to be the preservers of the varna system. The
a?liation of the people to the culture of the Gangetic basin is emphasized. A dip in the
Ganga at Prayag at the con?uence of the Ganga and the Yamuna is considered holy, and
victorious kings visit Prayag.
Bengal
As regards Bengal, portions of north Bengal, now in Bogra district, give evidence of the
prevalence of writing in the time of Asoka. An inscription indicates several settlements
maintaining a storehouse ?lled with coins and foodgrains for the upkeep of Buddhist
monks. Clearly, the local peasants were in a position to spare a part of their produce for
paying taxes and making gifts. Further, people of this area knew Prakrit and professed
Buddhism. Similarly, an inscription found in the coastal district of Noakhali in south-
east Bengal shows that people knew Prakrit and Brahmi script in that area in the second
century B.C. But for the greater part of Bengal, we do not hear anything till we come to
the fourth century A.D. In about the middle of the fourth century, a king with the title
of maharaja ruled in Pokharna on the Damodara in Bankura district. He knew Sanskrit
and was a devotee of Vishnu, to whom he possibly granted a village.
The area lying between the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, now covering Bangladesh,
emergedasasettledandfairlySanskrit-educatedareainthe?fthandsixthcenturies. The
2
Gupta governors seem to have become independent after about A.D. 550, and occupied
north Bengal; a portion may have been seized by the rulers of Kamarupa. Local vassal
princes called samanta maharajas had created their own administrative apparatus and
built their military organization consisting of horses, elephants, foot soldiers, and boats
to ?ght their rivals and collect taxes from the local peasantry. By A.D. 600, the area
came to be known as Gauda with its independent state ruled by Sasanka, the adversary
of Harsha.
For a century from A.D. 432-33, we notice a series of land sale documents recorded on
copper-plates in Pundravardhanabhukti, which covered almost the whole of north Ben-
gal, now mostly in Bangladesh. Most land grants indicate that land was purchased with
gold coins called dinara. But once land was given for religious purposes, the donees did
not have to pay any tax. The land transactions show the involvement of leading scribes,
merchants, artisans, landed classes, etc., in local administration, which was manned by
the governors appointed by the Gupta emperors. The land sale documents not only indi-
cate the existence of di?erent social groups and local functionaries but also shed valuable
light on the expansion of agriculture. Mostly, land purchased for religious endowments
is described as fallow, uncultivated, and therefore untaxed. Without doubt, the e?ect of
the grants was to bring plots of land within the purview of cultivation and settlement.
The deltaic portion of Bengal formed by the Brahmaputra and called Samatata was
made to acknowledge the authority of Samudragupta. It covered south-east Bengal. A
portion of this territory may have been populated and important enough to attract the
attention of the Gupta conqueror. But possibly it was not ruled by brahmanized princes,
and consequently, it neither used Sanskrit nor adopted the varna system, as was the
case in north Bengal. From about A.D. 525, the area came to have a fairly organized
state covering Samatata and a portion of Vanga, which lay on the western boundary
of Samatata. It issued a good number of gold coins in the second half of the sixth
century. In addition to this state, in the seventh century, we come across the state of
the Khadgas, literally swordsmen, in the Dacca area. We also notice the kingdom of a
brahmana feudatory called Lokanatha and that of the Ratas, both in the Comilla area.
All these princes of south-east and central Bengal issued land grants in the sixth and
seventh centuries. Like the Orissan kings, they also created agraharas. The land charters
showcultivationofSanskrit,leadingtotheuseofsomesophisticatedmetersinthesecond
half of the seventh century. At the same time, they attest the expansion of cultivation
and rural settlements. A ?scal and administrative unit called Dandabhukti was formed
in the border areas lying between Bengal and Orissa. Danda means punishment, and
bhukti enjoyment. Apparently, the unit was created for taming and punishing the tribal
inhabitants of that region. It may have promoted Sanskrit and other elements of culture
in tribal areas. This was also true of Vardhamanabhukti (Burdwan), of which we hear
in the seventh century. In south-east Bengal, in the Faridpur area, ?ve plots of land
granted to a Buddhist monastery were waste and water-logged, paying no tax to the
state. Similarly, 200 brahmanas were given a large area in Comilla district within a
forest region full of deer, boars, bu?aloes, tigers, serpents, etc. All such instances are
su?cient proof of the progress of colonization and civilization in new areas.
The two centuries from about the middle of the ?fth century appear to be very momen-
tous in the history of Bengal. They saw the formation of about half a dozen states, some
large and others small, some independent and others feudatory. But each had its victory
3
or military camp where it maintained its infantry, cavalry, elephants, and boats. Each
had its ?scal and administrative districts with its machinery for tax collection and main-
tenance of order. Each practiced expansion through war and land grants to Buddhists
and brahmanas. The number of endowments had increased so much that ultimately an
o?cer called agraharika had to be appointed to look after them. Land gifts led to rural
expansionandcreated new rightsinland. Generally, land wasunder the possession ofin-
dividual families. But its sale and purchase was subject to the overall control of the local
communities dominated by leading artisans, merchants, landowners, and scribes. They
helped the local agents of the king. But ordinary cultivators were also consulted about
the sale of land in the village. It seems that originally, only the tribe or the community
could grant land because they possessed it. Therefore, even when individuals came to
possess their own lands and made gifts for religious purposes, the community continued
to have a say in the matter. Probably at an earlier stage, the community donated land
to the priests for religious services and paid taxes to the princes for military and polit-
ical services. Later, the king received from the community a good part of the land and
arrogated to himself much more, which enabled him to make land grants. The king was
entitledtotaxesandalsopossessedrightsoverwasteandfallowland. Theadministrative
functionariesofeachstateknewSanskrit, whichwastheo?ciallanguage. Theywerealso
familiarwiththeteachingsofthePuranasandtheDharmasastras. Theperiod,therefore,
is very signi?cant because of the onward march of civilization in this area.
Assam
Kamarupa, identical with the Brahmaputra basin running from east to west, shot into
prominence in the seventh century. Excavations, however, show settlements in Ambari
near Gauhati from the fourth century of the Christian era. In the same century, Samu-
draguptareceivedtributesfromDavakaandKamarupa. Davakapossiblyaccountedfora
portion of Nowgong district, and Kamarupa covered the Brahmaputra basin. The rulers
who submitted to Samudragupta may have been chiefs living on the tributes collected
from the tribal peasantry.
TheAmbariexcavationsshowthatsettlementswerefairlydevelopedinthesixthandsev-
enth centuries. This is supported by inscriptions. By the beginning of the sixth century,
the use of Sanskrit and the art of writing are clearly in evidence. The Kamarupa kings
adopted the title varman, which obtained not only in northern, central, and western In-
dia but also in Bengal, Orissa, Andhra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. They strengthened
their position through land grants to the brahmanas. In the seventh century, Bhaskar-
avarmanemergedastheheadofastatewhichcontrolledagooddealoftheBrahmaputra
basin and some areas beyond it. Buddhism also acquired a foothold, and the Chinese
traveler Hsuan Tsang (Hieun Tsang) visited this state.
The Formative Phase
Although di?erent parts of eastern India acquired prominence at di?erent times, the
formative phase ranged from the fourth to the seventh century. In this period, writing,
Sanskrit learning, Vedic rituals, brahmanical social classes, and state systems spread and
developed in eastern Madhya Pradesh, in north Orissa, in West Bengal, in a good part
of Bangladesh, and in Assam. Cultural contacts with the Gupta empire stimulated the
spreadofcivilizationintheeasternzone. NorthBengalandnorth-westOrissacameunder
4
the Gupta rule; in other areas of these regions, the Gupta association can be inferred
from the use of the Gupta era in inscriptions. In Bengal, new states were formed by
feudatories, who maintained a good number of elephants, horses, boats, etc., in their
military camps. Obviously, they collected regular taxes from the rural communities to
maintainprofessionalarmies. Forthe?rsttimeinthe?fthandsixthcenturies, weclearly
notice large-scale writing, use of Sanskrit, formation of varna society, and progress of
Buddhism and brahmanism in the form of Saivism and Vaishnavism in this area. We
?nd only the remnants of communal authority over land, but we can see the existence of
private property in land, and the use of gold coins with which it could be purchased. All
this presupposes an advanced food-producing economy. Apparently, it was based on iron
ploughshareagriculture,wetpaddycultivation,andknowledgeofvariouscrafts. Kalidasa
refers to the transplantation of paddy seedlings in Vanga, but we do not know whether
thepracticewasindigenousorcamefromMagadha. NorthBengalproducedgoodquality
sugarcane. All this made for su?cient agricultural production, which was able to sustain
both people and government, and could foster widespread rural settlements in such areas
as were either sparsely inhabited or not at all inhabited. A connected narrative of the
princes and dynasties and their feudatories, all revolving round a central power, cannot
be prepared. But there is no doubt about cultural evolution and conquest of civilization
in the outlying provinces in the eastern zone.
The decline and fall of the Gupta empire, therefore, coincided with considerable progress
in the outlying regions. Many obscure areas, which were possibly ruled by tribal chiefs
and were thinly settled, came into historical limelight. This applied to the red soil areas
of West Bengal, north Orissa, and the adjoining areas of Madhya Pradesh, which formed
part of the Chotanagpur plateau and were di?cult to cultivate and settle. It applied
more to the jungle areas with alluvial soil and heavy rainfall in Bangladesh and to the
Brahmaputra basin.
EXERCISES
1. Describe the process of the spread of civilization in eastern India. What factors
helped this process?
2. Survey the position of brahmanas in the early kingdoms of Orissa.
3. How were new states formed in Bengal and with what results?
4. What light do the land grants throw on the social system in the eastern states?
5