NCERT Summary: New Empires & Kingdoms - BPSC (Bihar) PDF Download

Introduction 

• This inscription is of a special kind known as a Prashastis, a Sanskrit word, meaning ‘in praise of’. Prashastis were composed for some of the rulers.
  Prashasti

➢ 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. He is also described as equal to the gods. The Prashasti was composed in very long sentences. 
• Harishena describes four different kinds of rulers and tells us about Samudragupta’s policies towards them.
  (i) The rulers of Aryavarta, the area shaded in green on the map. Here there were nine rulers who were uprooted, and their kingdoms were made a part of Samudragupta’s empire.
  (ii) The rulers of Dakshinapatha. Here there were twelve rulers, some of whose capitals are marked with red dots on the map. They surrendered to Samudragupta after being defeated and he then allowed them to rule again.
  (iii) The inner circle of neighboring states, including Assam, coastal Bengal, Nepal, and a number of Gana sanghas in the northwest, marked in purple on the map. They brought tribute, followed his orders, and attended his court.
  (iv) The rulers of the outlying areas, marked in blue on the map, perhaps the descendants of the Kushanas and Shakas, and the ruler of Sri Lanka, who submitted to him and offered daughters in marriage.

➢ Genealogies

• Most Prashant also mentions the ancestors of the ruler. This one mentions Samudragupta’s great grandfather, grandfather, father, and mother.

➢ Harshvardhan and Harshacharitra

• Knowledge about the Gupta kings and many others got from inscriptions and coins. 
• Harshavardhana, who ruled nearly 1400 years ago, was one such ruler. His court poet, Banabhatta, 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. 
• His brother-in-law was the ruler of Kanauj and he was killed by the ruler of Bengal. Harsha took over the kingdom of Kanauj, and then led an army against the ruler of Bengal. 
• Although he was successful in the east and conquered both Magadha and Bengal, he was not as successful elsewhere.
• He tried to cross the Narmada to march into the Deccan but was stopped by a ruler belonging to the Chalukya dynasty, Pulakeshin II.

➢ The Pallavas, Chalukyas, and Pulakeshin’s Prashasti

• 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, while that of the Chalukyas was centered around the Raichur Doab, between the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra. 
• Aihole, the capital of the Chalukyas, was an important trading center. It developed as a religious center, with a number of temples. 
• The Pallavas and  Chalukyas frequently raided one another’s lands,  especially attacking the capital cities, which were prosperous towns. 
• The best-known Chalukya ruler was Pulakeshin II. We know about him from a Prashasti, composed by his court poet Ravikirti. This tells us about his ancestors, who are traced back through four generations from father to son. Pulakeshin evidently got the kingdom from his uncle. 
• Afterward,  both the Pallavas and the Chalukyas gave way to new rulers belonging to the Rashtrakuta and Chola dynasties.

➢ Administration of the kingdoms

• There were some new developments as well. 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. 
• Administration: 
  (i) Some important administrative posts were now hereditary. This means that sons succeeded fathers in these posts. For example, the poet Harishena was a maha-danda-nayaka, or chief judicial officer, like his father.
  (ii) Sometimes, one person held many offices. For instance, besides being a maha-danda-nayaka, Harishena was a kumar-amatya, meaning an important minister, and a sandhi-vigrahika, meaning a minister of war and peace.
  (iii) Besides, important men probably had a say in local administration. These included the nagarashreshthi or chief banker or merchant of the city, the sarthavaha or leader of the merchant caravans, the prathama-kulika or the chief craftsman, and the head of the kayasthas or scribes. 
• These policies were reasonably effective, but sooner or later, some of these powerful men grew strong enough to set up independent kingdoms.

➢ New kind of army

• Like earlier rulers, some of these kings maintained a well-organized army, with elephants, chariots, cavalry, and foot soldiers. 
• Besides, there were military leaders who provided the king with troops whenever he needed them. They were not paid regular salaries.
• Instead, some of them received grants of land. They collected revenue from the land and used this to maintain soldiers and horses, and provide equipment for warfare. 
• These men were known as Samanthas. Whenever the ruler was weak, Samanthas tried to become independent.

➢ Assemblies in the southern Kingdom

• The inscriptions of the Pallavas mention a number of local assemblies. These included the sabha, which was an assembly of brahmin landowners. 
• This assembly functioned through subcommittees, which looked after irrigation,  agricultural operations, making roads, local temples, etc. 
• The ur was a village assembly found in areas where the landowners were not brahmins. And the Nagaram was an organization of merchants. 
• These assemblies were controlled by rich and powerful landowners and merchants. 
• Many of these local assemblies continued to function for centuries.

➢ Ordinary peoples in the Kingdom

• Lower caste people had to live on the outskirts of the village. 
• High and mighty control the poor and lower people.

Mind map