Old NCERT Gist (RS Sharma): Transformation of Ancient Age | Additional Study Material for UPSC PDF Download

Land Grants

➢ Medieval age was ushered in due to the widespread practice of giving land grants. Why did this happen?

• Social upheaval occurred wherein lower classes (vaishyas = traders and artisans; shudras = agriculturists) refused to pay taxes or do the work assigned to them (grow crops). Called Vamasamkara = intermixture of vamas. This led to decline in production and upset the entire system; called Kaliyug in ∼4th century.
• Grants were given to officials in order to shift the burden of revenue collection and law and order to them.
• Brahmanas were given grants so that they would assimilate tribals into brahmanical way of life and train them to pay taxes to the ruler.
• Brahmanas were also granted land grants so that they could legitimize the rule of the new rulers of the emerging kingdoms, who were mostly Vaishyas or traders. Brahmanas invented fake family trees to lend legitimacy.
• Trade declined. Trade with west Rome had ended by 3nd century; silk trade with Iran and east rome ended in 6th century. Declining trade led to: decline of gold coins in circulation, shifting of production from specialized artisanship to agriculture, shortage of salaries to be paid to officials.

Social Organization

• Social organization changed due to land grants. Earlier, vaishyas and shudras = free peasants in north gangetic basin.
• After grants, landlords came between king and peasants. So vaishyas and shudras came to be treated inferiorly. This spread throughout India and created unrest.
• Land grants to vaishyas sometimes = they aspired to higher stature = economically well-off but socially low.
• Law books had to be rewritten to accommodate this landlord class.
• Varahmihir graded house sizes based on varnas and also based on class.
• Numerous castes were created from 7th century.
• Various sub-castes resulted because people could not move.
• So, same profession but each territory became a different sub-caste. Intermarriage b/w vaishya women and shudra men and such intermingling led to additional castes.
• Add to this the tribes assimilated in Hinduism.
  Most tribals were given designation of shudras and mixed castes.

Language

• Sub-national units like Andhra, Gujarat, Assam, Bengal were formed during 6th-7th centuries. Vishakhdatta mentions different regions inhabited by people different in customs, clothing and language.
• Sanskrit became popular amongst ruling class from 2nd century.
• Ornate prose and verse were written in courts.
• Bana’s prose served as a model for Sanskrit writers till the medieval period.
  Regional languages grew due to breakup of Gupta empire, decline of trade and rise of regional kingdoms which hindered contacts between people. Scripts also diverged from 7th century

Religion and Art

• Architectural styles and statue-making diverged from 7th century.
• South India = land of stone temples. Stone and bronze statues were made in large numbers because of use in southern temples and eastern monasteries.
• Hindu deities also arranged in hierarchy. Vishnu, Shiv and Durga supreme deities presiding over others.
• Monastic organization of Jains, Shaivites and Vaishnavites also became organized in 5 ranks; acharya being the topmost.
• Bhakti cult began in south India in 7th century.
• People offered whatever they could to the god and received prasadam in return.
• They surrendered themselves in worship of the god.
• Personal relationship between god and devotee.
• Tantricism spread in 6th century.
• Admitted both women and shudras and stressed on magic rituals.
• It arose due to large scale assimilation of tribals into Hinduism - to satisfy their cravings for physical possessions and to cure day-to-day illnesses.
• Tantricism permeated Jainism, Buddhism and Vaishnavism. It continued to hold say till medieval age.

Transformation of Ancient Age

Social crisis and Origin of Land Grants

• Central factor of Transformation was land grants.
• The practice of land grants came into being because of Varna system.
• The refusal to pay taxes and perform labor by the lower class led to the establishment of Varna-samskara or inter-mixture of social classes.
• An important step to meet the situation was to grant the land to priest and officials in lieu of their salaries.
• This could bring new lands under cultivation.

Decline of Central Control

• Brahmanas were granted villages free from taxes.
• Beneficiaries were given right to govern the people living in these villages.
• They also maintained law and order in the villages.
• The power of king was undermined by the end of Gupta rule.
• It was further eroded by paying government officials through land grants.
• Land beneficiaries appointed peasants and sharecroppers which brought agricultural slaves and laborers.

Decline of Trade and Towns

• Trade began to decline from 6^th century AD.
• Paucity of coins
• Decay of towns
• Trading towns started to disappear.Trade with West diminished.
• Production of cloth, spices, salts, etc. Declined.
• Vaishyas became as good as Shudras as they were regarded as free peasants.

Changes in the varna system

• Land became an important source of power.
• Even a Shudra can own higher position by owning a large lad grant. This created socio-economic differences.
• Numerous castes were created.
• Castes were divided into sub-caste
• Every tribe got a status of separate caste within Hindu Society.

Cultural Developments

• Creation of Sub-national units like Andhra, Karnataka, Rajasthan.
• Several languages were developed during this period.
• Remarkable developments of regional scripts.

Bhaktism and Tantrism

• Every region developed its own style.
• South India became land of temples.
• Bronze statues began to be manufactured on a large scale.
• Hindu divinities arranged in hierarchy.
• Vishnu, Shiva, Durga appeared supreme.
• The monastic organisations of Jainas, Shaivite, Vaishnavite, etc. Were also arranged in order.
• Bhakti spread throughout specially South India.
• Tantricism spread across Nepal, Begal, Assam and the attached region.
• It included both women and men into it.
• It was intended to fulfill the material desire of the devotees.
• It permeated to almost all religions.