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A Study in the Economic Condition of Ancient India c3: Introduction

A Study in the Economic Condition of Ancient India c3

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English

Introduction

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THERE are many problems relating to the study of the economic conditions of ancient India which have not been adequately dealt with by any writers on the subject. For example, to what extent were the conditions of the country under its Hindu rulers reflected in India under Muhammadan sway? Is there any evidence to suggest that some kind of survey of the culturable lands had been made under the ancient Hindu régime? Can any relation be discovered between the records of that period and the revenue records of Akbar's time as contained in the *Āīn-i-Akbarī*? Can we trace any analogy between the ancient territorial divisions and those in use under Muhammadan rule? or in the system of maintaining local police stations for the protection of the country and the arrest of criminals? or in the weights and measures employed, or in the coinage in use? Do the figures indicating the strength of the fighting forces available from different parts of the country in the two periods assist us to draw any comparisons?

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Side by side with these questions, other subjects of inquiry call for full and impartial investigation. What was the form of the political and administrative organization in ancient India? Was India, or any part thereof, under a democratic or republican system of government, or did the conditions resemble more the feudal organization of mediaeval Europe? What were the relations between the rulers and the landowners, and between the landowners and their tenants? What was the social status of the ruling classes, and of the labouring orders? What, again, was the economic condition of the lower grades of society? Was the standard of living of the labouring classes high or low? And to form any definite opinion on this question it is essential first of all to ascertain the rates of wages paid and the prices of the common foodstuffs.

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It is with the above problems that I seek to deal in the present thesis. In the sections treating of the territorial divisions, the population and weights and measures evidence is disclosed that tends to show that the record presented by Abu’l-Fazl in his *Āīn-i-Akbarī* was based to some extent at least on records that had also been maintained in the Hindu period. The statistics given in respect of the numbers of *mahāls* or *parganas*, the information supplied as to the number of troops on the muster-roll, and as to weights, measures and coins bear a remarkably close resemblance to the facts and figures revealed by my investigations into the conditions of the Hindu period, a resemblance that cannot reasonably be ascribed to chance.

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In Chapter VI, I have sought to show what were the actual position and powers of the aristocratic classes and their relations with the rulers of their countries; and, if the interpretation of certain terms therein suggested be accepted, it will be seen that the social and administrative organization in ancient India was similar in more respects than one to the feudal system of mediaeval Europe, and resembled that in old Rajputana as described by Tod, and that of the Chamba State as recorded by Dr. Vogel. In Chapter V, I have tried to frame from the only data that seem to afford a possible clue a rough estimate of the total population of the eighty-four countries (*deśa*) comprised in ancient India.

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Chapters III and IV are devoted to a study of the weights, measures, and coinage, the rate of interest and the prices of foodstuffs and other things, as ascertainable from the ancient literature and the inscriptions available up to date. In Chapter VII the same sources have been minutely examined to discover what were the wages of labour, and what the standard of living of the labouring classes in those early days.

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In the course of these inquiries it has been necessary to consider several important statements and statistical figures, some of which had been rejected by scholars on the ground of "Oriental exaggeration", or on other grounds had been interpreted in some novel way. For instance, there are the figures recorded by Hiuan Tsang under the term translated hitherto as "circuit". My first aim was to try and find the source from which he had derived his information, and, next, to decide what was the most reasonable interpretation to be placed upon them. If my solution be accepted, the figures recorded by the traveller can be reconciled with other information that has been handed down to us; and they would go to show, moreover, that only about half of the total area of India had by that time been surveyed, the remainder probably consisting of hills, forest and jungle not yet fully explored. In this connexion I have been able to show from Saṃskṛta sources that the correct number of countries (deśa) comprised in ancient India was eighty-four. Hiuan Tsang had given descriptions of eighty-two countries, while Sir A. Cunningham had sought to reduce this number still further. Attention is then directed to further details contained in the old Hindu records, leading to a new interpretation of the word grāma, so constantly used in the ancient writings and in the epigraphical records. In the Southern Indian inscriptions some figures are given which had been interpreted as meaning the numbers of towns or villages within certain areas. I have shown that the word grāma or other synonymous term used in those records does not mean village, town, or city, but an estate, or a ‘survey village’, or mauza. I believe this to be the first time that such an interpretation has been assigned to the word grāma. I have quoted passages from Saṃskṛta works which record in some instances the same numbers of grāmas as given in the inscriptions; and I have cited references which disclose that Muhammadan writers have also recorded corresponding figures.

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Attention has next been devoted (Chapter II) to the smaller territorial divisions, known as janapada, gaṇa, and gulma, and their administration. With the aid of passages from the Purāṇas I have calculated approximately the average area of a janapada and of a gaṇa or a maṇḍala, and of a city proper and of the larger area, including suburbs, which I call a ‘city-jurisdiction’. As a result of these researches, it has been found possible to give a reasonable interpretation to certain passages in the jātakas, in which the “circuit” of some janapadas has been stated, and so overcome the objections raised by Dr. Fleet as to the reliability of these records. At the same time another fact of great importance was discovered, namely that the number of gaṇas closely corresponded to the number of mahāls or parganas recorded in the Āīn-i-Akbarī. In the Kāmandakīya-nīti-sāra different sources of revenue are classified under vargas, a term meaning ‘classes’ or ‘groups’; while in the Āīn-i-Akbarī the term mahāl is used in the same sense. A careful study of the use of these expressions has enabled me to elucidate the confusion between the numbers of mahāls and parganas. I have further suggested that the word sthāna used in the Artha-śāstra of Kautalya should be understood in the technical sense of ‘police station’, a sense in which it is still employed at the present day under the form thānā. This interpretation has rendered intelligible the character of the people called cāṭas (or cāras) and bhaṭas in the inscriptions. They appear to have been half soldiers, half police, stationed at the sthānas for the protection of the countryside against thieves and criminals, and to assist the revenue collectors in enforcing payment of the government dues. The description of an ancient thānā quoted from the Praśna-vyākaraṇāṅga-sūtra will be a revelation to such as may desire to trace the origin and development of the modern police-station.

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After investigating these aspects of the administration I have endeavoured to find out the real status and powers of the ruling classes (Chapter VI) who owned estates (grāmas), and were called sāmanta, rājānaka, rājan, rājaputra, bhoja, rāya, gaṇarāya, gaṇa, amātya, grāmaṇī, rāiṇṇa, rāṇā, etc. Hitherto the sāmanta of the Artha-śāstra of Kauṭalya and the rājan of other Saṃskṛta literature has constantly been translated as ‘king’. The interpretation of these terms proposed by me, if established, will involve a fundamental change in hitherto accepted views. The rules which have so far been understood as dealing with the king and his subjects refer, according to my interpretation, to the relations between the estate-owners and his tenants, and others living on their estates. Thus the taxes relating to pasture and cattle, etc., and the privilege of free labour, must be regarded as having been realized and enjoyed by the estate-owners, who in their turn were obliged to pay from one-fourth to one-sixth of their income to their suzerain and, in some cases, the amount fixed by old agreements (saṃdhi). As a result of my inquiries it would seem that the saṃdhis (agreements) described in the Artha-śāstra of Kauṭalya and the Kāmandakīya-nīti-sāra should be understood as agreements between the estate-owners and their suzerain, and not as treaties between independent kings. This interpretation, if accepted, will shed a light on the question of the proprietary rights in land in ancient India and at the same time furnish a basis for further research, as, for example, into the history of the dues and imposts realized from the tenants and sub-tenants by the landowners at the present day. (In Oudh these dues, according to my inquiries, number some 150. See Chapter VII, p. 161, note 2.) The militia employed by estate-owners were called pāyikas in the time of Dr. Francis Buchanan; and he was quite right in understanding this to be an old organization. The passage on the subject of pāikkas quoted by me from the Prāśna-vyākaraṇāṅga-sūtra will show that the institution was already in existence about the beginning of the Christian era. The employment of pāikkas for the purpose of oppression and plunder shows the power of estate-owners in those days. Hitherto the adhyakṣa of Kauṭalya has been interpreted as meaning a ‘superintendent’ of a public department; e.g.

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*Sītādhyakṣa*, as superintendent of agriculture; *Godhyakṣa*, as superintendent of cows, etc. For the first time I believe this interpretation has been disputed. They appear to me to have been overseers of the crown lands, and of the king's cattle, etc. The word *janapada* has been translated by Dr. Śyāmaśāstrin as 'kingdom'. The interpretation given by me to this word has an important influence in lowering the status of these overseers. According to my interpretation the territorial division called *janapada* was ordinarily only about ten square *yojanas* in area. The duties of *adhyakṣas* were confined therefore to this area. Their work was comparatively light, so they were paid each 1,000 *panas* a month. The pay of the higher officers who administered the whole *janapada*, like the *samāhartṛ*, etc., was far higher. The management of large estates in the time of Dr. Buchanan bears some resemblance to the management prescribed by Kauṭalya in respect of the king's property. The general conclusion drawn by me from my investigations is that ancient India was similar in many aspects of its social organization to feudal Europe of the mediaeval ages. There is no doubt these estate-owners were often united under a federation called *gaṇa*, interpreted by some writers as meaning a republic. But a combination of feudal chiefs for a particular period or for a special purpose is a different thing from a republican system of government.

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The comparison with feudal Europe led on to the subject of military service, and I have been tempted to frame an estimate of the total war-strength of the country from the *Mahābhārata*, the Greek accounts of Alexander's campaigns in the Panjab and the statistics contained in the *Āīn-i-Akbarī*. The resultant figures, as will be seen, correspond in a remarkable manner. It would appear that the head of each *sāmanta* family in ancient India was expected to join the army of his suzerain in person, or, in case of inability, to provide a substitute, or in other words that each estate (*grāma*) furnished at least one fighting man in time of war. Having calculated the approximate total number of *grāmas* in the whole of India from such material as is available for the purpose, I have upon this and other bases attempted to give a rough estimate of the total population. This is the first occasion on which such estimates of total population and fighting strength have been suggested.

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Much labour has been devoted to the investigation of the economic condition of the working classes. For this two essential factors had first to be determined, namely (1) the rates of wages, and (2) the prices of the ordinary food-stuffs at the time. The difficulties attending such inquiry are so great that they have hitherto deterred scholars from attempting it. In the Southern Indian inscriptions wages and prices have been recorded sometimes in weights of paddy and sometimes in coins named *kalañju*, *kāśu*, and *akka*. The chief difficulty perhaps lay in ascertaining the value of the *akka*. Assuming this coin at first to be equivalent to a copper *paṇa*, I found this would involve the conclusion that wages and prices had remained practically stationary between the era, say, of the early Guptas and the eleventh century A.D., a conclusion which on the face of it was improbable, and conflicted with other evidence. Moreover, the adoption of this value would mean that the *kalañju* would represent a gold *māṣaka* of about 7·2 grains, which raised further difficulties in respect of the *mañjāḍi* and *kunṛi*. The prices recorded for jewellery necessitated taking the *akka* to have been a gold *paṇa*, or *fanam* as it was called in Southern India. On this basis it was found that the rise in prices between the period of Kauṭalya and the eleventh century A.D. would be about seven-fold, which is perhaps not excessive, having regard to the vast changes that had taken place in the conditions of the continent during the intervening period. It is possible that the old copper *paṇa* was ultimately converted into a gold *paṇa* or *fanam*, to correspond with the rise that had occurred in prices; and thus the fines recorded in the old law-books in copper paṇas would become adjusted to the changed economic conditions. Whether this be the correct explanation of the origin of the gold fanam or not, there can be little or no doubt that prices did rise to this extent. We may fairly assume that in very ancient times prices would alter slowly, as economic conditions were then comparatively stationary. When the continent became extensively convulsed by inroads and invasions from the north-west and west, economic conditions would alter with great rapidity. The economic data ascertainable from the Artha-śāstra of Kauṭalya may thus be of considerable value in helping to assign a date to the work as it has come down to us. The considerations here indicated may fairly, I think, be regarded as pointing to an early date, perhaps not later than the times of the early Gupta sovereigns. And in this connexion I should note that for the purposes of this thesis I have used the expression "Early Hindu Period" as referring to the period in which the Artha-śāstra of Kauṭalya was compiled.

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After disposing of the difficulties encountered in connexion with the coins and weights given in the old inscriptions an attempt was next made to ascertain the rates of wages and the prices of foodstuffs, etc. In this inquiry I have derived most valuable help from the records of wages in the Nepāl inscriptions published by Professor Sylvain Lévi. These have been collated by me, and from them I have compiled a very interesting table. Although doubt has been felt as to the value of these records, I am now thoroughly satisfied that they are reliable, and embody valuable information. The Southern Indian table of wages has been compiled with great care from all the hitherto published inscriptions. Similar pains have been taken in the preparation of the table of prices. A very rare, and as yet unpublished, manuscript on prices, attributed to Kātyāyana, has also been appended. The determination of the rates of wages and the prices of food-stuffs has shed a flood of light upon the contemporary economic conditions of the working classes.

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Economics is a very wide subject; to deal with the economics of ancient India in all branches would be a life-long task. Only a few aspects of the subject can be considered here. Having taken the grāma as a starting point, I have tried to collect all material concerning it. Understanding this term to mean an estate or a fiscal village, itself a part of a larger fiscal division called janapada, I was led to inquire into the management thereof from the point of view of revenue administration, and into the political and economic position of the owners of these grāmas and of the people living thereon. These subjects are dealt with in Chapters I, II, V, VI, and VII. The treatment of the subjects of wages and the standard of living in Chapter VII called for consideration of the prices of food-stuffs and other necessaries, as well as of the modern equivalents of ancient Indian weights, measures, and coins, which are dealt with in Chapters III and IV.

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In this thesis, it should be noted further, I have confined myself to evidence which hitherto has either not been noticed, or else not adequately appreciated; and I have suggested a number of new and original interpretations on questions that have already been raised. I have intentionally avoided any unacknowledged repetition of facts that have already been satisfactorily established by others.

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Important information has been gleaned from a source, the value of which will be increasingly appreciated as it comes to be better known, namely the Jain literature, which has been extensively and carefully perused in the course of my researches. The whole of the published Southern Indian inscriptions and all the volumes of the Epigraphia Indica have been examined and studied. Besides the Saṃskṛta literature in all its important branches, a special study has been made of Kauṭalya’s Artha-śāstra in the Saṃskṛta text. For the Muhammadan period the standard authorities have been consulted, and in particular I should like to express my obligation to Mr. W. H. Moreland’s two valuable works dealing with the period from Akbar to Aurangzeb. The records of the early statistical surveys made under the auspices of the British Government have also been examined.

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The author feels deeply indebted to Professor T. E. Gregory, under whose guidance he carried on his research work, and to Dr. F. W. Thomas, C.I.E., who advised him from time to time, suggested many new points and assisted him in revising the thesis for the press. He desires to express his warm thanks to Professor R. L. Turner for so very kindly reading through the proofs and revising the Saṃskṛta passages.

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CHAPTER I

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I. REGIONS AND COUNTRIES II. SMALLER TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS : THEIR NAMES AND MEANINGS III. SMALLER TERRITORIAL DIVISIONS : THEIR NUMBER AND SIZE

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