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The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c10.s1.t6: 1. Urban Culture in Hindu India

The Political Institutions and Theories of the Hindus: A Study in Comparative Politics c10.s1.t6

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1. Urban Culture in Hindu India

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In Alexander's time and earlier, Taxila (to the northwest of modern Rawalpindi in the Punjab) was one of the greatest cities of Asia. The *Jâtakas* (Buddhist Birth-stories) describe it as a university town and the centre especially of *Âyurvedic* (medical) learning. Commanding as it did a strategic position in regard to the Afghan frontier it was selected as the seat of the northwestern viceroyalty of the Maurya Empire.

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According to Pliny, in the first century A. C., Mâdurâ, the capital of the Pândya kingdom in the farthest south, although an inland town, was in commercial and political touch with the Roman Empire through ports on the Malabar Coast (Western). Its cultural pre-eminence was marked by the activities of the *Sangam* (Academy) of Tamil literature.

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In Tamil classics of the early Christian era we have several model cities. Mâdurâ was famous for its lofty mansions and high buildings, Woraiyur for superb exellence in everything that contributes to healthy civic life, Vanji on the Malabar Coast for its commercial prosperity, and Pukar (Kâverîppumpattinam) on the Coromandel Coast for its excellent natural harbor which secured safe anchorage for merchant vessels.¹

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¹ Ayyar's *Town-planning in Ancient Deccan*, p. 16.

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In the seventh century Vâtâpi (Badami in Bijapur District) was the capital of the Châlukya Marathas. It was a city of international importance and attracted envoys from Khusru II (591—628), the Sassanian Emperor of Persia.² Some of the celebrated frescoes at Ajantâ in the Bombay Presidency were the handiwork of painters of this city.

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² Griffiths' *Paintings in the Buddhist Cave Temples of Ajanta*, Vol. I, p. 23, Plate V.

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One of the oldest cities of India is Tâmralipta (modern Tamluk), the seaport of Bengal. In the seventh century, in the words of Hiuen Thsang, it was situated on a bay and contained stores of rare and precious merchandise and a wealthy population. This is the port wherefrom passengers bound for China left Eastern India.

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Kanauj on the Ganges in the Middle-West became the capital of Upper India first under the Vardhanas and next under the Gurjara-Pratîhâras. In the *Harṣacharita* we have a poetic picture of the city and the district from the pen of Bâṇa. Hiuen Thsang found here hundreds of institutions accommodating 10,000 scholars in Buddhist lore. The city was strongly fortified and extended for about four miles.³

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³ pp. 81, 82; Smith's article on "The History of the City of Kanauj and of King Yasovarman" in the *Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society*, 1908, pp. 769, 771, 774, 782, 790.

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Ujjayinî in Malwa is one of the most well-known Hindu cities. It was famous even in pre-Buddhistic times, and became the capital of the western prefecture under the Mauryas. For ages it continued to be a commercial half-way house between the cities of Northern India and the ports of the Bombay Coast which had maritime intercourse with Persia, Egypt, and the Greco-Roman world. It was from this city that Varâhamihira (A. C. 505), the astronomer of Gupta India, reckoned the longitudes of the earth.⁴

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⁴ A romantic account of the city is furnished by Bâṇa in the *Kâdambarî* (Cowell's transl.); pp. 210—214.

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In Subandhu's romance, *Vâsavadattâ* (sixth century), we have a picture of Pâtali-putra (near modern Bankipore in Bihar). It may be taken for a poet's account for the closing days of the Guptas. We can wring out the solid fact, however, that the white-washed houses of the city were adorned with well-carved statues.⁵ In Vardhana times it was only a second city of the northern empire. From the Pâla inscriptions we can to a certain extent reconstruct the military glories of Pâtali-putra during its last epoch of political importance, namely under the Bengali emperors.

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⁵ pp. 75—76.

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In Pâla times the colossal boats of war on the Ganges at Pâtaliputra looked, as it were, like a range of mountains. So many in number were the dark huge elephants that the sun's rays seemed to be shut out by an extensive screen of clouds. The skies used to remain always dusky through the volume of dusts raised by the hoofs of countless horse with which the allied powers of northwestern India presented the eastern *sârva-bhauma* as tokens of friendship. Nay, the earth sank low under the steps of the infantry which the feudatory chiefs brought along with them when they came to the capital to render homage. And from their position in the high towers of the palace, the lions of gold which the kings, defeated in battles, had to surrender from their crowns were terrific enough to scare even the hare in the moon and to cause it to think of running away from its doom.¹

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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, 1896—1897, pp. 251—253; Maitra's "Bengali Ideals" in the *Sâhitya* (1916).

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The democratic spirit and militarism of some of the Punjab cities are testified to by Greek and Roman writers. Pliny's *Natural History*, and the Egyptian-Greek merchant's *Periplus of the Erythraean Sea*, both of the first century A. C., as well as Ptolemy's *Geography* (140) and Cosmas' *Christian Topography* (535) furnish pictures of the material well-being and commercial enterprise of the townsfolk especially at the sea-ports, from the mouths of the Indus to those of the Ganges, including the island of Ceylon. And the Chinese scholar-pilgrims from Fa Hien (fifth century) to Itsing (seventh century) speak of the cultural attainments as well as educational and religious charities of the public-spirited citizens in the interior of India.

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But in regard to methods of city government hardly any details can be gleaned from these sources. We exclude, of course, from our present consideration the republican cities of Bihar in Eastern India described in Pali Buddhist books of the pre-Maurya epoch.

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An important administrative function of cities is to be read in inscriptions of the earliest times. We hear of a city council in connection with what appears to have been a second class town in the Western Deccan under the Ândhras. The institution was known as the *nigama-sabhâ*. The municipal corporation of Govardhana (Nasik) is described as being a witness to and registrar of the deed of gifts made by General Uṣavadâta (*c* 100 A. C.) through two gilds. The town-assembly thus became responsible for the carrying out of his instructions in regard to the charities.²

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² *Supra*, p. 36.

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Among the social functions of municipalities we have to note the endowment of temples out of public property. In the tenth century the city of Gwalior in the middlewest dedicated two pieces of municipal land to two divinities. And it is interesting to observe that instead of the city fathers themselves becoming the bankers they sought the cooperation of the gilds of oil-millers and gardeners with whom their gifts were invested for the permanent provision of oil and garlands.¹

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¹ Majumdar, p. 62.

Cites (12)