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History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c39.s3: Social Philosophy and Technology

History of Technology in India, Vol. I: From Antiquity to c. 1200 A.D. v1.c39.s3

Language
English

Social Philosophy and Technology

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The Ṛgvedic culture in the Sarasvatī valley shared many Indus valley traditions such as pottery and bronze-making styles, use of burnt brick, use of seals, binary and decimal digits for standardisation, geometry in altar construction, astronomy etc. The Vedic literature amply testified the spirit of enquiry. In the Nāsadīya Sūkta (RV.10.129), the origin of creation was discussed. The existence in nature of a self-supporting principle was inferred (RV.10.129.5).

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In the Atharvaveda the genesis of conch-shell and pearl were speculated upon (4.10. 1-7). The Satapatha Brāhmaṇa propounded a theory of material evolution (6.1.3. 1-5). Kāṭha Upaniṣad mentioned atoms and molecules (1.2.20). Uddālaka Āruṇi a historical figure, who travelled from Taxila to North Bihar, and was mentioned in the Chāndogya Upaniṣad, was a materialist or hylozoist, who propounded that everything in the universe including man evolved out of three elements, and even mind is a product of matter. He preceded Theles of Greece by nearly two centuries, and has therefore been claimed by Chattopadhyaya to be the ‘first scientist in the world’.

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In the Vedic literature there are several references to applied science and technology. The Yajurveda mentioned the newly discovered black metal iron as well as glass (kāca), an ornamental article (Sen and Chaudhuri, 1985). Chāndogya Upaniṣad mentioned the then existing sciences of elements (bhūtavidyā) arithmetic (rāśi), mineralogy (nidhi) etc. The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa described the smelting of gold, components of the smelting apparatus, the use of borax as flux, joining of different metals and so on. The Vedic culture also evolved the traditions of speculative logic on body and mind, and linguistics. The medical tradition of Caraka must have been initiated by the vaidyas of the Vedic period.

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The positive sciences of the Hindus were thwarted to some extent by the retrograde institution of caste. Originally, there was the division of labour but no hereditary caste (ṚV. 9.112.3).

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Gradually, separation was introduced in the society by the dominating priestcraft, and this caused degeneration and the rise of varṇāśrama or hereditary caste (ṚV. 10.90.12). The white Yajurveda referred to the vaidyas (medical men) in derogatory terms.

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At a time when the potters had developed beautiful PGW and NBPW potteries, the Maitrāyaṇī Saṃhitā prescribed (Kashikar, 1969) that the ritual milking pot should be prepared by one belonging to any of the first three social orders, but not by a potter of the lowermost caste! The Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa categorised people as well as metals in caste denominations (13.2.2.16-19, 13.3.4.5) : the upper caste gold was meant for kings and brahmins whereas the lower caste iron was meant for ordinary people. This trend of categorising even metals and other materials under the four ‘castes’ persisted for centuries. The Gupta era Amarakośa listed the metallurgical equipments under śūdravarga!, professional guilds, degenerated into sub-castes, the social barriers of which rarely permitted the necessary exchange of technical information amongst themselves or with the brahmin scholars who would keep the Vedas out of bounds from the lower caste artisans. It has been well-said that ‘the evils that caste system engendered cannot be over-estimated’.

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(C) Five Centuries in India before Christ

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The process of second urbanization in India, initiated after the seventh century B.C., is well-described through the terms jana, janapada and mahājanapada, used by Pāṇini (dated around the middle of the fifth century B.C., Agrawala, 1953). Whereas jana meant a compact clan, the emergence of janapada was characterised by aggregation of people of different languages, faiths and professions (Atharvaveda, Pṛthvi Sukta, 12.1.45). Pāṇini equated citizens or janapadis as professionals practising different trades (Aṣṭādhyāyī, 4.1.42; also Yāska’s Nirukta 1.1.5). Pāṇini’s ten (later sixteen) mahājanapadas were big states with capitals in the cities which promoted diverse trades such as those of potter, blacksmith, carpenter, barber, washerman, bow-and-arrow maker, weaver, blanket-maker, dyer, gem- maker and jeweller, miner, goldsmith etc. Patañjali wrote that each village must have the first five. The last few ones were closer to the cities and met the requirements of the king and the state. The literary and archaeological sources broadly agree in placing the innovative period of Indian coinage in the 6th-5th century B.C. (Mukherjee and Lee, 1988, vide Appendix on Emergence of Coinage).

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The emerging power structures and rivalries promoted technology which was meant to protect and augment the power structures in return. As the *mahājanapadas* grew in size, the national and international boundaries came under dispute and military confrontation. We find 600 B.C. mud ramparts and the use of sun-dried and fired bricks in the fortifications of this era (600-500 B.C.) at Ujjaini, Eran, Kaushambi, Rajghat etc. The iron and weapon industries flourished simultaneously. The Persians intruded into a part of north-western India, took away some gold and brass, used Indian iron-tipped arrows against the Greeks and introduced Persian punched coins (siglos) into India. Precious stone industry was set up at Śrāvastī.

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In the area of the civic amenities there were terracotta ring wells. At Sringaverapura was erected a brick-built storage tank with arrangement for settling and removal of clay.

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In the intellectual world there were many dissenters to the Vedic culture. Apart from Gautama Buddha (563-483 B.C.), the Jainas, Ājīvikas and the materialists such as the Cārvākas or Lokāyatas protested against the Vedic ritualism and theological fundamentalism. The intense intellectual ferment resulted in speculative philosophy and logic (Seal, 1985).

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Pāṇini (middle of the 5th century B.C.) not only elevated his work of grammar to the level of a science of languages but also deliberated on several scientific terms. *Padārtha* (Aṣṭādhyāyī 1.4.96) came to mean a well-defined material, and *sattva* meant the metallic essence (1.4.57). *Pramāṇa* indicated measuring standard, then authority and lastly scientific or logical proof (3.4.51). Pāṇini honoured the tradition of searching for truth by explaining that *upajñā* meant discovery of a new knowledge, not handed down by tradition. This new knowledge was supposed to give rise to a new enterprise or application, that is *upakrama* (2.4.21; 4.3.115 and 6.2.14). Thus, Panini laid the philosophical foundation of science and technology.

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While accepting the roles in society of technology, economics and religion (Vedic), Kauṭilya (fourth century B.C.) laid maximum stress on *ānvīkṣiki* or the critically investigative philosophy. The obscurant force of ritualism and priestcraft tried its best to subdue the materialist tradition of Lokayata but the scientific spirit could not be exterminated.

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The medical tradition of Caraka involved clinical observation, diagnosis and cure. This was initiated by Atreya Punarvasu and Agniveśa at Taxila, and the tradition persisted for centuries. Under Suśruta’s care surgical instruments were invented, and in the post-Christian era, Nāgārjuna and others conducted alchemical experiments.

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India was the first to obtain (on or before fourth century B.C.) pure zinc by reduction-distillation and use it for making high quality brass (Biswas, 1993). During this period, hardened and quenched steel showing tempered martensitic structure was produced (Chattopadhyaya and De, 1989). Such remarkable technical achievements were made when indigenous efforts successfully withstood the challenges from the external world (Persian and then Greek).

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The Nanda empire (354-324 B.C.) based in Pataliputra did spread into the Peninsular India in the south, but a pan-Indian situation developed only during the rule of the Maurya dynasty (322-200 B.C.). To ensure protection against enemies and also hegemony and prosperity in their vast empire, the Mauryas introduced state-controlled economy. This promoted rapid growth of mining, metallurgy, semi-precious gem and bead industries (such as at Sonkh), weaving industries (at Mathura, Varanasi, Banga, Kalinga etc.). Weights and measures were standardised.

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Kautilya’s Arthaśāstra (AS) described in detail the mining and metallurgical practices as well as the elaborate tax and levy structures which met the diverse needs of the state. The lists of dutiable articles included practically everything, from flowers, vegetables, fruits etc. on the one hand to, diamonds, pearls, and other precious stones on the other (AS. 2.22.4-7). The object was to control the turnover of all goods and maximise state revenues (Kangle, 1986).

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Since the administration was not repressive, the all- pervasive control improved innovation and standardisation in the technical crafts. We find in this period hoards of punch-marked silver coins, well-designed urban layouts (such as at Sisupalgarh), beautifully chiselled sandstone monuments etc. The enlightened administration allowed in a limited and controlled manner, private ownership of land provided it did not have any mineral resource underneath (Kangle, 1986). Partly influenced by the Jaina and Buddhist traditions and partly driven by the expansionist requirements, the state over-ruled caste barriers and allowed the tribal and lower caste people to independently serve army, agriculture and technical crafts (AS. 1.3.8 and 9.2.24).

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After the collapse of the Maurya power (187 B.C.), two important political changes came about in India: the rise of the brahmanic and revivalist dynasty of the Sungas, and the intrusion of the Bactrian Greeks. The Sungas made the caste barriers more rigid, and initiated feudalism in India by giving land grants to the brahmans and the upper caste people (towards the end of the second century B.C.). This was the period of the compilation of the saṃhitās named after Manu and Yājñavalkya; it also witnessed the rise of private ownership and diversification of trade, probably on account of the strengthening of hereditary caste structure.

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The Milinda-pañha (The Questions of Milinda or Menander of Sialkot) of this period enumerated 75 occupations of which sixty involved various kinds of crafts. Eight crafts related to separate metals, minerals and precious stones. A variety of brass (ārakūṭa), zinc, antimony and red arsenic were mentioned (Milinda - pañha, 2.106).

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Sifting through the epigraphic records of this period (200 B.C. - 100 A.D.) obtained from western Deccan, Buddhist sites of Bharhut, Sanci and Mathura, Chakravarti came across and compiled (Chakravarti, 1991, pp.305-350) the following list of professionals: carpenter, bamboo-worker, reed-maker, brazier, potter, weaver, cloth-maker, dyer, oilman (extractor of oil from vegetable seeds), garland-maker, perfumer, jeweller, ivory-worker, sculptor, goldsmith, blacksmith etc.; most of the professionals had guilds or banking systems in urban areas. Evidently, caste injunctions could not stifle Indian technology although it imposed barrier to the necessary diffusion of knowledge.

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