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A History of Agriculture in India v1.c39: Chapter 34. Rajput Kingdoms of Northern India

A History of Agriculture in India v1.c39

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Chapter 34. Rajput Kingdoms of Northern India

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PRATIHARAS, GAHADVALAS, CHAUHANS, PRAMARAS AND CHANDELLAS THE PALA AND SENA DYNASTIES OF BENGAL EIGHTH CENTURY TO ELEVENTH CENTURY OBSERVATIONS OF ALBERUNI ON INDIA AND INDIANS INDUSTRY, TRADE AND AGRICULTURE

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THE Rajputs are the descendants of the Huns, and Gurjara tribes of Central Asia, who were ennobled and assimilated in the Hindu society. From the eighth to eleventh centuries, four Rajput clans, viz. Pawar (Pramara), Parihar (Pratihara), Chauhan and Solanki became prominent in northern India.

The Pratiharas

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The Pratihara Rajputs were of the Gurjara stock. The Pratihara Dynasty was founded by Nagabhatta I in 650. Nagabhatta II (A.D. 800-833) conquered Kanauj and made it his capital. The most distinguished Pratihara was Bhoja (A.D. 840-890), who became a legendary figure in Indian history. He ruled over a vast territory bounded by the Sutlej to the north-west, the Hakra to the west, the Narmada to the south, and Bihar and Bengal to the east.

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Mahendrapala I (A.D. 890-908), the successor of Bhoja, preserved the vast empire he inherited from his father. In 961, the Pratiharas lost Gujarat to the Chalukyas of Anhilvara.

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The Pratihara Empire was the last great Hindu empire in northern India. According to Majumdar, the chief credit of the Pratihara kingdom lies in the successful resistance to the Moslem invasions from the west. While Islamic armies made rapid progress in the Middle East, Africa and Europe, the Pratiharas stopped their advance beyond the boundaries of Sindh, their first conquest in India, for nearly three centuries.

The Pramaras

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The Pramara Dynasty of Dhar was founded by Krishnaraja early in the tenth century. Of the Pramaras, the most distinguished was Bhoja (A.D. 1018-1060), a warrior, a scholar and a patron of learning. He wrote a number of books on astronomy, architecture and poetics. He founded a Sanskrit college. One of his achievements was the creation of the Bhojpur lake to the south-east of Bhopal, which covered an area of 647 square kilometres. Irrigation from this lake insured Malwa against famines.

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The Chandellas

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The Chandellas were a clan of aboriginal chiefs related to the Gonds, who were ennobled as Kshatriyas, who ruled Bundelkhand. Their principal towns were Chhatarpur, Mahoba, Kalanjara and Khajuraho. Their most remarkable ruler was Dhanga (A.D. 954-1002), under whose patronage the famous temples of Khajuraho, so well known for their sculptures, were erected. His son Ganda joined the confederacy of Anandapal against Mahmud of Ghazna.

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The last Chandella ruler was Paramaradideva (Parmal), who ruled from A.D. 1165 to 1203. He defeated Prithviraj Chauhan in 1182. In 1203 he was defeated by Kutb-ud-din, who captured the Fort of Kalanjara.

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The Solankis

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The Solanki Dynasty was founded by Mularaj (A.D. 974-995), with Anhilvara as its capital. Mularaj conquered Saurashtra. His son Chamundaraja defeated Sindhuraja, the Pawar ruler of Dhar. Bhimadeva I (A.D. 1022) reconstructed the temple of Somanath, which had been earlier destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazna. Bhimadeva II (A.D. 1199-1238) fought Kutb-ud-din and drove him back to Ajmer in 1196. In 1197, Anhilvara fell to Moslems.

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The Gahadvalas and Chauhans

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In 1090, Chandradev, the third king of Gahadvala clan, took Kanauj from the Pratiharas. Govindachandra (A.D. 1104-1155), the grandson of Chandradev, was the greatest king of Gahadvala Dynasty, and under him Kanauj regained its importance. Govindachandra’s grandson was Jaichand, so well known in history. His daughter Sunjogata was carried off by Rai Pithora Chauhan (Prithviraj) of Ajmer. It was the resultant feud between the Gahadvalas and Chauhans which resulted in the weakening of the Rajputs. Prithviraj was defeated by Shihab-ud-din at Tarain, a place between Thanesar and Karnal.

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Palas and Senas of Bengal

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Here a reference to the Pala and Sena dynasties of Bengal, Gauda or Vanga, as it was known in the past, is pertinent. The Pala Dynasty was founded by Gopala about A.D. 760. He extended his power to Magadha, and the rulers of northern Orissa were his vassals. The next ruler was Dharmapala (A.D. 776-810), a devout Buddhist who founded the monasteries of Vikramashila and Paharpur. The third Pala monarch was Devapala (A.D. 810-850). Monghyr was his capital. He had close contact with the Srivijay Empire of Sumatra and there was a lively trade between Bengal and the islands of Java and Sumatra. The next ruler was Mahipala I (A.D. 970-1030). It was during his reign that a Buddhist mission headed by Dharmapala was sent to Tibet. Ramapala (A.D. 1080-1123) built many temples and established the famous Buddhist monastery of Jagadalla. The rural area was prosperous and mansions of merchant princes studded the high banks of the rivers and waterways of Bengal. We read of fine clothes made of cotton that were transparent as dew, and lovely pieces of cloth, blue-tinted like a cloud (meghadambara), and with rainbow colours of peacock plumes (mayura pekham). The last Pala ruler was Indradyamnapala.

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Richly ornamented sculpture in black stone on Buddhist themes is characteristic of the Pala period. The painting of this period is characterized by mellowness and fluid grace. The Pala kings excavated numerous lakes and tanks which preserve their memory.

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The Senas were Brahma-Kshatriyas from Karnataka. They settled in northern Orissa and gradually extended their kingdom to Bengal. Vallalasena (A.D. 1108-1119) reorganized the caste-system and introduced kulinism among the Brahmanas, Vaidyas and Kayasthas.

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Lakshmansena (A.D. 1178-1205) was the last ruler of Bengal. He was a scholar and patron of learning. Jayadeva, the author of the Gita Govinda, the Sanskrit poem, was his court poet.

The People

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A reliable source of information on India and Indians in the early eleventh century is Alberuni’s Kitab-ul-Hind. Born in the territory of Khiva, in 973, in central Asia, he travelled in India from 1017 to 1030 as a political hostage of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna. He studied the works of Hindu astronomers and mathematicians as well as the Pouranas. He was a master of astrology, both according to the Greek and Hindu systems. The net result of his study and observations is a veritable encyclopaedia of Hindu religion, philosophy and science—the Kitab-ul-Hind.

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Alberuni observes that the Hindu scholars were complacent, proud and self-satisfied. They believed that there was no country but theirs, and no science like theirs!

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Alberuni thus described the physical appearance of the Hindus, their dress and habits.

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“They do not cut any of the hair of the body. Originally they went naked in consequence of the heat, and by not cutting the hair of the head they intended to prevent sunstroke.

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“They divide the moustache into single plaits in order to preserve it. As regards their not cutting the hair of the genitals, they try to make people believe that the cutting of it incites to lust and increases carnal desire. Therefore, such of them as feel a strong desire for cohabitation never cut the hair of the genitals.

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“They let the nails grow long, glorying in their idleness, since they do not use them for any business or work, but only while living a doice far hiente life, they scratch their heads with them and examine the hair for lice.

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'The Hindus eat singly, one by one, on a tablecloth of dung. They do not make use of the remainder of a meal, and the plates from which they have eaten are thrown away if they are earthen.

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'They have red teeth in consequence of chewing arecanuts with betel-leaves and lime.

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'They drink wine before having eaten anything, then they take their meal. They sip the stall of cows, but they do not eat their meat.

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'They beat the cymbals with a stick.

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'They use turbans for trousers. Those who want little dress are content to dress in a rag of two fingers' breadth, which they bind over their loins with two cords; but those who like much dress wear trousers lined with so much cotton as would suffice to make a number of counter-panes and saddle-rugs. These trousers have no (visible) openings, and they are so huge that the feet are not visible. The string by which the trousers are fastened is at the back.

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'Their sidar (a piece of dress covering the head and the upper part of breast and neck) is similar to the trousers, being also fastened at the back by buttons.

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'The lappets of the kurtakas (short shirts from the shoulders to the middle of the body with sleeves, a female dress) have slashes both on the right and left sides.

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'In washing they begin with the feet, and then wash the face. They wash themselves before cohabiting with their wives.

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'On festive days they besmear their bodies with dung instead of perfumes.

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'The men wear articles of female dress; they use cosmetics, wear earrings, arm-rings, golden seal-rings on the ring-finger as well as on the toes of the feet.

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'They ride without a saddle, but if they put on a saddle, they mount the horse from its right side. In travelling they like to have somebody riding behind them.

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'They fasten the kuthara, i.e. the dagger, at the waist on the right side.

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'They wear a girdle called yajnopavita, passing from the left shoulder to the right side of the waist.

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'In all consultations and emergencies they take the advice of the women.

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'When a child is born people show particular attention to the man, not to the woman.

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'Of two children they give the preference to the younger, particularly in the eastern parts of the country; for they maintain that the elder owes his birth to predominant lust, whilst the younger owed his origin to mature reflection and a calm proceeding.

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'In shaking hands they grasp the hand of a man from the convex side.

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'They do not ask permission to enter a house, but when they leave it they ask permission to do so.

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'In their meetings they sit cross-legged.

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'They spit out and blow their noses without any respect for the elder ones present, and they crack their lice before them. They consider the *crepitus ventris* as a good omen, sneezing as a bad omen.

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'They use black tablets for the children in the schools, and write upon them along the long side, not the broad side, writing with a white material from the left to the right.

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'They write the title of a book at the end of it, not at the beginning.'

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Alberuni also observed that the Hindus had a predilection for versification. This was due to the fact that there was more reliance on memory than on a written record. He states, 'Grammar is followed by another science, called *chandas*, i.e. the metrical form of poetry, corresponding to our metrics—a science indispensable to them, since all their books are in verse. By composing their books in metres they intend to facilitate their being learned by heart, and to prevent people in all questions of a science ever referring to a written text, save in a case of bare necessity. For they think that the mind of man sympathises with everything in which there is symmetry and order, and has an aversion to everything in which there is no order. Therefore, most Hindus are passionately fond of their verses, and always desirous of reciting them, even if they do not understand the meaning of the words, and the audience will snap their fingers in token of joy and applause. They do not want prose compositions, although it is much easier to understand them.'

Books

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About the writing material of the Hindus and their books, Alberuni states, 'The Hindus are not in the habit of writing on hides like the Greeks in ancient times. Socrates, on being asked why he did not compose books, gave this reply: "I do not transfer knowledge from the living hearts of men to the dead hides of sheep." Muslims, too, used in the early times of Islam to write on hides, e.g. the treaty between the Prophet and the Jews of Khaibar and his letter to Kisra. The copies of the Koran were written on the hides of gazelles, as are still now-a-days the copies of the Thora. Written on this material, the orders of the Khalifs went out into all the world until shortly before our time. Papyrus has this advantage over vellum, that you can neither rub out nor change anything on it, because thereby it would be destroyed. It was in China that paper was first manufactured. Chinese prisoners introduced the fabrication of paper into Samarkand, and thereupon it was made in various places, so as to meet the existing want.

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'The Hindus have in the south of their country a slender tree like the date and cocoa-nut palms, bearing edible fruits and leaves of the length of one yard, and as broad as three fingers one put beside the other. They call these leaves tari (tala or tar, Borassus flabellifer), and write on them. They bind a book of these leaves together by a cord on which they are arranged, the cord going through all the leaves by a hole in the middle of each.

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'In Central and Northern India people use the bark of the tuz-tree, one kind of which is used as a cover for bows. It is called bhurja. They take a piece one yard long and as broad as the outstretched fingers of the hand, or somewhat less, and prepare it in various ways. They oil and polish it so as to make it hard and smooth, and then they write on it. The proper order of the single leaves is marked by numbers. The whole book is wrapped up in a piece of cloth and fastened between two tablets of the same size. Such a book is called puthi (cf. pusta, pustaka). Their letters, and whatever else they have to write, they write on the bark of the tuz-tree.'¹

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¹ Sachau, E.C. Alberuni's India, pp. 136, 137, 174, 179-183

Industrial and Mercantile Guilds

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Our main source of information on industry and trade in the ninth century is Medhatithi. We learn from him that both industrial and mercantile guilds functioned in his time. He defines the guild (shreni) as consisting of people following common professions, such as tradesmen, artisans, money-lenders, coach-drivers, and so forth. Besides the shreni and the sangha, there were associations of labourers. Illustrating Manu's law on the subject, Medhatithi lays down the rule that among architects, masons, carpenters, and the like, the wages shall be distributed on the principle that he who does the most difficult part of the job shall receive more, and he who does the easier part shall get less.

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In the inscriptions of this period we have concrete examples of different classes of guilds and their constitution and functions. Among the guilds specially mentioned are those of weavers, potters, gardeners, and artisans. Mention is made of single as well as multiple headmen (mahattaras) who evidently formed the executive of these bodies. The guilds collectively made endowments for pious objects or received them on trust to provide for such objects out of the accruing interest. In each case, they arranged for distributing the task among themselves, evidently in accordance with the old Smriti rule giving legal authority to the agreement of guilds.

Interest

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The old legal rate of interest, laid down in Vasistha at 15 per cent per annum, had ceased to be binding, and the usage had outgrown even the somewhat flexible rules of the later Smriti texts. But Medhatithi generally upholds the older law relating to usury against later interpretations.

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As regards Manu’s higher scale of rates (2, 3, 4, and 5 per cent per month) to be paid respectively by Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, Medhatithi says that these alternatives are allowable to a money-lender who cannot maintain his family at the 1¼ per cent rate, or to one who has only a small capital or in the case of the borrower not being a specially righteous person.

Wages

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The *Smriti* law relating to wages can be gleaned from Medhatithi. The wages which were paid in cash or in kind were fixed by contract according to the nature of the work to be done, the contract sometimes extending over a period of six months or even a year. A wilful breach of the contract rendered the labourer liable to forfeiture of his wages as well as to payment of compensation to his employer.

Textile Industry and Metal-Working

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One of the oldest Indian industries is the textile. The records of this period mention a great variety and different qualities of textiles such as woollen and hempen yarns, garments made of silk and of Ranku deer’s hair, and of sheep’s and goat’s wool. The professions of the weaver, the tailor, and the dyer (in three different colours, viz. red, blue, and yellow), are mentioned in contemporary literature. Medhatithi says that wives left unprovided for by their husbands are to live by such unobjectionable occupations as spinning (*kartana*) and lace-making (*jalika-karana*), and widows forced to live by their own labour are to subsist by the same occupations.

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The working of metals was pursued with as much success as in the preceding epoch. The list of metals found in contemporary literature includes copper, bell-metal (or brass), iron, lead, tin, silver and gold. From the synonyms given in the *Abhidhanaratnamala*, we learn that Saurashtra was famous for its bell-metal, whereas Vanga was well known for its tin industry. Five centres for manufacturing swords are mentioned in *Agni Purana*, along with the distinctive qualities of their products. These are Khatikhattara and Rishika (unidentified), Surparaka (Sopara), Vanga (East Bengal), and Anga (Monghyr and Bhagalpur Districts). Ibn Haukal mentions the City of Debal in Sindh as famous for the manufacture of swords.

Trade

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Scattered references indicate that India’s trade with the outside world was carried on both by land and sea. Enterprising Arab merchants from southern Arabia had built up by this time extensive trade relations with India, and with the countries of the Far East as far as China. According to Mas'udi, ships from India, along with those from Basra, Siraf and Oman, from Djawaga and Champa, ascended the Khanfu River to reach Khanfu (Canton) at a distance of seven days' journey from its junction with the sea. In Trikandasesha is a list of names (hoda, tarandhu, and vahana) for vessels plying on the high seas. More important are the reminiscences of voyages by daring Indian merchants to the rich lands of South-East Asia, which are found in the contemporary ballads of Bengal.

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It is chiefly from the accounts of the early Arab geographers that we get a list of the principal Indian sea-ports. On the coast of Sindh, near the mouths of the Sindhu, lay Debal, a large mart and port. On the Gujarat coast were Kambay, Thana, and Sopara, and farther south lay Sindan (modern Sanjan, 142 kilometres north of Bombay), from which pepper was exported. On the Malabar coast lay the important port of Kaulam Malaya (modern Quilon), where the ships sailing from Muscat took in fresh water before crossing the Bay of Bengal.

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*Persian wheel.* An evidence in a Hindu sculpture of the use of a Persian wheel is in a panel from Mandor, near Jodhpur in Rajasthan (Fig. 202). This panel depicts a Persian wheel and is ascribed to the eleventh century. A wheel with a chain of terracotta buckets is clearly shown. On one side of the wheel, an animal is depicted drinking water from a trough, and on the other side are soldiers carrying swords and shields. Irfan Habib* is of the view that the device shown is merely a noria or wheel carrying pots, worked manually, as no gearing mechanism is shown. This sculpture shows a Persian wheel in profile, and the gearing mechanism would be on the other side. Hence there is no valid reason for doubting that it depicts a Persian wheel. That this sculpture is pre-Islamic proves that the so-called Persian wheel is an Indian wheel, and is not an import from Iran.

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*Crops.* A number of cereals as well as edible vegetables and plants are mentioned in Sanskrit lexicons. In the description of the king's dietary in the Manasollasa, reference is made to eight varieties of rice, distinguished by their colour, odour, size, and period of growth, and seven different kinds of beans. The cereals were classified under three heads, viz. those in pods (samidhanya), the awned grains (sukadhanya); and rice of different varieties.

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For cereals, Magadha is mentioned for its richness in rice, whereas the rice of the Kalinga country is included in the list of varieties suitable for the king's dietary. Grapes are mentioned by Kalhana as a product of Kashmir. From Idrisi we learn that date- and coconut-palms grow at Sandan (Sindhudurga in the Ratnagiri District) and that coconut-palms grow in abundance at Saymur (Sirur in South Canara). Ginger and cinnamon were produced in large quantities in the Pandya kingdom according to Marco Polo. Camphor grew on the mountain-slopes between Quilon and Madura, according to Yaqut. Marco Polo observes that "Bengala" (Bengal) produced spikenard and other spices, ginger, sugar, and other articles. According to Idrisi, cardamom grew on the hill-slopes at Fandarina (Pandalayani in Malabar). According to Ibn Sa'id, Malabar was the country of pepper. It was grown at Sandan, Fandarina, Jurbatan and Quilon (all in Malabar), according to Idrisi, Yaqut, and Qazwini. Bamboo grew at Kuli (in the Gulf of Cambay), Tana (Thana in the Salsette Island), Sandan and Saymur. Sandalwood was a product of the Malaya hill (the southern part of the Western Ghats), whereas Kashmir produced yellow sandal which was used as an unguent by kings in the rainy season. Saffron is mentioned by Kalhana as one of the products of Kashmir. Cotton-trees of a very great height and almost twenty years old grew in Gujarat. Marco Polo states that cotton grew in Bengal. Indigo was produced in great quantities in Gujarat and at Quilon. "Brazil wood" (sappan) of very fine quality as well as teak grew at Kulam (Quilon).

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∗ Habib, Irfan. Jatts of Punjab and Sind, in Punjab Past and Present—Essays in Honour of Dr Ganda Singh, pp. 97, 98

Exports of Agricultural and Forest Products

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'Ibn Khordadbah, writing towards the end of the ninth century, mentions Indian exports consisting of aloe-wood, sandalwood, camphor, nutmeg, clovepink, cubele, coconut, vegetable stuffs, and cotton. Costus, rattan, camphor-water, indigo, and bamboos were exported from Sindh. It appears that costus from the Himalayas and indigo from Gujarat, as well as camphor and rattan, probably from Malay and Sumatra, were brought to the ports of Sindh for export. According to Kavyamimamsa, pine- and deodar-trees, grapes, saffron, and jujube (ber) were the products of Uttarapatha (North-West India), while birch-bark (bhojapatra) is mentioned as a product of the Himalayas. According to Ibn Rosteh, teak was exported from the Rashtrakuta kingdom of Western India, where it was extensively grown. Pepper was exported from Sindan, and sandal from Cambay. Kavyamimamsa mentions among products of Western India varieties of bamboos, palm-trees, bdellium, and date-trees. The characteristic products of Malaya Hill (Western Ghats below the Cauvery) in South India consisted of sandalwood, pepper, cardamom and various perfume-bearing plants. From the extensive reference to the use of sandalwood which is found in the literature of this period we can infer that a large trade in this article was carried on by South India with the rest of the country. As regards Eastern India, the land to the east of Banaras grew, according to Kavyamimamsa, different species of fragrant plants and trees (lavali creeper and granthiparnaka-tree) as well as aloes and grapes.

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'Of the kingdom called Rahma, the Pala kingdom, we are told that it produced Indian aloe-wood and a remarkably fine variety of cotton fabric. The textiles of Rahma, according to Ibn Khordadbah, were of velvety cotton, whereas Sulaiman declared them to be so light and fine that a robe made of that cloth could be passed through a signet ring.

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'As regards animals and animal products, Kavyamimamsa includes skins and chowries made of chamara deer’s tail among the products of Uttarapatha, and musk among those of Purvadesa. In the extreme south, the Tamraparni River in the Pandya kingdom, at the point of its junction with the sea, was still famous for its pearl fisheries.

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'According to Medhatithi, precious stones and pearls in the South, horses in the West, elephants in the East, as well as saffron, silks, and woollens in Kashmir were royal monopolies, and private trading in them was punished with confiscation of the property of the offender.

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'As for mineral products, antimony (srotonjana), rock-salt (saindhava), and beryl (vaidurya) are mentioned by Rajasekhara among the characteristic products of Uttarapatha. The rock-salt must have come from the Khewra mines in the Salt Range in the Punjab.

Imports

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'The import of wine from Kapisa is hinted at by the synonym Kapisayana given for wines in Abhidhanaratnamala. Ibn Said, an Arab writer of a later date, mentions the import of dates from Basra into Debal in Sindh. The phrase chinamsuka (Chinese silk), found in the literature of this period as in former times, suggests that this fine stuff was still being brought from China.

Animal Products

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'The preparation of silk from the cocoons of the silkworm and of wool from the hair of the hill sheep was widely known. Equally familiar was the use of the bushy tail of the Himalayan yak for preparing flywhisks and of musk from the musk-deer. Elephant’s tusks are mentioned by Chau Ju-Kua among the products of the Chola kingdom. The manufacture of leather was greatly developed in some regions during this period. From Marco Polo we learn that Tana had a great export trade in quality leather. Cambay had a great trade in hides. Gujarat produced dressed skins of different kinds (those of goats, of domestic and wild oxen, of buffaloes and so forth) as well as "beautiful mats in red and blue leather, exquisitely inlaid with figures of birds and beasts and skilfully embroidered with gold and silver wire." It also produced leather cushions embroidered with gold. These articles were in demand in Western lands. The "sleeping mats", which were "marvellously beautiful things", and the cushions were sold for ten and six silver marks a piece respectively.

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'A valuable industry dating from ancient times was that of the pearlfisheries at Subara (Suparem or Supara in the north of Bombay) and Fufal (Bekal, 34 miles [55 kilometres] south-south-east from Mangalore). Chau Ju-Kua includes pearls among the native products in the Chola kingdom. The great seat of the pearl-fisheries was the Pandya kingdom. Marco Polo, writing at the close of the thirteenth century, observes that pearls were fished in great quantities in the kingdom of Malabar which in fact was the place from which they were spread all over the world. The pearl-shells, he says, were found in the gulf between India and Ceylon during the season from the beginning of April to the middle of May every year. He gives a vivid description of the fishing operations conducted by the pearl-fishers. They engaged the services of fish-charmers as well as of a large number of divers and paid royalty of ten per cent for their finds to the king.¹³

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¹³ Majumdar, R.C. The History and Culture of the Indian People, Vol. IV, pp. 399 to 406, 516, 517

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