Summary

Ancient India Class 07

Last class revision (5:08 PM)

Significance of Satavahana (5:14 PM)

Society - Satavahana rulers claimed themself to be Brahmins and It was their duty to uphold 4 fold varna system.
Many rulers were known by their mother's name, for example, Gautamiputra Satakarni or his som Vashishtiputra Pulumayi.
Even though the succession of the kingdom went to sons.
Economy - Agriculture such as rice, and cotton crops was very prominent along with mining.
Many traders and artisans called themself Gandhikas even though the term initially meant perfume makers.
Satavahana issued copper and silver coins.
Religion and language - They were worshippers of Lord Siva and Vishnu.
They started the practice of giving tax-free lands to brahmins as well as Buddhist monks.
Prakrit was the official language written in Brahmi script.
The use of Sanskrit was very rare.
Administration - Kingdom was divided into districts called Ahara.
The important official was knowns as Amatyas and Mahamatras.
The village headmen were called Gaulmika who sometimes also headed a small military regiment.
Satavahanas also contributed to architecture such as rock-cut architecture, monasteries, chaitya, and viharas in the Deccan region.
The empire declined by the early 3rd century, and many kingdoms emerged from it, the most important being Vakataka rulers.
A school of sculpture known as the Amaravati school of art emerged during the Satavahana period.
Satavahanas had 2 capitals Amaravati and Pratishthana.

Megalithic age (1200-400 BC) (5:41 PM)

The neolithic phase of south India was succeeded by the megalithic phase.
They are not known from their settlement, but from the burial practices which they adopted.
The graves are called megaliths because they were encircled by big stone pieces and in most cases located outside the settlement area.
The 1st use of iron objects in south India is from this period.
Black and Redware pottery has been found buried in these megaliths.
The number of agricultural tools is less compared to tools for hunting and fighting.
This does signify that people did not practice advanced agriculture.
Evidence of Rice, Ragi, and cultivation has been found.
Megaliths are mainly concentrated in eastern Andrapradesh and Tamil Nadu, for example, Paiyampalli and Kodumanal.
The Cholas, Cheras, and Pandya mentioned in Ashokan inscriptions may have belonged to the last phase of the megalithic age.

Sangam age (300BC-300AD) (5:54 PM)

Sangam literature:
According to Tamil legends, there were 3 assemblies of poets patronized by the Pandya king of Madurai they were popularly called Muchchangam/Sangam.
The work of 1st Sangam has not survived.
The work of the Second Sangam has also not survived except for Tolkappiyam a book on Tamil grammar.
The work of 3rds Sangam and post-Sangam literature have survived and are the major sources of the history of south India in ancient times.
Sangam literature can be divided into 2 groups.
The narrative text is called Melkanakku which are work of heroic poetry and the didactic text Kilkanakku.
Two of the greatest work of Tamil literature Silappadikaram and Manimekalai are post-Sangam works and examples of Didactic text.
Silappadikaram:
Silappadikaram deals with the love story of rich merchant Kovalan, a courtesan Madhavi and Kovalan's wife Kanagi.
It is written by Ilango Adigal.
Manimekalai:
It is an Anti-love story of the daughter of Madhavi and Kavalan wants to join the Buddhist sangha as a nun.
It was written by Chithalia Chathanar.
Other sources of Sangam age:
Periplus of Erythrean sea.
Natural history by Pliny.
Numismatics.
Epigraphy.

Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas (6:21 PM)

They are collectively knowns as Muvender.
Cholas:
Their capital was Uraiyur.
Their premium port was Puhar (Kaveripattnam).
Their royal emblem was a tiger.
One of the early kings was Elara.
He is mentioned to have conquered Sri-lanka.
The greatest Chola king from this age is considered to be Karaikal.
Karaikal:
He founded Puhar which became a great centre of trade and commerce.
He constructed an embankment of about 150 km along the river Kaveri.
He defeated an alliance of Pandya and Cheras in the battle of Venni.
In Sangam literature, it is mentioned, that 11 rulers lost their drums in this battle.
Cheras:
Chera kingdom mainly includes modern Kerala.
Their capital was Vanji.
Their port was Muchiri (Muziris).
Their royal emblem was a bow.
The earliest known Chera king is Udiyanjeral.
One of the most prominent kings was Nendunjeral Adan.
He took the title of Adhiraja.
His son Senguttuvan is considered a great Chera king from ancient times.
Sangam's text describes his military victory against the neighbouring kingdom.
It is also said that he invaded the north and crossed the river Ganga.
Pandyas:
Pandyan territory included the southernmost region.
Their capital was Madhuri
Their premium port was Korkai.
Their royal emblem was the fish.
Pandyas are 1st mentioned by Megasthenes, he says that the kingdom was ruled by women.
One of the characters of Silappadikam is Nendunjeliyan-I, as per the text he died of remorse because of the death of Kovalan who was innocent.
Nendunjeliyan-II is considered an important ruler who defeated the Cholas and Cheras.
In some inscriptions, it is mentioned, that his subordinates patronaged Jainism.

The economy in Sangam age (7:04 PM)

A 5 fold division is mentioned in Tolkapiyam, this division was called Tinai and included:
Kurinji-land of hilly tracks used for hunting and gathering.
Mullai- pastoral land used for animal husbandry.
Palai-infertile land.
Marudam- agricultural.
Neital- used for fishing and salt making.
Agriculture was the main occupation.
The cultivation of rice, cotton, sugarcane, pepper, turmeric, cardamom, and cinnamon was prevalent.
Tanks and dams were used for irrigation as the region is devoid of perennial rivers.
Trade both inland and foreign was well established.
Many trade-related terms such as Vanikkam, Chattan, and Nigama are mentioned.
Salt merchants were called Ummnan.
The mobile merchants were called Chattu.
The market palaces were called Avanam
A flourishing trade with Romans was the most important feature of the Sangam economy.
There was a surplus trade with main export items such as species, perfumes, fine textiles, precious stones, and black pepper(called Yavan Priya).
The main items that were imported were lead, corals, and slave girls.
Around 1 century AD, the discovery of monsoon wind by the greek sailor Hippatus further intensified the trade.
Apart from land revenue and custom duty, tributes paid by the local chief were the major sources of income for the state.
A major tribute was a war booty called Arai.

Society and religion (7:19 PM)

The concept of the varna system was known in the Sangam age, however, it was not practised similarly as it was in north India.
Social stratification was based on Kuti.
There was no restriction on interdining in Kuti groups.
The society was very much unequal, the ruling class was called Arasar and the rich peasants were called Vellalas.
The lowest class who did the manual work on the farm was called Kadaisiyar.
The class of warriors was an important class of society.
Captains of the army were given the title of Enadi.
Memorial stones were enacted in the honor of those who died fighting, they were called Nadukul or Virukkal.
Most of the Sangam poets were male however few of them were women.
Poets belonged to all classes and kings and poets were dependent on each other.
There is mention of Sati being practised in Tamil society.
It was called Tippayadal however it was not obligatory.
There were many local deities for example the worship of the god Murugan (also called Subramaniya).
In Sangam, brahmins appeared in Tamil land, and many brahmins became great poets and were rewarded by the kings.
Kings also patronaged Buddhism and Jainism.

Gupta empire (7:50 PM)

Sources:
Purans.
Work of Kalidas.

The topic for the next class: the Gupta empire.