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Textbook in Historyfor Class XII
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Textbook in Historyfor Class XII
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F i r st E d i t i o n
January 2007 Magha 1928
Rep r i n t e d
December 2007 Pausa 1 929
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Na t i o na l Counc i l o f Educ a t i o na l
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Rs 60.00
Printed on 80 GSM pap er w ith NCERT
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Publication Team
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FOREWORD
The Nat iona l Cur r icu lum Framework(NCF), 2005, recommends thatchildrens life at school must be linked to their life outside the school.
This principle marks a departure from the legacy of bookish learning
which continues to shape our system and causes a gap between the
school, home and community. The syllabi and textbooks developed on
the basis of NCF signify an attempt to implement this basic idea. They
also attempt to discourage rote learning and the maintenance of sharp
boundaries between different subject areas. We hope these measures
will take us significantly further in the direction of a child-centred
system of education outlined in theNation al Policy on Edu cation(1986).
The success of this effort depends on the steps that school
principals and teachers will take to encourage children to reflect on
their own learning and to pursue imaginative activities and questions.
We must recognise that, given space, time and freedom, children
generate new knowledge by engaging with the information passed on
to them by adults. Treating the prescribed textbook as the sole basis
of examination is one of the key reasons why other resources and
sites of learning are ignored. Inculcating creativity and initiative is
possible if we perceive and treat children as participants in learning,
not as receivers of a fixed body of knowledge.
These aims imply considerable change in school routines and
mode of functioning. Flexibility in the daily time-table is as necessaryas rigour in implementing the annual calendar so that the required
number of teaching days are actually devoted to teaching. The
methods used for teaching and evaluation wil l also determine how
effective this textbook proves for making childrens life at school a
happy experience, rather than a source of stress or boredom. Syllabus
designers have tried to address the problem of curricular burden by
restructuring and reorienting knowledge at different stages with
greater consideration for child psychology and the time available for
teaching. The textbook attempts to enhance this endeavour by giving
higher priority and space to opportunities for contemplation and
wondering, discussion in small groups, and activities requiring hands-on experience.
The National Council of Educational Research and Training
(NCERT) appreciates the hard work done by the textbook development
committee responsible for this book. We wish to thank the Chairperson
of the advisory group in Social Sciences Professor Hari Vasudevan
and the Chief Advisor for this book, Professor Neeladri Bhattacharya,
Centre for Historical Studies, J awaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
for guiding the work of this committee. Several teachers contributed
to the development of this textbook; we are grateful to their principals
for making this possible. We are indebted to the institutions and
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organisations which have generously permitted us to draw upon their
resources, material and personnel. We are especially grateful to the
members of the National Monitoring Committee, appointed by the
Department of Secondary and Higher Education, Ministry of HumanResource Development under the Chairpersonship of Professor Mrinal
Miri and Professor G.P. Deshpande, for their valuable time and
contribution. As an organisation committed to the systemic reform
and continuous improvement in the quality of its products, NCERT
welcomes comments and suggestions which will enable us to
undertake further revision and refinement.
Director
New Delhi National Council of Educational
20 November 2006 Research and Training
v i
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DEFINING THE FOCUS OF STUDY
What defines the focus of this book? What does it seek to do? How
is it linked to what has been studied in earlier classes?
In Classes VI to VIII we looked at Indian history from earlybeginnings to modern times, with a focus on one chronological
period in each year. Then in the books for Classes IX and X, theframe of reference changed. We looked at a shorter period of time,
focusing specifically on a close study of the contemporary world.
We moved beyond territorial boundaries, beyond the limits of nationstates, to see how different people in different places have played
their part in the making of the modern world. The history of Indiabecame connected to a wider inter-linked history. Subsequently in
Class XI we studied Themes in Wor ld H is tory, expanding our
chronological focus, looking at the vast span of years from thebeginning of human life to the present, but selecting only a set of
themes for serious exploration. This year we will study Themes inInd ian H is tory.
The book begins with Harappa and ends with the framing of the
Indian constitution. What it offers is not a general survey of fivemillennia, but a close study of select themes. The history books in
earlier years have already acquainted you with Indian history. It istime we explore some themes in greater detail.
In choosing the themes we have tried to ensure that we learn
about developments in different spheres economic, cultural, social,political, and religious even as we attempt to break the boundaries
between them. Some themes in the book will introduce you to thepolitics of the time and the nature of authority and power; others
explore the way societies are organised, and the way they function
and change; still others tell us about religious life and ritualpractices, about the working of economies, and the changes within
rural and urban societies.Each of these themes will also allow you to have a closer look at
the historians craft. To retrieve the past, historians have to find
sources that makes the past accessible. But sources do not justreveal the past; historians have to grapple with sources, interpret
them, and make them speak. This is what makes history exciting.The same sources can tell us new things if we ask new questions,
and engage with them in new ways. So we need to see how historiansread sources, and how they discover new things in old sources.
But historians do not only re-examine old records. They discover
new ones. Sometimes these could be chance discoveries.Archaeologists may unexpectedly come across seals and mounds
that provide clues to the existence of a site of an ancient civilisation.
Rummaging through the dusty records of a district collectorate ahistorian may trip over a bundle of records that contain legal cases
of local disputes, and these may open up a new world of village lifeseveral centuries back. Yet are such discoveries only accidents? You
may bump into a bundle of old records in an archive, open it up
and see it, without discovering the significance of the source. The
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source may mean nothing to you unless you have relevant questions
in mind. You have to track the source, read the text, follow the clues,and make the inter-connections before you can reconstruct the past.
The physical discovery of a record does not simply open up thepast. When Alexander Cunningham first saw a Harappan seal, hecould make no sense of it. Only much later was the significance of
the seals discovered.In fact when historians begin to ask new questions, explore new
themes, they have to often search for new types of sources. If we
wish to know about revolutionaries and rebels, official sources canreveal only a partial picture, one that will be shaped by official
censure and prejudice. We need to look for other sources diariesof rebels, their personal letters, their writings and pronouncements.
And these are not always easy to come by. If we have to understand
experiences of people who suffered the trauma of partition, then
oral sources might reveal more than written sources.As the vision of history broadens, historians begin tracking new
sources, searching for new clues to understand the past. And when
that happens, the conception of what constitutes a source itself
changes. There was a time when only written records wereacknowledged as authentic. What was written could be verified,
cited, and cross checked. Oral evidence was never considered a validsource: who was to guarantee its authenticity and verifiability? This
mistrust of oral sources has not yet disappeared, but oral evidence
has been innovatively used to uncover experiences that no otherrecord could reveal.
Through the book this year, you will enter the world of historians,
accompany them in their search for new clues, and see how theycarry on their dialogues with the past. You will witness the way
they tease out meaning out of records, read inscriptions, excavatearchaeological sites, make sense of beads and bones, interpret the
epics, look at the stupas and buildings, examine paintings andphotographs, interpret police reports and revenue records, and
listen to the voices of the past. Each theme will explore the
peculiarities and possibilities of one particular type of source. Itwill discuss what a source can tell and what it cannot.
This is Part I of Themes in Ind ian His tory ,Parts II and III will
follow.
NEELADRIBHATTACHARYAChief Advisor, History
v i i i
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TEXTBOOKDEVELOPMENTCOMMITTEE
CHAIRPERSON, ADVISORYCOMMITTEEHari Vasudevan, Professor,Department of History, University of Calcutta, Kolkata
CHIEFADVISORNeeladri Bhattacharya, Professor, Centre for Historical Studies,
J awaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Theme 10)
ADVISORSKumkum Roy, Ass ociat e Professor,Centre for Historical Studies,
J awaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Theme 2)
Monica J uneja, Guest Professor, Institut Furgeschichte, Viennna, Austria
TEAMMEMBERS
Beeba Sobti, P.G.T. His tory, Modern School, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi
C.N. Subramaniam, Eklavya, Kothi Bazar, Hoshangabad (Theme 7)
Farhat Hassan, Reader,Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University,
Aligarh, UP (Theme 5)
J aya Menon, Reader,Department of History, Aligarh Muslim University,
Aligarh, UP (Theme 1)
Kunal Chakrabarti, Professor, Centre for Historical Studies,
J awaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Theme 3)
Meenakshi Khanna, Reader in History, Indraprastha College,
University of Delhi, Delhi (Theme 6)
Muzaffar Alam, Professor of South Asian History , University of Chicago, Chicago, USA
Najaf Haider, Associate Professor,Centre for Historical Studies,
J awaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Theme 9)
Partho Dutta, Reader,Department of History, Zakir Hussain College
(Evening Classes), University of Delhi, Delhi (Theme 12)
Prabha Singh, P.G.T. Hi story , Kendriya Vidyalaya, Old Cantt., Telliarganj,
Allahabad, UP
Rajat Datta, Professor,Centre for Historical Studies,
J awaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Theme 8)
Ramachandra Guha, f reelance w r i ter , anthropologistand h is to r ian ,
Bangalore (Theme 13)
Rashmi Paliwal, Eklavya, Kothi Bazar, Hoshangabad
Rudrangshu Mukherjee, Execut ive Edi tor , The Telegrap h, Kolkata (Theme 11)
Smita Sahay Bhattacharya, P.G.T. Hist ory , Blue Bells School,
Kailash Colony, New Delhi
Sumit Sarkar, Formerly Professor of History ,University of Delhi, Delhi (Theme 15)
Uma Chakravarti, Formerly Reader in History, Miranda House,
University of Delhi, Delhi (Theme 4)
Vijaya Ramaswamy, Professor,Centre for Historical Studies,
J awaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (Theme 7)
MEMBER-COORDINATORS
Anil Sethi, Professor,DESSH, NCERT, New Delhi (Theme 14)
Seema S. Ojha, Lecturer, DESSH, NCERT, New Delhi
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Themes in Indian History, Part I emerged out of several discussions
within the team amongst subject experts/ authors from universities,
school teachers and professionals from NCERT. We would like tothank all those who participated enthusiastically and pooled
together their intellectual resources and experience to produce thisbook.
Several people commented extensively on draft chapters, helping
us improve on the text and clarify issues. We are particularly gratefulto our young readers, Meera and Sandhya Visvanathan whose
suggestions and comments helped us sharpen the presentation,and to Baisakh Chakrabarti for his encouragement. The suggestions
of the members of the Monitoring Committee, Prof. J . S. Grewal and
Ms Shobha Bajpai, were very useful.Prof. B.D. Chattopadhyaya made time for the project inspite of
several pressing personal problems, and offered critical advice.Others who offered valuable suggestions include Prof. Ranabir
Chakravarti, Prof. Upinder Singh and Dr Supriya Varma. We are
also grateful to Dr Naseem Akhtar, Mr Virendra Bangroo and DrSuresh Mishra for advice on specific visuals and texts. Ms Samira
Verma provided unfailingly prompt support for visual and textualresearch.
We would like to thank all the institutions and individuals who
provided the visual resources for the book: the American Instituteof Indian Studies, Gurgaon, the Archaeological Survey of India, the
Centre for Cultural Resources and Training, the Indira GandhiNational Centre for the Arts, the National Manuscript Mission, and
the National Museum. We are particularly grateful to Prof. Gregory
L. Possehl for visual material used in Theme One, and to Mr. R.R.S.Chauhan and Mr. J .C. Grover, National Museum, as also to
Mr. R.C. Das, CIET, NCERT for photographs from the NationalMuseum. Mr. K. Varghese, J awaharlal Nehru University, provided
the maps.
Ms Shyama Warner copyedited and proof read the book whileMs Ritu Topa and Mr. Animesh Roy of Arrt Creations, New Delhi,
designed it. We would like to thank them all for the patience, care,and passion they brought to the task.
We would also like to thank Mr. Albinus Tirkey and Mr. ManojHaldar for technical support and assistance.
Finally, we look forward to feedback from the users of the book,
which will help us improve it in subsequent editions.
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PART I
THEMEONE 1BRICKS, BEADS AND BONESThe Harappan Civilisation
THEMETWO 28KINGS, FARMERS AND TOWNSEarly States and Economies(c.600 BCE-600 CE)
THEMETHREE 53KINSHIP, CASTE AND CLASSEarly Societies(c. 600 BCE -600 CE)
THEMEFOUR 82THINKERS, BELIEFS AND BUILDINGSCultural Developments(c. 600 BCE -600 CE)
PART II*
THEMEFIVETHROUGH THE EYES OF TRAVELLERS:Perceptions of Society(c. tenth to seventeenth centuries)
THEMESIXBHAKTI SUFI TRADITIONS:Changes in Religious Beliefs and Devotional Texts(c. eighth to eighteenth centuries)
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THEMESEVEN
AN IMPERIAL CAPITAL: VIJ AYANAGARA(c. fourteenth to sixteenth centuries)
THEMEEIGHTPEASANTS, ZAMINDARS AND THE STATE:Agrarian Society and the Mughal Empire(c. sixteenth-seventeenth centuries)
THEMENINEKINGS AND CHRONICLES:The Mughal Courts
(c. sixteenth-seventeenth centuries)
PART III*
THEMETEN
COLONIALISM AND THE COUNTRYSIDE:Exploring Official Archives
THEMEELEVEN
REBELS AND THE RAJ :1857 Revolt and its Representations
THEMETWELVECOLONIAL CITIES:Urbanisation, Planning and Architecture
THEMETHIRTEENMAHATMA GANDHI AND THENATIONALIST MOVEMENT:Civil Disobedience and Beyond
THEMEFOURTEENUNDERSTANDING PARTITION:Politics, Memories, Experiences
THEMEFIFTEENFRAMING THE CONSTITUTION:The Beginning of a New Era
*Par ts I I and I I I w i l l fo l low
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How to use this book
This is Part I of Themes in Ind ian History ,Parts II and III will follow.
Each chapter is divided into numbered sections and
subsections to facilitate learning.
You will also find other material enclosed in boxes.
Each chapter ends with a set of t i m e l i n e s . This is to be treated as
background information, and n o t f o r ev a l u a t i o n . There are f i g u r es , map s and sou r ces numbered sequentially through
each chapter.
(a) Figuresinclude illustrations of artefacts such as tools, pottery, seals,coins, ornaments etc. as well as of inscriptions, sculpture, paintings,
buildings, archaeological sites, plans and photographs of people and
places; visual material that historians use as sources.
(b) Each chapter has maps.
(c) Sources are enclosed within separate boxes: these contain
excerpts from a wide variety of texts and inscriptions. Bothvisual and textual sources will help you acquire a feel for the
clues that historians use. You will also see how historiansanalyse these clues. The final examination can include
excerpts from and/ or illustrations of identical/ similarmaterial, providing you with an opportunity to handle
these.
Shortmeanings
Additional
Information More elaboratedefinitions
Sources
These are meant to assist and enrich the learning process,but are n o t i n t en d e d f o r ev a l u a t i o n .
These contain:
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There are tw ocategories of i n t ex t q u es t i o n s:
(a) those within a yellow box, which may be used for practice for eva l u a t i o n.
(b) those with the captionDiscuss...which aren o t f o r e va l u a t i o n
There aref o u r t y p e s of assignments at the end of each chapter:
These include:
projects
short questions
These are meant to provide practice for the final assessment and evaluation.
short essays
map work
Hope y ou enjoy u sing this book.
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1
Br icks, Beads and BonesT h e H ar appan C iv il isat io n
THEME
ONE
The Harappan seal (Fig.1.1) is possibly the mostdistinctive artefact of the Harappan or Indus valleycivilisation. Made of a stone called steatite, sealslike this one often contain animal motifs and signsfrom a script that remains undeciphered. Yet we
know a great deal about the lives of the people wholived in the region from what they left behind their houses, pots, ornaments, tools and seals inother words, from archaeological evidence. Let ussee wha t we know about the Harappan civilisation,
and how we know about it. We will explore howarchaeological material is interpreted and howinterpretations sometimes change. Of course, thereare some aspects of the civilisation that are as yetunknown and may even remain so.
Terms, places, times
T he I ndus valley civ i l i sat io n is also called the H arapp an culture.
A rchaeologi sts use the term culture for a grou p of obj ects,
distinctive in style, that are usually found together within a specific
geographi cal area and period o f t ime. I n the case of the H arappan
culture, these distinctive objects include seals, beads, weights, stone
blades ( Fi g. 1.2) an d even bak ed brick s. T hese objects were found
from areas as far apart as A fghanistan, Ja mm u, Balu chistan
( P a k i st an ) a n d G u j a r a t ( M a p 1) .
N amed after H arappa, the f i rst si te where th i s unique culture
was discovered (p. 6), the civil isation is dated between c. 2600 and
1900 B C E. T here were earl ier and later cultures, often called Early
H arappan and Late H arappan , i n the same area . T he H arappan
civ i l isat ion is somet im es cal led the M ature H arappan culture to
distinguish it from these cultures.
Fig. 1.1
A Harappan sea l
Fig. 1.2
Beads, w eights, blades
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY2
Map 1
Some importan t
Matu re Harappan s i tes
Sketch map n ot to scale
Manda
Harappa
Banawali
Rakhigarhi
Mitathal
Ganweriwala
Kot Diji
ChanhudaroAmri
Balakot
Mohenjodaro
Sutkagendor
Dholavira
Lothal
Nageshwar Rangpur
Kalibangan
Jhelu
m
Chen
ab
Ravi
Indu
sYamuna
Ganga
Cham
bal
Sab
arm
ati
Arabian Sea
Mahi
Narma
da
Sutle
j
1. BeginningsThere were several archaeological cultures in theregion prior to the Mature Harappan.These cultureswere associated with distinctive pottery, evidence of
agriculture and pastoralism, and some crafts.Settlements were generally small, and there werevirtually no large buildings. It appears that therewas a break between the Early Harappan and theHarappan civilisation, evident from large-scale
burning at some sites, as well as the abandonmentof certain settlements.
2. Subsistence Str ategiesIf you look at Maps 1 and 2 you will notice that theMature Harappan culture developed in some of theareas occupied by the Early Harappan cultures.
These cultures also shared certain common elements
including subsistence strategies. The Harappans atea wide range of plant and animal products, includingfish. Archaeologists have been able to reconstructdietary practices from finds of charred grains andseeds. These are studied by archaeo-botanists, who
are specialists in ancient plant remains. Grains
Early and MatureHarappan cultures
Look at these figures for the
number of settlements in Sind
and C holi stan ( the desert area
of Pak istan bordering the T har
D esert) .
SIND CHOLISTAN
Total number 106 239of sites
Early H arappan 52 37
sites
M ature 65 136
H arappan sites
M ature H arappan 43 132
settlem ents on
new sites
Early H arappan 29 33
sitesabandoned
You wi l l fi nd cer ta inabbreviations, related todates, in this book.
BP stands for BeforePresent
BCE stands for BeforeCommon Era
CE stands for the CommonEra. The present year is2009 according to this
dating system.
c . stands for the Latinword circa and meansapproximate.
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3
found at Harappan sites includewheat, barley, lentil, chickpeaand sesame. Millets are found
from sites in Gujarat. Finds ofrice are relatively rare.
Animal bones found at Harappansites include those of cattle, sheep,goat, buffalo and pig. Studies
done by archaeo-zoologists or zoo-archaeologists indicate that theseanimals were domesticated.Bones of wild species such as
boar, deer and g h a r i a l ar ealso found. We do not knowwhether the Harappans huntedthese animals themselves orobtained meat from other huntingcommunities. Bones of fish and
fowl are also found.
2.1 Agricultural technologies
While the prevalence ofagriculture is indicated by finds
of grain, it is more difficult toreconstruct actual agricultural practices. Wereseeds broadcast (scattered) on ploughed lands?
Representations on seals and terracotta sculptureindicate that the bull was known, andarchaeologists extrapolate from this that oxenwere used for ploughing. Moreover, terracottamodels of the plough have been found at sites in
Cholistan and at Banawali (Haryana).Archaeologists have also found evidence of aploughed field at Kalibangan (Rajasthan),
associated with Early Harappan levels (see p. 20).The field had two sets of furrows at right angles to
each other, suggesting that two different cropswere grown together.
Archaeologists have also tried to identify thetools used for harvesting. Did the Harappans usestone blades set in wooden handles or did they use
metal tools?Most Harappan sites are located in semi-arid
lands, where irrigation was probably required foragriculture. Traces of canals have been found at
the Harappan site of Shortughai in Afghanistan, butnot in Punjab or Sind. It is possible that ancient
Discuss...Are there any similarities ordifferences in the distributionof settlements shown on Maps1 and 2?
Fig. 1.3
A terracot ta bul l
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
Map 2
Areas of Ear ly Hara ppan
occupat ion
Sketch m ap n ot to sca le
AMRI-NAL
Arabian Sea
DAMB
SADAAT
Indu
s
KOT
DIJI
SISWAL
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY4
Do you think these
tools could have been usedfor harvesting?
Fig. 1.5
Reservo ir at Dh olavi ra
Note the masonry work.
Archaeologists use present-day analogies to try
and understand what ancient artefacts were usedfor. Mackay was comparing present-day querns
with what he found. Is this a useful strategy?
Discuss...What is the evidence used byarchaeologists to reconstruct
dietary practices?
Fig. 1.4
Copper tools
Fig. 1.6
Sadd le quern
Source 1
canals silted up long ago. It is also likely that waterdrawn from wells was used for irrigation. Besides,water reservoirs found in Dholavira (Gujarat) may
have been used to store water for agriculture.
How artefacts are identified
Processing of food requi red grinding equipment as well as vessels
for mixing, blending and cook ing. T hese were made of stone, metal
and terracotta. Thisisan excerpt from one of the earliest reportson
excavations at M ohenjodaro, the best-known H arappan site:
Saddle querns are found i n considerable numbers
and they seem to have been the only means in use
for grind ing cereals. A s a rule, they were roughly made
of har d, gritty, igneo us rock o r sandstone and mostly
show signs of hard usage. A s thei r bases are usually
convex, they must have been set in the earth or in
mud to prevent their rocking. Two main types have
been found: those on which another smaller stone was
pushed or rolled to and fro, and others with which a
second stone was used as a pounder, eventually
mak ing a large cavity in the nether stone. Q uerns of
the former type were probably used solely for grain;
the second type possibly only for pounding herbs and
spices for making curries. In fact, stones of this latter
type are dubbed curry stones by our work men and
our cook asked for the loan of one from the museum
for use in the kitchen.
F R O M E R N E S T M A C K A Y , Further Excavations at
M ohenjodaro, 1937.
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5
How is the Lower Town
different from the Citadel?
3. Mohenjodar oA Pl anned Urban Centr ePerhaps the most unique feature of the Harappancivilisation was the development of urban centres.Let us look at one such centre, Mohenjodaro,
more closely. Although Mohenjodaro is the mostwell-known site, the first site to be discoveredwas Harappa.
The settlement is divided into two sections, onesmaller but higher and the other much larger but
Fig. 1.7
Lay out of Mohenjoda ro
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
metres
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY6
The plight of Harappa
A lthough H arappa was the
first site to be discovered, it
was badly destroyed by bri ck
ro bber s. A s ear ly as 1875,
A lexander C unningham, the
first D ir ector-G eneral of the
A rchaeo lo g ica l S urvey o f
I ndia ( A SI) , often called the
father of Indi an archaeo logy,
no ted tha t the am o unto f b r i c k t a k e n f r o m t h e
anci ent si te was enou gh
to lay b r icks f o r ab o ut
100 mi les o f the ra i lway
l ine b etw een L aho re and
M ultan. T hus, many of the
ancient structures at the site
were damaged. In contrast,
M ohenjodaro was far better
preserved.
lower. Archaeologists designate these as the Citadeland the Lower Town respectively. The Citadel owesits height to the fact that buildings were constructed
on mud brick platforms. It was walled, whichmeant that it was physically separated from theLower Town.
The Lower Town was also walled. Several buildingswere built on platforms, which served as foundations.
It has been calculated that if one labourer movedroughly a cubic metre of earth daily, just to put thefoundations in place it would have required fourmillion person-days, in other words, mobilising
labour on a very large scale.Consider something else. Once the platforms were
in place, all building activity within the city wasrestricted to a fixed area on the platforms. So itseems that the settlement was first planned andthen implemented accordingly. Other signs of
planning include bricks, which, whether sun-driedor baked, were of a standardised ratio, where thelength and breadth were four times and twice theheight respectively. Such bricks were used at allHarappan settlements.
3.1 Laying out drains
One of the most distinctive features of Harappancities was the carefully planned drainage system. Ifyou look at the plan of the Lower Town you will noticethat roads and streets were laid out along anapproximate grid pattern, intersecting at right
angles. It seems that streets with drains were laidout first and then houses built along them. Ifdomestic waste water had to flow into the streetdrains, every house needed to have at least one wallalong a street.
Citadels
W hile most H arappan settlements have a small high
western part and a larger lower eastern section, there
are var iati ons. A t sites such as D holavi ra and L othal
( G ujarat) , the entire settlement was fortified, and
sections within the town were also separated by walls.
T he Ci tadel within Lothal was not walled off, but was
Fig. 1.8
A dra in in Mohen jodaro
Notice the huge opening of thedrain.
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7
built at a height.
3.2 Domestic architectureThe Lower Town at Mohenjodaro provides examples
of residential buildings. Many were centred on acourtyard, with rooms on all sides. The courtyardwas probably the centre of activities such as cookingand weaving, particularly during hot and dryweather. What is also interesting is an apparent
concern for privacy: there are no windows in thewalls along the ground level. Besides, the mainentrance does not give a direct view of the interior
or the courtyard.Every house had its own bathroom paved with
bricks, with drains connected through the wall tothe street drains. Some houses have remains ofstaircases to reach a second storey or the roof. Manyhouses had wells, often in a room that could bereached from the outside and perhaps used by
passers-by. Scholars have estimated that the total
The most ancientsystem yet discovered
A bout the dra ins, M ackay
noted: I t is certainly the most
complete ancient system as yet
discovered. Every house was
connected to the street drains.
T he main channels were made
of bricks set in m ortar and were
covered with loose bricks that
could be removed for cleaning.In some cases, limestone was
used for the cover s. H ouse
drains first emptied into a sump
or cesspit into which solid
matter settled whi le waste water
flowed out into the street drains.
Very long drainage channels
were provided at intervals with
sum ps for cleani ng. I t i s a
wonder of archaeology that
little heaps of material, mostly
sand, have frequently been
found lying alongside drai nage
channels, which shows that
the debris was not always
carted away when the drain
was cleared.
F RO M ERNESTM A C K A Y , Early Indus
C ivi lisation, 1948.
D rai nage systems were not
unique to the larger cit ies,
but were found in smaller
settlements as well. A t Lothal
for example, whi le houses were
built of mud bricks, drains were
made of burnt bricks.
Fig. 1.9
This is an isometr ic dra w ing of a
large house in Mohenjodaro.There w as a w e ll in room no 6 .
Where is the courtyard? Where are the two
staircases? What is the entrance to the house like?
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY8
number of wells inMohenjodaro was about700.
3.3 The CitadelIt is on the Citadel that we
find evidence of structuresthat were probably used forspecial public purposes.
These include the warehouse a massive structure of
which the lower brick
portions remain, while theupper portions, probablyof wood, decayed longago and the Great Bath.
The Great Bath was alarge rectangular tank in acourtyard surrounded by acorridor on all four sides.
There were two fl ights of
steps on the north andsouth leading into the tank,which was made watertightby setting bricks on edge
and using a mortar ofgypsum. There were roomson three sides, in one ofwhich was a large well.Water from the tank flowed
into a huge drain. Across alane to the north lay asmaller building witheight bathrooms, four oneach side of a corridor,
with drains from eachbathroom connecting to adrain that ran along thecorridor. The uniqueness ofthe structure, as well as
the context in which it was found (theCitadel, with several distinctive buildings),has led scholars to suggest that it was meant forsome kind of a special ritual bath.
Fig. 1.10
Plan of the Citadel
Discuss...Which of the architectural
features of Mohenjodaroindicate planning?
Are there other structures on the Citadel apart from
the warehouse and the Great Bath?
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4. Tr acking Social Dif fer ences4.1 BurialsArchaeologists generally use certain strategies tofind out whether there were social or economicdifferences amongst people living within a particularculture. These include studying burials. You are
probably familiar with the massive pyramids ofEgypt, some of which were contemporaneous withthe Harappan civilisation. Many of these pyramidswere royal burials, where enormous quantities ofwealth was buried.
At burials in Harappan sites the dead weregenerally laid in pits. Sometimes, there weredifferences in the way the burial pit was made insome instances, the hollowed-out spaces were linedwith bricks. Could these variations be an indication
of social differences? We are not sure.Some graves contain pottery and ornaments,
perhaps indicating a belief that these could be usedin the afterlife. J ewellery has been found in burialsof both men and women. In fact, in the excavations
at the cemetery in Harappa in the mid-1980s, an
ornament consisting of three shell rings, a jasper(a kind of semi-precious stone) bead and hundredsof micro beads was found near the skull of a male.
In some instances the dead were buried with coppermirrors. But on the whole, it appears that theHarappans did not believe in burying precious thingswith the dead.
4.2 Looking for luxuriesAnother strategy to identify social differences is tostudy artefacts, which archaeologists broadly
classify as utilitarian and luxuries. The first category
includes objects of daily use made fairly easily outof ordinary materials such as stone or clay. Theseinclude querns, pottery, needles, flesh-rubbers (bodyscrubbers), etc., and are usually found distributed
throughout settlements. Archaeologists assumeobjects were luxuries if they are rare or made fromcostly, non-local materials or with complicatedtechnologies. Thus, little pots of faience (a materialmade of ground sand or silica mixed with colour
and a gum and then fired) were probably consideredprecious because they were difficult to make.
The situation becomes more complicatedwhen we find what seem to be articles of daily
Fig. 1.11A copper mir ror
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
Fig. 1.12
A fa ience pot
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY10
use, such as spindle whorls made of rare materialssuch as faience. Do we classify these as utilitarianor luxuries?
If we study the distribution of such artefacts, wefind that rare objects made of valuable materialsare generally concentrated in large settlements likeMohenjodaro and Harappa and are rarely found inthe smaller settlements. For example, miniature pots
of faience, perhaps used as perfume bottles, are foundmostly in Mohenjodaro and Harappa, and there arenone from small settlements like Kalibangan. Goldtoo was rare, and as at present, probably precious
all the gold jewellery found at Harappan sites wasrecovered from hoards.
5. Finding Out About Cr af tPr oduction
Locate Chanhudaro on Map 1. This is a tinysettlement (less than 7 hectares) as compared toMohenjodaro (125 hectares), almost exclusivelydevoted to craft production, including bead-making,shell-cutting, metal-working, seal-making and
weight-making.The variety of materials used to make beads is
remarkable: stones like carnelian (of a beautiful redcolour), jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite; metalslike copper, bronze and gold; and shell, faience and
terracotta or burnt clay. Some beads were made oftwo or more stones, cemented together, some of stonewith gold caps. The shapes were numerous disc-shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrel-shaped,segmented. Some were decorated by incising or
painting, and some had designs etched onto them.
Discuss...What are the modes ofdisposal of the dead prevalent
at present? To what extent dothese represent socialdifferences?
H o a r d s are objects keptcarefully by people, often inside
containers such as pots. Suchhoards can be of jewellery or
metal objects saved for reuseby metalworkers. If for some
reason the original owners do
not retrieve them, they remainwhere they are left till some
archaeologist finds them.
Fig. 1.13
A tool and beads
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Techniques for making beads differed accordingto the material. Steatite, a very soft stone, was easilyworked. Some beads were moulded out of a paste
made with steatite powder. This permitted making avariety of shapes, unlike the geometrical forms madeout of harder stones. How the steatite micro beadwas made remains a puzzle for archaeologistsstudying ancient technology.
Archaeologists experiments have revealed that thered colour of carnelian was obtained by firing theyellowish raw material and beads at various stagesof production. Nodules were chipped into rough
shapes, and then finely flaked into the final form.Grinding, polishing and drilling completed theprocess. Specialised drills have been found atChanhudaro, Lothal and more recently at Dholavira.
If you locate Nageshwar and Balakot on Map 1,you will notice that both settlements are near the
coast. These were specialised centres for makingshell objects including bangles, ladles andinlay which were taken to other settlements.Similarly, it is likely that finished products (suchas beads) from Chanhudaro and Lothal were taken
to the large urban centres such as Mohenjodaroand Harappa.
5.1 Identifying centres of production
In order to identify centresof craft production,
archaeologists usually look
for the following: raw
material such as stone
nodules, whole shells, copper
ore; tools; unfinished
objects; rejects and waste
material. In fact, waste is
one of the best indicators
of craft work. For instance,if shell or stone is cut to
make objects, then pieces
of these materials will be
discarded as waste at the
place of production.
Fig. 1.14
Pottery
Some of these can be seen in the
National Museum, Delhi or in thesite museum at Lothal.
Discuss...Should the stone artefacts
illustrated in the chapter beconsidered as utilitarianobjects or as luxuries? Arethere any that may fall intoboth categories?
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
Fig. 1.15
A terracot ta f igur in e
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY12
Sometimes, larger waste pieces were used up tomake smaller objects, but minuscule bits wereusually left in the work area. These traces suggest
that apart from small, specialised centres, craftproduction was also undertaken in large cities suchas Mohenjodaro and Harappa.
6. Str ategies for Pr ocur ingMater ial s
As is obvious, a variety of materials was used forcraft production. While some such as clay were
locally available, many such as stone, timber andmetal had to be procured from outside the alluvialplain. Terracotta toy models of bullock carts suggestthat this was one important means of transportinggoods and people across land routes. Riverine routesalong the Indus and its tributaries, as well as coastal
routes were also probably used.
6.1 Materials from the subcontinent and beyond
The Har appans procured mater ial s for cr aft
production in various ways. For instance, they
established settlements such as Nageshwar andBalakot in areas where shell was available. Othersuch sites were Shortughai, in far-off Afghanistan,
near the best source of lapis lazuli, a blue stonethat was apparently very highly valued, and Lothalwhich was near sources of carnelian (from Bharuchin Gujarat), steatite (from south Rajasthan and northGujarat) and metal (from Rajasthan).
Another strategy for procuring raw materials mayhave been to send expeditions to areas such as theKhetri region of Rajasthan (for copper) and southIndia (for gold). These expeditions establishedcommunication with local communities. Occasional
finds of Harappan artefacts such as steatite microbeads in these areas are indications of such contact.
There is evidence in the Khetr i area for whatarchaeologists call the Ganeshwar-J odhpura culture,with its distinctive non-Harappan pottery and
an unusual wealth of copper objects. It is possiblethat the inhabitants of this region supplied copperto the Harappans.
Fig .1 .16
Copper a nd bronze vessels
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13
6.2 Contact with distant landsRecent archaeological finds suggest that copper wasalso probably brought from Oman, on the south-
eastern tip of the Arabian peninsula. Chemicalanalyses have shown that both the Omani copperand Harappan artefacts have traces of nickel,suggesting a common origin. There are other tracesof contact as well. A distinctive type of vessel, a
large Harappan jar coated with a thick layer of blackclay has been found at Omani sites. Such thickcoatings prevent the percolation of liquids. We donot know what was carried in these vessels, but itis possible that the Harappans exchanged the
contents of these vessels for Omani copper.Mesopotamian texts datable to the third
millennium B C E refer to copper coming froma region called Magan, perhaps a name for
Oman, and interestingly enough copper found at
Fig. 1.17
A Harappan ja r found in Oman
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
Map 3
The Harappan C iv il i sa t ion a nd West As ia
Sketch m ap n ot to sca le
Mediterranean
Sea
Red
Sea
MESOPOTAMIA
Arabian Sea
Uruk
Ur
DILMUN
Caspian
Sea Altyn Depe
TURAN
Shahr-i-Sokhta
Tepe Yahya
Sutkagendor
MELUHHA
Harappa
LothalMAGAN
Rasal Janayz
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY14
Mesopotamian sites alsocontains traces of nickel.Other archaeological
finds suggestive of long-distance contacts includeHarappan seals, weights,dice and beads. In thiscontext, it is worth noting
that Mesopotamian textsmention contact with regions named Dilmun(probably the island of Bahrain), Magan andMeluhha, possibly the Harappan region. They
mention the products from Meluhha: carnelian,lapis lazuli, copper, gold, and varieties of wood.A Mesopotamian myth says of Meluhha: May yourbird be the ha j a -bird, may its call be heard inthe royal palace. Some archaeologists think theha j a -bird was the peacock. Did it get this name
from its call? It is likely thatcommunication with Oman,
Bahrain or Mesopotamia wasby sea. Mesopotamian textsrefer to Meluhha as a
land of seafarers. Besides,we find depictions of shipsand boats on seals.
Fig. 1.18
This is a cyl ind er seal , typ ica l of
Mesopotamia , but the hum ped bul l
mot i f on i t app ears to be der ivedf rom the Indu s region.
Fig. 1.19
The round Pers ian Gu l f seal found
in Bah ra in somet imes carr ies
Ha rappa n mot i fs . In terest ing ly ,
loca l Di lmun w eights fo l low ed
the Ha rappan s tanda rd .
Fig. 1.20
Seal d epict ing a boat
Discuss...What were the possible routesfrom the Harappan region toOman, Dilmun andMesopotamia?
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15
7. Seal s, Scr ipt, Weights
7.1 Seals and sealingsSeals and sealings were used to facilitate long-
distance communication. Imagine a bag of goodsbeing sent from one place to another. Its mouth wastied with rope and on the knot was affixed some wet
clay on which one or more seals were pressed,leaving an impression. If the bag reached withits sealing intact, it meant that it had not beentampered with. The sealing also conveyed the identityof the sender.
7.2 An enigmatic script
Harappan seals usually have a line of writing,probably containing the name and title of the owner.Scholars have also suggested that the motif(generally an animal) conveyed a meaning to thosewho could not read.
Most inscriptions are short, the longest containingabout 26 signs. Although the script remainsundeciphered to date, it was evidently notalphabetical (where each sign stands for a vowel ora consonant) as it has just too many signs
somewhere between 375 and 400. It is apparent thatthe script was written from right to left as someseals show a wider spacing on the right and cramping
on the left, as if the engraver began working fromthe right and then ran out of space.
Consider the variety of objects on which writinghas been found: seals, copper tools, rims of jars,copper and terracotta tablets, jewellery, bone rods,even an ancient signboard! Remember, there mayhave been writing on perishable materials too. Could
this mean that literacy was widespread?
7.3 WeightsExchanges were regulated by a precise system ofweights, usually made of a stone called chert and
generally cubical (Fig. 1.2), with no markings. The
Fig. 1.22
A seal ing f rom Ropar
How many seals are
impressed on this piece of clay?
Fig. 1.21
Let ters on an ancient signboard
Discuss...What are some of the present-day methods used for long-distance exchange of goods?
What are their advantages
and problems?
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY16
lower denominations of weights were binary (1, 2, 4,8, 16, 32, etc. up to 12,800), while the higherdenominations followed the decimal system. The
smaller weights were probably used for weighingjewellery and beads. Metal scale-pans have alsobeen found.
8. Ancient Author ityThere are indications of complex decisions beingtaken and implemented in Harappan society. Takefor instance, the extraordinary uniformity of
Harappan artefacts as evident in pottery (Fig. 1.14),seals, weights and bricks. Notably, bricks, thoughobviously not produced in any single centre, were ofa uniform ratio throughout the region, from J ammuto Gujarat. We have also seen that settlements were
strategically set up in specific locations for variousreasons. Besides, labour was mobilised for makingbricks and for the construction of massive wallsand platforms.
Who organised these activities?
8.1 Palaces and kings
If we look for a centre of power or for depictions of
people in power, archaeological records provide noimmediate answers. A large building found atMohenjodaro was labelled as a palace byarchaeologists but no spectacular finds wereassociated with it. A stone statue was labelled and
continues to be known as the priest-king. This isbecause archaeologists were familiar withMesopotamian history and its priest-kings and havefound parallels in the Indus region. But as we willsee (p.23), the ritual practices of the Harappan
civilisation are not well understood yet nor are thereany means of knowing whether those who performedthem also held political power.
Some archaeologists are of the opinion thatHarappan society had no rulers, and that everybody
enjoyed equal status. Others feel there was no singleruler but several, that Mohenjodaro had a separateruler, Harappa another, and so forth. Yet othersargue that there was a single state, given thesimilarity in artefacts, the evidence for planned
settlements, the standardised ratio of brick size, and
the establishment of settlements near sources of raw
Discuss...Could everybody in Harappan
society have been equal?
Fig. 1.23
A pr iest -k ing
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17
material. As of now, the last theory seems the mostplausible, as it is unlikely that entire communitiescould have collectively made and implemented such
complex decisions.
9. The End of the Civil isationThere is evidence that by c. 1800 BCEmost of the MatureHarappan sites in regions such as Cholistan had beenabandoned. Simultaneously, there was
an expansion of population into newsettlements in Gujarat, Haryana and
western Uttar Pradesh.In the few Harappan sites that
continued to be occupied after 1900
BCE there appears to have been atransformation of material culture,
marked by the disappearance of thedistinctive artefacts of the civilisation weights, seals, special beads.
Writing, long-distance trade, andcraft specialisation also disappeared.
In general, far fewer materials wereused to make far fewer things. House
construction techniques deterioratedand large public structures were nolonger produced. Overall, artefacts
and settlements indicate a rural wayof life in what are called Late
Harappan or successor cultures.What brought about these
changes? Several explanations have
been put forward. These range fromclimatic change, deforestation,
excessive floods, the shifting and/ or drying up of
rivers, to overuse of the landscape. Some of thesecauses may hold for certain settlements, but they
do not explain the collapse of the entire civilisation.It appears that a strong unifying element, perhaps
the Harappan state, came to an end. This isevidenced by the disappearance of seals, the script,distinctive beads and pottery, the shift from a
standardised weight system to the use of localweights; and the decline and abandonment of cities.
The subcontinent would have to wait for over amillennium for new cities to develop in a completely
different region.
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
SWAT
LATE
SISWALCEMETERY H
RANGPUR II B-C
JHUKAR
Ind
us
Arabian Sea
Map 4
Areas of Late Hara ppan occupat ion
Sketch map n ot to scale
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY18
Evidence of an invasion
D eadman L ane is a narrow alley, varying from 3 to 6 feet in width A t the point
where the lane turns westward, part of a skull and the bones of the thorax and
upper arm of an adult were discovered, all in very friable condition, at a depth of
4 ft 2 in. T he body lay on i ts back diagonally across the lane. Fi fteen inches to the
west were a few fragments of a tiny skull. I t is to these remains that the lane owes
its name.
F RO M JO H N M A R S H A L L, M ohenjodaro and the Indus C ivi lisation, 1931.
Sixteen skeletons of people with the ornaments that they were wearing when they
died were found from the same part of M ohenjodaro in 1925.
M uch later, i n 1947, R .E.M . W heeler, then D ir ector-G eneral of the A SI , tried to
correlate this archaeological evidence with that of the Rigveda, the earliest known
text in the subcontinent. H e wrote:
The Rigvedamentions pur, meaning rampart, fort or stronghold. I ndra, the A ryan
war-god is called puramdara, the fort-destroyer.
W here are or were these citadels? It has in the past been supposed that they
were mythical T he recent excavation of H arappa may be thought to have
changed the picture. H ere we have a highly evolved civi lisation of essentially non-
A ryan type, now known to have employed massive forti fications W hat destroyed
this firmly settled civi lisation? C lim atic, economi c or poli tical deterioration m ay
have weakened it, but its ultimate extinction i s more lik ely to have been completed
by deliberate and large-scale destruction. It may be no mere chance that at a late
period of M ohenjodaro men, w omen, and children, appear to have been
massacred there. O n circum stantial evidence, I ndra stands accused.
F RO M R .E.M . W HEELER , H arappa 1946 , A ncient India, 1947.
In the 1960s, the evidence of a massacre in M ohenjodaro was questioned by an
archaeologist named G eorge D ales. H e demonstrated that the skeletons found at the
site di d not belong to the same period:
W hereas a couple of them defini tely seem to indicate a slaughter, the bulk of
the bones were found in contexts suggesting burials of the sloppiest and most
irreverent nature. T here is no destruction level covering the latest period of the
city, no sign of extensive burning, no bodi es of warriors clad in arm our and
surrounded by the weapons of war. T he citadel, the only forti fied part of the city,
yielded no evidence of a final defence.
FRO M G .F. D ALES, The M ythical M assacre at M ohenjodaro, Expediton, 1964.
A s you can see, a careful re-examination of the data can sometim es lead to a
reversal o f earli er i nterpretations.
Discuss...What are the similarities and differences between Maps 1, 2 and 4?
Source 3
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10. Discover ing the Har appanCivil isationSo far, we have examined facets of the Harappancivilisation in the context of how archaeologistshave used evidence from material remains to
piece together parts of a fascinating history. However,there is another story as well about howarchaeologists discovered the civilisation.
When Harappan cities fell into ruin, peoplegradually forgot all about them. When men and
women began living in the area millennia later, they
did not know what to make of the strange artefactsthat occasionally surfaced, washed by floods orexposed by soil erosion, or turned up while ploughinga field, or digging for treasure.
10.1 Cunninghams confusionWhen Cunningham, the first Director-General of the
ASI, began archaeological excavations in the mid-nineteenth century, archaeologists preferred to usethe written word (texts and inscriptions) as a guideto investigations. In fact, Cunninghams main
interest was in the archaeology of the Early Historic
(c. sixth century BCE-fourth century CE) and laterperiods. He used the accounts left by ChineseBuddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinentbetween the fourth and seventh centuries CEto locate
early settlements. Cunningham also collected,documented and translated inscriptions found duringhis surveys. When he excavated sites he tended torecover artefacts that he thought had cultural value.
A site like Harappa, which was not part of the
itinerary of the Chinese pilgrims and was not knownas an Early Historic city, did not fit very neatly within
his framework of investigation. So, althoughHarappan artefacts were found fairly often duringthe nineteenth century and some of these reached
Cunningham, he did not realise how old these were.A Harappan seal was given to Cunningham by an
Englishman. He noted the object, but unsuccessfullytried to place it within the time-frame with whichhe was familiar. This was because he, like many
others, thought that Indian history began with thefirst cities in the Ganga valley (see Chapter 2). Givenhis specific focus, it is not surprising that he missed
the significance of Harappa.
Fig. 1.24
Cunn ingham s sketch of the f i rs t -know n sea l f rom Hara ppa
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY20
Sites, mounds, layers
A rchaeological sitesare formed
through the production, use
and discarding of materials
and structures. W hen people
continue to live in the same
place, their constant use and
reuse of the landscape results
in the build up of occupational
debris, called a mound. Brief
or permanent abandonment
results in alteration of the
landscape by wind or water
activity and erosion. O ccupations
are detected by traces of
ancient materials found in
layers, which differ from one
another in colour, texture and
the artefacts that are found
in them. A bandonment or
desertions, what are called
steri le layers , can be
identified by the absence of
such traces.
G enerally, the lowest layers
are the oldest and the highest
are the most recent. T he study
of these layers is called
stratigraphy. A rtefacts found i n
layers can be assigned to
specific cultural periods and
can thus provide the cultural
sequencefor a site.
10.2 A new old civilisationSubsequently, seals were discovered at Harappa byarchaeologists such as Daya Ram Sahni in the early
decades of the twentieth century, in layers that weredefinitely much older than Early Historic levels. Itwas then that their significance began to be realised.Another archaeologist, Rakhal Das Banerji foundsimilar seals at Mohenjodaro, leading to the
conjecture that these sites were part of a singlearchaeological culture. Based on these finds, in 1924,
J ohn Mar shal l, Director -General of th e ASI ,announced the discovery of a new civilisation in the
Indus valley to the world. As S.N. Roy noted inThe Story of Ind ian Archaeology, Marshall left Indiathree thousand years older than he had found her.
Th is was because similar, ti ll-then-unidentifiedseals were found at excavations at Mesopotamiansites. It was then that the world knew not only of a
new civilisation, but also of one contemporaneouswith Mesopotamia.
In fact, J ohn Marshalls stint as Director-Generalof the ASI marked a major change in Indianarchaeology. He was the first professional
archaeologist to work in India, and brought hisexperience of working in Greece and Crete to thefield. More importantly, though like Cunningham hetoo was interested in spectacular finds, he wasequally keen to look for patterns of everyday life.
Marshall tended to excavate along regularhorizontal units, measured uniformly throughout themound, ignoring the stratigraphy of the site. Thismeant that all the artefacts recovered from the sameunit were grouped together, even if they were found
at different stratigraphic layers. As a result, valuable
Fig. 1.25
The s t ra t ig raphy o f a sma l l mound
Notice that the layers are not exactly horizontal.
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21
information about the context of these finds wasirretrievably lost.
10.3 New techniques and questionsIt was R.E.M. Wheeler, after he took over as Director-General of the ASI in 1944, who rectified this
problem. Wheeler recognised that it was necessaryto follow the stratigraphy of the mound ratherthan dig mechanically along uniform horizontallines. Moreover, as an ex-army brigadier, he broughtwith him a military precision to the practice
of archaeology.
The frontiers of the Harappan civil isation havelittle or no connection with present-day nationalboundaries. However, with the partition of thesubcontinent and the creation of Pakistan, the major
sites are now in Pakistani territory. This has spurredIndian archaeologists to try and locate sites in India.An extensive survey in Kutch has revealed a numberof Harappan settlements and explorations in Punjaband Haryana have added to the list of Harappan
sites. While Kalibangan, Lothal, Rakhi Garhi andmost recently Dholavira have been discovered,explored and excavated as part of these efforts, freshexplorations continue.
Over the decades, new issues have assumedimportance. Where some archaeologists are oftenkeen to obtain a cultural sequence, others try tounderstand the logic underlying the location ofspecific sites. They also grapple with the wealth of
artefacts, trying to figure out the functions thesemay have served.
Since the 1980s, there has also been growinginternational interest in Harappan archaeology.Specialists from the subcontinent and abroad have
been jointly working at both Harappa andMohenjodaro. They are using modern scientifictechniques including surface exploration to recovertraces of clay, stone, metal and plant and animalremains as well as to minutely analyse every scrap
of available evidence. These explorations promise toyield interesting results in the future.
Wheeler at Harappa
Early archaeologists were often
driven by a sense of adventure.
T his is what W heeler wrote
about his experience at
H arappa:
I t was, I recall, on a warm
M ay night in 1944 that a four
miles tonga-ride brought me
as the newly appointed
D irector G eneral of theA rchaeological Survey with
my local M uslim officer from
a li ttle rai lway-station labelled
H arappa along a deep
sand track to a small rest-
house beside the m oonli t
mounds of the ancient site.
Warned by my anxious
colleague that we must start
our inspection at 5.30 next
morning and finish by 7.30
after which it would be toohot, we turned in with the
dark figure of thepunka-walla
crouched patiently in the
entrance and the night
air rent by innumerable
jackals in the neighbouring
wilderness.
N ext morning, punctually
at 5.30, our little procession
started out towards the sandy
heaps. W ithin ten mi nutes I
stopped and rubbed my eyes
as I gazed upon the tallest
mound, scarcely trusting my
vi sio n. S ix hours later my
embarrassed staff and I were
still toiling with picks and
knives under the blazing sun,
the mad sahib ( I am afraid)
setting a relentless pace.
FRO M R . E .M . W HEELER ,
M y A rchaeological M ission
to India and Pak istan, 1976.
Discuss...Which of the themes in this chapter would haveinterested Cunningham? Which are the issues
that have been of interest since 1947?
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY22
11. Pr obl ems of Piecing Togetherthe PastAs we have seen, it is not the Harappan script thathelps in understanding the ancient civilisation. Rather,it is material evidence that allows archaeologists to
better reconstruct Harappan life. This material couldbe pottery, tools, ornaments, household objects, etc.Organic materials such as cloth, leather, wood andreeds generally decompose, especially in tropicalregions. What survive are stone, burnt clay (or
terracotta), metal, etc.
It is also important to remember that only brokenor useless objects would have been thrown away.Other things would probably have been recycled.Consequently, valuable artefacts that are found
intact were either lost in the past or hoarded andnever retrieved. In other words, such finds areaccidental rather than typical.
11.1 Classifying findsRecovering artefacts is just the beginning of thearchaeological enterprise. Archaeologists then
classify their finds. One simple principle of
classification is in terms of material, such as stone,clay, metal, bone, ivory, etc. The second, and morecomplicated, is in terms of function: archaeologistshave to decide whether, for instance, an artefact is
a tool or an ornament, or both, or something meantfor ritual use.
An understanding of the function of an artefact isoften shaped by its resemblance with present-daythings beads, querns, stone blades and pots are
obvious examples. Archaeologists also try to identifythe function of an artefact by investigating the
context in which it was found: was it found in ahouse, in a drain, in a grave, in a kiln?
Sometimes, archaeologists have to take recourse
to indirect evidence. For instance, though there aretraces of cotton at some Harappan sites, to find outabout clothing we have to depend on indirectevidence including depictions in sculpture.
Archaeologists have to develop frames of reference.
We have seen that the first Harappan seal that wasfound could not be understood till archaeologists hada context in which to place it both in terms of the
cultural sequence in which it was found, and interms of a comparison with finds in Mesopotamia.
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23
11.2 Problems of interpretationThe problems of archaeological interpretation areperhaps most evident in attempts to reconstruct
religious practices. Early archaeologists thought thatcertain objects which seemed unusual or unfamiliarmay have had a religious significance. These includedterracotta figurines of women, heavily jewelled, somewith elaborate head-dresses. These were regarded
as mother goddesses. Rare stone statuary of men inan almost standardised posture, seated with onehand on the knee such as the priest-king wasalso similarly classified. In other instances,
structures have been assigned ritual significance.These include the Great Bath and fire altars foundat Kalibangan and Lothal.
Attempts have also been made to reconstructreligious beliefs and practices by examining seals,some of which seem to depict ritual scenes. Others,
with plant motifs, are thought to indicate natureworship. Some animals such as the one-hornedanimal, often called the unicorn depicted on sealsseem to be mythical, composite creatures. In someseals, a figure shown seated cross-legged in a yogic
posture, sometimes surrounded by animals, hasbeen regarded as a depiction of proto-Shiva, thatis, an early form of one of the major deities ofHinduism. Besides, conical stone objects have beenclassified as l ingas.
Many reconstructions of Harappan religion aremade on the assumption that later traditions provideparallels with earlier ones. This is becausearchaeologists often move from the known to theunknown, that is, from the present to the past. While
this is plausible in the case of stone querns and
pots, it becomes more speculative when we extendit to religious symbols.Let us look, for instance, at the proto-Shiva seals.
The earliest religious text, the Rigveda (compiled c.
1500-1000 BCE) mentions a god named Rudra, whichis a name used for Shiva in later Puranic traditions(in the first millennium CE; see also Chapter 4).However, unlike Shiva, Rudra in the Rigveda isneither depicted as Pashupati (lord of animals in
general and cattle in particular), nor as a yogi . Inother words, this depiction does not match thedescription of Rudra in the Rigveda. Is this, then,possibly a shaman as some scholars have suggested?
Fig. 1.26
Was th is a mother godd ess?
A l i n g a is a polished stone
that is worshipped as a
symbol of Shiva.
Fig. 1.27
A proto-Shiv a seal
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY24
What has been achieved after so many decades ofarchaeological work? We have a fairly good idea of
the Harappan economy. We have been able to teaseout social differences and we have some idea of howthe civilisation functioned. It is really not clear howmuch more we would know if the script were to bedeciphered. If a bilingual inscription is found,questions about the languages spoken by theHarappans could perhaps be put to rest.
Several reconstructions remain speculative atpresent. Was the Great Bath a ritual structure? How
widespread was literacy? Why do Harappancemeteries show little social differentiation? Alsounanswered are questions on gender did womenmake pottery or did they only paint pots (as atpresent)? What about other craftspersons? What werethe terracotta female figurines used for? Very fewscholars have investigated issues of gender in thecontext of the Harappan civilisation and this is awhole new area for future work.
S h a m a n s are men andwomen who claim magicaland healing powers, as well
as an ability to communicatewith the other world.
T his is what M ackay, one of theearliest excavators, had to say
about these stones:
Various small cones made
of lapis lazuli , jasper,
chalcedony, and o ther
stones, most beautifully cut
and finished, and less than
two inches in height, are also
thought to be lingas on the
other hand, it is just as
possible that they were used
in the board-games
FR O M ER N E S T M A C K A Y , Early
Indus C iv ili sation, 1948.
Discuss...What are the aspects ofHarappan economy that have
been reconstructed fromarchaeological evidence?
Fig. 1.28
Gamesmen or lingas?
Fig. 1.29
A terracot ta cart
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25
Timel ine 1Major Periods in Ear ly Indian Archaeol ogy
2 million BP Lower Palaeolithic(BEFOREPRESENT)
80,000 Middle Palaeolithic
35,000 Upper Palaeolithic
12,000 Mesolithic
10,000 Neolithic (early agriculturists and pastoralists)
6,000 Chalcolithic (first use of copper)
2600 BC E Harappan civilisation
1000 BC E Early iron, megalithic burials
600 BC E-400 CE Early Historic
Timel ine 2Major Devel opments in Har appan Archaeol ogy
Nineteenth century
1875 Report of Alexander Cunningham on Harappan seal
Twentieth century
1921 M.S. Vats begins excavations at Harappa
1925 Excavations begin at Mohenjodaro
1946 R.E.M. Wheeler excavates at Harappa
1955 S.R. Rao begins excavations at Lothal
1960 B.B. Lal and B.K. Thapar begin excavations at Kalibangan
1974 M.R. Mughalbegins explorations in Bahawalpur
1980 A team of German and Italian archaeologists begins surfaceexplorations at Mohenjodaro
1986 American team begins excavations at Harappa
1990 R.S. Bisht begins excavations at Dholavira
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
(Note: Al l dates are appr oximate. Besides, there are w ide var ia t ions in d evelopments in
di f ferent par ts of the subcont inent . Dates ind icated are for the ear l iest evidence of each ph ase.)
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY26
Answer in100-150 wor ds
1. List the items of foodavailable to people in
Harappan cities. Identify
the groups who wouldhave provided these.
2. How do archaeologists
trace socio-economicdifferences in Harappan
society? What are thedifferences that they
notice?
3. Would you agree thatthe drainage system in
Harappan cities indicates
town planning? Givereasons for your answer.
4. List the materials used to
make beads in theHarappan civilisation.
Describe the process bywhich any one kind of bead
was made.
5. Look at Fig. 1.30 anddescribe what you see.
How is the body placed?
What are the objectsplaced near it? Are there
any artefacts on the body?Do these indicate the sex of
the skeleton?
Fig. 1.30
A Ha rappan bu r i a l
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27
Wr ite a shor t essay (about500 words) on the f ol l owing:
6. Describe some of the distinctive features ofMohenjodaro.
7. List the raw materials required for craft
production in the Harappan civilisation anddiscuss how these might have been obtained.
8. Discuss how archaeologists reconstruct the past.
9. Discuss the functions that may have been
performed by rulers in Harappan society.
Map wor k
10. On Map 1, use a pencil to circle sites where
evidence of agriculture has been recovered. Mark
an X against sites where there is evidence of craftproduction and R against sites where raw
materials were found.
Pr oj ect (any one)11. Find out if there are any museums in your town.
Visit one of them and write a report on any ten
items, describing how old they are, where theywere found, and why you think they are on
display.
12. Collect illustrations of ten things made of stone,metal and clay produced and used at present.
Compare these with the pictures of the Harappan
civilisation in this chapter, and discuss thesimilarities and differences that you find.
BRICKS, BEADSANDBONES
If you would like to knowmore, read:Raymond and Bridget A llchin.
1997. O rigins of a Ci vilization.
V iking, N ew D elhi.
G .L . Possehl. 2003.
T he Indus C ivi lization.
V istaar, N ew Delhi.
Shereen R atnagar. 2001.
U nderstanding H arappa.
T ulika, N ew Delhi.
For more information,you could visit:http://www.harappa.com/har/
harres0.html
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY28
THEMETWO
There were several developments in different parts of thesubcontinent during the long span of 1,500 years followingthe end of the Harappan civilisation. This was also theperiod during which the Rigvedawas composed by people
living along the Indus and its tributaries. Agriculturalsettlements emerged in many parts of thesubcontinent, including north India, theDeccan Plateau, and parts of Karnataka.Besides, there is evidence of pastoral
populations in the Deccan and furthersouth. New modes of disposal of the dead,including the making of elaborate stonestructures known as megaliths, emerged incentral and south India from the first
millennium BCE . In many cases, the deadwere buried with a rich range of iron toolsand weapons.
From c. sixth century B C E , there isevidence that there were other trends as well. Perhaps
the most visible was the emergence of early states, empiresand kingdoms. Underlying these political processes wereother changes, evident in the ways in which agriculturalproduction was organised. Simultaneously, new townsappeared almost throughout the subcontinent.
Historians attempt to understand these developmentsby drawing on a range of sources inscriptions, texts,coins and visual material. As we will see, this is a complex
process. You will also notice that these sources do nottell the entire story.
Kings, Far mer s and TownsE a rE a rE a rE a rE a r lllll y Sy Sy Sy Sy S ttttt atatatatat e s a n d E c o n o m i e ses a n d E c o n o miese s a n d E c o n o m i e ses a n d E c o n o miese s a n d E c o n o m i e s
((((( c .c .c .c .c . 6 0 06 0 06 0 06 0 06 0 0 B C EB C EB C EB C EB C E -6 0 06 0 06 0 06 0 06 0 0 C EC EC EC EC E )))))
E p i g r a p h y is the study of
inscriptions.
1. Pr insep and PiyadassiSome of the most momentous developments in Indianepigraphy took place in the 1830s. This was when
J ames Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East
India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi,two scripts used in the earliest inscriptions andcoins. He found that most of these mentioned a kingreferred to as Piyadassi meaning pleasant tobehold; there were a few inscriptions which also
THEME
TWO
Fig. 2.1
An ins cr ip t ion, Sanchi
(Mad hy a Prad esh),
c. second century BCE
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29
referred to the king as Asoka, one of the most famousrulers known from Buddhist texts.
This gave a new direction to investigations into
early Indian political history as European andIndian scholars used inscriptions and textscomposed in a variety of languages to reconstructthe lineages of major dynasties that had ruled thesubcontinent. As a result, the broad contours of
political history were in place by the early decadesof the twentieth century.
Subsequently, scholars began to shift their focusto the con tex t of political history, investigating
whether there were connections between politicalchanges and economic and social developments. Itwas soon realised that while there were links, thesewere not always simple or direct.
2. The Ear l iest States
2.1 The sixteen m a h a j a n a p a d a s The sixth century BCEis often regarded as a majorturning point in early Indian history. It is an eraassociated with early states, cities, the growing
use of iron, the development of coinage, etc. Italso witnessed the growth of diverse systems ofthought, including Buddhism and J ainism. EarlyBu ddhist and J aina texts (see also Chapter 4)mention, amongst other things, sixteen states
known as maha j a n apada s . Although the lists vary,some names such as Vajji, Magadha, Koshala,Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti occurfrequently. Clearly, these were amongst the mostimportant maha j a n apada s .
While most maha janapadaswere ruled by kings,some, known as ganas or sanghas, were oligarchies
(p. 30), where power was shared by a number ofmen, often collectively called r a j a s. Both Mahaviraand the Buddha (Chapter 4) belonged to suchganas .
In some instances, as in the case of the Vajji sangha,the ra jas probably controlled resources such as landcollectively. Although their histories are often difficultto reconstruct due to the lack of sources, some ofthese states lasted for nearly a thousand years.
Each maha janapada had a capital city, which wasoften fortified. Maintaining these fortified cities aswell as providing for incipient armies and
bureaucracies required resources. From c. sixth
InscriptionsI nscript ions are writ ings
engraved on hard surfaces
such as stone, metal or
pottery. T hey usually record
the achievements, activities
or ideas of those who
commissioned them and
include the exploits of kings,
or donati ons made by
women and men to religious
institutions. Inscriptions arevirtually permanent records,
some of which carry dates.
O thers are dated on the
basi s of palaeography or
styles of writing, with a fair
amount of precisio n. F or
in stance, in c. 250 B C E
the letter a was wri tten like
this: . By c. 500 C E, it was
wri tten lik e this: .
T he earliest inscripti ons
were in Prakrit, a name for
languages used by ordinary
people. N ames of rulers such
as A ja tasattu and A sok a,
known from Prak ri t texts and
inscriptions, have been spelt in
their Prak ri t form s in this
chapter. Y ou wi ll also find
terms in languages such as Pali ,
Tam il and Sanskri t , which
too were used to write
inscriptions and texts. It is
possible that people spoke in
other languages as well, even
though these were not used
for writing.
J a n a p a d a means the land
where aja na(a people, clan ortribe) sets its foot or settles. It
is a word used in both Prakrit
and Sanskrit.
KINGS, FARMERSANDTOWNS
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY30
Map 1
Ear ly s ta tes and the ir cap i ta ls
Arab ian Sea
Bay of Bengal
KAMBOJA
GANDHARA
Pushkalavati
Taxila
SHURASENA
Mathura
MATSYA
IndraprasthaAhichchhatra
KURUPANCHALA
Kaushambi
CHEDI
AVANTI
Ujjayini
ASHMAKA
VATSA
Shravasti
VANGA
Champa
ANGA
Rajgir
MAGADHA
Vaishali
VAJJI (VRIJJI)
Kusinagara
MALLA
Varanasi
KASHI
KOSHALA
Sketch ma p not to sca le
century BCE onwards, Brahmanasbegan composingSanskrit texts known as the Dharmasutras. Theselaid down norms for rulers (as well as for other
social categories), who were ideally expected to beKshatriyas(see also Chapter 3). Rulers were advisedto collect taxes and tribute from cultivators, tradersand artisans. Were resources also procuredfrom pastoralists and forest peoples? We do not
really know. What we do know is that raids onneighbouring states were recognised as a legitimatemeans of acquiring wealth. Gradually, some statesacquired standing armies and maintained regularbureaucracies. Others continued to depend on
militia, recruited, more often than not, from thepeasantry.
Ol igarchy refers to a form of
government where power isexercised by a group of men.
The Roman Republic, about
which you read last year, wasan oligarchy in spite of its name.
Which were the areas
where states and cities were
most densely clustered?
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31
2.2 First amongst the sixteen: MagadhaBetween the sixth and the fourth centuries BCE ,Magadha (in present-day Bihar) became the most
powerful maha janapada. Modern historians explainthis development in a variety of ways: Magadha wasa region where agriculture was especially productive.Besides, iron mines (in present-day J harkhand) wereaccessible and provided resources for tools and
weapons. Elephants, an important component of thearmy, were found in forests in the region. Also, theGanga and its tributaries provided a means of cheapand convenient communication. However, early
Bu ddhist and J aina writers who wrote aboutMagadha attributed its power to the policies ofindividuals: ruthlessly ambitious kings of whomBimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadma Nanda arethe best known, and their ministers, who helpedimplement their policies.
Initially, Rajagaha (the Prakrit name for present-day Rajgir in Bihar) was the capital of Magadha.Interestingly, the old name means house of theking. Rajagaha was a fortified settlement, locatedamongst hills. Later, in the fourth century BCE, the
capital was shifted to Pataliputra, present-dayPatna, commanding routes of communication alongthe Ganga.
Discuss...What are the differentexplanations offered by early
writers and present-dayhistorians for the growth ofMagadhan power?
KINGS, FARMERSANDTOWNS
Fig. 2.2
Fort i f ica t ion w al ls at Rajg i r
Why were these walls built?
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THEMESININDIANHISTORY32
3. An Ear l y Empir eThe growth of Magadha culminated in the emergenceof the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta Maurya, whofounded the empire (c. 321 BCE), extended control as
far northwest as Afghanistan and Baluchistan, andhis grandson Asoka, arguably the most famous rulerof early India, conquered Kalinga (present-daycoastal Orissa).
3.1 Finding out about the MauryasHistorians have used a variety of sources toreconstruct the history of the Mauryan Empire.
These include archaeological fi nds , especial lysculpture. Also valuable are contemporary works,such as the account of Megasthenes (a Greekambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya),which survives in fragments. Another source that
is often used is the Ar t hashas t r a , parts of whichwere probably composed by Kautilya or Chanakya,traditionally believed to be the minister ofChandragupta. Besides, the Mauryas are mentionedin later Buddhist, J aina and Puranic literature, as
well as in Sanskrit literary works. While these are
useful, the inscriptions of Asoka (c. 272/ 268-231BCE ) on rocks an