CHAPTER 11

NEW EMPIRES AND KINGDOMS

Arvind plays a king

Arvind had been chosen to act as a king in the school

d
play. He had expected to march solemnly in splendid
robes, to twirl his moustaches and wield the silver-paper

e
wrapped sword with gusto. Imagine his surprise when

h
he was told he would also have to sit and play a veena,
and recite poetry! A musician-king? Who was that? he

T s
wondered.

R li
Prashastis and what they tell us

E b
Arvind was supposed to be acting as

u
Samudragupta, a famous ruler of a dynasty

C p
known as the Guptas. We know about
Samudragupta from a long inscription, actually

N e
a poem in Sanskrit, composed by his court poet,

r
Harishena nearly1700 years ago. This was

© e
inscribed on the Ashokan pillar at Allahabad.
This inscription is of a special kind known as

b
a prashasti, a Sanskrit word, meaning ‘in praise
of’. While prashastis were composed for some of

o
the rulers you read about in Chapter 10, such as

t
Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni, they became far
more important from the time of the Guptas.

o t
Samudragupta’s prashasti
Let us see what Samudragupta’s prashasti tells

n
us. The poet praised the king in glowing terms —
as a warrior, as a king who won victories in battle,
who was learned and the best of poets. He is also
described as equal to the gods. The prashasti was
composed in very long sentences. Here is part of
one such sentence: 111 „
NEW EMPIRES AND
KINGDOMS
 Samudragupta the warrior
Whose body was most charming, being covered with
the plenteous beauty of the marks of hundreds of
scars caused by battle-axes, arrows, spikes, spears,
barbed darts, swords, iron clubs, javelins, barbed
arrows, long arrows and many other weapons.
What does this description tell you about the

d
king? And also about how kings fought wars?

e
If you look at Map 7 (page113), you will notice

h
an area shaded in green. You will also find a series

s
of red dots along the east coast. And you will find

T i
areas marked in purple and blue as well.

R l
This map is based on the information provided

b
in the prashasti. Harishena describes four

E
different kinds of rulers, and tells us about

u
Samudragupta’s policies towards them.

C p
1. The rulers of Aryavarta, the area shaded in green on

N e
the map. Here there were nine rulers who were

r
uprooted, and their kingdoms were made a part of

© e
Samudragupta’s empire.
2. The rulers of Dakshinapatha. Here there were twelve
rulers, some of whose capitals are marked with red

b
dots on the map. They surrendered to
The king who played the Samudragupta after being defeated and he then

o
veena. allowed them to rule again.

t
Some other qualities of
3. The inner circle of neighbouring states, including
Samudragupta are shown
Assam, coastal Bengal, Nepal, and a number of

t
on coins such as this one,
gana sanghas (remember Chapter 6) in the north-
where he is shown

o
west, marked in purple on the map. They brought
playing the veena.
tribute, followed his orders, and attended his court.

n
4. The rulers of the outlying areas, marked in blue on
the map, perhaps the descendants of the Kushanas
and Shakas, and the ruler of Sri Lanka, who
submitted to him and offered daughters in
marriage.

„ 112
OUR PASTS–I
 Find Prayaga (the old name for Allahabad),
Ujjain and Pataliputra (Patna) on the map. These
were important centres of the Gupta rulers.
What was the difference between the way in
which Samudragupta treated the rulers of
Aryavarta and Dakshinapatha?
Can you suggest any reasons for this difference?

e d MAP : 7

h
Showing Important Cities and
Kingdoms

T lis
E R b
C p u
N r e
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b
t o
o t
n
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NEW EMPIRES AND
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 Genealogies
Most prashastis also mention the ancestors of the
ruler. This one mentions Samudragupta’s great
grandfather, grandfather, father and mother. His
mother, Kumara devi, belonged to the Lichchhavi
gana, while his father, Chandragupta, was the
first ruler of the Gupta dynasty to adopt the grand

d
title of maharaj-adhiraja, a title that

e
Samudragupta also used. His great grandfather
and grandfather are mentioned simply as maha-

h
rajas. It seems as if the family gradually rose to

T s
importance.

li
Arrange these titles in order of importance: raja,

R
maharaj-adhiraja, maha-raja.

b
Samudragupta in turn figures in the genealogies

E u
(lists of ancestors) of later rulers of the dynasty,

C
such as his son, Chandragupta II. We know about

p
him from inscriptions and coins. He led an

N e
expedition to western India, where he overcame

r
the last of the Shakas. According to later belief,

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his court was full of learned people, including
Kalidasa the poet, and Aryabhata the astronomer,
about whom you will read more in Chapter 12.

b Harshavardhana and the Harshacharita

t o
While we can learn about the Gupta rulers from their
inscriptions and coins, we can find out about some

t
kings from biographies. Harshavardhana, who ruled

o
nearly 1400 years ago, was one such ruler. His court
poet, Banabhatta, wrote his biography, the

n
Harshacharita, in Sanskrit. This gives us the
genealogy of Harsha, and ends with his becoming
king. Xuan Zang, about whom you read in Chapter
10, also spent a lot of time at Harsha’s court and left
a detailed account of what he saw.
Harsha was not the eldest son of his father,
„ 114 but became king of Thanesar after both his father
OUR PASTS–I and elder brother died. His brother-in-law was
the ruler of Kanauj (see Map 7) and he was killed
by the ruler of Bengal. Harsha took over the
kingdom of Kanauj, and then led an army against
the ruler of Bengal.
Although he was successful in the east, and
conquered both Magadha and Bengal, he was not
as successful elsewhere. He tried to cross the

d
Narmada to march into the Deccan, but was

e
stopped by a ruler belonging to the Chalukya
dynasty, Pulakeshin II.

h
Look at Map 8 (page136) and list the present-

s
day states which Harshavardhana passed

T i
through when he went (a) to Bengal and (b) up to

R l
the Narmada.

E b
The Pallavas, Chalukyas and Pulakeshin’s

u
prashasti

C p
The Pallavas and Chalukyas were the most

N e
important ruling dynasties in south India during

r
this period. The kingdom of the Pallavas spread

© e
from the region around their capital, Kanchipuram,
to the Kaveri delta, while that of the Chalukyas
was centred around the Raichur Doab, between

b
the rivers Krishna and Tungabhadra.
Aihole, the capital of the Chalukyas, was an

o
important trading centre (see Map 7). It developed

t
as a religious centre, with a number of temples.

t
The Pallavas and Chalukyas frequently raided one
another’s lands, especially attacking the capital

o
cities, which were prosperous towns.

n
The best-known Chalukya ruler was Pulakeshin
II. We know about him from a prashasti, composed
by his court poet Ravikirti. This tells us about his
ancestors, who are traced back through four
generations from father to son. Pulakeshin
evidently got the kingdom from his uncle.
According to Ravikirti, he led expeditions along 115 „
both the west and the east coasts. Besides, he NEW EMPIRES AND
KINGDOMS
 checked the advance of Harsha. There is an
interesting play of words in the poem. Harsha
means happiness. The poet says that after this
defeat, Harsha was no longer Harsha! Pulakeshin
also attacked the Pallava king, who took shelter
behind the walls of Kanchipuram.
But the Chalukya victory was short-lived.

d
Ultimately, both the Pallavas and the Chalukyas

e
gave way to new rulers belonging to the
Rashtrakuta and Chola dynasties, about which

h
you will study in Class VII.

s
Who were the other rulers who tried to control

T i
the coasts and why? (Hint: see Chapter 10).

R l
How were these kingdoms administered?

b
E
As in the case of earlier kings, land revenue

u
remained important for these rulers, and the

C p
village remained the basic unit of administration.
There were some new developments as well.

N e
Kings adopted a number of steps to win the

© e r
support of men who were powerful, either
economically, or socially, or because of their
political and military strength. For instance:

b
• Some important administrative posts were now
hereditary. This means that sons succeeded fathers

o
to these posts. For example, the poet Harishena was

t
a maha-danda-nayaka, or chief judicial officer, like
his father.

t
• Sometimes, one person held many offices. For

o
instance, besides being a maha-danda-nayaka,
Harishena was a kumar-amatya, meaning an

n
important minister, and a sandhi-vigrahika,
meaning a minister of war and peace.
• Besides, important men probably had a say in local
administration. These included the nagara-
shreshthi or chief banker or merchant of the city,
the sarthavaha or leader of the merchant caravans,
the prathama-kulika or the chief craftsman, and the
„ 116 head of the kayasthas or scribes.
OUR PASTS–I
 These policies were reasonably effective, but
sooner or later, some of these powerful men grew
strong enough to set up independent kingdoms.
What do you think may have been the
advantages and disadvantages of having
hereditary officers?

d
A new kind of army

e
Like earlier rulers, some of these kings maintained
a well-organised army, with elephants, chariots,

h
cavalry and foot soldiers. Besides, there were

T s
military leaders who provided the king with troops

li
whenever he needed them. They were not paid

R
regular salaries. Instead, some of them received

b
grants of land. They collected revenue from the

E
land and used this to maintain soldiers and

u
horses, and provide equipment for warfare. These

C p
men were known as samantas. Whenever the

N e
ruler was weak, samantas tried to become

r
independent.

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Assemblies in the southern kingdoms
The inscriptions of the Pallavas mention a number

b
of local assemblies. These included the sabha,
which was an assembly of brahmin land owners.

o
This assembly functioned through sub-

t
committees, which looked after irrigation,

t
agricultural operations, making roads, local
temples, etc.

o
The ur was a village assembly found in areas

n
where the land owners were not brahmins. And
the nagaram was an organisation of merchants.
It is likely that these assemblies were controlled
by rich and powerful landowners and merchants.
Many of these local assemblies continued to
function for centuries.
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NEW EMPIRES AND
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 Ordinary people in the kingdoms
We can catch an occasional glimpse of the lives
of ordinary people from plays, and other accounts.
Let us look at some of these.
Kalidasa is known for his plays depicting life in
the king’s court. An interesting feature about these
plays is that the king and most brahmins are shown

d
as speaking Sanskrit, while women and men other

e
than the king and brahmins use Prakrit. His most
famous play, Abhijnana Shakuntalam, is the story

h
of the love between a king named Dushyanta and

T s
a young woman named Shakuntala. We find an

li
interesting description of the plight of a poor

R
fisherman in this play.

E u b A fisherman finds a ring

C p
A fisherman found a precious ring, which the king

N e
had given to Shakuntala, but which had been

r
accidentally swallowed by a fish. When he went to

© e
the palace with it, the gatemen accused him of theft,
and the chief police officer was rather rude. However,
the king was happy when he saw the ring and sent

b
a reward for the fisherman. Then, the police officer
and the gatemen decided to take a share of the
reward, and went along with the fisherman to have

o
a drink.

t
Do you think that if a poor man finds something
and reports this to the police he would be treated

t
like this today?

o
Name a famous man who taught in Prakrit and
a king who issued inscriptions in Prakrit (hint: see

n
Chapters 7 and 8)

„ 118
OUR PASTS–I
 The Chinese pilgrim Fa Xian noticed the plight
of those who were treated as untouchables by
the high and mighty. They were expected to live
on the outskirts of the city. He writes: “If such a
man enters a town or a market place, he strikes a
piece of wood, in order to keep himself separate;
people, hearing this sound, know what it means

d
and avoid touching him or brushing against him.”

e
And Banabhatta provides us with a vivid
picture of the king’s army on the move:

T s h
i
The king’s army

R l
The king travelled with an enormous amount of

b
equipment. Apart from weapons, there were things

E
of daily use such as pots, pans, furniture, golden

u
footstools, food, including animals such as goat,

C
deer, rabbits, vegetables, spices, carried on carts or

p
loaded on to pack animals such as camels and

N e
elephants. This huge army was accompanied by

r
musicians beating drums, and others playing horns

© e
and trumpets.
Villagers had to provide hospitality along the way.
They came with gifts of curds, gur and flowers, and

b
provided fodder for the animals. They also tried to
meet the king, and place their complaints and

o
petitions before him.

t
The army left a trail of destruction behind.
Elephants often trampled down the huts of villagers,

t
and the oxen yoked to the caravans of merchants
ran away, scared by the tumult.

o
As Banabhatta says: “The whole world was
swallowed up in dust.”

n
Make a list of all the things that were carried with
the army.
What did the villagers bring for the king?

119 „
NEW EMPIRES AND
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 Elsewhere
Find Arabia on Map 6 (pages 84-85). Although it is a desert, it was at
the hub of communications for centuries. In fact, Arab merchants and
sailors played an important role in the sea trade between India and
Europe (see page 100). Others who lived in Arabia were the Bedouins,
pastoral tribes depending mainly on like hardy animals camels, that
could survive in the desert.

d
Around 1400 years ago, Prophet Muhammad introduced a new

e
religion, Islam, in Arabia. Like Christianity, Islam was a religion that
laid stress on the equality and unity of all before Allah, the one supreme

h
god. Here is a verse from the Quran, the sacred book of Islam:

s
“For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for

T i
devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women

l
who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble

R
themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women

b
who fast, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men

E u
and women who engage much in Allah’s remembrance, for them has
Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward.”

C p
Within a hundred years Islam spread to north Africa, Spain, Iran and

e
India. Arab sailors, who were already familiar with the coastal settlements

N
of the subcontinent, now brought the new religion with them. Arabs soldiers

r
conquered Sind (in present-day Pakistan) about 1300 years ago.

© e
Trace the routes that would have been taken by these sailors and
soldiers on Map 6.

b Imagine

t o
Harshavardhana’s army will visit your village next week.
Your parents are preparing for the visit. Describe what

t
they say and do.

o
Let’s recall

n 1. State whether true or false:

(a) Harishena composed a prashasti in praise of

Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni.
(b) The rulers of Aryavarta brought tribute for
Samudragupta.
„ 120
OUR PASTS–I
(c) There were twelve rulers in Dakshinapatha.
 (d) Taxila and Madurai were important centres
under the control of the Gupta rulers. KEYWORDS
(e) Aihole was the capital of the Pallavas. prashasti
(f) Local assemblies functioned for several centuries Aryavarta
in south India. Dakshinapatha
genealogy
2. Mention three authors who wrote about
hereditary officer
Harshavardhana.

d
samanta

e
3. What changes do you find in the army at this time? assembly
nagaram

h
4. What were the new administrative arrangements

s
during this period?

R T li
b
Let’s discuss

5.

E u
What do you think Arvind would have to do if he was

C p
acting as Samudragupta?

N e
6. Do you think ordinary people would have read and

r
SOME IMPORTANT
understood the prashastis? Give reasons for your

© e
answer. DATES
X Beginning of the

b
Gupta dynasty (about
Let’s do 1700 years ago)

o
X The rule of
7. If you had to make a genealogy for yourself, who are

t
Harshavardhana
the people you would include in it? How many (about 1400 years
generations would you like to show? Make a chart

t
ago)
and fill it.

o
8. How do you think wars affect the lives of ordinary

n
people today?

121 „
NEW EMPIRES AND
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