POST-MAURYAN PERIOD
(20BC - 300AD)
ECONOMY AND SOCIETY
In the post-Mauryan
era (200 BC. To 300 A.D.) the economy moved at an accelerated tempo. Society
witnessed structural reorientation as significant groups of foreigners
penetrated into India and chose to be identified with the rest of the
community.
The occupation of
craftsmen was an important segement of the day's socio-economic milieu. The
craftsment were not only associated with the towns but also villages like
Karimnagar in the Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh. The categories of
craftsmen who were known in this period bear out the truth that there was
considerable specialization in mining and metallurgy. A large number of iron
artifacts have been discovered at various excavated sites relating to the
Kushan and Satavahans Periods. It is surprising to notice that the Telengana
region appears to have made special progress in iron artifacts - not only
weapons but also balance rods, sickles, ploughshares, razors and ladels have
been found in the Karimnagar and Nalgonda districts. Also, cutlery made out of
iron and steel was exported to the Abyssinian ports.
Equally significant
was the progress made in cloth-making and silk-weaving. Dyeing was a craft of
repute in some south Indian towns like Uraiyur, a shurb of Tiruchirapalli, and
Arikamedu. The use of oil was also high because of the invention of oil wheel.
The inscriptions of the day mention weavers, goldsmiths, dyers, workers in
metal and ivory, jewelers, sculptors, fishermen, perfumers and smiths as the
donors of caves, pillars, tablets, cisterns etc. Among the luxury items the
important ones were ivory and glass articles and beed cutting. At the beginning
of the coristian era the knowledge of glass-blowing reached India and attained
its peak. Coin minting also reached a high level of excellence made out of
gold, silver, copper, bronze, lead and potin. A coint mould of the Satavahans
period shows that through it half a dozen coins could be turned out a time.
In urban handicrafts
the pride of place goes to the beautiful pieces of terracotta produced in
profuse quantities. They have been found in most of the sites belonging to the
Kushan and Satavahans periods. In particular, terracotta figures of great
beauty have been found in the Nalgonda district of Telengana. The terracotta
figures were mostly meant for the use of upper classes in towns.
This immense
manufacturing activity was maintained by guilds. At least to dozen kinds of
guilds were there. Most of the artisans known from inscriptions hailed from the
Mathura region and the western Deccan which lay on the trade routes leading to
the ports on the western coast.
The guilds, coming
from the days of the Mauryan period, became a more important factor in the
urban life both in being instrumental to increase in production and moulding
public opinion. The primary guilds of the day were those of the potters, metal
workers and carpenters. Some guilds organized their own distribution system
while owning a large number of boats to transport goods from various ports on
the Ganges.
The guilds of the day
fixed their own rules of work and the standards of the finished products. They
exercised care regarding price also to safeguard the interest of both the
artisan and the customer. They controlled the price of the manufactured
articles. He conduct of the guild members was regulated through a guild court.
The customary uses of the guilds had the same force as those of laws.
The extensive activity
of the guilds can be known from their seals and emblems. The banners and insignia
of each guild were carried in procession of festive occasions. These prosperous
guilds in addition, donated large sums of money to religious institutions and
charitable causes.
Since the activity of
the guilds was so buoyant, it appears that they attracted the attention of
kings too. It is said that kings had financial interests in guilds. Royalty
invested its money in commercial activities. This naturally led to protection
being provided by State to the guilds. Regarding the activities of guilds, it appears
from inscriptions that they acted asbankers, financiers and trustees although
these activities were carried out by a separate class of people known as
sresthins. Usury was a part of banking and the general rate of interest was
around 15% loans extended to sea-trade carried higher interest rate. An
authority of the day states that the rate of interest should vary according to
the caste of the man to whom money is lent.
Interestingly, apart
from the guilds, there were workers bodies also. The workers co-operative
included artisans and various crafts associated with a particular enterprise.
The classic example of this activity was the co-operative of builders, which
has its members drawn from specialized workers such as architects. Engineers,
bricklayers etc.
The immense commercial
activity was bolstered by the thriving trade between India and the Easter Roman
Empire. With the movement of Central Asian people like Sakas, Parthians and
Kushans, trade came to be carried across the sea. Among the ports, the
important ones were Broach and Sopara on the western coast, and Arikamedu and
Tamralipti on the eastern coast. Out of these ports Broach was the most
important as not only goods were exported from here but a also goods were
received. Across land, the converging point of trade routes was Taxila, which
was connected with the Silk Route passing through Central Asia. Ujjain was the
meeting point of good number of trade routes.
The trade between
India and Rome mostly consisted of luxury goods. To begin with Rome got her
imports from the southern most portions of the country. The Roman imports were
Muslims, pearls, jewels and precious stones from Central and South India. Iron
articles formed an important item of export to the Roman Empire. For certain
articles India became the clearing house, as for example, silk from China
because of impediments posed by the Parthian rule in Iran and the neighboring
areas.
The Romans, in return,
exported to India various types of potters found in excavations at places like
Tamluk in West Bengal, Arikamedu nevar Pondicherry and a few other places.
Probably lead was important from Rome. It is also presumed that the Kushans had
brisk trade with the Romans as they conquered Mesopotamia in 115 A.D. At a
place close to Kabul, glass jars made in Italy, Egypt and Syria have come to
light, apart from small bronze statues of Greko-Roman style, And the most
significant Roman export to India was the gold and silver coins - nearly 85
finds of Roman coins have been found. There is nothing surprising in the
lamentation of the Roman writer Pliny in the 1st century A.D. that Roman was
being drained of gold on account of trade with India.
Indian kingdoms sent
embassies to Rome the best known being the one sent about 25 B.C. Which
included strange collection of men and animals-tigers, snakes, tortoises a monk
and an armless boy who could shoot arrows with his toes. This mission reached
Rome during the days of Emperor Augustus in 21 B.C.
In the southern
kingdoms maritime trade occupied the pride of place. The literature of the day
refers to harbours, docks, light houses and custom offices. Large variety of
ships were built, both for short distance as well as long distance voyages.
According to pliny the largest Indian ship was 75 tons. Other sources mention
higher figures.
In the self-same
period there was a boom in trade with south-East Asia. This was first
occasioned by the Roman demand for spices. Gradually this trade grew in
dimensions.
The growing number of
strangers in the port towns and trade centers led to their absorbing Indian
habits as their numbers grew, social laws of the day became rigid as to be seen
from the law code of Manu. Further as conversions to Hinduism was technically
impossible the non-Indian groups gradually grew into separate sub-castes. After
all the conversion of a single individual was a problem but the device of caste
made such absorption easier. Moreover the foreigners found it easier to become
Buddhists instead of Aryans. Faced one theoretical knowledge confined to brahmins
and the other practical and technical knowledge which became the preserve of
the professionals.
It was during this
period Dharmashastras came to be written. These Shastras made the social
structure to be rigid. Apart from these writings poetry and drama were also
popular. The outstanding poem in Tamil was Shilappadigaram. Another poem in
Tamil was Manimegalai. In Sanskrit, Asvaghosa and Bhasa were the two great
dramatists. The manuscripts of Asvaghosa were found in a monastry in Turdan in
Central Asia. Both of his plays deal with Buddhist themes. Bhasa appeared a
couple of centuries later. His plays are based on the incident from the spics
or historical romances around the exploits of king udayan in Avanti.
In the field of
plastic art. Great were the achievement of this period like the stupas at
Sanchi and Bar hut the caves at Karlellora and Ajanta. At Amravati the great
age of painting began. Also the sculptures at Amravati show a mastery of stone
sculpture and with the mathura school of sculpture the Indian tradition of
sculpture began.
The booming trade and
commerce of the period was at the base of the urban settlements that came into
existence. The important towns of northern India were Vaishali, Pataliputra,
Varanasi, Kausambi, Sravasti, Hastinapur, Mathura and Indraprastha. Most of the
towns flourished in the Kushan period as revealed by excavations. The
excavations at Sonkh in Mathura show as many as seven levels of the Kushan are
but only one of the Gupta period. Again in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Ropar also
several sites show good Kushan structures. The Satayahans kingdown also
witnessed thriving towns like Tagar, Paithan, Dhanyakataka, Amravati,
Nagarjunakonda, Broach, Sopara, Arikamedu and Kaveripattanam.
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