Understanding Literary and Archaeological Sources

Understanding Literary and Archaeological Sources

Chapter – 1

Harshit Sharma

Political Science (BHU)

Contact

In 1148 CE, Kalhana, a Kashmiri Brahmana from a well-connected family, began writing the “Rajatarangini” (River of Kings).
The book provided a connected account of Kashmiri kings from legend to the 12th century, making Kalhana often considered India’s first historian.
Kalhana emphasized recounting the past like a judge without bias, but his work sometimes blurred fact and legend, citing fate for explanations.
Historical understanding is complex, and there can never be a single, final, perfect history; the historian’s task is to get as close as possible to the past’s picture.
Historical analysis involves examining sources, searching for new evidence, interpreting data creatively, asking new questions, and encouraging debate and disagreement.
Historians use two main categories of sources: literary (texts, written or oral) and archaeological (material remains). Some archaeological sources with inscriptions are both material objects and texts.
The chapter provides an overview of these sources, their general characteristics, and important considerations when using them to reconstruct history.

Reading Ancient Texts from a Historical Point of View

Ancient literary works are connected to their historical contexts but offer complex and refracted representations rather than direct reflections of society.
Understanding historical information in texts requires careful analysis, considering their age, authorship, and potential changes over time.
Texts may have multiple authors, and it’s important to identify their backgrounds and perspectives, including class, religion, and gender biases.
Considerations for analyzing texts include their place of composition, circulation, target audience, and relation to social, political, and cultural contexts.
Interpreting texts within their genre and literary conventions is essential; myths in texts should not be confused with historical facts.
Ancient and early medieval Indian texts are categorized based on language, genre, content, age, and literary tradition.
Linguists divide languages into families, with Indo-European, Dravidian, Austro-Asiatic, and Tibeto-Burmese families represented in the Indian subcontinent.
The oldest surviving Indian texts, such as the Vedas, are in Sanskrit, which belongs to the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European languages.
Languages change over time, and grammatical texts like Panini’s Ashtadhyayi and Patanjali’s Mahabhashya document the evolution of Sanskrit and Prakrit.
Ancient Indian texts can be categorized as religious and non-religious, but the distinction is not as clear-cut as in modern times, with dharma or dhamma encompassing various aspects of life.
Interweaving of religious and secular themes is common in ancient texts, and they can be used as historical sources.
Major literary sources for the history of ancient and early medieval India are discussed, with a focus on their range and their usefulness as historical sources.

THE VEDAS

In Hindu tradition, the Vedas are considered shruti, embodying eternal truths realized by seers in meditation or revealed by gods.
Smriti texts, including Vedanga, Puranas, epics, Dharmashastra, and Nitishastra, are considered remembered texts.
The word Veda means ‘knowledge,’ and there are four Vedas: Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva, each with four parts.
The Rig Veda contains the world’s oldest surviving poetry and philosophical depth.
Vedas were recited orally and passed on for generations before being written down.
Brahmanas provide explanations of sacrificial rituals, and Aranyakas interpret rituals symbolically and philosophically.
Upanishads explore philosophical ideas about atman and brahman and are closely associated with the Vedic corpus.
Different recensions of the Vedas exist, associated with various schools of Vedic study and interpretation.
Vedic texts are primarily religious, with few references to historical events, making it challenging to interpret as a source of history.
The dating of the Rig Veda is a major problem, with suggested dates ranging from c. 6000 BCE to 1000 BCE.
Vedic literature is an important part of the Brahmanical tradition, reflecting religious beliefs and practices.
Vedanga texts aim to assist in the proper recitation, use, and understanding of the Vedas, including phonetics, meter, grammar, etymology, ritual, and astronomy, and were composed between c. 600-200 BCE.

THE TWO SANSKRIT EPICS: THE RAMAYANA AND MAHABHARATA

The Mahabharata and Ramayana are categorized as smriti and itihasa (traditional history) in Sanskrit literature.
The Mahabharata is traditionally dated between c. 400 BCE and c. 400 CE but more recently suggested to be from the mid-2nd century BCE to the year zero.
The Ramayana’s composition is placed between the 5th/4th century BCE and the 3rd century CE.
Both epics reference each other, indicating awareness during their development.
The Mahabharata is an encyclopedic work consisting of 18 Parvas with a core story of a conflict between the Kauravas and Pandavas and a great war at Kurukshetra.
The Ramayana exists in two main recensions with the northern recension having further subdivisions.
The core of the Ramayana is traditionally attributed to Valmiki and focuses on Rama’s story, his exile, Sita’s abduction, and his return to Ayodhya.
Archaeological evidence does not confirm the historical basis of events or characters in the Ramayana.
The Rama story has numerous tellings and adaptations in various cultures and regions, both within India and in other parts of Asia.
The Ramayana has various tellings with different beginnings, endings, character portrayals, and events.
For instance, in the Jaina version, Paumachariu, Ravana is depicted as a tragic hero killed by Lakshmana, not Rama.
The Ramayana has been expressed through diverse art forms, including sculpture, painting, plays, dance dramas, and television serials.
Scholars approach the epics’ historical interpretation by debating events’ historicity, analyzing their cultural layers, or considering them as responses to specific historical contexts.
James L. Fitzgerald suggests that the Mahabharata was a Brahmanical response to historical developments such as the rise of Buddhism, Jainism, and supportive dynasties like the Nandas and Mauryas, perceived as threats to the Brahmanical order.

Archaeology and the Mahabharata

Archaeological explorations at Mahabharata-related sites revealed Painted Grey Ware (PGW) pottery dating back to c. 1000 BCE.
PGW indicates that these sites were inhabited around this time, suggesting a pastoral-cum-agricultural lifestyle.
Matsya and Vayu Puranas mention a flood in the Ganga during the reign of King Nichakshu, leading to Hastinapura’s abandonment.
Hastinapura’s excavation found evidence of a Ganga flood, but it’s uncertain if it’s the same as mentioned in the Puranas.
Local traditions identify Purana Qila in New Delhi as the site of Indraprastha, the Pandavas’ capital.
Various historical accounts and inscriptions mention Indraprastha in the Delhi region.
Excavations at Purana Qila revealed archaeological layers from the 4th century BCE to the 19th century CE, including PGW pottery.
Archaeology can provide insights into general material culture patterns but cannot confirm the historicity of specific epic events or characters.
A qualitative difference exists between literary and archaeological evidence. Archaeology informs about material culture patterns, while literature creates event-centered narratives.

The chronological layers in the Ramayana

J.L. Brockington’s analysis identifies five cultural and chronological stages in the development of the Ramayana.
Stage I (5th-4th centuries BCE): The Ramayana began as an oral composition with a focus on heroism. It had limited geographical horizons, simple material culture, and religious ideas closer to the Vedas.
Stage II (3rd century BCE-1st century CE): Aesthetic elements replaced heroism, and the story expanded geographically into the lower Ganga valley. Class stratification and the subordination of women became prominent. Kingship and religion gained significance.
Stage III (1st-3rd centuries CE): Urbanization spread, and the caste system was emphasized. Kings were presented as protectors of the social order. Vishnu and Shiva emerged as significant deities, and additional books were added to the epic.
Stage IV (4th-12th centuries): The religious and aesthetic emphasis grew, underscoring the dominance of Brahmanas and the subordination of Shudras and outcastes. Widows’ inauspiciousness and sati practices were highlighted. Vishnu and Shiva gained prominence as temple worship and pilgrimage became common.
Stage V (12th century onwards): Trends from stage IV continued to strengthen.
Brockington also notes changes in the characterization of Rama. In stage I, Rama was viewed as an exemplary human, but his divinity began to emerge in stage II. Stage III saw Rama’s victory over Ravana framed as a triumph of dharma over evil. Rama’s divinity, association with Vishnu, and depiction as an incarnation (avatara) of Vishnu became regular features in stages IV and V.
However, Pollock argues that the idea of Rama’s divinity pervaded the Ramayana from its inception.

THE PURANAS

The word ‘Purana’ means ‘old,’ and there are 18 Mahapuranas (great Puranas) and many Upapuranas (secondary Puranas).
The composition of the Puranas extended from the Vedic period into the 4th-5th centuries CE and beyond.
The Puranas are expected to cover five main topics: creation of the world, re-creation, periods of Manus, genealogies of gods and rishis, and accounts of royal dynasties.
Time in the Puranas is depicted in cycles, with four yugas (ages) making up a mahayuga and 1,000 mahayugas forming a kalpa.
The genealogies in the Puranas contain both mythical and historical material, with information on ancient political history and dynasties.
The Puranas offer insights into historical geography, reflecting the emergence of religious cults centered around deities like Vishnu, Shiva, and Shakti, along with their associated practices like temple worship, pilgrimage, and vows.
They also depict interactions among different cultural traditions and the development of Hindu religious practices, serving as vehicles for Brahmanical social and religious values.

THE DHARMASHASTRA

The term ‘dharma’ derives from the root ‘dhri,’ meaning to maintain, support, or sustain. It is challenging to translate as it encompasses a broad range of meanings.
Dharma is based on the concept that the moral laws governing human conduct should align with the natural laws of the universe.
Dharma encompasses the proper conduct of individuals in society, guiding them toward the fulfillment of life’s goals (purusharthas), which include dharma (righteousness), artha (material well-being), kama (sensual pleasure), and moksha (liberation).
Material gain and sensual pleasure are considered desirable goals when pursued in harmony with dharma.
Dharma is closely linked to the idea of samsara, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and the accumulation of spiritual merit (punya) across lifetimes.
Dharmashastra texts are a group of Sanskrit texts focused on dharma and can be categorized into Dharmasutras, Smritis, and commentaries.
These texts recognize three sources of dharma: shruti (the Vedas), smriti (the Smriti texts), and sadachara or shishtachara (good customs and practices).
An individual’s dharma is influenced by gender, age, marital status, varna (caste), and ashrama (stage of life).
The four varnas include Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra, with the first three considered ‘twice-born.’
The ashrama system divides the life of a dvija male into four stages: brahmacharya, grihastha, vanaprastha, and sannyasa.
Dharmashastra texts cover a wide range of topics, including personal, civil, and criminal law, offering normative and prescriptive guidelines.
These texts do not describe the society directly but can be used to make inferences about social practices, including variations, contradictions, and adaptations within Brahmanical tradition.

Theory and practice in the Dharmashastra

Dharmashastra texts reveal tension between theory and practice, as they divide society into varnas but also acknowledge the existence of numerous jatis (castes) formed from intervarna marriages (varna-samkara).
While emphasizing adherence to varna dharma, they permit individuals to follow duties of other varnas during emergencies or distress.
The texts recognize regional (desha-dharma), caste (jati-dharma), and family (kula-dharma) variations in dharma.
The Manu Smriti, generally dated to between c. 200 BCE and 200 CE, presents examples of these tensions: A. Disapproval of cross-cousin marriages in Manu Smriti, while later commentators like Madhava defend such marriages based on custom and Vedic references. B. Condemnation of marriages between dvija men and Shudra women in the text, yet it outlines inheritance shares for sons of such unions. C. The text opposes widow remarriage but prescribes waiting periods and inheritance rules for children born from a woman who remarries. D. Manu Smriti forbids meat-eating in one section but includes meat among items offered to Brahmanas in shraddha ceremonies, reflecting a pragmatic approach.
The authors of Dharmashastra texts aimed to regulate a wide range of social practices, explaining variations and contradictions in their opinions and prescriptions.

BUDDHIST LITERATURE

Early Buddhist literature is divided into canonical and non-canonical texts.
The Pali Tipitaka of the Theravada school is the oldest, containing three books: Sutta, Vinaya, and Abhidhamma.
Sutta Pitaka contains the Buddha’s discourses, Vinaya Pitaka has monastic rules, and Abhidhamma Pitaka systemizes teachings.
Three Pitakas are divided into books called Nikayas, with the Sutta Pitaka consisting of five Nikayas.
Non-canonical Pali literature includes Milindapanha (dialogue between King Milinda and monk Nagasena) and the Nettigandha.
Commentaries on the Tipitaka, including a 5th-century work by Buddhaghosha, exist.
Sanskrit and Prakrit texts also contribute to Buddhist literature, with the Sarvastivada school’s canon in Sanskrit.
Mahavastu, Lalitavistara, Dipavamsa, and Mahavamsa are Sanskrit and mixed Prakrit-Sanskrit texts that contain hagiographies, histories, and Buddhist teachings.
Sanskrit Buddhist texts include Ashvaghosha’s Buddhacharita (1st/2nd century) and Avadana texts.
Avadana texts contain stories of noteworthy deeds with a moral, such as Avadanashataka (2nd century) and Divyavadana (4th century).
The Ashtasahasrika-prajnaparamita (1st century) and Saddharma-pundarika provide accounts of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Mahayana doctrines.
Works of Mahayana thinkers like Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Asanga, Aryadeva, Buddhapalita, and Dignaga are in Sanskrit.
Buddhist texts are vital sources for Buddhism’s history, doctrines, monastic order, and royal patrons, notably Ashoka.
They offer insights into the polity, society, and economy of ancient India from a non-Brahmanical perspective.

JAINA LITERATURE

Jain sacred books are called Siddhanta or Agama.
The earliest texts are in Ardha-Magadhi, an eastern Prakrit dialect.
The Jain monastic order split into Shvetambara and Digambara schools around the 3rd century CE.
The Shvetambara canon comprises the 12 Angas, 12 Uvamgas, 10 Painnas, 6 Cheya Suttas, 4 Mula Suttas, and various individual texts.
The Digambara canon mainly consists of the Angas and some Angabahyas corresponding to Shvetambara texts.
Shvetambara tradition suggests a council in Pataliputra and a final compilation in Valabhi, Gujarat (5th-6th century CE).
Non-canonical Jain works are in Prakrit dialects and Sanskrit, which gained prominence in the early centuries CE.
Commentaries on canonical texts include Nijjuttis, Bhashyas, Churnis, Tikas, Vrittis, and Avachurnis in various languages.
Jaina Puranas, known as Charitas, are hagiographies of tirthankaras with additional content.
Jaina texts cover topics such as life-cycle rituals, dreams, town planning, and political history.
The Jaina didactic story literature, hymns, and lyrical poetry offer insights into everyday life.
Jaina texts are valuable historical sources for Jainism’s development, doctrines, and the lives of monks and nuns. However, they are less frequently studied by historians compared to Buddhist sources.

SANGAM LITERATURE AND LATER TAMIL WORKS

Sangam literature is the earliest literary tradition of South India, composed in old Tamil.
Legend mentions three Sangams, but their historicity is debated.
Sangam corpus includes six of the eight anthologies and nine of the ten songs, compiled into anthologies in the 8th century.
These texts were likely composed between the 3rd century BCE and 3rd century CE.
Sangam poems cover themes of love (akam) and war (puram) and offer insights into daily life.
Didactic works post-5th century include Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural, a treatise on ethics, polity, and love.
Tamil epics Silappadikaram and Manimekalai were composed around the 5th-6th centuries CE.
Early medieval Tamil literature includes devotional poetry by Vaishnava saints (Alvars) and Shaiva saints (Nayanars).
Vaishnava and Shaiva poetry collections were compiled into canons in the 10th century.
New genres of Tamil poetry emerged, including Kalampakams, Kovai, Ula, Tutu, and moral sayings by Avvaiyar.
Tamil versions of the Rama and Mahabharata legends were written.
Several Tamil lexicons and grammatical works were produced in the early medieval period.

The stories of the two Tamil epics

Tamil epic narratives likely originated from late Sangam compositions, such as the Kalittokai and Paripatal, rather than northern influences.
The Silappadikaram (The Song of the Anklet) by Ilankovatikal consists of 30 cantos in three books, telling the story of Kovalan, Kannaki, and Madurai.
Kovalan abandons his wife Kannaki for a courtesan, is wrongly accused of theft, and executed. Kannaki proves his innocence and exacts revenge, leading to the city’s destruction.
The epic explores themes of guilt, evil, and symbolism through the anklet, offering insights into the lives of ordinary people.
The Manimekalai (The Jewel Belt) by Sattanar has 30 cantos and a preamble, featuring Manimekalai’s journey to become a Buddhist nun.
The narrative of Manimekalai has a strong Buddhist tone with more explicit characterizations as either good or bad and numerous supernatural elements.
The Silappadikaram is considered to have a Jaina flavor, while the Manimekalai emphasizes Buddhism.

EARLY KANNADA AND TELUGU LITERATURE

The earliest Kannada inscriptions date from the 5th/6th century, and the oldest surviving Kannada literary work is the 9th century Kavirajamarga on poetics.
Early medieval Kannada literature often had Jaina themes, with poets like Pampa, Ponna, and Ranna known for their Jaina Puranas.
Pampa authored the Adi Purana and the Vikramarjunavijaya, while Ponna wrote in both Sanskrit and Kannada, earning the title of Ubhaya-kavi-chakravarti.
Chavunda Raya, a general and minister, composed the Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana, an account of the 24 Jaina saints.
Nagachandra (Abhinava Pampa) wrote the Ramachandracharitra Purana in the 12th century.
Neminatha’s Lilavati is a notable work from the 12th century.
Early Telugu inscriptions from the 2nd century CE suggest the antiquity of the language, with 5th-6th century epigraphs reflecting the classical form.
The earliest surviving Telugu literary work is Nannaya’s 11th century rendering of the first two-and-a-half books of the Mahabharata, setting the foundation for Telugu poetic style.
Tikkana added 15 Parvas to Nannaya’s Mahabharata and composed the Uttararamayanamu.
Nanne Choda, author of the Kumarasambha-vamu, described himself as a ruler of a small principality called Orayuru.
Telugu literature matured during the Kakatiya period in the 14th century and reached its peak during the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya’s reign in the 16th century.

OTHER ANCIENT TEXTS, BIOGRAPHIES, AND HISTORIES

Early Indian literature includes masterpieces of poetry and drama that provide historical insights and aesthetic value.
Notable early Sanskrit poets and playwrights include Ashvaghosha, who authored the Buddhacharita, Sariputraprakarana, and Saundarananda.
Bhasa wrote several Sanskrit dramas like Pancharatra, Dutavakya, Balacharita, and Svapna-Vasavadatta.
Kalidasa, from the 4th-5th centuries, is celebrated for his works such as Abhijnana-Shakuntala, Malavikagnimitra, Vikramorvashiya, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava, and Meghaduta.
Vishakhadatta’s Mudrarakshasa revolves around the tactics of Chanakya and historical events related to Chandragupta and the Nanda dynasty.
Narrative literature like the Panchatantra and Kathasaritsagara offers insights into popular folk tales.
Ancient and early medieval Indian literature also includes technical treatises on various subjects, including grammar, mathematics, statecraft, astronomy, medicine, architecture, poetics, dramaturgy, and philosophy.
There is a significant body of darshana literature, representing different schools of philosophy like Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva Mimamsa, and Uttara Mimamsa, with mentions of the Charvaka or Lokayata school.
Unusual texts, like the Krishi-Parashara on agriculture and Bengali aphorisms on various topics, offer unique insights into everyday life.
Courts of early medieval kings attracted writers who composed biographical works praising their royal patrons.
Sanskrit royal biographies include Banabhatta’s Harshacharita, Vakpati’s Gaudavaha, and Bilhana’s Vikramankadevacharita.
Tamil royal biographies include Nandikkalambakkam about the Pallava king Nandivarman III and Kalinkattupparani based on the war between the Chola and Kalinga rulers.
Prithvirajaraso by Chand Bardai is an epic in the early Braj-bhasha dialect, centered around the Rajput king Prithviraja Chauhan.
Hemachandra’s Kumarapalacharita tells the story of the Chaulukya kings of Gujarat and illustrates Sanskrit and Prakrit grammar.
The establishment of the Delhi Sultanate led to a series of Persian chronicles narrating the history of various dynasties in the 11th century.
These biographers and chroniclers often aimed to display their literary skills and flatter their royal patrons in their works. This should be considered when using their texts as historical sources.

Banabhatta and his royal biography

Banabhatta’s “Harshacharita” is the oldest surviving biography in India, providing a glowing picture of his patron, Harsha of the Pushyabhuti dynasty.
Bana describes his own family’s mythical origins as Bhargava Brahmanas from the Vatsyayana branch.
Bana was born in Pritikuta, a Brahmana village known for its learned residents, and he was orphaned at a young age.
Bana was educated by a teacher named Bharchu and later embarked on travels with an entourage of poets, philosophers, artists, and more.
Harsha summoned Bana to his court after hearing gossip about his wild youth, but Bana defended his respectable Brahmana family background.
Bana quickly became a favorite at Harsha’s court, receiving lavish presents and honors.
Bana went on to write the “Harshacharita,” a eulogistic biography of Harsha, and a prose romance called the “Kadambari.”
The “Harshacharita” is described as an akhyayika, selecting and narrating episodes from an aesthetic and literary perspective.
The biography features vivid descriptions, literary elements, and occasional humor, showcasing Bana’s mastery of Sanskrit prose.
The work contains long, elegant passages eulogizing King Harsha, with a focus on his acquisition of royal glory.
The “Harshacharita” is considered complete by some scholars and symbolically ends after Harsha’s rescue of his sister Rajyashri, representing his acquisition of royal glory.
Although Bana portrays Harsha as an ideal ruler, nuances in the narrative suggest hints of a less perfect picture, such as the potential for a fratricidal struggle for the throne.

THE NATURE OF ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORICAL TRADITIONS

Ancient and early medieval India had a variety of literary sources that contained historical elements.
Romila Thapar’s distinction between “embedded” and “externalized” history is useful in understanding historical consciousness in these texts.
Embedded history includes myth, epic, and genealogy, while externalized history is reflected in chronicles, biographies, and other more self-conscious historical narratives.
Certain types of compositions in later Vedic texts, such as dana-stutis, gathas, narashamsis, and akhyanas, showed a historical consciousness and were associated with the performance of sacrifices.
King-lists in the Puranas and epics, referred to as itihasa, represented a more substantial evidence of an ancient Indian historical tradition.
Bards, like sutas and magadhas, played a crucial role in maintaining and transmitting these historical traditions.
Royal inscriptions, sacred biographies, and royal archives also contributed to historical traditions in ancient India.
Ancient Indian historical traditions were distinct from modern notions of history, as they were often intertwined with religious, ritualistic, and court contexts.
These historical traditions lacked the systematic and academic approach seen in modern historical research.

THE ACCOUNTS OF FOREIGN WRITERS

India had a long history of interactions with other regions, leading to various references in foreign texts.
Ktesias’ “Indica” (4th century BCE) is known for its unreliable and bizarre stories about India and its people.
Greek texts from the 5th century BCE onward contain references to India, with Megasthenes’ “Indica” being an important work, even though it is lost.
Greek and Latin texts from the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE, including those by Arrian, Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and the “Periplus Maris Erythraei,” offer insights into Indian Ocean trade.
Chinese monks, such as Faxian, Xuanzang, and Yijing, made extensive journeys to India to collect Buddhist texts and visit places of learning and pilgrimage.
The Arab expansion under Islam, the establishment of the Beyt-al-Hikma in Baghdad by Al-Mamun, and the translation of Greek, Persian, and Sanskrit texts into Arabic had a profound impact on intellectual ideas and technology.
Arabic scholars initially relied on Greek works but later developed independent critical viewpoints, with Al-Biruni being a notable figure who traveled to India and wrote “Tahqiq-i-Hind” covering various aspects of Indian culture and history.
Al-Biruni’s work helped modern historians identify the beginning of the Gupta era, placing it in 319-20 CE.
Several Arabic geographical and travel accounts, including Sulaiman’s, refer to India, providing insights into trade and political history.
Persian texts, such as the “Chachnama,” the “Shahnama” by Firdausi, and the “Gulistan” by Saadi, offer incidental references to India, trade, and historical events.

Archaeology and the Early Indian Past

Archaeology studies the human past through material remains, including structures, artifacts, bones, seeds, and inscriptions.
Culture, in the context of archaeology, encompasses patterns of learned behavior, ways of thinking, and doing things within a social group.
Archaeological culture uses specific technical terms like “artifact” (portable objects made by humans), “industry” (collections of similar artifacts), and “assemblage” (all industries at a site).
Archaeological evidence provides insights into human behavior and culture, rooted in specific contexts, but it operates on slower and longer rhythms than historical events.
Field archaeology involves exploring and excavating sites where material remains of past human activity are found.
Sites can be discovered accidentally, through literature, regional surveys, or aerial photography, and metal probes or remote-sensing techniques can help identify buried sites.
Archaeological evidence is not complete and depends on what was thrown away, lost, or left behind, as well as environmental factors like soil and climate.
Preservation is more likely for inorganic materials like stone, clay, and metal objects.
Sites can be destroyed by natural forces or human activities like farming, construction, and infrastructure development.
Excavations aim to uncover the stratigraphic sequence at a site, and careful recording, mapping, and preservation of artifacts are essential.
Horizontal and vertical excavations can be conducted, and results must be published to share findings with others.
Contemporary archaeology focuses on understanding sites in their broader landscape and context and uses non-destructive methods like remote sensing and regional surveys.

SCIENTIFIC TECHNIQUES IN ARCHAEOLOGY

Archaeologists use scientific techniques for precise dating and analysis of archaeological materials.
Radiocarbon dating, thermoluminescence, potassium-argon dating, electron spin resonance, uranium series, and fission-track dating are dating methods often based on radioactive decay principles.
Archaeometry encompasses scientific measurements and analyses to study ancient objects and materials.
Chemical analysis of pottery and metal artifacts can reveal production methods.
Comparison of chemical compositions can identify the source of ores.
Soil analysis can determine the degree of human activity at a site, such as the presence of nitrogen from animal excreta.
Palaeontology studies the remains of ancient organisms over long periods.
Molecular biology and DNA studies help understand hominid evolution and migration patterns.
Faunal analysis of animal bones at a site reveals information about butchering, cooking, diet, and interactions between communities.
Human dental structure and trace element analysis of bones can indicate subsistence patterns and nutritional deficiencies.
Palaeo-pathology studies diseases in ancient populations based on bone analysis.
Human bones provide insights into population size, density, mortality, fertility, and life expectancy.
Environmental archaeology explores how societies adapted to their environment and used natural resources, emphasizing the interactive relationship between people and their environment.
Palaeo-botanical studies include the analysis of pollen, seeds, charcoal, sediments, and geological strata to understand the natural environment in which ancient societies lived.

Radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon dating, discovered by Willard Libby in 1949, is a widely used dating method in archaeology.
It relies on the decay of Carbon-14 (C-14) in organic materials, with a half-life of 5,730 years.
C-14 is absorbed by plants through photosynthesis and passes into animals when they consume plants or other animals.
The method can date materials like wood, charcoal, bone, and shell.
Radiocarbon dates are approximate, and standard error margins are provided (e.g., 2500 ± 100 BP, meaning a date range between 2600 and 2400 BP).
‘BP’ stands for ‘Before Present,’ with 1950 as the baseline year.
Multiple dates from the same sample can be used to arrive at mean dates with a smaller standard deviation.
Calibrations are needed to convert radiocarbon dates to calendar dates, as the amount of radiocarbon produced in the atmosphere has varied over time.
Tree-ring dating provides more accurate dates, leading to calibration discrepancies with radiocarbon dates.
Interpretation and judgment are involved in using radiocarbon dates, and choices must be made regarding which dates to highlight, which end of the date bracket to emphasize, and whether to use calibrated or uncalibrated dates.
Interpretation of radiocarbon dates depends on the archaeologist’s understanding of the relative chronology of cultures.

INTERPRETING ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

Interpretation is essential in archaeology, from classifying artifacts to framing historical hypotheses.
Changes in archaeology include the emergence of New Archaeology and processualism in the 1960s, emphasizing holistic understanding, ecology, and theory building.
Post-processual archaeology challenges the assumptions of processualism, questions the possibility of objective knowledge, and sees material culture as more complex.
Archaeology provides anonymous history, focusing on cultural processes and prehistory, including non-deciphered written records.
Archaeological evidence often complements texts by offering insights into everyday life, human settlements, subsistence methods, agriculture, technology, trade networks, and more.
Cognitive archaeology explores ways of thinking, beliefs, and religion, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of religious practice.
Translating archaeological cultures into history is complex, as they may not align with linguistic, political, or social groups.
Explaining changes in material culture, especially pottery traditions, remains a challenging issue in the context of ancient India.

ETHNO-ARCHAEOLOGY

Ethnography studies living cultures and communities.
Ethno-archaeology interprets archaeological evidence related to past communities by studying the behavior and practices of living communities.
The Indian subcontinent preserves traditional features and methods in agriculture, animal husbandry, house building, clothing, and food.
Modern craftspersons provide insights into the techniques and social organization of ancient craftspersons.
Ethno-archaeology explores customs, beliefs, marketing, relationships between craftspersons, traders, and customers.
Studying modern practices, such as carnelian bead making in Khambhat, Gujarat, sheds light on ancient manufacturing techniques and social organization.
Ethno-archaeology helps fill gaps in history, including understanding women’s roles in subsistence and craft-related activities.
Studies of modern hunter-gatherer and shifting cultivator communities inform understanding of past subsistence strategies and their connections to community identity.
Ethno-archaeological evidence is used cautiously, suggesting possible interpretations of archaeological data while considering present and past context differences.

PROTECTING SITES

Rural and urban expansion threaten archaeological sites and cultural heritage.
Salvage archaeology identifies endangered sites and aims to save them from destruction.
Nagarjunakonda site in Andhra Pradesh was submerged when the Nagarjunasagar dam was built, requiring a massive salvage operation.
Nine important structures were transplanted and re-built, and replicas of 14 others were created.
Thousands of smaller sites across the subcontinent also require attention and care.
Protecting archaeological heritage is a collective responsibility, involving the government and ordinary people.

ANCIENT AND EARLY MEDIEVAL SCRIPTS

Epigraphy is the study of inscriptions, involving deciphering texts and analyzing their information.
Inscriptions can be found on various materials, including stone, wood, metal, pottery, and more.
The oldest deciphered inscriptions in the Indian subcontinent date back to the late 4th century BCE, written in scripts like Brahmi and Kharoshthi.
Panini’s Ashtadhyayi references the term “lipi” (script) in ancient India.
The Brahmi script is a key script in the Indian subcontinent, with some evidence dating back to at least the early 4th century BCE.
There are three main types of scripts: logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic, with Brahmi and Kharoshthi falling between alphabetic and syllabic.
Kharoshthi was used in the north-western regions, and its origins may be traced to the Semitic Aramaic script.
Brahmi became the parent script for various scripts in South Asia, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Brahmi script has three stages of development in northern India: early, middle, and late Brahmi.
Modern north Indian scripts like Nagari and eastern scripts like proto-Bengali developed from Siddhamatrika.
Regional scripts such as Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Maithili, and Sharada evolved from these.
Tamil-Brahmi was adapted for writing the Tamil language, with early and late stages.
South Indian scripts like Grantha, Tamil, and Vatteluttu emerged for writing Sanskrit and Tamil.
Telugu and Kannada scripts developed in the 14th–15th centuries, and Malayalam script evolved from Grantha.
Some inscriptions include texts in two different scripts, especially bi-script Brahmi-Kharoshthi inscriptions from the north-west.
The Chalukya king Kirttivarman II’s 8th-century Pattadakal pillar inscription is a bi-script document in Sanskrit, featuring the Siddhamatrika script and the local southern proto-Telugu-Kannada script.

LANGUAGES OF ANCIENT AND EARLY MEDIEVAL INSCRIPTIONS

Earliest Brahmi inscriptions, including Ashoka’s, were in Prakrit dialects (Middle Indo-Aryan).
From 1st to 4th centuries CE, inscriptions featured a mix of Sanskrit and Prakrit.
Pure Sanskrit inscriptions began in the 1st century BCE, exemplified by Rudradaman’s Junagadh rock inscription.
By the end of the 3rd century CE, Sanskrit replaced Prakrit in northern Indian inscriptions.
In the Deccan and South India, Sanskrit emerged alongside Prakrit in the late 3rd/early 4th century CE, with gradual dominance.
4th-5th centuries had bilingual Sanskrit-Prakrit inscriptions in a transitional phase.
Prakrit fell into disuse by the 6th century.
From the 4th to 6th centuries, Sanskrit became the primary language for royal inscriptions in India.
Regional languages and scripts began evolving during the post-Gupta period.
South India saw Tamil inscriptions from the 2nd century BCE onward, with bilingual Tamil-Sanskrit inscriptions.
Tamil inscriptions flourished under the Pallava dynasty and among the Chola and Pandya rulers.
Kannada inscriptions emerged in the late 6th/early 7th century CE, with private donative records.
Some bilingual Sanskrit-Kannada inscriptions appeared.
Early Telugu inscriptions began in the late 6th century.
Malayalam inscriptions appeared around the 15th century.
A few Tulu inscriptions are also found, with similarities to Kannada.
Marathi and Oriya inscriptions emerged in the 11th century.
Hindi-like dialect inscriptions were seen in Madhya Pradesh from the 13th century.
Gujarati inscriptions became evident in epigraphs from the 15th century.

DATING THE INSCRIPTIONS

Inscriptions are typically dated in regnal years or eras.
Ancient Indian calendars combined lunar and solar units.
Inscriptions specify the month, lunar fortnight (paksha), lunar day (tithi), weekday, and may include astronomical details.
Year and day specification began in the 2nd century BCE.
Some inscriptions use chronograms with words representing numbers.
Examples: ‘kara-veda-bhumi’ = year 142, read backward.
Undated inscriptions can be approximated based on paleography.
Various eras were used in ancient and early medieval India, such as the Vikrama era (58 BCE), Shaka era (78 CE), Kalachuri-Chedi era (248 CE), Gupta era (319–20 CE), Kollam era (824 CE), and Chalukya-Vikrama era (1076).
Eras often marked important events, like a king’s accession.
Subordinate kings used their overlord’s era.
Some eras continued to be used long after the founding dynasty disappeared.
Uncertainty exists about the initial year of a few eras, such as the Harsha era (612, 619, or 648 CE) and the Ganga kings’ era (4th to 9th century CE).

THE CLASSIFICATION OF INSCRIPTIONS

Inscriptions can be classified by surface, language, age, and geographical region.
Official and private inscriptions are differentiated by the authority or entity on whose behalf they were inscribed.
Donative, dedicative, and commemorative inscriptions categorize inscriptions by content and purpose.
Memorial stones were erected to commemorate various individuals and events, like heroes, women who committed sati, and sailors.
Donative inscriptions supported religious establishments, recorded image installations, and financial investments for deity worship.
Royal land grants, often inscribed on copper plates, were issued to Brahmanas and religious institutions.
Some inscriptions are entirely panegyric, such as the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela and the Allahabad prashasti of Samudragupta.
Certain inscriptions document the construction, repair, and history of waterworks, wells, and charitable feeding houses, spanning centuries.
Miscellaneous inscriptions include labels, graffiti, religious formulae, seals, and condensed summaries of Sanskrit grammar.
‘Footprint inscriptions’ accompany engraved footprints of holy figures or notable persons in various regions.

Memorializing death in stone

Memorial stones called chhaya stambhas in the Andhra region commemorate various individuals, including kings, queens, soldiers, artisans, and more.
The Nagarjunakonda memorial pillar commemorates King Chantamula I, with relief carvings depicting different scenes from his life.
Another memorial stone honors artisan Mulabhuta, bearing his name and emblem of his guild.
Karnataka has a significant number of hero stones, around 2,650 dating from the 5th to 13th centuries, commemorating male and even female heroes who died in various circumstances.
Some memorials are dedicated to pets, such as hunting dogs and a pet parrot, reflecting the bond between humans and animals.
The tradition of memorial pillars continues in regions like Karnataka and among tribal communities in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, reflecting cultural beliefs and rituals related to death and the afterlife.

INSCRIPTIONS AS A SOURCE OF HISTORY

Inscriptions offer durability and contemporaneous information, making them a valuable historical source.
They often reflect practical aspects of life and actions of people, providing insight into real-world activities.
Inscriptions are used to study political history, and their geographical distribution can indicate areas of political control.
Genealogical information in royal inscriptions can help reconstruct the history of dynasties and reigns.
However, they may exaggerate kings’ achievements, have discrepancies due to similar names or contradicting claims in inscriptions of different dynasties.
Inscriptions are essential for understanding political structures, administrative systems, and revenue collection, as well as settlement patterns, agrarian relations, labor, class, and caste structures.
They also document secular land transactions, land disputes, and the social and economic issues associated with them.
Inscriptions provide dateable information about religious sects, institutions, patronage, sects with no literature of their own, and the history of religious geography.
They reflect the history of languages, literature, and even performing arts, such as music, dance, and sculpture.
The contextual understanding of inscriptions, whether fragmentary or complete, is crucial in their analysis, and their content should be compared with other inscriptions and information from different sources.

Numismatics: The Study of Coins

Money serves various functions: a medium of exchange, a store of value, a unit of account, and a medium of deferred payment.
Currency is a medium of exchange backed by an issuing authority and can discharge financial obligations immediately.
Coinage refers to metal currency with specific size, shape, weight, and stamped by an issuing authority.
The obverse is the main message-bearing side of a coin, while the reverse is the other side.
The earliest coins emerged in Lydia (West Asia) around 700 BCE, made of electrum, a natural gold-silver alloy.
Numismatics involves the study of coins, encompassing material, metal sources, classification, metrology (weight), design, manufacturing techniques, and message content.
Ancient coins are often found by accident, either individually or in hoards buried for safety, leading to the loss or destruction of many.
Metrology plays a crucial role, arranging coins chronologically based on their weight and wear and tear.
Various methods, including physical, chemical, and non-destructive scientific techniques, are used to ascertain the metal content of coins.
Mint towns can be identified by the discovery of numerous coin moulds. Analysis of coin dies helps determine the number and sequence of issues, and estimates of coin production volumes can be made by extrapolation.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIAN COINAGE

Stone age and Chalcolithic cultures in the Indian subcontinent conducted trade via barter, with no currency or coinage.
The Harappans had an extensive trade network based on barter, and references to terms like nishka and suvarna in early texts do not necessarily indicate the presence of coins.
The earliest literary and archaeological evidence of coinage in India dates from the 6th-5th centuries BCE during a period of emerging states, urbanization, and expanding trade.
The basic unit of Indian coin weight systems was the raktika or ratti, based on the seed of the gunja berry.
Punch-marked coins, made of silver and copper, were some of the oldest coins found in the subcontinent. They were rectangular, sometimes square or round, with symbols hammered on using dies or punches.
These punch-marked coins are divided into four main series based on weight, punch marks, and circulation areas: Taxila-Gandhara, Kosala, Avanti, and Magadhan.
Later, die-struck and cast coins, including Indo-Greek coins, were introduced in the 2nd/1st century BCE, bearing the name and portrait of the issuing ruler.
The Kushanas were the first to mint large quantities of gold coins in the 1st-4th centuries CE.
Indigenous tribal and local coins, made of copper, bronze, silver, lead, and potin, provided insights into the history of various dynasties in northern and central India.
The Gupta dynasty issued well-executed gold coins called dinaras with metrical legends in Sanskrit, mainly found in north India.
The early medieval period saw a decline in the aesthetic quality and information content of coins but not necessarily a decline in the volume of coins in circulation.
Base metal alloy coin series were issued by various dynasties in different regions of India.
Cowries continued to be used as a form of currency alongside coins, particularly for small-scale transactions.
Various dynasties and regions in South India issued their own coins with distinct symbols, legends, and motifs, providing insights into the political and economic landscape of the time.

COINS AS A SOURCE OF HISTORY

Coins carry historical information related to monetary history, trade, exchange, and language evolution.
Numismatic evidence helps estimate the extent and frontiers of ancient empires.
Coins with dates or undated ones discovered in archaeological excavations assist in dating historical layers.
Royal messages and symbols on coins provide a source for political history, offering insights into various dynasties, rulers, and their biographical details.
Coin types and depictions of deities on coins reveal the religious preferences, policies, and cults of ancient kings.
Coin circulation often transcends political borders, and multiple currency systems can coexist in an area.
Numismatic evidence is particularly important for understanding the political history of India from around 200 BCE to 300 CE, with Indo-Greek, Parthian, Shaka, Kshatrapa, Kushana, and Satavahana coins offering valuable insights.
Coin types, symbols, and inscriptions on city coins suggest the importance and autonomy of specific city administrations.
Coins can provide biographical details and specific events in the lives of rulers, as seen in the commemoration of marriages and religious ceremonies on coins.
The depiction of a wide range of religious figures on coins can reflect eclectic religious views and the prevalence of various religious cults in the respective empires.

Counter-struck coins of the Kshatrapas and Satavahanas

In 1906, a hoard of 13,250 silver coins of Nahapana, a Kshatrapa ruler in the 2nd century CE, was discovered in Jogalthembi near Nashik, Maharashtra.
Many of these coins (9,270) had marks of counter-striking by Gautamiputra Satakarni, a Satavahana king from the Deccan.
Counter-striking involves one authority re-striking coins originally issued by another. The original strike is called the ‘undertype,’ and the new one is the ‘overtype.’
Counter-striking provides important historical information about the relative chronology and political history of the Kshatrapa and Satavahana rulers.
Nahapana’s silver coins were based on Indo-Greek drachms and featured his portrait, Greek-script legends, and dynastic emblem (a thunderbolt and arrow) on the obverse and Brahmi/Kharoshthi inscriptions in Prakrit on the reverse.
Gautamiputra Satakarni counter-struck Nahapana’s coins with his own symbols, including an arched hill with his name in Prakrit on the obverse and the ‘Ujjain symbol’ on the reverse.
Nahapana and Shiva Satakarni, an otherwise unknown Satavahana king, counter-struck each other’s coins, suggesting contemporaneity and political rivalry.
Counter-striking served as a graphic indication of political contest and rivalry, which is corroborated by inscriptions and historical sources.
It also efficiently provided an acceptable exchange medium during political transitions and maintained continuity to prevent “circulatory shock” and uncertainty among coin users.
New rulers often ensured that their coins did not appear drastically different from those of their predecessors while incorporating their own symbols or emblems to assert their authority.

CONCLUSIONS

Meticulous and skillful source analysis is the foundation of historical research.
Both literary and archaeological sources for ancient and early medieval India have unique potential and limitations.
Interpretation is essential when analyzing evidence from texts, archaeological sites, inscriptions, and coins.
Co-relation of evidence from various sources is vital to construct a comprehensive history.
Integrating literary and archaeological data can be challenging due to their inherent differences in nature.