Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic Data

Unit: History of India (c. 750- 1206 CE)

Lesson: Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic Data
Lesson Developer: Yogender Dayma
College/Department: Hans Raj College, University of Delhi

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Chapter: Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic Data

Introduction

 Literary Sources
 Archaeological Sources
 The Question of Historical Tradition
 Summary
 Glossary
 Exercise/ Practice
 Further Readings

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Introduction
History, as we know, is the discipline dealing with the reconstruction of the past of human
beings based on some facts. These facts are based on some evidences which are called
sources. That means that any material which provides information about past may be called
a source. Sometimes, historians have to seek the help from some other discipline also to
make their sources speak. For example, while reconstructing the environment of past,
historian may have to seek help from paleobotany (the science of studying fossil plants).
Similarly, use of various branches of science for dating the material remains of the past,
commonly known as dating techniques is also well known. Seeking help of a variety of
discipline in the historical reconstruction is called inter-disciplinary approach in history. This
approach is adopted to reconstruct the narrative of the past which is as close as possible to
the past.

For the sake of convenience, sources are conventionally divided into two broad categories-
the literary and the archeological sources. But this division is not a watertight one. For
example manuscript of a text is a literary evidence but the material on which it is written
comes under the category of the archeological sources. Same is the case with inscriptions
and coins. The reconstruction of the period from c. 750-1200 CE, also known as the early
medieval period of Indian history may be attempted with the unprecedented number of
sources. The emergence of a large number of states and the associated practice of land
donations, the development of regional languages, propagation of bhakti ideology by the
bhakti saints, and intensified contacts with the outside world, particularly with the Arabs
and the Turks may be cited as some of the reasons for this increase.

Value addition: Trivia

E.H. Carr on historian and the choice of sources

In the choice of sources, the preferences of the historians also play an important role. This
role is very well summarized in the following quote by E.H. Carr:

“The facts are really not at all like fish on the fishmonger's slab. They are like fish
swimming about in a vast and sometimes inaccessible ocean; and what the historian
catches will depend, partly on chance, but mainly on what part of the ocean he chooses to
fish in and what tackle he chooses to use - these two factors being, of course, determined
by the kind of fish he wants to catch. By and lame, the historian will get the kind of facts
he wants.”

(Source: Carr, E.H., 1990, What is History, Penguin Books, London, p. 23.)

Literary Sources
The literary sources may be classified on a variety of basis e.g. main theme, language, age,
authorship etc. In this presentation, the popular classification of literary texts between
indigenous texts, with its sub-categories based on the language, and foreigners’ accounts

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will be followed. But the following is only a representative survey of the literary sources as
the list of texts useful for reconstructing the history of early medieval India is very long.

The indigenous texts of the period may further be classified on the basis of the language
of their composition. In the period under discussion, Sanskrit could maintain its dominant
position as the language of literature, administration and law as it was the language of
priests, bureaucrats and the literati. According to Irfan Habib, by seventh century, Sanskrit
had ‘largely displaced the different forms of Prakrit (originally more closely related to
ordinary people’s speech) throughout the country’. This dominance of Sanskrit was
challenged by Persian from thirteenth century onwards. The near monopoly, it enjoyed in
the early historical/ancient period was challenged by the regional languages like Tamil,
Kannada, and Telugu, which were patronized by the regional kingdoms. Renowned
indologist Sheldon Pollock labels the gradual replacement of Sanskrit by the vernacular
languages as a great moment of transformation in culture and power in pre-modern India.

Sanskrit was widely used for the composition of religious texts pertaining to all three pan-
Indian religious traditions namely Brahmanism, Jainism and Buddhism. The increasing
popularity of theistic elements within Hinduism led to the composition of early medieval
Puranas. The important Puranas composed in the period include the Agni Purana (9th-10th
century), the Bhagavata Purana (10th century), the Kalika Purana (10th-11th century), and
the Brahmavaivarta Purana (10th-16th century). In addition to that some of the older
Puranas were added with sections on tirthas (pilgrimages), vratas (vows), prayashchita
(penances), gifts etc. which was in line with the emerging theistic cults. Fabrication of
historical basis for the growing influence of theistic elements and the attempts to negotiate
with the changes in the prescribed code of conduct seem to be the possible reasons for
these interpolations. In addition to these, several Upapuranas were also composed in the
period. The major difference between the Puranas and the Upapuranas is that while each
Purana glorifies one important brahmanical deity having greater following and speaks about
a bigger region, an Upapurana focusses on a lesser deity and the region associated with it.
As a result, Upapuranas provide significant information on popular beliefs, customs and
festivals. In addition to these, texts called the Sthalapuranas and the Mahatmyas were also
composed. These texts provide information on sacred topography and places of pilgrimage
while narrating the believed history of the sites. These texts provide us information on the
interactions between the Brahmanical and the non-Brahmanical traditions, and the roots of
the regional cultural configurations.

Value addition: Do you know?

The Ideal Format of Puranas

The format of the Purana, ideally, was that it should consist of the pancha-lakshana or
“the five facets” which set it apart from other literature. These were the descriptions of
the sarga (primary creation), prati-sarga (secondary creation), manvantara (the time
cycles), vansha (succession, in this instance, largely of deities and sages), and the
vanshanucharita (genealogies of some dynasties). The last is regarded as an important
component of the ideal Purana, although it is not common to all. But there is only one
Purana, the Vishnu Purana, which conforms to this format.

Source: Romila Thapar, 2013, The Past Before Us, Permanent Black, Ranikhet, pp. 269-
270.

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The period also witnessed composition of a large number of Dharmashastric texts which
include the tika (commentaries on the earlier dharmasutras and the smritis according to the
times of the composers) and the nibandha (collections with comments and conclusions). A
recent study links this development with the increasing formalization of law and legal
procedures and the tendency to empower the state to regulate and arbitrate in the social
life of subjects. As a result, Hindu law (vyavahara) emerged from the shadow of dharma
and established its independent identity. The tradition of smritis had come to an end by
seventh century CE with the composition of the smriti of Brihaspati. So, in our period, the
commentaries and the compendiums were composed. Manusmriti and Yajnavalkyasmriti
were two important smritis, widely commented upon by the early medieval commentators
(tikakaras). Manusmriti was commented upon by Medhatithi (ninth century), Govindaraja
(eleventh/twelfth century) and Kullaka (twelfth century). Vijyaneshvara’s Mitakshara is the
best known of the commentaries on the Yajnavalkyasmriti. The smriti of Narad was
commented upon by Asahaya (eighth century). The Smritikalpataru of Lakshmidhara (early
twelfth century) is one of the earliest compendiums. As has been mentioned above, these
commentators tried to explain the old provisions according to their times and prejudices.
These texts are no doubt normative in nature and one cannot assume that these were
followed by all sections of the society or at least by all the followers of Brahmanism.
Therefore their information cannot be taken at its face value for the reconstruction of past.
But these texts do help us in sketching the picture of the contemporary times and the
attitude of the brahmanical ideologues towards it.

Sanskrit was also used extensively by the Jainas and the Buddhists for composing their
religious sects. The Jaina tradition of recording history was expressed in a variety of texts,
of which the charitas (biographies) and the prabandhas (chronicles) were the foremost.
Sometimes, the charitas of the Jaina tradition are also called the Puranas but these are
different from the brahmanical Puranas. The Jaina charitas were biographies of great men.
This genre should not be confused with the charita texts, pioneered by the Harshacharita of
Banabhatta and which flourished in the period under discussion, because of the differences
in the nature of authorship, concerns and writing style. In this category mention may be
made of Hemchandra’s composition Trishashtishalakapurushacharita, a twelfth century text
consisting of the biographies of sixty-three persons, some of whom were mythical figures
and some were the better-known historical rulers. There were also composed biographies of
individual rulers, for example Hammiramahakavya of Nayachandrasuri and the Vastupala-
Tejapala prashasti of Jayasingha. The important prabandha texts of the period include the
Parishishtaparvan by Hemachandra and the Prabandhachintamani by Merutunga. This
tradition was actually a chronicle tradition comparable to the ‘vanshavali tradition’,
discussed below.

Sanskrit was also used for the composition of the literature which had secular issues as the
main theme. In this category, the tradition of Charita (biography) literature which began
with the composition of Harshacharita by Banabhatta, flourished due to the emergence of
the states which were deeply rooted in their respective regions. These were the biographies
of kings written by either a court poet or a senior official. The autobiography sections of
these texts help in determining the historicity of the author. In our period, the list of the
texts falling under this category includes Ramacharita by Sandhyakaranandin,
Vikramankadevacharita by Bilhana, Navasahasankacharita by Padmagupta,
Kumarapalacharita by Hemachandra, and Prithvirajavijaya by an anonymous author. It
should be noted that these biographies were not birth-to-death accounts of the kings, but
focused on crucial events and when these have been satisfactorily achieved, the biographies
were concluded. The importance of the texts under this genre lies in the fact, as Romila
Thapar puts it, that ‘these were more recognizably historical than the earlier ones, barring
the Buddhist’ as the focus here was on ‘a person rather than a lineage or a pedigree, and
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the family replaced the clan’ (Romila Thapar, The Past before Us, Ranikhet, 2013, pg. 507-
508). For example, Ramacharita is biography of the Pala king Ramapala in shlesha (a style
of writing in which each verse offers two different meanings) as each verse simultaneously
tells the story of the Ramayana hero, Ramachandra of Ayodhya and of the Pala king
Ramapala. The narrative focusses on the Ramapala’s successful efforts to suppress the
rebellion of the Kaivartas. The text also claims that the feudatories Kaivartas could usurp
Varendri, the heartland of the Palas, because of the incompetence of Ramapala’s reigning
elder brother, Mahipala II. Similarly, Bilhana’s Vikramankadevacharita is a eulogistic work
on the Chalukya ruler of Kalyani, Vikramaditya VI. It mentions that Vikramaditya was
advised by lord Shiva to replace his elder brother as the reigning king. Prithvirajavijaya and
Chandabardai’s Prithvirajaraso describe the achievements of the Chauhan king Prithviraja.
Aimed at valorizing the patron king, the narratives of these texts generally centered on a
key event through which the abilities of the king were valorized and, in the cases where the
coronation of the patron was in violation of primogeniture, it was emphasized that his
accession to the throne was in the best interest of the subjects. But the fact that the
composers were under the patronage of these rulers, discounts any possibility of these
presenting an unbiased account of the developments. The Charita tradition differs from the
epic tradition as their central figure was a historical personality. This tradition of writing
history of an individual was also in contrast to the vamshanucharita section of the Puranas,
which merely mentioned these rulers as entries in king-list and did not provide details of
their deeds.

Another category of early medieval secular Sanskrit texts, useful for reconstructing the
history of the period, comes under the vanshavali (chronicle) tradition. This tradition
comprises of the chronicles on a state, region or kingdom. Thus, the texts of this genre are
different from the Charita literature as their focus is not a single king, or a single dynasty as
is seen in the inscriptions of the period. According to Romila Thapar, it was manifested
‘either as a text recording history at a point in time by a single person, as Rajatarangini by
Kalhana and Prabandha-chintamani by Merutunga, or could be kept as a court record and
updated from time to time by successive authors, as is likely with the Chamba vanshavali’
(Thapar, 2013, pg. 692). The chronicles generally follow three phases. The first and second
phases deal with mythical account on the origins of the region and with the local heroes of a
distant past respectively. The third phase deals with the establishment of the kingdom and
its dynastic history. The account given in the third phase is much more historical as it is
validated by other sources as well. For example, Kalhana’s Rajatarangini describes the
evolution of the kingdom of Kashmir in eight books, each called a taranga (wave). These
eight books are arranged in three sections. The first section describes the origin myths and
early inhabitants. The second section is on some vaguely defined early dynasties of
Kashmir. The third section narrates the established dynasties of the region. This section
provides an account of the developments in the post-700 CE Kashmir, which is remarkable
for its accuracy. Kalhana’s concerns for stating the sources and assessing their reliability
together with a number of historically insightful explanations of the developments bring this
text closer to the modern parameters of historical texts. The Chamba vanshavali is the
history of the mountainous kingdom of Chamba, located in the northern part of the present
day Himachal Pradesh. The Prabandha-chintamani by Merutunga is a narrative of the kings
of three dynasties of Gujarat namely the Chavada and the Chaulukya dynasties, which were
given more space, and the Vaghelas with occasional references to the Pratiharas, the
Chandellas and the Parmaras. Though written in 1306 CE, its main focus is the Chaulukya
ruler Kumarapala (1142/43-1172/74 CE). But because of the Jaina leaning of the author, it
is written from a Jaina perspective.

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The Sanskrit literature of the period also includes a number of texts on the subjects like
agriculture, astronomy, architecture, medicine and the veterinary sciences. For example,
Krishiparashara, Kashyapa Krishisukti and Vrikshayurveda are the texts on agriculture and
plants. The Ashtangahridayasangraha by Vaghabhata is one of the texts on medicine.
Chakrapanidatta also wrote a commentary on Charaka. Interest in astronomy contributed to
the advancement of mathematics. Among the noted works on mathematicians in our period,
mention may be made of the ninth century Ganitasarasangraha of Mahaviracharya and the
twelfth century Lilavati by Bhaskaracharya. These texts provide information about the
prices, weights and measures, wages and coins. These technical treatises are seen as a
result of the collaboration between those knowing Sanskrit and specialists of the respective
professions. These texts provide valuable information on the subjects which were of greater
concerns for the masses. For example, texts on agriculture provide information useful for
the success of agriculture. Thus these are of great importance for reconstructing social and
economic history of the period.

Value addition: what the sources say?

An excerpt from Lilavati by Bhaskaracharya

Whilst making love a necklace broke
A row of pearls mislaid.
One-sixth fell on the floor
One-fifth fell on the bed
The woman saved a third
One-tenth was caught by her lover.
If six pearls remained on the string
How many pearls were there altogether?

Source: As quoted by Romila Thapar (2002, Early India: From Origins to AD 1300, Allen
Lane, London, p. 472) from Georges Ifrah, The Universal History of Numbers, London,
1998, p.431.

The period witnessed compositions in Prakrits also. The popular form of Sanskrit also carried
elements of the local Prakrits. Although, the compositions in Prakrits witnessed both
qualitative and quantitative decline, yet the Prakrits contributed to the emergence of
Apabhransha in some areas, and eventually some regional languages. Vakpati’s Gaudavaho,
a biography of Yashovarman ruling in Kanauj, Rajashekhara’s play Karpuramanjari, and
Pravarasena’s Setubandha, narrating the invasion of Lanka by Rama are some of the last
important works in Prakrits.

A survey of indigenous texts will remain incomplete without discussing the texts in the
regional languages like Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Under the patronage of the regional
kingdoms, these languages were used for composing court literature. A dominant trend in
this phase of the composition of the literature of the Dravidian languages was to compose
the regional versions of the Sanskrit epics namely Mahabharata and Ramayana. For
example, the Kannada version of Mahabharata was composed by Pampa (tenth century)
under the name Vikramarjunavijaya (also called Pampa-bharata after Pampa). The
composition of the Telugu version of Mahabharata was started by Nannaya (eleventh
century) with the translation of its two and half chapters. In Malayalam language, the
earliest compositions included Ramacharitam (based on the Yuddhakanda in Ramayana) and
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Bhasha Kautiliya (a commentary in prose on Kautilya’s Arthashastra). In Tamil,

Ramavataram (or Kamparamayana) by the twelfth century poet Kamban represents this
trend. But these efforts were not aimed at providing these epics in regional languages.
These were in way regional versions of these epics. Their narratives were twisted by the
authors as per the demand of their audiences. It instilled the narratives with new events
and attitudes. For example, Kamban’s presentation of the personality of Ravana is much
more sympathetic as compare to the presentation by Valmiki. Such variations indicate to
the challenges faced by the orthodox Brahmanism in these regions. These languages were
further enriched by the compositions of the bhakti saints, who used these languages as the
medium of expression to connect with the masses directly. Even the brahmanas who knew
Sanskrit were eager to communicate with the people and preferred regional languages. The
texts in the regional languages are useful in reconstructing various aspects of regional
histories which, in turn, helps in preparing an inclusive account of Indian history.

A number of foreigners’ accounts also help in the reconstruction of early medieval India,
particularly ones by the Arabs. Though in our period also, India continued to attract Chinese
Buddhist pilgrims, both in the individual capacity as well as royal missions, their accounts
are either unavailable, or if available, are not as informative as the ones by their
predecessors like Fa-hien, Xuanzang and Yijing. For example, a number of Chinese
inscriptions are found at Bodh Gaya which record many names of Chinese travelers but their
memoirs, if any are not known to us. Wu-k’ong, came on an official mission in the latter half
of the eight century. He spent a number of years in Kashmir and returned to China
sometime in the last decade of the eighth century. But his work is yet to be translated in
English (Lokesh Chandra, ‘India and China: Beyond and the Within’,
http://ignca.nic.in/ks_41023.htm).

Our period witnessed flourishing trade contacts with the Arabian Peninsula. It encouraged
several Arab travelers and geographers to visit India. From the early decades of eighth
century, these contacts were further strengthened when Muhammad bin Qasim, the nephew
and son-in-law of the governor of Iraq called al Hajjaj, conquered Sind. The reasons for
these visits were the Arab fascination for the geography and the commercial interests of the
Arabs who were actively engaged in the international trade in this period. Chach Namah, an
eighth century work (but some scholars date it to the thirteenth century CE) in Persian
language, is the most comprehensive account of the conquest of Sind. In c. 851 CE, a
merchant named Sulaiman visited India during the reign of the Pratihara king, Bhoja I and
described the political conditions of India in his travelogue. His account was supplemented
by another traveler Abu Zaid. In this description of the political conditions of India, Al-
Masudi (c. tenth century CE) added information on the Arab principalities of Multan and
Mansura. His geographical accounts were supplemented by Al-Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal. Al-
Biladuri (c. ninth century CE), describes Muhammad bin Qasim’s conquest of Sind and his
successors’ reign. The work of Al-Idrisi (c. twelfth century CE) gives a vivid description of
the towns and ports of the western coast, the regions very actively engaged in the trade
with the Arabs.

But the best among all the foreigners’ accounts of the period is the Tahqiq-i-hind by Abu
Rihan alias Al-Biruni (tenth-eleventh century CE). He was a native of Khwarizm or Khiva (in
modern Turkmenistan). He came to India with Mahamud of Ghazni. He was perhaps the
finest intellectual of central Asia and was ordered to spend ten years in India. Though he
spent most of his times in the Punjab, his travels to some other parts of India cannot be
ruled out. He is credited with writing about 180 books, of which only 40 have survived. To
acquire the knowledge of India and its people from their ancient text, he also learnt
Sanskrit. Based on his study of these texts and his personal experiences and observations,

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his Tahqiq-i-hind is a rich source for history. It is the best available contemporary account
on the Indian sciences, astronomy geography, astronomy, philosophy, literature in addition
to the beliefs, customs, religions, festivals etc.

The works of these Arab travelers and geographers throw significant light on the state of
trade and commerce between India and the Islamic world. The importance of these texts is
enhanced by the fact that these texts often provide the information which are not available
in the contemporary Indian sources which were mainly written under the patronage of some
ruler or by some religious personalities. For that reason, their focus is either deeds of their
patrons or the valorization of a religion. But these foreigners, motivated either by their
commercial interests or by their thirst for gaining knowledge of the land, interacted more
with the commoners and thus the accounts left by them provide a closer look into the day-
to-day life of the commoners. In addition to that, in some instances, these texts help in
determining important dates in Indian history. For example, Tahqiq-i-Hind helps in
determining the beginning of the Gupta era which in turn, helps in determining several
important dates of ancient Indian history. But these works are not free from limitations.
There are many instances where the author seems to be either misinterpreting or
depending on some hearsay. For example, geographer Ibn Khurdadbih’ (ninth-tenth century
CE) recorded that there existed seven castes among Hindus. This wrong observation is
similar to the one by Megasthenese (fourth century BCE), who was the ambassador of
Seleucus Nikator to the court of Chandragupta Maurya.

Value addition: what the sources say?

Al Biruni’s observation on the attitude of ‘Hindus’

“The Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs, no nation like theirs, no king like
theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs… They are by nature niggardly in
communicating what they know, and they take the greatest possible care to withhold it
from men of another caste among their own people, still much more, of course, from any
foreigner. According to their belief, there is no other country on earth but theirs, no other
race of man but theirs, and no created beings besides them have any knowledge or science
whatsoever. Their haughtiness is such that, if you tell them of any science or scholar in
Khurasan and Persis, they will think you to be both an ignoramus and a liar. If they
travelled and mixed with other nations, they would soon change their mind, for their
ancestors were not as narrow-minded as the present generation is.”

Source: E.C. Sachau (ed. and tr.), 1989, Alberuni’s India, Vol. I, Low Price Edition, Delhi,
pp. 22-23.

Archaeological Sources

The archaeological sources, which may be defined as the material remains of the past, for
our period mainly comprise of the excavation and exploration reports of a large number of
sites including Taxila (near Rawalpindi, Pakistan), Sunet (Ludhiana district), Ropar (Ropar
district), Purana Qila (Delhi), Hastinapura, Attranjikhera, Ahichchhatra, Mathura (Uttar
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Pradesh), Sannati, Vadgaon-Madhavapur, Maski, Brahmagiri, Chandravalli (Karnataka) etc.,

monuments and images of the period (which both are religious in the most of the
instances), coins and inscriptions. The excavation and exploration reports of the various
sites have been widely consulted for reconstructing the history of urbanization in the
period, and primarily to test the hypothesis of ‘urban decay’ offered by R.S. Sharma.
Similarly, the study of monuments and the sculptures is used to reconstruct the history
of art and architecture as well as of religions of the period. In addition to that, the metallic
artefacts like the Sultanganj Buddha image in bronze, the Buddha torso from Paharpur
monastery of Bangladesh, the iron pillar at Maharauli (Delhi) etc. throw important light on
the various aspects of the copper-bronze and iron metallurgy in our period.

As we know, the period under discussion was marked by the emergence of a large number
of states. It was one of the reasons for the large variety of coins of the period. These coins
were made of metals like gold, silver, copper and billon (an alloy of silver, copper, and
occasionally other metals). The study of coins has emerged as a distinct discipline called
numismatics. The importance of coins in the reconstruction of economic history is well
recognized. The circulation of coins in a society is an indicator of a complex economy. Some
scholars adopt a quantitative approach to the study of coins and on that basis comment on
the scale of monetization in a particular period. But such an approach ignores the fact that
the metallic coins, when out of circulation due to reasons like turbulence faced by the
issuing authority, may be melted to recover the metal contents. In addition to that the
number of coins available from a particular period is also determined by factors like the
state of archaeological researches of that period. Similarly, the debasement of coins is often
taken as an indicator of financial crisis affecting the issuing authority or a general economic
turbulence. But that may be a result of decline in the supply of precious metals also. This
understanding assumes greater significance for our period because these are the main basis
on which the hypothesis of decline in monetization during early medieval period has been
made. The information like the material and the technology used in the coins, the motifs
thereon, the area of circulation, the depiction of the rulers, the legends inscribed on it etc.
are used to reconstruct various aspects of non-economic history also e.g. technology,
religion, polity, language and script etc. For example, the adivaraha coins (the coin type
carrying a ‘boar’ motif representing the boar or Varaha incarnation of Vishnu) show the
popularity of this incarnation of the brahmana deity Vishnu who was believed to have saved
the earth from the mythical great flood. It also shows the attempt on part of the rulers to
equate themselves with the popular god and hence to seek acceptance among the followers.
The individual rulers possibly tried to claim that the way Vishnu saved the earth from
getting drowned, they also saved the particular territories from the destructive rule of their
enemies. Thus the way a ruler used the available space on coins helps in understanding his
strategies of legitimation by fabricating an imagery of royalty.

Value addition: do you know?

Sides of a coin

In numismatics, the two sides of a coin are called ‘obverse’ and ‘reverse’. Parameters to
name a side of a coin are mainly based on the technique used in the coin making. In case of
the die-struck coins, the metal piece is to be made a coin is put on an anvil with a die of the
desired symbol, placed on it. Then it is struck hard with a punch or a hammer which also
carries a die of desired symbols, fixed on it. In this technique, the side of the metal piece

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facing the die on the anvil is called ‘obverse’. In the process of die-striking, this side
generally attains convex shape, which serves as a marker of its identification. The other side
of the coin is called ‘reverse’. But in the cases when this side does not attain this shape and
in the case of cast coins, the side of the coin carrying the picture of the issuer and the main
message called the ‘obverse’ and the other side is called the ‘reverse’.

Source: Original.

Value addition: do you know?

Techniques used for determining the metal contents of coins

The knowledge of metal content of coins may provide important information on the
aspects like trade, coin manufacturing technology and economic health of a given time
and space. There are a number of techniques used for the purpose. One method is to
carefully inspect their color and luster. There are other informal physical procedures such
as testing for resonance by dropping the coin on a hard surface to produce a sound or test
its ductility by biting it. A water displacement test can be conducted to measure a coin’s
specific gravity. There are also several chemical testing procedures for ascertaining metal
composition. These procedures are more accurate but generally damage the coin. Non-
destructive scientific techniques such as X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, which
are now being used to analyse the elemental composition of coins, provide quick and
accurate results.

Source: Singh, Upinder, 2009, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India, Pearson,
Delhi, p. 51.

Value Addition: do you know?

Some of the coin types of the early medieval India

Gadhaiya coins- This coin type was the dominant coin type in the large part of north and
west India. These were made of various metals like silver, copper, and billon. On some of
these coins, the face of the boar depicted resembles with that of an ass. Therefore, these
are called gadhaiya or ‘resembling an ass’.

Padmatanka coins- These are round and cup-shaped small and thin coins. These are
called so after the lotus with eight-petals punched prominently in the center, in addition
to various symbols punched on sides. Because of these punches, the coin assumed the

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shape of a low cup. Thus these coins are a sheer combination of the die-striking and
punch-marking techniques. These were in circulation mainly in Karnataka during early
medieval period.

Ramatanka coins- A double die-struck coin type found mainly in early medieval
Karnataka. These coins carry the portraits of the Ramayana heroes. These coins were
issued by temples and were meant for worship.

Sources: Chakrabarti, Dilip K., 2006, pg. 456.

Murthy, Dr. A. V. Narasimha, 1997, Coins and Currency System in Karanataka,

Directorate Of Archaeology and Museums in Karnataka, Mysore.

Value addition: Trivia

Some post-Gupta coins

Description Obverse Reverse

Seated Lakshmi

Bull & Horseman

Post-Gupta coinage (6th-12th centuries AD), is represented by a monotonous and

aesthetically less interesting series of dynastic issues including those of Harsha (7th century
AD, Kalachuri of Tripuri (11th century AD) and early medieval Rajputs (9th-12th centuries
AD). Gold coins struck between this period are rare. These were revived by Gangeyadeva
the Kalachuri ruler who issued the 'Seated Lakshmi Coins' which were copied by later rulers

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both in gold as well as in debase form. The Bull & Horseman type of coins were the most
common motif appearing on coins struck by the Rajput clans. In western India, imported
coins like the Byzantine solidi were often used reflecting trade with the Eastern Roman
Empire.

Source: http://www.rbi.org.in/currency/museum/c-ancient.html

Value addition: Trivia

Early Medieval South Indian coins: An overview

Description Obverse Reverse

Coins of the Cheras

11th - 13th Centuries

Coins of the Cheras

11th - 13th Centuries

Coins of the Cholas

9th - 13th Centuries

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Coins of the Alupas of Udipi

11th - 13th Centuries

Padmatankas,
Coins of the Yadavas of Devagiri
12th - 14th Centuries

The symbols and motifs on South Indian coin issues were confined to dynastic crests such
as the boar (Chalukya), bull (Pallava), tiger (Chola), fish (Pandya and Alupas), bow and
arrow (Cheras) and lion (Hoysala) etc. The Yadavas of Devagiri issued 'Padmatankas' with
an eight-petalled lotus on the obverse and a blank reverse. Coin legends refer to names or
titles of the issuer in local scripts and languages. Decorative features are rare and divinities
are almost absent till the medieval Vijayanagar period (14th - 16th centuries AD).
Source: http://www.rbi.org.in/currency/museum/c-ancient.html

Another important constituent of the archaeological sources are inscriptions. An inscription

is a writing/engraving on any solid surface like stone, tablets made of clay or any metal,
pottery, wall etc. Inscriptions are also archaeological evidences but their study and analysis
of the information have developed as an independent discipline called epigraphy. Though
the practice of engraving inscriptions was prevalent since the Harappan civilization times,
our period witnessed the composition of inscriptions on an unprecedented scale. The
inscriptions of our period are found mainly on image pedestals, slabs, copper-plates, temple
walls and pillars. In terms of their subject, these mainly record donations to the religious
class or to the religious establishments. Issued mostly by the king or the members of royal
family, these were written mainly in Sanskrit language. But our period also witnessed the
beginning of the use of regional languages for the purpose. But this switch over from
Sanskrit to the regional languages was not a sudden development but a gradual one. For
example, from the sixth-seventh centuries CE, the Tamil, the Kannada and the Telugu
regions witnessed the beginning of the use of their respective regional language in addition
to Sanskrit. In such cases, the invocatory verses, the genealogical portion and the
concluding verses were recorded in Sanskrit, whereas the occasion of the issue of the
inscription was recorded in the regional language. For example, under the Pallavas, the
Cholas and the Pandyas a number of Sanskrit-Tamil inscriptions were issued. Similarly, in
the Kannada speaking region, the Western Gangas issued a number of Sanskrit-Kannada
inscriptions. Whereas in the north India, the earliest clear-cut specimens of New Indo-Aryan
languages, mainly Marathi and Oriya, appear in the inscriptions from eleventh century
onwards, though their occasional traces start appearing even before that. Soon these two

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New Indo-Aryan languages also attained the status of imperial languages. But other New
Indo-Aryan languages, particularly Gujarati and Bengali, could not emerge as the imperial
languages soon. According to Richard Salomon, it may be attributed to the early
establishment of Islamic rule in these parts of the country as compared to Orissa and
Maharashtra. As a result, in these areas, Islamic languages directly supplanted Sanskrit as
the principal epigraphic material and New Indo-Aryan inscriptions are predominantly private
in character (Richard Salomon, 1998, Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions
in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages, Munshiram Manoharlal
Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 99-100).

As has been stated above, the royal land grant charters, engraved on copper plates are the
most abundant type of the early medieval inscriptions. An interesting feature of these
inscriptions is that they broadly follow a pan-Indian format in which a set type of
information was recorded, though the order of presentation could differ. Such inscriptions
begin with some benedictory verses in honor of some deity. This deity could be a deity of
the pan-Indian religions like Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism or some local deity like a
grama-devata. It suggests the religious affiliation of the ruler or the popular deity of the
locality. It was followed by a detailed eulogy (prashasti) of the king. In this section, the
ancestry of the king was often traced to some mythical heroes. This section also provided
an account of the significant achievements of the forefathers of the donor-king followed by
the detailed account of his own personal merits and achievements. In this account, only his
successes and not failures as a ruler were recounted. His grand titles indicating to his
political status were also mentioned. He was also presented as the great patron of king. He
was also presented as the great patron of religion and the one who established right order
in the society i.e. washed away the sin of kali. The place from where the order was issued
was also specified which was either the capital of the donor or the victory camp
(jayaskandhavara). The genealogical details provided in the prashasti section provide useful
information on the political history, though covered under exaggerated claims about their
achievements. So their use should be subject to the cross-checking of the information with
the other evidences.

The above information in the land grant charters is followed by details regarding the donees
or the beneficiaries of the grant, who happen to be brahmanas in the early phase of the
period and the temples in the later phase. In case of the brahmana donees, this section
provided a short account of their ancestry and the branch of Vedic learning they were
associated with. The information on their gotras, pravaras, and original home when
juxtaposed with the identification of the land or village granted to them on the modern map
is a useful source material on the migration of the brahmanas. In case of the temple
donees, the early history of the shrine with the valorization of its chief deity was also
recorded.

The charters also addressed the royal officials to make note of the grant with an instruction
to respect the rights transferred to the donees. In this course, these charters provide a list
of important officials together with the list of taxes which often ended with the term ‘et
cetera’. Such information is useful for the purpose of reconstructing the political structure of
the time and space. The records also provide a description of the pieces of the donated land
or the village. It generally included the name of the administrative unit in which it was
situated, the name of the village, the description of agrarian resources such as crops, trees,
tanks, pastures etc. and the demarcation with reference to some geographical entities (like
a forest, hillock, river stream etc.) or man-made facilities (like some garden, well, road,
temple etc.). A careful study of such descriptions help historians to ascertain the nature of
the donated land i.e. whether it is a virgin or a settled area. These descriptions are also an

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important source for writing regional history of agriculture and agrarian expansion, a topic
generally ignored in the contemporary texts. Such description of grant often carries the
information on the village elders and other inhabitants. It gives an idea of the social
configuration of the settlement. In many instances, it has been possible to identify the
donated villages with modern villages. Such identifications, together with the insights
available from the excavations at such sites may help us in the reconstruction of the history
of the also, which is generally absent from the popular narratives of the early medieval
Indian history.

These charters also record the occasion for the grants which was either the performance of
some sacrifice, performance of sacraments (sanskaras), visits to places of pilgrimage
(tirthas) or victory in a war. The charter generally declared earning religious merit for the
donor or/and his ancestors or the service of some deity as the purpose of the grant.
Sometimes the grants were made to support educational institutions. For example, the
Nalanda monastery received a number of land grants from its patrons. With some
exceptions, these grants were declared to stay till perpetuity. A reading of this section of
the charter provides an insight into the religious scenario prevailing in the kingdom and the
efforts of the ruler to present himself as a leader in of the community of followers by
earning the image of the chief patron to that sect. Any revoker of the grant was cursed of
severe consequences like sufferings in hell for 66,000 years, rebirth as a dog for a hundred
times, rebirth as a chandala or a snake in the desert or as a germ in excreta.

Towards the end of the charter, the names of the writer and the executor were also
mentioned. The authors were generally brahmanas or kayasthas, attached to the court
whereas the executor was the official called sandhivigrahika, who was also the official of war
and peace. Some inscriptions also carry the name of the artisan who engraved the grant. He
was called the utkirnaka.

But while consulting these charters as a source, historians have to be careful also. As
following a pattern also means mentioning something which may not be relevant in a
particular context, one cannot take their information on its face value. For example, the
prashasti section of the land grant charters often mentions the donor king as the destroyer
of kali and the protector of the ideal social order. If the information is read in the light of the
Dhramashastric description of kali, one can get the impression that the king actually
restored the ideal brahmanical social order based on the four fold division of society in
which members of the each varna honestly performed the duties prescribed in the
Dharmashastras. But further investigations on the issue may reveal that the territories
under his control did not experience the existence of the Dharmashastra based social order.
Similarly, while making grants, as per the standard format, the names of the taxes collected
in the state were also mentioned with the instructions to the royal officials that these will be
collected by the donee from then onwards. It gives an impression that land grants caused
loss of revenue to the state. But an investigation into the nature of the donated land or the
village may suggest that it was actually an unclaimed land which could not be a source of
revenue earlier.

The importance of inscriptions as a source for reconstructing the past also lies in the fact
that these are less prone to any tempering with the text or the period its composition. In
addition to that the practice of recording the date of composition and the place of issue,
particularly in the case of long inscriptions, make the task of determining their temporal and
spatial context easier as compared to the literary sources. As is well-known, these are the
basic qualifications for any material to be used as a source for the reconstruction of past.

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Value addition: what the sources say?

Translation of the inscription on the Khalimpur plate of the Pala ruler

Dharmapaladeva

Om. Hail!
(Verse 1.) May the ten powers of Vajrâsana who has firmly attained, as to fortune, to
omniscience, (those powers) which, cherished by his consort–great compassion, conquer
the regions where many hosts of the Evil one are seen, protect you.
(V. 2.) As the sea is the birth-place of the blessed goddess of fortune, and the moon the
source of that lustre which gladdens the universe, so Dayitavishnu, bright with all learning,
became the progenitor of the foremost line of kings.

(V. 3.) From him sprang the illustrious Vapyata, who, full of piety, as far as the ocean
embellished the earth with massive temples, and became famous as the destroyer of
adversaries.

(V. 4.) His son was the crest-jewel of the heads of kings, the glorious Gôpâla, whom the
people made take the hand of Fortune, to put an end to the practice of fishes; whose
everlasting great fame the glorious mass of moonlight on a fullmoon-night seeks to rival by
its whiteness in the sky.

(V. 5.) As Rôhini is the beloved of the Moon, Svâhâ of the Sacrificial Fire, Śarvânî of Śiva,
and Bhadrâ of the lord of the Guhyakas; as the daughter of Pulôman is of Purandara, and
Lakshmi of Mura’s foe, so the illustrious Dêddadêvi, a daughter of the Bhadra king, became
the queen of that brilliant ruler of the earth, to him a source of joy.

(V. 6.) From them was born the glorious Dharmapâla, whose achievements are praised by
the good, a master of kings who alone is ruling the entire orb of the earth; whose progress
when he is about to conquer the quarters all around, the four oceans, marked by the
footprints of the arrays of his elephants that bathe on their shores, patiently permit, being
no longer fosses of the earth.

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(V. 7.) When, with his ponderous army marching with unbounded glee, he proceeds to
conquer the regions, and when the earth thereby slides down as if the mountains on it were
marching, Śêsha hurriedly follows him, always exactly beneath him, with his arms raised to
support the circle of his heads, hurt by the jewels that sink into them, bent down by the
weight.

(V. 8.) When, on his setting forth, the whole sky is covered with the masses of dust, cast up
by the stamping of his marching army, and the earth thereby is reduced to a minute size,
then, on account of its light weight, the circle of the hoods of the serpent-king springs up,
with the jewels, that had sunk into them, reappearing.

(V. 9.) The fire of his wrath, stirred up when he finds himself opposed, like the submarine
fire, blazes up unceasingly, checked (only) by the four oceans.

(V. 10.) Desirous, as it were, of seeing collected together in one place such kings of old as
Prithu, Râma, the descendant of Raghu, and Nala, the Creator in this Kali-age set up the
glorious Dharmapâla, who has humbled the great conceit of all rulers, as a mighty post to
which to fasten that elephant–the fickle goddess of fortune.

(V. 11.) For those armies of his,–not seeing at once how large they are, because the ten
regions are whitened by the dust of their van-guard, the great Indra, afraid of what might
happen to the armies of Mândhâtri exhausts himself in conjectures,–for them even, thrilled
as they are with eagerness to fight, there is no chance of rendering assistance to his arms,
which (alone) annihilate the whole host of his adversaries.

(V. 12.) With a sign of his gracefully moved eye-brows he installed the illustrious king of
Kanyakubja, who readily was accepted by the Bhôja, Matsya, Madra, Kuru, Yadu, Yavana,
Avanti, Gandhâra and Kira kings, bowing down respectfully with their diadems trembling,
and for whom his own golden coronation jar was lifted up by the delighted elders of
Pañchâla.

(V. 13.) Hearing his praises sung by the cowherds on the borders, by the foresters in the
forests, by the villagers on the outskirts of villages, by the plying groups of children in every
courtyard, in every market by the guardians of the weights, and in pleasure-houses by the
parrots in the cages, he always bashfully turns aside and bows down his face.

(Line 25.) Now–from his royal camp of victory, pitched at Pâtaliputra, where the manifold
fleets of boats proceeding on the path of the Bhâgîrathî make it seem as if a serious of
mountain-tops had been sunk to build another causeway (for Râma’s passage); where, the
brightness of daylight being darkened by densely packed arrays of rutting elephants, the
rainy season (with its masses of black clouds) might be taken constantly to prevail; where
the firmament is rendered grey by the dust, dug up by the hard hoofs of unlimited troops of
horses presented by many kings of the north; and where the earth is bending beneath the
weight of the innumerable foot-soldiers of all the kings of Jambûdvîpa, assembled to render
homage to their supreme lord;–the devout worshipper of Sugata, the Paramêśvara
Paramabha âraka Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Dharmapâladêva, who meditates on the
feet of the Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Gôpâladêva, being in good health,–

(L. 30.) In the Mahantâprakâśa district (vishaya), which belongs to the Vyâghratatî mandala
within the prosperous Pundravardhana bhukti, is the village named Krauñchaśvabhra. Its
boundary on the west is Ganginikâ; on the north it is the small temple of Kâdambarî and a

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date tree; on the north east the dike made by the Râjaputra Dêvata, it goes to and enters a
citron grove (?); on the east it is the dike of Vitaka, … Also the village named
Mâdhâśâmmalî. On the north its boundary is Ganginikâ; from there, on the east…; from
there again, on the south, it is Kâlikâśvabhra, proceeding thence as far as…; on the west,
from there again,… it enters Ganginikâ. At Palitaka the boundary on the south is the small
island of Kânâ; on the east the river Kônthiyâ; on the north Ganginikâ; on the west
Jênandâyikâ. On the island the funeral rites of this village are performed (?). Of the village
of Gôpippali, which is within the Âmrashandikâ mandala belonging to the Sthâlîkkata district
(vishaya), the boundaries are, on the east the western boundary of the Udragrâma
mandala, on the south a jôlaka (?), on the west the khâ ikâ (?) named Vêsanikâ, on the
north the cattle-path running on the borders of the Udragrâma mandala.

(L. 43.) To all the people assembled at these four villages, the Râjans, Râjanakas,
Râjaputras, Râjâmâ yas, Sênâpa is, Vishaŋapa is, Bhôgapa is, Shash hâdhikritas,
Dandaśak is, Dândapâśikas, Chaurôddharanikas, Dauhsâdhasâdhanikas, Dûtas, Khôlas,
Gamâgamikas, Abhitvaramânas, inspectors of elephants, horses, cows, buffalo-cows, goats
and sheep, inspectors of boats, inspectors of the forces, Tarikas, Śaulkikas, Gaulmikas,
Tadâyuktakas, Viniyuktakas and other dependants of the king’s feet, and to the other not
specially named, to those belonging to the irregular and regular troops as they may be
present from time to time, to the Jyêsh hakâyasthas, Mahâmahattaras, Mahattaras,
Dâśagrâmikas and other district officers, including the Karanas, and to the resident
cultivators,–to all these especially honouring the Brâhmanas, he pays due respect, makes
known, and issues these commands:–

(L. 48.) Be it known to you that the Mahâsâmantâdhipati, the illustrious Nârâyanavarman,
by the mouth of the Dûtaka, the Yuvarâja Tribhuvanapâla, has preferred to us the following
request: “For the increase of our parents’ and our own merit we have had a temple built at
Śubhasthalî. to the holy lord N[u]nna-Nârâyana who has been installed there (by us), and
to the Lâta Brâhmanas, priests and other attendants who wait upon him, may it please your
Majesty to grant four villages, with their ha ikâ and talapâ aka, for the performance of
worship and other rites.” Thereupon, at his request, we accordingly have assigned the
above-written four villages, together with the talapâ aka and ha ikâ, up to their proper
boundaries, with all their localities, with (the fines for) the ten offences, not in any way to
be interfered with, exempt from all molestation, in accordance with the maxim of
bhûmichchhidra, for as long as the moon, the sun and the earth endure. Wherefore all of
you, out of respect for the merit resulting from a gift of land, and afraid of falling into the
great hell and of other evils consequent on the resumption of it, should applaud and
preserve this gift. And the resident cultivators, being ready to obey our commands, should
make over (to the donees) the customary taxes, means of subsistence, and all other kinds
of revenue.

(L. 56.) [Here follow five benedictive and imprecatory verses.]

(L. 60.) In the increasing reign of victory, the year 32, 12 days of Mârga.

(L. 62.) This was engraved by the skilful Tâtata, the son of the worthy Subhata and son’s
son of the worthy Bhôgata.

Source: Kielhorn, F., 1979, ‘Khalimpur Plate of Dharmapaladeva’, Epigraphia Indica, Vol.
IV. - 1896-97, Archaeological survey of India, Delhi, pp. 243-254.

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Inscriptions also play an important role in the reconstruction of the history of regions. As
India is a vast landmass with an astonishing cultural plurality, the stages of historical
developments have been uneven. As the donative inscriptions of the period often record
donation of a village or a piece of land in some village, these may be used for understanding
various aspects of rural society, which is not a concern in the contemporary period. As a
result, a rational account of early medieval Indian history cannot be reconstructed until and
unless histories of regions and their constituent localities are written. In all the regions, the
inscriptions precede the literary sources. Therefore they provide the region-specific or
locality-specific historical information for a longer period. How a better understanding of the
developments at the regional and locality level can improve our understanding of the
processes reflects well in the writings of the practitioners of the ‘Integrative model’ like B.D.
Chattopadhyaya, Hermann Kulke, B.P. Sahu etc. But to achieve that objective, it is
indispensable that inscriptions should be used not merely as a corroborative evidence for
the conclusions based on the literary evidences, but should be consulted as an independent
source for the historical reconstruction.

Inscriptions are also useful in reconstructing the history of language which further provides
insights into the interactions among different communities. Even the Sanskrit inscriptions of
the period show the influence of local dialect in spelling and words of non-Sanskrit origin.

It is often observed that once the literary sources are available to the historians,
archaeological sources are treated as secondary sources meant for corroborating the
arguments drawn on the basis of literary sources. A possible reason for the same may be
that the use of archaeological evidences is more challenging that the literary ones because
of the dating being more challenging. In addition to that limited number of excavated sites
and a more limited number of published excavation reports is another impediment. But if we
examine carefully, these limitations are there, though in different form and magnitude, with
the literary sources also. Archeological sources help a historian to underline the gap
between the norms, as laid down by those in power and the practices. One should also not
lose sight of the fact that archaeology throws light on the aspects which either do not
receive attention or receive attention in passing in the literary sources. For example,
archaeological sources provide important information on human settlements, technology,
networks of trade etc. In pursuit of the reconstruction of the early medieval Indian history
also, a more scientific use of archaeological evidences may improve our understanding.

The Question of Historical Tradition

The ancient Indians (which include the early medieval Indians also) are often alleged as the
people having no sense of history. The allegation was first levelled by Al Biruni and was
endorsed by colonial scholars like Vincent A. Smith. In the contemporary times also the
literary production of the ancient Indians is not accepted as a valid source of history
because of its mainly religious nature in addition to ‘ambiguous’ temporal and spatial
context. In the context of north India, the issue has been discussed in length by Romila
Thapar in many of her writings, including her book entitled The Past Before Us (2013).
Thapar seeks to draw distinction between historical literature and historical traditions. As far
as historical literature conforming to the modern parameters is concerned, Rajatarangini by
Kalhana is no doubt the only text from ancient India which can stake claim for the label. But
judging the historical consciousness of any past society on modern parameters would be
unjust.

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Value addition: what the sources say?

Albiruni’s observation on the sense of time and the archive

Unfortunately the Hindus do not pay much attention to the historical order of things, they
are very careless in relating the chronological succession of their kings, and when they are
pressed for information and are at a loss, not knowing what to say, they invariably take to
tale-telling… I have been told that the pedigree of this royal family (the Shahiya of Kabul),
written on silk, exists in the fortress Nagarkot.

Source: E.C. Sachau (ed. and tr.), 1989, Alberuni’s India, Vol. II, Low Price Edition, Delhi,
pp. 10-11.

Rather historical consciousness should better be judged on the basis of historical traditions
which ‘emanates from a sense of the past and include three aspects: first, a consciousness
of past events relevant to or thought of as significant by a particular society, the reasons for
the choice of such events being implicit; second, the placing of these events in an
approximately chronological framework, which would tend to reflect elements of the idea of
causality; and third, the recording of these events in a form which meets the requirements
of that society’ (Thapar, 2013, pg. 4).

If such a definition is accepted then no society can be called a-historical. One just has to
make out why certain events were considered worth recording in the way these were
recorded. Applying this approach to the ancient Indian literature, Thapar argues for the
existence of historical tradition in two forms- the ‘embedded’ form and the ‘externalized’
form. Of these, the embedded form of historical consciousness is seen in the compositions
like dana-stutis, gathas, narashamsis and akhyanas which have historical information
covered under the layers of myth. This kind of historical consciousness is connected with the
clan-based societies. On the other hand the externalized form of historical consciousness is
the one which is reflected in the literature in which historical information is not covered
under myth. Such a literature claims to be a narrative of a person or an event backed by a
claim of historicity. This variety of historical tradition is seen in the state societies. In the
context of ancient Indian history, it is seen in the post-Gupta period. The turn to this kind of
historical consciousness was caused due to the legitimation needs of the emerging
kingdoms of the period. Now merely bestowing Kshatriya status on the king or divinizing
him was not sufficient but there was a need for a more credible past and recoding and
recording the events of the present for use in the construction of such a past, and for the
future. This purpose was served by the genres of the period under discussion, namely
Charitas (historical biographies), vanshavalis (chronicles) and inscriptions. In the words of
Romila Thapar, “In their forms and in what they record, (these genres) move from historical
traditions to the nuclei of historical writing” (Thapar, 2013, p. 690). But these genres did
not mark a complete breakaway from the earlier genres. Rather they drew on the latter. For
example, the origin myths and early heroes of the dynasty mentioned in the eulogy part of
the inscriptions and the dynastic chronicles have their roots in the vanshanucharita section
of the Puranas. Similarly, historical biographies have their roots in the biographical elements
of the Itihas-Purana tradition. The departure from the ‘embedded form’ is marked by the
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fact that now the events and the actors were historically verifiable entities. In addition to
that the past tense used in these genres show that the purpose of the author was to record
the past whereas in the vanshanucharita section of the Puranas future tense was used. The
individuals and the events mentioned in the early medieval genres are dated in worldly eras
e.g. the Shaka era, the Vikrama era or some other era or regnal years. Difference is also
seen in the authorship. In contrast to the vanshanucharita sections of the Puranas, the
charitas and the inscriptions were the compositions of the historically identifiable authors.

So, in our period, the historical consciousness is expressed in externalized form. The
historical biographies in the form of charita literature, inscriptions which provided accounts
of the concerned dynasties and vanshavalis (chronicles) of our period are the writings which
may be called historical writings. Though the argument of Romila Thapar is based on the
survey of sources from north India, the fact is that the genres following the same pattern
are reported from the other parts of early medieval India also. For example, all the political
powers of our period issued a large number of inscriptions, broadly following the above-
mentioned format, for recording some historical event, the act of donation in most of the
cases. Similarly, the Mushikavanshakavya, an eleventh century Sanskrit text composed by
Atula. It is a dynastic chronicle of the chiefly house of the Mushikas. They were the
feudatories of the Cheras. The early chapters of the text follow the itihas-purana tradition.
But the information provided from the eleventh chapter onwards can be verified by other
sources such as inscriptions. Thus the text qualifies to be a vanshavali. In addition to that,
Bilhana’s Vikramankadevacharita is a biography of later Chalukya ruler, Vikramaditya VI and
may safely be categorized as a charita text. Thus at least in our period, the compositions
conforming to the ‘externalized’ historical consciousness, seems applicable to other regions
as well.

Summary
 A history of early medieval India can be reconstructed on the basis of variety of
sources which may broadly be categorized under the headings literary sources and
archaeological sources.
 The religious texts like the Puranas, the Upapuranas, the Sthalapuranas and the
Mahatmyas provide important information on popular religious practices.
 The Dharmashastric tradition is reflected in the Tikas and the Nibandhas on smritis.
 The Charitas were the biographies of individual rulers, aimed at presenting him as
the person full of virtues.
 Vamshavalis are the chronicles on a state, region or kingdom like Rajatarangini,
Chamba vamshavali.
 A number of texts dealing with subjects like astronomy, medicine, agriculture,
architecture, and the veterinary sciences are also available.
 Foreigners’ accounts include the accounts of various Arab travelers and merchants in
addition to a scholar called Al Biruni.
 Inscriptions of the period mainly recorded donations. Inscriptions form throughout
the country follow a standard format which, as a result, sometimes give misleading
information about the nature of donated land.
 The interpretation of archaeological sources free from the conclusion based on
literary sources provides important information on the localities and regions and thus
helps in writing history of regions.
 The period is marked by the composition of expositions exhibiting externalized
historical consciousness.

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Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
 Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic Data

Glossary
Charita- The biographies of kings written by the poets under their patronage.

Dharmashastras- The expression is used for the brahmanical literature, primarily

concerned with laying down social norms. The texts labelled as the Dharmasutras, smritis
and Tikas and Nibandhas are collectively called Dharmashastra.

Itihas-Purana- The predominant historical tradition of early India, attributed to brahmana

authors writing about those who ruled.

Rudhira-manya/rakta-manya- A compensatory grant made to the dependents of the

deceased hero (K.V. Ramesh, 1984, Inscriptions of the Western Gangas, Agam Kala
Prakashan, Delhi, pg. 110).

Vanshanucharita: A section of the Puranas giving genealogies of some dynasties.

Exercise
Essay Question
1. Write an essay on the religious texts available for the reconstruction of early
medieval India.
2. Give an account of archaeological sources for the reconstruction of early medieval
India.
3. How far you agree with the views that the early medieval Indian literature reflects
absence of any notion of history? Justify your argument with examples.

Short Question
1. Discuss the importance of early medieval inscription as a source for historical
reconstruction.
2. ‘In terms of historical consciousness the early medieval India literature reflects both
continuity and change from the early historical period’. Comment.

Objective Questions
Question Number Type of question

1 True or False

Question

1. Agni Purana consists of the ideal pancha-lakshana or “the five facets” of a Purana.
2. Nibandha is a part of Dharmashastric tradition.
3. The Gadhahiya coins depict the kalki incarnation of Vishnu.
4. The eulogy section of early medieval Indian inscriptions generally formed the
concluding part.

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Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
 Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic Data

Answer 1. False. Only Vishnu Purana consists of the ideal pancha-lakshana “the five
facets”.
2. True.
3. False. The Gadhaiya coins depict the Varaha (or boar) incarnation of
Vishnu.
4. False. The eulogy section generally formed the early part of inscriptions.

Question Number Type of question

2 Match the following

Question
(Component) (Literary form)
Vanshanucharita section - Charita literature
Royal biography - Inscriptions
A short record of a historical events - Tika
Commentary on Dharmashatric texts - Purana

Correct Vanshanucharita section- Purana

Answer / Royal biography - Charita literature
Option(s)
A short record of a historical events- Inscriptions

Commentary on Dharmashatric texts - Tika

Justification/ Feedback for the correct answer

See the above discussion

Question Number Type of question

3 Match the following

(Text) (Author)
Ramacharita - Merutung
Vikramankadevacharita - Kalhana
Rajatarangini - Sandhyakara Nandin
Prabandha Chintamani - Bilhana

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Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi
 Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic Data

Correct (Text) (Author)

answer
Ramacharita - Sandhyakara Nandin
Vikramankadevacharita - Bilhana
Rajatarangini - Kalhana
Prabandha Chintamani - Merutunga

Further readings-

1. Chakrabarti, Dilip K., 2006, The Oxford Companion to Indian Archaeology, Oxford
University Press, New Delhi, pp. 424-473.
2. Chakravarty, Ranabir, 2010, ‘Realms and Regions: Profiles of Economy, Society and
Culture (c. AD 600-1300)’ Exploring Early India, Upto c. AD 1300, Macmillan, Delhi,
pp. 291-379.
3. Habib, Irfan, 2007, ‘Early Medieval India, 600-1200’ in Medieval India, National Book
Trust, New Delhi, pp. 3-54.
4. Sharma, R.S., 1995, ‘An Analysis of Land Grants and their Value for Economic
History’ in Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India, Munshiram
Manoharlal, New Delhi, pp. 272-281.
5. Singh, Upinder, 2009, ‘Emerging Regional Configurations, c. 600-1200 CE’ in A
History of Ancient and Early Medieval India, Pearson, Delhi, pp 546-643.
6. Thapar, Romila, 2013, The Past Before Us, Permanent Black, Ranikhet.
7. Veluthat, Kesavan, 2014, available on the following link-
http://www.iicdelhi.in/webcasts/view_webcast/the-past-before-us--historical-
traditions-in-early-north-india/

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Institute of Lifelong Learning, University of Delhi