Chapter 14 - Urban and Rural life (in Bhasa’s time)

The way the citizens and villagers led their life, the particulars of the places they inhabited, and the surroundings under which they worked and lived indicate fairly the degree of civilization of the period. Our plays mention some of the well-known big cities of ancient India, and give a somewhat fair description of Mathura, Ujjayini and Vairantya, which may be taken as typical of the cities of the period. For enlightenment on the rural life, we content ourselves with what can be gleaned from the Balacarita and the Pancaratra, with occasional references from the other plays. 66 the The Vedic Aryans no doubt were partly pastoral, partly agricultural people, and did not know much of city life. Pur" in the Rigveda has been interpreted to refer to fortified cities, and according to Dr. Acharya, Vedic people were not ignorant of stone forts, walled cities, stone houses and brick edifices There is also a reference to a hundred walled fort. It appears, therefore, that the Vedic Aryans had emerged out of pastoral life. and had begun to lead city life. We come across a fullfledged city in the Indus culture, which we take to be Aryan and subsequent to the period of the Rgveda. The city of Mohenjo-Daro was systematically laid out in rectangular blocks. Streets were sufficiently wide (13' to 30'), carefully aligned, and the principal streets were orientated to the points of the compass. There was an elaborate drainage system of which any modern town may really be proud. Each of the houses, which were 1 Modern Review, Sept., 1934, p. 281. 2 Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, XVIII, pp. 385-395.

388 built of brick, generally had a well, a bath-room, a courtyard and a stairway suggesting an upper storey. It appears that different sites were reserved for residences, market place, business quarters, places of worship or temples, and for the followers of different occupations such as potters, etc." In the subsequent periods, however, no progress seems to have been made by the Indians in this line, and the epics do not throw much light on the cities and the city life, the descriptions on the whole verging towards exaggeration. The Buddhist literature tells us much about the cities and buildings of that period. It appears that there were three kinds of cities-Nagara or the capital, Nigama or a city, and, Janapada or a village. The cities had fortifications and high towers for the sentries to observe the enemy from a distance. Beyond the fortified walls were two ditches, one filled with water and the other with mud. Outside the city walls, were the so-called suburbs where the inferior castes such as the potters, the Candalas, etc., resided. There was no vacant place left around the house for gardens or similar purposes, but the houses opened directly into the streets. Many houses had superstructures, the highest one having, it seems, seven storeys. Greek writers state that the houses were built of wood and wooden pillars were used, but in view of the antiquity of the art of lapidary in India, as also on account of the absence of any conclusive proof in support, the pillars are taken to be carved out of stones. There were underground drains for carrying sewage, which were so big that not only wolves and jackals but even thieves could enter the city through them after the city walls were closed for the night. Outside the cities there were public parks and gardens which were also utilized for religious discourses. There were also rest-houses or sarais (Avasathagaras) for travellers." The Arthasastra devotes two chapters to stating the laying out of a new city. The town was to be circular, rectangular or square in shape. The palace was placed in 1 Cf. Section G of DK area. The information about the Indus civilization Mohenjo-Daro and the Indus Civilization." is gathered from Sir John Marshall's 2 Joshi, Aravinda, 1921, pp. 347-350, Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, pp. 63-71, 78.

389 the northern portion. To the east of the palace were traders and artisans as well as the kitchen, elephant-stables, treasury, and manufactories. To the south were the offices of the different Superintendents and traders in cooked rice, liquor and flesh, and prostitutes, musicians and the Vaisyas. To the west were the armoury and arsenal, stables of asses and camels, chariots, and artisans in wool, cloth and leather, and the Sudras. To the north were the tutelary deity, iron-smiths, jewellers and the Brahmanas, as well as shops and hospitals. The centre of the city was reserved for apartments of Gods where temples of various Gods were built. There was a ditch around the city and beyond hundred cubits were constructed places of worship and pilgrimage, groves and buildings. The cremation grounds were either to the north or to the east; those for the people of the highest caste were placed to the south. Further off were the quarters of the heretics, C etc. Every group of ten houses was to have one well. There were also underground drains to carry off rain Public rest-houses or sarais were maintained for the benefit of travellers." water. Now we shall refer to our plays for particulars about urban life. In the fifth act of the Balacarita, we get a short description of Mathura, the capital of Kamsa. After entry, one came across city guards mounted on elephants and then there were the quarters of washermen. Then after a short distance along the main road, which used to be decorated by flags, banners and floral garlands and scented by aguru and sandal smoke on festive occasions, were to be seen garland makers, florists, perfumers, etc. Armoury was the next important place and then the Court. In the interior of the city was a stadium where wrestling competitions and prize fights were staged. The royalty witnessed the scene from the royal balcony built high up on one side of the arena. The splendour and affluence of Lanka is evinced by what we read about it in the second act of the Abhiseka. The description of the palace with its mansions, turrets of gold and parks, adorned with coral trees reads like a fairy tale, as also the subsequent description of the PramadaArthasastra, II. 3, 4, pp. 51-57.

1 390 Vana where gold and gems are again brought in. It appears that each house had an inner apartment and a hall. There were also public baths and drinking houses. and a fleet of arial cars. The Pramadavana (royal pleasure garden) had numerous big trees wrought in gold and set with blue gems and also had a number of beautiful spotless hillocks. Lanka had also a number of artificial lakes containing water-animals, mountains with wonderful rivulets and gold mines, and public and private gardens with trees ever green and full of flowers and fruits. Trikuta was one of the royal gardens among the Pramadavanas, having a number of bees, and containing clusters of lotus plants and numerous other trees. Asokavanika was another pleasure garden, a special favourite of Her Majesty Queen Mandodari, reared up with such a tender care that no sprouts were ever plucked; nor were the young. trees ever touched even by hands. 2 More realistic and typical of the average city of the period is the description of Vairantya, the capital of Kuntibhoja, given in the Avimaraka." The city had palatial buildings in the market place with snow-whitecolours on both sides of the roads. The verandahs on the ground floor were used as shops for selling country sugar, honey and other commodities. The upper storeys were the residential quarters where the fashionable city-bred beaux and courtesans vied with each other in showing themselves in their best attire, and they were to be seen walking to and fro in the balconies of their respective quarters with a view to see and to be seen. The courtesans followed their trade in the business quarters of the city, possibly in the centre of the town, but they had to reside outside. The public gaming house was situated at a prominent place in the city with its own gaming laws. and regulations, paying some revenue out of the proceeds to the state. There were also public squares in the cities called nagaracatvaras where bulls dedicated to deities roamed about freely after being sumptuously fed, and none dared touch them. The city had also a public park 1 Abh, II. 4. 2 Avi, pp. 27-28. 3 Avi, p. 44, and III. -; p. 29 - aladdhabhobha paadaganiya vibha ratti parasado saidam agacchami | Of Arthasastra, p. 55 -rupajivastala pacara vesyasca daksinam disamadhivaseyuh | 4 Avi, p. 45- 'srngatakastham vitasabha ' 5 Car, p. 10- caccara vusaho vibha ... romanyaamano |

2 391 where citizens could go with their wives and make merry, but it was strictly guarded and entry restricted when some royal princess visited the place with her retinue." In another connection we read of a tavern-keeper selling liquor, and a public drinking-house in another principal town. There were public rest-houses where travellers could put up for some time. Public baths in Ujjayini, possibly on the ghats of the river Sipra, are incidentally referred to. Important cities were fortified On all the sides. Underground drains which have been a speciality of India since ancient times are to be met with also in the period under consideration, the reference being to streets being flooded due to the choking up of the drain. 8 There were bio parks outside the cities where citizens of both sexes went on festive occasions. Well watered green trees and blossoming gardens suggested the vicinity of a city, as these gardens, which were well cared for, presented quite a different aspect from the dried up and leafless trees that one came across during one's way. The Candalas had to reside outside the city in settlements resembling the Ghettos of the Middle Ages and the Indian localities in South Africa, and they were subjected to unspeakable ignominies." The courtesans resided outside the city and the cowherds also had their cottages outside.³ We are given a beautiful description of the city at night in the Avimaraka and the Carudatta. There were beatings of the drum and proclamation to mark the beginning and the close of the night with a view to warn the citizens against moving outside during the period." The Arthasastra also mentions the sounding of the trumpet; but on special occasions permits were to be granted for exemptions from the curfew order." The exceptions were in the case of midwives, doctors, carriers of dead bodies to the cremation grounds, those going out to extinguish fire, etc. In the period of our plays, however, the prohibition as to moving 1 Avi, p. 2. 2 Pratijna, pp. 56-57. 3 Svapna, p. 102 4 Cf. Pratijna, p. 64-' 5 Pratijna, p. 50 476. Cf. Arthasastra, III. 8, p. 16-1; also Cambridge History of India, 1, p. 6 Prat p. 57; Abh, p. 6. 7 Avi, p. 14; Panc, p, 52, 8 Avi, p. 29; Bal, p. 39; Panc, p. 52. 9 Avi, pp. 43-46; Car, Acts I and III. 10 Car, 65-78. kidraparighosanadae (p, 65 ) : nepathye patahasabdah (p, 78) 11 Arthasastra, II. pp. 36, p. 146 - visanna likamubhayato yamaturya | sutika cikitsakapretapradipanayana etc.

392 about during night does not seem to have been strictly followed. There were also night-guards and watchmen to patrol the streets. In spite of these precautions, thieves were not uncommon with their swords, ropes and measuring cords. Thieving was followed as a fine art under instructions from preceptors, and it had its guardian deities like St. Nicholas or Mercury. Thieves knew the art of house-breaking very well, and they were experts in magic such as causing drowsiness to inmates, etc. There were bravados and favourites of the king, who with the help of their servants pursued unwilling courtesans and followed their nefarious practices escaping the attention of the night-guards. The city was completely plunged in darkness during night, save what little light came from the windows of the rows of buildings on the sides of the roads. There were no lamp posts and no arrangements were made for lighting the streets. Those wandering during the night used to take lamps with them. Kautilya also advises the carrying of lamps. Nothing is known about street-lights from the Arthasastra. There were held singing and music conferences during night which continued till a very late hour, and men of the status of Carudatta felt no hesitation in attending them." Some persons, possibly the cultured among the rich, practised song and music in their own residences; and ladies in respectable families were educated in these arts. As regards residential quarters of the general public, our plays do not throw much light on the construction or the interior of the house. It seems that the residences of persons of the upper middle class (of the status of Carudatta) were built of bricks and were surrounded by gardens. Vatsyayana recommends the sinking of a well or tank or a lake in the midst of a garden that was attached to every house. Kitchen vegetables, aromatic medicinal herbs, scented flowers, etc. were to be planted in the garden adjoining the house and generally the mistress of the house managed everything concerning the and 1 Avi, p. 45. bhaye raksinah khalvete | 2 Car, Act III. 3 Car, Act I. Avi, p. 45-- ubhayapamktigatanam prasadanam gavaksantargatadipaprabhaisa | ; Cf. also Car, p. 66- uparudho'rdharatrah | sthiratimira rajamargah | 5 Car, pp. 27, 28, 41. - 'dipika tavat ' Car, pp. 64-66. 7 Avi, pp. 43-44. 8 Car, III. 8. and pp. 71, 78,- 'vrksavatika '

393 garden. There were quadrangular courtyards in the houses; and different apartments, each containing a number of rooms, were built, of which one was reserved for ladies. In the quadrangular courtyards men used to meditate or meet the visitors, and the passage to the inner apartments lay through the courtyards." The inner apartments were quite inaccessible to strangers, and persons of questionable character such as courtesans, were not admitted inside. The sanctity of the inner apartments was thought to suffer even if ornaments worn by courtesans were kept in them.³ It appears there were separate servants' quarters and the mistress of the household at times had to make a big sound of the door panels to attract the attention of her maid." The palatial establishment of a courtesan indicating the flourishing condition of different crafts and arts, so elaborately dealt with by the author of the Mrcchakatika, has been very modestly described by our author. In contrast to the portal made of ivory, doors of gold, gaming table with jewelled chessboard, paintings, music halls, culinary, jewellery, perfumery, botanical and zoological gardens, as well as an aviary with a number of caged and tame birds, showing the splendour of a typical mansion, we meet only the Pandits, goldsmiths, cooks and musicians in the account given in our play. At another place the painter's board and other instruments are referred to as being kept in an apartment of the house." 5 There is no mention in any of the plays of any furniture such as chairs, couches, mosquito-curtains etc. The Jatakas mention these articles, and Vatsyayana mentions carpets, cushions, etc." An ideal thorough-bred gentleman of the town was kind to servants, and generous to a fault, spending his wealth for the sake of others, leaving nothing with him, like a driedup stream in summer that has quenched the thirst of many a traveller. He was ready to appreciate and reward good . 1 Chakladar, Social Life, p. 151; Cf. also, Arthasastra, II. 4. p. 56- tesu puspaphalavatasandakedaran kuryuh | 2 Avi, pp. 23, 42, 86; Car, pp. 28, 36, 71, 3 Cf. Car, p. 36 - abhaini aham abbhantarappavesassa | also p. 70. bahyajanadharitamalankaram grhajano na draksyati 4 Car, p. 81: haizac zia mimi | sort of call-bell! 5 Car, p. 97 ; Mrcchakatika, Act IV. 6 Car, p. 88. 7 Cf. Joshi, Aravinda, 1921, p. 360; Chakladar, Social Life, p. 155.

394 works and deeds of valour. His merits and good deeds created such a fine and forceful impression among even the dare-devils that they were afraid of his virtues; it was considered by them sacrilegious to offend or insult such a person. He was a lover of music and at nightfall used to visit musical concerts where vocal and instrumental music was performed occasionally attended with dances. Always ready to help others, he never boasted of his charity, nor kept any memory of insults or offences done to him. He was so modest as to regard even his own body as belonging to others.2 Gentlemen in those days. kept shampooers to massage their bodies, and it is interesting to note that Vatsyayana recommends massage every other day. It appears that they also used to have aromatic smoke after bath. From the two examples supplied to us, we may say that a Nagarika of those days was not very scrupulous with regard to sexual morals, but it cannot be said that moral standards were lax in those days. Both the gentlemen loved courtesans with a desire to matrimony and not merely as a momentary diversion.³ The cowherds in the Pancaratra and the Balacarita convey to us some idea of the pastoral life of those days. Ascribing divinity to cows and worshipping them on special occasions has been in vogue in India since long, and was current at the time of these plays. Cows are goddesses to the herdsmen, and the first question of their greeting relates to the well-being of the cows; that of the relatives is asked later on. The cowherds are taken to be pure by nature on account of their life in the ghosa." It is interesting to note that of the various methods of purification to discard pollution, only two methods, viz. by application of dust, and by plunging into water are referred to in the Balacarita, and the application of dust is mentioned as the usual purificatory form for the cowherds.* The cowherds make ready for merry-making and dance on the occasion of special festivities such as the king's birthday or the Indrayajna or Dhanurmaha festivals. 1 Car, I. 26; also, p. 33 - satyam bhito'smi | tasya gunebhyah | 2 Car, pp. 52-53. 3 Car, pp. 51-52; Chakladar, Social Life, p. 158. 4 Car, p. 29 - surabhisnanadhupanu- viddha iva gandhah | 5. Carudatta and Sajjalaka in the Car. 6 Bal, p. 11-3 bhagavatibhyo gobhyah kusalam etc. 7 Bal, p. 14 - ghosavasat prakrtya sucireva bhavan | pp. 14-15. 8 Bal,

395 Hallisaka was their special dance on these occasions, wherein youths of both sexes participated. Old herdsmen acted as spectators for these mixed dances in which the youngsters appeared in their best dresses.' These cowherds were susceptible to common superstitions, and the shrill crowing of a crow facing the sun on a dry branch of a dry tree was an inauspicious omen to them. They resided in the suburbs and had plenty of milk and its products, fruit, root, etc. Their humble dwellings appeared as quite samrddha to them, and their prayers are for peace and blessings and freedom from harm to the divine cows and to their own families." 6 $ " , 1 Panc, pp. 48-52; also, Bal pp. 38-42. 2 Panc, p, 48. 3 The word 'Pakkana' apparently means 'residence of a Candala'; but in the Bal, it signifies 'huts or cottages similar to those of the Candalas. In the Panc, however, we think the word Pakkana, signifies residence of a Candala (contra, Ganapati Sastri, Panc, p. 52, Com.) as the cowherds have come out for celebrating birthday of their king, and it is at the approach of the Kuru army that in their hurry they speak of entering the residences of the Candalas.