Historical Elements (1): Literary Source

Indian literature is partly sacred and partly secular. As regards the sacred literature, reference may be made to the Ṛgveda, Sāmaveda, Yajurveda and the Atharvaveda . Out of the four Vedas, the Ṛgveda is the most ancient and gives a lot of information regarding the history and the political system of the Aryans. The Brāhmaṇas are a prose commentary on the Saṃhitās or the Vedic hymns. The Āraṇyakas and the Upaniṣads embody the philosophical meditations of the learned sages on God, the soul and the world. They give us a picture of the religious thought of the Aryans. In addition to the above, there are six Vedāṅgas , viz., phonetics, astronomy, ritual, grammar, etymology and metrics. The Vedāṅgas were intended to help the understanding of the Vedic texts. In course of time special school of thought came into existence for a systematic study of the various branches of Vedic knowledge. Those schools involved special texts of their own known as the Sutras. The Kalpasūtras are manuals on rituals and there are four divisions of them. The Śrautasūtras deal with the rules relating to big sacrifices. The Gṛhyasūtras . Deal with rules relating to domestic rights. The Dharmasūtras deal with Dharma or law. The Śulbasūtras^[1] deals with the measurement and the building of places of sacrifice and fire-altars.

According to Pargiter, the Vedic literature “lacks historical sense and is not always to be trusted.”

The view of S. N. Pradhan is that:

“The evidences derived from the Vedic literature are very strong and carry authority. Many of them are either directly contemporary records or are traditions derived from contemporary evidences.”

However, the information derived from this sources must be used with due caution and we should neither be credulous nor prejudiced.

Next to the Vedas the two great Epics, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Mahābhārata , are the most famous books in Sanskrit literature. Whereas the Vedas are only for a few, the epics appeal to the people of every class. They are a kind of mine whose treasures have been used by dramatists, poets and story-tellers. Even the greatest critics do not deny the fact that the stories told in the epics may be magnified echoes of some historical events. According to Winternitz, the Rāmāyaṇa must already “have been generally familiar as an ancient work before Mahābhārata had reached its final form.” The epics give us an insight into the political and social conditions of the people in their times. The Aryans had developed by that time a large number of small kingdoms along the banks of the Ganges and the Yamuna and their tributaries. The forest played an important part. The Aryans were war–like and were constantly forming alliances and waging wars. The power of the king was growing but big empires had not yet come into existence. The Government acted on the advice of the Ministers and councilors and a wicked king who failed in this duties, could be deposed or even put to death. He was the leader of the army in the battle field and the army ran away if he met with death. Four castes were becoming more and more defined. Town-life was becoming known. Towns were surrounded by moats and battlements. Towns were surrounded by moats and battlements. Taxes were paid in silver and copper money and also in kind. The king lives in his place and was surrounded by nobles and dancing girls. Hunting, drinking, gambling and fighting were the favorite occupations of the kings. Great hospitality was shown to guests. Ideas of chivalry dominated the age. The Kṣatriya princesses selected their own husbands at Svyamvara. A wife is referred to as “half the man, his trust friend, a perpetual spring of virtue, pleasure and wealth, a companion in solitude, a father in advice, and a rest in passing through life’s wilderness.

It cannot be stated definitely as to when the epics assumed their present shape. The earliest portions must have been very old and additions must have taken place at different times. According to some writers, the latest recension of the epics must have taken place in the second century A.D., but there is also the possibility of an earlier age. The original epics must have been written not later than third or second centuries B.C.

The Dharmaśāstras like the Smṛtis of Manu, Yajñāvalkya, Viṣṇu, Bṛhaspati, Nārada, etc., also give us a lot of information about the Hindu society. They lay down the rules according to which the Hindus were required to conduct their lives. Punishments were also provided for the breach of those rules. According to Dr. Buhler, the Manusmṛti was composed between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D. The other Smṛtis must have been written after that period.

The most systematic record of Indian historical tradition is that preserved in the dynastic lists of the Purāṇas . Five out of the eighteen works of this class, namely, the Vāyu, Matsya, Viṣṇu, Brahmāṇḍa , and Bhāgavata contain such lists. The Matsya is the earliest and most authoritative. Theory required that a Purāṇa should deal with ‘the five topics of primary creation, secondary creation, genealogies of Gods and patriarch, reigns of various Manus, and the histories of the old dynasties of Kings.’ The last named of the five topics is the only one which concerns the historian.^[2] Modern European writers have been inclined to disparage unduly the authority of the Purāṇic lists, but closer study finds in them much genuine and valuable historical tradition.

The Buddhist literature gives a lot of information regarding the period which immediately preceded the accession of Bimbisara. It throws light on many topics which are not dealt with by the Brāhmaṇical writers. The Buddhist literature is found in two languages, Viz., Pāli and Sanskrit. The Pāli canon is divided into three Pitakas or Baskets, Viz., the Vinaya Pitaka , the Sutta Pitaka , and the Abhidhamma Pitaka . The Vinaya Pitaka contains disciplinary rules and regulations for leading a monastic life. It contains the following texts: Sutta Vibhaga, Khandakas and Parivara. The Sūtta Pitaka is a summary of the teaching of Buddha. It is the most important of the Pitakas . It includes the Digha Nikāya. Majjihma Nikāya, Samyutta Nikāya, Anguttara Nikāya and Khudduka Nikāya. The Abhidhamma Pitaka consists of seven texts and deals with the doctrines of the Buddha in a scholastic manner.

The Dhammapada is a collection of 43 sayings of Buddha. The Theragatha is a collection of poems composed by monks. The Therigatha is a collection of poems composed by nuns. The poems are of a very high standard. The Buddhavamsa is a collection of legends of depicting the 24 lives of Buddha.

There is also a mass of non-canonical literature in Pali and the most important is Milinda Panha or “Questions of King Milinda.” It is named after the Greek King, Menander. It resembles the dialogues of Plato and is written in a very elegant prose. It discusses a number of problems and disputed points of Buddhism. It is a masterpiece of Pali literature. The greatest commentator in Pali of Buddhism was Buddhaghosha. The Deepavamsa and Mahavamsa are the chronicles of Ceylon. The Lalitavistara and Vaipulya Sutras are important works in Sanskrit dealing with Buddhism. The Lalitavistara is an emblished story of the life of Buddha. The Vaipulya Sutra deal with Buddhist doctrines in nine books.

The Nettiprakarana deals with the teachings of Buddha. The Petakapadesa explains the four noble truths of Buddhism. Both of these works are considered to be the writings of Maha Kachchana. Buddhaghosha lived in Ceylon in the 5th century A.D. He wrote commentaries on practically all the Pāli texts of the Tripitaks . He is famous for his Visuddhimagga. The other famous commentators were Buddhadatta, Ananda, Dhammapala, Upasena, Kassapa, Dhammasiri and Mahasami.

Nāgārjuna was a great teacher of Buddhism and he was the author of Śatasaharika, Prajñāpāramita and Madhyamika Sūtras . Aryadeva was also a great writer. Asanga was the author of Mahāyāna Sutradamkara . Vasubandhu was the author of Abhidharma Koṣa . Dignaga, Candragomin and Śāntideva were great scholars. Aśvaghosha was the author of Buddhacarita , Sutralaṃkāra, Saundarānanda Kāvya and Mahāyāna Sraddhatpada .

The Jātakas deal with the previous births of Buddha. According to the Buddhists, Gautama Buddha had to pass through a large number of births before he was born as a Śākya prince and got Enlightenment. About 549 Jātaka stories have been collected and published. The Jātakas are of unique importance as they represent the entire life and thought of their age. They give us supplementary information of great importance which helps us to check up the information available from the Brāhmaṇical works. From the Jātakas , we can draw a picture of the political, social, economic and religious condition of the people. The Jātakas have been assigned to the second or third century B.C. There are reliefs of the Jātakas on the stone walls around the Stupas of Sānchi and Barhut which were built about that time. The Buddhist tradition dates them much earlier and it is stated that they deal with the period before the birth of Buddha. According to Winternitz, “The Jātakas were of inestimable value, not only as regards literature and art, but also from the point of view of the history of civilization for the period of the third century B.C.”

Jain Literature also contains a lot of historical information Jacobi and Banarsi Das have done a lot of work on Jain literature. The Jains are spending a lot of money on the publication on their literature and it is hoped that a lot of useful information will be forthcoming when that work is completed.

The Mudrārākṣasa of Vishakha Datta gives the story of Chandragupta Maurya and Chanakya. It explains how the Nandas were overthrown and Chandragupta became the king of Magadha.

The Arthaśāstra of Kautilyacontains a lot of information. It not only gives detailed information regarding the system of administration, but also gives an idea of the social and religious life of the people.

Patanjali’s Mahābhaṣya and Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyayī are works on Sanskrit grammar, but there are some occasional references to kings, republics and other political events.

Several literary and other secular works supplement our knowledge of ancient India. Harisena was the poet–Laureate of Samudragupta and his poetical works especially the Prasasti on the Allahabad Pillar inscription throw a flood of light on the achievements of Samudragupta. The drama of Kālidasa such as Abhijñānam Śākuntalām , etc., give useful information about the social life of the people. The information contained in poetry, drama and prose regarding the social, religious, economic and cultural life of the people has not been exploited to the full. The difficulty with regard to them lies in the fact that the dates of their composition are not fixed and consequently it is sometimes dangerous to use the information contained in them.

The two dramas of Bhāsa known as Svapnavāsavadattam and Pratijñāyaugandharāyana , supply us interesting information about the political condition of India in the time of king Pradyata of Ujjain. The three dramatic works ascribed to Harṣa throw interesting light on the history of seventh century A.D. and those are the Nagānanda , the Ratnāvalī and the Priyadarśikā .

Certain writers took the lives of their royal patrons as the theme of their literary works. Bāṇa wrote Harsṣacarita or life of Harṣa in prose and this book is useful not only from the point of view of political history but also for depicting the economic, social and religious life of the people of seventh century A.D. Vākpati and Bilhan described the achievements of Yasovarman and Vikramāditya in the Gaudavaho and Vikramānkdevacarit . Another poetical work named Rāmacharit tells the story of king Rāmpāl of Bengal. The other biographical works are the Kumārpalcarit of Jayasimha. Kumarpal Charit of Hemachandra. Hammira Kavya of Naya Chandra, Navsahasanka Charit of Padmagupta, Bhojparabandhu of Ballal, Prithviraja Charit of Chandbardai and Prithviraj Vijay of an unknown writer.

The above works cannot be regarded as genuine history although they contain valuable historical information. Their object was the glorification of the king rather than to give a true picture of his life and times and they were mostly considered by their authors not as historical texts, but primarily as media for showing their literary skill and ingenuity.

The Rajtarangini of Kalhana^[3] was written in 1149–50 A.D. According to R. C. Majumdar, this is the only work in ancient Indian literature that can be regarded as an historical text in true sense of the word. The author has not only taken great pains to collect his material from the existing chronicles and other sources but has laid down certain general principles for the writing of history at the beginning of the book. According to him he had examined 11 works of former scholars which contained the chronicles of their times. He had also inspected the ordinances of former kings relating to religious foundations and grants, inscriptions, etc.

Kalhana’s account of the history of Kashmir is not trustworthy before the seventh century A.D. As we proceed further, his book:

“Ceases to be merely a chronicle of dry details and faithfully presents the ebb and flow of national life, the periods of glory and misery and the greatness and weakness of men and rulers–in short, all those minute details which make history a record of intense human interest, faithfully portraying the march of events through which a people works out its own destiny.”

Of all the Indian writers, he is the only person who gives an account of Kanishka. From seventh century onwards the Rajtarangini gives a reliable history of Kashmir. The author gives the career of each king in chronological order with a fair amount of details. As he gradually comes nearer to his own time, history becomes more detailed and he gives a full picture of those times. It is to be noted that his account was continued by Jonaraja and others.

Kalhana held very definite views on what he considered to be good Government. His ideal was a strong king who rigidly controlled his underlings but was benevolent towards his people and sympathetic to their wishes. He was to choose his councilors wisely and listen to their advice. At many places, Kalhana has expressed his disapproval of the Damaras, the petty feudal chiefs who had reduced Kashmir to anarchy and misery. Kalhana was the sworn enemy of bureaucracy.

To quote him.

“The crab kills its father and the white ant destroys its mother, but the ungrateful Kayastha when he becomes powerful destroys everyone.”

At places, Kalhana seems to despair of his land and her people.

“This land after having been a virtuous woman has fallen like a prostitute into the arms of the insolent. Henceforth whoever knows how to succeed by mere intrigue will aspire to this kingdom, whose power has gone.”

Reference may be made to the chronicles of Gujarat. The well-known works are the Ras Mala and Kriti Kaumudi of Somswhwar, Sukrita Samkirtana of Arisimha, Prabandha Chintamani of Merutunga, Pranbandha Kosha of Rajashekhara, Hammiramad Mardana of Jaisimha, etc. These are treasure houses of stories and fables as well as historical anecdotes.

In the Dravidian language, there are many historical references to the political history of India from the second century A.D. onwards. The Tamil Sangam works of the second and third centuries give us useful information about the South Indian civilization. In Kannada and Telugu there are many poems which give us useful information about the history of the Deccan.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

These are directly attached to Śrauta Sūtras.

[2]:

Macdonell, History of Sanskrit Literature, P-301.

[3]:

Studies in Indian History culture by A.L. Basham.