Kingship in early Medieval India

by Sudip Narayan Maitra | 2015 | 67,940 words

This thesis is called: Kingship in early Medieval India: A comparative study of the Cholas and the Eastern Gangas. It represents a detailed empirical study of “kingship and polity” of two broad deltaic alluvial stretch of land on the “eastern coast”, namely ‘Mahanadi’ and ‘Kaveri’ delta. These were among the main centers of political and cultural a...

The Vindhya Range is generally recognised as the southern limit of the Aryan culture. Beyond it is known in the early literature as Daksinapatha. The Aiteraya Brahmana mentioned the kingdom of Vidarbha and its king as Bhima. The Aiteraya Brahmana and Sankhayana Srautasutra suggested that the condemned sons of sage Visvamitra were forced to live on the borders of Aryavarta, whose descendants were known as Dasyus like the Andhras, Pundras, Sabaras, Pulindas and Mutibas.[1] These tribes with the other pre-Aryan tribes were the inhabitants of Deep South. The mention of Chera-padha, the Cheras, in the Aitareya Aranyaka, as one of the three peoples who inhabited with their customs and habits in the Malabar Coast at a very early age.[2] Panini only mentioned the Kalinga in the east and Asmaka state near Godavari in the west. Sutta Nipata, the Buddhist literature, mentions the teacher Bhavari, settled in a village in Asmaka country, who was learned Vedas and performed Vedic sacrifices. The ascetics lived around the Dandaka forest, found in Ramayana are similar accounts of religious teachers, who were the fore runner of cultural exchange between the north and the south India. Baudhayana, the famous lawgivers mentioned in his Dharmasutras the five peculiar customs of the Deep South. Among which the cross-cousin marriage is still prevalent in south India in between various classes. The availability of the Asokan edicts in Mysore and Karnool, proves the physical presence of political activity by the northern monarchs in the deep south.

The grammarian Katyayana (of fourth century B.C.), the southern counter part of Panini records the inhabitants of the Deep South as Pandya, Chola and Kerala. The Mauryan records are further spoken of Ceylon as Tambapanni, beyond these three kingdoms. The pearls and muslins of Pandya country were also mentioned by the Kautilya. Sastri suggested the names of Pandya capital Madurai as Mathura of the north and Greek accounts of Heracles suggested that Heracles or Krsna setting his daughter Pandaia to rule over the kingdom bordering the southern sea. Other Mathuras were suggested to be in the Ceylon and Java as part of the cultural expansion from the north to southern world.[3]

Further the legends associated with sage Agastya found in Epics, Puranas and at the same time in the Tamil literature. In Ŗigveda we find the reference of his miraculous birth from a pitcher - kumbha. Mahabharata speaks of his journey to south to enabled Devas to defeat the Asuras by drinking up the waters of the oceans. Tamil tradition however interestingly speaks of another legend for the coming of Agastya to the Deep South. To maintain the balance caused by the assemblage in the Siva-Parvati marriage in the north by the gods and the sages, he was sent to the south.

The legends around the creation of Kerala country by the sage Parasurama, is sometimes opined as the much later creation. In an effort to seek expiation from his sin Parasurama was granted the piece of land, by Varuna, near Kanyakumari. He imported Brahmans and donated sixty four villages to settle and thus Brahmanical laws and institutions were initiated there. The early twelfth century Kannada inscription relates the Parasurama legend with the creation of Konkana coastal strip to the north of Kerala.[4]

For the purpose of the study of early medieval South Indian political activity the entire time frame of the period has been divided into three sub periods, to understand the gradual development of kingship and polity.

These are as follows:

  1. Sub Period I: 300-600 A.D. (Local Lineage Formation)
  2. Sub Period II: 600-900 A.D. (Sub-Regional Phase)
  3. Sub Period III: 900-1300 A.D. (The Regional Phase)

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

K.A. Nilakantha Sastri, The Illustrated History of South India, OUP, 2013. p.12

[2]:

Ibid, p.13

[3]:

Ibid, pp.13-14

[4]:

Ibid. p.15

Like what you read? Consider supporting this website: