1

Early Medieval India

Many historians, Indian and British, have tended to look at South Asian history from the
point of view of the north, and defined the medieval period mainly in terms of the Muslim
conquests and Islamic institutions. These did not play a maor role, however, until the l!th
century. "ntil the last #$ years, those that %othered to talk a%out the previous seven hundred
years %etween the fall of the &upta Emperors and l#'' A.(. saw these centuries as a sort of
preparation for the Islamic )overnments which followed. So these years of the early
medieval period have %een characteri*ed as witnessin) the de)radation of the culture of the
classical &upta period and its political order. This northern+centered view dismisses the parts
of the su%continent in the south where Islamic states never esta%lished sta%le )overnments.
But this view was oriented in the end more toward ustifyin) or condemnin) British ,ule
than it was in e-plorin) the actual historical e-perience of South Asia %etween $'' A.(. and
.#'' A.(.

The focus here is on two maor characteristics of the early medieval period, the structure
and scale of the political forms which evolved and the )radual development of re)ional
cultures and economies.

Some authors divide the su%continent up into four maor re)ions, or me)are)ions/ south,
east, central and north India. Medievalist Burton Stein has pointed to the e-istence of si-
maor re)ions, the south, the west 0containin) Maharashtra and &uarat1, the east, the north,
the central and the northwest 0containin) 2una%, Sind, and Baluchistan1. These divisions are
relevant toStein3s discussion of the kinds of states which appeared %etween $'' A( and
.4''. 5e fi)ured that a%out #' kin)doms succeeded in e-tendin) their soverei)nty %eyond a
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sin)le me)are)ion, if we count the me)are)ions as si- in num%er. Two thirds of these were
ruled %y 5indu dynasties, %ut the most dura%le of these imperial states was the Muslim
Mu)hal empire, from a%out the middle of Ak%ar6s rei)n, around l$7', to the rei)n of
Muhammad Shah in .4!'. (ominance in more than one re)ion %y almost all of these states
was usually the accomplishment of a sin)le ruler, a )reat conquerin) warrior like 2ulakesin II
of the seventh century 8halukyan kin)dom or the mid+tenth century 9risna II of the
,ashtrakutas, %oth of the (eccan.

Besides these#' kin)doms which for a time at least spanned two or more lar)e re)ions,
there were numerous others the scale of whose authority was far more limited, %ut whose
duration could nevertheless %e considera%le. :rom inscriptions and literary sources we )et
information on over ;' royal dynasties who endured for a period in the me)are)ions. The
chronicles of temples, royal )enealo)ical te-ts, and oral traditions tell of %oth wealthy kin)s
and local chiefs who attempted to achieve royal status.

The e-istence of so many rulers tells us that the early medieval period witnessed the
emer)ence of new state forms, compared to the late <edic and classical periods. There is,
however, little a)reement amon) historians a%out the character of these states and their form.
5owever, the kin)dom of 5arsha is often taken as the typical state when scholars talk of
Indian feudalism.

5arsha ruled a realm nearly as lar)e as the &upta kin)dom durin) the first half of the
seventh century. 5is capital was 9anau, modern 9anpur, in the fertile plain %etween the
&an)es and the =amuna rivers, the doa%. The capital had ori)inally %een at the old Mauryan
capital of 2atalipurtra in the eastern &an)etic %asin. 5ere there was rich a)ricultural potential
and the revenues from trade which entered the &an)etic 2lain at this point. 5owever, with a
shift to the west came improved defence of the entire plain from the 5un tri%esmen who had
preyed upon the &uptas.
3

A set of inscri%ed copper+plates of >!# A( provides insi)ht into the structure of 5arsha6s
state. This inscription recorded a )ift of land to two Brahmins %y a military officer in
5arsha3s service.. Amon) the protectors of the )ift were a set of political personna)es in
whose hands maor elements of state power appeared to %e vested. Some were 6)reat
nei)h%ors6 of 9in) 5arsha, his mahasamantas. ?thers were 6)reat kin)s6 0maharajas1 who
acknowle)ded 5arsha6s overlordship. Still others served the chakravartin, as he styled
himself, in various capacities, includin) as soldiers. @owest amon) the )uarantors of
permanence of the )ift were the local community, the 6anapada6, where the )ifted lands were
located. (onations to Brahmins, Buddhists and Aainas %efore the time of 5arsha had usually
come from a royal prince or a provincial )overnor. In these copper+plates, however, the first
of the di)nitaries to %e mentioned was the Mahasamanta who ruled a territory adoinin) the
core tract of the kin) around 9anau. This, even thou)h the donor of the land was a military
servant of 5arsha and the e-ecutor of the )rant was an accountant in the kin)6s service.
Mahasamantas, or as they often also called themselves, mahasamantaraja, were independent
rulers of realms near the core tracts of an overlord and mi)ht have paid tri%ute to the latter as
well as providin) military service. In most cases they were territorial ma)nates in their own
ri)hts, either %y inheritance or conquest. Amon) them would also have %een some who
served kin)s like 5arsha and were )iven lands to support their official duties in a manner
similar to a feudal )rant in Europe.

Titles and land )rants were the means that hi)her lords e-pressed ties to lesser rulers in a
massin) of followerships. The )reat kin)ships of early medieval India were constituted %y
such followin)s. ,ulers of this time spoke of their samantachakra, their circle of
su%ordinates/ the lar)e the circle, the )reater the lord. A lord )ained a hi)h royal rank with a
lar)e followin) of minor rulers who served him in some fashion and honored him in political
ritual. Both superior and inferior lords enhanced their security %y such arran)ements.
Bhether 5arsha6s kin)dom was actually less centrali*ed than the &uptas is uncertain, %ut the
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pattern of political a)reements was different.

Bhat is clearly different %etween the polity of 5arsha and that of the &uptas is that the
&uptas had few formida%le opponents within northern India and, until quite late in the
dynasty, not very formida%le enemies without. The contrast with 5arsha could not have %een
)reater. 5e was hum%led %y the 8halukyan kin) 2ulakeshin II when he sou)ht to e-tend his
authority southward into the (eccan. 5arsha6s successor was immediately crushed %y the
kin) of Ben)al. This opened an era of incessant conflict coverin) several centuries and
centerin) on 9anau and 5arsha6s rich patrimony there. (urin) that time warlords from
every direction++from Ben)al, from the (eccan, from ,aasthan in the west and from
9ashmir in the north++strove to hold 9anau. 8entral Asian Muslims finally ended their
conflicts %y imposin) their rule over the whole of the &an)etic re)ion.

Elsewhere in India the centrali*ation of the Mauryan and &upta re)imes is wholly a%sent.
There is no question %ut that the states in (eccan and the south did not have administrations
as descri%e in the arthasastra. :irst notice of these states came in Ashoka6s edict speakin) of
the kin)doms to which he sent Buddhist missionaries. 5ere the kin)s of the 8holas and the
2andyans in the far south are mentioned, alon) with kin)s of Syra, Macedonia, Epirus on the
Ionian coast and 8yrene in north Africa. By the early centuries of the first millenium, ne-t to
the ancient 8holas and 2andyas were the 8hera kin)s of the south+west coast of 9erala, the
Satavahanas over the entire (eccan plateau, and the 8hedi rulers of 9alin)a on the north+east
coast of modern ?rissa. Some of the minor rulin) houses of the fourth century were to attain
very considera%ly )reater soverei)nty %y $'' A( when &uptas still ruled their core &an)etic
territory/ 2allava and 9adam%a kin)s ruled over eastern and western (eccan tracts, <akatakas
over the central and northern (eccan and a set of small kin)doms were found alon) the
?rissan coast/ eastern &an)as, Calas, Mahakantaras. By the early seventh century, when
5arsha6s kin)dom flourished in the central &an)es, the far south had come under 2allava
kin)s of 9anchipuram and much of the central and eastern (eccan was under the 8halukyas
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of Badami, 2ulakesin6s line.
Bhere did these peninsular kin)doms come fromD Be have mentioned the impact of the
Mauryan Empire on state formation++here we will ela%orate on that.

The earliest peninsular kin)doms date from around the turn of the present era and appear
to contain some Mauryan institutions which had emer)ed in two peripheral parts of Ashoka6s
realm. A kin) 9haravela esta%lished an e-tensive state centered on 9alin)a. This you may
remem%er as the area which Ashoka had %rou)ht into his empire with a military campai)n
that was so %loody that he announced that he would renounce violence. 9haravela was a Aain
and thou)h he should accordin)ly, it seems, have adopted the non+violence principle of that
faith 0ahimsa1, he proved to %e a masterful soldier. 5is conquests to the north and south
%rou)ht him enormous wealth. Trade also added to the wealth of his state, whose coast was
mentioned %y 2liny the Elder, a ,oman writer, in his work Natural History.

Evidence su))ests, in fact, that Buddhist and Aaina monasteries consituted nodal points on
a far+flun) trade system linkin) coastal 9alin)a to the interior. 9haravela had no successor,
so that kin)dom ceased with his death, %ut further south the Satavahana kin)dom sprawled
across the whole of the peninsula, connectin) the interior centres of trade and metal
production 0which had emer)ed durin) the period of Ashoka1 with %oth trade coasts. The
Saravahanas proved a lon)er+lived kin)dom owin) partly to a series of a%le rulers and also to
the offer of more political scope to local ma)nates than seemed availa%le under the Mauryas,
who had appointed )overnors to these distant places. Trade %etween %oth of the coasts of the
realm remained important accordin) to the first century writin)s of the &reco+E)yptian
)eo)rapher 2tolemy. And, as in the case of 9alin)a earlier, Buddhist and Aaina monastic
esta%lishments were supported %y royal endowments even thou)h its rulers were 5indu.
These attracted crowds of pil)rim+consumers makin) these institutions nodes in an e-tensive
trade network. Trade, then, was an important %asis of penninsula kin)doms and that in close
association with Aaina and Buddhist institutions.
6

These enoyed hi)h presti)e and prominent positions in many parts of India durin) the
early centuries of the first millenium, %ut no where so much as in the 2ala kin)dom of Ben)al
durin) the ninth century. 5induism had e-perience a come%ack and further development in
the emer)in) centers of re)ional culture in south India, in the (eccan and in many parts of
northern India, %ut not in Ben)al. Its 2ala kin)s )ave massive support to Buddhists of the
Mahayana sect, )ivin) it the flavor of the Tantric tradition of Ben)ali reli)ious practice.
:rom Ben)al this variant was carried %y missionaries to Ti%et where it shaped the Buddhism
there. The Ben)ali city Calanda was the maor centre of Buddhist learnin) in the eastern
&an)etic re)ion, and its educative functions were supported %y income from hundreds of
villa)es )ranted %y 2ala rulers. Buddhist scholars from South+east Asia were drawn there for
instruction in Mahayana doctrines and practices. Calanda and the contemporary center of
hi)h learnin) at Ta-ila, on the opposite side of the su%continent, trained many of the monks
that served Buddhist institutions in and %eyond India. Thus, these monastaries alon) with
Aain monastaries, were involved in state and community formation and the maor commercial
develoopments that were takin) place in the last half of the first millenium A(. The
repressions of Aains and Buddhists in the early medieval period may have resulted partly from
the deep involvement of %oth sects in secular activities. By l''' A( %oth sects had %een
rendered mar)inal %y the 5indu sects which were e-pandin) in the new re)ional cultures of
the su%continent.

As mentioned earlier, a maor characteristic of the early medieval period was the
development of re)ional societies. The re)ional kin)doms had fluid %oundaries. They were
polities defined less %y administration and alliance than %y lan)ua)e, sectarian affiliations
and temples. Bithin the limited re)ions defined %y the distri%ution of any kin)6s shiftin)
su*erainty, new political, lin)uistic and literary and social histories took a shape that remain
reco)ni*a%le even in contemporary modern India. ,eli)ion was at the heart of this
re)ionali*in) process/ )ods, temples, inspired poets and philosophers. E-pandin) trade may
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have set off political processes with new patterns of competition, %ut reli)ious doctrinal and
institutional developments affected patterns of state formation and the political institutions
which emer)ed.

Buddhism and Aainism were displaced from their towerin) positions after Mauryan times
with considera%le difficulty in some places. ?nly with the Islamic conquests of the .#th
century, when Muslims destroyed many of their sacred places, were Buddhists in Ben)al
overwhelmed, as Ben)alis either converted to Islam or were recruited to the worship of the
5indu )od, <ishnu.

More characteristic in some ways was the e-perience of the Tamil 8ountry, which proved
the model for the southern penninsula. It was the Tamil variant of 5indu culture which
spread as well to South+east Asia.

,eli)ious chan)e inevita%ly mer)ed in a variety of ways with %oth lin)uistic and political
development/ all shaped the re)ionalisation process. (rivin) the Tamil cultural process was a
deadly stru))le %etween a new sort of 5indu worship and the reli)ious he)emony of
Buddhists and Aains, their doctrines, and the political support they had from some rulers of
TAmils around the si-th century. @ittle is known a%out these kin)s. Be have mostly hostile
commentators who descri%e them as 6evil6, %ut they may have %een hill chiefs that e-tended
political control over the plains of Tamil 8ountry and patroni*ed Buddhist and Aain
institutions and teachers. Even when these so+called 6usurpers6 were driven off %y kin)s such
as the 2allavas, the latter followed and supported Aainism until persuaded otherwise %y
teachers of a new devotional faith. The 2allava Mahendravarman 0d. >!' A(1 renounced his
Aain affiliation and %ecame a worshipper of Shiva, turnin) a)ainst and prosecutin) Aains.
?ther Tamil rulers did the same then and later as the Shiva cult armed itself with a power
theolo)y to compete a)ainst that of Buddhist and Aains.

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A maor formulator of that 5indu theolo)y was a Brahmin named Shankara 0477+7#' A(1,
who com%ined philosophical thinkin) with impressive administrative skill. To defeat the
Aains and Buddhists and to %rand them as heterodo-ies, Shankara returned to the ancient
"panishads from which the Buddhist doctrines had evolved. Shankara offered newe
e-planations of salvation and of knowled)e equal to those of the powerful non+5indu sects of
his time. Besides incorporatin) and surpassin) Buddhism6s doctrines, Shankara copied their
institutions %y esta%lishin) monastaries in many places. :our which were famous as
missionary centres %ecame especially important and their leaders %ecame known as
Shankaracharyas.

Thus, Shankara6s influence was not wholly intellectual. In addition to incorporatin)
Buddhist and Aain models for faith and or)ani*ation, he also incorporated popular worship of
lord Shiva, particularly son)s of praise. These hymns of devotion E of overwhelmin) love
for Shiva or <isnu E %ecame the foundation for the new and popular cult of 5induism that
has endured until the present throu)hout India. 8alled %hakti, this form of reli)ious
devotionalism %e)an in Tamil country durin) the si-th century. There had %een earlier forms
of devotionalism, in particular that found in the Bha)avad)ita, devotional poetry to the )od
9rishna. This had %een composed a%ourt the first century A( and was incorporated into the
Maha%haratha a%out a century prior to Shankara.
:urther developments of %hakti reli)ion amon) Tamils were the work of poet devotees and
other theolo)ians. Between the si-th and tenth century >! Shiva and .# <ishnu+worshippin)
poets created a lar)e corpus of Tamil devotional son)s and all are revered as saints %y Tamils.
Theolo)ical works of doctrines for worship of %oth Siva and and <ishnu followed shortly as
Brahmins took advanta)e of the intellectual %ase which Shankara had provided. This work
protected Brahminical leadership role in reli)ious affairs.

5ere are e-amples of some %hakti devotional son)s from this period in the Tamil 8ountry.
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By the poet Cammalvar, referrin) to <ishnu in his incarnation as 9rishna as a mischievous
child/
:or his devoted servants
he3s easy to reach,
%ut for everyone else
he3s a mysterious sa)e/
our elusive lord,
who kindled passion in the )oddess %orn from a lotus,
was cau)ht in the act
stealin) %utter from the churn.
5ow could he %ear his shame
when they %ound his waist
and tied him fast to a mortarD
A poem to Shiva %y Shaivite Manikkavacakar/
(o) that I am,
I turned all my thou)hts to you,
I filled my eyes with the ima)e
of your feet, %ri)ht as flowers
and %owed %efore them,
I surrendered my voice to your %ell+like words,
then you came to me,
and all my five senses reoiced,
? wonder+worker who comes inside of me
and rule me,
10
)reat ocean of nectar,
lord tall as the mountains
with %ody %ri)ht as a red+lotus forest,
you )ave yourself
to this lonely man
who has no place in this world
or in any other.
5ere is a son) to Shiva %y the woman, 9araikkal Ammaiyar/
She has shriveled %reasts
and %ul)in) veins,
in place of white teeth
empty cavitires )ape.
Bith ruddy hair on her %elly,
a pair of fan)s, kno%%y andles and lon) shins
the demon+woman wails at the desolate cremation )round
where our lord
whose han)in) matted hair
%lows in all ei)ht directions,
dances amon) the flames
and refeshes his lim%s.
5is home is Alankatu
This popular reli)ious development spurred the development of first Tamil and then other
lan)ua)es %etween .''' and .!'' A(. In the .#th century %hakti hymns were composed in
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Ben)al %y the saint Aayadev, and in Mathura %y Cim%arka. The latter was a south Indian
Brahmin whose devotion of the )od 9rishna led to a missionary call that helped to make
Mathura the center of the 9rishna cult. @iterary works alon) with such technical aids as
)rammars and dictionaries could %e found in Marathi, Ben)ali, and several other lan)ua)es.
Two other literary proects were e-pecially important %esides the %hakti son)s. ?ne )enre
preserved or invented temple myths a%out the )ods sheltered in temples, )ods who were the
o%ects of %hakti son)s and devotional theolo)y. Temples )ave institutional focus to this
reformed 5induism. The other stimulous to the literature of the early medeival a)e were
chronicles of rulin) families of the period.
Temples and kin)s were decisive shapers of re)ional culturesF %oth institutions had the
further effect of stimulatin) ur%ani*ation. @ookin) to Tamil 8ountry for e-amples, we find
that the Shiva temples of the sacred places of 8hidam%aram and Madurai %ecame the chapel
shrines of the 8hola and 2andya kin)s respectively. Both rulin) families lavished treasure for
adornin) the dieties and attracted a lar)e permanent population of priests at each temples and
thron)s of pil)rims whose needs created the foundations for su%stantial ur%an centres. Be
know this from documents inscri%ed on the stone %asements and walls of %oth temples and
from the chronicles 0mahatmya1 praisin) the )od in each. These inscriptions show how each
diety was transformed from %ein) a local protectin) divinity %y stories which assimilated
them to Shiva le)ends found in Sanskrit puranas or earlier literature.

This process is sometimes called Sanskriti*ation and illustrates one way the values and
sym%ols of the &an)etic 2lain spread throu)hout the su%continent. :ormer territorial spirits
were redefined to %e )reat )ods with cosmic powers. At the same time as Sanskriti*ation was
)oin) on, however, royali*ation was also takin) place. 8hiefs who wanted the power and
status of kin)s found that one way to le)itimi*e their claims as chakravartins was to
transform their )uardian divinities into Shiva or <ishnu, deities worthy of the adoration and
devotion of would+%e emperors.

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It is important to point out that Shiva and <ishnu were seen also as kin)s, as rulin) )ods.
The human kin) in a re)ion ruled on their %ehalf. As 9ulke and ,othermund relate, the
divine )ods held court surrounded in their temples %y su%+re)ional )ods. These were the
family )ods of the human kin)6s samantas. The su%+re)ional )ods a)ain rallied the villa)e
)ods around them durin) festivals, ust as headmen were occasionally invited to attend the
court of a prince. The le)itimacy of a human ruler was enhanced in this way. The more
GroyalG the cult of the territorial )od, the more le)itimate the claim of a kin) to rule that
territory on %ehalf of the )od. The %hakti cults contri%uted to this devotion to )ods and kin)s
in medieval India.

Temples played a maor role in royal politics not only %ecause the rulin) aspect of the
diety was emphasised, %ut %ecause of the nature of temple ritual. Temple administrators,
actin) for the )od, honored the men and women who endowed worships at a temple, )ivin)
)ifts of land, produce or ewels. The )reater the )ift, the )reater the honor which was
)ivenHshown as part of the ritual of worship.
The maor te-ts outlinin) the ritual of temple worship are called the A)amas, the oldest of
which were written in Sanskrit %etween the !th and 4th centuries. Borship, called puja, was
to %e performed three to si- times a day. It was done daily, %ut there were special puas for
special occasions and for the e-piation of sins to aleviate a )reat pro%lem. These rites were
rites of adoration of the diety durin) which food was offered to him or her. Arccanai were
rituals done ust for the %eneit of the worshipper. 2ua was costly, involvin) washin) the icon
in special su%stances like milk and clarified %utter, )ivin) food, providin) dancin) to
entertain the diety, dressin) the icon in flowers, cloth and ewels, offerin) incense and makin)
a sacrifice. The honors could %e costly as well, ran)in) from )ivin) a donor the food and
water left over from the pua to the silk tur%an worn %y the diety when he went in procession.
Cot ust kin)s, %ut all donors received honors in the court of the )od. Thus they came to
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share the )od6s soverei)nty in the same way as did those men who took part in rituals
or)ani*ed in the courts of human kin)s. (onors competed for these honors in temples, as
they did for honors in the courts of princes. Thus we can see how the e-pansion of temple
worship implied also the e-pansion of royal values, or royal ideolo)ies.
In the early medieval times, the kin)s6 temples were also palaces where royal %usiness
was conducted and royal ritual enacted. The word for temple in Tamil, for e-ample, also
means palace. ,oyal capitals thus %ecame or were temple+centers. Many of these capitals
%ecame the maor temples of the time. Each was not only a sacred place for the royal deity,
%ut also the place where the kin)s lived. Both )od and kin) attracted su%ects and devotees in
lar)e num%er. The care of %oth kinds of pil)rims and the o%ects of their adoration, human
and divine, made each capital city an economic centre as well. To that spur to ur%ani*ation
was added the imitations of the su%ordinates of kin)s, those ma)nates to whom the title
samanta applied, who maintained smaller courts in the scores of kin)doms of the early
medieval a)e. (urin) this time, then another of India6s historic ur%an phases took place, the
third ur%ani*ation, after the first of the Indus <alley and the second of the &an)etic 2lain in
pre+Mauryan times.
,ich and powerful associations of ur%an+%ased corporate trade %odies in south India
conducted their commerce over the whole of the peninsula and %eyond to South+east Asia.
The most famous of them took its name from a capital of one of the earliest of the medieval
kin)doms, the 8halukyas. (urin) the heyday of their rule over the (eccan in the seventh and
ei)hth centuries 8halukyan kin)s had capitals at several places in 9arnataka, includin)
Ayyavole 0modern Aihole1. Takin) as their name 6the $'' svamis 0lords1 of Ayyavole6 in
hundreds of stone inscriptions, partly in Sanskrit, partly in one of the southern lan)ua)es,
these presti)ious travelin) traders flourished from the ninth to the fourteenth centuries. Their
inscriptions dot the entire southern peninsula, tracin) an inter+re)ional and international trade
ne-us of merchants. These trade )roups provided one of the conduits for translatin)
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(ravidian culture from India to South+east Asia, a spill+over and e-tension %eyond the
su%continent of early medieval ur%ani*ation.
That the formation of cultures and states in South+east Asia was deeply influenced %y
India has lon) %een reco)ni*ed. (ifferent theories )ive foundin) roles to the conquests of
Indian warriors or to missionary activities of Brahmin scholars or to the penetration of Indian
merchants. Each of these e-planations can %e supported %y some evidence, %ut the most
likely maor shaper of contact %etween southeastern India and south+eastern Asia were the
efforts of South+east Asian rulers. They discovered in India the means for creatin) )reat
kin)ships of their own, as a result of contacts with Indian soldiers, merchants and Brahmins.
The maor source of this Indian modellin) was Tamil country, alon) with others from south+
eastern India. There are several indications of this. The script adopted for the earliest of
inscriptions in insular and peninsular south+east Asia was the sort that prevailed in 2allava
inscriptions. The sculptural tradition of south+east Asian Buddhists was adopted from
Amaravati in coastal Andhra durin) the fifth century A(. The temple architecture in Aava
and 8am%odia was drawn from 2allava and 8hola prototypes. @ater south+east Asians took
models of e-cellence from north+east India, durin) trips to Calanda. South+east Asian monks
visitin) Ben)al induced Ben)ali Buddhists, like the monk 9umara &hose, to travel to the
courts of South+east Asian kin)s.
Cot all of the culture contact %etween south and south+east Asia was peaceful. The 8hola
kin) ,aendra claims in some of his inscriptions to have made conquests in the Malayan
peninsula. Some historians have su))ested that he was attemptin) to esta%lish commercial
dominance. The later introduction of Islam into Malaya, Aava and Sumatra came also from
south+east India.
Muslims were present in India from the time of the foundin) of Islam. India6s west coast
knew Muslims and others from western Asia as part of the commercial e-pansion of the early
15
medieval period. Ara% and Aewish merchants not only ourneyed alon) this coast on the
Ara%ian Sea, %ut some were )ranted special protection for their reli)ions and were even freed
of ta- o%li)ations. This is known from inscriptions such a one of the ei)hth century on
copper+plates )ranted to the Aewish merchant+elder Aoseph ,a%in, at the port of 8ochin. A
small Aewish community continues still to live there. At a%out the same time another sort of
Muslim presence is recorded in the form of an Ara% army which conquered Sind, the ancient
heartland of the Indus cities, and parts of 2una% to the east. India6s Islamic period mi)ht
have %e)un at this early time rather that in .#'' A(, e-cept for the resistence to Ara%
invaders %y the various kin)s of 9anau such as =asovaram around 4!> and later ,aput
chiefs and kin)s like the &uara+2ratiharas who held 9anuau and most of northern India until
around I$' A(. Cot lon) after that however, in the year .''' A(, incursions %e)an from
other Muslim fi)hters who were not Ara%s %ut steppe+fi)hters from 8entral Asia.
@ookin) %ack over the period $'' to .#'' we are a%le to see only dimly the herita)e of the
&upta )olden a)e. The early medieval period was a distinct departure in many ways and it
was the pattern for future development. The re)ionali*ation of culture, of reli)ion and of
politics was the critically si)nificant process of the early medieval a)e. This involved two
sorts of su%ordinate processes. ?ne was the e-tension and transformation of Sanskritic forms
datin) from &upta times. Many forms, however, were adapted to local values and were
%rou)ht into locali*ed culture throu)h modification. Simultaneously as well, local and even
folk cultural elements were )iven Sankritic meanin)s. An instance of this was the 6marria)e6
of the protectin) )oddess Minakshi at Madurai in Tamil 8ountry to Shiva. She was in a sense
turned into Siva6s Sanskritic wife 2arvati in a temple ritual sponsored %y the 2andyan kin)s.
This sort of synthesi*in) of political, reli)ious and cultural elements was a central feature of
the re)ional process and assured that whatever unity is assumed a%out the classical &upta a)e
was forever dissolved in later times. As to which of the components of the re)ionali*in)
processes may have %een the more important, or determinin)++political or reli)ious or
cultural++that is very difficult to decide. ?ne can say that the am%ition of local chiefs to
16
%ecome kin)s )ave a %oost to the royalisation of the )ods and construction of temples. But if
a powerful desire to worship the )ods had not e-isted++in the %hakti movement++poeple would
not have attended temple worship. Be can say, too, that e-panded trade and Aain and
Buddhist reli)ious activities durin) and after the Mauryan period )ave impulses to state
formation. Ta-in) trade )ave chiefs and kin)s e-tra income.
Am%itious chiefs tried to le)itimi*e their enlar)ed claims throu)h their utili*ation of Aain,
Buddhist, and 5indu ritual. This utili*ation %ecame a process of re)ionalisation in that it was
necessary to mi- northern sym%ols of divinity with local ones, since the )ods of the 5indu
pantheon were distant from the e-perience of ordinary people.
At the same time, Buddhist values supported impulses amon) 5indus of devotion toward
dieties who were %rou)ht into the everyday life of ordinary people. The north Indian Shiva
and <ishnu were oined %y a relative recent addition to the Sanskritic pantheon, 9rishna, and
all three %ecame the o%ect of devotion of people who were part of the culture of the
immanence of the divine. Influence from the indi)enous culture of South Asia, the pre+<edic
culture, contri%uted to the reli)ious chan)e which saw the )reat )ods inha%itin) stone and
metal idols in temples, makin) them more accessi%le. The worship of these idols throu)h
son) and myth contri%uted to the popularity of literature in re)ional lan)ua)es and to the
)rowth of re)ional lan)ua)es. The association of royal esta%lishments with these temples
enhanced the status of %oth )ods and human rulers.
This period of political and cultural creativity coincided with the rapid development of
commodity production, the manufacturin) %y hand of )oods which made India6s reputation in
these early times as a land of fa%ulous wealth and ele)ance. This reputation attracted people
to the su%continent, feedin) further the vitality of commerce within and %eyond South Asia.
It is often o%served that Aain and Buddhist ideolo)ies lin)ered so lon) in India %ecause they
provided a moral coloration to the practical values of merchants and moneyed men. They
may also have provided an institutional framework that linked Buddhist and Aain monasteries
17
with the hi)h commerce of the a)e. 5indu temples would eventually assume that role.
Another aspect of the political and cultural development of the a)e was the widespread
acceptance of caste as a way to incorporate disparate )roups into the new states and the new
links %etween ur%ani*ation, commerce and manufacturin). Elites in areas of fertile
a)riculture patroni*ed Brahmin families, )rantin) them rich villa)es and lands, in return for
priestly services which would le)itimi*e the elite, landed status. Brahmins were not only
necessary to would+%e kin)s over e-panded domainsF they were also interestin) to the lords
of villa)es as a way of stren)thenin) their authority over the low status la%orers who worked
their rice fields. In dry land areas, where hunters and pastoralist and dry land a)riculturalists
held sway, Brahminical influence was not so powerful and caste had a milder impact on
social formations.
Thou)h Buddhist and Aain institutions were ultimately made mar)inal %y first, devotional
5induism and then %y iconoclastic Islam, much in their ideolo)ies and many of their
institutions enoyed a lon) life in parts of the su%continent++as Buddhism did in Ben)al and
Aainism in 9arnataka. The herita)e of their principles lived on the reformed 5induism of
Shankara6s teachin)s. But more impressively, Buddhism e-perienced a full re%irth outside of
India++in Ti%et and 8hina and in South+east Asia++as a result of the work of missionaries from
India, as well as the interest of travelers at the Buddhist universities at Takshisilla and
Calanda.
States and their formation in this era remains a pro%lem %ecause of differences amon)
historians a%out whether the pre+Islamic era was, like that of Europe, feudal. 5ow are these
monarchies to %e characteri*edD There is wide spread a)reement now that none of these
monarchies were centrali*ed. There is also some a)reement amon) historians that the
samanta was an important identifyin) institution of politics. Samantas are first known in the
fifth century A( &upta kin)dom of Samudra)upta. 5ere they were military, possi%ly tri%ute+
payin) su%ordinates who, nevertheless, were also independent rulers of tracts adoinin) the
18
often modest core realm of a 6world+conquorin)6 chakravartin. @ater the same term was
e-tended to include military servants of kin)s who attained a hi)h de)ree of independence on
lands )ranted for their services, hence a kind of feudali*ation.
If the e-act characteri*ation of the state is elusive, there are other aspects of early
medieval politics a%out which there is more certainty. ?ne has to do with the e-tent and
importance of ur%ani*atioin. This was another of the intensive ur%an phases in India6s
development. And it )ives reason to %e sceptical of speakin) a%out an Indian feudalism.
Cowhere is this clearer than in the way that the city of 9anau in the western &an)etic plain
was the focus of north Indian politics for several centuries durin) which competin)
conquerors from the north, south, east and west strove to sei*e and hold it, %ecause the city
had %ecome the em%lem of the chakravartin. But, all over the su%continent other cities were
created as the centres of other lordships. Be have evidence in, amon) other sources,
impressive and lar)e ruins. The study of these remains has made historical archaeolo)y a
maor intellectual enterprise in modern India. The pronounced ur%an character of the early
medieval a)e++produced %y a com%ination of reli)ious and political causes++accounts in part
for the attraction of India as a permanent homeland for the Turkic steppe fi)hters. 8ities
could %e dominated so as to provide the means to sustain the new institutions of Islam and a
new elite of Muslim fi)hters and rulers.
?f the new medieval epoch that %e)ins around .#'' A( modern Indian historians
continue in the main to insist that the esta%lishment of permanent Muslim rule over the
&an)etic plain was as violent a chan)e as the foundin) of British soverei)hty durin) the
middle of the ei)hteenth century. This interpretation, however, stems more from a focus on
the modern era and its pro%lems, than an unpreudiced look at historical sources.
The medieval a)e which %e)an a%out .#'' A( was made possi%le %y the sheer
multiplicity of states in the su%continent. Each was centered upon a city to %e conquered and
19
hinterlands to %e ruled %y Muslim horsemen of central Asia. 5owever, even if political forms
in South Asia made such conquests possi%le, the forces which provoked the invasions lay
outside the su%continent. It was contradictions in the wider world of Islam itself that chan)ed
the course of the Indian middle a)e.