21. States in Eastern India

Signs of Civilization

• A region is considered to be civilized if its people know the art of writing, having a system for collecting taxes and maintaining order and posses social classes and specialists for performing priestly, administrative and producing functions.
• A civilized society is not only able to produce enough for producers but also for consumers who are not engaged in production.
• The period from the 4th to the 7th century is remarkable for diffusion of advanced rural economy, formation of state systems and delineation of social classes in eastern M.P., Orissa, Bengal and Assam.
• Many inscriptions dated in the Gupta era in these areas in the form of land grants to Buddhists and Brahamanas in these areas.

 

Orissa and Eastern and Southern M.P.

• Kalinga or the coastal Orissa, came to importance under Asoka but a strong state was founded in that area in the first century B.C. Its ruler Kharavela advanced as far as Magadha.
• In the first and second century A.D., the ports of Orissa carried on brisk trade in pearls, ivory and muslin found at excavations at Sisupalgarh the site of Kalinganagari, capital of Kharavela.
• In the 4th century Kosala and Mahakantara figure in the list of conquests made by Samudragupta covering part of northern and western Orissa.
• From second half of the 4th century to the 6th century, a number of states were formed in Orissa such as the state of Matharas, also called Pitribhaktas in area between Mahanadi and the Krishna.
• Their neighbours were the Vasisthas at the border of Andhra in south Kalinga, the Nalas in the forest area of Mahakantara and the Manas in the coastal areas in the north beyond the Mahanadi.
• The Nalas also issued Gold coins among other coins and the Manas issued copper coins and most kings performed Vedic sacrifices not only for spiritual merit but also for power, prestige and legitimacy.
• The Matharas made endowments called agraharas, which consisted of land and income from villages and were meant for supporting religious and educational activities of the brahamanas.
• Under the Matharas in the middle of 5th century began the practice of dividing the year into 12 lunar months which was earlier divided into 3 units, 4 months each on the basis of three seasons.
• In coastal Orissa writing was known from the 3rd century B.C., and inscriptions upto the middle of the 4th century A.D., appeared in Prakrit.
• But from A.D. 350 Sanskrit began to be used not only for brahmanical religion and culture but also for property laws and social regulations in new areas.

 

Bengal

• In the portion of north Bengal, since the time of Asoka people knew Prakrit and professed Buddhism.
• But area lying between the Ganga and the Brahmaputra emerged as settled and fairly Sanskrit-educated areas in 5th and 6th centuries.
• This area was occupied by the Gupta governor seems to have became independent and partly by rulers of Kamarupa. Local vassal princes called Samanta maharajas also created their administrative apparatus and militaries.
• Most land grants indicate that land was purchased with Gold coins called dinara, but once land was given, the donees did not have to pay any tax.
• The deltaic portion of Bengal formed by the Brahmaputra and called Samatata, was made to acknowledge the authority of Samudragupta.
• This area was not that developed culturally at that time, it was only in second half of the 6th century, it issued a large number of Gold coins.
• In 7th century, a number of states such as that of the Khadgas, the Lokanatha and that of the Ratas, both in Comilla area i.e. Southeast and central Bengal.

• The two centuries from about the middle of the fifth appear to be very momentous in history of Bengal, a large number of states emerged each having its own administrative apparatus and military.
• Each practised expansion in the form of war and land grants to Buddhists and brahmanas. Land gifts lead to rural expansion and created new rights in land.
• The administrative functionaries of each state knew Sanskrit, which was the official language.

 

Assam

• Kamarupa shot into prominence in 7th century, but before that Samudragupta received tributes from the 4th century from Davaka and Kamarupa.
• Davaka possibly accounted for a portion of Nowgong district, and Kamarupa covered the Brahmaputra basin.
• The use of Sanskrit and the art of writing were there in the beginning of 6th century.
• The Kamarupa kings adopted the title varman, also found in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and strengthened their position through land grants to the brahmanas.
• In 7th century, Bhaskaravarman emerged as the head of the state.
• Buddhism also acquired a foothold and the Chinese traveller Hsuan Tsang visited this state.

 

The Formative Phase

• It ranged from 4th to 7th century and in this period writing, Sanskrit learning, Vedic rituals, brahmanical social classes and state system spread and developed in eastern M.P., north Orissa, Bengal and Assam.
• Cultural contacts with the Gupta empire stimulated the spread of civilization in eastern zone.
• For the first time in 5th and 6th centuries, large scale writing, use of Sanskrit, formation of Varna society and progress of Buddhism and brahmanism in the form of Saivism and Vaishnavism in this area.
• There was existence of private property in land, and the use of gold coins by which it was purchased, presupposes advanced food-processing economy based on iron ploughshare agriculture, wet paddy cultivation and knowledge of various crafts.
• A connected narrative of the princes and dynasties and their feudatories, all revolving round a central power can't be prepared.
• The decline and the fall of the Gupta empire therefore coincided with considerable progress in the outlying regions such as red soil areas of West Bengal, north Orissa and adjoining areas of Chotanagpur plateau which were difficult to cultivate and settle.