Sources: Texts, Epigraphic

and Numismatic Data

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Course: History of India, 750-1200
Book: Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic Data
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Date: Thursday, 20 July 2017, 11:03 PM

Table of Contents
 Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic Data
 Introduction
 Literary Sources
 Archaeological Sources
 The Question of Historical Tradition
 Summary
 Glossary
 Exercise/ Practice
 Further Readings

Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic

Data
Unit: History of India (c. 750- 1206 CE)
Lesson: Sources: Texts, Epigraphic and Numismatic Data
Lesson Developer: Yogender Dayma
College/Department: Hans Raj College, University of Delhi
 Introduction
History, as we know, is the discipline dealing with the reconstruction of the past of
human beings based on some facts. These facts are based on some evidences which are
called sources. That means that any material which provides information about past may
be called a source. Sometimes, historians have to seek the help from some other
discipline also to make their sources speak. For example, while reconstructing the
environment of past, historian may have to seek help from paleobotany (the science of
studying fossil plants). Similarly, use of various branches of science for dating the
material remains of the past, commonly known as dating techniques is also well known.
Seeking help of a variety of discipline in the historical reconstruction is called inter-
disciplinary approach in history. This approach is adopted to reconstruct the narrative of
the past which is as close as possible to the past.

For the sake of convenience, sources are conventionally divided into two broad
categories- the literary and the archeological sources. But this division is not a
watertight one. For example manuscript of a text is a literary evidence but the material
on which it is written comes under the category of the archeological sources. Same is the
case with inscriptions and coins. The reconstruction of the period from c. 750-1200 CE,
also known as the early medieval period of Indian history may be attempted with the
unprecedented number of sources. The emergence of a large number of states and the
associated practice of land donations, the development of regional languages,
propagation of bhakti ideology by the bhakti saints, and intensified contacts with the
outside world, particularly with the Arabs and the Turks may be cited as some of the
reasons for this increase.

Value addition: Trivia

E.H. Carr on historian and the choice of sources
In the choice of sources, the preferences of the historians also play an important role. This
role is very well summarized in the following quote by E.H. Carr:

“The facts are really not at all like fish on the fishmonger's slab. They are like fish
swimming about in a vast and sometimes inaccessible ocean; and what the historian
catches will depend, partly on chance, but mainly on what part of the ocean he chooses to
fish in and what tackle he chooses to use - these two factors being, of course, determined
by the kind of fish he wants to catch. By and lame, the historian will get the kind of facts
he wants.”
(Source: Carr, E.H., 1990, What is History, Penguin Books, London, p. 23.)

Literary Sources
The literary sources may be classified on a variety of basis e.g. main theme, language,
age, authorship etc. In this presentation, the popular classification of literary texts
between indigenous texts, with its sub-categories based on the language, and foreigners’
accounts will be followed. But the following is only a representative survey of the literary
sources as the list of texts useful for reconstructing the history of early medieval India is
very long.

The indigenous texts of the period may further be classified on the basis of the
language of their composition. In the period under discussion, Sanskrit could maintain its
dominant position as the language of literature, administration and law as it was the
language of priests, bureaucrats and the literati. According to Irfan Habib, by seventh
century, Sanskrit had ‘largely displaced the different forms of Prakrit (originally more
closely related to ordinary people’s speech) throughout the country’. This dominance of
Sanskrit was challenged by Persian from thirteenth century onwards. The near
monopoly, it enjoyed in the early historical/ancient period was challenged by the
regional languages like Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu, which were patronized by the
regional kingdoms. Renowned indologist Sheldon Pollock labels the gradual replacement
of Sanskrit by the vernacular languages as a great moment of transformation in culture
and power in pre-modern India.

Sanskrit was widely used for the composition of religious texts pertaining to all three
pan-Indian religious traditions namely Brahmanism, Jainism and Buddhism. The
increasing popularity of theistic elements within Hinduism led to the composition of early
medieval Puranas. The important Puranas composed in the period include the Agni
Purana (9th-10th century), the Bhagavata Purana (10th century), the Kalika Purana (10th-
11th century), and the Brahmavaivarta Purana (10th-16th century). In addition to that
some of the older Puranas were added with sections
on tirthas (pilgrimages), vratas (vows), prayashchita (penances), gifts etc. which was in
line with the emerging theistic cults. Fabrication of historical basis for the growing
influence of theistic elements and the attempts to negotiate with the changes in the
prescribed code of conduct seem to be the possible reasons for these interpolations. In
addition to these, several Upapuranas were also composed in the period. The major
difference between the Puranas and the Upapuranas is that while each Purana glorifies
one important brahmanical deity having greater following and speaks about a bigger
region, an Upapurana focusses on a lesser deity and the region associated with it. As a
result, Upapuranas provide significant information on popular beliefs, customs and
festivals. In addition to these, texts called the Sthalapuranas and the Mahatmyas were
also composed. These texts provide information on sacred topography and places of
pilgrimage while narrating the believed history of the sites. These texts provide us
information on the interactions between the Brahmanical and the non-Brahmanical
traditions, and the roots of the regional cultural configurations.

Value addition: Do you know?

The Ideal Format of Puranas
The format of the Purana, ideally, was that it should consist of
the pancha-lakshana or “the five facets” which set it apart from other
literature. These were the descriptions of the sarga(primary
creation), prati-sarga (secondary creation), manvantara (the time
cycles), vansha(succession, in this instance, largely of deities and
sages), and the vanshanucharita (genealogies of some dynasties). The
last is regarded as an important component of the ideal Purana, although
it is not common to all. But there is only one Purana, the Vishnu Purana,
which conforms to this format.
Source: Romila Thapar, 2013, The Past Before Us, Permanent Black,
Ranikhet, pp. 269-270.

The period also witnessed composition of a large number of Dharmashastric texts which
include the tika (commentaries on the earlier dharmasutras and the smritis according to
the times of the composers) and the nibandha (collections with comments and
conclusions). A recent study links this development with the increasing formalization of
law and legal procedures and the tendency to empower the state to regulate and
arbitrate in the social life of subjects. As a result, Hindu law (vyavahara) emerged from
the shadow of dharma and established its independent identity. The tradition
of smritis had come to an end by seventh century CE with the composition of
the smriti of Brihaspati. So, in our period, the commentaries and the compendiums were
composed. Manusmriti and Yajnavalkyasmriti were two important smritis, widely
commented upon by the early medieval commentators (tikakaras). Manusmriti was
commented upon by Medhatithi (ninth century), Govindaraja (eleventh/twelfth century)
and Kullaka (twelfth century). Vijyaneshvara’s Mitakshara is the best known of the
commentaries on the Yajnavalkyasmriti. The smriti of Narad was commented upon by
Asahaya (eighth century). The Smritikalpataru of Lakshmidhara (early twelfth century) is
one of the earliest compendiums. As has been mentioned above, these commentators
tried to explain the old provisions according to their times and prejudices. These texts
are no doubt normative in nature and one cannot assume that these were followed by all
sections of the society or at least by all the followers of Brahmanism. Therefore their
information cannot be taken at its face value for the reconstruction of past. But these
texts do help us in sketching the picture of the contemporary times and the attitude of
the brahmanical ideologues towards it.

Sanskrit was also used extensively by the Jainas and the Buddhists for composing their
religious sects. The Jaina tradition of recording history was expressed in a variety of
texts, of which the charitas (biographies) and the prabandhas (chronicles) were the
foremost. Sometimes, the charitas of the Jaina tradition are also called the Puranas but
these are different from the brahmanical Puranas. The Jaina charitas were biographies of
great men. This genre should not be confused with the charita texts, pioneered by
the Harshacharita of Banabhatta and which flourished in the period under discussion,
because of the differences in the nature of authorship, concerns and writing style. In this
category mention may be made of Hemchandra’s
composition Trishashtishalakapurushacharita, a twelfth century text consisting of the
biographies of sixty-three persons, some of whom were mythical figures and some were
the better-known historical rulers.There were also composed biographies of individual
rulers, for example Hammiramahakavya of Nayachandrasuri and the Vastupala-Tejapala
prashasti of Jayasingha. The important prabandha texts of the period include
the Parishishtaparvan by Hemachandra and the Prabandhachintamani by Merutunga.
This tradition was actually a chronicle tradition comparable to the ‘vanshavali tradition’,
discussed below.

Sanskrit was also used for the composition of the literature which had secular issues as
the main theme. In this category, the tradition of Charita (biography) literature which
began with the composition of Harshacharita by Banabhatta, flourished due to the
emergence of the states which were deeply rooted in their respective regions. These
were the biographies of kings written by either a court poet or a senior official. The
autobiography sections of these texts help in determining the historicity of the author. In
our period, the list of the texts falling under this category includes Ramacharita by
Sandhyakaranandin, Vikramankadevacharita by Bilhana, Navasahasankacharita by
Padmagupta, Kumarapalacharita by Hemachandra, and Prithvirajavijaya by an
anonymous author. It should be noted that these biographies were not birth-to-death
accounts of the kings, but focused on crucial events and when these have been
satisfactorily achieved, the biographies were concluded. The importance of the texts
under this genre lies in the fact, as Romila Thapar puts it, that ‘these were more
recognizably historical than the earlier ones, barring the Buddhist’ as the focus here was
on ‘a person rather than a lineage or a pedigree, and the family replaced the clan’
(Romila Thapar, The Past before Us, Ranikhet, 2013, pg. 507-508). For
example, Ramacharita is biography of the Pala king Ramapala in shlesha (a style of
writing in which each verse offers two different meanings) as each verse simultaneously
tells the story of the Ramayana hero, Ramachandra of Ayodhya and of the Pala king
Ramapala. The narrative focusses on the Ramapala’s successful efforts to suppress the
rebellion of the Kaivartas. The text also claims that the feudatories Kaivartas could usurp
Varendri, the heartland of the Palas, because of the incompetence of Ramapala’s
reigning elder brother, Mahipala II. Similarly, Bilhana’s Vikramankadevacharita is a
eulogistic work on the Chalukya ruler of Kalyani, Vikramaditya VI. It mentions that
Vikramaditya was advised by lord Shiva to replace his elder brother as the reigning
king. Prithvirajavijaya and Chandabardai’s Prithvirajaraso describe the achievements of
the Chauhan king Prithviraja. Aimed at valorizing the patron king, the narratives of these
texts generally centered on a key event through which the abilities of the king were
valorized and, in the cases where the coronation of the patron was in violation of
primogeniture, it was emphasized that his accession to the throne was in the best
interest of the subjects. But the fact that the composers were under the patronage of
these rulers, discounts any possibility of these presenting an unbiased account of the
developments. The Charita tradition differs from the epic tradition as their central figure
was a historical personality. This tradition of writing history of an individual was also in
contrast to the vamshanucharita section of the Puranas, which merely mentioned these
rulers as entries in king-list and did not provide details of their deeds.

Another category of early medieval secular Sanskrit texts, useful for reconstructing the
history of the period, comes under the vanshavali(chronicle) tradition. This tradition
comprises of the chronicles on a state, region or kingdom. Thus, the texts of this genre
are different from the Charita literature as their focus is not a single king, or a single
dynasty as is seen in the inscriptions of the period. According to Romila Thapar, it was
manifested ‘either as a text recording history at a point in time by a single person,
as Rajatarangini by Kalhana and Prabandha-chintamani by Merutunga, or could be kept
as a court record and updated from time to time by successive authors, as is likely with
the Chamba vanshavali’ (Thapar, 2013, pg. 692). The chronicles generally follow three
phases. The first and second phases deal with mythical account on the origins of the
region and with the local heroes of a distant past respectively. The third phase deals with
the establishment of the kingdom and its dynastic history. The account given in the third
phase is much more historical as it is validated by other sources as well. For example,
Kalhana’s Rajatarangini describes the evolution of the kingdom of Kashmir in eight
books, each called a taranga (wave). These eight books are arranged in three sections.
The first section describes the origin myths and early inhabitants. The second section is
on some vaguely defined early dynasties of Kashmir. The third section narrates the
established dynasties of the region. This section provides an account of the
developments in the post-700 CE Kashmir, which is remarkable for its accuracy.
Kalhana’s concerns for stating the sources and assessing their reliability together with a
number of historically insightful explanations of the developments bring this text closer
to the modern parameters of historical texts. The Chamba vanshavali is the history of
the mountainous kingdom of Chamba, located in the northern part of the present day
Himachal Pradesh. The Prabandha-chintamani by Merutunga is a narrative of the kings of
three dynasties of Gujarat namely the Chavada and the Chaulukya dynasties, which
were given more space, and the Vaghelas with occasional references to the Pratiharas,
the Chandellas and the Parmaras. Though written in 1306 CE, its main focus is the
Chaulukya ruler Kumarapala (1142/43-1172/74 CE). But because of the Jaina leaning of
the author, it is written from a Jaina perspective.

The Sanskrit literature of the period also includes a number of texts on the subjects like
agriculture, astronomy, architecture, medicine and the veterinary sciences. For
example, Krishiparashara, Kashyapa Krishisukti and Vrikshayurveda are the texts on
agriculture and plants. The Ashtangahridayasangraha by Vaghabhata is one of the texts
on medicine. Chakrapanidatta also wrote a commentary on Charaka. Interest in
astronomy contributed to the advancement of mathematics. Among the noted works on
mathematicians in our period, mention may be made of the ninth
century Ganitasarasangraha of Mahaviracharya and the twelfth century Lilavati by
Bhaskaracharya. These texts provide information about the prices, weights and
measures, wages and coins. These technical treatises are seen as a result of the
collaboration between those knowing Sanskrit and specialists of the respective
professions. These texts provide valuable information on the subjects which were of
greater concerns for the masses. For example, texts on agriculture provide information
useful for the success of agriculture. Thus these are of great importance for
reconstructing social and economic history of the period.

Value addition: what the sources say?

An excerpt from Lilavati by Bhaskaracharya
Whilst making love a necklace broke

A row of pearls mislaid.

One-sixth fell on the floor

One-fifth fell on the bed

The woman saved a third

One-tenth was caught by her lover.

If six pearls remained on the string

How many pearls were there altogether?

Source: As quoted by Romila Thapar (2002, Early India: From Origins to
AD 1300, Allen Lane, London, p. 472) from Georges Ifrah, The Universal
History of Numbers, London, 1998, p.431.

The period witnessed compositions in Prakrits also. The popular form of Sanskrit also
carried elements of the local Prakrits. Although, the compositions in Prakrits witnessed
both qualitative and quantitative decline, yet the Prakrits contributed to the emergence
of Apabhransha in some areas, and eventually some regional languages.
Vakpati’s Gaudavaho, a biography of Yashovarman ruling in Kanauj, Rajashekhara’s
play Karpuramanjari, and Pravarasena’s Setubandha, narrating the invasion of Lanka by
Rama are some of the last important works in Prakrits.

A survey of indigenous texts will remain incomplete without discussing the texts in the
regional languages like Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Under the patronage of the regional
kingdoms, these languages were used for composing court literature. A dominant trend
in this phase of the composition of the literature of the Dravidian languages was to
compose the regional versions of the Sanskrit epics namely Mahabharataand Ramayana.
For example, the Kannada version of Mahabharata was composed by Pampa (tenth
century) under the name Vikramarjunavijaya (also called Pampa-bharata after Pampa).
The composition of the Telugu version of Mahabharata was started by Nannaya (eleventh
century) with the translation of its two and half chapters. In Malayalam language, the
earliest compositions included Ramacharitam (based on the Yuddhakanda in Ramayana)
and Bhasha Kautiliya (a commentary in prose on Kautilya’s Arthashastra). In
Tamil, Ramavataram (or Kamparamayana) by the twelfth century poet Kamban
represents this trend. But these efforts were not aimed at providing these epics in
regional languages. These were in way regional versions of these epics. Their narratives
were twisted by the authors as per the demand of their audiences. It instilled the
narratives with new events and attitudes. For example, Kamban’s presentation of the
personality of Ravana is much more sympathetic as compare to the presentation by
Valmiki. Such variations indicate to the challenges faced by the orthodox Brahmanism in
these regions. These languages were further enriched by the compositions of
the bhaktisaints, who used these languages as the medium of expression to connect with
the masses directly. Even the brahmanas who knew Sanskrit were eager to
communicate with the people and preferred regional languages. The texts in the regional
languages are useful in reconstructing various aspects of regional histories which, in
turn, helps in preparing an inclusive account of Indian history.

A number of foreigners’ accounts also help in the reconstruction of early medieval

India, particularly ones by the Arabs. Though in our period also, India continued to
attract Chinese Buddhist pilgrims, both in the individual capacity as well as royal
missions, their accounts are either unavailable, or if available, are not as informative as
the ones by their predecessors like Fa-hien, Xuanzang and Yijing. For example, a
number of Chinese inscriptions are found at Bodh Gaya which record many names of
Chinese travelers but their memoirs, if any are not known to us. Wu-k’ong, came on an
official mission in the latter half of the eight century. He spent a number of years in
Kashmir and returned to China sometime in the last decade of the eighth century. But
his work is yet to be translated in English (Lokesh Chandra, ‘India and China: Beyond
and the Within’, http://ignca.nic.in/ks_41023.htm).

Our period witnessed flourishing trade contacts with the Arabian Peninsula. It
encouraged several Arab travelers and geographers to visit India. From the early
decades of eighth century, these contacts were further strengthened when Muhammad
bin Qasim, the nephew and son-in-law of the governor of Iraq called al Hajjaj, conquered
Sind. The reasons for these visits were the Arab fascination for the geography and the
commercial interests of the Arabs who were actively engaged in the international trade
in this period. Chach Namah, an eighth century work (but some scholars date it to the
thirteenth century CE) in Persian language, is the most comprehensive account of the
conquest of Sind. In c. 851 CE, a merchant named Sulaiman visited India during the
reign of the Pratihara king, Bhoja I and described the political conditions of India in his
travelogue. His account was supplemented by another traveler Abu Zaid. In this
description of the political conditions of India, Al-Masudi (c. tenth century CE) added
information on the Arab principalities of Multan and Mansura. His geographical accounts
were supplemented by Al-Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal. Al-Biladuri (c. ninth century CE),
describes Muhammad bin Qasim’s conquest of Sind and his successors’ reign. The work
of Al-Idrisi (c. twelfth century CE) gives a vivid description of the towns and ports of the
western coast, the regions very actively engaged in the trade with the Arabs.

But the best among all the foreigners’ accounts of the period is the Tahqiq-i-hind by Abu
Rihan alias Al-Biruni (tenth-eleventh century CE). He was a native of Khwarizm or Khiva
(in modern Turkmenistan). He came to India with Mahamud of Ghazni. He was perhaps
the finest intellectual of central Asia and was ordered to spend ten years in India.
Though he spent most of his times in the Punjab, his travels to some other parts of India
cannot be ruled out. He is credited with writing about 180 books, of which only 40 have
survived. To acquire the knowledge of India and its people from their ancient text, he
also learnt Sanskrit. Based on his study of these texts and his personal experiences and
observations, his Tahqiq-i-hind is a rich source for history. It is the best available
contemporary account on the Indian sciences, astronomy geography, astronomy,
philosophy, literature in addition to the beliefs, customs, religions, festivals etc.

The works of these Arab travelers and geographers throw significant light on the state of
trade and commerce between India and the Islamic world. The importance of these texts
is enhanced by the fact that these texts often provide the information which are not
available in the contemporary Indian sources which were mainly written under the
patronage of some ruler or by some religious personalities. For that reason, their focus is
either deeds of their patrons or the valorization of a religion. But these foreigners,
motivated either by their commercial interests or by their thirst for gaining knowledge of
the land, interacted more with the commoners and thus the accounts left by them
provide a closer look into the day-to-day life of the commoners. In addition to that, in
some instances, these texts help in determining important dates in Indian history. For
example, Tahqiq-i-Hind helps in determining the beginning of the Gupta era which in
turn, helps in determining several important dates of ancient Indian history. But these
works are not free from limitations. There are many instances where the author seems
to be either misinterpreting or depending on some hearsay. For example, geographer
Ibn Khurdadbih’ (ninth-tenth century CE) recorded that there existed seven castes
among Hindus. This wrong observation is similar to the one by Megasthenese (fourth
century BCE), who was the ambassador of Seleucus Nikator to the court of
Chandragupta Maurya.

Value addition: what the sources say?

Al Biruni’s observation on the attitude of ‘Hindus’
“The Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs, no nation like
theirs, no king like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs…
They are by nature niggardly in communicating what they know, and they
take the greatest possible care to withhold it from men of another caste
among their own people, still much more, of course, from any foreigner.
According to their belief, there is no other country on earth but theirs, no
other race of man but theirs, and no created beings besides them have
any knowledge or science whatsoever. Their haughtiness is such that, if
you tell them of any science or scholar in Khurasan and Persis, they will
think you to be both an ignoramus and a liar. If they travelled and mixed
with other nations, they would soon change their mind, for their ancestors
were not as narrow-minded as the present generation is.”
Source: E.C. Sachau (ed. and tr.), 1989, Alberuni’s India, Vol. I, Low
Price Edition, Delhi, pp. 22-23.

Archaeological Sources
The archaeological sources, which may be defined as the material remains of the past,
for our period mainly comprise of the excavation and exploration reports of a large
number of sites including Taxila (near Rawalpindi, Pakistan), Sunet (Ludhiana district),
Ropar (Ropar district), Purana Qila (Delhi), Hastinapura, Attranjikhera, Ahichchhatra,
Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Sannati, Vadgaon-Madhavapur, Maski, Brahmagiri,
Chandravalli (Karnataka) etc., monuments and images of the period (which both are
religious in the most of the instances), coins and inscriptions. The excavation and
exploration reports of the various sites have been widely consulted for reconstructing
the history of urbanization in the period, and primarily to test the hypothesis of ‘urban
decay’ offered by R.S. Sharma. Similarly, the study of monuments and
the sculptures is used to reconstruct the history of art and architecture as well as of
religions of the period. In addition to that, the metallic artefacts like the Sultanganj
Buddha image in bronze, the Buddha torso from Paharpur monastery of Bangladesh, the
iron pillar at Maharauli (Delhi) etc. throw important light on the various aspects of the
copper-bronze and iron metallurgy in our period.

As we know, the period under discussion was marked by the emergence of a large
number of states. It was one of the reasons for the large variety of coins of the period.
These coins were made of metals like gold, silver, copper and billon (an alloy of silver,
copper, and occasionally other metals). The study of coins has emerged as a distinct
discipline called numismatics. The importance of coins in the reconstruction of
economic history is well recognized. The circulation of coins in a society is an indicator of
a complex economy. Some scholars adopt a quantitative approach to the study of coins
and on that basis comment on the scale of monetization in a particular period. But such
an approach ignores the fact that the metallic coins, when out of circulation due to
reasons like turbulence faced by the issuing authority, may be melted to recover the
metal contents. In addition to that the number of coins available from a particular period
is also determined by factors like the state of archaeological researches of that period.
Similarly, the debasement of coins is often taken as an indicator of financial crisis
affecting the issuing authority or a general economic turbulence. But that may be a
result of decline in the supply of precious metals also. This understanding assumes
greater significance for our period because these are the main basis on which the
hypothesis of decline in monetization during early medieval period has been made. The
information like the material and the technology used in the coins, the motifs thereon,
the area of circulation, the depiction of the rulers, the legends inscribed on it etc. are
used to reconstruct various aspects of non-economic history also e.g. technology,
religion, polity, language and script etc. For example, the adivaraha coins (the coin type
carrying a ‘boar’ motif representing the boar or Varaha incarnation of Vishnu) show the
popularity of this incarnation of the brahmana deity Vishnu who was believed to have
saved the earth from the mythical great flood. It also shows the attempt on part of the
rulers to equate themselves with the popular god and hence to seek acceptance among
the followers. The individual rulers possibly tried to claim that the way Vishnu saved the
earth from getting drowned, they also saved the particular territories from the
destructive rule of their enemies. Thus the way a ruler used the available space on coins
helps in understanding his strategies of legitimation by fabricating an imagery of royalty.

Value addition: do you know?

Sides of a coin
In numismatics, the two sides of a coin are called ‘obverse’ and ‘reverse’.
Parameters to name a side of a coin are mainly based on the technique
used in the coin making. In case of the die-struck coins, the metal piece is
to be made a coin is put on an anvil with a die of the desired symbol,
placed on it. Then it is struck hard with a punch or a hammer which also
carries a die of desired symbols, fixed on it. In this technique, the side of
the metal piece facing the die on the anvil is called ‘obverse’. In the
process of die-striking, this side generally attains convex shape, which
serves as a marker of its identification. The other side of the coin is called
‘reverse’. But in the cases when this side does not attain this shape and in
the case of cast coins, the side of the coin carrying the picture of the issuer
and the main message called the ‘obverse’ and the other side is called the
‘reverse’.
Source: Original.

Value addition: do you know?

Techniques used for determining the metal contents of coins
The knowledge of metal content of coins may provide important
information on the aspects like trade, coin manufacturing technology and
economic health of a given time and space. There are a number of
techniques used for the purpose. One method is to carefully inspect their
color and luster. There are other informal physical procedures such as
testing for resonance by dropping the coin on a hard surface to produce
a sound or test its ductility by biting it. A water displacement test can be
conducted to measure a coin’s specific gravity. There are also several
chemical testing procedures for ascertaining metal composition. These
procedures are more accurate but generally damage the coin. Non-
destructive scientific techniques such as X-ray Fluorescence (XRF)
spectrometry, which are now being used to analyse the elemental
composition of coins, provide quick and accurate results.  
 Source: Singh, Upinder, 2009, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval
India, Pearson, Delhi, p. 51.

Value Addition: do you know?

Some of the coin types of the early medieval India
Gadhaiya coins- This coin type was the dominant coin type in the large
part of north and west India. These were made of various metals like
silver, copper, and billon. On some of these coins, the face of the boar
depicted resembles with that of an ass. Therefore, these are
called gadhaiya or ‘resembling an ass’.

Padmatanka coins- These are round and cup-shaped small and thin

coins. These are called so after the lotus with eight-petals punched
prominently in the center, in addition to various symbols punched on
sides. Because of these punches, the coin assumed the shape of a low
cup. Thus these coins are a sheer combination of the die-striking and
punch-marking techniques. These were in circulation mainly in Karnataka
during early medieval period.

Ramatanka coins- A double die-struck coin type found mainly in early

medieval Karnataka. These coins carry the portraits of
the Ramayana heroes. These coins were issued by temples and were
meant for worship.
Sources: Chakrabarti, Dilip K., 2006, pg. 456.

Murthy, Dr. A. V. Narasimha, 1997, Coins and Currency System in

Karanataka, Directorate Of Archaeology and Museums in Karnataka,
Mysore.

Value addition: Trivia

Some post-Gupta coins
 

Post-Gupta coinage (6th-12th centuries AD), is represented by a

monotonous and aesthetically less interesting series of dynastic issues
including those of Harsha (7th century AD, Kalachuri of Tripuri (11th
century AD) and early medieval Rajputs (9th-12th centuries AD). Gold
coins struck between this period are rare. These were revived by
Gangeyadeva the Kalachuri ruler who issued the 'Seated Lakshmi Coins'
which were copied by later rulers both in gold as well as in debase form.
The Bull & Horseman type of coins were the most common motif appearing
on coins struck by the Rajput clans. In western India, imported coins like
the Byzantine solidi were often used reflecting trade with the Eastern
Roman Empire.  
 Source: http://www.rbi.org.in/currency/museum/c-ancient.html

Value addition: Trivia

Early Medieval South Indian coins: An overview
 The symbols and motifs on South Indian coin issues were confined to dynastic crests
such as the boar (Chalukya), bull (Pallava), tiger (Chola), fish (Pandya and Alupas),
bow and arrow (Cheras) and lion (Hoysala) etc. The Yadavas of Devagiri issued
'Padmatankas' with an eight-petalled lotus on the obverse and a blank reverse. Coin
legends refer to names or titles of the issuer in local scripts and languages.
Decorative features are rare and divinities are almost absent till the medieval
Vijayanagar period (14th - 16th centuries AD).
Source: http://www.rbi.org.in/currency/museum/c-ancient.html

Another important constituent of the archaeological sources are inscriptions. An

inscription is a writing/engraving on any solid surface like stone, tablets made of clay or
any metal, pottery, wall etc. Inscriptions are also archaeological evidences but their
study and analysis of the information have developed as an independent discipline
called epigraphy. Though the practice of engraving inscriptions was prevalent since the
Harappan civilization times, our period witnessed the composition of inscriptions on an
unprecedented scale. The inscriptions of our period are found mainly on image
pedestals, slabs, copper-plates, temple walls and pillars. In terms of their subject, these
mainly record donations to the religious class or to the religious establishments. Issued
mostly by the king or the members of royal family, these were written mainly in Sanskrit
language. But our period also witnessed the beginning of the use of regional languages
for the purpose. But this switch over from Sanskrit to the regional languages was not a
sudden development but a gradual one. For example, from the sixth-seventh centuries
CE, the Tamil, the Kannada and the Telugu regions witnessed the beginning of the use of
their respective regional language in addition to Sanskrit. In such cases, the invocatory
verses, the genealogical portion and the concluding verses were recorded in Sanskrit,
whereas the occasion of the issue of the inscription was recorded in the regional
language. For example, under the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Pandyas a number of
Sanskrit-Tamil inscriptions were issued. Similarly, in the Kannada speaking region, the
Western Gangas issued a number of Sanskrit-Kannada inscriptions. Whereas in the north
India, the earliest clear-cut specimens of New Indo-Aryan languages, mainly Marathi and
Oriya, appear in the inscriptions from eleventh century onwards, though their occasional
traces start appearing even before that. Soon these two New Indo-Aryan languages also
attained the status of imperial languages. But other New Indo-Aryan languages,
particularly Gujarati and Bengali, could not emerge as the imperial languages soon.
According to Richard Salomon, it may be attributed to the early establishment of Islamic
rule in these parts of the country as compared to Orissa and Maharashtra. As a result, in
these areas, Islamic languages directly supplanted Sanskrit as the principal epigraphic
material and New Indo-Aryan inscriptions are predominantly private in character
(Richard Salomon, 1998, Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in
Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages, Munshiram Manoharlal
Publishers, New Delhi, pp. 99-100).

As has been stated above, the royal land grant charters, engraved on copper plates are
the most abundant type of the early medieval inscriptions. An interesting feature of
these inscriptions is that they broadly follow a pan-Indian format in which a set type of
information was recorded, though the order of presentation could differ. Such
inscriptions begin with some benedictory verses in honor of some deity. This deity could
be a deity of the pan-Indian religions like Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism or some
local deity like a grama-devata. It suggests the religious affiliation of the ruler or the
popular deity of the locality. It was followed by a detailed eulogy (prashasti) of the king.
In this section, the ancestry of the king was often traced to some mythical heroes. This
section also provided an account of the significant achievements of the forefathers of the
donor-king followed by the detailed account of his own personal merits and
achievements. In this account, only his successes and not failures as a ruler were
recounted. His grand titles indicating to his political status were also mentioned. He was
also presented as the great patron of king. He was also presented as the great patron of
religion and the one who established right order in the society i.e. washed away the sin
of kali. The place from where the order was issued was also specified which was either
the capital of the donor or the victory camp (jayaskandhavara). The genealogical details
provided in the prashasti section provide useful information on the political history,
though covered under exaggerated claims about their achievements. So their use should
be subject to the cross-checking of the information with the other evidences.

The above information in the land grant charters is followed by details regarding the
donees or the beneficiaries of the grant, who happen to be brahmanas in the early phase
of the period and the temples in the later phase. In case of the brahmana donees, this
section provided a short account of their ancestry and the branch of Vedic learning they
were associated with. The information on their gotras, pravaras, and original home when
juxtaposed with the identification of the land or village granted to them on the modern
map is a useful source material on the migration of the brahmanas. In case of the
temple donees, the early history of the shrine with the valorization of its chief deity was
also recorded.

The charters also addressed the royal officials to make note of the grant with an
instruction to respect the rights transferred to the donees. In this course, these charters
provide a list of important officials together with the list of taxes which often ended with
the term ‘et cetera’. Such information is useful for the purpose of reconstructing the
political structure of the time and space. The records also provide a description of the
pieces of the donated land or the village. It generally included the name of the
administrative unit in which it was situated, the name of the village, the description of
agrarian resources such as crops, trees, tanks, pastures etc. and the demarcation with
reference to some geographical entities (like a forest, hillock, river stream etc.) or man-
made facilities (like some garden, well, road, temple etc.). A careful study of such
descriptions help historians to ascertain the nature of the donated land i.e. whether it is
a virgin or a settled area. These descriptions are also an important source for writing
regional history of agriculture and agrarian expansion, a topic generally ignored in the
contemporary texts. Such description of grant often carries the information on the village
elders and other inhabitants. It gives an idea of the social configuration of the
settlement. In many instances, it has been possible to identify the donated villages with
modern villages. Such identifications, together with the insights available from the
excavations at such sites may help us in the reconstruction of the history of the also,
which is generally absent from the popular narratives of the early medieval Indian
history.

These charters also record the occasion for the grants which was either the performance
of some sacrifice, performance of sacraments (sanskaras), visits to places of pilgrimage
(tirthas) or victory in a war. The charter generally declared earning religious merit for
the donor or/and his ancestors or the service of some deity as the purpose of the grant.
Sometimes the grants were made to support educational institutions. For example, the
Nalanda monastery received a number of land grants from its patrons. With some
exceptions, these grants were declared to stay till perpetuity. A reading of this section of
the charter provides an insight into the religious scenario prevailing in the kingdom and
the efforts of the ruler to present himself as a leader in of the community of followers by
earning the image of the chief patron to that sect. Any revoker of the grant was cursed
of severe consequences like sufferings in hell for 66,000 years, rebirth as a dog for a
hundred times, rebirth as a chandala or a snake in the desert or as a germ in excreta.

Towards the end of the charter, the names of the writer and the executor were also
mentioned. The authors were generally brahmanas or kayasthas, attached to the court
whereas the executor was the official called sandhivigrahika, who was also the official of
war and peace. Some inscriptions also carry the name of the artisan who engraved the
grant. He was called the utkirnaka.

But while consulting these charters as a source, historians have to be careful also. As
following a pattern also means mentioning something which may not be relevant in a
particular context, one cannot take their information on its face value. For example,
the prashasti section of the land grant charters often mentions the donor king as the
destroyer of kali and the protector of the ideal social order. If the information is read in
the light of the Dhramashastric description of kali, one can get the impression that the
king actually restored the ideal brahmanical social order based on the four fold division
of society in which members of the each varna honestly performed the duties prescribed
in the Dharmashastras. But further investigations on the issue may reveal that the
territories under his control did not experience the existence of
the Dharmashastra based social order. Similarly, while making grants, as per the
standard format, the names of the taxes collected in the state were also mentioned with
the instructions to the royal officials that these will be collected by the donee from then
onwards. It gives an impression that land grants caused loss of revenue to the state. But
an investigation into the nature of the donated land or the village may suggest that it
was actually an unclaimed land which could not be a source of revenue earlier.

The importance of inscriptions as a source for reconstructing the past also lies in the fact
that these are less prone to any tempering with the text or the period its composition. In
addition to that the practice of recording the date of composition and the place of issue,
particularly in the case of long inscriptions, make the task of determining their temporal
and spatial context easier as compared to the literary sources. As is well-known, these
are the basic qualifications for any material to be used as a source for the reconstruction
of past.

Value addition: what the sources say?

Translation of the inscription on the Khalimpur plate of the Pala
ruler Dharmapaladeva
  

Om. Hail!

(Verse 1.) May the ten powers of Vajrâsana who has firmly attained, as to
fortune, to omniscience, (those powers) which, cherished by his consort–
great compassion, conquer the regions where many hosts of the Evil one
are seen, protect you.

(V. 2.) As the sea is the birth-place of the blessed goddess of fortune, and
the moon the source of that lustre which gladdens the universe, so
Dayitavishṇu, bright with all learning, became the progenitor of the
foremost line of kings.

(V. 3.) From him sprang the illustrious Vapyaṭa, who, full of piety, as far as
the ocean embellished the earth with massive temples, and became
famous as the destroyer of adversaries.

(V. 4.) His son was the crest-jewel of the heads of kings, the glorious
Gôpâla, whom the people made take the hand of Fortune, to put an end to
the practice of fishes; whose everlasting great fame the glorious mass of
moonlight on a fullmoon-night seeks to rival by its whiteness in the sky.

(V. 5.) As Rôhiṇi is the beloved of the Moon, Svâhâ of the Sacrificial Fire,
Śarvâṇî of Śiva, and Bhadrâ of the lord of the Guhyakas; as the daughter
of Pulôman is of Purandara, and Lakshmi of Mura’s foe, so the illustrious
Dêddadêvi, a daughter of the Bhadra king, became the queen of that
brilliant ruler of the earth, to him a source of joy.

(V. 6.) From them was born the glorious Dharmapâla, whose achievements
are praised by the good, a master of kings who alone is ruling the entire
orb of the earth; whose progress when he is about to conquer the quarters
all around, the four oceans, marked by the footprints of the arrays of his
elephants that bathe on their shores, patiently permit, being no longer
fosses of the earth.

(V. 7.) When, with his ponderous army marching with unbounded glee, he
proceeds to conquer the regions, and when the earth thereby slides down
as if the mountains on it were marching, Śêsha hurriedly follows him,
always exactly beneath him, with his arms raised to support the circle of
his heads, hurt by the jewels that sink into them, bent down by the
weight.

(V. 8.) When, on his setting forth, the whole sky is covered with the
masses of dust, cast up by the stamping of his marching army, and the
earth thereby is reduced to a minute size, then, on account of its light
weight, the circle of the hoods of the serpent-king springs up, with the
jewels, that had sunk into them, reappearing.

(V. 9.) The fire of his wrath, stirred up when he finds himself opposed, like
the submarine fire, blazes up unceasingly, checked (only) by the four
oceans.

(V. 10.) Desirous, as it were, of seeing collected together in one place such
kings of old as Pṛithu, Râma, the descendant of Raghu, and Nala, the
Creator in this Kali-age set up the glorious Dharmapâla, who has humbled
the great conceit of all rulers, as a mighty post to which to fasten that
elephant–the fickle goddess of fortune.

(V. 11.) For those armies of his,–not seeing at once how large they are,
because the ten regions are whitened by the dust of their van-guard, the
great Indra, afraid of what might happen to the armies of Mândhâtṛi
exhausts himself in conjectures,–for them even, thrilled as they are with
eagerness to fight, there is no chance of rendering assistance to his arms,
which (alone) annihilate the whole host of his adversaries.

(V. 12.) With a sign of his gracefully moved eye-brows he installed the
illustrious king of Kanyakubja, who readily was accepted by the Bhôja,
Matsya, Madra, Kuru, Yadu, Yavana, Avanti, Gandhâra and Kira kings,
bowing down respectfully with their diadems trembling, and for whom his
own golden coronation jar was lifted up by the delighted elders of
Pañchâla.

(V. 13.) Hearing his praises sung by the cowherds on the borders, by the
foresters in the forests, by the villagers on the outskirts of villages, by the
plying groups of children in every courtyard, in every market by the
guardians of the weights, and in pleasure-houses by the parrots in the
cages, he always bashfully turns aside and bows down his face.

(Line 25.) Now–from his royal camp of victory, pitched at Pâṭaliputra,

where the manifold fleets of boats proceeding on the path of the Bhâgîrathî
make it seem as if a serious of mountain-tops had been sunk to build
another causeway (for Râma’s passage); where, the brightness of daylight
being darkened by densely packed arrays of rutting elephants, the rainy
season (with its masses of black clouds) might be taken constantly to
prevail; where the firmament is rendered grey by the dust, dug up by the
hard hoofs of unlimited troops of horses presented by many kings of the
north; and where the earth is bending beneath the weight of the
innumerable foot-soldiers of all the kings of Jambûdvîpa, assembled to
render homage to their supreme lord;–the devout worshipper of Sugata,
the ParamêśvaraParamabhaṭṭâraka Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious
Dharmapâladêva, who meditates on the feet of the Mahârâjâdhirâja, the
glorious Gôpâladêva, being in good health,–

(L. 30.) In the Mahantâprakâśa district (vishaya), which belongs to the

Vyâghrataṭî maṇḍalawithin the prosperous Puṇḍravardhana bhukti, is the
village named Krauñchaśvabhra. Its boundary on the west is Ganginikâ; on
the north it is the small temple of Kâdambarî and a date tree; on the north
east the dike made by the Râjaputra Dêvaṭa, it goes to and enters a citron
grove (?); on the east it is the dike of Viṭaka, … Also the village named
Mâḍhâśâmmalî. On the north its boundary is Ganginikâ; from there, on the
east…; from there again, on the south, it is Kâlikâśvabhra, proceeding
thence as far as…; on the west, from there again,… it enters Ganginikâ. At
Palitaka the boundary on the south is the small island of Kâṇâ; on the east
the river Kôṇṭhiyâ; on the north Ganginikâ; on the west Jênandâyikâ. On
the island the funeral rites of this village are performed (?). Of the village
of Gôpippali, which is within the Âmrashaṇḍikâ maṇḍala belonging to the
Sthâlîkkaṭa district (vishaya), the boundaries are, on the east the western
boundary of the Udragrâma maṇḍala, on the south a jôlaka (?), on the
west the khâṭikâ (?) named Vêsanikâ, on the north the cattle-path running
on the borders of the Udragrâma maṇḍala.

(L. 43.) To all the people assembled at these four villages, the Râjans,
Râjanakas, Râjaputras, Râjâmâtyas, Sênâpatis, Vishaŋapatis, Bhôgapatis,
Shashṭhâdhikṛitas, Daṇḍaśaktis, Dâṇḍapâśikas, Chaurôddharaṇikas,
Dauḥsâdhasâdhanikas, Dûtas, Khôlas, Gamâgamikas, Abhitvaramânas,
inspectors of elephants, horses, cows, buffalo-cows, goats and sheep,
 inspectors of boats, inspectors of the forces, Tarikas, Śaulkikas,
Gaulmikas, Tadâyuktakas, Viniyuktakas and other dependants of the king’s
feet, and to the other not specially named, to those belonging to the
irregular and regular troops as they may be present from time to time, to
the Jyêshṭhakâyasthas, Mahâmahattaras, Mahattaras, Dâśagrâmikas and
other district officers, including the Karaṇas, and to the resident
cultivators,–to all these especially honouring the Brâhmaṇas, he pays due
respect, makes known, and issues these commands:–

(L. 48.) Be it known to you that the Mahâsâmantâdhipati, the illustrious

Nârâyaṇavarman, by the mouth of the Dûtaka,
the Yuvarâja Tribhuvanapâla, has preferred to us the following request:
“For the increase of our parents’ and our own merit we have had a temple
built at Śubhasthalî. to the holy lord N[u]nna-Nârâyana who has been
installed there (by us), and to the Lâṭa Brâhmaṇas, priests and other
attendants who wait upon him, may it please your Majesty to grant four
villages, with their haṭṭikâ and talapâṭaka, for the performance of worship
and other rites.” Thereupon, at his request, we accordingly have assigned
the above-written four villages, together with the talapâṭaka and haṭṭikâ,
up to their proper boundaries, with all their localities, with (the fines for)
the ten offences, not in any way to be interfered with, exempt from all
molestation, in accordance with the maxim of bhûmichchhidra, for as long
as the moon, the sun and the earth endure. Wherefore all of you, out of
respect for the merit resulting from a gift of land, and afraid of falling into
the great hell and of other evils consequent on the resumption of it, should
applaud and preserve this gift. And the resident cultivators, being ready to
obey our commands, should make over (to the donees) the customary
taxes, means of subsistence, and all other kinds of revenue.

(L. 56.) [Here follow five benedictive and imprecatory verses.]

(L. 60.) In the increasing reign of victory, the year 32, 12 days of Mârga.

(L. 62.) This was engraved by the skilful Tâtaṭa, the son of the worthy
Subhaṭa and son’s son of the worthy Bhôgaṭa.
Source: Kielhorn, F., 1979, ‘Khalimpur Plate of
Dharmapaladeva’, Epigraphia Indica, Vol. IV. - 1896-97, Archaeological
survey of India, Delhi, pp. 243-254.

Inscriptions also play an important role in the reconstruction of the history of regions. As
India is a vast landmass with an astonishing cultural plurality, the stages of historical
developments have been uneven. As the donative inscriptions of the period often record
donation of a village or a piece of land in some village, these may be used for
understanding various aspects of rural society, which is not a concern in the
contemporary period. As a result, a rational account of early medieval Indian history
cannot be reconstructed until and unless histories of regions and their constituent
localities are written. In all the regions, the inscriptions precede the literary sources.
Therefore they provide the region-specific or locality-specific historical information for a
longer period. How a better understanding of the developments at the regional and
locality level can improve our understanding of the processes reflects well in the writings
of the practitioners of the ‘Integrative model’ like B.D. Chattopadhyaya, Hermann Kulke,
B.P. Sahu etc. But to achieve that objective, it is indispensable that inscriptions should
be used not merely as a corroborative evidence for the conclusions based on the literary
evidences, but should be consulted as an independent source for the historical
reconstruction.

Inscriptions are also useful in reconstructing the history of language which further
provides insights into the interactions among different communities. Even the Sanskrit
inscriptions of the period show the influence of local dialect in spelling and words of non-
Sanskrit origin.

It is often observed that once the literary sources are available to the historians,
archaeological sources are treated as secondary sources meant for corroborating the
arguments drawn on the basis of literary sources. A possible reason for the same may be
that the use of archaeological evidences is more challenging that the literary ones
because of the dating being more challenging. In addition to that limited number of
excavated sites and a more limited number of published excavation reports is another
impediment. But if we examine carefully, these limitations are there, though in different
form and magnitude, with the literary sources also. Archeological sources help a
historian to underline the gap between the norms, as laid down by those in power and
the practices. One should also not lose sight of the fact that archaeology throws light on
the aspects which either do not receive attention or receive attention in passing in the
literary sources. For example, archaeological sources provide important information on
human settlements, technology, networks of trade etc. In pursuit of the reconstruction
of the early medieval Indian history also, a more scientific use of archaeological
evidences may improve our understanding.

The Question of Historical Tradition

The ancient Indians (which include the early medieval Indians also) are often alleged as
the people having no sense of history. The allegation was first levelled by Al Biruni and
was endorsed by colonial scholars like Vincent A. Smith. In the contemporary times also
the literary production of the ancient Indians is not accepted as a valid source of history
because of its mainly religious nature in addition to ‘ambiguous’ temporal and spatial
context. In the context of north India, the issue has been discussed in length by Romila
Thapar in many of her writings, including her book entitled The Past Before Us (2013).
Thapar seeks to draw distinction between historical literature and historical traditions. As
far as historical literature conforming to the modern parameters is
concerned, Rajatarangini by Kalhana is no doubt the only text from ancient India which
can stake claim for the label. But judging the historical consciousness of any past society
on modern parameters would be unjust.

Value addition: what the sources say?

Albiruni’s observation on the sense of time and the archive
Unfortunately the Hindus do not pay much attention to the historical order of things, they are
very careless in relating the chronological succession of their kings, and when they are
pressed for information and are at a loss, not knowing what to say, they invariably take to
tale-telling… I have been told that the pedigree of this royal family (the Shahiya of Kabul),
 written on silk, exists in the fortress Nagarkot.
Source: E.C. Sachau (ed. and tr.), 1989, Alberuni’s India, Vol. II, Low
Price Edition, Delhi, pp. 10-11.

Rather historical consciousness should better be judged on the basis of historical

traditions which ‘emanates from a sense of the past and include three aspects: first, a
consciousness of past events relevant to or thought of as significant by a particular
society, the reasons for the choice of such events being implicit; second, the placing of
these events in an approximately chronological framework, which would tend to reflect
elements of the idea of causality; and third, the recording of these events in a form
which meets the requirements of that society’ (Thapar, 2013, pg. 4).

If such a definition is accepted then no society can be called a-historical. One just has to
make out why certain events were considered worth recording in the way these were
recorded. Applying this approach to the ancient Indian literature, Thapar argues for the
existence of historical tradition in two forms- the ‘embedded’ form and the ‘externalized’
form. Of these, the embedded form of historical consciousness is seen in the
compositions like dana-stutis, gathas, narashamsis and akhyanas which have historical
information covered under the layers of myth. This kind of historical consciousness is
connected with the clan-based societies. On the other hand the externalized form of
historical consciousness is the one which is reflected in the literature in which historical
information is not covered under myth. Such a literature claims to be a narrative of a
person or an event backed by a claim of historicity. This variety of historical tradition is
seen in the state societies. In the context of ancient Indian history, it is seen in the post-
Gupta period. The turn to this kind of historical consciousness was caused due to the
legitimation needs of the emerging kingdoms of the period. Now merely
bestowing Kshatriya status on the king or divinizing him was not sufficient but there was
a need for a more credible past and recoding and recording the events of the present for
use in the construction of such a past, and for the future. This purpose was served by
the genres of the period under discussion, namely Charitas (historical biographies),
vanshavalis (chronicles) and inscriptions. In the words of Romila Thapar, “In their forms
and in what they record, (these genres) move from historical traditions to the nuclei of
historical writing” (Thapar, 2013, p. 690). But these genres did not mark a complete
breakaway from the earlier genres. Rather they drew on the latter. For example, the
origin myths and early heroes of the dynasty mentioned in the eulogy part of the
inscriptions and the dynastic chronicles have their roots in the vanshanucharita section
of the Puranas. Similarly, historical biographies have their roots in the biographical
elements of the Itihas-Purana tradition. The departure from the ‘embedded form’ is
marked by the fact that now the events and the actors were historically verifiable
entities. In addition to that the past tense used in these genres show that the purpose of
the author was to record the past whereas in the vanshanucharita section of the Puranas
future tense was used. The individuals and the events mentioned in the early medieval
genres are dated in worldly eras e.g. the Shaka era, the Vikrama era or some other era
or regnal years. Difference is also seen in the authorship. In contrast to
the vanshanucharitasections of the Puranas, the charitas and the inscriptions were the
compositions of the historically identifiable authors.

So, in our period, the historical consciousness is expressed in externalized form. The
historical biographies in the form of charita literature, inscriptions which provided
accounts of the concerned dynasties and vanshavalis (chronicles) of our period are the
writings which may be called historical writings. Though the argument of Romila Thapar
is based on the survey of sources from north India, the fact is that the genres following
the same pattern are reported from the other parts of early medieval India also. For
example, all the political powers of our period issued a large number of inscriptions,
broadly following the above-mentioned format, for recording some historical event, the
act of donation in most of the cases. Similarly, the Mushikavanshakavya, an eleventh
century Sanskrit text composed by Atula. It is a dynastic chronicle of the chiefly house of
the Mushikas. They were the feudatories of the Cheras. The early chapters of the text
follow the itihas-purana tradition. But the information provided from the eleventh
chapter onwards can be verified by other sources such as inscriptions. Thus the text
qualifies to be a vanshavali. In addition to that, Bilhana’s Vikramankadevacharita is a
biography of later Chalukya ruler, Vikramaditya VI and may safely be categorized as
a charita text. Thus at least in our period, the compositions conforming to the
‘externalized’ historical consciousness, seems applicable to other regions as well.

Summary
 A history of early medieval India can be reconstructed on the basis of variety of
sources which may broadly be categorized under the headings literary sources
and archaeological sources.
 The religious texts like the Puranas, the Upapuranas, the Sthalapuranas and the
Mahatmyas provide important information on popular religious practices.
 The Dharmashastric tradition is reflected in the Tikas and
the Nibandhas on smritis.
 The Charitas werethe biographies of individual rulers, aimed at presenting him as the person full of
virtues.
 Vamshavalis are the chronicles on a state, region or kingdom
like Rajatarangini, Chamba vamshavali.
 A number of texts dealing with subjects like astronomy, medicine, agriculture,
architecture, and the veterinary sciences are also available.
 Foreigners’ accounts include the accounts of various Arab travelers and
merchants in addition to a scholar called Al Biruni.
 Inscriptions of the period mainly recorded donations. Inscriptions form
throughout the country follow a standard format which, as a result, sometimes
give misleading information about the nature of donated land.
 The interpretation of archaeological sources free from the conclusion based on
literary sources provides important information on the localities and regions and
thus helps in writing history of regions.
 The period is marked by the composition of expositions exhibiting externalized
historical consciousness.

Glossary
Charita- The biographies of kings written by the poets under their patronage.

Dharmashastras- The expression is used for the brahmanical literature, primarily

concerned with laying down social norms. The texts labelled as the Dharmasutras,
smritis and Tikas and Nibandhas are collectively called Dharmashastra.

Itihas-Purana- The predominant historical tradition of early India, attributed

to brahmana authors writing about those who ruled.

Rudhira-manya/rakta-manya- A compensatory grant made to the dependents of the

deceased hero (K.V. Ramesh, 1984, Inscriptions of the Western Gangas, Agam Kala
Prakashan, Delhi, pg. 110).

Vanshanucharita: A section of the Puranas giving genealogies of some dynasties.

Exercise/ Practice
Essay Question

1. Write an essay on the religious texts available for the reconstruction of early
medieval India.
2. Give an account of archaeological sources for the reconstruction of early medieval
India.
3. How far you agree with the views that the early medieval Indian literature reflects
absence of any notion of history? Justify your argument with examples.

Short Question

1. Discuss the importance of early medieval inscription as a source for historical

reconstruction.
2. ‘In terms of historical consciousness the early medieval India literature reflects
both continuity and change from the early historical period’. Comment.

Objective Questions

Question Number Type of question

1 True or False

Question

1. Agni Purana consists of the ideal or “the five facets” of a Purana.

2. Nibandha is a part of Dharmashastric tradition.
3. The Gadhahiya coins depict the kalki incarnation of Vishnu.
4. The eulogy section of early medieval Indian inscriptions generally
formed the concluding part.

Answer 1. False. Only Vishnu Purana consists of the ideal pancha-

lakshana “the five facets”.
2. True.
3. False. The Gadhaiya coins depict the Varaha (or boar)
incarnation of Vishnu.
4. False. The eulogy section generally formed the early part
of inscriptions.

Question Number Type of question

2 Match the following
Question

          (Component)                                  (Literary form)

Vanshanucharita section                        -        Charita literature

Royal biography                                    -        Inscriptions

A short record of a historical events         -        Tika

Commentary on Dharmashatric texts        -        Purana

Correct Vanshanucharita section-    Purana  
Answer /
Option(s)           Royal biography           -            Charita literature

A short record of a historical events- Inscriptions

Commentary on Dharmashatric texts        - Tika

Justification/ Feedback for the correct answer

See the above discussion

Question Number Type of question

3 Match the following

                  (Text)                                 (Author)

Ramacharita                                         -        Merutung

Vikramankadevacharita                          -        Kalhana

Rajatarangini                                        -        Sandhyakara Nandin

Prabandha Chintamani                            -        Bilhana

Correct answer (Text)                                       (Author)

  Ramacharita                       -       Sandhyakara
Nandin

Vikramankadevacharita        -       Bilhana
 Rajatarangini                      -       Kalhana

Prabandha Chintamani         -       Merutunga

Further Readings
1. Chakrabarti, Dilip K., 2006, The Oxford Companion to Indian Archaeology, Oxford
University Press, New Delhi, pp. 424-473.
2. Chakravarty, Ranabir, 2010, ‘Realms and Regions: Profiles of Economy, Society
and Culture (c. AD 600-1300)’ Exploring Early India, Upto c. AD 1300, Macmillan,
Delhi, pp. 291-379.
3. Habib, Irfan, 2007, ‘Early Medieval India, 600-1200’ in Medieval India, National
Book Trust, New Delhi, pp. 3-54.
4. Sharma, R.S., 1995, ‘An Analysis of Land Grants and their Value for Economic
History’ in Perspectives in Social and Economic History of Early India, Munshiram
Manoharlal, New Delhi, pp. 272-281.
5. Singh, Upinder, 2009, ‘Emerging Regional Configurations, c. 600-1200 CE’ in A
History of Ancient and Early Medieval India, Pearson, Delhi, pp 546-643.
6. Thapar, Romila, 2013, The Past Before Us, Permanent Black, Ranikhet.
7. Veluthat, Kesavan, 2014, available on the following
link- http://www.iicdelhi.in/webcasts/view_webcast/the-past-before-us--
historical-traditions-in-early-north-india/