Ancient and Medieval Important Keywords

UPSC “HUNT” Series

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● Vishaya- Vishayas were divided into smaller parts called Vithis which were the villages and consisted of the lowest unit of administration.

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● Mahattama,Mahattara and Mahattara- Elder who assisted the Gramika in the village administration.
● Agharikas- During the reign of Harsha, Agharikas looked after the land given incharity.

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● Samantas-Feudal chiefs.
● Uparakshita-In Satvahanas kingdom, their function was building caves for monks.
● Gaulamika- Administration of the villages was placed under them in the Satavahana Period.

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● Valaikkarars- Troops in the royal service and were the bodyguard of the monarch
● Amalguzar or Amils–Revenue officers

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● Arz-i-mamalik– Minister in-charge of the army of the whole country.
● Ahl-i-qalam– Reporter

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● Baqqal– Trader, grain-dealer
● Batai– Division of crop between the cultivator and landlord or the government,payments may be in kind or cash
● Barid-An intelligence officer appointed by the state to collect information
● Chachar– Land out of cultivation for 3-4 years.
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● Chauth or Chauthaai– One-fourth of the land revenue, originally a Zamindari charge in Gujarat demanded by Shivaji as a war expense.
● Charai– A tax on cattle.
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● Dagh System– A system of branding of horses and animals.
● Dam-A copper coin considered as 1/40* the silver rupee for the official purposes.
● Dastur-al-amal-Rule book
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● Dhimmi- A non-Muslim client or subject

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● Darul Mulk-Capital

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 ● Gumasta- An agent or representative
● Hamam– A room for the bath of hot and cold water

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● Hundi-A bill of exchange
● Jamabandi– Settlement of the amount of revenue assessed upon an estate or district

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● Jarib– A measurement, land measurement or survey
● Jihat– Extra cesses

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● Jizya– (a) In the literature of Delhi sultanate, any tax which is not kharaj or land tax (b) In the Shariat, a personal and yearly tax on non-Muslims.
● Kankut– Estimation of land revenue
● Karori– A revenue

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● Khiraj– Land revenue
● Mahal-A group of land regarded as a unit for land revenue purposes.

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● Mansab– A military rank conferred by the Mughal emperor.
● Mauza-Revenue term for village

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● Mokasa-Grant of land for military service, rent-free land
● Nabud– Remission of land revenue on account of natural disasters.
● Paibaqi-Land reserved for allotment in jagir
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Polaj- Land continuously in cultivation
Sarrafs– Money Chargers, bankers
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● Saughall- Rent-free land
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● Sindon-The Harappan civilisation was the earliest known civilisation to produce cotton. Known as ‘Sindon’ by the Greeks as from Sindh.
● Susa and Ur–Harappans seals have been found in Mesopotamian cities like Susa and Ur
● Taqavi-Advance of money for sowing or extending cultivation
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● Upari- Temporary occupant; tenant at will.

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● Usar-Barren land

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 ● Zawabit-Secular laws.
● Gomat: Since the Rig Vedic society was a pastoral society, cattle rearing was their dominant activity. The chief measure of wealth was cattle and a

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wealthy man was known as Gomat
● Kula and Kulapa: All the social units were based on brotherhood. Kula (Family) was the basic social unit and Kulapa was the head of the family.

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● Niskha: Unit of Currency of Rig Vedic Period made of gold.
● Shresthins indicate the guilds or organisation of merchants.

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● Niskha: Exchange was still via barter, but Niskha was used as a convenient unit of value although not as a typical currency.
● Magathi and Shauraseni are the dialects of Prakrit.
● Patanjali’s Mahabhasya is another important text of Sanskrit grammar.

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● Mahashila Kantak- War engine, which was used to those stones like catapults used by Ajatashatru
● Nandopakramani-a particular measuring standard invented by Dhanananda.

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● Kammikas -Custom officials
● Shaulkika/Shulkadhyaksha -Toll officials

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● Bali-A voluntary payment made by the tribesmen to their chiefs in the Vedic times, became a compulsory payment, and special officers called
balisadhakas were appointed to collect it.
● Extended kin groups were referred to as Nati and Nati-kulani. Kula denoted extended the patrilineal family, while Natakas included relatives on both

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mother and father’s side.
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Samyutta Nikaya-In the Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha is presented as consoling Prasenjit (king of Kosala), who was upset at the birth of a
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daughter.
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● Netti Pakarana -The Book of Guidance, which gives a connected account of the Buddha’s teachings
● Visuddhimagga-The Path to Purity, written by Buddhaghosa, deals with development from purity of discipline to nibbana/enlightenment
● Agnikula-Certain Rajput clans who claim to have emerged from Yajna Havana-Kunda.
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● Agrahara-Donation of land or taxes from a village by the king to the learned brahmins. / Tax-free villages granted to the learned Brahmanas in
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ancient India were known as Agrahara.

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 ● Ajivika-A heterodox sect closer to Jainism which flourished at the time of the Buddha
● Akot-A town, about 42 km from Akola, from where a stone idol of Lord Adinath, the first Jain Teerthankara, was found in 1993

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● Amarasimha-It was one of the nine gems in the court of the legendary Vikramaditya(Chandragupta-II). His work Amarkosha occupies a
dominant position in Sanskrit Lexicography.

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● Amatya-Official designation for a high official used right from the Mauryan Period.Other officials-Mahamattas, and Adhyakshas. The
Adhyakshas (or superintendents,whom Megasthenes called the Astynomoi, the magistrates of Strabo) were high-ranking officials next to the Tirthas,

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concerned mostly with economic functions and some military duties.
● Amoghavarsha-I-The long ruling Rashtrakuta king (A.D. 814-78). He represented the height of development of his dynasty.
● Aranyakas–Vedic texts, traditionally composed by hermits.

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● Arthashastra-A treatise on polity by Kautilya, belonging to the Mauryan period.
● Asanga-A Buddhist philosopher. He was the originator of Buddhist Yogacharaidealism.

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● Atisha Dipankara-The most famous teacher of Vikramasila university founded in A.D.810 by king Dharmapala of Pala dynasty.
● Ayukta-Designation of an officer frequently used in the Mauryan period.

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● Bhukti-An administrative unit of a kingdom in the Gupta period.
● Bilhana-A Sanskrit historian and poet born in Kashmir. He left Kashmir about A.D.1065 and became the court poet at Kalyana where he wrote
an epic, Vikramadeva-charita to celebrate the reign of Vikramaditya-VI, the Chalukya king of Kalyana.
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Blue Water Policy-The “Blue Water” policy is attributed to Don Francisco deAlmeida, the first Viceroy of the Portuguese possessions in India.
His “Blue Water”policy was to be powerful at the sea instead of building fortresses on Indian land.
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● Bodhisattva-A person who attains nirvana by working for the welfare of the world and voluntarily postpones release from rebirth; also regarded
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as an incarnation of theBuddha, prior to his own birth in the world
● Brahmagupta-(598-660) of Ujjain, was a great mathematician of his time.
● Brahui-A language of Balochistan. Linguistically, it is Dravidian.
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● Chaitya-A sacred enclosure. The term is also used for a Buddhist place of worship.
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● Chandernagore-A French possession before its merger with India.

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 ● Charvaka-Charvaka is known as the greatest of the materialistic philosophers of ancient India./A religious sect following a materialist
philosophy.

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● Chauth-A tax levied by Marathas—a contribution exacted by a military leader, which was justified by the exigencies of the situation
● Nishka and Satamana-in the Vedic texts were taken to be names of coins, but they seem to be only prestige objects. Coins made of metal first

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appeared in the age of Gautama Buddha. The earliest were made largely of silver though a few copper coins
● Dadu-The saint from Gujarat who preached non-sectarianism in medieval times. Hefounded the “Brahma-Sampardaaya” (the sect of Brahma)

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● Dharmachakra-In the Gandhara art, it is the preaching mudra associated with theBuddha’s First Sermon at Sarnath
● Digambara-A Jain sect whose followers do not believe in keeping even a small piece of cloth on themselves.
● Dilmun-The Mesopotamian texts speak of three intermediate trading stations calledDilmun (probably Bahrain on the Persian Gulf), Makan (probably

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the Makran coast,Oman).
● Garbhagriha-The sanctum of the Hindu temple.

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● Gopuram-It has been the main feature of the South Indian temple
● Hinayana-One of the two major Buddhist sects.

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● Ibadat Khana-A building at Fatehpur Sikri where Akbar held discussions on religious matters.
● Iqta-It was the land-grant system adopted by Ala-ud-din Khilji to grant his officers as reward for services rendered. Qutabuddin Aibak was
assigned the first iqta in India by Mahmud of Ghor.
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Kayastha-A jati associated with revenue records, first found in the Mauryan period and frequently mentioned in the medieval period
Kharosthi -A script in which Ashokan inscription of Shahbazgarhi and Manashera are written
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● Kottom-An administrative unit.
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● Kumaramatya-An official designation of a high official.
● Mahakshatrapa–‘Great governor’, a title taken by rulers, mainly by Saka kings
● Mandalam-An administrative unit, frequently used in south India.
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● Maski Rock edict-This minor Rock-edict is the only edict in which Ashoka refers to himself as the king of Magadha.
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● Meluhha-The Mesopotamians called the Indus Region.

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 ● Nadu-An administrative unit, frequently used in south India.
● Nagara–Style of temple architecture developed in central and northern India.

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● Nastaliq-A Persian script used in medieval India.
● Turushkadanda-A tax collected by the Gahadavalas during the early medieval India.

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● Vatapi (or Badami)–Capital of Chalukyas and is well-known for Chalukyan sculpturefound in the cave temples here.
● Vedanta-One of the six major philosophical schools in ancient India.

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● Vidushaka-the constant companion and confidant of the hero in Sanskrit dramas,was nearly always a Brahmin.
● Vihara-Buddhist monastery.
● Yakshagana-The south Indian dance tradition that appeared for the first time in theVijayanagar period.

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● Zabti System-introduced by Akbar for land revenue administration. In Zabti system,land was measured and assessment of land revenue was
based upon it.

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● Diwan-i-Wizarat-was the finance department headed by the wazir (Prime-minister)
● Diwan-i-Arz was the ministry of defence headed by the Ariz-i-mamalik

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● Diwan-i-lnsha department of correspondence and records of the royal court was held under the charge of a central minister known as
dabir-i-mamalik, dabir-i-khas oramir- munshi.
● Diwan-i-mustakharaj (to realise arrears) was created by Alauddin Khiiji.
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Diwan- i-kohi (department of agriculture) was created by Muhammad bin Tughluq.
Muhtasib– Censor of public morals. Under Akbar, his function was secularised.
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● Mir-i-Atish—Head of ordinance
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● Mir-i-Barr—Imperial officer in charge of forests.
● Mir-i-Bahr—Supervised state boats and fleets.
● Daroga-i-Dak Chauki— In-charge of information and intelligence department (workedindependently)
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● Mir-i-mal—Officer in charge of Privy Purse

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● Mir-i-munshi— In-charge of imperial correspondence.

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 ● Amir-i-tuzuk—Master of ceremonies.
● Four castes that existed in the Vijayanagar society o Viprulu or Brahmins o Rajjulu or rachavaru were generally the ruling class. Kshatriya

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varna seems to be absent.
● Matikaratalu were the merchants.

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● Nalavajativaru or Sudras were mainly agriculturists.
● Vipravinodins were the artisans,

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● Kaikkolas were the weavers who formed a prominent community.
● The Tottiyans were the shepherds.
● The Ijaradari system was introduced by Warren Hastings according to this the right to collect revenue.

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● Madad-i-Maash-A large class of religious divines and learned men who in return for their services were granted tracts of land for their maintenance

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Administrative officers of the Sultanate period

● Wazir: The prime minister heading the Diwan-i- Wizarat

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● Mustaufi-i-Mamalik: He was the auditor general responsible for state expenditure
● Mushrif-i- Mamalik: He was the incharge of accounts and receipts
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Majumdar: Preserved the record of loans advanced by the government
Qazi-ul-Qazat: Lord Chief Justice ; Barids: Spies; Waqia Navis: News reporters; AmiI: In-charge of district administration.
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