Chapter-2Kings, Farmers and towns Class-XII

Subject: History

Module: 7 ( 3/4 Module of Lesson 2)

Topic: A Changing Countryside

Teacher: B R Meshram, AECS No.3 Rawatbhata

Revision: An early empire was Mauryan empire. Mauryan Empire was founded by Chandragupta

Maurya in 321 BC. Historians have used to variety of sources to

reconstruct the history of Mauryan Empire. Indica was written by Megasthenes. Ashoka was the most famous ruler of Mauryan

dynasty. He conquered Kalinga and included in into Mauryan

Empire. Early inscriptions were written in Parkrit language.

Changing the country side:

Popular perception of Kings:

Historians have tried to solve this problem by examine stories contained in the anthologies such as panchatantra, and the jatakas.

The Jatakas were written in the Pali around the middle of the first millennium CE.

One story known as the Gandatindu Jataka describes the plight of the subjects of the wicked king, these included elderly women and men, cultivators ,herders, village boys and even animal.

As the story indicates, the relationship between a king and his subjects, especially the rural population.

Kings frequently coffers by demanding high taxes and the peasants particularly found such demands oppressive.

Other strategies aimed at increasing production to meet growing demand for taxes also came to adopted.

Strategies for increasing Production:

One such strategy was the shift to plough agriculture, which spread in fertile alluvial river valleys such as those of the Ganga and the Kaveri.

While the iron ploughshare led to a growth in agriculture productivity ,its use was restricted to certain parts of the subcontinent only.

Another strategy adopted to increase agricultural production was to use the irrigation, through the well and tank.

Differences in Rural society:

Stories ,especially within the Buddhist tradition refer to landless agriculture labourers, small peasants as well as large landholder.

The term Gahapati was often used in Pali texts to designate the second and third categories.

The early Tamil literature ( the Sangam Texts) also mentions different categories of the people living in the village- large landowners and slaves.

It is likely that these differences were based on the differential access to land, labour and some new technologies.

Gahapati:

The term Gahapati was often used in Pali texts to designated the second and third categories.

A Gahapati was the owner , master or head of a household , who exercised control over the women, children ,slaves and workers who shared a common residence.

He was also the owner of recourses land, animal and the other things.

Land Grants and New Rural Elites:

From the early centuries of the common era , we have found grants that have found grants of land being made, many of which were recorded in inscription.

The records that have survived are generally about grants to religious institution s or to the Brahmans.

The inscription also give us an idea about the rural population these included Brahmans and peasants as well as who expected to provide a range of produce to the king or his representatives.

Land grant and New Rural Elites-Continue

Lands grants such as this one have been found in the several parts of the country.

There were regional variations in the sizes of the land donated- ranging from small plot to the vast stretches of uncultivated land.

The rights given to donees( the recipients of the grant)

Land grants provide some insight into the relationship between the cultivators and the state.

Gupta Empire:

Prabhavati Gupta: Prabhavati Gupta was the daughter of one of the most

important ruler in early Indian history, Chandragupta II.

She was married to another important ruling family that of Vakatakas , who were powerful in Deccan.

According to Sanskrit legal texts, women were not supposed to have independent access to resource such as land.

However the inscriptions indicates that Prabavati Gupta access to land.

Home assignment:

What was the condition of the lower classes of the society during Mauryan Empire?

What were the strategies used for the increasing production?

What was Gahapati?

What were Sangam Texts?

What does the Agrahar means?

Who was Prabavati Gupta?

Name the three types of sources about the history of Gupta Empire?