Kings, Farmers and Towns (Early States and Economies) (c.600 BCE-600 CE)

Evidence of craft production in early historic cities comes from votive inscriptions, artefacts and references to guilds. Inscriptions from the second century BCE mention people such as weavers, potters, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, carpenters, scribes, washing folk and merchants. Excavations have also yielded a wide range of objects made of gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell and terracotta, showing specialised craft activity. Guilds or shrenis may have procured raw materials, regulated production and marketed finished goods.

This differs from Harappan evidence. In Harappan cities, craft production is known largely from archaeological remains such as workshops, tools, seals, beads and pottery, whereas for early historic cities we also have written evidence like inscriptions naming occupations and donors. Another difference is that Harappan urban craft production belongs to an earlier period, while early historic cities show craft production linked more closely with trade, urban elites and guild organisation.

The mahajanapadas were the sixteen important states mentioned in early Buddhist and Jaina texts. Their salient features were:

- They emerged around the sixth century BCE, a period of early states, cities, iron use and coinage.
- Each had a capital city, often fortified.
- Most were ruled by kings, but some were gana/sangha oligarchies where power was shared by a group of men called rajas.
- They needed resources to maintain fortified capitals, armies and bureaucracies.
- Rulers were advised to collect taxes and tribute from cultivators, traders and artisans, and sometimes by raids on neighbouring states.
- Some states, such as Magadha, became especially powerful because of productive agriculture, iron resources, elephants and good communication routes.

Important names mentioned in the text include Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti.

Historians reconstruct the lives of ordinary people by using sources that record everyday social and economic life, not just kings. In this chapter, they use:

- Stories such as the Jatakas and Panchatantra, which probably began as oral tales.
- Sangam literature, which mentions different kinds of rural people such as vellalar, uzhavar and adimai.
- Inscriptions, especially votive inscriptions naming donors and their occupations.
- Legal texts such as the Manusmrti, which discuss disputes over land and boundaries.
- Land-grant inscriptions, like the record of Prabhavati Gupta, which reveal peasants, Brahmanas and dues owed.
- Travel accounts and literary texts, such as the Harshacharita and the Periplus, which describe villages, forests, trade and occupations.

Since ordinary people rarely wrote about themselves, historians compare many kinds of evidence to infer their lives, work, social status and relations with rulers.

The gifts to the Pandyan chief Senguttuvan in Source 3 and the produce of Danguna in Source 8 show both similarities and differences.

Similarities:
- Both lists include forest and agricultural products.
- Both mention items like fruits, honey, flowers, medicinal plants and other natural goods.
- Both suggest a close relationship between rulers/chiefs and rural or forest communities, who supplied goods.

Differences:
- Source 3 is a tribute list to a chief and includes many luxurious and exotic items such as ivory, fragrant wood, sandalwood, pepper, cardamom, gemstones, and even animals like tigers, elephants and monkeys.
- Source 8 lists the produce and dues of a village: grass, hides, charcoal, flowers, milk, salt-related rights, mines, trees, hidden treasures and taxes. It is more like an administrative record of rights and obligations.
- Source 3 is more about gifts and prestige, while Source 8 is about land revenue, exemptions and control over village resources.

So, the first is a literary description of tribute and abundance, while the second is a legal inscription about village production and taxation.

Some of the main problems faced by epigraphists are:

- Letters may be faintly engraved or damaged, so reading is uncertain.
- Parts of inscriptions may be missing, making reconstruction difficult.
- The exact meaning of words may be unclear, especially when terms are specific to a place or period.
- Many inscriptions have not survived at all.
- Even surviving inscriptions give only a partial view of the past because they usually record grand events and the point of view of the person who commissioned them.

So epigraphists must carefully compare readings, use palaeography, and cross-check inscriptions with other sources.

The main features of Mauryan administration were:

- A large empire with five major political centres: Pataliputra, Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri.
- Stronger control near the capital and provincial centres.
- Careful attention to communication routes by land and river.
- An organised army, with divisions for foot-soldiers, horses, chariots, elephants, navy, transport and provisions.
- Officials who supervised rivers, land measurement, canals, taxes, huntsmen, woodcutters, carpenters, blacksmiths and miners.
- Use of bureaucrats and officials and probably a regular administrative network in some areas.
- Under Asoka, the propagation of dhamma through special officers called dhamma mahamatta.

These features are evident in Asokan inscriptions in several ways. The inscriptions mention the provincial centres, show concern for communication and governance, and include orders to officials and subjects. Asoka also records his policy of dhamma, instructions for pativedakas to report affairs, and his effort to communicate across the empire through inscriptions on rocks and pillars.