CHAPTER 8

VILLAGES, TOWNS AND TRADE

Prabhakar at the blacksmith’s shop

Prabhakar sat watching the smiths at the local shop.
There was a small bench on which iron tools like axes
and sickles were laid out, ready for sale. A bright fire was
burning, and two men were heating and beating metal
rods into shape. It was very hot and noisy, and yet it was
fascinating to watch what was happening.

Iron tools and agriculture

We often take the use of iron for granted today.
Things made of iron (and steel) are a part of
our daily lives. The use of iron began in the
subcontinent around 3000 years ago. Some of the
largest collections of iron tools and weapons were
found in the megalithic burials, about which you
read in Chapter 4.
Around 2500 years ago, there is evidence for the
growing use of iron tools. These included axes for
clearing forests, and the iron ploughshare. As we
had seen (Chapter 5), the ploughshare was useful
for increasing agricultural production.

Other steps to increase production: irrigation Iron tools.

Here is a set of captions.
The kings and kingdoms you have been reading Choose the right one for
about could not have existed without the support each of the pictures.
of flourishing villages. While new tools and the Sickle, tongs, axe.
system of transplantation (Chapter 5) increased Prepare a list of at least
f ive objects made of
production, irrigation was also used. Irrigation iron or steel that you use
works that were built during this time included almost everyday.
canals, wells, tanks, and artificial lakes.
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 If you look at the chart, you will find that some
of the stages in the construction of irrigation works
are mentioned.
Fill in the rest by using the following phrases:
• Labour is provided by the people.
• Farmers also benefit because crop production is
more certain.
• Farmers have to increase production to pay taxes.
• Kings provide money and plan irrigation works.

1. Kings need money for armies,

palaces, forts. 2. They demand taxes from farmers.

3. 4. This is possible with irrigation.

5. 6.

7. Production increases. 8. So does revenue.

9.

Who lived in the villages?

There were at least three different kinds of
people living in most villages in the southern and
northern parts of the subcontinent. In the Tamil
region, large landowners were known as vellalar,
ordinary ploughmen were known as uzhavar, and
landless labourers, including slaves, were known
as kadaisiyar and adimai.
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 In the northern part of the country, the village
headman was known as the grama bhojaka.
Usually, men from the same family held the
position for generations. In other words, the post
was hereditary. The grama bhojaka was often the
largest landowner. Generally, he had slaves and
hired workers to cultivate the land. Besides, as he
was powerful, the king often used him to collect
taxes from the village. He also functioned as a
judge, and sometimes as a policeman.
Apart from the grama bhojaka, there were other
independent farmers, known as grihapatis, most
of whom were smaller landowners. And then there
were men and women such as the dasa karmakara,
who did not own land, and had to earn a living
working on the fields owned by others.
In most villages there were also some
craftspersons such as the blacksmith, potter,
carpenter and weaver.

The earliest Tamil compositions

Some of the earliest works in Tamil, known as
Sangam literature, were composed around 2300
years ago. These texts were called Sangam because
they were supposed to have been composed and
compiled in assemblies (known as sangams) of
poets that were held in the city of Madurai (see
Map 7, page 87). The Tamil terms mentioned above
are found in Sangam literature.

Coins
Archaeologists have found several thousands of
coins belonging to this period. The earliest coins
which were in use for about 500 years were
punch-marked coins, such as the one shown here.
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 Punch-marked Coins
Punch-marked coins were generally rectangular
or sometimes square or round in shape, either cut
out of metal sheets or made out of flattened metal
globules (a small spherical body). The coins were not
inscribed, but were stamped with symbols using dies
or punches. Hence, they are called punch-marked
coins. These coins are found over most parts of the
subcontinent and remained in circulation till the
early centuries CE.

Other means of exchange

Read this short poem from the Sangam collection:

As they carry the white paddy of their land

To exchange it for the salt of another,
Crossing the long roads in carts,
Through sands white as moonlight,
Taking whole families,
Who hate to be left behind,
The departure of the salt merchants
Leaves the city empty.

Salt was produced plentifully along the sea coast.

What are the merchants planning to exchange
it with?
How are they travelling?

Cities with many functions

Very often, a single town was important for a
variety of reasons. Let us look at the example of
Mathura (Map 7, page 87).
Mathura has been an important settlement for
more than 2500 years. It was important because it
was located at the cross roads of two major routes
of travel and trade — from the northwest to the east
and from north to south. There were fortifications
around the city, and several shrines. Farmers and
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 people in the city. Mathura was also a centre where
some extremely fine sculpture was produced.
Around 2000 years ago, Mathura became the
second capital of the Kushanas, about whom you
would read. Mathura was also a religious centre —
there were Buddhist monasteries, Jaina shrines,
and it was an important centre for the worship of
Krishna.
Several inscriptions on surfaces such as stone
slabs and statues have been found in Mathura.
Generally, these are short inscriptions, recording
gifts made by men (and sometimes women) to
monasteries and shrines. These were made by
kings and queens, officers, merchants, and
craftspersons who lived in the city. For instance,
inscriptions from Mathura mention goldsmiths,
blacksmiths, weavers, basket makers, garland
makers, perfumers.
Make a list of the occupations of people who
lived in Mathura. List one occupation that was not
practised in Harappan cities.

Crafts and craftspersons

We also have archaeological evidence Northern Black Polished
for crafts. These include extremely fine Ware (NBPW)
pottery, known as the Northern Black NBPW is a hard, wheel
Polished Ware (NBPW). It gets its name made, metallic looking
from the fact that it is generally found in ware with a shiny black
the northern part of the subcontinent. surface. The potter used to
Remember that the archaeological expose the earthenware to
evidence for many crafts may not have very high temperature in
his kiln which resulted in
survived. We know from texts that the
the blackening of its outer
manufacture of cloth was important. surface. A fine black slip
There were famous centres such as was also applied on this,
Varanasi in the north, and Madurai in which gave the pottery a
the south. Both men and women worked mirror-like shine.
in these centres.
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 Rules for spinning and weaving
These rules are from the Arthashastra, mentioned in Chapter 7. They
describe how spinning and weaving could be done in workshops under
the supervision of a special official.
“Widows, young women who are differently abled, nuns, mothers of
courtesans, retired women servants of the king, women who have retired
from service in temples, may be used for processing wool, bark, cotton,
hemp and flax.
They should be paid according to the quality and quantity of work.
Women who are not permitted to leave their homes can send maid-
servants to bring the raw material from the superintendent, and take the
finished work back to him.
Women who can visit the workshop should go at dawn to give their
work and receive their wages. There should be enough light to examine
the work. In case the superintendent looks at the woman or talks about
anything other than the work, he should be punished.
If a woman does not complete her work, she will have to pay a fine, and
her thumbs can be cut off.”
Make a list of all the women who could be employed by the superintendent.
Do you think women would have faced any problems while
working?

Many craftspersons and merchants now formed

associations known as shrenis. These shrenis of
craftspersons provided training, procured raw
material, and distributed the finished product.
Then shrenis of merchants organised the trade.
Shrenis also served as banks, where rich men and
women deposited money. This was invested, and
part of the interest was returned or used to support
religious institutions such as monasteries.

A closer look — Arikamedu

Find Arikamedu (in Puducherry) on Map 7
(page 87). Between 2200 and 1900 years ago,
Arikamedu was a coastal settlement where ships
unloaded goods from distant lands. A massive brick
structure, which may have been a warehouse,
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 was found at the site. Other
finds include pottery from the
Mediterranean region, such as
amphorae (tall double-handled
jars that contained liquids such
as wine or oil) and stamped red-
glazed pottery, known as Arretine Ware, which Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions.
was named after a city in Italy. This was made by Several pieces of pottery
pressing wet clay into a stamped mould. There have inscriptions in
Brahmi, which was used to
was yet another kind of pottery which was made write Tamil.
locally, though Roman designs were used. Roman
lamps, glassware and gems have also been found
at the site.
Small tanks have been found that were
probably dyeing vats, used to dye cloth. There is
plenty of evidence for the making of beads from
semi-precious stones and glass.
List the evidence that indicates that there was
contact with Rome.

An Account by a Greek Sailor

The Story of Barygaza
(the Greek name for Bharuch)
The gulf is very narrow at Barygaza, and very hard to navigate for those
coming from the sea.
Ships had to be steered in by skilful and experienced local fishermen
who were employed by the king.
The imports into Barygaza were wine, copper, tin, lead, coral, topaz,
cloth, gold and silver coins.
Exports from the town included plants from the Himalayas, ivory, agate,
carnelian, cotton, silk and perfumes.
Special gifts were brought by merchants for the king. These included
vessels of silver, singing boys, beautiful women, fine wines and fine cloth.
Make a list of all the things imported and exported from Barygaza.
Underline at least two things that were not in use during Harappan times.
Why do you think merchants brought gifts for the king?

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 Trade and traders
You have read about the Northern Black Polished
Ware. This fine pottery, especially bowls and
plates, were found from several archaeological sites
throughout the subcontinent. How do you think it
reached these places? Traders may have carried
them from the places where they were made, to
sell them at other places.
South India was famous for gold, spices,
especially pepper, and precious stones. Pepper
was particularly valued in the Roman Empire,
so much so that it was known as black gold. So,
traders carried many of these goods to Rome in
ships, across the sea, and by land in caravans.
There must have been quite a lot of trade as many
Roman gold coins have been found in south India.
Can you think of how and why these reached
India?

A poem about trade

We can find evidence of trade in the Sangam poems.
Here is one which describes the goods brought
into Puhar, an important port on the east coast:
“(Here are brought)
Swift, prancing horses by sea in ships,
Bales of black pepper in carts,
Gems and gold born in the Himalayas,
Sandalwood born in the western hills,
The pearls of the southern seas
And corals from the eastern oceans
The yield of the Ganga and the crops from the
Kaveri,
Foodstuffs from Sri Lanka, pottery from
Myanmar,
And other rare and rich imports.”
Make a list of all the things that are mentioned.
What would they be used for?

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 Traders explored several sea routes. Some of
these followed the coasts. There were others across
the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, where sailors
took advantage of the monsoon winds to cross the
seas more quickly. So, if they wanted to reach the
western coast of the subcontinent from East Africa
or Arabia, they chose to sail with the south-west
monsoon. And sturdy ships had to be built for these
long journeys.

New kingdoms along the coasts

The southern half of the subcontinent is marked
by a long coastline, and with hills, plateaus, and
river valleys. Amongst the river valleys, that of the
Kaveri is the most fertile. Chiefs and kings who
controlled the river valleys and the coasts became
rich and powerful. Sangam poems mention the
muvendar. This is a Tamil word meaning three
chiefs, used for the heads of three ruling families,
the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas (see Map 7, page
87), who became powerful in south India around
2300 years ago.
Each of the three chiefs had two centres of power:
one inland, and one on the coast. Of these six cities,
two were very important: Puhar or Kaveripattinam,
the port of the Cholas, and Madurai, the capital of
the Pandyas.
The chiefs did not collect regular taxes. Instead,
they demanded and received gifts from the people.
They also went on military expeditions, and
collected tribute from neighbouring areas. They
kept some of the wealth and distributed the rest
amongst their supporters, including members of
their family, soldiers, and poets. Many poets whose
compositions are found in the Sangam collection
composed poems in praise of chiefs who often
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 rewarded them with precious stones, gold, horses,
elephants, chariots, and fine cloth.
Around 200 years later, a dynasty known as the
Satavahanas became powerful in western India (see
Map 7, page 87). The most important ruler of the
Satavahanas was Gautamiputra Shri Satakarni.
We know about him from an inscription composed
on behalf of his mother, Gautami Balashri. He and
other Satavahana rulers were known as lords of the
dakshinapatha, literally the route leading to the
south, which was also used as a name for the entire
southern region. He sent his army to the eastern,
western and southern coasts.
Why do you think he wanted to control the
coasts?

Silk Route and the Kushanas

Some kings tried to control large portions of the
route. This was because they could benefit from
taxes, tributes and gifts that were brought by traders
travelling along the route. In return, they often
protected the traders who passed through their
kingdoms from attacks by robbers.
The best-known of the rulers who controlled the
Silk Route were the Kushanas, who ruled over central
Asia and north-west India around 2000 years ago.
Their two major centres of power were Peshawar and
Mathura. Taxila was also included in their kingdom.
During their rule, a branch of the Silk Route extended
from Central Asia down to the seaports at the mouth
of the river Indus, from where silk was shipped
westwards to the Roman Empire.

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 Imagine
You live in Barygaza and are visiting the port. Describe
what you would see there.

KEYWORDS
Let’s recall
iron
1. Fill in the blanks: irrigation
(a) __________ was a word used for large landowners port
in Tamil. Sangam
(b) The gramabhojaka often got his land cultivated shreni
by the _________________ silk route
(c) Ploughmen were known as _________________ in trader
Tamil.
(d) Most grihapatis were ______________ landowners.
2. Describe the functions of the gramabhojaka. Why do
you think he was powerful?
3. List the craftspersons who would have been present
in both villages and cities. SOME IMPORTANT

4. Choose the correct answer:

DATES

Beginning of the
(a) Punch marked coins were made of:
use of iron in the
1. silver subcontinent (about
2. gold 3000 years ago)
3. tin 
Increase in the use
4. ivory of iron, cities, punch-
(b) Mathura was an important: marked coins (about
2500 years ago)
1. village

Beginning of the
2. port
composition of Sangam
3. religious centre literature (about 2300
4. forested area years ago)
(c) Shrenis were associations of:

Settlement in
1. rulers Arikamedu (between
2. craftspersons 2200 and 1900 years
ago)
3. farmers
4. herders
5. What kinds of evidence do historians use to find out
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 SOME IMPORTANT
DATES Let’s discuss

Discovery of silk
making (about 7000
5. Which of the iron tools shown on page 73 would
have been important for agriculture? What would the
years ago)
other tools have been used for?
The Cholas, Cheras and
6. Compare the drainage system in your locality with
Pandyas (about 2300
that of the cities mentioned in the lesson. What
years ago)
similarities and differences do you notice?

Growing demand
for silk in the Roman
Empire (about 2000 Let’s do
years ago)


Kanishka, the Kushana 7. If you have seen craftspersons at work, describe in a
ruler (about 1900 short paragraph what they do. (Hint: how do they get
years ago) the raw materials, what kind of equipment do they
use, how do they work, what happens to the finished

Fa Xian comes to India
product).
(about 1600 years
ago) 8. List the functions performed by men and women who
live in your city or village. In what ways are these

Xuan Zang comes to similar to those performed by people who lived in
India, Appar composes Mathura? In what ways are they different?
devotional poems in
praise of Shiva (about 9. List five things that you buy from the market. Which
1400 years ago) of these are made in the city/village in which you live,
and which are brought by traders from other areas?

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