When are we?

From the first migration out of Africa until today, the human story has endured through highs and lows. India has been part of the human story since the first human migration out of Africa with haplogroup M.

The birth of History from Prehistory is considered when humans started writing, this period in Indian history starts with the stubbornly indecipherable Indus Valley Script about 5500 years ago.

After the indus script, Indian History goes into hiding for the modern historian as the next evidence comes to us only in the 3rd Century BC from one of the edicts of King Ashoka,

We are left  with a dark spot of more than 3000 years.

This has meant that Indian History for these 3000 years has been relegated to Mythology. This is the ‘Modern Historians’ perspective.

When we look for the Indian perspective at our oldest record, The Rig Veda, it presents a rich and vibrant story of Indian history and claims to be much older than 6000 years. This might seem too old to be relevant for modern Indian history but bear with me. The disparity in the Indian perspective of History compared to the Modern perspective of History is fundamental, this has to be considered when we are to look at Indian history. 

The Indian concept of Time:

The key difference in the Indian perspective stems from the understanding of Time in Indian philosophy, (I am aware that the term  Indian philosophy seems to indicate a monolithic view when it is quite the opposite, we’ll get to that).  We do need to step away from the scientific concept of linear time for the moment, as we can see from the archaeological evidence found in India we do have a 3000+ year void where there is no written evidence. 

This jugglery of time from traditional views to modern views was mastered by people like Ananda Kentish Muthu Coomaraswamy (his biography is worth a read, trust me). He compares in his book Time & Eternity the various Indian perspectives i.e Hindu, Buddhist & Jain with other Greek, Christian & Islamic perspectives.

When we look at the common element from all the diverse Indian perspectives, what stands out is that Indian understanding of time is cyclical.

Time  unites recession,procession & stasis, *kalo gati nivritti stithih samdadhati”, which can be interpreted as, ‘Time is that instant when the past, future and present intersect.’

From Reincarnation to Yugas, Avatars to Karma, time is a cycle for the individual and the world, it is a tricky and trippy concept to get in. This has enabled a loose coupling of the past and the present, where the past can be rendered from our vision of the present. Perhaps indicated by the name of Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Way.

The key challenge presented with this approach is that, in a world where time is cyclical and considered Anadi & Ananta i.e eternal, it matters little when events happened and value is given priority over chronology. 

Adherence to Lineage:

The cornerstone of early India thought comes from the Vedas (which are agreed to predate the Ramayana, placing it more than 6000 years ago), composed by several Rishis, the words are considered Revelations, some of them have been attributed to specific Rishis for e.g the Gayatri Mantra is credited to Vishwamitra. These Rishis were revered enough to get constellations (Ursa major or the SaptaRishi Mandala) named after them. The feeling of indebtedness to this knowledge is so innate, that one is considered to be born with, RishiRna an original indebtedness to sages whose knowledge will benefit from. 

This is not limited to codified knowledge like the Vedas, Upanishads, it also extended to later rulers, merchants, communities and Indians today who trace origins to a figurehead ancestors. From clans of Lunar & Solar dynasties of Kings to Gotras, lineage gives a sense of antiquity and continuity. This practice of having a ‘Divine right’ to rule is not unique to India, European rulers from Justinia, Ivan of Russia till Napolean Bonaparte have used mythical links to previous icons.

What is unique to India is the reverence of previous knowledge, where additions to previous theories and new knowledge are added on to existing treatises. Similar to a detailed literature study necessary for research today, serious researchers of the past have begun their works with a Vyakhyana or analysis of previous accepted works.

The key challenge is, unless the updations can be traced to individuals, many centuries of research are likely to be included in a single work. Again ‘auchitya’ or relevance takes priority over authorship and chronology.

Oral Traditions & the love of storytelling:

From the genesis story of Vaivasvata Manu,  origin stories of planets till the Puranas, Indian knowledge for many millennia has relied on an unbroken chain of oral transmission from generation to generation. From the usage of verse for easier retention to the addition of human elements to keep the flow of events memorable. Indians knew that everyone remembers a good story. This is the basis of Smriti.

Some of the challenges of propagating meta information such as dates orally have been addressed by embedding positions of stars in verses, a testament to early Indian knowledge of astronomy.  The other clue to get absolute dates is the rare reference to a natural event, like the drying up of the Saraswati river observed during the travels of Balarama in the Mahabharata.

 However other information such as long lifespans of people, sizes of armies, magical weaponry may be embellished for the impact of the story. Again the intent of such works was never to prove the exactness of events but to tell the story. This is oft the bone of contention between modern perspectives driven by rational thought and defenders of Indian ‘legacy’. They are both asking different questions.

The objective of History is not to provide answers, it is to provide context. 

The dilemma of Quantifiable v/s Important:

As we have seen from the points above, systematically Indian Philosophy and resultant History has prioritized Value over Fact. Acharya Mysore Hiriyanna in his ‘Indian Conception of Values’ summarises three key values of Beauty, Goodness & Truth, this was later famously summarised by Sri V.Raghavan as Satyam, Shivam & Sundaram (No relation to the Bollywood movie). 

On the other side, the Modern perspective demands quantifiable rational evidence to decide claims of importance, in other words, the fact has priority above value. There are pros and cons to both views, depending on one’s intention of studying History. My personal view is to balance intentions with value and its rendering with facts.

The road to Values needs to go through the reality of facts. How can one achieve this balance? Let us look at how India defines the intention of history.  

Indian History v/s Itihas & The Purusharthas:

The Sanskrit term Itihas was adopted as the equivalent of the term ‘history’ in the vernacular languages of nineteenth-century India. 

One of the original definitions of Itihasa is: ‘so it was’ (iti ha āsa)  elaborated below :(Quoted in V.S. Apte, Sanskrit-English Dictionary (s.v. Itihasa), p»382) :

धर्मार्थकाममोक्षाणामुपदेशसमन्वितम् । पूर्बवृत्तकथाथुक्तमितिहासं प्रचक्षते

(Dharmirtha-kama-moksanam upadesa samanvitam / purvavrttam katha yuktam itihasam prachaksate).

The narration of past events arranged in the form of stories, and conveying instructions  on dharma (religion or moral code), artha (economics comprising social and political behavior), kama (the pursuit of desire or culture) and moksa (salvation) — the four Purusharthas or the four  human pursuits ”.

Itihasa is the story of the past, not just a record of the things that happened. It is a tale of olden times with a specific intent, it is meant to convey usable advice on the principal aims of life.

How these original stories of Itihas viz Ramayan & Mahabharata have evolved to meet the challenges of the times has been addressed previously in a separate article.

The Purusharthas are the 4 pursuits of man viz all desires (Kama) e.g Entertainment and the means to procure it (Artha) e.g A Netflix Subscription. Desires are unlimited like the Netflix playlist, if not tempered with proper behavior (Dharma) it will not lead one to salvation (Moksha).  Apologies for the Netflix reference, but this a vast topic, I know I know I am trying to do some heavy lifting here with Purusharthas, for a more philosophical analysis refer here.

But here is the thing, the 4 noble pursuits are relevant for everyone not just of Kings, Sages or a few special people. There is no absolute answer, it means what it means to you. These are personal values not facts.

Here are a few examples of what this implies for the study of History.

Kama:

Objects of Desire for a civilization have always been aspirational and an indicator of availability, for indeed familiarity breeds contempt. We desire scarce things.

Europeans coveted spices and Indian textiles until the sixteenth century. The recent excavations at Muziris the ancient Kerala port from the times of 2 century BC as per the Periplus have revealed an abundance of amphoras for storing imported wine. A staple Indian import even today. 

Hoards of Roman coins at completely landlocked areas of India underscore the words of Pliny at the Roman parliament from the 2nd century BC. He blamed the fiscal deficit on excesses of Roman luxury goods imported by paying gold in millions to India and other eastern countries.

Apart from wine & gold, exotic women and ‘singing boys’ for the royal palaces were a constant import. Indian Kings knew how to party. A wonderful read on this topic is Sanjeev Sanyal‘s – Ocean of Churn, about the Indian Ocean trade networks.

As we will later see in the 500 years ago series,  Arabian war horses in India and China were a premium. He who had access to better warhorses from the days of Alexander, the Mongols to the Huns stood as the military force to be reckoned with. In 1509 when the Portuguese made a contract of sale with Krishna Devaraya of the Vijayanagara empire it was for the exclusive purchase rights of war horses at cost of 30,000 gold cruzados. Krishna Devaraya would later use for his historic victory campaign against three neighboring kingdoms in 1520.

What we buy and what we sell reveals a lot about what we covet. stands true for individuals, Kingdoms and historical eras.

For what we covet is what we are incapable of having or being ourselves.

Artha:

Artha is the means to procure things of Kama, ‘Follow the money’ stands true from Watergate to Ancient civilizations. Artha is meaning and the means to survive and thrive.

Indians have always equated wealth to imported Gold and land, China had succumbed to silver coming in from outside for its coinage as late as the 15th century Ming dynasty. From the treasure hoards of Ancient India to the bountiful temples of Travancore, Tirupati to Somnath Artha is aggregated at centers of power.

He who knows what to sell to whom and what to buy from home has always stood to make a profit and gain a premium. The impact Vaishyas or the merchant class of India has been overshadowed by Kings and Sages in Indian History. 

‘It is where the ancient world met’, remarks Peter Frankopan in his book, Silk Roads. 

The impact of the merchant classes can be observed from Kautilya’s Arthashastra to Motichandra’s Sarthavaha & S.L Bhyrappa’s, ‘Sartha -The Caravan’.

The Caravan has long been a symbol of prosperity, fabled to be massive in the ancient world, feeding kingdoms with either the luxuries they covet or items of luxury for someone else that can be taxed. Fernando Nuniz & Domingo Paes the Portuguese travelers talk out the wonderful infrastructure built along the length of the route from the port at Bhatkal from the Konkan coast to the capital Hampi. With groves of fruit-bearing trees and water spots for a man and beasts of burden during their travels in the 16th century, it is a  legacy of recommendations to Kings from the Arthashastra.

Ancient roads & trade hubs have left roots still alive today with the Uttarapatha (A precursor of the Grand Truck road) and the Dakshinapatha (the basis for today’s NH7). These paths stretched from West at Takshashila or Taxila at the Afghan border to the port of Tamralipti in the Bay of Bengal in the East and from Mathura in the North to the Dakshin (Deccan) traversing the vertical length of the subcontinent via networks of roads to rich southern kingdoms and ports. Satavahana kings had titles like Dakshinpathapati or Lord of the Southern Route.

Compared to the stories of kings, the stories of caravans and merchants are few and far apart. In the Nalopakhyana of the Aranyaka Parva of Mahabharata, Damayanti accompanies a Sartha in search of Nala. Panini in his Ashtadyayi also talks of the 2 paths.

The treasure trove of merchant stories come to us from the Buddhist Jataka tales. Buddha delivered his first sermon at Sarnath standing at the junction of two major trade routes. They talk of stories of merchants lost at sea, faraway lands & lucky merchants who come upon fortune and wealth. Tamil epics like Silappatikaram also talks about the life of merchants. 

The lives of merchants are also representative of urban life as seen in numerous Sanskrit plays. One often hears the lives of merchants called Nagarakas & their romantic trysts with Ganikas or courtesans of the city. Most notably in Mrichakatika of Sudraka in the 5th Century C.E, there was a similar fascination in Victorian England as can be seen in the Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare, which also premiered 500 years ago.

The Jain community in India has long been the merchant class of the country, one can spot temples built along trade routes funded by thankful merchants.

We also learn of merchants like Avachi Tripurantaka Shetty, who along with having an awesome name, stood as a patron to many artists notably the Telugu poet Srinatha at Nellore. In the sixteenth century, as an accomplished merchant on the east coast from Machilipatnam he was supplying goods to the three major southern kings India Vijayanagara. Bijapur and Gajapatis of Orissa at the same time. This shows who had the real power behind political boundaries.

Numbers do not lie, the other benefit of relying on Artha is that stories might be contorted to present a utopian or dystopian view, the numbers usually tell their own story.  

Compared to the tales of religion kings and wars, Artha is relentless and has no dark spots. Trade happens as long as there are people, wealth shall circulate, for no man or kingdom is an island. A lesson China learned the hard way in the opium war following centuries of isolationism.  Reliance on external sources for war animals and weapons took down many colonies in Africa and Asia, Colonizers often played rival factions for economic gain.

As John Green notes, ‘The merchants decide when the people with the funny hats go, rather than the other way round.’

To ground delusions of grandeur and divine rights to rule, wealth based on taxing merchants is short-lived. Merchants always find better, cheaper routes and change the course of history.

Dharma & Moksha: 

These two are rather complicated to summarise as they are considered internal pursuits or ‘nvritti’. Dharma is an underlying framework, where the individual demonstrates human agency to make choices.

These choices may vary depending on your age, profession, and role. It is a grand concept, which has also been translated as religion, which can be tricky.  It is a very difficult term to translate, Ashoka in one of his Afghan edicts with Sankrit & Greek versions uses the word Eusebeia in Greek, it is also used in the Greek New-Testament of the Bible.

Keeping the spiritual connotations of Dharma aside, its practical aspects bring a necessary perspective to understand Indian history. The conduct of merchants, kings, tax officials, hunters, priests, courtesans, farmers, sons, parents, students, teachers were all held to the yardstick of their Dharma.   This dynamic nature of Dharma acts as a barometer of what has changed from one time period to another.

Since the time of the Battle of the Kurukshetra when it was propagated as a ‘Dharmayudh’, The Ghaznavid invasions, The Battle of Talikota, The first battle of Indian Independence in 1857 to elections today, Dharma has been invoked to rally support to causes and drive people to action. Dharma is more akin to a common law legal system and gives room for individual interpretation. Practically, Dharma set the guidelines for the legal system of India for millennia through the Dharmashastras. 

Dharma is most visible when it involves a Call to Action, that is when there is a choice to be made. History celebrates these choices either for better or for worse.

Moksha is the dark horse, it does not change often for centuries as it has more to do with ‘not doing’ than with ‘doing’. but once in a while, one sees visionaries like Prince Gautama, Chandragupta Maurya, Adi Shankaracharya, Raja Raja Chola & Seenappa Nayaka who have become immortal after letting go of power & fortune.

They come rarely but when they do, history takes notice for centuries. 

Bringing it all together:

History is often seen as the lives of a few chosen ones, the life of an average human being may be vastly different. It is the equivalent of imagining the life of a UK citizen based on the life of  Queen Elizabeth II or Freddie Mercury  (the other queen). Yes, some inferences can be made, but an average person leads a very different life.  The perspective of the pursuits of individuals in a time period reveals context clearly and makes history relevant today because the pursuits endure.

The threads of Kama, Artha, Dharma & Moksha combine to create intricate patterns on the fabric of time.

This is the Indian perspective for the Innovation & Indian history Series. The perspective of Purusharthas over time. 

With the intent of revisiting Indian history clarified and the perspective set, let us set the stage for the 500 years ago series in the next edition. 

It has been a long post, if you have made it till here, Thank you, I would love to get your views via email: contact@puneethchaithanya.com.

Stay Safe & Happy Reading,

Puneeth Chaithanya