The Shunga kingdom

Question 1

The Shunga kingdom

Answer 1

• Magadha was the nucleus of the Shunga kingdom, which succeeded the Mauryan
• The Shunga dynasty lasted for about one century and was then overthrown by the Brahman minister Vasudeva, who founded the Kanva dynasty, which lasted 45 years and following which the Magadha area was of greatly diminished importance until the 4th century ce.

Question 2

Kalinga

Answer 2

• rose to prominence under Kharavela, dated with some debate to the 1st century bce.

Question 3

The Andhras and their successors

Answer 3

• Andhras are listed among the tribal peoples in the Mauryan empire
• Their alternative name, Satavahana, is presumed to be the family name, whereas Andhra was probably that of the tribe

Question 4

Southern Indian kingdoms

Answer 4

• contact between the north and the Tamil regions can be reasonably dated to the Mauryan period
• Inscriptions in Brahmi date to between the 2nd century bce and the 4th century ce. Most of the inscriptions record donations made by royalty or by merchants and artisans to Buddhist and Jain monks.
• Tamilakam, was defined in cankam literature as approximately equivalent to the area south of present-day Chennai (Madras). Tamilakam was divided into 13 nadus (districts), of which the region of Madurai was the most important as the core of the Tamil speakers.
• three major chiefdoms of Tamilakam were those of the Pandya dynasty, the Ceras, and the Colas, founders of the Cola dynasty
• Cankam literature reflects the indigenous cultural tradition as well as elements of the intrusion of the northern Sanskritic tradition, which by now was beginning to come into contact with these areas, some of which were in the process of change from chiefdoms to kingdoms.
• Trade with the Yavanas and with the northern parts of the subcontinent provided considerable economic momentum for the southern Indian states

Question 5

Contacts with the West

Answer 5

• After the decline of Babylon, Arab merchants from southern Arabia apparently continued the trade, probably supplying goods to Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean
• presence of Roman pottery, beads, intaglios, lamps, glass, and coins point to a continuous occupation, resulting even in imitations of some Roman items are found at many different ports along the Indian coast and villages
• large amounts of Roman coins are found as well
• maritime trade routes from the Indian ports were primarily to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, from where they went overland to the eastern Mediterranean and to Egypt, but Indian merchants also ventured out to Southeast Asia seeking spices and semiprecious stones

Question 6

Society and culture

Answer 6

• Circuits of exchange developed at various levels among groups throughout the subcontinent.
• Agrarian expansion was not arrested, and land revenue continued to be a major source of income, but profit from trade made a substantial difference to the urban economy

Question 7

Guilds

Answer 7

• social institution most closely related to commercial activity was the shreni, or guild, through which trade was channeled
• guilds were registered with the town authority, and the activities of guild members followed strict guidelines called the shreni-dharma
• wealthier guilds employed slaves and hired labourers in addition to their own artisans, though the percentage of such slaves appears to have been small
• Guilds had their own seals and insignia

Question 8

Finance

Answer 8

• Increasing reliance on money in commerce greatly augmented the role of the financier and banker
• most widely used coins were the gold dinaras and suvarnas, based on the Roman denarius, a range of silver coins, and the shatamana; an even wider range of copper coins, such as the masa, kakani, and a variety of unspecified standards

Question 9

Impact of trade

Answer 9

• Foreign trade probably had its greatest economic impact in the south, but the interchange of ideas appears to have been more substantial in the north

Question 10

Religious patronage

Answer 10

• Buddhist centres generally comprised a complex of three structures—the monastery (vihara), the hall of worship (caitya), and the sacred tumulus (stupa)—all of which were freestanding structures in the north but were initially rock-cut monuments in the Deccan
• The more popular medium was terra-cotta, by then changed from gray to red, depicting not only ordinary men and women and animal figures but also large numbers of mother goddesses, indicating the continued popular worship of these deities.
• Jainism had by now also split into two groups: the Digambara (“Sky-Clad”—i.e., naked), the more orthodox, and the Shvetambara (“White-Clad”), the more liberal.
• Brahmanism also underwent changes with the gradual fading out of some of the Vedic deities

Question 11

Literature

Answer 11

• Popular epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, were injected with didactic sections on religion and morality and elevated to the status of sacred literature
• epics also served as a treasury of stories, which provided themes and characters for countless poems and plays

Question 12

Assimilation of foreigners

Answer 12

• The presence of foreigners, most of whom settled in Indian cities and adopted Indian habits and behaviour in addition to religion, became a problem for social theorists because the newcomers had to be fitted into caste society
• conversion to Hinduism was difficult because one had to be born into a particular caste, and it was karma that determined one’s caste