POST MAURAYAN ECONOMY THIS AGE MAY BE TERMED
POST MAURAYAN ECONOMY
THIS AGE MAY BE TERMED AS THE TRANSITION PHASE AS NO GOLDEN AGE (GUPTA AGE) COULD BE PRECEEDED BY ANY DARK AGE. THIS AGE TURNED OUT TO BE THE MOST FORMIDABLE AGE OF INDIAN HISTORY, BUT HOW ? IN THIS PERIOD THE ECONOMY MOVED AT AN ACCELERATED TEMPO AND SOCIETY WITNESSED THE STRUCTURAL REORIENTATION AS SIGNIFICANT GROUPS OF FOREIGNERS PENETRATED INTO INDIAN AND CHOOSE TO BE IDENTIFIED WITH THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY. THE OCCUPATION OF THE CRAFTSMEN WAS AN IMPORTANT SEGMENT OF THE DAY’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC MILIEU. THE CRAFTSMEN WERE NOT ONLY ASSOCITED WITH TOWNS, BUT ALSO VILLAGES LIKE KARIMNAGAR IN THE TELINGANA REGION OF ANDRA PRADESH. IT IS SURPRISING TO NOTICE THAT THE TELENGANA REGION APPEARS TO HAVE MADE SPECIAL PROGRESS IN IRON-FACTS-----NOT ONLY WEAPONS BUT ALSO BALANCE RODS, SICKLES, PLOUGHSHARES, RAZORS AND LADLES.
EQUALLY SIGNIFICANT WAS THE PROGRESS MADE IN THE CLOTHMAKING AND SILK-WAEVING. DYEING WAS A CRAFT OF REPUTE IN SOUTH INDIAN TOWNS LIKE URAIPUR, A SUBURB OF TIRUCHARAPALLI AND ARIKMEDU. THE USE OF OIL WAS HIGH BECAUSE OF THE INVENTION OF THE OILED WHEEL. THE INSCRIPTION OF THE DAY MENTION WEAVERS, GOLDSMITH, DYERS, WORKERS IN METAL AND IVORY, JEWELLERS, SCULPTURES, FISHERMEN, PERFUME MAKERS AND SMITH AS THE DONORS OF THE CAVE, PILLARS TABLETS, CISTERNS ETC COIN MINTING ALSO REACHED A HIGH LEVEL OF EXCELLENCE. A COIN OF THE SATVAHANA PERIOD SHOWS THAT THROUGH IT HALF A DOZEN COINS COULD BE TURNED OUT AT A TIME. IN URBAN HANDICRAFTS TH PRIDE OF THE PLACE GOES TO THE BEAUTIFUL PIECES OF TERRACOTA PRODUCED IN PROFUSE QUANTITIES. THEY HAVE BEEN FOUND IN MOST OF THE PLACES BELONGING TO THE KUSHAN AND THE SATVAHANA PERIOD.
THE GUILDS COMING FROM THE DAYS OF THE MAURAYAN PERIOD, BECAME A MORE IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE URBAN LIFE BOTH IN BEING INSTRUMENTAL SO AS TO INCREASE PRODUCTION AND MOULD PUBLIC OPINION. THE PRIMARY GUILDS OF THE DAY WERE THAT OF POTTERS, METAL WORKERS AND CARPENTERS. APART FORM THE GUILDS THERE WORKERS BODIES ALSO. THE WORKERS COOPERATIVES INCLUDED ARTISENS AND VARIOUS CRAFTSMEN ASSOCIATED WITH A PARTICULAR ENTERPRISE.
TH IMMENSE COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY WAS BLOSTERED BY THE THRIVING TRADEBETWEEN THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE AND THE INDIA. WITH THE MOVEMENT OF THE CENTRAL ASIAN PEOPLE LIKE THE SAKAS PARTHIANS AND KUSHANS TRADE CAME TO BE ACROSS SEA. BROACH, ARIKMEDU, TAMRALOIPTI WERE THE IMPORTANT PORTS. ACROSS LAND THE CONVERGIG POINT OF TRADE ROUTES WAS TAXILA , WHICH WAS CONNECTED WITH THE SILK ROUTE PASSING THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. UJJAIN WAS THE MEETING POINT OF A NUMBER OF TRADE ROUTES.
INDIA EXPORTED MUSLINS, PEARLS, JEWELS, AND PRECIOUS STONES FROM THE CENTRAL AND THE SOUTH INDIAN KINGDOM EXPORTED SENT EMBASSIES TO ROME. THE BEST KNOWN BEING THE ONE-SENT IN ABOUT 25 B. C WHICH INCLUDED STRANGE COLLECTION OF MEN AND ANIMALS, TIGERS, SNAKES, TORTOISE, A MONK AND AN ARMLESS BOY WHO COULD SHOOT ARROWS WITH HIS TOES. IN THE SOUTHERN KINGDOMS THE MARITIME TRADE OCCUPIED THE PRIDE OF OLACE AND ACCORDING TO PLINY, THE LARGEST INDIAN SHIP WAS OF 75 TONS.
THE GROWING NUMBERS OF STRANGERS IN THE PORT TOWNS AND TRADE CENTRES LED TO THEIR ABSORBING INDIAN HABITS. AS THEIR NUMBER GREW , SOCIAL LAWS OF THE DAY BECAME RIGID AS TO BE SEEN FROM THE LAW CODE OF MANU. FURTHER AS THE CONVERSION TO HINDUISM WAS TECHNICALLY DIFFICULT , THE NON-INDIAN GROUPS GRADUALLY GREW INTO SEPARATE SUB-CASTES AND MOREOVER, THE FOREIGHNERS FOUND IT EASIER TO BECOME BUDDHIST , INSTEAD OF ARYANS. IT WAS DURING THIS PERIOD THAT THE DHARMASHASTRAS WERE WRITTEN WHICH MADE THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE RIGID. APART FROM THESE WRITINGS , POETRY AND DRANA WERE ALSO POPULAR. THE OUTSTANDING POEM IN TAMIL WAS SHILPADDIKARAM AND MANIMEGALAI. THE MANUSCRIPT OF ASHVAGHOSH WERE FOUND IN A MONASTRY IN TURFAN IN CENTRAL ASIA. BHASA’S HISTORICAL ROMANCES REVOLVE AROUND THE EXPLOITS OF KING UDAYAN IN AVANTI.
IN THE FIELD OF PLASTIC ART THERE WERE MANY GREAT ACHIEVENTS. LIKE THE STUPAS OF SANCHI, BARHUT, CAVES AT KARLE, ELLORA, AJANTA AND AT AMRAVARTI GREAT AGE OF PAINTING BEGAN, WITH MATHURA SCHOOL OF ART(SCULPTURE) THE INDIAN TRADITION OF SCULPTURE BEGAN.
THE BOOMING TRADE AND COMMERCE OF THE PERIOD FORMS THE BASE OF THE URBAN SETTLEMENTS. THE IMPORTANT TOWNS OF THE DAYWERE VAISHALI, PATLIPUTRA, SRAVASTI, KAUSAMBI, HASTI NAPUR, MATHURA, INDRAPRASTHA, , JALANDER, LUD HIANA, ROPAR, TAGAR, PAITHAN, DHANYAKATAKA, AN RAVATI, NAGARARJUNKONDA, BROACH, SOPARA, ARI KMEDU, KAVERIPATNAM ETC. THE EXVACATIONS AT SONKH IN MATHURA SHOWED THAT AS MANY AS SEVEN LEVELS OF THE KUSHAN PERIOD BUT ONLY ONE OF THE GUPTA PERIOD.
CHRISTAINITY ENTERS INDIA DURING THIS AGE AND THE LATTER ACCEPTED IT WITH BOTH THE HANDS, THE CASTE SYSTEM BEING NOT SO RIGID AS THE LATER PERIOD AND WE DO NOT FIND ANY EVIDENCE OF UNTOUCHABILITY, CHILD MARRIAGE, PARDA SYSTEM AND INFANTICIDE. SO IT WAS THE AGE WHICH PREPARES THE BASE TO MAKE GUPTA PERIOD A GOLDEN AGE OF INDIA.
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