Chapter 2 — Kings, Farmers and Towns

James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered both Brahmi and Kharosthi in the 1830s—specifically Asokan Brahmi in 1838. He identified the ruler named 'Piyadassi' (meaning 'pleasant to behold') in most inscriptions as Asoka.

Mahajanapadas were early states mentioned in Buddhist and Jaina texts. The word means 'the land where a jana (people, clan, or tribe) settles.' Among the sixteen, the most frequently named were Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara, and Avanti. Each had a fortified capital city. While most were ruled by kings, some (ganas or sanghas) were oligarchies where power was shared by a number of men.

Between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE, Magadha (in present-day Bihar) became dominant for several reasons: highly productive agriculture, accessible iron mines in present-day Jharkhand, forest elephants for the army, and the Ganga river network for communication. Early Buddhist and Jaina writers instead credited ambitious rulers—Bimbisara, Ajatasattu, and Mahapadma Nanda—and their ministers.

Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire c. 321 BCE, extending control to Afghanistan and Baluchistan. His grandson Asoka (c. 272/268–231 BCE) conquered Kalinga (present-day coastal Orissa). The empire had five major political centres: Pataliputra (the capital), Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali, and Suvarnagiri. Historians have used Megasthenes' account, the Arthashastra, Buddhist and Jaina literature, and Asokan inscriptions to reconstruct its history.

Asoka proclaimed dhamma—which included respect towards elders, generosity towards Brahmanas and those who renounced worldly life, kind treatment of slaves and servants, and respect for other religions—on natural rocks and polished pillars across the empire. He appointed special officers called dhamma mahamatta to spread the message. Asoka was the first ruler to inscribe messages to subjects and officials on stone surfaces.

The five major centres mentioned in Asokan inscriptions were Pataliputra (the capital), Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali, and Suvarnagiri. Taxila and Ujjayini were on important long-distance trade routes, while Suvarnagiri (literally 'the golden mountain') was possibly important for tapping the gold mines of Karnataka.

Post-Mauryan rulers used divine association to claim high status. The Kushanas (c. first century BCE–first century CE) adopted the title devaputra ('son of god') and had colossal statues installed in shrines at Mat near Mathura and in Afghanistan. By the fourth century CE, Gupta rulers used prashastis (eulogies composed in praise by court poets) such as the Prayaga Prashasti by Harishena praising Samudragupta.

Three main strategies are described: (1) the spread of iron-tipped plough agriculture in fertile alluvial river valleys such as the Ganga and Kaveri from c. sixth century BCE; (2) the introduction of transplantation for paddy cultivation, which dramatically increased production in parts of the Ganga valley; and (3) the use of irrigation through wells, tanks, and less commonly canals, organised by both communities and individuals.

From the early centuries of the Common Era, records of land grants were made on stone or copper plates. Most surviving records relate to grants to religious institutions or Brahmanas. One notable example involves Prabhavati Gupta, daughter of Chandragupta II (c. 375–415 CE), who granted the village of Danguna to a teacher. Historians debate whether land grants extended agriculture to new areas or reflected weakening royal power as kings tried to win allies.

From the sixth century BCE, land and river routes criss-crossed the subcontinent and extended overseas across the Arabian Sea to East and North Africa, West Asia, and through the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia and China. Punch-marked silver and copper coins appeared from c. sixth century BCE. The first coins with rulers' names and images were issued by the Indo-Greeks c. second century BCE. Kushana gold coins c. first century CE matched Roman and Parthian weights. Hoards of Roman coins have been found in south India.

Guilds or shrenis were organisations of craft producers and merchants mentioned in votive inscriptions from the second century BCE onwards. They probably procured raw materials, regulated production, and marketed the finished product. Cities also had diverse populations including washing folk, weavers, scribes, carpenters, potters, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, merchants, and religious teachers.

The chapter outlines several limitations: letters may be faintly engraved or damaged; exact meaning of words specific to a place or time can be uncertain; thousands of inscriptions remain undeciphered or unpublished; many more must have existed but have not survived. Most importantly, inscriptions focus on grand events and project the perspective of those who commissioned them—routine agricultural practices and daily life are rarely recorded.

Prabhavati Gupta was the daughter of Chandragupta II (c. 375–415 CE) and was married into the Vakataka ruling family of the Deccan. Her inscription records the grant of the village of Danguna to a teacher. It is significant because Sanskrit legal texts stated women should not have independent access to land, yet Prabhavati exercised this right—suggesting legal provisions were not uniformly implemented.

Kharosthi, the script used in inscriptions in the northwest, was deciphered using bilingual coins of Indo-Greek kings (c. second–first centuries BCE) that contained rulers' names in both Greek and Kharosthi. European scholars who could read Greek compared the letters in both scripts. With Prinsep later identifying the language of Kharosthi inscriptions as Prakrit, longer inscriptions became readable.

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