New Dynasties After 7th Century

• Many new dynasties emerged after the seventh century

Major Ruling Dynasties

• Map 1 shows major ruling dynasties in different parts of subcontinent between seventh and twelfth centuries
• Key dynasties include the Gurjara-Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas, Palas, Cholas, and Chahamanas (Chauhans)
• The Chahamanas (Chauhans) ruled the region around Delhi and Ajmer

Emergence of New Dynasties

• By the seventh century, subcontinent saw rise of big landlords and warrior chiefs
• Existing kings acknowledged these figures as their subordinates or samantas
• Samantas required to provide gifts, court presence, and military support to kings
• As samantas gained power, they declared themselves maha-samanta or maha-mandaleshvara and asserted independence from overlords

The Rashtrakutas

• The Rashtrakutas in the Deccan were initially subordinate to the Chalukyas of Karnataka
• In the mid-eighth century, Dantidurga, a Rashtrakuta chief, overthrew his Chalukya overlord
• Dantidurga performed the hiranya-garbha ritual (literally, the golden womb)
• When performed with Brahmanas' help, the hiranya-garbha ritual was thought to "rebirth" the sacrificer as a Kshatriya, regardless of birth status

Kingdom Carving

• Some men from enterprising families use military skills to carve out kingdoms
• Kadamba Mayurasharman and Gurjara-Pratihara Harichandra were Brahmanas who took to arms, establishing kingdoms in Karnataka and Rajasthan respectively

Administration in the Kingdoms

• New kings adopted high-sounding titles such as maharaja-adhiraja (great king, overlord of kings) and tribhuvana-chakravartin (lord of the three worlds)
• Power was often shared with their samantas and with associations of peasants, traders, and Brahmanas
• Resources were extracted from producers like peasants, cattle-keepers, and artisans
• These producers were persuaded or compelled to surrender a portion of their output
• This output was claimed as "rent" or revenue collected from traders

Four Hundred Taxes

• The inscriptions of the Cholas refer to over 400 different types of taxes
• Most frequently mentioned taxes were Vetti (forced labor) and kadamai (land revenue)
• Taxes were also levied on thatching the house, using a ladder to climb palm trees, and succession to family property
• Resources were used to finance the king's establishment, construct temples and forts, and wage wars for wealth, land, and trade routes
• Revenue collection functionaries were generally recruited from influential families, with positions often being hereditary

Prashastis and Land Grants

• Prashastis are accounts that may not be literally true
• Prashastis depict rulers as valiant, victorious warriors
• Prashastis were composed by learned Brahmanas, who sometimes helped in the administration

Achievements of Nagabhata

• Many rulers described their achievements in prashastis
• A prashasti found in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, describes exploits of Nagabhata, a Pratihara king

Land Grants

• Often rewarded Brahmanas with land grants
• These grants were recorded on copper plates, which were given to those who received the land

Land Details

• Boundaries of the land marked by earthen embankments and thorny bushes
• Land contains fruit-bearing trees, water, land, gardens, orchards, trees, wells, open spaces, pasture-land, a village, anthills, platforms, canals, ditches, rivers, silt-laden land, tanks, granaries, fish ponds, bee hives, and deep lakes
• Land recipient can collect taxes on betel-leaves, woven cloth, and even vehicles
• Land recipient allowed to build large rooms, wells, plant trees if necessary, and construct canals for irrigation

Poet Kalhana

• Kalhana composed a long Sanskrit poem in twelfth century documenting kings' history in Kashmir
• Kalhana used variety of sources, including inscriptions, documents, eyewitness accounts, and earlier histories

Warfare for Wealth

• Ruling dynasties based themselves in specific regions and simultaneously tried controlling key areas
• Prized area was the city of Kanauj in the Ganga valley
• The Gurjara-Pratihara, Rashtrakuta, and Pala dynasties fought for control over Kanauj, resulting in the "tripartite struggle"
• Rulers demonstrated power by building large temples
• Attacked one another's kingdoms, targeting temples, which were sometimes extremely rich
• Mahmud of Ghazni, Afghanistan, raided subcontinent 17 times (1000–1025), targeting wealthy temples, including Somnath in Gujarat
• Wealth was used to create a capital city at Ghazni
• The Chahamanas (Chauhans) ruled over area around Delhi and Ajmer and wanted to expand
• The Chahamana ruler Prithviraja III (1168–1192) defeated Turk ruler Sultan Muhammad Ghori in 1191 but lost in 1192

The Cholas

• The Cholas rose to power from Uraiyur to Thanjavur
• The Muttaraiyar, a minor chiefly family, held power in Kaveri delta
• The Muttaraiyar were subordinate to the Pallava kings of Kanchipuram
• Vijayalaya, of the ancient chiefly Chola family from Uraiyur, captured the delta from the Muttaraiyar in ninth century
• Vijayalaya built the town of Thanjavur and a temple for goddess Nishumbhasudini

Chola Expansion

• Vijayalaya's successors conquered neighboring regions, increasing size and power
• The Pandyan and the Pallava territories to south and north were made part of kingdom
• Rajaraja I, the most powerful Chola ruler, became king in 985 and expanded control
• Rajaraja also reorganized administration of empire
• Rajaraja's son Rajendra I continued his policies, invaded the Ganga valley, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia, and developed a navy for these expeditions

Chola Temples

• The big temples of Thanjavur and Gangaikonda-cholapuram, built by Rajaraja and Rajendra, are architectural and sculptural marvels
• Became nuclei of settlements, centers of craft production
• Endowed with land by rulers and others
• The produce of land went into maintaining specialists who worked at temple such as priests, garland makers, cooks, sweepers, musicians, and dancers
• Temples were places of worship as well as centers of economic, social, and cultural life

Crafts

• Making of bronze images was most distinctive craft associated with temples
• Chola bronze images are considered among the finest in the world
• Most images were of deities, but some were made of devotees

Agriculture and Irrigation

• Developments in agriculture made achievements of Cholas possible
• River Kaveri branches off into several small channels before emptying into the Bay of Bengal
• These channels overflow frequently, depositing fertile soil for rice cultivation
• Agriculture had developed earlier in other parts of Tamil Nadu but only opened up for large-scale cultivation between fifth and sixth centuries
• Forests cleared, land leveled, embankments built to prevent flooding, and canals constructed to carry water in delta region
• Two crops were grown in a year using methods were used for irrigation; wells were dug and huge tanks were constructed to collect rainwater

Administration of the Empire

• Settlements of peasants i.e. ur, became prosperous with spread of irrigation agriculture
• Groups of villages formed larger units called nadu
• The village council and nadu performed administrative functions, including dispensing justice and collecting taxes
• Rich peasants exercised control over the affairs of the nadu under supervision of central Chola government
• Chola kings gave rich landowners titles like muvendavelan (a velan or peasant serving three kings) and araiyar (chief), as markers of respect
• Kings entrusted these figures with important offices of state at center

Types of Land Chola

• The Chola inscriptions describe the following categories of land:
  • vellanvagai: land of non-Brahmana peasant proprietors
  • brahmadeya: land gifted to Brahmanas
  • shalabhoga: land for the maintenance of a school
  • devadana, tirunamattukkani: land gifted to temples
  • pallichchhandam: land donated to Jaina institutions

Brahmadeyas

• Brahmanas often received land grants or brahmadeya
• A large number of Brahmana settlements emerged in the Kaveri valley
• Each brahmadeya was looked after by an assembly or sabha of prominent Brahmana landholders
• Decisions of the sabhas were recorded in detail in inscriptions
• Associations of traders i.e. nagarams also performed administrative functions in towns

Sabha Organization

• Inscriptions from Uttaramerur in Chingleput district, Tamil Nadu, give details of how sabha was organized
• Separate committees managed irrigation works, gardens, temples, etc
• Names of those eligible to be members of committees were written on small tickets of palm leaf and put into an earthenware pot
• A young boy was asked to take out the tickets, one by one for each committee

Requirements for Sabha membership

• Owners of land from which the land revenue is collected become members
• Should have their own homes
• Between 35 and 70 years of age
• Should have knowledge of the Vedas
• Should be well-versed in administrative matters and honest
• Recent committee members or no submissions cannot become members

Periyapuranam

• A twelfth-century Tamil work, which informs us about the lives of ordinary men and women
• Describes the Pulaiyas on the outskirts of Adanur
• Pulaiyas: laborours engaged in menial occupations