Laxminama: Monks, Merchants, Money and Mantra

By Anshuman Tiwari and Anindya Sengupta

Empire. Trade. Religion.

Three crucial forces that have been almost equally responsible for shaping human civilization so far. Yet, the politics of empire has dominated history and popular discussion. Irrespective of the political upheavals, however, India has always been an open market-welcoming traders from far-off lands, promising them a fair bargain. Indian entrepreneurs since ages had developed their own sophisticated institutions and wide community-based networks. This open, liberal and robust 'bazaar economy' thrived unhindered till the advent of European trading companies, who brought with them the notions of monopoly and state controls. Business in India blossomed in tune with liberal religious thought and Indian intellectual tradition always fostered the spirit of questioning.

Laxminana is an account of how the country's open market and its liberal religious outlook have nurtured each other throughout the centuries. Told through a medley of stories, this is the saga of India's socioeconomic power that has characterized not only the country's vibrant pluralistic society but also much of global history. An untold narrative of India's geographies, products and pioneers this is an unforgettable album of heroes, who championed game-changing ideas at the intersection of faith and enterprise.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Aug 10, 2018
• ISBN: 9789387146808

Book preview

Authors

Time

Chapter One

Juggernaut of Civilisation

Cairo 2011

San el-Hagar is a small town, situated 150 kilometres north of the Egyptian capital, Cairo. One beautiful morning in 2011, 12,000 inhabitants of this small town suddenly woke up to a more privileged ‘citizenship’–that of Tanis, the fabled capital of ancient Egypt. Dr Sarah Parcak of the University of Alabama discovered the 3,000-year-old city in the Nile delta, which although disappeared from the Egyptian map, was always alive in the pages of history and folklore. Discovery of Tanis is remarkable as it is the first city in the twenty-first century to have been unearthed using satellite images. Tanis is a mythical city, depicted in the famous Hollywood movie Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the biblical Ark of Covenant was hidden. It was said that the one who possessed the Ark could never be defeated. In reality, Tanis was the capital of ancient Egypt from the eleventh to eighth century BCE.

Tanis also represents the basic instinct of Homo sapiens—our desire for prosperity, freedom, and enhanced communication. Space missions to discover life on other planets is nothing but an extension of that same spur, which began nearly 70,000 years ago when Homo sapiens spread from Africa to Eurasia. Tanis happens to be one of the landmarks in this story of out of Africa migration as it is preserved in folk memories. According to an ancient Hebrew story, it was here that Moses was found on the banks of Nile. Historians believe that Tanis, also called Joan in the Old Testament, may have disappeared from the map after the River Nile changed its course. Tanis was home to the biggest and most significant temple in Egypt. It was dedicated to the great god Amun, who was revered highly by the Egyptian kings. Amun’s temples were spread all over Egypt and historians equate him with the great Greek god Zeus.

Human history is created principally around our cities, which, in turn, were created by a complex interplay of religions, empires, and trade. Tanis was the capital of the Asiatic empire of Egypt. Archaeologists have discovered around seventeen pyramids, 3,000 dwellings, and 1,000 tombs from the mounds here–evidence of its lively urban socio-economic setting. The archaeological findings of Tanis are no less precious than the tomb of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun. The trade-centric city of Tanis was located close to the Gulf of Suez. It was the shortest route to reach the Persian Gulf via the Nile Delta. Tanis was connected with the Phoenician, Mesopotamian, and Babylonian cities through land routes. The decline of this ancient town began in 713 BCE with the end of the Asiatic Empire of Egypt. It was at a time when the Assyrian Empire, which rose from Ashur (now Al-Shirqat in Iraq) and Nineveh (now Mosul in Iraq), was at its peak. By this time, China had discovered printing technology and metal coins have been introduced in Greece. As Tanis started its terminal decline, the Mahajanapadas and first kingdoms were taking shape in India. Along with the growth in long-distance trade, the second phase of urbanisation in India was flourishing in places such as Takshila, Rajgriha (now Rajgir), Patliputra (now Patna), Mathura, Shravasti, Avanti, Vidisha and Banaras (the first phase being the rise of the Indus Valley civilisation). Upanishads and other Hindu scriptures were subjects of vigorous intellectual debates and grounds were being prepared for the emergence of a new wave of ‘Protestant’ religions.

Outsourcing Chillies – Journey of Globalisation

The journey towards globalisation is quite a spicy one. For some, chillies just cannot be a part of any food, while for others there is simply no food without chillies. The inclination to appreciate or reject the benefits of globalisation is quite similar to the choices we make over chillies, which have an intricate relationship with globalisation. Christopher Columbus brought green chilly from America to Europe, and then it travelled with the Europeans further to India via Portugal. Interestingly, chillies took around one hundred years to travel from Brazil to Sri Lanka, however, the fast food giant McDonald’s took only 20 years to spread from America to Oceania.

Hatred for globalisation is not unreasonable. Apart from occasional job losses at some pockets, it takes just a few weeks for SARS or Swine Flu virus to spread across the globe. For computer virus, the spread is only a few minutes affair. Terrorism, too, is riding on the wave of globalisation to inflict misery and death on the planet. However, many believe that globalisation is the creator of the modern world. It has created millions of jobs through the free market and has spread ideas, information, and human values across the world. It has also created new horizons for science and technology. Cultures, customs, and traditions have found a new meaning in a connected world. We may disagree with the impact of globalisation, but most of us will agree with the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, who said, ‘we all are sailing in a small boat. We cannot ignore our fellow passengers. If they are sick, we will also get the infection, and if they are angry, we will have to suffer their wrath.’

While talking about globalisation, the example of Malaysia is no less exciting than the journey of chillies. Malaysia, which had been under the influence of Hindu and Muslim traders before the colonial era, is a unique country which rode the wave of globalisation. Rubber is the foundation of the modern Malaysian economy. During the middle of the nineteenth century, rubber production in Brazil was adversely affected due to a fungal infection. This forced the rubber producers to travel thousands of miles to Malaysia in search of new rubber plantations. To man those rubber plantations, labourers had to be brought in from India. Later on, Henry Ford started using Malaysian rubber in automobiles. While Malaysia was growing rubber, America witnessed a civil war that gave rise to the demand for tinned food. As global demand for tin rose, Malaysia’s abundant reserves of tin lured Chinese miners to this island country. Today, Chinese form 30 per cent of Malaysia’s population while Indians constitute 10 per cent of it.

* * *

Trust is, perhaps, the first fundamental human trait, which helped transform the primitive hunter into a trader. From earliest surplus baskets of agricultural produce to multinational companies, or from discovering fire to advanced space trips to remote planets were all achieved by human’s belief in the future. Believing in future, indeed, is believing in one’s inherent capabilities and therefore the world founded on trust, prospects, and communication became a complex entity. Trade and commerce have been central to creating trust, which led humans from surplus yields to world trade and from cowry shells to Bitcoins. Banking, financial institutions, multinational products, global citizenship, and free movement of people across the globe are all extensions of this same trust, which characterises the modern world.

This trust leads to organisation. Organisations, in turn, flourish through regulations, institutions, political framework, infrastructure, agreements, and treaties. The real achievement of humans is the creation of such organisations, which inspire fellow human beings to be voluntarily and willingly become part of these organisations. This promise is consistent with the underlying desire of creating a better human society. Primarily empires and religions created this order of society that went on to become democratic governments and the rule of law.

Forces of Globalisation: One

Trade, Commerce, Market, and Trust in Future Mesopotamia, 4200 BCE

The Epic of Gilgamesh–story of the majestic king Gilgamesh and his friend Ikandu–is not only the oldest literary masterpiece in history but is also an account of first agricultural revolution and the emergence of trade in human civilisation. The epic was created in the backdrop of the Sumerian success in sustaining a surplus crop from valleys of the river Tigris and Euphrates. Agricultural surplus set the ball rolling for regular trade and paved the way to prosperity. Before the ‘surplus revolution’ a different pattern was in practice. The primitive groups used to collect/grow their own food, make huts and utensils or prepare medicines and exchanged them for other essentials. The barter system was sufficient for such exchange practices. The growing desire to reap benefits from surplus production led humans to regular trade and king to regularly collect revenue in grain. As trading and revenue collection grew, they felt an increasing need to standardise exchange mechanism, leading to the invention of currency.

Regular and sustained trade was an incredible step forward. It networked various civilisations and led us to markets, trade routes, currency system, cities, and so on. Interestingly, the Epic of Gilgamesh, the first volume of which was written around 4000 BCE, refers to extensive road networks, shipping routes, cities, buildings, and long-distance trade. During the time of Gilgamesh, China too started producing surplus food grains. Hauji, the mythical first farmer of China, is claimed to be the ancestor of the Zhao royal family, which ruled China for centuries. The earliest accounts of agriculture-based habitations and trading in India also date to the same period.

Trading has been the most powerful force in history, and perhaps, the most prominent one that continued to develop further through the centuries. Religion and politics followed in the footsteps of trade. Had humans ignored the idea of a surplus harvest and the possibility of trading, conceiving a modern world would not have been possible. Trade gifted five significant elements to the transformation of human civilisation.

Plurality – The idea of trade emerged from the value we give to products and their producers. Trade implies that no society can have or create everything of its requirements; therefore, it will have to turn to the products and services offered by others. Despite various religious diktats and cruelties of the ruling classes, trade transformed into a global force because trade, by nature, values even the conflicting views. Trade developed a shared culture and absorbed diverse opinions and beliefs for the sake of prosperity.

Future – Trust in future is the foundation of the modern economy. It is the basis on which concepts of banking, capital, credit, and currency have been developed. This trust further led to investments in exploration and science. Although science grew under the patronage of royal dynasties, however, the funds that these royal families invested in scientific researches, was either raised by defeating other kingdoms or by taxing their own citizens. Gradually, trade became free from the patronage of rulers and called shots in exploration and innovation too.

City – Urbanisation sits at the pinnacle of the human urge towards modernity. Interestingly, the world’s first city, Uruk grew in the same ‘Fertile Crescent’ that provided the backdrop of the legend of Gilgamesh. It had market support infrastructure for the storage of food grains. World history reveals that more cities have come up for trade than any other purpose. Cities led the growth of knowledge, arts, architecture, and science in subsequent centuries. Later on, empires grew around these cities.

Communication – As cities evolved, roads were built to connect them to each other. The human civilisation has travelled to the twenty-first century on these trade routes. Contemporaries of Gilgamesh used three major trading routes for business – one ran alongside the banks of Euphrates to Syria and Anatolia in the north and the east, respectively. The second connected Iran in the East and the third led to the Persian Gulf in the South. They traded in textiles, gems, timber, grains, and craft products. The Persian Gulf connected this trading system to the rest of the world and Mesopotamia became the trading hub of the ancient world. Buddhism travelled to East Asia via trade routes. Islam followed caravans to enter India. Trade routes were instrumental in the unification of civilisations, the spread of ideas, expansion of art, science, and religion and all these have led to today’s prosperous and connected global village.

Infrastructure and organisation – Sumerian food economy was so huge that there are documented evidences of a shipment of 714,000 ltrs (in old metric system) of cereals. The large food economy of Mesopotamia required construction of several canals by 1800 BCE for grain transportation. Similarly canals, roads or markets were developed during different time periods in India and other countries principally for commercial movement. Trade guilds were the first multifaceted form of autonomous organisation that grew independently. The guilds influenced empires and forced kings (governments) to foster their business.

Forces of Globalisation: Two

Empire to Governance

Imperialism–much maligned in history–has been one of the most dynamic forces that shaped the modern world. Over the last 4,000 years, empires have unified the world. Almost every individual born during this period had been under the authority of one or the other royal family. Dynasty may be a dirty word today, but for most of the recorded history, dynasties have provided extraordinarily stable and durable political system.

Despite our dislike for empires in today’s democratic world, their influence has been enormous. New Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, famous among cricket fans across the world, is named after Feroz Shah Tughlaq, who was actually more interested in developing irrigation system than sports. Delhi’s Turkish Sultans brought with them the concept of active state involvement in the development of irrigation infrastructure. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, founder of the Tughlaq dynasty, encouraged construction of irrigation networks. Though Feroz Shah Tughlaq’s reign was a brief one, he is considered one of the biggest developers of canal networks in North India. There were many shortcomings of their rule but the legacy of the Tughlaqs in the field of agri-infrastructure is undeniable.

British rule in India was an unmitigated disaster for India–yet it was also responsible for the introduction of many positive forces. Today we often tend to ignore this dual nature of historical forces while talking about empires. In 1787, the former Governor General of India, Warren Hastings (1773-1784) was undergoing an impeachment trial in London. The famous British parliamentarian Edmund Burke accused Hastings for the hanging of Maharaja Nanda Kumar after a staged trial, allegedly for levelling grave corruption charges against him. He was also indicted for misconduct against the king of Banaras and irregularities during the Rohilla wars. While he was standing trial in faraway London, something exciting was happening in the holy city of Banaras. People of Banaras, in fact, prepared four citations supporting Hastings! The first citation was from the king of Banaras along with his officials and 277 businessmen of the city. The second and third were from the pundits of Banaras and the fourth was from the moneylenders and traders of the city. All these citations praised Hastings’ honesty and competence. Pundits of Kashi and the neighbouring areas even claimed that Hastings (i) had revived Varanasi as the centre of pilgrimage and enhanced its status; (ii) honoured pundits; (iii) restricted the activities of the rogue Ganga-putras (who performed rituals on the banks of river Ganges), after which people across India again started coming to the city; (iv) appointed an honest and efficient Ali Ibrahim Khan as the magistrate of Banaras and made priests and clerics his legal assistants. Ibrahim Ali Khan ended bribery and his functioning was considered better than the kings–Chetan Singh and Balwant Singh; (v) impressed everyone with his speech on his second visit to Banaras (vi) constructed a naubatkhana (room to play musical instruments) at Bishveshwar temple; and (vii) never criticised anyone. These citations were interesting, especially at a time when Hastings was under trial for ill-treating the king of Banaras.

Empires may, at times, appear as chronicles of the cruel history of tyranny and bloodshed, yet they have also enjoyed the goodwill of masses at different points. Empires were not always built through wars or conquests. The ancient Athenian Empire was formed through a political alliance, while the Austrian Habsburg Empire grew out of a series of dynastic marriages. Empires were not always ruled by dynasties. The biggest empire in history–the British Empire was actually a democratic polity though nominally a monarchy. It was more or less same for the colonial Dutch, French, and Belgian empires. Ancient monarchies of Rome, Novgorod, and Athens were actually Republicans in nature. The size was never of utmost importance–the Athenian empire at its peak was smaller than today’s Greece. India, too, had a number of small but powerful monarchies. Empires often presided over multi-cultural and diverse society. Expansion has been a fundamental trait of empires, and successful empires often realised that ruthless power could only be a temporary measure, forcing them to be tolerant and accommodative. A large number of modern administrative practices and institutions originated from broad and diverse empires like that of the Ottomans or Mings or Mughals.

Empires helped the world with:

Cultural Expansion – The spread of British, Roman or Islamic cultures happened both through collaboration as well as bloodshed. But either way, empires played an essential role in the transmission of ideas.

Multicultural Harmony – The primary objective of imperial powers was to preserve their empire, therefore, empires were more interested in bringing diverse groups under its political authority rather than forcing different communities to change their religious or cultural orientations. Empires, thus, played an important role in promoting prosperous multicultural civilisations.

Institutions and Systems – Empires gifted the world roads, architecture, currency, trading alliances with various means of governance without which the dream of a connected and globalised world could not have been achieved. As the most resourceful institution, it provided patronage for great causes, which were also beyond the means of others.

In 1769, the transit of Venus had motivated a grand mission of measuring the distance of Earth from the Sun. Britain’s Royal Society sent Captain James Cook to Tahiti in the southwest Pacific Ocean for astronomical observations during the Venus transit. Besides this observation, Cook returned with a cure for scurvy, which killed over twenty million sailors in previous decades of sea voyages. British physician Dr James Lind was conducting clinical trials on the treatment of scurvy by curing Vitamin C deficiency in the patients. James Cook allowed Dr Lind to perform his experiment of ‘Nautical Diet’ against the will of the Royal Navy and, as a result, not a single sailor was lost to the disease on his ship. Captain Cook’s voyage for astronomy is now recorded as a landmark one in medical history. Captain Cook’s expedition can be compared with the present-day Lunar or Mars missions, which only imperial rulers/governments were/are capable of financing. The Tahiti expedition did not just bring forth information related to astronomy, but also about biology, medicine, and maritime geography; as much as today’s space missions bring back information about physics, chemistry, metallurgy, space science, and so on. Modern science has been the result of Europe’s military-scientific-industrial clusters that were created to aid imperial dreams. Most of the discoveries–remote controlling devices to Internet and binoculars to GPS—were essentially built/discovered to support the expansion of empires, which ultimately became useful for common people. Empires in India and China were not expansionists beyond their own vast geographies. Traditions and institutions did evolve, but they did not travel beyond their existing boundaries. Religious ideas and value systems were greatest achievements of ancient India, which is why Buddhism spread like an empire across East Asia.

Forces of Globalisation: Three

Faith to Regulations to Ethics

Religion is probably the most controversial of factors, which led to globalisation. Religion is a new entrant in debates surrounding globalisation, and therefore, there has not been much work on it. Today as central discussions in the economy have shifted towards addressing inequality, charity, social commitments, and ethical production–themes that have been recurrent motives in religious thoughts–students of history are carefully looking at the parallel roles of economic forces and religious ethics in empire building.

In the fourth century, a princess of Funan in the Malay Peninsula had set out to capture a trading ship coming from India. She met a monk on board and was so impressed by his political, strategic, and spiritual discourse that she married him and the people of her kingdom accepted the monk as their king. The records found at Bhavpura, the capital of Kamboja in East Asia, confirm the love marriage of an Indian monk and a Malay queen; and the formation of their empire. That monk was Kaudinya.

In Europe, with the downfall of Rome, population reduced to half between 200 and 600 CE. Cities shrunk, trade routes were closed as law and order broke down, and most Europeans went back to farming. The inert urban life gave rise to the Dark Ages of poverty and hunger in the Continent. Saint Anthony, one of the leaders of the Egyptian Christians, opened an organic farm to grow food grains for his community. He belonged to an affluent family but left everything behind for spirituality. St Anthony’s model of small economic production centre became an ideal for many European monasteries/clusters over the next few centuries. St John Cassian brought the ideas and practices of the east European farming model to Western Europe through monasteries. Marseilles was the centre of Saint Cassian’s experiments, where commercial farming began under Catholic monasteries. This helped to transform monasteries into production centres and monks were able to produce farm and dairy products along with religious rituals. St Benedict introduced the concepts of storage and trading in Marseille’s monasteries, thus expanding regular trade among the monasteries. With the involvement of other producers, monasteries soon became cynosures of the local economy. Until the tenth century, most of Europe’s food economy was under the authority of hundreds of monasteries who worked like multinational corporations. They were also involved in myriad other economic activities from running windmills to beekeeping. Markets, cities, and schools and universities like Bologna, Paris, and Oxford developed around such economically successful monasteries. As private entrepreneurship developed twelfth century onward, the monasteries lost their hegemony over Europe’s food business.

Religion has bestowed upon modern societies two substantial foundations, which have helped immensely in the process of globalisation:

Faith in invisible power – Religion is the most phenomenal invention of mankind. The belief to trust something that is not within their reach has come from our religious convictions. This belief was philosophical and mystical, to begin with, but gradually became part of our material world. The most striking point was the belief that the supreme power always wished for the betterment of mankind.

Values as laws – Certain value systems have evolved over time on the basis of our faith. These value systems have gradually but deeply permeated our economic and political institutions as well. Generations after generations followed these values, implemented them and ultimately endorsed their fruitfulness. These value systems/ethics, which originated from religions have laid the foundations of modern legal systems and governance structures.

Religion/faith has been the most potent factor in uniting any community. Therefore, universal religions like Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism or Indic religions have played a major role in evolving the value systems of our globalised world.

Religion as a personal faith, is related to rituals, icon-worship, religious organisations and philosophy or theories about karma, rebirth, etc. This has a direct impact on society, but it is much more important to individuals.

Religion has an interesting relationship with democracy. Perhaps one of the factors for making democracy so universally popular is that there is no place for state religion in democracy. In liberal democracies, the religion of majority dominates the society, but governments operate on the principles to uphold cultural plurality. Problems start when geopolitical challenges–arising out of imperialistic politics–get linked with religious beliefs. Islamic terrorism is the latest challenge before global politics; where religion, inequality, imperialism, and economic challenges are interlinked in a complex web. But, it is still an exception.

* * *

Value systems and core values of institutions lie at the foundation of modern society, economy, and governance. Trade gives us hope for a prosperous future whereas religion has given us beliefs that reinforce our optimism that the world is becoming a better place. Today, empires have transformed into governments, which bolster these beliefs. When someone attacks a city with AK-47 or dangerous explosives or when a bank fails, our collective faith gets a rude jolt, but then gradually we go back to our core optimistic beliefs and try to evolve a system, which would prevent recurrence of such security or economic nightmares.

Chapter Two

Rise of a New Society

Ruthless Justice of Sages and the First Emperor

Emperor Ben was the ninth-generation successor of the mythical progenitor of humanity, King Manu. However, Ben was very different from the famous kings of Manu dynasty. He was an oppressive ruler, who did not obey laws and rules of the sages. So, to save the people from his atrocities, sages killed Ben and crowned his son Prithu, who was born with armour and held bow right from his birth. Prithu was kind and devoted to the services of his people. Observing this, the sages announced that Prithu would provide for the livelihood of his subjects. Prithu went to Mother Earth asking her to provide for his subjects. Terrified of Prithu’s power, Earth transformed herself into a cow and ran away. But she could not get shelter anywhere in the universe and finally had to come back to Prithu. But she told the all-powerful emperor that if he killed her, the world would be destroyed. Prithu adopted her as his daughter and asked her to make the whole world happy. The Earth accepted his suggestion and thus, came to be known as Prithvi.

Till then people used to forage for food. There was no practice of farming or cattle rearing. There were mountains all around. Prithu knocked down millions of mountains and cleared land for agriculture. Prithu thus started farming and initiated the process of collecting other resources. It was he who established villages and towns and made his subjects happy. Prithu was the first to be formally anointed as King, and he became king of all the people living in villages and forests. Prithu swore in on his enthronement: ‘I will obey the people as I prostate before the divinities. I will follow the path of dharma. To me all people are equal. I will punish them who do not follow the path of dharma.’

* * *

The story of Prithu is the oldest myth in the Indian tradition that marks the beginning of a well-organised society. This creation myth is richer than the Greek, Egyptian, or Mesopotamian myths in its symbolism, narrative style, and its impact. There are many legends in the Vedic and mythological literature about Manu, the creator of the world, and King Bharat who gave the identity to this country (Bharat/Bharatvarsh). Yet, Prithu stands apart from them. His story stands as a landmark in the evolution of human civilisation:

– Mythical reference of harnessing the Earth is the mark of beginning of economic system – including agriculture and cities – under Prithu’s leadership.

– पृथु ह वै वैन्‍यो मनुषयाणां प्रथमो अभिषिषिचे - Mahabharata says that Prithu was the first king who was crowned as an emperor by the people. Vedic texts also mention this myth.

– The story tells that society was more powerful than the king. The descendant of Manu and Prithu’s father, Ben was awarded death sentence by the sages. They were the representatives of the society. This marks a rare phenomenon of the killing of an emperor by non-violent sages in the story that reflects the supremacy of society.

The myth of Prithu, like that of Gilgamesh, connects us with the three forces of globalisation which we have discussed in the first chapter. These are the three powers that brought humans out of the caves and moulded them into today’s Generation Y–religion, trade, and empires. Religion has been the biggest stimulus in rejuvenating the Indian society in the last 2,500-3,000 years. From the river valley civilisations to the twenty-first century, Indian history has seen the society taking a new turn in every 300 years and religion had been a significant factor in that change.

Saraswati to Sadaneera

Prince Videgh Madhav started from the banks of River Saraswati to travel to the east. He was accompanied by his family priest Gautam Rahugana. In those days, it was mandatory to carry fire during such journeys. And the Prince was expected to hold that fire in his mouth. On the way Rahugana started talking to the Prince, but it was difficult for Madhav to open his mouth. Realising the problem, Rahugana invoked the fire god, Agni. Agni appeared before them and asked them to follow him. Leaping rings of fire cleared their way and advanced through the Gangetic plains to reach Sadaneera (today’s Gandak) before disappearing.

The journey of Vedic Aryans from the northwest to the east is associated with the foundation of Aryavarta, the ancient name of India as mentioned in ancient cultural, geographical, and historical texts. This story of Shatapath Brahman describing the journey of fire from the west to the east is more geographic than religious or cultural. The mythical journey of Videgh Madhav led by Agni presents the geographic expansion of the Vedic society from Saraswati to Sadaneera, ie from east to west, providing land for civilisation, religion, and trade to prosper for the coming centuries.

Rivers have been the favourite metaphor for sages. Vedic compositions like ‘O Saraswati! Do not torment us with waves that break the mountain,’ prove that the ­Vedic society developed along the river banks. There are many references to Saraswati in Vedic literature–scholars have been divided over its exact locations, predicting it to be anywhere from Afghanistan to Haryana. The Rig Veda refers to nineteen rivers in which Indus, Vitasta (Jhelum), Askini (Chenab), Prasuni (Ravi), Satadru (Sutlej), and Bipasha (Bias) together form a geography of northwestern India, whereas Ganga, Yamuna, Saryu, Sadaneera, and Gomti are found in the east. Apart from this, the Rig Veda mentions Gandhara, Saptisindhu, Vara Prithivya, Nabha Prithivya, Divodasi, Kasi, and Kikata. Gandhara was the region west of Saraswati. It is cited in twenty couplets and sixteen verses of the Rig Veda. The Vedic Saptasindhu (literally Seven seas/rivers) region is today’s Punjab, whereas present-day Haryana is referred as Vara Prithivya and parts of Uttar Pradesh as Divodasi and Kasi in the Rig Veda. This entire area was later described as Madhyadesh or Aryavart. Today’s Bihar is referred as Kikata in the Rig Veda which became Magadh in the later Vedic literature. The later three Vedas bifurcate the boundaries of Aryavarta into North India, Madhyadesh, i.e., Central India and Dakshinapath, i.e., South India. India’s second wave of urbanisation after Harappa evolved here in the form of Mahajanpadas, where major socio-religious and political transformations would take place. The future Uttarapath–the main trade route linking North and East India with Central Asia via Afghanistan–developed along the road taken by Videgh Madhav.

Early Vedic Society was primarily a pastoral one. As in any pastoral society, their pantheon was dominated by male gods. Though theoretically divided into three categories; they were primarily imagined as embodiments of certain natural forces like Varuna (for water, rains, and disasters) or Agni (fire). In another reflection of early near-egalitarian society, Rig Vedic pantheon has been described as Henotheism or Kathenotheism, where every god is separately treated as the recipient of highest devotion. To propitiate all these gods and goddesses, one was expected to conduct/participate in Yagnas and offer sacrifices. The fire was sacred and divine blessings were sought by offering what was dear to gods in sacred fire. This early pantheon of gods, especially Mithra, Varuna (Asur/Ahur Mazda), and Ashwini brothers (Nasatya) was common between the Iranians and Rig Vedic Aryans. A comparative study between the Vedas and Avesta shows these commonalities as well as points of departures–in Iran, Mithra and Varuna gained prominence whereas Indra eclipsed them all in India. The dev-asur divide in Indian mythology actually recalls this ancient religious division between two groups of Aryans.

From pastoralism of Rig Vedic society, over the next nearly one thousand years, they moved on to settled agriculture. Rich fertile lands of Punjab and then of North India helped these agrarian communities to improve their economic condition. Increase in material wealth reflected in more elaborate yagnas and sacrifices. It also allowed them to move away from fundamental existentialist concerns to more metaphysical ones. As they delved deep into both nature and human society, Indian philosophic thoughts reached an impressive stage of early maturity in the Upanishads. This was carried forward in later Vedic literature. Discourses about new subjects like medicine and music also emerged for the first time. Reflecting this expansion of knowledge, the Chhandogya Upanishad says that one should be proficient in the Vedas, history, botany, grammar, arithmetic, astrology, languages ethics, geography, and military sciences.

What are the legacies of Vedic religion and philosophy? At one level, this provided the philosophical basis of not only Hindu but Indic (emcompassing other religions, which originated in the subcontinent like Buddhism and Jainism) religions. But at the same time, today what we understand in practical terms as Hindu religion is far away from the Vedic religion. It is important to remember that as often there are uninformed attempts to hark back to Vedic past to justify today’s religion, which, of course, has been a product of centuries of transformation.

Buddhism: New tradition for a New Society (600 to 300 BCE)

Gautam Buddha was staying at royal physician Jeevak’s Amravana (mango grove) in Rajgriha (Rajgir) with his 1,250 monks. One night Ajatshatru came to Buddha with Jeevak.

Ajtashatru hesitantly asked Buddha, ‘My Lord! People with different occupations like elephant handlers, riders, charioteer, archer, flag holder earn their livelihood directly in this birth. They make themselves and their sons, daughters, friends and people happy and offer donations to Brahmans for the attainment of heaven. Is it possible for a monk also to reap the reward of his career choice in this birth?’

Buddha asked, ‘O king, have you asked other saints and thinkers the same question? What did they answer?’

Ajatshatru replied, ‘I asked this to six learned sages. But I felt as if I asked them about mango and they explained about jackfruit. Purana Kashyap told that everything was null, there was no benefit, no loss. Makkhali Gosal said that everything was predestined and happened according to the scheme of destiny. Ajit Keshkambalin replied that everything ended after death, while the enlightened Prakud Katyayan said that everything was eternal and never changed. Nigantha Nathputta (Vardhaman Mahavir) stated that one could attain everything by maintaining self-discipline, whereas Sanjay Velathiputta said that it was difficult to say anything.’

After listening to Ajatshatru, Buddha replied in a calm voice that monks received ten benefits in this birth. Buddha said that a monk enjoyed the beauty of solitude which was rare. He enjoyed the supreme happiness which had no limitation. He got satisfaction by living a simple life of limited resources. He achieved the pleasing state of deep meditation and profound knowledge of life. He understood the power of consciousness and mind. He achieved the understanding of past lives and attained freedom from the world.

With substantial agricultural surplus, development of long-distance trade and handicrafts, urban life was becoming a reality in North Indian plains for the first time. Society was poised for a qualitative shift and the religion of agrarian economy was found increasingly ill-suited for this new society. Elaborate sacrifices and domination of one small group of Brahmans as the sole mediator left an ever-increasing number of urban citizens dissatisfied. A large number of seekers tried to offer their solutions to this new society. Unable to find space in the existing religious discourse and also to seek answers amidst nature, they joined the traditional bands of wandering saints or Shramanas.

Ajivikas were one of the most important groups, who did not accept the supremacy of Vedic thoughts and rituals. Though we find quite a few names–Pakud Katyayan, Nanda Bachcha, Kissa Sankichcha, Puran Kashyap, Sanjay Velathiputra–the most well-known thinker of this group was Makkhali Gosala. His father was a Mankkh or wandering minstrel (charan) and painter, so he was known as Mankkhali or Makkhali. He also took up the life of a wandering saint. Gosala and Mahavira were close companions in their spiritual quest. Subsequently, Jainism borrowed a number of concepts from the Ajivikas. Ajivikas saw this massive transformation in a negative light–they believed that everything in this world was pre-determined and men cannot do anything to change their destiny. They wanted to go back to the simplicity of ancient communal life, which unfortunately was no longer possible. Though they were popular for quite some time but their negative approach never appealed to the majority.

Samanpahal Sutta of Digh Nikaya is one of Buddha’s beautiful and profound sermons explaining his views on religion. According to the legend, after listening to Buddha, Ajatashtru accepted the crime of killing his father Bimbisar and became his disciple. Samanpahal Sutta shows the depth of Buddhist thoughts as enunciated by Buddha himself but in terms of its philosophic content, it presents a picture of the new post-Vedic Indian society. Through three significant references in this sutta, we can fathom the progressiveness of the contemporary society, competing ideas, and the spirit of entrepreneurship.

The first reference is that of the presence and prosperity of a variety of businesses, indicating the existence of a self-reliant, industrious, urban and trade-based civilisation. We will discuss this further. The second important aspect is that with the change in socio-economic setup, an intense debate was emerging on Indian philosophical horizon. Not only Buddha tried to convince the society with his philosophy, but there was a whole generation of saints–as mentioned in the Samanpahal Sutta–who tried to define a new philosophy suitable for this new urban society. Vardhaman Mahavir (Nigrantha Nathputta) was one of the six Ajivikas/Sages who presented new religious thought. As the sutta shows these new thoughts received broad support from the society and even the emperor came to seek solutions from them. Thirdly, Buddha asserted that by simply following his path, monks could attain nirvana and they did not need elaborate rituals. For a society restricted by its caste divisions, this assertion brought a new energy.

Buddha’s message was formulated after a close study of this new society. His prescription was to maintain self-discipline to escape sorrow and to achieve salvation. This philosophy of a balanced life was reflected in his concept of Ashtangik Marg (eightfold path): right belief (Samyak Dristi), right thought (Samyak Vichar), right speech (Samyak Vachan), right action (Samyak Karma), right livelihood (Samyak Jeevika), right effort (Samyak Prayatna), right resolve (Samyak Sankalpa), and right meditation (Samyak Samadhi). This core philosophy, in many ways, appears close to an ideal or reformed version of Hinduism. The essential difference with the other contemporary Protestant thinkers was that of practicality or otherwise. This middle path (between austerity and pleasure) approach of Buddhism was perhaps best-suited for a dynamic society. This appealed to traders and businessmen, who travelled a lot and were also keen to move up the social ladder, Buddhism gave them that space.

Buddhism was the first missionary religion in the history of mankind–a feature that had a tremendous impact on Asian history and we shall discuss this later on. This was also the first religion in India that became popular while its founder was alive. After attaining enlightenment at Uruvela (Gaya), Buddha reached Kashi and met five ascetics at Sarnath, who had been with him earlier. These five ascetics received his first sermon. But his second visit to Uruvela was, perhaps, more significant for a social change. It was an important location for yajna rituals. Buddha managed to persuade Kashyap to become his disciple here at Uruvela. Kashyap had a band of thousand Brahman followers, who also followed suit–this considerably enhanced Buddha’s reputation. During this phase of second urbanisation, as Buddha and his disciples travelled to Rajgriha, Magadh, Kashi, Kaushal, and other Mahajanapadas; they helped spreading his messages across the North Indian plains. Buddhism was such an organised religion that the first Buddhist council was held within two months of Buddha’s death. This council compiled all his sermons. By the time of the second council at Vaishali, after a century or so, Buddhism was already divided into eighteen sects. Traditionally, it is believed that the third Buddhist council was held at the time of Emperor Ashoka in Pataliputra (250 BC), when Buddhism, under proactive state patronage attained new heights–we will discuss more about it later.

An Urban Future

Once two Brahmans, Vasattha and Bharadwaj, came to Buddha and asked him whether one becomes Brahman by birth or by karma? Buddha replied, ‘One who grazes cow is a cowherd not a Brahman. One who earns his livelihood through his art is an artist. Some are farmers by their vocation, some are traders or artisans. I cannot call a person a Brahman just because he was born in a certain family. A Brahman must be distinguished by his karma.’

Buddha here reflects the aspirations of a society transiting from its rural agrarian roots to a trade and craft-driven urban milieu. Tired of ritualistic stratification, Buddha’s contemporary citizens of Rajgriha, Kashi, and Koshal wanted to be evaluated on the basis of one’s karma and not merely by birth alone. Buddhist philosophy based on conduct rather than rituals was far more acceptable to them. These ambitious urban societies in North India were at the throes of a great economic transformation then. Buddhist centres were built near these cities and there were bankers and traders among the followers. Buddhist texts like Angajeev, Lalitvistar, Milind Prashna, etc. mention about 60 occupations. Buddhist jatakas are full of tales of traders–from those involved in international trade to small shopkeepers (papanikas). It was the dawn of a new economy, paving the ground for the emergence of a new religion. It was during the Buddhist era that various trades were becoming family occupations. Young family members would start picking up the nuances of family business right from their teens. Buddhist jatakas routinely narrate stories of Sarthvaha kul (families of caravan traders), Kumbhakara kul (families of potters), Setthikul (families of bankers), Dhanyavanijkul (families of grain traders), etc. This was the beginning of family enterprises in India, a tradition that has been continuing to date. Craft clusters emerged for the first time in India, which later became trade centres. Kuleenchit jataka refers to a village near Banaras where 500 carpenter families lived. It also mentions a Kumbhakar (potters) village/suburb near Banaras. A few centuries later, Xuanzang confirmed that North Indian cities had different streets specialising in different crafts or separate craft villages near them. This also led to the formation of separate vocational groups. Samudravaneej jataka tells the story of a village with 1,000 carpenter families. There were two Jetthaks in this village (village chiefs) for 500 families each. We will talk later more about the important roles played by the guilds. Suchi jataka tells the story of a Jetthak of a rich clan of Kammars (ironsmiths), who was held in high regard even in the royal court. Most of the flourishing cities we come to know of from the jatakas, like Ayodhya, Varanasi, Champa, Kampiliya, Kaushambi, Mathura, Mithila, Roruk, Sagal, Saket, Sravasti, Mahishmati, Vaishali, Takshashila, Pataliputra, and Pratishanpura were major trade centres and often produced a variety of crafts.

Buddhist monasteries–which emerged in proximity to these cities–were the major centres of education too. The University of Takshashila most probably predated the arrival of Buddha and its fame spread all over the ancient world. Nalanda developed near Rajgir. The Vallabhi Mahavihara of Saurashtra (Gujarat) and Madura (Madurai) in the remote South were the other major centres of education. Construction of Viharas began quite early in Buddhist history for which donations in the form of land and money came from rich but ordinary followers. This was the first instance in the Indian history of a religion flourishing under the broad patronage of society. The practice of constructing stupas, again, predated Buddha but the frenzy witnessed in conserving his sacred relics after his death gave a significant boost to this practice. This was the beginning of Buddhist pilgrimage and idol worship–a practice that grew exponentially with the emergence of Mahayana. Instead of a small priestly class/caste, this enthusiastic and proactive involvement of a broad section of the society transformed the basic nature of religion-society connect in India. Jainism, in its limited space, would be implementing this idea even more effectively. Hinduism made a conscious attempt to follow these basic traits and subsequently, this kind of societal involvement in day-to-day religion became part and parcel of Hinduism as well. Kings of Rajgriha or other Mahajanapadas supported or patronised Gautam Buddha (and for that matter, Mahavir and other Ajivika saints as well) but a new chapter in the history of Buddhism opened up through pro-active promotion during the Mauryan era. This was the beginning of a new relationship between religion and state. The Mahaviharas–and the universities attached with them–of Nalanda, Odantapuri, and Vikramshila (Bhagalpur) were established under the active royal patronage of the Guptas and the Palas.

Jainism – Prosperity and Echewal

Jainism was the first major religion in India to claim a number of kings among its founders (tirthankaras). Patronage of the rich and elite helped it to flourish and spread across India. Compared to Buddhism, the mythical history of Jainism is much older and the stories of its origin are closely associated with Hindu myths. As per Jain myths, India’s first emperor (Chakravarthy Samrat) Rishabh was the first Jain Tirthankar. Rishabh left the throne for his son Bharat and set out on a pilgrimage. This country, earlier known as Jambudweep, was named Bharat after Emperor Bharat. Jain stories indicate the origin of Jainism from Ayodhya, where Rishabh was born. Jain texts tell the story of twenty-four Tirthankaras. Vardhaman Mahavir was the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankar who was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Parshvanath, the twenty-third in this line, is placed 2,500 years before him. Jainism–as we know it–traces its core philosophy to the last two tirthankars.

At the time of Vardhaman Mahavira, Jainism was centred in eastern India. Later, it almost disappeared from this region but spread across the entire country thanks to the patronage of kings and traders. Jain texts mention that Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the dynasty and Ashok’s grandfather, was a great patron of Jainism.