Kings, Farmers and Towns — Early States and Economies (c. 600 BCE – 600 CE)

The sixth century BCE is often regarded as a major turning point: early states, cities, the growing use of iron and the development of coinage, and new systems of thought, including Buddhism and Jainism. Early Buddhist and Jaina texts mention, among others, sixteen states known as mahajanapadas — Vajji, Magadha, Koshala, Kuru, Panchala, Gandhara and Avanti are among the most important. Most were ruled by kings, but some, known as ganas or sanghas, were oligarchies where power was shared by a number of men, often collectively called rajas; both Mahavira and the Buddha belonged to such ganas. Each mahajanapada had a capital city, often fortified. From c. 600 BCE Brahmanas began composing Sanskrit texts known as the Dharmasutras, which laid down norms for rulers and others; rulers were ideally expected to be Kshatriyas.

• Why Magadha? Between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE Magadha became the most powerful mahajanapada. Historians point to agricultural productivity in a fertile region, iron mines that supplied tools and weapons, elephants from the forests for the army, and the Ganga and its tributaries for cheap communication.
• The rulers' role: early Buddhist and Jaina writers credited the policies of ambitious, ruthless kings — Bimbisara, Ajatasattu and Mahapadma Nanda — and their ministers.
• Capitals: at first Rajagaha (the Prakrit name of present-day Rajgir), a fortified settlement among hills; in the fourth century BCE the capital shifted to Pataliputra, present-day Patna, commanding routes along the Ganga.

The growth of Magadha culminated in the Mauryan empire. Chandragupta Maurya founded it around 321 BCE, and its control extended as far north-west as Afghanistan and Baluchistan; his grandson Asoka, arguably the most famous ruler of early India, conquered Kalinga (present-day coastal Odisha). Historians reconstruct the empire from archaeology and sculpture; from contemporary works such as the account of Megasthenes, a Greek ambassador to Chandragupta's court, which survives in fragments; from the Arthashastra, parts of which were probably composed by Kautilya or Chanakya, traditionally believed to be Chandragupta's minister; from later Buddhist, Jaina and Puranic literature; and above all from the inscriptions of Asoka on rocks and pillars.

Megasthenes describes a committee with six subcommittees for coordinating military activity: one looked after the navy; the second managed transport and provisions; the third was responsible for foot-soldiers; the fourth for horses; the fifth for chariots; and the sixth for elephants. Asoka tried to hold his empire together by propagating dhamma — respect towards elders, generosity towards Brahmanas and those who renounced worldly life, treating slaves and servants kindly, and respect for religions and traditions other than one's own — and appointed special officers, the dhamma mahamatta, to spread it. Historians debate how far the empire was uniform: the distances between Pataliputra and the provinces, and the variety of regions, make it unlikely that administration was the same everywhere, and control was probably strongest around the capital and the provincial centres.

• The south: new chiefdoms and kingdoms emerged in the Deccan and further south, including the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas in Tamilakam; early Tamil (Sangam) texts describe them. Chiefs did not necessarily have a regular tax system and lived on gifts.
• Divine kingship — the Kushanas (c. first century BCE to first century CE) ruled a vast kingdom from Central Asia to north-west India. Their colossal statues have been found at a shrine at Mat near Mathura, and many Kushana rulers adopted the title devaputra, "son of god", perhaps inspired by Chinese rulers who called themselves sons of heaven.
• The Guptas (from the fourth century CE): histories are reconstructed from literature, coins and inscriptions, including prashastis composed in praise of kings. The best known is the Prayaga Prashasti (the Allahabad Pillar Inscription), composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta, arguably the most powerful Gupta ruler.
• Sudarshana lake: a rock inscription at Junagadh records how Rudradaman, a Shaka ruler of the mid-second century CE, had a lake repaired at his own expense, without forced labour or extra taxes; the lake had been built by a local governor during the rule of the Mauryas.

To raise revenue, rulers pushed agricultural output up. The iron ploughshare spread in fertile alluvial regions such as the valleys of the Ganga and the Kaveri, and transplantation of paddy raised yields, though it was back-breaking work. Not everyone benefited: Buddhist texts distinguish landless agricultural labourers, small peasants and large landholders, and the term gahapati was used for the owner, master or head of a household. From the early centuries CE, rulers made land grants, recorded in inscriptions, mostly to religious institutions or Brahmanas; one well-known grant was made by Prabhavati Gupta, daughter of Chandragupta II, who was married into the Vakataka family of the Deccan — a rare case of a woman controlling land.

Towns grew at the points along rivers and routes where goods changed hands. Their archaeological signature is a fine glossy pottery called Northern Black Polished Ware. Craftspeople and merchants organised themselves into guilds or shrenis, which procured raw materials, regulated production and marketed the finished product. Trade reached the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia: hoards of Roman coins found in south India, and the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, a Greek sailor's account of the sea routes, testify to it.