Editing Content :: Admin Scraper

Chapter

Content type

Position

Value

40 THEMES IN INDIAN H ISTORY Source 7 5.4 Land grants and new rural elites Life in a small village From the early centuries of the Common Era, we find grants of land being made, many of which were recorded in inscriptions. Some of these inscriptions The Harshacharitisabiography were on stone, but most were on copper plates of Harshavardhana, the ruler of Kanauj (see Map 3), composed (Fig. 2.13) which were probably given as a record of in Sanskrit by his court poet, the transaction to those who received the land. The Banabhatta (c. seventh century records that have survived are generally about grants CE). This is an excerpt from to religious institutions or to Brahmanas. Most inscriptions were in Sanskrit. In some cases, and the text, an extremely rare representation of life in a especially from the seventh century onwards, part settlement on the outskirts of a of the inscription was in Sanskrit, while the rest forest in the Vindhyas: was in a local language such as Tamil or Telugu. Let us look at one such inscription more closely. The outskirts being for the most part forest, many Prabhavati Gupta was the daughter of one of the parcels of rice-land, threshing most important rulers in early Indian history, ground and arable land were Chandragupta II (c. 375-415 CE). She was married into another important ruling family, that of the being apportioned by small Vakatakas, who were powerful in the Deccan (see farmers … it was mainly spade culture … owing to the Map 3). According to Sanskrit legal texts, women difficulty of ploughing the were not supposed to have independent access to sparsely scattered fields resources such as land. However, the inscription covered with grass, with their indicates that Prabhavati had access to land, which few clear spaces, their black she then granted. This may have been because she soil stiff as black iron … was a queen (one of the few known from early Indian history), and her situation was therefore exceptional. There were people moving It is also possible that the provisions of legal texts along with bundles of bark … were not uniformly implemented. countless sacks of plucked flowers, … loads of flax and The inscription also gives us an idea about rural hemp bundles, quantities populations – these included Brahmanas and of honey, peacocks’ tail peasants, as well as others who were expected to provide a range of produce to the king or his feathers, wreaths of wax, logs, and grass. Village wives representatives. And according to the inscription, hastened en route for they would have to obey the new lord of the village, neighbouring villages, all and perhaps pay him all these dues. intent on thoughts of sale and Land grants such as this one have been found in bearing on their heads several parts of the country. There were regional baskets filled with various variations in the sizes of land donated – ranging gathered forest fruits. from small plots to vast stretches of uncultivated land – and the rights given to donees (the recipients of the grant). The impact of land grants is a subject ➲ How would you classify the people described in the of heated debate among historians. Some feel that text in terms of their land grants were part of a strategy adopted by ruling occupations? lineages to extend agriculture to new areas. Others suggest that land grants were indicative of weakening political power: as kings were losing control over their samantas, they tried to win allies Reprint 2026-27