discuss the economic features and urbanised culture...

NammaKPSC KAS MAINS TEST SERIES 2017

©www.nammaKPSC.com

Discuss the economic features and urbanised culture of

Harappan civilization.

Structure:

1. Brief introduction of Harappan civilization

2. A note on economic feature- agriculture, craft, trade and commerce, industry

etc

3. A note on Urban culture of harrappan civilization with few lines on urban

planning

4. Conclusion on a positive note

Introduction: The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) or Harappan Civilisation was

a Bronze Age civilisation (3300–1300 BCE; mature period 2600–1900 BCE) mainly in

the northwestern regions of South Asia, extending from what today is

northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. Along with ancient

Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three earliest civilisations of the world and

included among the civilisations of the Old World, and of the three, the most

widespread.

Economy of Harappan Civilization

1. Agricultural and Animal husbandry

▪ Harappans grew wheat and barley on a large scale. The other crops grown by

them were pulses, cereals, cotton, dates, melons, pea, sesamum and mustard.

▪ Predominantly Rainfed Crops as Irrigation was based upon the rainwater but

also the sources of irrigations were available

▪ No clear evidence of rice has been found, except from Rangpur and Lothal were

some grains of rice were obtained, but they may be a later period.

▪ Harrapan people were mostly peasants and thus the Harappan civilization was an

agro-commercial civilization.

▪ Evidences of hoe and plough have been found in Kalibangan and Banawali.

▪ Harrapans domesticated sheep, goat, buffalo and pig. They also knew about tiger,

camel, elephant, tortoise, deer, various birds, etc. However, they didn’t know

about lion.

▪ Humpless bull or unicorn was the most important animal for them.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

▪ They didn’t know about horse, except a jaw bone of horse has been recovered

from Surkotado in Gujarat in upper layers of excavation.

▪ The Harappans were the earliest people to produce cotton because cotton was

first produced in this area. The Greeks called it sindon, which is derived from

sindh.

2. Crafts

▪ The Harappan culture belongs to the Bronze Age, as the people were very well

acquainted with the manufacture and use of bronze.

▪ They manufactured not only images and utensils but also various tools and

weapons such as axes, saws, knives and spears.

▪ Weavers wore clothes of wool and cotton. Leather was also known to them but

no evidence of silk has been found.

▪ Harappans used to make seals, stone statues, terracotto figurines, etc.

▪ Huge brick structures made up of burnt bricks and mud bricks suggest that brick

laying was an important craft.

▪ Harappans didn’t know about Iron.

▪ The potters wheel was used to produce their characteristic pottery which was

made glossy and shining.

▪ They knew boat making also, as it is evident from their seals.

▪ The goldsmiths made jewellery of gold, silver and precious stones.

▪ Bangle making and shell ornament making was also practised which is evident

from the findings of Chanhudaro, Balakot and Lothal.

3. Trade

▪ Land trade and sea trade was in

vogue.

▪ A dockyard has been found at

Lothal which is the longest

building of the Harppan

civilization.

▪ Most important trading partner

was Mesopotamia. It is evident

from the inscriptions of

Mesopotamia. other trading relations with Meluha which was the ancient name

given to Indus region.

▪ Two intermediates trading stations called Dilmun and makan are identified with

Bahrain and Makran coast (pakistan) respectively.

▪ The mode of trade was barter system.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

4. Consumer Affairs in Indus Valley Civilization

▪ The weights and measurements were

calibrated to a considerable extent. The

measures were standardized and perhaps

there is binary system in use. A scale made up

of Elephant tusk has been found at Mohenjo-

Daro and Lothal.

5. Finance, Business and Industry in Indus Valley

Civilization

▪ There was use of many kinds of metals including Gold, Silver, Copper, Lapis

Lazuli , Turquoise, Amethyst, Alabaster, jade etc. It has been guessed that

among the precious stones in the Harappan civilization; Jade came from Central

Asia, Turquoise came from Iran , Amethyst came from Maharashtra and Lapis

lazuli came from Afghanistan.

▪ A Jewellery hoard has been found at Allahdino, an Indus valley Site near

congregation of Indus river and Arabian sea. It has a necklace of 36 carnelian

beads, Bronze spacer beads and a coper bead covered with Gold foil and 20

Gold lumps.

▪ The trade was multifaceted. It was operated on intraregional as well as

interregional basis and had a guild system coupled with nomadic trade. There

are no evidences of monetary exchange.

▪ Well developed stoneware industry. The manufacturing of the stone bangles

was most prevalent in Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Harappan civilization had

an Economic Zone. This economic zone was along the bank of the Sirhind river.

6. Seals in Indus Valley Civilization

▪ The seals were used throughout the length and breadth of this civilization.

Made of steatite, these seals range in size from 1cm to 5cm.

▪ The seals were very popular; more than 1200 seals have been found at

Mohenjodaro alone. The most remarkable one is the Pashupati seal depicting

shiva seated on a stool flanked by an elephant, tiger, Rhinoceros and buffalo.

Below the stool are two antelopes or goats.

▪ On one seal a goddess stands nude between the branches of a pipal tree, before

which kneels a worshipper. Behind the worshipper stands a human faced goat

and below are seven devotees engaged in a dance.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

▪ A scene very often repeated on seals shows a man holding back two roaring

tigers with his out-stretched arms. This is similar to the Sumerian Gilgamesh

and his lions.

▪ The animal most frequently encountered on Indus seals is a humpless bull,

shown in profile with its horns superimposed on each other and pointing

forward. For this feature it has generally been called a unicorn.

Urbanised culture:

Urban Culture in Harappa civilization was very organized. There were three different

social groups during Indus Valley Civilization. The first group was of high class traders

and priests. The second group was comprised of craftsmen, artists, and petty

merchants. And the third group consisted of labourer class. Harappa people had barely

and wheat as their staple food. Besides their staple food Harappa’s people liked to

have milk, fruits, fishes, dates, and meats. The people used to pray Papal tree.

Although no temple structure was found in the remains of the Harappa cities, these

people believed in life after death. Indus people used to bury the dead people in huge

earthen pots with large amount of food and ornaments.

▪ Town planning was the most distinguishable feature of the Harappan civilization.

hence, Indus valley civilization is also called first urbanization.

▪ Towns were divided into parts viz. citadel and lower town. citadels were occupied

by members of ruling class and lower town was inhabited by the common people.

▪ Harappan cities were developed in Block Pattern/Chess Board Pattern because

roads of these cities used to cut each other at right angles.

▪ Most peculiar feature of town planning was their drainage system. drains were

built of burnt bricks and covered by stone lids and manholes for cleaning. It

shown that Harappan people were very conscious of hygiene.

▪ The Harappans knew the art of measurement as some bricks inscribed with

measure marks have been found at some cities.

▪ Complete burial of dead body was the common method followed for disposal.

▪ Chanhudaro was the only city without citadel.

▪ Great Public Bath : There is an impressive building which was used as a public

bath. There is a device to fill and empty the water of the bathing pool. There are

galleries and rooms on all sides of the bathing pool.

▪ Granary of Indus Valley Civilization: There is the ruin of a great granary at Harappa

measuring 169 fit x 135 fit. Attached to the granary were two roomed tenements


©www.nammaKPSC.com

with a common courtyard. These tenements housed the workers or the slaves

who thrashed the corn to be preserved in the granary.

Religion of Indus People

▪ The religion of the Indus people had some interesting aspects. There is a striking absence of any temple among the remains of the Indus valley.

▪ The prevalence of the worship of the Mother Goddess (Sakti) has been suggested. The worship of Siva is suggested by the discovery of figure of a deity with three faces, with horned head-dress, seating cross-legged in a Yogic posture, surrounded by animals like buffalo, rhinoceros, deer, tiger, etc.

▪ Animal worship is attested by seals and terracotta figurines. ▪ Worship of tree, fire, water and probably sun seems to have been in vogue

among the Indus people. The discovery of a few seals bearing Swastika symbol and Wheel symbol also indicates Sun worship.

▪ The discovery of a sacrificial pit of Lothal lends support to the view that the Indus people performed animal sacrifices.

An Analysis:

The Indus Valley Civilization displayed remarkable planning in its urban towns,

especially in the area of sanitation and drainage. In the IVC, the streets were built on

grid-like patterns, which allowed for methodical and planned growth. In the IVC, the

town was also demarcated clearly between residential areas and common/public

areas. The granaries of IVC are also an example of intelligent design, with their

strategically placed air ducts and the platforms being divided into units. The houses in

the IVC were constructed in such a manner that it didn’t disturb the layout of the roads

in any way. The houses had doors that opened out into the lanes instead of the roads.

The warehouse in Lothal is an exemplary instance of designing with precision. The

drains in the IVC connected each and every house, and enabled them to dump their

waste directly. These drains were covered, and they directly connected to the larger

sewerage outlets. There were inspection holes on the drains for maintenance

purposes and there were manholes on the streets.

Conclusion

Modern archaeologists have been impressed by the perfectness of the town planning

system of the Indus Valley civilization. The systematic construction of residential


©www.nammaKPSC.com

houses and public buildings, laying down of principal streets, etc. are comparable with

the modern day city planning.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

Describe the salient features of cave temples of Badami.

Structure of Answer: 1. Introduction (1 line)- About the Chalukya architecture 2. General features of Badami Caves, its location, materials used. 3. Describe the features of the 4 caves. 4. Conclude by writing the significance. (1/2 lines)

Content: Introduction:

• The Badami Chalukya architecture was a temple building idiom that evolved in the 5th – 8th centuries in the Malaprabha river basin, in present-day Bagalkot district of Karnataka state.

• This style is sometimes called the Vesarastyle and Chalukya style.

• Their earliest temples date back to around 450 A.D. in Aihole when the Badami Chalukyas were vassals of the Kadambas of Banavasi.

Salient features of Badami Cave temples:

• Badami is truly famous for its Cave Temples that date back to the 6th and 7th centuries.

• Located at Badami in Bagalkot district of Karnataka, Cave Temples represent the fine architectural style of the ancient times.

• Badami Cave Temple is the best example of Chalukyan style of architecture.

• Made out of Sandstone hills, Badami Cave Temples boast of rock-cut architecture.

• In totality, there are four cave temples in Badami.

• All these temples enclose brilliant carvings with the sculptures of Gods from the Hindu pantheon.

• The structure of these temples is a perfect fusion of North Indian Nagara style and South Indian Dravidian style of architecture.

• Each cave embraces a sanctum, a hall, a verandah and pillars.

• Beautiful carvings and exquisite sculptures adore the site of Cave Temples.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

• At the cutting edge, one can see a reservoir that makes a perfect foreground to these architectural structures.

• Badami cave temples have rock cut halls with three basic features: pillared veranda, columned hall and a sanctum cut out deep into rock.

• Early experiments in rock cut halls were attempted in Aihole where they built three cave temples, one each in Vedic, Buddhist and Jaina styles. Later they refined their style and cut out four marvellous cave temples at Badami.

• One noteworthy feature of these cave temples is the running frieze of Ganas in various amusing postures caved in relief on each plinth.

• The outside verandas of the cave temples are rather plain, but the inner hall contains rich and prolific sculptural sy mbolism.

Caves Temples

• The first and the foremost cave is known to be built in 578 A.D. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, the cave adorns not less than 81 sculptures of Lord Shiva in the form of 'Nataraj' having 18 arms. Made out in Red sandstone, the cave has an open verandah, a hall with numerous columns and a sanctum. The ceilings and pillars are festooned with paintings of amorous couples.

• The second cave can be sited at the summit of a sandstone hill. This Cave Temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the Universe as per the Hindu beliefs. Here, Lord Vishnu is presented in the form of a 'Trivikrama' (dwarf) where his one foot is commanding the Earth and with the other he is mastering the sky.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

• The third Cave Temple traces its origin in 578 A.D. The front elevation of the cave is approximately 70 ft wide. The platform is carved with the images of 'ganas'. The structure of the temple rejuven ates the memoirs of Dec can style of architecture. This temple is a fine example of the artistic quality and sculptural genius. The sculpture of Lord Vishnu in the company of a serpent captures the major attention. Here, Lord Vishnu is represented in his various incarnations including Narsimha, Varaha, Harihara (Shiva-Vishnu) and Trivikarma.

• The fourth Cave Temple is accredited for being dedicated to the Lord Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara of the Jains. The cave is believed to be the latest amongst all the four caves. It finds its origin in the 7th century, near about 100 years after the construction of earlier three caves. In this shrine, one can see the image of Lord Mahavira in a sitting posture.

• Cave 5 is an as-yet-undated, natural cave of small dimensions that is approached by crawling due to its narrow opening. Inside, there is a carved statue seated over a sculpted throne with reliefs showing people holding chauris (fans), a tree, elephants, and lions in an attacking pose. The face of this statue was reasonably intact until about 1995, it is now damaged and missing parts

Additional Topics

Temple Architecture of Chalukyas of Badami

• The Badami Chalukya era (7th and 8th century) was an important period in the development of South Indian architecture. Their style of architecture is called “Chalukyan architecture” or “Karnata Dravida architecture”.

• Nearly a hundred monuments built by them, rock cut (cave) as well as structural, and are found in the Malaprabha river basin in modern Bagalkot district of northern Karnataka.

• Though they ruled a vast empire, the Chalukyan workshops concentrated most of their temple building activity in a relatively small area within the Chalukyan heartland – Aihole, Badami, Pattadakal and Mahakuta in modern Karnataka state.

Salient Features


©www.nammaKPSC.com

• These temples are a mixture of Northern and Dravida style of temple architecture and represent a transition as well as experimentation in the temple architecture.

• The temples are located on the banks of River Tungabhadra and Malprabaha in Karnataka and Alampur in Andhra Pradesh , which is near Kurnool.

• The largest temple of Chalukyas of Badami is Virupaksha Temple, whose complex encloses 30 sub shrines and a large Nadi mandapa.

• This was also earliest example of Shiva temples, which have a Nandi pavilion in front of the temple.

• The building material they used was reddish-golden Sandstone found locally.

• Members of the royal family of Chalukyas patronized many Chalukyan monuments. All of them were created in sixth and 7th century.

Ravana Phadi Cave

• The earliest monument of Chalukyas of Badami is the Ravana Phadi Cave at Aihole, not far from Badami. It was probably made around A.D. 550 and is dedicated to Siva.

• Ravana Phadi Cave is one of the Earliest Rock Cut Temple located at Aihole, the first capital of the early Chalukyas.

• At Aihole, they built more than 70 Hindu Temples later. Badami Cave Temples

• Badami cave temples are located at Badami.

• The red sandstone cliffs of Badami offered a spectacular setting for the excavation of four caves, three Brahmanical and one Jaina (Parshwavanath).

• The largest and most impressive of these is Cave 3, dedicated to Vishnu.

• An inscription next to a Varaha depiction states that Mangalesa, a brother of King Kirtivarman, dedicated the cave in A.D. 578.

• The architecture is a mixture of the Nagara style and Dravida style.

• Apart from the above four, there is a fifth natural Buddhist cave in Badami. Virupaksha Temple, Hampi

• Virupaksha Temple is located in Hampi in Karnataka on the banks of the Tungabhadra river.

• Virupaksha Temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and was created by the Chalukyas of Badami initially in 8th century.

• The temple was improvised in Vijaynagar Empire. It is in the Virupaksha temple at Hampi that full glory of the Early Chalukyan art can be seen.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

• This temple was built in 735 AD by a queen of Vikramaditya II to celebrate the victory over the Pallavas of Kanchipuram.

Ladkhan Temple, Aihole

• The Ladkhan temple is the earliest temple of Aihole, which dates back to 5th century AD.

• An inscription on this temple says that it was dedicated to Durga. There is a Shiva ling out there.

• The temple is known as Lad Khan after its owner (in most recent times) at a place used as cattle sheds or houses.

• This temple has a large porch and is made in a Panchayat hall kind of design with 12 pillars.

• This was earliest experiment for a pillar based structures in the temple architecture.

Navbhramha Group of Temples, Alampur

• The Navabrahma Group of temples is located at Alampur in Andhra Pradesh.

• There are total 9 temples and present a marvelous piece of art of the Chalukyas of Badami outside Karnataka.

• These temple are based upon the Nagara style and do not reflect the Dravidian style of temple architecture (8 out of 9 are clearly Nagara style).

• The Alampur temples are the finest example of the Chalukyas of Badami Art.

• These temples are all enclosed in a courtyard on the left bank of the river Tungabhadra.

Temples at Pattadakal

• Numerous temples at Pattadakal on the bank of river Malprabha, some kilometers from Aihole mark the return of the Chalukya patronage to Karnataka after several years of activity in the Andhra Pradesh.

• The first temple is Galagnatha Temple which is in Nagara style similar to the Alampur temple.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

Write a note on the administration in the Vijaynagar kingdom.

Structure:

1. Brief introduction giving the source of information

2. General account of different areas of administration- Concept of Kingship,

central and local administration, revenue and expenditure, judicial and military

administration.

3. conclusion

Introduction:

The sources of Vijayanagar empire history include accounts of foreign travellers, local

vernacular literature, archaeological excavations etc. A number of foreign travellers have

left a vivid account of the glory of Vijayanagar. From these sources we know the

administration of Vijaynagar empire had following features:

Administration In Vijayanagar Empire

The Vijayanagar administration system was centralized, elaborate and just. The

history of the rise and fall of Vijayanagar Empire is primarily a history of constant wars

and conflicts.

It was natural that the administration of such a state would essentially be guided by

military purposes and systems. Surprisingly the rulers of Vijayanagar Empire could not

only keep the administration free from this military impact but also made it a liberal,

perfect, tolerant and benevolent one.

The administrative system of Vijayanagar was a centralized one. The entire

Vijayanagar empire was divided into two sets governments – the central and the

provincial.

1. Theory of Kingship

Kingship was based on the principle, of absolute monarchy, but of the benevolent

type. The king was to ensure people’s welfare, listen to their appeals, and remove all

their difficulties.

2. Law of Succession

It was based generally on the hereditary principle. But there were instances of

successors being nominated by the reigning rulers to ensure peaceful succession.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

There were also instances of usurpation. The Sangama dynasty ended when

SaluvaNarasimha usurped the throne.

3. Central Administration

There was a council of ministers, headed by a prime minister, to assist and advise the

king in administrative matters. But it was left to the king’s discretion whether or not

to abide by them.

4. Provincial and Local Administration: The whole of Vijayanagar Empire was

divided into six provinces. The administration of each province was under a

governor. They were either a member of the royal family or an influential noble.

Governor: The governor was the key authority for the province and used to exercise

civil, military and judicial powers. He used to furnish the account of the income and

expenditure of his province to the Central Government. If the Central Government of

Vijayanagar Kingdom needed his help, he would have to send military assistance

whenever he was asked to do it. The governor had absolute power in the province

although he was under the authority of the kings of Vijayanagar empire and controlled

by the latter.

The empire was divided into different administrative

units mandalams or rajyas (provinces), nadus (districts), sthalas (sub-districts) and

finally in to gramas (villages). The Vijayanagar rulers did not interfere in ‘local

administration, and hence local bodies had

complete autonomy. Gauda, village

headman, looked after the administration

of the village which was the basic unit of

administration.

5. Revenue Administration

Chief Sources of Income

Land revenue from crown lands was the

most important source. Tributes and gifts

from vassals and feudal chiefs; customs collected at the ports, and tolls on inland

commerce; taxes on various professions, houses, markets and licences; fines inflicted

by courts, etc. were also important sources of income.

6. Collection of Land Revenue

The land revenue was the main source of income of the government. There was a

separate land revenue department. To assess the proper revenue entire land was

classified into four parts:

Nayankar system of administration:

Under this system, the ruler assigned

a land track to officials in lieu of pay

i.e. for maintaining themselves and

that of their army from the land track

itself. These officials or landlords

provided military service to the ruler.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

1. the wet land,

2. the dry land,

3. the orchards and

4. the woods.

Tax: The kings of Vijaynagar charged a little more than one sixth of the revenue. This

was because the king had to maintain a huge army.

Apart from this land tax, the government also levied other taxes like the grazing tax,

the marriage tax, and the customs duty, tax on gardening and taxes on manufacture

of various articles. The rate of taxation was rather high, but the taxes were never

extorted. The mode of payment of these taxes was both in cash and in kind.

7. Items of Expenditure

As suggested in the Amuktamalyadu, the expenditure of the state was divided into

four parts-charities and personal expenditure of the king, maintenance of horses,

military conquests and security of the empire.

8. Judicial Administration in Vijaynagar Empire

• King administered justice impartially.

• He presided over the sabha which was the highest court of appeal.

• There were also village courts, caste panchayats and guild organisations to

dispose of petty offences like violation of caste rules and rules of trade.

• Dharmasastras generally formed the basis on which cases were decided. Harsh

punishments were inflicted.

9. Military Administration

• There was a well organised and efficient standing army.

• It consisted of the cavalry, infantry, artillery and elephants.

• There were also high-breed horses which were procured from foreign

merchants.

• Different grades of officers were there in the army, the top grades being the

nayakas or palegars.

• In addition to the regular standing army, armies of vassal kings, governors and

feudal levies assisted the king whenever necessary.

10. Splendour of the court:

The court of the rulers of Vijayanagara was known for its grandeur and splendour.

It was attended by nobles, priests, scholars, musicians and astrologers.


©www.nammaKPSC.com

11. Orders of the rulers: No written orders were issued by the rulers. The royal

words were carefully noted down by secretaries, whose record was the sole

evidence of the commands issued.

Conclusion: It was on account of this system that there was an all round prosperity

in the state. Under the leadership of its several rulers, the state made a remarkable

progress in the economic, cultural, political and social fields.

If question had asked to evaluate… The following can be added…

The Vijayanagar Administration System also had some vital defects which practically were

largely responsible for its fall.

1. The provincial governors enjoyed too much power that subsequently caused the

disintegration of the empire.

2. The army organization was not at all efficient and had many internal defects. As the

Vijaynagar Kingdom had to fight almost a continuous war against the Bahmani

Sultans, they should have a strong and efficient army which obviously they lacked.

3. The rulers allowed the Portuguese to settle on their western coast to have

commercial profit. But that was a great mistake.

4. The rulers also failed to develop a sustained commercial activity in spite of various

facilities.

Inspite of the defects mentioned above, The administration of Vijayanagar Empire was

undoubtedly elaborate and just.

FOR complete PROGRAMME click here

http://imojo.in/3srite

discuss the economic features and urbanised culture...

Documents