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The History of Aryan Rule in India- Book Summary - Indian History - 2, Summaries of United Kingdom History

The History of Aryan Rule in India- Book Summary

Typology: Summaries

2010/2011

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ARYANS AND NON-ARYANS

just as the Himalayan mountain glacier is the fountain from

which pour the life-giving waters of the five rivers of the

Aryan holy land, so Siva as well as Vishnu had a dual aspect.

He was lord (^) both of life (^) and of death. Parvati, or Uma, the

fair daughter of Himalaya, and the sjonbol of spring, once a

year lured Siva from his profound meditation, caused his

snow-white mantle to melt partially away, and decked the

mountain slopes with bridal garlands. Siva was the horizontal

arm of the cosmic cross containing the sunrise and the sunset. He was^ Creator^ and^ Destroyer. The circle which contained

both ends of the cross was the wheel of life and the serpent of

reincarnation. Oriental scholars have long sought to discover by way of

philological research at what period of Indian history the two

great schools of modem Hinduism, the Saiva and Vaishnava,

had their starting-point, and, taking their stand upon philo-

logical data only, have drawn a hard-and-fast distinction

between the Hindu and Vedic religion because the names of

Brahma, Vishnu, and^ Siva do not come into^ prominence^ until

a late period of Sanskrit literature. But philology taken (^) by

itself cannot show the relationship between the word and

the idea or give the symbol representing a religious concept

its proper place in the daily life of a people. Names are

constantly changing with the development of old ideas, though

all the powers of nature which suggest those ideas to the

human mind remain unchanged.

The tangle of terminology in which, to the Western mind,

Indian religious thought is involved may be unravelled by the

study of the symbolism contained in its ritual, which has

remained fixed in its association with the cosmic forces

worshipped by the ancient Aryans in spite of all terminological

changes. The symbol of the cosmic cross, the^ wheel^ of^ life,^ or

four-petalled lotus-flower shown^ overleaf,^ which^ is embodied

in the plan of the Indo-Aryan^ village^ and^ temple,^ contains

the four^ fundamental^ concepts^ upon^ which^ all^ Hindu^ religious

cults have been built from the remotest Vedic period down

to the present day, whether they represented the earliest

ARYAN RULE IN INDIA

Aryan nature-worship or the esoteric philosophy^ which grew

out of it. And just as Birth and Death,^ I,ife^ and^ Eternity,

symbolised by sunrise and sunset, noon^ and^ midnight,^ are

always immutable^ factors^ in^ the^ history^ of^ human^ thought, so the historian may disregard the time when a^ particular

(NORTH) ETERNITY NARAYANA fVARUNA 1sOMA&-c.

(WEST)

DEATH SIVA J RUDRA I YAMA^ arc.

,,''-"

ARYAN RULE IN INDIA

Vishnu, popularly, was a deified hero, a great Kshatriya

teacher, reincarnated from time to time to instruct the Aryan

race and lead them to victory ; Siva was an ascetic whose

hermitage was fixed in some mountain cavern amidst Hima-

layan ice and snow, where through the third eye of spiritual

insight all the secrets of the universe were made known to him.

Great as the achievements of the Aryan philosopher^ un-

doubtedly were in the field of abstract thought, they were

not more remarkable than the success of a small colony of

people, vastly outnumbered by the congeries of different races

which India has probably always contained, in welding^ together

these heterogeneous elements intellectually, socially, and

politically in the organisation of the village communities^ ;

so that^ though^ each political, social, and^ racial unit^ retained

its own individuality, India became a synthesis of people with common traditions of polity and religion living together

within the Aryan pale. The result was not less remarkable

because several of the non-Aryan elements, especially the

Dravidian, made great intellectual contributions to the common

fund, and^ because^ the^ Aryan^ racial^ type never^ became^ very

widely distributed over the whole of India. Ethnographic

investigations show that the Indo-Aryan type described in

the Hindu^ epics—a tall,^ fair-complexioned,^ long-headed^ race,

with narrow, prominent noses, broad shoulders, long arms,

slim waists "like a lion," and thin legs like a deer—^is now

(as it was in the earliest^ times)^ mostly^ confined to Kashmir,

the Panjab and Rajputana, and represented by the Khattris,

Jats, and^ Rajputs.

CHAPTER II

THE EPIC AGE

THERE is^ no^ record^ of^ any^ striking^ event^ like^ the^ landing of Hengist and Horsa at Ebbsfleet, from which we

can date the beginning of Indian history. All that

can be gathered from philological evidence is that at some

remote period, reckoned from between 3000 and 1000 B.C.

or earlier, a number of Aryan tribes whose poets sang the sacrificial hymns of the Rig-Veda, dedicated to the powers of nature—^the Sun, the Sky, the Rain-spirit, the Storm-wind, vSoma the Moon, the Fire-spirit—and to the Unknown God who created^ all^ things,^ had^ established^ themselves^ in^ North- western India, in the districts now contained by the Panjab

and Eastern Afghanistan, which they called Brahmavarta,

the Holy I^and^ or^ I^and^ of^ Prayer.^ They^ were^ divided^ into

clans, of which the Kshatriyas formed the aristocracy and

priesthood, the Brahmans being as yet merely assistants at

the tribal sacrifices. The lower orders, which, though more

or less mixed in^ race, were classed as Aryans, were engaged

in trade and^ agriculture.^ The^ organisation^ of^ the^ village cormnunities was already essentially complete. Each village managed its own affairs through its council of elders, and the

assembly of the whole people elected its war-lord to lead

the tribe, or federation of tribes. Wars between^ the^ different

Aryan tribes as well as struggles with the non-Aryan '^ bar-

barians,' the Dasyus or Dasas, were frequent, but as in the

former case it was a fixed principle that war should not be

made merely for acquisition of territory, and^ that a conquered

Aryan king should not be deposed^ but^ should^ become^ the

tributary of his conqueror, tribal^ quarrels^ probably^ did^ not

greatly disturb Aryan social^ order^ :^ these^ inter-tribal^ wars

C 33

THE EPIC AGE

The principal^ political^ development^ of^ this^ epoch^ was^ the

gradual consolidation of the small tribal confederations which

characterised the Vedic period into considerable states ruled by hereditary dynasties. The explanation^ of the origin^ of

kingship given in the Mahabharata is the state of anarchy into

which Aryavarta had fallen owing to the absence of a strong

ruling hand to enforce social laws, and to the neglect of Aryan

tradition, which no doubt followed the frequent admission

of aliens to the privileges of freemen, as the Aryans gradually

spread themselves further over the country. But in Aryan

polity the divine right of kings was never recognised as a

personal attribute of the monarch, belonging to himself and

his family. He had no right except that which was conferred

upon him by Aryan law, and he could be fined or deposed by

the General Assembly of the freemen, or by the Council of Ministers, if (^) he neglected his duties (^) as king (^) or offended (^) against

that law. The hereditary principle was recognised as a safe-

guard for the maintenance of Aryan tradition, the king's

family being regarded as the one amongst the others of the

ruling class which should be most expert in the duties of

kingship. Theoretically the king should be chosen from the

Kshatriya class, as being that which by birth and training was best prepared for the responsibilities of royalty ; but the

rule was by no means a fixed one,^ and even a Sudra might in

time of war win his way to the throne by virtue of his miUtary

prowess. The king's chief duty was the protection of the

State. He should "^ first subdue himself and then seek to subdue his foes. How should a king^ who^ has not^ been able to conquer his own self be able to conquer his foes? "^ ^^ "In the happiness of his subjects lies his happiness : in their

welfare his welfare : whatever pleases himself he should not

consider as good." ^^ In his coronation oath, which he was

to take "mentally, physically, and verbally,"^ he swore to see

to the advantage of the State, "^ considering^ always^ as^ God

whatever is law and whatever is in accordance with ethics and

(^1) Mahabharata, Raja dharmanu Qasana Pavva, Sect. I/XIX, 4. ' (^) KauHliya-artha-Sastra, "^ The Duties of a King," chap. xix.

ARYAN RULE IN INDIA

whatever is not opposed to policy. I will act according to

that and will never act arbitrarily." ^

The so-called modern ideal of kingship is, in fact, as old

as Indian civilisation. According to Aryan law the king held

the same position in the macrocosm of the State as the grdmam or headman of the village community did in his smaller sphere. He was (^) bound to consult his ministers, who, like the elders of the village, were representative of all the five classes of

freemen, and were selected for their knowledge of Aryan tradi-

tion to advise the king in all important affairs of State, and to

assist him in the administration of Aryan law.

There is no detailed account of the exact constitution of

the king's council (^) given in the epics,^ but in the fully organised

Aryan state described in the oldest Aryan law-books the

ministers were generally ten in number—or eleven including

the crown prince. The first minister of the Crown was the

royal Purohita or chaplain, whose qualifications were to be

equal to his high position. He was the king's chief spiritual

adviser, and should be competent "^ both to curse and bless."

Besides being learned in the Vedas and versed in Mantras and

sacred rites, a man of great strength of character and strict

morals, so that^ even^ the^ king^ should fear his anger and hsten

to his correction, he was to be thoroughly versed in politics

and diplomacy, should know the science of archery in all its branches, and be a master^ of^ military^ arms and tactics. The Pratinidhi, ' the Deputy '^ or viceroy, who came next in rank

and emoluments, was a kind of privy councillor who, if the

king failed^ to^ listen^ to^ good^ advice,^ should^ "^ go on^ explaining."^

The Pradhdna was the president of the council, who apportioned to each member his special share of work. Next came the Sachiva, or War Minister,^ the^ Mantri, or Foreign Minister, the Prddvivdka, or Chief (^) Justice, the Pandit, (^) the Sumantra, or Finance Minister, the Amdtya, or Home Minister, and (^) lastly,

  • (^) Mahabharata, Santi Parva. ' In the Ramayana there were eight (^) councillors—two Brahman .spiritual advisers and an executive council of six. ' (^) Sukrd-nitisdra, translated by Benoy (^) Kumar Sarkar, M.A., chap, ii, (^) p.

3^

ARYAN RULE IN INDIA

and South Bihar; and the kingdom of Kasi, the modern

Benares. Besides these kingdoms there were numerous^ con-

federations of tribes in which regal authority was^ exercised

not by a single ruler but by a council of noble families, and

other states whose political organisation was purely repub-

lican, the General Assembly and its executive committees

controlling all the affairs of the community. But whether the

central authority was monarchical, an oligarchy, or republican,

the village was the political unit of the State, and the rights

of (^) the soil were vested in the family of the freeman who cut away the wood or (^) who cleared and tilled it, the State receiving its taxes as remuneration for the protection it afforded him,

but the freeman remaining owner of the land, as he continued

to (^) be in (^) Rajputana down to modern times.

^

A natural consequence of the consolidation of the Aryan

tribal system into these larger states and kingdoms was the

gradual development of the village settlements into large

towns and cities planned on the same principles in which the

different wards, or village units, were grouped rotmd the

royal palace and citadel. The royal capitals became industrial

and trading centres, the duties imposed upon merchandise

forming part of the State revenue. The Indus and other great

waterways upon which the early Aryan settlements were

placed were important trade routes linking together the military roads maintained by the State, along which passed

the caravans laden with gold, precious stones, and spices from

Southern India which added to the magnificence and luxury

of the royal courts of Aryavarta as well as those of Western

Asia (^) and Europe. And (^) as the Brahmans gradually became

the custodians of Aryan traditions and culture, the asram,

or Brahman village, developed into the university town to

which Aryan youth of the twice-born classes went for instruc-

tion. But while the seaports, the halting-places for caravans,

and the centralisation of government, all tended to promote the

growth of city life, it always remained a characteristic of

Aryan (^) culture that the greatness of (^) the city—^which was the

  • (^) Tod, Annals (^) of Rajast'han, (^) p. 492.

THE EPIC AGE

product of the vitality of the village—and its political^ influence

never restricted the independence of the latter or narrowed its

outlook upon life.

The increasing influence of the Brahman aristocracy began

to have very important consequences, both politically and

socially. For not only did the Brahmans, as experts in sacri-

ficial lore, obtain the respect due to religious teachers, but

they also challenged the supremacy of the Kshatriyas, the

political and military leaders, on the ground that the strict

discipline of mind and body which was a fundamental principle

of Aryan philosophy was as indispensable for success in war

and politics as it was for the spiritual development of those

who (^) sought divine truth. The Brahman university became

a school of arms and military tactics, diplomacy and political

science ; and just as Drona in the Mahabharata was the

Brahman instructor of the Pandava heroes in the use of the bow and other weapons of war, so the Brahman diplomatist and politician (^) became the chief among the ministers who

formed the royal council.

It must be admitted that, theoretically at least, there was

much force in the Brahman contention. The attempt to enforce

ethical considerations in the conduct of State policy, which

was the justification of the position of the Purohita at the

right hand of the War-lord, was the ground upon which the

Christian Church in Europe asserted its claim for temporal

power and privileges. In both cases the success or failure

of the attempt depended almost (^) as much upon the conscience

of the people as upon the integrity and sincerity of their rulers.

The Brahmans, however, as a class, never claimed for themselves

the prerogatives of the kingly office, but only special rights

as the king's philosopher and friend. The laws^ of Manu,^ a

code drawn up by and for the Brahmans,^ distinctly^ reserves

for Kshatriyas the power and position of sovereignty as defined

by Aryan tradition. Nevertheless the feeling of rivalry be-

tween the two sections of Aryan aristocracy became stronger

and stronger as their respective social positions and spheres of

influence became more clearly defined. The Kshatriyas were

THE EPIC AGE

kingdoms under a powerful central government. The sum- mary of the philosophy of the Upanishads, given as a divine

revelation by the guru of the Pandavas, Krishna, forms a

rehgious nucleus interpreting the spiritual meaning of the

fateful struggle, and numerous legends with a moral or

religious purpose and monologues expounding the principles

of Aryan polity are interwoven with the main plot of the

epic. The significance of the distinction (^) between the Ramayana

and the Mahabharata, that the former records the history

of the Surya-vamsa, the race of Surya, and the latter that of

the Chandra-vamsa, the race of Chandra, is worth considera-

tion. The conventional view is that of Indian court poets

and astrologers, that (^) Rama had an imaginary pedigree going

back to the Sun-god, Surya, and that the Pandavas and

Kauravas were reputed to be descendants of Chandra, the

Moon. There may be real history behind this poetic fancy if (^) the symbolism is rightly understood. The expression Surya-putra, 'the son of (^) Surya,' or (^) Chandra-putra, 'the son of Chandra,' when appUed to human beings, refers to their

spiritual and not their earthly father, or, in other words, to

their patron deity, or Ishta-devata (^) ; just as the Gangd-putras— an inferior class of Brahmans who now attend to the wants of pilgrims at Benares—are not sons of Ganga in the literal

sense, but her servants or devotees.

The Surya-vamsa, Rama's family, were worshippers of

Surya, while^ the Pandavas and Kauravas were worshippers

of Chandra. Surya was the chief deity of the Aryans in Baby-

lonia in the second millennium before Christ,^ so we may assume that the Aryan king of the Mitanni, Dushratta, who

ruled in Babylon at that time, was one of the Surya-vamsa.

It is not therefore surprising to find it recorded in the Rama-

yana that Dasharatha, of the royal house of Ajodhya, also

had Surya as his Ishta-devata. Vishnu-Surya was the patron

deity of the Kshatriyas, while Chandra- or Soma-worship

was a Brahmanical cult closely connected with that of Siva.

(^1) Hall's Ancient History (^) of the Near East, (^) p. 201.

ARYAN RULE IN INDIA

The distinction between the Surya-vamsa and Chandra-vamsa

of the Ramayana (^) and Mahabharata was therefore analogous

to that which divides the two main groups of Hinduism, the

Vaishnava and Saiva, in the present day.

It is not without significance that in the Mahabharata, Siva

is put forward as (^) the divine story-teller who records the history

of the Pandavas and Kauravas. The fact that Krishna, the

incarnation of Vishnu, is made their guru, or spiritual teacher,

suggests an attempt on the part of the pandits of a Vaishnava

court to unite the Surya-vamsa and Chandra-vamsa in a new

school representing a later development of Kshatriya doctrine ;

for the two schools were always intermingling and constantly

borrowing from each other.

The Ramayana is probably older than the Mahabharata as an epic, but the events recorded in it may have followed

those of the Great War. It is the first literary record of the

passing of the Aryans beyond the Vindhya Mountains, the

southern boundary of Aryavarta, and their penetration by

armed force into Southern India. According to the story the

leader of the expedition was Rama, a prince of Ajodhya, who,

like Krishna, is regarded as an incarnation of Vishnu. He,

and his devoted wife Sita, an ideal type of Indian womanhood,

were banished, like the Pandava brothers, by a court intrigue,

and went to a forest hermitage beyond the Vindhya Moimtains

on the banks of the Godavari, accompanied by Rama's faithful

companion, his half-brother lyakshman. There, during the absence of Rama on a hunting expedition, Sita was abducted by the barbarian king of Ceylon, Ravana, described as a magician of terrific strength and skill. (^) Rama thereupon roused

the Aryan clans, and, gathering under his standard a great force

of semi-civilised but brave aboriginal tribes of the South,

he crossed over the straits which separate Ceylon from the

mainland, stormed the demon-king's stronghold, (^) and, having

rescued Sita, came back in triumph to Ajodhya, where he

was crowned as king in his father's place.

It should^ be^ remembered^ that the two Indo-Aryan epics

belong to Kshatriya literature and record the prowess of the

ARYAN RULE IN INDIA

research in India has only recently begun to penetrate beneath

the surface of the ground. Another is the fact that the tropical

climate of India (^) is much more active than that of Europe in (^) obliterating the traces (^) of civilised life, while the tracts of

desert sand in Rajputana and elsewhere which might, as in

Egypt, preserve the remains of buried cities for an indefinite

period, have not yet been explored.

CHAPTER III

THE BUDDHA AS A STATESMAN AND

SOCIAL REFORMER

WE

come now out of that misty period, the Vedic and

Epic ages, in^ which^ chronological^ points^ are vaguely

fixed by millenniums and centuries instead (^) of by

years, to the sixth century before the Christian era, from which

time a more or less complete sequence of chronological data has

been (^) collected by the labours of Oriental scholars and archaeo- logists. (^) From the Brahmanical (^) point of view the advent of

the Buddha, about the year 563 B.C., was the starting-point

of the great heresy which obscured the divine light of Vedic

revelation, and hastened the fatal progress of Aryavarta along

the paths of unrighteousness, which will not be arrested

until at the end of the Kali age Vishnu's tenth avatar,

Kalkin, comes riding on a white horse, sword in hand, to

destroy iniquity and restore the divine rule of righteousness

and truth.

That Gautama Buddha disputed orthodox Brahmanical theories of the universe as the leader of a new reHgious sect was no new or startling event in Aryavarta. Aryan religion was already a synthesis of ideas, not a single^ dogma of belief. There was no subject more freely debated by Aryan (^) thinkers than the great problems of human existence (^) ; provided that

his theory conformed to accepted laws of logic and stood the

test of debate, anyone could obtain a hearing in the public

disputations which took place under the village council tree,

in the temple porch, or in the palace of the king, so that new

sects and schools of philosophy grew almost spontaneously

on Indian soil, though few survived the struggle for existence.

Nor was the Buddha philosophically an entirely original

THE BUDDHA ideal of purity^ and^ altruism^ set^ forth^ in^ the^ laws^ of^ Manu

and accepted^ as^ the^ guiding^ principle^ of^ Brahmanhood,^ or^ if

it had been possible to restrict the privileges of the order to

those who were fully qualified to exercise them, their exploita-

tion of the universal belief in the magical powers of the

mantram, whether that belief were justified^ or not, might

have been at the lowest reckoning^ harmless^ and^ at the highest

a strong incentive^ to the growth^ of^ moral^ and^ religious^ life

in the whole community. Even modern medical science, which

has generally detached itself entirely from religious dogmas,

has begun to revert to psychological remedies for the ills of

the flesh, and the Sanskrit mantram as a form of prayer might be as acceptable to God as any^ other^ if^ the^ spirit^ which dictated

it were truly religious. But the Brahmanical theory of the

mantram implied that it contained in itself a divine principle,

and the compelling power of the Deity Itself, though its use

by ignorant or ill-disposed persons would be ineffectual or disastrous to themselves. ''The rule^ of^ life^ which^ the^ Brahman

was presumed to follow was designed to prevent the abuse

of the power of the mantram, but so long as Brahmanhood

depended in the first instance entirely^ upon^ the^ accident of birth

it woiild obviously fail^ in^ its^ purpose,^ and^ the^ influence^ exercised

by unscrupiilous^ or^ ignorant^ priests^ was^ bound^ to^ encourage

superstition among the masses, and to become a hindrance

to civiUsation as well as a source of exaction and cruelty. "

'

Another instrument of tyranny and deception placed in the ]

hands of the Brahmans was the^ Aryan^ belief^ in^ the divine '•

power of sacrifice^^ which^ had^ come^ down^ from^ the^ earliest Vedic times. In the course of many centuries the performance of sacrificial rites had grown into a fine art, which the Brahman experts were not slow to use for their personal advantage,

for the efficacy of the sacrifice was^ said^ to^ depend^ largely^ upon

the hberality of the indispensable^ dakshina,^ or^ reward,^ bestowed

upon the officiating priests and their servants. I^ike the

mantram, the application of Vedic sacrificial ritual extended

to every concern of public and private life, great and small.

The purity and divine power of the Brahman was said to

ARYAN RULE IN INDIA

be implicit in the fact that sacrificial rites were performed for

his benefit from the time of conception in his mother's womb

until his body was consigned to the bosom of holy Ganga or

consumed in the funeral (^) pyre. And not only did public

sacrifices and the worship of tribal deities involve a vast

expenditure of State revenues, but the household rites for

which the services of Brahmans were generally necessary grew

more and more numerous and complicated. (^) Some of the great

State ceremonies, such as the king's consecration and the

horse sacrifice performed to secure victory and the welfare

of the kingdom, absorbed the (^) whole attention of the court functionaries for over a year, required the attendance of

thousands of Brahmans and a corresponding bountiful dis-

tribution of largesse, besides inordinate feasting and wholesale

slaughter of animals.

The due fulfilment of domestic sacrificial rites was equally

onerous for^ the Aryan^ householder.^ Besides the ordinary

daily rites at which the householder himself presided there

were endless sacrificial^ ceremonies^ which required the attend-

ance of Brahman experts. There were sacrifices for obtaining

male offspring ; birth sacrifices which had to be repeated

every month ; sacrifices of feeding,^ naming, piercing the ears,

shaving the beard, and investiture with the sacred thread

;

and numerous others connected with ordinary daily events

or with marriage and death ceremonies. The indiscriminate

slaughter of animals^ and^ the^ free^ indulgence^ in^ the^ intoxicating

juice of the soma plant associated with Vedic ritual involved

the tacit recognition by the Aryan priesthood of many bloody

and obscene orgies of^ the^ uncivilised^ non-Aryan^ tribes, in which

human victims were frequently sacrificed. Another superstition—^though not by any means the exclu- sive property of the Brahman^ class—^which the Buddha came to attack^ was^ the^ practice^ of^ tapas,^ or^ self-torture,^ by which it was believed that both gods and men acquired spiritual insight and command^ over the forces of nature. Sitting

between five fires,^ or^ upon^ an^ ant-heap^ in^ the forest, standing

Upon one^ leg^ and^ holding^ an^ arm^ above the head until the