had also distinctive animals on them such as a lion, a
monkey and so on. The colour of the Dhvaja also seems
to have been distinctive in each royal family-distinctions
-which are still observed.
The royal umbrella was always of the white colour.
The emblems of royalty as enumerated in a Sloka of the
Bhagavata Purana were (1) Chamara, (2) Vyajana, (fan)
(3) Sankha, (4) White Umbrella, (5) Crown, (6) Sinhasana and
(7) Sayyana or Couch. These things those who were not
kings were not allowed to have (Bhagavata X, 26-61).
» 5^ is given in dictionaries as a wild animal —.entioned in the Atharvaveda.
NOTE— I.
System of Valabhi Administration A. D. 500-TOO.
(We give below an extract from Bombay Gazatteer, History of Gujarat p. 81-8J
detailing Valabhi administration between 500-700 A.D. with our observations )
The Valabhi grants supply information regarding the leading office,
bearers in revenue, police and village administrators whose names
generally occur in the following order: —
1 Ayuktaka ; ") . . ^ , .,
f meaning appointed, appearently any supperior
2 Viniynktaka:) o^^^^'"-
3 Drunghika: apparently an officer in charge of a town as
Drangha means a town.
4 Mdhattara or Ser.ior: has the derivative meaning high in rank*
Mhatara, the Marathi for an old man is the same word. In the
Valabhi plates Mahattara seems to be generally used to mean
accredited head-man of a village, head man recognised both by
the people of the village and by the government.
5 Chatahhata: i. e. Bhatas or sepoys for Chatas or rouges,* police
mounted or on foot, represent the modern police Jamadars
Havaldars and constables. Kumarapala Charita mentions that
Chatabhatas were sent by Siddharaja to apprehend the fugitive
Kumarapala. One plate records the grant of a village ' unen-
terable by Chatabhatas.'
6 Dhruva: fixed or permanent, is the hereditary officer in charge
of the records and accounts of a village, Talathi or Kulkarni
of the modern times. One of the chief duties of the Dhruva was
to see that revenue farmers did not take more than the royal
share. The name is still in use in Cutch where village accoun-
tants are called Dhru or Dhruva. Dhru is alSo a common
surname among Nagar Brahmins and Modh and other Vanias
in Cutch, Gujarat and Kathiawad.
7 Kd/nkaranika: means the chief judicial magistrate or judge
of a place.
8 Dandapasika : literally holding the fetters or noose of punish-
ment, is used both of the head of the police officer or of the
hangman or executioner.
9 Chauroddharanika: the catcher of thieves. Of the two Indian
ways of catching thieves, one of setting a thief to catch a thi&^
• Our view is that chata is a policeman and bhata is a soldier see above.
SYSTEM OF VALABHI ADMINISTRATION A. D. 500-700 157
the other of pagi or tracking system ; the second answers well
in sandy Gujarat and Kathiawad whero the tracker or pagi is
one of the Barabalute or regular village servants.
10 Rajasthaniya: the foreign secretary, the officer who had to do
with other states and kingdoms or Rajasthanas. Some authori-
ties take Rajasthaniya to mean viceroy. ( We look upon him as.
Govt. District officer ).
11 Amatya: Minister and sometimes counciller, is generally
coupled with Kumara or prince. (Kumaramatya is Amatya for
princes and differs from Rajamatya )
12 Anutpannadanasamudgrahaka: the arrears gatherer.
13 S' aulkika : the superintendent of tolls or customs.
14 B/iof/ika: or Bhogoddharanika : the collector of the Bhoga i. e.
the state share of the land produce taken in kind, as a rule,,
one sixth. The term Bhoga is still in use in Kathiawad for the
share usually }.^th which land-holders receive from land cultivat-
ing tenants.
15 Vartmapala: thejroad watch were often mounted and stationed
in Thanas or small road side shades.
l
villages.
17 Vishayapati : Axyis'ion lord, probably corresponded to the modern
subha ( rather mamladar )
18 Biishtrapati : the head of a district.
19 Gramakata: the village headman.
Territorial Divisions
The plates show traces of 4 territorial divisions.
1 Vishaya the largest corresponding to the modern administra'
tive division.
2 Ahara or Aharani that is coUectorate ( ahar, collection )
corresponding to the modern district or zillah.
3 Pathaka, of the road, a subdivision, a place named and its
surroundings.
4 Sthali : a petty division of a place without surroundings.
The district of Kaira and the province of Katbiawad to which tlie
Valabhi grants chiefly refer appear to have had separate systems
of land assessment, Kaira by yield, Kathiawad by area. Under the
Kathiawad system the measurement was by the padavarta literally the
space between one foot and the other that is ihe modern Eadam or
158 HARSHA AND HIS TIMES
pace. The pace used in measuring land seems to have differed from
the ordinary pace as most of the Kathiawad grants mention the
bhupadavarta or land pace. The Kaira system of assessment was by
yield, the unit being pitaka or basketful, the grants describing fields as
capable of growing so many baskets of rice or barley, (or as requiring so
many baskets of seed.) As the grants always specify the Kaira basket
a similar system with a diCfersnt-sized basket seems to have been in
use in other parts of the country. Another detail 'which the plates
preserve is that each tield had its name called after a guardian or some
tree or plant. Among tield names are Kotilaka, Atimenakedara, Khan-
dakedara, Gurjarakshetra, Bhimakshetra. ".
(In the above Ohauroadharanika is a higher police officer than the
mere pagi. For the word occurs in nothern grants also. Again
Rajasthaniya cartainly means the representative of the king in the
district or tehsil and has nothing to do with Rajasthan a modern word
for state. This word occurs in the Mandsaur inscription also as already
Stat ed.and there stands for the suba or viceroy. By Vishaya I would
takethe modern tehsil and Vishayapati, Tehsildar and not suba who
would be Rashtrapati more properly.
It may be added that nearly the same names were used in nothern
India as we have shown in our extact from the Deo-Barnak inscription
already given.)
2.— 7U LAKHS RATTAPADI.
S. Krishnaswarai Aiyangar in his Ancient History of India gives
discrepant explanations of this figure. In a foot-note at page 40, he
says that this figure refers either to the revenue or the number of
villages. In a footnote at page 78 explaining Gangavadi 96000, Nolara-
bavadi 36000 and Banavasi 12000 he says that these figures refer either
to the revenue or the value of the produce, and refers to the opinion o^
Mr. Rice that they indicate the former and also to the opinion of
Dr. Fleet that they refer to the number of townships in spite of the
apparant exaggeration. Contrary to his previous note Mr.
Aiyangar adds that this cannot be from the existing practice
and that it must be either revenue or income or thirdly the
quantity of seed required. Now these figures are indeed a riddle, but
they cannot apparently stand for the number of villages which for
Maharashtra's Rattapadi has been expressly stated to be 99000. The
proportion of 99000 to 750,000 is approximately 7' a. This cannot be
either the revenue or the amount of produce nor the number of ploughs
as the average of ploughs for a village is about 25. Yet the agricultural
statistics of India for 1904 gives the number of ploughs for the^Bombay
Presidency as 9,34.031. The extent of the later Chalukya Empire may
be taken a little less and the number 7}<^ lakhs may even stand for
7i
ploughs. We shall, however, leave the question undecided and refer tu it
again hereafter. The word saptardha laksha as applied to Rattaparti
cannot be referred to the number of villages even in the whole portion of
India to the south of the Narmada. For even the whole of India does
not contain at present more than 730, 806 villages. (Of course we are
here arguing on the supposition that the number of villages in India or
in any part of it cannot vary far from the number of villages existing
in the 7tb century A. D., (such variation at best not exceeding 10 or 12
per cent).The number of villages to the south of the Narmada at present
is approximately. Bombay Presidency 56,593 Madras Presidency 59858,
Hydrabad Stale 20,089, Mysore 17,012, total 1,33,552. But as a matter
of fact Rattapadi probably includes only Bombay Presidency two divi-
sions, Berar, Nagpur, Hydrabad and a part of Mysore being the extent
of the territory subject to the Chalukyas. The number of villages given
for this tract in the Aihole inscription viz. 99,000 is approximately correct.
Previously the Satavahana kingdom of Paithana extended over nearly the •
same territory. And this explains why the word saptardha laksha occurs
in a Bana inscription also* (Ind. Ant. XV, 195) of about 420 A. D. The
word may thus be of old standing even and includes the Andhra territory
also. Even in Bana's time the word Dakshinapatha meant the Deccan
exclusive, of South India that is the Deccan plateau down to the Malaya
mountain. The following extract from H.C.p. 288 is geographically interest-
ing Trirrrt"^: fqrxj^^q ^c=rf%'snT: 5IT^: TlT^nF^^r: W^Ti ?r^fS!TITOl ^imn^^'^im^K
=?7r^rT»TTrfrfri7
this passage corresponds with the above described territory and
does not include South India or India south of the Malaya. This
country is always called ?rrTr^^T or 7'^ lakh territory in inscriptions, a
number which cannot represent villiages nor ploughs as we have
already stated.
What does it then represent ? That is almost a riddle. Can it be
the amount of land produce paid as government share ? This question
it is very diflScult to answer. The amount then collected was
in kind and not in coin as now. Moreover the government share then
was not what it is now, though I think that the British Government
does not now take much more than the i/fltli traditional revenue demand
in India. Prices moreover have largely changed and we cannot argue
from the revenue in money now derived. Yet the produce of land has
not much varied, agriculture-still remaining primitive, nor the number of
villages in the same tract of the country. Hence an estimate may be
made of the share of government then realised in kind. Taking the
cultivable average of a village as 1000 acres and the produce of one
acre as 10 raaunds we may take the government share of one village's
* '^rpa^cY^g^r?^ *^^^ jj mffqif^ ?im'%^rm^rma' : &c.
160 HARSHA AXD HIS TIMES
produce — . maunds. Here another difficulty intervenes. The pre-
sent measures of capacity or weight have been introduced since Maho-
medan tinoes ; the ser, the maund. the Khandi ?re all Mahomedan. The
old measures were Prastha, Adhaka and Drona for measures of capacity
and also weight. To what an Adhaka or Droiias comes as compared with
the maund or khandi, cannot possibly be determined with any pretence
of exactness. The Manu Smriti gives a Drona of corn as a month's
sustenance wage of a labourer â– -Jr=^T3T'Ji"=^ iT;r^^: which at present is
taken to be 1^4 maund. Placing these data before the curious reader, we
remain content and leave this subject unfinished.
BOOK II
THE FIRST HINDU KINGDOMS
( Circa 650-800 A. D.)
CHAPTER I
REVOLUTION IN SIND
( The following arcount is based on Chacha-nama a Persian trans
lation of an Arabic account of the 12th century A. D. The account is
reliable in many ways, being based on contemporary records, but the
dates are usually misgiven, even the conquest of Sind by the Arabs
being placed before 712 A. D. by some years. We have tried to give our
estimate of the dates by reference to Hiuen Tsang's account who
personally visited Sind in 641 A. D. and who mentions that the king
there was a Sudra and not a Brahmin. There are certain legendary
stories especially of astrologers' predictions which we omit as usually
added afterwards in popular tradition almost all over the ancient world
With these corrections; Chacha-nama may well be followed and it
atfords us interesting materials for many historical deductions ).
At the time of Marsha's death Sind was ruled, as we
have already noted, by a Sudra king named SahasI of the
Maurya clan a branch of which ruled at Chitor in Raj-
putana. Sahasl's capital was Alor a'town situated on the
left bank of the Indus, now in ruins, the river also having
changed its course here. Subject to Sahasi were three or
four smaller kingdoms ruled by Jat and Kshatriya princes
the chief two being the Lohana prince of Brahmanabad
and the Rajput prince of Siwistan. What Brahmanabad,
which is of course an Arabic name, was in ancient Indian
geography it is difficult to determine. But it was a town to
the south of Alor and some-where near Hydrabad* and
' In Alexander's time there was a city of the Brahmins which he conquered and
where he killed many Brahn-.ins for instigating its revolt. Hermatalia is the supposed
name of it which is usually taken to be Erahmana-sthala of nrhich Brahmanabad would
be the Arabic translation (see Alexander's invasion by McCrindle).
21
162 THE FIRST HINDU KINGDOMS
its sway extended upto Debal a town on the sea- coast
near modern Karachi. Siwistan seems to be nothing more
than thf country of the Sibis a noted Kshatriya clan in
the Mahabharata acd even in Alexander's time. The Sibis
had a principality to the west of the Indus and it was
from ancient times subject to Sind. For even in the
Mahabharata Jayadratha king of Sind, is said to be lord of
Sind, Sauvira, and Sibi (Vana P. ch. 267) and is accom
panied by the princes of the two latter when he goes by
way of the Kamyaka forest on his expedition to the Salva
country. (Vana P. Ch. 26-5). These three are undoubtedly
Alor, Brahmanabad, and Siwistan of the Chacha-nama.
Sind had subject chiefships in the north also towards the
Panjab and this extensive country was ruled by Sahasi
with whose account the story of the Chacha-nama begir.s.
The whole country was thoroughly Buddhistic both the
ruling king and the subordinate princes and the people
generally being Buddhists even according to Hiuen
Tsang. The country appears to have been, though nomi-
nally only, subject to the Emperor Harsha of Kanauj.
Some time about 6-50 A.D. (so it may approximately be
taken) Sahasi fell ill and died without issue. And his
kingdom was seized by Sahasi's minister Chacha, a Brah-
min, and an ambitiou'?, energetic and unscrupulous man-
The Chacha-nama relates that he did so with the assist-
ance, nay, by the instigation of Sahasi's queen who had
fallen in love with him. They kept the death of the king
a secret, enticed the turbulant nobles and relatives of the
king who were likely to oppose them to the palace and
imprisoned them. Then as by an order of the sick king, the
government was publicly entrusted to Chacha whose
authority was already well established. Chacha made
many nobles his partisans by giving them estates of the
imprisoned Sardars and when he had a strong party in his
favour, he anncunced the king's death and his own
assumption of the crown. He strengthened his position
further by marrying the guilty queen of Sahasi and thus es-
tablished his own dynasty in the kingdom on a firm basis.
REVOLUTION IN SIND 163
Whatever the truth of the story of the queen's love, the
usurpation by the minister Chacha is not a strange e r
improbable event. Similar events in ancient and modeix
Indian history can be quoted, for example the usurpation of
the Pataliputra empire of the Sungas by their minister the
Kaiiva or the supplanting of the last Bahmani king of
Bedar by his minister Kasim Bereed. Nor is Chacha"s
marrying the queen an unreliable incident. The wives and
concubines of deceased or deposed kings have usually been
appropriated by usurpers even in Indian history as in
Denmark of Shakespear's Hamlet. We may therefore well
believe the story of Chacha's usurpation given in the
Chacha-nama though the queen's part in the affair may be
set aside as improbable.
The usurpation by a minister is not an improbable
«vent but was it a religious revolution ? We shall pre-
sently see. Chacha was a singularly fortunate usurper. He
defeated the king of Chitor who was, as we have said, a
relative of Sahasi and presumably a Buddhist and who
came to lay claim to the crown and to dethrone the usurp-
ing minister. Chacha thus confirmed further strengthened
his position and reputation by conquering the northern
subject states of Sind and taking Multan made his
boundary conterminous with Kashmir, so the Chacha-nama
relates, in the east.
When Chacha had also conquered the northern states of
Iskania and Babia \j'ith the eastern states of Multan and
Karur, he turned his arms towards the west, crossed the
river Mekran (Arabic for the Indus) and conquered Mattah
the king of Siwistan or the country of the Siwis (Sibisj.
He then finally turned towards the south (probably the.
Arab historian had the story of Chacha related to him by
some native reporter who has given it the form of a Di^jfvi-
jaya by Chacha) and called upon Agham Lohana the
powerful king of Brahmanabad to submit. But the latter
decided to oppose Chacha and a battle was fought outside
the town in vv^hich Agham was defeated. He retired into
the town to which Chacha laid siege. The besieged Agham
164 THE FIRST HINDU KINGDOMS
who was a Buddhist sent for aid to the ruler of Kananj the
then capital of Hindustan but before a reply could be re-
ceived Agham died. His young son submitted to the fortunate
Chacha who then entered the city and allowed the un-
molested inhabitants to remain in the town as before,
subject to himself.
The deplorable state of Buddhism of this time can be
gathered from the story of the Samani (Sramana) recluse
of the Navavihara related in the Ctiacha-nama. Like
Hinduism Buddhism had drifted by this time from the
highest philosophy into the grossest superstition and idola-
try. This monk was supposed to be a great sorcerer of
wonderful powers and Chacha was told that he had assis-
ted Agham with his powers and enabled him to prolong the
siege for more than a year, Chacha resolved to have him
killed by his swordsmen and went to see him. He was
fashioning clay idols of Buddha with his own hand. He
did not at first notice the all-powerful king Chacha who
for a time stood by him. Having finished his work
of idol-making the Samani noticed the king and
asked him to sit down offering him a grass mat. Cha-
ciia sat and eventually left, not only without having him
killed but after promising to help him in repairing the
Navavihara. When asked why he had changed his mind
Chacha said he saw a devil hovering above himself ready to
pounce upon him! Such were the strange superstitious be-
liefs of the day about the necromancy of Buddhist monks.
But though Chacha spared the Samani, he was a big-
goted Hindu and his usurpation appears to have been actu-
ated by religious motives also. The Chacha-nama relates
that Chacha while at Brahmanabad made certain rules by
which he degraded the turbulent Lohanas and Jats in
social position. He made it a rule that they should not
carry swords except on occasions of urgent necessity, that
they should not wear silken cloth, that they should use
scarfs of black or red colour, that they should ride horses
without saddle, that they must walk about bare-headed
and bare-footed, that they must always, when they went
REVOLUTION IN SIND 165
out, have with them dogs to distinguish them and that
they should supply firewood to the ruler of Brahmanabad,
serve as guides and spies, and be trustworthy and honest.
The story is cartainly well founded that Chacha made
these rules. They were enforced during his son's time
also and even in the time of the Arabs who conquered Sind,
for the Chacha-nama relates that Mohomed Kasim en-
forced the same conditions. In fact some of these restric-
tions are still observed. Many tribes of Jats go about
bare-headed still. Even in Rajput times, the Jats were
not allowed to cover their heads with turbans or to wear
red clothes, or to put a crown on the head of their bride-
groom, or to put a nath in their women's nose. " The
Ghatwals obtained success over the Rajputs and removed
the obnoxious provisions. They thus are called Malik and
wear red. turbans." (Ibbetson's caste in the Panjab p. 130.)
It does not appear that these restrictions were imposed
solely because the Jats and Lohanas vt^ere troublesome and
riotous and committed robberies on the roads as perhaps
it might at first sight appear. For the restrictions given
above explain at once the meaning of the whole story if
this prohibition. It seems that the Jats and the Lohanas
claimed to be Khhatriyas and to have all their privileges,
viz. wearing the sword, riding a horse, having a red turban
while the orthodox Hindu population denied thest:
claims. Ir. is easy to surmise, that during the preceding
period of Buddhistic supremacy, many castes had thrown
away Vedic practices and rites and had thus forfeited their
title to be treated as Dvijas or Aryans. Now we have al-
ready seen that the Jats were Vaisyas of Vedic times,
and their occupation was agriculture which was not then
exclusively the occupation of the Sudras. The Lohanas
appear to have been originally Kshatriyas, but they had
during Buddhistic times become peaceful traders. Yet both
must have kept up Kshatriya pretensions as every one na-
turally desires to raise himself up in social position. As
Hinduism now gathered strength, Hindu society began to
confirm each caste in the status which it held by its
166 THE FIRST HINDU KINGDOMS
practices. The Jats who were agriculturists and who
had lost entire touch with Vedic rites, became Sudras
in public estimation and were confirmed in that
pofc-ition and the Lohanas who now followed trade the
profession of Vaisyas became Vaisyas in the Hindu view
and were therefore confined to that status. Both appear
to have practised widow marriage which was repugnant
to the orthodox Hindu and the rigid Kshatriyas who did
not practise it and this was a further reason in the con-
firmation of Lohanas as Vaisyas and the Jats as Sudras.
These two races have still kept up their martial instinct
but the historian cannot but observe that the gathering of
strength by Hindu orthodoxy led to the demartializing of
certain races which had an unfvourable influence on the
future course of events.
Strangely enough in spite of this order Chach'a married
tne widow of Agham Lohana much in the same way
as he had married the widow of Sahasi for political reasons.
Tiie power of Chacha was now firmly established and he
ruled Sind successfully for several years. When he died
we cannot well determine. Sind was conquered by the
Arabs in 712 A. D. and Dahar the successor of Chacha the
Brahmin king of Sind, so the Chacha-nama relates, had
ruled 33 years. It may be said therefore that Dahar came
to the throne in 679 A. D If we take Chandra, Chacha's
brother between Chacha and Dahar for 7 years as the
Chacha-nama relates, Chacha may be taken to have died
in 672 A. D. after a rule of about 22 years.
As Chacha left sons behind him it does not seem
probable that Chandra ruled for 7 years after Chacha as
the Chacha-nama states. Perhaps Dahar was a minor and
hence Chandra's rule for a brief period. Chandra is said
to have become a monK or Buddhist. Probably the Bud-
dhists were yet powerful in Brahmanabad where he resi-
ded. After him or when Dahar came to majority Dahar
became the king in 679 A.D. Dahar certainly ruled in
Alor the capital of Sind and Brahamanal)ad the subordi
nate kingdom was in charge of Daharsia, Dahar's brother
REVOLUTION IN SIND 167
(it is probably a mistake that the latter is supposed to be
an elder brother). There was some rivalry or dispute
between them and their quarrel about the marriage of Bai
their sister and the stories of the sagacity of Budhiman
minister of Dahar in saving him from the attempts on his
life by Daharsia we omit as rathar unhistorical. What we
are certain of is that Dahar was a strong ruler ^ and his
brother and his kinsmen including sons of Chandra
were in charge of subordinate provinces or states.
Whether Dahar was a son of Chacha by Sahasi's
widow as the Chacha-nama states can not definetely be
determined. Dahar, Daharsia and Bai are said in
the Chacha-nama to be her children, but the same work
states further on that Bai was Chacha's daughter by a Jat
woman. It seems probable that Chacha as usual with
Indian kings had several wives, Brahmin, Kshatriya, Jat or