Kings And Kingdoms (Bharat History Series Political Section: Part I) An Old and Rare Book

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It is a well known fact that there are no authentic documents which enable the historian to write a continuous history of India from the days of the Harappan Civilization upto 1800 A.D. Until the great cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro were dis- covered in 1921-22, the British historians thought the history of India began with the invasion of Alexander. Their main sources of Indian history for the post-Asoka period were the accounts of Greek, Chinese, Italian and Central Asian travellers besides the versions of Muslim chroniclers who revelled in giving an exaggerated account of the victories of their employers, the destruction of cities and temples and the massacre of population as in the case of Vijayanagar. There were a few honourable exceptions to this category of Muslim chroniclers who gave actual facts. Indians are often accused of a lack of historical sense. which is not entirely true. Besides inscriptions of Asoka, thousands of other inscriptions put up by Hindu rulers describing their victories and the grants made by them to religious institutions and learned men and referring to building of temples, forts and irrigation tanks are a veritable source of history throwing light on the political, social, economic and religious condition of the times. Most of them are accurately dated also and much depends upon the historian who makes. use of them. A variety of subjects ranging from land revenue system, military affairs, election to local assemblies and even musical notations is dealt with in the copperplate grants and stone inscriptions. It must, however, be admitted that for the period before Asoka there is a great dearth of authentic records.

The discovery of Indus valley cities and subsequent explorations in Sind, Punjab, Baluchistan and North West Frontier Province of undivided India highlighted the fact that the Harappan Civilization was more advanced in some respects than the contemporary Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations. The excavation at the Harappan port of Lothal in 1954 not only emphasized the little known maritime aspect of the civilization but also removed certain misconceptions regarding its origin and end. The Harappan Civilization did not die a sudden death in 1900 B.C. as hitherto believed but survived for 300 years more in Gujarat and elsewhere.

It is again at Lothal that the real purpose of construction of brick platforms and peripheral walls became known as anti-flood devices. Similar constructions at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro were however interpreted earlier by Sir Mortimer Wheeler as defences against the invading barbaric Aryan tribes who were said to be unsympathetic to civilization. Stuart Piggot gave a colourful account of the event by describing how the massacre of the population of Mohenjo-daro, not excluding children, took place. Wheeler identified the 'Cemetery H culture of Harappa with that of the Aryans and the preceding culture of 'Cemetery R 37' with that of the non-Aryans, keeping In view the allegorical references in the Rigveda to the destruction of 'Pur' (fortified towns) by Indra, the leader of the Aryans.

Recent researches at Harappa as well as Mohenjo-daro have proved beyond doubt that no such invasion ever took place and even if an invasion is assumed the invaded were not present when the so called invaders came to Harappa. So far as Mohenjo-daro is concerned. Dales has pointed out that the few skeletons with cut marks which were interpreted as indicative of violent attack do not belong to the latest phase. Invasion cannot, therefore, be the cause of desertion of the city. The real cause of destruction of Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Chanhu-daro and Lothal was a natural calamity such as flood. The simultaneous destruction of Kalibangan in Rajasthan, Ropar in Punjab and Banawali in Haryana is due to changes In the course of the Sarasvati (Ghaggar)-Yumuna drainage system partly accounting for dessication of the Sindhu- Sarasvati region.

Bharatiya Itihasa Sankalana Yojana is a project of Sri Baba saheb Apte Sharika Samiti, Nagpur, founded in K.Ε. 5075 (A.D. 1973), to commemorate the memory of late Sri U.K. Apte alias Babasaheb Apte. Born in K.E. 5005 (A.D. 1903), Sri. Babasaheb led a life of strict celibacy all through in order to devote all his energies to the cause of the nation. In K.Ε. 5028 (A.D. 1926), he came in contact with Dr. K.B. Hedgewar, the founder of Rashtriya Swayamsevaka Sangh. Under his inspiration, he became a pracharaka (full time organiser) of R.S.S. in K.E. 5033 (A.D. 1931) and continued as one till his death in K.E. 5074 (A.D. 1972). He was an ardent scholar of history and deplored the non-presentation of our national history in its entirety, covering all spheres of national life and all parts of our country. Hence this Yojana has decided to collect the historical data concerning all walks of life for all districts of Bharat and at least from the beginning of Kali Era. which is in its 5091st year in July 1989.

Sri Babasaheb had experienced that some scholars were detracted from the path of writing proper history of Bharat because of some thought processes planted by the Britishers. They perpetrated the myth that India was a land of warring tribes before the advent of the Britishers, who alone, for the first time, united all of them under one state, and only there after, it could develop into a nation. Thus the grand old Bharatiya nation became a 'nation in the making.

The land of Bharata has become free from the British domination but the domination on the thought plane continues today even after more than forty years of independence. Due to the absence of correct knowledge about oneness of this nation, the fissiparous and divisive tendenies are increasing day by day. It is necessary that the new generation should know the long and glorious history of this nation; how it subdued notorious global marauders and survived not only the man- made but the natural devastations also. Our students should learn about the creative capacity of our culture in developing happiness in every individual as well as in the society. Towards this end the B.I.S. Yojana has decided to collect such data to facilitate the writing of proper history.

The present book is the first in the 'Bharat History Series', one of the many undertakings of the B.I.S. Yojana. The long duration of the life of this nation is divided into three perlods. The first period is the one preceding the Mahabharata War, the second one is from the end of the Mahabharata War upto the end of the Guptas and the third one from the end of the Guptas upto K.Ε. 5052 (A.D. 1950), when India accepted the new constitution. All subjects spanning the human life are grouped into three sections: cultural, secular and political. Each section is divided into a number of parts. In this book is described the history of "Kings and Kingdoms" which is one part of the political section dealing with all the three periods Efforts for publishing similar books regarding all parts of the three sections are on, with the help and co-operation of able scholars.

This book is the English translation of the original Hindi written by Sriram Sathe and published by Sri Babasaheb Apte Smaraka Samiti, Nagpur, We are thankful to both of them for permitting us to publish the English translation. Sri V.S. Murthy of Hyderabad and Ku. Manjula of Bangalore took great pains to translate the book in lucid English. We express our thanks to them. We are grateful to Dr. S.R. Rao, emeritus scientist of the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, for sparing his precious time to give this valuable Foreword after going in detail through the book.

There are a number of well-wishers and sympathisers. of B.I.S. Yojana who have helped in many ways. They have typed, they have corrected the press copy done the proof reading etc. We are thankful to them.

Bharat Graphics, Madras, have not only done the printing but also helped in the production of this book by laying out the cover page, getting it drawn up by the artist and getting ready the maps. Our thanks are due to them also.