India is known for the continuity of its age-old culture and it can be seen in various traditions and religious practices even in present time in-spite of its geographical diversity and natural barriers between various regions. An underlying cultural unity is the true strength of this old land which is called Bharat or India. A brief survey of its history right from the Paleolithic times testifies it The earliest period of human history is known as stone age and Bharat provides the evidence of all stages because of its favourable ecology. .The various kind of stone- tools, which have been recovered from the different geographical regions, prove that there is a distinct kind of uniformity between the type of tools with certain regional variations. This geographical diversity paved the way of an unending supply of material from which to fashion household items like bamboo baskets, pottery ,textile, jewellery and much more. It is in this setting of geographical diversify, the history of Bharat begins. During the course of time with the development of agriculture the settled village life came into existence on the banks of rivers and any kind of other water bodies.
The development of new techniques of agriculture ,in which the discovery of metals played a vital role, various village communities could able to produce surplus quantity of grains ,cereals and other items .This surplus production accelerated the path of urbanization. The discovery of Copper changed the entire process of cultural development. Surplus agriculture produce and the availability of Copper could develop a very different kind of culture on the banks of Indus river in the northwestern part of India called it Indus Valley Culture but now it is known as Harappa Culture. After a continuous exploration and excavation the entire approach has changed towards the Indus Valley Culture because now a large number of settlement of this culture have been found on the bank of Saraswati river and even in the Runn of Kutch. It is very astonishing though this Sindhu-Saraswati culture, which has been spread on a large area which was more than the civilization of Egypt and Mesopotamia, has uniformity in various aspects of urbanized culture, like town-planning, religion and rituals, cooking habits and. Crafts etc( Lal,B.B.2008,pp.5-43)Thus, It can be presumed that the uniform pattern of town planning and certain other common features of Harappa or Sindhu- Saraswati Culture developed the notion of Nation in entire subcontinent.
After the revelation of the genetic study of the DNA ,which had been recovered from Rakhigari, it has almost established that the since ancient times India has two types of ancestries these are called Ancestral South Indians and Ancestral North Indians ASI and ANI both have high proportion of Indus Valley Cline. This number could be range 30 to 60% for the ASI and 70%ANI.Conclusively it can be said that natives of India developed the Indus Valley or Sindhu-Saraswati Culture(Steppe Migration to India was between 3500-4000 years Ago, David Reich ,Economic Times (On line),October,12,2019)
After the decline of Sindhu-Saradwati culture, a number of Chalcolithic Cultures emerged in various parts of country. The nature of these cultures was rural because of the aridity and unfavourable environment. Chakrabarti” it is the emergence and consolidation of village-farming communities area by area which gives this period it’s tremendous character and significance .The period is one of the most significant ones in Indian history because this seems to be the period in which much of the base of modern village India was laid. Infect ,it is with reference to modern rural India that the period assumes it’s great character :the same types of regional village houses and regional crop pattern ,the same dependence on cattle ,same locations the persistence of much of the old craft activities ,the consolidation of the major lines of movements along which the raw material and finished goods were traded and exchanged and perhaps the same framework of ritual behavior”(Chakravarti.Dilip.k,2001,p.260).Though yet we do not have any written evidence of this period but the uniformity in various activities of the natives confirm that the Bharat had been developing like a nation in its way .
After a brief description of Sindhu-Saraswati and various Chalcolithic cultures, I come to the Vedic Culture. The antiquity and the nature of this culture has attracted number of indigenous and western scholars. It is also one of the most debatable subject but now various confusions regarding its origin and it’s antiquity has resolved. Now a good number of scholars accept that Rigved was decidedly earlier than 2000BCE and may be placed anywhere in the 3rd millennium BCE On the basis of Rigved hymns B.B. Lal has clearly proved that the from the upper Ganga-Yamuna doab on the east to the Indus and it’s western tributaries on the west was occupied by the Rigvedic people .It is enough to certify that the Harappans were not different than the Harappans and the Vedic people were not nomad but had regular settlements which were even fortified(Lal,B.B.2008,pp115-126) The latest DNA studies of the human skeletons, which had been recovered during the Rakhigari excavation, forcefully testify that the Vedic people were very much indigenous with certain characteristics of their Iranian counterparts.
Vedas are rich source to understand the society of ancient India They provide the information about the each and every aspect of life whether it is metaphysical or worldly .Vedas provide very important clues with regard to the state, nation and religion etc and their thoughts are very enlightening and resolves a number of confusions .
Before going into the details of the concept of Rashtra in India, a brief description of the concept of Nation in western world also requires. The word Nation came from the old french word ‘Nacion’-meaning birth(place of origin) which in turn originates from lain word’ Natio’ literally means birth. Thus according to the European view ,A nation consists of a distinct population of people that are bound together by a common culture, history and traditions who are typically concentrated within a specific geographic region.
The root of राष्ट्र is राज् and after adding suffix ष्ट्रन the word राष्ट्र comes into existence. The term राष्ट्र is found frequently in the Vedic Samhita .It was supposed to be an important factor of the social life in the Vedic era to think about the राष्ट्र. According to Vedic texts the राष्ट्र is derived from the rootराज्, the राष्ट्र becomes an enlightening and spiritual geo-cultural unit It is said that the sacrificial oblations had created राष्ट्र. The oblations satisfied god’s and they bestowed राष्ट्र to the people (RV 10/174/1).Besides, the term राष्ट्र has also been frequently in AthervaVed also(AV12/1/8 but Sayanacharya has taken the term in the sense of a Kingdom ,Subjects ,State or Des and so on. In long course of its journey, the term राष्ट्र got other meanings also. Some later literatures define राष्ट्र as an important organ of a state. These are as follows:
**A master or a King ,** Minister,**Friends,**Account of Kosa,**Rashtra,**Fort and Military(Achrya,S.,Nation and Nationalism in the Vedic Literature-A Study,Gauhati University ,Assam ,2000,pp 1 to 25,an unpublished thesis).In a number of places Rigved referred राष्ट्र.In tenth book of Rigged the king is asked to uphold राष्ट्र(RV X.173,1-2)R S Sharma has quoted that the term राष्ट्र is however mentioned even in earlier portions also(RV,VI,,ii,223,Sharma R. S, 2018,pp.188,197,200).Besides ,the Aitereya Brahman and Satpatha Brahman describe the term राष्ट्रगोप, राष्ट्रभृत also. Both these terms have been used as upholder of the kingdom and protector of the kingdom. Yajurved (22.22) and AtharvaVed ( VI.88.21.8 12) provide a mature view about the Rasthra.In Yajurved it is wished
to Almighty to bestow all kinds of happiness and prosperity and on other hand the song of AtharaVed wishes that the Rashtra or the territory be hold for the king and be made firm by the king Varuna,the god Brihaspati,Indra and Agni. According to the Taitriya Samhiita ,an early Yaju collection states that the partial performance of a ritual enables the king to attain the people(Vis) but not the Rashtra ,which can be achieved only by its full performance (Sharma,R.S.,2018,p.358).Thus, it can be inferred that by the later Vedic period the concept of Rashtra had been developed and its sphere was more mature in comparison of the European concept which is only a modern view.
Gradually , due the political consolidation the period of Mahajanpadas came into existence and it’s culmination was the emergence of Maurya empire. Iron has quite early had been come into existence but it took a long time to marked its impact on the process of socio-economic and political development .Any way this new metal and the influence of newly emerged religions influenced the Maurya empire. It is well known that Kautilya -the prime minister was the only authority who smoothened the path of the progress of the empire. The theory of the historic treatise Kantilla Arthasastha made it possible to unite the nation into one political unit. Though Kautilya has never mentioned the term rashtra but in its gratis he has laid down the principles which could give a shape of nation to India. Thus, it can be inferred that the system that Kautilya perfected or inherited or, in any case, described endured without much change through the ages. Even ,the organization as it is existed ,was taken over by the Muslim rulers and from them by the British .If Indian administration of today is analyzed to its base ,the doctrines and practices of Kautilya will be found to be still in force(Pannikat,K.M.,1954,p.29).Besides Kautilya Arthashastra,the two great epics also helped in making India into a rashtra. The text of entire Mahabharata is an effort to develop and maintain a cohesive and composite culture to strengthen India as. Rashtra.
Even the teachings of Buddha also helped to develop an uniform society and His middle path helped maximum to unite India into one unit despite its diversified culture. On similar lines Kautilya has also stated that it is the duty of the king to maintain the diversified character of the various groups. According to the Arthashastra ,””Different regions had evidently different customs,, different ways of behavior, different languages, dress patterns, languages etc and it is the duty of the king to provide them the freedom to follow their beliefs etc without fear…Again he declares that it is one of the essential quality of Amatya (minister) is that he should be the native of the land ,implying an expectations that he would naturally care for the interest of the country.( Kangle.R.P,Vol III,2014,pp 151}. At one other place he has instructed the king that he should adopt a similar character,dress,language,and behavior (as the subjects).And he should show same devotion in festivals in owner of series of the country ,festive gatherings and supportive amusements.(Kangle,R.P.,Vol.II,p.491).
Likewise the Kautilya King Ashoka was also aware with the multicultural character of country and he too followed the policy of Kautilya and he adopted the policy of assimilation and tolerance to strengthen the empire .On the basis of the through study of the available sources it appears that the efforts of both the kings were in favour to strengthen the empire ,therefore, they concentrated their efforts to unite the country into one nation without disturbing the cultural variations of the different parts of India which makes her unique in this universe.
Before going into the details of the policy of administration of Maurya emperors, which was primarily designed by the Great Kautilya ,it is necessary to look into the background of the evolution of Indian monarchy. The Indian monarchy was altogether different from the western society. The origin of royalty is the growth of wickedness and necessity of chasteness and it was not for to satisfying his personal Caprice. Kautilya has clearly mentioned that training of the ruler is, therefore, regarded as quite essential, besides he has laid down a strict schedule for the king to disciplined his life to keep him away from the vices(Kautilya Arthashastra,1.2.1-12).It is clearly mentioned in the texts that king is not the source of law, but rather it’s support. In most of the texts two kind of laws-sacred and secular are mentioned .The sheers has stated that” the source of secular were the manifold groups and communities which legislated for themselves”. Thus, it can be summarized that the foundation of ancient statecraft was based on the principles of philosophy and “Sankhya, Yoga and Lokayata” are the constituents of philosophy(KA,1.2.10).
According to Mookerji ,”it is quasi-instinctive postulates and conventions of groups -life which come to be formulated as law, and not the mundane command or decree ,of a single, central authority of state. Law under these conditions ,is not an arte-fact ,but a natural growth of consensus and communal life(Mookerji R K,London,1920,p.48)The ordinances of Ashoka ,which has inscribed in his inscriptions ,are beyond his times and their contents are universal. They are the best instrument to understand the philosophy of the rashtra or nation and it is far ahead than the European approach. It can be understood with few examples.In Rock Edict XXX he has declared ,”The chiefest conquest is the conquest of Right and not of Might…The sovereignty of the smaller states and weaker peoples was respected as a matter of principle…Nor was subjection forced on the ruder peoples on the plea of civilizing them (Rock Edict XXX).At one place he predicts that in view of king Freedom must go with morality. He has made it the policy of his administration that he will utilize all his means to spread the message of moral conquest even beyond the borders of his empire. Most probably he was the first ruler who thought globally to extend the message of freedom ,brotherhood and non-violence and he went beyond the limits of the barriers of border to spread the message of brotherhood and kindness on the expenses of his own state(Mookerji R K.2002,pp.58-59).
In Arthashastra, Kautilya has used the term “Chakravarti kshetra”, in context of state .Besides ,there are many evidence which certify that during the time of Chandragupta Maurya the process of unification was on the verse of completion and Ashoka was enough fortunate that he got an well organized empire. After defeating Kalinga he became the ultimate sovereign .By the India had emerged as a full fledged nation. The text of the inscription clearly indicate it The geographical location of these inscriptions is the most convincing evidence that most of the parts of north India including a considerable part of peninsular India were the integral units of the empire .In addition to this use of the Brahmi script in most of the inscriptions is enough to prove that by the time of Ashoka India has fully bloomed as rashtra .The bilingual Greek and Aremic inscriptions are the example that king was aware the multicultural and multilingual society of the empire and he honoured their sentiments also. In One Minor Rock Edict of Sasaram, “Jambudvipa” is used in the sense of India. The distribution Northern Black Polished Ware and the Pillars are also clearly indicate that the concept of one nation or rashtra was existed during the Maurya empire.
A number of ancient texts like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Yajanavalkya, Sukranitisar, Amarkosa etc has mentioned the term rastra as a constituent unit of state .Most them defined Rashtra is larger than’ Des ‘or ‘Janpad’. In Ramayana, Valmiki has defined that ‘Des’ is smaller than rashtra. In the reference of Kishkindha and Kosala, it is clearly stated that Kosala was Des and it was encircled by rashtra. In addition to this, Vishnu Purana, which is considered the earliest Purana. According to it “the country (Vardhan)that lies north of the ocean and south of the snowy mountains is called Bharat ,there dwell the descendants of Bharat.”Thus it is definite that by the early century of Christian Era the Bharat as rashtra had been came into use.
After the Maurya’s, India disintegrated into various dynasties out of which Sunga Kanva Satavahan and Chol, Cher, Pandeya, Pundravardhanbhukti and Varman kings of Asam emerged as the prominent political units. The period from 2nd century BC to 3rd century AD was a period of political turmoil. Beside the indigenous dynasties ,the Indo-greeks ,Sakas, Pahalvas, Kushanas and Hunas also marked their presence and they influenced the socio-political scenario .In between this period Romans also entered in India and these Romans influenced to a great extent the Indian trade and commerce and in a very short period India became the major economic power. The political upheaval could not affect the socio-economic and cultro_religious progress of the country. During this period Kushanas were the most prominent political power and their efforts organized the economy of country and they introduced the golden coins, besides they were first who did the standardization of coins. It was the period when Sunga kings revived the tradition of vedic sacrifices and they also promoted sanskrit language.Thogh the Sunga kings were followers but during their period the Buddhist art and architecture also flourished and achieved new heights. On the other hand Satavahanas became the powerful kings and almost entire Deccan was under their contact ,They were the first who played an important role between north and peninsular India and a regular inter course became possible. During their rule, the sea trade flourished and achieved new heights. This was the period when indigenous and foreign traditions assimilated with each other and an unique composite culture flourished and this approach strengthen the personality of India as Rashtra. the above-mentioned political powers Bharsaivas and Vakatakas and Lichchhavis is the most remarkable and they paved the way of the emergence if Gupta’s .The great Samudragupta and Chandragupta could again unite the country after an interval of four centuries(Pannikar,K.M.,1954,pp43-50).After Guptas, Harsha was the last king who united India for a short duration and after his death North India disintegrated into many principalities ,though a number dynasties did their best efforts but Prithviraj Chauhan could again get success to unite India. Meanwhile ,in Peninsular India in-spite of the regional political rivalry a vigorous cultural synthesis took place(Basham,A L.1954,pp 69-74).This socio-cultural and religious synthesis safeguarded the spirit of the Rashtra or Nation of India and despite the absence of any which central authority India achieved the remarkable economic progress. Though between the invasion of Tormana and Mahumad Ghazni ,India was free from the threat of external aggression. Except for Sind, which was occupied by the Khalifa of Baghadad whose authority was confined to that inhospitable desert land ,India enjoyed unbroken immunity from external troubles (Pannikar ,K.M.,1954,p.105.It is very perplexing that kings of the various part of the country like Lalitaditya Muktapidh, Nagbhatt Mihir bhoj and even the Rajendra Chola earned the title of Gangkondecholapuram but none of them could get success to unite India politically .During this period Sankaracharya a great philosopher and social reformer established four great Mutts ,as Badari in the north, high up in the Himalayas, at Puri in the east, Dwarika on the west coast and Sringeri in the south. It is the most unfortunate that principally the kings of the various regions were aware with the importance of the concept of rashtra but they could not unite together. It is irony of this period though the country was not ill-organized to meet the attack of the Muslims from the Punjab.
During the last two decades some scholars have studied the period which lies between 2nd century BC to 13th century AD and their results are very encouraging and throw a new light on the history. According to new studies the period begins from 2nd century BC and ended with the ride of Sultanate founded in 1206AD and the end of the later Chola king Rajendra Chola in 1379AD.This period covers two major periods classical and early medieval.
During this period from 1CE until 1000CE India’s economy is estimated to have been the largest in the world having between one third and one quarter of the worlds wealth( Michaels,Axel ,2004,Hinduism ,New Jersey, Princeton University Press ,p.32;The World economy (GDP).Historical Studies by Prof.Angus Maddison (PDF),World Economy Retrieved ,21st May,2013;Madison,Angus,2006,The World Economy ,Vol.I,A millennial Perspective & Vol.II, Historical Studies OECD, Publishing by Organization for Economic Corporation & Development ,p.656;Stein B .27th April,2020,Arnold D.ed.A history of India (2nd edition ),Oxford ,Wiley-Blackwell,p.105)
These above -mentioned studies are sufficient to prove that despite the political disintegration ,socio-culturally and economy the spirit of rashtra did not diminish. The guilds of various trades and crafts were actively engaged in the trade and commercial activities ,The social status of these guilds were very strong and effective and they had their norms .The chief of the guilds had immense powers in all the spheres of society ,There are many examples when guilds interfered in the family affairs of the members of the guild and performed their effective role to integrate the society. Basham has expressed his views in the context of the early medieval period that though the interaction between the two religions took place ,and once at least a modus Vivendi was almost reached .In the same tune Pannikar says that the main social result of the introduction of Islam in India was the division of society vertical basis(p.129). Even after this setback the spirit of Rashtra emerged in 16th century when Humayun found the conquest of Kalinjar difficult and a treaty made with the ruler of Kalinjar by which he was made a grandee of the Moghal kingdom. The Hindu. ruler of Kalinjar as a grandee of an Islamic kingdom as a grandee is a political idea which neither the Turks and the Afghans could have conceived(p.148).Thereafter Akbar took over the charge of Moghal empire. As it is a fact when Akbar became the king his state was less than the Vijayanagar empire but due to the dissension of the local rulers he succeeded though Rana Pratap challenged the suzerainty of Akbbar and he did not accept it in his life. It may be true that politically Pratap could not get success but he kindled the flame of Rastra for ever which became the source of inspiration during the National Freedom Movement.
About Author- Prof. Lalit Pandey is an Eminent Archaeologist, Former Dean, FSSH
B. N. University, Udaipur
