DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

VISAKHAPATNAM, A.P., INDIA

AGRARIAN SYSTEM IN ANCIENT INDIA

HISTORY

DR. VISHWACHANDRA NATH MADASU

SHATAKSHI ARYA

Roll No. 2019081

SEM-1

1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher SIR VISHWAHNADRA

NATH MADASU who gave me the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on the
topic (AGRARIAN SYSTEM IN ANCIENT INDIA), which also helped me in doing a lot of
Research and I came to know about so many new things I am really thankful to them.

Secondly, I would also like to thank my friends wh0 helped me a lot in finalizing this project
within the limited time frame.

2
Contents
o INTR0DUCTION……………………………………………………………………………….. 4
o INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION …………………………………………………………….5
o ABOUT THE SOCIETY
o AGRICULTURE
o TECHNOLOGY USED
o ANIMALS USED FOR AGRICULTURE

o EARLY VEDIC SOCIETY ………………………………………………………………………9

o ABOUT THE AGE
o AGRICULTURE IN VEDIC AGE
o IMPLEMENTS AND IRRIGATION
o AGRICULTURAL LABOUR
o ANIMALS DOMESTICATED
o THE MAURYAN EMPIRE ………………………………………………………………….14
o AGRICULTURE
o POSITION OF THE CLASS
o CATEGORY OF LANDS
o IRRIGATION SYSTEM
o LAND REVENUE SYSTEM

o THE GUPTA EMPIRE ………………………………………………………………………..20

o METHODS OF AGRICULTURE
o POSITION ON PESANTARY
o AGRICULTURE IN GUPTA EMPIRE
o KINDS OF LANDS
o FACTORS OF ADVANCEMENT OF AGRICULTURE
o CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………………………………….24
o BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………………… ….25

3
INTRODUCTION

About 10,000 years ago, the New age called the stone age had started. This was also known as the
period of great development for the human beings. It was during this period that humans moved from
gathering of food to growing of food and breed and herd of animals.

About 12,000 years ago, the world had started to become warmer. This led to the increase in plants,
trees, grasslands and overall greenery. Because of which, animals that survived on grass like deer,
goat, sheep, etc. started increasing in number.

Humans were still gatherers , they would gather the food that they could eat. As the greenery
increased, people started observing the places where plants that could be eaten, could be found, how
seeds broke off stalks, fell on the ground, and new plants sprouted from them.

Thoughit is not possible to find out exactly how we started farming, most people believe that this
gradual process allowed human beings to start planting the seeds they wanted and growing them for
food. This was the beginning of farming.

Slowly, the animals started coming to the places where humans grew crops to eat the grass. Human
beings started to allow animals that were not aggressive to come and stay near them like sheep, goat,
etc. because these animals would provide milk, meat and some would even carry a load.

Wild animals would attack these animals for food. However, human beings started protecting them
from these attacks and soon became herders. Dog was the first animal to be tamed by a man.

1
From Gathering to Growing Food – A New Way of Life

As human beings started farming, they realized that seeds took some time to grow which could be
,days, weeks, months and even years. This meant that people had to stay in one place for a very long
time taking care of the plants, watering them and protecting them from birds and animals. This had to
be done till the grain has ripened. After that, the grain had to be stored carefully for future use as food
and seed. Slowly, people started making clay pots or woven baskets and some even started digging pits
in the ground for storage.

On the other hand, the domesticated animals needed some careful caretaking too. Since they provided
people with milk and meat, they worked as a store of food when needed. Overall, this change led to
people settling down in one place for longer times. As the man went from gathering to growing food,
he began to put down roots.

2
LITERATURE REVIEW
The research has taken information from various books, web sources, and articles

SECONDARY SOURCES

BOOKS

 JIGASHA’ LEXIS NEXIS PRELIMS CIVIL SERVICES

 THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF ANCIENT INDIA- ROMIA THAPAR
 NCERT PART 1 ( CLASS 12TH) \
 S CHAND’S ANCIENT INDIA
 THE AGRARIAN SYSTEM IN ANCIENT INDIA

WEB SOURCES

 www.historydiscussion.net
 www.ancient.eu
 www.newworldencyclopedia.org
 www.harappa.com
 www.shodhganga.com

JOURNALS

 RESEARCH BY J. BATES ET AL.(2016)

OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to understand:-
 UNDERSTAND HOW PEOPLE TURNED FROM HUNTERS TO FARMERS
 THE FIRST STAGE OF FARMING
 HOW ANIMALS SUPPORTED IN FARMING
 THE METHODS OF FARMING
 THE CONDITIONS OF THE CULTIVATING CLASS IN THE SOCIETY
 THE METHODS OF IRRIGATION

3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The research is based on historical study.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study is limited to agriculture in the Indus valley civilization, Rig vedic age,
Mauryan period and the Gupta period.

4
THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

The bronze age civilization or the Indus valley civilization was situated in the northwestern regions
of Southern Asia. Along with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia it was one of three early
civilizations of the region comprising the Northern Africa, Western Asia and Southern Asia, and of
the three, the most widespread, its sites spanning an area stretching from northeast Afghanistan,
through much of Pakistan, and into western and northwest India. It flourished in the basins of the
river Indus , which flows through the length of Pakistan, and along the system of perennial, mostly
monsoon-fed, rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the seasonal Ghaggar-Hakra river in
northwestern India and east Pakistan.

AGRICULTURE IN THE CIVILIZATION

The people of Harappa ate a wide range of plants and animals products, including fishes.
Archaeologists have been able to reconstruct dietary practices from finds of charred grains and
seeds. These are studied by archaeo-botanists, who are specialized in ancient plant remains. Grains
that are found at Harappan sites include wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and sesame. Millets are
found from sites in Gujarat. Finds of rice are relatively rare. Animal bone that are found at
Harappan sites include those of cattle, sheep, goat, buffalo and pig. Studies done by archaeo-
zoologists or zooarchaeologists indicate that these animals were domesticated by human beings.
Bones of wild animals such as boar, deer and gharial are also found. We do not know whether the
people of Harappa hunted these animals themselves or obtained meat from other hunting
communities. Bones of fishes and fowls are also found. 1

1
M.SIRAJ ANWAR, NCERT CLASS 12 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY, DECEMBER 2017, PAGE NO 02
5
AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES

While the prevalence of agriculture is indicated by finds of grain, it is more difficult to reconstruct
actual agricultural practices. Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull
was known, and archaeologists extrapolate from this that oxen were used for ploughing the feild. A
terracotta models of the plough have been found at the sites in Cholistan and at Banawali
(Haryana). Archaeologists have also found an evidence of a ploughed field at Kalibangan
(Rajasthan), associated with Early Harappan levels. The field had two sets of furrows at 90 degrees
to each other, suggesting that two different crops were grown together. Archaeologists have also
tried to identify tools that were used for harvesting. Most of the Harappan sites are located in
semi-arid lands, where the method of irrigation was probably required for agriculture. Traces of
canals have been found at the Harappan site of Shortughai in Afghanistan, but not in Punjab or
Sind. It is possible that ancient canals silted up long ago. It is also likely that water drawn from
wells was used for irrigation. Besides, water reservoirs found in Dholavira (Gujarat) may have been
used to store water for agriculture.2

The nature of Indus civilization's agricultural system is still largely a matter of conjecture due to the
lack of information surviving through the ages. Some speculation is possible, however. Indus valley
civilization agriculture must have been highly productive; as, it was capable of generating surpluses
sufficient to support tens of thousands of urban residents who were not engaged in agriculture
primarily. It relied on the considerable technological achievements of the pre-Harappan culture,
including the plough. Still, very little is known about those farmers who supported the cities or their
methods of agriculture. A few of them undoubtedly made use of the fertile alluvial soil left by
rivers after the flood season.

The Indus civilization appears to contradict the hydraulic despotism hypothesis of the origin of
urban civilization and the state. According to the same hypothesis, cities could not have arisen
without irrigation systems capable of generating massive agricultural surpluses. To build these
systems, a despotic, centralized state emerged that was capable of suppressing the social status of
about thousands of people and harnessing their labor as slaves. It is very difficult to square the

2
M SIRAJ ANWER, NCERT CLASS 12 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY, DECEMBER 2017, PAGE NO 03
6
hypothesis with what is known currently about the Indus valley civilization. There is no evidence
of any kings, slaves, or forced mobilization of labor.3

It has been always assumed that intensive agricultural production requires dams and canals. This
assumption is easily proven to be untrue. Throughout Asia, rice farmers produce significant
agricultural surpluse from terraced, hillside rice paddies, which result not from slavery but rather
the accumulated labor of many generations of people. Instead of building canals, Indus civilization
people may have built water diversion schemes, which, like terrace agriculture, can be elaborated
by generations of small-scale labor investments. In addition, it is known that Indus civilization
people practiced rainfall harvesting, a powerful technology that was brought to fruition by classical
Indian civilization but nearly forgotten in the twentieth century. It should be remembered that Indus
civilization people, like all peoples in South Asia, built their lives around the monsoon season, a
weather pattern in which the bulk of a year's rainfall occurs in a four-month period. At a recently
discovered Indus civilization city in west India, archaeologists discovered a series of massive
reservoirs, hewn from solid rock and designed to collect rainfall, that would have been capable of
meeting the city's needs during the summer season.4

A research by J. Bates et al. (2016) has confirmed that Indus populations were the earliest people to
use complex multi-cropping strategies across both seasons, growing foods during summer (rice,
millets and beans) and winter (wheat, barley and pulses), which required different watering
regimes. Bates et al. (2016) also found evidence for an entirely separate domestication process of
rice in ancient South Asia, based around the wild species Oryza nivara. This has led to the local
development of a mix of "wetland" and "dryland" agriculture of local Oryza sativa indica rice
agriculture, before the truly "wetland" rice Oryza sativa japonica arrived around 2000 BCE5

3
THE EARLY INDIA page no 60
4
INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION CCE
5
J. BATES ET AL
7
ANIMALS USED IN AGRICULTURE
Animals played a major role in Indus agriculture. The main domestic animals were cattle, but
sheep, goats, and other animals were also kept, their relative importance relating to local
environmental conditions. Raising livestock was a useful investment against crop failure. In good
years, when crop yields were high, grazing would also be good and the number of animals that were
kept could be increased, surplus agricultural produce being available as fodder if the grazing ran
out.In lean years, when grazing was limited, the additional animals could either be killed for food or
used to obtain other foodstuffs, for example, by trading with pastoralists, by giving the animals as
gifts to kin in other areas in the expectation of useful return gifts, or perhaps by exchanging them
for grain stored by those in authority, though the evidence of central storage is limited and dubious.

Millets are nowadays often grown for fodder as well as for human consumption. While it is likely
that the fodder needs of the Harappan domestic animals were largely met by grazing them on
natural vegetation in areas beyond the cultivated land and by taking them to areas of seasonal
pasture, it is possible that some use was made of fodder crops. Charcoal evidence from the latest
Harappan levels at Lothal in Gujarat gives some indication of local environmental deterioration,
which may imply reduce availability of grazing, at least locally6

CROPS GROWN

 WHEAT, BARLEY, DATES ,SEASAM ,MUSTARD ,RICE

ANIMALS USED

 OXEN , BUFFALO, GOATS, SHEEPS, PIGS, DOGS AND CATS, ASSES,CAMELS,

ELEPHANTS, HORSES

MODE OF IRRIGATION.

 DAMS, CANALS, RAINFALL, DIVERSION SYSTEM

6
THE ANCIENT INDUS VALLEY, JANE R, PAGE NO 122

8
 RIG VEDIC AGE

The Vedic era is the period in the history of the northern Indian subcontinent between the end of
the urban Indus Valley Civilisation and a second urbanisation which began in the central Indo-
Gangetic Plain . The name has been derived from the Vedas, which are liturgical texts containing
details of life during this period that have been interpreted to be historical and constitute the
primary sources for understanding the period. These documents, alongside the corresponding
archaeological record, allow for the evolution of the culture of vedas to be traced and inferred

AGRICULTURE

As regards the cultivated grains of the earliest period the Rigveda mentions only the Yava and the
Dhana, or Dhanya). The meaning of the word Yava according to some European scholars is not
quite clear. They hold that word perhaps meant any kind of grain and not merely barley. But this
meaning appears more probable, in as much as barley is one of the grains to be cultivated earliest
and it suits all climates.

According to Indian commentaries Yava means barley only. The meaning of Dhana is similarly
obscure. Scholars take this word to mean grain in general, though in later literature it means rice.
The question of rice cultivation in the Rigveda is disputed.

Thus in the Atharva Veda we find not only barley (Yava) and rice (Vrihi) repeatedly mentioned but
also sesamum beans ,sugarcane millets, Syamaka and some other varieties of rice which came to
be extensively used and became the staple food in a large locality 7

The innumerable harvest hymns and prayers for rain and agricultural prosperityshow that at the
time of the Atharva Veda ‘agriculture had extended and had become the most important occupation
of the people. In the same Veda, in addition to prayers for rain and good weather, we find mention
of the weather-foreteller or—the Saka-dhuma and a distinct mention of canal digging.

7
WWW.ANCIENT.EU

9
Next we have in the Vrhadaranyaka Up. a mention of the ten cultivated grains (Gramyani) e.g. rice
and barley (Vrihi-Yavas), sesamum and beans, (tila-masas), Anu and Priyangu, (Anupriyan-gavah),
wheat or maize (Godhumah), and lentils Masura (Khala-kulah).

In addition to the grains and plants enumerated above, other plants were cultivated or were valued
for their medicinal or other properties. In the Vedic literature we find a division of the vegetable
world into Osadhi, Virudh, and Vrksa.

Of the more important trees we bear of the Asvattha, the Khadira, the Vilva, the Nyagrodha,
Udumvara, Asvagandha, Simbula, and the Amalaka, Fruit trees are mentioned but we have very
little of details about them. Moreover it is doubtful whether they were planted or grew wild. Of fruit
trees the Kulvala, Karkandhu, and Badara are mentioned in the Satapatha Br. Certain plants came to
be regarded as sacrificially unclean.8

AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS AND IRRIGATION

Of agricultural implements, we have repeated mention of the plough (Langala, Sira), but we know
very little about its construction and shape. All that we know of the plough is, that it was large and
heavy lad required two, four or more oxen harnessed to it to draw it. In the Atharva Veda and other
Samhitas the number of oxen used, is increased to eight or twelve, and this shows that a heavier
plough was used, perhaps owing to hardness of the soil.

It was sharp-pointed with a well-smoothed handle which was known as the Tsaru. It was also
known as Suna and Sira, or Sits. The ploughshare was called Phala. In addition to the plough we
have mention of other implements e.g. the Khanitra (shovel), Datra, and Srni (sickle), Titau (sieve)
and Surpa (winnowing fan) in various places. According to Kaegi the mattock and the hoc was also
used. The Urdara or grain-measuring vessel has already been mentioned

As to irrigation cultivators depended upon rain, or where rivers were close by they watered their
fields with the water of the liver. Where there was scarcity of water people had to depend on the
water of wells and the Rigveda contains references to the water of wells being used for watering the
fields and we have repeated mention of the word Avata meaning a well.

8
WWW.ANCIENT.EU
10
The water seems to have been raised by means of a wheel (Cakra) to which buckets of wood were
fastened. The evidence of another passage shows that sometimes this water was poured into
channels and sent to different parts of the field. Muir took the word Kulya to mean artificial water-
ways which carried the water into reservoirs.

In addition, to these the same book contains at least one reference to canal digging. When we come
to the Atharva Veda, we find a description of canal digging The newly-cut canal is described in
figurative language as a calf to the river which is as the cow.

AGRICULTURAL LABOURS

As to labour involved in agricultural activities, most probably it was in the hands of freemen
house-holders themselves, who would work along with their sons and relatives. The early hymns
show a state of affairs in which agriculture was looked upon as an honourable occupation. Wealthy
people could employed a servant, or labours recruited from the landless poor or the aborigines in
connection with the various agricultural operations.

As the Aryan occupation extended over the country and the people became richer, the slaves came
to be employed. Slaves are mentioned in the Rigveda and in the other Samhitas, but we have no
evidence to show that they were largely employed, or that slavery became the basis of Vedic
husbandry. On the other hand prayers for male children, show that they were welcomed in assisting
their fathers in their field operations.

As yet there was no stigma attached to Brahmans engaging in agriculture, what to speak of
Ksatriyas or Vaisyas. Much of the subsidiary labours allied to agriculture was entrusted to the
women of the house.

Gradually, a class of landless labourers arose and these earned their living by working in other’s
fields. With division of labour various classes of workmen came into existence and the Rigveda
mentions two types Dhanyakrt and Upalapraksini. In the AtharvaVeda we find Dasis or slave girls
employed in husking and thrashing operations.9

9
EARY INDIA BY S CHAND

11
ANIMALS USED IN AGRICULTURE

Domestication of animals:
Cattle breeding was another means of living. There are prayers in the Vedas
for Gosu (cattle). Cows were held in great respect. Cows were symbols of wealth and prosperity
for the Aryans. Sometimes cow was the medium of exchange. The Aryans had also domesticate
animals like horse, draught OX, dog, goat, sheep, buffalo and donkey.

 Cow:
From the earlier times the cow has been regarded as the most important and most valuable of the
domestic animals. It was domesticated probably in the Indo-European period as is proved by the
similarity of Sanskrit Go with Slav.. In the Indo-Iran, period the cow was highly prized and was
held in high veneration. The economic importance of the cow and its products was so great that the
animal was absolutely indispensable to the Vedic householder.
cows were generally milked thrice a day. In addition to the milk of the cow and its various
preparations the flesh was at one time used for food .From the evidence of Vedic literature, it is
clear that in early times the flesh of the cow as well as that of the bull, was largely taken, and in
connection with all important ceremonies and sacrifices, we find the regular slaughter of these
animals enjoined.

The slaying of the Mahoksa and the Mahaja was regularly prescribed for the feeding of the guests
even in some of the Grhya Sutras. In the Vedas the word Goghna (the cow-eater—according to
some scholars) is applied to mean a guest.

The various articles of food obtained from milk are described in the Satapatba Br.In addition to
these the fat of the cow was used for various purposes.

 The Buffalo:
Like the cow buffaloes were a useful animal. In addition to its milk, its flesh was probably eaten
by human beings.In one of the Vedic passages we find Lord Indra slaying buffaloes, the flesh of
the slaughtered animal being used for food.

12
  The Horse:
The horse , was also probably domesticated in the Indo-European period and this is proved by the
similarity between Skt. Asva and SI. Liu. Aszva. By the time of the Rig veda, the horse e.g. Asva
had become one of the most important among the other domestic animals. In the Rigveda the horse
is always praised for its speed. Its importance was due most probably to its use in war, and we find
them largely used for drawing chariots and carts.
According to the evidence of some passages the flesh of the horse seems to have been eaten. The
regions about the river Sindhu and Sarasvati were famous for horses. In the innumerable Danastutis
we find the horse as an object of gift .Horses were often given to priests as sacrificial fee especially
in connection with the worship of Surya.

 Sheep and Goat:

The usefulness of the sheeps and the goats is repeatedly mentioned in the Rigveda and the later
Samhitas. In the first named book the Lord Pusan is represented as weaving woolen cloth, and is
said to wear a garment made from the wool of sheep. Large, herds of sheep and goat are mentioned
in many places of the Rigveda and the other Samhitas. The flesh of these was largely used as food,
while the wool was used for clothing. In the time of the Rigveda the wool of Gandhara was highly
prized.10

10
AGRICULTURE IN ANCIENT INDIA

13
MAURYAN PERIOD

The Maurya Empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya, it was based in Magadha which
dominated the Indian subcontinent between 322 and 185 BCE. Consisting of the majority of South
Asia, the Maurya Empire was centralized by the conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and its capital
city was located at Pataliputra . The Mauryan empire was the largest political power to ever have
existed in the Indian subcontinent, extending over 5 million square kilometres (1.9 million square
miles) at its zenith under Ashoka.
The Mauryan Empire supplanted the earlier Magadha Kingdom to assume power over large tracts
of eastern and northern India. The empire stretched over parts of modern Iran and almost the entire
Indian subcontinent, barring only the south of peninsular tip. The empire came into existence
when Chandragupta Maurya stepped into the vacuum created by Alexander of Macedon's departure
from the western borders of India. Chandragupta subjugated the border states, recruited an army,
marched upon the Magadha kingdom, killed its tyrannical king who was despised by the populace,
and ascended the throne. He thus founded the Mauryan dynasty. In his rise to power, he was aided
and counselled by his chief minister Kautilya (also known as Chanakya), who wrote
the Arthashastra, a compendium of kingship and governance.11

AGRICULTURE IN MAURYAN EMPIRE

Features of Agricultural Economy, the settlement of permanent villages was recognised in the
Arthsastra as a method for the expansion of agrarian economy. These settlements made sure that a
sound and stable resource base for the State to extract taxes and the land tax formed the bulk of it.
The process of settlement was called janapadanivesa, but the extent of how this was done is not
clearly known. According to R.S. Sharma it could be reasonable to presume that most of the
Ganges Basin was brought under cultivation in this manner and some efforts may have been made
in the outlying areas as well. Growth of agriculture meant that the cultivator began to assume an
increasingly important role.12

11
ANCIENT HISTORY ENCYCLOPEDIA, WWW.ANCIENT.EU
12
HISTORY STUDY MATERIAL
14
THE CONDITION OF THE CLASS

Megasthenes in his account on the Indian society and its division into seven classes mentioning the
farmers as the second class, next only to the philosophers who are mentioned as the first class and
followed by the soldiers who are mentioned in the third class. 'Though his perception of the
division of Indian society was not absolutely correct, the farmers drew his attention because they
were numerically a large class devoted to land. 'The Classical sources specifically mention that the
cultivators were without arms. Megasthenes had also mentioned that the peasant society was left
untouched during war. 'This seems difficult to believe as the example of the Kalinga War and the
figures quoted in the Asokan inscriptions of those dead and deported must have included a fair
number of peasants.13

CATEGORIES OF LAND

It has been seen that some lands were sita or crown lands. In these areas the King's and the State's
rights of possession, cultivation, mortgage and sale were naturally superior. Infact, in the
Arthasastra a sitadhyaksa or superintendent of agriculture is mentioned who probably supervised
the cultivation works here. All these areas were probably in fertile lands and suited to high
productivity. It is difficult to identify the origin of these State farms. It is possible that their origin
lay in large estates owned by individual landowners in pre-Mauryan times. These were also areas
where slaves were deployed working under direct State supervision. Knowledge of agricultural
techniques are described in depth in the Arthasastra, also 320 B.C. to 200 B.C probably refer to
these lands. Agriculture in other areas in the Mauryan State, known as janapada territories, was in
all probability, carried on in private. In the Jataka stories there are frequent references to gahapatis
and grambhojakas. These groups are assumed to have employed hired labourers on land indicating
their capacity to do so as a land-owning gentry. In contrast, the labourers are described to be in a
pitiable condition and sometimes, slaves are also mentioned. The King could own land in his
personal capacity in both sita and janapada areas though direct references to this for this period are
lacking. Thus even if it is not possible to discuss the full complexities of the land ownership pattern

13
SOURCES OF FOREIGN WRITERS

15
for the whole of India in detail, for the Ganges Valley alone one can suggest that different types of
it existed. This naturally entailed varied systems of cultivations and also different levels of
agricultural development. The Arthasastra references to different types of agricultural operations
supervised by officials thus refer to lands owned by either the State or King.Even though, a small
section of the text deals with the sale of land and buildings. This suggests that individuals could
own small areas of cultivable land which they could cultivate themselves. 14

IRRIGATION SYSTEM

The reason which is most important for the success of agriculture in the state owned lands was the
facility of irrigation provided by the State. There were rules present, for the regulation of - water
supply for the benefit of agriculturists. Megasthenes tell us that a number of officers were employed
who measured the land and inspected sluices by which water was distributed into the branch
channels. That facilities of irrigation existed in other areas as well, this is indicated by the mention
of an irrigation cess amounting to a fifth, a fourth or a third of the produce in the Arthasastra. Since
this cess was levied only on the irrigated soil it can be deduced that the State regulated irrigation
facilities in areas where rainfall was not adequate. In these areas a regular supply of water was ablw
to ensure a normal yield of crops. Pushyagupta,who was one of the governors of Chandragupta
Maurya, is believed to have built a dam for creating a reservoir of water near Girnar in Saurashtra.
This was known as Sudarshana tadaga ( known as the water tank). This reservoir became very
famous that its history can be traced to the middle of the fifth century A.D. for a period of almost
eight hundred years. 15

14
THE PENGUINS OF ANCIENT INIDA

15
THE UNDERSTANDING OF VEDAS

16
LAND REVENUE SYSTEM

The Classical writers have state that some of the villages were exempted from paying taxes. They
were probably rare exceptions and in fact, it has also been suggested that this was so because these
villages might have provided soldiers to the State. It is also suggested by some scholars that in
order to bring the virgin soil under cultivation in some villages remission of taxes was allowed for a
period of time. The essential resources needed for the Mauryan State could only be got from the
land revenue system. Therefore, the land revenue collection had to be efficiently organised so as to
expropriate the maximum possible surplus from the people. It is generally stated that the Mauryan
rule constitutes a landmark in the history of the improvement of the system of taxation in ancient
India. The Mauryas also attached great importance to the assessment of land revenue and the
highest officer in charge of this was the samsharta. The sannidhata was the chief custodian of the
State treasury. Since the revenue sometimes also collected in kind, providing storage facilities was
also the duty of the latter. The classical writers mention that 1/4th of the produce was paid in tax by
the peasant society. They also suggest that a tribute was also paid by them. Land tax , called bhaga
was the main item of the revenue. According to the texts, it was levied at the rate of 1/6th of the
produce. But it is possible that in the Mauryan period it was quite high and levied at the rate of
1/4th of the produce. Share cropping was another way by which the State collected agricultural
resources. The sharecroppers were in the first place provided with seeds, oxen, etc., and received
land which was arable for cultivation. In this kind of situation the peasants usually gave half of the
produce to the State. The above taxes were further supplemented by a large number of customary
dues Economy of the Mauryan Empire that the peasants had to pay. The Mauryas also introduced
some new taxes and made already existing ones more effective. The peasants paid a tax called
pindakara paid by husbandsmen, which was assessed on groups of villages. This was also
customary in nature. Often the villagers had to supply provisions to the royal army passing through
their respective territories and this naturally increased their burden. The exact nature of hiranya is
also not known, but it was probably a tax paid in cash because the meaning of hiranya is gold. Bali,
the traditionally known levy from the Vedic times, continued under the Mauryas, and all the above
taxes which are described by Kautilya in the Arthasastra must have burdened the peasants
considerably. Nonetheless, he continues to recommend that in case the State still falls short of its

17
needs, several other fiscal measures for periods of emergency could be made use of. Further, in
times of emergency the cultivators would be forced to raise two crops. The importance of these
measures was constantly emphasized as the country sometimes face famines, and during these
bleak periods the level of revenue collection must have naturally fallen. As land revenue was the
backbone of the Mauryan economy, the Arthasastra is careful in designing the revenue system of
the State. It is particular in defining the different types of villages that were to be taxed as the
fertility of soil varied from place to place. There is also attention paid to special categories of
revenue collectors and assessors. Undoubtedly then, the Mauryan State, atleast in its major areas,
must have ensured a substantial land revenue collection without which the government machinery
and the army would have been difficult to maintain.16

In a few parts of the empire the gana sangha system with communal ownership of land
continued. There are also references to state-owned lands called as the sita lands, which were
worked under the supervision of the Sitadhyaksha either directly by hired labourers or they were
leased out to individual cultivators.
In the latter case, a share of the produce was to be paid to the state. In addition to these were
private owners of land who were required to pay taxes to the king. The village pastures were
largely held by the entire community. In the Gangetic plain, which were very fertile, a variety of
taxes are mentioned such as bali, bhaga, shulka, kara, etc. Megasthenes has also stated that one-
quarter of the produce had to be paid as tax. It is likely that this was the figure in the fertile region
around Pataliputra.
Most of the Sanskrit texts, on the other hand, lay down than not more than one-sixth of the produce
would be claimed by the king. It is also very unlikely that a uniform tax was levied over the entire
areas as the fertility of the soil varied from region to region, and it varied from 1/4 to 1/6 of the
produce. It was directly collected by the officials of the king from the individual cultivators
without bringing in intermediaries. In addition, the Arthasastra also states that the amount of tax
would also depend on the nature of facilities of irrigation and would range from one-fifth to one
third.
The Rummindei inscription is the only Ashokan inscription which makes a precise reference to

16
LAND REVENUE SYSTEM
OF THE MAURYANS
18
taxation. Ashoka says that he had reduced the amount of bhaga (produce of the soil) to 1/18
(atthabhagiya) as a concession to the people of the holy birth-place of the Buddha.
Another interesting fact that emerges from this inscription is that the king directly directly with
the question of exemption from the land tribute. The villages that were exempted from taxation
were called pariharaka, those that supplied soliders, ayudhiya, and those that paid their taxes in the
form of grain, cattle, gold or raw material was called kupya. There were also the villages that
supplied free services and dairy produce in lieu of taxes.17

 . CROPS GROWN-varieties of rice, kodrava or coarse grain, millet, sesamum, varieties of pulses,
wheat, barley, linseed, mustard, vegetables and tubers and fruits like gourd, plantain, pumpkin,
grape, sunflower and sugarcane

 ANIMALS USED - livestock included cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep besides poultry,
even camels, asses, dogs and pigs. The state also maintained dairy, cattle and stud-farms.

19
 THE GUPTA EMPIRE

The Gupta Empire had covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as
the Golden Age of India by some of the historians. The ruling dynasty of the gupta empire was
founded by the king Sri Gupta.The most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta
I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II alias Vikramaditya. The 5th-century
Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas about having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms,
both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes
located in the western and eastern Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others.

The high points of gupta period are of the great cultural developments which took place primarily
during the reigns of Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. Many of the sources of
literature , such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, were canonised during this period of guptas. The
Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, and Vatsyayana who
made a lot of advancements in many academic fields. The empire unlimately died out because of a
lot of factors such as substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own
erstwhile feudatories, as well as the invasion by the Huna peoples (Kidarites and Alchon Huns)
from Central Asia. After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled
by numerous regional kingdoms.18

The Empire of the guptas stretched across the north, central and parts of the south India between c.
320 and 550 CE. The period is known for its achievements in the fields of arts, architecture,
sciences, religion, and philosophy. Chandragupta I (320 – 335 CE) had started a rapid expansion of
the GuptaEmpire and also established himself as the first sovereign ruler of the empire. It marked
the end of 500 hundred years of domination of the provincial powers and resulting disquiet that
began with the fall of the Mauryas. Even more importantly, it began as a period of overall
prosperity and growth that continued for the next two and half centuries which came to be known as
the “Golden Age” in India’s history. But the seed of the empire was sown at least two generations

18
THE PENGUINE HISTORY OF ANCIENT INDIA
20
earlier than this when Srigupta, then only a regional monarch, set off the glory days of this mighty
dynasty in circa 240 CE. 19

METHODS OF AGRICULTURE
The agricultural crops constituted the main resources which were produced in the society and the
major component of the revenue of the state came from the agriculture. It is argued by many
scholars that the state was the exclusive owner of the land. The most decisive argument was in
favour of the exclusive state ownership of land is in the Paharpur copper plate inscription of
Buddhagupta. It has been appeared that though the land was to all intents and purposes that of the
peasants, the king claimed itstheoretical ownership.

KINDS OF LANDS
Various forms of land have been mentioned in the inscriptions; land under cultivation was usually
called Kshetra, Khila was the uncultivable land, Aprahata was the jungle or forest land, Gopata
Sarah was called as the pasture land and Vasti was the habitable land.
Different land measures were known in different regions such as Nivartana, Kulyavapa and
Dronavapa. The importance of irrigation to help the agriculture was recognized in India from the
earliest times. According to Narada, there are two kinds of dykes the bardhya which protected
the field from floods and the Khaya which served the purpose of irrigation.20
The canals which were meant to prevent inundation were also mentioned by Amarasimha as
jalanirgamah. The tanks were variously called, according to their sizes, as the vapi, tadaga and
dirghula. Another method for irrigation was the use of ghati-yantra or araghatta.

19
CCE HISTORY
20
HISTORY S CHAND
21
POSITION OF PESANTARY

The land grants had paved the way for feudal development in India. Several inscriptions refer to the
emergence of serfdom, which meant that the peasants were attached to their land even when it
was given away. Therefore in certain parts of the India the position of independent peasants were
under- mined, and they were reduced to serfs or semi-serfs. The repression of the peasantry was
also caused by the right of subinfeudation granted to the recipients of land grants.
They were often allowed to enjoy the land, to get it enjoyed, to cultivate it or get it cultivated.
The donated land could thus be assigned to tenants on certain terms. This also implied the
donee’s right to evict the tenants from their land. The practice of subinfeudation therefore
reduced the permanent tenants to the position of ten- ants-at-will. The position of peasants was
also assumed from the Gupta period onwards on account of the imposition of forced labour
(Vishti) and several new levies and taxes.21

AGRICULTURE

Various activities had gave energy to the Gupta Empire’s economy. Agriculture had provided
primary subsistence and acted as a source of many export goods. Industries of simple crafts
flourished and provided a lot of earnings for many citizens and guilds. But the hallmark of the
Gupta economy was its trade relations with various civilizations. With these activities, it sustained
the Gupta Empire for several hundreds of years.

Agriculture during the Gupta Empire was bountiful. The rivers of Ganges, Brahmaputra, Narmada,
Godavari,Krishna,andKaveri provided the source of irrigation. With
Gupta administration constructing many irrigation infrastructure such as aqueducts, dams, and
canals, large areas of the Empire became very fertile for farmers to till. Various crops, important for
the diet of the Indians, were grown. This include rice, wheat, barley, peas, and lentils. Spices in the
southern region of the Empire. Landownership and sharecropping system was in existent. For
instance, a tenant farming a land owned by non-tiling land lord must give 33-55% of his produce.

21
SOCIETY IN THE EARLY INDIA
22
Transferring of landownership was not just the concern of the owner but also the community. Land
transfers must be made in presence of the village council. The state also owned lands called
Rajayavastu, which were usually given to landless farmers. The climate of India allowed farmers to
harvest a lot of crops. The climate of India relied to the monsoons of the region.Due of the
monsoons, farmers could have a harvest twice a year. But in times of luck, farmers could have three
harvests a year.22

FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR AGRICULTURAL

ADVANCEMENT
There were various factors responsible for the agricultural advancement.

 Land -grants became common during the post-Gupta period. The land-grants in a way were
responsible for the growth of “agriculture. For, in most of the cases fallow lands were
given in grants to the Brahmins, temples, monasteries, etc. Thus fallow lands came to be
transformed into fertile areas in which good quantity of crops were grown. Thus there was
an extension of agriculture.

 With the decline of the urban centers the artisans attached various industries lost their jobs
and forced to migrate to village these artisans, experts in making tools and implements,
supplied to peasants new equipments which were more effective. Thus use improved
agricultural implements helped the growth of agriculture

 The improved irrigation system was also an important fact in the growth of agriculture
during the period. Deep well. helped agriculture considerably.

 The use of bio plough and use of fertilizers also were responsible for the increase in the
crop production

22
WWW.ANCIENT.EU/ GUPTAEMPIRE

23
  It has been pointed out by D.M Bose that in the post gupta period the use of quality seeds
became very common. This also paved the way for progress in agriculture during the peri0d
under review.23

23
DR. D M BOSE

24
CONCLUSION

To conclude the project on the topic AGRARIAN SYSTEM IN ANCIENT INDIA, it must be
noted that, with the help of the project we understood how human beings turned from hunter
gatherers to agriculturists, how they started to live in a settled manner in the society.

Starting from the Indus valley civilization when people had just started to settle for agriculture and
started to domesticate animals and cattle for the first time. What was the society like in the ancient
times, How the agriculture developed, How they came to know about the agricultural methods,
technology and methods for irrigation. How the climate and weather conditions of the Indian sub
continent supported the agricultural cycle. We also got to know about the kinds of crops and
grains that were cultivated and eaten. The animals who were used to be domesticated and used in
the agricultural lands, the animals who were used to be consumed as food.

It is worth noting that, the way the society used to function in the ancient india, how the peasants
and agriculturists were treated, the land revenue system of the Mauryan empire, the reasons as to
why the agriculture flourished during the period of the Guptas. What was the system of taxation,
who were the officers appointed by the officials to collect those taxes.

25
BIBLIOGRAPHY

 JIGASHA’ LEXIS NEXIS PRELIMS CIVIL SERVICES

 NCERT PART 1 ( CLASS 12TH)
 THE AGRARIAN SYSTEM IN ANCIENT INDIA - U N GHOSHAL
 THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF ANCIENT INDIA- ROMIA THAPAR
 S CHAND’S ANCIENT INDIA

26