Social and Financial Situation, Religious Views, and Development of Skills A 1200-year-old History of Government
Though the administrative procedures in north India from 1000 to 1200 are yet to be investigated, the complete century between 800 and 1200 can be seen overall for purposes of analyzing economic and social life as well as religious beliefs.
Ideas, concepts, and national politics evolve far faster than do social and economic life as well as their influences. This is why many of the older traits that existed prior to the ninth century persisted during this period as well. Concurrent with this, some fresh elements surfaced that set this era apart from others. Though the degree and direction of change vary, every historical era has both unique and timeless elements.
Service and Industry
Regarding the economic situation of the area at this period, especially on trade and commerce, historians cannot agree. Some considered it as a period of slowness and decline, a loss for both internal and foreign trade, the fall of towns, and a development in localism and nationalism. The virtually total lack of gold coins until the ninth century is supposed to provide proof for this.
Right now, we cannot completely investigate every one of these facets. Let us simply note further that trade between India and the West had little to no effect on the fall of the Rome as two other strong empires—the Byzantine empire with its capital in Byzantium and the Late roman empire with its own capital in Iran—rose in their place.
Both of them were quite fascinated in economic transactions involving India and, more especially, the Indian Ocean area. Once the Arab empire grew in the 7th century, the Arabs extended Western trade into China, Sri Lanka, and India.
Condition of the Population
Indian agriculture remained rich while the great quality of Indian handicrafts—textiles, gold diamond silversmithing, metallurgy, etc.—did not diminish during this period. Many Arab visitors say about the quality of the soil or the skill of the Indian farmer.
Every one of the historical accounts reveals how ostentatively and extravagantly the ministers, bureaucrats, and medieval chiefs lived. Building complex homes often three to five story height, they modeled the king’s way of life. They wore costly imported woolen clothes, Chinese silk, and pricey foreign attire in addition to gold and silver-made jewelry and accessories.
They kept several women in their houses and hired a big crew of domestic assistants to look after them. Every time they departed, a sizable contingent of servants trailed after them. To drive flies away, they took great names like mahasamantadhipati and used banners, adorned umbrellas, and yak-tails.
kind of societies
A lot of important changes happened in Indian society at this period. One of these was the growing influence of a group of people whose modern writers have variedly called Samanta, rank, Calcutta (Rajput), etc. Their backgrounds differed rather greatly.
Some of them were government workers who were habitually assigned to economically rich areas rather than paid cash. Rajas who had been toppled by others and their supporters nevertheless profited monetarily from some limited areas.
Others were local hereditary leaders or military adventurers who had created a territory under military protection.
Others headed clans as chiefs or leaders. As so, there was even a hierarchy among them. Still, their real position shifted depending on the situation. A small number of them ruled over a whole territory, while others over a series of villages. Others were just village chiefs. They were always in conflict with one other and fighting to increase the range of their rights and authority.
Trading System
(a) Brahmen and Rajputs
Having been established long ago, the social stratification—which had already been in existence far earlier—remains the caste system and forms the basis of the society. Still, there were important changes in the caste system. The Brahmans’ power so was substantially enhanced. As we have seen, the king of Bengal, south India, or Sind—who was himself a Brahman—invited and granted vast, tax-free areas for residence to Brahmans.
Apart from advancing farming, these Brahmans acted as ministers, accountants, and other local government representatives. A small number of them participated actively in military operations.
They also were very important in the creation of forms of literature and instructional tools.
(b) Slaves, Dalits, and Shudras
The law-giver Yagyavalkya let Brahmans eat with their farmers, barbers, milkmen, and relatives. Thus, according to modern historian D.C. Sircar, a major feature of the castes throughout such a period was the consistent ascent of the social rank of the Shudras. Though they were not allowed to read the Vedas, they were allowed to take part in smarta ceremonies like birth, death, title, etc. As agriculture developed, many indigenous peoples came under this group.
Feminine Situation
As in past times, women were still seen as having less intelligence than males. Their husbands’ orders had them mindlessly following. The author shows the wife’s responsibility to provide her spouse the personal touch by using the example of the lady cleaning her husband’s feet and offering other responsibilities suitable for a servant.
He does, however, also emphasize the significance of the husband following the straight road and avoiding jealousy and resentment directed toward a wife. Women still had no access to Vedas for learning. Moreover, reducing the age at which girls may get married hampered their capacity for education.
The absence of any reference to female teachers in the definitions developed during the period exposes the appalling situation of women in higher education. As numerous of the era’s masterpieces clearly show, the court ladies and the princess’s attendants were also adept in writing exceptional Sanskrit and Prakrit poetry.
Food, clothing, and entertainment.
For much of the nation, men’s and women’s standard apparel remained the same: the garment and the sari. This meant that neither gender’s wardrobe changed noticeably during this period. Men in north India don the jacket; women wear the bodice, or choli.
Sculptures suggest that upper-class males from north India wore shoes, breeches, and coats. According to Rajatarangini, Harsha arrived in Kashmir dressed generally as befitting a king. This included the long coat; remember that a previous chief minister offended the king by wearing a short coat?
Religious Education, Science, and Instruction
Not much changed from the gradual progress of the educational system of the past period during this one. At the time, modern education was not a term used. People grabbed the knowledge they thought was absolutely necessary for their way of life. A small group including mostly Brahmans but some people from the aristocratic stratum, particularly Kayasthas, had access to writing and literature.
Temples also periodically set clauses allowing for university education. Usually starting their higher education, a student had to live with or visit the house of an instructor. Under this situation, he would have had to pay his teacher fees or give him with a gift at the end of his study.
For the teacher especially if they were too poor to pay tuition, they had been obliged to create individual encounters. Key subjects taught in class were the several Vedic subdisciplines and morphology. The study comprised literature and reason as well.
Religious Actions and Perspectives
While Buddhism and Jainism have kept declining, Hinduism has seen a rebirth and expansion during this period. Apart from their academic disagreements, the Buddhist and Jain monks suffered periodic persecution as well.
Legend has it that Saivite preacher Sambandar ordered the Pandya king of Madurai to execute many Jain monks. Sometimes their temples were also inhabited. As thus, the Puri temple was once a Buddhist temple. Originally a Jain temple, the temple near the Qutub Minar changed to be a Vishnu temple.
