Chapter 6: The Age of Reorganisation (History)

After the Maurya empire weakened and broke up (around the 2nd century BCE), the regions that had been part of it were reorganised into new kingdoms that constantly competed to become powerful: the Śhuṅgas in Magadha, the Sātavāhanas in the Deccan, Kalinga under Khāravela, and in the north-west the Indo-Greeks, Śhakas and Kushanas; in the south, the Cholas, Cheras and Pāṇḍyas. Political power was redistributed among many states, along with new trade links, art styles and cultural exchanges. That is why scholars call it the "age of reorganisation".

Because after the Maurya empire broke up, its regions were reorganised into many new competing kingdoms (Śhuṅgas, Sātavāhanas, Kalinga, Indo-Greeks, Kushanas, and the Cholas, Cheras and Pāṇḍyas in the south).

Sangam literature is the oldest literature of south India, written in Tamil roughly between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE. The word sangam comes from the Sanskrit saṅgha, meaning an "association" or "coming together", here an assembly of poets; according to tradition, poets gathered in assemblies, probably at Madurai, to present their works. The literature consists of several collections or anthologies of poems by hundreds of poets, including women poets.

The poems express, with great skill and delicacy, personal emotions such as love (called akam, the inner world) and social values such as heroism, war and generosity of kings (puram, the outer world). They describe the three crowned kings, the Cholas, Cheras and Pāṇḍyas, as well as farming, trade with Rome, ports like Puhar and Muziris, landscapes and daily life. Historians therefore use Sangam literature as an important source for the society and culture of early south India.

The oldest Tamil literature (c. 3rd century BCE–3rd century CE), from "assemblies of poets"; anthologies of poems on love (akam) and heroism and generosity (puram), describing the Cholas, Cheras and Pāṇḍyas, trade and daily life; a key historical source.

The Sātavāhana kings of the Deccan. For example, Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi was named after his mother, Gautamī Balaśhrī ("son of Gautamī"), and Vāsiṣhṭhīputra Puḷumāvi after his mother Vāsiṣhṭhī. In the Sātavāhana tradition, princes were often named after their mothers. This shows the high status and influence of royal women: Gautamī Balaśhrī was a powerful queen who donated land to Buddhist monks and had an important inscription carved at Nāśhik about her son's achievements. Using the mother's name also helped to identify which queen a prince was born to, in families where kings had several queens.

The Sātavāhanas, e.g. Gautamīputra Sātakarṇi (son of Gautamī Balaśhrī); it reflected the respect and influence of royal mothers (Gautamī Balaśhrī made donations and the Nāśhik inscription) and identified each prince's mother.

The Cheras

I find the Chera kingdom interesting because of its connection with the sea and its trade with faraway lands. The Cheras, also known as Keralaputras ("sons of Kerala"), were one of the three crowned kings of the Sangam age, along with the Cholas and the Pāṇḍyas. They ruled over the region of present-day Kerala and parts of Tamil Nadu, along the western coast of south India, from around the 3rd century BCE.

The Chera land was rich in pepper, cardamom, ivory, timber and pearls, which were in great demand in the Roman world, West Asia and beyond. Their great port, Muziris (near present-day Kodungallur), was visited by ships from the Roman empire, which carried away spices and brought gold coins, wine and other goods. Many Roman coins have been found in south India, showing how important this trade was. The Chera kings also issued their own coins, and patronised Sangam poets, who praised their generosity and bravery. One famous story from the epic Silappadikāram tells of the Chera king Senguttuvan, who built a temple to honour Kaṇṇagi, the heroine of the epic, where she was worshipped as a goddess.

I chose the Cheras because they show that, more than 2,000 years ago, a small kingdom on India's coast was connected to a worldwide trade network, much like India's ports today. Their story combines trade, poetry and culture.

(After presenting, find out which kingdoms your classmates chose most often.)

E.g. the Cheras (Keralaputras) of the Kerala coast: rich in pepper and spices, trading through Muziris with the Roman world (Roman gold coins found), issuing coins and patronising Sangam poets; chosen for their early global trade links.

The Kingdom of Haritapura (the Green City)

• Emblem: a banyan tree with a lamp beneath it. The banyan stands for shelter, unity and long life, and the lamp for knowledge and hope.
• Title: Lokapālaka, "protector of the people".
• Values: honesty, kindness to all living beings, respect for every faith and language, and care for nature.
• Rules and regulations: every child must go to school, and education is free; every family must plant and care for at least five trees; no one may waste water or food, and rainwater is harvested in every village; all citizens are equal before the law, and an assembly of elected citizens advises the ruler and can question him; shops must use fair weights, and traders are protected on safe roads.
• Unique features: a "Festival of Ideas" every year where scholars, farmers and artists share inventions; free hospitals for people and animals; roads lined with shady trees and rest houses, as in Aśhoka's time.

Create your own: e.g. emblem a banyan tree with a lamp (shelter, unity, knowledge), title "Lokapālaka", values of honesty, kindness and care for nature, rules on free education, tree planting, saving water and equality, and features like free hospitals and a festival of ideas.

Mark these with symbols on the outline map and add a key.

Mark Bharhut and Sāñchī (MP), the Karla, Pitalkhora and Nāśhik caves (Maharashtra), the Udayagiri–Khandagiri caves (Odisha), and the Mathura and Gandhāra art centres.