(Online Course) GS Concepts : Stage in the Evolution of Indian Culture

Topic: Stage in the Evolution of Indian Culture

Q: Briefly discuss the different stages in the evolution of Indian Culture upto the Post-Gupta age?

Answer: Indian culture is the oldest surviving culture in the world. It has passed through centuries of continuity and changes. It was not evolved in any particular phase of Indian history; but in every phase it continued to assimilate certain new features, which, in turn, provided it with a distinctiveness in each succeedding phase. If we look to the eternal march of Indian culture, we will notice that Indian culture along with its essential features remained receptive to new ideas. This receptiveness has given a new progressive outlook to Indian culture.

THE HARAPPAN CULTURE

The Harappan culture was essential a city culture drawing sustenance from a large area extending from modern Punjab to as far as Gujarat. The traces of this culture have been found in various places in Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

The Harappan people lived in well-populated cities and towns with all amenities of a developed city life. Among the popular deities, the mother Goddess and Pashupati Siva were the most prominent. Serpents, trees and certain animals, most prominent being cows were also worshipped. These elements of religion, though contrary to the Vedic religion, were subsequently adopted in Hinduism. Good progress was achieved in the field of architecture, science and technology. Harappan civilisation has made an important contribution to the growth and development of culture and civilisation in India during the subsequent phases.

THE VEDIC CULTURE

The Vedic culture, which is associated with the advent of the Aryans in India, is the cornerstone of Indian culture. The word Veda comes from the root Vid (to know). The Rigveda is the earliest, Veda, and is also the first testament of the world. The other Vedas are the Samaveda and the Yajurveda. The Atharvaveda is the later Veda. The later Vedic literature comprises: (i) the Samhitas of four Vedas; (ii) the Brahmans attached to each of the Samhitas; (iii) the Aranyakas and Upanishads (which are mostly attached to the Brahmanas). The Samhitas are books of hymns for psalms. The Brahmanas are treatises relating to prayer and sacrificial ceremony. The Aranyakas and the Upanishads deal with the philosophical doctrines, allegorical significance of rites, etc.

The Vedic Aryans contributed to three facets of Indian culture. At the level of social institutions the idea of a Varn (occupational groups) society was evolved at this time. The responsibility of maintaining this social order was undertaken by Indian society. At the religious level, the ritual of sacrific became the keystone of religious ritual. Finally the philosophcal thought of this period was gathered together in a body of literature (for example, the Upanishads) which not only contained subtle metaphysical doctrines attracting the respect of Indian intellectuals through the centuries, but was also germinal to many of the later systems of thoughts. It was the acceptance or rejection of these three facets that constituted the dominant trend in the evolution of Indian cultural ideas and institutions.

LATER VEDIC AGE

The period following that of the Rigveda is known as the later Vedic Age, when later Vedic Samhitas, Brahmans, Upanishads. etc. were composed. During this period stately cities and extensive compact kingdoms came into existence. The society underwent a complete change. The concept of Varnasrama (varnas-ashramas) became the focal points of the social and individual life. The functions and duties. The privileges and status of the four varnas were minutely defined. Significant changes also took place in the religious life of the people. We discover three distinct currents of religious thought- the ritualistic, the philosophic and the ascetic. Hinduism was fully expounded in the later Vedic literature- the Brahamanas, the Upanishads and Aranyakas. The doctrines about the Soul (Atman), the Absolute (Brahma), relation between God and man, and the principles of Karma, maya, mukti, trans-migration of soul and other special features that have dominated Hindu way of life and thought were evolved, stated and elaborated in the Upanishads.
But the most important achievement of this period is the geographical conquest of India. The rivers, the mountains and the general features of every part of India were known. The Aryan culture and thoughts were spread all over the country.

The Age of the Budha and Mahavira and the Contribution of Buddhism and Jainsim of Indian Culture.

The sixth century B.C. witnessed great religious ferment in the world. It was an age when people in India were disgusted with philosophical dogmas and were striving for simple methods of worship and easier means of escape from the ills of this mundane existence. It was an era of revolt- an age of protest against the old order of things. The thinkers of new movement were pure intellectualists - philosophers. The greatest of these wandering teachers were the two Kshatriya princes, viz Vardhamana Mahavir and Gautam Buddha. The philosophy and the ideologies of the former took the shape of a reforming movement known as Jainism, while those of the latter led to the other movement called Buddhism.

Jainism and Buddhism were the reformation movements of Hinduism Mahavir did not believe that God created this world or that he exercised any control over it. According to him there is no creation of the world, no supreme creative spirit, nor is there any creator necessary to explain the nature of the world. He regarded all objects, animate or inanimate, as endowed with various degrees of consciousness. So the greatest emphasis is laid on the doctrine of ahimsa or non-injury to any kind of living being.

Mahavir successfully founded the Jain Church. His severe asceticism and simple doctrines attracted many followers. The Jains have played a very important part in the development of the languages of the country. The Jains utilised the prevailing spoken language of different times at different places in the country for their religious propaganda and preservation of the sacred knowledge. Their religious literature is very vast. They have also produced a rich literature in Sanskrit and Prakrit, both narrative and philosophical, and works on technical subjects like grammar, prosody , lexicography and mathematics are also not wanting.

The beauty of Jainism found its high watermarks during the eleventh and the twelfth centuries. The gigantic statues of Bahubali called Gomateswara at Sravanabelgola and Karkal in Mysore are among wonders of the world. The Jain caves with their relief works and statues at Udaigiri hills near Bhilsa in Madhya Pradesh and Ellora in Maharashtra are examples of excellent architecture and sculpture of the period. The Jain tower at Chittor in Rajasthan is one of the best specimens of Jain architecture. The famous Jain temples at Dilwara near Mount Abu in Rajasthan belonging to the eleventh century, carries to its highest perfection the Indian genius for the invention of graceful patterns and their application to the decoration of massonary architecture.

Gautama Budha never endeavoured to establish a new religion or creed.He advocated not a set of doctrines of dogmas but a rational scheme of spiritual development. Simple goodness of spirit, deed and conduct are the basis of his teachings. The Buddha preached his followers the four “Noble Truths” concerning sorrow, the remedy or destruction of sorrow and the way leading to the destruction of sorrow. With regard to his religious teachings and Buddha may call an agnostic, because he neither accepts nor rejects the existence of God.

The Buddhist Scriptures known as pitakas are divied into three sections, namely the sutta, the vinaya and the adbihamma. The Buddbha had two kinds of disciples- monks (bhikshu) and lay worshippers (upasakas); the former were organised into sanghas, or congregations.

Perhaps the greatest factor that contributed to the popularity and growth of Buddhism was the missionary activities of the Buddhist Sangha. The Buddhist congregations became the centres of light and learning.
The progress of Buddhism- exercised considerable influence in shaping the various aspects of Indian life- cultural, social, religious and political. Buddhism gave a popular religion, without any complicated, elaborate and unintelligible rituals such as could be performed only by the priestly class. The doctrine of ahimsa so strongly stressed, devoutly preached and sincerely practised by the Buddhists was incorporated bodily in their teachings by the brahmanas of later days. This indirectly led to the rise of that particular phase of the bhagwat religion which completely absorbed the doctrine of Ahimsa.

The practice of worshipping personal Gods, making their images and creating temples in their honour was adopted by the Hindus in imitation of the Mahayan Buddhists. As Buddhism was intended for the masses it made popular the spoken languages of the people. Buddhism thus fostered the growth of a vast and varied literature in the languages of the people.

The finest contribution of the Buddhism to Indian life was made in the realm of architecture and sculpture. Under the patronage of Buddhism all branches of arts- architecture, sculpture, painting etc. made good progress Viharas or monasteries were built all over the country for giving permanent abodes to the Buddhist monks. Some pieces of Buddhist sculpture are considered to be the finest specimens of art in the world. The stupas of Sanchi, Bharhut and Amarvati, the stone pillars of Asoka and the cave temples of Kanheri (Bombay), Karle (Poona) and Nasik are regarded as the best specimens of the Buddhist art. The stupa at Sanchi is world-renowned for its gateways and railings which are profusely covered with sculpture. The Buddhist are was essentially an art with an intense feeling for nature and a vivid comprehension of the unity of all life- human animal and vegetable.

But the most important fact is that Buddhism proved to be one of the greatest civilising forces which India gave to the neighbouring countries. Buddhism broke the isolation of India and established an intimate contact between India and the foreign countries. It was India’s greatest gift to outer world. Indian culture and civilisation had been carried by the Buddhist missionaries to China, Mongolia, Manchuria, Korea, Japan, Myanmar, Java, Sumatra, Indo-China and other countries since the days of Ashoka. These religious ties came to bind many foreigns with our country and paved the way for spreading the Indian Culture abroad.

THE MAURYAN AGE

The rise of the Mauryan dynasty ushers in a new era in the political and cultural history of India. It was in the Mauryan Age that India became the cultural ambassador of the world, sending out missionaries to spread out India’s civilisation and religion to distant parts of the globe. India under the Mauryas sought to build a new world based on peace, brotherhood and cultural unity.

The Mauryan period is a great landmark in the history of the Indian Art. In fact, the history of Indian Art begins with the advent of the Mauryans. The stone monuments of Asoka have defied the ravages of time and they form the earliest artistic record of Indian civilisation yet discovered. The perfection which the art of sculpture attained during this period suggests that it had a long period of continuous and steady developments. Tradition credits Asoka with building 84,000 stupas all over India and Afghanistan.

The monolithic pillars or lats set up by Asoka furnish, perhaps, the finest, the most beautiful and characteristic specimens of the remains of the Mauryan art. These Asokan pillars are a triumph of engineering, architecture and sculpture. The capital of the Sarnath Pillar is undoubtedly the most magnificent and has been declared the finest piece of sculpture.

Dr. V. A. Smith makes the following observation on the Sarnath capital, which is our national emblem.
“It would be difficult to find in any country an example of ancient sculpture or even equal to this beautiful work of art, which successfully combines realistic modelling with ideal dignity and is finished in every detail with perfect accuracy”.

It would not be an exaggeration if we call the Mauryan age a brilliant period in Indian history. The world owes a huge debt to one of the Mauryan kings - Ashoka. He is the only King in the history of world who gave up war after victory and attempted to banish war entirely from the world. He not only gave to the world the lessons of religious toleration but placed before the world the model of an ideal king. The century and a half of Mauryan rule witnessed a growth of civilisation, art and culture which entitled India to rank among the greatest countries of the time.

THE SHUNGA-SATAVAHANA-SAKA AGE

The Mauryan Emperors were succeeded in Magadha by the Sunga and Kanva rulers, while the Greeks, the Parthians, the Sakas and the Kushanas ruled the north-west frontier. In the trans-Vindhyan India a new power was rising under the Satavahanas. The Satavahana rule lasted for nearly three hundred years. Together with these kingdoms a large number of indigenous states also flourished in northern India during the long period of approximately four centuries.

There was an outburst of activity in the realms of religion, literature and art. Under the liberal patronage of Kanishka, Buddhism spread far and wide especially in Central Asia and China. Bhagvata (the cult of Vasudeva-Krishna) and Saiva sects were growing in importance. Many foreigners were convented to Bhagvata religion. The famous Greek ruler Minander embraced Buddhism while Saka rulers embraced the Vedic religion.
The alien rulers in India, the Greeks, the Sakas and the Kushanas were Indianised. The missionary activities of the votaries of Buddhism and of Vedic religion outside India enabled the Indians to set up their cultural centres. The presence of aliens, especially the Greeks, restored India’s contact with foreign countries. Besides opening avenues for brisk foreign trade, India art and science were also influenced by the Hellenic culture. The rise of the Gandhar school of art testifies to the prevalence of foreign influence on the art of the country.

Inspite of the existence of a large number of sects and creeds, the votaries of different faiths were living in percept harmony. The national art of India underwent a rapid development in this period. The artists took considerable pain in carving and evolved perfect techniques of sculpture. This was probably on account of the natural growth of an aesthetic progress.

For the first time Indian art became conscious of the socio-economic structure of the society and in view of the social psychology learnt “to differentiate between the subtle and the violent shades and emotions of the human heart. The base reliefs of Bharhut, Sanchi, Amravati and other places serve the purpose of an illuminating commentary on the life of the age. They effect the spontaneous joy, emotions and movements of the life of the masses.

CONTRIBUTION OF THE KUSHANAS TO INDIAN CULTURE

The empire of the Kushanas proved a great civilising factor. It opened the way for the spread of Indian civilisation to central and eastern Asia. Trade and commerce flowed between China, India, Persia, Mesopotamia and the Roman-Empire. The Kushana Ambassadors were despatched to the great Roman Emperors. The sea-borne trade of India was carried, under the Kushanas, through the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

The Kushanas were patrons of literature and art. A large volume of Sanskrit literature of high standard, both religious and secular, was produced in the congenial atmosphere of royal patronage. The name of the Kushan Emperor, Kanishka is associated with several eminent Buddhist writers Asvaghosha, Nagarujna, Vasumitra and Charak, the reputed count physician of Kanishka, was the celebrated author of the Ayurvedic Science.
An important event of the Kushan Empire is that it not only witnessed the extension of Buddhism but also the most serious dissension with the bosom of the Buddhist church itself. It was this changes in the Buddhist creed which permanently divided Buddhist church into two big camps-Hinayan and Mahayan, the former was the original Buddhism and the latter the new school of Buddhism.

In the Kushana Age, Buddhism in its new form spread rapidly to many countries beyond the borders of India to Tibet, China, Burma and Japan. Mahayanism is called the northern school of Buddhism and Sanskrit is the vehicle of its literature. To distinguish it from the old or Himayan Buddhism which is called the southern school has Pali as the medium of its sacred texts.

Intimately connected with the Mahayan school of Buddhism was a new school of Indian sculpture, known as the Gandhara school. It flourished under the Kushanas, especially Kanishka, during whose time a vast number of Buddhist monasteries, stupas and statues were constructed. They bear a distinct influence of the old Greek school of art. The province of Gandhara, the centre of the new school of Buddhism, was ao situated as to be the meeting ground of the Indian. Chinese, Iranian and the Greco-Roman cultures. Hence the art of the province could not but be a mixture of the west and the east.
The main theme of the Gandhara School of Sculpture was the form of Buddhism, and its most important contribution was the evolution of an image of the Buddha.
Kanishka was the founder of that reckoning which commenced in 78 A.D. and came to be known as the Saka era. Kanishka, through a Buddhist, continued to honour the Greek, Sumerian, Elamite, Mithraic, Zeroastrian and Hindu Gods worshipped by various communities of his far-flung empire. On his coins the deities of different sects and religions are engraved, bearing testimony to his spirit of religious toleration.

THE GUPTA AGE

The Gupta Age is described as the Golden Age of Indian History. The Gupta period really marks as spoch as it gave an impetus to the revival of national spirit which manifested itself in almost every aspect of the life of the nation. In the sphere of religion, the activities of the national spirit found expression in an era of the Brahmanical revival. But the Gupta period is conspicuously free from any trace of religious tyranny, intolerance and persecution. It was in the Gupta period that India entered her most glorious phase of cultural expansion.

In this age, Indian talent blossomed and unprecedented intellectual progress was achieved. The Sanskrit language was revived and the Gupta emperors liberally encouraged its use. Several literary works of great merit were produced. World renowned poets like Kalidas, grammarian and statemen like Viresen Sab, Dramatists like Vishakhadatta and Shudraka, celebrated Buddhist philoso-phers and authors like Asanga, Vasubandhu, Aryadeo, Dignag and Jain philosophers like Siddhasen, Diwakar, Samantbhadra, etc., flourished in the Gupta period. Well-known works on astronomy and mathematics were produced and certain Puranas and epics were given the final shape in which they are available today.

It was a most remarkable age from the artistic point of view. Architecture sculpture, painting, terracotta, metallurgy, music, dancing etc. all attained unprecedented progress under the Guptas. Tantricism was a significant development in religion.

Great progress was made in the domain of scientific studies during the Gupta period. The formulation of the theory of zero and consequent evolution of the decimal system are to be credited to the thinkers of this age. Aryabhatta Varahamihira and Brahmagupta were in their own days, “the foremost astronomers and mathematicians of the world”. In his famous work Surya Siddhanta Aryabhatta examines and explains the true causes of solar and lunar eclipses. His calculation of the size of the earth is very near that estimated by modern astronomers.

The art of casting metals reached degree of perfection which may well be regarded as exceptional.

THE PALLAVAS AND THE CHOLAS

The Aryanisation of South India was complete during the rule of the Pallavas. They exercised their supremacy for nearly 500 years, from the fifth century to the ninth century.
Pallavas were greater patrons of Sanskrit. Most of the inscriptions of the Pallavas were in Sanskrit and even in Tamil inscriptions the Prasasti portions were composed in Sanskrit. Temples were important centres for Sanskrit studies. Bharavi, the well known poet of Sanskrit and the author of the Kiratarjuniyam, is said to have adorned the court of a Pallava King Simhavishnu. Similarly, Dandin, the famous author of a standard work on poetrics, is reported to have flourished in the reign of another Pallava King Narasimhavarman II. The University of Kanchi, the seat of Sanskrit learning and the then greatest centres of education in the south, played an important part in the cultural expansion in the south.

Since the Pallavas were a great maritime power, their activities on the sea were mainly directed- towards maintaining friendly relations and close contacts with the countres of the south-east Asia. In the realm of religion the Pallavas had made their own contribution. The great religious reform which was to sweep India in the eighth century, originated at the Pallava Court. The Saiva and Vaishnava Bhakti saints of the south flourished in the Pallava period. The great Saiva saints were the contempories of Pallava King Narshimha-varman. Similarly the Vaishnava saints Alavars were liberally patronised by the Pallavas. A new branch of Bhakti literature- the Tevaram and the Viruvachakam of the Saivas and the Prabandham of the Alavars of the Vaishnavas belong to the Pallava age.

The history of architecture and sculpture in South India begins with the Pallava temples which introduced a new technique called the Dravidian style. In addition to the temples, in Kanchi and other places, some of the rock-cut temples known as the seven pagodas or Rathas of Mamallapuram are built in this style which may justly be called the Pallava style of art. Undoubtedly, their edifices are among the noblest monuments in South India.
The town of Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram, thirty two miles south of Madras, founded by the great Pallava king Narasimhavarman (625-645) on the sea bench, has many cave-temples or mandapas decorated with fine reliefs. The monolithic temples called rathas, known as ‘seven pagodas’ are another type of remarkable rock-cut architecture at Mamallapuram. These mandapas and rathas are adorned with marvellous figure sculpture. The most wonderful example of the Pallava structured art is the famous Kailash temple at Kanchi. The temple of Vaikuntha Perumal is yet another marvellous example of the art.

The style of Pallava architecture not only set the standard in the south but also greatly influence the architecture of Cambodia, Vietnam, etc. The Pallava art was transmitted beyond the seas to the countries of south-east Asia like Indonesia “where its effulgence, reflected in the vast monuments of these civilisations; shone with even greater splendour than in the country of its origin”.

THE CHOLAS

The Cholas whose dynastic history began at about 900 A.D. lasting for about 250 years, supplanted the Pallavas. The Cholas, who were great builders like Pallavas, executed works on a stupendous scale. Chola rulers elaborately and carefully planned and laid out vast cities. The chola art attained maturity in the two magnificent temples of Tanjore and Gangaikonda-Cholapuram both built in the first quarter of the eleventh century. The Dravidian style of temple architecture reached final culmination under the cholas.
Another amistic achievment of the Cholas lies in the special Indian plastic art known as the Chola bronzes. The Nataraja (dancing Shiva) figures of the period and the images and portraits of the saints and Hindu gods and goddesses have now been recognised as masterpieces of the world.

THE POST-GUPTA AGE (600-1200 A.D.)

After the collapse of the Gupta-Empire northern Indian became congeries of small states. Many petty kingdoms arose on the ruins of the Gupta empire and disintegration followed in the course of next fifty years; but under Harsha of Kannauj (606-647) these disintegrated units were again brought under the central authority. He was a great lover and patron of learning and a religious and charitable man. Himself a poet and dramatist and the author of three plays he extended state patronage to men of letters like Bana, the author of Harshacharita and Kadambari, and Jayasena, a man of encyclopedic learning. His court was famous for philosophers, poets, dramatists and painters. He later on adopted Buddhism whose cause he served in many ways.

In his time the learned Chinese scholar and monk, Hiuen Tsang, visited India in 630 A.D. and remained here till 643 A.D. and has given us a fairly elaborated account of the religious, social and economic conditions of India in those days.

The Buddhist monasteries were not only the strong-holds of religion but also of education. The University of Nalanda which reached its high water-mark during this period was an educational centre of international fame. In addition to Nalanda. Texila and Ujjain were other centres of learning : the former was renowned for its medical school and the later for its secular learning including mathematics and astronomy. The death of Harsha was a signal for general disruption and disintegration of his empire and India again lost her political unity.

This period witnessed a new tendency in literature, namely, the rise of the vernaculars. The period under review witnessed not only great progress in Sanskrit literature, but also the foundation of the modern vernacular languages of India, such as, Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Bengali in the Rajput period. Though architecture degenerated during this period, yet the spiritual content, the very basic principle of Indian architecture, finds its free play in the building activity of the age.

The most famous temples of the period in the Northern India are those of Somnath in Saurashtra, Bhubaneswar, Puri and Konark in Orissa, Khajuraho in Bundelkhand and Abu in Rajasthan. The Jagannath Temple at Puri was constructed around 1100 A.D. while the Sun temple at Konark approximately around 1250 A.D. Though Hinduism was theoretically based on the old Vedic beliefs and practices, it had evolved its own characteristic features, such as doctrine of avatars, predominance of the theistic sects of Vaishnavism and Saivism, the Bhakti cult, Tantricism and the construction of magnificent temples.

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