Short
History 10/08/2022
Epigraphy
as Source and tool of historical reconstruction of Ancient India
- What is Epigraphy? - The study of inscriptions in their various manifestations is called Epigraphy. Inscriptions are the written records of history – an incontrovertible evidence. They provide information about the names of the kings, their genealogy, their victories, the names of the conquered kings, the dates of events, the extent of empire, the names and designations of the State officials and a number of such things providing an insight into the political history of the times.
- The edicts of Asoka, the pillars of Samudragupta and Rudradaman I are religious and administrative inscriptions. Bilingual inscriptions at Delhi and Berhampur and musical rules found in the Pudukottai, treatise on architecture inscribed on a tower at Chittor are some other interesting examples of inscriptions. Inscriptions on metal plates also cast light on the historical period. The Mandasor copper plates, the Sohgaura plate from Gorakhpur district, the Aihole inscription of Mahendra-Varman, the Uttiramerur inscriptions of Cholas cast light on trade, taxes and currency. Some of these dated in the Saka and Vikrama era reflect on the social condition of India. They give knowledge about the boundaries of kingdoms and empire.
- Similarly many inscriptions provide invaluable information about the structure of the contemporary society. The inscriptions of the Mauryan king Ashoka for instance, reveal that he had made elaborate arrangement for the medical treatment of humans and animals and for distribution of medicines. He constructed rest houses and planted trees along the major roads throughout his empire. The Hathigumpha inscription of King Kharvela of Kalinga informs us about the practice of census in the empire. The population of Kalinga during that time was 35 lakh.
- Inscriptions are mostly curved on gold, silver, iron, copper, bronze plates or stone pillars, rock temple walls and breaks and are free from interpolations. Inscriptions are divided in three divisions: royal eulogy, Official documents and private records. Inscriptions in Prakrit, Pali, Sanskrit, Telgu, Tamil and other languages are discovered. Thus, Inscriptions reflect the history of languages and literature and a few refer to the performing arts.
- One of the advantages of inscriptions for historians is that unlike literary sources they cannot be tampered with and hence give a fair idea of the person who got the inscription engraved as well as of his times. It is true that most of the inscriptions found are in the nature of prasastis or panegyrics extolling and, practically in all cases, exaggerating the virtues of the king or the emperor who got the engraving done. In fact, even in land-grants mostly inscribed on copperplates, the done has exaggerated praise, and perhaps naturally so, for the donor.
- Inscriptions are valuable source of information on political history. The geographical spread of king’s inscriptions is often taken as indicating the area under his political control. Inscriptions, especially those of the early medieval period, have been used as a major source of information on political structures and administrative and revenue system. They can also shed light on the history of settlement patterns, agrarian relations, forms of labour, and class and cast structures. Analyzing epigraphic evidence involves unravelling the technical vocabulary of inscriptions –for instance, the designation of officials, fiscal terms, and land measures – the meaning of which are not always clear.
- Hence it is incumbent on the historian not to take inscriptions at face value and, by comparing them with other sources of information of the time and even with other inscriptions belonging to the same period, try to reconstruct the past. But in spite of their limitations, inscriptions are perhaps the most important of material sources for reconstructing the history of ancient India.
******
No comments:
Post a Comment