A History of India, Third Edition

THE REGIONAL KINGDOMS OF EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA

collected from the points of the compass, an ass which runs away

[laden] with grain, a bar of gold that has been seized, a tax that has

been evaded, a cry of looting, an assembly connected with caste

customs, a bargain that has been made,—they are not ones to fail.

Be it as it will. To the Five Hundred svamis of Ayyavole, possessed

of all titles, having made prostration with the eight members, salute with

joined hands raised to the head, pull out that sack, and present offerings

of food, O Setti! To the Five hundred svamis of Ayyavole present the

tambula in a tray, wishing them all good fortune.^4

KINGS, PRINCES AND PRIESTS: THE STRUCTURE

OF HINDU REALMS

The survey of the development of several important Indian dynasties has
shown some basic structural similarities in these medieval regional
kingdoms. Ever since the days of the Guptas the style to be followed by a
Hindu ruler was fairly well set. The Maharaja, be his realm large or small,
had emerged as a distinct cultural type. The spread of this style across the
subcontinent and on to Southeast Asia was due not only to direct imitation
but also to the transmission of its values by the Brahmins who acted as
royal advisors and priests to the royal families or to the many temples
established by means of royal patronage.
The incessant confrontation of many rulers which was a concomitant of
the universal spread of the royal style has distracted attention from the basic
continuity of regional cultures which prospered in the medieval period. Within
the respective regions the rise and decline of dynasties was only an
epiphenomenon. As we have seen, the regional pattern remained rather stable
and where one dynasty was eclipsed another one took over. At the most there
were slight shifts in the relative importance of nuclear areas. If such a nuclear
area were at the centre of a mighty realm it could often benefit from the
tribute exacted from other areas. Whenever power shifted to another area that
area in turn would attract the tributes. In this way many different areas got a
chance to flourish at some time and to develop their regional culture. Thus,
the system of medieval kingship had a distributive effect.
In this chapter the basic features of the structure of medieval Hindu
realms are highlighted. We shall start with an examination of Harsha’s
empire which was no longer akin to the empires of ancient India but
already showed the characteristics of the medieval period.

Harsha and the Samantas: a new pattern of Indian feudalism

In its dimensions Harsha’s vast realm was very much like the Gupta
empire, but its internal structure was quite different from that empire.