2
THE GREAT ANCIENT
EMPIRES
THE RISE OF THE GANGETIC CULTURE AND
THE GREAT EMPIRES OF THE EAST
The extension of the Vedic culture into the central and eastern Gangetic
plains was as important for the further course of Indian history as the
period of their early settlement in the Panjab and in the Ganga-Yamuna
Doab. The penetration of the east very soon led to the emergence of the
first historical kingdoms and to a second phase of urbanisation—the first
phase being that of the Indus civilisation.
It is generally assumed that the eastward migration of the Vedic
population was caused by a change of climate. The fertile area in Panjab
and Doab became more and more arid and, at the same time, the Gangetic
jungles receded and thus became penetrable. The ancient texts show that
the tribes were constantly fighting for pasture and agricultural land. In the
Brahmana texts, it is stated quite unequivocally that only he who fights on
two fronts can establish a settlement successfully, because if he fights on
only one front, the land which he has acquired will surely be taken over by
the next of the migrating groups. Thus there was continuous warfare both
against the indigenous people and against other Vedic tribes.
A further motivation for the movement east may have been escape from
royal supremacy and a desire to preserve their earlier republican
organisation by settling where the new kings did not yet have power.
Heterodox groups and sodalities like the Vratyas which are mentioned in
the Atharvaveda may have played an important role in this movement. It is
interesting to note that Buddhist texts contain many references to powerful
tribal republics which existed in the east in the fifth century BC while the
Brahmana texts which originated in the western part of Vedic settlements
refer mostly to kingdoms.
Not very much is known so far about the time and the direction of
these movements beyond Kurukshetra. There are early references to
movements south: ‘The people move victoriously to the south.’^1 Avanti,
with its capital at Ujjain about 500 miles south of Kurukshetra, was one
of the earliest outposts in Central India and it showed traces of incipient