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Marutasami and the irMarutasami and the irMarutasami and the irMarutasami and the irMarutasami and the iron pillaron pillaron pillaron pillaron pillar

Marutasami was so excited. His brother had propelledhis wheelchair all along the dusty, stony path, past thetowering Qutb Minar, and up the metal ramp. It hadbeen tough, but now he was here, in front of the famousiron pillar. It was an unforgettable experience.

The irThe irThe irThe irThe iron pillaron pillaron pillaron pillaron pillar

The iron pillar atMehrauli, Delhi, is aremarkable example ofthe skill of Indian craftspersons. It is made ofiron, 7.2. m high, andweighs over 3 tonnes.It was made about1500 years ago. Weknow the date becausethere is an inscription

on the pillar mentioning a ruler named Chandra,who probably belonged to the Gupta dynasty(Chapter 10). What is amazing is the fact that thepillar has not rusted in all these years.

Buildings in brick and stoneBuildings in brick and stoneBuildings in brick and stoneBuildings in brick and stoneBuildings in brick and stone

The skills of our crafts persons are also apparentin the buildings that have survived, such asstupas. The word stupa means a mound. Whilethere are several kinds of stupas, round and tall,big and small, these have certain commonfeatures. Generally, there is a small box placed atthe centre or heart of the stupa. This may containbodily remains (such as teeth, bone or ashes) ofthe Buddha or his followers, or things they used,as well as precious stones, and coins.

The iron pillar

CHAPTER 11

BUILDINGS, PBUILDINGS, PBUILDINGS, PBUILDINGS, PBUILDINGS, PAINTINGS AND BOOKAINTINGS AND BOOKAINTINGS AND BOOKAINTINGS AND BOOKAINTINGS AND BOOKSSSSS

MetallurgyMetallurgyMetallurgyMetallurgyMetallurgy

Ancient Indian metallurgists made majorcontributions to the metallurgical history of theworld. Archaeological excavations have shownthat the Harappans were master craftsmen andhad knowledge of copper metallurgy. They evenmanufactured bronze by mixing copper and tin.While the Harappans belonged to the Bronze Age,their successors belonged to the Iron Age. Indiaproduced highly advanced types of iron-forgediron, wrought iron and cast iron.

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This box, known as a relic casket,was covered with earth. Later, a layerof mud brick or baked brick wasadded on top. And then, the domelike structure was sometimescovered with carved stone slabs.

Often, a path, known as thepradakshina patha, was laid aroundthe stupa. This was surrounded withrailings. Entrance to the path wasthrough gateways. Devotees walkedaround the stupa, in a clockwisedirection, as a mark of devotion.Both railings and gateways wereoften decorated with sculpture.

Find Amaravati on Map 7(page 105). This was a place wherea magnificent stupa once existed.Many of the stone carvings fordecorating the stupa were madeabout 2000 years ago.

Other buildings were hollowed out of rock tomake artificial caves. Some of these were veryelaborately decorated with sculptures and paintedwalls.

Some of the earliest Hindu temples were also builtat this time. Deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, and Durga

were worshipped in theseshrines. The most

important part of thetemple was the roomknown as thegarbhagriha, where theimage of the chief deitywas placed. It was herethat priests performed

religious rituals, anddevotees offered worship

to the deity.

Top : The Great Stupa

at Sanchi, Madhya

Pradesh.

Stupas like this one were

built over several

centuries. While the

brick mound probably

dates to the time of

Ashoka (Chapter 7), the

railings and gateways

were added during the

time of later rulers.

Left : Sculpture from

Amaravati.

Look at the picture and

describe what you see.

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Often, as at Bhitargaon, a tower, known as theshikhara, was built on top of the garbhagriha, tomark this out as a sacred place. Buildingshikharas required careful planning. Most templesalso had a space known as the mandapa. It wasa hall where people could assemble.

Find Mahabalipuram and Aihole on Map 7(page 105). Some of the finest stone temples werebuilt in these towns. Some of these are shownhere.

Top : An early temple at

Bhitargaon, Uttar

Pradesh.

This was built about

1500 years ago, and was

made of baked brick

and stone.

Top Right : Monolithic

temples at

Mahabalipuram.

Each of these was carved

out of a huge, single

piece of stone (that is

why they are known as

monoliths). While brick

structures are built up

by adding layers of

bricks from the bottom

upwards, in this case the

stone cutters had to

work from top

downwards.

List the problems that

stone cutters may have

faced.

Right : The Durga

temple at Aihole, built

about 1400 years ago.

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HoHoHoHoHow ww ww ww ww wererererere stupas and temples built?e stupas and temples built?e stupas and temples built?e stupas and temples built?e stupas and temples built?

There were several stages in building a stupa or atemple. Usually, kings or queens decided to buildthese as it was an expensive affair. First, goodquality stone had to be found, quarried, andtransported to the place that was often carefullychosen for the new building. Here, these roughblocks of stone had to be shaped and carved intopillars, and panels for walls, floors and ceilings.And then these had to be placed in precisely theright position.

Kings and queens probably spent money fromtheir treasury to pay the crafts persons whoworked to build these splendid structures.Besides, when devotees came to visitthe temple or the stupa, they oftenbrought gifts, which were used todecorate the buildings. Forexample, an association of ivoryworkers paid for one of thebeautiful gateways at Sanchi.

Among the others who paidfor decorations were merchants,farmers, garland makers,perfumers,smiths, and hundreds of men and

Left : A Jaina

monastery from Orissa.

This two storey building

was carved out of the

rock surface. Notice the

entrance to the rooms.

Jaina monks lived and

meditated in these

rooms.

In what ways is the cave

shown here different from

the illustration on p.14?

Below : A sculpture from

the National Museum,

New Delhi.

Can you see how some

of the caves may have

been hollowed out?

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women who are known only by theirnames which were inscribed onpillars, railings and walls. So whenyou get a chance to visit any of thesebuildings, remember how severalhundreds of people probably workedto construct and decorate them.

Make a diagram like the one onpage 88 (Chapter 8) to show the stagesin the building of a temple or stupa.

PPPPPaintingaintingaintingaintingainting

Find Ajanta on Map 7 (page 105). Thisis a place where several caves werehollowed out of the hills overcenturies. Most of these weremonasteries for Buddhist monks, andsome of them were decorated withpaintings. Here are some examples.

As the caves are dark inside, most of thesepaintings were done in the light of torches. Thecolours, which are vivid even after 1500 years,

were made of plants and minerals. The artistswho created these splendid works of art remainunknown.

Paintings from Ajanta.

Describe what you see

in each of these

paintings.

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The wThe wThe wThe wThe world of booksorld of booksorld of booksorld of booksorld of books

Some of the best–known epics were written duringthis period. Epics are grand, long compositions,about heroic men and women, and include storiesabout gods.

A famous Tamil epic, the Silappadikaram, wascomposed by a poet named Ilango, around 1800years ago. It is the story of a merchant namedKovalan, who lived in Puhar and fell in love witha courtesan named Madhavi, neglecting his wifeKannagi. Later, he and Kannagi left Puhar andwent to Madurai, where he was wrongly accusedof theft by the court jeweller of the Pandya king.The king sentenced Kovalan to death. Kannagi,who still loved him, was full of grief and anger atthis injustice, and destroyed the entire city ofMadurai.

A description frA description frA description frA description frA description from the Silappadikom the Silappadikom the Silappadikom the Silappadikom the Silappadikarararararamamamamam

Here is how the poet describes Kannagi’s grief:“O witness of my grief, you cannot console me. Is it right that your

body, fairer than pure gold, lies unwashed here in the dust? Is it just thatin the red glow of the twilight, your handsome chest, framed with a flowerwreath, lies thrown down on the bare earth, while I remain alone, helplessand abandoned to despair? Is there no god? Is there no god in this country?Can there be a god in a land where the sword of the king is used for themurder of innocent strangers? Is there no god, no god?”

Another Tamil epic, the Manimekalai wascomposed by Sattanar around 1400 years ago.This describes the story of the daughter ofKovalan and Madhavi. These beautifulcompositions were lost to scholars for manycenturies, till their manuscripts wererediscovered, about a hundred years ago.

Other writers, such as Kalidasa, (about whomyou read in Chapter 10) wrote in Sanskrit. BUILDINGS, PAINTINGS

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A vA vA vA vA verse frerse frerse frerse frerse from the Meghadutaom the Meghadutaom the Meghadutaom the Meghadutaom the Meghaduta

Here is a verse from Kalidasa’s best-known poem,the Meghaduta, in which a monsoon cloud isimagined to be a messenger between lovers who areseparated from one another.

See how the poet describes the breeze that willcarry the cloud northwards:

“A cool breeze, delightful as it is touchedWith the fragrance of the earthSwollen by your showers,Inhaled deeply by elephants,And causing the wild figs to ripen,Will blow gently as you go.”Do you think Kalidasa can be described as a lover

of nature?

RRRRRecorecorecorecorecording and prding and prding and prding and prding and preseresereseresereserving old storiesving old storiesving old storiesving old storiesving old stories

A number of Hindu religious stories that were incirculation earlier were written down around thesame time. These include the Puranas. Purana

literally mean old. The Puranas contain storiesabout gods and goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva,Durga or Parvati. They also contain details onhow they were to be worshipped. Besides, thereare accounts about the creation of the world, andabout kings.

The Puranas were written in simple Sanskritverse, and were meant to be heard by everybody,including women and shudras, who were notallowed to study the Vedas. They were probablyrecited in temples by priests, and people came tolisten to them.

Two Sanskrit epics, the Mahabharata andRamayana had been popular for a very long time.Some of you may be familiar with these stories.The Mahabharata is about a war fought betweenthe Kauravas and Pandavas, who were cousins.

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This was a war to gain control of the throne of theKurus, and their capital, Hastinapura. The storyitself was an old one, but was written down in theform in which we know it today, about 1500 yearsago. Both the Puranas and the Mahabharata aresupposed to have been compiled by Vyasa. TheBhagavad Gita, about which you learnt inChapter 9, was also included in the Mahabharata.

The Ramayana is about Rama, a prince ofKosala, who was sent into exile. His wife Sita wasabducted by the king of Lanka, named Ravana,and Rama had to fight a battle to get her back. Hewon and returned to Ayodhya, the capital ofKosala, after his victory. Like the Mahabharata,this was an old story that was now written down.Valmiki is recognised as the author of the SanskritRamayana.

There are several versions (many of which areperformed) of the Mahabharata and theRamayana, popular amongst people in differentparts of the subcontinent. Find out about aversion in your state.

Stories told bStories told bStories told bStories told bStories told by ory ory ory ory ordinardinardinardinardinary peopley peopley peopley peopley people

Ordinary people also told stories, composedpoems and songs, sang, danced, and performedplays. Some of these are preserved in collectionsof stories such as the Jatakas and thePanchatantra, which were written down aroundthis time. Stories from the Jatakas were oftenshown on the railings of stupas and in paintingsin places such as Ajanta.Here is one such story:

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The storThe storThe storThe storThe story of the monky of the monky of the monky of the monky of the monkeeeeey kingy kingy kingy kingy king

Once upon a time there was a great monkey king,who lived on the banks of the Ganga in theHimalayas, with 80,000 followers. They fed on thefruit of a special mango tree, which were verysweet. Such exquisite mangoes did not grow onthe plains. One day, a ripe mango fell into theriver and floated all the way to Varanasi. Therethe king of the city who was bathing in the riverfound it, and was amazed when he tasted it. Heasked the foresters of his kingdom whether theycould find the tree for him, and they led him all

the way to the Himalayas. There, the kingand his courtiers had their fill of

mangoes. At night, the kingdiscovered that the monkeys

were also feasting on the fruit,and decided to kill them.

However, the king of themonkeys worked out aplan to save his followers.He broke off branches ofthe mango tree, and tiedthem to form a ‘bridge’

across the river, and heldon to one end till all his

followers crossed over.Exhausted with the effort, he

fell down and lay dying.The human king saw what had

happened, and tried unsuccessfully torevive the monkey. When he died, the kingmourned his death and paid him full respect.

This story is shown on a piece of sculpturefound from a stupa at Bharhut in central India.Can you identify which parts of the story areshown in the sculpture?

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WWWWWriting books on scienceriting books on scienceriting books on scienceriting books on scienceriting books on science

This was also the time when Aryabhata, amathematician and astronomer, wrote a book inSanskrit known as the Aryabhatiyam. He statedthat day and night were caused by the rotation ofthe earth on its axis, even though it seems as ifthe sun is rising and setting everyday. Hedeveloped a scientific explanation for eclipses aswell. He also found a way of calculating thecircumference of a circle, which is nearly asaccurate as the formula we use today.Varahamihira, Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharyawere some other mathematicians and astronomerswho made several discoveries. Try and find outmore about them.

AAAAAyuryuryuryuryurvvvvvedaedaedaedaeda

Ayurveda is a well-known system ofhealth science that was developed inancient India. The two famouspractitioners of Ayurveda in ancientIndia were Charaka (1st-2nd centuriesC.E.) and Sushruta (c. 4th century C.E.)Charak Samhita, written by Charak isa remarkable book on medicine. In histreatise, Susruta Samhita, Sushrutaspeaks about elaborate surgicalprocedures.

KEYWORDS

stupa

temple

painting

epic

story

Purana

science mathematics

ZerZerZerZerZerooooo

While numerals had been usedearlier, mathematicians in Indianow invented a special symbolfor zero. This system of countingwas adapted by the Arabs andthen spread to Europe. Itcontinues to be in usethroughout the world.

The Romans used a systemof counting without using zero.Try and find out more about it.

ElsewhereElsewhereElsewhereElsewhereElsewhere

Paper has become a part of our daily lives. The bookswe read are printed on paper, and we use paper forwriting. Paper was invented in China about 1900years ago, by a man named Cai Lun. He beat plantfibres, cloth, rope and the bark of trees, soaked thesein water, and then pressed, drained and dried thepulp to create paper. Even today, hand made paperis made through a similar process. BUILDINGS, PAINTINGS

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ImagineImagineImagineImagineImagine

You are sitting in a mandapa of a temple. Describe thescene around you.

Let’s recallLet’s recallLet’s recallLet’s recallLet’s recall

1. Match the following

Stupa Place where the imageof the deity is installed

Shikhara Mound

Mandapa Circular path aroundthe stupa

Garbhagriha Place in temples wherepeople could assemble

Pradakshina patha Tower

2. Fill in the blanks:

(a)————————

was a great astronomer.

(b) Stories about gods and goddesses are found inthe

————————

(c)————————

is recognised as the author of theSanskrit Ramayana.

(d)————————

and ————————

are two Tamil epics.

The technique of making paper was a closelyguarded secret for centuries. It reached Korea about1400 years ago, and spread to Japan soon after. Itwas known in Baghdad about 1800 years ago. FromBaghdad it spread to Europe, Africa, and other partsof Asia including the subcontinent.

What were manuscripts in early India made outof ? (Hint: See Chapter 1)

uuuuu beginning of stupa

building (2300 years

ago)

uuuuu Amaravati (2000 years

ago)

uuuuu Kalidasa (1600 years

ago)

uuuuu Iron pillar, Temple at

Bhitargaon, Paintings

at Ajanta, Aryabhata

(1500 years ago)

uuuuu Durga temple (1400

years ago)

SOME IMPORTANT

DATES

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Let’s discussLet’s discussLet’s discussLet’s discussLet’s discuss

3. Make a list of the chapters in which you find mentionof metal working. What are the metals objectsmentioned or shown in those chapters?

4. Read the story on page 122. In what ways is themonkey king similar to or different from the kingsyou read about in Chapters 5 and 10?

5. Find out more and tell a story from one of the epics.

Let’s doLet’s doLet’s doLet’s doLet’s do

6. List some steps that can be taken to make buildingsand monuments accessible to differently abled people.

7. Try and list as many uses of paper as you can.

8. If you could visit any one of the places described inthis chapter, which would you choose and why?

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A quick look at datesA quick look at datesA quick look at datesA quick look at datesA quick look at dates

Throughout the book, we have used approximate dates to give you arough idea of when events/processes took place, using the year 2000as our starting point. Generally, the letter c., which stands for theLatin word circa, meaning ‘approximate’ is used for such dates.

You will find dates written differently in other books that youmay use.

uuuuu For instance, for the Palaeolithic period (Chapter 2), dates maybe mentioned in terms of millions of years ago, written as mya

uuuuu The beginning of farming and herding at Mehrgarh (Chapter 2)dates to c. 6000 BC/ BCE

uuuuu The Harappan cities flourished between c. 2700 and 1900 BCE

uuuuu The Rigveda was composed between c. 1500 and 1000 BCE

uuuuu Mahajanapadas and cities developed in the Ganga valley andnew ideas associated with the Upanishads, Jainism andBuddhism emerged c. 500 BCE

uuuuu Alexander invaded the northwest c. 327-325 BCE

uuuuu Chandragupta Maurya became king c. 321 BCE

uuuuu Ashoka ruled between c. 272/268 to 231 BCE

uuuuu The composition of the Sangam texts, c. 300 BCE-300 CE

uuuuu The reign of Kanishka, c. 78-100 CE

uuuuu The establishment of the Gupta empire, c. 320 CE

uuuuu The compilation of the Jaina texts at the council at Valabhi, c.512/521 CE

uuuuu The rule of Harshavardhana, 606-647 CE

uuuuu Xuan Zang comes to India, 630-643 CE

uuuuu The rule of Pulakeshin II, 609-642 CE.

In some cases, for example, the date from when Ashoka began torule, you may find that more than one date is shown. This is becausehistorians have not been able to agree on which is the correct date.Dates with question marks after them indicate that these are uncertian.

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MAP : 8Political Map of India

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NOTES

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