Aryanization
of the Andhra Country and its Conditions in the Pre-Mauryan and Mauryan
Periods:
Prior
to satavahanas, during the
6th and 5th
centuries B.C., northern
India was under
the settled government of
the Sisunaga and Haryanka rulers- The two famous
reformist faiths. Buddhism
and Jainism came
to be founded during the
same period.
In
Andhra, the Nagas
who were
of a non-Aryan
stock were having
their republican states. Some
other semi-civilised races
also in- habited the
thick jungle regions
to the south of the
Vindhyas, known for a
long time as Dandakaranya. It was
during this period that
the Aryans from
the north were
penetrating into this Dandaka
area. The coming of the Aryans
into Deccan was peaceful. The progress of
the 'Aryanisation' is reflected
in literature and legend.
It seems
the Vedic Rishis, in
quest of peace
and loneliness, ventured
to enter Dandaka forest to
establish hermitages on the
banks of rivers in the
thick of the
forests. The local
inhabitants who were described
by the Aryans
as 'Asuras and Rakshasas'
might have raided their
settlements, destroying their
sacrifices and interrupting their
penance. The memory
of these episodes is preserved
in tradition regarding
the advent of Agastya
into the South. The
Ramayana when purged of all exaggerations,
interpolations and anachronisms, proves
the central fact
that Rama championed the
cause of Aryan
culture fighting against the Asuras,
thus giving an
impetus to the
spread of Aryan ideals
and institutions in
the Deccan.
Regarding
the origin of Andhras, Pundras,
Sabaras, Pulindas and
Mutibas, the Aitareya
Brahmana treats them as
descendants of Visvamitra's fifty sons condemned by
his curse to
live on the borders of
the Aryan settlements. The Mahabharata regards them as created by
Vasishtha from his divine cow to
be enemies and opponents of Visvamitra. The Sabaras were degenarate people, according
to Sankhyayana Srauta Sutra. What lies
behind these legends is the separation of a section of the Aryan community from
the main stock and
their fusion with the non-Aryans, the Dasyus or Rakshasas or Nagas, the early
inhabitants of Deccan. The Mahabharata
and the Puranas refer to
the Andhras, Sabaras and Pulindas
as the tribes of Deccan. During the age of the Brahmanas, the Aryans pushed their
conquests into the Deccan. Panini and Katyayanas references point out that they
pushed further into, the
south and even
made contracts with
the Pandya, Chola and Kerala peoples of Southern India.
The
caste system accompanied the spread of Brahmanism from its stronghold in the
Gangetic Doab into the Deccan and South
India. The people,
who refused Aryan
practices, dwelled in caves
and forests where they have kept
up their primitive customs, habits and'
languages to the present day.
Though we do not have definite information regarding the
early history of the Aryan states that
arose in the
Deccan, it is evident that the imperialism of the Nandas and the Mauryas
and the missionary activities of the northern Jain and Buddhist followers were
the two forces that hastened the
pace of the Aryanisation of the Deccan
and South.
The concept of imperialism in
India had its origin in the age of the Brahmanas. It aimed at
political integration of the country
under ekarat (sole monarch). Celebrating its achievements by rituals like
Aswamedha became a custom. The
Nandas and the Mauryas from Pataliputra
confined the concept first to
Northern India but later
extended to the
Deccan and South
India. According to Puranas, Ugrasena Mahapadma Nanda established himself as ekarat
by bringing the
whole earth under
his umbrella. Inscriptions directly
or indirectly point
out the Nanda
and then the Mauryan rule over the Deccan.
The reference to the Nanda king in Kharavela's inscription (Hathi Gumpha) to his
carrying away to
Magadha a Jina
statue as a trophy from Kalinga and the existence of Nanded (Nau
Nanda Dehra) on the
Godavari testify that a large
portion of the Deccan formed part of the Nanda
empire. Commercially also
the South began to
grow in importance
for the sake
of its diamond
and gold mines, peart and chank
fisheries and numerous opulent marts'. (Kautilya).
The low born and unpopular Nandas were overthrown by
Chandragupta Maurya with
Kautilya's assistance about 322
B.C. Jaina references
in literature and
epigraphs associating his name
with Sravana Belgola in
Mysore (Karnataka) may be
accepted as proof
of his acquisition
of this part
of the Peninsula as
well.
During
this period, the Kalingas and
the Andhras were powerful
forces to reckon with. According to Magasthenes, the
Andhras possessed numerous
villages, 30 fortified towns
and an army
of 1,00,000 infantry,
2,000 cavalry and 1,000
elephants. It is
well known that
Kalinga was conquered
by Asoka after
a terrible war.
No other conquest
is attributed to this
ruler. However the
provenance of his Edicts prove that
the country upto
the river Pennar
in South was included
in his empire.
Asoka's missionary activities resulted
in the establishment of the
Chetyavada school
of Buddhism at Amaravati. The
prevalence of Asoka's
edicts in the
Deccan and South indicates
the widespread literacy among
the people.
With
Asoka's death, the
disruptive forces were
let loose. The weakness of his
successors, the
insubordination of vassal sates,
the disloyalty of ambitious
ministers and the
aggression of foreign foes
led to the
loss of overlordship of
Magadha on the Deccan. The Satavahanas soon
appeared on the scene in Deccan.
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