TEXTUAL RESOURCES, COINS,

INSCRIPTION AS A SOURCE
MATERIAL FOR CONSTRUCTION
OF HISTORY

​ ​FARAZ
ROLL NO 1612
BA HONS. HISTORY (IInd Year)
INTRODUCTION

Historical sources of Medieval India (750-1200 AD)

significantly include inscriptions, coins, and Literary
Sources other than monuments and paintings. They are of
immense value in the reconstruction of the socio-cultural
and political history of medieval India. The inscriptions have
been mostly published in the Epigraphia Indo Moslemica,
Epigraphia Indica and other antiquarian journals.

Textual Sources

The growth of regional polities was accompanied by the

composition of royal biographies by court poets.
Banabhatta’s Harshacharita is one of the well-known works
of this genre. Sandhyakaranandin’s Ramacharita is written
in shlesha (with double meaning) and simultaneously tells
the story of the epic hero Rama and the Pala king
Ramapala. The few works of poetry woven around
quasi-historical themes included Padmagupta’s
Navasahasankacharita, which tells the tale of king
Sindhuraja Navasahasanka of Malwa, and his winning of
the hand of a princess named Shashiprabha.Bilhana wrote
Vikramankadevacharita, a eulogistic work about
Vikramaditya VI, the Chalukya king of Kalyani. Hemach-
andra’s Kumarapalacharita (in Sanskrit and Prakrit) tells the
story of Kumarapala, king of Anahilawada, while illustrating
the rules of grammar. Kalhana’s Rajatarangini is a
historical chronicle of the rulers of Kashmir from the earliest
times up to the 12th century CE.
The early medieval Puranas reflect the increasing
popularity of theistic elements within the Hindu cults. They
include the Bhagavata Purana (c. 10th century), the
Brahmavaivarta Purana (composed some time between the
10th and 16th centuries), and the Kalika Purana (10th/11th
century). The Upapuranas, many of which were composed
in eastern India, are even more valuable for the information
they provide on popular beliefs, customs, and festivals. A
large number of important and influential Dharmashastra
compilations, digests, and commentaries were written
during this period. The compilations include
Chaturvimshatimata, which put together the teachings of 24
law-givers. Jimutavahana wrote a work on procedural law
called the Vyavaharamatrika and a digest of laws on
inheritance called the Dayabhaga, which became extremely
influential in Bengal. Major commentaries include those of
Medatithi (9th century), Govindaraja (11th/12th century),
and Kulluka (12th century) on the Manu Smriti.
Vijnaneshvara (11th–12th centuries) and Apararka (12th
century) wrote commentaries on the Yajnavalkya Smriti.
Vijnaneshvara’s commentary, titled the Mitakshara, became
an authority on various aspects of Hindu law. Other
important Dharmashastra works include Lakshmidhara’s
Kritya Kalpataru (12th century) and Devanabhatta’s
Smritichandrika (11th/12th century).
Most of the Prakrit works of this period are Jaina texts in the
Maharashtri dialect. The few available Pali texts show a
strong Sanskrit influence. Apabhramsha represents the last
stage of the Prakrit languages, out of which the various
modern north Indian languages emerged. Apabhramsha
works of this time include several texts on Jaina doctrines
and saints, epic poems, short stories, and dohas (couplets).

The devotional songs of the Alvars and Nayanmars and the

hagiographies of the saints were among the important
Tamil texts. Several works in Kannada, many of them
associated with Jainism, were written as well, some under
the royal patronage of the Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, and
Chalukyas.

The distinctive feature of the sources of the medieval

period, especially after the establishment of Delhi
Sultanate,is that variety of literary or textual records
increased noticeably during this period. One of the possible
reasons was that during this period paper gradually became
cheaper and was easy enough to procure. Chroniclers used
it to write about the tenure of rulers, the events and political
intrigues. petitions made, judicial records, accounts and
revenues. The teachings of saints and traders transactions
were also duly recorded on reams of paper. As paper was
extremely expensive, manuscripts could only be collected
by the wealthy or could kept in the possession of rulers,
monasteries and temples or they could be stored in
archives. Medieval chronicles were authored either by court
historians or by freelancers. Some of them came as
travellers and wrote about India

FORIEGNERS ACCOUNT:​ Apart from indigenous texts,

Chinese and Arab accounts are useful sources of
information for early medieval India. Foremost among the
former are the accounts of the monks Xuanzang (c. 600–64
CE) and Yijing (635–713 CE), both of whom visited India.
One of Yijing’s works gives an account of Buddhist
doctrines and practices in India, while the other provides
brief biographical sketches of 56 Chinese monks who
visited India in the 7th century. The important Arab works
include the 9th–10th century writings of travellers and
geographers such as Sulaiman, Al-Masudi, Abu Zaid,
Al-Biduri, and Ibn Haukal. Later Arab writers include
Al-Biruni, Al-Idrisi, Muhammad Ufi, and Ibn Batuta. Such
accounts are especially useful for information on trade.

COINS

Edward Thomas was the first, among the modern

historiography of medieval India, to make extensive use of
numismatics (the study of coins). Coins are not only a
valuable source for reconstructing the dates of historical
events, but they also give us an insight into the economic
conditions of the period under study. Medieval states, with
their many ruling dynasties and kings, issued their own
coins. These coins, in their own time, normally carried the
same value as that of the metal used in manufacturing the
coins. Since these coins were controlled and monitored by
the state, they provide us with an almost unparalleled series
of historical documents. They make available before us the
life and times of those who had issued them. They weave
the texture of history into their being and are therefore
interesting in the context of the changing times.
Historians like R.S. Sharma argue that the numismatic
picture, in the period ranging from the reign of the Guptas to
the advent of the Muslims in India in the twelfth century AD,
is extremely dismal. Gold coins are rare, silver coins are
few in number and copper coins are even rarer. R.S.
Sharma looks at these developments to indicate the
collapse of the coinage system. Apart from history, coins
have also an aesthetic and artistic value. The is, from which
coins were struck, were the work of the artists of the day.
So they reflect the workmanship of the artists and also the
aesthetic tastes of the people of those times.

The portraits of the kings and other important political

figures on the Chola coins reflect the art of inscribing and
minting at its best. They present before us a very accurate
portrayal of the monarchy. The Cholas issued some gold
coins, but these vary considerably in terms of the quality
and weight of the gold used, and are at times merely
gold-washed.

Kalima was used on the coins. Mohammad Ghori, after

defeating Prithviraj Chauhan and his allies in the second
battle of Thanesvara or Tarain in 1192, struck gold coins
Qutbuddin Aibak was the first Sultan to set up his capital in
Delhi; but no coin, bearing his name, has so far been found.
Iltutmish (1211-1236) issued silver coins with various
legends inscribed upon them. One of the most important is
that which has the name of the Abbasid
Khalifa-al-Mustansir on one side, with or without the Kalima
on the other. This gives proof of the investiture that Iltutmish
had received from the Khalifa in 1228. Balban issued coins
with his name inscribed in Arabic upon them. The
inscription of his name was circumferenced by the
inscription of the Nagari legend, Sri Suritan Gadhasadin."
The other side had his usual Arabic legend stamped upon.
Alauddin Khalji, who had enhanced his treasury by his
conquests in the Deccan and South India, issued plentiful
coins.

Thus, coins remain one of the key sources of studying the

economic history of the early medieval kingdoms, the Delhi
Sultanate and the regional kingdoms of the time. They
could also be used as a corroborative source for the
political and social history of medieval times.

INSCRIPTIONS

As for the previous centuries, inscriptions continue to form a

major source of historical information for c. 600–1200 CE.
The interpretation of the epigraphic data is in fact central to
the major debates concerning this period. Royal land grant
inscriptions, mostly recording grants to Brahmanas, are
especially important. Equally important are epigraphs
recording non-royal and royal gifts made to religious
establishments.

The prashastis of royal inscriptions reveal prevailing

political hierarchies. Inscriptions of subordinate kings
frequently refer to their overlord, while those of more
powerful rulers sometimes mention their subordinates.
Claims to political paramountcy were reflected in the use of
three titles that usually occur together in
inscriptions—maharajadhiraja, parameshvara, and
parama-bhattaraka. Paramount kings were sometimes
described in inscription as commanding the obeisance of
the samantas or of the circle of kings. Titles of subordinate
rulers in inscription included maharaja, samanta,
mahasamanta, ranaka, and mahasamantadhipati.

Inscriptions were also found outside of indian subcontinent

.Bangwei Wang draws attention to the recent discovery of
an inscription in Skyid-grong in Tibet,which throws light on
this third mission. It states that the emperorsent Wang and
his companions to India in the sixth month of the third year
of Xianqing, i.e., in 658 CE. In probably the very spot
where the inscription was inscribed. The inscription also
indicates that the route taken by the delegation passed
through Skyid-grong and Nepal.

There are abundants of donative inscriptions available that

tells Brahmana were recipients of royal grants are identified
in inscriptions by their ancestry, gotra,pravara, charana,
shakha, and native place. Gotra refers to the exogamous
clan system of the Brahmanas. Inscriptions tend to use
charana and shakha interchangeably. They highlight the
Vedic learning of Brahmana donees, for instance by
mentioning their titles such as acharya, upadhyaya, and
pandita. Some of them represent Brahmanized tribal
priests. For instance, some Eastern Cha-lukya inscriptions
record grants made to Boya Brahmanas

Chola inscriptions generally refer to the king as ko (king),

perumal, or peruman adigal (the great one). He was also
given more grandiose titles signalling paramountcy e.g.,
raja-rajadhiraja and ko-konmai-kondan, both of which mean
king of kings. Inscriptions present the king as endowed with
an attractive physical appearance, a great warrior and
conqueror, a protector of varnashrama dharma,a destroyer
of the evils of the Kali age, a generous giver of gifts
(especially to Brahmanas), and a
great patron of the arts. Kings were often compared with
the gods, sometimes directly, at other times through the use
of double entendre.

From Delhi Sultanate There are many Sanskrit inscriptions

which were inscribed by mercantile community during the
reign of various Sultans of Delhi. Although these early
medieval inscriptions differed substantially from the ancient
counterparts, both in contents and in style, However, these
inscriptions were slightly different from contemporary
chronicles and did not deal with political aspects only.