Agriculture
He “let the Indus and Jhelum rivers flood according to his will, like a snake charmer his snakes,”
In ancient India, agriculture was the people’s primary source of income. As a result, the vast majority of people lived in cities, where they lead active communal lives. The majority of the peasants farmed their land, though the king often assumed absolute ownership.
The majority of the landholdings were small and were managed by the owner and his family. However, several vast farmsteads were cultivated with the aid of hired labor.
The king also owned vast tracts of land that were farmed by serfs and laborers in exchange for a fixed rent. The owners even lent land to the share-croppers in exchange for one-half of the harvest.
People began the settlement, waste clearing, and the construction of new settlements as the demand for land grew.
Just a few peasants from overcrowded villages cut down jungles and started cultivating, according to Jataka legends. There have been instances where a village’s entire population was evacuated due to a refusal to pay the tax collectors.
Even though rain was the primary source of irrigation, canals, ponds, and artificial reservoirs were built to ensure a consistent flow of water to the fields. The ‘Persian wheel’ is not mentioned, although it may have been used for irrigation.
The kings saw it as their moral and social responsibility to construct water reservoirs.
We have a good understanding of the Girnar reservoirs. The foundation of this embankment was over 100 feet thick, and it grumbled as a result. In the ninth century A.D., an excellent engineer named Suyya designed a series of irrigation projects in Kashmir. According to legend, he “let the Indus and Jhelum rivers flood according to his will, like a snake charmer his snakes.”
About the fact that most ancient irrigation works have disappeared, it can be said that significant irrigation works were carried out in ancient India.
Wheat, barley, rice, millet, sugarcane, sesamum, a wide variety of peas, beans, and lentils were the main crops of ancient India. Although barley and wheat were grown in the north and other colder areas, rice was grown in the irrigated plains. Millet was primarily cultivated in areas of the Deccan that were unsuitable for rice cultivation.
Spices such as pepper, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and others were grown in large quantities in South India, especially Kerala, and exported to Europe in large quantities. Saffron was primarily grown in the Himalayan foothills. Cotton was the most valuable textile crop at the time.
A wide range of fruits was also cultivated, with the mango being the most common. The palmyra and talipot palms were mostly cultivated along the coast. The date palm was cultivated in the desert regions of the West, but there is nothing written about it.
In the Western Himalayas, grapes, almonds, and walnuts were grown. The sandal tree, which supported the highly coveted fragrant woods, grew abundantly in the south.
The vitality of the soil has been highly admired by Greek visitors. They were perplexed by the fact that only two crops were grown per year. People were aware of the use of manure, according to Arthasastra. Cultivation was done with both heavy and medium ploughs.
Heavy ploughs were pulled by as many as twenty-four oxen, while medium ploughs were pulled by two or four. We find specific rules for managing king’s farms in Arthasastra, implying that agricultural techniques were well-developed at the time. Sickles are used for harvesting. By throwing the corn in the breeze, it was thrashed and winnowed.
People were also aware of cattle raising. Cattle became the peasant’s primary livestock. Ploughing, transportation, and food were all done with these. People left enough meadows so that the animals would have enough to eat. They also supplied the requisite sheds to shelter them from the extremes of cold and heat.
The villagers used communal cowherds who drove the cattle to the wastelands beyond the ploughed fields every morning and returned to the dusk with them. It was his responsibility to ensure that they did not reach the fields and ruin the standing crop.
For much of ancient India’s history, the cow was regarded as a holy animal, and its slaughter was punishable by death. Other livestock, such as cattle and oxen, were, however, slaughtered for food in the later century.
But Arthasastra mentions the presence of herds of old, diseased, and sterile cattle, which indicates that they have been permitted to die their natural death, at least in some parts of the world.
The buffalo, which was not only a beast of burden but also a favorite object of goddess Durga’s sacrifices, was among the other domestic animals. Sheep were bred in the cooler areas as a source of wool, which was required for the blankets. The blankets were primarily made in Kashmir and shipped to the northern plains. There were also domestic pigs and goats bred.
Sindh and the North-West were the most popular places to find horses. They were predominantly luxury animals and were only used by the class of warriors. People were aware of the art of taming elephants. Usually, the elephants were owned by the Kings and Chiefs, who used trackers, hunters, and tamers to catch and care for them.
The camel isn’t mentioned, but it must have been well-known among the people and used as a beast of burden in the deserts. People were also familiar with dogs, which were commonly used for hunting. However, the Mahabharata mentions that dogs were regarded as pets.
On their last pilgrimage to heaven, the five Pandava brothers and their companion Draupadi are said to have brought their dog with them. When the dog was denied entry to heaven, Yudhisthira declined to leave his loyal companion behind, eventually succeeding in bringing him along.
The ancient Indians were well-versed in silkworm breeding and rearing. Silk was familiar to the people even in Vedic times, so these silk-making moths were undoubtedly known. These worms were most likely brought to India from China.
Silk is referred to as ciabatta, or Chinese linen, in one of the Buddhist scriptures. This viewpoint is also verified in Arthasastra. Lac-insect, a different insect, was also reared. It supplied the resin as well as the dye for numerous ornamental products.