Early medieval Indian society: a study in feudalisation/ Ram Sharan Sharma.

Introduction
Marx's views on feudalism 1; Dominance of landlords and
servitude of the peasantry 3; Military fief not essential to feuda-
lism 4; Difference between origin and structure of feudalism 4;
Land grants and issues of fragmentation, integration and regiona-
lism 5; Comments on 'feudalism from below' 8; Problem of
models 10; Approach to early medieval developments 12;
Introducing the chapters 13-15.
1. Transition from Ancient to Medieval
Problem of social and cultural transformation 16; Turkish rule
and the beginning of medieval India 17;: Raychaudhuri and
periodisation 18; Impact of the rise of landlords on polity 21;
Changes in the varna system 25; Decline of trade, towns and
metallic coinage 27; Asiatic mode of production 28; Spurt in
agrarian expansion 31; Changes in the social organisation 34;
Riseof rgional and linguistic units 35; Trends in art and archi-
tecture 39; Bhakti and tantrism 41; New types of conflicts and
contradictions 42-44.
2. The Kali Age:A Period of Social Crisis
Concept of four yugas 45; Dating the Puranic account of the Kali
46; Traits of the Kali Age 47; Description of the Kali disorder
50; Causes of the Kali crisis 57; Measures to tackle the crisis
63; Territories affected by the crisis 65; Migration in the Kali'
period 70; Consequences of the Kali disorder 73-76.



3. The Nature of Indian Feudalism
Universalism of tribalism 77; Variations in feudalism 79;
Feudalism not identical with serfdom 81; Constraints on peasant
autonomy in production 82; Beneficiaries' control overproduction
resources 92; Surplus collection and production pattern 96;
Extent of early medieval serfdom 98; Emergence of a new socio-
economic formation 103; Large yield and agrarian expansion 108;
The feudal versus the segmentary state 112; Leftism and Indian
feudalism 113; Concluding observations 117-18.
4. Paucity of Metallic Coinage (c. 500 - c.1000)
Advantages of metal money 119; Considerable monetisation in
c.200BC- c.AD300 120; Coinage inc.AD 300 and AD 500 123;
Gold coins not issued by Palas, Pratiharas and Rstrakatas 124;
Lack of dies and moulds in AD 500-AD 1000 127; Use of
cowries 127; Metal mony in Bangladesh andin the northwest part
of the subcontinent 128; Shortag of coinage in 500-1000 in the
Lucknow Museum 132; Deyell and the P ra coins 135;
Gadhaiyacoins 138; Foregco 40 Numismatic evidencefrom
erstwhile Soviet Central Asia 142; Volume of populatin and money
circulation 143; Why no gold coins in AD 650-AD 1000? 144;
Rekha Jain on the paucity of coinage 14&; D.C. Sircar on the
paucity of coinage 149; The pacity of metallic coinage and loss
oftrade 149; Importanceofc.AD 100151; Cointables 154-62.
5. Aspects of Royal Land Charter (Rijaasana) and-
Property Inheritance
Part I Rjasasana and its Legal Aspects
Kautilya on the legal supremacy of royal charter 164; Meaning,
form and content of the rij saa Sthe Smrtis 165; Rijasasana
as a decisive proof in a lawsuit 170; Land disputes and the appli-
cation of the rijaasana 172; Forged and authentic charters 175;
Nature of the sabhi or royal judicial court 176-77;
PartII Property and nheritanc Lw Social and Economic
Implications
Sourees and types of property and conditions for its posses-
sion 177; Agama (title)more important than possession in Gupta
and post-Gupta law books 179 Provisions regarding partiton of
inheritance 181; Partition of landed property not allowed by the
dlyabhSga 182; The Mitc on p r y par titioln 83; Partition
of vidyadhana and iauryadhana not permissible 184-185.



6. Changes in Social Structure
Closed economy 186; Loss in the mobility of artisans, peasants and
merchants 190; Land and power as base for social ranking. 191;
Outer symbols and insignia of power 193; Rise and growth of the
kayastha community 195; Emergence of mahattaras (village
elders and headmen) 196; Relative position of the vaishyas and
sudras 197; Social polarisation in Bengal and south India 199;
Differentiation in the sudra community 200; Proliferation of the
brahmana, kayastha and kshatriya castes 204; Multiplication of
the sudra castes 207; Effects of multiplication of sects on the
caste 209; Nature of kinship 210; Conclusion 212-13.
7. Dimensions of Peasant Protest
Unequal distribution of land 214; Land disputes and lawsuits 215;
Violent land conflicts in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka 216;
Rural revolts in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring areas 217; The
Kalabhra revolt in south India 220; The Kaivarta rebellion in
eastern India 221; Religion as a mobiliser of peasants 225; Issues
involved in the Kalabhara and Kaivarta revolts 226; Impact of
peasant protests on socio-economic formation 227; Problem of
calming peasant discontent 228; Role of religion and ideology in
containing peasant revolts 229; Conclusion 233-34.
8. Economic and Social Basis of Tantrism
Meaning and social purpose of tantrism 235; Views on the origin
oftantrism 236; Economic and social background 237; The cult
of the mother goddess 244; Distribution of the tantric shrines
and pithas in the outer areas 247; Association of Sabaras and
other tribes with tantrism 249; Dates and provenance of tantric
texts 252; Forms of tantrism 260; Tantric brahmanas 261; Feudal
influence on tantrism 261; Conflict between different tantric
sects 262; Tantric rituals and practices 263; Why no tantrism in
Vedic and post-Vedic times? 264; Acceptability ofthe new sect 265.
9. The Feudal Mind
Landed hierarchy 266; Social inequality and hierarchy reflected
in art and architecture 267; Hierarchy in tantric and Jain organi-
sations 269; 'God and king' vis-a-vis 'lord and vassal' 269;
Medieval mythologies on hierarchy 270; Agriculture valued most
271; Emphasis on male domination 271; Practice of dana 272;
Land gift called meritorious 273; Bhoga and the ideas of gratitude



EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIAN SOCIETY
and submission 274; The guru as an intermediary 275; Feudal
mind, a localised and closed mind 276; Land grants attributed to
the favour of the prabhu 276; Krpa or prasada more important
than purusartha 276; Belief in destiny 277; Idea of ranking and
rural ethos 277; Social distancing through use of language 278;
Notion of subservience in land charters 278; Show of vanity
and ostentation by landed magnates 279; Bhakti cult in feudal
times 279-82.
Summing-up
The Kali crisis and the coming of the early medieval period 283;
Land grants and changes in the socio-economic set-up 283;
Continuity in feudalisation 284.
Appendices
I Developments in Material Culture (c. AD 300-c. AD 700) 285
I Marx and Kovalevsky on Indian Feudalism 297
Bibliography
Index (Sanskrit and other non-English words)
Index (General)