Free Land of seven rivers: History of India's Geography by Sanjeev Sanyal Page A
Authors: Sanjeev Sanyal
Vedic chants, but there is the soft rhythm of a
diesel water-pump running in a farm somewhere.
So, how did the Bharatas single-handedly
defeat the great confederacy? The political acumen and military tactics of Sudasa
and his guru Vashishtha must have played a role. However, it is possible that it
also had something to do with access to superior weapons, since the territory of the
Bharatas included India’s best copper mines. Even today, the
country’s largest copper mine is situated at Khetri along the
Rajasthan–Haryana border. Armed with superior bronze and an energetic
leadership, the Bharatas were a formidable force. A number of ancient
‘copper hoards’, some including weapons, have been discovered in
recent decades in southern Haryana, northern Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh,
and probably belong to this period.
Soon after the great victory, the
Bharatas consolidated their position by defeating a chieftain called Bheda on the
Yamuna 27 . They were now the paramount power in the subcontinent with an empire that
stretched from Punjab, across Haryana to the area around Delhi–Meerut.
Their command over thecultural heartland probably gave the
Bharatas influence that extended well outside the lands they directly controlled. It
is possible that they consciously consolidated their position by encouraging the
compilation of the Vedas. The Rig Veda is full of praise for the
Bharata–Trtsu tribe, its chief Sudasa and the sage Vashishtha, suggesting
that the book was put together under the patronage of the victorious tribe, probably
over several generations following the great battle.
The real genius of the Bharatas,
however, may lie in the fact that the Vedas do not confine themselves to the ideas
of the victors but deliberately include those of sages from other tribes, including
some of the defeated tribes. Thus, the hymns of the sage Vishwamitra, the great
rival of Vashishtha, are given an important place in the compilation. In doing so,
the Bharatas created a template of civilizational assimilation and accommodation
rather than imposition. It was a powerful idea and would allow, over time, for
people in faraway places like Bengal and Kerala to identify with this ancient
Haryanvi tribe.
This is why the Bharatas remain alive in
the name by which Indians have called their country since ancient times:
‘Bharat Varsha’ or the Land of the Bharatas. In time it would
come to denote the whole subcontinent. Later texts such as the Puranas would define
it as ‘The country that lies north of the seas and south of the snowy
mountains is called Bharatam, there dwell the descendants of Bharata’. It
remains the official name of India even today. Note that the name is also echoed
outside India. In the Malay language, for instance, ‘Barat’
means West, signifying the direction from which Indian merchants came to South-East
Asia.
Sudasa’s achievements may also
have triggered an imperial dream that would remain embedded in the Indian
consciousness. After his victories, Sudasa performed the Ashvamedha or horse
sacrifice and was declared a Chakravartin or Universal Monarch. The word
‘chakravarti’ itself means ‘wheels that can go
anywhere’, implying a monarch whose chariot can roll in any direction. The
spokes of the wheel symbolize the various cardinal directions. Over the centuries,
the symbolism of the wheel would be applied to both the temporal and the spiritual.
We see the symbol used in imperial Mauryan symbols, Buddhist art and in the modern
Indian nation’s flag.
Meanwhile, what happened to the defeated
tribes? Some of the tribes would remain in Punjab, although much weakened. We know
that the Druhya tribe was later chased away from Punjab to eastern Afghanistan.
Their king Gandhara gave the region its ancient Indian name, which lingers on in the
name of the Afghan city of Kandahar. The Puranas also tell
diesel water-pump running in a farm somewhere.
So, how did the Bharatas single-handedly
defeat the great confederacy? The political acumen and military tactics of Sudasa
and his guru Vashishtha must have played a role. However, it is possible that it
also had something to do with access to superior weapons, since the territory of the
Bharatas included India’s best copper mines. Even today, the
country’s largest copper mine is situated at Khetri along the
Rajasthan–Haryana border. Armed with superior bronze and an energetic
leadership, the Bharatas were a formidable force. A number of ancient
‘copper hoards’, some including weapons, have been discovered in
recent decades in southern Haryana, northern Rajasthan and western Uttar Pradesh,
and probably belong to this period.
Soon after the great victory, the
Bharatas consolidated their position by defeating a chieftain called Bheda on the
Yamuna 27 . They were now the paramount power in the subcontinent with an empire that
stretched from Punjab, across Haryana to the area around Delhi–Meerut.
Their command over thecultural heartland probably gave the
Bharatas influence that extended well outside the lands they directly controlled. It
is possible that they consciously consolidated their position by encouraging the
compilation of the Vedas. The Rig Veda is full of praise for the
Bharata–Trtsu tribe, its chief Sudasa and the sage Vashishtha, suggesting
that the book was put together under the patronage of the victorious tribe, probably
over several generations following the great battle.
The real genius of the Bharatas,
however, may lie in the fact that the Vedas do not confine themselves to the ideas
of the victors but deliberately include those of sages from other tribes, including
some of the defeated tribes. Thus, the hymns of the sage Vishwamitra, the great
rival of Vashishtha, are given an important place in the compilation. In doing so,
the Bharatas created a template of civilizational assimilation and accommodation
rather than imposition. It was a powerful idea and would allow, over time, for
people in faraway places like Bengal and Kerala to identify with this ancient
Haryanvi tribe.
This is why the Bharatas remain alive in
the name by which Indians have called their country since ancient times:
‘Bharat Varsha’ or the Land of the Bharatas. In time it would
come to denote the whole subcontinent. Later texts such as the Puranas would define
it as ‘The country that lies north of the seas and south of the snowy
mountains is called Bharatam, there dwell the descendants of Bharata’. It
remains the official name of India even today. Note that the name is also echoed
outside India. In the Malay language, for instance, ‘Barat’
means West, signifying the direction from which Indian merchants came to South-East
Asia.
Sudasa’s achievements may also
have triggered an imperial dream that would remain embedded in the Indian
consciousness. After his victories, Sudasa performed the Ashvamedha or horse
sacrifice and was declared a Chakravartin or Universal Monarch. The word
‘chakravarti’ itself means ‘wheels that can go
anywhere’, implying a monarch whose chariot can roll in any direction. The
spokes of the wheel symbolize the various cardinal directions. Over the centuries,
the symbolism of the wheel would be applied to both the temporal and the spiritual.
We see the symbol used in imperial Mauryan symbols, Buddhist art and in the modern
Indian nation’s flag.
Meanwhile, what happened to the defeated
tribes? Some of the tribes would remain in Punjab, although much weakened. We know
that the Druhya tribe was later chased away from Punjab to eastern Afghanistan.
Their king Gandhara gave the region its ancient Indian name, which lingers on in the
name of the Afghan city of Kandahar. The Puranas also tell