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Indica (Megasthenes)

January 30, 2023

Indika (Greek: Ἰνδικά; Latin: Indica) is an account of Mauryan India by the Greek writer Megasthenes. The original work is now lost, but its fragments have survived in later Greek and Latin works. The earliest of these works are those by Diodorus Siculus, Strabo (Geographica), Pliny, and Arrian (Indica).[1][2]

Mauryan India, to which Megasthenes was an ambassador

Reconstruction

Megasthenes' Indica can be reconstructed using the portions preserved by later writers as direct quotations or paraphrase. The parts that belonged to the original text can be identified from the later works based on similar content, vocabulary and phrasing, even when the content has not been explicitly attributed to Megasthenes. Felix Jacoby's Fragmente der griechischen Historiker contains 36 pages of content traced to Megasthenes.[3]

E. A. Schwanbeck traced several fragments to Megasthenes, and based on his collection, John Watson McCrindle published a reconstructed version of Indica in 1887. However, this reconstruction is not universally accepted. Schwanbeck and McCrindle attributed several fragments in the writings of the 1st century BCE writer Diodorus to Megasthenes. However, Diodorus does not mention Megasthenes even once, unlike Strabo, who explicitly mentions Megasthenes as one of his sources. There are several differences between the accounts of Megasthenes and Diodorus: for example, Diodorus describes India as 28,000 stadia (roughly 5,000 km, 3,000 miles) long from east to west; Megasthenes gives this number as 16,000 (3,000 km, 2,000 miles). Diodorus states that the Indus may be the world's largest river after the Nile; Megasthenes (as quoted by Arrian) states that the Ganges is much larger than the Nile. Historian R. C. Majumdar points out that the Fragments I and II attributed to Megasthenes in McCrindle's edition cannot originate from the same source, because Fragment I describes the Nile as larger than the Indus, while Fragment II describes the Indus as longer than the Nile and the Danube combined.[4]

Schwanbeck's Fragment XXVII includes four paragraphs from Strabo, and Schwanbeck attributes these entire paragraphs to Megasthenes. However, Strabo cites Megasthenes as his source only for three isolated statements in three different paragraphs. It is likely that Strabo sourced the rest of the text from sources other than Megasthenes: that's why he attributes only three statements specifically to Megasthenes.[4]

Another example is the earliest confirmed description of Gandaridae, which appears in the writings of Diodorus. McCrindle believed that Diodorus' source for this description was the now-lost book of Megasthenes. However, according to A. B. Bosworth (1996), Diodorus obtained this information from Hieronymus of Cardia: Diodorus described the Ganges as 30 stadia (6 km, 4 miles) wide; it is well-attested by other sources that Megasthenes described the median or minimum width of the Ganges as 100 stadia (20 km, 12 miles).[5]

India according to the reconstructed text

According to the text reconstructed by J. W. McCrindle (1877) and Richard Stoneman (2022), Megasthenes' Indica describes India as follows:

Geography

India is a quadrilateral-shaped country, bounded by the Great Sea in the east and the south, Indus River in the west, and Emodus mountain in the north[6] ("Emodus" (or "Hemodus") refers to the Hindu Kush, Pamir, and the Himalayas taken as a single mountain range; the word is derived from the Indian term Haimavata, meaning "covered with snow".[7]) Beyond the Emodus lies the Sacae-inhabited part of Scythia.[6] Besides Scythia, the countries of Bactria and Ariana border India.[8] India's northern border reaches the extremities of the Tauros. From Ariana to the Eastern Sea, it is bound by mountains that are called the Kaukasos by the Macedonians. The various native names for these mountains include Parapamisos, Hemodus (or Emodus) and Himaos.[9]

The area of India is said to span 28,000 stades from west to east, and 32,000 from north to south. Because of its large size, India is "thought to encompass a larger stretch of the sun's course in summer than any other part of the world". In many of the extreme points of India, a gnomon of the sundial casts no shadow, and the Bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) are not visible at night. In the furthest parts, the pole star is not visible, and it is said that the shadows incline to the south.[6]

India has many large and navigable rivers, which rise in the northern mountains, and flow through the plains. Many of these rivers merge into the Ganges, which is 30 stadia wide at its source, and runs from north to south. The Ganges empties into the ocean that forms the southern boundary of Gandaridae (Gangadarai). The country of Gandaridae has the highest number and the largest elephants in India, because of which other nations are afraid of its strength, and no foreign king has been able to conquer it. Even Alexander of Macedon, who subdued all of Asia and defeated all the other Indians, refrained from making war against Gandaridae when he learned that they had 4,000 war elephants.[8]

The Indus also runs from north to south, and empties into the ocean. It has several navigable tributaries, the most notable ones being Hypanis, the Hydaspes, and the Acesines.[8] (According to a passage of Diodorus traced to Megasthenes, Indus is the world's largest river after Nile.[6] However, according to Arrian, Megasthenes as well as other writers wrote that Ganges is much larger than Indus.[10])

One peculiar river is the Sillas, which originates from a fountain of the same name. Everything cast into this river sinks down to the bottom – nothing floats in it.[11] In addition, there are a large number of other rivers, supplying abundant water for agriculture. According to the native philosophers and natural scientists, this is because the bordering countries (Scythia, Bactria, and Ariana) are more elevated than India, so their waters run down to India.[12]

History

 
Mauryan remains of a wooden palissade at Bulandi Bagh site of Pataliputra.
 
Mauryan remains of a wooden palissade at Bulandi Bagh site of Pataliputra.

In the primitive times, the Indians lived on fruits and wore clothes made of animal skin, just like the Greeks. The most learned Indian scholars say that Dionysus invaded India, and conquered it. When his army was unable to bear the excessive heat, he led his soldiers to the mountains called Meros for recovery; this led to the Greek legend about Dionysus being bred in his father's thigh (meros in Greek).[a] Dionysus taught Indians several things including how to grow plants, make wine and worship. He founded several large cities, introduced laws and established courts. For this reason, he was regarded as a deity by the Indians. He ruled entire India for 52 years, before dying of old age. His descendants ruled India for several generations, before being dethroned and replaced by democratic city-states.[14]

The Indians who inhabit the hill country also claim that Herakles was one of them. Like the Greeks, they characterize him with the club and the lion's skin. According to them, Herakles was a powerful man who subjugated evil beasts. He had several sons and one daughter, who became rulers in different parts of his dominion. He founded several cities, the greatest of which was Palibothra (Pataliputra). Herakles built several places in this city, fortified it with water-filled trenches and settled a number of people in the city. His descendants ruled India for several generations, but never launched an expedition beyond India. After several years, the royal rule was replaced by democratic city states, although there existed a few kings when Alexander invaded India.[15]

Fauna

India has a variety of animals, many of which are exceptionally large and strong. India has the highest number of domesticated elephants, and Indians hunt and trained them for warfare. Because of availability of a great amount of food, the Indian elephants are the largest in the world, and stronger than the Libyan elephants.[6] The gestation period of the elephants ranges from 16 to 18 months, and the oldest of the elephants live up to 200 years.[16]

Economy

The land of India produces every kind of metal suitable for adornment, military requipment and other use. It has a great amount of silver and gold, a substantial amount of bronze and iron, and also tin and other metals.[6]

India's has several mountains with a variety of fruit trees. It also has many beautiful cultivated plains, which are irrigated by a large number of rivers. Most of the country is well-watered, and is able to produce two crops a year, since rain falls in both summer and winter. The major crops include wheat (crop of Demeter), millet, many great-quality pulses, rice, a crop called bosporos, fruits and other plants that are useful as food. At the time of summer solstice, the following crops are sown: rice, bosporos, sesame, and millet. During winter, wheat is sown, as in other countries.[17]

No famines have ever occurred in India because of the following reasons:[8][18]

  • The Indians are always assured of at least one of the two seasonal crops; in most years, both crops succeed
  • A number of remarkably sweet fruits grow in wild, and roots grow in marshy places
  • The food plants grow in abundance in plains because of water from many rivers, the remarkably regular annual rain cycle, and the heat that ripens the roots in the marshes
  • The Indian warriors regard those engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry as sacred. Unlike warriors in many other countries, they do not destroy farms or harm farm workers during wars. The warriors do not burn down the enemy lands with fire or cut down their trees.

Food and clothing

Indian beverage is a liquor composed from rice instead of barley. When the Indians are at supper, a table is placed before each person, this being like a tripod. There is placed upon it golden bowls, into which they first put rice, boiled as one would boil barley, and then they add many dainties prepared according to Indian receipts. [19] Indian never drink wine except in sacrifice.[20]

In contrast to the general simplicity of their style, they love finery and ornament. Their robes are worked in gold, and ornamented with precious stones, and they wear also flowered garments made of the finest muslin. Some have attendants walking behind hold up umbrellas over them: for they have a high regard for beauty, and avail themselves of every device to improve their looks.[21]

Society

Because of its large size, India is inhabited by many diverse races, all of which are indigenous. India has no foreign colony, and Indians have not established any colonies outside India.[11]

Like its animals, the humans of India are also "exceptional in stature and bulk" because of abundance of crops. They are also technically accomplished, because of pure air and clean water.[6] They are well-skilled in art.[22]

A law, prescribed by ancient Indian philosophers, bans slavery. The law treats everyone equally, but allows the property to be unevenly distributed.[23]

The population of India is divided into 7 endogamous and hereditary castes:[24]

  1. Philosophers
    • Not numerous compared to other castes, but most prominent
    • Exempted from all public duties
    • Neither masters, nor servants
    • "believed to be most dear to the gods, and to be the most conversant with matters pertaining to Hades"
    • Engaged by others to offer sacrifices and perform funerary rites, for which they received valuable gifts and privileges
    • At the beginning of the year, they make prophecies about droughts, rain storms, propitious winds, diseases and other topics. Based on these prophecies, the citizens and the rulers make adequate preparations. A philosopher whose prophecy fails receives strong criticism and has to observe silence for the rest of his life, but otherwise incurs no penalty.
  2. Farmers
    • Most numerous of all castes
    • Live in villages, and avoid visiting towns
    • Exempted from fighting and other public duties
    • Regarded as public benefactors, and protected from damage during wars, even by enemy warriors
    • Pay a land tribute to the ruler, the official land owner
    • In addition, they remit 1/4th of their produce to the state treasury
  3. Herders
    • Live in tents, outside villages and towns
    • Hunt and trap crop-destroying birds and animals
    • involved in animal husbandry
  4. Artisans
    • Create weapons as well as tools for farmers and others
    • Exempted from paying taxes, and receive a maintenance from the state exchequer
  5. Military
    • Second most numerous among the castes
    • Well-organized and equipped for war
    • Indulge in amusements and idleness during peaceful times
    • Maintained at state expense, along with war horses and elephants
  6. Overseers
    • Carry out administrative tasks
    • Report to the king or (in states not ruled by kings) magistrates
  7. Councillors and Assessors
    • Composed of wise people with good character
    • Deliberate on public affairs; included the royal advisers, state treasurers, dispute arbitrators; the army generals and chief magistrates also usually belonged to this class.
    • Least numerous, but most respected

Philosophy

Megasthenes makes a different division of the philosophers, saying that they are of two kinds - one of which he calls the Brachmanes, and the other the Sarmanes. Of the Sarmanes he tells us that those who are held in most honour are called the Hylobioi (Gymnosophist). Next in honour to the Hylobioi are the physicians, since they are engaged in the study of the nature of man. Besides these there are diviners and sorcerers. Women pursue philosophy with some of them. [25]

Megasthenes also comments on the presence of pre-Socratic views among the Brahmans in India and Jews in Syria. Five centuries later Clement of Alexandria, in his Stromateis, may have misunderstood Megasthenes to be responding to claims of Greek primacy by admitting Greek views of physics were preceded by those of Jews and Indians. Megasthenes, like Numenius of Apamea, was simply comparing the ideas of the different ancient cultures.[26]

Administration

The foreigners are treated well. Special officers are appointed to ensure that no foreigner is harmed, and judges hand out harsh punishment to those who take unfair advantage of the foreigners. Sick foreigners are attended by physicians and taken care of. Foreigners who die in India are buried, and their property is delivered to their relatives.[27]

Historical reliability

Later writers such as Arrian, Strabo, Diodorus, and Pliny refer to Indika in their works. Of these writers, Arrian speaks most highly of Megasthenes, while Strabo and Pliny treat him with less respect.

The first century Greek writer Strabo called both Megasthenes and his succeeding ambassador Deimachus liars, and stated that "no faith whatever" could be placed in their writings.[28] The Indika contained numerous fantastical stories, such as those about tribes of people with no mouths, unicorns and other mythical animals, and gold-digging ants.[29] Strabo directly contradicted these descriptions, assuring his readers that Megasthenes' stories, along with his recounting of India’s founding by Hercules and Dionysus, were mythical with little to no basis in reality.[30] Despite such shortcomings, some authors believe that Indika is creditworthy, and is an important source of information about the contemporary Indian society, administration and other topics.[29]

According to Paul J. Kosmin, Indica served a legitimizing purpose for Seleucus I and his actions in India.[31] It depicts contemporary India as an unconquerable territory, arguing that Dionysus was able to conquer India, because before his invasion, India was a primitive rural society. Dionysus' urbanization of India makes India a powerful, impregnable nation. The later ruler — the Indian Herakles — is presented as a native of India, despite similarities with the Greek Heracles. This, according to Kosmin, is because now India is shown as unconquerable.[32] Megasthenes emphasizes that no foreign army had been able to conquer India (since Dionysus) and Indians had not invaded a foreign country either. This representation of India as an isolated, invincible country is an attempt to vindicate Seleucus' peace treaty with the Indian emperor [33] through which he abandoned territories he could never securely hold, stabilized the East, and obtained elephants with which he could turn his attention against his great western rival, Antigonus Monophthalmus. [34]

Megasthenes states that there were no slaves in India,but the Arthashastra attests to the existence of slavery in contemporary India;[35] Strabo also counters Megasthenes's claim based on a report from Onesicritus. Historian Shireen Moosvi theorizes that slaves were outcastes, and were not considered members of the society at all.[36] According to historian Romila Thapar, the lack of sharp distinction between slaves and others in the Indian society (unlike the Greek society) may have confused Megasthenes: Indians did not use large-scale slavery as a means of production, and slaves in India could buy back their freedom or be released by their master.[37]

Megasthenes mentions seven castes in India, while the Indian texts mention only four social classes (varnas). According to Thapar, Megasthenes' categorization appears to be based on economic divisions rather than the social divisions; this is understandable because the varnas originated as economic divisions. Thapar also speculates that he wrote his account some years after his visit to India, and at this time, he "arrived at the number seven, forgetting the facts as given to him". Alternatively, it is possible that the later authors misquoted him, trying to find similarities with the Egyptian society, which according to Herodotus was divided into seven social classes.[38]

Megasthenes claims that before Alexander, no foreign power had invaded or conquered Indians, with the exception of the mythical heroes Hercules and Dionysus. However, it is known from earlier sources – such as Herodotus and the inscriptions of Darius the Great – that the Achaemenid Empire included parts of north-western part of India (present-day Pakistan). It is possible that the Achaemenid control did not extend much beyond the Indus River, which Megasthenes considered to be the border of India. Another possibility is that Megasthenes intended to understate the power of the Achaemenid Empire, a rival of the Greeks.[39]

Notes

  1. ^ D. R. Patil suggests that the Rigvedic Prithu was a vegetarian deity, associated with Greek god Dionysus.[13]

References

  1. ^ Upinder Singh (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India. Pearson Education India. p. 324. ISBN 9788131711200.
  2. ^ Christopher I. Beckwith (2015). Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia. Princeton University Press. p. 62. ISBN 9781400866328.
  3. ^ Paul J. Kosmin 2013, p. 99.
  4. ^ a b Sandhya Jain 2011, p. 22.
  5. ^ A. B. Bosworth 1996, pp. 188–189.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Richard Stoneman 2022, p. 29.
  7. ^ Klaus Karttunen (2006). "Emodus". In Hubert Cancik; Helmuth Schneider (eds.). Brill's New Pauly, Antiquity volumes. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e329930. ISBN 9789004122598.
  8. ^ a b c d Richard Stoneman 2022, p. 30.
  9. ^ J. W. McCrindle 1877, pp. 48–49.
  10. ^ Richard Stoneman 2022, p. 37.
  11. ^ a b J. W. McCrindle 1877, p. 35.
  12. ^ Richard Stoneman 2022, pp. 30–31.
  13. ^ Nagendra Kumar Singh (1997). Encyclopaedia of Hinduism. Anmol Publications. pp=1714. ISBN 978-81-7488-168-7.
  14. ^ J. W. McCrindle 1877, p. 35-38.
  15. ^ J. W. McCrindle 1877, p. 39-40.
  16. ^ J. W. McCrindle 1877, p. 44.
  17. ^ Richard Stoneman 2022, pp. 29–30.
  18. ^ J. W. McCrindle 1877, p. 32-33.
  19. ^ Gochberg, Donald S., et al., ed. "World Literature and Thought: Volume I: The Ancient Worlds"; Fort Worth, TX; Harcourt Brace; 1997, pp. 410-416.
  20. ^ "Ancient India as described by Megasthenês and Arrian; being a translation of the fragments of the Indika of Megasthenês collected by Dr. Schwanbeck, and of the first part of the Indika of Arrian". archive.org. p. 69. Retrieved 7 August 2022.
  21. ^ Gochberg, Donald S., et al., ed. "World Literature and Thought: Volume I: The Ancient Worlds"; Fort Worth, TX; Harcourt Brace; 1997, pp. 410-416.
  22. ^ J. W. McCrindle 1877, p. 31.
  23. ^ J. W. McCrindle 1877, p. 40.
  24. ^ J. W. McCrindle 1877, p. 40-44.
  25. ^ FRAGM. XLI Strab. XV. 1. 58-60,--pp. 711-714 Of the Indian Philosophers. J. W. McCrindle.
  26. ^ Bezalel Bar-Kochva 2010, p. 157: "He does not respond to the implied claim of Greek primacy, presumably because he did not have, and could not have had, hard information about the beginnings of "parallel" opinions among the Brahmans."
  27. ^ J. W. McCrindle 1877, p. 44-45.
  28. ^ Allan Dahlaquist 1996, p. 28.
  29. ^ a b Irfan Habib; Vivekanand Jha (2004). Mauryan India. A People's History of India. Aligarh Historians Society / Tulika Books. p. 19. ISBN 978-81-85229-92-8.
  30. ^ Strabo, Geography, Book XV, Chapter 1
  31. ^ Paul J. Kosmin 2013, p. 91.
  32. ^ Paul J. Kosmin 2013, p. 98-100.
  33. ^ Paul J. Kosmin 2013, p. 103-104.
  34. ^ Paul J. Kosmin 2013, p. 98.
  35. ^ Romila Thapar 1990, p. 89.
  36. ^ Shireen Moosvi 2004, p. 548.
  37. ^ Romila Thapar 1990, pp. 89–90.
  38. ^ Romila Thapar 2012, p. 118.
  39. ^ H. C. Raychaudhuri 1988, pp. 31–32.

Bibliography

  • A. B. Bosworth (1996). Alexander and the East. Clarendon. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-19-158945-4.
  • Allan Dahlaquist (1996). Megasthenes and Indian Religion- Volume 11 of History and Culture Series. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 386. ISBN 81-208-1323-5.
  • H. C. Raychaudhuri (1988) [1967]. "India in the Age of the Nandas". In K. A. Nilakanta Sastri (ed.). Age of the Nandas and Mauryas (Second ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0466-1.
  • J. W. McCrindle (1877). Ancient India As Described By Megasthenes And Arrian. London: Trübner & Co.
  • Megasthenes (1846), E. A. Schwanbeck (ed.), Indica, Sumptibus Pleimesii, bibliopolae (Original Oxford University)
  • Paul J. Kosmin (2013). "Apologetic Ethnography: Megasthenes' Indica and the Seleucid Elephant". In Eran Almagor, Joseph Skinner (ed.). Ancient Ethnography: New Approaches. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781472537607.
  • Radha Kumud Mookerji (1988) [first published in 1966], Chandragupta Maurya and his times (4th ed.), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0433-3
  • Richard Stoneman (2022). Megasthenes' Indica: A New Translation of the Fragments with Commentary. Routledge Classical Translations. Routledge/Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781032023571.
  • Romila Thapar (2012). Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas. Oxford University Press India. ISBN 978-0-19-908868-3.
  • Romila Thapar (1990). A History of India. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-194976-5.
  • Sandhya Jain (2011). The India They Saw (Vol-1). Ocean Books. ISBN 978-81-8430-106-9.
  • Shireen Moosvi (2004). "Domestic service in precolonial India: Bondage, caste and market". In Antoinette Fauve-Chamoux (ed.). Domestic Service and the Formation of European Identity. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-03910-589-2.

January 30, 2023
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Indika Greek Ἰndika Latin Indica is an account of Mauryan India by the Greek writer Megasthenes The original work is now lost but its fragments have survived in later Greek and Latin works The earliest of these works are those by Diodorus Siculus Strabo Geographica Pliny and Arrian Indica 1 2 Mauryan India to which Megasthenes was an ambassador Contents 1 Reconstruction 2 India according to the reconstructed text 2 1 Geography 2 2 History 2 3 Fauna 2 4 Economy 2 5 Food and clothing 2 6 Society 2 7 Philosophy 2 8 Administration 3 Historical reliability 4 Notes 5 References 5 1 BibliographyReconstruction EditMegasthenes Indica can be reconstructed using the portions preserved by later writers as direct quotations or paraphrase The parts that belonged to the original text can be identified from the later works based on similar content vocabulary and phrasing even when the content has not been explicitly attributed to Megasthenes Felix Jacoby s Fragmente der griechischen Historiker contains 36 pages of content traced to Megasthenes 3 E A Schwanbeck traced several fragments to Megasthenes and based on his collection John Watson McCrindle published a reconstructed version of Indica in 1887 However this reconstruction is not universally accepted Schwanbeck and McCrindle attributed several fragments in the writings of the 1st century BCE writer Diodorus to Megasthenes However Diodorus does not mention Megasthenes even once unlike Strabo who explicitly mentions Megasthenes as one of his sources There are several differences between the accounts of Megasthenes and Diodorus for example Diodorus describes India as 28 000 stadia roughly 5 000 km 3 000 miles long from east to west Megasthenes gives this number as 16 000 3 000 km 2 000 miles Diodorus states that the Indus may be the world s largest river after the Nile Megasthenes as quoted by Arrian states that the Ganges is much larger than the Nile Historian R C Majumdar points out that the Fragments I and II attributed to Megasthenes in McCrindle s edition cannot originate from the same source because Fragment I describes the Nile as larger than the Indus while Fragment II describes the Indus as longer than the Nile and the Danube combined 4 Schwanbeck s Fragment XXVII includes four paragraphs from Strabo and Schwanbeck attributes these entire paragraphs to Megasthenes However Strabo cites Megasthenes as his source only for three isolated statements in three different paragraphs It is likely that Strabo sourced the rest of the text from sources other than Megasthenes that s why he attributes only three statements specifically to Megasthenes 4 Another example is the earliest confirmed description of Gandaridae which appears in the writings of Diodorus McCrindle believed that Diodorus source for this description was the now lost book of Megasthenes However according to A B Bosworth 1996 Diodorus obtained this information from Hieronymus of Cardia Diodorus described the Ganges as 30 stadia 6 km 4 miles wide it is well attested by other sources that Megasthenes described the median or minimum width of the Ganges as 100 stadia 20 km 12 miles 5 Fragments used by John Watson McCrindle to reconstruct Megasthenes Indica Work Author Editor Section Topic Book number in Megasthenes Indica1 Bibliotheca historica Diodorus Siculus II 35 42 Summary of India Summary2 Bibliotheca historica Diodorus Siculus III 63 Three persons named Dionusos Summary3 The Anabasis of Alexander Arrian V 6 2 11 Boundaries and rivers I4 Indica Arrian Arrian II 1 7 Boundaries I5 Geographica Strabo XV 1 11 Boundaries and extent I6 Geographica Strabo II 1 7 Size of India I7 Geographica Strabo XV 1 12 Size of India I8 Geographica Strabo II 1 4 Size of India I9 Indica Arrian Arrian III 7 8 Size of India I10 Geographica Strabo II 1 19 Ursa Major and shadows I11 Natural History Pliny VI 22 6 Ursa Major I12 Geographica Strabo XV 1 20 Fertile soil I13 Geographica Strabo XV 1 37 Wild animals I14 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus XVII 39 Indian apes I15 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus XVI 41 Winged scorpions and serpents I16 Geographica Strabo XV 1 56 Animals of India and the Reed I17 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus XVI 20 21 Animals of India I18 Natural History Pliny VIII 14 1 Boa constrictor I19 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus VIII 7 Of the Electric Eel I20 Natural History Pliny VI 24 1 Taprobane I21 Antigon Caryst Antigonus of Carystus 647 Marine trees I22 Indica Arrian Arrian 4 2 13 Indus and Ganges I23 Natural History Pliny VI 21 9 22 1 Indus and Ganges I24 Polyhistor Gaius Julius Solinus 52 6 7 Indus and Ganges I25 Indica Arrian Arrian 6 2 3 Silas river I26 Anecdota Graeca Jean Francois Boissonade de Fontarabie I p 419 Silas river I27 Geographica Strabo XV 1 38 Silas river I28 Indica Arrian Arrian 5 2 Number of Indian rivers I29 Geographica Strabo XV 1 35 36 Pataliputra city II30 Indica Arrian Arrian 10 Pataliputra and Indian manners II31 Geographica Strabo XV 1 53 56 Indian manners II32 Varia Historia Claudius Aelianus iv 1 Indian manners II33 Nicol Damasc Nicolaus of Damascus 44 Indian manners II34 Sermones Stobaeus 42 Indian manners II35 Deipnosophistae Athenaeus iv p 153 Indian suppers II36 Geographica Strabo XV 1 57 Extraordinary tribes II37 Natural History Pliny VII ii 14 22 Extraordinary races II38 Polyhistor Gaius Julius Solinus 52 26 30 Extraordinary races II39 On the Face in the Moon de facie in orbe lunae in Moralia Plutarch Opp ed Reisk tom ix p 701 Race of mouthless humans II40 Indica Arrian Arrian Xl l XII 9 7 castes of India III41 Geographica Strabo XV 1 39 41 7 castes of India III42 Geographica Strabo XV 1 50 52 Administration of public affairs horses and elephants III43 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus XIII 10 Horses and elephants III44 Geographica Strabo XV 1 41 43 Elephants III45 Indica Arrian Arrian ch 13 14 Elephants III46 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus XII 44 Elephants III47 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus XIII 7 Of the diseases of Elephants III48 Geographica Strabo XV 1 44 Gold digging ants III49 Indica Arrian Arrian XV 5 7 Gold digging ants III50 Orations Dio Chrysostom Or 35 Gold digging ants III51 Geographica Strabo XV 1 58 60 Indian philosophers III52 Stromata Clement of Alexandria I p 305 D Indian philosophers III53 Praeparatio evangelica Eusebius IX 6 Indian philosophers III54 Contra Julianum Against Julian Cyril of Alexandria IV Indian philosophers III55 Stromata Clement of Alexandria I Indian philosophers III56 Geographica Strabo XV 1 68 Indian philosophers Kalanos Calanus and Mandanis III57 The Anabasis of Alexander Arrian VII ii 3 9 Indian philosophers Kalanos Calanus and Mandanis III58 Geographica Strabo XV 1 68 Indians had not attacked anyone or faced external attacks Dionysos and Herakles IV59 Indica Arrian Arrian V 4 12 Indians had not attacked anyone or faced external attacks Dionysos and Herakles IV60 Contra Apion Josephus I 20 T II p 451 Havere King of the Babylonians surpassed Herakles in greatness IV61 Antiquitates Judaicae Josephus X ii 1 T I p 533 Havere King of the Babylonians surpassed Herakles in greatness IV62 Zonar Annal Basileae 1557 King of the Babylonians surpassed Herakles in greatness IV63 G Syncell T I George Syncellus p 419 ed Benn p 221 ed Paris p 177 ed Venet King of the Babylonians surpassed Herakles in greatness IV64 Fragments of Abydenus s writings in Praeparatio evangelica Eusebius I 41 ed Colon 1688 p 456 D King of the Babylonians surpassed Herakles in greatness IV65 Indica Arrian Arrian 7 9 King of the Babylonians surpassed Herakles in greatness IV66 Natural History Pliny IX 5 Pearls IV67 Mirabilia Phlegon of Tralles 33 Pandaian land IV68 Natural History Pliny VI xxi 4 5 Ancient history of Indians IV69 Polyhistor Gaius Julius Solinus 52 5 Ancient history of Indians IV70 The Anabasis of Alexander Arrian VII ii 3 9 Indian philosophers Kalanos Calanus and Mandanis IV71 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus XII 8 Elephants Doubtful fragments 72 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus III 46 White elephant Doubtful fragments 73 De recta in Deum fide Adamantius Pseudo Origen vol I p 904 Brachhmans Brahmins and their philosophy Doubtful fragments 74 Palladius De gentibus Indiae et Bragmanibus Palladius of Galatia pp 8 20 et seq ed Londin 1668 Indian philosophers Kalanos Calanus and Mandanis Doubtful fragments 75 De Moribus Brachmanorum Ambrose pp 62 68 et seq ed Pallad Londin 1668 Calanus and Mandanis Doubtful fragments 76 Natural History Pliny VI 21 8 23 11 Indian races Doubtful fragments 77 Polyhistor Gaius Julius Solinus 52 6 17 Catalogue of Indian Races Doubtful fragments 78 Stratagems Polyaenus I 1 1 3 Dionysos Doubtful fragments 79 Stratagems Polyaenus I 3 4 Hercules and Pandaea Doubtful fragments 80 De Natura Animalium Claudius Aelianus XVI 2 22 Beasts of India Doubtful fragments India according to the reconstructed text EditAccording to the text reconstructed by J W McCrindle 1877 and Richard Stoneman 2022 Megasthenes Indica describes India as follows Geography Edit India is a quadrilateral shaped country bounded by the Great Sea in the east and the south Indus River in the west and Emodus mountain in the north 6 Emodus or Hemodus refers to the Hindu Kush Pamir and the Himalayas taken as a single mountain range the word is derived from the Indian term Haimavata meaning covered with snow 7 Beyond the Emodus lies the Sacae inhabited part of Scythia 6 Besides Scythia the countries of Bactria and Ariana border India 8 India s northern border reaches the extremities of the Tauros From Ariana to the Eastern Sea it is bound by mountains that are called the Kaukasos by the Macedonians The various native names for these mountains include Parapamisos Hemodus or Emodus and Himaos 9 The area of India is said to span 28 000 stades from west to east and 32 000 from north to south Because of its large size India is thought to encompass a larger stretch of the sun s course in summer than any other part of the world In many of the extreme points of India a gnomon of the sundial casts no shadow and the Bears Ursa Major and Ursa Minor are not visible at night In the furthest parts the pole star is not visible and it is said that the shadows incline to the south 6 India has many large and navigable rivers which rise in the northern mountains and flow through the plains Many of these rivers merge into the Ganges which is 30 stadia wide at its source and runs from north to south The Ganges empties into the ocean that forms the southern boundary of Gandaridae Gangadarai The country of Gandaridae has the highest number and the largest elephants in India because of which other nations are afraid of its strength and no foreign king has been able to conquer it Even Alexander of Macedon who subdued all of Asia and defeated all the other Indians refrained from making war against Gandaridae when he learned that they had 4 000 war elephants 8 The Indus also runs from north to south and empties into the ocean It has several navigable tributaries the most notable ones being Hypanis the Hydaspes and the Acesines 8 According to a passage of Diodorus traced to Megasthenes Indus is the world s largest river after Nile 6 However according to Arrian Megasthenes as well as other writers wrote that Ganges is much larger than Indus 10 One peculiar river is the Sillas which originates from a fountain of the same name Everything cast into this river sinks down to the bottom nothing floats in it 11 In addition there are a large number of other rivers supplying abundant water for agriculture According to the native philosophers and natural scientists this is because the bordering countries Scythia Bactria and Ariana are more elevated than India so their waters run down to India 12 History Edit Mauryan remains of a wooden palissade at Bulandi Bagh site of Pataliputra Mauryan remains of a wooden palissade at Bulandi Bagh site of Pataliputra In the primitive times the Indians lived on fruits and wore clothes made of animal skin just like the Greeks The most learned Indian scholars say that Dionysus invaded India and conquered it When his army was unable to bear the excessive heat he led his soldiers to the mountains called Meros for recovery this led to the Greek legend about Dionysus being bred in his father s thigh meros in Greek a Dionysus taught Indians several things including how to grow plants make wine and worship He founded several large cities introduced laws and established courts For this reason he was regarded as a deity by the Indians He ruled entire India for 52 years before dying of old age His descendants ruled India for several generations before being dethroned and replaced by democratic city states 14 The Indians who inhabit the hill country also claim that Herakles was one of them Like the Greeks they characterize him with the club and the lion s skin According to them Herakles was a powerful man who subjugated evil beasts He had several sons and one daughter who became rulers in different parts of his dominion He founded several cities the greatest of which was Palibothra Pataliputra Herakles built several places in this city fortified it with water filled trenches and settled a number of people in the city His descendants ruled India for several generations but never launched an expedition beyond India After several years the royal rule was replaced by democratic city states although there existed a few kings when Alexander invaded India 15 Fauna Edit India has a variety of animals many of which are exceptionally large and strong India has the highest number of domesticated elephants and Indians hunt and trained them for warfare Because of availability of a great amount of food the Indian elephants are the largest in the world and stronger than the Libyan elephants 6 The gestation period of the elephants ranges from 16 to 18 months and the oldest of the elephants live up to 200 years 16 Economy Edit The land of India produces every kind of metal suitable for adornment military requipment and other use It has a great amount of silver and gold a substantial amount of bronze and iron and also tin and other metals 6 India s has several mountains with a variety of fruit trees It also has many beautiful cultivated plains which are irrigated by a large number of rivers Most of the country is well watered and is able to produce two crops a year since rain falls in both summer and winter The major crops include wheat crop of Demeter millet many great quality pulses rice a crop called bosporos fruits and other plants that are useful as food At the time of summer solstice the following crops are sown rice bosporos sesame and millet During winter wheat is sown as in other countries 17 No famines have ever occurred in India because of the following reasons 8 18 The Indians are always assured of at least one of the two seasonal crops in most years both crops succeed A number of remarkably sweet fruits grow in wild and roots grow in marshy places The food plants grow in abundance in plains because of water from many rivers the remarkably regular annual rain cycle and the heat that ripens the roots in the marshes The Indian warriors regard those engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry as sacred Unlike warriors in many other countries they do not destroy farms or harm farm workers during wars The warriors do not burn down the enemy lands with fire or cut down their trees Food and clothing Edit Indian beverage is a liquor composed from rice instead of barley When the Indians are at supper a table is placed before each person this being like a tripod There is placed upon it golden bowls into which they first put rice boiled as one would boil barley and then they add many dainties prepared according to Indian receipts 19 Indian never drink wine except in sacrifice 20 In contrast to the general simplicity of their style they love finery and ornament Their robes are worked in gold and ornamented with precious stones and they wear also flowered garments made of the finest muslin Some have attendants walking behind hold up umbrellas over them for they have a high regard for beauty and avail themselves of every device to improve their looks 21 Society Edit Because of its large size India is inhabited by many diverse races all of which are indigenous India has no foreign colony and Indians have not established any colonies outside India 11 Like its animals the humans of India are also exceptional in stature and bulk because of abundance of crops They are also technically accomplished because of pure air and clean water 6 They are well skilled in art 22 A law prescribed by ancient Indian philosophers bans slavery The law treats everyone equally but allows the property to be unevenly distributed 23 The population of India is divided into 7 endogamous and hereditary castes 24 Philosophers Not numerous compared to other castes but most prominent Exempted from all public duties Neither masters nor servants believed to be most dear to the gods and to be the most conversant with matters pertaining to Hades Engaged by others to offer sacrifices and perform funerary rites for which they received valuable gifts and privileges At the beginning of the year they make prophecies about droughts rain storms propitious winds diseases and other topics Based on these prophecies the citizens and the rulers make adequate preparations A philosopher whose prophecy fails receives strong criticism and has to observe silence for the rest of his life but otherwise incurs no penalty Farmers Most numerous of all castes Live in villages and avoid visiting towns Exempted from fighting and other public duties Regarded as public benefactors and protected from damage during wars even by enemy warriors Pay a land tribute to the ruler the official land owner In addition they remit 1 4th of their produce to the state treasury Herders Live in tents outside villages and towns Hunt and trap crop destroying birds and animals involved in animal husbandry Artisans Create weapons as well as tools for farmers and others Exempted from paying taxes and receive a maintenance from the state exchequer Military Second most numerous among the castes Well organized and equipped for war Indulge in amusements and idleness during peaceful times Maintained at state expense along with war horses and elephants Overseers Carry out administrative tasks Report to the king or in states not ruled by kings magistrates Councillors and Assessors Composed of wise people with good character Deliberate on public affairs included the royal advisers state treasurers dispute arbitrators the army generals and chief magistrates also usually belonged to this class Least numerous but most respectedPhilosophy Edit Megasthenes makes a different division of the philosophers saying that they are of two kinds one of which he calls the Brachmanes and the other the Sarmanes Of the Sarmanes he tells us that those who are held in most honour are called the Hylobioi Gymnosophist Next in honour to the Hylobioi are the physicians since they are engaged in the study of the nature of man Besides these there are diviners and sorcerers Women pursue philosophy with some of them 25 Megasthenes also comments on the presence of pre Socratic views among the Brahmans in India and Jews in Syria Five centuries later Clement of Alexandria in his Stromateis may have misunderstood Megasthenes to be responding to claims of Greek primacy by admitting Greek views of physics were preceded by those of Jews and Indians Megasthenes like Numenius of Apamea was simply comparing the ideas of the different ancient cultures 26 Administration Edit The foreigners are treated well Special officers are appointed to ensure that no foreigner is harmed and judges hand out harsh punishment to those who take unfair advantage of the foreigners Sick foreigners are attended by physicians and taken care of Foreigners who die in India are buried and their property is delivered to their relatives 27 Historical reliability EditLater writers such as Arrian Strabo Diodorus and Pliny refer to Indika in their works Of these writers Arrian speaks most highly of Megasthenes while Strabo and Pliny treat him with less respect The first century Greek writer Strabo called both Megasthenes and his succeeding ambassador Deimachus liars and stated that no faith whatever could be placed in their writings 28 The Indika contained numerous fantastical stories such as those about tribes of people with no mouths unicorns and other mythical animals and gold digging ants 29 Strabo directly contradicted these descriptions assuring his readers that Megasthenes stories along with his recounting of India s founding by Hercules and Dionysus were mythical with little to no basis in reality 30 Despite such shortcomings some authors believe that Indika is creditworthy and is an important source of information about the contemporary Indian society administration and other topics 29 According to Paul J Kosmin Indica served a legitimizing purpose for Seleucus I and his actions in India 31 It depicts contemporary India as an unconquerable territory arguing that Dionysus was able to conquer India because before his invasion India was a primitive rural society Dionysus urbanization of India makes India a powerful impregnable nation The later ruler the Indian Herakles is presented as a native of India despite similarities with the Greek Heracles This according to Kosmin is because now India is shown as unconquerable 32 Megasthenes emphasizes that no foreign army had been able to conquer India since Dionysus and Indians had not invaded a foreign country either This representation of India as an isolated invincible country is an attempt to vindicate Seleucus peace treaty with the Indian emperor 33 through which he abandoned territories he could never securely hold stabilized the East and obtained elephants with which he could turn his attention against his great western rival Antigonus Monophthalmus 34 Megasthenes states that there were no slaves in India but the Arthashastra attests to the existence of slavery in contemporary India 35 Strabo also counters Megasthenes s claim based on a report from Onesicritus Historian Shireen Moosvi theorizes that slaves were outcastes and were not considered members of the society at all 36 According to historian Romila Thapar the lack of sharp distinction between slaves and others in the Indian society unlike the Greek society may have confused Megasthenes Indians did not use large scale slavery as a means of production and slaves in India could buy back their freedom or be released by their master 37 Megasthenes mentions seven castes in India while the Indian texts mention only four social classes varnas According to Thapar Megasthenes categorization appears to be based on economic divisions rather than the social divisions this is understandable because the varnas originated as economic divisions Thapar also speculates that he wrote his account some years after his visit to India and at this time he arrived at the number seven forgetting the facts as given to him Alternatively it is possible that the later authors misquoted him trying to find similarities with the Egyptian society which according to Herodotus was divided into seven social classes 38 Megasthenes claims that before Alexander no foreign power had invaded or conquered Indians with the exception of the mythical heroes Hercules and Dionysus However it is known from earlier sources such as Herodotus and the inscriptions of Darius the Great that the Achaemenid Empire included parts of north western part of India present day Pakistan It is possible that the Achaemenid control did not extend much beyond the Indus River which Megasthenes considered to be the border of India Another possibility is that Megasthenes intended to understate the power of the Achaemenid Empire a rival of the Greeks 39 Notes Edit D R Patil suggests that the Rigvedic Prithu was a vegetarian deity associated with Greek god Dionysus 13 References Edit Upinder Singh 2008 A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India Pearson Education India p 324 ISBN 9788131711200 Christopher I Beckwith 2015 Greek Buddha Pyrrho s Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia Princeton University Press p 62 ISBN 9781400866328 Paul J Kosmin 2013 p 99 a b Sandhya Jain 2011 p 22 A B Bosworth 1996 pp 188 189 a b c d e f g Richard Stoneman 2022 p 29 Klaus Karttunen 2006 Emodus In Hubert Cancik Helmuth Schneider eds Brill s New Pauly Antiquity volumes doi 10 1163 1574 9347 bnp e329930 ISBN 9789004122598 a b c d Richard Stoneman 2022 p 30 J W McCrindle 1877 pp 48 49 Richard Stoneman 2022 p 37 a b J W McCrindle 1877 p 35 Richard Stoneman 2022 pp 30 31 Nagendra Kumar Singh 1997 Encyclopaedia of Hinduism Anmol Publications pp 1714 ISBN 978 81 7488 168 7 J W McCrindle 1877 p 35 38 J W McCrindle 1877 p 39 40 J W McCrindle 1877 p 44 Richard Stoneman 2022 pp 29 30 J W McCrindle 1877 p 32 33 Gochberg Donald S et al ed World Literature and Thought Volume I The Ancient Worlds Fort Worth TX Harcourt Brace 1997 pp 410 416 Ancient India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian being a translation of the fragments of the Indika of Megasthenes collected by Dr Schwanbeck and of the first part of the Indika of Arrian archive org p 69 Retrieved 7 August 2022 Gochberg Donald S et al ed World Literature and Thought Volume I The Ancient Worlds Fort Worth TX Harcourt Brace 1997 pp 410 416 J W McCrindle 1877 p 31 J W McCrindle 1877 p 40 J W McCrindle 1877 p 40 44 FRAGM XLI Strab XV 1 58 60 pp 711 714 Of the Indian Philosophers J W McCrindle Bezalel Bar Kochva 2010 p 157 He does not respond to the implied claim of Greek primacy presumably because he did not have and could not have had hard information about the beginnings of parallel opinions among the Brahmans sfn error no target CITEREFBezalel Bar Kochva2010 help J W McCrindle 1877 p 44 45 Allan Dahlaquist 1996 p 28 a b Irfan Habib Vivekanand Jha 2004 Mauryan India A People s History of India Aligarh Historians Society Tulika Books p 19 ISBN 978 81 85229 92 8 Strabo Geography Book XV Chapter 1 Paul J Kosmin 2013 p 91 Paul J Kosmin 2013 p 98 100 Paul J Kosmin 2013 p 103 104 Paul J Kosmin 2013 p 98 Romila Thapar 1990 p 89 Shireen Moosvi 2004 p 548 Romila Thapar 1990 pp 89 90 Romila Thapar 2012 p 118 H C Raychaudhuri 1988 pp 31 32 Bibliography Edit A B Bosworth 1996 Alexander and the East Clarendon p 192 ISBN 978 0 19 158945 4 Allan Dahlaquist 1996 Megasthenes and Indian Religion Volume 11 of History and Culture Series Motilal Banarsidass Publ p 386 ISBN 81 208 1323 5 H C Raychaudhuri 1988 1967 India in the Age of the Nandas In K A Nilakanta Sastri ed Age of the Nandas and Mauryas Second ed Delhi Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 978 81 208 0466 1 J W McCrindle 1877 Ancient India As Described By Megasthenes And Arrian London Trubner amp Co Megasthenes 1846 E A Schwanbeck ed Indica Sumptibus Pleimesii bibliopolae Original Oxford University Paul J Kosmin 2013 Apologetic Ethnography Megasthenes Indica and the Seleucid Elephant In Eran Almagor Joseph Skinner ed Ancient Ethnography New Approaches Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN 9781472537607 Radha Kumud Mookerji 1988 first published in 1966 Chandragupta Maurya and his times 4th ed Motilal Banarsidass ISBN 81 208 0433 3 Richard Stoneman 2022 Megasthenes Indica A New Translation of the Fragments with Commentary Routledge Classical Translations Routledge Taylor amp Francis ISBN 9781032023571 Romila Thapar 2012 Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas Oxford University Press India ISBN 978 0 19 908868 3 Romila Thapar 1990 A History of India Penguin Books Limited ISBN 978 0 14 194976 5 Sandhya Jain 2011 The India They Saw Vol 1 Ocean Books ISBN 978 81 8430 106 9 Shireen Moosvi 2004 Domestic service in precolonial India Bondage caste and market In Antoinette Fauve Chamoux ed Domestic Service and the Formation of European Identity Peter Lang ISBN 978 3 03910 589 2 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Indica Megasthenes amp oldid 1135917947, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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