Urban populations: Elites and craftspersons

Urban populations were not uniform. The textbook draws a clear distinction between the ruling elites who lived in fortified parts of cities and the craftspersons who supplied their needs. While kings and wealthy families occupied the inner, protected areas, the workshops and homes of artisans lay outside these walls. This division shaped the material culture of early Indian towns.

Artefacts and the material world of elites

Excavations at urban sites — though difficult because many are still inhabited, unlike Harappan cities — have yielded a wide range of objects. The most distinctive find is Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW): fine pottery bowls and dishes with a glossy, mirror-like finish. This ware was probably used only by rich people. Alongside it, archaeologists have recovered ornaments, tools, weapons, vessels and figurines made from gold, silver, copper, bronze, ivory, glass, shell and terracotta. The sheer variety of materials shows that urban elites had access to goods from many different crafts and regions.

The story of Pataliputra

Every city had its own history. Pataliputra is a good example. It began as a village called Pataligrama. In the fifth century BCE, the rulers of Magadha decided to move their capital from Rajagaha (modern Rajgir) to this settlement and renamed it. By the fourth century BCE, it had become the capital of the Mauryan Empire and one of the largest cities in Asia. Later, its importance declined. When the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang visited in the seventh century CE, he found it in ruins, with a very small population.

Who lived in the towns: evidence from votive inscriptions

From the second century BCE onwards, short votive inscriptions — records of gifts made to religious institutions — appear in many cities. These inscriptions name the donor and often specify his or her occupation. They give us a direct picture of urban society. The people mentioned include:

• washing folk
• weavers
• scribes
• carpenters
• potters
• goldsmiths
• blacksmiths
• officials
• religious teachers
• merchants
• kings

One example from Mathura (shown in the textbook as Fig. 2.6) is a stone image with a Prakrit inscription. It records that a woman named Nagapiya, the wife of a goldsmith (sovanika) named Dharmaka, installed the image in a shrine. This tells us that even craftspersons' families could afford to make religious donations.

Guilds (shrenis) and craft organisation

The inscriptions also mention guilds or shrenis — organisations of craft producers and merchants. These guilds probably performed three main functions:

• procuring raw materials
• regulating production
• marketing the finished product …