AN EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK BY OK NAMBIAR

“AN ILLUSTRATED MARITIME HISTORY OF INDIAN OCEAN”

HIGHLIGHTING THE MARITIME HISTORY OF THE EASTERN SEA BOARD

The Cholas 

The overseas ventures of South India were ancient and extensive. South India had long trading relations with the west through transshipments at the Northern ports. Tamil kingdoms became prosperous and encouraged sea trade by developing harbours and providing quarters, warehouses and workshops for Roman sailors and merchants. The ports had navigational facilities like wharfs, repair yards, pilotage and even light houses.

This growth in trade resulted with competition between the Chola, the Pandya and the Chera kings. Sri Lanka too was involved. In course of time the Cholas became powerful and prosperous. By the end of the 2nd century, voyages between India and South east Asia became frequent. Malays and Indonesians also participated in the growing traffic. The important South Indian trading ports were Muzirs, Poduca, and Sopatma. Barygaza in the gulf of Cambay and Tamralipti at the mouth of the Ganges were two other important trading ports in the north. From the 1 st century to the 4th century, Chinese reports mention large numbers of Indians (Brahmins) staying in Malaya peninsula. There were other Indian settlements in other parts of South-East Asia. Indians had better organization, superior knowledge of agriculture and road building and an efficient civil service. The Indian merchant guilds enforced strict rules in trading practice, price regulations and in the maintenance of standards of production. They acted as bankers. Back home the trading cities became very wealthy. The port Barygaza (Gujarat) was full of foreign merchants and "There are more than a hundred families whose fortune amounts to over a million ounces of silver". 

The great Chola king Rajaraja 1 (AD 985 to 1014) tried to take the Chera country under his control and took the key part of Quilon. He is also said to have attacked Maldive Island and Sri Lanka. His son Rajendra 1 (1014 to 1042 AD.) prepared a naval expedition against Sri Vijaya, first taking Andaman and Nikobar Islands to serve as an advance base. The Chola fleet sailed on and took several coastal ports. This attack was only to break Sri Vijaya's commercial monopoly and not to occupy it permanently.

Raja Rajendra, the powerful Chola king of the 10th century, knew the great importance of foreign trade and built a powerful navy meant for trade and war. He encouraged merchant guilds, checked his rival kings, the Cheras and the Pandyas and suppressed Sri Lankan competition by invading the island. He contained Arab competition by sending a naval expedition against Maldives to stop the Arabs from building and equiping merchant ships there. His successors, Rajendra Chola 1 and Virarajendra continued and strengthened the maritime tradition and made Tamil naval power invincible. 

Rajaraja Chola's son, Rajendra Chola extended Chola rule by further conquest. In 1025 AD he crossed the Bay of Bengal with a strong fleet, overran Pegu and later took the Andaman and Nicobar islands to use as a base for an attack on Sri Vijaya. The object of the attack was not to conquest and rule, but to break Srivijaya's commercial monopoly and end the vexations suffered by Chola traders - after settling the dispute, the two kingdoms had friendly relations.

Rajendra appears to have made a naval attack an Srivijaya a second time, for reasons, which are not clear. The Kings of the far east recognised his power and sought his friendship.

After Rajendra, the next famous Chola King was Virarajendra. His major campaign was directed against Sri Lanka where King Vijaya Bahu was forcibly expelling Chola settlers from Rohara. Virarajendra sent a strong naval force under his general against Sri Lanka. The Cholas won a great victory, entered Rohara and plundered several cities. Vijayabahu was put to flight, but returned to re-conquer his lost territories.   (Top)

The Andhras

The Golden age of India's maritime activity (between 525-650 AD.) which witnessed the expansion of India and the spread of Indian thought and culture to the farther East Java, Cambodia, Burma, Siam, China and even Japan), was largely a South Indian enterprise in which the Andhras had a principal role.

The national art of this period has vividly recorded incidents relating to this glorious period in the fresco paintings in cave No.1 and 2 at Ajanta. These pictures show different kinds of vessels used for trade and war.

In the Ajanta painting of the scene of the landing of Vijaya in Sri Lanka with his army we see a fleet of large ships with many passengers, elephants and horses. Vijaya was banished from Bengal with all his followers and their families. He sailed to Sri Lanka and landed there on the very day on which the Buddha attained the Nirvana. Vijaya conquered Sri Lanka and started his dynasty. The name Simhala is derived from Vijaya Simha. 

Andhra desa was a strong Buddhist base and it was during the period of Buddhist supremacy that India's overseas ventures were most daring and extensive. Perhaps the impetus came from the missionary enterprise of the Buddhists, who set out to spread Buddhism in foreign countries.

Buddhism was non-sectarian, cosmopolitan and democratic in outlook. Buddhists could live and work together in a compact community on board a ship unlike the Hindus those divisive caste rules made group life difficult. Buddhist impetus to seafaring promoted internationalism and healthy cultural give and take. To them foreigners were friends, not lechers. The great popular energies released by Buddhisim found outlets in travel, exploration, adventure and brought prosperity to the people.

Trade in material goods was another factor. The Andhra areas produced some of the finest cotton fabrics known to the world, greatly in demand, both, in the far Eastern and Western countries. Beautiful artistic metal-ware, statues of Buddha, some spices, were among the other items of export. South India had overseas diplomatic and trade relations with the west. Rome imported Indian luxury goods Like spices, fine cottons, sandal etc., Roman gold flowed into India. India imported sandal, fragrant agila, far Eastern art products, gold, silver and copper. It was a period of prosperity for merchants and artisans-an era of great seafaring. (Top)

Andhra Satavahanas - 200 B.C. to 250 A.D

The decline and fall of the Mauryas led to the emergence of two ruling families, the Andhras of South India (Satavahanas) and the Kushans of the North India. The Andhras followed Buddhism and ruled between 200 B.C. to 250 AD. over the whole of Deccan India. The period witnessed a lot of military activity both on land and on sea. Further, it was a period of great overseas trade. The Satavahanas maintained a fleet to keep the coast safe from pirates.

The Kalinga kingdom on the Eastern seaboard which is said to have been founded at least 8 centuries before Christ, extended from the mouth of the Ganges to the mouth of the Krishna river. For many centuries this kingdom was ruled by princes who were Buddhists, who were tolerant of the religion and culture of foreign nations. From the inscriptions of the period we gather that, "navigation and sea borne commerce formed a part of the education of the Princes of Kalinga, which was an emporium of trade. The Chilka lake in those days was an excellent harbour crowded with ships from distant countries. Burmese scriptures refer to a steady commercial intercourse between the Buddhist merchants of Kalinga and Burma.(Top)

Chalukyas of Badami - A.D. 500 to A.D. 753.

The Chalukyas of Badami emerged to power on the ruins of the Mauryan dynasty in South India. They possessed a strong navy which gave them control over the Deccan. The Chalukyan king, Mangalesha, carried his arms to both the western and eastern seas. He sent a naval expedition to conquer the Island of Revathi on the west coast of India, near Vengurla.

Pulakeshi II (AD. 611 to 639 AD.) was the most powerful ruler of the Chalukyan dynasty. He was one of the greatest generals of his times. He lead his forces in all directions. In his campaigns he was supported by a powerful fleet. After defeating the Cheras he took possession of Malabar. He then sent his forces against the Mauryas of the Konkan.

Pulakeshi's principal naval expedition was directed against Puri, a great and wealthy city which prospered by its overseas trade and was famous as "the mistress of the Western sea". The city of Puri has not been properly identified - some consider Puri as the Elephanta Island, others think it is the modern town of Gharpuri on the West coast of Gujarat. The most important fact is that it was the support of sea power which made Pulakeshi the master of the land.

He had well established diplomatic contacts with the countries of the western world. The large fresco paintings in the Ajanta cave No.1 depict the entry of the Persian Ambassador who was sent by the Persian Emperor Khusru II.

Pulakeshi II also had established commercial and maritime contacts with the countries beyond the seas. (Top)

The Andhra Coastline

The Andhra ports situated at the mouths of the river, VamsaDhara, Godavari, Krishna and Pinakini (N. Pennar) provided safe anchorage to ships and served as outlets for cargo which come down the river from inland manufacturing centres.

Ptolemy mentions several important ports on the Andhra Coast between the mouth of the Ganges and the Godavari from where ships sailed to the East. Podouke (Pulicat), Masulipatnam, Melange (Mahabalipuram) and Sopatama were a few of the important ports which exported spices, sandal, pearls, Aghil, Camphor and Silk that was imported from the farther East.

Chinese merchants had their warehouses at the mouth of river Krishna. After the Satavahanas the Pallavas, who were originally from Andhra continued the seafaring tradition. It appears from a study of the Buddhist stupa found at Prome (Braburma) that Buddhism probably came to that country from Andhra desa. The cultural influence moved on to the Malay peninsula. 

Indian contact reached down to Malacca where a large number of words of Indian origin are found in the Malayan language. The descendants of old Indian settlers from ancient Kalinga are even today known as Klings. It is true that Gujarat too had trade relations with the Far East, but it is the Andhra colonists who appear to have left a more enduring legacy in the Far East, as evidenced by the several place names, which are of Indian origin.

Some of the inscriptions found in Indo-China are in Sanskrit language but the script is Chalukyan thereby establishing close cultural contact.

Those were indeed days of Adventure and Enterprise.(Top)