Foreign accounts: Part III: Megasthenes’ Account

• Magasthenes was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer.
• In around 302 BC he came India in Mauryan court of Chandragupta Maurya as an ambassador of Greek ruler Seleucus I Nicator of the Seleucid dynasty. selfstudyhistory.com
• He described India in his book Indica, which is now lost, but has been partially reconstructed from the writings of the later authors.
• 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.
• According to such reconstruction, Megasthenes’ Indica describes India as follows:
• Society:
  • 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.
  • The Indians are of above average stature, because of abundant food, fine water and pure air. They are well-skilled in art.
  • Theft is a thing of very rare occurrence. They never drink wine except at sacrifices. Their houses and property generally left unguarded.
  • He says that Indians seldom go to law: They have no suits about pledge and deposits, nor they require either seals or witnesses. But make their deposit and trust each other.
  • He divides Indian population into seven castes:
    • Philosophers:
      • Not numerous compared to other castes, but most prominent: Comprising Brahmins and Buddhist Sramanas.
      • Exempted from all public duties.
      • Neither masters, nor servants.
      • At the beginning of the year, they make prophecies about droughts, rain storms, propitious winds, diseases and other topics.
    • Farmers:
      • Regarded as public benefactors, and protected from damage during wars, even by enemy warriors.
      • Most numerous of all castes.
      • Live in villages, and avoid visiting towns.
      • Exempted from fighting and other public duties.
      • 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.
    • Artisans:
      • Create weapons as well as tools for farmers and others.
      • Exempted from paying taxes, and receive a maintenance from the state exchequer.
    • Military:
      • 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.
    • Councilors 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
  • According to Megasthenes, no one in India could marry outside their genos nor could they follow other’s occupation.
    • So he identified two important aspects of caste system: hereditary occupation and endogamy.
  • No slavery was found in Maurya India. He said all Indian are free.
• Economy:
  • Gold, silver, copper and iron are abundant on Indian soil. Besides tin and other metals are used for making a number of tools, weapons, ornaments, and other articles.
  • India has very fertile plains, and irrigation is practiced widely. The main crops include rice, millet, a crop called bosporum, other cereals, pulses and other food plants.
  • There are two crop cycles per year, since rain falls in both summer and winter.
  • No famines have ever occurred in India because of the following reasons:
    • The Indians are always assured of at least one of the two seasonal crops.
    • There are a number of spontaneously growing fruits and edible roots available.
    • The Indian warriors regard those engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry as sacred. Unlike the warriors in other countries, they do not ravage farms during war conquests. Moreover, the warring sides never destroy the enemy land with fire or cut down its trees.
  • There are the references in Greek texts that quote Megasthenes as saying that all land in India owned by the King.
• Polity:
  • City of Pataliputra:
    • Built at the confluence of two rivers, the Son and the Ganga.
    • City was surrounded by a moat 60 feet and 600 feet wide. and protected by a massive timber palisade. It had 64 gates and 570 towers. Wood was the principal material used in the construction.
    • It was exposed to flood and brick was not suitable material.
    • palace of Chandragupta was magnificent.
    • A royal road about 1150 miles in length, connected the capital city with the north-west frontier. Every mile of this road was marked by a stone indicating distances and by-roads.
  • Royal Court: Magasthenes has recorded a time -table of the king’s daily duties.
    • He remained in the court throughout the day without attending to his personal comforts.
    • He didn’t sleep in the day time.
    • The palace is open to all comers.
    • He gives audiences to ambassadors and administers justice to his subjects.
    • King’s sports: hunting, Races and animal-fights.
  • The existence of republics is also proved by testimony of Greek writers.
    • Megasthenes says that most of the India cities of his time had a democratic form of government and also mentions several tribes who were free and had no kings.
    • His statement is corroborated by Arrian who asserts that the superintendents report everything to the king where people have a king and to the magistrates where the people were self-governed. He also refers to the small state of Nysa as having an oligarchical form of government.
• Civil Administration:
  • King played an active part in administration. He was assisted by Councilors and Assessors.
  • Superior civil officials were divided into two categories:
    • Agronomoi or district officials:
      • Some superintend the rivers,
      • measures land
      • Inspect the sluices.
      • superintend Huntsmen and were also entrusted to rewarding or punishing them.
      • collected tax and superintended the occupations collected.
      • They construct road and set up the pillars to show the by-road and distances.
      • Looked after matter affecting the general interest e.g : keeping of public building in proper repair, regulation of prices, The care of markets, harbors and temples.
    • Astynomoi or town officials:
      • Megasthenes has given a vivid description of the municipal administration of Pataliputra where he mentions six committees of five members each, in charge of the following aspects:-
        • Industrial arts;
        • the entertainment and surveillance of foreigners;
        • maintaining records of birth and death;
          • inquire when and how births and death occur.
          • It is to levy a tax and to make sure the births and deaths among both high and low may not escape the cognizance of government.
        • trade and commerce (inspecting weights and measures, etc);
        • supervising the public sales of goods;
        • the collection of taxes on merchandise sold in the market.
          • It collected the tenths of the prices of the articles sold.
          • Fraud in the payment of these taxes is punished with death.
  • King employed a large body of spies whom Magasthenes calls Overseers. Their duty was to transmit secret and confidential reports to the king. The overseers in turn employed courtesans and their collaborator.
• Law and Justice:
  • King administers justice to his subjects.
  • Criminal law was severe. One of the recognized punishment was mutilation.
  • There was no written law.
• Military administration:
  • Army was controlled by 6 bodies of 5 each. Each group of five was in charge of one of the following department:
    • The infantry
    • The cavalry
    • The war chariots
    • The war elephants
    • Transport and commissariat
    • The admiral of the fleet.
  • state provided then regular salary and arms and equipment.

Veracity of Megasthenes’ account:

• Social description of India shows following issues with his writing:
  • His description of character of Indian society presented too idealistic picture, and not collaborated from other sources, e.g.
    • theft was rare
    • People never drank wine except at sacrifices,
    • farmers were never touched in war,
    • there was no slavery,
    • Indians did not borrow and lent money on interest etc.
  • Readers of ‘Arthasastra’ would easily know that he is presenting ideal picture.
  • His classification of class system in India show he was confused between caste and occupation.
    • It is inconsistent with the basic feature of traditional four-caste system.
    • It corresponds neither to the varnas nor the jatis. It seems to have been Megasthenes’ own invention.
  • His view about absence of slavery in India is contradicted by literary as well as epigraphic testimony.
    • Probably he was misled by by his experience in his own country.
    • Slavery in Greece was far more widespread and cruel than that in India.
  • A Greek writer, Strabo, while taking reference from Indika states that Indians were ignorant of the arts of writing and fusing metals which is not true as per other sources.
• In economic description, his statement about absent of famine is not true.
  • Even in the reign of Chandragupta the Jain saint Bhadrabahu is stated to have led a Jain migration to south India to escape famine in Magadha.
• In political description, Magasthenes statement about absence of written law is not correct.
• A comparison of the Arthasastra and Megasthenes Indika reveals several differences for instance in their discussion of fortifications, city administration, army administration and taxation.
• Megasthenes observes that the king was always available for consultation which is also supported by Arthasastra and Ashoka’s Rock Edict VI.
• Megasthenes’ account regarding army administration mentions six committees of five members each. These were in charge of the navy, supervision of equipment and transport, the infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants. However navy is neither mentioned in Arthasastra nor in Ashokan inscription.
• Strange imaginations and fantastical stories:
  • He also depicts contemporary India as an unconquerable territory, in order to justify Seleucus’s retreat from India.
    • Megasthenes argue 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.
  • He also presented Indian Herakles as a native of India despite similarity with Greek Heracles.
  • One horn horse with head of deer, river on which nothing floats, huge snake etc.
  • people with backwards feet, ears large enough to sleep in, no mouths, or other strange features.
  • Gold digging ant on the north-west mountains.
• Other issue with his available accounts:
  • He lacked critical judgement.
  • Being ignorant of Indian language, he failed to grasp the true meaning of certain Sanskritic world and fell into confusion.
• The first century Greek writer Strabo called Megasthenes liar and “no faith whatever” could be placed in their writings.
• Megasthenes stayed at the Mauryan court and noted down his reflections on the then Indian society but his exposure to Indian society must have been socially and geographically restricted.
• In general there is little that Megasthenes tells us about Indian society that we do not already know from other sources.

Though there are many inconsistencies in the work of Magasthenes with literature and other evidences of that period, we cannot put the blame on Magasthenes entirely:

• Given that his account is not surviving and what we have is only certain extracts quoted by later writers. These incomplete extract is isolated from the context. Judging such incomplete work is appropriate.
• Even in its incomplete version, it gives wide range of information about that period.
• Being a foreigner and having language problem, it is possible to unknowingly misunderstand about some local things. Leveling him liar is not appropriate.

There are several exaggerations and Indika has not survived but fragments are preserved in later Greek and Latin works, it still provides us the valuable information about Mauryan administration and social conditions. On the whole, no historian can dismiss Magasthenes as a worthless story -teller.