An article in Smithsonian Magazine by Kate McMohan dated 3rd April 2024 stated that the "world's earliest known system of taxation emerged in Egypt at the dawn of civilization itself, around 3000 B.C.E. (1)" There are findings of independent researchers that indicate that taxation might have existed in India earlier to Egypt. Also, taxation was regarded as a Rajdharma (Dharma of the ruler) to ensure Yogakshema (Yoga + Kshema) of the people (spiritual and prosperous life) rather than as a means for building monumental temples and colossal pyramids or to engage in wars within and with other countries as in Egypt. “Unlike Egyptians or Mesopotamians, Indus people did not build unnecessarily extravagant monuments. They loved intricately made miniature objects of art, and intelligently constructed and controlled urban settlements (2)”
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A screengrab from Harappan Civilization History in Hindi, Historic Hindi, YouTube, April 27, 2020 |
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A screengrabs from Harappan Civilization History in Hindi, Historic Hindi, YouTube, April 27, 2020 |
Jonathan Mark Kenoyer, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, in his article ‘Cultures and Societies of the Indus Tradition’ (2006) wrote:
The Indus Tradition begins around 10,000 BCE during the interface of the Foraging Era with the transition to domestication of plants and animals, but it is important to understand that the roots of this tradition may extend back even further into the early Palaeolithic period, more than 2 million years ago (3).
From 5500 to 2600 BCE numerous regional cultures emerged throughout the greater Indus region and represent the Regionalization Era (Kenoyer 1998).
During this Era, “extensive trade networks were established along the major river routes and across mountain passes to connect settlements to each other and facilitate the movement of goods and raw materials. The Early Phase of Indus Valley Civilisation began in the later part of the Regionalization Era and “represents a phase of formative urbanism. The building of walled settlements… the emergence of complex chiefdoms and incipient urbanism” (Kenoyer 2006).
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“In this period (3300 to 2800), the Mahabharata war had taken place in 3136 BCE — the year derived from the Kali Yuga computation — a time scale that is followed uninterruptedly till date in India”, wrote Dr. Jayasree Saranathan, author of ‘Mahabharata 3136 BCE: Validation of the Traditional Date’ in First Post, January 2022 (4).
The following are excerpts from her article validating the year of the Mahabharata war:
- The early Harappan Indus region shows sparse growth of settlements, indicating lack of migration from mainland regions of the Mahabharata events.In fact, not many preferred to move to those regions even during the Mahabharata time, as known from Karna’s version that the people of that region lost the wisdom of the Vedas by having lived away from the Himavat, Ganga, Saraswati, Yamuna, etc.
- It [Indus Valley Civilisation] is aptly post-Mahabharata culture.The advanced city planning and material culture detected in Harappa could not have been sudden but a continuation of a pre-existing civilisation. The Mahabharata offers a link to that pre-history.
- The broken parts [of Comet Atlas, as an event of 3136 BCE reported on the NASA website] could have been hurled towards the earth — which was reported as rain of meteors over 13 days starting from the time of Krishna’s peace mission with the major fragment falling on the 9th day disrupting the plans of Duryodhana to start his army on that day….
- Hastinapura received the major hit while another piece impacted the Lower Town of Mohenjo-Daro making it the “Mound of the Dead” which was wrongly articulated as evidence of Aryan Invasion by colonial archaeologists. Mohenjo-Daro was part of the Sindhu kingdom under Jayadratha at that time.
- The already-discovered scientific evidence about a cosmic impact in the year 3136 BCE is supported by the historical evidence provided by the Mahabharata, making the text a true historical document.
Subsequent to archaeological excavations in Sinauli (Western Uttar Pradesh, 2006 & 2018) which unearthed burials with the Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP), Gupta (Archaeological Survey of India) and Mani (National Museum, New Delhi) stated in their article ‘Painted Grey Ware Culture: Changing Perspectives’ (January 2017) that in the present state of archaeological evidence, OCP seems to be a stronger contender for the Mahabharata association and the time period of 3700‐3000 BCE proposed by Prof. Sahi also supports such a contention (5).
A Sanskrit inscription at a Jain temple at Aihole, Karnataka State of India from 634 CE states that 3,735 years had elapsed since the Bhārata war. (Indian Saka year also has 365 days, same as the Gregorian year.) Thus, it is held by many scholars that the Mahābhārata war took place in 3735 - 634 = 3101 BCE (6).
According to mainstream historians, the Mahabharata War (also called Kurukshetra War named so after the place where it happened, in the present Haryana, State of India) was fought in the 1st or 2nd millennium BCE. While they considered the composition of Rig Veda as subsequent to the war, the epic Mahabharata mentions of a golden age (Vedic age) in the past implying that the Vedas were written before, perhaps long before, the war. The mainstream historians also regard the Mahabharata as a small battle that was blown out of proportion by poets of later times. They don’t consider the present text of the epic as a document of history and claim that it was modified by various poets in later times. It may be of interest to read the following quotes from Sri Aurobindo's (1872 - 1950) on Mahabharata and Vyasa, who is widely acknowledged as its original author:
- Valmiki, Vyasa and Kalidasa are the essence of the history of ancient India; if all else were lost, they would still be its sole and sufficient cultural history (7).
- It should be remembered, that the Kurukshetra war took place five thousand years ago, it was after two thousand five hundred years had elapsed that the first successful invasion of barbarians could reach up to the other side of the Indus (8).
- His [Vyasa's] very subject [Mahabharata] is one of practical ethics, the establishment of a Dharmyarajya, an empire of the just, by which is meant no millennium of the saints but the practical ideal of a government with righteousness, purity and unselfish toil for the common good as its saving principles (9).
- The Mahabharata of Vyasa, originally an epic of 24,000 verses, afterwards enlarged by a redacting poet, was finally submerged in a vast mass of inferior accretions, the work often of a tasteless age and unskilful hands (10).
- In the twelfth book of Mahabharata, on Yudhisthira’s enquiry on the origin of the state, Bhishma replies: “Certainly, O Best among the men! Do you listen to everything in its entirety, – how kingship originated first during the golden age. Neither kingship nor the king was there in the beginning, neither scepter (Danda) nor the bearer of a scepter (Dandik). All people protected one another by means of righteous conduct Dharma. O Bharata! Men eventually fell into a state of spiritual lassitude. Then delusion overcame them. Men were thus overpowered by infatuation. O leader of men! On account of the delusion of understanding, their senses of righteous conduct was lost. ……Then, the gods approached Vishnu, the lord of creatures and said, ‘Indicate to us that one person among mortals who is alone worthy of highest eminence.’ Then blessed lord God Narayana reflected and brought forth an illustrious mind-born son called Virajas (who became the first king).
- Mahabharata declares: ‘Righteousness is called Dharma. The sages, O King!, have declared that Dharma restrains and sets bounds for all evil acts of men. The lord created Dharma for the advancement and growth of the creatures. For this reason, a king should act according to the dictates of Dharma for benefiting his subjects. Disregarding lust and wrath, observe then the dictates of righteousness. Among all the things that conduce to the prosperity of the kings, righteousness is the foremost.
- Again, underlining the essentiality of the sensitivity of taxation, Mahabharata prescribes that ‘O King! You become like a gardener. Do not become like a coal maker. A gardener takes care of the trees, irrigates them, protects them from human and other possible dangers, and then receives the fruits and the flowers which reach him almost naturally. But the coal maker will destroy the tree, ignite it and make coal out of the ruins of the tree. Thus, you must also become like the gardener and protect the garden of the state by putting in your all efforts and receive taxes from the protected populace as fruits and flowers coming naturally to you. You should not destroy the state and the subjects by barbaric and brutal taxation like a coal maker. Thus this way you can enjoy your authority in the state for a longer period by engaging yourself in the enrichment of the lives of the citizens.
- In fact, the author of Mahabharata, while overviewing different aspects of statecraft, enumerates certain basic principles of the tax system. It has been prescribed that the king must levy taxes necessarily after giving proper consideration to the sale and purchase of raw material, the expenses incurred on transportation and import, the wages of the personnel involved, the savings, profit and sustenance of the people engaged in the trade, and overall the Yogakshema of the subjects. In the same manner, the manufacturing cost of the product, the preparations, the consumption, the standards of handicrafts maintained and ensured through regular and continuous vigilance and the inspection by the officers, etc. are the points to be taken into account while levying taxes on the handicrafts, artisans and on the people performing these works.
- Mahabharata, while explaining the principles of the taxation system in ancient India, prescribes that the king should desire to collect the finances through legitimate and acceptable means like the sixth portion of the income of the subjects, levying and collecting reasonable taxes, giving financial punishment to criminals and law breakers, providing protection to the traders and producers, and receiving fixed salaries for all these jobs.
- It has also been prescribed that the state should provide additional help in the forms of cash or kindness to the people who have problems and need special assistance. The state must be compassionate and empathetic towards the people who are aggrieved or deprived.
- The author of Mahabharata is very clear in his approach in Shantiparvam and, therefore, transmits a clear message that none of the rich people of the state should have any cynicism or apprehension that the state intends to exploit them by heavy taxation because of their good fortunes. Taxation patterns should never be assumed to be a punishment of owing more than anybody in the state. Therefore, it has been advised to the king that he should give due welcome and hospitality to the affluent and wealthy people whenever they approach him. The king should benevolently appeal to them to be philanthropic and to assist the state in the material growth of the people. The king has been advised to recognize the fact that these rich people are an integral part of the state. Their economic possessions and financial progress are not at all against the interests of the state. Their richness is a virtue, not a demerit. Therefore, only due taxes should be collected from them. Anyone who collects more than the due taxes should also be punished as per the rules.
Postscript: Underwater excavations of modern day Dwarka (Sanskrit, meaning ‘Gateway to heaven’) in Gujarat have revealed structures and artifacts, lending some credence of a submerged city. Carbon dating methods applied to submerged materials indicate that the underwater ruins may date back as far back as 9,000 years (about 7000 BCE) (12).
The town has association with Lord Krishna, who is believed to be the founder of this town by reclaiming 12 yojana (1 yojana = 3.5 to 15 km) land from the sea (Vishnu Puran, 5.2.13). The town consisted of beautiful gardens, deep moats, several ponds and palaces (Vishnu Puran, 5.2.14).The glorious town of Dwarka was submerged by the sea just after the death of Lord Krishna (Mahabharata, Mausalparva 7.41-42) (13).
Krishna was the master strategist and charioteer of Arjuna who led the Pandavas to victory against the Kauravas in the Mahabharata war.
According to another interpretation of the Aihole inscription, the Mahabharata war took place in 5376 BCE (about 7400 BCE) (6).
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| A screengrab from The Lost City of Dwarka - History & the Remarkable Discovery of an Underwater City | StudyIQ IAS, YouTube, Nov 3, 2023 |
If further research confirms the above findings, that would mean dharmic taxation might have existed in India thousands of years before it appeared in any other ancient civilisation.
References:
1. Stressed About Taxes? Blame the Ancient Egyptians, Smithsonian Magazine
2. Decoding the Indus Script: My Findings and What They Challenge
3. Cultures and Societies of the Indus Tradition by Jonathan Mark Kenoyer
4. Deciphering the year of Mahabharata war and how it holds key to Harappan culture
5. Painted Grey Ware Culture: Changing Perspectives
6. The Scientific Dating of the Mahabharat War
7. Early Cultural Writings, Volume 01, Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo, Page 156
8. Dharma, 1909-1910, Sri Aurobindo's Bengali writings, Page 148
9. Early Cultural Writings, Volume 01, Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo, Page 324
10. Autobiographical Notes, Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo, Volume 36, Pg 127
12. Facts about the submerged city of Dwarka
13. CSIR - National Institute of Oceanography