Maritime History of India: An Archaeological & Literary Perspectives (Maritime heritage of Ancient India)

22 Fevereiro 2018, 10:00 • Shiv Kumar Singh

The concept of trade in ancient India was quite different from modern times. In olden day’s mariners, artisans, traders, Buddhist monks and religious leaders used to set sail together and this trend continued till the advent of modern shipping. The representation of art on the walls of the caves, stupas and temples enlighten us regarding their joint ventures, experiences and problems faced during the sea voyages. The ending of varieties of pottery, punch marked and Roman coins, Brahmi and Kharoshti inscriptions along the ports, trade centers and Buddhist settlements suggest the role played by them in maritime trade during the early historical period and later. Mariners of India were aware of the monsoon wind and currents for more than two thousand years if not earlier. Furthermore, the study shows that the maritime contact with Southeast Asian countries was seasonal and no changes of Southwest and Northeast monsoon have been noticed since then. This paper details the types of pottery, beads, cargo found at ports, trade routes and Buddhist settlements along the east coast of India and the role of monsoons in maritime trade. The impact of Buddhism on trade and society of the region are also discussed. The seafarers of India had the knowledge of the sea pertaining to wind, currents, tides, weather conditions and shipbuilding since the 3rd millennium BC. The geographical setting of Indian Peninsula has supported the development of seaports all along its coastline from the early times (Deloche, 1994). Majority of the rivers of India and their distributaries are suitable for navigation and ports developed along the estuarine mouths. The origin of lagoons, lakes and other sheltered bodies along the Indian coast favoured for the development of many ports, pro- vided sheltered anchorages and moreover facilitated the plying of various types of boats. The ancient literature i.e. Vedas, Epics and the Puranas also referred a lot thing about marine activities of ancient Indian people.  The archaeological, literary and historical evidences indicate that Indian mariners were aware of the use of mon- soon wind and currents for maritime trade with Southeast Asian countries for more than 2000 years. Further, Indians were the first to use monsoon wind and currents for maritime trade and the literary evidence embodies this fact. The sailors of India set sail for Southeast Asian countries during the Northeast monsoon and returned during the Southwest monsoon. Both the wind and cur- rents were favourable during their voyages and mariners scheduled their journeys accordingly. The study shows that there has been no change of seasons of monsoon over the past 2000 years and the social festivals celebrated along the east coast of India during the Northeast and the Southwest monsoons indicating past maritime glory are centuries old.