From footprints test book Social Science. Could anyone make a summary of the lesson New Kings and Kingdoms
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Answer:
The Emergence of New Dynasties
By the 7th century different regions of the subcontinent had big landlords and warrior chiefs, who were acknowledged as the subordinates or samantas by the existing kings. They had to bring gifts for their kings and overloads and had to be present at their courts and provide military support. However, as these samantas gained power and wealth they declared themselves as maha-samanta, maha-mandaleshvara (the great lord of a “circle” or region) and so on. At times, they even asserted their independence from their overlords.
Given is the example of Rashtrakutas in the Deccan, who were subordinates to the Chalukyas of Karnataka. In the mid 8th century, Dantidurga, a Rashtrakuta chief, overthrew his Chalukya overlord and performed a ritual called hiranya-garbha (literally, the golden womb) with the help of Brahmanas. This ritual was thought to lead to the “rebirth” of the sacrificer as a Kshatriya, even if he was not one by birth.
In other cases, men from enterprising families used their military skills to carve out kingdoms like the Kadamba Mayurasharman and the GurjaraPratihara Harichandra. They were Brahmanas who gave up their traditional professions and took to arms, successfully establishing kingdoms in Karnataka and Rajasthan respectively.
Administration in the Kingdoms
New kings took up high-sounding titles such as maharaja-adhiraja (great king, overlord of kings), tribhuvana-chakravartin (lord of the three worlds) and so on. However, they also shared power with their samantas as well as with associations of peasants, traders and Brahmanas. In these states, resources were obtained from the producers (peasants, cattle-keepers, artisans and so on) who were often persuaded or compelled to surrender part of what they produced, sometimes, claimed as “rent” due to a lord who asserted that he owned the land. Revenue was also collected from traders. These resources were used to finance the king’s establishment and for the construction of temples and forts. They were also used to fight wars, thus leading to the acquisition of wealth in the form of plunder, and access to land as well as trade routes. The functionaries for collecting revenue were generally recruited from influential families, and positions were often hereditary. This was true about the army as well. In many cases, close relatives of the king held these positions.For More Information On How Kingdoms Functions and Administration In Maratha Swaraj, Watch The Below Video:
Prashastis and Land Grants
Prashastis composed by learned Brahmanas, who occasionally helped in the administration, contain details that may not be literally true but will tell us how rulers wanted to depict themselves – as valiant, victorious warriors, for example. Kings often rewarded Brahmanas by grants of land, which were recorded on copper plates. These plates were given to those who received the land. Unusual for the 12th century was a long Sanskrit poem containing the history of kings who ruled over Kashmir composed by an author named Kalhana who was often critical about rulers and their policies, unlike other writers. He used a variety of sources, including inscriptions, documents, eyewitness accounts and earlier histories, to write his account.
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