Mewar as the Locus of Guhila State (Part-V)

Ahada (modern Udaipur) had emerged as a hub of economic resources. Thriving economic base prompted Ahada to become the capital town. The new political importance of Ahada prompted further economic growth of this locality. — Prof. Nandini Kapur Sinha

Occupations such as randhani” (probably refers to a feast held for the entertainment of the members of a community), dyûtamdharânâm (a gambler), etc., at Ahada also distinguished it as an urban centre, as does the list of grants made by different categories of residents of Ahada to the temple of Sara Geœvara. The list runs as follows: one ghatikapala (unit of measurement for milk) from every iron saucepan (of confectioners), one petaka (this probably means the amount of money won by a gambler at one venture) from each gambler, one pala (a ladle generally containing four tolas) of oil from every oil mill, one rupaka from randhani (for a feast held for the entertainment of the members of a community), one catuhsar (four-stringed garland) from flower-sellers everyday, one tula from the shop of seller of worn-out clothes and one adhaka (a measure of grain containing three-and-half seers) from a hâta (weekly fairs or a market place).Such a list of residents contrasts remarkably with the list we get from the village settlements in the epigraphic records of the seventh-century Guhilas. Grant of a specialized amount of grain from the haa is indicative of the fact that peasants from neighbouring villages converged on Ahada with rural  produce and took back goods from Ahada. Thus Ahada must have accounted for the bulk of the income of the central exchequer both from non-agricultural and agricultural items. Donations of commercial levies for religious purposes did not necessarily mean ‘feudalization of trade and commerce 100 but indicates royal share in the proceeds of commercial transactions.

Strangely, this busy commercial scenario is not matched by an availability of a proportionate number of coins of the Guhilas. The few finds of the Cahamana coins in northern Mewar and Dhoda inscriptions of AD 1168 and 1169 (records that the ‘silver Ajaya Deva coins’ were subjected to careful scrutiny and examination and became legal tender) suggest that local transactions were carried out in Cahamana coins.  John Deyell rightly states that commerce continued in the more popular denominations in a trans-territorial context.

The direct inscriptional reference to the establishment of King Úaktikumâra at Atapura should indicate the possibility of transfer of capital from Nägda to Ahada and of a fortress being built at Ahada. Ahada seems to have been named as Atapura and acquired political and administrative importance as the capital of the Guhilas during Œaktikumara’s reign. The above suggestion seems plausible in view of the eulogy of this town for the first time in any Guhila record. The presence of the ruling elite in Ahada must have accelerated further demand for high-value items. Therefore, the new political status of Ahada might have been an additional factor in increasing the commercial traffic at this centre. We hear of Ahaadurga as an important political and commercial centre in the thirteenth century.

Resources were also mobilized from other areas of control such as Pratapgarh in southern part of upper Banas plain. Ekalingaji, Paldi, Jagat and Dariba with their temples and monasteries were emerging as important religious centres. Occasional fairs and festivals at these centres undoubtedly encouraged periodic markets which contributed to the resource base of the Guhila state. Chirava was a thriving rural settlement with new temples.  Because of its proximity to Ahada, Chirava must have entered, by the thirteenth century, into the circuit of commercial transactions centred in Ahada. Finally, continued mining at Zawar, evident from zinc smelting retort dumps dated between AD 1025-1280, and once again between AD 1325-1690, contributed towards the intensification of the commercial transactions at Ahada in our period of study and later.

Territorial extension in the eleventh century expanded the availability of land. Northward expansion of the Nägda-Ahada, evident from Kadmal plates of Guhila King Vijayasimha (AD 1083), diverted some of Godwar’s resources towards Mewar. The fact that the state was mobilizing resources from the Pali locality is evident from detainment of half of the taxes and income from the irrigational channels for the royal donor.

The accounts of Hiuen Tsiang, Chittaurgarh Inscription of King Mana Mori of AD 713, Chittaurgarh Inscription of Caulukya King Kamarapala of AD 1151 recording grants at Samaddhiœvara temple and Dhavagarta Inscription of Guhila Dhanika testify to the wealth of Chittaurgarh and the eastern Berach basin in the pre-Guhila period. 

The Ghaghsa record of AD 1265 referring to the building of a bavri (step well) by a member of Dindu community in the reign of Guhila King Tejasimha, Jain records such as the Ghaghsa Prasasti of AD 1265 and the Chittaur Stone Inscription of AD 1267 referring to the âcâryas of  the Caitragaccha, inscriptions from Menal and Bijolia recording the grant of drammas to a temple of Mahanal (Siva), and the grant of a village to a Jain temple of Parsvanath respectively point towards the range of economic activities in Chittaurgarh locality in the Guhila period. Mobilization of resources by the Guhila state from the local commercial transactions is evident from the royal dues levied on the mandapikâ (custom houses) in Chittaurgarh belt. The Chittaurgarh Inscription of AD 1274 of Samarasimha records a royal grant of a few drammas and such items as ghee, oil, etc., which were made from the mandapikâs (of Talhatti, Aghata (Ahada), Khohar and Sajjanpura to a Jain temple of Pärúvanäth. Except Aghata (Ähada, Mewar hills), the other places were all located near Chittaurgarh. Aghaa evidently came to acquire a mandapika for the first time in the thirteenth century (definitely after the tenth century). 

Further, increasing mining activities in the Mewar hills, incorporation of important mining centres other than Zawar within the commercial network (evident from Kankroli road station inscription of the period of Samarasimha) and control of the Mount Abu region, accelerated the process of resource mobilization particularly in terms of commercial revenue for the Guhila state. 

In contrast, the two Guhila houses of Unstra and Bagodia (Marwar region) clearly had poorer resources as they operated from a semi-arid locality. Although the grants made by the Nadol Guhilas consisted of agrarian and commercial levies, the limited area of control restricted their resource base. The Guhila chiefs of Mangrol in coastal Saurashtra were evidently able to tap greater wealth from the continuous flow of commercial traffic.

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