Merchants
In ancient times there were two distinct types of trade controlled by respective merchant leaders known as the shreshthis and the sarthavahas. The shreshthis had their shops in villages and towns and fulfilled the need of the local people. The sarthavahas (caravan leaders) on the other hand trav- elled from place to place carrying with them indigenous as well as foreign goods. They controlled import and export, and acted as whole sellers and suppliers to local shreshthis”. The traders dealing with similar trade or the joint financial ventures, who used to go out for trade in groups, carrying with them merchandise, were known as sartha (caravan). Their leader who led them was called sarthavaha (caravan leader) who was an efficient and experi- enced person. He had the knowledge of the direction of routes, halting spots, provision of food and water, precautions against brigands at dangerous places on the routes etc. The clear cut knowledge regarding the form of organization of caravans in the ancient period is not known but most likely it was the same as mentioned in the Jain literatures.” From the Jain sources it is known that the sartha or the caravan was organized by a trader and other traders joined him in his venture. All the participating traders formed partnership by mutual agreement including in respect of profit and loss. But all the participants in the sartha were not bound to have equal partnership. Members of a sartha could form several groups within the sartha, based on their own partnership according to their business convenience. They may or may not have any part- nership in the capital. All the traders, marching in a caravan under the lead- ership of a sarthavaha were known as sangatrika”. They had to abide by cer- tain code of conduct and had to obey the commands of the sarthavaha. How- ever, the responsibilities that they had to share with the sarthavaha and the discipline they had to follow are no where available at present.
During the ancient period, to move alone was full of dangers; so, who-so-ever wanted to venture out, generally joined some sartha. And for the safety of the caravan, it was also necessary for the sarthavaha to have as many persons as possible in his sartha (caravan). The sarthavaha took all possible cares of his caravan, so that the sangatrikas (members of the sartha) might not feel any difficulty in their movement. He provided to the members of the caravan various facilities in the form of free meals, cloths, utensils and medi- cines”. Often two sarthavahas joined together, if they had to cross a river or a forest.
In Kalinga, the merchants who carried on overseas trade were called ‘sadhavas’. What is the etymology of this word? It is believed that the word sadhava had developed out of the word sadhu or honest men. Probably the Kalingan merchants were known for their honesty and the term sadhu, in association with byabasaya or business, came to be called sadhavaḥ which meant honest businessmen (sadhu byabasayi). Further, in grammar the plural of the word sadhu is sadhabah. But normally we come across the use of the word in its singular form. Some others argue that in Orissa the word sadhava has originated out of the word sarthavaha, a term used for the maritime trad- ers in ancient India”. According to them sadhava could be a spoken derivation from sarthavaha. In any case the modern titles of sahu, sabata and sahukar denoting businessmen have something to do with the origin of the word sadhabah or sadhava. Many stories and legends speak of the sadhavas (mer- chants) and their adventurous sea voyages to the places beyond the seas and their return with abundant treasures.
The sadhavas did not form any particular caste. They rather belonged to a class drawn from different castes. In other words, the sadhavas were a group of merchants of different castes. A trip to the sea necessitated lots of cour- age and plenty of wealth. People belonging to different castes who had the finan- cial potentiality and the courage ventured into the sea and were called sadhavas. However, by and large the vaishyas were associated with the overseas trade as their profession. The profit involved in this business, more often than not, attracted people of different castes into this profession. And that is why; we find the title ‘sahu’ used by the brahmins, kshyatriyas and vaishyas, irrespective of their caste structure.
No caste can have the distinction of being singularly involved in the process of overseas activities. The assistance of different categories of people was essential. The persons who were responsible for rowing the boats were known as kandareas or majhis who generally belonged to low caste. However, at a later stage when sophistication was in operation the people of higher castes also entered into this activity. The titles like Mangaraja, Boitiala, Mahanayak etc. indicate the entry of kshyatriyas as Helmsmen and as captains of the ships.
The Sadhavas and the maritime traders were held in very high esteem in the society. In many literary works of folklores, the Sadhavas have been ranked third in the social hierarchy next to the kings and their ministers. They were generally very rich and their sons could pick up friendship with the sons of the kings, ministers and the army chiefs”. So high was their social status that they could even establish matrimonial relationship with the royal fami- lies. As a matter of fact, such marriages were very common. It was their wealth that earned them social status”.
When the social status of the Sadhavas was very high their interfam- ily relationship was far from satisfactory. The prolonged absence of the male members of the family brought in endless misery to their family members. From literary sources we come across the description that all the capable male members of the family went on trading trips for months together. And this is where we come across the Taapoi legend. Taapoi is neither an isolated character nor part of a story. She represents the socio-economic backdrop of the society that was once made to acquire wealth through overseas trade without bothering for some social and familial problems.
The trading trips involved elements of risk and luck. There was al- ways a fear of shipwreck. The ships were not only ill equipped; the sailors/ navigators had also little knowledge of scientific navigation. Hence, their sense of insecurity and fear of the unknown made them seek shelter under the protec- tive cover of religion. They worshipped gods and goddesses in various forms for the protection of their ships, for their safe return and for a profitable business. In fact, everything associated with maritime trade had a religious tinge, right from the beginning of the construction of ships till their safe return. The selection of wood for the ships, the commencement of the journey, the day of the return etc. were independently associated with some religious performances or the other. Personal devotion was the keynote of all these occasions. However, Goddess Mangala in her different names was mainly worshipped on these occasions.
Ancient Orissa carried on brisk overseas trade and commerce and were gener- ally in the profit side, which accounted for the prosperity and virility of the race. Though they possessed inadequate scientific knowledge and equipments of marine industry and trade, they were aware of the monsoon and the wind direction. The social and religious festivals like the Khudurukuni osha and the Kartika boita bandana utsava that are associated with overseas activities today are enough to prove that Orissa in ancient times had a brisk overseas trade.
Guilds
The merchant guilds, in ancient India, not only played a very important role in ensuring economic prosperity but also took a vital role in urban life in organizing the infrastructure for the sale and distribution of surplus products of the villages and urban centres. They were autonomous bodies, having their own rules, regulations and bye-laws, which were usually accepted and respected by the state. Disputes among their members were settled by their own executive and not by the state tribunals”. To R. C. Majumdar guild or sreni appeared to be a corporate union of merchants. R. Fick” says that ‘the guilds were formed for protecting the economic and legal interests of the people engaged in that profession’. According to R. Champakalakshmi, ‘Guild’, was ‘an association of professionals with a well defined structure, a carefully framed code of con- duct of rules and membership governed by certain regulations and qualifica- tions’. The guilds had their own funds and properties. Many of them were rich enough to excavate a cave or build a temple. It is believed that all guilds whether of artisans, agriculturists or merchants functioned with one purpose i.e. to pro- tect their own interests11. It would also appear that in case of emergency a guild could raise a militia from among its own members and employees to afford pro- tection to the person, property and merchandise of its members. However, in the opinion of R.N. Dandekar, 102 ‘guild’ was ‘a corporation of businessmen who came together and bound themselves by specific rules and conditions with a view to carry on trade on co-operative basis’.
In ancient India, the industry and trade were carried on co-operative basis and were most likely not individualistic ventures. The men professing com- mon industry or trade formed their unions or corporations, and through those unions or corporations, they carried on their commercial activities. The guilds, however, were subject to process of change in economic activities. The origin of the guild system may be traced back to the Vedic period. It is referred to in the ancient literatures by several terms such as ‘srení, kula, puga, jati, vrata, samgha, samudaya, samuha, parishat, sambhuya-sannuthana, varga, sartha, naigama, etc. 104 The guilds on account of their nature could be broadly classified into two categories, viz., trade or merchant guilds and craft or pro- fessional guilds105. Between the two, the merchant guilds were much more important in the society than the craft guilds. They served as catalysts in the pro- cess of shaping the economic life of the country.
The Mahavastu mentions the guilds or srenis that existed in Kapilavastu. Those are named as sauvarṇika (deal- ers in gold), hairanyika (dealers in coins, perhaps bankers or money changers), pravanika (cloth-sheet sellers), sankhika (men working in conch industry), dantakara (ivory-carvers), maṇikāra (gem-cutters), prastarika (stone-carvers), gandhi (perfumers), kośavika (wool and silk weavers), teli (oilmen), ghṛtakundika (ghee-producers), varika (betel cultivators), kārpasika (cotton growers or weavers), dadhyika (curd producers), khanda käraka (sweet mak- ers or sellers), modakāraka (laddoo or sweet-ball makers) phala-vāṇija (fruit sellers), mūla-vānija (root sellers), cūrṇa-kutta-gandha-tailika (dry-perfume makers), guḍapacaka (guḍa producers), sidhakaraka (wine distillers), sarkara- vanija (sugar sellers) etc. 10% A work of the Gupta period called Jambu-dvipa- prajñapti” has enumerated eighteen types of srenis or guilds. They are kumbhāra (potters), pattalla (silk-weavers), suvarṇakāra (gold-smith), sūpakāra (hoteliers), gandharva (perfumers or singers), kasavana (barber), mālākāra (garland-makers), kachchhakāra (probably washer men), tamoli (be- tel-sellers), chammayaru (shoe-makers), jantapilaka (oil-men), ganchhi (uni- dentified), chhimpa (cloth-dyer), kansakara (metal utensil makers), sivaga (tailors), guara (cattle-rearers), bhilla (hunters) and machhuya (fishermen). However, all of the above mentioned names indicate that the guilds were the organizations of only those classes which were producers, industrialists or professionals and not of the traders, those who actually managed the sale of products. The Gupta epigraphs also corroborate this by indicating the evidence that the sreni was the organization of producers only. An inscription from Mandasor refers to the guild of pattavaya (silk-weavers) and another inscription from Indor mentions the tailika-śreņi” or the guild of oilmen. From the south Indian literatures it is known that pekkandru, nakharamu, panchanamvaru, teliki- vevuru, kampulu, salevaru, etc. were some of the prominent guilds of south.
India during the medieval period. These guilds not only enjoyed certain privi- leges viz., banners, flags and seals, prashastis, corporate property etc. but also received substantial assistance from the ruling kings like the Eastern Chalukyas, the Kakatiyas, the Reddis [Reddys], and the Rayas of Vijayanagara””. The guilds had the practice of using banners and flags bearing the emblems and implements of their crafts. Another notable feature of the guilds was that they had their elaborate and high sounding prashastis (eulogy). The guilds might have adopted these prashastis in order to increase their social acceptability, economic stability, and political prominence and above all to command respect from the public”. Another significant feature of the guilds was that they maintained corporate property (the property owned collectively by the members of the guild). The guilds often lent money for sea trade at a higher rate of interest. The guilds not only transacted the business of banking but issued coins and seals also. The coins excavated from Salepur, Kaushambi and the seals found from Rajghat, Basarh, Bhita excavations testify to this””. It is known from different prashastis that the guilds made gifts and donations to the temples. An epigraph from Zuzzuru registers the gift of land to a temple by five mem- bers of the Teliki-Vevuru community. Two epigraphs from Mukhalingam, registering cash gifts for lamps in the local temple, state that they were en- trusted to the care of the Telikis of Bandinigrama and Chodaganga pemta respectively115. It is, thus, clear from the above information that there have been instances where the Teliki-Vevuru made collective gifts of land and also instances where they collectively undertook to maintain lamps for which cash and land gifts were made1. The land that was collectively gifted must have belonged to the corporate land”.
About the trade guilds of the merchants in ancient Orissa the references are meagre. However, as in other parts of India, it can be safely presumed that with the growth of urban centres and port towns, local merchant guilds and associations must have emerged and played a vital role in the growth of inland and overseas trade.”” It seems that at least from the Mauryan period the guilds became a regular feature of the Orissan economic life. A review of epigraphic sources indicates the existence of some form of professional guilds in Orissa though not necessarily from the same caste. The villages having a group of professionals from the same strata of society might have led to the formation of professional group guilds. Further, the existence of various crafts and industries suggest that easy marketing of some products would not have been possible without the efficient organization of guilds. The sense of insecu- rity out of the fear of robbery and wild animals, absence of proper communi- cation and natural hazards led to the formation of trade guilds and merchant associations. From the circulation of different types of Kushana gold coins it can be inferred that the goldsmiths as a class formed an artisan guild. There existed also a number of other guilds like the guild of perfumers, weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, dealers in conch shells etc. The commodities which they produced were useful for the internal and external trade. Each and every guild framed its own rules and regulations in co-operative spirit to satisfy the needs of the people in different places under the motto of some profit. The guilds framed their rules and regulations independently to suit their need and for the convenience of their work. From the Somavamshi records of Janmejaya I where the reference is made to a Kamalabana-Banik-Samstha, the existence of merchant-guilds can be presumed””. A copper plate inscription120 (c. 1024 CE) refers to a grant of vaisya agrahara (gift of village to vaisyas who were primarily the traders). The agrahara consisted of three villages donated to Erapa Nayaka who was a vaishya trader. Further, the money reserves in the hands of merchants for maintenance of the perpetual lamps in temples” posi- tively suggest that there was the existence of guilds of merchants who invested money donating to the temples. During the Ganga rule in Orissa, the trade guilds became a prominent feature of the economic life. The Ganga records refer to a number of guilds such as of the goldsmiths122, oilman, milkman, potter, copper workers, tambulika(cultivator/seller of betel) 123, bell-metal workers, seller of sugar, patakara (splitter or carpenter), perfumer, weaver124, barber125, craftsman, washer man, worker in the conch-shells and fisher folks. This impressive list of different castes throws considerable light on the socio-economic life of ancient Orissa towards the closing years of the 12th /13th century CE i.e. up to the Ganga rule.
These guilds or corporate bodies served as the local banks with their own rules and regulations”. These guilds must have provided assistance and opportunities for the artisans to prosper. Kautilya mentions that loans were given to the overseas traders at a high rate of interest because of the reason that there was the less chance in recovery of these loans as the maritime trade involved a lot of risk factors. Most likely the guilds or srenis obtained money on low interest and advanced it to the traders at some high rate. Money or capital, as in the present day was essential for trade and industry in ancient times too. An individualâs own money, how so-ever rich he might be, was not enough to invest in any trade. Thus, the merchants had to depend on the guilds, and thus, guilds as banks supplying financial and legal assistance to the mer- chants served a lot for the promotion of trade and commerce. Regarding the activities of the guilds P. L. Gupta’ says, ‘the srenis (guilds) acted as trustees for endowments and accepted money; the money thus obtained, was invested by the srenis perhaps in loans to the traders and thus it also acted as bank. If people could entrust them permanent endowments, it goes without saying that they might have also been investing their savings with the guilds for short periods and earning some interest on them. Such investments were made on the basis of some agreed terms (samaya) and those terms were abided by the srenis and the naigamas. He also referred to the percentage of interest on the loan sanctioned by the guilds, mentioned by the Yajnavalkya and Brihaspati Smritis as the interest of 1.m per cent on the loan secured by pledge; and on unsecured loan, interest of 2, 3, 4 and 5 per cent could be charged from the debtors of Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Shudra varnas respectively. Here the unsecured loan may be referred to the loan sanctioned to the merchants those who were involved in the maritime trade. Literary sources testify to the fact that money lending was approved as an honest business along with culti- vation and trade. It also appears from the smritis that during the ancient pe- riod credit in trade was prevalent. If the amount was paid within a fixed pe- riod after the delivery of goods, no interest was charged; if the money was not paid within the fixed period after the delivery of goods, only then the interest was chargeable.” But what was the period of credit is nowhere explicitly men- tioned. Katyayana has, however, mentioned that if one went away without making the payment of the price of the purchased goods, the interest was chargeable after six months; and if the payment was not made on demand, interest of 5% could be charged. However, the interest on goods supplied on credit, was perhaps charged according to the nature of goods.
Besides this, different types of taxes were collected from the merchants engaged in the maritime business. The Bhaumakara inscriptions13 re- fer to the collection of taxes at the ghatta (landing places on the bank of the river) and naditarasthana (the ferry places). In an inscription11 of Anantavarman Chodagangadeva we came across to a term called lavanakaradhikari (salt tax officer). This also indicates that salt taxes were collected from the people of coastal Orissa in ancient times.