The balance and harmoney which characterise ancient Indian society and polity to a great extent due to the pluralistic nature of authority that had been worked out in practice.
Dharma embraces all spheres of life and society. The king was required to enforce it. But his duties and powers were not exclusive of other agencies. There were more than one centres of authority functioning at different levels and spheres. The one did not compete with the others, it supplemented them. They all coexisted coordinating in an admirable harmoney. The British administrators and scholars admire the functioning of the Indian village communities. They described them as "tiny republics" which have preserved the continuity of Indian culture and traditions among the vicissitudes of political upheaval, turmoil and instability. But the village communities have not been the only institution. There were several other institutions functioning in the sphere of religion, economy and social system at the local level. In the economic field the guilds performed the role of protecting and promoting the interests of its members by forging the bonds of cohesion.
Students of history are familiar with the functioning of guilds in medieval Europe. These guilds preserved the technical skill in crafts and industries and were one of the stabilising in-fluences in the disturbed economy. The achievements in the fields of art and industries were to great extent their contributions. In India the guilds had a parallel role to play in the ancient period. The activities of the guilds in different periods and areas have been studied in a number of monographs R.C. Majumdar attempted first a connected, though brief, history of the corporate nature of the guilds in the ancient period. Like any other pioneer study Majumdar's monograph opened the way for the future researchers to follow.
In the absence of contemporary epigraphic records the earliest period in the history of the guilds traced in the veiled and succinct references in the Vedic texts. Some competent scholars explain the glories of Harappan economy, its crafts, industries and trade as the creations of their guilds. It is suggested that many of the numerous seals associated with the Harapans as characteristic objects of their civilization were connected with the guilds. The seals were officially recognised and their presence ensured authorisation for any document or consignment. We will be in a position to say more and with conviction only after the attempts to decipher the Harappan script have received final approval on all hands.
We would like to know more about the origin and gradual growth of the guilds in India, the situations which created the necessity for corporate activity and the factors which helped the corporate organisation assume a formal shape. The available Vedic literature does not record much evidence bearing on this aspect of the economy of that early period. Apparently the people following the same trade coalesced together to face better the common dangers of the early periods of history and the common hazards of the trade. The Brhdaranyakopanisud, as ex-plained by the Advaita-vedantin Sankaracarya, points out that it is very natural for the Vaisysas to function as a group. The Smrtis, though removed from the period of the first appearance of the guilds in ancient Indian economy, seem to have appreciated well the factors which can be expected to have been. operative. The two major factors metioned here are: times of distress and works of social and religious merits.
The forte of the guilds was their technical skill it their craft or industry. From very early times we find evidence for the highly advanced technology of Indian products which have remained marvels for modern experts. This knowledge and skill, developed in course of centuries, was the well-guarded preserve of the members of that particular guild. The master-apprentice link not only maintained but also improved upon the techniques of the profession.
The cultural prosperity of a civilization very largely depends upon the extent of its economic independence. The ancient Indian cultural advancement is an established fact. Thus it indirectly points to the economic prosperity and self-sufficiency of ancient India. It is, therefore, of importance and interest to study the economic history of ancient India in detail for a correct appraisal of the cultural development of that period. A study of the economic history of ancient India clearly indicates that the economic independence gained in those times was solely due to the industrial and mercantile development in that period. The industrial and mercantile developments were mainly due to the sound planning and efficient organization of the people engaged in these professions. Such economic organizations flourished through different periods of Indian history throughout the length and breadth of the country as attested by the presence of various literary, epigraphic and numismatic records. Ancient Indian literature and epigraphs mainly term these organizations sreni, although some other terms like gana, puga, vrata, samgha, desi, sarttha etc. have also been used in the same sense but not very frequently. However, in the present work, the term guild has been used to denote sreni and such other economic organizations, primarily because of the absence of an English equivalent which conveys exactly the same meaning as the term sreni bears.
The present study covers only the ancient north Indian guilds as it was felt that these north Indian institutions have not received the attention of the scholars that they deserve. In contrast, sufficient work has been done on south Indian guild organizations. Therefore, the present work makes an indepth and systematic study of the various north Indian guilds from earliest times to 1200 A.D.
The first chapter describes the various terms occurring in the literature for denoting an organization. The second chapter focuses attention on the antiquity and the period wise development of guilds from the earliest times to 1200 A.D. The causes of the emergence of the guilds at such an early period and the reasons for their degeneration in the 6th cent. A.D. have also been dealt with. The third chapter is devoted to the factors which served as binding forces for the heterogeneous units to form a homogeneous unit in the form of a guild. The subsequent chapters are devoted to the constitution and administrative machinery, the legislation and the functions of the guilds, respectively. The seventh chapter is based on the numismatic records of guilds found scattered all over the north-India. The concluding chapter highlights the political, social and economic contribution of the guild in ancient India. The lists existing in the pre-Mauryan, Mauryan, Sunga-Saka-Satavahana, Gupta and early medieval periods, have also been appended at the end.
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