THE GOLDEN ROAD :
HOW ANCIENT INDIA TRANSFORMED THE WORLD
WILLIAM DALRYMPLE, BLOOMSBURY, 2024
William Dalrymple does not need an introduction. Every reader has heard his name even if he hasn't read his works. His readership spreads from serious history researchers to casual history enthusiasts, from serious UPSC Civil services aspirants of History optionals to general studies specific students, from Indians interested in their cultural revivals to global readers interested in South-East Asia and especially India.
Recently, I have read his "The Golden Road" published by Bloomsbury which is about India's golden era where the dominance extended from Central Asia to China to South East Asia. The extent of influence was such that the entire cities were built on the patterns as in Bharatvarsh and Kings ruling in the name of Hindu dieties what he broadly terms as Indosphere.
The book is presented in 10 chapters revolving around the common theme of Indic influence transcending geographical borders. In "A Gale of Stillness", the author traverses through the discovery of Ajanta to the influence of Buddhism on Alexander and further Europe. He mentions,
"the doctrine of Buddha was at once a philosophy, an ideology and a method, a practical spiritual path of mental training and discipline..."The reason Ashok became Buddhist and recommended to common people was that he regarded Buddhism as best path to tolerance and pluralism by adopting non-violence, morality and moderation. He further analyses role of Viharas (monastry) and wealthy upper class as instrumental in the spread of Buddhism.
In "India : The Sink of the world's most precious metals", he talks about how the trade with Europe was favourable for India and items like spices, ebony, sandalwood, diamonds, silk, elephant tusk, rubies and Indian Cotton were in huge demand. The excavations have revealed the extent of inroads made through trade. The situation led to adverse balance of payments that emissaries were sent for settlement of debtas Romans were unable to pay (yes, its true). This Gold drain reaced such a stage that for a certain period export to Rome was halted.
The third chapter "The Great King, King of Kings, Son of God" deals with Kushan empire and Kanishk. The reference of Kumarjiva and his travel to China is a new insight which I have not read before. In "The Sea of Jewels" and "The Fifth Concubine" the discusssion how Buddhism reached and dominated China after stiff competition with Daoism and Confucianism and role of Wu Zetian (an interesting historical figure) in spread of Buddhism is discussed. The detail with which Dalrymple has woven the book is remarkable. We have to commend the kind of diverse reading he had to done.
"The Diaspora of Gods" and "In the lands of Gold" is dedicated to the outreach of Southern Empires of Pallavas to Cambodia, Sumatra and Java, expanse of Khmer Empire and how the climatic and geographical similarities led to convergence. The construction of Angkor Wat, use of Mandala rules in the construction of Borobudur. He writes
"The two shores of the ocean formed part of one integral maritime unit, an Indosphere sharing a common culture and sacred language, a sanskritic union of monsoon Asia. ... At this eastern terminus of the Golden Road, the monsoon-blown waters of the Bay of Bengal did not divide but instead connected and united."The chapters details how Cambodia and India had shared ancestry and how Ramayana and Mahabharat became most celebrated topics, Sanskrit became the official language of the government.
"The Treasury of the books of the Wisdom" and "Fruits of the Science of Numbers" deals with the contribution of India in the field of mathematics and numeracy, science with contributions of Aryabhata, Brahmagupta. The import of Indic knowledge system of Ayurveda, mathematucs, astrology and philosophy to Central Asia. The dedication of the rulers of Baghdad to build a respository of all world knowledge led to development of a great library titled "Bayt al-Hikma". Its tragic that Baghdad has fallen from such a height. The impact of Indian Knowledge System was so much that India was recognised as "The first nation to have cultivated science is India." Infact the Fibonacci Sequence is attributed to the initial work done by Aryabhata. one intersting fact which finds mention in the book is that Md. Ghuri who destroyed sacred temples and repurposed them as mosques belonged to a Sunni Sect called Karramiya, which was regarded as heretical and his coins featured Goddess Laksmi. The chapter draws down to the adventures and capture of India by Europeans. He adds that the India's Golden Road spread its influence not through the sword but through the ideas. The cultural and civilisational transformations of the nations, societies it touched was through philosophy, religion, scholarship, art and skill sets.
The book explores India's journey from ancient to medieval to modern era. Reading history from various sources as precursor to civil services examination was a must. Good thing is that the history as a subject even today has its charm for me and this is where I found this book as a compulsory read. Dalrymple has been recognised as one of the few authors whose scholarly work has appeal amongst masses also. His podcast is hugely popular. There was debate sometimes back as to why historians failed in India to carry everyday history to the masses and popularise it. This postion is more challenging today due to advent of incessant knowledge flow from WhatsApp university of the Globe. The author has a unique way of describing events and sites wherein he seems to take readers on a 3D virtual ride. While describing Borobudur he writes,
"At this point, the pilgrim emerges from the labyrinthine maze of the mandala on to the highest elevated platform, surrounded by seventy-two hollow, latticed and performated stupikas and inside each, a void - the goal of the pilgrimage to enlightenment that the architect has been taking the pilgrim on - and inside that, an image of the meditating Buddha".
At factual level, the book offers stunning revelations about the rich civilisational antiquity which was exported not only to Central Asia and Europe in the West but also to Java, Cambodia and Sumatra in the East. The kind of research and scholarship which went into the book can be gauged from the fact that almost 150 pages have been dedicated to notes on references. The rich illustrations are added positives as book frequently refers to archeology, artfacts, paintings and architectural designs.
For 2024, this is the best book I've read and I think everyone interested in History should read it. It may arouse your interest in exploring certain unravled frontiers of Indic civilisational.
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