AGRICULTURE IN ANCIENT INDIA

Abstract

Physically, India may be divided more or less into three main regions viz. (1) the mountainous borders of Himalayas in the north and of the Vindhyas in the south with the linings of Ghats in the south-eastern and south-western coasts and the traverse range of Aravalli hills; (2) the Deccan plateau or table land; and (3) the plains or low-lands, a rich Indo- Gangetic alluvium overflown by the rivers — the Ganges, Jamuna and Brahmaputra. Although primordial mountains remained inaccessible for human settlement, the foothills have been increasingly brought under cultivation and settlement and the upland valleys striking the Himalayas include some of the most fertile of Indian lowland formations. Megasthenes and earlier Greek eye-witnesses whose memoirs were utilised for reference by subsequent classical writers, were all inspired by the great rivers of India. The whole Indo-Gangetic alluvium consists of rich fertile soil and has contributed materially to the growth of civilization.