Maps vs Reality: Illustrated Indian History — Genesis to 1500 C.E
Maps have been a part of the human story from genesis. Maps were one of the first abstractions of human intelligence. Knowledge of migratory routes, water sources, safe shelters, good hunting grounds, predators & enemy tribes was the difference between life & death.
Knowing one’s location is a privilege enjoyed by humanity only recently. For most of history, humans never saw a map of the entire world in their lifetime.
In Indian history, our geographical knowledge is well documented. But visual maps are almost non-existent. How was location and navigation transmitted in ancient or medieval India? Did ancient Indians make maps?
I. Understanding Maps
A Map is a representation of the features of an area of the earth usually on a flat surface. Maps are scaled down from reality. Space on a map is at a premium; it forces the map-maker to prioritize. All maps start with an Intention.
Harry Beck was a technical draughtsman in London who revolutionised subway travel by drawing inspiration from electrical schematics — replacing electrical lines with colour-coded train lines. After 80 years, it is one of the iconic map designs globally. Why was it a success? It was useful. Maps are human interpretations; they are as good as the humans who create them.
Navigation: Is It a Map Only If It Is Written?
Humans first created oral maps. Here we have to consider a key aspect of Indian History: it relies extensively on oral traditions. We use celestial objects, mountains & rivers as reference.
In 1976 a Polynesian raft, The Hōkūle‘a, sailed from Hawaii to Tahiti over 2000 km using only traditional navigation methods — the night sky and ocean currents. Like Indians, their navigation methods are transmitted predominantly orally. The only catch is oral maps need an unbroken lineage to survive.
II. Mapping Indian History: The Bharatavarsha
Knowledge of Indian Geography is well documented in the Vedas & later Puranas. The map of Bharatavarsha is the Geography of our History.
Maps for Moksha: Mandalas, Indian Maps of Cosmology
The first maps were not for navigation on earth; they were maps of the cosmos. A mandala is a map in the same way Harry Beck’s representation of the London underground is a map — a scaled-down, two-dimensional representation filled with symbols. The Mandala view of cosmology is accepted in Vedic, Buddhist & Jain traditions.
Maps for Dharma: Pilgrimages & Raja Dharma
Ancient universities of Takshashila and Tamralipti were on the Uttarapatha. There was a steady flow of students from the Eastern countries to ancient India. Indian experts were revered and found patronage of royals in Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand & Laos.
Maps for Artha & Kama
It was Trade which accelerated the art and science of cartography. From the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea (1st-century C.E.), we get a fair understanding of the ports and goods of trade from India. In the Indian Ocean, the Monsoon marketplace was the chief hub of global economic activity.
III. 500 Years Ago: A Global Disruption
In 1492, Columbus returned from his voyage with information on new lands. The Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 C.E. was the first instance of European nations using maps to decide the fate of foreign countries — a grim precursor to colonisation.
In 1497 when Vasco da Gama crossed the Cape of Good Hope, he was piloted by an Indian Lascar from Malindi to Calicut. The Age of European Discovery would change the world and its maps forever.
Wrapping Up Chapter 1
Maps have been part of the Human Story since the beginning; they shape our world view and will continue to be part of our lives. There is no ideal map; it is as real as our perception of imaginary lines on paper.
Join us in Chapter 2, as we look at the basis for modern maps in the aftermath of the Age of Discovery: 1500 C.E – 2000 C.E
