The Vājasaneya brāhmaṇas of the Rushikulya valley,550–1000 ce

Abstract

The Rushikulya valley in southern coastal Odisha witnessed the rise of brāhmaṇa settlements from the sixth century onwards. In the four centuries that followed, this compact region evolved into a major cluster of brāhmaṇa settlements, so much so that we have discovered 43 copperplate grants made to brāhmaṇas here in this period thus far. An examination of these copperplate grants will enable us to produce a nuanced micro-history of the rise of brāhmaṇa settlements in early medieval India. This article is an attempt at producing such a micro-history. It suggests that the Rushikulya valley brāhmaṇas were mostly autochthonous in origins, claiming affiliation with Vedic culture even when they deviated from it in some respects. At the same time, their adherence to the Vedic identity seems to have been persistent enough to keep them away from Buddhist, Āgamic and other ‘sectarian’ influences. Whether or not for this reason, the Rushikulya valley did not develop shared sacred spaces and multiple religious affiliations in the early medieval period. It became an area of Vedic brāhmaṇa religious monopoly, involving the dominance of the Vājasaneya brāhmaṇas of the Kāṇva recension.