By: Dr. Dilip Kumar
In Indian culture, the practice of worship and rituals has always been at the top level. The tradition of worship has been going on since ages. Amongst these practices, the construction of places of worship and temples was a matter of respect for the kings and maharajas.
In Indian Hindu culture, four things have always been given importance, ‘Gau, Ganga, Gita and Gayatri’. Their worship has been going on since ancient times. To popularise their worship further, people started building temples, but the architecture and arts used in all these kept in mind the future, so that society could benefit from these in coming times.
Special places were selected for the construction of temples. Festivals related to these were also organized from time to time. Festivals, get-togethers, fairs etc. were organized according to a plan, keeping in view the economic prospects.
When we look at the economic aspect of these events, we find that trade and agriculture were the main means of income of the people since ancient times. Through these, people used to earn their livelihood. People used to buy and sell goods and products through barter or money. The money received as profit, used to be spent for meeting own needs and for the state taxs so that society could progress.
Thus we see that the concept of the temple was very strong in our society, which provided a solid base for the relationship between the king and the subjects. A certain part of the taxes received by the king from the public was used in religious works so that economic and social strength and an atmosphere of prosperity could develop in the society.
Here, it seems necessary to see in what ways the temples have affected the economy from ancient times to modern times:
In ancient times, the main sources of earning of livelihood were livestock, farming and trade. However, there were no very strong means of transport due to which it was difficult for them to trade and carry their goods far and wide. This is the reason that peoples’ contact with people from far-flung areas was scarce. People were confined to their fixed habitations and earned a living within their limited confines. Moreover, people used to have a limited flow of money which was not good for the growth of the economy.
With this background, ancient temples remained a strong medium of economic distribution. Because the religious rituals affected peoples’ economy more, therefore the festivals and fairs, celebrated in and around temples, were given a grandeur that was indicative of economic progress.
In these temple – fairs and festivals, a situation and a medium emerged for the traders who used to normally wander in the far-flung villages to sell their goods and also for those prospective consumers who needed the goods that could not be procured easily in the vicinity, that proved to be suitable for both, the buyer and the seller. People got the way for more currency exchange along with buying and selling their goods, in a given time, through this medium. Simultaneously, on the pretext of organizing festivals and fairs, the rulers, traders and common people of one province also got an opportunity to visit other provinces and places for the purpose of doing business and holding meetings. This strengthened friendship and religious and economic linkages, as also promoted the political and economic interests. The mutual animosity of the states also decreased. The benefit of the money obtained from these events and through the purchase and sale during these events, directly went to the economy and the social people.
As a consequence of all these facts, the construction of temples and their courtyards came into vogue in large numbers. At the same time, when people earned excess of means, a tendency of more accumulation and religious work was born in them. Temples became the main centers of ancient Indian economy (before the alien invasion).
By medieval times, the developing temples of ancient times had attained their peak state. The temples were at a high stage in social, political and economic terms. In a way, these temples started doing banking and currency conservation work. The grand construction and craftsmanship of the temples reflected their economic progress and also expressed the possibility of employment and investment.
The kings, maharajas and merchant classes of that time used to invest a certain part of their income in religious works. Thus, a large group of society was sustained which reduced the social and economic gap. Temples were providing employment to the people.
Gradually, the grandeur and the brightness of the temples increased so much that the traders coming from outside were dazzled by the art, craft and economic prosperity of India. They used to describe her glory in their own words after returning to their native country. Jealous of India’s economic prosperity, foreign warriors, raiders and kings invaded the main religious centers.
Attack on the temple of Somnath by Muhammad of Ghazni is a direct proof of this. Invaders attacked and looted it many times, but after each attack, the temple was resurrected by Indian population and it got even more prosperity. This incident mainly shows two things; firstly, that the faith of the social people in the temples was strong and secondly, the temples became more meaningful once again, even after so many attacks.
Therefore, we can say that the temples, besides doing currency banking, also did communication for the people. It shows a strong interrelationship between the society and the temples.
In later periods when the dominance of foreign rule increased, their influence damaged the customs of the temples and their strong economic system. That resulted in an imbalance in place of the traditional economic balance. Difference between the classes started occurring and increasing.
From the economic point of view (before the British), the condition of temples in the early period of modern times was therefore, not very special. After the power came into the hands of the British, the economic system based on the temples, which was already getting dilapidated during the medieval period, attained a very limited space in social and economic terms. The temples which promoted social and economic advancement through the banking system, became centers of reverence only. Due to that, the pace of development slowed down.
In the later years however, social reformers, founders of different sects and Shankaracharyas re-started the work of religious awakening and temple renovation. As a result, although the temples did not attract the attention of ancient times, but still started showing an existence of their own. Many temples however, continued to strengthen the economy directly and indirectly, thereby becoming a means of income for the working classes of the society.
It is a matter of consideration that at present temples are again a major source of investment and income so that every class continues to benefit. For example, direct or indirect offerings made to the temple which are spent by the temple in various social works, benefits the society and many people also get employment.
When people get employment, they earn money and their purchasing power increases. Thus, the demand increases. When demand increases, production also increases and that leads the economy towards growth. The currency which is hidden or suppressed, people offer it as a reverence in the temples and from there it gets into circulation. That again strengthens the economy by promoting investment. In this way, temples also become a big medium to solve the economic and social problems faced in the economy.
Therefore, we can see that the economic strength which was achieved and provided to the society by the temples in the ancient times, has not been explored in modern times. Temples in modern times are not participating in economic development directly. Neglect of the ancient systems also, built by temples directly related to the development and growth of the society, is therefore, one of the reasons for the problems prevailing in the economy.
The analysis shows that the economic impact that temples have on Indian society is directly related to all sections of society. These must get involved in the process which simultaneously benefits each section of the society. The temple-economy is equally a component to run the economy of any country.
The author is Associate Professor and Course Coordinator English Journalism, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Northern Regional Campus, Jammu)
