A TYPICAL SAARTHA fell into the following categories:
(1) Bhandi-Saartha— A caravan which carried only goods. The word bandi in Kannada, even today, means a bullock cart. In Telugu, this word has acquired a more extensive meaning over the years. Automobiles are known as Bandi, and Vandi in Tamil.
(2) Bahalika – a caravan consisting of donkeys, oxen, mules, camels, etc.
(3) Bharavaha—in this category, the caravan members carried their own loads.
(4) Audarika-Saartha - entirely comprised of labourers in search of livelihood and wandered from one place to another. The word audarika is derived from udara or stomach.
(5) Karpatika-Saartha - mostly composed of sadhus, monks, mendicants, etc.
The generic name for goods carried in a Saartha was Vidhaana. In turn, these goods were broadly classified as follows:
1. Ganima, items such as myrobalan, areca nuts, peaches, cherries, etc.
2. dharima, which could be weighed – for example, sugar, rice, etc.
3. meya, which could be measured by a measuring pot such as pali or setika. These included items such as rice, ghee etc.
4. parichchhedya which could be tested only by eyes. This included goods such as clothes, dyes, precious stones, pearls, etc.
Another category of goods included luxury items like aloe, organic perfumes, sandalwood, musk, magenta, cinnabar, conches, rare seashells, ivory, gold, silver, coral, etc.
THE CHIEF OF a Saartha was known as the Saarthavaha – literally, “one who carried the caravan.” Typically, the Saarthavaha was also the person who founded the Saartha from the scratch and was responsible for its entire functioning. The Amarakosha defines a Saarthavaha as follows: sārthān sādhanān paṃthān vahati sārthavāhah. That is, one who is the leader of travelling merchants who have invested their own capital.
Even a cursory study of the functions of the Saarthavaaha is nothing short of mind-boggling by any standard. The Saarthavaha represents the very pinnacle of business leadership, and our contemporary corporate heads might greatly benefit to conduct an exhaustive study of these genius-level business leaders of ancient India. The following is only a brief summary.
To begin with, we can quote the evocative words of the venerable Acharya, Sri Vasudeva Sharan Agarwala:
In the golden farm of Indian trade, the picking was done by the caravan leader. Rich in organising skill, truthful, the treasure house of courage, ready to grapple with fresh problems, replete with commonsense, liberal, bestower of alms, interested in religion and culture, expert in the knowledge of his own country and foreign lands, the caravan leader rubbed shoulders with foreigners such as the Yavanas, Sakas, Pahlavis, etc… Masters of their languages and customs, the Indian caravan leaders extended their activities from Tamralipti in the Bay of Bengal to Antioch in Syria, from Java to Kedah, and to the ports of Cholamandala and to Alexandria and East African ports…The Saarthavaha and his activities… present a moving picture of the two millennia of Indian trade.
Trustworthiness, compassion and a penetrating sense of judgement were the most prized qualities of a Saarthavaha. Throughout ancient India, the common people opened their homes and hearts to Saarthas led by such Saarthavahas.
As early as the Vedic age, these Saarthas received a warm welcome wherever they went. As soon as the oxen were unyoked from the cart, the village headman or host welcomed the caravan with copious amounts of pure drinking water or cool buttermilk. If the Saarthavaha was renowned, the headman’s whole family would give him a grand welcome.
An ideal Saarthavaha gave topmost priority to the safety and comfort of his co-travelers. He organized the journey in a well-phased manner so that the caravan members would not be forced to travel more than necessary for a day. These business leaders operated on a simple maxim: rest renews strength.
Within his expansive Saartha, the Saarthavaha further organized his caravan into nimble little units. We can cite only three examples here.
One such unit was named kṣetrataḥ pariśuddha, which covered a distance in a day that could easily be traversed by old men and little children.
Another unit was called kālataḥ pariśuddha sārtha. In this case, the journey began before sunrise.
The third unit was known as bhāvataḥ pariśuddha. This offered food to monks and sadhus irrespective of sampradaya, marga or pantha.
With great foresight, the Saarthavaha, in advance, would make contingency planning to tackle natural calamities like floods, excessive rainfall and equip his caravan against dangers such as bandits and wild animals. Thus, a well-paid private army was an inevitable component of every Saartha.
The Saarthavaha also had a well-established intelligence network that would inform him well in advance if there was political turmoil in any kingdom along the route. Another mandatory component of any Saartha was a team of Purohitas and Jyothishis who were adept at reading omens and portents. In fact, it was believed that omens ultimately decided the success or failure of a Saartha, and all travelers were mandatorily required to believe in the omens believed by the Saarthavaha and his business partners.
To be continued
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