From about 1000 BCE the Aryans began migrating eastwards into the forested Gangetic valley. Iron helped clear forests, raised agricultural output and improved crafts such as pottery, carpentry and metal working, paving the way for urbanisation. Tribal janas grew into territorial janapadas and mahajanapadas. Of the many new heterodox faiths, only Jainism and Buddhism touched the hearts of the people.
Sources: the epics, dharmasastras, Buddhist and Jaina texts, and Greek accounts such as that of Arrian.
1. Iron Technology and the Gangetic Plain
| Scholar | View on the impact of iron |
|---|---|
| D.D. Kosambi | The Indo-Aryans moved east to access the iron ore of south Bihar and gain a near monopoly over it; this ore gave Magadha its political dominance. |
| R.S. Sharma | Iron axes and iron ploughs expanded the area under cultivation in the Ganges valley. |
| Makkhan Lal | Iron clearing forests and creating surplus is a myth – the Gangetic plain was heavily forested even in the 16th and 17th centuries. |
| A. Ghosh and Niharranjan Ray | The forests could have been cleared by means of fire. |