Mazaron's Castle: Bharata

BHARATA

First, I will include a miniglossary of terms.

Bahadur - Warrior or hero. Term used as a name, title or adjective, generally honorary.
Chela - One who is a disciple or follower.
Dasa - Term for a slave or servant.
Feringhi - Foreigner, usually used for Westerners. (I did not make this up). Mleccha means the same thing.
Ghats - Name used for mountain ranges.
Guru - Teacher, spirtiual perceptor.
Pandit - Learned man, used as title, honorific, or family name.
Rupee - Or Rupaya, literally "wrought silver." Standardized form of currency in Bhatara and Malabaria, equals one western silver piece.
Sangha - Religious community or monastic order.
Sannyasin - One who has relinquised all worldy attachmetns and chosen a life of contemplation.
Stupa - Funerary mound.

The Bharata have a pantheon, one labeled as Indian in Legends and Lore/Deities and Demigods. Gods include Varuna (sky, celestial order, law, justice), Kama (love), Kali (destruction, evil, eternal time), Indra (war, storms, thunder), and Agni (fire, messenger).

Cholia - This country has dominated the southern end of this island continent for centuries. By a combination of military raids, sophisiticated administration, and efficient revenue collection, Cholians have established themselves as the overlords of southern Bharata, and once most of the continent. Changes in goals on the part of the dynasty now ruling Cholia has focused most national attention away from miltiary conquest and the acqustion of territory and more towards an interest in overseas trade. Though backed by a (locally) powerful navy, Cholian expansion overseas has largely been cultural and economic. They are heavily involved in Malabaria and Tarawe island groups in the Sunlit Sea, and are active traders in Malatara, Shou Lung, Kozakura, and many parts of Zakhara, notably Afyal.

The Cholians are the most tolerant religiously of the Bharatans (who as a whole are fairly tolerant), are almost Western in their toleration of other religions. However, like all of Bharatan culture, there is caste or jati (plural jatis) system, such as is found in Bawa or Afyal but a good deal more rigid. Each person is born into a certain caste, and there will always remain. Rules for interaction are set. The Singh class are warriors, serving in armies. They always serve a high-ranking person, institution or government. The Kshatriya are the ruling class of holy warriors, who constitue the princes who administer Bharata over all matters secular. The Shikari are rangers, and serve the leaders on tasks ranging from big game hunts to tracking Thugs. Swamis are of moderate importance, and are a unique form of wizard. Brahmins are the highest caste in Bharata and are the noble priests, supervising all things religious (though they are dependent upon the Kshatriya for their livelihood). Thugs are horrible ritual murderers, in many ways outside the caste system. Fakirs are lower class wandering entertainers, similar to Western bards or maybe Kara-Tur geisya. Kayastha are a caste connected with adminstrative, accounting, and clerical (not religious) occupations. Chettiar are caste specializing in finance, banking, and money-lending. Other classes encompass merchants (known as the Bania or Vaisya caste), peasant farmers, and thieves. The lowest caste is that of Avarna or "outcaste" or "untouchable" (avarna means literally without varna or caste), They are regarded as "polluted," irrevocably impure from birth and, for that reason, excluded from normal social or religious interaction and rendered untouchable, and at an extreme in some areas of Bharata, unseeable.

Cholia is a major center of culture and civilization. The nation is famous for its literature, which has experienced a flowering in recent years. Cholian architecture is also notable, characterized by a profusion of sculpture, many pillared halls and colonnades, series of receding terraces called shikhara built over shrines, and large gateway towers or gopuram also covered with sculptures.

Cholia has also been a center for learning of a more scientific bent, and is only exceeded by or equaled by some of the Zakharan city-states or Shou Lung. Astronomy, mathematics (including negative quantities, quadratic equations, and square roots), and medicine are all fairly well advanced in Cholia.

King Rajaraja I is presiding over an unprecendented economic boom, as the Cholians are exporting massive crop surpluses, as well as spices, cotton, tea, skillfully woven textiles, and gems.

Major coastal cities include Kusha, Tanjore, and Bihar. Ashoka is the capital, and is noted for its vast capitol building, decorated by four lions.

Chalukia - Major power of northeast Bharata. Originally founded by horsemen from the mountains of Bharata, this nation has been the most expansionistic of Bharatan nations in recent years, though at present is in a period of peace.

Chalukia is noted for its family and dynastic polticis and intrigue, its various religious denominiations, and its recent expansion in the arts.

It is one of the finest sources of horses anywhere, and a major trading power. Extensive cotton crops and cultivation of groundnuts, food grains (especially rice), and oil seeds are producing a booming economy.

Dominant coastal cities include Aihali and Badami.

Palasia - A nation of northwest Bharata, it is a heavily religious nation, though it was founded by military exploits by its first two kings, Dharamapal and his son Devapala. The current dynasty has seen an age of prosperity, peace, and aristic brilliance in northern Bharata, one that appears to be expanding into Chalukia. The brahmans are expanding into all sectors of society, and many new universities and monastaries have been established in recent years.

One of the notably features of this nation is the mighty Temple of the Sun in Bhuvaneshvar. This towering and ornate strucuture, with seven mighty stone horses at its base (to symbolicaly pull the sun through the sky) is 225 feet high, the largest stone structure on Toril and only surpassed by the skyscrapers of Vakoth and Lapaliiya Prime.

Major cities also include Bihar and Kanauj.

Palasian products include coal, iron, tea, jute (used in textiles and rope), cotton, and textiles.

Princely States - Region of mutliple (a hundred or more) petty principalities, streching over western and central Bharata. Ranging in size from a few hundred acres to several hundred square miles, they are of a very diverse lineage. A tangle of familial and cultural ties makes exact classifications at times difficult.

The Princely States have have varying relationships with the three great nations of the continent, as at various times they have either been allies or subjects of military conquest. During brief times of continental unity, the conquereing power sought to use them administratively, but their very existance sewed the seeds of dissoultion and rebellion.

Several of the Princely States export cotton, silk, fruit, fruit products, rice, sugar, tea, and spices, and some of the more interior ones have rich timber resources.

Major Princely States on the coast include Baroda, Cochin, Mysore, and Travancore.

The Bhils or Adivasi- Nomadic tribes of central Bharata, they are occassionally encountered as inviduals or small groups in the coastal cities. They are famous for their skills in tracking, hunting, and archery, and are known for trading lamb, wool, and products from the hunt such as skins, hides, rhino horns, and ivory.

Malabaria - Archipelago of islands to the southeast of Bharata, settled long ago by a people racially distinct but similiar in culture to the majority of the Bharatans (though many of this race live in the southern state of Cholia). For the most part idyllic tropical isles in azure waters, disturbed only by dhows and junks, several of the islands have extensive tea plantations. The Cholians are very active here, and their merchants are a common site.

The main trading and port city in Malabaria is Sinhamil.