Floods
Natural disasters were a constant threat to the people of ancient India. A major natural disaster that threatened the Indus people was the flooding of the Indus River. Floods would destroy homes and crops, and drown people and animals.
The Indus Valley cities had to be rebuilt several times because of floods. From the archaeological evidence of city walls and houses with several layers of foundations, we can conclude that the Mohenjo-daro was rebuilt six times and Harappa, five times. However, despite the best efforts of the Indus people, as discussed in Chapter 3, the Indus Valley Civilization was probably wiped out by a series of great floods c.1500 BCE.
Although the Ganges River did not overflow as often as the Indus River, it also caused serious floods. Excavations at Hastinapur, an early Aryan city, show that a part if the city was washed away when the Ganges River overflowed c.800BCE.
Famines
Another natural disaster that caused much suffering in ancient India was famine. A famine is a period of severe food shortage. It often occurs after a drought, a period of little or no rain. Without rain, crops die, resulting in food shortage. A famine can also be caused by a flood because crops and plants are washed away by the waters.
Kautilya, the prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya, the first emperor of the Mauryan dynasty (c.322-185 BCE), wrote a textbook on government, the Arthashastra. He wrote that Indian kings should help their people during a famine. The kings were expected to distribute food stored in the government’s grain stores to the people. They could also take some food from the rich to feed the starving. In addition, temples were expected to provide food for the people.