The Horses of Hastinapura: What Zooarchaeology and the Mahabharata Reveal About Iron Age Equids in the Doab

In the early 1950s, archaeologist B.B. Lal led excavations at Hastinapur in the upper Ganga basin, uncovering a sequence of ancient occupations (IGNCA). Among the findings published in numbers 10 and 11 of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) bulletin Ancient India, Lal recorded faunal remains from Period II, a layer marked by Painted Grey Ware (PGW) ceramics (IGNCA). The animal bone assemblage included cattle, buffalo, sheep, pig, deer, and horse (IGNCA).

The presence of equid remains in the Gangetic Doab during the Iron Age lies at the intersection of textual tradition and physical archaeology. In the Mahabharata epic, horses are central to royal status, warfare, and ritual. Chariots pulled by swift steeds feature prominently in epic battle narratives, while the ashvamedha (horse sacrifice) serves as a supreme assertion of sovereignty.

However, zooarchaeologists and historians maintain distinct registers when comparing literary descriptions to the physical record. Tradition holds that Hastinapur was the grand capital of the Kuru kingdom. Evidence shows that the Period II settlement at Hastinapur consisted of a agricultural and pastoral village with mud-plastered walls rather than stone palaces (IGNCA). Scholars debate how closely the PGW cultural horizon aligns with the social world reflected in the epic's core narrative layer.

The Stratigraphy of Hastinapur

Lal's excavations at the mound of Hastinapur established a five-period cultural sequence (IGNCA):

• Period I: Pre-PGW occupational layer yielding Ochre Coloured Pottery (OCP) (IGNCA).
• Period II: Stratum characterized by Painted Grey Ware, mud-brick structures, copper artifacts, glass bangles, and charred rice (IGNCA). Faunal reports identified domestic livestock alongside equid bones (IGNCA).
• Period III: Layer marked by Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW), burnt brick structures, and ring wells (IGNCA).
• Periods IV & V: Successive post-Mauryan, Kushan, and medieval occupational levels (IGNCA).

Lal noted a heavy erosional scar at the top of the Period II strata, pointing to a severe flood of the Ganga that damaged the settlement (IGNCA). This occupational break matches Puranic textual references describing how King Nichakshu shifted the capital from Hastinapur downstream to Kaushambi after a destructive flood.

Zooarchaeology and Equid Identification

Distinguishing true horses (Equus caballus) from other equids—such as the wild ass (Equus hemionus) or the domestic donkey (Equus asinus)—requires careful osteological analysis. The skeletal features of equid teeth, metacarpals, and phalanges display subtle anatomical differences between species.

In the original faunal reports for the Hastinapur excavations compiled by zooarchaeologists, bones recovered from the PGW levels were identified as belonging to Equus caballus (IGNCA). Subsequent faunal analyses across other PGW sites in northern India—including Bhagwanpura, Punjab, and Noh—have similarly recorded horse remains alongside cattle and sheep.

The clear presence of domesticated horses in the Early Iron Age (conventionally dated from roughly 1200 BCE to 600 BCE in the Gangetic plain) contrasts with the ongoing debates over Bronze Age sites. While proponents of early domestic equids point to contested bone fragments from Harappan contexts like Surkotada, zooarchaeological consensus confirms that true horses were firmly established in northern India during the PGW period.

Textual Registers vs. Physical Scale

The textual tradition of the Mahabharata depicts vast chariot corps and thousands of cavalry animals. The zooarchaeological record provides a more modest picture.

In PGW strata across the Doab, equid bones make up a small percentage of the total faunal assemblages compared to humped cattle (Bos indicus) and buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Cattle bones frequently show cut marks and charring indicative of butchery and primary dietary reliance. In contrast, horse remains are far less abundant, suggesting that horses were high-value animals used selectively for transport, warfare, or ritual rather than as primary livestock.

⚖ Scholarly Debate: The Equine Context and Regional Origins

The identification of equid remains in Iron Age contexts is tied to the broader scholarly debate over the introduction of Indo-Aryan languages and pastoral traditions to the Indian subcontinent.

• Evidence shows that horse remains become clearly visible and stratified across northern Indian sites during the late second millennium and early first millennium BCE, coinciding with the spread of iron metallurgy and PGW ceramics.
• Tradition holds that the horse has been an indigenous animal in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity, integral to domestic rituals and epic histories from time immemorial.
• Scholars debate whether the physical introduction of Equus caballus resulted from gradual migrations of pastoral groups from the Central Asian steppes through the Northwest, or whether local horse populations existed earlier but left minimal traces in the archaeological record due to soil acidity and preservation bias.

While the epic tradition paints Hastinapur in heroic scale, zooarchaeology grounds the site in its Iron Age reality. The horse bones unearthed from B.B. Lal's excavations confirm that equids were indeed present in the Doab during the PGW period, serving as functional working animals in a growing agrarian landscape.