Centuries before the mechanical pump, one wheel of pots did the same job. Bullocks walked in circles, and a well became a steady stream of water for the fields.
MCQ QuestionsANCHIST0124
Ara + Ghatta
Spoke + Pot — the Sanskrit roots of the Araghatta
A wheel of pots that turned wells into rivers, centuries before the pump.
What It Was
A Wheel of Pots
Earthen pots tied to the outer ends of a large wheel’s spokes.
Power Source
Bullock-Driven
Animal power turned the wheel; pots dipped, filled, and emptied in turn.
Peak Use
7th–13th Centuries CE
Widespread use in the early medieval period, per inscriptions and texts.
Later Upgrade
Geared “True” Persian Wheel
Delhi Sultanate/Mughal-era gearing let it draw from deeper groundwater.
Ancient Historymcqquestion.com
🛞 Must Know
1. What the Araghatta Was
- Structure A large wheel with earthen pots tied to the outer ends of its spokes, used to lift water from a well.
- Etymology The name comes from Sanskrit: ara (spoke) and ghatta (pot), directly describing its design.
- Power Bullocks typically turned the wheel. As it rotated, pots dipped into the water, filled, and emptied into a channel at the top.
2. Not to Be Confused With…
- Not a Leather Bag Common exam options wrongly describe it as a leather water bag pulled over a pulley. Others describe a single pot pulled by hand or bullocks, without any wheel. Neither describes the actual mechanism.
- The Correct Picture The defining feature is the wheel itself, with multiple pots mounted at its rim, cycling continuously as it turns.
📜 Good to Know
History and the “Persian Wheel”
- Ancient Roots References to the Araghatta appear in ancient Sanskrit texts and inscriptions, showing its long use in Indian agriculture.
- Peak Period Its large-scale, systematic use became especially prominent in the early medieval period, roughly the 7th to 13th centuries CE.
- Other Name In English, the same basic device is commonly called the Persian Wheel.
Test Yourself
⚙️ Great to Know
The Later Upgrade: Gearing
- The Gearing Mechanism During the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods, gearing was added to the basic Araghatta design. This produced what’s often called the “true” Persian Wheel.
- Why It Mattered Gearing let the device draw water from deeper groundwater levels. That extended irrigation to areas a simple wheel couldn’t reach.
- A Long-Running Technology Variants of the Araghatta and Persian Wheel remained in use across rural India well into the 20th century. Diesel and electric pumps only took over later.
📝 Previous Year Questions
Two Exams, Same Device
- 2025, Q13 Asked as “The irrigation device called ‘Araghatta’ was” — view on the full 2025 paper →
- 2016, Q88 — Answer: (c) Asked as “With reference to the economic history of medieval India, the term ‘Araghatta’ refers to” — the waterwheel used in irrigation of land.
- View this question on the full 2016 paper →
Beyond the answer
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