Ancient India

India has a rich and ancient tradition of building cities, monuments, towers, dams, bridges, reservoirs, step-wells and other civic infrastructure besides beautiful temples and palaces. Some of the present day highways are aligned on ancient tracts that were first laid several centuries ago. There are several ancient Sanskrit texts known as either vāstuśāstra or śilpaśāstra that describe some aspects of residential buildings, temples and other structures. The present text, attributed to the authorship of Nārada, the legendary sage and polymath, is a Vāstuśāstra text, although traditionally the manuscripts are titled Nārada Śilpaśāstra. This text, in terse technical Sanskrit prose describes
site selection, planning of villages and cities, construction of roads, dams, lakes, foundation, basement, and super structure of private and public buildings including marriage halls, art galleries, theaters and temples. Internal evidences point out that in its present form, this text originated at a time when weekdays were not in vogue, but acquired additional material at a later period and fixed in South India around 6th century CE.

Indus inscriptions hold the key to unlocking the history of pre-Iron Age India and all Indo-European peoples but remain undeciphered for over a century. All prior attempts have been partial, unsatisfactory and unfalsifiable. We decipher the Indus script by treating it as a large cryptogram as described by Claude Shannon. We decipher every sign sequentially using regular expressions and set-intersection. Indus script is discovered to be proto-abugida segmental with signs for consonants and vowels. Indus inscriptions are in grammatically correct post-Vedic Sanskrit. Variants of 76 allographs constitute most signs. Conjunct signs constitute the rest. Our decipherment can read every inscription and we translate 500+ inscriptions including the 50+ longest, 50+ shortest and 400+ medium-sized inscriptions including 100+ inscriptions with conjunct signs. We comfortably surpass Shannon’s criteria for a credible cryptogram decipherment. Brahmi glyphs are discovered to be standardized Indus signs. We find significant continuation of Indus linguistic features and cultural elements in post-bronze age India.

The Vedas tell us that the gods (deva in Sanskrit) reside within the mind. But since physical reality is also experienced as a construction of the mind, therefore, one may see the Vedic gods in the physical space and its relationships. These conceptions led to the detailed exposition of the devas in yoga, tantra as well as in architecture and iconography. 1 The Vedic way recognizes that reality is a synthesis of opposites. We are suspended between being and becoming, between hazy memories of the past and fears for the future. Within each of us lie not only sublime thoughts but also avarice and greed. We are the battlefield of a struggle between the gods and demons. The opposites require an act of balance so that the individual's relationship to Truth is articulated only partly by means of abstract ideas, and it needs art-in performance and representation-to complete the picture.

Dasarata Jataka este una dintre variantele cele mai vechi ale mitului despre Rama. Buddhiștii au simplificat la maximum povestirea, mutând accentul în domeniul etic, spre vremelnicia tuturor lucrurilor. Ea apare în șirul „vieților anterioare ale lui Buddha” deoarece  Rama era a „șaptea naștere”, zeul Vișnu a „noua naștere”, în timp ce Siddharta Gautama era a zecea - și ultima - încarnare a lui Buddha.

This paper catalogues and analyzes a group of 84 late Mauryan period coins which appeared on the market. Based on their consistent typology, patination, and state of preservation, these coins were likely discovered together as a hoard.

The coins are notable for demonstrating that standard punchmarked karshapanas circulated alongside fractional mashakas during this late period, as the group includes several examples where both types were encrusted together. This is important because the chronology of the fractional mashaka coinage is poorly understood.

Additionally, it is noted that the preservation and typology of these coins is very similar to coins from the Mir Zakah II Hoard, and so it is possible that they might be part of that hoard.

Abstract: The clash between the Rig Vedic Indo-Aryans, the Pre-Rig Vedic Indo-Aryan tribes, and the Harappan civilization can be described as a world-historical dialectical conflict, in which the sovereign dominant culture subjugates the indigenous subcultures within its dominant caste system, through the ‘Sanskritization’ or ‘Aryanization’ of Ancient India. But the Pre-Rig Vedic and Harappan religions were not destroyed by the Rig Vedic Indo-Aryans, but were assimilated into Brahminic Hinduism, and reemerged, centuries later, in the Puranic bhakti cults of Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi. The conflict between the Rig Vedic Indo-Aryans, the Pre-Rig Vedic tribes, and the Harappan civilization, is depicted in the Shunashepa story of the Aitareya Brahmana, in which Shunashepa, a subaltern member of a Pre-Rig Vedic tribe, the Angirasas, is recruited as a sacrificial victim by the Brahminic priests, but escapes being sacrificed by reciting the Rig Vedic hymns to Varuna. The Shunashepa story then describes the master/slave dialectic through which a subaltern subject achieves upward mobility in the Brahminic caste system by sublimating and internalizing the sovereign sacrificial discourse, although that upward caste mobility requires that the subaltern subject abandon their indigenous subculture, as Shunashepa abandons his father to be adopted by the Vishvamitra. By contrast, the Rig Vedic Vrishakapi hymn describes the precisely opposite situation, in which a subaltern subject (Vrishakapi) is denied upward caste mobility and finally sacrificed by the Rig Vedic brahmins. But the Vrishakapi hymn, like the Shunashepa story, still testifies to the survival of Pre-Rig Vedic and Harappan cultures in Brahminic Hinduism.

Misrakesi a 'ganika' from Ujjaini lands in Patlipura to avenge the suicide of her sister for which she holds Acharya Chanakya responsible. However, instead she is co-opted as a spy in the service of the State. My review of Sumedha V Ojha's brilliant work "Urnabhih: A Mauryan Tale of Espionage, Adventure and Seduction"

The paper seeks to explain a difficult passage in Strabo’s Geography (II. 1. 1–20 C67–77), which is devoted to Hipparchus’ objections against Eratosthenes’ conclu-sions about the latitudinal position of India. It is argued, among other things, that Hipparchus proposed a more correct estimate of the latitude of southern India, than Eratosthenes, and that Ptolemy’s Geography probably drew on this estimate.

'Textos de História da Índia Antiga' é a tentativa de produzir uma nova coletânea de textos sobre a história indiana, centrada em seus períodos mais antigos. Minha primeira iniciativa, mais extensa, redundou em 'Cem textos de história indiana' [2011], que pretendia dar um quadro mais amplo, tanto em termos temporais quanto temáticos, dessa civilização. Agora, proponho-me a fazer uma versão menos, reduzida, porém mais específica.
Como em outras produções do gênero, faço questão de frisar que esse não é um livro definitivo, mas antes de tudo, introdutório. Ele serve de livro fonte para aqueles que gostam de estudar Índia, ou, de ferramenta pedagógica para aqueles que precisam abordar esse tema em sala de aula, tanto na escola quanto na universidade.
Muitos textos aqui já foram apresentados anteriormente, mas tentei, o quanto pude apresentar textos originais. Igualmente, não se pode pretender que a literatura indiana dê um quadro preciso de como funcionava essa sociedade em sua antiguidade: no entanto, os fragmentos aqui apresentados podem nos auxiliar a construir um quadro sobre a mentalidade da civilização clássica da Índia, suas leis, idealizações, costumes e práticas.

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Abstract : this study, which first aim was to demonstrate correspondences between Gaulish and Slavic languages, between which I found 500 common words, allowed me also to establish, on the basis of genetical, archaeological and religious data, that those correspondences were linked with ancient migrations which spread the Dravidian civilisation of the Indus Valley to Iran, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, the Caucasus, the North of the Black Sea, Danubian and Balkan Europe, Gaul and Iberia, where Neolithic farmers brought about 30% of the French genetic profile and contributed to the development of the megalithic civilisation which began in 5.000 BC. This also explains the linguistic correspondences I established between Gaulish and Dravidian languages – 250 common words from the 500 words I studied, as well as similarities I found in the organisation of the Society and the religion, which lead various researchers to suggest, on the basis of the diffusion of the very ancient haplogroup H2-P96 from India to Western Europe, that the first Europeans and the proto-Dravidians had a common origin.
Extrait : cette étude, dont l’objectif initial était de démontrer les correspondances entre le gaulois et les langues slaves, entre lesquelles j’ai trouvé 500 mots communs, m’a en outre permis de démontrer, sur la base de données génétiques, archéologiques et religieuses, que ces correspondances étaient liées à des migrations anciennes qui ont apporté environ 30% du profil génétique français et  diffusé la civilisation dravidienne de la vallée de l’Indus vers l’Iran, la Mésopotamie, l’Anatolie, le Caucase, le Nord de la Mer Noire, l’Europe danubienne et balkanique, la Gaule et l’Ibérie, où les agriculteurs néolithiques ont apporté environ 30% du profil génétique français et contribué à former la civilisation mégalithique qui s’est développée à partir de -5.000. Cela explique aussi les correspondances linguistiques que j’ai établies entre le gaulois et les langues dravidiennes - 250 mots communs sur les 500 mots étudiés, et les similitudes que j’ai constatées dans l’organisation de la société et la religion, qui amènent certains chercheurs à suggérer, sur la base de la diffusion du très ancien haplogroupe H2-P96 de l’Inde à l’Europe de l’Ouest, que les premiers Européens et les proto-Dravidiens avaient une origine commune.

In Indian history, spying on citizens is as old as Rigveda. The system had developed as an intricate and sophisticated administrative science. Aphorisms like “spies are kings’ eyes” reflect an Indian tradition going back many centuries. In ancient India, spies were used in large number to ascertain the validity or lack of it in the statements of parties to litigation and witnesses and to collect correct and reliable information regarding any mass movement, rebellion or insurgency.

The Āpaddharmaparvan, 'the book on conduct in times of distress', is an important section of the great Sanskrit epic the Mahābhārata which, despite its significance for Mahābhārata studies and for the history of Indian social and political thought, has received little attention in scholarly literature. This book places the Āpaddharmaparvan within its literary and ideological contexts. In so doing it explores the development of a conception of brahmanic kingship morally justifiable within the terms of a debate largely set by various alternative social movements of the period. This book further explores the implications for our understanding of the Mahābhārata that follow from the Āpaddharmaparvan's presentation as a poetically cohesive unit within itself and within the wider parameters of the Mahābhārata.

The astronomical dating of the Rāmāyaṇa to 12209 BCE by Oak is based on his claim of the shifting of lunisolar months from the seasons due to precession. Oak has claimed that a shift of one month occurs relative to the seasons every 2,000 years. Accordingly, Oak claims that during the time of the Rāmāyaṇa, Caitra was part of Śarad season. In this article, it is shown that Oak has used his unproven hypothesis and analogies to claim that the Caitra month was in the Śarad season. Against this claim of his I have provided clear and direct evidence that the Caitra month was in the Vasanta season during the Rāmāyaṇa time.

Since ancient time, the relationship between the Guru(teacher) and the student (hisyo) has always been considered as an integral part of Indian sport. Indian games & sports reached a peak of excellence when Buddhism held sway here. In Villas Mani Majra, Tiruvedacharya describes many fascinating games, namely, Chess, Cards, Snakes & Ladders, Mancala, Archery, Equitation, Hammer-throwing, Chariot-racing and many more. In Manas Olhas (1135 A.D.), Someshwar writes about bhrashram (weight-lifting), bhramanshram (walking) and also about Mall-Stambha (wrestling). It is noticeable that many of today's Olympic disciplines are sophisticated versions of the games of strength and speed that flourished in ancient India and Greece. Chess, wrestling, polo, archery and hockey (possibly a fall-out from polo) are some of the games believed to have originated in India. This paper attempts to provide some insights into some of these games & sports that were popular in Ancient India.

Ancient India is known for its contribution in the development of arts, science, civilization and humanities. The research refers to some of the Ancient Indian sites and scriptures to understand the design thought process and the competency developed by laying equal emphasis on discipline, skills, empathy and team work as that on conceptual knowledge.

Multitudes of theories have been put forward by many scholars to explain the core design of Ujjayani Symbol, attributing to the city of Ujjain. Dr. Bhaskar Chattopadhyay in his book ‘Coin and Icons, A Study of Myths and Symbols in Indian Numismatic Art’, gives nearly half a dozen theories with ample explanation on the origins of Ujjayani symbol, but one such unique theory given by him, attributes the symbol to Planetary Revolution, however the theory is devoid of Scholars’ name or reference. In this paper, omnipresence of Ujjayani Symbol on pottery, seals, coins etc., comes together with the evidence of Ancient Indian Astronomy (esp. Planetary Positions) & History, to give ample credit to the theory noted by Dr. Bhaskar Chattopadhyay, Shant Lal Katara and few others. Coherence of various aspects of History along with the Analogy of Ancient Astronomy given by Rev. Ebenezer Burgess, provides with the required scientific evidence.

В статье анализируются сведения источников, касающиеся ранней формы государства (общины–государства), прежде всего – в древнем Египте и Месопотамии. Выяснены причины раннего формирования общин–государств в долинах южных рек. Анализируется процесс формирования общин–государств в связи с синойкизмом общин, формирования простого и сложного вождеств, в которых, в связи с процессом политогенеза, возникает ранняя форма государства. Характеризуются способы формирования и развития органов государственного управления на раннем этапе государственности, а также система органов управления общин–государств в Египте и Месопотамии. На основе этого делается вывод о составных элементах формы государства (форме правления, политическом режиме и форме государственного устройства). Указывается, что в результате обширных исследований, учёные пришли к выводу, что общины–государства (“города-государства”) являются универсальной формой государства древности и средневековья на этапе становления ранней государственности в Азии, Европе, Америке и Африке (включая Древнюю Русь).

A word-by-word explanation of the translation of the so-called creation hymn of Rigveda. The translation is very different from traditional ones.

As I demonstrate, the hymn has been completely misunderstood by previous translators.

The hymn has nothing to do with the origin or creation of the Universe. It is in fact, simply a prayer to God.

Ancient India is a vast subject with an equally large number of published works available. The following is not a comprehensive bibliography of the subject, but an introduction to some of the general introductions to Ancient India, as well as other advanced introductions or specialised works available to undergraduate and graduate students interested in further research. In addition, candidates preparing for the UPSC examinations (in particular the History Optional) may find the starred general and advanced introductions to Ancient India helpful, as they provide a clear, concise overview to the period that is easily adaptable to a study plan or notebook. For the ease of the student, works on this bibliography have been limited to textbooks, book chapters, or monographs. Many of the works listed have detailed bibliographies containing article publications.

"The Book of Karna" relates the events of the two dramatic days after the defeat of the great warriors and generals Bhishma and Drona, in which Karna - great hero and the eldest Pandava - leads the Kaurava army into combat. This first volume of "Karna" depicts mighty battles in gory detail, sets the scene for Karna's tragic death, and includes a remarkable verbal duel between Karna and his reluctant charioteer Shalya, the king of the Madras, as they hurl abuse at each other before entering the fray. It is co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation.

A famous legend in ancient Indian literature tells how a king named Śibi saved a dove which, chased by a hawk, sought refuge in the king's lap. When refuge was given to the suppliant dove, the hawk wanted its prey back from the king, who, unwilling to give up the suppliant, was forced to cut pieces of flesh off his own body in order to ransom the dove. Remarkable parallels to the Indian legend in classical sources have remained unnoticed by scholars both in the Indological and classical fields. In my study, I wish to make a thorough investigation of the classical sources attesting to the image of the suppliant dove chased by a hawk, used by authors as a literary device or as an anecdote with a moral from as early as the classical period through Hellenistic and Roman times. The events leading up to the central drama of the Indian legend, that is, the king's cutting his own flesh off his limbs, are therefore likely to have been borrowed from the classical tradition. This conclusion is supported by the fact that the element of supplication is missing in all other Indian stories belonging to the same type as the legend of king Śibi, representing the ideal of bodily self-sacrifice. The religious ideal of bodily self-sacrifice to save a living being, which is a specifically Indian characteristic, proved to be a good soil for the reception of the image of the suppliant dove chased by a hawk, as both were teaching, in a way, the lesson of humane treatment towards animals.

There are around 48 tribes mentioned in RV but the most important seem to be few in number, perhaps less than ten.The tribe of Turvasas is certainly one of the very few tribes which seemed to have enjoyed importance, if not success. Generally, a term Pancajana was used at various places in RV which, it is presumed, referred to the five tribes of Puru, Anu, Druhyus, Yadu and Turvasas. Turvasas are an aggressive non Aryan tribe, who were attacking the Aryan kings in the early RV period (along with another tribe Yadu) but in later periods became amicable to Aryans before merging with them.

Punch Mark Coins (PMCs) of Gandhara Janapada rank amongst the earliest, and most ancient, if not THE earliest, coins of India. They are of a peculiar 'bent-bar' shape.

This article traces its origin, shape, weight standard and why it qualifies as a 'coin'.