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Ancient History
Contents
Chapter-1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 2
SOURCES OF ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY
Chapter-2 ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD
Chapter-3 ..................................................................................................................................................... 13
THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION
Chapter-4 ..................................................................................................................................................... 27
VEDIC CULTURE
Chapter-5 ..................................................................................................................................................... 36
MAHAJANAPADAS
Chapter-6 ..................................................................................................................................................... 41
BUDDHISM AND JAINISM
Chapter-7 ..................................................................................................................................................... 54
PRE MAURYAN EMPIRE
Chapter-8 ..................................................................................................................................................... 59
MAURYAN EMPIRE
Chapter-9 ..................................................................................................................................................... 69
POST MAURYAN DEVELOPMENT
Chapter-10 ................................................................................................................................................... 78
THE SANGAM AGE
Chapter-11 ................................................................................................................................................... 87
THE GUPTA AGE
Chapter-12 ................................................................................................................................................... 97
POST GUPTA ERA
Chapter-13 ................................................................................................................................................... 99
HARSHA EMPIRE
Chapter-14 ................................................................................................................................................. 103
SOUTHERN INDIA DURING 300AD TO 750AD
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Ancient History
Chapter-1
SOURCES OF ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY
The ancient period of Indian history extends from the stone age to the 8th century CE. Ancient India,
rich in history and culture, reveals its past through various archaeological sources like inscriptions and
epigraphy, sculptures and monuments, Cave paintings and rock arts, Artifacts and Pottery, coins
and currency, and excavation sites. These sources play a crucial role in helping us understand the
mysteries of ancient Indian civilization.
Did You Know?

 Palaeography: study of development of scripts
 Epigraphy: study of inscriptions
 Numismatics: study of coins
 Archeology: study of monuments, material remains
Nature and Types of Sources

 Mohenjo-daro, Harappa, Taxila, and Sanchi in India, belonging to the
Indus Valley Civilization, are notable examples.
Excavated Sites:  Through careful analysis of stratigraphy and artifacts, archaeologists
reconstruct glimpses of daily life, urban organization, and societal
structures from eras gone by.
 Writings engraved onto surfaces like stone, metal, or clay, such as the
Ashoka pillars and rock edicts, contain valuable historical, religious, or
administrative information.
 Temple wall and cave epigraphs provide insights into artistic and
Inscriptions and linguistic traditions across different time periods.
Epigraphs:  Harappan inscriptions (await decipherment) seem to have been written
in a pictographic script in which ideas and objects were expressed in the
form of pictures.
 Brahmi script prevailed virtually all over India except for the north-
western part.
 Numismatic (study of coins) artifacts from dynasties like Mauryan,
Gupta, and Kushan offer compelling evidence of ancient India's
economic systems, trade networks, and monetary practices.
 Adorned with symbols and inscriptions, these coins play a pivotal role in
identifying rulers and reflecting profound cultural exchanges.
Coins and  Ancient coins were made of metal— copper, silver, gold, and lead.
Currency:  As coins were used for various purposes such as donations, a mode of
payment, and a medium of exchange, they throw considerable light on
economic history.
 The largest number of Indian coins date to the post-Maurya period.
These were made of lead, potin, copper, bronze, silver, and gold.
 The Guptas issued the largest number of gold coins.
 Artifacts and pottery provide windows into the material culture,
Artifacts and
craftsmanship, and artistic expressions of ancient India. These objects
Pottery:
encompass tools, weapons, jewelry, and household items.

Ancient History
 Pottery, in particular, aids archaeologists in determining chronological
sequences, trade patterns, and cultural interactions.
 The distinct styles and designs of pottery vessels discovered at various
sites contribute to our understanding of regional traditions and
technological advancements.
 Sculptures and monuments stand as prominent archaeological sources
that offer insights into the religious, artistic, and architectural facets of
ancient India.
 The intricately carved sculptures found in temples, caves, and monastic
Sculptures and complexes exemplify the skill and devotion of artisans.
Monuments:  Notable examples include the magnificent sculptures of Ellora and
Khajuraho temples, which depict deities, mythological tales, and scenes
from daily life.
 These sculptures provide valuable insights into the religious beliefs,
iconography, and societal values of their time.
 Prehistoric artworks adorn caves, shelters, and rocky surfaces throughout
India, providing mesmerizing glimpses into the past.
Cave Paintings  The Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh house some of the
and Rock Art: world's oldest rock paintings, dating back millennia. These masterpieces
serve as invaluable windows into the lifestyles, rituals, and cultural
practices of early human societies.
 Although the ancient Indians knew how to write as early as 2500 BC, our
most ancient manuscripts are not older than the AD fourth century and
are found in Central Asia. In India, they were written on birch bark and
palm leaves. In Central Asia, manuscripts were also written on sheep
leather and wooden tablets.
 Important Literary and Historical Texts: Hindu religious literature
Literary and
includes the Vedas, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the Puranas,
Historical Texts:
birth story called a Jataka, law- books called the Dharmasutras and
Smritis, Arthashastra of Kautilya, grammatical works such as Astadhyayi
of Panini, works of Bhasa, Sudraka, Kalidasa, and Banabhatta, works of
Kalidasa comprise kavyas and dramas, the most famous of which is
Abhijnanashakuntalam, earliest Tamil texts in the corpus of Sangam
literature.
 Important foreign accounts and travellers: The Indika of Megasthenes
(court of Chandragupta Maurya), Periplus of the Erythrean Sea and
Foreign
Ptolemy‘s Geography provides information about ancient geography and
Accounts:
commerce, Chinese travellers Fa-hein and Hsuan Tsang.
 Alexander‘s invasion finds no mention in Indian sources, and it is
entirely on the basis of the Greek sources.
Radiocarbon Dating (C14)

 Radiocarbon or Carbon 14 (C14) is a radioactive carbon (isotope) which is present in all living
objects. By measuring the loss of C14 content in an ancient object, its age can be determined.
This is because, as stated earlier, the decay of C14 takes place at a uniform rate.
 The halflife of a radioactive material is defined as the period during which half the radioactive
content in an object disappears. The half-life of C14 is 5568 years. No antiquity older than

Ancient History
70,000 years can be dated by this method.
Colonialist Views Nationalist Approach and their Contribution

In the 18th century, colonial administrators translated Ancient Indian texts for administrative use. British
officials initiated research on Ancient Indian History, later joined by Native scholars in the 19th century,
providing a nationalist perspective. Following are the Major steps taken by Researchers, archaeologists
and Scholars in the past two centuries.
Colonial Work
 Supported by the Governor General Warren Hastings, he started by
Sir William Jones
translating Kalidasa's Abhijnana Shakuntalam into English in 1789. He also
(1746–94)
founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta in 1784.
 He too, supported by the administration of Fort Williams in Calcutta,
Charles Wilkins
translated Bhagvadgita into English in 1785.
Sir James  In 1804, He founded Bombay Asiatic Society on the lines of Asiatic Society
Mackintosh of Bengal.
 He was a German born Orientalist based in London; He went on to edit
Friedrich Max "Sacred Books of East Series" which included very few Iranian and Chinese
Muller books and mostly consisted of Ancient Indian writings.
(1823–1902)  Friedrich Max Muller translated Hitopadesh, written by the Indian author
Vishnusharma into German.
 James Prinsep deciphered the edicts of Ashoka in 1837. He deciphered the
Kharosthi and Brahmi Script. The edicts in Brahmi script mentioned a King
James Prinsep
Devanampiya Piyadasi which Prinsep initially assumed was a Sri Lankan
(1799-1840)
king. He was then able to associate this title with Ashoka on the basis of Pali
script from Sri Lanka.
 In 1861, he was appointed to the newly created position of archaeological
surveyor to the government of India; and he founded and organised what
Alexander later became the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) (Statutory body and
Cunningham attached agency of the Ministry of Culture).
 Alexander Cunningham, first Director-General of the ASI, known
as ―Father of Indian Archaeology‖.
 He wrote "Early Story of India, 1904", it was a systematic history of Ancient
Vincent Arthur India. He gave importance to Political History and always took a Pro-
Smith (1843-1920) colonial stance. Alexander's invasion of the subcontinent (327-325 BC)
accounted for a One-third of his book.
 In 1905, he unearthed the Lion Capital of an Ashokan pillar excavated in
F.O. Oretel
Sarnath, which was to become the national emblem of India.
Nationalist Approach to Indian History
Rajendra Lal Mitra  He wrote book entitled ―Indo-Aryan‖.

(1822-1891)

Ancient History
Viswanath
Kashinath Rajwade  He wrote 22 volumes of Maratha History.
(1869–1926)
 He reconstructed the political history of the Deccan, the Satavahanas and
R.G. Bhandarkar the History of Vaishnavism and other sects.
(1837–1925)  He was also a Social reformer in Deccan who advocated Widow
remarriage and castigated the evils of caste system, child marriage.
Pandurang Vaman
 He wrote 'History of Dharmasastra' which was an Encyclopedia of Ancient
Kane
social laws and customs.
(1880–1972)
Devdatta
Ramakrishna  He was an Epigraphist who wrote about Asoka and Ancient Political
Bhandarkar institutions.
(1875–1950)
Hemachandra  He reconstructed the History of India from the time of Mahabharata (10th
Raychaudhuri century BC) to the Guptas (4th-6th century AD) and focused upon Streak
(1892–1957) of Militant Brahmanism.
 His writings showed a higher element of Hindu Revivalism. He was
R.C. Majumdar
General Editor of the Multi-volume publication ―History and Culture of
(1888–1980)
the Indian People‖.
K.P. Jayaswal
 They wrote about the role of Indigenous ruling dynasties. Altekar
(1881–1937) and
exploded the Myth of Indian acceptance of Despotism by writing about the
A.S. Altekar (1898–
existence of Republics in Hindu Polity, 1924.
1959)
A.L. Basham  He wrote 'Wonder that was India‘ (1951), it highlighted the sympathetic
(1914–86) survey of various facets of Ancient Indian culture and civilisation.
 He wrote 'An Introduction to the Study of Indian History, 1957' and ' The
D.D. Kosambi Civilisation of Ancient India in Historical Outline, 1965'. He followed a
Marxist-Materialist Approach.
******

Ancient History
Chapter-2
PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD
In India, the prehistoric period is divided into the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), Mesolithic (Middle Stone
Age), Neolithic (New Stone Age) and the Metal Age. However, these periods were not uniform
throughout the Indian subcontinent.
1. Period covering Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic age where the major source of tools was
Stone is combinedly called Stone Age.
2. Robert Bruce Foote (known as father of Pre-historic archaeology) is the archaeologist who
discovered the first palaeolithic tool in India, the Pallavaram hand axe (near modern
Chennai) in1863.
3. The contribution of Sir Mortimer Wheeler (DG-ASI, 1944-48) worked on archeological sites
related to IVC and on the Southern sites of Arikamedu and Brahmagiri.
4. Palaeolithic Age is the earliest period of the Stone Age, which developed in the Pleistocene
period or the Ice Age.
5. Some of famous sites of old stone age in India are as follows: [Follow below Map]
 Shivalik Hills in North India
 Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh
 Adamgarh Hills in Narmada valley
 Soan valley and Potwar Plateau in North west
 Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh
 Attirampakkam near Chennai
STONE AGE
Palaeolithic Period (Old  It covers the greater part of the Ice
Stone Age): 500,000 BCE – Age.
10,000 BCE  They had no knowledge of
Common Features agriculture, they could not make
Lower Palaeolithic
● Belonged to the ‗Negrito‘ Age: Up to 100,000
pottery, had no knowledge of
race making fire, could not make houses
BC
● Lived in the open air, river and were ignorant of any metal.
valleys, caves and rock  Use of Chopping tools as Hand
shelters. axes, cleavers etc
 Hunters and food gatherers; tools

Ancient History
● They were food gatherers used were hand axes, choppers and
● People lived on hunting. cleavers. Tools were rough and
● There was no knowledge of heavy.
houses, pottery, and  This age is represented by Sohan
agriculture. Culture now in Pakistan.
 One of earliest lower Palaeolithic
● In the Upper Palaeolithic age,
sites is Bori in Maharashtra.
there is evidence of art in the
 Limestone was also used to make
form of paintings.
tools.
● Humans used unpolished,
 Major sites of lower Palaeolithic age
rough stones like hand axes,
o Soan valley (in present Pakistan)
choppers, blades, burins and
o Sites in the Thar Desert
scrapers. o Kashmir
● Palaeolithic men are also o North of the Cauvery River
called ‗Quartzite‘ men in o Belan valley, Singrauli Basin in
India as the stone tools were UP
made of a hard rock called o Didwana in Rajasthan
quartzite. o Attirampakkam near Chennai
● Mainly lived on the foothills  There are habitation sites including
because stones are easily caves and rock shelters.
available, rivers are narrow  An important place is Bhimbetka in
and east to cross at foothills Madhya Pradesh- few old stone age
and natural caves provide paintings are found here.
shelter. ● This age was also called as ‗Age of
● Paleolithic period was spread Flakes‘.
in practically all parts of ● Tools used were flakes, blades,
India except the alluvial pointers, scrapers and borers.
plains of Indus and Ganga, ● The tools were smaller, lighter and
southern Tamil Nadu and
thinner.
also the hilly areas of the
● There was a decrease in the use of
Western Ghats.
hand axes with respect to other
tools.
● They had no house to live in, lived
Middle Palaeolithic under rocks, in caves and hollow
Age: 100,000 BC – tree trunks.
40,000 BC ● Important middle Palaeolithic age
sites
o Belan valley in UP
o Luni valley (Rajasthan)
o Son and Narmada rivers
o Bhimbetka- Recent discovery –
Dickinsonia, one of the earliest
animal whose rare fossil is found
in Bhimbetka Caves. This is the
only fossil of dicnisonia in India.
o Tungabhadra river valleys
o Potwar Plateau (between Indus &

Ancient History
Jhelum)
o Sanghao cave (near Peshawar,
Pakistan)
● It coincided with the last phase of
the ice age when the climate
became comparatively warmer and
less humid.
● Emergence of Homo sapiens.
● Innovation in tools and
technology. Blade technique of tool
making in which edge was
sharpened. A lot of bone tools,
including needles, harpoons,
parallel-sided blades, fishing tools
and burin tools.
● Rock paintings and carvings have
been found in Bhimbetka reflects art
and rituals
● Characteristic features of upper
Upper Palaeolithic palaeolithic art: Red and Green
Age: 40,000 BC – colours
10,000 BC ● Animals Depicted are: Bisons,
elephants, tigers, boars, rhinoceros,
etc.
● Major sites of Upper Palaeolithic
age
o Bhimbhetka (South of Bhopal) –
hand axes and cleavers, blades,
scrapers and a few burins have
been found here.
o Belan valley (UP)
o Son valley (UP & MP)
o Bridih – at Chota Nagpur plateau
(Jharkhand)
● Bone tools have been found only at
cave sites of Kurnool and
Muchchatla Chintamani Gavi in
Andhra Pradesh.

Ancient History
Mesolithic Period  In India, the credit of discovery of Mesolithic archaeological material

(Middle Stone goes to John Evan.
Age) (10,000-  Both Mesolithic and Neolithic phases belong to the Holocene era.
6000 B.C)  It was a transitional phase between Palaeolithic and Neolithic, also
referred to as the Later Stone Age or Microlithic age.
Characteristic Features of the Mesolithic Era
 Climate got warmer and human population increased.
 People of this era lived on hunting, fishing and food gathering initially
but later on they also stared domesticating animals and cultivating plants,
thereby paving the way for agriculture.
 Animal domestication started. The first animal to be domesticated was
the wild ancestor of the dog. Sheep and goats were the most common
domesticated animals.
 First time man built their own houses. The Mesolithic people lived in
semi-permanent settlements. Bamboo and grass huts along with
occupying caves and open grounds.
 First burials are reported and use of stone-ornaments also appeared.
The people of this era believed in life after death and hence they buried
the dead with food items and other goods.
 The characteristic tools of this era were microliths (small i.e. 5cm) – the
miniature stone tools [cresconic blades, scraper, etc.—all made of
stone], they also use bow and arrows.
 Stone artifacts were both of geometrical and non-geometrical shapes.
 The Mesolithic men started to wear clothes made of animal skin.
 They were art lovers and initiated rock art. The subject matter of these
paintings was mostly wild animals and hunting scenes, dancing and food
collection and No snakes are depicted in Mesolithic Paintings
 These rock paintings give an idea about the development of religious

Ancient History
practices and also reflect the division of labour on the basis of gender.
 The first human colonization of the Ganga Plains happened during this
period.
 Man learnt the art of making aims and throwing the weapons like spear
and bow and arrow.
 Fire was also discovered.
Important Mesolithic Sites
 Bagor (Bhilwara) in Rajasthan is one of the biggest and best-documented
sites. Bagor is on river Kothari where microliths along with animal bones
and shells have been excavated. Stone cutting site has also been found
 Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh provides the earliest evidence for the
domestication of animals. Geometric microliths are very commonly
found.
 Langhnaj (Mehsana) in Gujarat-> Bones of wild animals (rhinoceros,
blackbuck, etc.) and pottery have been excavated
 Birbhanpur in West Bengal
 Mesolithic rock art sites: Bhimbetka caves (Madhya Pradesh), Kharwar,
Jaora and Kathotia (M.P), Sundargarh and Sambalpur (Odisha), Ezhuthu
Guha (Kerala).
 Microliths have also been found in some valleys of River Tapi,
Sabarmati, Narmada, and Mahi.
 Though Pottery is absent at most Mesolithic sites, they have been found
in Langhnaj (Gujarat) and in the Kaimur region of Mirzapur (U.P)
 In India, the credit of discovery of Neolithic archaeological material goes
to Dr. Primrose.
 V. Gordon Childe termed the Neolithic phase as Neolithic Revolution.
The Neolithic age saw man turning into a food producer from food
gatherer.
Characteristic Features of the Neolithic Age
 Tools and Weapons: The people used microlithic blades in addition to
tools made of polished stones. They also used tools and weapons made
of bones – such as needles, scrapers, borers, arrowheads, etc. Tools were
now made of hard granite rocks so were stronger than before.
 Agriculture: The people of the Neolithic age cultivated land and grew
Neolithic Period
fruits and corn like ragi and horse gram (kulati). They also
(New Stone Age)
domesticated cattle, sheep and goats. Rice cultivation Extensive in
(6,000 – 1,000
eastern India.
B.C)
 Domestication: sheep, goat and cattle were widely prevalent.
 Pottery: The pottery of this period was classified under Greyware,
Black-burnished ware, and mat impressed ware. In the initial stages of
the Neolithic age, handmade pottery was made but later on, foot wheels
were used to make pots.
 Ochre-coloured Pottery (OCP) used by Neolithic people
 Wheel was invented.
 Metal: They knew about only one metal and that was gold
 Housing and Settled Life: The people of Neolithic age lived
in rectangular or circular houses which were made of mud and
reeds. Cultivation of plants, domestication of animals led to the

Ancient History
emergence of village Communities.
 Clothes: Neolithic age clothes made of cotton and wool.
 Neolithic men also knew how to make boats and could spin cotton, wool
and weave cloth.
Important Neolithic Sites
 Mehrgarh (Pakistan): Earliest evidence of agriculture-based life; Human
Burials; Terracotta of animals; Animal remains- Sheep, goat, deer,
antelope etc. Mehrgarh is the earliest Neolithic site, where people lived in
houses built of sun-dried bricks and cultivated crops like cotton and
wheat.
 Saraikhola (Pakistan): Pit dwelling, handmade polished pottery
 Burzahom (Kashmir): Burzahom was the first Neolithic site to be
discovered in Kashmir. Burzahom had a well-developed bone tool
industry. Other finds at Burzahom include pits and coarse pottery. Rock-
cut shrines were not a feature of the Burzahom site.
 Koldihwa and Mahagara (lying south of Allahabad): This site
provides evidence of circular huts along with crude handmade pottery.
There is also evidence of rice, which is the oldest evidence of rice, not
only in India but anywhere in the world.
 Chirand (Bihar): Husk of paddy; The neolithic men used tools and
weapons made of bones.
 Piklihal, Brahmagiri, Maski, Takkalakota, Hallur (Karnataka): The
people were cattle herders. They domesticated sheep and goats. Ash
mounds have been found.
 Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu and Utnur in Andhra Pradesh.
 Durgadevi in Balasore district (Odisha): The emergence of
urbanisation at Durgadevi around 400 BCE to 200 BCE (IMP CA)
 Recent excavation: The oldest known natural pearl in the world was
discovered recently off the coast of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
(UAE) by Abu Dhabi archaeologists working at a Neolithic site on
Marawah Island.
Note: All the three phases i.e., Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic ages are found in sequence at
Belan Valley which is located on the northern spurs of the Vindhyas and middle part of Narmada
valley. Belan valley includes Mahgara, Chopani Mando, and Koldihwa. Koldihwa in Belan valley
has provided earliest evidence of rice cultivation.
CHALCOLITHIC PERIOD (STONE COPPER AGE): 3500 BCE – 1000 BCE
 The first metal age of India is called Chalcolithic Age. It was also called Stone-Copper Age.
 Chalco means related to copper and lithic means stone.
 Chalcolithic cultures had grown in river valleys. Harappan culture is considered part of
Chalcolithic culture.
 Chalcolithic Age divided into 3 stages:
 Pre-Harappan Age: 3500BC-2500BC
 Harappan Age: 2500BC-1750BC
 Post-Harappan Age: 2000BC-1000BC
Characteristic of this site
 The Chalcolithic Age marked the emergence of the use of metal along with stone tools. The
first metal to be used was copper. The chalcolithic age largely applied to the pre-Harappan
phase, but in many parts of the country, it appears after the end of the bronze Harappan culture.

Ancient History
 Animals: Domesticated animals such as cows, sheep, goats, pig and buffaloes and hunted
deer
 Crops: They produced wheat and rice, they also cultivated bajra, pulses such as lentil (masur),
black gram, green gram, and grass pea.
 Unaware of Iron, horse and script.
 Cotton was produced in the black cotton soil of the Deccan and Ragi, Bajra and several millets
were cultivated in the lower Deccan.
 Fish and rice: In the eastern regions lived mainly on fish and rice, which is still a popular
diet in that part of the country.
 Pottery: Black and red pottery majorly found in the ochre-coloured pottery was also
popular + The potter‘s wheel was used
 Paintings: Painting with white linear designs was done.
 Rural settlements: Rural settlements and were not acquainted with burnt bricks.
 Society: Beginnings of social inequalities in Chalcolithic societies; Different size of houses
indicate social stratification;. Infant Mortality very high, can be evident from burials in
western Maharashtra
 Economy: Chalcolithic economy is considered as a village economy. The beginning of social
inequalities, as chiefs lived in rectangular houses while the commoners lived in round huts.
 Art and Craft: The chalcolithic people were expert in Coppersmiths + Also know the art of
copper smelting and were good stone workers as well + They knew spinning and weaving
and were well acquainted with the art of manufacturing cloth.
 Worship: Small clay images of earth goddesses have been found from sites + They venerated
the Mother Goddess + In Malwa and Rajasthan, stylised bull terracotta‘s show that the bull
served as a religious cult.
 Jewellery: Fond of ornaments and decoration + Women wore ornaments of shell and bone +
they manufactured beads of semi-precious stones like carnelian, steatite, and quartz crystal.
 Chalcolithic-era people did not know the use of writing.
Important Chalcolithic Sites
 Ahar (Banas valley, South Eastern Rajasthan): People of this region practised smelting and
metallurgy, supplied copper tools to other communities. Rice was cultivated here.
 Gilund (Banas valley, Rajasthan): Stone blade industry was discovered here.
 Daimabad (Ahmednagar, Maharashtra): The largest Jorwe culture site in Godavari valley.
It is famous for recovery of bronze goods such as bronze rhinoceros, elephant, two wheeled
chariot with a rider and a buffalo.
 Malwa(Madhya Pradesh): Settlements of Malwa culture are mostly located on Narmada and
its tributaries. It provides evidence of the richest chalcolithic ceramics, and also spindle whorls.
 Kayatha (Madya Pradesh): The settlement of Kayatha culture was mostly located on
the Chambal River and its tributaries. Houses had mud-plastered floors, pre-Harappan elements
in pottery along with copper objects with sharp cutting edges were found.
 Chirand, Senuar, Sonpur (Bihar), Mahishdal (West Bengal): These are the
prominent chalcolithic sites in these states.
 Songaon, Inamgaon and Nasik (Maharashtra): Large mud houses with ovens and circular
pit houses have been discovered here.
 Navdatoli (on Narmada): It was one of the largest chalcolithic settlements in the country. It
was spread over 10 hectares and cultivated almost all food grains.
 Nevasa (Jorwe, Maharashtra) and Eran (Madhya Pradesh): These sites are known for
their non-Harappan culture. At Nevasa there is evidence of cotton.
 Paiyampalli in Tamil Nadu: several copper and bronze artifacts, beads, terracotta figurines.

Ancient History
Culture Period Ware- feature Crops Sites
2800- 1500 Rice, Jowar Ahar, Balhal, Gilund
Ahar Culture Black and Red ware
BC ragi, lentil (Rajasthan)
Chambal and its
Kayatha Chocolate coloured
2450-1700 BC tributaries (Madhya
Culture slipped ware
Pradesh)
Narmada and its
tributaries, Navada,
Malwa ware is Wheat and
Malwa Culture 1900-1400 BC Eran, Nagada.
coarse in fabric barley
(Largest Chalcolithic
settlement) in M.P
Savalda culture 2300-2000 BC Dhuria (MH)
2000- 1400 Painted black on Maharashtra, Daimabad
Jorwe Culture
BC Red and Inamgaon
Lustrous Red ware Gheol and kalubhar
Rangpur 1700- 1400
(Harappa belong to rivers in Gujarat
Culture BC
this culture)
IRON AGE: 1000 BCE – 500 BCE
● Extensive use of Iron started around 1300 BC but it got into mass use around 1000 BC. Wheeler
thought that knowledge of iron was introduced by Achaemenids in 500 BC. Recent excavations
have traced the extensive use of Iron even to 4000 BC in certain areas of Tamil Nadu.
● Chalcolithic age is followed by Iron age. (Iron frequently referred in Vedas as Syama/ Syama
ayas)
● The Iron age of the southern peninsula is often related to Megalithic Burials.
● The Iron age is recognised as Late Harappan culture.
● Megalithic Feature: Burial pits covered with large stones.
● Important megalithic sites: Hallur and Maski in Karnataka, Nagarjunkonda in Andhra Pradesh
and Adichchanallur in Tamil Nadu.
● Iron Age is associated with Painted Grey ware (PGW) and Black and Red Pottery.
● Irrigated rice cultivation was unique to this age
● Major Dravidian languages traces their roots to this age
● Iron age sites:
○ Pirak (Pakistan- Transition of Post Harappan phase)
○ Mundigak (Afghanistan)
○ Dharwar & Hallur (Karnataka)
○ Ataranjikhera (Uttar Pradesh)
○ Eran (Central India)
○ Mahurjhari (Near Nagpur- large bead manufacturing site)
Did You Know?

● Chandraketugarh: Major findings of this site include Buddhist stupas and images, decorative
designs belonging to Pala period, coins of Gupta and Kushana period, different kinds of beads,
terracotta seals, bricks and plaques depicting scenes from Jataka tales and figurines of Sunga,
Maurya, Kushana and Gupta periods.
● Ganeshwar-Jodhpura Chalcolithic culture: Excavations revealed the remains of a 4,000-
year-old civilization. Copper artefacts, objects, microliths and pottery were found throughout

Ancient History
the deposits. Copper objects included arrowheads, spearheads, fish hooks, bangles and chisels.
Chapter-3
THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION
The history of Indian civilization begins with the birth of the Indus Valley Civilization (IVC), also
known as Harappan Civilization.
● As per Carbon-14 Dating, most accepted timeline is 2500BC-1750BC.
● The Harappan civilisation was the first urban civilisation in South Asia, contemporaneous with
the civilisations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Of the three aforementioned civilisations, the
Harappan civilisation occupied most area (about 8,00,000 sq km).
● Contemporary Civilisations: Egypt along Nile; Mesopotemia- Euphrates and Tigris; China-
Yellow rive and Yantze Basin.
● Daya Ram Sahni began work on the excavations at Harappa in 1920, and R. D. Banerji began
work on the excavations at Mohenjodaro in 1921.
● John Marshall, the then Director General of the Archaeological Survey, officially announced
the finding of the Indus or Harappan civilization in 1924. He was first scholar to use the
term ―Indus Civilisation‖.
● There are four important stages or phases of evolution: Pre-Harappan, Early harappan, Mature
Harappan and late Harappan.
Mature
Pre-Harappan Early Harappan Late Harappan
Harappan
Phase from 7000 Phase from 3300 Phase from 1900
Phase from 2600
to 3300 BCE to 2600 BCE to 1300 BCE
to 1900 BCE
Phases of IVC
1. Four phases of IVC are:
● Pre-Harappan Phase from 7000 to 3300 BCE:
○ This stage is located in eastern Balochistan.
○ Excavations at Mehrgarh (northwest of Mohenjodaro) reveal the existence of Pre-
Harappan culture.
○ Earliest evidence of farming and herding in south Asia.
○ Shows the first evidence of cotton cultivation.
○ Nomadic people began to lead settled agricultural life.
● Early Harappan Phase from 3300 to 2600 BCE:
○ Characterised by rudimentary town planning in form of muddy structure and
elementary treat hearts and craft
○ Also related to Hakra Phase, identified with Ghaggar-Hakra valley.
○ Village settlements in plain areas; Gradual growth of towns in Indus valley.
○ Transition from rural to urban life in this period.
○ Indus script dates back to 3000 BC (This script is still undeciphered)
○ Sites of Amri and Kot diji remain evidence for this stage.
● Mature Harappan Phase from 2600 to 1900 BCE:
o The Mature Harappan phase, or the Integration Era, was the urban phase of the Harappan
civilisation, which shows the characteristics of a full-fledged civilisation.

Ancient History
○ Marked by a well-developed town with a burnt brick structure established foreign
trade and crafts of various types.
○ Excavation at Kalibangan with its elaborate town planning and urban features prove this
phase of evolution.
○ Slow southward migration of south Asian monsoon allowed villages to develop by
taming floods of Indus and tributaries.
● Late Harappan Phase from 1900 to 1300 BCE.:
○ It was the declining phase. During which several cities were abandoned and the trade
disappeared. A gradual decay of significant urban Traits is noticed.
○ Reduction in rainfall triggered a reorganisation into large urban centres.
○ Mature Harappan civilisation was ‗a fusion of the Bagor, Hakra, and Kot Diji traditions
on Borders of India and Pakistan‘- According to D.A. Lichtenstein
○ Large urban centres include: Harappa, Ganeriwal, Mohenjodaro, Dholavira,
Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, Rupar, Lothal.
○ Excavation at Lothal revealed this stage of evolution.
○ Multiple regional cultures emerged within the area of IVC: Culture was in Punjab,
Haryana, Western UP; Jhukar culture in Sindh, Rangpur culture was in Gujarat.
○ Latest phases of Harappan culture are Pirak in Balochistan, Pakistan and Daimabad in
Maharashtra.
○ Largest late Harappan sites are Kudwala in Cholistan, Bet Dwarka in Gujarat and
Daimabad in Maharashtra
IMPORTANT SITES OF IVC
Site Excavated by Location Important Findings
● Site contains ruins of a Bronze
Age fortified city (IVC) and
then Cemetery culture.
● Clay Brick House- mature
Harappan period.
● Sandstone statues of Human
anatomy
● Citadel and lower town
Situated on the
bank of river ● Naked bust of male priest
Harappa ● Granaries
Daya Ram Ravi in
(UNESCO World ● Bullock carts
Sahini in 1921 Montgomery
heritage site 1980)
district of Punjab ● Virgin Goddess
(Pakistan). ● Grid planned city
● Coffin burial
● Swastik seal
● Dice
● Mirror
● Copper scale
● Stone symbols of Lingam and
Yoni
Mohenjodaro
R.D Banerjee in
Situated on the ● Largest site of IVC
(Mound of Dead) Bank of river ● Great bath (largest building of
1922
(UNESCO World Indus in Larkana

Ancient History
Heritage site in district of Punjab civilization)
1980) (Pakistan). ● Great Granary
● Bronze dancing girl
● Seal of Pasupathi Mahadeva
● Steatite statue of beard man
● A piece of woven cotton
● Post cremation burial
● Bronze buffalo
In south-western ● A trade point between Harappa
Balochistan and Babylon
Stein, George province, ● Originally port but later cut off
Sutkagendor
Dales in 1929 Pakistan on from sea due to coastal
Dasht/ Dashak upliftment
river ● Westernmost site of IVC
● Bead makers shop
● Footprint of a dog chasing a
cat
● Only Indus City without
N.G Majumdar citadel
Sindh on the
Chanhudaro and E. Makay in
Indus river ● Clay model of four- wheeler
1931  Terracotta model of bullock
cart, Bronze toy cart
 Remains of both pre-
Harappan Mature Harappan
culture.
● Antelope evidence
N.G Majumdar On the bank of  Transitional culture between
Amri
in 1935 Indus river pre and post- Harappan culture
 Actual remains of rhinoceros
● Fire altar showing practice of
cult of sacrifice
Amlanand Ghosh ● Camel bones
Kalibangan Rajasthan on the
(1953), Dr. B. B.
bank of Ghaggar ● Wooden plough and Ploughed
(Black Bangles)
Lal and B. K. field
river
Thapar (1961) ● Bangle factory
 Decorative bricks used
flooring on at this site
● Lothal with port founded much
later, Late-Harrapan Phase.
Gujarat on
● First manmade tidal port
Bhogva river
Lothal R.Rao in 1953 ● Manchester of Harappan
near Gulf of
civilisation
Cambay
● Dockyard
● Burnt bricks

Ancient History
● Double burial: Male and
Female together
● Persian/ Iranian seals
● Rice husk
● Fire altars
● Chess playing
● Only site with bones of horse
Surkotada J.P Joshi in 1964 Gujarat ● Beads
● Oval graves
● Beads
● Barley
● Lack of systematic drainage
Hisar district of system
Banawali R.S Bisht in 1974
Haryana  Only city with Radial streets
 Centre of pre-Harappan,
Mature Harappan well as Late
Harappan civilization.
 Shows all three phase of
Harappa Culture.
● Unique water harnessing
R.S Bisht in 1985 system
Dholavira
(Note: Some Gujarat in Rann ● Water reservoir
(UNESCO World
books mentioned of Kachchh
heritage site in ● Largest site of well and bath
J.P. Joshi) Luni river
2021) ● Largest Harrapan inscription
used for civil purpose
● Series of Dams
● Stadium
● Wheel made painted pottery
● Defensive walls and aligned
Ghurey (1835) streets
Indus- Sindh
Kot Diji Fazal Ahmed
Pakistan ● Metallurgy and artistic toys
(1955)
● 5 figurine of mother goddess
● Pre- Harappan site
● Cultivation of rice
M.S. Vatsa
Gujarat (Near ● Remains of both pre-Harappan
(1931) & S.R.
Rangpur Lothal) and Mature Harappan culture
Rao (1953-54)
● Yellow and grey color pots of
pre Harappan people.
 Dog buried with human oval
Y.D. Sharma pit burials
Sutlej Punjab
Ropar (1955–56)  First site to be excavated after
(India)
independence
 Copper axe
Manda J P Joshi Chenab River ● Northernmost site of

Ancient History
(1975) Akhnoor civilisation
(Jammu)
● Largest site of Indus valley
civilisation
Near Hisar,  Granary, cemetery, drains,
Prof. Surajbhan Bhirrana terracotta bricks.
Acharya (Fatehgarh),  Shows all three phases of
Rakhigarhi Haryana
Bhagwandev Harappa Culture.
● Related CA- Union Budget
(2020-21) has proposed to
develop Rakhigarhi village,
Haryana as an iconic site
Y.D. Sharma Pravara River,  Bronze images (charioteer with
Daimabad
(1958) Maharashtra chariot, ox, elephant and
rhinoceros
Map: Spread of Indus Civilization

Ancient History
Map: Earliest Cities of Indian Subcontinent
Salient Features of Indus Valley Civilisation:

● The Harappan culture was distinguished by its system of town planning.
● Streets and lanes cutting across one another almost at Right Angle.
● The city was divided in two parts, the city on raised platform, known as
Upper citadel & the lower town known as Lower citadel (working class
quarters). Fortified citadel except Chanhudaro.
● The remarkable thing about the arrangement of the houses in the cities is
that they followed the rectangular grid system.
● Granaries at Mohenjo Daro constituted an important part of the
Harappan cities.
● The use of burnt mud bricks and Gypsum Morter in the Harappan cities
is remarkable, because in the contemporary buildings of Egypt mainly
dried bricks were used.
● Walls made of burnt bricks raised for protection indicate that floods were
an annual event.
Town Planning ● Absence of Stone Building is also an important characteristic of Harappan
and Structure culture.
● Laid great emphasis on sanitation.
● The Underground drainage system- [connecting all house to street
drains which were covered by stone slabs or bricks] of Mohenjodaro
was very impressive.
● They also made man-holes at regular intervals for cleaning.
● First people in the world to use flush toilets.
● In almost all cities every big or small house had its own courtyard and
bathroom.
● In Kalibangan many houses had their wells.
● At sites such as Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat), the entire settlement
was fortified, and sections within the town were also separated by
walls.
● Mohenjo Daro Great Bath- Public place: Along with rooms for changing
clothes. [Ritual bathing Site]

Ancient History
● The large tank found in Dholavira may be compared to the great bath.
 Do not have large monumental structures such as temples or palaces for
rulers unlike Egyptian and Mesopotamian Civilization.
● No clear idea about the government of the Harappan cities.
● Systematic planning of the streets and uniformity that is seen throughout
the area of the Harappa culture in matters like size of the bricks, layout of
cities, weights and measures suggest that there existed a single centralized
state rather than a number of free republican communities
● Very few written materials have been discovered in the Indus valley and
the scholars have not been able to decipher the Indus script so far.
Political Life ● No temples have been found at any Harappan sites. Therefore the
possibility of priests ruling Harappa can be eliminated.
● The excellent drainage system suggests that the municipal
administration should have been efficient
● There is no evidence of a dynastic rule of divine warlords. No palace is
identified
● Priests did not rule in Harappa as they did in the cities of lower
Mesopotamia but was possibly ruled by a class of merchants.
● Social divisions: Excavation at Mohenjodaro reveals- presence of various
classes like Priests, merchants, traders, artisans, cultivators.
Commercial/Merchant class appears to be dominant.
● Hierarchy in urban habitation: Different size of houses and items in the
graves attributed to the city of Harappa, its structure evidences three
distinct localities, and the latter is true also of Kalibangan and Dholavira.
● Food: Wheat, barley rice are important items. Animal food was eaten.
Social Life
● Dress: Two garments- upper and lower; Garments were made of Cotton.
Use of wool; embroidery on clothes evident. Different fashions for dressing
hair; Use of ornaments;
● Beads were made from gold, copper etc. - naturalistic animal models as
pin-heads and beads.
● The use of cosmetics was common (Cinnabar, lipstick and collyrium).
● Amusement: Dancing, evidence of games like chess- terracotta figurines,
Dice found at Mohenjodaro. Fishing-Hunting was another hobby.
● The Harappan villages, mostly situated near the flood plains, produced
sufficient foodgrains.
● Wheat, barley, rai, peas, sesame, lentil, chickpea and mustard were
produced. Millets are also found from sites in Gujarat. While rice uses
were relatively rare [Lothal-Paddy].
Agriculture
● The Indus people were the earliest people to produce cotton. Known as
and subsistence
‗Sindon‘ by the Greeks as from Sindh.
strategies
● While the prevalence of agriculture is indicated by finds of grain, it is
more difficult to reconstruct actual agricultural practices because of
biodegradable nature.
● In Balochistan and Afghanistan, dams were raised for storing water or for
causing flood irrigation

Ancient History
● Representations on seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull was
not only known to the people but was of prime cultural importance.
● Archaeologists extrapolate shows oxen were also used for ploughing in
some places. [Since No hoe or ploughshare has been discovered, However,
at Kalibangan, the furrows belonging to pre-Harappa phase were
discovered]. So possibly wooden ploughs were used.
● Seals and terracotta sculpture indicate that the bull was known and that
oxen were used for ploughing.
● Terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in Cholistan and
at Banawali(Haryana).
● Most Harappan sites are located in semi-arid lands, where irrigation was
probably required for agriculture.
● Traces of canals have been found at the Harappan site of Shortughai in
Afghanistan, but not in Punjab or Sindh.
● Although the Harappans practised agriculture, animals were also reared
on a large scale.
● Evidence of the horse like animal comes from a superficial level of
Mohenjodaro and from a doubtful terracotta figurine from Lothal. [The
use of horses is not yet established].
● Animal bones found at Harappan sites include those of cattle, sheep, goat,
buffalo, pig and of wild species such as boar, deer, gharial, fish and fowl.
● The Harappans relished non-vegetarian food and exploited riverine and
marine resources wherever possible. For example, fish eating was common
and molluscs were an important protein-rich food element of people in the
coastal cities of Gujarat.
● Wild animals: mention may be made of tiger, rhinoceros, elephant and
deer
● Ploughed fields, possibly with the help of wooden ploughs, have been
discovered at Kalibangan. Terracotta models of plough have been found
at Banawali and Bahawalpur.
● Trade and commerce:
o The importance of trade in the life of the Indus people is witnessed by
the presence of numerous seals, uniform script and regulated
weights and measures in a wide area.
o Weights were made of chert, limestone, and steatite and were
generally cubical in shape.
o The Mesopotamians called the Indus Region ‗Meluhha‘. The
Mesopotamian texts speak of three intermediate trading stations called
Economy Dilmun (probably Bahrain on Persian Gulf), Makan (probably the
Makran coast, Oman) and, Meluhha.
o The Harappans carried on considerable trade in stone, metal,
shell, etc.
o Imported Articles: timber, copper, gold, ivory, semi precious stones
o Main exports: Agriculture products such as Wheat, Barley, Peas, Oil
seeds and Finished products including cotton goods, Pottery, beads,
Terracotta figures and ivory products.

Ancient History
o Metal money was not used and trade was carried by barter system.
o They practised navigation on the coast of the Arabian Sea.
o They had set up a trading colony in northern Afghanistan which
evidently facilitated trade with Central Asia.
o There is much evidence to prove the Indus-Sumanian Trade link.
o They also carried commerce with those in the land of the Tigris and
the Euphrates.
o The Harappans carried on long distance trade in lapis lazuli; which
may have contributed to the social prestige of the ruling class.
● Industry
o Textile industry: The discovery of spindles and spindle whorls and a
piece of woven cotton suggests that spinning and weaving were known
to the Harappa people. Cotton and wool were used in this industry. The
art of dyeing was known to the people
o Brick industry: Huge brick structures indicate brick laying was an
important craft. Brick-Storages found at Mohenjodaro
o Metal Industry: Use of stone, copper bronze to make weapons,
utensils and tools. They had knowledge of making bronze by mixing tin
with copper.
o Toy industry: Another important industry is toy manufacturing. Toys
were clay models of men, women, animals and wheeled carts.
o Boat making and Bead making were also prevalent.
o There were bead-making factories at Chanhudaro and Lothal.
● The Harappans were very well acquainted with the manufacturing and
use of Bronze.
● Copper was obtained from the Khetri copper mines of Rajasthan and Tin
was possibly brought from Afghanistan.
● Little pots of faience were probably considered precious because they
were difficult to make.
● Textile impressions have also been found on several objects.
● Huge brick structure suggest that brick-laying was an important craft. This
also attests the existence of a class of masons.
● The Harappans practised boat-making, bead making and seal-making.
● Terracotta figurine- cows, beras, monkeys and dogs.
Art and Crafts ● Dancing Girl-Bronze female figurine found at Mohenjodaro.
● Toys – Dice found at Mohenjodaro.
● Jewellery: Made of silver, gold and precious stones
● Ivory Work: ivory work is another important craft.
● Carpentry: Wooden artifacts wade by Harappan people.
● Bead making- The variety of materials used to make beads:
o Stones like carnelian (of red colour), jasper, crystal, quartz and steatite.
o Metals like copper, bronze and gold.
o Shell, faience and terracotta or burnt clay.
o Some beads were made of two or more stones, cemented together,
some of stone with gold caps.
o The shapes were numerous – disc shaped, cylindrical, spherical, barrel-

Ancient History
shaped, segmented.
o Specialised drills have been found at Chanhudaro, Lothal and recently
at Dholavira.
● Music Instruments: String instruments and drums
● The potter's wheel was in full use, and the Harappans produced their own
characteristic pottery, which was glossy and shining.
● Seals: About 2000 seals have been found, and of these a great majority
carry short inscriptions with pictures of one horned animals called
unicorns, buffaloes, tigers, rhinoceroses, goats, elephants, antelopes, and
crocodiles.
● Pottery:
o The Harappa pottery consists of very fine wheel-made ware.
o Hand-made pottery was rare.
o Pottery was of different kinds—plain or painted or ware with designs.
o The household pottery was made in different shapes and sizes.
Procurement of materials
● Shell objects: Nageshwar and Balakot were specialised centers for making
shell objects, including bangles, ladles and inlay, which were taken to other
settlements.
● Lapis Lazuli: Shortughai, in far-off Afghanistan, near the best source of
lapis lazuli, a blue stone that was apparently very highly valued.
● Lothal was near sources of carnelian (from Bharuch in Gujarat), steatite
(from south Rajasthan and north Gujarat) and metal(from Rajasthan).
● Another strategy was to send expeditions to areas such as the Khetri region
of Rajasthan (for copper) and South India (for gold).
● There is evidence in the Khetri area for the Ganeshwar-Jodhpura culture,
with its distinctive non-Harappan pottery and an unusual wealth of copper
object.
● Copper was probably brought from Oman. Chemical analyses have shown
that both the Omani copper and Harappan artefacts have traces of nickel,
suggesting a common origin
 It was predominantly a secular civilization and the religious element,
though present, did not dominate the scene.
 The Harappans, therefore, looked upon the earth as a fertility goddess
[Mother Goddess] and worshipped her in the same manner as the
Egyptians worshipped the Nile goddess Isis.
 The male deity (referred to as proto-shiva) is represented on a seal
with three horned heads, represented in the sitting posture of a yogi. But
Religion only one such seal has been found at Mohenjodaro.
 This god is surrounded by an elephant, a tiger, a rhinoceros, and has a
buffalo below his throne. At his feet appear two deer. The depicted god is
identified as Pushupati Mahadeva.
 Sun was worshiped.
 Customs of aials were Prevalent. Three types of burrials- complete burial,
fractional burial and postcremation burial were found. At Lothal
Joint/Double burial found- Speculated as Sati evidence. [No clear

Ancient History
evidences of Sati]
 Numerous symbols of the phallus and female sex organs made of stone
have been found.
 The people of the Indus region also worshipped trees and Animals.
 The most important of them is the humped bull which may be identified
with the rhinoceros and the next important was one horned unicorn.
 Linga worship was prevalent
 Use of amulets: They believed in ghosts and evil forces and use amulets
as protection against them
● It‘s expected from engraved seals that happen were literate people
● Harappan script has signs between 400 and 600 of which 40 or 60 are basic
and the rest are variants.
● Harappan writing is pictographic and not yet Deciphered
● Some scholars concluded that Harappan Language was Dravidian,
Harappan
others viewed it to be close to Brahmi script.
Script
● It was written from either Right to left or boustrophedon style (alternate
lines start from opposite sides.)
● Used Ideograms (Graphic symbol or character to convey idea directly)
● Many scholars believe that they spoke some language close to Brahul (A
dialect used by Baluchi people in Balochistan Area which is a Dravidian
Language).
● The urban people of the Indus region also needed and used weights and
measures for trade and other transactions.
● Exchanges were regulated by a precise system of weights, usually made of
Weights and a stone called Chert and generally cubical, with no markings.
Measures
● The lower denominations of weights were binary (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. up
to 12,800), while the higher denominations followed the decimal system.
● Smaller weights were probably used for weighing jewellery and beads.
● Metal scale-pans have also been found.
 Most of the seals are square plaque made mostly from Steatite.
 Seals had an animal (except cow and horse) or human figure on one
side and an inscription on the opposite side or inscriptions on both the
sides.
Seal and  Seals were primarily used for commercial purposes, as an amulet, as
Sealings form of identification, for educational purposes as well.
 Seals with symbol similar to ‗Swastika‘ design have also been found.
 The round ―Persian Gulf‖ seal found in Bahrain, sometimes carries
Harappan motifs.
 Interestingly, local ―Dilmun‖ weights followed the Harappan standard.
 Bronze Casting:
o Practised on a wide scale using the ―lost wax‖ or ―Cire Perdue‖
Art and technique.
Sculpture o They mainly consist of human and animal figures. Example:
‗Dancing Girl‘. She stands in a ‗Tribhanga‘ dancing posture.
 Stone Statues:

Ancient History
o Bearded man: found in Mohenjo-daro and made of Steatite,
interpreted as a priest
o Red sandstone: figure of a male torso found in Harappa and made of
Red sandstone.
 Terracotta Figures: Found are less in number and crude in shape and
form. Examples: Mother Goddess, mask of horned deity, toys, etc.
Important Facts About Indus Valley Civilization

 Mohenjodaro, the largest site of the Indus
civilization, and Rakhigarhi, the largest Indian
site of the Indus civilization.
 Capital cities: Harappa, Mohonjodaro.
 Oldest script in Indian subcontinent:
Harappan script
 Oldest deciphered script: Brahmi script
 Port cities: Lothal, Sutkagendor, Allahdino, Balakot, Kuntasi.
 Area covered: Harappan civilisation was triangular in shape and was largest among the three
ancient urban civilisations, the other two being ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia (present day
Iraq). It roughly covers modern day Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, and Pakistan.
 Northern-most site→ Manda (Jammu-Kashmir); Soutern-most site→ Daimabad
(Maharashtra); Eastern-most site→ Alamgirpur (Uttar Pradesh); Western-most site→
Sutkagendor (Pakistan-Iran border).
 Period: India Civilization belongs to proto-historic period - Chalcolithic Age/Bronze Age.
 Heartland of Indus Civilization: Harappa-Ghaggar-Mohonjodaro axis
Harappan Vs Egyptian/Mesopotamian Civilisation

Harappan Egyptian/Mesopotamian
Planned towns with chess board system, Towns show a haphazard growth.
excellent drainage system.
Rectangular houses with brick-lined Such town planning absent.
bathrooms and wells together with their
stairways are found in all Harappan cities.
Produced their own characteristic pottery and No such unique aspect.
seals.
Invented their own typical script, which bears Mesopotamia has cuneiform script and the
no resemblance to the Egyptian and Egyptian script is known as hieroglyphics. Both
Mesopotamian scripts. scripts have been deciphered, which tell us a lot
about the civilisations.
Script mostly on seals. Mesopotamians pressed letters onto moist clay
tablets while Egyptians wrote on papyrus sheets
made of reeds.
No signs of existence after 1900 BCE. Continued to exist even after 1900 BCE.
Spread over a wider area. Less area as compared to Harappan.
Decline of the Indus Valley Civilization

The IVC declined around 1800 BCE but the actual reasons behind its demise are still debated
between:

Ancient History
1. Aryan Invasion: One theory claims that Indo-European tribe i.e. Aryans invaded and conquered
the IVC.
2. Natural Factors: On the other hand, many scholars believe natural factors are behind the
decline of the IVC.
 The natural factors could be geological and climatic leading to floods and droughts.
 It is believed that the Indus Valley region experienced several tectonic disturbances which
causes earthquakes. This also changed the course of rivers or dried them up.
 Another natural reason might be changes in patterns of rainfall.
 Or it could have been due to combination of these natural and anthropogenic causes.
Was the Harappan Culture Vedic?

Planned towns, crafts, commerce, and large structures built of burnt bricks mark the mature Harappan
phase. The Rig Veda does not feature these.
Harrapan Culture Vedic Culture
● The mature urban phase lasted from 2500 ● Rig Veda is placed around 1500 BC.
to 1900 BC. ● The Rig Veda mentions only barley.
● Harappan knew about wheat, sesamum, ● Rhinoceros unknown to the early Vedic
and peas. people.
● The rhinoceros was known to the ● Tigers unknown to the early Vedic people.
Harappan. ● The Vedic chiefs were horse-centred, which is
● The tigers was known to the Harappan. why this animal is mentioned 215 times in the
● The horse was hardly known to the urban Rig Veda.
Harappans. ● Horse it is not important in the earliest Veda.
● The Harappan terracottas represent the
elephant.
******

Ancient History
Chapter-4
VEDIC CULTURE
Vedic culture, a great civilisation and culture, came after the Harappan era. It is known as the Vedic Age
because Vedic writings were predominantly used in its restoration.
Arrival of Aryans
1. Harappan culture was followed by another great civilisation and culture known as Vedic culture.
It is called Vedic Age as its reconstruction is primarily based on using Vedic texts as sources.
2. This period also saw the rise of Aryans and their subsequent supremacy in the region which was
originally inhabited by people who formed Harappan civilisation.
3. However, there is still no consensus on the original home of Aryans and different theories are
postulated which further continue the debate.
4. The earliest traces of Rigvedic age are assigned to roughly 1500 BC. These people are
believed to have come from Central Asia
5. The period between 1500 BC and 600 BC may be divided into the:
 Early Vedic Period or Rig Vedic Period (1500 BC-1000 BC): Aryans mostly confined to
Indus region (Rigveda refers Saptasindhu Region)
 Later Vedic Period (1000-600 BC): The Satapatha Brahmana refers to the extension of
Aryans to eastern Gangetic Plains. Development of large kingdoms during this period.
Did You Know?

1. The Sarasvati, is called Naditama or the best of rivers in the Rig Veda. It is identified with the
Ghaggar–Hakra channel in Haryana and Rajasthan, but its Rig Vedic description shows it to be
the Avestan river Harakhwati or the present Helmand river in south Afghanistan from where the
name Sarasvati was transferred to India.
2. The entire region in which the Aryans first settled in the Indian subcontinent is called the Land
of the Seven Rivers.
Evidences of migration
● The dominant and mostly accepted view is that instead of an Aryan invasion, there was a series
of Indo-Aryan Immigrations and they came to the sub-continent as immigrants.
 Andronovo Culture: The first area is archaeologically called the Andronovo culture which
covered almost the whole of Central Asia during the second millennium BC. It is situated in
Southern Siberia.
● There are also linguistic similarities between the Indian and European languages so much
so that their roots can be traced to the same point. For example the ‗Duhter‘ = ‗Daughter‘
etc.There are various similar words in Sanskrit and Latin.
 The Inar of the Hittite (from Anatolia region of Turkey) language is similar to the Indra of
Vedas.
 Suyyash & Maruttash of the Kassite (Mesopotamia) inscription are equivalent of the Vedic
Surya &Marut
 But there were certain extrapolations too, for example Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote that Aryan
came from the Arctic region.

Ancient History
Geographical horizon of Vedic Aryans
1. The early Vedic aryans lived in the area known as Sapta Sindhu the land of 7 rivers which
include:
● Sindhu- Indus
● Vatista- Jhelum
● Askini - Chenab
● Parushni - Ravi
● Vipasha - Beas
● Sutrudi - Satluj
● Saraswati
2. They gradually moved eastward and came to occupy eastern lands upto Kosala and north
Bihar Videha during later Vedic.
Gayatri Mantra
Vishvamitra composed the Gayatri mantra to widen the Aryan world. Whoever recited the
Gayatri was admitted to the Aryan fold. Eventually, however, this mantra was made the monopoly of
the three higher varnas, and priests did not permit women and shudras to recite it.
Vedic text
1. The word Veda has been derived from the root ‗vid‘, which means to know/knowledge. The
word Veda means sacred knowledge contained in the text known as Vedic text.
2. There are 2 types of text in Vedic literature
 Mantra
 Brahmanna
3. There are four Vedas and every Veda generally has four parts: Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka,
and Upanishad.
4. 4 Vedas includes Rigveda, Samveda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda
 Rigveda is the earliest of four Vedas and is the only source of information of the early
vedic people and their life. The Rig Veda is the earliest text of the Indo-European
languages. It is written in Sanskrit, but also includes many Munda and Dravidian words.
The Rig Veda has many things in common with the Avesta, which is the oldest text in the
Iranian language.
 Brahmana‘s contains explanation of mantras as well as sacrificial rituals. The 4 Vedas
along with brahmanas are known as shruti or hearing that were directly heard by the sages.
 The Aryanaka which literally means forest treaties and Upanishad (which means sitting
down beside) are the appendix of Brahmana‘s.
 Upanishad are also known as Vedant. They contain philosophical discussions.
5. Rigveda is divided into 10 mandalas and has a collection of 1028 Hymns.
6. Rigveda: Recently included by UNESCO in list of literature signifying world human
heritage.
7. Samaveda: Collection of verses mostly taken from the Rigveda but arranged in a poetic form to
facilitate singing (Chanting during Sacrifices). [It also contains the famous Dhrupada raga, later
sung by Tansen. The Upveda of the Sama Veda is the (Gandharva Veda).]
8. Yajurveda: The rituals to be performed publicly or individually.
9. Atharvaveda: Magic spells and charms to ward off the evil spirits and diseases.
10. Upanishads: The literal meaning of ‗Upanishad‘ is ‗to sit near someone‘. There are 108
Upanishads, of which 13 are the most prominent. The Upanishads dwell on the ‗Atman‘ and

Ancient History
‗Brahman‘, and focus a lot on the philosophy about life, universe, self, body, sacrifice, etc. The
Mandukyopanishad ―Satyamev jayate ‖ is the largest of all Upanishads. It is the last Veda and is
considered a non-Aryan work divided into 20 kandas (books), with 711 hymns.
Bhagwanpura
A site called Bhagwanpura in Haryana and three other sites in Punjab have yielded Painted Grey
Ware along with ‗late Harappan‘ pottery. The date assigned to the Bhagwanpura finds ranges
from 1600 to 1000 BC which also roughly corresponds to the period of the Rig Veda.
Rig Vedic or Early Vedic Period [1500-1000 BC]

Early Vedic Economy Early Vedic society
● People: pastoralists and cattle rearing ● Family or Kula: All the social units were
were their main occupation based on brotherhood. Kula (Family) was the
● Domesticated: Horse and cow were the basic social unit and Kulapa was the head of
most important animals. Cattle, sheep, the family.
goats and horses for purpose of milk ● Marriage: took place after attaining maturity
meat and hides and the wife went to her husband‘s house post
● Gopajanya: (people who revered cows marriage [No child marriage and Practtice of
)and a large number of words are Sati was Absent]
derived from the word ‗go‘ meaning ● Monogamy was prevalent norm of marriage
cow. but the chiefs practiced polygamy
● Gomat: wealthy person and daughter ● The family was part of larger grouping call VIS
was called Duhitri, which means one or clan
who milks cows. ● Aryan tribes were called Jana. Their chief
● Gaveshana: literally means search for (rajan) was known as the Gopati or Gopa
the cow but it also means battle since (protector of cows), and the chief queen was
many battles were fought over cattle called the Mahisi.
● Agriculture: They had knowledge of ● Hierarchy: Even though a socially organised
agriculture, but was not the primary ―varna system‖ was not prevalent and tribal
economic activity. They produced elements were stronger in the society, yet Rig
Yava (modern barley) which was Vedic society can still not be considered a
rather a generic word for cereals. totally egalitarian society as social
Shifting agriculture was practiced and stratification was based on the division of
fire was used to burn down forest cover labour and gender.
and the patch of land thus cleared was ● Occupation: could adopt different occupation
then sown. based on the choices
● Medium of exchange: The unit of ● Varna: Varna or colour was the basis of initial
currency was niskha, which was made differentiation between the Vedic and non-
of gold. Coins were not known. Barter Vedic peoples.
was the model of exchange and the cow ● Rig veda mentions of Arya Varna & Dasa
was an important unit of value. Varna (slave varna)
● Revenue: There was no regular revenue ● The sudras category came into existence only
system and the kingdom was maintained towards the end of rig Vedic.
by the voluntary tribute (bali) of ● Eating of Cow‘s meat Prohibited.
subjects and bounty won in a battle.
● Women: The women in the society enjoyed a
 Land brought under cultivation: With
respectable position
the knowledge and use of iron they were

Ancient History
able to clean forests and bring more o They marry to a proper age and could
lands under cultivation. choose a husband of her own choices
 Carpentry: Carpentry was another o There are no instances of child marriage,
important profession and the availability sati, or purdah in the Rig Veda.
of wood from the forests cleared made o Equal opportunities as men for spiritual and
the profession profitable. Chariot intellectual development.
making was an important profession. o Take part in proceedings of tribal
 Use of metals: Workers in metal made a assemblies called Sabha and samiti
variety of articles with copper, bronze o Women Poets: Apala, Vishwavara,
and iron. Ghosa, Lopamudra, etc.
 Textile: Spinning was another important  Horse played significant role in their life.
occupation and cotton and woolen Rig Veda has mentioned horse-drawn chariot
fabrics were made. with spoked wheels. Aryan introduced
 Ornament making: Goldsmiths were spoked wheels.
active in making ornaments.  They did not use iron technology, but were
 Use of coin in later time: Trade was familiar with copper.
conducted on a barter system. In the
later times, gold ornaments called
nishka were used as media of exchange
in large transactions.
Early Vedic religion Early Vedic polity
● The priests received dana (gifts) and  Rig Vedic polity was normally monarchical
dakshina (sacrificial offering) for their and the succession was hereditary.
ritualistic services.  The Purohita or domestic priest was the first
● God: They prayed God for physical ranking official.
protection and for material gains  The king was assisted by purohita or priest and
● No temples or idol worship senani or commander of the army in his
● Recitation of prayers, chanting of Vedic administration.
hymns and sacrifices or yajnas were an  Several families joined to form village or
important part of the worship. Grama.
● All male gods reflecting the  Visu: a group of villages
patriarchal nature  Vishyapati: Head of Vishas.
● The text mentions only a few goddess  Principal social unit: of aryans was known as
such as Pusasaraswatiprithvi etc who Jana the chief of this unit was the political
plays secondary position in the pantheon leader called Rajan
● Indra is most frequent mentioned God  Organisations: Sabha, Samiti,Vidhata and
in Rigveda; described as Urvarajit Gana were the tribal assemblies. Of these,
(winner of fertile fields). Vidhata was the oldest. These assemblies
exercised deliberative, military and religious
● There are also references to Kshetrapati
functions.
(guardian deity of agricultural fields).
 Vidhata: it was an important assembly for
● They worshipped natural forces like secular, religious and military purposes.
earth, fire, wind, rain and thunder
 There is no official mentioned as a collector
● Important Rig Vedic gods- Prithvi of taxes. The people offered to the chief what
(Earth), Agni(Fire), Vayu(Wind), is called Bali
Varuna(Rain) and Indra(Thunder)  It was just a voluntary contribution made by
● Female gods- Aditi and Usha ordinary tribesmen on social occasions

Ancient History
● Pusan was the gods of roads,  Women attended Sabha and Vidhata in Rig
herdsman and cattle Vedic times.
 Tribal kingdoms: Bharatas, Matsyas, Yadus
and Purus.
 The ―Battle of Ten Kings (Dasrajan war)‖
was fought on the banks of Ravi river for
protection of wealth i.e. cow and cattle and was
won by ‗Rajana Sudas‘ of Bharat Jana (tribe).
 These conflicts and battles were called
Gavisthi, Gavesana or Gavyat for search for
cows in the rig Veda.
 Right to property was existed.
Some important tribal assemblies of Vedic period

Sabha Smaller body meant for elites (exclusive body).
Samiti Broad-based folk assembly, presided over by the Rajan
Vidatha Tribal assembly with diverse functions.
Gana Assembly or troop
Key Terms from Early Vedic Period

Kubha Modern day Kabul
Himavant Himalaya
Munjavant Modern day Hindukush
Sapta Sindhu Land of seven Rivers - Area where Aryans lived which comprise of
Sindhu and its five tributaries- Vitasta (Jhelum), Asikani (Chenab), Vipas
(Beas), Parushni (Ravi), Sutudri (Sutlej) and Saraswati
4 Varnas Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Shudra) based on the
profession/occupation (not hereditary)
Henotheism A belief in many gods but each standing out in turns as the highest
Vap To sow
Gavyuti Measure of distance
Gotra Kinship Units
Urvara Fertile fields
Soma/Sura Intoxicating drink
Changes in Later Vedic Society [1000-600 Bc]

● The Later Vedic Age is characterised by more complexities in social, political, and economic
life. The tiny tribal settlements of the Vedic period were replaced by comparatively stronger
kingdoms, while royal power increased.
● Core geographical area of Later Vedic texts corresponds to the Kuru–Panchala Region, which
comprised the Indo-Gangetic divide and the upper Ganga Valley.
● Sources of Information about this phase are Sam Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda.
● Later Vedic culture is also called as Painted Grey Ware (PGW) – Iron Phase culture.
Economic changes Social changes

● Agriculture became main occupation of the ● Buffalo and oxen came to be

Ancient History
Vedic peoples domesticated for agriculture purpose
● Earlier they cultivated barley; people now ● Indra God acquired a new epithet.
cultivated wheat, rice, pulses, lentils, millets ● The family still remains the basic unit
and sugar cane. but now large joint families with 3 or 4
● The main factor behind the changes in the later generations living together
Vedic and the expansion of aryans culture was ● Monogamous marriages were preferred
the beginning of use of iron l around 1000 BC but polygamy became the frequent
● Tin, lead, silver, Iron, gold, bronze, and copper ● Introduction of Gotra system based on
were known to Later Vedic people. Family lineage.
● Treasurer was called ‗Samgrahitri‘ and ● The most important change the growth
‗Bhagdukha‘ collected the taxes and Vaishya of varna system
were only ● The 4 varnas in which society came to
● taxpayers. be divided were brahmanas, Kshtriya,
● They migrated towards the eastern part of India Vaishya and shudras.
● Use of iron tools helped clear the forest ● The growing number of sacrifices and
● Increase in the number and size of painted rituals meet brahmanas more powerful
grey Ware settlements in the Yamuna Ganga ● The Kshtriyas were rulers.
river area ● The Vaisya formed highest population
● They slowly begin to acquire the characteristics among Verna‘s and were engaged in
of urban towns albeit rudimentary agriculture as well as artist in all
● Progress in occupation: Metal work, leather activities
work, carpentry and pottery made great progress. ● Sudras were at the bottom of the
● Foreign trade: The Later Vedic people were societal hierarchy
familiar with the sea and they traded with ● They were not supposed to carry out
countries like Babylon. A class of hereditary the ritual of Upnayan Sanskar that is
merchants (vaniya) came into existence. sacred thread ceremony to acquire
● Use of coin: Besides nishka of the Rig Vedic education
period, gold and silver coins like satamana and ● The another important institution was
krishnala are believed to be used as media of ashrama system which was considered
exchange (coins) but has no archaeological as different stages of life
backing. ● Brahmacharya was a student life (0-
25years)
● Grihastha was the life of householder
(25-50 years)
● Vanaprastha Hermitage stage is
mentioned in the text (50-75 years)
● Sanyasa came to be added (75-100
years)
● Women: The participation of women in
Sabha and samiti were now restricted.
Child marriage came into existence.
● Women seen as source of misery:
According to Aitareya Brahmana
daughter has been described as source of
misery.
● Untouchability appeared. Nishad,
Chandala and Shabar were the
untouchables mentioned.

Ancient History
● Maitrayani Samhita mentioned 3 evils
– liquor, women and dice.
Changes in later Vedic religion Changes in later Vedic Polity
● Gods of early Vedic like Indra and Agni lost ● The term ‗Rashtra‘ first appeared in
their importance. this period.
● The Prajapathi, Vishnu and Rudra which were ● The wars were no longer fought for
smaller deities in Rigveda became extremely cows, but for territories.
important and rituals were connected with them. ● Kingship: The position of chief of Jana
● There are no references of different avatars of became hereditary & the idea of divine
vishnu that we are so familiar with in any of the nature of Kingship gets a mention in the
later Vedic text literature of this.
● Religion of early Vedic Aryans was primarily of ● Authority: As the Chief became more
worship of nature (natural forces such as earth, powerful the authority of popular
fire, wind, rain and thunder) and Yajanas. There assemblies started waning
was an increase in the frequency of numbers of ● Officers were appointed to help the chief
yajna. A large number of Cattles were in administration and they acquired the
sacrificed at the end of each Yajnas. function of popular assemblies as Main
● There were no temples and no idol worship. advisors
● The Rise of Buddhism and Jainism was the ● Army too emerged as the part of
direct result of these elaborate sacrifices. political structure during this. But still
there was no standing army.
● Taxes: Bali, Shukla and Bagha
● Some of important Yajana were:
o Ashwamedha: A horse sacrifice ritual
to prove their empirical sovereignty
o Vajapeya: 7 horses were tide in a
chariot and rest with other Chariots
o Rajasuya: it was a ritualistic
consecration of a king
● Purpose of these Yajnas was two fold
o They establish the authority of chief
over the people
o they reinforced territorial aspects of
politics since people from all corner
of kingdom were invited to these
Sacrifices
 Later Vedic texts also refer to the three
divisions of India:
o Aryavarta (Northern India),
o Madhyadesa (Central India) and
o Dakshinapatha (Southern India).
Vedic Literatures
 Philosophical texts dealing with topic like the soul, the absolute, the origin of
the world and the mysteries of nature.
 Upanishad indicates knowledge acquired by sitting close to the teacher.

Ancient History
Upanishads:  A collection of over 200 Upanishads are known but out of these 108 are
called ‗muktikas‘.
 Mundaka Upanishada (largest of all): contains the famous phrase
‗Satyameva Jayate‘.
 Maitrayani Upanishad: Doctrine of ‗Trimurti‘
 The first reference to transmigration of soul can be found in Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad.
 Brahmanas describe the rules for the performance of sacrificial ceremonies.
Brahmanas  Most important Brahmana is the Satpatha Brahmana, which is attached to
the Yajur Veda.
 Shatapata Brahmana talks about ploughing rituals and concept of rebirth.
 Vedanta literally signifies the ‗end of the Vedas‘, as they reveal the final aim
of the Vedas.
Vedanta  They condemn sacrifices and ceremonies and denote the last phase of the
Vedic period.
 Sankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Swami Vivekananda promoted the
Vedanta school.
 The word ‗Vedanga‘ means the ‗limbs of the Vedas‘.
 For proper understanding of the Vedas, one needs to know ―Vedangas‖
which are supplement on the Vedas. These are 6 in number:
o Siksha: Pronunciation of the words; education.
o Nirukta: Origin of the words.
Vedanga o Chhanda: Metrics used in Sanskrit verses.
o Jyotish: Understanding of astronomy.
o Vyakaran: Sanskrit grammar.
o Kalpa: Knowledge of rituals (Dharma sutras)
Aranyakas  Called forest books and they deal with mysticism, rites, rituals and
sacrifices.
Ramayana  Roughly composed between c. 400 BCE−300CE.
 Author was Valmiki; known as ‗Adi Kavya‘, the oldest epic of the world.
 Roughly composed between c. 400 BCE−400CE
 Author was Ved Vyasa; the longest epic of the world; Bhagavat Gita is
Mahabharata extracted from Bihshama Parvan of Mahabharata. Shanti Parvan is the largest
Parvan (chapter) of Mahabharata.
 ‗Puranas‘ literally means ‗old‘.
 Puranas mention four ages: Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali.
Purana  Some Puranas such as the Brahma, Matsya, Harivamsha, Vishnu,
Brahmanda, and Vayu provide useful information on historical dynasties (of
Haryankas, Shishunagas, Nandas, Mauryas, Shungas — till the Guptas).
 Discuss five topics in span of four ages- Sarga (deals with creation of world);
Pratisarga (recreation); manvantaras (period of various manus); vamsha
(genealogies of gods and rishis); vamshanucharitha (texts relating to royal
dynasties).
 Sanskrit texts dealing specifically with Dharma (code of conduct) that
conceptually signifies ‗a righteous moral law‘
 Jabala Upnishad: 4-fold ‗ashram‘ (stages) for 4 ‗purusharthas‘ (goals): it
was not applicable to women or shudras -
o Brahmacharya (Celibate Student) for knowledge i.e. Dharma.

Ancient History
Dharamshastra o Grihastha (Householder) for wealth and progeny i.e. ‗Artha‘ and
‗Kama‘.
o Vanaprastha (hermit in retreat) for spiritual wisdom.
o Sanyasa (Renunciation) for liberation i.e. Mukti/Moksha.
 Out of the four varnas, three varnas, i.e., Brahmanas, Kshatriyas, and
Vaishyas were considered ‗Dvija‘ (twice born, as they had the right to the
sacred thread ceremony considered akin to second birth).
Officials/Functionaries in Later Vedic Age

Purohita Chief Priest, also sometimes referred to as Rashtragopa
Senani Supreme Commander of army
Vrajapati Officer-in-Charge of pasture land
Jivagribha Police Officer
Madhyamasi Mediator on disputes
Bhagadugha Revenue collector
Sangrahitri Treasurer
Mahishi Chief Queen
Suta Charioteer and court minstrel/musician
Gramini Leader of a village
******

Ancient History
Chapter-5
MAHAJANAPADAS
1. The period of Mahajanpadas (600 BCE) is also known as the Period of Second urbanization.
2. This period of Indian history was deeply influenced and driven by development of philosophical
movements like ‗Jainism‘ and ‗Buddhism‘.
3. The centre of economic and political activity shifted from the North-West, Punjab, Haryana, and
Western UP, to Eastern UP and Bihar (Ganga Basin). Most of the Mahajanapadas were situated
in the north of Vindhyas, between Bihar in the east to the north-west frontier of the subcontinent
4. Urban settlement and the use of Iron tools enabled the formation of large territories called
Mahajanapadas.
5. These permanent settlements led to the foundation of the Janapadas or territorial states,
under the control of the king. The use of better iron tools and weapons enabled some territorial
states to become very large, and they came to be called Mahajanapadas (large territorial states) in
North India
6. Also, iron weapons made the warrior class more important, and slowly, people gained a strong
allegiance to the territory they belonged to rather than the Jana or tribe.
7. The richer landowners during Mahajanapada period were called as grihapatis. These landowners
employed labourers called dasas or karmakaras. The smaller landowners were known as
kassakas or krishakas.
8. The society during Mahajanapadas was stratified on the basis of varna and varna emerged as a
marker of status.
9. At that time there were 16 such Mahajanapadas (as per Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya)
10. During this period ‗Brahmi‘ script appeared for the first time.
11. Sources of information: Anguttara Nikaya (Buddhist texts) and Bhagwati Sutra (Jain texts).
Map: Mahajanpadas
12. It should be noted that the most powerful states in the 6th century were Magadha, Kosala, Vatsa,
and Avanti and two of the Mahajanapads, the Vajji and Malla were Gana-Sanghas (i.e.
Republics).
 The Gana-Sanghas (literally meaning an assembly of Gana, those who claim to be of equal
status) were an alternative polity to the kingdoms.
 Unlike kingdoms where they had a single hereditary monarch, the Gana-Sanghas had a
government by assembly and within this assembly too, they had an oligarchy.

Ancient History
 Some of the Ganas were of one clan, e.g., the Shakyas and the Mallas; while the others were
confederations of several clans, e.g., Vajjis.
13. Polity: Types of Government
● Monarchy (in Kingdoms)
o Eg. Anga, Magadha, Kashi, Kosala, Vatsa, Chedi, Surasena, Matsya, Avanti and
Gandhara
● Republics (or Gana-Sangha)
o E.g. Vajji, Malla, Kuru, Panchal, Kamboja, Shakya, Koliyas and Muriyas
Difference between Kingdoms and Gana-Sangha

Gana-Sanghas (Chiefdoms and Kingdoms
Oligarchies)
Polity: Polity:
● The chief office was not hereditary and ● Kingdoms registered a centralised
was known as Ganapati or Ganaraja. government with the king as Sovereign and
● The power was vested in an aristocratic all the power was vested in him and the ruling
council comprising heads of leading family.
Kshatriya families and the authority ● The ruling family became a dynasty with
structure of ganas had greater elements of hereditary succession.
tribal organisation. ● Political power was concentrated in the king
● The corporate aspect of government was who was advised and assisted by ministers,
a major attribute of Gana-Sanghas. advisory councils such as Parishad and
● They were based in smaller geographical Sabha.
areas and had a more representative ● However, with the emergence of the concept
government. of ‗divinity of king‘ and more emphasis on
● The discussion matters were placed priestly rituals, the centrality of the popular
before the assembly who met in a hall, assemblies was reduced.
called Santhagara.
● Gana- Puraka was responsible for
ensuring quorum required for major
deliberations.
● The council discussed and debated the
issues and they were put to vote, if a
unanimous decision could not be reached.
● Voting was done with the pieces of wood
known as salakas and salaka-gahapaka
(the collector of votes) ensured honesty
and impartiality
Location: Location:
● Most of the ganas were located in or near ● Major Kingdoms generally occupied the fertile
the Himalayan foothills in eastern India alluvial tracts of the Ganga valley
Society: Society:
● Gana-Sanghas were more ready to ● The Brahmanical political, social and religious
tolerate unorthodox views and more theory was more deeply entrenched in
open to individualistic or independent kingdoms.
opinion than kingdoms.
● This tolerance was the major reason

Ancient History
that two of the most venerated gurus
of the heterodox sects.
Ex: Mahavira (Jainism, belonged to
Vajji confederacy) and Buddha
(Buddhism, belonged to Shakya clan)
were able to propagate their
philosophy in a more unrestricted way
in Gana-Sanghas as compared to
kingdoms
The 16 Maha janapadas

Mahajanpad Capital Description
Kashi Varanasi ● Bounded by the Varuna and Asi rivers to the north and south
respectively.
● It is from the names of these two rivers that its capital city
Varanasi.
● Kashi was also involved in occasional conflicts with Anga
and Magadha.
● Kashi was eventually absorbed into the Kosalan kingdom.
Kosala Shravasti in the ● Powerful kingdom of Kosala was bounded by the Sadanira
north and (Gandak) on the east, the Gomati on the west, the Sarpika or
Kushavati in Syandika (Sai) on the south, and the Nepal hills to the north.
the south. ● The capitals of the two halves of the state are located on
each side of the Sarayu River: Shravasti in the north and
Kushavati in the south.
● Saketa and Ayodhya were two other important towns and
may once have been political centres.
● It extended its power over the Sakyas of Kapilavastu, and
also probably over the Kalamas of Kesaputta and other states
in the vicinity.
● Pasenadi (Prasenajit), king of Kosala, was the Buddha‘s
contemporary and is frequently mentioned in Pali texts.
● Kosala and Magadha were linked through matrimonial ties
during the time of Prasenajit.
● After the death of this powerful king, Kosala became
part of the Magadha.
Magadha Initially: ● The kingdom of Magadha roughly covered the modern Patna
Girivraja or and Gaya districts of Bihar.
Rajagriha, ● It was bounded by the Ganga, Son, and Champa rivers on the
near modern north, west, and east respectively and the Vindhyan spurs on
Rajgir. the south.
Later: ● The Puranas give lists of Magadhan kings, starting with
Patliputra Brihadratha.
● This dynasty came to an end in the 6th century BCE, making
way for the Haryankas.
● It became the nerve centre of political activity in north India.
● Magadha was endowed by nature with certain geographical
and strategic advantages. These made her rise to imperial

Ancient History
greatness.
Vajji (Vrijji) Vaishali ● Located in eastern India, north of the Ganga, extending up to
modern Basarhthe Nepal hills.
● Most historians consider the Vajji a confederacy of eight or
in north Bihar.
nine clans.
● The Vajji confederacy is said to have been led by Chetaka,
who was the brother of Trishala (mother of Mahavira) and
father of Chellana, wife of the Magadhan king Bimbisara.
Chedi Sotthivati- ● The Chedi kingdom was situated in the eastern part of
nagara Bundelkhand in central India.
● King: Shishupala, according to certain Puranas, he is
considered as an ally of Jarasandha of Magadha and
Duryodhana of Kuru.
Vatsa or Kaushambi, ● South of the Ganga, was noted for its fine cotton textiles.
Vamsa identified with ● Udayana was king.
Kosam village ● Three Sanskrit plays—Svapnavasavadatta of Bhasa,
on the right Priyadarshika, and Ratnavali of Harsha—featured Udayana
bank of the as the protagonist.
Yamuna
Panchala The capital of ● It had included the Rohilkhand area and part of the
Uttara (north) central doab region, and was divided into two parts by the
Panchala was Ganga.
Ahichchhatra ● The famous city of Kanyakubja or Kanauj was located in this
(Ramnagar in kingdom.
Bareilly. ● Several ancient texts mention a king named Chulani
Dakshina Brahmadatta.
(south) ● Going by the testimony of the Arthashastra, the Panchalas
Panchala: seem to have later switched to an oligarchic form of
Kampilya government
Matsyas Viratanagara ● Located in the Jaipur area in Rajasthan, extending into the
(modern Alwar and Bharatpur areas as well.
Bairat) ● Buddhist texts usually associate the Matsyas with the
Shurasenas.
Shurasenas Capital at ● Buddhist tradition describes Avantiputra, king of the
Mathura (also Shurasenas, as a disciple of the Buddha.
known as
Madura)

Ancient History
Assaka Potana/Podana ● The kingdom was situated in the northwest. However, the
(Ashmaka/As or Potali Assaka of Buddhist texts is firmly located on the Godavari
hvaka) River.
● The Godavari separated Assaka from the neighbouring
kingdom of Mulaka or Alaka with its capital at Pratishthana
(identified with modern Paithan).
● It was the sole Mahajanapada in Dakshinapatha and was
located south of the Vindhya Range.
Avanti Mahishmati ● In the Malwa region of central India, was divided into a
and Ujjayini northern and a southern part by the Vindhyas.
● The two important towns of this kingdom were Mahishmati
(identified with modern Maheshwar) and Ujjayini (near
modern Ujjain), both of which are mentioned in ancient texts
as its capital.
● These two cities were important points on trade routes that
connected north India, both with the Deccan and with ports
on the western coast.
● Pradyota was a famous king of Avanti, during whose time
this kingdom was involved in conflicts with Vatsa, Magadha,
and Kosala.
Gandhara Takshashila ● comprised modern Peshawar and Rawalpindi districts of
(Taxila) Pakistan and the Kashmir valley.
● Takshashila was a major centre of trade and learning.
● King Pukkusati or Pushkarasarin ruled over Gandhara in the
mid-6th century BCE.
● He had cordial relations with Magadha, and waged a
successful war against Avanti.
Kamboja Pooncha ● Kamboja included the area around Rajaori, including the
Hazara district of the North-West Frontier Province of
Pakistan, and probably extended up to Kafiristan.
● The Kambojas were a monarchy in the 6th century BCE, but
the Arthashastra refers to them as a sangha.
● The Kambojas, who were located in the Uttarapatha or
North-West, were well-known in antiquity for their superior
horse breed and for being outstanding horsemen.
Kuru Indraprastha ● The Mahabharata, an epic poem, describes a war between
two branches of the ruling Kuru clan.
Mallas Kushinara and ● The Malla principality was located to the west of the Vajjis
Pava and consisted of a confederacy of nine clans.
● There were two political centres—at Kusinara and Pava.
Kusinara has been identified with Kasia on the smaller
Gandak.
● The Mallas are said to have originally been a monarchy.
● Due to the fact that Buddha consumed his final meal there,
fell ill there, and entered Mahaparinirvana there, Kusinara
and Pava are significant locations in history of Buddhism.

Ancient History
Anga Champa (once ● Anga corresponded roughly to the present-day Bhagalpur
known as and Monghyr districts of Bihar.
Malini) ● The Ganga bordered it in the north.
● The Champa River (which can probably be identified with
the Chandan) was its boundary with Magadha.
● Champa was also an important commercial centre on trade
routes of the time. Merchants are described as sailing
overseas from here to Suvarnabhumi (probably in Southeast
Asia).
Chapter-6
BUDDHISM AND JAINISM
During the later vedic period [around 6th and 5th century BC], 62 different sects evolved, out of them
three excelled and developed into religions. These were Ajivikas, Buddhism and Jainism.
Causes of Origin
● Expensive & complicated Vedic rituals, Superstitious beliefs, mantras confused the people.
● The teachings of the Upanishads were highly philosophical, therefore not understood by comman
people.
● The rigid caste system prevalent in India generated tensions in society.
● The sacrificial ceremonies were also found to be too expensive.
● Larger interests of the people want a simple, short and intelligible way to salvation for all people.
● Kshatriyas had resented the domination of the priestly class.
● Desire of Vaishya to improve their social position due to the increase in trade and economic
prosperity because of 2nd urbanisation.
● Unrest in society due to supremacy brahmanas and the complicated brahmanical religion.
● Practice of killing cows/oxes became a hindrance to the new agricultural economy.
Buddhism
● Founder: Siddhartha Gautam, born in circa 563 BCE.
● Teachings: Buddha asked his followers to avoid the two extremes of indulgence in worldly
pleasure and the practice of strict abstinence and asceticism.
● He ascribed instead the ‗Madhyam Marg i.e. the middle path which was to be followed.
● Shaivite deity Maheswari (with a coiled crown and chakra) indicates cultural assimilation in the
area.
● Roots of Buddhism in past: Vedanta, Sankhya philosophy & Upanishads.
Doctrine of Buddhism
 Buddhism refrained from engaging in discussions about the soul and Brahma but focused on
earthly concerns.
 Buddhism accepts the transmigration and impermanence, but rejects the idea of God and soul
(atman).
 Emphasized the concepts of karma and ahimsa.
 Opposed the prevalent varna system.

Ancient History
 Buddhism asserted that the world is filled with sorrows, and people suffer due to desires.
 Conquering desires leads to Nirvana, bringing freedom from the cycle of birth and death.
● Birth Place: Lumbini, capital of Sakya republic

● Teachers: Alarakama and UdrakaRamputra
Gautama Buddha ● Enlightenment: At age of 33 under Pipal tree at Uruvella (Bodhgaya)
(563 BC-483 BC) on banks of river Niranjana (Falgu).
● First Sermon: Sarnath (Deer park) on Dharma Chakra Parivarthana to
5 disciples including Mahakasyapa (first disciple)
● Mahaparinirvana: Death at Kushinagar at age of 80.
● Ceylonese Chronicles: MAHAVAMSA by Mahanama, DIPAVAMSA
and ATTAKATHA by Wattagamani.
● Tibetan Chronicles- DIVYAVANDANA-KALACHAKRA
● TRIPITAKA/ Three baskets of Buddhist scripture:
o SUTTA PITAKA [sutra related to Buddha and companion]
Literary Sources o VINAYA PITAKA [monastic rules] and
o ABHIDHAMPITAKA [Doctrine and philosophy of Buddhism]
● JATAKA FOLKLORE [stories related to birth of Buddha]/ In Chinese
they are called SADOK.
● MILINDAPANHA [Questions of Milinda that is Greek king Meander
and answers of Buddhist monk Nagasena]
3 Jewels Of  Buddha: Founder/Teacher
Buddhism  Dhamma: Teachings
(Triratna) ● Sangha: Order of Buddhist monks/nuns
GREAT EVENTS OF BUDDHA‘S LIFE SYMBOLS

Avakranti (conception or descent) White Elephant
Jati (birth) Lotus and Bull
Mahabhinishkramana (Great Renunciation) Horse
Nirvana/ Sambodhi (enlightenment) Bodhi tree
Dharmachakra Parivarthana (first Sermon) Wheel
Mahaparinirvana (Death) Stupa
 No killing Respect for life.

5 TEACHINGS OF  Abstention from theft.
BUDDHA  Abstention from sexual misconduct.
[PANCHSHILA]  Abstention from falsehood.
 Abstention from intoxication.
 World is full of sorrow and misery (Sabbam Dukkam)
4 NOBLE TRUTHS:
 Desire is a root cause of sorrow (Pratityasamutpada)
‗ARYA SATYAS‘
 Desire can be conquered (Dukkha Nirodha)
 Desire can be conquered by following Astangika marga.
EIGHT-FOLD ● The path consists of various interconnected activities related to
PATHS knowledge, conduct, and meditative practices.
(ASTANGIKA ● Right view + Right intention + Right speech + Right action + Right

Ancient History
MARGA) livelihood + Right mindfulness + Right effort + Right concentration
● The Vinaya Pitaka (Discipline Discourses) consists of rules of
conduct and discipline applicable to the monastic life of the monks
and nuns.
● The Sutta Pitaka (Basket of Discourses) consists of the main
teaching or Dhamma of Buddha. It is divided into five Nikayas or
collections:
THREE PITAKAS o Digha Nikaya
(‗The Three o Majjhima Nikaya
Baskets/Collections‘) o Samyutta Nikaya
o Anguttara Nikaya
o Khuddaka Nikaya
● The Abhidamma Pitaka (Basket of Higher Teachings) is a
philosophical analysis and systematization of the teaching and the
scholarly activity of the monks.
● Other important Buddhist texts include Divyavadana, Dipavamsa,
Mahavamsa, Milind Panha etc.
Buddhist Sangha & Its features

● The oldest prayer place in history where slaves, Insolvents, and diseased were not allowed.
● There were 64 types of crimes called Pathimokshas, which were prohibited
● Women were also allowed to join.
● Sariputta, Moggallanna, Ananda, Kassapa and Upali
● Kings like Prasenjit of Kosala and Bimbisara and Ajatasatru of Magadha accepted his
doctrines and became his disciples
● He visited places like Benares, Rajgriha, Sravasti, Vaishali, Nalanda
and Pataligrama
Important Buddhist Scholars :

Scholars Their work
Moggaliputta Tissa Launched ASHOKA‘S dhamma campaign
Wrote Buddhacharita and Sanskrit drama Sariputra Prakarana [Sariputra
Asvaghosha
the disciple of Buddha]
Founded madhyamik school of Mahayana Buddhism, gave theory of
Nagarjuna Sunyavada' Emptiness‘ and important work include
‗Mulamadhyamakakarika‘
Most important commentator of Theravada's important work is
Buddhaghosa
Visuddimagga.
Dharmakirti Teacher at Nalanda, called as ‗Kant of India‘.
The last mighty intellectual of the fifth century, also well known as the
Dinnaga
founder of the Buddhist logic.
Two brothers who flourished in Punjab region in fourth century CE. Asanga
Asanga and was most important teacher of Yogachara or Vijnanavada school founded by
Vasubandhu his guru, Maitreyanatha. Vasubandhu‘s greatest work, ―Abhidharmakosa‖, is
still considered important encyclopaedia of Buddhism.

Ancient History
Bodhisattvas:
● In Mahayana, Buddhism Bodhisattva is a person who has attained enlightenment but has
delayed his nirvana(i.e. cycle of birth and rebirth) to help others attain enlightenment.
● It is similar to the concept of incarnations in Hindu Mythology.
● Bodhisattvas are common figures in Buddhist literature and art.
Bodhisattva Traits
● Future Buddha & Earliest bodhisattva
Maitreya ● Also known as Ajitaboddhisatva
● Holds a waterphial in his left hand
● Popular laughing Buddha is claimed to be an incarnation of maitreya.
● Universal Bodhisattva
Samantabhadra ● associated with Meditation
● Manifestation is Action
● Like Indra holds thunderbolt [depict power]
Vajrapani ● Depicted as one of the 3 protective deities around Buddha.
● Other 2 – Manjusri and Avalokiteshvara
Avalokitesvara ● Kind-hearted.
● Manifests Buddha‘s compassion.
Kshitigarbha ● Guardian of purgatories and children
● Bodhisattva of hell-beings or earth immortal beings
Amitabha  Buddha of Heaven
Sadaparibhuta  Manifests Never disparaging spirit.
Manjushri ● Stimulator of understanding and he holds book describing 10 paramitas
● Depict male bodhisattva wielding flaming sword in his left hand
Akasagarbha ● He is boundless as space
● Manifestation of wisdom
Buddhist Council
PATRON OUTCOME
COUNCIL VENUE CHAIRMAN
KING
● It was held soon after the
Mahaparinirvan of the Buddha.
● The council was held with the
purpose of preserving Buddha‘s
Sattapani
First Ajatasatru teachings (Sutta) and rules for
cave at Mahakasyapa
483 BC (Harayanka) disciples. During this council,
Rajgriha.
the teachings of Buddha were
divided into three Pitakas.
● Compilation of Suttapitakaand
Vinaya Pitaka by Upali
Second 383 3. Divide in Sthavira Sins &
Kalashoka
BC Vaishali Sabakami Mahasanghikas
(Shishunga)

Ancient History
4. Compilation of Abhidamapittaka
Third Mogaliputta Ashoka
Pataliputra 5. Decision to send missionary to
250 BC Tissa (Maurya)
various parts of the world
6. Compilation of Mahavibhasa
sutra.
7. Division of Buddhism into
Fourth Vasumitra & Kanishka
Kashmir Hinayana and Mahayana
98AD Ashvaghosa (Kushana)
8. Abhidhamma texts were
translated from Prakrit to
Sanskrit.
Did You Know?

Dhanyakataka flourished as a prominent Buddhist centre under the Mahasanghikas. It is a small
town in Andhra Pradesh in southeastern India near present day Amaravati where Shakyamuni
Buddha taught the Heart Essence form of the Kalachakra Dharma to the Shambala kings.
Major School of Buddhism
● The term Mahayana is a Sanskrit word which literally means ―Great
Vehicle‖.
● Sought salvation through grace & help of Buddha & Bodhisattvas.
● It originated in northern India and Kashmir and then spread east into Central
Asia, East Asia and some areas of Southeast Asia.
● Believed that Buddha will be born again.
Mahayana
● Worship Buddha in idol form.
Buddhism
● Language- Sanskrit.
● Sub-schools Chittmatra & Madhyamaka
● ZEN is a subschool of Mahayana which is prevalent in china, Korea and
related to Taoism.
● Buddhist schools embedded in China, Korea, Tibet and Japan belong to the
Mahayana tradition.
● Considered Lesser vehicle. Also known as Abandoned Vehicle or Defective
vehicle. It believes in the original teaching of Buddha or Doctrine of elders.
● Followed original teachings of Buddha.
● Sought individual salvation through self-discipline & meditation.
● Buddha will never be reborn.
Hinayana ● Did not believe in Idol worship.
Buddhism: ● Language- Pali language.
● Buddha was an intellectual, not a god.
● Encompasses 18 sub schools.
● Most important – Sarvastivada, Theravadin & Sautantrika.
● Thotlakonda Buddhist Site = on Hill in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh +
devoted to Hinayana Buddhism(imp CA)

Ancient History
● Theravada Buddhism is older and the more conservative of the two main
divisions of Buddhism and is often referred to as the ‗traditions of the elder‘
● Theravada is a Hinayana sect.
● Theravada Buddhists strive to become Arhats and gain freedom from the
cycle of samsara.
Theravada ● Sarvastivadin consider everything empirical to be impermanent, they
And maintain that the dharma factors are eternally existing realities.
Sarvastivada ● The dharmas are thought to function momentarily, producing the empirical
phenomena of the world, which is illusory, but to exist outside the empirical
world.
● Theravada Buddhism developed in Sri Lanka and subsequently spread to the
rest of Southeast Asia. It is the dominant form of religion in Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
● Vajrayana means ―The Vehicle of the Thunderbolt‖, also known as tantric
Buddhism.
● This Buddhist school developed in India around 900 CE.
● Vajrayana school developed as an offshoot of Mahayana school in which
Tara is considered as wife of Buddha.
● Believed in acquiring magical power for liberation.
● It believed that a person could achieve nirvana in a single lifetime by
VAJRAYANA following tantric practices, symbolism and rites.
● Central to Vajrayana Buddhism is the Guru-Disciple relationship. The guru,
or spiritual teacher, plays a critical role in guiding disciples on their spiritual
journey.
● Developed in Tibet and believes in the worship of female deities – Taras.
● It became popular in Eastern India, particularly Bengal and Bihar.
● Monks like Atisha Dipankara and Padmasambhava helped spread this Sect
in Tibet (mainly) and Southeast Asia.
● It is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the
Tang dynasty as the Chan school of Chinese Buddhism in and later
Zen: developed into various schools.
● It spread to Japan in 7th century C.E.
● Meditation is the most distinctive feature of this Buddhist tradition.
UNESCO‘S Heritage Sites Related To Buddhism

 Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavira at Nalanda, Bihar
 Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi, MP
 Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya, Bihar
 Ajanta Caves Aurangabad, Maharashtra
Important Terms for Prelims

Term Meaning
Arhats Liberated beings
Nirvana State of Supreme Bliss
Sheel Refers to when a layperson leaves home to live the life of a Buddhist renunciate

Ancient History
among a community of bhikkhus
Śramana One who labors, toils, or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious
purpose) or ―seeker, one who performs acts of austerity, ascetic.
Refers to the rite and ritual of ascetic vetting (ordination) by which a candidate,
Upasampadā if deemed acceptable, enters the community as Upasampadā (ordained) and
authorised to undertake ascetic life.
Vassa Three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners. Taking place
during the wet season, Vassa lasts for three lunar months, usually from July to
October.
Upostha It is a Buddhist day of observance, The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is
for ―the cleansing of the defiled mind,‖ resulting in inner calm and joy.
Pavarana Assembly at the end of Vassa
Posadha Restoration of vows
Upasakas Male followers who have taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha,
but who have not taken monastic vows.
Upasikas Female followers who have taken refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha,
but who have not taken monastic vows.
Viharas Monasteries
Chaityas Prayer halls of monks
Mahabhini- Great going forth – renunciation
shkrama
Kathina Alms-giving ceremony of the Buddhist year that occurs at the end of the Vassa,
or monsoon.
Triratnas  Buddhist training falls into three categories. In Sanskrit, they are
(Three-fold called sila (discipline or ethical living, samadhi (concentration),
training) and prajna (insight or wisdom). Together, they summarize the Buddha‘s
fourth noble truth, the full path to enlightenment.
 Sila: Variously translated as discipline, ethics, virtue, or
morality, sila encompasses three aspects of the eightfold path: right speech,
right action, and right livelihood. Living ethically and purely is both the
ground of the Buddhist path and its result.
 Samadhi: Translated as concentration, calm abiding, or mindfulness,
samadhi is the foundation of Buddhist meditation
 Prajna: Translated as wisdom, insight, and discriminating mind, prajna is
Buddhism‘s unique, defining principle and the key to enlightenment.
Buddhist Universities And Their Founders

University Place Founder
Nalanda Bihar Kumargupta I (Gupta Ruler)
Odantpuri Bihar Gopala (Pala Ruler)
Vikramshila Bihar Dharampala (Pala Ruler)
Somapuri North Bengal Dharampala (Pala Ruler)
Jagadal Bengal Rampala (Pala Ruler)
Vallabhi Gujarat Bhattarka (Maitrak Ruler)
(IMPORTANT CA - Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) declared the ancient Buddhist
site Chaukhandi Stupa as a protected monument of national importance and Ancient Buddhist

Ancient History
Monastery = 900 years old Ancient Buddhist monastery was recently unearthed by Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) in Sitagarha Hills, Jharkhand.)
Causes of Decline of Buddhism

● Decline of Buddhist Sanghas due to violation of Buddhist principles & discipline.
● The Buddhists began to adopt Sanskrit, the language of the elite. So the masses moved away.
● The attack of Huns in the 5th & 6th centuries and Turkish invaders in the 12th century destroyed
the monasteries.
● Buddhism was mainly an urban religion with rural India always Hindu. When Islam came to
India, it impacted the urban regions & thus Buddhism.
● Revival of Brahmanism and Division among Buddhists
● Rajput rulers were warlike and could not follow the policy of Ahimsa.
● Loss of Royal Patronage.
Contribution of Buddhism
1. Concept of ahimsa (non-violence) was its chief contribution.
2. Buddhist literature and Jataka stories are an important source of entire Indian
history(including that of hinduism).
3. In the field of art and architecture Buddhism takes the credit for:
 first human statues to be worshipped;
 stone-pillars depicting the life of the Buddha at Gaya, Sanchi and Bharhut;
 Gandhara art and the beautiful images of the Buddha;
 cave architecture in the Barabar hills at Gaya and in western India around Nasik;
 art pieces and scuptures of Amaravati and NagarjunaKonda; and numerous other works and
sites.
4. Buddhist architecture developed essentially in three forms, viz.
 Stupa (a domical structure in which the relics of the Buddha or some prominent Buddhist
monk are preserved; hence some kind of a tomb),
 Chaitya (a temple or a shrine with a prayer hall), and
 Vihara (a monastery or residence of monks).
5. Promotion of education through residential universities like those at Taxila, Nagatjuna Konda,
Nalanda, and Vikramasila.
6. Promotion of Pali and many local languages, such as Kannada, Gujarati, etc.
7. Improvement in the condition of women and other downtrodden sections.
8. Replacement of dogmatism and faith by reason and logic.
9. Promotion of trade and commerce.
10. Spread of Indian culture to other parts of Asia
Jainism
● Jainism came into prominence in 6th century B.C., when Lord Mahavira propagated religion.
● Rig Veda mention names of Rishabha and Arishtenami Jain Tirthankara.
● The doctrine of Jaina is older than the Buddhist doctrine.
● The word ‗Jain‘ is derived from Jina or Jaina which means the ‗Conqueror‘.
● Jainism does not have a single founder. It is commonly mistaken that Mahavir was the founder
of Jainism. However, he was last Tirthankara.
● There were 24 Tirthankaras (teachers); first Tirthankara was Rishabhanath or Rishabhadev.

Ancient History
● The 23rd Tirthankara was Parshvanatha who was born in Varanasi.
● The last – 24th Tirthkara was Vardhaman Mahavira.
● The symbol hand with a wheel on the palm symbolizes Ahimsa in Jainism. There is a word
―ahimsa‖ written in the middle of it.
 Jain philosophy holds that the world is created and maintained by Universal laws. Jainism does
not support belief in the creator deity. According to Jain doctrine, the universe and its
constituents (soul, matter, space, time and motion) have always existed. All the constituents and
actions have always existed.
Core beliefs of Jainism
 "Souls are not only the property of animal and plant life, but also of rocks, running water and
many other natural objects not looked on as living by other religious sects."
 The surest way of annihilating Karma is to practice penance. Karma is the bane of the soul and
must be ended. According to Jain doctrines Penance washes away all the blemishes and purges
the soul of all karmic matter. Also according to Jainism Karma is the bane of the soul.
● Birth: Kundagrama near Vaishali. Belongs to Gnatrika Clan. Buddha

and Mahavira were contemporaries
● Teachers – Alarakama and Udraka Ramputra.
Vardhaman ● He attained Kaivalya-highest spiritual knowledge, at the age of 42
Mahavira under Sal tree. Thus, he is called Mahavir, Jina Jitendriya (one who
(539-467 Bc) conquered his senses), Nirgrantha (free from all bonds).
● First sermon – At Pava(Nalanda district, Bihar)
● Died at Pava near Rajagriha at the age of 72.
● A symbol was associated with every Tirthankara and Mahavira‘s
symbol was a lion.
● Rejected authority of the Vedas & Vedic rituals.
● Did not belive in the existance of God.
Teachings ● Believed in Karma & Transmission of Soul.
of Mahavira ● Emphasised the equality but did not condemn the Varna system.
● Advocated a life of austerity and non-violence.
● Belief in God: Jainism recognised the existence of god but placed them
lower than Jina (Mahavira).
● It did not condemn the Varna system but attempted to mitigate the
evils of the Varna order and the ritualistic Vedic religion.
Tenets of ● According to Mahavira, a person is born in higher or lower Varna as
Jainism the consequence of the sins or the virtues in the previous birth. Thus,
Jainism believes in the ―transmigration of the soul‖ and the ―theory of
Karma.‖
● Imp CA - Ayambil Fast = generally related to Jainism faith
● Paryushan and Das Lakshanpractices, Samvatsari
 Emphasises that the ultimate truth and reality is complex, and has
multiple-aspects i.e. ―theory of plurality‖.
Anekantavada
 It refers to the simultaneous acceptance of multiple, diverse, even
contradictory viewpoints.
 All judgments are conditional, holding good only in certain
Syadvada conditions, circumstances, or senses.
 Seven modes of prediction (Saptabhangi Nayavada)

Ancient History

Syadavada literally means the method of examining different
probabilities.
Parshvanatha‘s teachings (Chaturthi):
 AHIMSA: Non-injury to a living being
 SATYA: Do not speak a lie
Five Doctrines  ASTEYA: Do not steal
of Jainism  APARIGRAHA: Do not acquire property
Mahavira added One more teaching:
 BRAHMACHARYA: Observe continence
 It mainly aims at attainment of liberation, for which no ritual is
required.
 It can be attained through three principles called Three Jewels or
Three Jewels/ Triratna i.e.
Triratna o Right Faith (Samyak Darshan)
o Right Knowledge (Samyak Jnana)
o Right Action (Samyak Charitra)
Two Elements of  Jiva- meaning conscious
The World  Atma- meaning unconscious
Three Sources of  Pratayaksha: Direct Knowledge
Knowledge  Anuman: Contemplation
 Saying of Tirthankara
 Mati Jnana – perception through activity of sense organs
Five Types of  Shruta Jnana – knowledge revealed by scriptures
Knowledge  Avadhi Jnana – clairvoyant perception
 Manahparyaya Jnana – telepathic knowledge
 Keval Jnana – temporal knowledge
 Anuvrata means the ‗lesser vows‘ which Jain lay-people take, as a kind
of parallel to the great vows of the ascetics. They are applied to the
practice of daily life.
Anuvrata  The five great vows apply only to ascetics in Jainism, and in their
place are five minor vows for householders.
 The five "minor vows" in Jainism are modeled after the great vows, but
differ in degree and they are less demanding or restrictive than the
same "great vows" for ascetics.
 Through Sangha(it consists of women & men).
 Under the patronage of Chandragupta Maurya, Kharavela of
Kalinga and the royal dynasties of south India such as the Ganges, the
Kadambas, the Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas.
 When Bhadrabahu (Guru of Chandragupta Maurya) left for South
Spread of Jainism
India, Sthulabahu remained in the North with his followers.
 After Bhadrabahu returned with his follower, Jainism spilt into two
sects:
 SVETAMBARAS: White-clad; Northerners
 DIGAMBARAS: Sky-clad (naked); Southerners.
Sects of Jainism
Jain order has been divided into two major sects:

Ancient History
 Digambara
 Svetambara.
The division occurred mainly due to famine in Magadha which compelled a group led
by Bhadrabahu to move South India.
● Monks of this sect believe in complete nudity. Male monks do not wear
clothes while female monks wear unstitched plain white sarees.
● Follow all five vows (Satya, Ahimsa, Asteya, Aparigraha and
Brahmacharya).
Digambara ● Believe women cannot achieve liberation.
● Bhadrabahu was an exponent of this sect.
● Major Sub-Sects: Mula Sangh, Bisapantha, Terapanth, Taranpantha or
Samaiyapantha.
● Minor Subsets: Gumanapantha, Totapantha.
● Monks wear white clothes.
Shvetambara ● Follow only 4 vows (except brahmacharya).
● Believe women can achieve liberation.
● Sthulabhadra was an exponent of this sect.
● Major Sub-Sects: Murtipujaka, Sthanakvasi, Terapanthi
 Uchchedvad: Its promoter was Ajita Kesh Kambali. According to him,
everything is destroyed after death.
 Akriyavad: According to this view promoted by Puran Kasayap, there is
no fruit of good and bad deeds of human beings.
 Nityavad: Its promoter was Pakudha Kachaiyan. He told only seven
elements, such as earth, water, fire, air, happiness, sorrow and soul (these
elements do not interact with one another).
Other Sects  Sandehvad: Its promoter was Sanjay Beluttaputra. He neither accepted
any opinion nor denied any opinion.
● Sthanakavasi: It is a sect of Svetambara Jainism founded by a merchant
named Lavaji in 1653 AD. It believes that idol worship is not essential in
the path of soul purification and attainment of Nirvana/Moksha.
Svetambarins who are not Sthanakavasins are mostly part of the
Murtipujaka sect.

Ancient History
Ajivikas (Followers of the way of life)

 It was a school of thought that developed in India during the same time as Jainism and
Buddhism.
 It was founded by Goshala Maskariputra (He is considered to be friends with Mahavira).
 Ajivikas developed a theory of elements and atoms similar to the Vaisheshika school of Vedic's.
Everything was composed of minuscule atoms, according to Ajivikas, and qualities of things
are derived from aggregates of atoms, but the aggregation and nature of these atoms was
predetermined by cosmic forces.
 No human effort could have any effect against Niyati, and therefore karma is a fallacy.
 It reached the height of its popularity during the rule of the Mauryan Emperor Bindusra around
4th Century BC.
 This School of thought was followed for nearly 2000 years through the 14th century CE in the
southern states of Karnataka and Tamilnadu.
Jain Councils
COUNCIL VENUE CHAIRPERSON OUTPUT
First 300 BC Pataliputra Sthulabahu, Patron – Compilation of 12 Angas
Chandragupta Maurya
Second 512 AD Vallabhi Devardhigani Final compilation of 12 Angas &12
upanga
Important terms related to Jainism

● ASRAV: Inflow of karmas to the soul that occurs at every second in life.
● SAMVARA: Stoppage of the influx of the material karmas into the soul consciousness.
● NIRJARA: Shedding or removal of accumulated karmas from the atma (soul), essential for
breaking free from samsara, the cycle of birth-death and rebirth, by achieving moksha,
liberation. It is one of the seven fundamental principles, or Tattva in Jain philosophy.
● SALLEKHANA: It is the religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death by gradually
reducing the intake of food and liquids. Also Called Santhara.
● KAIVALYA: also known as Kevala Jnana, means omniscience in Jainism and is roughly
translated as complete understanding or supreme wisdom.
● Pratikraman: It is a process during which Jains repent for their sins during their daily life, and
remind themselves not to repeat them.
● Shramana: Seeker, one who performs acts of austerity and ascetic.
Royal patrons of Jainism

● North India: Bimbisara, Ajatashatru, Chandragupta Maurya, Bindusara, Harshavardhana,
Bindusara, Kharavela, Udayan, Pradyota.
● South India: Kadamba dynasty, Ganga dynasty, Amoghavarsha (Rashtrakuta dynasty),
Kumarapala (Chalukya dynasty).
Important Jain ● The canonical Jain literature is claimed to have started from ADINATH
Literature and ● Teachings of tirthankara before Mahavira was known as PURVA.
its Scholars ● Jain literature is called as JAIN AGAMAS (canonical text based on
Mahavira‘s teaching)

Ancient History
Jain literature is mainly written in Prakrit language.
These agamas are further divided into – Angas, Mulasutra, Upangas,
Prakirnaka sutra, Chedasutra & Ulikasutras.
Kalpasutra: Written by Bhadrabahu. It contains biographies of Jain
tirthankaras.
Agam / Canonical Literature: Agam literature consists of many texts,
which are the sacred books of the Jain religion + They are written in the
Ardha-magadhi, a form of Prakrit language.
Non Agam Literature: Non-agam literature consists of commentary and
explanation of Agam literature, and independent works, compiled by
ascetics and scholars
o They are written in many languages such as Prakrit, Sanskrit,
Apabhramsa, Old Marathi, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannad, Tamil,
German, and English.
Manastambha : It is found in the front side of the temple, having religious
importance with an ornamental pillar structure carrying the image of
Tirthankar on top and on all four cardinal directions.
Basadis: Jain monastic establishment or temples in Karnataka.
Eight Auspicious Symbols Under Jainism

Swastika It signifies peace and well-being of the humans.
Nandyavartya It is a large swastika with nine end points
Bhadrasana A throne which is said to be sanctified by the Jaina's feet.
Shrivasta A mark which manifested on the Jain's chest and signified his pure soul.
Darpana The mirror which reflects the inner self
Minayugala A couple of fish which signifies the conquest over sexual urges
Vardhamanaka A shallow dish used as lamp which shows the increase in the wealth, due
and merit.
Kalasha A pot filled with pure water signifying water.
Contribution of Jainism
● Preached Non-violence toward all living beings.
● Growth of Prakrit & Kannada language. Vardhaman Mahavir preached in ‗Ardha-Magadhi‘
language, the language of the common man.
● Introduced new philosophy – syadvada.
● Art & architecture – Statue of Gommateshwara (Shravanbelagola), temples of Khajuraho and
Mt. Abu. Tiger cave of Udayagiri and Indira Sabha cave of Ellora.
● Jainism contributed to the growth of the trading community (both Jainism and Buddhism
supported lending activities).
● Jainism went a long way in creating a healthy society. Mahavir preached against the caste
system. With the end of caste system in society the grip of the higher caste over the lower caste
ended.
● Jainism became popular among the traders and merchants. It fostered brotherhood among them
which gave rise to guild system in future.
● Jainism helped a lot in the growth of charitable institutions. Its influence on the kings and other
people was abiding.
Similarities between Jainism & Buddhism Difference between Jainism & Buddhism

Ancient History
 Both the Buddhist and the Jaina systems  Jainism recognised the existence of
were nontheistic. Buddha was agnostic god while Buddhism did not.
(one who ignores god), while Mahavira  Jainism does not condemn the Varna
denied god as the creator of the Universe system while Buddhism does.
and considered gods, if any, as subordinate  Jainism gave prominence to lay followers,
to Jaina teachers. while Buddhism relied mainly on the
 Both were protest movements against Sangha and its monks
some practices of Vedic religion or  Jainism believed in the transmigration of
Brahmanism, though not against its essence. soul i.e. reincarnation while Buddhism does
 Both were opposed to the caste system but not.
could not eliminate it, nor did they aim to  Jainism was confined to India, but
do so. survived in it. Buddhism spread rapidly to
 Both accepted the doctrines of karma and foreign lands, but died in India
rebirth.  Jainism preserved the metaphysical
 Both renounced worldly life and sought discussions of the Brahmins, but Buddhism
salvation. avoided them.
 The founders of both belonged to the  Buddhism prescribes a middle path while
Kshatriya varna. Jainism advocates its followers to live the
 Indifference to the authority of Vedas. life of complete austerity.
 Both rejected the idea of grand rituals along
with the authority of Vedas and Priests.
They both believe in the concept of
reincarnation.
 Denial of the efficacy of rituals.
******
Chapter-7
PRE MAURYAN EMPIRE
Magadha Empire
● Several of these Mahajanapadas fought among themselves and ultimately were conquered by the
Magadha to emerge as the most powerful estate and the centre of vast empire
● Magadha was endowed by nature with certain geographical and strategic advantages- strategic
position between the upper and lower part of the Gangetic valley, fertile soil, iron ores, copper
and iron deposits
● Magadha's rise to political supremacy began with Bimbisara, who belonged to the Haryanka
dynasty, and ruled for 52 years, from 544 to 492 BCE.
● ―Magadha‖ word first time mentioned in Atharvaveda.
● Jarasandha, who was a descendant of Brihadratha (eldest of the five sons of Vasu,
the Kuru king of Chedi) founded the empire in Magadha
● Rajagriha was the capital of Magadha.

Ancient History
● First King of Magadha was Brihadratha and he belonged to the Brihadratha dynasty.
● During the reign of Bimbisara and Ajatasatru, the prosperity of Magadha reached its zenith.
Magadha Empire
Harayanka Sisunaga Nanda

Dynasty Dynasty Dynasty
Bimbisara Ajatsatru Udayin Sisunaga Kalasoka Mahapadma Dhana
● The earliest important ruler of the Magadha was the king

Bimbisar of these Haryanka dynasty.
● He was contemporary of Buddha and Mahavira.
 First king to have a standing army.
● Bimbisar had a 3 pronged policy to expand the empire:
o Matrimonial alliance
o Friendship with strong rulers
o Conquering weak neighbours
Haryanka Dynasty
● He married the sister of Prasenjit the king of Kosala.
(544BC-492BC)
● His other matrimonial alliance was with the Lichchavi of
Vaishali & Madra of middle Punjab.
● Prasenjit, aggrieved by the act of Ajatshatru asked him to
return the Kashi. It resulted in a fierce battle between them with
Prasenajit lost
● He also fought with his maternal grandfather Chetak, the chief of
Vaishali and conquered Vaishali after 16 long years.
● Udayin succeeded Ajatshatru and built up the fort on the
confluence of river Ganga and river Sone at the Patliputra.
● Udayin was succeeded by the dynasty of Shishu Naga
● Shishunaga defeated Avanti and made it a part of Magadh
empire.
Shishunga Dynasty ● Temporarily shifted capital to Vaishali.
(412BC-344BC) ● He was succeeded by his son Kalashok (Also known as
Kakarvarna) (under whose patronage 2nd Buddhist council was
held at Vaishali).
● Kalashoka shifted capital back to Patliputra.
Nanda Dynasty ● The power of the Magadh empire then changed hands to the
(First non-Kshatriya Nanda dynasty and Mahapadma Nanda was the most important
dynasty) ruler.
(344BC-323BC) ● Mahapadma Nanda is called the ―first historical emperor of

Ancient History
India.‖ Puranas refer to him as ―destroyer of all Kshatriyas‖
i.e. Sarvaksatrantaka and Ekarat.
● The Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela of Kalinga refers
to the conquest of Kalinga by the Nandas.
● The enormous wealth of the Nandas is also referred to in the
Tamil Sangam work Ahananuru by the poet Mamulanar.
● Dhana Nanda was the last Nanda king who is described as an
arrogant and oppressive ruler which imposed heavy taxes on a
common man
● Chandragupta took advantage of his public resentment and
uprooted and ruler and set up the Mauryan Empire.
● It was this time that Alexander invaded north-western India.
Persian and Greek Invasions

● Cyrus the Great was the greatest conqueror of the Achaemenid Empire
Cyrus ● He was first conqueror who led an expedition and entered into India
(558-530 BCE) ● He captured the Gandhara region. All Indian tribes to the west of the
Indus river submitted to him and paid tribute.
● Grandson of Cyrus, conquered the Indus Valley in 518 BCE and annexed
Darius I the Punjab and Sindh.
(522-486 BCE) ● This region became the 20th Satrapy of his empire. It was the most fertile
and populous province of the empire.
● He also sent a naval expedition under Skylas to explore the Indus.
● He utilised his Indian province to strengthen his position
● He deployed Indian infantry and cavalry in Greece to fight but faced a
Xerxes defeat in Greece.
(465-456 BCE) ● After this failure, the Achaemenians could not follow a forward policy in
India. However, the Indian province was still under their control
● Darius III enlisted Indian soldiers to fight against Alexander in 330 BCE
Iranian & Macedonian Invasion

● In North West India small states such as Kamboj, Gandhara and Madara fought one another.
● There was no powerful Kingdom like Magadh.
● The area was fertile and rich in natural resources so it attracted the attention of its neighbours
● The Achaemenid ruler Darius of Iran took advantage of the political disunity in North West
India and penetrated in 516 BC.
● He annexed parts of Punjab and Sindh.

Ancient History
Alexander‘s Invasion
● Xerxes, successor of Darius employed Indians in a long war against the Greeks And India
continue to be the part of Iranian empire till its invasion by Alexander
● Macedonian king Alexander the Great destroyed the Iranian empire
● Herodotus the father of history and other Greek historians have painted India as a fabulous
land which attracted alexanders attention towards the India
● The Taxila ruler Ambhi readily submitted but when Alexander reached the Jhelum, he
encountered a strongest resistance from the Porus, this was called battle of Hydaspes
● Alexander defeated Porus but was impressed by his bravery and therefore least told his
Kingdom to him and made him his ally.
● Alexander remained in India for 19 months between 326 to 325 BC and return to the Greece
placing his governors on his conquest
● However these Greek positions in India were Lost to the Mauryan rulers.
Effects of Alexander‘s invasion

● Alexander‘s invasion encouraged political unification of north India under the Mauryas.
● The system of small independent states came to an end.
● Alexander‘s invasion had also paved the way for direct contact between India and Greece (the
two great ancient civilisations).
● Greek influences on the Gandhara School of Art and Architecture.
● The routes opened by him and his naval explorations increased the existing facilities for trade
between India and West Asia.
● New land & sea routes were discovered by Alexander.
Effects of Persian invasions on India

 The Persian invasion provided impetus to the growth of Indo-Iranian commerce.

Ancient History
 The use of Kharosthi script, a form of Iranian writing became popular in northwest India and
some of the Ashoka‘s edicts were written in that script. Kharosthi script was used by Ashoka in
his inscriptions in the Gandhara region.
 The administrative structure of the Mauryan empire was influenced in some measure by the ages
that of the Achaemenid rulers of Persia. It may be mentioned here that the Persian title ofsatrapa
(governor) continued to be used by the Indian provincial governors as kshtrapa for quite a long
time.
 The Persian influence found in Chandragupta Maurya‘s court was in the form of the ceremonial
hair bath taken by the emperor on his birthday. It was in typical Persian style.
******

Ancient History
Chapter-8
MAURYAN EMPIRE
● It not only marks the establishment of the first sub- continental empire, but also the
development of innovative and comparatively stable governance strategies.
● Except Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and some parts of north-eastern India, the Mauryas ruled over the
whole of the sub-continent.
Foundation of Mauryan empire

● Founded by Chandragupta Maurya.
● According to brahmanical traditions he was born of Sudra women in the court of Nandas. But
according to buddhist tradition he was a Kshatriya.
● He belonged to the ruling clan of the small Republic Peeplihava in the regions of Gorakhpur.
● He took the help of Chanakya who helped him as his teacher and mentor in his campaign
against the Nandas. He later became the Prime Minister of Chandragupta Maurya.
● The plot of Chanakya and how he helped Chandragupta conquer his enemies are described
in detail in the Mudrarakshasa, a play written by Vishakhadatta.
Sources For Mauryan Empire

The Mauryan dynasty is a turning point in the history of early India because of the first time a number of
sources are available which through better light on the history of this.
1. Literary Sources
SOURCES INFORMATION
● Written by Kautilya, a contemporary of Chandragupta Maurya,
most important literary source for the history of the Maurya.
● Kautilya was also called ―Indian Machiavelli‖.
The Arthashastra
● It is the most important literary source for the Mauryas as it
provides clear and methodological analysis of economic and
political conditions of the Mauryas.

Ancient History
● It deals with kingship, government, state, war and peace and
diplomacy.
● The manuscript of Arthashastra was first discovered by R.
Shamashastri in 1904.
Jataka stories of the ● Tell us about the prevalent social and economic order.
Buddha‘s previous
lives
● Contains information about Bindusara, about Ashoka‘s
Ashokavadana and
expeditions to Taxila to suppress a rebellion and about his
Divyavadana
conversion to Buddhism.
Trinity of Buddhist ● Mahavamsa, Milindapanho, and Mahabhashya
texts
Dipavamsa and ● Describe in detail the role played by Ashoka in spreading
Mahavamsa Buddhism in Sri Lanka
(Sri Lankan
chronicles)
Mahavamsatika or ● Contains information about the origin of the Mauryas.
Vamsatthapakasini
(commentary on
Mahavamsa)
Sthaviravali Charita ● Provides very interesting information on Chandragupta Maurya,
or Parisisthaparvan such as his early life, conquest of Magadha, famine in Magadha
of Hemachandra and conversion to Jainism.
(a biography of
Chanakya)
● Gives an account of the prevailing socioeconomic conditions
under the Mauryas.
● It also mentions Chandragupta Sabha (Council).
Mudrarakshasa of
Visakhadatta ● It says that Chandragupta was ‗the king all over Jambudvipa‘.
● Drama in Sanskrit which describes how Chandragupta with the
assistance of Kautilya overthrew the Nandas (written during the
Gupta period)
Rajatarangini of ● Also provide information about the Maurya
Kalhana,
Kathasaritasagar of
Somadeva and
Brihatkathamanjari
of Kshemondra
● The Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya.
Megasthenes (his
● Mauryan administration, particularly the administration of the
records are compilled
capital city of Pataliputra and also the military organization
as Indica)
● Picture on contemporary social life
Brahmin Literature- ● Puranas reveals us the lists of Mauryan kings and the
Puranas chronology.
2. Archaeological Sources

Ancient History
● Ashokan Edicts: These edicts were deciphered by James Princep in 1837 AD. The majority
of the edicts are mainly Ashoka‘s proclamations to the public while few of them describe
Ashoka‘s acceptance of Buddhism.
● Wooden palace of Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra.
● Material Remains: Material remains such as NBPW (Northern Black Polished Ware), silver
and copper punch-marked coins throws light on Maurya period.
Ashokan Edicts What does it depict? Its Location
and Inscriptions
 James Princip, a British antiquary and Kalsi (Dehradun, Uttarakhand,
colonial administrator was the first Manshera(Hazara, Pakistan),
person to decipher Ashoka‘s edicts. Junagadh(Girnar, Gujarat),
 The National emblem of India is Jaugada( Ganjam, Orissa),
taken from the Ashoka‘s Sarnath Dhauli (Puri, Orissa),
Pillar. Yerragudi(Kurnul, Andhra
 Name of Ashoka occurs only on Pradesh),
minor rock edicts. He was first king Shahbajgarhi(Peshawar,
to speak people directly through Pakistan)
inscriptions.
 Features of pillars:
o Mostly, the pillars are similar in
form and dimensions
o Two types of stones are used:
 Spotted white sandstone (from
Mathura)
 Buff coloured sandstone and
quartzite (from Amaravati)
o Mostly monoliths (i.e., carved out
14 Major Rock of a single piece of stone) and have
Edicts a lustrous, polished surface
o Do not have a base, and the plain,
smooth cylindrical shaft tapers
slightly upwards
o Have a bell capital (a stone carved
in the shape of an inverted lotus).
o On top of bell capital is a platform
(abacus) which is intended to
support the crowned animal.
Principles of Dhamma
 Edict 1: Prohibits animal sacrifices
 Edict 2: Depicts measures of social
welfare
 Edict 3: Respect for Brahmanas.
 Edict 4: Respect to elders.
 Edict 5: Appointment of Dhamma
Mahamatras and their duties
 Edict 6: Orders to Dhamma
Mahamatras

Ancient History

Edict 7: Need for Tolerance among all
religious sects
 Edict 8: Dhamma- yatras
 Edict 9: Discarding of meaningless
ceremonies and rituals
 Edict 10: Use of Dhamma instead of
war for conquest
 Edict 11: Explaining Dhamma-policy
 Edict 12: Appeal to all religious sects
for tolerance.
 Edict 13: Kalinga war
 Edict 14: Inspiring people to spend
religious life
2 Kalinga Rock New System of administration post Dauli or Tosali(Puri, Odisha),
Edicts Kalinga war Jaugada(Ganjam, Odisha)
Personal History of Ashoka and his Brahmagiri(Karnataka),
Dhamma‘s summary Rupanath(Madhya Pradesh,
Minor Rock Edicts
Siddhpur(Karnataka),
Maski(Andhra Pradesh)
Bhabru-Bairat Ashoka‗s getting converted to Buddhism Bhabru-Biarat (Rajasthan)
Rock Edicts
Pillar Edicts
7 Pillar Edicts Appendix to rock edicts Allahabad, Rampurva (Bihar)
4 Minor Pillar Signs of Ashoka‘s fanaticism to Dhamma Sanchi (MP), Sarnath,
Edicts Allahabad
Ashoks‘s respects for Buddhism. Lumbini (Nepal)
2 Tarai Pillar
Ashoka‘s visit to Buddha‘s birthplace and
Edicts
his exemption of tax there.
Cave Edicts
3 Barabar Cave Ashoka‘s toleration. About Ajivika sect. Barabar Hills
Edicts
Coins
Numismatic These appear to have been in circulation throughout the Mauryan period.
sources - These coins provide some knowledge of socioeconomic life of the Mauryan
A large number of period. For example, Chandragupta was depicted standing with a Greek
silver and copper queen in one of his coins which reveals friendly relations between Magadha
coins which are and Greece.
punch-marked are
also available.
Mauryan Dynasty
● Chandragupta laid the foundation of Mauryan empire in 322 BC with
help of Chanakya (Kautilya).
Chandragupta
● Greeks called him Sandrokottos or Androkottos.
Maurya
● With the help of Chanakya he became the king of Magadha. Pataliputra
(322–298 BC)
became his capital.
● He defeated Seleucus Nicator who became his friend later. Nicator sent

Ancient History
an ambassador Megasthenes to Chandragupta‘s court in 304 BC he also
married his daughter to Chandragupta Maurya.
● Accounts of Megasthenes are found in a book written by him called
Indica
● According to Jaina sources, Chandragupta embraced Jainism towards
the end of his life and abdicated the throne in favour of his son.
● Sudarshan lake (Girnar Hill, Gujrat) was constructed during the reign
of Chandragupta Maurya.
● Tamralipti (Tamlook in Midnapur, WB) in the east and
Bharuch/Broach (Gujrat) in the west were two important ports.
● Bindusara was called by the Greeks as ―Amitragatha‖ meaning slayer
of enemies.
● Mahabhasya refer to him as Amitraghat (the destroyer of foes).
Madrasar, Simhasena are other names used for Bindusara.
● He is considered as the conqueror of land between two seas i.e. Arabian
sea and Bay of Bengal.
● Strabo has named him Amitrochates or Allitrochades which are greek
version of the name Amitraghata. In Rajvalli katha he is mentioned as
Seemseri.
● He is said to have conquered the Deccan up to Mysore. Taranatha, the
Bindusara
Tibetan monk states that Bindusara conquered 16 states comprising ‗the
(298 - 273 B.C.)
land between the two seas (i.e. Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal).
● Sangam Tamil literature also confirms the Mauryan invasion of the far
south. The Mauryan Empire under Bindusara extended up to Mysore.
● Bindusara received Deimachus as ambassador from the Syrian king
Antiochus I.
● Bindusara followed extreme fatalistic order (religion) ‗Ajivika‘
founded by Makhali Gosala. It had complete disregard for ‗karma‘.
● Bindusara supported the Ajivikas, a religious sect. Believed to have
joined the Ajivika sect.
● Bindusara appointed his son Asoka as the governor of Ujjain.
● Ashoka fought Kalinga war around 261 BC in which according to the
inscriptions 1,00,000 people were killed and many disappeared.
● The bloodshed melted his heart and therefore he abandoned the policy
of military expansion and declared that he would replace Bherighosa,
the war drum and Dhamma Ghosa (Drum of Dhamma)
● The Last King Brihadratha was assassinated by his military chief
Pushyamitra sung around 187 BC and Mauryan empire disappeared
Ashoka
● Regarded as one of greatest kings of all times, and probably first ruler
(269 to 232 BC)
to maintain direct contact with his people through his inscriptions.
● "Whosoever praises his religious sect or blames other sects out of
excessive devotion to his own sect, with the view of glorifying his own
sect, he rather injures his own sect very severely." – Ashoka
● As per the Major rock Edicts 7 and 12, Ashoka insisted that all
religions should co-exist and the ascetics of all religions were honoured.
Ashoka‘s dhamma
● Ashoka spent the rest of his life in spreading the policy of dhamma

Ancient History
● The concept of non-violence and other similar ideas of Ashoka's
Dhamma are identical with the teachings of Buddha.
● He also sent missionaries to the Sri Lanka and Central Asia
● 4-Cardinal points of Dhamma: Tolerance, Non-violence, Good
Conduct (Obeying parents and elders, respecting Brahmanas and
Monks) & Welfare.
● A new officer called, ‗Dhamma Mahamatra‘ was appointed for
promotion of ‗Dhamma‘.
● Ashoka‘s dhamma was the code of conduct which he appealed to his
subjects to follow the tenets of dhamma include:
o Compassion
o Charity
o Truthfulness
o Purity
o Gentleness
● He left several inscriptions or edits which are called Dhammalipi.
● They cover religion and morality and also social and administration
matters.
● Rock edit 1 calls for ban on animal sacrifices, message of non-violence
● Rock edict 2 mentions about the measures to be taken for the
construction of hospitals, roads, wells and planting of trees to give shed
to people (public works and welfare state).
● Rock edicts 3, 4 and 12 ask the people to respect parents, relatives,
brahmanas and Shramans, the monks.
● Seventh edict: Ashoka gives the message of religious tolerance.
● Ninth edict also Ashoka instructs his subjects not to waste money on
social ceremonies.
● Thirteenth edict: Ashoka mentions the details of Kalinga War.
● 12th rock edict calls him Devanampiya Piyadassi, the beloved of the god.
● Ashok appointed officials called him Dhamma Mahamatras who has
to oversee and supervise peaceful function of the principles of dhamma
● Most of his inscriptions have the Brahmi script but some non-Indian
in scripts has Kharosthi, Arabic and Greek
● The language of inscriptions includes Prakrit, Greek and particularly in
the Aramaic which was Semitic language in ancient Syria.
● Organised third Buddhist council at Pataliputra (in 18th year of his
reign), after which he sent Buddhist missionaries to Ceylon and
Suvarnabhumi.
Ashoka‘s Legacy
 Political unification of the country
 Spread of tolerance and respect
 Policy of peace and non-aggression
 Promotion of cultural contacts
Mauryan Administration and Society

Source of ● Megasthenes has left detailed accounts of the system of government under
Information Chandragupta. His account can be supplemented by that of Kautilya.

Ancient History
● Administration: Highly centralised administration. King emerged as
supreme head of state military, judicial, executive and legislative functions.
King was assisted by Council of Ministers called Mantri parishad. Highest
officers were called ‗Tirthas‘ and ‗Adhyakshas‘ (superintendents)
managed 26 departments.
● Law: The concept of law as the legal expression of socio-economic and
political rules, customs was made subordinate to the concept of royal decree,
having an independent validity of its own.
● Judicial and Police departments: Kautilya mentions presence of both civil
and criminal courts.
● Mauryan Empire was divided into 5 provinces: Uttarapatha (Capital:
Taxila), Avantipatha (Ujjain), Dakshinpatha (Suvarnagiri), Prachyapatha
and Magadha.
● Saptang Theory of Kautilya‘s Arthashashtra: According to Arthashastra,
there are 7 elements of State: Swamin or King, Amatya or bureaucracy,
Anapada or territory, Durga or the fortified capital, Kosha or the treasury,
Danda or the coercive machinery and Mitra or the allied powers.
● Hired labourers were called ‗karmakaras‘.
Officers Description/Duty
Bhandagaradhikreta Head of the royal treasury
Sitadhyaksha Incharge of Agriculture
Mahapaksha-Patalik Head of the account department
Political
Administration Dandapashika Head of the Police department
Khadyakpakika Inspector of royal kitchen
Mahadandanayak Chief Justice
Mahamahipilapati Controller and executor of elephantry
Mahanarpati Head of foot soldiers (infantry)
Mahapratihar An official to maintain the royal palace
Mahasandivigrahak An official for post-war conciliation
Mahaswapati Controller or cavalry
Mahabaladhikritas Commander-in-chief
Ranabhandagarika Inspector for the all-central departments and
incharge of army stores
Sarvadhyaksha Official to present different guests at king's court
AntaPala Responsible for the security of frontier Fort
Panyadhyaksha Superintendent of Commerce
Yukta Subordinate Revenue Officer
Prasdesika Chief revenue officer
Samsthadhyaksha Superintendent of market
Pauthavadhyaksha Superintendent of weight & measure
Navaadhyaksha Superintendent of ships
Sulkaadhyaksha Collector of tolls
● Census: The taking of Census was regular during the Mauryan period. The
village officials were to number the people along with other details like their
caste and occupation. They were also to count the animals in each house.
Revenue ● Samharta: The chief of the Revenue Department, was in charge of the

Ancient History
Administration collection of all revenues of the empire.
● Source of revenue: The revenues came from land, irrigation, customs, shop
tax, ferry tax, forests, mines and pastures, license fee from craftsmen, and
fines collected in the law courts.
● Land revenue: The land revenue was normally fixed as one sixth of the
produce.
● Peasants had to pay more tax on irrigated land known as udaka-bhaga
(water rate, and generally levied at one-fifth to one-third of the produce).
● Expenditure: The main items of expenditure of the state were related to
king and his household, army, government servants, public works, poor
relief, religion, etc.
 Medium of Transactions: Punch-marked coins (mostly silver) were used.
 State monopoly: of mining, forest, salt, sale of liquor, manufacture of arms
and metallurgy.
 Occurrences of famines is also reported in Kautilya‘s Arthashastra and
Jaina texts.
Different Types of Taxes
Bhaga Land revenue (one-sixth)
Bali Additional tax
Chorarajju Tax collected for the search of thief
Pranaya Emergency tax
Pindakara Collected annually from the entire village
Praveshya Import duty
Nishkramya Export duty
Senabhaktam Tax for army, from the region through which it passed
Sulka Custom duty
Vishti Forced labour
Hiranya Probably a tax paid in gold
Udaybhagakal Irrigation tax
● The capital of empire was at Pataliputra and the empire was divided into 4
other provinces with the capital at:
o Taxila - North-western India
o Suvarnagiri - Southern India
o Tosali - Eastern India
o Ujjain - Western India
● Provinces administration: were controlled by the royal Princess called
Provincial and Kumar
Local
● District administration: Under the charge of Rajukas, whose position and
Administration
functions are similar to modern collectors. He was assisted by Yuktas or
subordinate officials.
● Local Administration:
o Mauryan state also had local and municipal administration; ‗Vish‘or
‗Ahara‘ (districts) were the units of a province.
o Megasthenese‘s account mentions 6 committees of five members each
for administering the municipalities.
● Village administration: Was in the hands of Gramani and his official

Ancient History
superior was called Gopa who was in charge of ten or fifteen villages.
Village Level Officers
Gramika The head of village. It was elected body
Gramvriddhas Panchayat consist of Village elders to settle disputes
● According to Greek author Pliny, the Mauryan army consisted of six lakh
infantry, thirty thousand cavalry, nine thousand elephants and eight
thousand chariots. This fact may be exaggeration, but it seems like they had
very large army wrt. global perspective.
Army
● The Mauryan army was well organized and it was under the control of
Senapati.
● It seems that the six wings of the armed forces the army, the cavalry, the
elephants, the chariots, the navy and the transport, were each assigned to
the care of a separate committee.
● The king was at the head of the judicial administration and constituted the
highest appellate court in the realm.
● In villages and towns, cases were settled by the gramavradha and
nagaravyavaharikamahamatra respectively.
● Kautilya mentions the existence of both civil and criminal courts- -
dharmasthiya and kantakashadhana.
● Four sources of law (mentioned by Kautilya): Dharma (sacred law) (royal
Judicial and proclamations) + Vyavahara (usage) + Charitam (custom and precedents) +
Police Rajasasana.
Departments ● Judges were called Dharmasthas.
● The chief justice of the Supreme Court at the capital was called
Dharmathikarin.
● Different kinds of punishment such as fines, imprisonment, mutilation and
death were given to the offenders.
● Police stations were found in all principal centres
● Remission of sentences is also mentioned in Asoka‘s inscriptions.
● Mauryan State had strict legal and penal system (civil and criminal). Tax
evaders attracted death penalty.
 Society had a four-fold Varna system with slavery (Dasa).
 Social status improved for Vaishyas and Shudras.
 Ashokan edicts made no mention of Varna or Sati.
 'Varna-Shankar Vivah' or inter-varna marriages included 'Anuloma' and
Mauryan 'Pratiloma' types.
Society  Kautilya mentioned 9 slave categories; Megasthenes reported their
absence.
 Jataka tales depict untouchables like Chanadala, Nishad, Shabar, treated
inhumanly.
 Women's position deteriorated: widow remarriage stopped, and the
institution of 'Ganikas' (prostitution) expanded.
Did you know about Ashokan empire?

 Eastern part of the empire: Magadhi language in Brahmi script is used. (Magadhi is the

Ancient History
dialect of Prakrit found in Magadha).
 Western parts of the empire: Prakrit in kharoshti script is used.
 Kandhar Inscriptions is bilingual, it used Greek and Aramaic languages and scripts.
Decline of Mauryan empire

1. The Mauryan empire soon after death of Asoka got divided into 2 parts
 Dasaratha controlled the eastern part
 Sampriti controlled the western part
2. A section of historians argued that Asoka under the influence of Buddhism became a pacifist
and weakened his army
3. Due to the Bactrian invasions, the western part of the empire collapsed.
4. However even though Asoka followed a policy of peace and harmony, he did not disband his
army and was always prepared to face any eventuality.
5. Some others argue that banning the animal sacrifice and the religious policy of Asoka
antagonise the brahmanas which affected them.
6. Therefore, Pushyamitra, the brahmana chief of army, killed the last Mauryan king.
7. However, the study of Asokan inscriptions revealed that Ashoka paid full respect to the
brahmanas ; this can‘t be held true.
Reason for decline

1. The succession of weak rulers
2. Mauryan rule may have suffered an economic crisis as reflected in the debasement of some
coins of the period
3. The inherent centralised structure of the empire meant that the successor of Asoka could not
maintain the balance between the centre and various provincial governors of the empire.
4. Asoka‘s policy of non-violence reduced the fighting spirit of his army was another charge
against him.
5. The provincial governors declared themselves independent and thus gave rise to the several
regional Kingdom in the post Mauryan era.
 Kalinga declared its independence and in the further south, the Satavahanas established their
independent rule.
 The Mauryan rule was confined to the Gangetic valley and it was soon replaced by the Sunga
dynasty.
******

Ancient History
Chapter-9
POST MAURYAN DEVELOPMENT
 Following Asoka's death, the Mauryan Empire crumbled as provinces declared independence.
Northwest India slipped from Mauryan control due to foreign invasions from Central Asia and
western China. Kalinga and the Satavahanas established independent rule, restricting Mauryan
influence to the Gangetic valley, ultimately replaced by the Sunga dynasty.
 This was, furthermore, a period defined by intermingling and influence of new cultures, vibrant
doctrinal debates, rise in devotional worship of images and the institutionalisation of religious
activity. The period also saw emergence of sophisticated sculptural and architectural styles.
Sources about Post-Mauryan Period

● For the first time during this period, coins were associated with the kings and
Indo-Greeks were the first Indian Kings who issued coins in their names.
● Some inscriptions are:
Archaeologic o Junagarh inscription of Rudradaman, first big inscription in Sanskrit,
al Sources o Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela,
o Ayodhya inscription of Dhanadeva,
o Nasik inscription of Gautami Balashri,
o Kanheri inscription of Vasishtaputra Puluamayi and
o Land Grants issued by Satavahana kings.
● Divyavadana
● Lalitavistara
● Arya Manju Shri Mool Kalpa
● Milind Panho
Literary
● Gargi Samhita
Sources
● Malvika-Agnimitram of Kalidas
● Mahabhasya of Patanjali
● Periplus of the Erythrean-sea
● Geography of Strabo

Ancient History
● Natural History of Pliny and
● History of Tibet by Lama Taranath.
Shunga Dyanasty [185 BC- 73 BC Capital: Vidisha]
● Pushyamitra Sung killed the last Mauryan king Brihadratha and establish the
Sung dynasty in the north India
Founder
● Capital at Patliputra and a second capital at Vidisha (under son Agnimitra‘s
viceroy).
● To protect north India from invasions of the Bactrian Greeks from the
northwest who advanced up to Pataliputra and occupied it for some time.
● He fought with the Demetrius a Bactrian Greek ruler and won the battle
Challenges
● Pushyamitra succeeded in regaining the lost territory.
● Pushyamitra also fought a campaign against Kharavela of Kalinga who
invaded north India.
● Pushyamitra was a staunch follower of Brahmanism.
● He performed two asvamedha sacrifices. Patanjali, author of ‗Mahabhasya‘
was priest of 2 Ahvamedha Yajna
About ● Buddhist sources refer to him as a persecutor of Buddhism, but there is
Pushyamitra enough evidence to show that Pushyamitra patronised Buddhist art.
Sung ● During his reign the Buddhist monuments at Bharhut and Sanchi were
renovated and further improved.
● Shunga‘s empire covered regions of Bihar, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and
northern Madhya Pradesh
● Agnimitra: The Puranas assigned a reign of 36 years to Pushyamitra who
was succeeded by his son Agnimitra, the hero of Kalidasa‘s Malavika
Agnimitram. A significant attempt at penetrating into India by Demetrius I of
Bactria was countered successfully by Vasumitra, son of Agnimitra.
Successors of
● Sujyeshtha: Agnimitra was succeeded by Sujyeshtha, identical with
Pushyamitra
Jethamitra of the coins.
● Last Ruler – Devabhuti - Also known as Devabhumi, Who was murdered by
his minister Vasudeva Kanva, the founder of the Kanva dynasty.
● In parts of the central India, remnants of the Sunga empire was replaced by
the Satavahanas.
● The rule of the Sungas was important because they defended the Gangetic
valley from foreign invasions.
● They also promoted the growth of Vaishnavism and the Sanskrit language.
● It can be assumed that this rule was anticipation of golden age of Guptas.
Importance ● Shungas issued gold and silver coins and they inherited and continued with
Mauryan structure of administration.
● Mathura school achieved new heights, specially in realistic human depiction.
● Manu‘s ‗Manav Dharma Shastra‘ or ‗Manusmriti‘ and ‗Kalidasa‘s
Malvikagnimitram‘ are said to have been composed during this period.
Kanva Dyansty [ 72 BC-27 BC]

Founder Vasudeva Kanva

Ancient History
Puranas designated kings as ‗Sungabhrityas‘ or the servants of Sungas.
●
●
Andhras conquered Magadha in 27 BC and Kanva dynasty came to end.
●
Kanva dynasty ruled for 45 years. After the fall of the Kanvas, the history
Rule
of Magatha was a blank until the establishment of the Gupta dynasty.
● According to some scholars, the last Kanva ruler Susharman was
overthrown by a successor of Simuka of the Satavahana dynasty.
Kalinga [Chetis Dynasty]
● Name of the founder is unknown. But the first known king of this dynasty
Founder
was Mahameghavarmana.
● The veil of obscurity is lifted by the far famed but damaged Hatigumpha
(in the Udaygiri hill near Bhubaneswar) inscription.
● The inscription is called so because the image of an elephant is carved
Source
out of stones next to the boulder carrying the inscription
● However, there is not much information about the kings of the dynasty
except Kharvela
● Kharvela was the follower of Jainism and had fought many successful
About battles against his neighbours such as satavahana king Satakarni.
● He is believed to have lived in 1st- 2nd century BC
Satavahana Dynasty [60 BC-225 AD]

The Maurya rule was succeeded by the Sungas and the Kanvas in the north. However, in Deccan and in
central India, the Satavahanas succeeded the Mauryas though after a gap of almost 100 years. The
Satavahanas are considered identical with the ‗Andhras‘ of the Puranas.
● Simuka Satavahana
● Founder of the Satavahana Dynasty
and was immediately active after
Founder Ashoka‘s death.
● Built Jain and Buddhist temples.
● Puranas and inscriptions remain important sources for their history

o Among the inscriptions, the Nasik and Nanaghad inscriptions throw
Sources much light on the reign of Gautamiputra Satakarni.
● The coins issued by the Satavahanas are also helpful in knowing the
economic conditions of that period.
● Krishna: Extended the kingdom up to Nasik in the west.
● Sri Satakarni: He conquered western Malwa and Berar. He also performed
asvamedha sacrifices.
Successor ● Gautamiputra Satakarni: The greatest ruler of the Satavahana dynasty
● Hala (seventeenth king): Became famous for his book Gathasaptasati, also
called Gaha-Sattasai.
● Pulamavi IV: considered the last king of the main Satavahana line

Ancient History
● His achievements were recorded in Nasik inscription by his mother
Gautami Balasri. He is described as destroyer of the Shakas, Pahlavas and
Gautamiputra the Yavanas (Greeks); as the uprooter of the Kshaharatas (western
Satakarni Kshatrapsa) and the restorer of the glory of the Satavahanas.
(Most ● Gautamiputra Satakarni captured whole of Deccan to expand empire.
Important ● His victory over Nahapana, the ruler of Malwa was remarkable.
ruler) ● He patronized Brahmanism. Yet, he also gave donations to Buddhists.
● He issued coins on which the image of ships was inscribed.
● They reveal the naval power and maritime trade of the Satavahanas.
Salient Features of Satavahana Dynasty
● It was entirely based on the Shastras, and it had the following structure:
o Rajan or the king who was the ruler
o Princes or Rajas who had their names inscribed on coins
o Maharathis, who had the power of granting villages and also had the
privilege of maintaining marital relations with the ruling family.
o Mahasenapati and Mahatalavara
● Features
o The king was represented as the upholder of dharma and he strove for
the royal ideal set forth in the Dharmashastras.
o The Satavahana king is represented as possessing the divine qualities of
Administration ancient gods ie. divine kingship.
o Satavahanas retained some of the administrative units of Ashokan times.
 Kingdom was divided into districts called Ahara. Their officials were
known as Amatyas and Mahamatras (same as in Mauryan times).
o But unlike Mauryan times, certain military and feudal elements are
found in the administration of the Satavahanas.
o The Satavahana kingdom had three grades of feudatories: Raja (who
had the right to strike coins), Mahabhoja and Senapati
 The lowest level of administration was a grama (village), which was under
the charge of a gaulmika (village headman).
● Shows many features which are different from those prescribed in the
Sanskrit texts such as the Manusmriti.
● Many inscriptions of the Satavahana rulers mention the names of their
mothers rather than those of their fathers, such as Gautamiputra
Satakarni or Satakarni, son of Gautami and Yagnasri Satakarni. This is not
in keeping with Dharmasastras which state that in approved forms of
marriage, the bride acquires gotra of her husband and loses that of father.
● It is clear from various sources that the society was not governed by rules
Social Life
laid down by the Brahmanical texts and Buddhist traditions might have
had some sway on society. They supported both Buddhism and
Brahminism although they were Hindus and claimed Brahmanical status.
● The Satavahanas assumed the title of ―Dakshinapathapati‖ (Lord of the
Dakshinapatha). The Satavahanas are also known in history for starting the
practice of giving royal grants of land to Brahmanas and Buddhist
monks, including those associated with tax exemptions.
● Artisans mention their occupations with their names and not their castes.

Ancient History
● Traders and merchants figure prominently as donors, but also blacksmiths,
gardeners and fishermen are important
● One of the Satavahana queens named Nayanika also performed Vedic
sacrifices and made large donations to the Brahmana and Buddhist monks.
● The Satavahana kings donated large sums of money and land to the
Buddhist monasteries and this added to the wealth of the sangha.
Culture ● Nagarjunakonda and Amravati in Andhra Pradesh and Nashik and Junar
areas of Maharashtra became important Buddhist sites under the
Satavahanas and their successors, the Ikshvakus.
● Gradually, the influence and membership of the Buddhist sangha increased.
● Construction of Ajanta Caves started during this period.
 The Satvahana graves are reported to be encircled by big pieces of stone
and therefore they are known also as ―megalithic people‖.
● Merchants organized guilds to increase their activities.
● There was a remarkable progress in the fields of trade and industry during
the Satavahana
● The craft guilds organized by different craftsmen such as potters, weavers
and oil pressers also came into existence.
● Silver coins called Karshapanas were used for trade. They did not issue
gold coins but gold as bullion.
Economy
● The Satavahana period also witnessed overseas commercial activity.
● Ptolemy mentions many ports in the Deccan.
● The greatest port of the Satavahanas was Kalyan port and Bharuch port
on the western Deccan. Gandakasela and Ganjam on the east coast were
the other important seaports.
● They were first native rulers to issue own coins with the portraits of the
rulers.
 The state collected taxes both from agriculture and trade.
 Important beginning was the donation of revenue free land grants to
Tax Structure Brahmanas and the Buddhist sanghas.
 The importance of land revenue for the king can be judged from the
elaborate procedure that was used to record donations of land.
Invasions From Central Asia

● Alexander invasion open gate for Greeks: Post the death of Alexander the
Great in 323 BC many Greeks came to this settle on the north-western
borders of India
● Bactrian Greeks who ruled over parts of north-west India between the 2nd
century BCE and the early 1st century BCE are known as the Indo-Greeks.
Bactrian kings
● First king: Demetrius was one of its first kings to attack India.
or Indo-Greeks ● Important centre: Bacteria in the northwest of Hindu Kush mountains
became an important centre
● Important ruler: One of the noteworthy Indo-Greeks ruler was the
Menander 155 BC to 130 BC
o He ruled over the region west of river Indus
o He is mentioned as Melinda in famous Buddhist text Milindapanha.

Ancient History
● About Milindpanho:
o It is the philosophical book that has the question that Melinda ask
Nagasena the author of the book
o According to the book, impressed by the answers the king accepted
Buddhism as his religion
● Contribution
o First to issue gold coins and much of their lineage is determined on the
basis of excavated coins which include coins of sliver, copper, and
nickel as well.
o The concept of 7 days in a week was given by the Indo – Greeks
o Introduced new features of Hellenistic art and literature such as
Gandhara art in the north-west frontier of India.
o The others during this time were Mathura School of Art and Amaravati
School of Art
● ‗Shaka‘ is the Indian term used for the people called the Scythians, who
originally belonged to Central Asia.
● Patanjali in his Mahabhasya refers to the Shakas as ‗Anirvasita (pure)
Shudras‘.
● The history of Shaka rule is known largely through inscriptions and coins.
● Maues/Moga/Moa: Probably the first Shaka king in India who established
power in Gandhara.
● They were defeated by their neighbours the Yueh – Chis.
● Hence, they gradually came and settled in the northwestern India around
Taxila in the first century BC
● They extended their territories up to Mathura and Gujarat
● Rudradaman
o He repaired famous Sudarshan lake of Mauryan period
Shakas
o He married a Hindu woman and had converted to Hinduism.
[1st BC-4 AD]
o He ruled in the middle of second century ad and his empire was spread
over almost full of western India
o The inscription is Speaking of his achievement was found engraved on
the Boulder of Girnar Junagadh.
o This is the first royal encryption of early India composed in Sanskrit
● An era called Vikrama Samvat is reckoned from 58 BC when
Vikramaditya the ruler of Ujjain defeated the Sakas.
● Decline of the Shakas
o Defeat at the hands of the Satavahana Emperor Gautamiputra Satakarni.
o Rule in northwest India and Pakistan came to an end after the death of
Azes II (12 BC) when the region came under the Kushanas.
o In western India, their rule came to an end when Western Satrap Saka
ruler Rudrasimha III was defeated by Chandragupta II of the Gupta
dynasty.
● They were of Iranian origin and had Strong Cultural similarities with
Shakas.
Parthians ● Hence, they were referred to in India as a Shaka – Pahlava.
[19-45 AD] ● The rule in the north western area of Pakistan is indicated in the inscription
called the ―Takht-i-Bahi‖ recovered from Mardan near Peshawar
● It is dated in 45AD and refers to Gondophernes or Gondophares, a

Ancient History
Parthian in ruler
● Some literary sources also associate him with the Saint Thomas who is set
to have converted both the king and his brother to Christianity.
● Unlike the Indo-Greeks, there are no explicit records of Indo-Parthian rulers
supporting Buddhism, such as religious dedications, inscriptions, or even
legendary accounts. They are thought to have retained Zoroastrianism
● The Kushanas are also referred to as Yueh-chis or Tocharians.
● Defeated Shakas and Pahalavas, created a big empire in the Pakistan
● The founder of Kushana dynasty is believed to be Kijula Kadphises and
was succeeded by his son Wema Kadphises.
● But kanishka was the most famous and ascended the throne in 78 AD.
● This event is marked as the start of a new era known as the Saka era.
The King Kanishka [ 78 AD- 101 AD]
● The Kushan empire reached its zenith under Kanishka
● Extended from Central Asia to north India and included Varanasi,
Kosambi and Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh
● He started Saka Era and is used by government of India
● He was great patron of Mahayana Buddhism
● He sent missionaries to Central Asia and China for the propagation and also
built Buddhist chaityas and viharas at different places
● He patronised Buddhist scholars like:
o Vasumitra: An eminent philosopher who authored the encyclopaedia of
Buddhist philosophy called Mahavibhasa.
o Asvaghosha: A Buddhist scholar who wrote the hagiographic
Buddhacharita (the sacred biography of the Buddha) and composed the
Kushana Saundarananda (a Sanskrit kavya).
[1st Century AD o Nagarjuna: He is often termed an Indian Einstein who proposed the
to 3rd century Theory of Relativity in his time in the form of a Sutra, the Prajna
AD] Parimata Sutra. Credited with founding the Madhyamaka school of
Buddhism. His most important work is a Sanskrit text called
Mulamadhyamakakarika or ‗Root Verses on Madhyamaka‘.
o Charaka- He is known as the father of Ayurveda who wrote a book on
medicine called Charaksamhita and also wrote the Sasruta.
o Mathara: Minister who was noted for his unusual Intelligence.
o Agesilaus: A Greek engineer under whose guidance, it is believed, the
great stupa of Purushapura was built.
● He convened 4th Buddhist council at kundalvan in Jammu and Kashmir
o Buddhism got split into 2 schools: Hinayana & Mahayana
● He also patronised the Gandhara and Mathura school of sculptural art.
● Kanishka is also credited to have built the city of Purushapura, present day
Peshawar as his capital a giant stupa to house Buddha‘s relic.
● Adopted the title of ‗Devputra‘, and has been shown wearing a ‗peaked
helmet‘ on some coins.
● Kanishka had two capitals: Purushapura (Peshawar) and Mathura.
Administration of Kushan Empire
● Kushans ruled over numerous petty princes who paid tribute to them, and
they dubbed themselves ―King of Kings.‖
● Kushan dynasty‘s rulers were regarded as Sons of God (divine kingship).

Ancient History
● The empire was divided into provinces called satraps and each satrap was
ruled by Mahakshtrap a military governor
● He would be assisted by a Kshatrap.
● They practised the dual hereditary rule, in which two monarchs governed at
the same time.
Contributions of Kushan Empire
● Kushans were renowned for their horsemanship. In India, they improved
the cavalry.
● Kushans and Shakas introduced turbans, tunics, pants, and long thick
coats.
● It was responsible for the development of Sanskrit literature.
● The kings of the Kushan Empire were in charge of the silk route (China➝
Central Asia➝Afghanistan➝Iran➝Western Asia (part of the Roman
Empire), and it was their primary source of revenue.
● They were India‘s first kings to issue enormous quantities of gold coins.
● They were supporters of agriculture.
● Masons and painters from all over the world were transported to the
Kushan empire, resulting in the birth of art schools like Mathura, Gandhara,
and Central Asia.
● The Kushan dynasty supported great writers, including Ashvagosha,
Vasumitra, and Nagarjuna.
Developments in Post-Mauryan Era:

 Acceleration of Urbanization-> cities now combined with political and commercial functions.
 Greater use of brick, both for residential structures as well as for fortifications and public
buildings.
 Imposing religious monuments were built and embellished.
 Trade activities were carried out primarily in essential commodities such as salt, metals, etc.

Ancient History
 Ujjain was a prominent bead making centre and textile industry flourished in Mathura and
Vaanga, East Bengal
 The craftsmen organised into guilds each under a head man called Jyestha.
 Merchants organised themselves in groups called Shreni guilds headed by Shreshthi.
 Sarthi was another type of mercantile group which was a mobile or caravan trading corporation
of interregional traders. The leader of such Guild was called Sarthwaha
 The associations of merchants and Craftsman were usually of those following the same
profession or dealing in the same commodity
 They framed their own rules to regulate their businesses in terms of prices and quality and
even elected their heads.
 Two major empires that arose at this time were the Roman Empire in the west and the later
Han empire in China.
 External trade increased by discovery of monsoons by Hippalus a Greek navigator in 45AD.
 It helped undertake more and more sea voyages for trading purposes, several Porttowns came
about on the western coast such as Bharoch, Supara, Kalyan, Muziris etc.
 Trade with SouthEast Asia was done to the ports on eastern coast of India such as
Tamralipti, Arikamedu etc.
 Pepper was called yavanapriya for its popularity and demand among Romans
 In return Romans exported gold and silver to the India
 There was an enormous drain of gold from the Roman Empire into India
Art Of Era
Gandhara Art Mathura Art Amaravati Art
● The best of the Gandhara ● It flourished in the first ● School was mainly
sculpture was produced during century CE influenced by Buddhist
first and second centuries CE ● Buddha images exhibit themes
● Greek, Roman and Indian-fusion spiritual feeling in his ● Main Centers:
resulted in this school of art. face which was largely Nagarjunkonda,
● It originated during reign of Indo- absent in Gandhara art Ghantashala, Jaggey-
Greek rulers ● It also carved out the yapeta, Amravati
Real patrons of this school of art images of Siva and Features:
were Sakas and Kushanas, Vishnu along with their ● Physical beauty and
particularly Kanishka consorts Parvati and sensual expressions
● It was a blend of Indian and Lakshmi ● Representation is more
Greco-Roman elements ● Female figures of narrative than
● Specimens have been found in yakshinis and apsaras of individualistic
Taxila, Peshawar and other places Mathura school were
● Material used: White
in northwestern India beautifully carved. Marble
● Reliefs depict Buddha's birth, his Features:
renunciation and preachings ● Influenced by Buddhism,
Features: Jainism and Brahmanism
● Realistic representation of human ● Secular in nature
figures ● Presence of artistic
● Anatomical accuracy elements
● Creation of distinguished muscles ● Chief patron: Kushanas
● Curly hairstyle ● Use of white spotted red

Ancient History
● Use of Gray sandstone sandstone.
 Half closed eyes were noticed. ● Eyes of the sculptures are
 This school used lime plaster open
Chapter-10
THE SANGAM AGE
Ancient South India
The Neolithic phase of south India which was marked by the use of polished stone axe and blade tools
was succeeded by the Megalithic phase (around 1200 BCE – 300 BCE).
 The upper portions of the peninsula were inhabited by people who were called the Megalith
builders.
 The megaliths were burials or Graves covered with a huge stone hence the name.
 These burials have yielded the first iron objects from South India and they give evidence of
black and red ware pottery.
 They contain not only skeletons of the people who were buried but also pottery, iron objects and
grains.
 The first iron objects from south India which include arrowheads, spearheads, tridents
(associated with Shiva), hoes, sickles, etc. have been excavated from these megaliths.
 The number of agricultural tools found at megalithic sites is lesser in comparison to tools
meant for hunting and fighting implying that the megalithic people did not practise an advanced
type of agriculture.
 The megalithic people produced paddy and ragi, and it seems that the cultivated land was very
limited and generally they did not settle on the plains or lowlands.
 The megaliths are found in all upland areas of the peninsula but their concentration is more in
eastern Andhra and in Tamil Nadu.
 The Cholas, Pandyas and the Keralaputras (Cheras) mentioned in the Ashokan inscriptions
probably belonged to the last phase of Megalithic culture.
 The Megalithic period in south India was followed by the Sangam age.
Sangam Age
1. Sangam Age is the period from the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD in south India.
2. The term ‗Sangam‘ refers to an assembly or ‗meeting together‘ of Tamil poets.
3. Traditionally, three Sangams or assemblies are believed to have been convened one after the
other at different places under the patronage of the Pandya kings of Madurai known as
Muchchangam.
4. The poems were modeled on the bardic songs of older times, and were orally transmitted for an
indefinite period before they were finally written down by poets who came from both cities and
villages, had varied social and professional backgrounds which included both dignitaries of
that time such as kings, ministers, merchants, astrologers as well as common folk such as
teachers, soldiers, goldsmiths, blacksmiths, and carpenters.
5. Sangam literature is primarily secular, and due to their varied themes and authorship, Sangam
poems offer rich, diverse vantage points of looking at everyday themes in a Tamilakam context.
6. Three dynasties ruled during the Sangam Age – the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, together also
known as Tamilakam (the land between the Tirupati hills and the southernmost tip of
peninsula).

Ancient History
7. Sangam was a college or assemblies of Tamil poets held under royal patronage. It is believed
that 3 sangams lasted for 9990 years and were attended by 8598 poets and had 197 Pandya kings
as patrons.
Sangam Place of organisation Chairperson Outcome

1st Sangam Old Madurai (Lemurai) Agastya Attended by gods and
legendary sages. No literary
work of this Sangam is
available.
2nd Sangam Kapadapuram (Alovai) Agastya Only Tolkappiyam (grammar
Tolkappiyar (a book) survives from this.
disciple of
Agastaya)
3rd Sangam New Madurai Nakkirar A few of these Tamil literary
works have survived and are a
useful source to reconstruct
the history of the Sangam
period.
8. It was composed between 300 BC and 300 AD
9. The two broad themes of Sangam literature are love and war and are secular in nature
10. Sangam Literature is broadly divided into 2 groups – Narrative & Didactic.
 Narrative texts called Melkannaku/Eighteen major works considered heroic poetry in which
heroes and wars are glorified. They also give ideas of state formation in South India.
 Didactic texts are called Kilkannaku/Eighteen minor works consisting of Tirukural and
Naladiyar.
Sangam Literature
 Sangam literature reflects a belief in sacred or magical forces called ananku that were
supposed to inhabit various objects.
 Sangam literature is not the product of a particular social or religious group nor was it
sponsored as a court literature by a ruling elite.
 Composed at various points of time over a long span of about 600 years and authored by people
of various levels - princes, chieftains, peasants, merchants, potters, smiths, carpenters and
brahmanas, Jains and Buddhists, the poems deal with disparate social groups. The social
classification of varna was known to the Sangam poets.
 Aham (Agam) represents the individual, the interior, the feminine, and the various stages of love
whereas Puram represents the world, the exterior, the masculine, violence, and heroism.
 The Sangam literature includes Tolkappiyam, Ettutogai, Pattuppattu, Pathinenkilkanakku, and
five epics named – Silappathikaram, Manimegalai, Jivaka Chintamani, Valaiyapati,
Kundalakesi.
Literature Description
● Authored by Tolkappiyar and is considered the earliest of Tamil
literary work. Though it is a work on Tamil grammar, it also
Tolkappiyam
provides insights on the political and socio-economic conditions of
the time.
Ettutogai (8 Anthologies) ● Ainkurunuru, Narrinai, Aganaooru, Purananooru, Kuruntogai,
consist of eight works Kalittogai, Paripadal and Pandiruppu

Ancient History
The Pattuppattu (Ten ● Thirumurugarruppadai, Porunararruppadai, Sirupanarruppadai,
Idylls) consists of ten Perumpanarruppadai, Mullaippattu, Nedunalvadai, Maduraikkanji,
works Kurinjippatttu,Pattinappalai and Malaipadukadam.
● Contains eighteen works about ethics and morals. The most
Pathinenkilkanakku important among these works is Tirukkural authored by
Thiruvalluvar, the tamil great poet and philosopher
Five epics: They also provide valuable details about the Sangam society and polity.
Silappathikaram Written by Elango Adigal
Written by Seetalaisattanar is a sequel to Silappadikaram, where
Manimekhlai is the daughter of Kovalan, born to Madhavi (she
Manimegalai becomes a Buddhist monk). It contains useful details about
Sangam government and society. It is called as the Odissi of Tamil
literature.
Jivaka Chintamani Written by Tirutakkatevar
Valayapathi Written by a Tamil Jain ascetic
Kundalakesi Written by Nathakuthanaar
Agattiyam First known book on Tamil grammar
Tamilkam
1. The Sangam literature had a vivid portrayal of the contemporary society and culture of the
Tamilkam, stretching between the hills of tirupati and the tip of kanyakumari
2. The reason was dominated by the 3 important chief rulers dynasties: Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas
3. The Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras were engaged in constant conflict.
4. The Tamilkam was divided into Five Tinais based on their economic resources, they are the
following:
 Kurinji: Hilly Region
 Palai: Arid Zone
 Mullai: Pastoral Tracts
 Marudam: Wetlands
 Neital: Seacoast
5. Due to different geographical context and ecological specialties people in different Tinais
had their own modes of subsistence such as the following –
 Hunting in Kurinji
 Animal Husbandry in Mullai
 Agriculture in Marudam
 Fishing & Salt Making in Neital
 Raiding & Plundering in Palai

Ancient History
Practice of Vattakirutal' as mentioned in Sangam poems

Vatakkiruttal was a Tamil ritual of fasting till death. It was especially widespread during the
Sangam age. The Tamil kings, in order to save their honour, and prestige, were prepared to meet
their death facing North ('Vatakkiruttal') and never would they turn their back in battle. This
was either done alone, or as a group with the supporters of the captured king.
South Indian Dynasties

 The southern end of the Indian peninsula situated south of the Krishna river was divided amongst
three early kingdoms and a large number of chieftains wherein the chieftainship was hereditary.
 The important vendar (crowned kings) who dominated the Tamilakam region during the Sangam
Age were the Pandyas in the valleys of the Tamrapani (Sri Lanka) and Vaigai, the Cholas in the
lower Krishna valley, and the Cheras on the Kerala coast.
Features Cheras Chola Dynasty Pandyas
The Cheras ruled over Chola kingdom of The Pandyas reigned over
large parts of modern- Sangam period stretched the Southern region of
day Kerala. across modern-day modern-day Tamil Nadu.
Tiruchirapalli District,
Tiruvarur District,
Nagapattinam District,
Region
Ariyalur District,
Perambalur district,
Pudukkottai district,
Thanjavur District in
Tamil Nadu and
Karaikal District.
Vanji was the capital of Initially, the capital of Madurai (center of trade and
the Cheras. the Cholas was Uraiyur. industry) was the capital of
Capital Later it was shifted to Pandyas.
Puhar (also called
Poompuhar).
The emblem of Cheras The insignia/emblem of Their emblem was the
Emblem is the ‗bow and arrow‘. the Cholas was ‗tiger‘. ‗Carp‘ (Fish).
Prominent The first-century King Karikala was a King Neduncheliyan was

Ancient History
Rulers Pugalur inscriptions prominent king of the also called Aryappadai
references 3 generations Sangam Chola dynasty Kadantha Nedunchezhiyan.
of Chera kings.
Senguttuvan (2nd
century CE) was the
prominent ruler of the
Chera dynasty.
Musiri and Tondi were Puhar (modern Korkai
Premium
the important seaports Kaveripattanam)
Ports
in this period.
Military achievements Pattinappalai written by According to mythology,
of Senguttuvan have Kadiyalur the curse of the Kannagi,
been recorded in epic Uruttirangannanar wife of Kovalan, burnt and
Silapathikaram, which depicts his life as well as destroyed Madurai.
talks about his military achievements. ● The socio-economic
Himalayan expedition ● Various Sangam condition of the seaport
where he vanquished poems mention the of Korkai was mentioned
many rulers from Battle of Venni in Madurai Kanji which
northern India. where he defeated an was written by Mangudi
● Senguttuvan alliance of the Maruthanar.
introduced in Tamil Cheras, Pandyas and  Pandyas had trade
Nadu the Pattini cult 11 smaller relations with Romans.
or the worship of chieftains.  Pandyas are mentioned
Kannagi as the ideal ● Vahaipparandalai in Kautilya‘s
Other
wife. was another Arthashastra and
important
● He was the first to important battle Megasthenes‘ Indica.
features
send an ambassador to fought by Karikala. The Pandyas are first
China from South ● Trade and commerce mentioned by
India. prospered during his Megasthenes in his
● Royal emblem- Bow rule. Indica where he refers to
● He also constructed a Pandyan kingdom
irrigation tanks near famous for pearls and
river Kaveri to make ruled by a women.
available water for  Royal emblem – Carp
reclaimed land from for the Pandyas.
the forest for
farming.
● Royal emblem-
Tiger

Ancient History
Fig: Chola Kingdom and its neighbours
Prominent Port Cities In Ancient India

 Korkai: It was the port city of early Pandyas situated on the banks of the Thamirabarani near
Bay of Bengal. ―Periplus of the Erythrean Sea‖, the maritime guide book written in the first
century AD mentions Korkai along with other port towns of Tamil Nadu.
 Poompuhar: It is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district in the southern Indian state of Tamil
Nadu. It was once a flourishing ancient port city known as Kaveri Poompattinam, which for a
while served as the capital of the Early Chola kings in Tamilakam.
 Muziris/Muchiri Port: Kodungallur is a town and a municipality in the Thrissur district
(Kerala) and was known in ancient times as Mahodayapuram, Shinkli, Muchiri, Muziris and
Muyirikkodu.
 In the Andhra region, the ports were Kadura and Ghantasala, Kaveripattanam (Puhar) and
Tondail were the ports of the Pandya region.
 During this period the wealth of the Roman Empire reached India through the ports of
Kalyan, Chaul, Broach, and Cambay in Western India.
 Lothal Port City had the world‘s earliest known dock, which connected the city to an ancient
course of the Sabarmati River on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the
peninsula of Saurashtra.
 The important Harappan and late Harappan ports were Lothal, Lakhabawal, Kindarkhera,
Kuntasi, Megham, Prabhasa, Todio, Amra.
Salient Features of Sangam Age

● Division of kingdom: Kingdom was divided into Mandalam, Nadu
(province), Ur (Town), Sirur (Small village), perur (Big Village)
 Each of the dynasties had a royal emblem: Tiger for Cholas, Carp for
Pandyas, and Bow for Cheras.
● King: King was called Ko Mannan, Vendan, Korravan or Iraivan. He was
Polity and the centre of the administration. Avai was the court of the crowned monarch.
Administration ● Council: The king was assisted by a wide body of officials who were
categorised into five councils.
● 5 important officers that assisted the King: Amaichar (ministers),
Anthanar (priests), Dutar (envoys), Senapatiyar (military commanders) and
Orrar (spies)
● Military: The military administration was efficiently organized and a regular

Ancient History
army was associated with each ruler.
● Revenue Administration: The chief source of state‘s income was land
revenue while a custom duty was also imposed on foreign trade.
o Karai: Land tax,
o Ulgu: Custom duties,
o Iravu: Forced gift/extra demand,
o Irai: Tribute paid by feudatories,
o Variyar: Tax collector
● Major source of fulfilling the royal treasury was the booty captured in wars.
● The roads and highways were maintained and guarded to prevent robbery
and smuggling.
● The region that Sangam Literature mentions was prosperous and agriculture,
industry and trade flourished there.
● Handicraft: The handicraft included weaving, metal works and carpentry,
ship building and making of ornaments using beads, stones and ivory.
● Import-export: These were in great demand in the internal and external
trade that was at its peak during the Sangam period.
o Items of Export: Maslin, glass beads, pearls, sandalwood, perfumes,
black pepper (Yavanapriya), tortoise shell, medicines, animals and birds.
o Items of Imports: Gold, Silver, Munga, wine, olive oil dry fruits, raw
glass, ivory, copper, tin, medicine and slaves.
● Demand of clothes: A high expertise was attained in spinning and weaving
of cotton and silk clothes. These were in great demand in the western world
especially for the cotton clothes woven at Uraiyur.
● Port city: The port city of Puhar became an emporium of foreign trade, as
Economy
big ships entered this port with precious goods. The port city of Puhar
became an important place of foreign trade, as big ships entered this port
containing precious goods. Other ports of commercial activity include Tondi,
Musiri, Korkai, Arikkamedu and Marakkanam.
 Tamilmandalam served as the zone of interaction for silk trade with
China.
● Other significant ports of commercial activity: Were Tondi, Musiri,
Korkai, Arikkamedu and Marakkanam.
● Drain of Western wealth: Many gold and silver coins that were issued by
the Roman Emperors like Augustus, Tiberius and Nero have been found in
all parts of Tamil Nadu indicating flourishing trade.
o Pliny, the Roman author and member of senate, in his Naturalis
Historia (77CE) regrets the drain out of huge amounts of gold and silver
to India.

Ancient History
● Primarily pastoral: Tamil people were primarily pastoral and traces of early
megalithic life appear in the Sangam texts.
● Social classes: Arasars (Ruling Class), Kadasiyar (lower classes people)
Aanthanars (priests), Vanigar (involved with trade and commerce), Vellalar
(Agriculturists).
● Tribes: Ancient primitive tribes like Thodas, Irulas, Nagas and Vedars lived
in this period.
Society ● Position of Women during Sangam Age
o Courage, creativity and spirituality of women was respected in Sangam
society. Avvaiyar, Nachchellaiyar and Kakkaipadiniyar were the women
poets who enriched Tamil literature.
o Women were allowed to choose their life partners. But the life of widows
was miserable.
o There is also a mention about the practice of Sati being prevalent in the
higher strata of society.
 Poetry, music, and dancing were popular in the Sangam age.
 Kings, chieftains, and nobles generously donated to poets.
 Royal courts were filled with singing bards known as Panar and Viraliyar.
Fine Arts  These bards were experts in folk songs and dances.
 The arts of music and dancing were highly developed.
 Sangam literature mentions various Yazhs and drums.
 Dancing was performed by Kanigaiyar.
 Koothu was the most popular entertainment among the people.
 Important deity: Murugan was the most important deity of the Sangam age
and Nadu Kal (Hero Stone) was also commonly worshiped remembering the
bravery of soldiers.
 Murugan was honoured with six abodes known as Arupadai Veedu.
 Five types of the lands mentioned in the Tolkappiyam. Each type of land
was associated with a distinct activity and a related deity:
Religion
o Kurinji (hilly tracks)– Hunting; Murugan
o Mullai (pastoral)– cattle-rearing; Vishnu (Mayo)
o Marudam (agricultural)– agriculture; Indra
o Neydal (coastal)– Fishing, Salt-manufacturing; Varunan
o Palai (desert)– Robbery; korravai
 Jainism and Buddhism flourished and expanded during this period.
In the late third century A.D., the Sangam period declined with the Kalabhras occupying the Tamil
country for about two and a half centuries. Little is known about the Kalabhra rule. Jainism and
Buddhism rose to prominence during this time. The Pallavas in northern Tamil Nadu and Pandyas in the
south later overthrew the Kalabhras and established their rule.
******

Ancient History

Ancient History
Chapter-11
THE GUPTA AGE
 After the fall of the Maurya empire, the Kushans in the North and the Satavahanas in the
Deccan emerged as the two major political powers. T
 Historians often consider the Gupta period as the ‗golden age‘ of India‘s past as it is often
remembered for certain key classical features, such as the political unification of a large part of
the subcontinent under a mostly centralised government, the production of exceptional
Sanskrit literary works, sophisticated stone sculpture and architecture, and innovative
developments in the field of science and technology.
Gupta Age [320 Ad-550 Ad]

● The decline of Kushanas saw the rise of
Gupta dynasty.
● The Guptas are believed to be feudatories
of the Kushans.
● They came into power in around 275 AD.
● The Gupta empire was founded by Sri
Gupta.
● The Gupta empire rose to prominence in
Magadha around 320 AD and covered large
parts of northern India and smaller parts
of southern India.
● They operated from the fertile lands of
Eastern UP and Bihar and also could also
exploit the iron ores in the central India
and Bihar to their advantage
● The earlier homeland of the family of
Guptas are not known for certain. But they might have originated from Bengal. Some researchers
claim that they come from Prayaga (Allahabad in UP).
● It is assumed that they are either Brahmins or Vaishyas.
● ‗Garuda‘ was probably their state seal.
Main Sources of Information about Gupta Empire

1. Puranas: The Puranas throw light on the royal genealogy of the Gupta kings.
2. Literary sources:
 A Sanskrit drama Kumudimohotsava written by Kisorika in Vajjika.
 Devichandraguptam and the Mudhrakshasam written by Visakadatta provide information
regarding the rise of the Guptas
 Writings of Fa-Hien and I-Tsing: Has left a valuable account of the social, economic and
religious conditions of the Gupta empire.
3. Inscriptions:
 The Allahabad Pillar Inscription and Eran Prasasti: It describes Samudragupta's
personality and achievements.
 The Mehrauli inscription (near Delhi): Refers to the achievements of Chandragupta II

Ancient History
4. Numismatics: Coins issued by Gupta kings contain legends and figures. These coins provide
interesting details about the titles and sacrifices performed by the Gupta monarchs
5. Stupas: Stupa of Gupta age found at Sarath, Ratnagiri (Orissa) and Mirpur Khan (Sindh).
GUPTA AGE
[320 AD-550 AD]
Sri Gupta Chandragupta Kumaragupta I Skandagupta

Chandragupta Samudragupta
II (375 – 414 Maheraditya Vikramaditya
[275-300AD I [320- 335 AD] [335- 375AD]
AD) [415-455 AD] [455-467 AD]
Rulers of Gupta Empire

● Founder of Gupta dynasty
Sri Gupta
● Title: ‗Maharaja‘
[275-300AD]
● I- Tsing called him Sri Gupta
● First important king of the Gupta Dynasty; laid the foundations of the Gupta
empire and claimed the title of maharajadhiraja (the great king of kings).
● He increased power and prestige also matrimonial alliances
● He married Kumaradevi, princess of Lichhavi
● Capital was at Pataliputra.
Chandragupta
● He, by conquest, expanded his empire. By 321 AD, his territories had
I [320- 335
extended from the Ganges River to Prayaga.
AD]
● First in Guptas who issued gold coins (Dinaras).
● In the joint names of his queen and himself, he issued coins.
● The inscription of the Mehrauli Iron Pillar describes his conquests.
● He is known to be the founder of the Gupta era, starting with his accession in
320 A.D.
● Samudragupta was the greatest of the rulers of the Gupta dynasty.
● He succeeded Chandragupta and expanded the empire far and wide.
● He followed a policy of conquest and has been called the Napoleon of India
(by historian V. A. Smith) for this reason.
● Information about him is given in the Ashokan pillar of Allahabad. His
achievements are mentioned by his court poet Harisena in the inscription.
● He used a different policy for the different Regions as he followed a policy
Samudragupta of annexation in the plains of Ganga and Yamuna
[335- 375AD] ● He conquered the forest kingdoms of central India called Adavirajyas.
(These areas had strategic value as they were on the path of South India)
● The Allahabad Pillar inscription mentions that Samudragupta defeated
twelve rulers in his South Indian Expedition (Dakshinapatha).
● He reached as far as Kanchi but instead of annexing their kingdoms,
liberated and reinstated these kings on tier Thrones.
● Allahabad pillar inscriptions called him ―Dharma Prachar Bandhu‖.
● He adopted a policy of political conciliation with the South India

Ancient History
● The Allahabad inscription notes that neighbouring 5 frontier kingdoms
and the states of Punjab western India over of it by the conquest of the
Samudragupta agreed to pay tribute and taxes to the Samudragupta and obey
his orders without any fight
● He performed Ashwamedha Yajnas and also issued Ashvamedha type of
coins portraying the scenes of the Sacrifice.
● Samudragupta was also a poet musician and patron of learning
● In one of his coins he is depicted as playing Veena.
● Was a Vaishnava and a patron of the great Buddhist scholar Vashubandhu.
● He allowed the Buddhist King Meghavarman (King of Cylon) to create Bodh
Gaya's monasteries. For this, he was called Anukampavan (full of
compassion).
● Title: Kaviraj (king among poets)
● He was also known as Chandragupta Vikramaditya
 Watermark period of Gupta dynasty.
● The peak of the territorial expansion of the Gupta empire was reached
during Chandragupta II‘s reign. He consolidated his position through the
matrimonial alliances.
● He conquered the Shaka kings who were ruling in the western India for the
last 300 years which allowed Gupta access to the western coast
● His empire also included areas of north-western India and Bengal
● And Iron pillar inscription at Mehrauli in Delhi details all these exploits
Chandragupta ● He is also remembered for his patronage of art and literature as he had 9
II (375 – 414 luminaries Navratna (9-Gems) in his court - Kalidas, Amarsinh,
AD) Dhanvantari, Varahminhira, Vararuchi, Ghantakarna, Kshapanaka, Velabhatt
and Shanku.
● Even the great Sanskrit poet and playwright are Kalidasa was in his court
● The Chinese Buddhist pilgrimage Fa Hien visited India during his rule.
● He was the first Gupta ruler who had started silver coins. He also issued
copper coins and is referred to as Chandra on his coins. He also issued gold
coins called Dinara.
● He took the title of Vikramaditya, that is, the one who is as powerful as the
sun, and Simhavikrama.
● Title: ‗Vikramaditya‘
 Kumargupta I performed Ashwamedha yajna and assumed titles
Ashwamedha-Mahendra and Mahendraditya. He was also called
Kumaragupta Shakraditya.
I Maheraditya ● He also laid foundation of Nalanda University.
[415-455 AD] ● During his reign, Hunas invaded India.
● Introduced the concept of worshipping god Kartikeya.
● Mandsaur Edict is related to him
Skandagupta ● Bhitari stone inscription tells about him
Vikramaditya ● Hunas invaded in his region, he defeated Huna
[455-467 AD] ● Junagarh/Girnar inscription of his reign tells that his governor Parnadatta got

Ancient History
the Sudarshan lake repaired.
● Assumption of Title: Vikramaditya
● Issued lion type coin.
● Persecuted the Buddhists
● Vishnugupta (540 CE- 550 CE) was the last recognized Gupta ruler.
Later Gupta kings included Purugupta, Kumaragupta II, Budhagupta, Narasimhagupta, Kumaragupta III,
and Vishnugupta. The Gupta empire declined due to a variety of factors.
Did You Know?
Bhavabhuti, Hastimalla and Kshemeshvara were famous playwrights in history of ancient India.
Bhavabhuti was a famous Indian dramatist, poet and scholar during the 8th century. Hastimalla was
a Jain poet in the court of the Solanki rulers. Kshemeshwara was the court poet of Mahipala of
Kannauj.
Salient Features of Guptas

● Efficient administration system. Monarchy was the prevailing system, but
special attention was paid to the welfare of the people.
● Gupta administration was decentralized in nature with feudatories, local
kings and smaller chief‘s ruling a large part of their empire
● The kingship was hereditary and the Princess, ministers and advisors
assisted the king.
● Traditional laws; Dharmashastras were conceived supreme.
● The king was assisted by a Mantriparishad/ Mantrimandalam.
● The Kingdom was divided into provinces known as Desha, Rastra or Bhukti
headed by Uparika.
● The provinces were further divided into smaller districts called Pradesh or
Vishya headed by Vishyapati.
● Vishya are further divided into villages called Gramas headed by
Gramadhyksha.
● There were high level central officers under Gupta called Kumar Matya who
Administrative
would serve as a cadre for recruitment to the post of important
system of
functionaries such as mantri senapati etc
Guptas
● The villagers were also subjected to Vishti i.e. forced labour. During the
Gupta period, forced labour (vishti) became a source of income for the
state and was also looked upon as a form of taxation on the subjects. Vishti
was forced labour in lieu of taxes hence no weekly wages were entitled.
Anyone from the family can be sent as a forced labourer, not particularly the
eldest son of the family.
● Paharpur inscription tells us that the state was the exclusive owner of land.
● I-Tsing (AD 672–675)—the Chinese traveller— refers to the donation of
some villages to Chinese Buddhists at Nalanda monastery by the first Gupta
Srigupta.
 Important Offices During Gupta Times:
o Mahanandanayaka - Justice Delivery
o Mahapratihara - Chief of the Guards
o Gramadhyaksha/ gramika - Village headman
o Dutakas- Associated with Gifts and Grants

Ancient History
o Sandhi-Vigrahika- Minister of Peace and War
o Pilupati -Headed Elephants
o Asvapati -Headed Horses
o Sandivigraha - probably minister for foreign affairs.
o Nagara Sreshtis- officers looking after the city administration
o Narapti- Headed Foot Soldiers
o Ranabhandagrika- In charge of stores
o Akshapataladhikrita- Superintendent of Records and Accounts.
 High material prosperity.
 Remarkable impact of ahimsa and vegetarianism on society.
 Existence of a number of charitable institutions, free hospitals etc.
 The supremacy of brahmanas increased during this age.
 Land grants to religious priests in lieu of their services. This strengthened
the positions of the Brahmins, and the term ‗dvija‘ came to be restricted
normally to them.
 Increase in the worship of Mother Goddess and family cults.
 The position of the Sudras improved, and they became traders, artisans and
agriculturists. However, untouchability existed in society.
 Fa-Hien gives an account of a class called Chandalas, leading a segregated
Gupta Society
life.
 Slavery system existed during the Gupta Empire.
 Inter-caste and inter-racial marriage was common among the people.
 Rise of a new caste—Kayastha (mentioned in Yajnavalkya Smriti). They
used to keep records of lands.
 Status of women deteriorated further in the Gupta period. Women lacked
property rights. They had full right of their Stridhana. There was no
purdah system in the society. Women were subordinate to men. Polygamy
was widely prevalent. Their education was discouraged. However, women of
higher class participated in administration.
 The Sati system was in existence (evidence- Eran inscription, 510BC) and
widow marriage was becoming unpopular.
● Both internal and external trade reached its peak.
● During this period, North India traded with South-East Asia from the ports of
Ghantasala, Kadara and Tamralipti.
● Agriculture expanded during this. And one of the reason was the practice of
granting lands to the brahmanas it helped in bringing virgin lands under the
plough
● Main articles of import— gold, silver, copper, tin, silk, camphor etc.
Gupta‘s ● Main articles of export— pearls, precious stones, clothes, perfumes, spices.
Economy ● Important trade centres:
o Mathura—cotton.
o Varanasi—silk.
● Salt—from salt range in Punjab.
● The goddess Lakshmi is represented invariably on the Gupta coins.
● The Guptas issued the largest number of gold coins that were called Dinars.
But the gold contents of these coins are not as those of the Kushanas.
● The Guild system continued to play a very important role in trade and

Ancient History
commerce.
● Kulyavapa and Dronavapa: terms related to measurement of land.
● Tax
o Land tax increased in number. Bhagakara and Udranga—principal
sources of revenue— varied from one-fourth to one-sixth of the produce.
o Land was classified into cultivable (Kshetra), wasteland (Khila), forest
(Aprahat), habitable land (Vasti) and pasture (Gapatha sarah).
Decline of Trade
● The Gupta and post Gupta saw a comparative decline in the trade and
commerce
● Trade and commerce continued till 550 AD but in around 6th centuries the
Romans learned the art of rearing silkworms
● Another factor was the disruption of the north-western route by the Huna
invasion.
● They were efforts to make up the loss by carrying the trade with the
southeast Asians but it did not help to revive the economy substantially
● The loss of Roman trade can be evidenced by the decrease in the inflow of
gold and silver into the country hence scarcity of gold coins issued after
Gupta‘s
● Thus, an absence of coins means that a self-sufficient economic system with
limited trade prevailed after downfall of Guptas
● Vaishnavism/Bhagavatism became important, and the most important aspect
of it was Bhakti (which was open for all).
● Gupta kings proclaimed themselves as Bhagavatas (worshippers of Lord
Krishna) and Garuda was their emblem.
● Important god—Vasudeva Krishna.
● Shaivism too was important. Many of shoots of Shaivism like:
Lingayat/Maheswar was founded by Ramaiya.
Religion ● In Kashmir, Shaivism was influenced by Tantrikism.
● Surya worship became important. Surya temples found at Multan (in
Pakistan), Modhera (Gujarat), Osian (Rajasthan), Martand temple (Kashmir,
built by Lalitaditya), Konark temple (Orissa, built by Narsimha Varman).
● Durga, Ganesha and Kartikeya were also worshipped.
 In western and southern India Jainism flourished. The great Jain Council
was held at Valabhi during this period and the Jain Canon of the
Swetambras was written.
● The Gupta Age witnessed an unprecedented artistic activity all over India.
Gupta Age is sometimes referred to as the ―Golden Age‖ of ancient India.
● The Greek influence resulting into Gandhara art and later influencing
Mathura and Sarath schools of Art was fully Indianized.
● Both Nagara & Dravidian styles of architecture evolved during this period.
Gupta Art and ● The immortal Ajanta murals (shows the life of Buddha as depicted in
Architecture Jataka stories) were the most important achievement of this period. A large
number of viharas, chaityas and stupas were constructed during this period.
● Frescoes (technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid wet
lime plaster) of Ellora caves, the Bagh caves, the Sittanavasal temple in
Tamil Nadu and rock cut chambers at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka are examples of
Gupta paintings.

Ancient History
●
Stupa and cave construction reduced and temple construction (Nagara styled)
picked up. The period also produced magnificent Brahminical temples.
Some of the temples surviving Muslim invasions are Dasavatara temple of
Devgarh (Jhansi), Vishnu temple of Tigawa (Jabalpur), Shiva temples at
Bhumarah and Khoh and 2 Buddhist shrines at Sanchi and Bodh Gaya.
● The Bhitargaon temple is made entirely of brick. The Shikhars made their
appearance from here.
● Buddha statue unearthed at Saranath was unique piece of Gupta art.
● The Delhi Iron pillar of the Gupta period is still free from rust.
 Vagbhata (c. 600 CE): Disciple of Charaka, Ayurvedic physician. Wrote
"Ashtangahridaya" and "Ashtangasamgraha."
 Maharishi Palakapya: Author of "Hastyayurveda," focused on diagnosing
and treating major elephant diseases.
 Bhaskara II (12th century): Wrote "Lilavati" with significant calculus
ideas.
Development  Mahavira (9th century): Mathematician from Karnataka, wrote "Ganitasara
of Science and Sangraha" addressing mathematical problems.
Technology in  Dhanvantri: Renowned for Ayurvedic knowledge.
Gupta Period  Kashyapa (7th century): Physician who compiled Ayurvedic knowledge on
women's and children's diseases.
 Sushruta: Author of "Sushruta Samhita," a surgical treatise.
 Metallurgy in Gupta times: Significant advancements seen, particularly in
the production of bronze Buddha images.
 Iron pillar at Mehrauli, Delhi: Standing for fifteen centuries without rust, a
remarkable feat in metallurgy.
High prosperity in the different fields of education, such as mathematics,
astronomy, astrology, medical sciences etc.
Literature Written by Description
Aryabhatta Deals with epicyclic
(Also invented revolution of earth, nature
Aryabhatiya and Surya
zero, decimal of eclipse, reckoning of
Siddhanta
system, value of time etc.
pie etc.)
Varahamihira It is an encyclopaedia of
astronomy, physical
geography, botany and
Growth of
Brihat Samhita natural history. His other
Literature
works are
Panchasiddhantika, Brihat
Jataka etc.
Brahmagupta Brahasputa Siddhanta:
(Physician and This text of mathematical
Mathematician) astronomy contains
Brahasputa Siddhanta and significant mathematical
Khanda Khadyaka content, including a good
understanding of the role
KhandaKhadyaka: an
astronomical treatise

Ancient History
Susruta Ancient Sanskrit text on
Susruta Samhita
(Physician) medicine and surgery
Hastayurveda Palak Piya Treatise of Elephants
Jaina version of Vimala
Ramayana
Buddhaghosa,
Buddhadatta and
Buddhist authors of this
Vasubandhu Arya
period
Deva and Arya
Asanga
Panini Grammar work that
Astadhyayi describes a form of early
Indo-Aryan: Sanskrit.
Patanjali It is a commentary on
selected rules of Sanskrit
Mahabhasya
grammar from Pāṇini's
treatise
Yajnavalkya, Legal textbooks based on
Legal textbooks Narada, Brihaspati the work of Manu
and Katyayana
Kaumudi Mahotsava Vajika Sanskrit play
Somadeva Collection of Indian
legends, fairy tales and
Kathasaritsagara
folk tales as retold in
Sanskrit.
Swapnavasavadatta Bhasa Sanskrit play
Gita Govinda Jayadeva Adopted by Chaitanya
Kamandaka It is considered to be the
Nitisara Guptan equivalent of
Mauryan ‗Arthashastra‘.
Mrichchhakatika Shudraka Social play
Literature: Raghuvansga, Kalidas
Ritusamhara, Meghduta
Dramas: Vikramovarshiya,
Malvikagnimitra,
Abhijnanasakuntalam
Prayag prashasti Bhasa
Nyay Bhasha Vatsayana
Vishnu sharma Collection of interrelated
Panchatantra animal fables in Sanskrit
Hitopadesha verse and prose, arranged
within a frame story
Vaisheshika Philosophy Prasasti Pada

Ancient History
Brahmagupta It covers wide-ranging
subjects of human
interest, including
astronomy, planetary
Brihat Samhita, movements, eclipses,
Panchasiddhantika rainfall, clouds,
architecture, growth of
crops, manufacture of
perfume, matrimony and
domestic relations.
Mudrarakshasa, Vishakhadatta
Devichandraguptam
Kavyadarsa and Dandin Sanskrit Poems
Dasakumaracharita
● Sanskrit became the official language. The great epics—Ramayana and
Mahabharata— got their final touches in this period.
● The Puranas were compiled during the Gupta age.
Vasubandhu The first regular Buddhist work on logic
Siddhasena Diwakara Led the foundation of logic among the Jains
Shrenis or Trade Guilds

The Ramayana and many plays from the Gupta period and Tamil Sangam literature write in detail
about the trade guilds or shrenis. These were professional bodies of jewellers, weavers, ivory
carvers or even salt-makers who came together to control quality production, create a sound
business ethics, maintain fair wages and prices. Each Guild has its own chief, assisted by others.
Guild members were entitled to impeach and punish a chief found guilty of misconduct.
Decline of Gupta's
1. Political reasons: The Gupta decline started during the reign of Skandagupta, the grandson of
Chandragupta II. He was successful in retaliating against the Huns and the Pushyamitras, but his
empire was drained of finances and resources because of this.
 Internal fight
 Loss of reign: During the reign of a Gupta king, Budhagupta, the Vakataka ruler
Narendrasena of western Deccan attacked Malwa, Mekala and Kosala. Later on, another
Vakataka king Harishena conquered Malwa and Gujarat from the Guptas.
 Emergence of independent rulers: Independent rulers emerged all over the north like
Yasodharman of Malwa, the Maukharis of U.P., the Maitrakas in Saurashtra, and others in
Bengal. The Gupta Empire was restricted to Magadha only. (Yasodharman had joined forces
with Narasimhagupta to successfully retaliate against the Hun chief Mihirakula.)
2. Foreign invasion: During Skandagupta‘s reign, the Huns invaded northwest India but were
restricted. But in the sixth century, they occupied Malwa, Gujarat, Punjab and Gandhara. The
Hun invasion weakened the Gupta hold in the country.
 Chalukyas and pallavas emerged as a strong regional power in the southern parts.
3. Economic reasons: The migration of guild of Silk weavers from Gujarata to Malwa in AD 473
and their adoption of non-productive professions show that there was not much demand for cloth
produced by them. The advantages from Gujarat trade gradually disappeared.

Ancient History
4. Excessive religios grants: The later Guptas‘ following of Buddhism rather than Hinduism
unlike their ancestors also weakened the empire. They did not focus on empire-building and
military conquests.
So weak rulers along with incessant invasions from foreign as well as native rulers caused the
decline of the Gupta Empire. By the beginning of the sixth century, the empire had disintegrated and
was ruled by many regional chieftains.
******

Ancient History
Chapter-12
POST GUPTA ERA
Major Dynasties
● The Hunas were a rare race of Central Asia who came to India.
● During the reign of Kumaragupta, Hunas invaded India for the first time.
● They could not succeed in India under the dynasty of Kumaragupta and
Hunas Skandagupta, though they could penetrate into India.
[454 AD] ● Huns occupied India for a very short period of thirty years.
● Hunas‘ supremacy was established in North India.
● Toramana was their best ruler there and Mihirakula the most powerful and
cultured one.
● Hunas after defeating Firoz, king of Persia became masters of Persia
● Feudatories of Guptas and established independent Kingdom in western India.
● DhruvaSena 2nd was the most important ruler and was contemporary of
Harshavardhana.
Maitrakas
● Vallabhi was their capital and it became an important centre of learning
● It was port town hence flourished the trade and commerce
● They continued to rule the area until the middle of the 18th century when Arab
attacks and weekend their power
● The region of Western Uttar Pradesh around Kanauj was held by the Maukharis.
They also conquered some parts of Magadha. Gradually they overthrew the later
Guptas and made them move to Malwa.
● They were also the subordinate rulers of Gupta
● During the period of Ishanavarmana (554 CE), the Maukhari kingdom had
Mukharis
stretched to Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Gauda under his reign. The Andhra king
defeated by Ishanavarman may have been a member of the Vishnukudin family.
● Ishanavarmana is remembered in history for his resistance offered to Hunas,
resulting in defeat of Hunas. The Maukharis possibly fought with Hunas as
feudatories of Baladitya of the Imperial Gupta family.
● Maukharis belonged to Kshatriya (ruler-warrior) caste as their suffix ―varman‖

Ancient History
shows. They were staunch Hindus, favoured orthodoxy and tried to enforce and
maintain traditional social order among the people.
Hinduism received state support, Buddhism also managed to remain a prominent
religion.
Maukharis were subordinate rulers of Guptas and adopted title Samanta.
They exercised control over Kannauj (western Uttar Pradesh) and eventually
Kannauj replaced Pataliputra as the capital of northern India.
******

Ancient History
Chapter-13
HARSHA EMPIRE
The decline of the Gupta Empire was followed by a period of political disorder and disunity in North
India. It was only in the beginning of the seventh century A.D. that Harshvardhana succeeded in
establishing a larger kingdom in north India.
Sources of Information
1. Literature
● Harshacharita: written by Banabhatta (court poet of Harsha).
● Travel accounts of Hiuen Tsang: Chinese traveler who visited India in the seventh century
A.D.
● Dramas written by Harsha: Namely Ratnavali, Nagananda and Priyardarsika also provide
useful information.
● King Harshavardhana‘s Ratnavali: Its theme revolves around devious path adopted by
minister Yaugandharaya of Vatsa king Udayana of Kaushambi to get his king married to
Ceylonese princess Ratnavali.
2. Inscription
● Madhuban plate inscription (in Mau district, UP) and the Sonpat inscription (Sonipat
distrct, Haryana) are also helpful to know the chronology of Harsha.
● Banskhera inscription (Shahjahanpur, UP) contains the signature of Harsha.
Hiuen Tsang‘s Account
 Hiuen spent several years in Harsha's court, widely travelled in India and also closely
observed the Indian society.
 He had travelled to India to study at the University of Nalanda, located in the present Indian
state of Bihar.
 He provided detailed information about the social, economic, religious and cultural
conditions during the reign of Harsha. His account sheds light on the economic and social
life as well as the religious groups of the area.
 Hsuan Tsang was twice robbed of all his belongings during his travels in India.
 Harsha was a worshipper of Siva at least up to 631 CE. But he embraced Buddhism under
the influence of his sister Rajyasri and the Buddhist monk Hieun Tsang.
 According to Hieun Tsang, the occupations of the four divisions of society continued to be in
practice as in the previous times, however, there was no social conflict among the various
sections of the society.
 Duties were to be paid at trade barriers without fail. It was source of income for kingdom.
Onset of Harsha Empire and Early life of Harsha

● The founder of the family of Harsha was Pushyabhuti. Pushyabhutis were the feudatories of the
Guptas. They called themselves Vardhanas. During the Hun invasions they assumed
independence.
● According to Banabhatta the founder king of this dynasty at Thaneshwar was Pushyabhuti and
that the family was known as Pushyabhuti vamsa.
● However, the inscriptions of Harsha make no reference to Pushyabhuti.
● The first important king of the Pushyabhuti dynasty was Prabhakaravardhana. His capital was
Thaneswar, north of Delhi. He assumed the title Maharajadhiraja and Paramabhattaraka.
● Thaneshwar, during this time (about 604) was threatened by the Hunas from the western side.

Ancient History
● Banabhatta has described Prabhakara Vardhana as "a lion to the Huna deer". According to him
an army under Rajyavardhana was sent to defeat the Hunas but due to the sudden illness of his
father he had to come back.
● With Prabhakarvardhana's death, the family had to face troubled times for a while.
● The Malaya king Devagupta killed Grahavarman and took Rajyasri prisoner.
● The Malaya and the Gauda kings entered into alliance and even Thaneshwar was threatened.
● Rajyavardhana defeated the Malavas but was killed through treachery by Sasanka, the Gauda
king and Harsha succeeded his brother at Thaneswar.
● His first responsibility was to rescue his sister and to avenge the killings of his brother and
brother-in-law.
● He first rescued his sister when she was about to immolate herself.
Harsha‘s Era
● During Harshavardhana‘s rule, Kannauj was conquered and united with Thaneswar.
● Harshavardhana attacked Shashank of Gauda Kingdom and established his control over regions of
Bengal, Bihar and Odisha and befriended Bhashkarvarman of Kamrup (Assam).
● Dhruvsena of Maitraka Dynasty (Gujarat) too was defeated and a truce was negotiated with
him by marriage of Harsha‘s daughter to him.
● He assumed titles of Uttarapatha Natha or Uttar Pathapati (Lord of the North).
● While marching southwards, Harshavardhan conquered regions of Malawa and after crossing
Narmada he was defeated by Pulkeshin II in the Battle of Narmada.
● Harshavardhana was greatly influenced by the personality of Hieun Tsang and organized a
Buddhist assembly at Kannauj under his chairmanship.
● Hieun Tsang, in his book, has appreciated Harshvardhan‘s justice and munificence
(generosity).
● Harshavardhan, the able military commander and good administrator, died in 647 CE without
heir and is regarded as the last Hindu King to have ruled a large part of North India.
● Hence, his death also marks the end of Pushyabhuti dynasty and beginning of Muslim rule over
North India.
Salient Features of Harshavardhana

● Harsha governed his empire on the same lines of Gupta.
● Decentralised feudal system of administration.
● The basic unit of administration was a village.
● The king was just in his administration and punctual in discharging his
duties
● He made frequent visits of inspection throughout his dominion.
● Offices under the king became hereditary as Harisena who was a ‗maha
dandanayaka‘, or Chief Judicial Officer inherited the office from his father.
Administration ● One person could bear more than one office as Harisena also held offices of
‗Kumaramatya‘ and ‗Sangrahvigrahika‘
● Important officers: The ‗sreshti‘ (Chief Banker or Merchant), the
‗sarthavaha‘ (Leader of Merchant Caravans), ‗prathama kulika‘ (Chief
Craftsman), and the ‗kayasthas‘ (head of the scribes) were other important
officers of Harsha‘s administration.
● Maintenance of Public Records is an important feature of Harsha rule.
● The archive of the Harsha period was known as Nilopati and it was under the
control of special officers

Ancient History
● Military: Harsha's army consisted of the traditional four divisions: foot,
horse, chariot and elephant.
● Harsha was the first ruler to offer land grants to military officers on
hereditary basis.
● Taxation:
o One sixth of the produce was collected as land tax
o Taxes imposed on ports, income from mines and tributes from vassals
were other important revenue sources.
 Hiuen Tsang converted him to Mahayana Buddhism.
Harsha and  He erected thousands of stupas and established travellers‘ rests all over his
Buddhism kingdom.
 He brought the Buddhist monks together frequently to discuss and examine
the Buddhist doctrine.
 Harsha organized a religious assembly at Kanauj to honour the Chinese
pilgrim Hiuen Tsang towards the close of his reign.
 He invited representatives of all religious sects. It was attended by scholars
Kanauj from the Nalanda University, Hinayanists, Mahayanists, Brahmins and Jains.
Assembly  Hiuen Tsang explained the values of Mahayana doctrine and established
its superiority over others.
● However, violence broke out and there was also an attempt on the life of
Harsha.
 Hiuen Tsang mentions about conference held at Allahabad, known as
Prayag.
Allahabad  It was among conferences routinely convened by Harsha once in five years.
Conference ● Harsha gave away his enormous wealth as gifts to the members of all
religious sects.
 Hiuen-Tsang mentions:
o There were castes, a mix of sub-castes, untouchables and outcastes.
o Forced labour was absent.
o Sudras practiced agriculture.
o Three ways of disposal of the dead – cremation, water burial and
Society exposure in the woods.
● The position of women declined during this period as the institution of
Swayamvara (the ceremony of choosing husband) had become dysfunctional.
● Widow remarriage was not allowed and Sati & dowry systems were
prevalent.
● The trade and commerce had declined during Harsha's period
● This is evident from the decline of trade centres, less number of coins, and
slow activities of merchant guilds
● The decline of trade in turn affected the handicrafts industry and agriculture.
Economy ● Since there was no large-scale demand for goods, the farmers began to
produce only in a limited way
● This led to the rise of self-sufficient village economy
● There was a sharp economic decline as compared to the economy of the
Gupta period.
Religion ● As Harshavardhan was a secular king, all sects of religion peacefully
coexisted but Brahmanism grew more than others.

Ancient History
● He was Shiva devotee. But converted to Mahayana Buddhism
o Harsha prohibited the use of animal food in his kingdom and punished
those who kill any living being
o He erected thousands of stupas and established travelers' rests.
o He also erected monasteries at the sacred places of Buddhists
o He brought the Buddhist monks together frequently to discuss and
examine the Buddhist doctrine.
● Kannauj Assembly
o Harsha organized a religious assembly at Kannauj to honor the Chinese
pilgrim Hiuen Tsang towards the close of his reign.
o He invited representatives of all religious sects
o The Assembly went on continuously for 23 days
o Hiuen Tsang explained values of Mahayana & established its superiority
over others. However, violence broke out and there were acts of arson
o There was also an attempt on the life of Harsha. Soon, it was brought
under control and the guilty were punished
● Allahabad Conference or Prayag Assembly
o According to Hieun Tsang, Harsha held the Allahabad conference once
every 5 years.
o Harsha gave away his enormous wealth as gifts to the members of all
religious sects.
● The art and architecture are very few and mostly followed the Gupta style.
● Hiuen Tsang describes the glory of the monastery with many storeys built
by Harsha at Nalanda
● He also speaks of a copper statue of Buddha with eight feet in height
● The brick temple of Lakshmana at Sirpur with its rich architecture is
assigned to the period of Harsha.
Art and Culture
● Harsha was a great patron of learning:
o A patron of art and literature, Harshavardhan patronized the Banabhatta,
Mayura, Matanga Divakara etc.
o Banabhatta wrote – Harshacharita, Kadambari & Parvatiparinay.
o Harsha was a poet and composed three Sanskrit plays: Nagananda,
Ratnavali, and Priyadarshika.
 Harsha patronized Nalanda (means ―giver of knowledge‖) University by
his liberal endowments. It was founded by Kumaragupta I during the
Gupta period. It was patronised by his successors and later by Harsha. The
professors of the University were called panditas. Some of its renowned
professors were Dingnaga, Dharmapala, Sthiramati and Silabadhra.
Dharmapala was a native of Kanchipuram and he became the head of the
Nalanda Nalanda University.
University  Dharmapala was a native of Kanchipuram and he became the head of
Nalanda University.
 Though it was a Mahayana University, different religious subjects like
Vedas, Hinayana, Sankhya and Yoga philosophies were also taught.
 In addition to that, general subjects like logic, grammar, astronomy, medicine
and art were in the syllabus
● It attracted students not only from different parts of India but from different
countries of the east.

Ancient History
Chapter-14
SOUTHERN INDIA DURING 300AD TO 750AD
Vakataka Empire [225 AD-510 AD]: Contemporaneous of the Gupta
Era The Vakataka Empire was based in the Deccan in the mid-third century AD.
Founder Vindhya Shakti (250 BC)
The state extended from the southern edges of Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the
Region Tungabhadra River in the south as well as from the Arabian Sea in the western to
some parts of Chhattisgarh in the east.
 They were successors of the Satavahanas in the Deccan and contemporary of the
Guptas in northern India.
 The rock-cut Buddhist viharas and chaityas of the Ajanta Caves (UNESCO
World Heritage Site) were built under the patronage of the Vakataka king,
Harisena.
 Their empire was also divided into provinces called Rashtras or Rajyas, which
Others
were administered by governors known as Rajyadhikritas.
 A style by name Vaidharbhariti was developed in Sanskrit during their rule,
which was praised by the poets of the likes of Kalidasa, Banabhatta, and Dandin.
 Ajanta cave numbers XVI, XVII and XIX are the best examples of Vakataka
excellence in the field of painting, in particular the painting titled
―Mahabhinishkramana‖.
Pallavas
There are different views on the origin of the Pallavas. They were equated with the Parthians, the
foreigners who ruled western India.
Founder Simhavarman
Region The pallavas ruled over South Andhra Pradesh and north of Tamil Nadu
Pallavas established their kingdom in Tondaimandala. Their capital was
Capital Kanchipuram which became an important temple town and the centre of trade and
commerce
The pallavas expanded during the reign of Mahendraverman & Narsingh
Other Varman I. Their reign coincided with the growth of Tamil bhakti literature and the
Dravidian style of art and architecture in South India.
Important rulers of the dynasty

● Important battle: He was defeated by Chalukya King Pulkeshin II.
● Titles: Gunabhara, Satyasandha, Chattakari (temple-maker)
Chitrakarapuli (painter), Vichitrachitta and Mattavilasa were titles used
for Mahendravarman I.
Mahendravarman He built a Siva temple at Tiruvadi.
I Mahendravarman I was a follower of Jainism in the early part of his
(600 CE – 630 CE) career. He was converted to Saivism by the influence of the Saiva saint,
Thirunavukkarasar alias Appar.
Activities: He was a versatile genius having expertise over painting,
music and literature; composed a satirical drama Mattavilasa
Prahasanam in Sanskrit.

Ancient History
● Inscriptions:
o Mandagapattu inscriptions mention the beginning of rock-cut temple
constructions.
o Music inscriptions at Kudumiyanmalai were ascribed to him.
 Narasimhavarman I assumed the title ‗Vatapikonda‘.
 Narasimhavarman I was also known as Mamalla, which means ‗great
wrestler‘.
 His victory over Pulakesin II in the Battle of Manimangalam near
Kanchi is mentioned in Kuram copper plates.
Narasimhavarma  Another notable achievement of Narasimhavarman I was his naval
n I (630-668 A.D.) expedition to Sri Lanka.
 During his reign, Hiuen Tsang visited the Pallava capital
Kanchipuram. According to him, there were several monasteries and
Buddhist temples in the Pallava kingdom and that the people lived
happily.
 Narasimhavarman I was the founder of Mamallapuram and the
monolithic rathas were erected during his reign.
● Also known as Rajsimha.
● Title: Shankar Bhakta, Vadhyavidyadhara and Agmapriya etc.
● Architecture: Shore temple & Kailasanatha temple were built during
Narsimha
his reign.
Varman II (700-
● The famous Sanskrit scholar Dandin is said to have adorned his court.
728 AD)
● Patronized: Perundevannar who translated Mahabharata in Tamil and
named Bharathavenba.
● He was also a great patron of art and letters.
● He was succeeded by Parameswaravarman II and Nandivarman II.
The Pallava rule lasted till the end of the ninth century A.D. The Chola king Aditya I defeated the last
Pallava ruler Aparajita and seized the Kanchi region. With this, the rule of Pallava dynasty came to an
end.
Salient features of Pallavas

Pallavas promoted agriculture and sea-trade and collected huge wealth
which is reflected in grand temple-architecture of this time.
Pallava kingdom was divided into Kottams.
In Pallava administration land grants were given to Brahmans
(Brahmadeya) and to temples Devadhana and were exempted from
taxation.
Group of villages were called as ‗Nadu‘
Group of Nadus were called as ‗Nagaram‘ (Organisation of merchants)
Administration
Group of Nagarams were called as ‗Manadalam‘
Sabhas (assemblies) consisting of brahmin land owners functioned
through smaller assemblies/committees that looked after irrigation,
agriculture, roads, and temples.
Non- brahmin land owners‘ assemblies were called ‗Ur‘.
The Pallava inscriptions throw much light on the village assemblies
called sabhas and their committees.
Land tax was the primary source of the government revenue.

Ancient History
● The irrigation tanks at Mahendravadi and Mamandoor were dug during
the reign of Mahendravarman I.
● Four–fold caste system became rigid
● Period witnessed the growing effects of Aryan culture.
● There were three types of places during this time:
o Ur: Peasants lived here and it was headed by a headman who
collected and paid the taxes to the government.
o Sabha: THese were the land granted to the Brahmins, also called as
Agrahara villages. These were tax-free.
Society o Nagaram: Merchants and traders resided at this place.
● During the Pallava period, the Brahmins replaced the Jains and the
Buddhists in formulating policies.
● Kanchipuram was a great centre of learning.
● The University of Kanchipuram played a great role in the spreading of
Aryan culture in the South.
● It is said that the aryanisation of southern India was fulfilled during the
Pallava reign.
● Brahmana occupied the dominant position as Pallava were orthodox
Brahmanical Hindus.
● Bhakti Movement received promotion under Pallavas.
● Shaiva and Vaishnav sages promoted Shiva and Visnu bhakti
(devotion). This is known as the Bhakti Movement.
● Shaiva sage-poets were called as Nayanars (Important Nayanars:
Thirunavukkarasar or Appar, Sundarar or Sundaramurti, Sambandar,
Manikkavasagar). Vaishnav sage-poets were called Alvars (Important
Alvars: Perialvar, Andal-poetess, Nammalvar, Kulashekhar). They came
from all castes including those considered ―untouchable‖ like the Pulaiyar
and the Panars. They were sharply critical of the Buddhists and Jainas
Religion
and preached ardent love of Shiva or Vishnu as the path to salvation.
● Alvars and Nayanars drew upon the ideals of love and heroism as found
in the Sangam literature (the earliest example of Tamil literature,
composed during the early centuries of the Common Era) and blended
them with the values of bhakti.
● There are two sets of compilations of the songs of Nayanars which are
Tevaram and Tiruvacakam.
● The Pallava period witnessed the rise of Saivism & Vaishnavism and
decline of Jainism & Buddhism.
● In contact with the frequent customs, some rulers performed the
Aswamedha and other Vedic sacrifices.
● Kanchi developed as a great centre of education, culture and trade. The
Ghatika (centres of learning) at Kanchi was very popular.
● Tamil language and literature along with Sanskrit flourished under
Education, Pallavas.
Literature, Art ● Patronage to the saints yielded in the form of development of religious
and Architecture literature.
● Periyapuranam: Collection of songs in love and devotion of Shiva.
● Nalayir-Divya-Prabandham: Collection of songs in love and devotion
of Vishnu.

Ancient History
● The Sittannavasal paintings belonged to this period.
● The commentary called Dakshinchitra was compiled during the reign
of Mahendravarman I, who had the title Chittirakkarapuli.
● The five rathas, popularly called as the ―Panchapanadava Rathas‖,
signifies five different styles of temple architecture.
● Apart from the sculptures found in the temples, the ‗Open Art Gallery‘
at Mamallapuram remains an important monument bearing the sculptural
beauty of this period.
● Descent of Ganges or Penance of Arjun is fresco painting in stone.
● The Pallavas introduced the art of excavating temples from the rock. In
fact, Dravidian style of temple architecture began with the Pallava rule.
● Under Pallavas, the basic features of the Dravidian architecture i.e.,
Vimana, Mandapam and Gopuram became vividly developed.
● During Pallavas rule temple architecture developed in 4 styles under
various kings:
Small rock-cut temples were made and were
Mahendravarman I: called ‗manadapas‘; examples are Bhairavakona
temple and Anantheshwara temple at Undavalli.
‗Mandapas‘ became bigger, Mahabalipuram/
Mamallapuram city was founded and a number
of monolithic Ratha (Chariot) temples were
Narasimhavarman I
constructed like the Panchapandavar rathas.
Important Mandapams are of Varaha,
Mahishasuramardhini and Tirumurthi.
Free-standing or structural temples started to be
built. Shore, Olakkaneshwara and
Mukundanayanar Temples in Mahabalipuram
Rajasimha
and Kailashnath Temple and Vaikuntha Perumal
temple at Kanchipuram were constructed with
this feature.
Temples continue to be constructed in
Nandivarman and
Rajasimha style. Matagenswara and
later Pallavas
Muktheeswarar temples are examples of this.
● The Mamandur inscription contains a note on the notation of vocal music.
● Shore Temple was also built by Narasimhaverman II. It is the oldest
temple in South India. UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984.
● Vaikuntha Perumal at Kanchipuram was built by Nandivarman II.
● Painting: The Sittannavasal paintings belonged to this period.
● Literature: Dakshinachitra (Commentary) was compiled during the reign
of Mahendravarman I
Decline of Pallavas
● After Narasimhavarman the Pallava fortune declined.
● The Chalukyan army invaded the Pallava kingdom and even threatened its Capital Kanchipuram.
● During first half of 8th century the Pallava king Narasimhavarman Pallavamalla had to wage
wars simultaneously against three powers, namely, the Chalukyas, the Pandyas and Rashtrakutas.
● Aparajitavarman was the last king of the Pallava dynasty, with his defeat by the Chola king the
Pallava power finally came to an end about the close of the 9th century.

Ancient History
Chalukyas [ 543-753 Ad]
Besides the Pallavas, the Western Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas in the Deccan constitute important
political forces. Both these kingdoms had their rivals in the far south, namely the Pallavas and later the
Cholas.
Chalukyas of Badami
● Founder: Pulakesin I
● Region and capital: Chalukyas ruled the extensive Deccan region between 6th and 12th century
CE with the capital at Badami (Vatapi).
● Offshoots: The same family also ruled from Vengi (as the Eastern Chalukyas) and Kalyani
during some later time.
● Famous king: The most famous king of Chalukyas was Pulakesin II, contemporary of
Harshvardhan.
Pulakesin II (608 CE – 642 CE)
Aihole Inscription of Ravikirti described Victory of Pulakeshin II
He expanded the Kingdom to all of Maharashtra and conquered a large part of Deccan.
Pulakesin II defeated Harshavardhan and limited his southward expansion till Narmada.
He also defeated Kadambas of Banavasi and the Gangas of Mysore and established his
suzerainty.
Pulakesin II emerged victorious in the first struggle with Pallavas but he was defeated by
Narasimhavarman I (Vatapikonda) of Pallavas (Kanchi) who captured the capital Vatapi
(Badami).
Chalukyas of Badami adopted Vesara style in building architecture
Aihole- ‗Cradle of Indian Temple architecture‘
Rashtrakutas who were the feudatories of chalukyas overthrew chalukyas in 757
Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi

● The origins of the Chalukyas of Vengi go back to the time of Pulkesin II when he had appointed
his brother Kubja Vushnu Vardhana as a Viceroy of Vengi in around 620 AD.
● After the death of Pulakesin II, in Eastern Deccan, a branch of Chalukyas appeared with capital
at Vengi.
● Originally, the capital of the Eastern Chalukyas was located at the Vengi city. Later the capital
was shifted to Rajahmundry.
 After the establishment of the ―Eastern Chalukya Kingdom‖, Xuanzang travelled to the ―Andhra
Country‖. He had noticed that those people are mostly preferred as violent characteristics and in
a dangerous dark complexion.
Western Chalukyas of Kalyani

● During the late 10th century, the descendants of the Chalukyas of Badami, re-appeared and ruled
with Kalyani as their capital (Basavakanlyan, western deccan).
● Founder: Taila II in 973
● Establish after defeating Amoghvarsha IV, the last Rashtrakuta ruler
● Chalukyas of western did not provided autonomy in village administration

Ancient History
Salient Features of Chalukyas
● Chalukyas were highly centralised unlike Chola and Pallava. Units
(villages) were in direct control of central authorities.
Administration ● Chalukyas maintained a great naval force and small but well organised
standing army that too was contributed by feudal chiefs.
● Army officers were put to civil duties whenever an emergency arose.
● Rocky and infertile land limited the income from land for Chalukyas.
● Overall decline of trade and commerce in India during this period,
Economy therefore the Chalukyas conducted invasions and plunder of the
neighbouring regions.
● Arab traders were given patronage at the west coast under Chalukyas.
● Chalukyas of Badami practiced Brahmanism but respected other sects of
religion too.
● Expansion of Brahmanism is reflected by building of temples in honour of
Religion
Vishnu, Shiva and other gods. Hiuen Tsang mentioned that while Jainism
witnessed expansion, Buddhism declined in Chalukya‘s reign and region.
● Religious sphere of life became more ritualistic.
● Chalukyas contributed to the growth of Prakrit language and literature.
● Ajanta art continued to grow under the patronage of Chalukyas.
● The fusion of Nagara and Dravidian style i.e., Vesara Style of temples
started to appear during Chalukyas time but they distinctively developed
under Rashtrakutas and Hoysalas.
● Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal are important centres of structural
temples of the Chalukyas.
● The Chalukya temples may be divided into two stages:
o The first stage is represented by the temples at Aihole and Badami.
o The second stage is represented by the temples at Pattadakal (UNESCO
World Heritage site).
Literature, Art ● Ajanta (Cave paintings too), Ellora and Nasik have some of the Cave
and temples of Chalukyas times.
Architecture ● A number of rock-cut halls (Chaityas) were constructed and granted to Jain
monks.
● Aihole-Badami and Pattadikal groups are two groups of temples of
Chalukyas; of these:
● Ladh Khan temple, Durga temple (a Buddha Chaitya), Huchimalligudi
temple and the Jain temple of Meguti are in Aihole group.
● The Muktheeswarar temple and the Melagutti Sivalaya are at Badami.
● Virupaksha temple are famous for their Dravidian style. The Virupaksha
temple is built on the model of Kailasanatha temple at Kanchipuram.
● At Pattadakal, a UNESCO World Heritage site, there are 10 temples;
o Papanatha temple is in Nagara style
o Sangameshwara temple and Virupaksha temple are in Dravidian style.
Rashtrakutas [8th century AD]

The Rashtrakutas were of Kannada origin and Kannada language was their mother tongue. Dantidurga
was the founder of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. He defeated the Gurjaras and captured Malwa from them.
Then he annexed the Chalukya kingdom by defeating Kirtivarman II. Thus, the Rashtrakutas became a
paramount power in the Deccan.

Ancient History
1. Sources of Information
 Ellora and Samugarh inscription.
 S Altekar has written book ―Rashtrakuta and their times‖
2. Beginning: The Rashtrakutas were of Kannada origin and Kannada language was their
mother tongue. The Rashtrakutas were originally known to be the feudatories of the Western
Chalukyas of Vatapi. They ruled from Manyakheta as their capital in Karnataka..
3. Founder: Dhantidurga was the founder of Rashtrakuta dynasty, he defeated Chalukyas of
Badami.
Important rulers
● Feudatory of Chalukyas
Dantidurga
● Title: Prithvivallabha
[735-756 AD]
● Defeated chalukya king, Kirti Varman II and became master of whole
Deccan
Krishna I ● Brought an end to Chalukya empire by killing Kirtivarman II
[758-773 AD] ● He built the magnificent rock-cut monolithic Kailasa temple at Ellora.
● Dhruva was greatest in the Rashtrakuta dynasty, during his reign
Rashtrakuta power reached its Zenith.
● He defeated Pallavas, Eastern Chalukyas, Palas and Pratiharas.
Dhruva
● By defeating Vatsaraja of Prathihara and Dharmapala of pala dynasty he
conquered Kannauj
● He was the first Deccan king to control Kannauj.
● Amoghavarsha was a patron of literature and he patronised the famous
Digambara acharya Jinasena, Sanskrit grammarian Sakatayana and the
mathematician Mahaviracharya.
● His cultural achievements are greater than his military achievements.
● He constructed Manyakheta city and made it his capital.
Amoghavarsha
● Amoghavarsha was himself a great poet and his Kavirajamarga is the
earliest Kannada work on poetics.
● Sulaiman-al-Tajir , the Arab traveler, visited his capital in 851CE. He says
the Rashtrakuta empire is one of the four great empires of the world.
● His titles: Nrupatunga, veeranarayana etc.
Salient features of Rashtrakutas

● The Rashtrakuta Empire was divided into several provinces called Rashtras
under the control of Rashtrapatis.
● A Rashtra was ruled by a Rashtrapathi who once in a while was the emperor
himself.
Administration
● Under a Rashtra was a Vishaya (district) regulated by a Vishayapathi. The
ministers once in a while ruled more than a Rashtra.
● The most minimal division was a Grama or village administered by a
Gramapathi or Prabhu Gavunda.
 The economy was also in a flourishing condition. There was an active
Economy commerce between the Deccan and the Arabs.
● The Rashtrakuta kings promoted the Arab trade by maintaining friendship

Ancient History
with them.
● Rashtrakuta rulers had great quality of religious tolerance.
● The worship of Shiva and Vishnu was popular during Rashtrakuta reign.
The famous rock-cut Shiva temple at Ellora was built by Krishna I.
Religion
● Jainism was patronized by laters rulers like Amoghavarsha. He was also a
staunch devotee of Kolhapur Mahalaxmi.
● Buddhism had declined and its only important centre was at Kanheri.
● The Rashtrakuta rulers were great patrons of learning. Kannada and Sanskrit
literature made great progress during their reign.
● The three gems of ancient Kannada literature –Pampa, Ranna, Ponna were
patronised by Rashtrkuta kings. They wrote following books in kannada
o Pampa- Adipurana, vikramarjuna vijaya
o Ranna- Gadhayudha
o Ponna- Shantipurana
Literature ● Amoghvarsha wrote Kavirajamarga, first book on poetics in Kannada (few
claim that this was originally written by court port Srivijaya).
● Mahaveeracharya, a mathematician, wrote Ganithasarasangraha in sanskrit.
● Halayudha wrote Kavirahasya in Sanskrit.
● Pampa was the greatest of the Kannada poets. His famous work was
Vikramasenavijaya.
● Overall, Kannada language received great patronage and golden age in this
era.
● The Rashtrakutas made splendid contributions to Indian art.
● They built structural temples, cave temples and Basadis.
● Ellora, Ajantha and Elephanta are centres of their art.
● Kailasa Temple:
o It was built by the 8th century Rashtrakuta King Krishna I
o It is worlds largest monolithic temple
o It is modelled along similar lines to other Hindu temples
o The sculpture of Goddess Durga is shown as slaying Buffalo demon.
Art and o In another sculpture Ravana was making attempts to lift Mount Kailasa,
Architecture the abode of Siva.
o The scenes of Ramayana were also depicted on the walls.
o The general characteristics of the Kailasa temple are more Dravidian.
● Dasavatara cave: Cave 15, Dashavatara Cave is one of the finest at Ellora.
The two storeyed temple contains mesmerising Shiva Nataraja and a Shiva
emerging from Lingam while Vishnu and Brahma pay homage.
● Elephanta cave: Nataraja and Sadashiva excel even that of Ellora
sculptures in beauty and craftsmanship. Ardhanarishvara and Maheshamurti
are other famous sculptures. UNESCO world heritage site.
Imperial Cholas (850 – 1279 Ad)

After the decline of the Sangam period, the Cholas became feudatories in Uraiyur. They became
prominent in the ninth century and established an empire comprising the major portion of South India.
Their capital was Tanjore.

Ancient History
Sources of Information
● Inscriptions: More than 10,000 inscriptions engraved on copper and stone. The inscriptions
mainly record the endowments and donations to temples made by rulers and other individuals.
Land transactions and taxes (both collections and exemptions) form an important part of their
content
● Copper plates: Copper plates contain royal orders. Also contain details of genealogy, wars,
conquests, administrative divisions, local governance, land rights and various taxes levied.
● Literary sources: Muvarula, and Kamba Ramayanam, the great epic, belong to this period
Cholas Empire
● Founder: Vijayalaya, who was at first a feudatory of Pallavas
● Greatest king: The greatest kings of Cholas were Rajaraja & his son Rajendra I.
● Capital: Uraiyur
Important rulers
● Greatest Chola Ruler, who helped raise Chola empire as largest dominion
in South India.
● Titles: Mummidi Chola, Jayankonda & Shivpadshekhara.
● He defeated Chera, Pandya & conquered Maldives Islands.
● Naval expedition against the Sailendra Empire (Malaya Peninsula).
● Expanded trade with China.
Rajaraja I ● In 1010 CE, constructed the Rajarajeshwara or Brihadeshwara temple,
(985- 1014 AD): dedicated to shiva at Thanjavur.
● Rajarajeshwara or Brihadeshwara temple is a part of ―Greatest Living
Chola Temples‖, & entered the UNESCO World Heritage site list in
1987. This temple is the finest example of Dravidian architecture.
● Developed a revenue system where land was surveyed & then revenue was
assessed. So, he was referred to as Ulakalanada Perumal (great who
measured earth).
● Son of Rajaraja I, defeated & conquered whole Sri Lanka.
● Made Chola navy the strongest in the area and ‗Bay of Bengal‘ was
converted into a ‗Chola Lake‘.
Rajendra I
● He also known as Napoleon of South India.
(1014- 1044 AD)
● Title: ―Gangaikondachola‖ & built a city ―Gangaikondacholapuram‖.
● He was a great patron of learning and known as Pandita – chola.
● Encouraged local self-government.
Salient Features of Cholas

● King was assisted by the council of ministers.
● Perundanam & Serundanam were important officials.
● The Empire was divided into:
Administration o Mandalams (provinces) – Royal princes (in charge)
o Valanadus – Perinattar
o Nadus (district) – Nattar
o Autonomous Villages – 30 wards (members selected by lottery type)

Ancient History
● Local self-government was an important feature of Cholas rule.
● Ur Nattam was a residential portion of the city.
● Ur was the general assembly of village & Sabha was gathering of adult men
in the Brahmana village – Agrahara (rent free villages with autonomy).
● Revenue administration
o Main source of income was land revenue, which was 1/6th of produce.
o Dues were levied on ceremonial occasions like marriage.
● Divided on caste lines: Periyar (Untouchables), Vellallas (Farming groups).
● Emergence of caste dichotomy:
o Idangai (left hand caste groupings): Consisted mainly of artisanal and
trading groups.
Society o Valangai (right hand groupings): Consisted mainly of agricultural groups.
● Women were heads of some villages, as per some inscriptions.
● Significant shift of royal patronage from gifts to Brahmans to gifts to
Temples.
● Expansions in agrarian economy, use of Agrahatta (Persian wheel) for
smooth irrigation.
● Emergence of various crafts centers, i.e., Kanchipuram as an important
weaving industry centre, Kudamukku was center for betel nut & areca nut
Economy
production.
● Emergence of trading caste: Garveras (Northern merchants migrated
southwards), Gaudas/ Gavundas (originally cultivators).
● Chola had trade relations with Java, Sumatra, Arab & China.
● Sivakasintamani written by Thiruthakkadevar and Kundalakesi belonged
to the 10th century.
● Ramayana composed by Kamban and Periyapuranam or Thiruthondar
Puranam by Sekkilar are two master-pieces of this age.
● The Telugu version of Mahabharata was started by Nanniah & completed
by Tikkana.
Literature ● Moovarula written by Ottakuthar depicts the life of three Chola kings.
● The Nalavenba was written by Pugalendi.
● The works on Tamil grammar like Kalladam by Kalladanar,
Yapperungalamby Amirthasagarar, a Jain, Nannul by Pavanandhi and
Virasoliyam by Buddhamitra were written during Chola rule.
● Pampa, Ponna, & Ranna are considered 3 gems of Kannada literature lived
in the 10th century.
● Dravidian type of temple architecture reached its climax under cholas.
● Chola kings built lofty temples & inscribed long inscriptions on the wall
narrating their achievements. They also depict the socio-economic conditions
of that period.
Art and
Architecture ● Kailasanath Temple of Kanchipuram was built in the 8th century.
Airavatesvara temple & temple at Gangaikondacholapuram, Nataraja
temple at Chidambaram are famous.
● The Chola period is also remarkable for its sculptures and bronzes. The
best example of this can be seen in dancing figure of Nataraja.

Ancient History
● Bharatanatyam & kathakali are two types of dances performed during the
Chola period.
● The Big Temple at Tanjore built by Rajaraja I is a master-piece of South
Indian art and architecture. It consists of the Vimana, Ardhamandapa,
Mahamandapa and a large pavilion in the front known as the
Nandimandapa.

Ancient History
Appendix: Important Terminology from Previous Year Questions
Term Meaning
Dharma Dharma was a conception of obligations and of the discharge of one‘s
duties to oneself and to others.
Rita Rita was the fundamental moral law governing the functioning of the
universe and all it contained.
Bhumisparsha Mudra Buddha‘s calling of the Earth to witness his purity and chastity despite
the temptations of Mara.
Guilds (Shreni) Every guild was registered with the central authority of the State and the
king was the chief administrative authority on them. The wages, rules of
work, standards and prices were fixed by the guild. The guild had
judicial powers over its own members.
Chaityas Chaitya is a place of worship
Viharas Vihara is the dwelling place of the monks
Nirvana The extinction of the flame of desire
Tolkappiyam The book on Tamil Grammar
Maagadha Profession of memorizing of chronicles, dynastic histories and Epictales.
Sthanakvasi Associated with Jainism, those who do not have their religious activities
in temples but carry on their religious duties in places known as
Sthanakas.
Maitreya Future Buddha, yet to come to save the world.
Kulyavapa and Units for measurement of land.
Dronavapa
Parivrajaka Renunciant and Wanderer
Shramana Shramanas were ascetics who lived a severe and self-denying lifestyle in
order to achieve spiritual emancipation.
Upasaka Lay follower of Buddhism
Paramitas Perfections whose attainment led to the Bodhisattva path.
Mitakshara School of inheritance/ System of family laws. Similarly, Dayabhaga:
System of family laws. In the Mitakshara system, the sons can claim
right to the property during the lifetime of the father, whereas in the
Dayabhaga system, it is only after the death of the father that the sons
can claim right to the property.
Fanam A small gold or silver coin formerly in widespread use in southern India
Eripatti/Erichcheruvu Special category of land known only in South India. This was land
donated by individuals, the revenue from which was set apart for the
maintenance of the village tank, which indicates the dependence of the
village on the tank for irrigation. The committee of village Sabha namely
Erivariyaperumakkal (comprising of greatman of tank committee)
supervised these lands meant for tank maintenance.
Taniyurs Taniyur is a large village under Chola administrative division. Many of
the Brahmadeyas in the Chola period were Taniyur (separate village) in a
Nadu. They had a separate administrative system (revenue and justice).

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