Indian History

INDIAN HISTORY
ANCIENT INDIA- MEDIEVAL INDIA-

MODERN INDIA- ART AND
ARCHITECTURE
ANCIENT INDIA
• PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD
• INDUS VALLEY CIVILISATION
• THE ARYANS AND THE VEDIC AGE
• PRE-MAURYAN AGE
• JAINISM- BUDDHISM
• THE MAURYAN EMPIRE
• POST-MAURYAN PERIOD
• GUPTA PERIOD
PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD
• Recently reported artifacts from Bori from
MAHARASHTRA suggest the appearance of
human beings in INDIA around 1.4 MILLION
YEARS ago. The early man in India used stone
tools, roughly dressed by stone clipping. The
period is therefore known as STONE AGE.
PRE-HISTORIC PERIOD
• STONE AGE IS FURTHER DIVIDED INTO.,
– Paleolithic/old stone age
– Mesolithic/ Middle stone age
– Neolithic/ New stone age
– Chalcolithic age
PALEOLITHIC/OLD STONE AGE
• 500000-9000 BC
• Paleolithic men were hunters and food gatherers.
• They had no knowledge of agriculture, fire or pottery;
they used tools of unpolished, rough stones and lived
in cave rock shelters
• Also called quartzite men- at the last phase of this
period homosapiens appeared- this age is divided into
three phases based on the stone tools used by the
people and the changes in the climate and
environment.
MESOLITHIC/ MIDDLE STONE AGE
• 9000-4000 BC- Transition phase between the

PALEOLITHIC & NEOLITHIC AGE
• Climate became warm and dry and made it
possible for the human beings to move to new
areas. People lived by hunting, fishing and food
gathering. At later stages they also
domesticated animals.
• The people of the paleolithic and mesolithic
ages practised painting. Eg., BHIMBETKA in MP
NEOLITHIC AGE(4000-1000 BC)
• Used tools made up of polished stones.
Particularly stone axes.
• It is intresting that in BURZAHOM, domestic
dogs were buried with their masters in their
graves.
• Men lived in caves and decorated the cave
walls by hunting and dancing scenes.
INDUS-VALLEY CIVILISATION
• Indus Valley civilisation is one of the 4 earliest
civilisation of the world along with other civilisations
of Mesopotamia(TIGRIS & EUPHARATES)Egypt(NILE)
and China(HWANG HO).
• The civilisation fancy a part of the proto-history of
India and belongs to the bronze age.
• The most accepted period is 2500-1700 BC.
• DAYARAM SAHNI 1st to discover Harappa in 1921. RD
BANNERJEE discovered MohenjoDaro or “mount of
dead” in 1922
• It can be divided into the following sub-parts.,
– Early phase= 2900-2500 BC
– Middle/Matural phase=2500-2000 BC
– Later Phase= 2000-1750 BC
• NOMENCLATURE
– Indus Valley civilisation, as it flourished the along
the Indus River.
– Harappan civilisation named by John Marshall,
after the 1st to discover the site Harappa.
– SARAWATI-SINDHU CIVILIZATION as most of the
sites have been found at the Hakra-ghaggar river.
• TOWN PLANNING
– Town planning was not in uniform.
– A common feature was the grid system, dividing the
town into large rectangular blocks.
– The towns where divided into two parts. The upper
part or citadel and the lower part.
– Underground drainage system connected all houses to
the street drains, made up of mortar, lime and
gypsum. They were covered with either brick or stone
slabs and equipped with manholes. This shows a
developed sense of health and sanitation.
• THE GREAT BATH, was used for religious
batting steps at either end lead to the surface.
With in letter to the tank outlet for a drain
water. There were changing rooms alongside.
• Houses are made up of burnt bricks. Lamp
post were erected at a regular intervals it
indicates the existence of street lighting.
The so-called "granary" of Harappa is found on Mound F. It is a
brick structure that was built on a massive brick foundation
over 45 meters north south and 45 meters east-west. Two
rows of six rooms that appear to be foundations are arranged
along a central passageway that is about 7 meters wide and
partly paved with baked bricks. Each room measures 15.2 by
6.1 meters and has three sleeper walls with air space between
them. A wooden superstructure supported in some places by
large columns would have been built on top of the brick
foundations, with stairs leading up from the central passage
area. Small triangular opening may have served as air ducts to
allow the flow of fresh air beneath the hollow floors.
• AGRICULTURE
– Agriculture was the backbone of the civilisation.
– The soil was fertile due to inundation of the river
INDUS.
– They used wooden plough(ploughed field in
KALIBANGAN) and stone sickles for harvesting.
– Crops produced were wheat, barley, dates, peas,
sesamun, mustard, millet, ragi, bajra, and jowar. At
lothal and rangpur rice husk were found.
• AGRICULTURE
– They were the first to produce cotton in the world,
which greeks called as sindon derived from sind. A
fragment of woven cotton cloth was found at
mohenjodaro.
– Well- irrigation is evident from the dams and
irrigation canals found at DHOLAVIRA. Sugarcane
was not known to the INDUS PEOPLE.
• DOMESTICATION OF ANIMALS
– Animal rearing was practicised. They domesticated
buffaloes, oxens, sheep, asses, goats, pigs,
elephants, dogs, cats etc.,
– Camel bones are reported at kalibangan and
remains of a horse was discovered from surkotada
• ARTS AND CRAFTS
– HARAPPANS used stone tools and implements and
were well acquainted with bronze. Bronze= cu+tin.
– Boat making, jewellery of gold, silver, precious stone
and bead making was practised. Cotton fabrics were
used in summer and woolens were used in winter.
– Pottery: both plain or painted(red and black) pottery
was made. Pots were decorated with human figures,
plants, animals and geometric patterns.
• ARTS AND CRAFTS
– Metal images: bronze image of devadasi and stone-
steatite image of a bearded man were both obtained
from mohenjodaro.
– Terracotta figurines: fire baked clay was used to make
toys, objects of worship, animals(monkey, dogs,
sheep, cattle, humped and humpless bulls), cattle
toys with movable head, toy-carts, whistles shaped
like birds and both male and female figurines.
– Dice games are played. Gambling seems like the most
favourite time-pass.
• TRADE
– AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRY AND FOREST provided the
basis for internal and external trade.
– Trade was based on BARTER system- coins was not
evident- bullock carts and boats were used for
transportation.
– Weights and measures were made in limestone,
steatite etc. generally in cubical shape and in
multiples of 16.
– Foreign trade flourished with Mesopotamia or
Sumeria (Iraq), central asia, persia, bahrain and
afghanistan.
• Religious practices
– Worship of Mother Goddess: A large
number of excavated terracotta figurines
are those of a semi-nude figures which is
identified with some female energy or
Shakti or Mother Goddess, who is the
source of all creation. She is wearing
numerous ornaments an a fan-shaped
head dress. It is concluded from the
smoke stained figures that the people
offered burnt incense before her.
– Worship of Pashupati or Lord Shiva:
The Pashupati seal in which the three
faced male god is shown seated in a
yogic posture, surrounded by a rhino
and a buffalo on the right, and an
elephant and a tiger on the left, make
the historians conclude that the people
of those days worshipped Lord Shiva
who is the Lord of the Beast (Pashupati)
and the male principle of creation.
Discovery of a large number of conical
or cylindrical stones show that the
people worshipped lingam, the symbol
of Lord Shiva.
– Worship of Trees: The worship of trees was
widespread. The Pipal tree was considered most
sacred. One of the seals shows a god standing
between the branches of a people tree and the god
was being worshipped by a devotee on his knees. The
discovery of a large number of seals with papal trees
engraved on them suggests that this tree was
considered sacred, same as some nowadays Hindu
do.
– Other Objects of Worship: People also
worshipped animals such as the bull, buffalo and
tiger. The worship of mythical animals is evident
from the existence of a human figure with a bull's
horns, hoofs and a tail. Besides animals, these
people also worshipped the Sun, the Fire and the
Water.
– Faith in Magic, Charms and Sacrifices: The
discovery of amulets suggests that the Indus valley
people had belief in magic and charms. Some
seals have figures of men and animals in act of
sacrificing. This shows that sacrifices played some
part in their religion. Fire altars are found in lothal
and kalibangan.
– Belief in Life after Death: The people of Indus
Valley disposed of their dead either by burial or by
cremation. They buried their dead together with
household pottery, ornaments and other articles
of daily use. Even when they cremated the dead,
they preserved the ashes of the bodies in clay
urns. Both these practices show that people
believed in life after death.
– The existence of public baths suggests that people
believed in ritual bathing. The religious beliefs
such as the worship of Shiva, animals and trees,
show that the religious beliefs of the Indus Valley
people were the foundation on which the modern
day Hinduism grew up.
• SCRIPT
– PICTOGRAPHIC- fish symbol is the most
represented- written from right to left in the first
line- BOUSTROPHEDON style.
• This civilization is said to have come to an abrupt end.
The following reasons are put forward for its abrupt end:
– The neighboring desert encroached on the fertile area and
made it infertile.
– Regular floods destroyed the area.
– Aryan invaders killed people and destroyed the Indus Valley
Civilization. The Harappan people were peace loving. They did
not have weapons to attack others or to defend themselves.
They had implements for hunting or farming. So they could not
defend themselves against the invaders. The destruction of
these people by Aryans was a sad event in history. The Aryans
lived in villages and knew nothing of urban life. Thus it took
hundred of years again for India to have beautiful cities like
Mohen-jo-daro and Harappa.
• The end was partly caused by changing river patterns. These
changes included the drying up of the Hakra River and changes
in the course of the Indus River. The river changes disrupted
agricultural and economic systems, and many people left the
cities of the Indus Valley region.
• Earthquakes and Epidemics caused destruction.
• By 1700 B.C., the Indus civilization had gradually broken up into
smaller cultures, called late Harappan cultures and post-
Harappan cultures. However, some aspects of Indus art,
agriculture, and possibly social organization continued in the
smaller cultures. Some of these aspects became incorporated
into a unified urban civilization that began developing
throughout the region about 600 B.C.
• Conclusion:
The Indus Valley people gave to the world its earliest

cities, its town planning, its architecture in stone and clay,
and showed their concern for health and sanitation. They
built a scientific drainage system in their cities.
There is enough evidence to show that some of the early

conceptions of Hinduism are derived from this culture. On
the whole, the present civilization is a composite product
resulting from a fusion of several cultures where the
contribution of the Indus Valley is of utmost importance.
ARYANS AND THE VEDIC AGE
• Aryan is in fact a linguistic term indicating a speech group of
Indo-European origin, and is not an ethnic term. However this
inaccuracy has become so current in historical studies of early
India that it would sound unduly obscure to refer to the Aryans
as 'the Aryan speaking peoples'. In Sanskrit, however, the word
'Aryan' means 'a noble man'. Aryans were the most illustrious
race in history. They were tall, fair complexioned, good-looking
and cultured people. Groups of Aryans are said to have settled in
different countries and developed some of the most remarkable
civilizations of the world. People belonging to the various parts
of the world claim themselves to the proud descendents of the
Aryans. In fact Adolf Hitler used the German pride of being the
descendant of the Aryans as his tool to spread racial hatred
against the so-called non-Aryans, during the World War II.
• ARYAN- HIGH BIRTH
• The location of the original homeland of the
Aryans were still controversial, but most
accepted theory is that they migrated from
central asia and settled in the place which is
known as “the land of seven rivers”. This
theory was given by MAX MULLER.
• German scholar Max-Muller thought that the original
home of the Aryans was somewhere near the Caspian
Sea. From there they had migrated to the European
countries. Two groups of Aryans are said to have come to
Persia and India. The Aryans who had migrated to India
are known as the 'Indo-Aryans'. They were the first people
who entered India through the north-western passes. The
common descent of the Aryans is also indicated by the
fact that Sanskrit, the language of the Indo-Aryans, is
closely related to many languages of Europe and some
languages of Western Asia.
• From this it can be concluded that in olden times the
ancestors of these people who spoke similar languages must
have once lived as neighbors. Bhagwan S. Gidwani in his
book 'The Return of the Aryans' contends that Aryans were
the original inhabitants of India and from here they migrated
to other places in the world. He argues that if Aryans did
migrate from other places to India then why is there no
reference to those places in their books, such as Vedas,
Puranas, Upanishads, etc. According to Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Aryans originally inhabited Siberia but due to the falling
temperature had to leave Siberia for greener pastures.
• It is generally believed that the Aryans came to
India in groups that settled in the areas of
North-Western Province in Pakistan and the
Punjab which they had then named Sapt-Sindhu
or the 'land of seven rivers', namely, the Indus,
the Sutlej, the Ravi, the Beas, the Chenab, the
Jhelum and the Saraswati. Later, they called this
area Brahmavarta or 'the land of Brahma'. The
Aryans were found to have been occupying the
whole of the present region of Punjab from
about 1500 B.C.
• The first group of Aryans fought against the
Dravidians and other inhabitants whom they
defeated and are supposed to have been
pushed down towards south of India. The
Aryans were also victim of infighting and inter-
tribal wars.
• THE DASARAJNA WAR
– There is an interesting reference to the inter-tribal conflicts
in Rig-Veda. The most famous being the Battle of the Ten
Kings. Sudas, we are told, was the king of the Bharat tribe
settled in western Punjab, and Vishwamitra was his chief
priest, who had conducted successful campaigns for the
king. But Sudas wished to dismiss Vishwamitra and appoint
another chief priest in his place, Vasishtha, since the latter
was supposed to have greater priestly knowledge. This
infuriated Vishwamitra, who formed a confederacy of ten
tribes and attacked Sudas, but Sudas was victorious. Cattle-
stealing and land disputes were probably a frequent cause
of inter-tribal wars.
• Wars were not confined to inter-tribal fighting alone.
The Aryans had still to contend with the indigenous
people of northern India, who were of non-Aryan origin.
The enemies were described by Aryans as Panis and
Dasas. The Panis were troublesome, as they were cattle-
thieves and cattle were the main wealth of the Aryans.
The fight with the Dasas were more prolonged as they
were well settled in the land. The Dasas were defeated
is clear from the fact that the word Dasa later came to
be mean a slave. The Dasas were held to be inferior
because of their darker skin and flat features quite
unlike theirs.
• The Aryans pushed their way along the river Ganga
and Yamuna from Sapt Sindhu and by and by occupied
the whole of Northern India from the Himalayas to
the Vindhayas. The area was called as Aryavartha or
'the land of the Aryans'. The period between 100 B.C.
and 600 B.C. during which the Aryans settled in the
Gangetic valley, was known as the later Vedic age.
During this period the Aryans occupied vast areas in
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Bengal and other parts of
North India. The events relating to Ramayana and
Mahabharata took place during the later part of the
Vedic period.
• The life of a man in the Aryan society was
divided into four stages of 25 years each,
assuming that a man lived for 100 years. The
first part of his life span, that is from birth till
the age of 25 years was supposed to be the
period of Brahmacharya (celibacy). During this
period he was supposed to be busy in studies.
• The Vedic Aryans did not know the art of writing. However,
they possessed a literature handed down in a particular
school by word of mouth. Therefore, the Aryans sent their
sons to the house of the teacher where they lived as
members of his family. The word gurukula means the family of
the teacher. The young people lived with the Guru till he
learnt enough to lead a decent life. The Gurukula was situated
in a secluded area far away from the cities. The Guru was also
a religious teacher under whom a pupil lived in complete
obedience. Beside learning, the pupil helped the Guru's family
in gathering wood or tending animals. There was no
distinction of high or low caste in a Gurukul all lived like
brothers and shared the same food.
• Education was free but students from well-to-
do families payed Gurudakshina, a sought of
voluntary contribution after the completion of
their studies. At the Gurukulas, the teacher
imparted knowledge not only of religion, but
also in arts of warfare, statecraft, medicine
and astrology. Sometimes the Gurukulas were
very large institutions and the name of the
Guru attracted many students.
• Ashramas-The term ashrama means a stage in
the long journey of life of a man.
• After the education in the Gurukula, the man
entered the second stage of his life that is
Grihastha ashrama (householders life) till the
age of fifty. During this stage a man was
supposed to marry and lead a family life
following a set of customs & Traditions.
• After this he entered vanaprastha ashrama (life of
service to others) till the age of seventy five.
During this third period he was supposed to
break the family ties and serve the community.
• This stage was followed by Sanyasa (a renounced
life in the forest) where a person had to abandon
his complete social life and devote all his time in
the service of God to attain salvation.
• The unit of society was the family, which was
patriarchal. A number of families constituted a sept,
grama, which word was later used for village,
suggesting that the families in the early settlements
were related. The family unit was a large one,
generally extending over three generations and with
the male offspring living together. Very early
marriages were not customary, and there was a fair
amount of choice in the selection of a mate.
• Both dowry and bride-price were recognized.
The birth of a son was especially welcome in
an Aryan family for the son's presence was
essential at important ceremonies. The
position of women was on the whole free, but
it is curious that, unlike the Greeks, the Indo-
Aryans did not attribute much power to their
goddesses, who remained gentle figures in the
background.
• A widow had to perform a symbolic self-immolation at the
death of her husband. Although it is not clear whether the
rite was restricted to the aristocracy alone. It may have been
the origin of the practice of Sati when in later centuries a
widow actually burnt herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
The Sati was merely symbolic during the Vedic period seems
evident from the fact that later Vedic literature refers to the
remarriage of widows, generally to the husband's brother.
Monogamy appears to have been the accepted pattern,
although polygamy was known and polyandry is mentioned
in later writings. Marriage within related groups was strictly
regulated. The Aryans had a terror of incestuous
relationships.
• The house was a large all-inclusive structure with
family and animals living under the same roof. The
family hearth was particularly venerated and the fire
was kept burning continuously. Houses were built
round a wooden framework. The room was held by a
pillar at each of the four corners and by cross beams
around which were constructed walls of reed stuffed
with straw. The roof was made of bamboo ribs
supporting thatch. This continued to be the method of
construction of villages until the change to mud walls
in later centuries, when the climate became dry.
• The staple diet was milk and ghi (clarified
butter), vegetables, fruit, and barley in various
forms. On ceremonial occasions - as a religious
fest or the arrival of a guest - a more elaborate
meal was customary, including the flesh of ox,
goat, and sheep, washed down with sura or
madhu, both highly intoxicating, the latter
being a type of mead.
• Clothes were simple, most people wearing
only a lower garment or a cloak, but
ornaments were more elaborate and clearly a
source of pleasure to their owners. Leisure
hours were spent mainly in playing music,
singing, dancing and gambling and chariot
racing for the more energetic ones.
• Agriculture was the main occupation of the people.
Agricultural products were wheat, rice, cotton and
oil seeds. Farmers depended on rain. However, they
had some irrigation system using canals; wells and
lakes.
Besides agriculture, people engaged themselves in

weaving, tanning and metallurgy. Artisans such as
carpenters, potters, blacksmiths and goldsmiths too
made living.
• Agricultural products led to trade. Rivers were used
for transportation and many commercial towns
came into existence on the banks of rivers. Bullocks,
horses and camels were used for transportation. In
those days the barter system was practiced in trade.
People also domesticated animals. Some of them

were used for ploughing or drawing carts. Horses,
bulls, cows, dogs and goats were the main animals
domesticated by the Aryans.
• Political life of Aryans
– When Aryans came to India they came in the form of tribes,
this tribal system survived for many centuries. The tribes
were organized in a patriarchal groups, and in the early
stages the chief of the tribe was merely a tribal leader. As
the need for protection grew, the most capable protector
was elected chief, and he gradually began to assume
privileges generally associated with kingship. The rapid
development of monarchies was kept in check, by the two
tribal assemblies, the sabha and the samiti. The sabha was
an exclusive council of the tribal elders, whereas the samiti
may have been a general assembly for the entire tribe.
Among tribes which had no elected monarch's these
assemblies played the pivotal role.
• Political life of Aryans
– soon the status of the king became hereditary. Consequentially the
position of the sabha and the samiti underwent a change; they could
act as a check on the king but king was the final authority.
A rudimentary administrative system was introduced, with the king as

the pivot. The tribal kingdom (rashtra) contained tribes (jana), tribal
units (vish), and villages (grama). The nucleus was the family (kula),
with the elsdest male member as its head (kulapa). The king was
assisted by a court of the elders of the tribe and by the village
headmen. Even closer to him were two officers: the purohita or chief
priest, who combined the function of priest, astrologer, and adviser;
and the senani or military commander. Spies and messengers
completed his entourage. Later sources mention a more elaborate
group surrounding the king: the charioteer, the treasurer, the steward,
and the super-intended of dicing.
• We get information on the religion of the
Aryans from the Vedas. The Rig Veda is believed
to be the oldest; and is the source of the
religion of the early Vedic period. Aryans seem
to have believed in monotheism. Some of the
hymns express the idea that God is one, but he
is called by many names. The following hymn
from Rig Veda illustrates the vedic monotheism.
• the early Aryans worshipped phenomena of nature in the form of nature gods.
These forces of nature were worshipped as male or female gods.
– Indra was the Aryan superman, the god of strength, foremost in battle, always ready to smite
dragons and demons and to destroy cities. He was the God of thunder, the rainmaker, and
the victor over the forces which the Aryans could not vanquish.
– Agni the God of fire, received many beautiful tributes; he dominated the domestic fireplace,
and marriages were solemnized in the presence of fire, as they are to this day in Hindu rites.
Fire was the purest of the five elements and was held in high esteem.
– Surya (Sun), Savitri (a solar deity to whom the famous Gayatri mantra is dedicated).
– Varuna was the god of water. He was the sustainer of plant and animal life. It was his
responsibility to uphold the natural order.
– Soma (god of intoxicating juice soma).
– Yama, the god of death, had a prominent place.
– Vayu (the god of winds).
– Prithvi was the goddess of Earth. and Usha, the goddess of Dawn.
A characteristic feature of the Vedic religion is that male deities like Varuna, Surya and Agni
were given prominence and goddesses like Prithvi and Usha occupied a subordinate position.
• Although a large number of gods are referred to in the
Vedas, yet the Vedic religion cannot be considered as
polytheistic (having belief in more than one god). All
these gods represent various phenomena of nature and
were the manifestations of one Supreme God who is the
Creator, Preserver and Destroyer of the universe. They
called Him Ishwar, Brahma or Vishnu.
The gods were engaged in the conflict between good and

evil and ultimately suppressed the evil.
• Varna in Sanskrit means colour and the caste system was
probably used to distinguish the fair colored Aryans from the
darl coloured natives. The people of higher castes (Brahmins,
Khatriyas, and Vishyas) were Aryans. The dark skinned natives
were the sudras, the lowest class in society, whose duty was to
serve the higher classes.
In the beginning, the class system was not rigid. But in the
later Vedic period it became rigid when the Brahmins and the
kshatriyas became powerful and the vaishyas were made to
pay tributes. The sudras became miserable and began to be
treated as untouchables.
• The caste system, in those days had some advantages. It reduced friction
within the society. Marriages within the caste reduced maladjustments in
family life. It ensured continuity of occupation as the sons usually
followed the fathers occupation. This reduced unemployment and
brought about perfection of several arts and crafts. Furthermore, since
the caste system was based on the principle of division of labor, the
Aryans were able to establish and maintain a sound economy.
• But soon caste system became a social evil. It suppressed an individual's

talent and became an obstacle for his personal development. It gave rise
to untouchability and acted against the feeling of common brotherhood.
Because of the mutual jealousies among the various castes, the Hindu
society disintegrated and fell an easy prey to foreign invaders and alien
religions.
• The Aryans gave to India, Sanskrit language which
served as the mother language for many regional
languages. Sanskrit, thus, became a unifying force in
the sub-continent. The Vedic period is known for its
spiritual and intellectual attainments. The
philosophy of dharma and karma, the concept of
maya and the transmigration of the soul, have
foundations in the Vedas. The philosophy of the
Vedas and the Upanishads has influenced the great
thinkers in India.
• The Aryans were an agrarian society who cleared forests
and cultivated land. Their society gradually developed into
powerful kingdoms with proper political setup. The Vedas
and the Upanishads became the basis for the present day
Hindu religion. With the passage of time gods of the early
Vedic age like Indra, Varuna and Surya receded into the
background and the new gods like Vishnu, Ram and
Krishna became prominent in the later Vedic period. The
caste system too had its origin in the Vedic literature. The
Bhagwat Gita has become a very popular sacred book
among the masses and Vedic hymns are chanted at Hindu
ceremonies connected with Birth, Marriage and death.
• Vedas are the oldest sacred books of Hinduism. Indian
literature begins with the Vedas. They were probably
composed beginning about 1400 B.C. The Vedas were a
series of sacred texts used in religious rituals and sacrifices
and composed in an early form of Sanskrit (Vedic Sanskrit).
Even in modern times, the Vedas are regarded as the
cornerstone of Hinduism. The Vedas include the basis of
the doctrines concerning Hindu divinities. They also
present philosophical ideas about the nature of Brahman,
Hinduism's supreme divine being. The word Veda comes
from the root 'Vid' which means knowledge.
• There are four Vedas. The oldest Vedic texts are those of the Rig
Veda, dating from about the 1300's B.C. These are mostly mythical
poems to the great Vedic gods--Indra the Warrior, Agni the god of
fire, Surya the sun god, and Varuna the upholder of heaven and
earth. The later books of the Vedas are the Yajur Veda (mainly
formulas for sacrifice), Sama Veda (poetry from the Rig Veda adapted
to melodies as priestly chants), and Atharva Veda (verses dealing
with peace and prosperity and the daily life of human society). The
Vedas are also called Samhitas. They are collections of chiefly verse
texts that provided the liturgies of the holiest rites of the early
religion. Attached to the Vedas are two important later texts. The
Brahmanas are long prose essays that explain the mythological and
theological significance of the rites. After the Brahmanas came highly
speculative works called the Upanishads. The inward reflection of the
Upanishads and their search for unity in existence gave rise to the
development of Indian philosophy.
• Hindu law permitted only certain people to
hear the Vedas recited, and so the works
became surrounded by mystery. Nevertheless,
ideas presented in the Vedas spread
throughout Indian culture.
• Rig Veda Being the oldest of the Vedic literature, it is most
important because it is the valuable record of ancient India. It
has 10 books or mandalas containing 1028 hymns by the
successive generations of Rishis (sages). As the Aryans had no
script of their own, the hymns of the Rig Veda were memorized
and passed on orally from one generation to the other before
being recorded in written form at a much later stage. It has
many mantras like the Gayatri mantras which is resided by the
Hindus in their houses. It is said to represent the voice of Gods.
Many hymns were written in the praise of different Gods of
nature. The Rig-Veda gives us information not only on the early
Vedic religion and their Gods but also on the social condition of
those days. It points to settled people, and organized society
and full grown civilization.
• RIG VEDIC PERIOD(1500-1000BC)
– Early vedic people had the knowledge of RIVERS-
YAMUNA, SARASWATI(NADITARA) & GANGA- oceans
mentioned as SAMUDRA(COLLECTION OF WATER)-
SNOW CAP MOUNTAINS(HIMVAT), DESERT
LANDS(DHAWA). So they lived in SAPTA-SINDHVA
REGION.
– COW= Std of exchange- gold coins like NISHKA,
KRISHNA & SATMANA were in use- GODHULI= UNIT
FOR MEASURING TIME, GAVYUTI= UNIT FOR
MEASURING DISTANCE.
• RIG-VEDIC GODS: (IDOL WORSHIP)
– SOMA= LORD OF INTOXICATING DRINK- SOME
FEMALE DIVINITIES SUCH AS USHA & ADHITI
REPRESENTED THE APPEARANCE OF THE DAWN.
• RIVERS MENTIONED IN RIGVEDA
– SINDHU= INDUS, VITASTA= JHELUM, ASKINI=
CHENAB, PARUSHINI= RAVI, VIPAS= BEAS, SUTLEJ=
SUTUDRI, GOMATI= GOMAL, KRUMU= KURRAM,
GHAGGAR= DHRISHADVATI, SUVASTU= SWATI,
KUBHA= KABUL, NADITARA= SARASWATI, SADANIRA=
GANDAK.
• Sam Veda It mainly contains verses taken from Rig-Veda with
reference to Soma sacrifices. Its hymns are set to music. The
Sam Veda has hymns meant for the priest only who sang them
at the time of the performance of Yajnas. It tells us much about
the music of ancient Aryans.
• Yajur Veda It contain hymns concerning sacrifices. The study of
this Veda shows that the Aryans had acquired knowledge of
sacrifices by that time. It depicts changes in social and religious
conditions which had come in the society from the period of
Rig-Veda. The Yajur Veda has two parts - the white and the
black. The former consists of hymns and latter contains
commentaries.
• Atharva Veda It contains mantras on three topics - gnana
(Knowledge), Karma (deeds), and Upasana (invocation). It is
important from the point of view of knowing the history of
science in India. It is also collection of spells and charms
which are popular among the people. This Veda throws light
on the beliefs of the people some of the Mantras are meant
to bring success in life, while some where used to ward off
evil spirits responsible for disease and sufferings. This Veda
believed to be a later composition and contains some non-
Aryan material. It seems to have been composed when a
synthesis of Aryan and non-Aryan cultures took place.
• Each of the four Vedas has the following three parts;
Samhitas - The Samhitas are in verse form and they constitute the hymn
part of the Vedas. SRUTI= BASED ON HEARING, SMRITI= BASED ON
MEMORY.
Brahmanas - These are commentaries on the Vedic mantras. They are

written in prose and deal mainly with rituals connected with sacrifices.
They are written in easy prose for the benefit of common people. The
difficult concepts of the Vedic text have been illustrated through stories to
make them easy to understand. The Rig Vedas has two Brahmanas.
Aranyakas - Are the concluding parts of the Brahmanas. Aranyakas mean

'forest books'. They do not deal with rituals but are concerned with
mysticism and philosophy. They lay more stress on knowledge of God,
soul, world and man.
• The Vedic literature also consists of the following:
The Upanishads They are the concluding parts of the brahmanas and are
also called the Vedanta, which means the summing up of the Veda. The
word Upanishads means to sit close to. It suggests that this sacred
material was originally secret. The most important ones appeared
between 800 and 600 B.C.
Several important Hindu schools of thought, including the sankhya and

yoga schools, were founded on the teachings of the Upanishads. They
contain information about Indian philosophy, on matter (prakriti), soul
(atman) and God (Brahma). The Upanishads criticize rituals and lay stress
on the doctrine of karma and the right knowledge. They also deal with
the doctrines of Karma (action), mukti (salvation), maya (illusion) and the
transmigration of the soul. They have been translated into major
languages of the world because of their philosophical content.
• The literary works referred to above are
believed to contain sacred knowledge or
divine revelation. This knowledge had been
handed down by oral transmission by the
sages to their pupils by word of mouth. This
method of oral transmission is called the
shruti or 'revelation by hearing'.
• The Puranas. Following the two great epics, the texts
called Puranas are the next major collection of Hindu lore
and religious debate. Purana means that which renews
the old or 'ancient lore'. The Puranas use popular
legends and mythology to illustrate and expound the
philosophical and religious ideas of the Vedas. Together
with the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Puranas are
the origins of many of the stories and anecdotes of the
social, religious, and cultural history of India.
• The main Puranas are 18 encyclopedic
collections of legend and myth. Among which
the Bhagwat Purana and the Vishnu Purana
are the most important. The Vishnu Purana
helps us to unfold the understanding of the
history of the Mauryas. The Puranas describe
the origin of the world, birth or origin of Gods
and the historical and mythological events of
the ancient times.
• They were probably compiled between about A.D. 500 and
1000. They develop the ideas of classical Hinduism through
stories of gods and heroes set in the sacred plains,
mountains, and rivers of India. The main Puranas have five
subjects:
(1) the creation of the universe,
(2) the cyclic process of destruction and re-creation,
(3) the different eras or cosmic cycles,
(4) the histories of the solar and lunar dynasties of gods and sages,
and
(5) the genealogies of kings.
Each Purana adds other details of religious practice. These
Puranas are a meeting point of diverse religious and social
beliefs and represent a synthesis of various cultural traditions
from the Indian subcontinent.
• The Vedangas mean limbs of the Vedas. They are six in number.
1. SHIKSHA(deals with pronounciation)
2. KALPA(deals with rituals)
3. VYAKARANA(Grammar)
4. NIRUKTA(ETYMOLOGY)
5. CHHANDA(METRICS)
6. JYOTISHA(ASTRONOMY)
They form a part of the Vedas, but they were written by
scholars of the later Vedic period. They interpret the Vedas in
simple language and deal with the pronunciation of words,
grammar, astronomy as well as rituals.
• Upvedas deal with secular subjects. The
Ayurveda deals with medicine, the
Dhanurveda with the art of warfare, the
Gandharva Veda with music and Shilpa Veda
with architecture.
• Sutras(3 SUTRAS)explain the customs and rituals of
the later Vedic period, especially with the rituals
relating to soma (yajna) sacrifice.
1. SRAUTA SUTRA= DEALING WITH LARGE PUBLIC
SACRIFICE.
2. GRIHA SUTRA=throw light on rituals in all the
ashramas of a man's life, Connected with BIRTH,
NAMING & MARRIAGE.
3. The Dharma Sutras deal with civil, criminal and moral
laws;
• Epics: An epic is a long narrative poem of brave deeds and
adventures of ancient warriors. The poem could be sung to music.
The two great Indian epics are the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata. The Ramayana is older and nearer to the Aryan
tradition than Mahabharata. There is a controversy regarding the
age of the epics. It is certain that at least Mahabharata underwent
numerous additions and alterations in successive ages, and
assumed its present form in the third or fourth century A.D. Both
the epics are the products of neo-Hinduism. Rama and Krishna are
considered to be the two incarnations of Vishnu. Ramayana and
Mahabharata are of great historical importance. They hold out
before us a mirror that reflects the Indian society as it was
thousands of years ago - the virtues and views that characterized
people, and the high ideals which inspired them. More
information about them are given later.
• Manu Smriti:Manu in Hindu mythology, was the
man who systematized the religious and social
laws of Hinduism. These ancient laws are called
the Manu Smriti (Code of Manu). They still
influence the religious and social life of India,
where Hinduism is the chief religion. The Manu
Smriti has three main parts: (1) varna, (2)
ashrama, and (3) dharma. Varna sets forth the
basis of caste, the strict Hindu class system.
Hinduism has four major varnas (groups of
castes).
• Ashrama describes the four ideal stages of a
Hindu man's life. First, he studies Hindu
scriptures called the Vedas, and the duties of
his caste. Second, he marries. Third, after he
fulfils his family obligations, he retires with his
wife to a forest to meditate. Finally, in old age,
the husband and wife separate and wander as
beggars called sannyasis, preparing for death.
• Dharma describes the four goals of life. They are
(1) dharma--fulfilling one's religious obligation in
society,
(2) kama--enjoying sex and other physical pleasures,
(3) artha--achieving worldly success through one's
occupation, and
(4) moksha--gaining spiritual release from worldly
existence.
• Panini's Ashtadhyaya is a non-religious book.
It is a work of Sanskrit grammar written by
Panini. Perhaps the greatest grammar ever
written in any languages.
LATER VEDIC PERIOD(1000-600BC)
• It refers to rivers NARMADA, SADANIRA etc.,
VINDHYA mountains and territorial division of
INDIA into ARYAVARTA(NI), MADHYADESA(CI)&
DHAKSINAPATHA(SI)- aryans expanded from
PB over the whole western UP covered by
ganga-yamuna doab.
• Legend of satapatha brahmana,indicates
expansion towards east.
• Political organisation:
– formation of large kingdoms. For all practical purposes,
kingship became hereditary. Assembly lost its importance
and royal power increased at their cost. Vidhata totally
disappeared. Women were no longer permitted to attend
assemblies.
– RASHTRA: THE TERM INDICATING TERRITORY 1ST
APPEARED IN THIS PERIOD.
– TAITTARAYA BRAHMANA: REFERS TO THE THEORY OF
DIVINE ORIGIN OR KINGSHIP
– SATAPADHA BRAHMANA: REF TO 12RATHINAS/CIVIL
FUNCTIONARIES OF THAT TIME- there was a dev of
judiciary- kings administered criminal courts.
• 12RATNINAS
– PUROHITA= PRIEST, MAHISHI= QUEEN,
YUVARAJA= CROWN PRINCE, SUTA/SARATHI= THE
ROYAL CHARIOTEER, BHAGADUGHA= TAX
COLLECTOR, AKSHAVAPA= COURIER MAN,
PALAGALA= FRIEND OF KING, GOVIKARTA=HEAD
OF FOREST DEPT, SENANI= THE GENERAL,
KSHATA= GATEMAN/CHAMBERIAN,
SANGRAHITRI= TREASURER.
• RELIGION
– Rituals became important in the cult of sacrifice.
– PRAJAPATHI= SUPREME GOD, VISHNU=
PROTECTOR OF THE PEOPLE.
– PUSHAN= RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WELL BEING OF
CATTLES- became god of sudras.
– Towards the end of vedic age a section of society
began to resent priestly domination.
• ECONOMY
– AGRICULTURE= Became chief economic activity-
the main crops were WHEAT, RICE, BARLEY AND
BEANS.
– NEW OCCUPATIONAL GROUPS EMERGED SUCH AS
WASHERMAN, FISHERMAN, DYERS, DOOR-
KEEPERS AND FOOTMEN- TIN, SILVER & IRON was
now known to the people- mercahnts were
organised into guilds as indicated by the terms
GANAS(CORPNs) & SRESHINS( ELDERMEN)
• PHILOSOPHY
– SIX SYSTEM OF PHILISOPHIES, given by six
philiosophers of ancient india
1. Nyaya(analysis)= GAUTAMA
2. VAISESIKA=KANNADA
3. SANKHYA(ENUMERATION)= KAPILA
4. YOGA(APPLICATION)= PATANJALI
5. PURVA MIMANSA(ENQUIRY)= JAIMINI
6. UTTARA MIMANSA(VEDANTA)= VYASA
PREMAURYAN AGE
The material advantages brought about by the
use of the iron implements in eastern UP and
bihar in 6th century BC, helped in the
formation of large territorial states- use of iron
tools in agriculture produced surplus.
thus many JANAPADAS, Sprung up in 6th
century BC, the larger of which were called as
MAHAJANAPADAS
PREMAURYAN AGE-MAHAJANAPADAS
• The ANGUTTARA NIKAYA of SUTTAPITAKA &
MAHAVASTU(BUDDHIST LITERATURE) & BHAGVATI
SUTTA(JAIN LITERATURE) mentions the list of 16
MAHAJANAPADAS.
• MAHAJANAPADAS are of two types.,
1. NON-MONARCHIAL REPUBLIC STATES- KAMBOJ, KURU,
KOLIYAS(RAMAGRAMA), MALLA, MORIYA(PIPPLIVANA),
SHAKYA(KAPILAVASTU), VAJJI PANCHAL,
LICHCHHAVIS(VAISHALI), BHAGGAS(SUMSUMASA),
KALAMAS(KESAPUTTA), VIDEHAS(MITHILA),
JNATRIKAS(KUNDALGRAMA).
PREMAURYAN AGE-MAHAJANAPADAS
2. MONARCHIAL STATES: ANGA, AVANTI, CHEI,

KASHI, KOSALA, GANDHARA, MAGADHA,
MATSYA, SURASENAS, VATSA.
• ASMAKA= SOUTHERNMOST MAHAJANAPADA
• VATSA= EARLIER A KURU CLAN
• VAJJI= CONFEDERARY OF EIGHT REPUBLICAN
CLANS
• LICHCHHAVIS= OLDEST REBUBLIC IN THE WORLD
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• The first reference to kingdoms & republics
are found in 600 B.C. onwards, it is from this
point onwards that Indian history took a
definite shape. In the preceding century India
had seen a age of political contradiction as
tribal organization came into contact with a
new political phenomenon, the monarchy.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• Permanent settlement in a particular area gave a
geographical identity to a tribe or a group of tribes and
subsequently this identity was given a concrete shape in
the possession of the area, which was generally named
after the tribe. To maintain possession required political
organization, either as a republic or a monarchy.
Whereas the monarchies were concerned in a Ganges
plain, the republics were ranged round the northern
periphery of these kingdoms - in the foothills of the
Himalayas and just south of these, and in the north-
western India in the modern Punjab.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• The republics consisted of either a single tribe
such as the Shakyas, Koliyas, and Mallas or a
confederacy of tribes such as the Vrijis and
Yadavas. The republics had emerged from the
Vedic tribes and retained much more tribal
tradition than did the monarchies.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• The actual procedure of governance in republics involved
the meeting of the representatives of the tribes or the
heads of families in the Public assembly of the capital city.
The assembly was presided over by one of the
representatives who took the title of Raja. This office was
not hereditary and he was regarded as a chief rather than
a king. The matter for discussion was placed before the
assembly and debated and if a unanimous decision could
not be reached it was put to the vote. The administration
was in the hands of officials such as the assistants to the
chief, the treasurer, the commander of the forces. Judicial
procedure was extremely elaborate: the suspected
criminal had to face in turn a hierarchy of seven officials.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• As far occupation was concerned under the new structure of
republics and monarchies, cattle rearing was no longer the primary
occupation, agriculture having taken its place in many areas. Land
was either owned in common by the village or by a tribal chief who
hired laborers to work it. Doubtless much of the income of the chiefs
came from the land. Towns had come into existence as centers if
industry and trade. Some, such as Shravasti, Champa, Rajagriha,
Ayodhya, Kaushambi, and Kashi were of substantial importance to
the economy of the Ganges plain. Others such as Vaishali, Ujjain,
Taxila, or the port of Bharukachchha (Broach) had a wider economic
reach. Towns grew around what had been villages - those which had
specialized in particular crafts such as pottery, carpentry, cloth
weaving - and trading centers. Specialized craftsmen tended to
congregate, because this facilitated carriage of raw materials and the
distribution of the finished article.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• There were four main rival states wielding the
maximum power and clout, they were the
three kingdoms of Kashi, Kosala (adjoining
Kashi on the east), Magadha (modern Bihar)
and the adjoining republic of the Vrijis
(Janakpur in Nepal and the Muzzafarpur
district of Bihar).
MAGADHA EMPIRE
MAGADHA EMPIRE
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• Rajasuya & Ashvamedha yajnas
– After the coronation of a king, he began the year long
royal consecration (rajasuya) which invested him with
divinity brought from the Gods by the magic power of
the priests. The ritual was highly symbolic, the king
undergoing purification and mystical rebirth as a divine
king. Towards the end of the year, the king was
required to make an offering to the twelve 'jewels'
(ratnins), i.e. his ministers, members of his household,
and certain sections of the population - in return for
their loyalty.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• The most popular of the major sacrifices made by
the king was the Ashvamedha or horse-sacrifice,
where a special horse was permitted to wander at
will, the king claiming all the territory over which it
wandered. This was practically possible for those
kings who were very powerful and could support
such claims. The sacrifices were conducted on a vast
scale, involving many hundreds of priests and large
herds of animals, not to mention the various
objects used in the ceremony.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• The battle of eminence in the region among the four states of Kashi,
Koshala, Magadha and the Vrijis lasted for about a hundred years.
Magadha emerged victorious and established itself as the center of
political activity in northern India, a position which it maintained for
some centuries to come. The first important king of Magadha was
Bimbisara: a man of determination and political foresight. He realized the
potentialities of a large state controlling the river and decided that it
should be Magadha. Bimbisara reigned from 544 B.C. to 493 B.C.
Dynastic relations based on marriage both with the royal house of
Koshala and with a princess from Vaishali assisted him in his expansionist
policy. Having thus secured his western and northern frontiers he went
on to conquer Anga to the south-east, which controlled the trade and
the routes to the sea ports in the gange delta, which in turn had
commercial links with the coast of Burma and the east coast of India and
was thus economically a valuable support to the kingdom of Magadha.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• Bimbisara was the earliest of Indian kings to stress the need
for efficient administration. His ministers were hand picked
and he was reputed never to ignore their advice. Officers
were divided into various categories according to their work,
and the beginning of an administrative framework took root.
The building of roads was recognized as essential to good
administration. The basic unit of social and economic
organization in general remained the village. Officials were
appointed to measure the land under cultivation and
evaluate the crop. Each village was under the jurisdiction of a
headman who was responsible for collecting taxes, which
were brought to the royal treasury by the other officials.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• Ajatashatru in Sanskrit means 'victor over enemy'. True to his
name he proved to be a worthy son of a worthy father, and
expanded the frontiers of Magadha further beyond towards the
north and the west. Yet his ascendancy to the throne of
Magadha was not smooth. Impatient to rule Magadha,
Ajatashatru murdered his father in 493 B.C. to become the king
of Magadha. He was determined to continue his father's policy
of expansion through military conquest. The capital of Magadha
was in Rajagriha, a beautiful city surrounded by five hills
forming a natural defence. Ajatashatru strengthened Rajagriha,
and built a small fort, Pataligrama, in the vicinity of the Ganges.
This was later to become the famous Mauryan metropolis of
Pataliputra, which subsequently went on to become our
modern day Patna.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• His father having conquered the eastern state Anga,
Ajatashatru turned his attention to the north and the west.
The king of Koshala was his maternal uncle, but this did not
prevent Ajatashatru from annexing Koshala and continuing
the advance west until he had included Kashi in his dominion.
The war with the Vriji confederacy was a more lengthy affair
and lasted for sixteen years, with Ajatashatru's ministers
trying to bring rift within the confederacy. Finally Magadha
was victorious and was recognized as the most powerful force
in eastern India. Bimbisara's ambition had been fulfilled. The
victory of Magadha was a victory for the Monarchial system,
which was now firmly established in the Ganges plain.
MAGADHA EMPIRE
• The rise of Magadha was not merely due to
the political ambitions of Bimbisara and
Ajatashatru, for, although latter was
succeeded by a series of unworthy rulers,
Magadha remained powerful.
JAINISM
• Mahavira (599?-527? B.C.) was a teacher of
the religion of Jainism. He lived in India. His
followers believed that he was the 24th in a
line of great teachers. These teachers were
called tirthankaras. Rishabha was the first
tirthankara. Mahavira preached non-violence,
urging his followers to show kindness to all
living creatures, and to become vegetarians so
that animals would not be killed for food.
JAINISM
• His original name was Vardhamana. But later
he was called Mahavira, which means The
Great Hero. Mahavira was set to have been
born in Kundagrama, Vaishali, in Bihar state. A
memorial has been built there, and a center
set up for the study of Jainism and
nonviolence.
JAINISM
• His father was a rich kshatriya. He was married to a Princes
named Yashoda who bore him a daughter. According to
tradition, at the age of 30, Mahavira left his home, wife,
and child. He became an ascetic, a person who practices
strict self-denial. During the next 12 years, he spent much
time meditating, fasting, and undergoing severe self-
punishment to gain wisdom. In the 13th year, he attained
enlightenment (understanding of ultimate truth) and
became Jina or the conqueror. He then became a religious
teacher and founded an order of monks and nuns. His
followers came to be called Jinas or Jains - those who
conquered their desires. He traveled much in the next
thirty years and preached in the neighborhoods of Anga,
Videha & Magadha.
JAINISM
• Mahavira spoke the language of the people and enjoyed the
patronage of the rulers of his time - rulers of Anga, Videha
and Magadha. He set up a well-knit religious organization
known as the Sangha. Mahavira died at the age of 72, near
Rajgir in Bihar. At the time of his death he had about 14,000
followers. Some followers of Mahavira followed a severe path
of renunciation to the extent of discarding clothes. They were
called digambaras (the sky clad). Digambaras were orthodox
followers of Mahavira. They kept long fasts and led an
extreme austere life. Others who used to wear white tunics,
considered it a duty to fulfill their obligation to society. They
were called svetambaras (the white clad). They kept fasts but
did not believe in extreme penance and austerity.
JAINISM
NANDAS
• Ajatashatru died in 461 B.C. He was succeeded by five kings all said to
have been unworthy to be the successor of Ajatashatru. The people
of Magadha, finally outraged by this, deposed the last of the five in
413 B.C. and appointed a viceroy, Shishunaga, as the king. The
Shishunaga dynasty lasted barely half a century and gave way to the
usurper Mahapadma Nanda, who inaugurated a short lived dynasty
which ended in 321 B.C. Despite these rapid dynastic changes and
the handicap of weak rulers, Magadha continued to withstand all
attacks (such as those from Avanti) and remained the foremost of the
kingdoms of the Ganges plain. The Nandas who usurped the throne
of the Shishunaga dynasty were of low origin. Some sources state
that the founder, Mahapadma , was the son of a Shudra mother,
others that he was born of a union of a barber with a courtesan.
Nandas were the first of a number of dynasties of northern India who
were of non-kshatriya origin.
NANDAS
• The Nandas are sometimes described as the first
empire builders of India. They inherited the large
kingdom of Magadha and wished to extend it to
yet more distant frontiers. To this purpose they
built up a vast army consisting of 20,000 cavalry,
200,000 infantry, 2,000 chariots and 3,000
elephants. But the Nandas never had the
opportunity to use this army against the Greeks,
who invaded India at the time Dhana Nanda, since
Alexander's campaign terminated in the Punjab.
NANDAS
• The Nandas made the methodical collection of taxes by
regularly appointed officials a part of their administrative
system. The treasury was continually replenished, the
wealth of the Nandas being well-known. The Nandas also
built canals and carried out irrigation projects. The
possibility of an imperial structure based on an essentially
agrarian economy began to germinate in the Indian mind.
But further development of the Nandas was cut short by
Chandragupta Maurya and his mentor Chanakya.
Chanakya dethroned Dhana Nanda in a battle of wits and
replaced him with Chandragupta Maurya, a young
adventurer. Dhana Nanda was murdered which finally
signaled the advent of the Mauryan era in 321 B.C.
NANDAS
• Meanwhile the scene shifted back to north-western
India which during the 6th century B.C. had been
isolated from developments in the rest of India and
had closer connection with Persian civilization,
being politically a part of the Achaemenid empire. A
little before 530 B.C. Cyrus, the Achaemenid
emperor of Persia, crossed the Hindu kush
mountains and received tribute from the tribes of
Kamboj, Gandhar and the trans- Indus region.
ALEXANDER
• Persian ascendancy in north-western India ended with the
conquest of Persia by Alexander of Macedonia in circa 330
B.C. Soon after north-west India was also to succumb to
Alexander's armies.
In 327 B.C. Alexander, continuing his march across the empire

of Darias, entered the Indian provinces of the Achaemenid
empire. The Greek campaign in north-west India lasted for
about two years. It made no impression historically or
politically on India, which is supported by the fact that no
mention of Alexander is found in any Indian sources.
ALEXANDER
• Alexander came to India in order to reach the eastern
most parts of the Darias's empire, to solve the 'problem
of Ocean', the limits of which were a puzzle to Greek
geographers and to add the fabulous country of India to
his list of conquers. The campaign took him across the five
rivers of Punjab, at the last of which his soldiers laid down
his arms and refused to go further. He then decided to
follow the Indus as far as the sea and from there return to
Babylon, sending a part of his army via the sea and the
remainder by land along the coast. The campaign involved
some hard fought battles, such as the now famous Battle
of Hydaspes against Porus (Puru), the king of Jhelum
region.
ALEXANDER
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
• Porus-Alexander war is of great significance in the History of
ancient India. Alexander, the son of King Phillip of Macedonia
(a small kingdom in ancient Greece) ascended the throne in
336 B.C. Alexander was an ambitious ruler and soon he
established a strong empire by conquering all the city states in
Greece. When he had extended his Kingdom upto the river
Danube, Alexander was emboldened to carry on the expansion
of his empire so as to become a world conqueror. He organized
a vast army and embarked on his world campaign in 334 B.C. at
the age of only 22. First he occupied Asia Minor and then
advancing further eastwards conquered Egypt, Babylon, Persia,
Samarkand, etc. After conquering Bactria, across the Hindu
Kush in May 327 B.C., he entered India.
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
• As soon as Alexander crossed borders into India, Ambhi,
the King of Taxila, accorded a warm welcome to him. He
bestowed immense gifts on him and accepted his
suzerainty. What made him to behave in such a supine
manner was that with the help of Alexander, he wanted
to take revenge on his enemy Porus. Many of the other
smaller chiefs of the area submitted to the Greek invader
without fighting. However, Porus, the brave and powerful
ruler between Jhelum and the Chenab, refused to
surrender and decided to stand up to the foreign
invader.
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
• In July 326 B.C., Alexander marched towards the river
Jhelum with his huge army together with 5000 soldiers
contributed by Ambhi. The river was in flood and across
it the king Porus was present with his vast army and
warlike elephants. In view of the swollen river and the
heavy strength of the forces of Porus, Alexander shifted
the position of his troops from place to place everyday
in order to camouflage Porus. He also dispatched
several units of his army into different directions to find
out a spot where from the river could be crossed.
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
• From the placid movement of the enemy troops on the river
bank, Porus could form no idea as to when, where and how
the attack would be delivered. Moreover, Alexander had
already made an announcement that he would not be
crossing the river until the flood water had receded. Thus
while Porus was kept guessing, Alexander on one rainy and
stormy night took with him a small force consisting of
archers, horsemen and some infantrymen and went 18 miles
upstream the spot where his army had encamped. This place
was full of thick shrubs making it convenient for his soldiers
to cross the river without getting noticed by the enemy.
Alexander let the rest of his army remain behind in the
camp.
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
• Alexander's small force crossed the river with the help of
boats and the leather sacks filled with grass. The first
who set his foot across the river was Alexander himself.
The messengers immediately conveyed this news to
Porus. When Porus learnt of this, he promptly sent his
son with 2000 infantrymen and 120 chariots to check the
progress of Alexander. In the ensuing encounter
Alexander's horsemen made short work of this advance
force and Porus's son himself died fighting in the battle
field.
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
• When Porus learnt about this, he was deeply
bereaved and surprised because the camp
army across the river was still preparing itself
to cross the river. He left behind a small force
consisting of some elephants and infantrymen
to face thwe camp army and himself
proceeded with a huge army to meet
Alexander in the battle field.
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
• In view of the battle formation and a vast army of Porus,
Alexander put his 6000 soldiers in waiting while with the
remaining 6000 opened an attack on the left flank of Porus's
army. Shooting arrows fiercely on each other, the rival armies
were locked in a closed combat. Finding the left flank
entangled in this manner, as soon as the right flank of Porus's
army advanced from the rear to help, the waiting Greek
soldiers launched an attack from the rear. This forced the right
flank of the Porus's army to turn back in order to counter the
enemy's offensive, but as it was a steep place its battle
formation was upset. To escape the enemy's attack, Indian
warriors took shelter behind the elephants.
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
• In this situation, the mahouts, made an advance with the
elephants. Although the Greek soldiers tried to check their
advance with a terrible shower of arrows, they intrepid
Indian elephants set about to trample the enemy under foot.
At the same time the Indian horsemen pushed ahead and
fell on the enemy. But due to the unevenness the horsemen
had again to fall back behind the elephants. At this stage, the
Greek army made a calculated attack on the Indians.
Unfortunately, in the resulted confusion the elephants lost
their balance and started to trample underfoot their own
army. Having conducted the war for 24 hours at a stretch,
the brave Porus fell unconscious of his wounds. When Porus,
tired of exhaustion and bleeding all over his body, was
brought before Alexander, he kept wondering at his tall
stature. He asked Porus 'how would you like to be treated?'
BATTLE OF HYDASPES
• "As a king would treat another king", was Porus's reply.
Impressed by his bold answer, Alexander issued
instructions for the release of Porus and his medical
treatment. Alexander restored back Porus's kingdom and
also gave him some additional territories while making him
his friend. Soon Alexander left for Macedonia leaving
behind governors to rule his Indian conquests, but his
death following so close on his departure, caused a state of
confusion in which his governors soon left India and sought
their fortunes in the west. Alexander had overthrown the
small kingdoms and republics of the north-west and his
departure left a political vacuum.
• Not surprisingly, Chandragupta Maurya, assisted by
Chanakya, exploited the situation and swept all these little
states in the Mauryan empire.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Chandragupta Maurya succeeded to the Nanda
throne in 321 B.C. He was then a young man of
about 25 and was the protégé of Brahmin
Kautilya, who was his guide and mentor both in
acquiring the throne and in keeping it. The
acquisition of Magadha was the first step in
establishing the new dynasty. Chandragupta
belonged to the Moriya tribe, but his caste was
low. Young Maurya and his supporters were
inferior in armed strength to the Nandas. And it
was here that Kautilya strategy came in useful.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• They began by harassing the outlying areas of the Nanda
kingdom, gradually moving towards the center: this strategy
being based, on the morale drawn from the fact that the
Kautilya saw a woman scolding her child for eating from the
center of the dish, since the center was bound to be much
hotter than the sides. Once the Ganges valley was under his
control, on Kautilya's advice Chandragupta moved to the
north-west to exploit the power vacuum created by
Alexander's departure. The areas of the north-west fell to
him rapidly until he reached the Indus. Here he paused for
the moment, as the Greek Seleucid dynasty had fortified
itself in Persia and was determined to hold the trans Indus
region.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Chandragupta moved to Central India for a while and
occupied the region north of the Narmada river. But 305
B.C. saw him back in the north-west involved in a
campaign against Seleucus Nikator, which Chandragupta
finally won in 303 B.C. The Seleucid provinces of trans
Indus, which today would cover large parts of
Afghanistan were ceded to the Mauryas. The territorial
foundation of the Mauryan empire had been laid, with
Chandragupta controlling the Indus and the Ganges plain
and the far north-west - a formidable empire by Indian
standards.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Despite the campaign against Seleucids, there was
considerable contact of a friendly nature between
the two civilizations. Sandrocottos (Chandragupta)
is frequently referred to in the Greek accounts. The
treaty of 303 B.C. also included a marriage between
Seleucus's daughter Helen with Chandragupta
Maurya. Seleucus's ambassador Megasthenes
accompanied Chandragupta to his court and gives a
interesting and informative account about him and
Kautilya.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Towards the end of his life, Chandragupta is
supposed to have converted to Jainism and
that he abdicated in favour of his son,
Bindusara and became an ascetic. Together
with one of the Jain saints and many other
monks, he went to south India, and there he
ended his life by deliberate slow starvation in
the orthodox Jain manner.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Seleucus was one of the leading generals of Alexander. While
journeying back to Greece from India, Alexander reached Babylon, he
fell seriously ill and died there in 323 B.C. Alexander died without any
heir. So his extensive empire was shared out by his three generals
among themselves. Thus, the far flung empire of Alexander was split
up into three parts- the Greek, the Egyptian and the Asian. The first
two parts came into the possession of Ptolemy and Antigones
respectively, while the third i.e. the Asian part fell to the lot of
Seleucus. Seleucus's Asian empire extended from Syria up to the
Euphrates. Some parts of Punjab and Afghanistan were also held by
him. Seleucus had accompanied Alexander during his invasion of India
in 326 B.C. After the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. Chandragupta
Maurya had established as strong empire in India and had driven out
the Greeks from the Indian soil. Seleucus therefore wanted to regain
these territories and to move further to the east of Indus.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• The coronation of the Mauryan emperor, Chandragupta took place
in 321 B.C. two years after Alexander had left India. He united the
country into a strong and well Knit empire. With the help of his able
minister and astute diplomat Kautilya, he succeeded in laying the
foundation of a strong empire. The image of India which Seleucus
had formed in his mind was that of a country fragmented into small
kingdoms and were prone to mutual rivalries and jealousies. He,
therefore, entertained the ambition of conquest of India, but little
did he knew that India which he was going to face was even more
powerful than his own empire. Consequently Seleucus advanced
with a huge army against India in 305 B.C. The Indian soldiers were
in fine fettle and their horsemen, chariot army and elephants were
ready to inflict defeat on the invaders. A terrible war followed on the
north-west borders of India. The Greeks could not withstand the
onslaught of the gallant Indian fighters
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• The army of Chandragupta Maurya routed the invaders
and Seleucus was forced to sign a peace treaty.
Chandragupta Maurya, advised by Kautilya, presented his
terms to the defeated army. Seleucus was forced to
accept. By the terms of the treaty, Seleucus surrebderred
his territories in Afghanistan - Herat, Kandhar, and the
Kabul valley - to Chandragupta Maurya. In return, he was
presented the gift of 300 elephants. On Kautilya's advice,
Chandragupta married the daughter of Seleucus, Helen.
Seleucus also appointed Megasthenes as his ambassador
to the Mauryan court. Megasthenes wrote a famous
account of his stay at the Mauryan court in a book
entitled Indica.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Besides the preponderant army and
armaments, one factor that contributed to the
victory of Chandragupta Maurya in this war
was that as a result of Alexander's invasion,
Indians had also become familiar with the
Greek methods of warfare. Moreover, it was
by dint of his bravery and Kautilya's sharp
intelligence that Chandragupta Maurya had
built up such an extensive empire. His vast
army was also well-trained and well-equipped.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• No detailed accounts of this war between Seleucus
and Alexander are available. The Greek historians
have also confined themselves to just mentioning
its results. From the results, however, we can draw
the conclusion that Seleucus certainly sustained a
crushing defeat in the war, and his dream of the
conquest of India was shattered forever.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Chandragupta was succeeded by his son
Bindusara in 297 B.C. To the Greeks, Bindusara
was known as Amitrochates, perhaps the
Greek translation of the Sanskrit Amitraghata,
the destroyer of the foes.
MAURYAN EMPIRE
• Apparently he was a man of wide interest and taste, since tradition
had it that he asked Antiochus I to send him some sweet wine,
dried figs and a sophist. Bindusara campaigned in the Deccan,
extending the Mauryan empire in the peninsula to as far as
Mysore. He is said to have conquered 'the land between the two
seas', presumably the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal.
Early Tamil poets speak of Mauryan chariots thundering across the

land, their white pennants brilliant in the sunshine. At the time of
Bindusara's death in 272 B.C., practically the entire sub-continent
had come under Mauryan suzerainty. The extreme south was
ready to submit, thus eliminating the need for military conquest.
Yet one area alone remained hostile and unconquered, Kalinga, on
the east coast (modern Orissa). This was left to Bindusara's son
Ashoka, who campaigned successfully against Kalinga.
MAURYAN EMPIRE- ASOKHA
• Ashoka (?-232 B.C.), also spelled Asoka, was the greatest
emperor of ancient India. He ruled the Maurya Empire from
about 272 B.C. until his death. Ashoka was the grandson of
Chandragupta, founder of the Mauryan dynasty. His father,
Bindusara, ruled northern India for 29 years.
Ashoka was a fierce military leader who expanded his

kingdom in the Ganges-Jamuna valley. He continued his
victorious campaigns in southern and eastern India for eight
years. In 261 B.C., he conquered Kalinga (now known as
Orissa), a region on the east coast of India.
• The conquest of Kalinga marked a turning point in
Ashoka's life and reign. His armies killed about
100,000 people in battle and took 150,000 prisoners.
Horrified at the slaughter of the defenders of Kalinga,
Ashoka decided to renounce warfare. He sent peace
missions to his Asian neighbours as far away as Burma
and Sumatra. Although born into the Hindu religion,
Ashoka turned to the teachings of Buddhism, which
challenged many Hindu beliefs. He vowed to maintain
his rule by dharma, the Buddhist law of piety.
• Ashoka believed that a king's duties took precedence over
recreation, relaxation, enjoyment, and sleep. He often
worked late into the night in consultation with his ministers
of state. He was responsible for many reforms. These
reforms included an efficient civil service and a fair system of
land taxation. He introduced a secret information service to
help him gauge the mood and needs of his people first hand.
The network of agents speedily conveyed his commands and
collected information from distant parts of the kingdom. He
set up his court in the capital, Pataliputra (now Patna in
Bihar). His messengers regularly entered and left the capital
at night, after the great gates were closed. They used
specially built tunnels to move quickly and safely.
• Ashoka also built safe roads, with rest houses for
travellers. He established hospitals for both
people and animals. He encouraged and
controlled international trade and restrained the
powerful trade guilds that developed from these
measures. He boosted agriculture with
revolutionary ideas. These included improved
systems of irrigation and drainage. He also offered
state-sponsored loans to poorer farmers. After a
period of five years, the farmers became owners
of the land they cultivated.
• During Ashoka's reign many large, wealthy cities and even
villages in northern India were protected by surrounding
walls. These walls had gateways which entered them at
intervals. The huge wall that encircled Pataliputra was 40
kilometres long. Government officials, soldiers, scholars, and
nobles in their carriages all passed along the city's cobbled
streets. The wealthier citizens lived in detached houses with
spacious gardens. The main government offices, together
with public art galleries and other cultural institutions, were
clustered round the royal palace. The palace had a public area
where Ashoka held audience, and a private section where the
emperor, his family, and attendants lived. The armoury and
the treasury were also located there.
• Buddhist teachings, with their emphasis on non-
violence and reverence for all forms of life, led
Ashoka and his court to become vegetarians.
Buddhism also teaches tolerance, respect for holy
men (both Hindu and Buddhist), obedience to
authority, and regard for inferiors and those in need.
Although these principles were not new, Ashoka's
great contribution as a ruler was the way he put
them into practice. He ensured peace, justice, and
good government in what was the largest unified
empire in India until the arrival of the British.
• To publicize his laws, Ashoka had them inscribed on a vast
number of stone pillars. These pillars, some of them 12
metres high, were scattered throughout his kingdom and
beyond. Ten of them still stand today. The most famous of
them is located at Sarnath, near Benares. It is surmounted
by stone lions, said to be the finest carvings of the ancient
world. Another pillar stands at Rampurva, in northern
Bihar. It has a superb bull carved at the top. Parts of
Ashoka's inscriptions can still be read on these pillars even
though 2,000 years have elapsed since they were carved.
• Ashoka's fame in his day did much to spread Buddhism
throughout Southeast Asia and East Asia. After the
emperor's death, Hinduism took over in India again.
Nevertheless, the great stupas (shrines to Buddha) can
still be seen in India, where they have become centres of
pilgrimage. Ashoka built many stupas during his reign.
Although his kingdom broke up within 50 years of his
death, the Ashokan ideal of a united India remained, as
did his doctrine of non-violence. More than 2,000 years
later, this became the Indians' most effective weapon of
protest in their struggle for independence. In the light of
such developments, it seems wholly fitting that Ashoka's
lion carvings are the symbol of independent India.
• When Ashoka, the son of the Mauryan
emperor Bindusara and the grandson of
Chandragupta Maurya, ascended the throne
of Magadha in 273 B.C. treading in the
footsteps of his forefathers he set out to
expand his empire. In the 12th year of his
reign, he sent a message to Kalinga asking its
submission, but the Kalingaraj refused to
submit to the Mauryan empire.
• As a result Ashoka lead a huge army against Kalinga. This took
place in 261 B.C., the freedom loving people of Kalinga
offered a stiff resistance to the Mauryan army. The whole of
Kalinga turned into a battle arena. History offers us but few
examples of such fiercely fought wars as this. The Kalingaraj
himself commanded his army in the battle field. However, the
limited forces of Kalinga were no match for the overwhelming
Magadha army. Contrary to Ashoka's expectations, the people
of Kalinga fought with such great valor that on number of
occasions they came very close to a victory. The soldiers of
Kalinga perished in the battlefield fighting till their last breath
for their independence. The victory ultimately rested with
Ashoka.
• The war took a tremendous toll of life and
property. The 13th rock edict of Ashoka
throws light on this war. Atleast 0.1 million
Kalingans were killed while another 0.15
million were taken prisoners. And almost
equal number of Magadha soldiers were also
killed. There was not a single man left in
Kalinga to live a life of slavery.
• This is the singular instance of a war in history
which brought about a complete change of heart in
a stern ruler like Ashoka. The scene of the war
presented a horrible sight, the whole terrain was
covered with the corpses of soldiers, wounded
soldiers groaned in severe pain, vultures hovered
over their dead bodies, orphaned children
mourning the loss of their nears and dears, widows
looked blank and despaired.
• This sight overwhelmed Ashoka. He realized
that his victory at such a cost is not
worthwhile. The whole war resulted in
Ashoka's deviation towards Buddhism and
after two and a half years he became an
ardent follower of Buddhism under Acharya
Upgupta.
Economic and Administrative life in the
Mauryan era
• Apart from the metropolitan area, which was directly
governed, the empire was divided into four provinces each
under a prince or member of the royal family whose official
status was that of a viceroy. Governors administering smaller
units were selected from amongst the local people. The
provincial ministers were powerful and could act as a check on
the viceroy, and were on various occasions effective rulers.
Ashoka sent inspectors on tour every five years for an
additional audit and check on provincial administration. There
were specially appointed judicial officers both in the cities and
in the rural areas. Fines served as punishments in most cases.
But certain crimes were considered too serious to be punished
by fines alone, and capital punishments were delivered.
Mauryan era
• Each province was sub-divided into districts, each of these
into groups of villages, and the final unit of administration
was the village. The group of villages was staffed with an
accountant, who maintained boundaries, registered land
and deeds, kept a census of the population and a record
of the livestock; and the tax collector, who was concerned
with the various types of revenue. Each village had its
own officials, such as the headman, who was responsible
to the accountant and the tax-collector. Officers at this
level in rural administration were paid either by a
remission of tax or by land grants.
Mauryan era
• Urban administration had its own hierarchy of officers. The
city superintendent maintained law and order and the
general cleanliness of the city. Cities were generally built of
wood, necessitating the maintaining of fire precautions. The
city superintendent was assisted by an accountant and a tax
collector. Megasthenes has described the administration of
Pataliputra in detail. The city was administered by thirty
officials, divided into six committees of five. Each committee
supervised one of the following functions: questions relating
to industrial arts, the welfare of foreigners, the registering of
births and deaths, matters relating to trade & commerce,
supervision of the public sale of manufactured goods, and,
finally, collection of the tax on articles sold.
Mauryan era
• Two of the key offices controlled by the central administration were
those of the Treasurer and the chief collector. The Treasurer was
responsible for keeping an account of the income in cash and for storing
the income in kind. The Chief Collector assisted by a body of clerks, kept
records of the taxes which came in from various parts of the empire. The
accounts of every administrative department were properly kept and
were presented jointly by all the ministers to the king, perhaps to avoid
fraud and embezzlement. Each department had a large staff of
superintendents and subordinate officers. The superintendents worked
at local center and were a link between local administration and the
central government. Those specifically listed in the Arthashastra are the
superintendents of gold and goldsmiths, and of the storehouse,
commerce, forest produce, the armoury, weights and measures, tools,
weaving, agriculture, liquor , slaughter houses, prostitutes, ships, cows,
horses, elephants, chariots, infantry, passports and the city.
Mauryan era
• Salaries of officials and expenditure on public works
constituted a sizeable portion of the national expenses,
one quarter of the total revenue being reserved for these.
The higher officials were extremely well paid and this must
have been a drain on the treasury. The chief minister, the
purohita and the army commander received 48,000 panas,
the treasurer and the chief collector 24,000 panas; the
accountants and clerks received 500 panas, whereas the
ministers were paid 12,000 panas; and artisans received
120 panas. The value of the pana is not indicated, nor the
intervals at which the salaries were paid.
Mauryan era
• Ashoka ruled for thirty seven years and died in
232 B.C. With his death political decline set in
and soon after the empire broke up. The
Ganges valley remained under the Mauryas
for another fifty years. The north-western
areas were lost to the Bactrian Greeks by
about 180 B.C.
Mauryan era
• The reasons for this political decline are, up to a point , similar
in the disintegration of most empires on the Indian sub-
continent,. The basic reason which have been associated with
the decline of the Mauryan empire, is the policies of Ashoka.
He was responsible for causing a virtual revolt within the
Brahmans because of his pro-Buddhist policy. But making this
factor, singly, responsible for the decline of the Mauryan
empire would be a exaggeration of facts. Mauryan economy
was under considerable pressure. The need for vast revenues
to maintain the army and to finance the salaries of officials and
settlements on newly cleared land must have strained the
treasury.
Mauryan era
• By 180 B.C. the first experiment in imperial
government in India had ended. Other
experiments were to be made in later
centuries but the conditions were never quite
the same.
POST MAURYAN-Sungas and Kanvas
• The immediate heirs of what remained of the Mauryan
empire in 180 B.C. were the Sungas, a Brahmin family. The
Sungas came from the region of Ujjain in western India,
where they were officials under the Mauryas. The founder of
the dynasty, Pushyamitra, assassinated the last of the
Mauryas and usurped the throne. Buddhist sources claim
that he persecuted the Buddhists and destroyed their
monasteries and places of worship, especially those which
had been built by Ashoka. This may be a exaggeration as
facts reveal that, in fact, many Buddhist monasteries were
renovated during his rule. However, Pushyamitra was a keen
supporter of orthodox Hinduism and is known to have
performed two horse sacrifices.
POST MAURYAN-Sungas and Kanvas
• The Sungas were constantly occupied with wars : they
campaigned against their southern neighbours in the
northern Deccan, against the Greek inroad in the north-
west and against the king of Kalinga to the south-east. The
Sunga empire originally comprised almost the entire
Ganges valley and parts of northern India, although some
of the regions were not under their direct control and
merely owed them political allegiance. Within a hundred
years, however, the empire dwindled into the size of a
kingdom and consisted only of Magadha alone, and even
here the Sunga hold was precarious: a situation which was
to continue for another half-century under the Kanvas,
who succeeded the Sungas and reigned until 28 B.C.
POST MAURYAN-INDO GREEKS
• The Seleucid king of Mediterranean went on a
campaign in which he defeated an obscure
Indian king Subhagasena after crossing the
Hindu Kush mountains, and acquired from him
many elephants and much booty.
• The defeat of Subhagasena in 206B.C. revealed that the
north-west of India was unguarded. Demetrius, a Greek
king, marched towards India. He conquered Arachosia
and eastern Gedrosia (modern southern Afghanistan and
the Makran areas). Demetrius II was more ambitious and
crossed into the Punjab, gradually working his way down
the Indus valley to the delta and to Cutch, thus
establishing Indo-Greek power in north-western frontier
India. This was the start of a long lineage of Indo-Greek
rulers who ruled over the western parts of the sub-
continent.
• The best remembered of the Indo-Greek kings was
undoubtedly Menander, who, as Milinda, attained
fame in the Buddhist text Milinda-panho - the
Questions of King Militida - a catechismal discussion
on Buddhism, supposedly conducted by Menander
and the Buddhist philosopher Nagasena, resulting in
Menander's conversion to Buddhism. Menander
stabilised Indo- Greek power, in addition to
extending its frontiers in India. During the years that
he ruled, 155-130 B.C., he is known to have held the
Swat valley, and the Hazara district and the Punjab
as far as the Ravi river.
• His coins have been found as far as Kabul in the
north and Mathura near Delhi. There is little doubt
that he attempted to conquer territory in the
Ganges valley, but he failed to retain it. He may well
have attacked the Sungas in the Yamuna region, if
not at Pataliputra itself. On his death his body was
cremated and his popularity was such that the
various cities of the north-west vied with each
other for the ashes.
POST MAURYAN-Kalinga under Kharavela
• Kalinga remained a source of anxiety to the
Mauryans. It rose to power in the middle of the
first century B.C. under the king Kharavela. A
long inscription which he caused to be made
and which includes a biographical sketch
survives at Hathi-gunpha (Elephant's Cave) in
Orissa. The inscription is badly damaged as
such very few information could be deciphered
from it, about king Kharavela.
• Kharavela was a Jain but despite his fervour for Jainism

he was addicted to military conquests and conducted a
number of successful campaigns in various directions. He
claims to have defeated the king of the western Deccan,
occupied Rajagriha to the north and conquered
Magadha, attacked the Greeks in the north-west, and
finally overrun parts of the Pandyan kingdom in the
south of the peninsula, which he then had ploughed with
an ass as a mark of utter contempt for the Pandyan
rulers.
• Kharavela refers to the irrigation canals built by

the Nandas and takes pride in his own attempt in
this direction. There is no reference to the
Mauryas, unless it was included in the parts of the
inscription which are now illegible. Perhaps the
memory of the Ashoka's campaign against them
was still bitter to the Kalingans. Besides references
to conquests, he lays claim to spending vast sums
on the welfare of his subjects.
• The inscription is in a rather flowery and

pompous style and doubtless much of it was
royal panegyric. On Kharavela's death, Kalinga
relapsed into quiescence.
Post Mauryan-South India
• Ashoka in his inscriptions refers to the kingdoms of south India (the
region comprising modern Andhra Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, and
Kerala) as those of the Cholas, Pandyas, Satiyaputras, and
Keralaputras. The first two of these came to dominate the east coast
and were associated with the emergence of Tamil culture, called after
Tamil, the predominant language of the Dravidian group.
The nucleus of Tamil culture was the region just south of Madras city,
which even today is called Tamil-nad, the Land of the Tamils. Kharavela
the king of Kalinga speaks of defeating the Tamil confederacy, which
was doubtless that of the 'three crowned kings', the Cholas, Pandyas,
and Cheras (also known as Keralas) and their feudatories. Kharavela
established a trading relationship with the Pandya kingdom.
• Megasthenes mentions that the Pandya kingdom was founded by the
daughter of Herakles. Perhaps this reflects the matrilineal society of early
south India, which survived on the west coast in Kerala until half a century
ago. The queen of the Pandyas is credited by Megasthenes with an army Of
500 elephants, 4,000 cavalry, and 13,000 infantry.
The historical records of the time are contained in the Sangam literature -
anthologies of poetry similar to the Vedic sources. Tradition has it that many
centuries ago three successive assemblies (Sangams) were held at the town
of Madurai. All the poets and bards of the south gathered at these
assemblies and their combined compositions constitute the Sangam
literature. According to the mythological the first assembly, was attended by
the gods, but the poetry composed at this session has not survived the
winds of time. At the second assemby, the Tolkappiyam, the earliest Tamil
grammar, was supposed to have been written. At the third assembly the
Eight Anthologies were compiled, consisting of over 2,000 poems composed
mainly by bards and these have survived.
• The Cheras, the Cholas, and Pandyas appear to have
been continually at war with each other, which give
ample scope to the poets for heroic ballads and verses.
The three kingdoms are said to have, even, participated
in the battle at Kurukshetra of the Mahabharata age.
Eventually the Tamils built a navy and attacked Ceylon in
the Second century B.C., and finally managed to occupy
northern Ceylon for a short while, as they were defeated
by the Sinhalese king Dutthagamini in the latter half of
the second century B.C.
• A number of Chera kings are mentioned but there is
little information about them. One of them, however,
founds great reference in south Indian literature, Nedun
Jeral Adan, who, it is claimed, conquered all the land as
far as the Himalayas clearly a poetic conceit, as there is
no reference to such heroic act appears. He is also said
to have defeated a Roman fleet, which may have been
an attack on Roman trading ships. The early Chola kings
(first to fourth century A.D.) figure prominently in the
Tamil literature.
• Karikala, who is also referred as the 'man with the
charred leg', fought and won the battle of Venni against
the combined forces of the Pandyas, the Cheras, and
eleven minor chieftains. The Cholas gained supremacy
over the others and this in turn gave them access to both
the east and the west coasts of the southern tip of the
peninsula. This proved to be remarkably useful, for ports
could be built on both coasts and the overland route as
well as the sea route from the west coast to the east
could be used, as was the case with the Roman trade.
• Another hero king of the Cholas was Nalangilli, who was
remembered for the Vedic sacrifices which he frequently
performed. Vedic ritual must have fascinating and attractive
to the Tamils, used as they were to far more earthy cults such
the worship of Murugan, the god of war and fertility to whom
offerings of rice and blood were made accompanied by
orgiastic ritual dancing, led by the chief priests; or the simple
worship of 'hero stones' commemorating those who had
performed great feats in battle. For the Tamils this was the
period of evolution from tribal chieftainships to kingdoms.
• The king remained primarily a war leader whose function was to protect
his kingdom or tribe. Village councils and local assemblies are
mentioned but not adequately defined. These were to develop into a
powerful force in later Tamil culture, as also the temple, which became
the centre of activity in each village. Yet the Tamils did not remain at a
pastoral-agrarian stage for long. They rapidly moved towards a more
complex politico-economic structure; this was in part due to the
increasing impact of Aryan culture which brought with it the familiar
pattern of hereditary kings, taxation systems, etc., but much more
significant was the fact that south India was absorbed into the
commercial development of the sub-continent which was taking place
at the time. The emergence of Satavahana power, straddling across the
northern Deccan, provided lines of communication between the north
and the south, and trade within the sub-continent increased. Roman
trade with the East and west coasts and its concentration in the south
helped in ending the isolation of the southern kingdoms.
Influence of India over the world (2nd
century B.C.)
• Indian culture & merchandise was known all over
the world even before the birth of Christ. Indian
merchandise such as clothes and spices were in
great demand all over the human world. Whereas
Indian culture & religion influenced both east and
west to a great extent. Some aspects of Indian
religion became fashionable in the west, among
them asceticism (Paul of Alexandria and St
Anthony), idol worship, and the use of the rosary
century B.C.)
• A number of Indian kingdoms sent embassies to
Rome. Perhaps the best known was the one which
sailed from Broach in about 25 B.C. and included a
strange assortment of men and animals - tigers,
pheasants, snakes, tortoises, a monk, and an
armless boy who could shoot arrows with his toes -
which were all regarded as appropriate for the
Roman emperor. It took the mission four years to
reach Rome and the animals were presented to
Augustus by 21 B.C.
century B.C.)
• Communication with the west was not the limitations of Indian
influence, for in this century there was a phenomenal growth
in Sino-Indian relations and the introduction of Indian culture
to south-east Asia : all of which began through trade. During
the second and third centuries B.C. some goods of Chinese
origin were in use in India whose names clearly derive from
Chinese language itself: e.g., Chinese cloth, china patta, and
bamboo, kichaka, which is related to the Chinese Ki-chok.
Contact of a more sustained nature began in A.D. 65 with the
first Buddhist missionaries who arrived in China and
established themselves at the famous White Horse Monastery
at Lo-Yang.
century B.C.)
• In the process the inhabitants of the central Asian oases at
which the missionaries halted were converted to Buddhism
and monasteries grew up at places such as Yarkand, Khotan,
Kashgar, Tashkend, Turfan, Miran, Kuchi, Qara-shahr and Tun-
Huang. Manuscripts, paintings, and ritual objects were brought
from India and for many centuries these monasteries
maintained a close and lively interest in the development of
Buddhism both in China and in India. In fact, much of the more
significant knowledge of later Buddhist history has come from
excavations at these sites. By the third century A.D. Chinese
Buddhists were travelling to India to study Buddhism.
century B.C.)
• Voyages to south-east Asian ports became more
regular with the increasing contact with China, since
the sea route to China touched these ports. Legends
about the origin of kingdoms in south-east Asia often
trace the story back to Indian princes and merchants.
The Kalingans are said to have colonized the Irrawady
delta in Burma, and various parts of Java. An Indian
Brahman Kaundinya, married a Cambodian princess,
introduced the Indian culture to Cambodia.
Literature between 2nd century B.C. to 2nd
century A.D.
• In ancient India literary outputs were not restricted to
just Law Books and Grammars only, poetry and drama,
also, being extremely popular. Contemporary poetry got
newer depths in Tamil Nadu. One of the outstanding
poem of that era being Shilappadigaram (The jewelled
Anklet). It is set in the city of Kaverippattinam. Kovalan,
a young, wealthy merchant falls in love with a royal
courtesan and neglects his wife, who is devoted to him.
The poem ends tragically with the death of all three,
but husband and wife are reunited in heaven.
century A.D.
• A second poem, Manimegalai, was written as a
continuation of the first, the heroine being the daughter
of Kovalan and the courtesan, and an ardent Buddhist.
Drama (nataka) was mastered through the Sanskrit plays
of Ashvaghosha and Bhasa. No two playwrights could
have been more vivid. Manuscripts of Ashvaghosha's
plays originally written in the first century A.D. were
found in a monastery in Turfan (central Asia). Both plays
deal with Buddhist themes, one of them being a
dramatized version of the life of the Buddha.
century A.D.
• Ashvaghosha faithfully followed the rules laid down by
Bharata in his 'Study of Dramatic Arts', Natyashastra -
the Natyashastra having a position in Sanskrit literature
similar to Aristotle's Poetics). But Bhasa writing a couple
of centuries later made little use for these rules. Bhasa's
plays are either based on incidents from the epics, the
Mahabharata and the Ramayana, or are historical
romances most of which depict the amorous exploits of
king Udayin of Avanti. Bhasa wrote for the limited
audience of the court circle, whereas Ashvaghosha's
plays could well have been performed at religious
assemblies, before a wider audience.

Indian History

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Indian History

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INDIAN HISTORY

ANCIENT INDIA- MEDIEVAL INDIA-

• 9000-4000 BC- Transition phase between the

The Indus Valley people gave to the world its earliest

There is enough evidence to show that some of the early

Besides agriculture, people engaged themselves in

People also domesticated animals. Some of them

A rudimentary administrative system was introduced, with the king as

The gods were engaged in the conflict between good and

• But soon caste system became a social evil. It suppressed an individual's

Brahmanas - These are commentaries on the Vedic mantras. They are

Aranyakas - Are the concluding parts of the Brahmanas. Aranyakas mean

Several important Hindu schools of thought, including the sankhya and

2. MONARCHIAL STATES: ANGA, AVANTI, CHEI,

In 327 B.C. Alexander, continuing his march across the empire

Early Tamil poets speak of Mauryan chariots thundering across the

Ashoka was a fierce military leader who expanded his

• Kharavela was a Jain but despite his fervour for Jainism

• Kharavela refers to the irrigation canals built by

• The inscription is in a rather flowery and

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