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Ancient
Indian History
&
Civilization

~
Sumit Kumar Yadav

© Learn With Sumit

Copyright © 2022
No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise or stored in a database or retrieval system without the
prior written permission of the publishers.

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1. Introduction to Ancient History………………………………………………06
• Why History?
• What Ancient History contribute?
• Sources of Ancient Indian History
▪ Literary Sources
▪ Archaeological Sources
• Historical Concepts
• Evolution of Humans
• Eras
• Geological time scale
2. The Stone Age………………………………………………………………….13
• Palaeolithic Period (Old Stone Age)
• The Mesolithic Age
• The neolithic Age
• The Chalcolithic Age
3. Vedic Age Civilization…………………………………………………………21
• Vedic Society
• Vedic Politics
• Vedic Religion & Philosophy
• The Aryan Invasion
• Later Vedic Period
4. Indus Valley Civilizations (Harappan Civilization) ……………………….35
• Important sites of Indus Valley Civilization
• Harappan Town Planning
• Harappan Crafts & Industries
• Harappan Culture
• Harappan Religion
• Harappan Chronology & Decline

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5. Jainism and Buddhism………………………………………………………...48
• Evolution of Jainism
▪ Mahavira
▪ Shvetambara vs Digambara
▪ Jain Councils
▪ Jain Architecture & Literature/texts
• Evolution of Buddhism
▪ Three Pitakas
▪ Buddhist Councils
▪ Spread of Buddhism
▪ UNESCO’s heritage sites related to Buddhism

6. Pre-Mauryan Age……………………………………………………………...59
• Sources of Mauryan History
• The Mahajanpads
• Magadha Empire
• The Age of Satvahanas
• Foreign invasions during Pre-Mauryan Age
7. Age of Mauryans………………………………………………………………69
• Mauryan Empire
▪ Chandragupta Maurya
▪ Ashoka – the Great
• Late Mauryans
• Economy, Social Life, Art and Architecture in Mauryan Age
• Administration
• Decline of Mauryan Age
8. Post-Mauryan Rulers………………………………………………………….80
• Kanishka: The Kushan Dynasty
• Palas, Pratiharas and Rasthrakutas
9. Gupta Dynasty…………………………………………………………………87
• The Age of Gupta’s
▪ Samudragupta
▪ Chandragupta (II)
• Administration of Gupta Empire

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 • Art and Architecture during the Gupta Dynasty
• Literature
10. Post-Gupta’s Era………………………………………………………………93
• Ancient Philosophies of India
• Harshvardhan Empire
• The Empire of Southern India
▪ Chera Dynasty
▪ Chola Dynasty
▪ Pandya Dynasty
▪ Pallavas Dynasty

11. Bhakti-Sufi Traditions……………………………………………………….110

• Tantric Worship
• The Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu
• The Virashaiva Tradition in Karnataka (Lingayat’s)
• Islamic traditions
• The Growth of Sufism
▪ Khanqahs
▪ Silsilas
▪ Dargahs
• The Chishti’s Silsila in the Subcontinent
▪ Chishti Devotionalism: Ziyarat and Qawwali
▪ Dargah of Khwaja Moinuddin
• New Devotional Paths: Dialogue and Dissent in North India
▪ Kabir Das
▪ Baba Guru Nanak
▪ Mirabai: The Devotee Princess

12. Appendices……………………………………………………………………122
• List of Jain Tirthankara with Symbols
• List of Ancient Historical monuments in India and their builders

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 01

• Before studying this subject, you must have these questions in your mind:
o Why should we study history?
o Does it solve the problem of today?
o Does it contribute anything to the society we live today?

• Of course, History doesn’t answer these questions, but History helps us in

knowing the past people, their culture, their religions, social systems and
suggests us how to build future.
• It reminds us not to repeat the mistakes, which led to various manmade disasters
like wars (in the past).
• The study of history helps in understanding the people, societies, and nations and
finally, the whole humanity gets a sense of identity and belongings.

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What Ancient History contribute?
• It tells us how, when and where people developed the earliest cultures in our
country.
• It indicates how they started agriculture which made life secure and settled.
• It showed as how the ancient Indians discovered and utilized natural resources,
and how they created the means for their livelihood.
• We come to know how they took to farming, spinning, weaving, metal-working
and so on; how they cleared forests; and how they found villages, cities, and
finally large kingdoms.

Sources of Ancient Indian History

• The two main categories that gives evidences of Ancient Indian History are:
o Literary records include literatures in Vedic, Sanskrit, Pali and other
literature along with foreign accounts.
o Archaeological sources include epigraphic, explorations and excavations,
and other archaeological remains.

Indian Literary
Sources

Literary Sources Ancient Books

Foreign Accounts
Sources of Ancient
Indian History Archaeological
Monuments

Archaeological Inscriptions
sources

Numismatics

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Literary Sources
Indian Literary Sources
• The ancient Indian literature is mostly religious in nature.
• The Vedic literature, Puranic and Epic literature narrates the genealogies of
kings and their achievements.
• The Vedas give reliable information about the culture and civilization of the Vedic
period, but don not tells the political history.
• Early Jain, Buddhist literature, and Ashokan edicts written in Pali language.

Ancient Books
• Arthashastra, a book on statecraft written by Kautilya during the Mauryan
period. The final version of Arthashastra was completed in 4th century BC.
• The Sangam literature, which mainly describes about many kings and dynasties
of South India.
• Malvikagnimitra written by Kalidas gives information about Pusyamitra Sunga
dynasty.

Foreign Accounts
• Magasthenese, in court of Chandragupta Maurya, had written about the Indian
society and culture in his book called “Indica”.
• Many Chinese travellers visited India as Buddhist pilgrims from time to time:
o Fa-Hien (Faxian) – visited India in 5th century AD.
o Hien-Tsang (Xuan Zang) – visited India in 7th century
o I-Tsing (Yanjing) – visited India in 7th century.
• Al-Biruni gave important information about India, a
contemporary historian who came with Mahmud of
Ghazni.
• Herodotus in his book Histories (written in many volumes)
describes about Indo-Persian relations.

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Archaeological Sources
• Up to 1921, Indian civilization was considered to have begun about 6th century
BC. However, the excavation at Mohenjo-Daro, Kalibangan, and Harappa prove
its antiquity to be of 5,000 BC.
• Prehistoric artifacts found in excavation have shown human activities as early as
about two million years ago.

Archaeological Monuments
• The excavations of the cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa prove the antiquity
of Indian culture and civilization, which are more than two thousand years old.
• The historic sites as Kalibangan, Lothal, Dholavira, Rakhigiri are the
contemporary of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa civilization.
• All the tools and carved paintings found talks about the different ages of the
subcontinent.

Inscriptions
• The study of inscriptions is called
Epigraphy.
• The inscriptions are the most important and
reliable sources of Indian history.
• Inscriptions are the contemporary
documents those are free from later
interpolations as it is impossible to add
something to it at a later period. Therefore,
it comes in the original form as it was composed and engraved.
• The manuscripts written were written on soft materials like palm leaf, paper, etc.,
considered as a reliable source of information about history.

Numismatics
• Numismatics is the study of coins, paper
money, etc.
• The excavation of coins in its original form
is very less, but are very valuable as it talks
about the chronology and cultural context
very precisely.

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Historical Concepts

Evolution of Humans
• The fossils of the earliest humans found in Africa were about 4.2 billion years
old.
• The fossils found in Africa, China, Java, Sumatra, and southern Europe portray
the various stages and periods of human development.

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How Humans spread around the world

Eras
• The Vikram Era (56 BC) traditionally founded by a king called Vikramaditya,
who drove the Sakas out of Ujjain and founded the era to celebrate the victory.
• The Saka Era (78 AD) was, according to tradition, founded by Saka King who
occupied Ujjain 137 years after Vikramaditya. Kanishka may have founded this
era.
• The Gupta Era (320 AD) was probably founded by Chandra Gupta I.
• The Harsha Era (606 AD) founded by Harshvardhan of Kanauj and was popular
in Northern India for a century or two after his death.
• The Kaliyuga (3102 BC) was usually used for religious dates and rarely for
political events.
• Buddha Era (544 BC) was in use in Ceylon from an uncertain date. Often used
for religious purposes.
• The Era of Mahavira (528 BC), the Jains use it for religious purpose.
• Kollam Era of Kerela (825 AD) was used in Kerala.
• The Era of Vikramaditya VI Chalukyas (1075 AD) was used in early medieval
period.

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On the basis of scientific study, geologists fix age of the earth as 4.6 billion years.
• Ancient history can be divided into different periods according to the tools used
by people then.
o Palaeolithic Period: 2 million BC – 10,000 BC
o Mesolithic Period: 10,000 BC – 8000 BC
o Neolithic Period: 8000 BC – 4000 BC
o Chalcolithic Period: 4000 BC – 1500 BC

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Palaeolithic Period (Old Stone Age): Hunters and Food Gatherers
• Based on tool technology, the Palaeolithic Age in India is divided into the
following three phases:
o Lower Palaeolithic Hand-axe and cleaver industries;
o Middle Palaeolithic Tools made on flakes; and
o Upper Palaeolithic Tools made on flakes and blades.

Lower Palaeolithic Age

• The time period was marked between 600,000 and 60,000 BC.
• The main tool type of this era were hand axes and cleavers, along with chopper-
chopping tools. These were made on cores as well as flakes.
• The Lower Palaeolithic tools have been abundantly found throughout the
Indian subcontinent, except the plains of the Indus, Saraswati, Brahmaputra and
Ganga where raw material is in the form of stone is not available.
• Important sites are:
▪ Pahalgam in Kashmir,
▪ Bhimbetka and Adamgarh in Hosangabad district (Madhya Pradesh)
▪ Belan Valley in Allahabad district (Uttar Pradesh)
▪ Hunsgi in Gulbarga district (Karnataka),
▪ Attirampakkam (Tamil Nadu)

Middle Palaeolithic Age

• The period was marked between 150,000 BC and 40,000 BC.
• The tools of middle Palaeolithic were characterized as:
o The flake tools those are made on flakes obtained by striking them out from
pebbles or cobbles.
o These tools types include small and medium-sized hand-axes, cleavers, and
various kinds of scrapers, borers, and knives.
• Important sites are:
o Bhimbetka
o Nevasa in Ahmednagar district (Maharashtra)
o Pushkar

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 o Rohri hills of Upper Sind
o Samnapur on Narmada

Upper Palaeolithic Age

o The period marked between 9,000 and 8,000 BC.
o The tools of Upper Palaeolithic were characterized by basic technological
innovation in the method of producing parallel sided blades and in
development of the composite
tools.
o The main tools of this period are
scrapers, points, awls, burins,
borers, knives, etc.
o Paintings at Bhimbetka site
belong to this age.
o Robert Bruce Foot was the first
to discover a Palaeolithic stone in India in 1863.
o The tools were usually made of hard rock 'quartzite' and therefore
Palaeolithic man in India is also called "Quartzite Man".
o Important sites are;
▪ Belan
▪ Chhota Nagpur plateau
▪ Parts of Maharashtra
▪ The Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh

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The Mesolithic Age: Hunters and Herders & Domestication of animals
• The time period between 12,000 and 2,000 BC in India marked as Late Stone
Age, or Microlithic period.
• It is characterized as the transition period between Palaeolithic and Neolithic
ages.

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• The Mesolithic people lived on hunting, fishing and food-gathering. Earliest
domestication of animals has also witnessed from Madhya Pradesh and
Rajasthan.
• The tools of Mesolithic culture were:
o Parallel-sided blades taken out from prepared cores of fine materials;
o Stone size (of tools) decreased;
o Tools were hafted in wood and
bones;
o Some new tools namely lunates,
trapezes, triangles, arrow-heads,
etc. were also developed.
• Important sites were:
o Langhnaj in Gujarat,
o Bagor in Rajasthan,
o Sarai Nahar Rai, Chopani Mando, Mahdaha, and Damdama in Uttar Pradesh,
o Bhimbetka and Adamgarh in Madhya Pradesh
o Orissa,
o Andhra Pradesh.

Prehistoric Rock Art

• The rock-shelters in India were mainly occupied by the Upper Palaeolithic and
Mesolithic people.
• The rock paintings portrayed human beings being involved in various activities, such
as dancing, running, playing games and engaged in battle belongs to this age.
• The colours used in these rock
paintings are deep red, green,
white and yellow.

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The Neolithic Age: Food Producers
• The age dating between 5,000 BC to 1800 BC.

Beginning of settled life

• About 6,000 years ago first urban
societies came into being in both western
and southern Asia region.
• Around 7,000 BC, humans in west Asia
started domesticated crops like wheat
and barley.
• Rice might have been domesticated at the
same time in India as it is shown by the
evidence from Koldiwa in Belan valley.

Neolithic Agricultural Regions

• Basically, there are four regions (in India)
o Indus system and western borderland
o Ganga valley;
o Western India and northern Deccan
o Southern Deccan.
• Agriculture and animal domestication were the main economic activity of early
Neolithic culture.
• The important sites are:
o Mehrgarh (Pakistan)
▪ The site of Mehrgarh has been extensively examined and the result shows
that the habitation here began in around 7,000 BC. There is also evidence
of the use of ceramic during this period.
o Gufkral and Burzahom in Kashmir
o Mahgara, Koldihwa in Belan valley in Uttar Pradesh,
o Chirand in Bihar.

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The Chalcolithic Age
• By the end of Neolithic period, a full-fledged civilization was developed in the
Indus and Saraswati valleys in the northern part of India.
• A completely different kind of culture known as Chalcolithic Culture was
developed in central India and Deccan region. They however, never reached the
level of urbanization in spite of they were using metal.

The Metal Age

• The Chalcolithic age marked the
emergence of the use of metal along
with stone tools.
• The first metal to be used was
copper, though they also
occasionally used bronze.

Trade & Commerce

• Chalcolithic people domesticated cows, sheep, goats, pigs and buffaloes, and hunted
deer.
• They ate beef but did not like pork and were also not acquainted with horses.
• It is rather interesting to note that the domesticated animals were slaughtered for food
and not milked for dairy products.
o Their economy was a village-based economy.
• They used different types of pottery, of which black and red pottery was the most
popular.
• Equally interesting is the fact that female potters did not use the potter’s wheel, only
men did.

Agriculture in this Era

• The people of the Chalcolithic phase produced wheat and rice as their staple, bajra,
several pulses such as lentil, black gram, green gram, and grass pea, while those
living in eastern regions lived on fish and rice.

Distinguishing features
• They were not familiar with burnt brick, and generally lived in houses made of mud
bricks.
• Chalcolithic-era people did not know the use of writing, and people cooked their food.

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• Vedic literature is the most significant source of information about the Vedic
civilization.

• The Vedic literature consists of three successive classes of literary creation,

namely:
o Vedas

o Brahmanas
o Aranyakas and Upanishads.

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Vedas
• Vedas means “knowledge”. The Vedas formed the earliest segment of Vedic
literature.

• The Vedas are the collection of hymns, prayers, charms, and sacrificial
formulae.

• Vedas are four in numbers, namely:

o Rig Veda – It is the oldest Veda. It is collection of hymns.

o Samaveda – It is a collection of songs, which are mostly taken from Rig Veda.

o Yajurveda – It is a collection of sacrificial formulae.

o Atharvaveda – It is collection of spells and charms.

Brahmanas
• The Brahmanas are the prose texts. It describes about the meaning of Vedic
hymns, their application, and stories of their origin in details.

• Besides it also explains the details about rituals and philosophies.

Aranyakas & Upanishads

• Aranyakas and Upanishads exemplify philosophical meditations of the hermits
and ascetics of God, soul, world, etc.

• The Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, and the Upanishads are attached to one or the
other of the four Vedas.

• Compositions of the hymns are credited to Hindu Rishis (monks) of divine origin.

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Vedic Society
• Occupation of individuals was
the basis of classification of a
society in the Rig Vedic period

• It was divided into four varnas,

namely
o Brahmanas (teacher and
priests);
o Kshatriya (rulers and administrators);
o Vaisya (farmers, merchants, and bankers);
o Sudra (artisans and labourers)
• Trades and occupations did not assume a hereditary character in the society (till
now).

Salient features of Vedic Society

• The family was the smallest unit of a society. It was primarily monogamous and
patriarchal.

• Child marriage was not in fashion.

• A widow could marry the younger brother of her decreased husband.

• The father’s property was inherited by son.

• Right to property was known in moveable things like cattle, horse, gold and
ornament and so also in immovable property like land and house.

Education

• The teacher was given great respect.

• The school was in the home of the

teacher where he taught particular
sacred texts.

• Oral learning was the method of

education.

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 • Students were given intense training and learning to memorize and preserve the
huge mass of Vedic literature.

Economic life

• Agriculture, cattle rearing, and trade and commerce were the main economic
activity of the Rig Vedic period.

• Peoples had domesticated animals like cows, sheep, goats, asses, dogs, buffalo,
etc.

• The grains are collectively called “Yava” and “Dhanya”.

• Some other occupations were pottery-making, weaving, carpentry, metal-

working, leather-working, etc.

• Initially, copper was the only metal that was used. In later period, along with
copper, iron is also used and mentioned as ‘lohit ayas’.

• The trade and traders (vanik) were also known in Rig Vedic era.

• The practices of exchange of goods (barter system) were in trend. It has been
found that ten cows were quoted as the price of an image of Indra.

• Money-lending was also very prevalent. It is mentioned that an eighth or a

sixteenth part of one being paid either as an interest or part of the principle.

Vedic Politics
• Politics of Vedic India was well structured and organized.

Political Structure

• The political structure of Rig Vedic India can be studies in the following ascending
order:
o The Family (Kula), the smallest unit.
o The Village (Grama)
o The Clan (Vis)
o The People (Jana)
o The Country (Rashtra)

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• A collection of several families constitutes the grama (village) and headman was
called gramini.

• Several Vis constituted as Jana as it is mentioned as Panchajanah, Yava-janaha,

and Bharata-janaha.

Administration

• The hereditary kings were the popular form of Government.

• The provision of a democratically elected king by the assembly of people was also
known.

• The Rashtra was small states ruled by a Raja (king).

• The bigger kingdoms were ruled by ‘Samrat’ that reflects that they enjoyed a
position of greater authority and dignity.

• The Raja administered justice with the assistance of Purohit and other officials.

• The Raja was offered Bali, which was voluntary gift or tribute for his service. The
Bali was offered by his own people and also from defeated people.

• The crimes were strongly dealt by the administration. Major crimes were theft,
robbery, burglary and cattle lifting.

• The important royal officials were:

o Purohit (chief priest and minister)
o Senani (army chief)
o Gramini (head of village)
o Dutas (envous)
o Spies (spy)
• Sabha and Samiti were two
important assemblies mentioned in
Rig Veda. These assemblies were
forms of essential feature of the
government.
o The Samiti was mainly dealt with
the policy decisions and political business, included common people.
o The Sabha was selected body of the elders of nobles and less political in
character.

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Vedic Religion & Philosophy
• Some gods had also been worshipped during Rig Vedic period, which were the
personified power of nature.
Categorization of Gods

• The Vedic gods were classified into three categories:

o Terrestrial (Prithivisthana) e.g., Prithivi, Agni, Soma, etc.

o Aerial or intermediate (Antarikshasthana) e.g., Indra, Rudra, Vayu-Vata, Apah

(water), etc.

o Celestial (Dyusthana) e.g., Dyaus, Varuna, Surya, Savitri, etc.

• Indra and Varuna (the supreme cosmic and moral ruler) stand out in that order,
pre-eminent above the rest.

• Agni and Soma were also popular deities.

o Agni was valued as the messenger between the earth and the heaven.
o Agni is the only God who is regarded as present among all the categories of Gods.

• Gyantri Mantra is recited daily by the pious Hindu even today.

• The creation is deemed as the outcome of the sacrifice made by the Viratpurusha
or of evolution from non being manifested in the form of water.

Lord Indra Lord Varuna

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The Aryan Invasion
• The exact origin of the Aryans is quite disputed, but they seem to have lived in
the steppes, stretching somewhere from southern Russia to Central Asia.

• They were distinguished by their common language.

o They spoke the Indo-European languages, which are currently used (in
changed form) all over the Europe, Iran and greater parts of the Indian
subcontinent.

• Their earliest life seems to have been mainly pastoral, agriculture being a
secondary occupation.

• On their way to India, they

first appeared in Iran.
o We know about Aryan
first from the Rig Veda,
Avesta (which is the
oldest text of the Iranian
language).

• A little earlier than 1500 BC,

the Aryans appear in India, but
we don’t have a clear
archaeological trace of their
advent to the subcontinent.

• The earliest Aryans lived in

the geographical areas now
covered by eastern
Afghanistan, NWFP, Punjab
and fringes of western UP.

• The whole region in which the Aryan first settled is called as the Land of the
Seven Rivers (around and including Indus).

• The Aryans came to Indian in several waves, with the first wave in about 1500
BC.
o They got into conflict with the indigenous inhabitants called as dasas, dasyus
etc.
o Soft towards dasas, but strongly hostile to the dasyus.

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• The Aryans succeeded everywhere, because they had chariots driven by the
horses, and introduced them for the first time into Western Asia and India.
o The Aryan soldiers were probably equipped with coats of mail (Varman) and
better arms.

• Dasaraja battle - ego clash between b/w two saints.

o Vashistha (Aryan) & Vishwamitra (Aaryan).

o Vashistha replaced Vishwamitra as guru of Bharata clan.

• A number of tribes were

hostile to Bharat clan and
the Battle of Ten Kings was
fought between them and 10
other tribes (5 Aryans and
the rest 5 non-Aryans).
o Fought on the river Ravi/Parushni.
o The most important among the defeated were the Purus.

o But eventually, the Bharats and Purus joined hand and founded the Kuru dynasty.

o The Kurus joined hands with the Panchals and together established their rule in
the upper Gangetic basin.

• The Aryan were divided into five tribes called the Panchajana and fought among
themselves, sometime with support of non-Aryans.

• The Rig Vedic Aryans were primarily pastoral

people.
o So many references to the cow and the bull in
the Rig Veda.
o Most of their wars were fought for the sake of
cows.

o Cow seems to have been the most important

form of wealth then – gavishthi (search for
cows).

o Gifts to the priests were usually in the form of cows and women slaves and never
of land.

• The land didn’t form a part of the private property in the early Vedic period (it was the
cattle wealth which was all important).

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Later Vedic Age
Transition to the State and Social Orders
• The history of later Vedic period is based mainly on the Vedic texts which were
compiled after the age of Rig Veda
• The collection of Vedic hymns or mantras were knowing as Samhitas.
• The Rig Veda Samhita is the oldest Vedic text, on the
basis of which Vedic period is described
• For the purpose of recitation, the prayers of the Rig
Veda were set to tune, and this modified collection was
known as Sam Veda Samhita (Sama bandhana)
• Yajur Veda Samhita – contains not only hymns, but also
rituals which have to accompany their recitation
• Atharva Veda contains charms and spells to ward off
evils and diseases (a mixture of Aryan and Tribal
cultures)
• The texts show that the Aryans expanded from Punjab over the whole of western
UP – covered by the Ganga-Yamuna doab.

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 • The Bharatas and Purus, the two major tribes, combined to form Kurus –
gradually they coalesced with people called the Panchals, who occupied the
middle portion of the Ganga-Yamuna doab – set up their capital at Hastinapur
(Meerut).
• The great war of Mahabharta is supposed to have been fought around 950 BC - no
evidence of such an elaborate city has been found till date.
• Around a 1000 BC, iron appears in Dharwad (KN) district.
• Agriculture supported with iron implements was the chief means of livelihood of
the later Vedic population – ploughing was done with the wooden ploughshare.
• Enough bullocks were not available because of cattle slaughter in rituals and
sacrifices – therefore agriculture was primitive.
• Wheat and rice became their chief crops during this period.
• Agriculture and various crafts enabled the later Vedic people to lead a settled life.
• Although the term nagara is mentioned in the later Vedic texts, but only faint
beginning of towns towards the end of later Vedic period.
• On the whole, the later Vedic period registered a great advance in the material
life of the people.
• Agriculture became the primary source of livelihood, and life became settled and
sedentary.
• The pastoral and semi-nomadic forms were relegated to the background.
• Equipped with diverse arts & crafts, the Vedic people now settled down
permanently in the upper Gangetic plans.
• They produced enough to sustain themselves and could also spare a marginal
portion for their chiefs, princes and priests.

Political Organisation:
• In later Vedic times, the popular assemblies lost importance, and royal power
increased at their cost – the vidhata completely disappeared, Sabha and samiti
continued to hold their ground, but their character changed – they came to be
dominated by chiefs and rich nobles, women were no longer permitted to sit on
the Sabha, and it was dominated by the nobles and the Brahmans.
• In this period, collection of taxes and tributes seems to have become common and
they were collected by an officer called sangrihitri.
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 • The formation of bigger kingdoms, made the chief or the king a lot more powerful
– the term rashtra, which indicate territory first appeared in this period.
• Even in later Vedic period, the king still didn't possess a standing army – but
instead, tribal units were mustard in times of war.
• In the discharge of his duties, the king was assisted by the priest, the commander,
the chief queen and a few other functionaries.

Social Organisation:
• The later Vedic society came to be
divided into 4 varnas and the
growing cult of sacrifices
enormously added to the position
of the Brahmans.
• In the beginning the Brahmans
were one of the 16 classes of
priests, but slowly they managed
to outsmart the others and emerged
as the most important priestly
class.
• The rise of Brahmans is a peculiar
development, which is not found anywhere else in the Aryan societies.
• The Brahmans concluded sacrifices for their client and also for themselves and
also officiated at the festivals associated with agricultural operations.
• The Vaishya constituted the common people and they were assigned to do the
producing functions – agriculture, cattle-breeding etc.
• Towards the end of Vedic period, they also started to engage in trade and
commerce. Both the Brahmans and the Kshatriyas lived on the tributes from the
Vaishyas.
• All the three higher varnas were
made entitled to upanayana or
investiture with the sacred thread
according to the Vedic mantras, but
the fourth varna (shudras) was
deprived of the sacred thread
ceremony and the gyantri mantra –
and with this, began the imposition
of disabilities on the shudras.

Page | 31
 • The institution of gotra appeared in the later Vedic period – people began to
practice gotra exogamy.
• Ashramas or four stages of life were not well established in the Vedic times, but
in the post-Vedic times, the four ashrams came into existence – but, in the post-
Vedic time only the stage of the householder was commonly practiced by all the
varnas.

Religious Practices
• The outstanding gods, Indra and Agni
lost their importance and on the other
hand, Prajapati (the creator) came to
occupy the supreme position.
• Rudra, the god of animals became
prominent and Vishnu came to be
conceived as the preserver.
• Also, some objects began to be worshipped to be as symbols of divinity – signs
of idolatry appear in the later Vedic times.
• Sacrifices became far more important and assumed both domestic and character.
• Public sacrifices involved the king and the whole of the community.

• Sacrifices involved killing of animals on a large scale and especially the

destruction of cattle wealth (the guest was known as goghana – the one who was
fed on cattle).

• Sacrifices had to be accompanied by formulae, which had to be carefully

pronounced by the sacrificer.
• These formulae and sacrifices were invented, adopted and elaborated by the
priests called the brahmans and they claimed a monopoly of priestly knowledge
and expertise.

Upanishads / Vedantas
• These philosophical texts criticized the rituals and laid stress
on the value of right belief and knowledge.

• They emphasized that the knowledge of the self or atman should

be acquired.

• They are sources of Indian philosophy. They are last chapter of

Vedas.
Page | 32
 • There are 108 Upanishads. Upanishad deal with the relationship between Man
and God.
• Katho Upanishad- concept of death in from of dialogues between Nachiketa, his
father and lord of death Yama.
• ‘Satyameva Jayate’ was derived from Mundaka Upanishad.
• ‘Om’ was derived from Rig Veda.
• It was one of the earliest books which talks about non-violence.
• 4 Vedas, Brahmanas (related to conduct of various ceremonies), Aranyakas
(text related to forest life) and Upanishads form the Vedic Literature.

Vedangas

6 Philosophical Systems

Page | 33
Six schools of Philosophy
1. Samkhya:

• Means "count" - believes that the presence of divine agency is not essential
for the creating of the world, rather, the world owes its creation and
evolution more to Nature or Prakriti.
• Scientific and materialistic theme.
2. Yoga:
• A person can attain salvation through meditation and physical application -
recommended Prayanam etc.
3. Nyaya:
• Developed as a system of logic - salvation can be attained through
acquisition of knowledge and what is more important is the veracity of a
proposition or statement can be tested through inference, hearing and
analogy.
4. Vaisheshika:
• Gives important to the discussion of material elements - propounded the
atom theory - all material objects are made up of atoms.
• Scientific and materialistic theme.
5. Mimamsa:
• Based on Vedic, ritualistic, Brahmanical theory - to attain salvation,
Mimansa strongly recommended the performance of Vedic sacrifices, which
needed the services of Priests and legitimized the social distance between the
various Varnas.

6. Vedanta/UttraMimansa
• Denotes the end of the Vedas - Souls are eternal and indestructible.
• The theory of Karma and Punarjanma (reincarnation) was emphasized.

Page | 34
 04

• Till 1920, the relics of the civilization were found only in the Indus valley region;
therefore, it was known as Indus Valley civilization.
• In 1920-21, the Harappa civilization was discovered in the excavation by D.R.
Sahni and John Marshall (at Harappa) and R.D. Banerjee (at Mohenjo Daro).
• The remains of the civilization were first noticed at Harappa; therefore, it is also
known as Harappa civilization.

Page | 35
Geographical Facts
• The 1,400 settlements of this civilization discovered so far are distributed over a
very wide geographical area covering almost 1,600 km (east to west) and 1,400
km (north to south).
• Harappan Civilization extent starts from:
• Suktazendor (Baluchistan) in the west to Alamgirpur (Meerut, Uttar Pradesh)
in the east;

• Manda (Akhnoor district, Jammu & Kashmir) in the north to Dimabad

(Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra) in the south.

• About 1,400 settlements of the Harappa culture are known from different parts of
India.
• About 925 settlements sites are now in India and 475 are in Pakistan.
• The total geographical stretch of Harappa civilization is about 1.2 million sq. km
which is more than 20 times of the area of Egyptian and more than 12 times of
the combined area of Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilization.

Page | 36
Important sites of Indus Valley civilization
Year of Important
Site Excavated by Location
excavation findings
Situated on • Sandstone
the bank of statues of
river Ravi in Human
Harappa Daya Ram Sahni 1921 Montgomery anatomy.
district of • Granaries
Punjab
(Pakistan) • Bullock carts

• Great bath

• Granary

Situated on • Bronze dancing

the Bank of girl
Mohenjo-
river Indus in • Seal of
Daro
R.D Banerjee 1922 Larkana Pasupathi
(Mound of
district of Mahadeva
dead)
Punjab
(Pakistan) • Steatite statue of
beard man
• A piece of
woven cotton

In south- • A trade point

western between
Baluchistan Harappa and
Suktazendor Stein 1929 Babylon
province,
Pakistan on
Dast river
• Bead makers
shop
Sindh on the
Chanhudaro N.G Majumdar 1931 • Footprint of a
Indus River
dog chasing a
cat

On the bank • Antelope

Amri N.G Majumdar 1935 evidence
of Indus River

Page | 37
 • Fire altar
Rajasthan on
Kalibangan Ghose 1953 the bank of • Camel bones
Ghaggar river
• Wooden plough

• First manmade
port
Gujarat on • Dockyard
Bhogva river
Lothal R. Rao 1953
near Gulf of • Rice husk
Cambay
• Fire altars

• Chess playing

• Bones of horses
Surkotada J.P Joshi 1964 Gujarat
• Beads

• Beads

• Barley
Hisar district
Banawali R.S Bisht 1974 • Evidence of both
of Haryana
pre-Harappa and
Harappan
culture

• Water
Gujarat in harnessing
Dholavira J.P Joshi 1985 Rann of system
Kachchh
• Water reservoir

Page | 38
Harappan Town Planning
• The orientation of streets and buildings, according to the cardinal direction east-
west, and north-south was the distinguishing factor of the Indus-Saraswati cities.

• Harappan city sites, including Mohenjo Daro, Harappa, Kalibangan, and

Surkotada were having large gateways at various entry points of the city.
o These gateways are seen even in the inner fortification areas also.

• At Dholavira, a fallen signboard was found close to the main entrance.

o It is a large inscription having ten symbols each measuring approximately 37cm
high and 25cm x 27cm wide.

• The Harappan culture is distinguished by its system of town planning:

o Citadel – probably occupied by the members of the ruling class, and
o Lower town – perhaps occupied by the common people

o Remarkably, the houses in the cities followed a grid system.

Materials used in buildings

• Most settlements were situated in the alluvial plains where the most common
buildings materials were mud-bricks and kiln-fired bricks, wood and reeds.

• Drains and bathing areas were made with baked bricks or stones.

• Roofs of the buildings were made of wooden beams covered with reeds and
packed clay.

Page | 39
Great Bath of Mohenjo Daro

• The Great Bath of Mohenjo Daro is most remarkable feature of any Harappan
site.

• It was a brick structure, which measured 12m x 7m and nearly 3m deep from the
surrounding pavement.

• The floor of the bath was

made of burnt bricks.

• The bath was linked with

some sort of ritual bathing,
which was very common in
Indian life right from the
ancient period to till date.

• There were also side

rooms for changing
clothes.

Granary

• Immediately to the west of Great Bath (at Mohenjo Daro) was a group of 27
blocks of brickwork crisscrossed narrow lanes.
o This structure later has been identified as granaries, which were used for storing
grains. Similar structures have been also found at Harappa, Kalibangan and
Lothal.

• In Mohenjo-Daro, the largest building is Granary – 45.7 m long and 15.23m wide.

• In the citadel of Harappa, we find as many as six granaries:

o Wheat and Barley have been found in the crevices of the floors.

• The use of burnt bricks in the

Harappan cities is remarkable.
o Because in the contemporary
buildings in the Egypt only
ordinary dry bricks were used
– though, we find use of
baked bricks in
Mesopotamia.

Page | 40
Drainage System

• The most outstanding feature of Harappan civilization were the streets and side
lanes equipped with drains systems.

• The streets cut each other on the right angles and the width of these streets was in
a set ratio.

• No encroachment on the streets

was to be seen.

• Burnt bricks were used to make

drains.

• Even smaller towns and

villages had impressive
drainage systems. This
indicates that people had a great
civic sense of sanitation and
care for health and hygiene.

Harappa Crafts & Industries

• The Harappan civilization is referred to as a Bronze Age civilization.

• Customarily, unalloyed copper was used for manufacturing artifacts and rarely
tin was mixed with copper to make bronze.
Harappan tools

• Tools and weapons of that age

includes flat-axes, chisels,
arrowhead, spearheads, knives,
saws, razor, and fish-hooks.

• Peoples also made copper and

bronze vessels.

• They made small plates and weights

of lead, and gold and silver jewellery
of considerable sophistication.

Page | 41
Beads and shells

• The pottery technology was quite

advanced. Most of the pots were wheel-
made.

• Big storage jars were also produces.

• Pots were beautifully painted in black on

the bright red surface with geometric
designs, plants, animals, and few
paintings seem to depict scene from
stories.

• More than 2,500 seals have been found. These are made of steatite. They mostly
depict a single animal-unicorn bull, elephants, rhinoceros, etc. but some also
depict trees, semi-humans, etc.

• Shell working was another flourishing industry. Artisans, settlements close to the
sea manufactured shell ornaments like pendants, rings, bracelets, beads, etc.

Trade and Commerce

• Intensive agricultural production and large-scale trade played significant roles in

flourishing of Harappan civilization.

• The trade must have been internal in the beginning i.e., between one zone and
another.

• Agricultural produce, industrial raw materials (including copper ores, stone, semi-
precious shells, etc.) were traded on a large scale.

• Besides the raw materials, they used to trade:

o Finished goods of metals (pots and pans, weapons, etc.);
o Precious and semi-precious stones (beads, pendants, amulets, etc.);
o Ornaments of gold and silver were also traded to various areas.
Page | 42
Weights & Measures

• Harappan weights and measures were cubical and spherical in shape and were
made up of chert, jasper and agate.

• The system of weights proceeded in a series i.e.,

o First doubling, from 1, 2, 4, 8, to 64, the going to 160;
o Decimal multiples of sixteen, 320, 640, 1600, etc.

• The measure of length was based upon a foot of 37.6cm and a cubit of 51.8 to
53.6cm.
Transport & Travel

• Pictures of ships and boats are found on some seals and drawings on pottery
from Harappa and Mohenjo Daro.

• The terracotta models of bullock-cart found on roads from various sites indicate
that cart used in those days were of the
same size and shape used in the present
day.

• The boats depicted on seals and pottery

resembles with the boats used in Sindh
and Punjab areas (even today).

Page | 43
Harappan Culture
Arts

• A large variety of objects such as seals,

stones statues, terracotta, etc. is superb
examples of the art activities.

• A dancing girl statue of about 11.5cm in

height made up of bronze was found from
Mohenjo Daro.

• Harappan people produced a large number

of terracotta figurines, which were
handmade. The figurines include animals,
birds, etc.

• Following specimen of arts from Harappan Civilization:

o Bronze statue (Dancing Girl);
o Terracotta bulls;

o Terracotta female figurine;

o Head of a yogi;

o Painted Jar dogs, sheep and cattle.

Script

• The language of Harappan is still unknown. But some scholars connect it to the
Dravidian languages and others to Indo-Aryans and Sanskrit.

• They are nearly 400 specimens of

Harapan signs on seals and other
materials such as copper tablets, axes,
and pottery.

• Most of the inscription on seals are

small.

• The Harappan script has 400 to 500

signs and it is generally agreed that it
is not an alphabetic form of writing,
rather a pictographic language
written right to left.

Page | 44
Agriculture

• Agriculture was generally practiced along the river bank most of which were
flooded during the summer and monsoons. The flood deposited every year fresh
alluvial silt, which is highly productive.

• The granaries found at Harappan cities suggest that cereals were produced in such
a large quantity. They also kept enough reserve for emergency.

• Six varieties of millets including ragi, kodon, sanwa and jowar were cultivated,
along with peas and beans.

• Fragments of cotton cloth found at Mohenjo Daro and other sites show that
cotton was also grown.

• Wooden plough with a copper or wooden ploughshare was used for tilling fields.
o Terracotta models of the plough have been found at Mohenjo Daro and Banawali.

• Skeletal remains of several animals like sheep, goat, bull, buffalo, elephants,
camel, pig, etc. have been found in excavations.

• Bones of horses have been reported from Lothal, Surkotada, Kalibangan, and
several other sites.

Page | 45
Harappan Religion
• There are generally two aspects of Harappan religion:
o Conceptual or philosophical;

o Practical or ritualistic

• The available evidence indicates that the religion of the

Indus people comprised of:
o Worship of the Mother Goddess;

o Worship of a male deity, probably of Lord Siva;

Mother Goddess
o Worship of trees in their natural state or their
indwelling spirits;

o Practice of yoga.

• A male deity, which depiction Siva as

Pasupathi (i.e., the prototype of the historic
Siva), is portrayed on a seal with three faces,
seated on a low throne in the typical posture of
a Yogi, with two animals each side-elephant
and tiger on right and rhinoceros and buffalo
on left.

• A remarkable seal, found at Mohenjo Daro,

standing between two branches of pipal tree,
represents the deity.

• A large number of ‘fire-altars’ were found in

different sites located in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana.

• Swastika, a sacred symbol for Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains has also been
depicted on seals painting, and graffiti.
Burials

• At burials in Harappan sites the dead were generally laid in pits.

o Some of the pits were lined with bricks.

• The skeletal remains are few in comparison to the size of settlements and the
population that may have lived on them.

Page | 46
 • The general practice was that skeletons were placed in an extended position with
the head towards the north.
o Earthen pots containing food
grains, etc. were placed in the
grave and, in some cases, the
body was buried with
ornaments.

• Cremation was also practiced,

which has been proved by many
cinerary urns or other receptacles
containing calcinated human bones
and ashes.

Harappan Chronology
• On the basis of radiocarbon dating method following chronology of the
civilization emerges as:
o Early Harappan Phase: c. 3,500 – 2,600 BC

o Mature Harappan Phase: c. 2,600 – 1,900 BC

o Late Harappan Phase: c.1,900 – 1,300 BC

Decline of IVC

• John Marshall (Director-General of the ASI at that time, 1902 – 1928) declared
that Harappan civilization declined due to environmental degradation.
o The environmental degradation, flood, drought, and famine must have become a
recurring factor, which finally led to its decline.

• The archaeological evidence proved that Aryans was the destroyer of the
Harappan civilization was a myth.

• In the river Saraswati, most likely, it declined mainly due to shifting of river
channels.

• Archaeological evidences shows that Harappan civilization did not disappear

suddenly.
o The decline was gradual and slow, which likely witnessed over a period of
almost 600 years from c.1,900 – 1,300 BC.

Page | 47
05

Page | 48
Evolution fo Jainism
• The important landmark in the history of Indian culture was the evolution of
Jainism and Buddhism during the 600 BC.

• Ascetic orders and brotherhoods were the basis of both Jainism and Buddhism
explained in their own way.

Jainism

• Rishabhanath and Aristhanemia are the two Tirthankaras of Jainism mentioned

in Rig Veda that proved the antiquity of Jainism.

• The antiquity of Jainism is represented by a succession of 24 Tirthankaras.

• Rishabhanath was the first Tirthankara of Jainism.

• The name Bharatavarsha is after Bharata, the son of Rishabhanath as per the
Puranic traditions.

• Parsvanatha was the 23rd Tirthankara, he renounced the world at the age of 30
and attained the enlightenment (perfect knowledge) after nearly three months of
intense meditation and spent the remaining life as a religious teacher.

• He had lived 250 years before Mahavira.

Mahavira

• Vardhman Mahavira was the 24th and the last Tirthankara of Jainism.

• Mahavira was born about 540 BC in the village Kunda-grama near Vaishali.

• He was the only son of Siddhartha and

Trisala.

• Siddhartha was the head of famous

Kshatriya Jnatrika clan and Trisala was
the sister of Chetaka, an eminent
Lihchhavis noble of Vaishali.

• Chetak’s daughter was married to the

king of Magadha, Bimbisara.

Page | 49
• Mahavira was married to Yashoda and lived a life of householder.

• After the death of his parents, Mahavira left his home at the age of 30, and become
an ascetic.

• Mahavira had practiced most rigorous asceticism

for the next 12 years and attained kaivalya at the
age of 42 years.
o As per the Jainism, Kaivalya is the supreme
knowledge and final liberation from the bonds
of pleasure and pain.

• His followers came to known as Jainas. Initially,

they were designated as Nirgranthas, which mean
free from fetters.

• In 468 BC, Mahavira passed away at Pawapuri at

the age of 72 years. He spent 30 years of his life in
preaching his teachings.

• Four doctrines of Parsvanatha are:

o Non-injury of living beings,

o Speaking the truth,

o Non-possession of property, and

o Not stealing.

• Vardhman Mahavira accepted four doctrines of Parsvanatha and added

Celibacy as the fifth one to them.

• Mahavira asked his followers to discard even their clothes.

Shvetambara Vs. Digambara: Two theories prevail

Shvetambara Digambara
Monks of this sect believe in complete
nudity.
Monks wear white clothes. Male monks do not wear clothes while
female monks wear unstitched plain
white sarees.

Page | 50
 Follow only 4 vows (except Follow all five vows (Satya, Ahimsa,
brahmacharya). Asteya, Aparigraha and Brahmacharya).
Believe women cannot achieve
Believe women can achieve liberation.
liberation.
Sthulabhadra was an exponent of this Bhadrabahu was an exponent of this
sect. sect.

• It mainly aims at the attainment of liberation, for which no ritual is required.

o It can be attained through three principles called Three Jewels or Triratna i.e.

▪ Right Faith (Samyakdarshana)

▪ Right Knowledge (Samyakjnana)

▪ Right Action (Samyakcharita)

• The souls are found not only in living being like animals and plants, but also in
stones, water, rocks, etc.
• The soul, which has finally set itself free, rises at once to the top of the universe.
It is known as “Nirvana” in Jainism.

Spread of Jainism
• Mahavira organised an order of his followers which admitted both men and
women.
• Jainism did not very clearly mark itself out from Hinduism, therefore it spread
gradually into West and South India where Brahmanical order was weak.
• The great Mauryan King Chandragupta Maurya, during his last years, became
a Jain ascetic and promoted Jainism in Karnataka.
Page | 51
• Famine in Magadha led to the spread of Jainism in South India.
o The famine lasted for 12 years, and in order to protect themselves, many Jains
went to South India under the leadership of Bhadrabahu.

• In Odisha, it enjoyed the patronage of Kalinga King of Kharavela.

Jain Councils
• First Jain Council
o Held at Patliputra in 3rd Century B.C. and was presided by Sthulbhadra.

• Second Jain Council

o Held at Vallabhi in 512 A.D. and was presided by Devardhi Kshmasramana.

o Final Compilations of 12 Angas and 12 Upangas.

Jain Architecture
• Jain architecture cannot be accredited with a style of its own, it was almost an
offshoot of Hindu and Buddhist styles.
• Types of Jain Architecture:
o Layana/Gumphas (Caves)
▪ Ellora Caves (Cave No. 30-35)- Maharashtra
▪ Hathi-Gumphas Cave- Odisha
▪ Sittanavasal Cave- Tamil Nadu
o Statues

▪ Gometeshwara/Bahubali Statue- Shravanabelagola, Karnataka

▪ Statue of Ahimsa
(Rishabnatha)- Mangi-
Tungi hills, Maharashtra
o Jianalaya (Temple)
▪ Dilwara Temple - Mount
Abu, Rajasthan
▪ Girnar and Palitana
Temple - Gujarat
▪ Muktagiri Temple -
Madhya Pradesh
Muktagiri Jain temple, Madhya Pradesh

Page | 52
Jain Literature/Texts
• Jain literature is classified into two major categories:
o Agam or Canonical Literature (Agam Sutras)
▪ Agam literature consists of many texts, which are the sacred books of the
Jain religion.

▪ They are written in the Ardha-magadhi, a form of Prakrit language.

o Non-Agam Literature
▪ Non-Agam literature consists of commentary and explanation of Agam
literature, and independent works, compiled by ascetics and scholars.

Contribution of Jainism
• Attempts to reform the evils of varna order.
• Growth of Prakrit and Kannada.
• Contributed to architecture and literature immensely.

Page | 53
Evolution of Buddhism
Origin
• Buddhism started in India
over 2,600 years ago as a way
life that had a potential of
transforming a person.
• It is one of the important
religions of South and South-
Eastern Asian countries.
• The religion is based upon
the teachings, life
experiences of its founder Siddhartha Gautam, born in circa 563 BCE.
• He was born into royal family of Sakya clan who ruled from Kapilvastu,
in Lumbini which is situated near the Indo-Nepal Border.
• At the age of 29, Gautama left home and rejected his life of riches and embraced
a lifestyle of asceticism, or extreme self-discipline.
• After 49 consecutive days of meditation, Gautama attained Bodhi
(enlightenment) under a pipal tree at Bodhgaya a village in Bihar.
• Buddha gave his first sermon in the village of Sarnath, near the city of Benares
in UP. This event is known as Dharma-Chakra-Pravartana (turning of the
wheel of law).
• He died at the age of 80 in 483 BCE at a place called Kushinagar a town in UP.
The event is known as Mahaparinibban.

Teachings of Buddha
• The main teachings of Buddhism are encapsulated in the basic concept of
four noble truths or ariya-sachchani and eightfold path or Ashtangika marg.
• Four noble truths:
o Suffering (dukkha) is the essence of the world.
o Every suffering has a cause – Samudya.

o Suffering could be extinguished – Nirodha.

Page | 54
 • It can be achieved by following the Ashtanga Magga (Eight-Fold Path).
• Eight-Fold Paths: the path consists of various interconnected activities related to
knowledge, conduct, and meditative practices.

• The ultimate goal of Buddha’s teaching was the attainment of nibbana which was
not a place but an experience, and could be attained in this life.

Major Buddhist Texts

• The Buddha's teaching was oral. He taught for 45 years, adapting the teaching
to suit the group he was addressing.
• His teachings were written down around 25 B.C.E. in Pali.

Three Pitakas

• The Vinaya Pitaka consists of rules of conduct and discipline applicable to the
monastic life of the monks and nuns.
• The Sutta Pitaka consists of the main teaching or Dhamma of Buddha. It is
divided into five Nikayas or collections.
• The Abhidamma Pitaka is a philosophical analysis and systematization of the
teaching and the scholarly activity of the monks.

Page | 55
Buddhist Councils

• Buddhist Councils marked important turning points in the early Buddhism.

• In total, 4 major Buddhist councils
were convened:
• First Council
o It was held around 483
BC under the patronage of King
Ajatashatru and was presided
by Mahakasyapa, a monk.

o The council was held in the

Sattapanni cave at Rajgriha.
o The council was held with the purpose of preserving Buddha’s teachings (Sutta)
and rules for disciples.

o During this council, the teachings of Buddha were divided into three Pitakas.

• Second Council
o It was held in Vaishali, a village in Bihar under the patronage of the king
Kalasoka in 383 BC.

o It was presided by Sabakami.

• Third Council
o It was held in 250 BC in Patliputra under the patronage of Ashoka.

o It was presided by Moggaliputta Tissa.

• Forth Council
o It was held in 72 AD at Kundalvana, Kashmir.

o It was presided by Vasumitra, while Asvaghosa was his deputy under

the patronage of King Kanishka of Kushan Empire.

o Buddhism was divided into two sects namely Mahayana and Hinayana.

Schools of Buddhism
• Mahayana:
o It is one of the two main schools of Buddhism.

o The term Mahayana is a Sanskrit word which literally means "Great Vehicle".

Page | 56
 o It believes in the heavenliness of Buddha and Idol worship of Buddha and
Bodhisattvas embodying Buddha Nature.

o Buddhist schools embedded in China, Korea, Tibet and Japan belong to the
Mahayana tradition.

• Hinayana
o Literally Lesser vehicle, also known as Abandoned Vehicle or Defective
vehicle.

o It believes in the original teaching of Buddha or Doctrine of elders.

o It does not believe in Idol worship and tries to attain individual salvation through
self-discipline and meditation.

o Theravada is a Hinayana sect.

Spread of Buddhism

• Buddha had two kinds of disciples – monks (bhikshus) and lay worshippers
(upasikas).
• After the death of Buddha, his followers traversed on his path of meditation and
roamed throughout the countryside.
• For 200 years Buddhism remained overshadowed by their Hindu counterparts
until the advent of Great Mauryan King – Ashoka.
o After the bloodbath in his Kalinga conquest, emperor Ashoka decided to give up
the policy of worldly conquest and adopted Dhamma conquest.

Page | 57
 • Ashoka during the third Buddhist council dispatched various Buddhist missions
to different areas such as Kashmir, Greece, Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Egypt,
and Thailand.
• Through his missionary effort Ashoka spread Buddhism into West Asia and
Ceylon and transformed into a world religion.

UNESCO’s heritage sites related to Buddhism

• Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara at Nalanda, Bihar
• Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi, MP
• Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya, Bihar
• Ajanta Caves Aurangabad, Maharashtra

Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara, Nalanda

(Bihar)

Page | 58
 06

Sources of Mauryan History

• For the first time, the political unity was achieved in India.
• Moreover, the history writing has also become clear from this period due to
accuracy in chronology and sources.
• Contemporary literature and Archaeological findings are crucial sources of
information.
• There are two types of sources of Mauryan History.
o One is Literary sources which include Kautilya Arthashastra, Visakha
Datta’s Mudra Rakshasa, Magasthenese Indica, Buddhist literature and
Puranas.
o The archaeological sources include Ashokan Edicts and inscriptions and
material remains such as silver and copper punch-marked coins.

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Literary Sources
• Kautilya Arthashastra
o It is a book written by Kautilya (other name of
Chanakya) on polity and governance.
o It reveals the economic and political conditions of the
Mauryan period.
o Kautilya was the Prime Minister of Chandragupta
Maurya, founder of Mauryan dynasty.

• Indica

o Indica was authored by Magasthenese who was the ambassador of Selucus

Nicator in Chandragupta Maurya’s court.
o It depicts administration in Mauryan Empire, 7-caste system and absence of
slavery in India.

• Buddhist Literature

o Buddhist texts such as Jatakas reveal socio-economic conditions of Mauryan

period and Dipavamsa throws light on the role of Ashoka in spreading Buddhism.
• Puranas

o Puranas reveals us the lists of Mauryan kings and the chronology.

Archaeological Sources
• Ashokan Edicts
o Ashokan Edicts in the form of Rock Edicts, Pillar Edicts and Cave
Inscriptions are found at different places in Indian Sub-continent.
o These edicts were deciphered by James Princep in 1837 AD.
o The majority of the edicts are mainly Ashoka’s proclamations to the public
while few of them describes Ashoka’s acceptance of Buddhism.

• Material Remains
o Material remains such as NBPW (Northern Black Polished Ware), silver
and copper punch-marked coins throws light on Maurya period.

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The Mahajanpadas
• In the sixth century BCE, there was a rise in the development of a few kingdoms
that became prominent and earned the name Mahajanpadas or great country.
• Aryans were the most influential tribes and were called as ‘janas’.
• This gave rise to the term Janapadas where Jana means ‘people’ and pada means
‘foot.
• Janapadas were the major kingdoms of Vedic India.

• Mahajanpadas were located in distinct geographical zones. There were sixteen

such Mahajanpadas.

Name of Mahajanpadas Capital Location

Included the modern
Anga Champa districts of Monghyr and
Bhagalpur in Bihar.
Situated in the southern part
Ashmaka Potana of the India between the
rivers Narmada and
Godavari.

Avanti Ujjaini and Mahismati Covered the western India

(modern Malwa).

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 Chedi Shuktimati Covered present day
Bundelkhand region.
Covered the western part of
Gandhara Taxila Pakistan and eastern
Afghanistan.
Capital at Rajapura in Covered the area of
Kamboja Hindukush (modern Hazara
modern-day Kashmir
districts of Pakistan)
Kashi Varanasi Located in the region around
Varanasi (modern Banaras).
Covered modern day
Kosala Sravasti districts of Faizabad, Gonda,
Bahraich of eastern Uttar
Pradesh.
Kuru Indraprastha Covered modern Haryana
and Delhi.
Earlier Rajgriha, late Covered the modern districts
Magadha of Patna, Gaya, and parts of
Patliputra
Shahabad.
Covered the modern districts
Capitals a Kushinara and of Deoria, Basti, Gorakhpur
Malla
Pawa and Siddarthnagar in eastern
UP.
Covered the areas of Alwar,
Matsya Viratangara Bharatpur and Jaipur in
Rajasthan.
Ahichhatra (Uttara Covered the area of present
Panchala Panchala) and Kampilya western UP Dakshin to the
(Dakshina Panchala) east of river Yamuna up to
Kosala Janapadas.
Sursena Mathura Covered the area around
Mathura.
Vajji Vaishali Situated north of the river
Ganga in Bihar.

Vatsa Kaushambi Covered modern districts

Allahabad, Mirzapur.

The causes of Magadha’s success were as following:

• Availability of rich iron deposits which were used in making weapons.
• Its location at the rich and fertile Gangetic plain
• Use of elephants in military warfare against its neighbours.
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Magadha Empire
• The Magadha Empire ruled in India from 684 - 320 BC. It is also mentioned in
the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
• It was the most powerful amongst the sixteen Mahajanpadas.
• The empire was established by king Brihadratha.
o Rajgriha (or Rajgir) was the capital of Magadha but was later shifted to
Pataliputra in the fourth century BCE.

• Iron was used to manufacture tools and weapons.

• The elephants found in its forests were used in the army.
• The implementation of policies by the efficient bureaucracy by kings like
Bimbisara, Ajatasatru and Mahapadma Nanda made Magadha prosperous.
• The first king of Magadha was Bimbisara and he belonged to the Harayanka
dynasty.
The Harayanka Dynasty:
• It was the second dynasty to rule over Magadha after the Brihadratha dynasty.
• It was succeeded by the Shishunga dynasty.
• The dynasty was founded by king Bhattiya, the father of Bimbisara.
• The dynasty ruled over Magadha from 6th century BCE to 413 BCE.

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Bimbisara:
• Bimbisara ruled over Magadha for 52 years, starting from around 544 BC to 492
BC.
• He followed an aggressive policy of expansion and fought many wars with
neighbouring states of Kasi, Kosala and Anga.
• Bimbisara was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha and Vardhaman Mahavir.
• His religion is not very clear.
• While Buddhist texts mention him as a disciple of Buddha, Jain scriptures describe
him as the follower of Mahavir and refer to him as King Shrenika of Rajgir.
• Bimbisara was later imprisoned by his son Ajatasatru who annexed the throne of
Magadha. Bimbisara later died during imprisonment.

Ajatashatru:
• Ajatashatru ruled Magadha from 492- 460 BC.
• He fought 16 years with Vaishali until finally defeating the kingdom with help of
catapults.
• He expanded the kingdom of Magadha by capturing Kasi and Vaishali.
• He fortified the capital city Rajgir. As it was surrounded by five hills, it became
almost impregnable.

Udayin:
• Udayin or Udayabhadra was the successor of Ajatashatru.
• His reign lasted from 460 B.C.- 444 B.C.
• He built the fort at Patna (Pataliputra) as it was central to the Magadha kingdom.
• Udayin was succeeded by the Shishunagas.
• The Shishunagas added the kingdom of Avanti to Magadha.
• They were later succeeded by the Nanda dynasty.

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The Nanda Dynasty:
• The dynasty lasted from 345 BCE- 321 BCE.
• Mahapadma Nanda, the first king of the Nanda dynasty, added Kalinga to the
Magadha Empire.
• He was considered to be so powerful and ruthless that even Alexander did not
wish to fight against him.
• The Nanda dynasty became immensely wealthy. They started irrigation projects
and standardized trade measures across their kingdom.
• Harsh and inflexible taxation system, however, made the Nandas unpopular.
• The last Nanda king, Dhana Nanda, was overthrown by Chandragupta
Maurya.

The Age of Satavahanas

• The Satavahana Empire existed
around 230 BC onwards in India
and extended from Dharanikota
and Amaravati in Andhra
Pradesh to Prathistan and
Junnar in Maharashtra.
• The empire lasted 450 years
approximately which is 220 AD.
• In fact, the Satavahana started
off as the vassals of Mauryan
Empire and after their decline
emerged as the independent
empire in south India.
• The Satavahanas were early
issuers of Indian state coinage
struck with images of their
rulers.
• They formed a cultural bridge and played a vital role in trade and the transfer of
ideas and culture to and from the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the southern tip of India.

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Social organization
• The Satavahana Empire’s society reflected the existence of four classes.
o The first class consisted of the people who administered and controlled the
districts.
o The second class consisted of the officials
o The third class were the cultivators and Vaidhyas.
o The fourth class was common citizens.

• The head of the family was the Grihapati.

Religion
• Both Buddhism and Brahmanism prevailed during the Satavahana rule.
• Among the various sects of people state of religious tolerance existed following
varied faiths.

Architecture
• During Satavahana phase, Chaityas and monasteries were
cut out of the solid rock with great precision.
• Chaityas were Buddhist temples and monasteries were
known as Vihara.
• The most famous Chaitya is located in Karle in the western
Deccan.
• Rock-cut architecture was also found in this phase.

Language
• The Satavahana rulers patronised Prakrit
which was the official language used on
documents.
• All the inscriptions were composed in
Prakrit language and were written in the
Brahmi script.

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 Pattern of Administration
• Satavahana Empire was divided into provinces.
o The western territory of Nasik was ruled by the Abhiras.
o The Ikshvakus ruled over the eastern part in the Krishna -Guntur region.
o The Chutus dominated the southwestern parts and extended their territory to the
north and east.
o The Pahlavas controlled the south eastern part.

• Officials were known as Amatya and Mahamatras.

• The Senapati was appointed as the provincial governor.
• Gaulmika was in the charge of a military regiment which included 9 elephants,
nine chariots, 25 horses and 45-foot soldiers.
• There were three grades of feudatories within the Satavahana kingdom.
• The highest grade was known as Raja who had the right to strike coins while the
second grade was mahabhoja and the third grade was known as the Senapati.

Foreign Invasions during Pre-Mauryan Age

• There were two major foreign invasions of Indian Sub-continent which happened
in the form of Iranian invasion in 518 BC and Macedonian invasion in 326 BC.

Iranian/Persian Invasion
• As in North -West India
did not have any strong
kingdom to protect the
area from foreign
invasion.
o The area was also
wealthy and could
be easily entered
through the
passes in the
Hindukush.

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 • The effects of Iranian Invasion
o The invasion increased the Indo-Iranian trade and commerce.

o A new form of writing was introduced to Indians by the Iranians known as

Kharosthi.

Macedonian/Alexander's Invasion
• Alexander sat on the throne of Macedonia at the age of 20 years.
• Ambhi (the rulers of Taxila) and Abhisara surrendered but the ruler of Punjab
refused to do the same.
• A battle ensued between them near river Jhelum between the forces of Alexander
and Porus, known as battle of Hydaspes.
o Although Porus was defeated, he was treated generously by Alexander.

• However, this victory proved to be his last major victory in India as his forces
refused to go any further.
• Moreover, the might of Magadha Empire (the Nanda Rulers) also dissuaded them.
• Alexander marched back in 325 BC after making necessary administrative
arrangement for the conquered territories.
• He died at the age of 33 years when he was in Babylon.

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 07

Mauryan Empire
• In the 4th century B.C., Nanda kings ruled Magadha dynasty and this dynasty was
the most powerful kingdom of the north.
• A Brahman minister called Chanakya also known as Kautilya/ Vishnu Gupta,
trained a young man, Chandragupta from the Mauryan family.
o Chandragupta organized his own army and overthrew the Nanda king in 322 B.C.

• Therefore, Chandragupta Maurya is supposed to be the first king and also

founder of the Mauryan dynasty.
o His mother’s name was Mur, so he was called Maurya in Sanskrit which means
the son of Mur, and thus, his dynasty was called Maurya dynasty.

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Chandragupta Maurya (322 – 298 B.C.)
• Chandragupta Maurya was only 25 years when
he captured Patliputra from the ruler of Nanda
Dynasty i.e., Dhana Nanda.
o Chandragupta soon conquered the whole
region of Punjab.

• Selucus Nicator, a Greek general of Alexander,

held some of the land in the extreme north.
• Therefore, Chandragupta fought a long battle
against him and at last defeated him around
305 B.C. and a treaty was signed.
o According to this treaty, Selucus Nicator ceded the trans-Indus territories –
namely Aria (Heart), Arachosia (Kandahar), Gedrosia (Baluchistan) and
Paropanishae (Kabul) – to the Mauryan Empire and in exchange Chandragupta
made a gift of 500 elephants to Selucus.

o Selucus also gave his daughter in marriage to the Mauryan prince or it is

supposed that Chandragupta married Selucus’s daughter as a gift from Selucus to
formalize an alliance.

• He took his control over Indus region, some part of which is now in modern
Afghanistan.
• In addition to this treaty, Magasthenese was sent by Selucus to the court of
Chandragupta and Deimachus to Bindusara’s court as Greek ambassadors.
• Chandragupta embraced Jainism towards the end of his life and stepped down
from the throne in favour of his son Bindusara.
• Later he (Chandragupta) along with Jain monks led by Bhadrabahu went to
Sravana Belgola, nearby Mysore and starved himself to death in typical Jaina
fashion.

Bindusara (297 – 272 B.C.)

• Bindusara was called by the Greeks as “Amitraghata” meaning Slayer of enemies.
• According to some scholars Bindusara have conquered the Deccan up to Mysore.
• Bindusara conquered 16 states comprising ‘the land between the two seas’ as
confirmed by Taranatha, the Tibetan monk.
• According to Sangam Literature Maurya invaded up to far south.

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 • During the rule of Bindusara, the Mauryan dynasty extended as far as Mysore
and therefore included almost the whole India but excluded a small portion of
forested regions near Kalinga (Odisha) and the kingdoms of extreme south were
not the part of empire.
• Bindusara also had contact with the Seleucid Syrian king Antiochus I, who sent
Deimachus as ambassador to his (Bindusara) court.
o Bindusara asked to Antiochus I asking for sweet wine, dried figs and a sophist.

• Bindusara kept interest in the Ajivikas, a religious sect.

• Bindusara appointed his son Ashoka as the governor of Ujjain who later
suppressed a revolt at Taxila.

Ashoka - the Great (268 – 232 B.C.)

• Ashoka sat on the throne around 268 B.C after
successfully defeating his brothers.
• There was an interval of four years between Ashoka’s
accession to the throne (273 B.C.) and his actual
coronation (268 B.C.).
• Therefore, it appears from the available evidence that
there was a struggle for the throne after Bindusara’s
death.
Ashoka’s family
• Ashoka’s mother’s name was Subhadrangi.
• His wife’s name was Devi or Vedisa who was princess of Ujjaini.
o His other two wives were Asandhimitra and Karuvaki.
• Mahendra, Tivara (the only one mentioned in an inscription), Kunala and Taluka
were prominent among Ashoka’s sons.
• Two of his daughters Sanghamitra and Charumati were known.

Ashoka War with Kalinga

• Ashoka conquered Kalinga in the 9th year of his reign.
o Kalinga was modern Odisha.

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 o Ashoka decided to attack
Kalinga due to its strategic
location.

• Kalinga war was a horrifying event

as it was mentioned in 13th Rock
Edict of Ashoka.
Kalinga
• Approximately, 150,000 people
were wounded while 100,000
people were killed in the course of
the war.
• This horrific event deeply impacted
Ashoka and led to a change of his
heart. He vowed to never fight a war. He preferred now Dhamma Vijay over
Dig-Vijay.

Ashoka and Buddhism

• Ashoka embraced Buddhism in the 9th year of his reign after being inspired by
Nigrodha, a boy monk.
o Ashoka embraced Buddhism under the influence of Buddhist monk,
Upagupta.
• Ashoka has stated in his Bhabru Edict that he has full faith in Buddha, Sangha and
Dhamma.
• He also engraved Rock Edicts and Pillar Edicts to spread the message of
Buddhism among masses.
• Ashoka maintained a large and powerful army to maintain peace and authority.
• Ashoka expanded friendly relations with states across Asia and Europe, and
sponsored Buddhist missions.
• Missionaries to the kingdoms of Cholas and Pandyas and five states ruled by
Greek kings were sent by Ashoka.
• He also sent missionaries to Ceylon and Suvarnbhumi (Burma) and also parts of
South East Asia.

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Ashoka’s Death
• Ashoka died in 232 BC after ruling for 40 years.
• It is believed that after his death his empire was divided into western and
eastern part.
• The eastern part was ruled by Ashoka’s grandson Dasaratha while western part
was governed by Samprati.
• The size of his empire in 265 BC was so vast.

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Later Mauryans (232-184 B.C.)
• The Mauryan Empire was divided into two parts after the death of Ashoka in 232
B.C.
o These two parts were Eastern and Western.

• Kunala, son of Asoka ruled the western part where as eastern part was ruled by
Dasaratha, one of the grand sons of Ashoka.
• Brihadratha, the last Maurya ruler was assassinated by Pushyamitra Sunga in
184 B.C. Pushyamitra Sunga later established his own dynasty i.e., Sunga dynasty.

Conclusion
• For the first time, the whole Indian subcontinent, leaving out the extreme south,
was under imperial control.
• It helped in political unification of India as a Nation.
• Ashoka was also instrumental in establishing Buddhism as a world religion.

Economy, Social Life, Art and Architecture in Mauryan Age

• There were 27 superintendents (Adhyakshas) appointed by the Mauryan Empire
to regulate economic activities of the state. This included trade and commerce,
agriculture, weights and measures, mining, weaving and spinning.

Agriculture
• Irrigation facilities were provided by the state for the advantage of agriculturists.
• The land suitable for agriculture was measured and channels were inspected
through which water was distributed.

Taxation
• The taxes were collected from artisans, traders and peasants.
• The emphasis was given on assessment of tax rather than its storage.

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• The highest tax officer who was in charge of assessment of tax was known as
Samaharta while the chief custodian of the state treasury and store house was
called Sannidhata.
• The taxes were collected in kind as well as cash.

Currency
• The punch marked silver coins carrying symbols of the hill, crescent and the
peacock was the imperial currency of Mauryan Empire.

Transport
• The royal road ran from Patliputra to Nepal through Vaishali and Champaran.
• Another road at the foothills of the Himalayas passed from Vaishali thorough
Champaran to Kasi, Kapilvastu and reaching up-to Peshawar.
• There were other roads which connected strategic locations within the empire.
• The rivers were also used as routes of communication.

Social life
• Magasthenese mentioned in his book Indica that there existed seven castes in
India which included Philosophers, Soldiers, Brahmanas, Craftsmen,
Herdsmen, Farmers, Magistrates.
• Magasthenese based his inference upon occupation rather than birth.
• The polygamy was prevalent in Royal classes.
• The women were entitled to Stridhana which included bridal gift.

Art and Architecture

• Stupas were built across the Mauryan Empire to preserve the relics of Buddha.
• The most famous Stupas are at Bharhuta and Sanchi.
• The royal palace of Chandragupta Maurya (discovered in Kumharar, Patna),
Ashokan pillars, four lion capital at Sarnath (later adopted as national emblem)
and Sanchi are fine specimens of Mauryan art and architecture.
• The artisans of Mauryan period carved caves from rock as a residing place for
monks.
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Administration
• The Mauryan Empire was divided into four provinces with the imperial capital
at Pataliputra.
• From Ashokan Edicts, the name of the four provincial capitals were Tosali (in the
east), Ujjain in the west, Suvarnagiri (in the south), and Taxila (in the north).
• At the centre of the structure was the king who had the power to enact laws.

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• King assisted by Mantriparishad (council of ministers) whose members included
Mantriparishad Adhyaksha and below him was as following:
o Yuvraj: The crown prince
o Purohit: The chief priest
o The Senapati: The commander in chief
o Amatya: Civil servants and few other ministers.
• Scholars suggest that Mauryan Empire was further divided into various
departments with important officials:
o Revenue department:
▪ Important officials:
• Sannidhata: Chief treasury,
• Samaharta: collector general of revenue.
o Military department:
▪ Magasthenese mentions a committee with six subcommittees for
coordinating military activity of these.

• One looked after the navy,

• Second managed transport and provisions, and
• Third was responsible for foot-soldiers,
• Fourth for horses,
• Fifth for chariots and
• Sixth for elephants.
o Espionage Department:
▪ Mahamatyapasarpa controlled Gudhapurushas (secret agents)

o Police department:
▪ The jail was known as Bandhangara and it was different from lock-up
called Charaka.
▪ There were police headquarters in all principal centres.

o Provincial and Local Administration:

▪ Important officials:

• Pradeshika: modern district magistrates,

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 • Sthanika: tax collecting officer under Pradeshika,
• Durgapala: governor of fort,
• Antapala: Governor of frontier,
• Akshapatala: Accountant general,
• Lipikaras: Scribes,
• Gopas: responsible for accountants etc.
• Magasthenese referred for six committees of which five were to look after
Pataliputra’s administration.
o Industries, Foreigners, Registration of birth and deaths, Trade, Manufacture
and sale of goods and Collection of sales tax were under the control of
administration.

Decline of Mauryan Empire

• Mauryan Empire began to decline after the death of Ashoka in 232 BC.
• The last king was Brihadratha was assassinated in 185 BC-183 BC by his
general Pushyamitra Shunga who was a Brahmin.
• The decline of the Maurya Dynasty was rather rapid after the death of Ashoka.
One obvious reason for it was the succession of weak kings.

The factors which led to the decline of Mauryan Empire are as following:
The religious policy of Ashoka
• The religious policy of Ashoka antagonized the Brahmins of his empire.
• Since Ashoka banned animal sacrifice it stopped the income of Brahmins who
received gifts in form of various kinds of sacrifices made to them.

Huge Expenditure on army and bureaucracy

• During Mauryan age a huge expenditure was done on maintaining army and
bureaucracy.
• Moreover, Ashoka during his reign made large grants to the Buddhist monks
which made the royal treasury empty.
• The Mauryan kings who succeeded Ashoka faced the financial crunch.
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Oppressive rule in provinces
• The provincial rulers in Magadha Empire were often corrupt and oppressive.
o This led to frequent rebellions against the empire.
• During the reign of Bindusara, the citizens of Taxila complained against the
misrule of wicked bureaucrats.
• Although Bindusara and Ashoka took measures to control the bureaucrats, this
failed to check the oppression in provinces.

Neglect of North-West frontier

• Ashoka was so busy in carrying our religious activities that he seldom paid
attention to north-west frontier of Mauryan Empire.
• The Greeks took advantage of this and set up a kingdom in north Afghanistan
which was known as Bactria.
• This was followed by a series of foreign invasion which weakened the empire.

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08

Page | 80
Kanishka: The Kushan Dynasty
• Kanishka was the most powerful ruler of the Kushana Empire.
• The capital of his empire was Purushpura (Peshawar).
• Under his rule, Kushana Empire extended from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan to
Mathura and Kashmir.
• Kanishka was the successor of Vima Kadphises, as demonstrated by an impressive
genealogy of the Kushan kings, known as the Rabatak inscription.

Extension of His Empire:

• Kanishka's empire was certainly vast.
• It extended from southern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north west to Pakistan
and Northern India, as far as Mathura in the south east, and his territory also
included Kashmir, where there was a town Kanishkapur, named after him not far
from the Baramulla Pass and which still contains the base of a large stupa.

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Some important points related to Kanishka:
• It was during Kanishka’s reign that Buddhism was divided into Mahayana and
Hinayana.
• He was the founder of the Shaka Era of A.D. 78.
• He had invaded Patliputra and had taken the Buddhist monk Asvaghosa to
Purushpura.
• Charaka and Sushruta were in the court of Kanishka.
• Kanishka was a patron of Buddhism and he called the 4th Buddhist council in
the Kundalvana of Kashmir in 78 AD.
o The council was chaired by Vasumitra and during this council the
collection of Buddhist texts took place and the commentaries were engraved
on copper sheets.
• Kanishka had fought against King Han Ho-ti who was the king of Han dynasty
of China.
o Kanishka defeated the Chinese king in the second attempt.

• Taxila and Mathura emerged as the great centres of art and culture during the
reign of Kanishka.

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Palas, Pratiharas and Rashtrakuta
• Many powerful empires arose in north India and the Deccan between 750-1000
AD.
• The Palas, the Pratiharas and Rashtrakuta were the most prominent.
• The Rashtrakuta Empire lasted the longest and was also the most powerful of its
times.

Palas
• Pala dynasty was founded by Gopala in 750 AD, who was a chieftain earlier but
later became the king of Bengal.
o In fact, he was the first Buddhist king of Bengal.

o He had established his dominance after Gauda dynasty lost their stronghold in
Kamarupa.
o When he died, Bengal and most of the part of Bihar was under his control.

o Gopala is credited with constructing a monastery at the Odantapuri in Bihar.

• Dharmapala succeeded Gopala.

o He ruled for a period of 770-810 AD.

o The Palas became the most powerful kingdom in the Northern and Eastern India
during his reign.

o He fought a prolonged war against the Gurjar Pratiharas and Rashtrakuta.

▪ Despite his humiliating defeat against the Gurjara Pratiharas King Naga
Bhatta II, he managed to salvage the pride of Pala Empire and extended
his kingdom to entire Bengal and Bihar.
o Dharmapala, a pious Buddhist king founded Vikramshila University, which
was a renowned centre of Buddhism studies in India.

• Dharmapala was succeeded by Devpala.

o He extended his kingdom to Assam, Odisha and Kamarupa.
o During his reign, Pala armies carried out a very successful campaign.

• After Devpala, many lesser-known kings sat on the throne.

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 Three Empires of North
India

• Then Mahipala became the king of Pala kingdom.

o He ruled the kingdom from 995 AD to 1043 AD.
o Known as the second founder of the Pala Dynasty, he recovered all the lost
territories of the Pala Empire.

• The successors of Mahipala were weak and couldn’t hold the empire intact.

Gurjar – Pratiharas
• The dynasty of Gurjar Pratiharas was founded by Hari Chandra in 6th century
AD.
• They remained influential till 11th century AD.
• It is said that they originated from Ujjain or Mandsaur.
• Naga Bhatta-I was the first important ruler of this dynasty.

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 o He ruled from 730 AD to 756 AD.
▪ His kingdom was including
Gwalior, Bharuch and
Malwa.

▪ Awani was the capital of

his kingdom.

• Nag Bhatta I’s achievement:

o He defeated Junaid, the Arab
commander Junaid and his
successor Tamin in the battle of
Rajasthan.

o This he successfully defended the

western frontiers against Arab
invasion.

• Vastaraja succeeded Nag Bhatta I as the new king and captured Kannuaj
following his victory over Dharmapala, the king of Pala.
• Naga Bhatta II succeeded Vatsaraja around 805 AD.
o In fact, he was the most illustrious king of Gurjara Pratiharas dynasty.
o He is best known for rebuilding the Somnath Temple in 815 AD.

o The temple was destroyed by Arab Armies of Junayad in 725 AD.

• Mihirbhoja was the other important king of the dynasty.

o His reign lasted till 885 AD.

o He annexed the territories of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan after

fighting a series of victorious battles.

o He assumed the title of Adivaraha and built the Teli Mandir at the Gwalior.

• However, the power of Gurjara Pratiharas declined in 10th century and their
King Bhoja II was over thrown by Mahipala-I, a Pala King.
• Soon the empire disintegrated and the feudatories declared themselves
independent.

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Rashtrakuta
• The Rashtrakuta had Kannada origin and their mother tongue was Kannada.
• The Rashtrakuta dynasty was founded by Dantidurga in 8th Century AD.
o He captured Malwa from the Gurjara after defeating them.
o He also defeated
Kirtivarman II and
annexed the Chalukyas
kingdom.

• He was succeeded by
Krishna I who was also a
great empire builder.
o Krishna I, earned
victories against the
eastern Chalukyas of
Vengi and the Ganges. Kailash temple at Ellora, one of largest rock-cut temples.

o He is known for building the rock-cut monolithic Kailasa temple at Ellora.

• He was succeeded by Govinda III.

• Govinda III was succeeded by Amoghavarsha I (815-880 AD) whose reign was
popular due to cultural development.
o He was also the author of famous work Kavirajamarga written in Kannada
language.
o He was also the architect of Rashtrakuta capital Malkhed or Manyakheda.
• Amoghavarsha I was succeeded by Krishna III (936-968 AD).
o He was known for his victorious expeditions against the neighbouring states.
o He also captured Tanjore as well as Rameswaram.
o Amoghavarsha also built several temples which includes the Krishneswara
temple at Rameswaram.

• Following his death, the power of the Rashtrakuta declined.

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 09
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•
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•
•

The Age of Gupta’s (320 – 550 AD)

• Gupta Empire’s age called the golden age of India.
• This empire covered the most of Indian subcontinent to expand their dynasty.
• Gupta dynasty was of Vaish caste. Caste systems exist in this period.

Sri Gupta Ghatoksha Chandragupta (I)

Founder of Gupta Dynasty Son of Sri Gupta
(240 - 280 CE) (280 - 319 CE) (319 - 335 CE)

• Emperors were called as Maharaja in this period. Ghatoksha and his son
Chandragupta both were called “Maharajas”.
• The Gupta dynasty include:
o Chandragupta (I)→ Samudragupta → Chandragupta (II) → KumarGupta(I)
→ Skandgupta → Purugupta → Kumargupta (II)
→Budhagupta→Narshimhagupta→Kumargupta (III) →Vishnugupta.
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Chandragupta (I)
• Started with 320 AD, he strengthened his post and power by marriages alliances.
o First with Lichchhvi princess KumarDevi, in exchange he got the
kingdoms and security for his empire as his dowry.
• The Maharauli inscription showed the conquest of him.
• By 321 CE, he expanded his dynasty from Magadha to Prayagraj to Saketa.
• He extended his area from the Ganga River to Prayagraj.
o The modern name of Prayag is called Prayagraj (Allahabad). Thus
Chandragupta (1) gave his empire a solid foundation.

Samudragupta
• Samudragupta (330-380 AD) was the successor of Chandragupta (I).
• His conquest was shown by the Allahabad pillar inscription.
• Samudragupta got the name of Indian Napoleon due to his military achievements.
• First, he defeated the Achyuta and Nagasena and captured upper Gangetic valley,
then moved to south India and captured the territories of 12 kings i.e., Swamidutta,
Mahendra, Damana great kings of south India empire.
• He just won the empire and returned it back to them to leave an impact of his
power on them.
• He again extended his dynasty to north India to other empires such as Rudradeva,
Nagadutta, Chandravarman like nine kings, most of them from Naga empire.
• Lastly, he performed an Ashwamedha yagya to stretch his dynasty and power and
he also issued silver and gold coin to show his legend.

Chandragupta II
• Chandragupta (II) (380 – 415 AD) was the son of Samudragupta, he was
called Vikramaditya.
• The greatest of the achievements of Chandragupta II was his war against the
Saka satraps of western India.
• This marriage gave the useful alliances when Chandragupta overtook the empire
of Sakas.

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 o Rudrasimha last empire of Sakas was defeated by him and captured all area of
Malwa and Kathalawar Peninsula.

Gupta Empire at its maximum extent

• After that victory he got his name as Vikramaditya and his Ashwamedha horse
name Sakari means King of Sakas.

KumarGupta I
• Chandragupta II was succeeded by his second son KumarGupta I, born
of Mahadevi Dhruvasvamini.
• KumarGupta I, assumed the title, Mahendraditya. He ruled until 455 AD.
• Towards the end of his reign, KumarGupta I, as his son Skandagupta mentions in
the Bhitari pillar inscription his efforts at reshaping country, through
reorganisation and military victories over the Pushyamitra and the Huns.
• He was the founder of Nalanda University which is UNESCO world heritage
site.

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Administration of Gupta Empire
• All the power was concentrated with the
king.
• The king adopted the titles of such
as Paramveshvara, Maharajadhiraj and
Parambhattaraka.
• The Gupta rulers has organised a huge army.
• Forced labour or Vishti was also practised in
royal Army.
• The king acted as the fountainhead and
decided all disputes in general.
• A council of ministers and civil officials
assisted the king.
• The most important officers in the Gupta
Empire were the Kumaramatyas.
o Started in the Deccan by the Satavahanas, the practice of granting land and fiscal
administrative concessions the priests and administrators became regular affairs
in the Gupta times.

• A new office of Sandhivigrhaka was created during Samundra Gupta who was
responsible for the peace and war. Harishena held this title.

Art and Architecture during the Gupta Empire

• Most remarkable was the Bhitari monolithic pillar of
Skandagupta.
• Nagara and Dravidian styles of art came during this
period.
• The temple at Deogarh near Jhansi, the sculptures in the
temple at Garhwas (near Allahabad) was great source of
showing effects of the Gupta art.
• The unearthed statue of Buddha at Sarnath is a symbol
of Gupta art.

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 • Most of the paintings are seen at Bagh caves near Gwalior which shows the
greatness and preciseness of Gupta art.
• The paintings of Ajanta mostly demonstrate the life of the Buddha.

• Kalidasa was a great poet and play writer during Chandragupta II.
o His master-piece was the Shakuntala.

o His other plays are Malvikagnimitra, Vikramorvasiya and Kumarasambhava.

o His two lyrics are Ritusamhara and Meghdoot.

• During the Gupta period Metallurgy also made a

wonderful impact.
o The craftsmen were expert in their art of
casting metal statues and pillars.

• The most antique item in Sultanganj which is the

huge copper statue of Buddha.
o This is now kept at Birmingham Museum, was
of seven and a half feet height and a ton
weight.

• The Delhi Iron pillar of the Gupta period is rust

free even today.
• Chandragupta II and his successors also issued
gold, silver and copper coins.

Literature
• Remarkable for the production of secular literature.
• Mrichhakatika of the Little Clay Cart written by Shudraka - love affair between
a poor Brahmin boy and daughter of a courtesan.
• Abhijanashankuntalam - written by Kalidasa - among the world's best 100
literary works.

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• Malvikagnimitra (love affair of son of Pushyamitra Sunga – Agnivarsha) and
Meghdoot – by Kalidas.
• Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana and Mahabharata were written - almost complete
by the 4th century AD.
• Overall, the period witnessed a good deal of Brahminical, religious literature, but
also, produced some earlier classic pieces of literature.

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 10
•
•
•
•
•

Ancient Philosophies of India

• There are six schools of philosophy developed in India with the beginning of the
Christian era such as
o Yoga,
o Nyaya,
o Mimamsa,
o Vedanta,
o Vaisheshikha and
o Samkhya.
• The exact dates of formalizing the six systems are not known, as the studies were
originally purely oral, since writing had not yet been created.
o However, estimates generally range from about 2,000-3,000 or more years ago.

o Some say the roots of these are as much as 5,000-10,000 years ago, or more.

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Samkhya
• Samkhya literally means “count”.
• The Samkhya philosophy states that:
o The world is created by Nature or Prakriti.
o Around the fourth century AD, Purusha was added and the creation of the world
was attributed both to Nature and the Purusha.
• As per the Samkhya School of philosophy, salvation can be attained by a person
through the acquisition of real knowledge and his misery can come to an end.
o The real knowledge can be obtained through Anumana (inference), Shabda
(hearing) and Pratyaksha (perception).

Yoga
• As per yoga school, a person can get salvation through physical application and
meditation.
o The yoga stresses on practice of control over pleasure. Bodily organs and senses
are central to this system.
o This school recommends physical exercises in various postures known as asana
and breathing exercise called pranayama.

Nyaya
• Nyaya is the school of analysis.
• It was developed as a system of logic.
o This school states that salvation can be achieved through the obtaining of
knowledge.
o This school laid emphasis on logic and inference.

Vaisheshika
• The Vaisheshika School laid emphasis on the discussion of dravya or material
elements. In fact, this school propounded the atom theory.
• As per this theory, material objects are constituted from atoms.
o It can be concluded that the Vaisheshika marked the start of physics in India.
• This school put faith in both salvation and heaven, because the scientific view
was diluted by belief in spiritualism and belief in God.

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Mimamsa
• Mimansa’s literal meaning is the art of interpretation and reasoning.
• As per Mimamsa, the Vedas include the everlasting truth.
o The objective of Mimamsa is to acquire salvation and heaven.

• In order to obtain salvation, the Mimamsa School recommends the performance

of Vedic sacrifices.
• The Brahmanas tried to preserve their ritual authority and maintain the social
hierarchy through the propagation of the Mimamsa.

Vedanta
• Vedanta literally means the end of the Veda.
o The basic text of this philosophy was the Brahmasutra.

• As per the Vedanta philosophy, Brahma is the reality and everything else is Maya
(unreal).
• Brahma is identical with the self or Atma.
o If someone obtains the knowledge of the self (Atma) he realizes the
knowledge of Brahma and obtains salvation.
• Both Atma and Brahma are everlasting and can never be destroyed.
• The theory of karma is linked with the Vedanta philosophy.
• Vedanta also put belief in Punarjanma or rebirth.
• It suggests that people suffer due to causes which they neither has knowledge nor
can control them.

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Harshvardhan Empire
• The capital of Harshvardhan’s Empire was Kannuaj.
• He ruled from 606 AD to 647 AD.
• His Empire extended from Punjab to northern Orissa and from Himalayas to the
bank of Narmada River.
• Harshvardhan belonged to the Pushyabhuti dynasty, founded by
Naravardhana close of the 5th or beginning of the 6th century A.D.
o It was only under the king of Thaneswar Prabhakarvardhana (father of
Harshvardhan), the Pushyabhuti dynasty flourished and he assumed the title
of Maharajadhiraj.
• Harshvardhan succeeded the throne in 606 A.D in the age of 16 after his elder
brother Rajyavardhana was killed by Sasanka while going to suppress the kings
of Gauda and Malwa.
• Harsha was also known as Sakalottarapathanatha.
• After ascending the throne, he rescued his sister Rajyasri and moved towards
Sasanka with an unsuccessful attempt.
• With a great army, Harshvardhan extended his kingdom from Punjab to northern
Orissa and from Himalayas to the bank of Narmada.
• He also tried to extend his kingdom beyond Narmada but failed to do so.
• The period of Harsha is well documented in Harshacharita written by
Banabhatta.
• The writings of Chinese
scholar Hien-Tsang who
visited Harsha’s court also
provide the great detail
about Harsha and India of
Harsha’s time.
• After the death of
Harshvardhan in 647 A.D.
the Empire died with him.

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Administration
• The revenues of Harsha’s Empire were divided into four parts.
o The first part was spent on the king.
o The second part was spent on scholars.
o The third part was spent on public servants.
o The fourth part was spent on religious activities.

Socio-Economic and Cultural Setup:

• According to Hien-Tsang who visited Harsha’s kingdom, there was an existence
of caste system in Indian society.
• Also, there was rise of several mixed and sub-castes.
• Hien-Tsang also mentions the existence of untouchables and outcastes.
• The position of women had also declined considerably during this period. Yet
women were not regarded as inferior to men.
• In the religious field, the ascendancy of Brahmanism brought about the decline of
Buddhism. Vaishnavism, Shaivism and Jainism were also practiced.
• Harsha was considered to be liberal and secular king.
• Revenue – the chief source of revenue was the one-sixth produce of land. Few
other taxes were imposed on ports, ferries etc.
• Return from royal lands, mines and tributes from vassals filled royal coffers were
also the revenue sources.

Important Personalities:
• Banabhatta was a poet in Harsha’s court.
o He wrote ‘Harshacharita’ a biography of Harshvardhan with detailed account
of the events leading up to his rise of power.
o It was written in Sanskrit language.
o He also wrote a drama called ‘Kadambari’.

• Hien-Tsang (Xuan Zang), a Chinese pilgrim visited Harsha’s court, wrote a book
‘Shi-Yu-Ki’ (the world of the west) after going back to China.
o Along with Harshvardhan Hien-Tsang in his book also praised two other kings-
Narsimha Varman of Pallavas dynasty and Pulakeshin II of Chalukyas dynasty.
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 o He came through central Asia via Afghanistan and went back through the same
route.
o Hien-Tsang studied at Nalanda and later taught there only for nine years.

Art and Architecture during Harsha Empire

• The phase was undoubtedly a fruitful for development of art and architecture,
which are apparent from numbers temples standing for 1,200 years.
• These temples are among most beautiful structure of the ear and famous for their
design and style of architecture.
• Bhubaneshwar temple of Orissa is an excellent example of the Nagar style or
north India style.
• The great Lingaraja temple of Bhubaneshwar and Sun temple of Konark are
the monumental examples of architecture.
Lingaraja Temple

• Khajuraho temples in Bundelkhand are excellent Nagar style temples built by

the Chandelas. They were built
on raise plinth and known for Khajuraho temple

their carving and erotic sculpture.

• The famous temples of
Dilwara (Mt. Abu) and
Satrunjaya (Palitana) are the
best examples of Jain
architecture. These temples are
famous for their elegant carvings
and rich design.

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 • In the Deccan, the temples of Vatapi (Badami) and Pattadakal (Bijapur) are
stylistically different.
• Further, Hoysalesvara temples (Halebid), through are incomplete, but distinct
for its structural design and decorative features.
• Pallavas built several temples in south India. Important among them are
Dalavarnur temple at Pallavaram (Arcot district), Vallam (in Chinglepeet district),
and Rathas.
• The Kailash temple at Meenakshi temple
Ellora is an example of
solid rock temple,
dedicated to Shiva.
• It was excavated during the
reign of Krishna I of the
Rashtrakuta dynasty. It is
one of the architectural
marvels of this period.
• Meenakshi temple of
Madurai is the specimen
of Dravidian style of
temples.

Important Facts
• Harshvardhan was great patron of learning and he himself Xuan Zang
wrote three Sanskrit plays-Nagananda, Ratnavali and
Priyadarshika.
• Hien-Tsang mentioned about the grand assembly held at
Kannauj which was attended by twenty kings, four
thousand Buddhist monks and about three thousand Jains
and Brahmans.
• Harsha also used to organize a religious festival called
Mahamoksha Harishad at Prayagraj (Allahabad), at
the end of every five years.
o Here, he performed the ceremony of Dana.
• Hien-Tsang mentioned that families were not registered
and there was no forced labour. However, he complained
about robbery which was a regular affair.

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 • The defeat of Harshvardhan in the hands of Pulakeshin II is mentioned on
Aihole inscription (Karnataka).
o He was the first North Indian king to be defeated by South Indian King.

The Empires of Southern India

• The Tamil country was ruled by three dynasties namely the Chera, Chola and
Pandyas during the Sangam Age.
• The Chera Dynasty had ruled in two different time-periods.
• The Chola kingdom of the Sangam period extended from modern Tiruchi district
to Andhra Pradesh.
• Pandya Kingdom was located in Tamil Nadu reigned around 6th century BC and
ended around the 15th century AD.

Chera Dynasty
• The Chera Dynasty had ruled in two
different time-periods.
• The first Chera Dynasty had ruled in
Sangam Era while second Chera
Dynasty had ruled from the 9th century
AD onwards.
• We get to know about the first Chera
Dynasty through Sangam Text.
• The area ruled by Cheras included
Cochin, North Travancore and
Southern Malabar.
• Their capital was Vanchi Muthur in Kizhanthur-Kandallur and Karur Vanchi.
• The capital of later Cheras was Kulashekarapuram and
Mahodayapuram.
• The insignia of Cheras was bow and arrow.

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 Uthiyan Cheralathan
• He has been recorded as the first King of the Cheras. Following his defeat with
Cholas, he had committed suicide.
• Senguttuvan was the most illustrious ruler of the Dynasty.
o He had sent first embassy to China from South India.
o Karur was his capital. His navy was the best in the world.

Second Chera Dynasty

• Kulashekhara Alwar, established the second Chera Dynasty.
• His capital was Mahodayapuram.
• The last Chera King in the second Chera Dynasty was Rama Varma
Kulashekhra.
o He ruled from 1090 to 1102 AD. After him Chera Dynasty ended.

Chola Dynasty
• Their ruling span can be divided into 3 parts namely Early Cholas, Medieval
Cholas and Later Cholas.
• The Chola Dynasty ruled from 300 BC until late 13th century AD, although their
territories kept changing.
Early Cholas
• The most of the information on early Cholas
are available in Sangam literature.
• The other information is available in
Mahavamsa, Buddhist text of Ceylon,
Pillars of Ashoka and Periplus of the
Erythraean Sea.
• The most famous king of early Cholas is
Karikala Chola.
o He ruled around 270 BC.
o He had won the famous battle of Venni
in which he decisively defeated
Pandyas and Cheras.

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 o He is also believed to have won the whole of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka).

• But the most important work which he did as a king was to build world’ earliest
water-regulator structure in stone at Kallanai on River Cauvery.
• It was built for agricultural purposes.

Medieval Cholas
• The Cholas revived their power in 848 AD and their rule was re-established after
a long lull from the 3rd century AD to 9th Century AD.

Vijayalaya Chola
• The first medieval Chola ruler was Vijayalaya Chola who is credited with re-
establishing the Chola rule.
o He had his capital in Thanjaur.
o He was a feudatory of Pallavas. He built solesvara temple at Padukottai.

Aditya Chola I
• The son of Vijayalaya, Aditya Chola
succeeded him after death.
• He built several Shiva temples on the banks
of river Cauvery since he was a great Shiva
devotee.

Parantaka Chola I
• He had defeated the Pandya king and he had
assumed the title of Madurakonda.

Rajaraja Chola I
• After a gap of some lesser-known Kings,
Rajaraja Chola I ascended the throne. Rajarajeshwara temple, Thanjaur

o He is also known as Arunmozhi udayar Periya Udayar.

• During his time Chola Empire covered whole of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, parts of
Orissa and Andhra Pradesh and whole of Kerala and Sri Lanka.

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• Rajaraja Chola-I built the Rajarajeshwara temple at Thanjaur, which is a
UNESCO World Heritage site now.
Rajendra Chola-I
• Rajaraja Chola I was succeeded by his son Rajendra Chola I in 1014 AD who
ruled over till 1044 AD.
• He was even more ambitious than Rajaraja Chola I.
• His major conquests and victories are as following:
o He conquered the whole of Sri Lanka and held its king captive for 12 years.

o Defeated Western Chalukyas Emperor Jayasimha in the battle of Maski, also

forced eastern Chalukyas into submission.
o His forces gained victory over Kalinga, Pala and Ganges and this earned him
the title Gangaikonda.
o Significantly, the naval forces of Rajendra-I defeated the Malaya and Sumatra
Kingdoms and occupied Kedah.

• Rajendra Chola-I also constructed new capital for Chola Empire, called
Gangaikonda Cholapuram to commemorate his victories over Kalinga, Pal and
Ganges.

Rajendra Chola-II
• A great patron of poetry and dance, he extended support to a musical dance drama
Rajarajeshwara Natakam.

Virarajendra Chola
• An illustrious ruler, he ruled from 1063-1070 AD.
• He was the younger brother of Rajendra Chola II.
• He was succeeded by Athirajendra Chola who was not strong enough to defend
the kingdom.
• There was a civil rebellion during his reign in which he was killed.
• With his death, the dynasty of Middle Chola came to an end.

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Later Cholas
• Later Cholas were assigned the period from 1070 AD to 1279 AD.
• At this time, the Chola Empire achieved its pinnacle & became the "Most
Powerful Country" of the world.
• Cholas occupied South East Asian Countries and had the most powerful army and
navy of the world at that time.

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Pandya Empire
• Pandya Kingdom was located in Tamil
Nadu, South India.
• It started around 6th century BC and
ended around the 15th century AD.
• Pandya kingdom extended during the
Sangam age comprised the present
districts of Madurai, Tirunelveli,
Ramnad in Tamil Nadu.
• Madurai was the capital
city and Korkai the chief Port of the
kingdom, which became the great centres of trade and commerce.
• The Sangam literature provides a long list of Pandya kings out of which some of
them became most popular.

Maravarman Sundara I
• The foundation for the Pandya supremacy in south India was laid
by Maravarman Sundara I early in the 13th century.
• He succeeded his older brother Jatavarman Kulasekhara in 1216.
• He invaded the Chola country, sacked Uraiyur and Thanjavur, and drove the
Chola king Kulothunga III into exile.
• The Chola king subsequently made a formal submission to Maravarman Sundara
I and acknowledged his overlordship.
• Attempts by the next Chola king Rajaraja III for self-rule, with the help of
the Hoysalas king Narasimha II (r. 1220 – 1238 CE), resulted in a battle between
the Pandya and Hoysala forces at Mahendramangalam on the Kaveri Valley.
• Maravarman Sundara I was defeated and Rajaraja III was restored in the
Chola country.

Jatavarman Sundara I
• Jatavarman Vira II's fish insignia at Koneswaram
temple in Trincomalee (Eastern Province).
• Jatavarman Sundara I ascended the Pandya throne in
1251 CE.
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• He led his army to the Chola country (even as far as Nellore), to Sri Lanka and
to south Kerala.
• Jatavarman Sundara I, subdued Rajendra II around 1258–1260 CE and made
him pay tribute.
• The rule of the Cholas ended c. 1279 with Rajendra III.
• Jatavarman Sundara I also fought the Kakatiya ruler Ganapati (1199-1262).
• Sri Lanka was invaded by Jatavarman Sundara I in 1258 and on his behalf by his
younger brother Jatavarman Vira II between 1262 and 1264 CE.

Maravarman Kulasekara I
• Sundara Pandya I (died in 1268) was succeeded by Maravarman Kulasekara I.
• Around 1279 the combined force of Hoysala king Ramanatha and Rajendra
III was defeated by Maravarman Kulasekara I.
• Maravarman Kulasekara I, now virtually unchallenged, ruled over the Chola
country and southern Tamil speaking portions of Hoysala kingdom.
• He also invaded Sri Lanka, ruled by Bhuvanaikabahu I, "carried away to the
Pandya country the venerable Tooth Relic", and the wealth of the island.
• Sri Lanka remained under Pandya control until c. 1308–1309 CE.

Decline of Pandya Empire

• The Pandya rule started declining from the early 14th century when dispute arose
between the claimants for succession of throne.
o One of claimant ask for a help from Delhi sultan, Alauddin Khilji, which
resulted in an invasion by sultan under the leadership of Malik Kafur.
• The Muslim invasion led to the disappearance of the Pandyas.

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Pallavas Dynasty
Founder
• There is no clarity on the name of the founder of Pallavas dynasty but the rise of
Pallavas in the last quarter of the 6th century is attributed to Simha Vishnu.

Political History of Pallavas

• The origins of the Pallavas are shrouded in mystery. There are several theories
propounded by historians.
o Some historians say they are a branch of the Parthian people (a tribe from Iran)
who gradually migrated to South India.

o Some say they are an indigenous dynasty that arose within the Southern region
and were a mix of various tribes.

o Another theory says that they are descendant from a Chola prince and a Naga
princess of Manipallavam (an island off Jaffna, Sri Lanka).
o Some others are of the opinion that the Pallavas were feudatories of the
Satavahanas.

• The first Pallavas kings ruled during the beginning of the 4th century AD.
• By the 7th century AD, there were three kingdoms in southern India vying for
supremacy namely the
Chalukyas of Badami, the
Pandyas of Madurai and
the Pallavas of
Kanchipuram.

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The extent of the Pallavas dynasty
• The Pallavas capital was Kanchipuram.
• Their territories at the height of their powers extended from the northern part of
Andhra Pradesh to River Kaveri in the South.
• During the seventh century, the Cholas were reduced to a marginal state by the
authority of the Pallavas.
• Vatapi (Badami) was occupied by the Pallavas king Narshimavarman who
defeated the Chalukyas.
• The Kalabhras uprising was crushed by the Pandyas, Chalukyas and the Pallavas
jointly. The Kalabhras were protesting against the numerous land grants
(Brahamadeya) to Brahmanas made by the Brahminic rulers of the three dynasties.

Rulers of the Pallavas Empire

Sivaskanda Varman
• Greatest among the early rulers. Ruled at the beginning of the 4th century AD.
• Performed Ashwamedha and other Vedic sacrifices.

Simhavarman/Simhavishnu (Reign: 575 AD – 600 AD)

• Was a Buddhist.
• Included Sri Lanka in his kingdom.
• Defeated the contemporary Tamil ruler. Pallavas history assumes a definite
character from this ruler onwards.
Mahendravarman (Reign: 600 AD – 630 AD)
• Succeeded Simhavishnu who was his father.
• He was a poet and composed Vichitrachita and Mahavilasa Prahasana.
• He introduced rock-cut temple architecture.
• Had on-going rivalry and battles with Pulakeshin II of Chalukyas dynasty.
• Mahendravarman died in battle with the Chalukyas. He was an able and efficient
ruler.

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Narshimavarman I (630 AD – 668 AD)
• Son and successor of Mahendravarman.
• Considered the greatest of the Pallavas. Also called Narshimavarman
Mahamalla/Mamalla.
• Defeated and killed Pulakeshin II in 642 AD. He took control of Vatapi, the
Chalukyas capital and assumed the title ‘Vatapikonda’.
• Also vanquished the Cholas, Cheras and the Pandyas.
• He sent a naval expedition to Sri Lanka and reinstated the Sinhalese Prince
Manivarma.
• He founded the city of
Mamallapuram or Mahabalipuram
which is named after him.
• Hien Tsang visited the Pallavas
kingdom during his reign in about 640
AD and he describes the people living
in his kingdom as happy.
• He was succeeded by his son
Mahendravarman II who ruled from
668 to 670 AD.

Shore temple, Mahabalipuram, built by

Narshimavarman II

Later rulers
• After Mahendravarman II, his son Parameswaravarman became the king.
• During his rule, Kanchipuram was occupied by the Chalukyas.
• Nripatunga was an important king who defeated a Pandya king.
• There were a few other rulers. The last ruler of the Pallavas dynasty was
Aparajitavarman who was killed in battle with the Cholas.

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 11
•
•
•
•
•

Introduction
• This chapter deals with the religious beliefs which occurred during 8th to 18th
century.
o Historian used many sources to know the changes of religious traditions.

• The sculptures of many saints and the devotions by the many kingdoms also
provide the sources to know about the famous saints.
• During this period, a large number of gods and goddesses in sculpture as well as
in texts appeared.
• This indicated the continued and extended worship of the major deities such as
Vishnu, Shiva and the goddesses, visualized in a variety of forms.

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Tantric Worship
• The forms of worship often associated with goddess were classified as Tantric.
• Tantric worship was wide spread in the subcontinent. It was open to women and
men.
• Those who followed Tantric rejected the caste and class within the ritual
context.
• Many of these ideas influenced Shaivism and the Buddhism, especially in
eastern, northern and southern part of this sub-continent.

Early Bhakti Traditions

Saguna (with attributes) Nirguna (without attributes)
Saguna included the bhakti traditions that
focused on the worship of specific deities Nirguna bhakti on the other hand was
such as Shiva, Vishnu and his avatars worship of an abstract form of God.
and forms of the goddess or Devi.
Examples- Kabir Panthis, Sufi Saint,
Examples –Alwar, Nayanars, Virashaiva
Yogi, Nathpanthi, Madari, Kanlandar

The Alvars and Nayanars of Tamil Nadu

• During the sixth century, some of the Bhakti
movements in south India were led by the Alvars
and the Nayanars.
o The literal meaning of the Alvars is those
who are immersed in devotion to Vishnu.

o The meaning of the word Nayanars is those

who were devotees of Shiva.

• They travelled from place-to-place singing

hymns in Tamil in praise of their gods.
• During their travels the Alvars and Nayanars
identified certain shrines as abodes of their
chosen deities.
• Later big temples were built at those places and developed as pilgrimage centres.

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 • According to some historians, the Alvars and the Nayanars started a movement
of protest against the caste system and the Brahmanas and attempted to reform
the system.
• The devotees came from the different social backgrounds such as artisans,
cultivators and even from the caste that were considered “untouchable”.
• The saint –poets the Alvars and the Nayanars were opposed to Buddhism and
Jainism.
• This hostility is well marked in their compositions particularly of the Nayanars.
Base Alvars Nayanars
Devotees Vishnu Shiva
No of saints 12 63
Nalayira
Compositions Divyaprabandham (Tamil Tevaram
Nadu)

Appar, Sambandars,
Saints Tondaradippodi
Sundarar
Female saints Andal Karaikal Ammaiyar

Relation with the State

• From the 2nd half of the first millennium Buddhism and Jainism was supported by
Pallavas and Pandyas.
• In this new Bhakti tradition saints opposed the Jainism and Buddhism.
• The Chola rulers supported the bhakti traditions and built temples for Shiva
and Vishnu.
• Some of the magnificent temples for Shiva such as temples in Chidambaram,
Thanjavur and Gangaikondacholapuram were constructed under their patronage.
• The Chola rulers-built temples often to claim divine support and proclaim their
own power and status and adorned those temples with stone and metal sculpture
to represent the visions of the popular saints.
• They made the spectacular representations of Shiva in bronze sculpture.
• The Chola kings introduced the singing of Tamil Shaiva hymns under royal
patronage, taking the initiative to collect and organize them into a text (Tevaram).

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 • According to Inscriptional evidence, the Chola king Parantaka I had constructed
the metal images of Appar, Sambandar and Sundarar in a Shiva temple.
• These were carried in procession during the festivals of these saints.

The Virashaiva Tradition in Karnataka

• During the twelfth century, in Karnataka the Virashaiva movement was started by
a Brahmana named Basavanna (1106-68).
• He was a Jaina and a minister in the court of a Chalukyas king.
• His followers were known as Virashaiva (heroes of Shiva) or Lingayat’s (wearers
of the Linga).

Lingayat’s and their Belief

• Lingayat’s are an important community even today.
• They worship Shiva in the form of
Linga.
• They wear a small Linga in a silver
case over the left shoulder.
• Jangama or wandering monks are
revered.
• Lingayat’s believe that after death,
the devotee will be united with Shiva
and will not return to this world.
• Therefore, they do not practice
funerary rites such as cremation as
prescribed in the Dharmashastras.
Instead, they ceremonially bury
their dead body.

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Islamic Traditions
• In 711 AD an Arab General, Muhammed bin Qasim conquered Sind and make
it as a part of the caliph’s domain.
• Later, during the thirteenth century the Turks and Afghans established the Delhi
Sultanate.
• Sultanates were also formed in the Deccan and other parts of the subcontinent.
• Islam was recognized as the religion of several areas.
• This continued with the establishment of the Mughal Empire.
• Muslim rulers were to be guided by the Ulma, which were expected to ensure that
they ruled according to the Sharia.
o Ulma – The scholars of Islamic studies, who perform various religious, juridical
and teaching functions to preserve the Islamic traditions.

o Sharia – the laws which govern the Muslim community. It includes:

▪ Quran – Holy book
▪ Hadis – traditions of prophet

▪ Qiyas – reasoning by analogy

▪ Tjma – consensus of the community.

• The category of zimmi was developed. The Zimmi means “protected”.

o It was developed for peoples who followed revealed scriptures, such as the Jews
and Christians, and lived under Muslim rule.

o They paid a tax called jizya and received protection from Muslims. In India this
status was extended to Hindus as well.

Popular practices of Islam

• All those who adopted Islam have the similarity in their practice. They follow the
five pillars of the faith.
• However, in spite of this similarity there were so many diversities occurred in their
tradition due to sectarian affiliations and local customary practices.
• Muslim communities were divided into two main sects –
o Shia (followers of Prophet) and
o Sunni (followers of Ali).
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• The five pillars of faith in Islam

• There were many branches of Shia and Sunni in this sub-continent like Khojahs
Ismailis,
o Khojah, a branch of Ismailis adopted the indigenous literary genres to
disseminating the ideas of Quran.
o They used devotional poem in Punjabi, Multani, Sindhi, Kachchi, Hindi, Gujarati
known as –Ginan (Knowledge) in special ragas during daily prayers.

• Arab Muslim traders who settled in Malabar coast (Kerala) not only adopted the
local language Malayalam but local customs as matriliny and matrilocal residence.
• The complex of a universal faith with local traditions also found in architecture of
mosques.
• Some architectural features of mosques are universal such as face toward Mecca
and the placement of the mihrab (prayer niche) and the minbar (pulpit).
• However, there were variations found in roof or building materials
o Shah Hamdan Mosque of Srinagar built by Kashmiri wooden (Jewel in the crown)
o Atiya mosques, Bangladesh built with bricks
o Mosque in Kerala Shikhara like roof.

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The Growth of Sufism
• The groups of religious minded people were called as Sufis in Islam.
• The word used for Sufism in Islam is Tasawwuf.
• They were critical of the dogmatic definitions and scholastic methods of
interpreting the Quran.
• They emphasized on seeking salvation through intense devotion and love for
God by following his command.
• They emphasized interpretation of Quran on the basis of personal experience.

Khanqahs
• Khanqahs or hospices were the religious places where Sufi saints teach their
followers and held the practices.
• The control of Khanqahs was under a pir, Shaikh or murshid. He performed
various duties as-
o Duties of Pir or Shaikh

▪ He enrolled his disciples (murshid) and appointed his successor (Khalifa)

▪ He established rules for spiritual conduct and interaction between persons

and the master.

Silsilas
• Silsila literally meaning a chain signifies a continuous link between master and
disciple, stretching as an unbroken spiritual genealogy to the Prophet Muhammad.
• Through this channel the spiritual power and blessing transmitted to devotees.
• Sufi silsilas began to appear in different parts of the Islamic world around the
twelfth century.

Dargah
• Dargah is a Persian term. Its meaning is tomb-shrine.
• When the sheikh died, his tomb shrine became the centre of devotion for his
followers.

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 • This encouraged the practice of pilgrimage or Ziyarat to his grave, particularly
on his death anniversary.
• It was believed that, after death the soul of sheikh get united with the soul of Allah.
• People sought their blessings to attain material and spiritual benefits. Thus
evolved the cult of the sheikh revered as wali.

The Chishti’s Silsila in The Subcontinent

• Chishti’s were the most influential group among the Silsila in India.

Life in the Chishti khanqah

• The khanqah was the centre of social life. It comprised several small rooms and
a big hall where inmates and visitors lived and prayed.
• The Shaikh lived in a small room on the roof of the hall where he met visitors in
the morning and evening.
• There was an open kitchen (langar). From morning till evening people from all
walks of life, came to seek the blessings from the Shaikh in various matters.
• Other visitors included poets such as Amir Hasan Sijzi and Amir Khusroo and
the court historian Ziauddin Barani and all of them wrote about the Shaikh.
• Different practices were adopted by the Chishti’s in their Khanqah as
o Bowing before the Shaikh
o Offering water to visitors
o Shaving the heads of initiates

o Yogic exercises

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Chishti Devotionalism: Ziyarat and Qawwali
• Pilgrimage on the tombs of Sufi saints is called as Ziyarat in all over the
Muslim world.
• This practice is an occasion for seeking the Sufi’s spiritual grace (barakat).
• For more than seven centuries’ people from different walks of life expressed their
devotion at the dargahs of the five great Chishti saints.
• The use of music and dance including mystical chants performed by specially
trained musicians or qawwals to evoke divine ecstasy is also part of Ziyarat.
• The Sufis remember God either by reciting the zikr (the Divine Names) or
evoking his presence through sama or performance of mystical music known as
qawwali.

Dargah Of Khwaja Moinuddin

• The most popular dargah in India was of Khwaja Moinuddin, popularly known as
“Gharib Nawaz” (comforter of the poor).
• The dargah became so popular because of the following reasons.
o The austerity and piety of the Shaik, greatness of his spiritual successors and the
patronage of royal visitors.

o Location of Ajmer was another factor for its popularity. As it was located on
the trade route connecting Delhi and Gujarat, it attracted number of travellers.

• Muhammad bin Tughlaq was the first Sultan to visit this dargah.
• Akbar, the Mughal emperor visited dargah at Ajmer fourteen times in his life.

A scene from movie Jodha Akbar, showing Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Christi’s Dargah, Ajmer

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New Devotional Paths: Dialogue and Dissent in North India
About Kabir Das
• It was believed that he was born in Hindu
family and brought up by Muslim Julha
family.
• Their compositions were compiled by their
followers after his death.
• The poems of Kabir used words guru and
satguru but do not mention the name of any
specific guru.

Composition of Kabir Das

• The Kabir Bijak is preserved by the
Kabirpanth (the path or sect of Kabir) in
Varanasi and in Uttar Pradesh.
• The Kabir Granthavali is associated with the Dadupanth in Rajasthan and many
of his compositions are found in the Adi Granth Sahib.
• Kabir’s poems have survived in several languages and dialects and sometimes
with special language of Nirguna poets (the Sant bhasha) and others known as
ulatbansi (upside-down sayings).

Teachings of Kabir
• Kabir tried to describe the Ultimate Reality including Islam. According to him
the Ultimate Reality was Allah, Khuda, Hazrat and Pir.
• He also used certain Vedic terms such as Brahman and Atman.
• He also used some yogic traditional terms such as shabda (sound) or shunya
(emptiness). Some poems of Kabir expressed conflicting and diverse ideas.
• Some poems attacked Hindu polytheism and idol worship and others use Sufi
concept of zikr and ishq (love) to express the Hindu practice of nam-simaran
(remembrance of God’s name).
• Debates about whether Kabir was a Hindu or a Muslim by birth are well reflected
in hagiographies.

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Baba Guru Nanak
• Baba Guru Nanak was born in a village called
Nankana Sahib near Ravi in Punjab in 1469.
• He trained to be an accountant and studied Persian.
• He was married at a young age but he spent most of
his time among Sufis and bhaktas.

Teachings of Guru Nanak

• His teachings are well reflected in his hymns. These
hymns suggest that he advocated a form of
Nirguna bhakti.
• He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image
worship and the scriptures of Hindus and
Muslims.
• According to him, the Absolute or ‘rab’ had no gender or form.
• He proposed a simple way to connect to the Divine by remembering the Divine
name.
• He expressed his ideas through hymns called “shabad” in Punjabi, the language
of the region and sang with different ragas.
• He organized his followers into a community. He set up rules for congregational
worship (sangat).
• He appointed one of his disciples, Angad, to succeed him as the preceptor (guru).
• Guru Nanak did not want to establish a new religion.
o After his death, his followers consolidated their own practices to form a distinct
community.

• The fifth guru, Guru Arjun compiled Guru Nanak’s hymns along with those of
his four successors and other religious poets like Baba Farid, Ravidas and Kabir
in the Adi Granth Sahib.
• The tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, included the compositions of the ninth
guru; Guru Tegh Bahadur. This scripture was called the Guru Granth Sahib.
• Guru Gobind Singh also laid the foundation of the Khalsa Panth (army of the
pure).

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 • He also defined its five symbols:

• It was under the leadership of Guru Gobind Singh that the community became a
socio-religious and military force.

Mirabai, The Devotee Princess

• Mirabai was the best-known woman poet within the
bhakti tradition.
• She was a Rajput princess from Merta in Marwar.
• She was married to a prince of the Sisodia clan of
Mewar against he wishes. She defied her husband and
not submit to the traditional role of wife and mother.
• She recognized Krishna, the avatar of Vishnu as her
lover.

Teachings of Meera bai

• Her most famous preceptor was Raidas; a leather worker. It shows her defiance
of the norms of caste society.
• She had donned the white
robes of a window or the
saffron robe of the
renouncer.
• Although she did not attract a
sect or group of followers,
she has been recognized as a
source of inspiration for
centuries.

Mirabai’s temple to Krishna at Chittoor Fort, Rajasthan

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 Appendices
Name of Tirthankara Symbol Place of Nirvana
Lord Rishabha Ox Mount Ashtapada
Ajitanath Elephant Samet Shikhar
Sambhavanatha Horse Samet Shikhar
Abhinandananatha Monkey Samet Shikhar
Sumatinatha Goose Samet Shikhar
Padmaprabha Lotus Samet Shikhar
Suparshvanath Swastika Samet Shikhar
Chandraprabha Moon Samet Shikhar
Suvidhinath Swami or
Crocodile (Makara) Samet Shikhar
Puspadanta
Sheetalnath Wishing Tree (Srivasta) Samet Shikhar
Shreyansanath Rhinoceros Samet Shikhar
Vasupujiya Buffalo Champa Nagri
Vimalnatha Boar Samet Shikhar
Anantnatha Bear (Falcon) Samet Shikhar
Spike-headed Club
Dharmanath Samet Shikhar
(Vajradanda)
Santinath Deer Samet Shikhar
Kunthunath He-Goat Samet Shikhar
Aranath Fish Samet Shikhar
Mallinath Waterpot Samet Shikhar
Munisuvrata Tortoise Samet Shikhar
Naminatha Blue-Lotus Samet Shikhar
Neminatha Conch Raivatgiri
Parshawanath Serpent Samet Shikhar
Mahavira Lion Pavapuri

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Monuments Builders

Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh)

Guptas

Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh (Uttar Pradesh)

Ellora Caves Paintings, Maharashtra

Ashoka

Great Stupa, Sanchi (Madhya Pradesh)

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 Krishna I (Rashtrakuta)

Kailash Temple, Ellora (Maharashtra)

Rasthrakutas

Elephanta Caves, Maharashtra

Rajaraja I

Brihadiswara Temple, Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu)

Somesvanshi King Yayati I

(The Eastern Ganges)

Lingaraja Temple, Bhubaneswar (Odisha)

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 Ananta Varma Chodaganga Deva
(The Eastern Ganges)

Jagannath Temple, Puri (Odisha)

King Narasimhadeva I
(The Eastern Ganges)

Konark Sun Temple, Konark (Odisha)

Chandelas Dynasty

Khajuraho Groups of Monuments, M.P.

King Bhima I
(Chalukyas Dynasty)

Sun Temple, Modhera (Gujarat)

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 King Kulasekara Pandya

Meenakshi Temple, Madurai (Tamil Nadu)

King Mohammad Adil Shah

Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur (Karnataka)

KumarGupta I
(Gupta Dynasty)

Nalanda University, Nalanda (Bihar)

Dharmapala of Palas

Vikramshila University, Bhagalpur (Bihar)

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