Chapter 1: Sources of Ancient Indian History PDF

Chapter 1 Sources of Ancient Indian History All events of history depend on the sources through which a particular narrative is written. There are two types of historical sources for understanding our ancient Indian history, archaeological and literary sources. Further, bot...

Chapter 1 Sources of Ancient Indian History All events of history depend on the sources through which a particular narrative is written. There are two types of historical sources for understanding our ancient Indian history, archaeological and literary sources. Further, both sources can be further divided into various categories of sources. The following diagram shows how the sources be divided. 1. Literary Sources 1.1. Brahminical Literature Shruti Texts In the Hindu tradition, the Vedas have the status of shruti (literally, ‘that which has been heard’). They are thought to embody an eternal, self-existent truth realized by the rishis (seers) in a state of meditation or revealed to them by the gods. The smriti (literally, ‘remembered’) texts include the Vedanga, Puranas, epics, Dharmashastra, and Nitishastra. The word Veda comes from the root vid (literally, ‘to know’) and means ‘knowledge’. There are four Vedas—Rig, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva. The Rig Veda contains the world’s oldest surviving poetry, some of it of extraordinary beauty and philosophical depth. Each Veda has four parts, the last three of which sometimes blend into each other—the Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka, and Upanishad. The Rig Veda Samhita is a collection of 1,028 hymns (suktas) arranged in 10 books (Mandalas). o The Rigveda is the oldest one, and therefore, is also known as ‘the first testament of mankind’. After the addition of the eleven Bal Khilya Sutra the total no. of hymns becomes 1028. The tenth mandala, said to have added later as its language differs from the other nine mandalas, contains the famous Purushasukta explaining the four varnas (Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaishya and 1|Page  Shudra) born from the mouth, arms, thighs and feet of the creator. Thus, the Rigveda has 10 Mandalas, 1028 Suktas and 10,580 Richas. o The 7th and 2nd Mandalas were the very first composition, later on the other mandalas were composed. The 7th and 2nd Mandalas are called ‘Vansha Mandal’; the handwritten script of 8th mandal is called ‘Khila’ and the 1st and 10th are known as ‘Kshepak’. The Sama Veda consists of 1,810 verses, mostly borrowed from the Rig Veda, arranged according to the needs of musical notation. o The Samaveda is a collection of melodies. These were meant to be sung at the time of soma sacrifice. Samaveda has two parts: Purvarchika (having six subdivisions called ‘Apathaka) and Uttrarchika (having nine subdivisions called ‘Prapathaka). The Yajur Veda deals with the details of the performance of rituals. o It has 40 chapters and 2000 hymns. It is a ritual veda and has two main texts: Krishna Yajurveda and Shukla Yajurveda. It is also called the book of sacrificial prayers. ▪ Krishna Yajurveda contains mantras (hymns) and the Shukla has commentary in prose. ▪ Kasthak, Kapishthal, Maitrayani, Taittiriya and Vajasneyi are the five branches of Yajurveda in which the first four are related to the Krishna Yajurveda and the last one is to Shukla Yajurveda. o Yajurveda is a good collection of hymns composed in both prose and poetry. Ishopanishad, the last chapter of Yajurveda, is philosophical and metaphysical whereas the rest of all parts of Yajurveda’s subject matter is the law and legislation of various yajanas. The Atharva Veda is the latest Veda and contains hymns (some from the Rig Veda), but also spells and charms which reflect aspects of popular beliefs and practices. o It is the latest of the four. It describes the popular beliefs and superstitions of the humble folk. It is divided into 20 books volumes. It contains 731 hymns and 5,987 mantras. o About 1200 Mantras have been taken from the Rigveda. The hymns of Atharvaveda tell how to overcome the evil spirit. Shaunk and Pippalad are the two available branches of this veda. The Atharvaveda is also known as Brahmaveda or Atharvagirasveda. For a very long time it was not considered in the category of the Vedas. It is a book of magical formulae. The Brahmanas are prose explanations of the Samhita portions and give details and explanations of sacrificial rituals and their outcome. o The Brahmanas were composed after the vedas to explain the hymns of the vedas. Every veda has several Brahmanas attached to it. ▪ Kausitiki and Aitareya are the Brahmans books of the Rigveda composed by Hotri priests. ▪ Taittiriya is the Brahman of Krishna Yajurveda and Shatpath is attached to shukla Yajurveda composed by Adhvaryu priest Yagyavalka. It narrates the progress of culture from Kuru- Panchal to Videha. ▪ The Samaveda has three Brahmanas i.e. Tandayamaha Brahman, Khadvisha Brahmana and Jaiminiya Brahman were composed by Udgatri priests. The Gopath Brahman is attached to the Atharvaveda. The Aranyakas (forest books) interpret sacrificial rituals in a symbolic and philosophical way. 2|Page  o There are seven Aranyakas, i.e., Aitareya, Sankhyayana, Taittiriya, Maitrayani, Madhyanandin, Talvakar and Jaiminiya. These books are opposed to sacrifices and rituals and lay emphasis on meditation and moral virtues to form a bridge between the Karma Marga (way of work) and the Gyan Marga (way of knowledge). There are 108 Upanishads, among which 13 are considered the principal ones. The Upanishads contain a great variety of philosophical ideas about sacrifice, the body, and the universe, but are most closely associated with the concepts of atman and brahman. o The word upanishad is a combined form of the two sanskrit word, i.e. upa and nishad which means to sit down near someone and get the secret knowledge by him. o Jesh, Kath, Ken, Mandukya, Brihadaranyka, Mundaka, Chhandogya, Taittiriya, Aitareya and Kaushitiki are some important upanishads. o The Upanishads are anti-ritualistic discussing the theories of creation of the universe and defining the doctrine of action with the goal to attain salvation through meditation and self-control. o The famous national statement ‘Satyameva Jayate’ has been taken from the Mundaka Upanishad. Within the Vedic corpus as a whole, Books 2–7 (known as the family books) of the Rig Veda Samhita are considered the oldest; the later portions of this Samhita, along with all the other Vedic texts, comprise later Vedic literature. The dates that have been suggested for the composition of this text range from c. 6000 BCE to 1000 BCE. Many historians take c. 1500–1000 BCE as the period of composition of early Vedic literature and c. 1000–500 BCE as that of later Vedic texts. This chronology is essentially based on the tentative dates suggested by Max Müller in the 19th century. Smriti Texts The six Vedangas - Shiksha, Kalpa, Vyakarana, Nirukta, Chhanda and Jyotisha were composed in the later Vedic period. o Shiksha deals with the appropriate pronunciation of the Mantras. o Kalpa is related to rituals, duties and sanskara. o Vyakarana deals with grammar and the science of language, o Nirukta with etymology. Yaskacharya’s Nirukta is very famous. o Chhanda deals with rhyming scheme. Chhandasutra was composed by Aacharya Pingle. o Jyotish deals with astronomy in which we find the proper calculation of the right position of the sun and the moon and various heavenly bodies to perform rituals and ceremonies. Jyothish vedanga is a famous book for it in which we get as many as 400 slokas. Epics are another source of smriti texts in which the Ramayan and Mahabharat are most important. o The Ramayana, the oldest epics of world, is known as ‘Adi Kavya’. It consists of 24,000 shlokas divided into 07 Kandas (Bal Kand, Ayodhya Kand and Aranya Kand, Kishkindha Kand, Sundar Kand, Lanka Kand and Uttar Kand). ▪ The first and seventh Kands were the latest additions to the Ramayana. The Ramayana is said to be composed in 5th century B.C. 3|Page  ▪ Originally it had only 6,000 verses. Later on, it became 12,000 and finally it has 24,000 shlokas. o The Mahabharat of Ved Vyasa is the longest epic of the world consisting of 1,00,000 shlokas in 18 parvans or chapters in which shanti parvan is the largest parvan. ▪ The Bhagavad Gita is extracted from the Bhishma Parvan of the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata is said to be composed between 400 B.C. to A.D. 400. ▪ Originally it had only 8,800 shlokas under the name of Jay Samhita, later on, it was called chaturvinshati sahastri samhita or Bharat consisting of 24,000 shlokas and finally, it became Mahabharata or Shatasahastri Samhita with 1,00,000 shlokas. It is also called ‘Panchamveda’. The ‘Purana’ means ‘the old’. There are 18 ‘Puranas’ in which the Matsya purana is the oldest puran. These puranas describe the genealogies of various royal dynasties, i.e., Maurya, Andhra, Shishunag, Gupta, etc. o The name of puranas is: Brahma, Padma, Vishnu, Shiva, Bhagvat, Narad, Markandey, Agni, Bhavishya Brahma-vaivartya, Linga Varah, Skanda, Vaman, Kurma, Matsya, Garur and Brahmand. Besides these, there are 19 Upapuranas. Lomharsha or his son Ugrashrava is said to be the compiler of Puranas. Smriti means ‘remembrance’. Smiritis, the auxiliary treatises of the Vedas, are regarded as a part of the revelation. There are six famous smritis: Manu smriti, Yajnvalkya smriti, Narad smriti, Parashara smriti, Brihaspati smriti and Katyayana Smriti. 1.2. Buddhist Literature Early Buddhist literature is generally divided into canonical and non-canonical texts. Canonical texts are books which lay down the basic tenets and principles of a religion or sect. The various Buddhist schools classify their canonical literature in different ways, some into 9 or 12 Angas, others into 3 Pitakas. There are Pali, Chinese, and Tibetan versions of the Tipitaka (The Three Baskets/Collections). The Pali Tipitaka of the Theravada school is the oldest of them all. o Pali was a literary language which developed out of a mixture of dialects, particularly those spoken in the Magadha area of eastern India. The Tipitaka consists of three books—the Sutta, Vinaya, and Abhidhamma. In the Buddhist context, sutta (from the Sanskrit sutra) refers to texts that are supposed to contain what the Buddha himself said. o The Sutta Pitaka contains the Buddha’s discourses on various doctrinal issues in dialogue form. With the exception of a few suttas, the authority of this work was accepted by all Buddhist schools. o The Vinaya Pitaka has rules for monks and nuns of the sangha (monastic order). It includes the Patimokkha—a list of transgressions against monastic discipline and atonements for these. o The Abhidhamma Pitaka is a later work, and contains a thorough study and systemization of the teachings of the Sutta Pitaka through lists, summaries, and questions and answers. The three Pitakas are divided into books known as the Nikayas (analogous but not identical to the Agamas of the Buddhist Sanskrit tradition). For instance, the Sutta Pitaka consists of five Nikayas—the Digha, Majjhima, Samyutta, Anguttara, and Khuddaka Nikayas. 4|Page  The Jatakas—stories of the previous births of the Buddha—are one of the 15 books of the Khuddaka Nikaya, and their composition can be placed between the 3rd century BCE and the 2nd century CE. The Khuddaka Nikaya also contains the Dhammapada (a collection of verses dealing mainly with ethical sayings), and the Theragatha and Therigatha (songs of Buddhist monks and nuns). The Therigatha, which describes women’s experience of renunciation, is especially important because it is one of the very few surviving ancient Indian texts composed by or attributed to women. According to Buddhist tradition, the Sutta and Vinaya Pitakas were recited at the first council of monks at Rajagriha immediately after the Buddha’s death, and 100 years later at the second council at Vaishali. But their composition must have extended over several centuries, up to the time of the third council convened in the 3rd century BCE during the reign of Ashoka. Non-canonical Buddhist literature in Pali includes the Milindapanha which consists of a dialogue on various philosophical issues between King Milinda—no doubt the Indo- Greek Menander—and the monk Nagasena. o The Nettigandha or Nettipakarana (The Book of Guidance) gives a connected account of the teaching of the Buddha. Commentaries on the Tipitaka include a 5th-century work by Buddhaghosha. o The first connected life story of the Buddha occurs in the Nidanakatha. The Pali or Sri Lankan chronicles—the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa contain a historical-cum-mythical account of the Buddha’s life, the Buddhist councils, the Maurya emperor Ashoka, the kings of Sri Lanka, and the arrival of Buddhism on that island. Apart from texts in Pali, there are several Buddhist works in Sanskrit, and in a mixture of Prakrit and Sanskrit that is often referred to as Buddhist Sanskrit or Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit. o For instance, the canon of the Sarvastivada school is in Sanskrit. The Mahavastu, which has some Mahayana elements, gives a hagiography (sacred biography) of the Buddha and describes the emergence of the monastic order in mixed Sanskrit–Prakrit. The Lalitavistara, a hagiography of the Buddha associated with the Sarvastivada school but strongly tinged with Mahayana elements, is in Sanskrit and mixed Prakrit-Sanskrit. o Sanskrit Buddhist texts include Ashvaghosha’s Buddhacharita and the Avadana texts. o Later works of Mahayana thinkers such as Nagarjuna, Vasubandhu, Asanga, Aryadeva, Buddhapalita, and Dignaga are all in Sanskrit. 1.3. Jain Literature The sacred books of the Jainas are collectively known as the Siddhanta or Agama. The language of the earliest texts is an eastern dialect of Prakrit known as Ardha-Magadhi. The Jaina monastic order came to be divided into the Shvetambara and Digambara schools. o The Shvetambara canon includes the 12 Angas, 12 Uvamgas (Upangas), 10 Painnas (Prakirnas), 6 Cheya Suttas (Cheda Sutras), 4 Mula Suttas (Mula Sutras), and a number of individual texts such as the Nandi Sutta (Nandi Sutra) and Anugodara (Anuyogadvara). There is some overlap in the content of the canonical literature of the two schools. 5|Page  o According to Shvetambara tradition, the Angas were compiled at a council held at Pataliputra. The compilation of the entire canon is supposed to have taken place in the 5th or 6th century at a council held in Valabhi in Gujarat, presided over by Devarddhi Kshamashramana. Some of the material in the canon may go back to the 5th or 4th century BCE, but changes and additions continued to be made till the 5th–6th centuries CE. The non-canonical Jaina works are partly in Prakrit dialects, especially Maharashtri, and partly in Sanskrit, which started being used in the early centuries CE. Commentaries on the canonical works include the Nijjuttis (Niryuktis), Bhashyas, and Churnis in Maharashtri and Prakrit; the early medieval Tikas, Vrittis, and Avachurnis are in Sanskrit. o The Jaina Puranas (the Shvetambaras call them Charitas) are hagiographies of the Jaina saints known as Tirthankaras (literally ‘ford makers’), but they contain other material as well. The Adi Purana (9th century) narrates the life of the first Tirthankara Rishabha, also known as Adinatha. o The 8th century Harivamsha Purana gives a Jaina version of the stories of the Kauravas, Pandavas, Krishna, Balarama, and others. o The Trishashtilakshana Mahapurana by Jinasena and Gunabhadra (9th century) has life stories of various Jaina saints, kings, and heroes. It also has sections on topics such as life-cycle rituals, the interpretation of dreams, town planning, the duties of a warrior, and how a king should rule. o The Parishishtaparvan (12th century) by Hemachandra gives a history of the earliest Jaina teachers and also mentions certain details of political history. 1.4. Secular Literature (Non-Historical & Historical) Arthashastra: It was composed by Kautilya (Chanakya). It gives a methodological analysis of the political and economic conditions of the Mauryan period. Mudra-rakshasa: It was written by Vishakh Dutt during Gupta Period. It explains the destruction of the Nandas by Chandra Gupta Maurya with the help of Chanakya. Astadhyayee composed by Panini, is a grammar on which Patanjali has written annotation. Gargi Samhita describes the onset of the yavanas in India. Similarly, Kalidash’s Abhijnayan Shakuntalam and Malvikagnimitram explain the conditions of society and culture of the Gupta’s period. The fight between the Yavan and Pushyamitra Sunga is also mentioned in it. The Swapnavasvadutta of Bhasa throws light on the various events of the Gupta period. Mudrarakshasa and Devichandraguptam are the compositions of the Gupta period. King Harshavardhana wrote Naganand, Priyadarshika and Ratnavali. In the very period his courtier poet Banabhatta wrote ‘Harshacharita’. In all these compositions we gain the knowledge of Harsha’s kingship and administration. Gaudvaho by Vakpatiraj explains the victory of king Yashovarman of Kannauj and the subjugation of Gauda. Padmagupta Parimal wrote Navsahsanka Charit. It describes the various events of the Parmara of Malva. Vilhana in his epic Vikramankdevcharita has described the achievements of the King of Chalukya Vikramaditya (VI). Chand Bardai’s (Prithviraj Raso), Jayanak’s Prithviraj Vijay and Kumarparpal Charit, Jaganakas’ Parmal Raso are some important compositions through which we understand the various events of Rajputana Period. 6|Page  In 12th century A.D Kalhana wrote ‘Rajtarangini’ describing about the rulers of Kashmir. Rajtarangini is considered to be the first historical book of India. Sandhyakar Nandi’s Ramcharit is also a historical creation describing the works and achievements of Rampal, the pal ruler of Bengal. 1.5. Sangam Literature Sangam was a college or assembly of Tamil poets held under the Royal patronage of Pandayan Kings in Madurai. It is said that the assembly lasted for 9,990 years and was attended by 8,598 poets and 197 pandyas. The narrative texts are called Melkannakku (consisting of 18 major works and 10 idylls) showing that the early Tamil people were pastoral. These are heroic poetry giving ideas of the state formation in which the army consisted of groups of warriors, and the taxation system and judiciary. The didactic texts cover the early centuries of the Christian era. Padnekilkanakku is called Kilakanakku (18 minor works) describes the code of conduct and occupations of various social groups. Kural or Muppal, a part of Padnekilkanakku, was written by Tiruvalluvar is called ‘The Bible of Tamil Land’. Sangam Epics: Silappadikaram, Manimekalai, Sivaga Sindamani, etc. Around the 6th century A.D., the two epics, i.e. Silappadikaram (the story of the Anklet) and Manimekalai were composed. The first was written by Ilango Adigal which deals with the story of Kovalan and Madhavi of Kaveripattinam. o Kovalan falls in love with Madhavi and forgets his noble wedded wife Kannagi. This epic is called ‘Illiad of Tamil poetry’. The Manimekalai, written by a grain merchant named Sittalai Sattanar, deals with the adventures of Manimekala, the daughter born of Kovalan and Madhavi. The authors of the two epics were friends who were the contemporaries of the Chera King Senguttuvan, who ruled in the 2nd century A.D. These epics reflect the social and economic life of the Tamils up to about the 6th century A.D. The Manimekalai is strongly tinged with Buddhism whereas the Sivaga Sindamani (Jivaka Chintamani), written by Jain Tiruttakradevas, is tinged with Jainism. Sivaga Sindamani shows the dominance of Sanskrit style over the indigenous style of the previous epics. Bharatam, a Tamil epic, was composed of Perudevanar. It also has great importance in Tamil literature. 1.6. Foreign Traveller’s Writings The earliest references to India in Greek texts date from the 5th century BC and their frequency increases thereafter. o One of the most famous works is the Indica of Megasthenes, ambassador of Seleucus Nikator to the court of Chandragupta Maurya. The book is lost, but later Greek works preserve paraphrases of some of its sections. o The many Greek and Latin texts of the 2nd century BCE to the 2nd century CE referring to India include the works of Arrian, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, and the anonymous Periplus Maris Erythraei (Periplus of the Erythraean Sea). These texts are especially important for the history of Indian Ocean trade. Many Chinese monks made long and arduous overland journeys to India, crossing mountains, plateaux, and deserts, in order to collect authentic manuscripts of Buddhist texts, meet Indian monks, and visit places of Buddhist learning and pilgrimage. 7|Page  o The best-known among those who wrote accounts of their Indian travels are Faxian (Fa Hien) and Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang). Faxian’s travels extended from 399 to 414 CE and were confined to northern India. o Xuanzang left his home in 629 CE and spent over 10 years travelling the length and breadth of the country. o Yijing, another 7th-century Chinese traveller, lived for 10 years in the great monastery of Nalanda. The accounts written by these pilgrims throw light on the history of Buddhism and various other aspects of their time. The rapid political expansion of the Arabs, the unity given to them by Islam, the spread of urban centres, and the patronage of the Caliphs had an important and far-reaching impact on intellectual ideas and technology in Asia and Europe. Arab scholars initially relied heavily on Greek works, but men such as Jaihani, Gardizi, and Al-Biruni developed their own independent critical points of view. Abu Rihan or Al-Biruni, a native of Khwarizm or Khiva (in modern Turkmenistan), was one of the greatest intellectuals of early medieval times. Only 40 of the 180 books he wrote have survived. Al-Biruni travelled to India to satisfy his curiosity about the land and its people, and to study their ancient texts in their original language. o His Tahqiq-i-Hind covers a large number of topics including Indian scripts, sciences, geography, astronomy, astrology, philosophy, literature, beliefs, customs, religions, festivals, rituals, social organization, and laws. Apart from the historical value of his descriptions of 11th-century India, Al-Biruni helped modern historians identify the initial year of the Gupta era. o The Tahqiq-i-Hind states that the Gupta era began 241 years after the beginning of the Shaka era. Since the Shaka era began in 78 CE, this place was the beginning of the Gupta era in 319–20 CE. Suleiman, Almasudi, and Ibna-Batuta were other travellers who wrote about India. The Shahnama of Firdausi, a classic of Persian poetry, and the Gulistan by the famous poet Saadi, refer incidentally to aspects of Indian trade. 2. Archaeological Sources Archaeology—the study of the human past through material remains—is closely connected with history. Material remains range from vestiges of grand palaces and temples to the small, discarded products of everyday human activity such as pieces of broken pottery. They include different things such as structures, artefacts, bones, seeds, pollen, seals, coins, sculptures, and inscriptions. Archaeologists increasingly rely on various scientific techniques in order to obtain precise information about the lives of past communities. These are especially useful in dating archaeological material. Many dating methods are based directly or indirectly on the principle of radioactive decay. Carbon-14 or radiocarbon dating is the best-known of these, but others include thermoluminescence, potassium-argon, electron spin resonance, uranium series, and fission-track dating. The credit for excavating the Pre-Aryan past goes to Sir William Jones of the Asiatic Bengal Society. James Prinsep, the Secretary of ABS succeeded for the first time in deciphering the Brahmi script. Sir Alexander Cunningham, the father of Indian archaeology, arrived in India in 1831. He judged out the ruins of ancient site of Pre- Aryan Civilization. He also identified the ruins of ancient side of pre-Aryan culture. Later on, in 1901, Lord Curzon revived this work and John Marshall was appointed as its director general and he discovered the cities Harappa and Mohenjodara. Rakhal Das Banerji, in 1922, found seals at Mohenjodaro. It was the remains of pre-Aryan 8|Page  civilization. Later, the sites were excavated under the direction of Marshall from 1924 to 1931. Sir R.E. Mortimer Wheeler made important discoveries at Harappa after the Second World War. Indian epigraphists such as Bhanu Daji, Bhagavanlal Indraji, Rajendralal Mitra and R.G. Bahndarkar contributed to the excavations of new sites. The study of coins is called numismatics. Important historical facts are obtained through it. o Samudragupta’s Aswameda coins, lion slayer coins reflect his ambitions and love of hunting. He has been seen playing on a lyre in a coin which gives an idea of his love of music. o The Punch Mark Coins (of silver and copper) are the earliest coins of India. The Kushanas issued gold coins depicting many deities on their coins. o The coins of Vima Kadphises bear the figure of Lord Shiva. o Thus, coins are helpful in discovering ideas about the complementary economic condition and provide facts with date that help us in fixing chronology. o In Panini’s Astadhyayee, Brahmin literature and Upanishadas we find the descriptions of Vedic coins Important Inscriptions or currency named Nishka, Samundragupta Prayag Prasasti Shatman, Suvarna, and Eran Prasasti Panishka. The Gold coins Nalanda Copper Plate. of Gupta’s period are quite Chandragupta Mehrauli Iron pillar important in this context. II Junagarh Prasasti Inscriptions are the words cut on Bhitari Prasasti stone or metals. The study of inscriptions is called epigraphy. Indore Royal Charter Inscriptions are the most reliable Buddhagupta Copper Plate evidence and are free from Paharpur interpolations. Ashokas’s rock-cut Bagaz Kui ins Rigvedic Indian Gods, i.e., edicts, pillar edicts, inscriptions of Indra, Varun, Mitra, etc Kharvela and Allahabad Prasasti by Harisena and the inscriptions found at Khalimpur and Bhagalpur of the Gupta Age are important evidence. Monuments and buildings reflect the growth of material prosperity and the development of culture. The ancient monuments of Taxshila provide information about the Kushanas and its sculpture imparts the knowledge of Gandhar Kala. The Mauryan history is known by the Stupas, Chaityas and Vihars. 9|Page