Literary Sources & Foreign Accounts (PDF)

LITERARY SOURCES AND FOREIGN ACCOUNTS In broad terms, sources of ancient Indian history are classified in two main categories viz. 1) The Archaeological and 2) The Literary sources. The Literary sources are divided into two groups i.e. Indian Literature and Foreign Literature. In...

LITERARY SOURCES AND FOREIGN ACCOUNTS In broad terms, sources of ancient Indian history are classified in two main categories viz. 1) The Archaeological and 2) The Literary sources. The Literary sources are divided into two groups i.e. Indian Literature and Foreign Literature. In this lesson a review of the foreign literary sources has been taken. Among these, the Greek, Roman, Persian, Chinese Tibetan and Arab writers were prominent who wrote their accounts on India. Therefore, at the end of this lesson, you will be 1) Able to identify religious and non-religious literary sources. 2) Able to know about these foreign travellers and their observations. 3) Able to study their Accounts and their importance as a source of history. 2.1 INTRODUCTION Although the ancient Indians produced vast and rich literature, they did not produce any regular historical chronicle. According to R. C. Majumdar, "One of the greatest defects of Indian culture which defy rational explanation is the aversion of Indians to writing history. They applied themselves to all conceivable branches of literature and excelled in many of them, but they never seriously took to the writing of history." Al-beruni was also of the opinion that, "the Hindus did not pay much attention to the historical order of things. They were very careless in relating the chronological succession of things, and when they were pressed for information and were at a loss not knowing what to say, they invariably took tale telling." Some writers have gone to the extent of maintaining that 'the people of ancient India had no historical sense in them. However, this view is now being given up and it is accepted even by European scholars like Dr. Keith that "there is a certain amount of writing and number of facts attesting a degree of sense of history. In view of antiquity and the developed character of Indian civilization it would indeed be ridiculous to expect to find India destitute of historical sense. However, when we analyse and carefully study the available literary works of the ancient period, we find that the ancient Indians did not lack in historical sense. The religious literature such as the vedic texts, as well as writing of the Buddhists, Jains and other religious sects is much useful for the study of Ancient Indian History. As we have seen in the previous chapters, the literary sources are divided into two main categories viz. 1. The sacred or religious texts and 2. The secular or non- religious literary works. The secular literary works are further divided into two parts. They are: a) The secular Indian literature that is written by Indians. b) The accounts or the Foreign Travellers. We have taken a review of secular Indian literature in the previous unit. In this unit, we are going to study the foreign traveller’s accounts and their importance as the sources of ancient Indian history. The foreign traveller’s accounts form an interesting source and have considerable historical value in respect of ancient times of India. Many foreign writers have left their accounts on India. Since ancient times, there has been close contact between India and her neighbours such as the Greeks and the Persians in the west, Chinese in the east and other countries in South-East Asia. Travellers from these countries have left records of their personal experiences and their observations about India. There are also writings of the foreigners, not travellers which contain observations on Indian subjects. There are foreigners who did not visit India but still wrote about India. Their writings were based on hearsay; very few of such records have remained intact. Only a few fragments and portions quoted by later writers are available. Yet, they are valuable as they supplement the evidence of our own literary and other sources of history. Among the foreign writers, the Greeks, the Chinese and the Arabs are prominent. This literature is more valuable as the sources of history perhaps, more than the Indian literature because these writers had recorded their observations on factual evidence and they had historical outlook. 2.2 CLASSIFICATION OF THE SOURCES What so ever the controversy regarding the historical sense of the ancient Indians, the fact is that the ancient Indians produced varied and rich literature. This literature is an indirect but important source of the history of the ancient period. These literary sources are classified mainly in two groups i.e. 1) Indian Literature and 2) Foreign Literature (Foreigners Accounts) 2.2.1 The Indian literature: Indian literature is further divided into two sub categories i.e. a) The Sacred Literature (Religious literature) b) The Secular Literature (Non-Religious literature) The Sacred or Religious literature is further divided in three parts i.e. Vedic or Brahmanical texts, Buddhist texts and Jain texts. 2.3 THE SACRED LITERATURE The Sacred or religious literature is not precisely historical in content. But, if studied carefully, they do give us information of the social, religious, economic, cultural, intellectual aspects of the life of the ancient Indian people. The sacred or religious literature is classified under three categories, i.e. Brahmanical or Vedic, Buddhist and Jain. 2.3.1 The Vedic Literature: The earliest literature is the Vedic literature with all its branches. They are Four Vedas — The Rigveda, The Yajurveda, The Samaveda and The Atharvaveda. They are considered as revealed books, written by the sages (Rishis) under the inspiration from God. The contents of the Vedas were handed down orally from generation to generation. Vedic literature is further divided into two categories, viz. Early and Later Vedic literature. The Rigveda : The Early Vedic literature consists primarily of the samhita of the Rigveda, comprising 1028 hymns in praise of various gods, intended to be used as a mean of invoking the deities and soliciting their support. The hymns or (Suktas' are grouped into ten mandalas or books. It throws light on the political, social, economic and religious life of the Vedic Aryans. It also gives us historical information relating to the progress of the Aryans in India. Later Vedic literature includes the samhitas of the `Yajurveda', 'Samaveda' and the 'Atharvaveda'. The Yajurveda: It contains the formulas for the religious sacrifices which are borrowed from the Rigveda. It is divided into two parts viz. Shukla ‘Yajurveda’ i.e. white and Krishna Yajurveda i.e. black. The Shukla Yajurveda is concerned with Samhita and the Krishna Yajurveda deals with Sacrifices. In general, it was meant to be a guide books for priests performing sacrifices.The Samaveda: Samaveda is a collection of melodies. It contains information in musical forms. It is the earliest work in Indian music. The Atharvaveda: The Atharvaveda deals with spells, magic, charms and is a prayer book of the common people meant for application at the humbler domestic sacrifices. It is a sort of encyclopedia. It contains information on various topics. These are the primary sources for the history of the early period which is known as the Vedic period. Other Vedic literature comprises the commentaries on the Vedic hymns. There are three types of commentaries. 1] Brahmanas: The Brahmanas are prose commentaries on the Vedic verses. They describe details of sacrifices, religious rituals and practices. 2] Aranyakas: The Aranyakas appearing at the end of the Brahmanas are forest text to be read by hermits in woods. In fact it is Religious and Philosophical work composed in the forest. 3] Upanishadas: The Upanishadas contain the Vedic Philosophy. It is Philosophy of a very high level. They are the sacred philosophical texts containing principles, which are to be taught by the Acharya to his trusted pupils sitting near him. It deals with universal problems like God, Soul, Death, Brahman and Atman. Each Veda has the Samhita, the Brahmana, the Aranyakas and the Upanishadas as its four parts. The study of these commentaries helps us understand the development of the Aryan Culture. Vedangas and Upavedas: Vedangas and Upavedas form two supplementary sections of Vedic literature. Vedangas – The six Vedangas are: 1. Shiksha (phonetics) deals with pronunciation 2. Kalpa (ritual) 3. Vyakarna deals with grammar. 4. Nirukta deals with etymology. 5. Chhandas deals with meter. 6. Jyotisha deals with astrology. Out of six Vedangas, the Shiksha and Kalpa are considered to be very important. The Vedangas help us to understand the text of the Vedas. Upavedas: The Upavedas are supplementary Vedic literature. These Upavedas deal with secular subjects like Ayurveda (medicine), Dhanurveda (Archery art of war), Shilpaveda (sculpture and architecture) and Gandharva Veda (Music and Dance). Smritis or Dharmashastras: In addition to the above literature, an exhaustive literature was produced on rules, regulations and other aspects of society as well as the religious rituals and the vratas. These literary works are popularly known as Smritis or Dharmashastras. They were composed by sages after whom they came to the designated. Some of the prominent smritis are the Manusmriti, Yagnavalkya Smriti, Gautama Smriti, Narada Smriti, Brihaspati Smriti and Apastambha Smriti. These smritis provide us valuable information about the Varnashrama system, duties of different Varnas, rights and privileges of the upper castes etc. It was during the later Vedic period that marks the beginning of a sort of rigidity and orthodoxy in socio-religious matters. The Smriti literature throws light on contemporary law. Epic Literature: The great epics 'The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are rich sources of valuable material for history. The social and political conditions of the Aryans are clearly described in these popular works. The Ramayana was composed by sage Valmiki. The Mahabharata was the work of many composers though it has been regarded by tradition as the products of Vyasa's genius only. It is a massive epic of lakhs of verses. The epics form a good source of information about the manners and customs, religious practices and beliefs, ideals and ideologies of the people in their times. Puranic Literature: The puranas are the stories of ancient times. The traditions preserved in the Puranic literature form the main source of information for the history of the early period. The puranas contain the genealogies of the contemporary rulers. They are eighteen in number. These puranas throw light on all aspects and phases of Hinduism. The puranas provide us information about the history of ancient cities which existed in their times. 2.3.2 The Buddhist Religious Texts: Buddhism came into existence in India, during the 6th Century B.C. Consequently, a variety of literature was produced by the Buddhist writers. Most of the early Buddhist literature was written in Prakrit language viz. Pali. Under Ashoka, Buddhism received an extreme sort of royal patronage. This gave a boost to the revision of old Buddhist literature, known as the Tripitaka. The Pali canon is divided into three pitakas or parts viz. 1. Vinaya Pitaka: Deals with the rules and regulations of the monastic life and the conduct of the monks. 2. Sutta Pitaka: Deals with the principles and the philosophy of Buddhism. It includes the five nikayas, viz. Digha, Majjhima, Samyutta, Auguttara, and Khuddukanikaya. 3. Abhidhamma Pitaka: Consist of seven texts, which are scholarly works on Buddhist doctrine. The Kathavatthu which is a part of the Abhidhamma Pitaka was composed by Mogaliputta Tissa, a great BuddhistAcharya, during the time of Ashoka. Therigatha is a collection of poems composed by Buddhist nuns for the purpose of Prayers and Buddhavamsa is a collection of Buddhist legends which depict the previous incarnations of Buddha. Besides this non-canonical Buddhist literature was also produced of which Netti prakarna, Petakopadesa, Sutta sangha and the Milindopanha are some of the significant works. Dhammapada is a collection of sayings of the Buddha. The Jataka Stories of Mahayana Buddhism deal with the previous births of the Buddha. These Jatakas convey Morals. They throw light on contemporary society; religion, economic activities and political life of the contemporary people about 549 Jataka stories have been collected and published. The Jataka have been assigned to the 2nd or 3rd B.C. They give us supplementary information which helps us to check up the information available from the Brahmanical works. Milinda Panha (queries of King Milinda): The Milinda Panha also is very useful as a source of history because it is in the form of questions asked to his teacher by the Greek king Menander. This Greek king was converted into Buddhism. He had many questions which he asked to his Guru Nagasena. This is a book in the form of questions and answers (by Nagasena). It contains valuable information about the political, socio-economic and religious conditions of the centuries before and after the Christian era. Some of the Buddhist literary works of this period were written in the Sinhalese language of Sri Lanka. Among these Divyavadana, Dipavamsha, Mahanamsha etc. are the most prominent. They are religious texts. Nagarjuna, Ashvaghosha. Vasubandhu were the great Buddhist scholars and their contributions enriched Buddhism enormously. We may note that all the texts invariably deal with canons, ruler, regulations, Psalms and other matters on the religion. After the emergence of the Mahayana cult, Buddhist writers wrote in Sanskrit also. Ashvaghosha, who was the contemporary of the Kushans, is regarded as the top most Sanskrit writer. He wrote 'Buddha Charita', Sari Putta – Prakarana and Saundarananda in Sanskrit. The Mahayana canonical works are called Vaipulya sutras. The Lalitvistara, the Pradnya Paramita and Saddharma Pundarika are the famous vaipulya sutras. They are important works in Sanskrit dealing with Buddhism. The Lalitvistara contains the story of the life of Buddha. The Vaipulya Sutras deal with Buddhist doctrines in nine books. The Buddhist literature is also full of mythological and imaginary descriptions but compared to the Brahmanical literature it is more authentic, because it was written during the contemporary period and it underwent comparatively less alterations. 2.3.3 Jain Literature: Jain literature also contains a lot of historical information. Prof. Jacobi and Dr. Banarsi das have done a lot of work on Jain literature. Compared to Buddhist literature, the number of Jain literary works is lesser. It was written in Ardhamagadhi language, one of the Prakrit languages. The Jain religious texts are known as the Twelve Angas. They supplement the information of the 'Tripitaka', i.e. the Buddhist religious texts. Mahavira's teachings were passed on from one generation to another by oral tradition. Two Jain Scholars Sthandila at Mathura and Nagarjuna at vallabhi made efforts to put the old Jain canon in a form acceptable to all Jains. The second Jain council at Vallabhi in the 5th Century A.D. brought about a final compilation of religious texts. The Jain canonical texts are classified into 6 groups: 1) Twelve angas 2) Twelve upangas 3) Ten prakarna 4) Six cheda sutras 5) Four mula sutras and 6) Four miscellaneous texts. 1) Twelve Angas: explain the Jain Doctrines with the help of legends and stories and prescribe rules of conduct for monks. 2) The Twelve Upangas: are dogmatic and mythological Upangas are associated with the Angas texts. 3) The Ten Prakirnas: which are in verse deal with miscellaneous topics regarding the doctrines of Jainism. 4) The Cheda sutras : give the rules of discipline in monasteries and also Prescribe Penalties for breaking them. 5) The Mula sutras : deal with the basic doctrines of Jainism. Mula is the supreme penalty of the cancellation of monkhoch. 6) The Miscellaneous texts: deal with religion, economics and other subjects. The Jain monks studied different subjects and these are given in miscellaneous literature. Besides these canonical literary works, the Jain Monks Produced rich Supplementary literature. For instance, they wrote Niryuktis or Commentaries. These Jain religious texts contain information about the contemporary Political, Economic, Social and Religious conditions. 2.4 SECULAR LITERATURE (INDIAN) The literary works other than the religious in nature, form the category of secular literature. It developed side by side with the religious texts and Provide Valuable information about ancient India and the Indians. We get different categories of secular literature such as Biographies, Dramas, Local Chronicles, Poetry and Miscellaneous Literature such as books on art, architecture, Science, Medicine, Music, Mathematics and many other subjects. Most of these works refer to historical events, socio-economic and cultural conditions of the time. Kautilya Arthashastra: Kautilya was the mentor as well as the Prime Minister of Chandragupta Maurya. Arthashastra is a work on Polity, but at the same time it has given us valuable information about contemporary socioeconomic and cultural life. It is divided into 15 Prakarana, each dealing with a separate topic. The king, his ministry, state administration, domestic and Foreign Policy of the State taxation system, laws and punishment and relations between states etc. have been discussed in the Arthashastra. Particularly, it is very important for the study of Political and economic conditions of the Mauryan period. Shukra Nitisara and Kamandakiya Nitisara : Shukra Nitisara and Kamandakiya Nitisara also belong to this type of literature. They give on idea of the high standard of Political thought and Organisation. These are the works dealing with State-Craft, economic System and Social Organisation. Gatha Saptashati : Is a collection of 700 gathas or Poems composed by various poets, its compilation is attributed to the Satavahana ruler Hala (1st centuryA.D.) and written in Maharashtri Prakrit and is like folk literature. It throws light on the socio-cultural life of common people and therefore; it has proved to be an important Source material for the study of social history. Brihatkatha of Gunadhya: A large body of folk literature also exists in Sanskrit, consisting of fables. Stories with morals which have passed down from one generation to another. Therefore, the Brihatkatha of Gunadhya is important. This work however, was originally written in Paishachi, one of the Prakrit languages. Its translations in Sanskrit are (1) Brihatkathashloka Sangraha by Buddhaswami (2) Brihat Kathamanjiri by Kshemendga and (3) Kathasaritsagara by Somasharma. Of these, the kathasaritsagara of somadeva has produced a great impact. The stories in this work deal with all possible experiences, situations in human life. It has influenced folk literature in many other languages. There are many other works of these types in Sanskrit language. The Panchatantram, written by Vishnu Sharma is another world famous Sanskrit work which is a collection of fables. In Panchatantram we get stories of animals, reflecting on human nature. Sanskrit Dramas also were written by several dramatists. Bhasa wrote many dramas in Sanskrit. His Svapnavasavadatta is the best known play. Kalidasa wrote dramas such as Malavikagnimitra, Vikramorvashiyans Abhidnyanashakuntalam. Vishakhadatta wrote Mudrarakshasa and Devichandraguptam. Shudraka wrote Mrichhakatika based on Bhasa's romantic play. Bharata Wrote the Natyashastra which is considered to be the most authoritative treatise on Sanskrit dramaturgy. Emperor Harshavardhana was a great scholar himself, he had also written three dramas namely Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda. Bhavabhuti wrote Mahavira Charita, Malatimadhavam and Uttararamacharita. Bhattanarayaan wrote Venisanhara. Ashvaghosha wrote Saundarananda. All of the above mentioned literary works deal with different subjects like grammar, science, medicine, etc., also process to be the source material which is useful for the study of socio-economic and cultural life. The Sangam literature: Under the patronage of the Pandyan rulers of Madura, high standard Tamil literature known as Sangam literature was produced. Tamil tradition mentions about three literary academies i.e. Sangam which met at Madurai, the capital of the Pandyas. The literature was presented in the sangama by the authors and pacts and only after it was passed by a committee of the scholars, was accepted as Sangama literature. There is no literary work left for us from the First Sangama, all its works have perished. Of the second there survives only the early Tamil grammar Tolkappiyam. The Poets of the third sangama wrote the Ettuthogai (eight Anthologies). These contain 200 poems ascribed to 200 authors. In addition, there are Pattupattu (Ten songs) containing 10 longer Poems of similar style belonging to later periods. The Kurul contains the didactic Poems composed by Tiruvallavar, a Jain Poet. Sangam literature is full of information and a good source of history of the South Indian society, economy, religion and culture. Besides the Sangam literature, early Tamil works of the type of epics such as Silappadikaram, Manimekhalai; the Ramayana and Mahabharata are also important sources of history. Kavya or Poetic literature : Several important Poets Flourished such as : Ashvaghosha — wrote Buddhacharita Magha — wrote Shishupalvadha Bharavi — wrote Kirtarjuniya Kalidasa — wrote Raghuvamsha and Kumarsambhava Banabhatta — Harshacharita Dandin — wrote Kavyadarsha and Doshakumaracharitra Batti — Ravanavadha Rajashekara was a poet and also a dramatist. Bilhana — wrote Vikramankadevacharita. Besides the above mentioned works. Several other works dealing mainly with different subjects contain valuable historical and cultural information. The works on Grammar: The works on Sanskrit Grammar were written by Panini (Ashtadhyayi) and Patanjali (Mahabhashya) Vararuchi also was a grammarian. In the field of Medicine: The medicinal Science, traditionally known as Ayurveda, was well developed in ancient India. Charaka wrote Charaka samhita, Vagbhatta wrote Ashtanga sangraha. Palakapya wrote Hastyayurveda. Sushruta was the famous surgeon of ancient India who wrote Sushruta samhita which gives us detailed information of diff aspects of surgery. Aryabhatta wrote on algebra, arithmetic and astronomy. Varahamihira wrote his valuable works on astronomy such as Parchasidhanta, Romaka and Paulisa. Vatsyayana wrote the Kamasutra on sexology and erotics. Kamandaka wrote Nitishastra. Kalhana wrote Rajatarangini during the 12th century A.D. It is the most famous among the local chronicles. It deals with the history of Kashmir upto the middle of 12th century A.D. Check Your Progress: 1. Discuss the importance of literary sources for the study of ancient Indian history. 2.5 THE GREEK AND ROMAN ACCOUNTS For a detailed and proper study of ancient Indian history, the Greek sources are very important. It is the fact, that India was known to the Greeks even before the invasion of Alexander the Great. Some of the Greeks, who have left their accounts on India, are mentioned below: Skylax: was the first to write a book on India. He was sent by Darius in about 515B.C. on a voyage of exploration to find out the course of river Sindhu (Indus). He wanted to astonish his countrymen by the accounts of his adventures. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher- scientists has quoted from the work of Skylax. Herodotus: He was a Greek historian who never visited India, but believed in recording everything read or heard. He has also left his impressions about India, which were formed mainly on hearsay. He gives us information regarding the relations between India and Persia during the 5th Century B.C. however, these accounts do not refer to the whole Indian subcontinent. They are limited to only a part of the North Western hilly tract. Herodotus has recorded about the trees which give wool, form which the clothes were made (i.e. cotton). He also gives details of fairy tales. In general, he refers to the conquest of a small part of India by Darius and has also made some useful observations about the peoples of the north western borders of India. Ktesias: He was a physician of the 5th Century B.C. who wrote his accounts on India. Like Herodotus, he had written about the relations between India and Persia. His information was based on hearsay, heard from the travellers who came to India. However, his writing is not firsthand information and is full of fables, hence not much of value for the study of ancient India. The historians, who came in the wake of Alexander's invasion, give more exact information than the earlier writers. Alexander was a lover of knowledge and he had collected a few scholars around him who accompanied him to India. Ptolemy, Nearchus, Onesicritus and Aristobulus were some of the scholarly campaigners. They have their accounts about India. A description of the territory from the Persian Gulf to the river Sindhu is given in the book of Nearchus. This work is regarded as trustworthy. It was from their accounts that the Europeans came to know about India. Their writing is more exact than the earlier writers. The intimate relations between the rulers of India, Greece and Persia were maintained by exchange of ambassadors. The ambassadors like Deimachus of Syria, Dionysuis of Egypt and Megasthenes, who came to the courts of Indian rulers, have left their valuable records. Unfortunately, the works of accounts of all these have been lost except a few extracts from the Indica of Megasthenes. Megasthenes: He wrote one of the most valuable foreign traveller's records on India. Megasthenes was an ambassador of the Greek king Selucus Nicator to the court of Chandragupta Maurya. He lived in the city of Pataliputra and wrote his accounts on India which he named as 'Indica'. The original copy of this book has been lost in course of time. However, the other Greek writers have quoted the extracts form Indica in their works, and thus have been preserved only in fragments. On the basis of these extracts, the history of the Mauryan period has been reconstructed. Megasthenes has described the city of Pataliputra. It contains some useful information about the social classes and economic activities during the Mauryan period. It also provides information on our country, its soil, climate, flora and fauna, the Mauryan administrative system etc. the Indica of Megasthenes though sometimes, it is not free from exaggerations and has been regarded as a good source of information and has a high historical value. Among the other Greek accounts, a special reference may be made to the classical writers who wrote about India. It has been observed that many of them never visited India but wrote about India on the basis of information which they gathered through Alexander's soldiers. Among these writers, Pliny, Arrian, Plutarch, Justin and Curtis are worth mentioning. Pliny wrote 'Natural History' which gives an account of the Indian flora, fauna and minerals in the lst A.D. All these writers have mentioned in their accounts about India with special reference to political, social as well as economic conditions. Unknown author of the 'Periplus of the Erythrean Sea’ also gives us much information about India during the 1st A.D. As a matter of fact, when India developed brisk trade with the Roman Empire during the early centuries of the Christian era, some geographers and navigators visited India and wrote about it. The earliest of them is the above -mentioned anonymous author of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea'. He was a Greek sailor, settled in Egypt. He made a voyage to the Indian coast about 80 A. D. and has left a record of his whole voyage starting from Red Sea to the Indian coast. In fact, it was a manual for others who wanted to go on a voyage to India. This book gives us detailed information about the chief ports of the Konkan i.e. western coast of India such as Bharuch, Sopara, Kalyan and Chaul, prominent trade centers such as Paithan, tagar etc. from the hinterland in Deccan have also been mentioned. Ptolemy was a Greek geographer and wrote a geographical account of India in the 2nd A.D. His writing is based on scientific method. He also wrote a book entitled 'Geography'. He has left a detailed account about the Indian ports and marts of the contemporary period. Kosmos Indikopleustes- was another Greek trader who had lived at Kalyan in Thane district of Maharashtra during the 6th CenturyA.D. In his account, he gives us information about the coastal areas, ports, other commercial centers, the trading business etc. which is a valuable account. Virgil, Diodorus and Strabo also give us information about India's geography and trade practices. Strabo gives more details on the physical geography of India. Writings of Pliny, Periplus and Ptolemy are more useful sources for the study of ancient Indian history. They provide us detailed information about India’s geography, maritime trade and merchandise, the people, their behaviour, flora and fauna, Indian industries, and the commodities of import and export etc. In general, all these Greek accounts are valuable because unlike Indians, the Greeks had historical perspective and they had recorded whatever they observed. However, their writings have to be studied carefully. They were not familiar with the languages and customs of the people and about when they wrote and therefore, due to ignorance, their information, observations, sometimes may be wrong. In the light of new evidence, their information can be reviewed again. Like the Greek sources, we also get some Roman documents that gives us some information of ancient Indian history. Trogaus Pompeius wrote a history titled "Historiae Philippicae". This original work is lost but the extracts from it were taken by another Roman author Justinus in his book viz. ' Epitoma Historiarum Philippinarum". It throws light on the relationship of Selucus with India and also refers to the invasion of India by Bactrian Greeks. Pomponius Mela's (1st Century A.D.) was another author. Pliny's work Naturalis Historia gives an account of Political Geography of India. Quintus Curtius, Rufus (2nd CenturyA.D) were some other Romans who wrote about India and their writings have become a source of ancient Indian history. 2.6 ACCOUNTS OF THE CHINESE TRAVELLERS The teachings of Buddha were spread to foreign lands by the efforts of Ashoka. The Chinese accepted Buddhism in large numbers and several Chinese Buddhist devotees visited India on a pilgrimage. Some of them were great scholars who lived here and wandered over a wide territory. These scholars carried with them several manuscripts of religious philosophical and scientific works. Obviously, the accounts given by these scholarly pilgrims are very useful for reconstruction of ancient Indian history. About 60 Chinese pilgrims have left valuable records of their travels in India. The most notable from them were as follows:- Fa- Hien: (309-414 A.D): Fa- Hien visited India during the Gupta period. He has left a valuable account. He was a Buddhist pilgrim. He stayed mostly in Magadhan region. Almost fifteen years he spent in India learning Buddhism and visiting almost all the holy places associated with the life and career of Buddha. His account is titled 'Fa-Kou-Ki' in which he throws light on contemporary political economic and cultural conditions of the period. His account is a very reliable source for the study of the Gupta age. Hiuen Tsang (629- 645 A.D.): Hiuen Tsang visited India during the first half of the 7th Century A.D. He was a great Chinese scholar. He came during the reign of Harshavardhana. Like Fa – Hien, Hiuen Tsang also spent more than 16 years in India. He travelled extensively in north and south India and has left a graphic account about the contemporary political, socioeconomic and cultural conditions. He has recorded his observations about Indian kings, capitals, provinces, Buddhist Monasteries and centers of education such as Nalanda. He has also described the various people living in different parts of India. He visited the region of Maharashtra, which he called `Mo-ho-le-cha' and also has described the nature and characteristics of Maharashtrian people during the 7th Century A.D. He had also stayed at Nalanda and gave detailed information about Nalanda University. He gives interesting information about his royal patron Harshavardhana. His account mainly helps for the reconstruction of Harshavardhana's history. In general, he gives valuable information about geography, literature, administration and religious life of the people. His account titled as `Si-Yu-Ki' i.e. 'Records of the Western world' has proved to be a storehouse of accurate information about India during the 7th CenturyA.D. His account is really very useful and a good source of history of 7th C. India and the Indian people. I-tsing (673- 95 A.D.): I-tsing was another great Chinese pilgrim that visited India. He has left a very interesting account about Indian Buddhism. He visited India at the end of the 7th Century A.D. He stayed at the University of Nalanda and gives a graphic picture of the campus of the Nalanda University, the grand buildings, the gardens and lakes, the huge library of Nalanda University, the curious students and the talented and versatile teachers as well as the administration of the university. I-tsing does not mention names of any ruler in India, but indirect references to the political, social and economic conditions of the Indians of that time are found in this work. All these three Chinese scholars spent a number of years in India and learnt its language. They were all the Buddhist monks whose journey to India was merely a pilgrimage to holy lands. Thus their outlook was purely religious Fa-Huien and I- tsing does not refer much to secular matters. Incidentally, we get some information in their accounts. However, Hiuen Tsang's account is the most important and has proved to be the most valuable of the Chinese accounts on India. Hwui-li was a friend of Hiuen Tsang, who wrote a biography of Hiuen Tsang. In this book some information about India is found and hence is the source of ancient Indian history. 2.7 TIBETAN ACCOUNTS The Tibetan accounts on India also are a good source material for the study of ancient India. The works of the Tibetan Lamas Taranath, Dulva and Tengyur etc. can be used for the study of ancient Indian history. 2.8 ARAB AND PERSIAN ACCOUNTS The Arab travellers, geographers and historians came to India from the 8th Century A.D. onwards. From those times some Arab writers wrote about India. Most prominent among them were Al- Masudi (9th Century A.D.) A1 Itakri and Ibn Haukal (both 10th Century A.D.) and Al- Beruni (12 Century A.D.) Al-Masudi has left a graphic account about north India during the 9th Century A.D. He and Al-Itakri as well as Ibn- Haukal all were traders and wrote their accounts which deal with the country and its inhabitants. They give us the valuable information about coastal India, ports, trading center and their merchandise. Al-Beruni the most learned Arab scholar, who visited India, was Al-Beruni (1030 A.D.). He mastered Sanskrit language and literature. He was a mathematician and astronomer and wrote his account on India titled 'Tahqiq- I- Hind'. It is of utmost historical value because this great scholar traveled throughout India during the 11th C.A.D. and has recorded his observations about ancient Indian religion, philosophy, astronomy, astrology and various other subjects. He has also described the life of common people. Apart from Al-Beruni, Al-Biladuri, Hasan Nizami, etc. also give us some information about India during their times. Firdausi (940 – 1020 AD) was the great Persian writer who has preserved some Indian legends in his famous book, ‘Shahnama’ (Book of Kings) some other Persian works which have reference to Indian include – Jamit- ul – Twarikh (collection histories) by Rashid Uddin, Rauzat – us- safa by Mirkhond, Tarikh–i–Yamini by AI-Utbi. Taj-Ul-Masir by Hasan Nizami etc. An account of India known as "Kisse Sanjan" of Post 10th Century A.D. was written by the Parsis, who came at Sanjan as refugees. This book also provides us valuable information about the early Parsis on the western coaster India and their settlements. Although the foreign traveller's accounts are useful for the study of ancient Indian history, they have some drawbacks also. They must be used very cautiously while using the sources. Check Your Progress: 1) Evaluate the accounts of the foreign writers in the study of socioeconomic history of ancient India. 2.9 SUMMARY The literary sources for early history of India may be classified on: 1) Indian Literature i.e. sacred and secular. 2) Accounts of the Foreigners. In this lesson, we have studied the literary sources, which give us valuable information about the ancient Indians. The Sacred (religious) literature is subdivided in three parts i.e. Vedic or Brahmanical texts, Buddhist texts and Jain texts. All these religious texts contain valuable material for the study of religion and culture. We have also studied numerous works of a secular nature like Kautilya Arthashastra, Gatha Saptashati, other literary works like those of Bhasa, Kalidasa and others. All these works contain some historical information and a good deal of material for Cultural Study. During ancient times India had very close commercial and cultural ties with foreign countries, particularly of the western world. Consequently, several foreign writers came to India and wrote their accounts on their personal observations. Among such writers the Greeks, Chinese, Persians writers have left their accounts which has proved to be a major source to reconstruct the history of ancient India. In this lesson we have taken a brief review of accounts of these foreign travelers. 2.10 QUESTIONS 1. Critically examine the secular literature as the Sources of history. 2. Write short notes on a) Foreign Traveller's accounts b) The Vedic literature c) The Jataka Stories d) The Jain literature e) Buddhist literature. f) Accounts of the Greeks h) Accounts of the Chinese pilgrims 2.11 ADDITIONAL READING Basham, A. L., The Wonder that was India, Rupa & Co, 1998. Jha, D.N., Ancient India in Historical Outline, Motilal Banarasidas, New Delhi, 1974. Sharma, R.S., India’s Ancient Past, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 2003. Singh, Upinder, A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: from the Stone Age to the 12th century, Pearson Longman, Delhi 2008 Thapar Romila (ed): Recent Perspectives of Early Indian History, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1995. Thapar Romila, Interpreting Early India, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 1992. ❖❖❖❖