Throw light on the main sources of ancient indian history

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Vedic religion, also called Vedism, the bce from the region of present-day Knowledge of Vedic religion is derived from surviving texts and also from certain rites that continue to be observed within the framework of modern Hinduism. The earliest Vedic religious beliefs included some held in common with other Indo-European-speaking peoples, particularly with the early Iranians. Though it is impossible to say when Vedism eventually gave way to classical Hinduism, a decrease in literary activity among the Vedic schools from the 5th century bce onward can be observed, and about that time a more Hindu character began to appear. Hinduism: Indo-European sources Vedic texts The only bce. The Vedic corpus is composed in an To each Veda is attached a body of prose writings of later date called c. 800–600 bce), which explain the ceremonial applications of the texts and the origin and importance of the sacrificial rites for which the Vedas were composed. Further appendices, the c. 600 bce) and the c. 700–500 bce), respectively expound the symbolism of the more difficult rites and speculate on the nature of the universe and humanity’s relation to it. When Vedic religion gradually evolved into Hinduism between the 6th and 2nd centuries bce, the texts, taken collectively, became the most sacred literature of Hinduism. They are known as Mythology Vedism was a Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Ritual The ancient Vedic worshippers offered sacrifices...

Someone has said well “Sources are to a student of history what instruments are to a surgeon.” There appears to be a lack of historical writing in the modern sense as far as ancient India is concerned. However, this is compensated by the availability of a host of archaeological and literary resources. Sources of Ancient Indian History The ancient people of India had sufficient knowledge of the art of writing. They had written books of high standard on various subjects. But there is no such book on the basis of which may be gain to complete knowledge of a regular and continued history of that period. In the absence of the availability of such literature scholars have gone so far as to say that ancient has no history at all. Sad commentary by Alberuni Alberuni has commented upon the nature of the Indian writers and layman about history in a very adverse way. He remarks that, “The Hindus do not pay much attention to the historical order of the things, they are very careless in relating chronological succession of their kings and when they are pressed for information and are at a loss not knowing what to say, they invariable take to tale-telling.” This is a very sad commentary on the approach of the Indians towards historical problems but unfortunately it is a partial truth if the whole truth Dr. Ishwari Prasad reacts very sharply and says “It has often been said in a rather damaging way that India has no history.” Dr. Ishwari Prasad has very much condemned the out-right decla...

NCERT Notes: India Under The Mughals [Medieval Indian History Notes For UPSC] The Mughal reign was a crucial phase in Indian History. This article throws light on the Mughal era in India like Economic & Social Life, Agriculture, Trade Growth, etc. To know more about the UPSC 2023, check the linked article. India Under the Mughals: UPSC Notes – Economic and Social Life • The socio-economic conditions of India are mentioned by many European Travellers and trader who came to India and their accounts contain a mine of information. • Generally, most of the accounts describe the wealth and prosperity of India and also the lavish life of the nobles. • There are accounts of foreigners as well that give information about the poverty and sufferings of ordinary people such as peasants and artisans. Mughal Nobility • The Mughals were nobles and most of them were foreigners like Turks and Afghans and formed a privileged class. • The Mughal nobles were paid high salaries but their expenses were also the same. • Each noble had a large number of servants, horses, elephants etc. • Wealthy people dressed in silk and cotton clothes and the poor people dressed minimally. • One of the foreigners Nikitin mentions that the people in the Deccan were bare-footed indicating the high cost of leather. • The common people food was pulses, millets and rice. • In coastal region fish was common. • Milk and milk products were surplus, salt and sugar were expensive, while ghee and oil were cheaper. Agricu...

• The place of discovery of inscription helps in asserting the political boundary of the kingdom or Empire. • The discovery of Ashokan edicts at Kandahar indicates that Afghanistan was within Maurya Empire. • Similarly, the e dicts found from Nepals’ terrain region indicate that Mauryan Empire extended up to the foothills of the Himalayas in the North. • The inscription helps in understanding the language and script of the age. • Ashokan inscription informs that “Prakrit” was the most common language and “Brahmi” was the most common script during the Mauryan age. • The inscription contains the name, titles, and other details of rulers. These details help in the reconstruction of early • The Mauryan history would have remained incomplete without the Ashokan inscription. • The true greatness of Samudragupta (330-380 AD) would have remained unknown without the Allahabad pillar inscription. • The inscription also throws light on political and administrative Institutions and practices. • The Ashokan inscription contains the designations and responsibilities of various officials. • The inscription contains details of welfare measures undertaken by the State. • Ashokan Rock edict inform that trees were planted along roads, wells were dug and rest houses were built for benefit of travelers. • According to the Junagarh Rock inscription of Rudradaman (local Shaka ruler), Sudarshan Lake was built by Chandragupta Maurya and was later repaired during the reign of Ashoka. Significance o...

Sources of Ancient Indian History: Archaeological and Literary Sources! The purpose of history is to throw light on the past. This is done through discovery and study of historical sources. It is rather easy to find sources for writing the history of the recent past, because there is plenty of hand written and printed material on and about modern State and Society. There is also enough material in respect of medieval times. But the real difficulty arises for writing ancient history. It is mentioned in the great Indian epic Mahabharata that “History is that ancient description which contains instructions of virtue, wealth, desire and salvation”. In other words, India’s ancient seers laid greater emphasis on those events which carried higher ideals rather than actual happenings. ADVERTISEMENTS: In ancient Greece and Rome, there were historians to write the accounts of their times. But ancient Indians who wrote on many subjects, rarely wrote history. Most of ancient material has also been lost. It is thus a challenging task to rediscover India’s ancient past. Yet there are sources from which history is written. These sources are divided into two main groups. They are Archaeological and Literary. The Archaeological Source can again be divided into three groups, namely, Archaeological Remains and Monuments, Inscriptions and Coins. The Literary Source can also be divided into three groups, namely, Religious Literature, Secular Literature and Accounts of Foreigners. A brief accou...

• The Indus River Valley Civilization, 3300-1300 BCE, also known as the Harappan Civilization, extended from modern-day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India. • Important innovations of this civilization include standardized weights and measures, seal carving, and metallurgy with copper, bronze, lead, and tin. • Little is understood about the Indus script, and as a result, little is known about the Indus River Valley Civilization’s institutions and systems of governance. • The civilization likely ended due to climate change and migration. As they continued to work, some of the laborers discovered many fire-baked bricks lodged in the dry terrain. There were hundreds of thousands of fairly uniform bricks, which seemed to be quite old. Nonetheless, the workers used some of them to construct the road bed, unaware that they were using ancient artifacts. They soon found among the bricks stone artifacts made of soapstone, featuring intricate artistic markings. Though they did not know it then, and though the first major excavations did not take place until the 1920s, these railway workers had happened upon the remnants of the Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, after Harappa, the first of its sites to be excavated, in what was then the Punjab province of British India and is now in Pakistan. Initially, many archaeologists thought they had found ruins of the ancient Maurya Empire, a large empire which dominated ancient India between ...

Sources of Ancient Indian History: Archaeological and Literary Sources! The purpose of history is to throw light on the past. This is done through discovery and study of historical sources. It is rather easy to find sources for writing the history of the recent past, because there is plenty of hand written and printed material on and about modern State and Society. There is also enough material in respect of medieval times. But the real difficulty arises for writing ancient history. It is mentioned in the great Indian epic Mahabharata that “History is that ancient description which contains instructions of virtue, wealth, desire and salvation”. In other words, India’s ancient seers laid greater emphasis on those events which carried higher ideals rather than actual happenings. ADVERTISEMENTS: In ancient Greece and Rome, there were historians to write the accounts of their times. But ancient Indians who wrote on many subjects, rarely wrote history. Most of ancient material has also been lost. It is thus a challenging task to rediscover India’s ancient past. Yet there are sources from which history is written. These sources are divided into two main groups. They are Archaeological and Literary. The Archaeological Source can again be divided into three groups, namely, Archaeological Remains and Monuments, Inscriptions and Coins. The Literary Source can also be divided into three groups, namely, Religious Literature, Secular Literature and Accounts of Foreigners. A brief accou...

Someone has said well “Sources are to a student of history what instruments are to a surgeon.” There appears to be a lack of historical writing in the modern sense as far as ancient India is concerned. However, this is compensated by the availability of a host of archaeological and literary resources. Sources of Ancient Indian History The ancient people of India had sufficient knowledge of the art of writing. They had written books of high standard on various subjects. But there is no such book on the basis of which may be gain to complete knowledge of a regular and continued history of that period. In the absence of the availability of such literature scholars have gone so far as to say that ancient has no history at all. Sad commentary by Alberuni Alberuni has commented upon the nature of the Indian writers and layman about history in a very adverse way. He remarks that, “The Hindus do not pay much attention to the historical order of the things, they are very careless in relating chronological succession of their kings and when they are pressed for information and are at a loss not knowing what to say, they invariable take to tale-telling.” This is a very sad commentary on the approach of the Indians towards historical problems but unfortunately it is a partial truth if the whole truth Dr. Ishwari Prasad reacts very sharply and says “It has often been said in a rather damaging way that India has no history.” Dr. Ishwari Prasad has very much condemned the out-right decla...

• The place of discovery of inscription helps in asserting the political boundary of the kingdom or Empire. • The discovery of Ashokan edicts at Kandahar indicates that Afghanistan was within Maurya Empire. • Similarly, the e dicts found from Nepals’ terrain region indicate that Mauryan Empire extended up to the foothills of the Himalayas in the North. • The inscription helps in understanding the language and script of the age. • Ashokan inscription informs that “Prakrit” was the most common language and “Brahmi” was the most common script during the Mauryan age. • The inscription contains the name, titles, and other details of rulers. These details help in the reconstruction of early • The Mauryan history would have remained incomplete without the Ashokan inscription. • The true greatness of Samudragupta (330-380 AD) would have remained unknown without the Allahabad pillar inscription. • The inscription also throws light on political and administrative Institutions and practices. • The Ashokan inscription contains the designations and responsibilities of various officials. • The inscription contains details of welfare measures undertaken by the State. • Ashokan Rock edict inform that trees were planted along roads, wells were dug and rest houses were built for benefit of travelers. • According to the Junagarh Rock inscription of Rudradaman (local Shaka ruler), Sudarshan Lake was built by Chandragupta Maurya and was later repaired during the reign of Ashoka. Significance o...