Languages and scripts-

1. Brahmi
a. This script was used to write prakrit in ashokan inscripts
b. Most ashokan inscriptions are in this script

2. Kharosthi
a. Used to write greek and Aramaic in asokan inscriptions in Afghanistan and north
west

3. Prakrit-
a. The earliest inscriptions are in this language
b. Most Ashokan inscriptions were also written in this language
c. Fig 2.6- sculpture in Mathura- prakrit inscription on pedestal mentioning nagapiya,
wife of goldsmith (sovanika) named dharmaka
d. Successful merchants were called setthis and satthavahas
e. Janapada is a sanskit and prakrit word

4. Prakrit, Pali, Tamil and Sanskrit were used to write inscriptions and texts during this
time

5. Sanskrit-
a. Prayag prashati by harishena, court poet of samedragupta- he is without an
antagonists on earth, purusha, compared to gods
b. Manusmriti- legal texts- 2nd bce-2nd ce- had insctructions for the king to maintain
clear boundaries of land even through hidden markers at intersections
c. Sudarshan lake inscription- built by maurayas, broke in storm, fixed by shaka ruler
rudragaman without imposing tax on his subjects in 2th cent ce- inscription on same
rock says gupta rulers got it fixed again in 5th cent ce.
d. Land grants from the early centuries of the common era are in Sanskrit mostly but
from the 7th century onwards, they are part in Sanskrit and part in tamil or telugu
e. Harshacharita- biography of harshvardhana, ruler of kanauj, written by court poet
Banabhattain the 7th cent ce.- settlement on the outskirts of the forst of vindhayas-
spade culture as as its difficult to plough firls as they are sparsely scattered and the
black soil is stiff- people bringing things down to sell.
f. Sanskrit legal texts say that women were not supposed to have independent access
to land.
g. Prabhavati gupta donating danguna must also be in snskrit- chanalaswami-chakdrasa
 h. Janapada is a Sanskrit and prakrit word

6. Tamil-
a. Silappadikaram excerpt - the pandaya chief Senguttuvan visits the forest- people
came from the mountains with offerings like defeated people come
b. Sangam texts mention vellalar (large landowners), uzhavar (ploughmen) and adimai
(slaves)
c. Inscriptions of Land grants from the early centuries of the common era are in
Sanskrit mostly but from the 7th century onwards, they are part in Sanskrit and part
in tamil or telugu
d. Successful merchants were called masattuvan

7. Pali-
a. Gandatindu Jakatas were written in this language- wicked king, everyone hated him,
ran to the forest
b. Buddhist stories- small peasants and large landowners as gahapati- exercised control
over land, slaves, children, women in the residence, head of the household- also
status marker for urban elite/wealthy merchants-

Samantas Gupta empire- men who maintained

themselves through local respurecs
Gahapati Pali, small peasants and large landowners,
wealthy merchants
Agrahara Land granted to brahmana that wasn’t taxed
and he could collect taxes
gramakutumbinas Householders or peasants living in the village
Mahasammata The great elect- sutta pitaka- notion of
kingship
Samanas Sutta pitaka- sigala- samanas are those who
have renounced the world

Silappadikaram Tamil Pandaya chief senguttuvan visits forests

Prayag prashasti Sanskrit Harishena In praise of samudragupta
Manusmriti Sanskrit Importance of boundaries
Gandatindu jataka Pali Plight of the subjects of evil king
Harchacharita Sanskrit Banabhatta Biography of harshavardhana of kanauj
Inscription at Sanskrit Chakradasa Prabhavati devi giving agrahara to
danguna chanalasvamin
Image of nagapiya Prakrit Wife of goldsmith sovanika dharmaka in
Mathura

Dates

15th- 10th cent bce  Rigveda composed

1500 years after end of Harappa  Agricultural settlements in north India,
deccan, Karnataka
 Pastoral population in deccan
 Megaliths in central and south- buried
with iron tools and weapoons
6th cent bce onwards  Emergence of states
 Changes in how agriculture was
organized- iron tipped plough,
transplantation
 New towns
 Use of iron
 Coinage- punch marked
 Buddhism Jainism
 Brahmins started composing
dharmasutras
6th-4th bce Magadha became most powerful
5th bce Decided to shift capital
4th bce Capital shifted from rajagaha to pataliputra-
commanding forces of ganga
327-25 bce Invasion of alexander
321 bce Chandragupt mauraya founded empire
272/68- 231 bce Reign of asoka
200 bce onwards Votive inscriptions found
2nd bce-2nd ce Writing of manusmriti
Middle of 1st millennium ce Jatakas were written in pali
4th-7th cent ce Chinese Buddhist pilgrims came
7th cent- xuan zang visited Magadha and found
it in ruins
7th cent onwards Inscriptions part in Sanskrit and part in tamil
or telugu

6-4 bce Magadhan rulers consolidated power

 4-2 bce Mauryan empire
2 bce Indo greek
Chola cheera pandya
Satavahanas
1 bce- 2 ce Shakas
1 bce- 1 ce Kushana (78 ce kanishk accession)
4-5 ce Gupta
5-6 ce Vatakas
6 ce Chalukya
Pallava
7 ce Harshavardhan of kannauj
711 ce Arab general qasim conquered sind

1784 Asiatic society of Bengal founded by sir

William jones
1838 Prinsep deciphered brahmi and kharosthi
1875 Cunningham report on harappan seal
1877 Cunningham report on asokan inscriptions
1886 Epigraphia carnatica
1888 Epigraphia indica
1965-66 DC sircar Indian epigraphy and Indian
epigraphical glossary- there is no aspect of life
that isn’t mentioned in inscriptions

Buddhist and jaina texts Mention 16 states

Attributed magadhas power
to policies of rulers-
bimbisara, ajatsattu, nanda
buddhist Refer to gahapati- pali
Buddhist, jaina, puranic, Mauryas are mentioned
Sanskrit
Dharmasutra Norms for social classes
Rulers- taxes, raids
Literature coincs inscriptions Gupta histories
prashasti

6th bce Maurayas Silver/Copper  Punch marked

 Merchants, banker, townspeole  Earliest to be minted
2nd bce Indo greek Names and images
1st ce Kushana Gold  Largest hoards
 Identical in weight to roman and
Parthian
 Found in north Indian, central asia
1st ce Yaudheya- Haryana,punjab Copper
4th-5th ce Gupta Gold Most spectacular, purity
6th ce Gold coins taper off

Sources-
1. Megasthenes- wrote about how the officers superintend the state, collect
taxes,measure the land and compared Magadha to Egypt
2. Arthashastra- minute details of military and administrative organization like how to
capture ele[phants
3. Greek sources- mauryan ruler had a large standing army but the figures may be
exaggerated
4. Pandava chief senguttuvan visits the forest – people bring offerings from the mountains
like those who have been defeated- written in tamil and excerpt from silapaddikaram
5. Prayag prashati written in Sanskrit by harisena, court poet of samudragupta- he was
without an enemy in the world- purusha- supreme being-compared to gods like kubera,
varuna, indra and yama
6. Written in Sanskrit- Sudarshan lake inscription- built by maurayas, broke in storm, fixed
by shaka ruler rudragaman without imposing tax on his subjects in 2 th cent ce-
inscription on same rock says gupta rulers got it fixed again in 5th cent ce.
7. Manusmriti- legal texts- 2nd bce-2nd ce- had insctructions for the king to maintain clear
boundaries of land even through hidden markers at intersections. Written in Sanskrit
8. Harshacharita- biography of harshvardhana, ruler of kanauj, written by court poet
Banabhattain the 7th cent ce.- settlement on the outskirts of the forst of vindhayas-
spade culture as as its difficult to plough firls as they are sparsely scattered and the black
soil is stiff- people bringing things down to sell. Written in Sanskrit.
9. Prabhavati gupta and the village of Danguna- commands the gramakutumbinas
(peasants)- to increase relihous merit, donated to chanalasvamin- agrahara is exempt
from stuff- written in 13th regnal year by Chakradasa
 10. History of pataliputra- used to be pataligrama- 5th cent bce, magadhan rulers decided to
shift capital from rajagriha and renamed it- 4th bce it became the capital- imp declied- 7th
cent ce when chinese pilgrim xuan zang visited it ws in ruins with a small population
11. The Malabar coast in present day kerala- excerpt from periplus (sailing around in greek)
of the erythraean (red sea) sea 1st ce- composed by anonymous greel sailor- an account
impoting and exporting thingas – pepper, cinnamon, antimony. Archaeological evidence
shows a bead making industry in kodumanal tamil nadu which is where the jewellery
must go for export.
12. Devanapiya piyadassi about pativedakas reporting to him regardless of where he is.
13. Inscription of the conquering of kalinga and devanampiyas repentance because so many
people died. But this wasn’t erected in Orissa which is the present day kalinga.
14. Dharmasutras- norms for rulers and other social categories

Coins-
1. 6th bce- silver and copper-Punch marked- earliest to be minted and used, maurayas
2. 2nd bce- indo greeks- First coins to bear names and images of rulers
3. 1st ce- gold- kushanas- largest hoards- identical in weight with romans and Parthians in
iran
4. 1st ce- copper- tribal republics like yaudheyas of Punjab and Haryana-
5. 4th-5th ce- gold- guptas- remarkable purity- aided long distahnce trade
6. 6th ce- fins of gold coins taper off

Mention dates and things that james princeps and alexander cunninggham did in this ch also

Notes-
1. Earliest inscriptions are in prakrit
2. Dharmasutras were being composed in the 6th bce
3. Early jain and Buddhist texts attributed the the power of Magadha to the policy of its
rulers
4. Rajagaha- now its rajgir. Capital shifted in 4th bce cause it was closer to ganga
5. Chandragupta maurya founded in 321 bce
6. Ashoka- 272/268- 231
7. Megasthenes mentioned this-
 1. Navy
2. Transport and provisions
3. Foot soldiers
4. Horses
5. Chariots
6. Elephamts
8. Language and scripts-

Region Mainland North West Afghanistan

Language Prakrit Greek/Aramaic
Script Brahmi Kharosthi Greek/Aramaic

Questions-
1. Who wrote the book Indika?- Megasthenes
2. Two yagnas performed by kings- rajasuya, ashwmedha yajna
3. Clan of nomadic people living in china- kushanas
4. Capital of kushana rukers- Peshawar/purushapura and Mathura

5. Which of the following languages have used the word janapada, which means a tribal
settlement?- prakrit and sanskrit

Q6. Why is the 6th century regarded as a turning point in early Indian history? *

Early states, iron usage, development of seals

Iron usage, growth of Jainism and Buddhism, composition of dharmasutras because

dharmasutras were also developed at this time only

Growth of Buddhism

Development of scripts
 Q33. Another strategy adopted to increase agricultural production was the use of irrigation,
through _________ and __________, and less commonly,____________. *

Tanks, Canals and wells

Wells, Tanks and Canals

Canals, Wells and Tanks

Mcqs made in class from q28

Q46. How did merchants travel from 6th century BCE? *

Caravans of bullock carts

Pack animals

Horses

On foot

Q 55. During the Sangama Age , who among these was/were not in power ? *

Pandyas

Cheras

Cholas

Pallavas
By sangama age they don’t mean the age of the sangama dynasty but rather this-

. It was a period dominated by cholas, cheras and pandayas. Pallavas and chalukyas came
much later which is why the amswer of the question is pallavas. Same goes for the question
in ch7. 400 BC – 200 AD. Tamilakam, located in the tip of South India during the Sangam
Period, ruled by Chera dynasty, Chola dynasty and the Pandyan dynasty

In the book this is written under new notions of kingship on page 35- these were chiefdoms-
literature written in this period was called tamil sangma literature and this I where the
name of the period comes from.

Discuss ques 42,

1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

ab and c
6.

7.
8.

9.

maybe cause jatakas were Buddhist texts and Buddhist texts were pali usually
10.

11. Nice one- https://www.aliensbrain.com/quiz/9001/kings-farmers-and-towns

12.

13.

cause brahmi and kharosthi was deciphered in 1838 by james princeps

14.
15.

16.