Theme 1.1 SourcesofHistory

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Pratik Nayak
Educator- History, Art & Culture
10 years teaching experience
BE Civil, M. Planning (CEPT University)
Worked at Govt. of Gujarat
Sources of Reading-
Pratik Nayak- Workbook Comprehensive Coverage-
Running notes of the class Previous Years Questions
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workbook containing topics to covered
This workbook contains the compiled

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History Optional- Paper Style and Syllabus
Paper 1
Section A- 125 Marks
Ancient Indian History
Section B- 125 Marks

Medieval Indian History
Paper 2-
Section A- 125 Marks
Modern Indian History
Section B- 125 Marks

World History
- What to read ? - Sources of Reading-

- Upinder Singh - Pratik Nayak- Lecture
Or
- RS Sharma- India’s Ancient Past
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- Running notes of the class
Pratik Nayak-
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History Optional
Class Notes/ PDF

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Compilation
Sources of History (Scope of Syllabus) –

- Archaeological sources: Exploration, excavation, epigraphy, numismatics, monuments.
- Literary sources:
- Indigenous: Primary and secondary; poetry, scientific literature, literature,
literature in regional languages, religious literature.
- Foreign accounts: Greek, Chinese and Arab writers.
This portion is a high yielding one. Almost every year one question is asked from this
topic. Also, Sources are central to writing good answers in Ancient India. For
understanding the nature of the questions asked see the PYQs at the end of this handout.

Q. What is History ?
Q. Periodisation of History
Q. Historiography
Q. Understanding the Chronological order of Ancient and Early medieval
India
Q. Sources of History ?
Q. Impact of Geography on History ?
History - Definition
- What Is History?
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- The English word ‘history’ comes from the Greek “historia” (inquiry or investigation).
- Professor Richard J. Evans states that history also includes the academic discipline which uses narrative to
describe, examine, question, and analyze past events, and investigate their patterns of cause and effect.
- History can also be seen as the study of significant changes which have affected human existence and its evolution
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in every spheres of life. History is an organic whole which encompasses each and every dimension of human world
– polity, society, culture, economy.
- Role of Herodotus –
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- The famous Greek scholar Herodotus (5th cent. BCE) is known for having written the
book ‘Histories’ – a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars.
- He was the first writer to perform systematic investigation of historical events.
- He is referred to as "The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient
Roman orator Cicero.
- He is in fact the Father of historiography and is the first historian of the world.

History - Periodisation
- What is the requirement for periodisation ?
- Chronology forms an integral part of historiography and history writing and in this context periodisation of it
becomes very important.
- Through historiography, historians often debate as to which narrative best explains an event, as well as the
significance of different cause and effects. This further leads to multiple narratives and different classifications. In
Indian history as well, there are significant debates with regards to periodization for the understanding of history with
respect to its timeline.
- Parameters of periodisation of History –

# Classification based on religion –
- Scottish Economist and Utilitarian James Mill in 1817 published a massive 3 volumed work – ‘A History of
British India’.
- In this text he divided Indian History into 3 periods based on religion as – Hindu, Muslim and British (not
Christian).
- Reasons behind Mill’s classification –
- Mill believed the Asian societies to be at a lower level than that of the European ones.
- Mill being a staunch Utilitarian, his way of history writing was implicitly a Utilitarian agenda of British
management in India.
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- According to him, prior to the British arrival in India, Hindu and Muslim despots (Oriental Despots) ruled the
country. Religious intolerance, caste taboos and superstitious practices dominated social life. In this
scenario, Mill felt that only the British rule could civilise the hitherto uncivilised Indians. Hence instead of
using the term ‘Christians’ he deliberately used ‘British’ to further the theory of ‘White Man’s Burden’.
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# Other ways of Classification –

- Classifying the historical events as Ancient, Medieval and Modern –
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- Moving away from the British classification, the historians have divided history into – Ancient, Medieval and
Modern.
- This periodization too has problems since it is borrowed from the west where the modern period was
associated with all the forces of modernity (rationality, scientific progress, liberty, equality) and medieval
period was devoid of all these forces.
- Also, it would be highly uncritical to term the British period as a modern one since under their rule people
did not possess equality, freedom and liberty.
- Usage of the term ‘Colonial’ instead of ‘Modern’ –
- The British came to India to conquer the country and establish their rule, subjugating local nawabs and
rajas.
- They established control over the economy and society, collected revenue to meet all their expenses,
bought the goods they wanted at low prices, produced crops they needed for export. In this way they
pushed the Indian society, economy to utter ruination. Their rule also brought about significant changes in
values and tastes (through T.B. Macauley Minutes), customs and practices. When the subjugation of one
country by other leads to these kinds of political, economic, social and cultural changes, we refer to such a
process as colonization.
- Hence, many historians prefer referring this period as 'colonial period' to 'modern’.
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- Classifying history based on significant socio-economic changes –
Most historians have discarded the Hindu-Muslim-British periodization of the Indian past in favour of a more
appropriate classification based on significant socio-economic changes. They have categorized History into –
- Ancient India (from the earliest times to the 6th century CE).
- Early medieval India (from the 6th to the 13th centuries CE).
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- Medieval India (from the 13th to the 18th centuries CE).
- Modern India (from the 18th century CE to the present).
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Historiography and its schools
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by
extension is anybody of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers
how historians have studied that topic using particular sources, techniques, and theoretical approaches. The
historiography (the scholarly activity of constructing and writing history) of ancient and early medieval India reveals many
significant changes over time; these can be understood against the background of the political and intellectual contexts
in which they emerged and flourished.
There are various ‘schools’ of history writing. There are considerable variety within the various schools; some of them
co-existed (and still do so) in dialogue or conflict with each other.
Orientalist (Indologist) school of historiography –
The 18th and 19th centuries were dominated by the writings of European scholars, usually referred to as the
Orientalists or Indologists. It included employees of the East India Company and later, the British Government
of India. Like Charles Wilkins, a noted Indologist, was a writer in the EEIC.
- Important Scholars: Sir William Jones, Charles Wilkins, F. Max Muller, H.H. Wilson, Nathaniel Brassey
Halhed.
- Motive behind the development of this school -
- To serve the needs of the British colonial administration.
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The Revolt of 1857 caused Britain to realize that it needed a deeper knowledge of the manners and social
systems of an alien people over whom it ruled.
- The Christian missionaries sought to uncover the vulnerabilities in the Hindu religion to win converts and
strengthen the British empire.
- To meet these needs, ancient scriptures were translated on a massive scale under the editorship of Max
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Muller. William Jones and Charles Wilkins and many others also translated India texts into English.
- The early Governors General of Bengal in the late 18th century especially Warren Hastings reflected this
orientalist mentality with the express purpose to get a strong foothold over the subcontinent without
alienating the natives. Hence, the British adapted themselves into the Indian customs, a phenomenon
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which Gauri Viswanathan has termed ‘Reverse acculturation’.
Works/ Contributions of the Orientalist scholars –

- William Jones translated -
1) Kalidasa’s Abhigyan Shakuntalam from Sanskrit to English- 1789.
2) Jayadeva's Geeta Govindam from Sanskrit to English- 1792.
3) Manu smriti/ Manu’s Dharma Smriti from Sanskrit to english- 1794. William jones was the 1st person to
translate Manu Smriti into English.
4) Jones was also the 1st person to translate an Upanishad from Sanskrit to english - Isavasya/ Isa
Upanishad in 1799.
5) He also translated a Persian work Laila Majnu into english.
6) Jones ushered in the linguistic concept of Aryans as speakers of 7 Indo-Aryan languages – Greek, Gothic,
Latin, Celtic, Sanskrit, German and Persian.
- Charles Wilkins translated Shrimad Bhagwad Gita into English as "The Bhagvat-Geeta, or Dialogues of
Kreeshna and Arjoon“. He also translated “Hitopodesh" of Vishnu Sharma, into English.
- Hindu code of law was translated from Persian into English by Nathaniel Brassey Halhed and was
published in 1776 under the name - “A code of gentoo laws“.
- "A GRAMMAR OF THE BENGALI LANGUAGE" of Nathaniel Brassey Halhed was published in 1778.
- James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1837. This event became pathbreaking in understanding the Ashokan
inscriptions.

- Institutionalization of this school of thought –
- The founding of The Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 (set up by Sir William Jones) provided an
institutional focus for these scholars working in different fields such as textual study, epigraphy,
numismatics, and history.
- Officers of the Geological Survey discovered prehistoric stone tools and laid the basis of Indian
prehistory.
- The Archaeological Survey of India (established in 1861) made an important contribution towards
unearthing and analyzing the material remains of India’s past.
- Jonathan Duncan, the British resident of Banaras, set up a Sanskrit college there in 1792.
- Fort William college in Calcutta by Lord Richard (not Arthur) Wellesley in 1800 to train the British
civil servants in Indian languages and customs. In this college many stalwart orientalist scholars
were professors and they translated Indian works into Bengali.
- The Bombay Asiatic Society was set up in 1804.
- The Asiatic Society of Great Britain was set up in London in 1823.
Colonial context of Indological writings –

- They stated that the ancient Indians lacked a sense of history, especially of the element of time and
chronology.
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The Brahmanical perspective of ancient Sanskrit texts was taken as reflecting the Indian past.
- Social and religious institutions and traditions were criticized from a Western viewpoint. Indian society was
presented as a static society.
- Indian political systems was depicted as unwaveringly despotic for centuries.
- The Western scholars stressed that Indians had experienced neither a sense of nationhood nor any form of
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self-government.
- Race, religion, and ethnicity were often confused with each other.
- According to them, the natives were so engrossed in the problems of spiritualism that they felt no concern
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about the problems of this world.

- They exaggerated the impact of foreign influence on ancient India.
- The classification of the Indian past into the Hindu, Muslim, and British periods took root in their writings.
- The British interpretations of Indian history served to denigrate the Indian character and
achievements and justify colonial rule.
Nationalist school of historiography –

Indian scholars of the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries made major contributions by meticulously weaving
together data from texts, inscriptions, coins, and other material remains to amplify the contours of the ancient Indian
past. Writing against the background of an emergent and later increasingly strong national movement, these historians
are generally referred to as Nationalist
historians.
Important Scholars:
- Rajendra Lal Mitra (1822-91), Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837-1925) and
Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade (1869-1926)
- Pandurang Vaman Kane (1880-1972), Devdutta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar
(1875-1950), Hemchandra Raychaudhuri (1892-1957),
- R.C. Majumdar (1888-1980), K.P. Jayaswal.
Hemchandra Raychaudhuri

Rajendra Lal Mitra K.P. Jayaswal R.G. Bhandarkar D.R. Bhandarkar Ramesh Majumdar
Important Scholars:
- Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837-1925) and Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade (1869-1926) emerged as
two great dedicated scholars who pieced together varied sources to reconstruct the social and political
history of India.
- Rajendra Lal Mitra took a rational view of ancient society.
- R.G. Bhandarkar reconstructed the political history of the Satavahanas of the Deccan and the history of
Vaishnavism and other sects.
- Pandurang Vaman Kane (1880-1972) , a great Sanskritist wrote the History of the Dharmasashtra , an
encyclopedia of ancient social laws and customs.
- The Indian scholars diligently studied polity and political history to demonstrate that India did have a
political history and that the Indians possessed expertise in administration.
-
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Devdutta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar (1875-1950), an epigraphist, who published books on Ashoka and on
ancient Indian political institutions.
- Hemchandra Raychaudhuri (1892-1957) reconstructed the history of ancient India from the time of the
Bharata (Mahabharata) war, that is, tenth century BC to the end of the Gupta empire.
- R.C. Majumdar (1888-1980), wrote about the History and Culture of the Indian People.
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- South Indian history was brought into the narrative
- The study of regional powers and their polities progressed.
- They insisted on the indigenous roots of all major cultural developments and exalted the age of the Vedas
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and the Gupta empire.

- Nilakanta Sastri emphasized the cultural supremacy of the brahmanas and highlighted the harmony that
prevailed in early Indian society.
- K.P. Jayaswal exploded the myth of Indian despotism. As early as 1910-12, he wrote several articles to
show that republics existed in ancient times (during Mahajanapada age) and enjoyed a measure of self-
government.
- They sought to prove that the caste system was not basically different from the class system based on
division of labour found in Europe’s pre-industrial and ancient societies.
- Non-monarchical polities were discovered and were celebrated to counter the idea that India had never
known anything but despotic rule through this they countered the Orientalists or indologists views on
Indian polity.
Limitations:
- The periodization of the Indian past into the Hindu, Muslim, and British periods still retained.
- A communal tendency to valorize the ‘Hindu period’ and to project the advent of the Turks and Islam as a
calamity and tragedy can be discerned in their writings.

Marxist Historiography:
The 1950s saw the emergence of Marxist historiography, which went on to play an extremely important role in the
construction of the history of ancient and early medieval India. Marxist Historians shifted the focus of history writing from
an event-centric history dominated by political narrative towards the delineation of social structures (class stratification)
and economic processes (agrarian relations).
- Important Scholars : A.L. Basham (1914-86), D.D. Kosambi (1907-66). Later many others in the likes of Romila
Thapar, D.N. Jha, Irfan Habib, Rajani Palme Dutt, Sumit Sarkar, Bipan Chandra followed this school.
- Contribution of Marxist historiography :

- R. P. Dutt –
- Dutt, an ICS, may be said to be the initiator of Marxist historiography in India.
- His book India Today, originally written in 1940, was considered by him as ‘a survey from a Marxist
standpoint of the record of British rule in India and of the development of the Indian people’s struggle,
both the national movement and the working-class movement, up to the eve of independence, as seen
at that time’. It gives a broad coverage of many facets of Indian economy, politics and society under
colonial rule. It applies Marxist analysis to the changes in the colonial economy, to the nationalist
movement, to communalism, and to the problems of peasantry.
- Following Marx’s own comments on the issue of the economic impact of colonial rule on India, Dutt
regards colonialism as both a ‘destructive’ and a ‘regenerative’ force. However, Dutt emphasises that
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the ‘regenerating’ role of colonialism was very limited, and it changed to ‘destructive’ very soon:
“Today imperialist rule in India, like capitalism all over the world, has long outlived its
objectively progressive or regenerative role, corresponding to the period of free trade
capitalism, and has become the most powerful reactionary force in India, buttressing
all the other forms of Indian reaction”.
- Dutt squarely holds colonialism and capitalism responsible for the poverty of the country and stresses
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the role which colonial loot played in funding the capitalist development in Britain.
- Using the economic criteria, he divides the entire period of imperialist rule in India into three phases, a
periodisation which has become quite common now, particularly among the Marxist historians.
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- The first phase was that of the mercantile capital ‘represented by the East India Company and
extending in the general character of its system to the end of the eighteenth century.’
- The second phase was dominated by industrial capital ‘which established a new basis of exploitation of
India in the nineteenth century’.
- In the third phase, financial capital became the important force which started in the last years of the
19th century and flourished in the 20th century.
- A.L. Basham’s (1914-86) –
His book The Wonder That Was India (1951) marks a great shift from political to non-political history. It is a
sympathetic survey of the various facets of ancient Indian culture and civilization free from the prejudices that
plague the writings of many other British writers.
- D.D. Kosambi (1907-66) –

- In his book, An Introduction to the Study of Indian History (1957), he presents the history of ancient Indian
society, economy, and culture as an integral part of the development of the forces and relations of production.
His was the first survey volume to show the stages of social and economic development in terms of tribal and
class processes. Kosambi is regarded as a foremost Marxist historian, particularly on early Indian history.
Romila Thapar argues that Kosambi created a ‘paradigm shift’ in the field of Indian historiography.
- Over the past forty years there has been a sea change in the methods and orientation of those who work on
ancient India. They lay greater stress on social, economic, and cultural processes, and try to relate them to
political developments. They take account of the stratification of the texts and compare their conventional
nature with archaeological and anthropological evidence. All these bodes well for the future historical studies.

Limitations –
- Marxist writings often tended to work with unilinear historical models derived from Western historical and
anthropological writings.
- Texts were read uncritically, insufficient attention paid to their problematic chronology and peculiarities of
genre.
- Archaeological data was included, but the basic framework of the historical narrative remained text centric.
- Initially, the focus on class meant less attention to other bases of social stratification such as caste and
gender.
- Religion and culture were side-lined or mechanically presented as reflections of society.
Subaltern historiography (History from Below) –

It emerged from the series of volumes, known as the Subaltern Studies, initially edited by Ranajit Guha. This series
began in 1982 and it had published 12 volumes by 2005. The first six volumes were edited by the founder of this project,
Ranajit Guha. After that each volume was edited by individual scholars belonging to the group. Over a period of more
than 20 years, this intellectual project in Indian historiography became and remained very influential.
The Subaltern Studies was declared by its adherents to herald a new school of history-writing constituting a radical
break from all the existing trends in Indian historiography.
A group of scholars, who were critical of the contemporary history-writing in India, joined and contributed to the volumes.
There were others also, who were not part of the core group, wrote articles for these volumes. It was planned in the
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beginning to be only a series of three volumes, but later it continued for long with more and more historians associated
with it.
The themes it covered also proliferated into various directions, including non-Indian Third World countries. Initially, its
contributors were influenced by Gramsci and Marxist social historians in the West. Later, many of them came under the
influence of post-modernism and post-colonialism.
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The main arguments of the subaltern historiography over the period may be summarised as follows:
- All hitherto existing Indian historiography was informed by elitism of two types – colonial elitism and
bourgeois nationalist elitism.
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- The subaltern historians wanted to change the direction of Indian historiography by writing history from the
point-of-view of the common people, such as the peasants, and other lower and exploited classes.
- The critique of the elite classes and their ideologies was considered as the beginning point of this project.
- These historians aimed to portray the subaltern classes as thinking and acting agents rather than as passive
subjects. It is argued that there was nothing spontaneous about their actions, and these classes took conscious
decisions and planned for their actions, including rebellions.
- It was asserted that the elites and the subalterns occupied separate domains at political, ideological and social
levels. The domain within which the subaltern classes existed, thought and acted was autonomous and the role
and influences of the dominant classes on such domain were rather limited.
- Even at the organisational level, the subaltern politics was autonomous and relied on traditional social structures
such as caste, tribe, kinship networks, etc.
- The consciousness of the subaltern classes was influenced by traditional religious ideology, as both the colonial
ideology and bourgeois nationalist ideology failed to establish their hegemony over subaltern consciousness.
- While ‘elite mobilisation was vertical and hierarchical’, the ‘subaltern mobilisation was horizontal and equalitarian’.
Moreover, while ‘the elite mobilisation was legalistic and pacific’, the ‘subaltern mobilisation was relatively violent’ .
Subaltern scholars include – Ranajit Guha, Partha Chatterjee, Dipesh Chakrabarty, Gyanendra Pandey, David
Arnold, Shahid Amin, Tanika Sarkar, Sumit Sarkar (He was a founding member of the Subaltern Studies Group, as
well as one of its most important critics), Gayathri Chakravorty Spivak, David Hardiman, Julie Stephens, Aravind
Das, N.K Chandra, Stephen Henningham, Gautam Bhadra.

Ranajit Guha has recently passed away in May 2023. Below is a snapshot of an article
written by Partha Chatterjee in THE WIRE.
Curious?? Click the Link - Ranajit Guha, the Unconventional Historian (thewire.in)
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The domain of ‘New History’ –

Categorization of the Ancient Period/ Periodization of the History
Understanding the Nomenclature – Pre-History vs Proto-History vs History
Pre-History vs History –
- Writing ushered in momentous change in the history of human-kind. The discovery of script helped humans to
communicate efficiently and even record their own socio-economic lives. History came to recorded in form of writing
within the archeological artefacts (stones, pillars, rocks, reliefs) or in form of literary ones. Hence, with the advent of
writing, we enter the historical phase of History.
- But, that period in history prior to the advent of script is termed as Pre-history (a phase prior to the historical phase/
writing phase). Thus, the term is used to indicate times and events, when man had not invented writing in any form.
Pre - History History
Advent of Script
Need for the term Proto-History –

- The earliest known script in the subcontinental milieu is that of the logosyllabic and pictographic script of IVC which
until now, is far from being deciphered. This has resulted into a dilemma wherein despite having a script, historians
and archaeologist can not effectively use it to reconstruct their history.
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To solve this dilemma, a transitional phase was introduced in the history of mankind as proto-history which meant a
transitionary phase from pre-history to history. Thus, those periods in history for which writing can not be used to
reconstruct the history despite their presence, is termed as Proto-History.
- But interestingly the proto-historical phase in the subcontinental context also includes the Vedic age (1500 – 600 BCE).
This is because the Vedas were compiled/ written/ penned down much later. Prior to that they were propagated by the
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Sutas and Magadhas (bards and chroniclers) in form of gathas. Consequently, the descriptions mentioned in the
written form of Vedas were not primarily written in the timeperiod between 1500 and 600 BCE.
- The earliest deciphered script in the Indian Subcontinent was that of Brahmi. Emerged during the 6th century BCE,
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during the Mahajanapada times, its advent ushered in the Historical phase of the Subcontinent.
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Pre - History Proto-history History
Advent of Vedic Age Advent of Brahmi,

Indus Script, (1500-600 Deciphered,
Undeciphered. BCE) Mahajanapada Age
2600 – 1900 (6th Cent. BCE)
BCE. IVC
Lithic Age Metal age (Cu - Bronze)

Chalcolithic Cultures
other than IVC
Chalcolithic Farming Culture Chalcolithic Cu Hoard Culture –

(mostly Black and Red wares ) OCP sites
- Ahar-Banas
- Kayatha
- Malwa
- Sevalda
- Jorwe
Placing Ancient and Early Medieval History in the Timeline –
Pre-Historic India- Stone Age (Origin to 10000 BCE)
Indus Valley (Harappan)

Early Phase – 3200 BCE – 2600 BCE
Civilisational/ Mature Phase – (2600 BCE- 1900 BCE)
Late Phase – (1900 BCE – 1300 BCE )
Aryans & Vedic Age (1500 BCE-600 BCE)
Age of Mahajanapadas (Monarchies and Oligarchies)

Foreign Invasions (Achaemenid and Macedonian) 600 BCE-350 BCE
Rise of Heterodoxies – Ajivikas, Buddhism & Jainism
Mauryan Age (325-185 BCE)
Post Mauryan India (200 BCE-300CE)
Gupta Age (320-550CE)

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Post Gupta-(600-750 CE) - Harsha, Chalukya & Pallava
Early Medieval ( 750-1000 CE, 1000-1200 CE)

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Sources
What are Sources –
- An evidence to reconstruct the history of a particular time period is a source. Based on the sources, historiography is
constructed.
- Sources of history can be broadly divided into literary and archaeological sources.
- Sources include written documents, oral accounts, art and material artefacts, and ecological markers.
- The reconstruction of early Indian history has been a challenging task for the modern historians due to various
difficulties associated with paucity of sources and their reliability.
- Historians seek knowledge of the Indian past by using sources collectively and comparatively to reconstruct a holistic
picture of early India. Before using sources to reconstruct history, the historians undergo a careful examination
of the evidence. This process includes evaluating the qualities of an information source, such as its validity,
reliability, and relevance to the subject under investigation.
Gilbert J. Garraghan and Jean Delanglez have divided source examination into six inquiries:
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1. Chronology: When was the source, written or unwritten, produced?
2. Geographical Region: Where was it produced?
3. Author: By whom was it produced?
4. Analysis of source material: From what pre-existing material was it produced?
5. Integrity of the source: In what original form was it produced?
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6. Credibility: What is the evidential value of its contents?
Categorization of Sources –
Sources can be categorized into Primary and Secondary sources based on originality of information and certain other
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criteria like -
1. Contemporariness of the writer
2. Whether sources qualify as firsthand analysis or not?
Differences Primary sources Secondary sources
Originality Primary sources are original materials. They Secondary sources are based on
present original thinking and are generally the primary sources. These are
first-hand accounts. created by persons who himself
didn’t witness the event.
Time Frame Created at the time of the event which is being Created at a later period,
recorded
Interpretation primary sources are not filtered through Secondary sources involve
interpretation or evaluation and generally generalizations, analysis , synthesis,
present information in raw form. interpretation or evaluation of the
original source.
Advantage They are comparatively more reliable and Generally, less reliable since it
authentic. involves interpretation.
Limitation Limitations include – Lack of objectivity and Limitations include – an improper

balanced presentation of events. chronology, suffers from detailed
description of events.
Examples Majority of archaeological sources except for Majority of literary sources fall in this
few inscriptions belong to primary source. category.

Sources of History – Literary Sources

- Literary sources can be defined as any work which presents information about the historical period in a written
format. Literary sources have a broad range of genres which includes religious literature, autobiographies, poetry
and any other literature.
- The Literary Source can also be classified into four groups: Religious literature, Secular literature, Indigenous/
Domestic literature and Account of Foreigners. The historians use these sources collectively and comparatively
to reconstruct a holistic picture of socio-cultural, political, economic and religious life of early India.
Classification of Literary Sources
Type of Literature
Secular Literature Domestic/Local Sources Religious Foreign Sources
Greek accounts (Arrian,

Megasthenes, Strabo)
Plays, Dramas and Poems
(Sudraka, Kalidas, Bhasa,
Chinese Accounts (Fa
Bilhana, Harshavardhan)
Narratives/ Popular literature

VE Hien, Hieun Tsang, Yijing)
Arab and Persian

(E.g., Panchatantra of Vishnu
accounts.
Sharma)
Historical Biography/ Charitam

(Harshacharitam)
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Technical Literature (on varied
subjects like Grammar,
astrology, Astronomy, Medicine )
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Religious literature – Brahmanical
Brahmanical/ Vedic Literature
Shruti Smriti
- 4 Vedas - Upa-Vedas
- Vedanga (Limbs of the Vedas)
Samhita - Ved-upangas (Shad-darshanas/ 6 astika schools
of philosophy)
Brahmana
- Purana
Aranyaka - Epics (Itihaasas)
- Dharmasashtra
Upanishad - Nitisashtra
Vedic Literature
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Vedic Literature
SHRUTI (To be Heard) SMRITI (To be Remembered)
- Rig Veda - Six Vedangas - Vedangas are the limbs of the 4

- Sam Veda Vedas. They help in understanding the Vedic Texts.
- Yajur Veda - The six Vedangas are –
- Atharva Veda
- Shiksha (Phonetics)
In the Shruti Literature, each Veda has its own - Jyotisa (Astronomy)
Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad - Kalpa (Rituals)
portions. Except that of Atharvaveda which has no - Vyakarana (Grammar)
Aranyaka portion. - Nirukta (Etymology, correct interpretation
of words in Vedas)
- Rig Veda- Comes 1st in terms of antiquity amongst - Chhanda (Metrics).
all the Vedic Corpus. Gives lots of information on the - Later texts were written in condensed
Political-social-economy-religious conditions of the sutra form on these 6 Vedanga texts.
Aryans These texts came to be known as
- Sama Veda – Origin of Indian Music. Vedanga sutras. Kalpa Sutra is one such
- Yajur Veda – Contains rituals. Vedanga Sutras.
- Atharva Veda -
- Kalpa Sutras – Kalpa Sutras are manuals for
- Samhita – Compiled in hymns. sacrificial rituals written in condensed sutra form
- Brahmanas- Not in hymns, but in an elaborate on the Kalpa part of the Vedanga. It is divided into
prose commentary on the Samhita portions. Shrauta Sutra and Smarta Sutras.
- Aranyaka and Upanishads - include the - Shrauta Sutra- Based upon Shruti portion
philosophical traditions of the learned sages.
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Upanishads are concluding portions of the Vedas.
In this respect Upanishads are known as Vedanta
and contains rules for bigger/ elaborate
sacrifice like Rajasuya, Vajapeya and
Ashvamedha. Sulba sutra is a part of
(Veda + Anta). Shrauta Sutra.
- Upanishads deal with the connection between - Sulba Sutras- deals with
Atman and Brahman, God and Soul measurements and geometry of the
construction of fire altars.
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Boudhayan, Manava, Apastamba
and Katyayana wrote their
respective Sulba Sutras.
- Smarta Sutras – Deals with less elaborate

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or private sacrifices and is divided into

Grhiyasutra (domestic rights) and Dharma
Sutra (dharma/law).
- Dharma Shastra –
- Dharma shastras are more
elaborate versions of the Dharma
Sutras. Infact in Post Mauryan
times the Dharmasutras were
included in Dharmasastras along
Note – The Shruti portion (4 Vedas and with Smritis, Tikas, Bhasyas,
their contents) will be discussed in Nibandhas and Samghrahas to form
sufficient details in the handout of Vedic the Dharma Shastras.
- Manu Smriti is the most important
age (1500 – 600 BCE). However, the one.
evaluation of the 4 Vedas as a source of
history will be done here. For that see next - Shad-Darshan (Veda-upangas/ Six astika schools)
page.

Contribution of Vedas as a source of History:

- As a source of history, these texts are used for information about life in parts of northwestern and northern India during
the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE.
- The Vedic texts can be used as sources of history for the areas in which they were composed. For example: Rig Veda
Samhita were composed in the land of Saptasindhu or the seven rivers that is the Indus, its five tributaries, and the
Saraswati (Ghaggar-Hakra). The later Vedic texts were composed in the Indo-Gangetic plain and the upper Ganga
Valley (Aryavrta).
- Several references in Vedas indicate that the political alliances between the tribes were fluid and shifting. The battle of
ten kings which took place on the bank of the river Purushani (Ravi) shows the existence of political conflict.
- The references of the assemblies like the Sabha (assembly of elders) and Samiti (assembly of commoners) presided
over by the Rajan, provides information on contemporary political life.
- The Rig Veda Samhita (especially the Kula Mandalas/ Family Books/ Mandala II to VII) which depicts the early Vedic
society, shows that there was a high degree of social mobility. While the social status became rigid and linked to birth in
the later Vedic period. The cross-varna mobility became rigid during the Later Vedic period (1000 – 600 BCE).
- Vedic literature forms an important part of the Brahmanical tradition—texts preserved and transmitted by a section of
Brahmana males. It reflects their religious beliefs, practices, and point of view.
- The references of cattle rearing, agricultural activity, various craft works, slavery, marriage, education, family etc.,
shades important light on the contemporary socio-economic life.
- Rig Veda reflects the presence of a naturalistic polytheism form of religion as names of many gods such as Agni,
Indra, Varuna etc., are mentioned.
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Limitations of the Vedas as source of history –
Historians have tried to reconstruct various aspects of the culture represented in the Vedas, but it is not easy to
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interpret this vast and complex literature.
- Interpolations: Vedic texts have multiple interpolations. Since it has passed down to the present form across centuries,
it is natural that things of a different nature might have been inserted in it. For instance, Mandalas II – VII, the oldest
books of the Rig Veda Samhita, are also known as the family books because their composition is attributed to
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the families of certain seer-poets – Gritsamada, Visvamitra, Vamadeva, Atri, Bharadwaja, and Vasishta.
Mandalas I, VIII, IX, and X seem to be of a later period.
- Prayer books: The Rig Veda mainly comprises prayers, whereas the later Vedic texts comprise prayers as well as
rituals, magic, and mythological stories. However, the Upanishads contain philosophical speculations. Vedic texts was
essentially created for religious purpose and therefore references to possible historical events are few.
- No reference of popular culture: The Vedic corpus was not a popular literature and therefore does not necessarily
represent popular ideas or practices.
- Problem of comprehension: In order to understand the Vedic texts, it was necessary to study the Vedangas or the
limbs of the Veda. These supplements of the Veda comprised phonetics (shiksha), ritual (kalpa), grammar
(vyakarana), etymology (nirukta), metrics (chhanda), and astronomy (jyotisha). They were written in the form of
precepts in prose. It is therefore difficult to understand the essence of Vedic corpus without going in detail of the other
supplementary works.
- Problem of dating: A major problem in using the Vedas as a source of history is the problem of dating the Rig Veda.
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 such as the Atharva Veda, Yajur Veda, the Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and the Upanishads. This
chronology is essentially based on the tentative dates suggested by F. Max Muller 19th century CE.
- Corroborating Vedas with Archaeology: There are several problems in co-relating the evidence from the Vedas with
archaeology.

Dharmasastras or Smritis –
- The Smritis/ Dharmasashtras, in general, deal with various topics in an analytical and systematised
form under three main heads as 1. achara (rites), 2. vyavahara (dealings), and 3. prayaschitta
(expiation).
- Their contents include:
o the sources of dharma. Concept of Dharma –
§ The Dharmasashtras in general identify 3
- The Sanskrit word dharma is derived
sources of dharma –
from the root word ‘dhri’ which
• Shruti (4 Vedas) means to maintain, support or
• Smriti texts. sustain.
• sadachara or shishtachara (good - The concept of dharma is based on
the idea that the universe is
customs or practices of the learned
governed by a certain natural law
or cultured people). and that the moral laws guiding
• Since the Vedas and the Vedic people’s lives should be in
Samhita do not directly deal with consonance with that natural law.
discussions related to the rules of - Hence Dharma refers to the proper,
ideal conduct of a person living in
conduct, the other 2 sources i.e., the
society.
smritis and sadachara / - It represents moral and ethical code
shishtachara
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important sources of ‘Dharma’.
of conduct, a course of action which
leads to the fulfillment of the goals
o the duties/ dharma of the varnas and asramas of human life. These four goals
known as purusharthas, are –
(varnashramdharma).
o Dharma (Righteous conduct).
o Different types of dharmas (apad-dharma, jati- o Artha (Materialistic well-being)
dharma, kula-dharma, shreni-dharma, raj-dharma,
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o Kama (sensual pleasure).
stree-dharma, ashram-dharma, varna-dharma, o Moksha (deliverance from the
samanya-dharma) samsara/ cycle of rebirth).
o various samskaras of man (16 samskaras).
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o the avocations of the four varnas in life (ashrama-dharma).

o the duties and responsibilities and duties of the king (raj-dharma), rules for taxation,
ownership, guardianship, witnesses, moneylending, payment of debts and deposits.
o They also deal with punishments for various crimes.
o partition, inheritance, and different kinds of sons.
o impurities of birth, death, and other causes.
o different kinds of marriages (Manu and Yajnavalkya Dharmasashtra has followed the
tradition of 8 types of marriages as entailed in Asvalyayana Grihasutra), sraddhas, rules
about food, duties of women (stree-dharma) and their property, niyoga (levirate) and its
conditions.
o sins and their expiations, and penances and their conditions.
- The main Smritis are given as under –

o The Manu Smriti/ Manav Dharmasashtra is the most ancient (post-mauryan age) and
authoritative among them. It has twelve chapters dealing with achara, vyavahara, and
prayaschitta. It is looked upon as having served as a model to all the later Smritis. It has
many masterly commentaries like those of –
§ Medhatithi (10th cent. CE),
§ Govindaraja, and
§ Kulluka Bhatta.
The extant work is a version compiled by Bhrigu, one of the disciples of Manu.

o Yajnavalkya Smriti (compiled during Gupta age) - The next in importance is the
Yajnavalkya Smriti, which has three kandas (sections) on achara, vyavahara, and
prayaschitta. It agrees with the Manu Smriti on many points, but disagrees on issues like
niyoga, inheritance, and gambling. It has got a few valuable commentaries (bhasyas /
elaborate commentaries) like –
§ Balakrida by Visvarupa (9th cent. CE).
§ Mitakshara by Vijnaneshwara (11th-12th cent. CE) during the reign of Vikramaditya
VI of the Late western Chalukyas (of Kalyan/ Basavakalyan, in modern Karnataka).
Vijnaneshwara was his court jurist. Of all the bhasyas on Manu Smriti, Mitakshara
is the most critical and authoritative.
§ Apararka Nibandh by king Aparaditya I (r. 1170 – 97 CE. i.e., 12th cent. CE) who was
the ruler of the North Konkan branch of the Shilhara dynasty.
§ Dipkalika by Sulapani (14th/ 15th cent. CE).
§ Virmitradaya (17th cent. CE)
o The Parasara Smriti is noted for its advanced views, and it is considered most suited for
the kaliyuga. It deals with achara and prayaschitta only. It mentions the apad-dharma of
the four castes: agriculture, trade, and commerce for the Brahmins, etc. Its commentary
by Madhavacharya is very popular and authoritative and explains vyavahara under raja-
dharma. VE
o The Narada Smriti (compiled during Gupta age) occurs in two recensions and deals with
vyavahara only. It closely follows Manu but introduces a few innovations in the eighteen
titles of law and permits niyoga, remarriage of women, and gambling under certain
conditions.
o The Brihaspati Smriti (compiled during Gupta age) has seven sections dealing with
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vyavahara, achara, and prayaschitta. It closely follows the Manu Smriti and is known as a
parisista (supplement) to the latter (Manu Smriti).
(f) The Katyayana Smriti (compiled during Gupta age) follows closely the works of Manu,
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Brihaspati and Narada. It specially deals with stridhana (a woman's personal property).
** Katyayana was contemporary to the Mauryan period (3rd cent.
CE), however the Dharmasashtra/ Smriti was not compiled by
Katyayana and is a much later text written in the Gupta period.
But the Sulba-sutra (Shrauta-sutra) was written by him
(Katyayana) during the 3rd cent. BCE.
o Among others mention may be made of the smritis of Angirasa, Daksa, Pitamaha, Prajapati,
Marici, Yama, Visvamitra, Vyasa, Sangrahakara, and Samvarta.

Limitations of the Dharmasashtras as a source of history –

There are certain limiations in using Dharmasashtras as a historical text. These are listed below:
- Differences between historical reality and theological references: Patrick Olivelle in “Between the
Empires: Society in India 300 BCE to 400 CE” states that the historical reality is very different from the
theological reference to the Vedas, and the dharma taught in the Dharmasashtra has little to do with the Vedas.
- Regional Ideas rather than a completely followed practice: These were customs, norms or pronouncements
of the writers of these texts that were likely derived from evolving regional ethical, ideological, cultural and legal
practices.
- Multiple Authors: The Dharma sutra and Dharmasashtra texts, as they have survived into the modern era,
were not authored by a single author. They were viewed by the ancient and medieval era commentators and
are the works of many authors.
- Normative nature: Dharmasashtra texts are normative and cannot be treated as simple reflections of prevailing
social practices. They have to be read as attempts of the Brahmanical tradition to engage with and regulate
widely practices.
- Revised and interpolated: These texts were revised and interpolated through their history because the various
text manuscripts discovered in India are inconsistent with each other, and within themselves, raising concerns of
their authenticity.
How are the Dharmasashtras normative in nature –

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Dharmasashtras are normative texts and represent an ideal, not an actual situation and it cannot be read as a
description of what was happening (at the ground level) at their times. This is because –
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Puranas
The word ‘Purana’ means ‘old’. According to tradition, the Puranas were composed by Vyasa, but it is clear that in the form in
which they have come down to us, they were not the work of one person nor of one age.
Types of Puranas:
- There are 18 Mahapuranas (great Puranas), and many more Upa-puranas (secondary Puranas).
- The standard list of the 18 Mahapuranas includes the Vishnu, Narada, Bhagavata, Garuda, Padma, Varaha, Matsya,
Kurma, Linga, Shiva, Skanda, Agni, Brahmanda, Brahmavaivarta, Markandeya, Bhavishya, Vamana, and Brahma.
Time of composition:
The origins of the Puranas may have overlapped to some extent with the Vedas, but their composition stretched
forward into the 4th— 5th centuries CE, and in some cases, even later. Matsya seems to be the oldest of all the
puranas. (UPPSC Forest Guard 2015)
Characteristics of Puranas:
The Puranas are supposed to have five characteristics (Panchalakshanas). Matsya Purana among many others list
these Panchalakshanas as –
- The creation of the world (sarga)
- The re-creation (pratisarga)
- The periods of the various Manus (manvantaras) VE
- The genealogies of gods and rishis (vamsha)
- An account of royal dynasties (Vamshanucharitam), including the Suryavamshi and Chandravamshi kings, whose
origin is traced to the sun and the moon.
Significance of Puranas
- Secular knowledge contained in the puranas:
- Vishnudharmottara Purana: It is a supplement to the Vishnu purana and deals with the art of Indian painting.
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- Agni Purana — deals with politics, astronomy, medicine, geography, etc.
- Garuda Purana-— deals with astrology, metrics, grammar, knowledge of precious stones (ratnapariksha) and
cosmography.
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- Celestial bodies are discussed in Padma purana- about Prithvi

- The Concept of Time in the Puranas:
- The conception of time in the Puranas is very complex.

- There are four ages or yugas—krita/ Satya, treta, Dvapara, and kali, all consisting of thousands
and thousands of years.
- These four yugas make up a mahayuga, and 1,000 mahayugas constitute a kalpa.
- Every kalpa is divided into 14 manvantaras, each presided over by a Manu.
- One yuga follows the other, and the periodic destruction of the world is followed by its re-creation.
- This cycle of time relates to the cyclical decline and revival of dharma.
Mahakalpa > Kalpa > Mahayuga > Yuga
- Puranas as a source of history (Secular aspect):

Puranas as a source of information on Ancient political history:
- The Puranas—especially the Vayu, Brahmanda, Brahma, Harivamsha, Matsya, and Vishnu—provide
useful information on ancient political history.
- They refer to historical dynasties such as the Haryankas, Shaishunagas, Nandas, Mauryas, Shungas,
Kanvas, and Andhras/ Andhravrityas (Satavahanas). Also lists the name dynasties of foreign origin or
low origin - Abhiras, Sakas, Yavanas and Hunas .
- They also mention certain kings, with names ending in the suffix ‘naga’, who ruled in northern and central India
in the early centuries CE.
- The dynastic lists end with the Guptas (4th—6th centuries), indicating that most of the Puranas were
compiled at about this time.
- Used as secondary source for various authors like Banabhatta knew about the Purana. Kumarila Bhatta
(commentator of Purva Mimansa) talks about the purana as a source of law .
Puranas as a source of information on historical geography: The Puranas have accounts of mountains, rivers,
and places, which are useful for the study of historical geography. They also contain details like distance between the
cities and travel from one destination to other.
- Puranas as a source of history (religious aspect):
- Information on religious cults: Puranas also reflect the emergence of religious cults based on devotion,
especially towards the gods Vishnu and Shiva and the goddess Shakti. This devotion was expressed
through the worship of images of deities in temples, pilgrimage (tirtha), and vows (vrata).
- Puranas as a source of information on contemporary culture: The Puranas had a very important
function in the Brahmanical tradition as vehicles of Brahmanical social and religious values. At the same
time, they also reflect the interaction of Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical cultural traditions and the
emergence and development of Hindu religious practices.
Limitations of Puranas as a source of History – VE

- Genealogies compiled by the Sutas. The Sutas carried forward by oral traditions. Hence over a period of time ,
history mixed with the fables and folklore
- Bear religious orientation
- No historical writing
- There are various conflicting accounts cross Puranas.
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- No chronological development
- No relationship between 2 successive kings.
- Language and versification- grammatical errors
- Exaggerations
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Itihaasas/ Epics – The Ramayana
Brief Description –
- The Ramayana of Valmiki originally consisted of 6000 verses which were raised to 12,000, and eventually to 24,000.
- Although this epic appears to be more unified than the Mahabharata, it too has its didactic parts which were subsequently
added.
- The Ramayana composition started in the fifth century BC. After that, it passed through as many as five stages, and
the fifth stage seems to have been as late as the twelfth century AD.
- The Ramayana exists in the form of two main recensions—Northern and Southern.
- The northern recension is further divided into the north-eastern, north-western, and western. The language of the
northern recension is more elaborate and polished than that of the southern one.
- The epic consists of seven Kandas (books), of which the first (Bala Kanda) and last (Uttara Kanda) are later
interpolations.
- The compact vocabulary and style indicate that the core of the text was the work of a single individual, traditionally
identified as Valmiki.
Evolution –
Based on a careful analysis of language, style, and content, J. L. Brockington has identified five distinct chronological and
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cultural stages in the development of the Ramayana. Brockington also identifies corresponding changes in the delineation of
the main characters of the story. He also talks about the transformation of a heroic epic into a religious epic.
- Stage I –
- The epic started taking shape as an oral composition during the 5th – 4th centuries BCE.
- The story emphasized the heroic element, and its geographical horizons were limited.
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- Stage-Il –
- In stage II, dated 3rd century BCE-1st century CE, there was a shift from the heroic to the aesthetic element.
- The geographical awareness of the text expanded eastward into the lower Ganga valley.
- References to social and economic life, such as the emphasis on the chastity of women and the descriptions of cities
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and trade caravans, suggest increasing levels of class stratification and subordination of women.
- Stage III –
- Stage Ill belongs to the 1st -3rd centuries CE.
- By this time, the urbanization had spread to many new areas. The subordination of women had increased. The
division of society into four varnas was emphasized.
- The king was exalted as a protector of his people and the social order.
- Stage IV –
- In stage IV (4th -12th centuries CE), the religious and aesthetic emphasis increased.
- Descriptions of society underlined the pre-eminence of the Brahmanas and the low position of the Shudras and
out-castes.
- References to the inauspiciousness of widows and the practice of sati reflect the increasing subordination of
women.
- Stage V – The trends visible in the fourth stage were strengthened from the 12th century onwards.
Corroborative evidence with Archaeology –

- Excavations at the site of Ayodhya have indicated the existence of a settlement here from the Northern Black
Polished Ware (NBPW) phase, which may go back at the earliest to circa. 700 BCE.
- However, as with the Mahabharata, the archaeological evidence does not tell us whether there is any historical
basis to the events or the characters of the Ramayana.

Different versions of Ramayana emerged over a period of time –
- Jaina version (the Paumachariu of Vimalasuri, in Prakrit) in the Paumachariu, Ravana is presented as a tragic
hero who is killed by Lakshmana, not by Rama (who embodies all the Jaina virtues, including nonviolence).
- A Buddhist version (the Dasharatha Jataka in Pali).
- A 12th century Tamil version by Kamban (the Iramavataram), and
- The Ramcharitmanas (16th century) by Tulsidas.
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Epics – The Mahabharata –
Brief Description and Evolution –

- According to tradition, it was composed by Maharshi Vyasadeva, but in its present form, it is clearly not the work of a
single individual.
- The Mahabharata is truly an encyclopedic work, and it boasts of this fact. A heroic story formed the core to which
many other stories, sermons, and didactic portions containing teachings, were added over centuries.
- Originally, it consisted of 8800 verses and was called Jaya Samhita or a collection dealing with victory.
- These were increased to 24,000 and came to be known as Bharata because it contains the stories of the descendants
of one of the earliest Vedic tribes called Bharata.
- The final compilation increased the verses to 100,000 which came to be known as the Mahabharata or the
Shatasahasra Samhita (Sata = 100 and Sahasra = 1000. Hence, Sata-Sahasra = Sata x Sahasra = 100x1000 = 1
lakh).
- The Mahabharata consists of 18 Parvas (books) and has two main recensions—a northern and southern.
Content of Mahabharata –
- The core story concerns a conflict between two sets of cousins—the Kauravas and the Pandavas—and a great war
that was fought between them at Kurukshetra.
- The text also contains a huge amount of material that has little or no connection with the main story. It also includes
the sermon on dharma given by Bhishma as he lay dying on a bed of arrows.
-
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It also has the stirring discourse of Krishna to Arjuna on the eve of the war, known as the Bhagavad Gita. This was
translated into English by Charles Wilkins as ‘Dialogues of Kreeshna and Arjoon’.
Time of composition –
- The composition of the Mahabharata can be placed between c. 400 BCE and c. 400 CE, and the Ramayana between the 5"
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/4" century BCE and the 3” century CE.
- More recently, Alfred John Hiltebeitel has suggested a shorter period of composition for the Mahabharata, from the mid-
2nd century BCE to the year zero.
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Mahabharata as a historical source –

- The Mahabharata attributed to Vyasa is older and possibly reflects the state of affairs from the tenth century BC to AD fourth
century.
- |t contains narrative, descriptive, and didactic material. The main narrative which relates to the Kauravas – Pandava conflict
may relate to the later Vedic period, the descriptive portion might be of the post-Vedic period, and the didactic portion
generally relates to the post-Maurya and Gupta periods.
Corroborating Mahabharata and Archaeology –

- Archaeological explorations and excavations at places mentioned in the Mahabharata—e.g., Hastinapura, Kurukshetra,
Panipat, Tilpat, Baghpat, Mathura, and Bairat—have given evidence of a pottery called Painted Grey Ware (PGW) which
goes back to c. 1000 BCE. This shows that these sites were inhabited around this time, and the nature of the remains
suggests that the people who lived here shared a pastoral-cum-agricultural lifestyle.
- Excavations carried out at the Purana Qila between 1954 and 1971 by the ASI under the guidance of Prof. Braj Basi
Lal revealed several archaeological levels ranging from the 4th century BCE to the 19th century CE. The discovery of
a few stray pieces of PGW indicated the possibility that an older settlement was located somewhere nearby.
- Prof. B. B. Lal assumed the average reign to estimate a date of around 900 BCE and correlated this with
archaeological evidence from Painted Grey Ware (PGW) sites and found that the association being strong between
PGW artifacts and places mentioned in the epic.
- The Matsya and Vayu Puranas state that during the reign of king Nichakshu (fifth king after Parikshit, grandson of
Arjuna, who became king after the war), due to a flood in the Ganga, the capital was shifted from Hastinapur to Kaushambi.
Excavations at Hastinapura gave evidence of a flood in the Ganga, after which the site was deserted for several centuries.

PGW and the Mahabharata connection – B.B. Lal
The recent Purani Quila

excavations making daily
headlines, is not at all recent. A
student of history must be
thoroughly aware of the fact that
Purani Quila was already
excavated in 1950-52, 1954-55
and 1969-73 respectively by B.B.
Lal. It was during these
excavations that Lal found the
same PGW which he had earlier
found at places like Ahichchatra
and Hastinapur.
Infact during the course of his

excavations he found the PGW
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all the Mahabharata sites. Lal thus
concluded that this pottery is
nothing but the ‘Mahabharata
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Pottery’.
Lal was the same person who

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along with K. K. Mohammed led

the Ayodhya excavations
wherein they unearthed remains of
temple pillars and motifs in the
lower layers. Even though their
findings were conclusive, clinching
and reconfirmed by a second
round of excavation by another
team of ASI, the Marxist
historians in the likes of Irfan
Habib, Romila Thapar, R. S.
Sharma categorically denied
and refuted them.
For his extensive contribution to

the field of Indian Archaeology,
Prof. Lal was awarded the 2nd
highest civilian award – The
Padma Vibhushan

How the archaeological evidence helps archaeologists in the corroboration of the existing literary
evidence
A case study of Hastinapura (Meerut, U.P.) and Kaushambi
According to the Matsya and Vayu Puranas a heavy flood on the river Ganga destroyed the capital of Pandavas,
Hastinapur and Nichakshu, the fifth Pandava king after Parikshit (Arjuna’s grandson and Abhimanyu’s son) who
ascended the throne after Kurukshetra war, had to shift his capital to Kaushambi (50 kilometers from Prayagraj).
There is definite archaeological evidence of a massive flood level at Hastinapur.
The 1952 excavation of Hastinapur by the ASI under the guidance of Braj Basi Lal unearthed a layer of flood soil and
an erosional layer (Break 2) above the Painted grey ware layer (Period II). This layer was devoid of any habitation (a
break in the cultural stratigraphy) indicating that the site was deserted during this event of deluge. Thus, the
devastation by the Ganga is still visible in the thick clay soil at Hastinapur. Lal also found relations between the
Kaushambi PGW and the last stages of the PGW culture of Hastinapur (just prior to the flooding incident).
These archaeological evidences from Hastinapur and Kaushambi corroborate the Puranic evidence of flood as
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mentioned in Vayu and Matsya Puranas.
This provided Lal a definitive conclusion that Hastinapur had a historical basis and certain aspects of Mahabharata
had historical validity.
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Stratification ?
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Cultural stratigraphy of
Hastinapur – 1952, ASI.
The cultural strata in Hastinapur.

Notice carefully, the man pointing
the flood line.

Ramayana vs Mahabharata – cultural location/ Geographical setting –
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Religious literature – Buddhist and Jaina Literatures –
Buddhist Literature - Will be discussed in detail under the topic of Buddhism –
Jain Literature – Will be discussed in detail under the topic of Jainism –

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Secular Literature –
Plays, Dramas and Poems –

- Ashwaghosh – Sariputra Prakarana (1st Sanskrit Drama), Sundarananda Kavya (poetry).
- Bhasa – Father of Indian Dramaturgy. Wrote – Balacharita (Harivamsa), Swapnavasavaduttam
(Romance b/w Udayana of Vatsa and Vasavdutta, the princess of Prodatya dynasty and daughter of
Prodatya Mahasena), Yugandharayanam.
- Sudrak (3rd cent. CE) – Mrichchakatikam (One Brahmin named Charudutta falls in love with Vasantsena,
a ganika/ nagaravadhu of Ujjain) .
- Vishakadutta – Mudra rakshasa, Devi Chandraguptam (Devi, the wife of Ramagupta was surrendered by
the latter to Rudrasingh III, KardamakaSaka. Chandragupta II, in disguise of woman, lays siege to the
Saka kingdom, kills Rudrasingh III, marries Devi and sits on the Gupta throne).
- Samudragupta – Krishnacharitamritam.
- Kalidasa (Gupta age) – Malvikaagnimitram (Malvika, the stunning banished handmaiden of Agnimitra’s
chief queen Dharini + Agnimitra Sunga, the Sunga emperor of Bhilsa/ Visida and son of Pushyamitra. It
is the 1st play of Kalidasa), Vikramorvasiya, Abhigyanam Shakuntalam, Raghuvamsha, Meghadootam,
Kumarasambhava (Kumar = kartikeya + Sambhava = conceiving. The poetry deals with the marriage of
Shiva with Parvati/ Uma and concludes with the conceiving of Kartikeya).
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- Harsha – Ratnavali, Nagnanda, Priyadarshika.
- Bhavabhuti – Malti-Madhava, Mahavira Charita (depicts early life of Rama, not the Jaina Tirthankara
Mahavira), Uttarramacharita.
- Dandin – Kavyadarsha, Dasakumarcharita, Avantisundarikatha
- Bhatti – Bhattikavya.
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- Bharavi – Kiratarjuniyam (Shiva dressed as Kirata/ hunter appears before Arjuna)
- Magha – Sishupalavada (Krishna killing Sishupala using his Sudarshana Chakra)
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Narratives/ Popular literature (Literature characterized by narration. E.g., Panchatantra of Vishnu Sharma)
Historical Biography/ Charitam –

These are genre of text associated primarily with the courts. These are accounts of the lives and
achievements of ‘great men- kings and nobles’ and their compositions are extremely ornate composed
entirely for elite consumption. Languages used in composing these Charitas - Sanskrit and Prakrit.
- E.g., Buddha Charita by Ashwaghosh. The author dwells at length on the luxuries of courtly life,
including elaborate descriptions of women meant to serve as a representation of life at the Kushana
court.
- Harshacharitam, composed by Banabhatta contains some of the most complex prose sentences in
Sanskrit literature.
- Sandhyakaranandin- wrote a eulogy of the Pala Ruler- Rampala named Ramcharitam- wherein each
verse could be interpreted as referring either to the life of the epic hero.
- Bilhana’s Vikramankadevacharita (11th Cent. CE) of the Kalyani Chalukya ruler Vikramaditya VI.
- Kumarpalacharita (of the Solanki Rajput/ Chaulkyas of Gujarat king Kumarapala) – Hemchandra.
- Which things are highlighted by these Charitas –

Secular Literature (contd…)–
Ramcharitam (Sanskrit Verse/ poem)
Ramcharitam was penned down by Sandhyakar Nandi, a Bengali poet of 11th-12th century C.E.
medieval Bengal during the reign of the Pala ruler Madanpala (r. 1139 – 1161 CE), the second son of
Rampala (r. 1082 – 1124 C.E.).
Written in Sanskrit verse (a form of poem), in shlesha style (with double meaning) it simultaneously
narrates the story of both the Ramayana and the Pala king Rampala.
It also contains the account of exploits of - Gopala III (son of Rampala and successor to Kumarapala
who was another son and immediate successor of Rampala) and then Madanpala (the second son of
Rampala and successor to Gopala III).
Ramcharitam/ Ramcharit describes in vivid details, the Kaivartya (an aboriginal tribal fishing
community) revolt at Varendri/Varendrabhumi which originated during the time of Mahipal II, against
his oppressive rule / prohibition of fishing by the pro Buddhist Pala Kings which was the main source
of living for these Kaivartyas, by their leader Divya. The Ramcharitam of Sandhyakar describes this
rebellion as Anikam Dharmmaviplavam. The commentator explains Anikam as Alaksmikam (unholy or
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unfortunate) but does not offer any meaning of Dharmmaviplavam. Mahipal II was defeated and killed
by Divya and thereafter Varendri passed into the hands of the Kaivartyas. Divya was succeeded by
his brother Ruddok and then Ruddok’s son Bheem became the ruler of Varendri. However, it was
Rampala who defeated, killed Bheem and his family, and destroyed the Kaivartyas. He regained
Varendri into the Pala dominion.
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Incidentally, Rampala was the last great (important) Pala monarch whose reign was the last great
episode in the history of the Palas, almost like the last flickering of the dying lamp before it finally got
extinguished. Rampala is credited with the establishment of Jagaddal Mahavira (now in Bangladesh)
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which was the greatest centre of Vajrayana Buddhist learning.
Technical literature –
These deal with a varied subjects like Grammar, astronomy, astrology, medicine.
- Kamasutra – Vatsayana – Erotics
- Vartika – Katyayana – Grammar
- Mahabhasya – Patanjali – Grammar
- Aryabhattiyam – Aryabhatta – Astronomy
- Brihat Samhita – Varahmihira – Astronomy
- Panchasiddhantika – Varahmihira – Astronomy. Contains 5 treatises – Surya, Romaka (Roman), Paulisa
(Greek), Vashista, Paitamaha Siddhanta.
- Arya Siddhanta – Aryabhatta – Astronomy.
- Natyasashrtra – Bharat Muni (Post Mauryan) – Performing Arts
- Sushruta Samhita – Surgery
- Charak Samhita – Charaka (Kushana) – Medicine.

Foreign Accounts – Greek, Chinese, Arabs, Persians
- In this section we will focus only on the historical significance of the foreign accounts as source of history and
their limitations.
- The detailed analysis of the individual foreigners like Megasthenes (Greek), It-Sing, Fa-Hien, Hieun Tsang, Yi
Jing (Chinese) and Alberuni (Arab) will be dealt later in their respective portions. This means –
- Megasthenes – Will be dealt while studying the Mauryas.

- Fa-Hien – Will be dealt while studying the Guptas.
- Hieun Tsang (middle of 7th century CE) and It-sing (late 7th century CE)– Will be dealt while studying Post
Gupta (Harsha) period.
- Alberuni – Will be dealt while studying the Early Medieval portion.
In ancient times, several travellers from Greece, China and Arab visited India. These travellers left numerous
accounts of the happenings seen by them. These contacts came in the form of military invasions, religious exchange
and trade relations.
Historical Significance of Foreign Travellers account –

There are many references to India in foreign texts. In addition to indigenous sources, account of foreign travellers adds more
value to our understanding of ancient Indian society (i.e., foreign sources supplements the indigenous ones). Such texts
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reveal how people from other lands viewed India and its people, what they noticed and found worthy of description.
Significance of foreign accounts as sources of history –

- Religious interaction: Chinese traveller accounts provide meticulous accounts of the nature of Buddhist doctrines,
rituals, and monastic institutions in south, central, and southeast Asia.
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- Trade and commerce: Foreign accounts gives a glimpse of international trade between Indian subcontinent and other
parts of world. For example- Greek text Periplus of Erythraean sea account mentions in detail about Indo-Roman
trade in south Indian kingdoms. Herodotus’s writings about India discern the cultivation of cotton by the Indians
and that the Greeks knew about it. Pliny in 1st century attests a favourable BoT for India while lamenting the drain of
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Roman gold.
- Political setup of Indian subcontinent: Travellers were often associated with the court and got patronage of rulers. As a
result, they gave an account about rulers, their institutions and governance. For Example- Xuanzang gave account of
Harsha’s empire. The Greek ambassadors and military officers also wrote about the political conditions of India. Like,
Aristobulus- camp official of Alexander, wrote about their campaign; Nearchus- Alexander’s military official wrote about his
sea voyage; Selucus Nicator sent Megasthenes to the court of Chandragupta Maurya and Indica was compiled;
Antiochus- sent Diemachus to the court of Bindusara and Ptolemy-II – sent Dionysus to the court of Bindusara Maurya.
- Geographical information: Ptolemy wrote about the geography of India during the second century A.D. although his
knowledge of the geography of India was defective, yet he gives us a lot of valuable information. Pliny gave an account of
the Indian animals, plants and minerals in the first century A.D. India and the Indus River were plotted by Hecataeus of
Miletus, and he has referred to several tribes and cities of India, especially the Gandarii people who occupied the
country between upper Indus and the valley of Cabul (Kabul). Caspatyrus, the capital city of the Gandarii, situated
on the banks of the Indus, was known to Hecataeus. His information about India was, however, confined only to the
western parts of the country, lying to the west of the Indus River.
Limitations of foreign accounts as historical source –

- Hearsay vs Actual: Foreign travellers often made statements based on hearsay and not based on actual
experience. Historians must distinguish between statements based on hearsay and those grounded in personal
experience, between perceptive observations and cases where the writer got things completely wrong. For Example,
Indica of Ktesias was written by the author while he was in Persia and written events in a distorted manner.

- Different Culture & Socio-economic roots: It should be kept in mind that, as they were foreigners and not-rooted in
India, it hardly possible to expect from them a perfect knowledge of the socio-economic and political thoughts
and institutions in India. For Example, Megasthenes states that there were no slaves in India, but the Arthashastra
attests to the existence of slavery in contemporary India. According to historian Romila Thapar, the lack of sharp
distinction between slaves and others in the Indian society (unlike the Greek society) may have confused Megasthenes.
He also confuses between Varna and caste.
- Limited geographical coverage: Travellers usually were living in a specific geographical region; hence their
observations cannot be generalized for whole India in same manner. For example, Megasthenes stayed in Pataliputra
region but generalized observations for other regions.
- Lack of authenticity of facts: A mere plain reading of such accounts will not prove helpful. They needed to be
corroborated from other contemporary accounts. For Example, Megasthenes claims that before Alexander, no foreign
power had invaded or conquered Indians, except for the mythical heroes Hercules and Dionysus. However, it is
known from earlier sources - such as the inscriptions of Darius the Great and Herodotus - that the Achaemenid Empire
included parts of north-western part of India (present-day Pakistan). As per H.C. Raychaudhuri, a possibility is that
Megasthenes intended to understate the power of the Achaemenid Empire, a rival of the Greeks.
- Interpolations & alterations: Some foreign accounts exist in fragment form and were paraphrased by many other
authors. This led to changes in actual text and interpolations. For Example, Megasthenes Indica was lost, but later Greek
works preserve paraphrases of some of its sections and actual content might have been modified.
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Arabic and Persian accounts –
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 important and far-reaching impact on intellectual ideas and technology in Asia and
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Europe.
Persian was the language of royal courts and high culture in central and West Asia in early medieval times, and a
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number of Persian texts refer to India.
Prominent travellers
- Al-Beruni- He was one of the greatest intellectuals of early medieval times and most famous Arab visitor. He lived in
India for 8 years, learned Indian languages and wrote a detailed work titled as “Tahqiq-i-Hind”, which proves an
invaluable source for the socio-economic life of early medieval age. (We will study Alberuni as a source of history
in Early Medieval portion in detail).
- Al-Sulaiman- Al-Sulaiman visited India in middle of 9 was a Persian Muslim merchant/traveller. He wrote in detail
about ‘Gurjara-pratiharas’ and as per him Mihir Bhoja had a powerful army. He also visited the Pala kingdom being
ruled by Devpala and called the Kingdom as ‘Ruhma’ (Dharma, after the name of Devpala’s father Dharmapala).
- Al-Mausdi - Al-Masudi visited India around 967 CE. He is known as a famous historian, geographer and traveller. He
is also called ‘Herodotus of the Arabs’ due to his originality in history writing. He gave weight to social, economic,
religious and cultural matters as to politics.
- Chachnama- It describes how a Brahmana named Chach usurped the throne of Sindh in the mid-7th century CE
and narrates the Arab conquest of that region by the Abbasid Caliph gov of Basra, Al-Hajjaj under the
commandership of his son-in-law Muhammad bin Qasim (712 CE). It was originally written in Arabic by an
anonymous author, but later translated into Persian by Abu Bakr Kufi.
- The Shahnama of Firdausi, a classic of Persian poetry, and the Gulistan by the famous poet Sa’adi, refer
incidentally to aspects of Indian trade.

Historical Consciousness in Ancient Indian Society – Debate
Origin of the Debate –

The Colonial Scholars believed that Indian Historiography is generally an Islamic creation which did not begin until the Turks invaded
the Subcontinent in the late 12th Cent. CE. According to them Indians failed isolating myths and legends from facts and that while
writing history, the Indians failed to maintain a proper chronology on many occasions. They described the Indian past as ‘oriental
despotism’, arguing that it was a static society that registered no historical change, and therefore it had no use for recording the past
and used only cyclic time.
It is true that history of a society is generally studied from the chronological events recorded by the historians of that
age and in the first glance, it seems as if ancient Indians didn’t pay much attention to historiography as they did in the
case of religious, philosophical studies. But Romila Thapar has shown us that the way and manner of history writing
varies across the ages and that what constitutes important in present age might not be of the same importance in the
past.
According to Dr. Thapar there exists ample of evidences which indicate that the ancient society had historical
consciousness. She argues that historical consciousness has evolved in India from “embedded form” to
“externalized form” and the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the Puranas and Epics depict history in an embedded form.
The embedded forms of historical consciousness tended to be connected with lineage-based societies. It has to be
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carved out from myths, epics and genealogy. And in later period the way of history writing moved to externalized
form. Externalized history reflects a more evident and self-conscious historical consciousness, reflected for instance
in chronicles and biographies. The externalized history tended to be connected with state societies.
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Embedded History VS. Externalized History ?

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These evidences indicate historical consciousness in Indian society –

Later Vedic compositions:
- Later Vedic texts contain certain types of compositions that reflect a historical consciousness. These are the danastutis,
Gathas, narashamsis, and akhyanas.
- The dana-stutis are hymns praising the generosity and exploits of kings.
- The gathas are songs in praise of kings, sang on the occasion of certain sacrifices.
- Narashamsis were used in rituals and are preserved in texts such as the Brahmanas and Grhiyasutra.
- Akhyanas are narrative hymns in dialogue form, referring to mythical and possibly historical events.
Puranas and epics:

- The king-lists (Vamshanucharitam) in the Puranas and epics represent more substantial evidence of an ancient
Indian historical tradition.
- The epics are known as Itihaasas, and record things that actually happened. Many events mentioned in
Mahabharata and Puranas have historical basis and have been corroborated by Archaeological evidence.
Poets and bards:

- Bards known as Sutas and Magadhas played an important role in maintaining these historical traditions.
- The poets and bards of the ancient Tamil land who eulogized their royal patrons can also be seen as creators and
transmitters of a historical tradition.
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Religious texts and Sacred biographies
- The Jatakas mention the socioeconomic conditions of the age they describe.
- The Buddhist genealogical texts Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, which offer a mythico-historical account of how
Buddhism travelled to Sri Lanka, represent a historical tradition as well.
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- Mention may also be made of sacred biographies in the Buddhist, Jaina, and Hindu traditions.
Royal biographies (Charitam), Royal inscriptions:

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- Royal biographies too reflect a historical tradition, despite their eulogistic nature. Royal inscriptions, many of which
have a prashasti (panegyric) like the Prayag Prashasti, Aihole Prashasti contain the king’s genealogy and references to
his exploits, usually with a view to shower praise on him.
Differences in the ways of keeping historical traditions: Ancient times vs Modern times –
- There is evidence of different kinds of historical traditions in ancient and early medieval India, these traditions were
very different from our modern notions of history.
- The intellectuals of every age and society select the aspects of the past they consider Important and interpret and
present them in their own way. Since ancient and modern societies differ from each other in so many respects, it is
not surprising to find major differences in their ways of looking at the past.
- Modern historians distinguish between myth and history, which ancient texts do not.
- The historical traditions of ancient India were related to religious, ritualistic, and court contexts while history in our
times is an academic discipline based on research, linked to modern institutions such as universities and research
institutes.
- The ways in which the past was understood and represented in ancient texts are very different from the methods,
techniques, and goals of historical research today.

Significance of Literary Sources?
Literary Sources can help us understand the following aspects of history –
Politics Society Economy Religion Science
- Wars - Condition of Women - Trade & Commerce - Nature - Progress

- Admin - Gods - Process
- Rituals
The Literary sources acts as bible for understanding the history and cultural processes of those era which are
devoid of archaeological sources. Like for the Vedic Age. But more importantly they act as a corroborative evidence
for those period where there exists archaeological evidences.
Vedic Age Mahajanapada Mauryas Post-Mauryas Gupta Post Gupta
- Veda - Buddhist sources - Arthasastra - Sangam - Science - Foreign

- Study @ - Focus of Politics - Megasthenes - Jain Literature - Poetry - Kings
Aryans & Religion - Ptolemy - Charaka - Foreign A/c Biography
- Jain LT
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plates role
Why are the Literary Sources not reliable in isolation and corroboration of them is required through archaeological
sources –
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- An ancient text does not necessarily offer a simple or direct reflection of the society of its time. It presents a complex
representation of that society and a refracted image of the past.
- Hence, it’s information must be subjected to the wise interpretation of the historians, and they must extract them with care,
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skill, and ingenuity to make historical inferences.

- At times, literary text grown over time and their composition took place in hundreds of years. E.g., the Puranas, Ramayana
and Mahabharata. Different chronological layers and the various additions took place in these texts over a period of time,
making it difficult to decipher their content and ascertain their historical basis.
- Moreover, the language , style and content also changed as the time passed by.
- Some of the religious texts like the Vedas were not primarily meant to be read. They were Shrutis and hence recited,
heard, and performed and passed on orally from one generation to the next.
- A text can be read in many ways and hence different historians and scholars interpret them differently.
- On many instances, the texts are much older than their surviving manuscripts. A fine example in this regard is the Vedas.
The Vedas were written down (codified) much later and hence major problem in using the Vedas as a source of history is
the problem of dating them especially the Rig Veda.
- Another problem in using Literary evidences as a source of history is that many author remained anonymous. This
becomes a problem because identification of background of the author, his corresponding traits like biases towards certain
class, religion and gender becomes central to understand history. Like Kalhana was highly critical of queen Didda.
- On many instances we don’t know about the origin of the geographical area of the circulation of the texts and the audience
they target.
- Literary sources suffer problems of issue of the Language and variation within and across different language. For instance,
the Sanskrit of Rig Veda and Kalida’s have variations. Sanskrit vs. Pali - Dharma vs. Dhamma.
- The authors on many occasions failed to make distinctions between Religious and Secular literatures. Hence extracting
one from the other becomes a daunting task for the historians.

Sources of History – Archaeological Sources
Archaeological Sources
Stone Tools Inscriptions Coins Monuments Pottery
- Artefacts - Prasasti - Metal - Stupa - Material

- Nature? - Type - Pillars - Colour
Eg. Religious - Punch-marked - Caves - Paintings Etc.
Didatic - Figure-Impressioned - Temples
Admin - Sculpture
Commerce - Seals
Eulogistic
Votive
Denotative
Literary
Archaeology-Definition –
- Archaeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture.
- The archaeological record consists of artefacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes.
- The discipline involves surveying, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected to learn more about the past. In
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broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research.
- Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for which, there are no written records.
Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Palaeolithic until the advent of literacy in societies across the
world.
Methodology of archaeology –
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- With the advent of latest modern advancements archaeologists use various methods to study remains of the past.
- Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification), which helps
historians to study the past by using material evidence.
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Mounds –
- A mound is an elevated portion of land covering the remains of old habitations. It may be of different types: single-culture,
major-culture, and multi-culture.
- Single-culture mounds represent only one culture throughout. Example: Some mounds represent only the Painted Grey
Ware (PGW) culture, Satavahana culture, Kushans etc. In major-culture mounds, one culture is dominant, and the others
are of secondary importance.
- Multi-culture mounds represent several important cultures in succession which occasionally overlap with one another.
Example: As is the case with the Ramayana and Mahabharata sites especially Hastinapur. Other Multicultural sites include
the Harappan Civilisation sites like Harappa, Amri, Kunal etc..
Excavation of Mound –
- A mound can be excavated vertically or horizontally.
- The method may enable the excavator to obtain a complete idea of the site culture in a particular period.
- An excavated mound can be used to understand successive layers of the material and other aspects of a culture.
Vertical Excavation –
- Vertical excavation means lengthwise digging to uncover the period-wise sequence of cultures; it is generally confined to a
part of the site.
- As most sites have been dug vertically, they provide a good chronological sequence of material culture.
Horizontal excavation –
- Horizontal excavation entails digging the mound as a whole or a major part of it. Horizontal diggings, being very expensive,
are very few.

- Horizontal excavations do not give us a full or even adequate picture of material life in many phases of ancient Indian
history.
- These kind of excavation help us understand the extensiveness of a site.
Variation in the condition of ancient remains –
- In those mounds which have been excavated, the ancient remains have been found preserved in varying proportions.
- In the dry arid climate of western UP, Rajasthan, and north-western India, antiquities are found in a better state of
preservation.
- In the moist and humid climate of the mid-Gangetic plains and in the deltaic regions even iron Implements suffered
corrosion and mud structures become difficult to detect.
- Only the burnt brick structures or stone structures of the Gangetic plains are well preserved.
Significance of excavation –
- Excavations have brought to light the villages that people established around 6000 BC in Baluchistan.
- They also tell us about the material culture which was developed in the Gangetic plains in the second millennium BC.
- They show the layout of the settlements in which people lived, the types of pottery they used, the form of house in which
they dwelt, the kind of cereals they ate, and the type of tools and implements they used.
- Some people in south India buried in graves, along with the dead, their tools, weapons, pottery, and other belongings, and
these were encircled by large pieces of stone. These structures are called megaliths, although some megaliths do not fall in
this category. By digging them we learn of the life people lived in the Deccan from the Iron Age onwards.
Methods of dating antiquities – VE
Their dates are fixed by various methods, of them, radiocarbon dating is the most important.
- Rationale behind radiocarbon dating method: Radiocarbon or Carbon 14 (C-14) is a radioactive carbon (isotope) which
is present in all living objects. It decays, like all radioactive substances, at a uniform rate. By measuring the loss of C-14
content in an ancient object, its age can be determined.
- Process of deriving dates of antiquities: It is known that the half-life of C-14 is 5568 years. The half-life of a radioactive
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material is defined as the period during which half the radioactive content in an object disappears.
- Limitation of this method: No antiquity older than 70,000 years can be dated by this method.
Other methods of Dating –
- Pollen analysis: The history of climate and vegetation is known through an examination of plant residues, and especially
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through pollen analysis. On this basis it is suggested that agriculture was practiced in Rajasthan and Kashmir around
7000-6000 BC.
- Examination of animal bones: An examination of animal bones shows whether the animals were domesticated and
indicates the uses to which they were put for.
- Geological studies: Archaeology provides a kind of soil archive which contains various material remains, but, for a total
study of prehistory extending roughly up to 3000 BC or so, it is necessary to get an idea of the history of the soil, rocks, etc.
- Biological studies: The world of plants and animals keeps on changing though at a slow pace. Their history is provided by
biological studies.
Connecting texts and archaeological findings –
- Ancient history has so far been constructed principally based on literary sources, foreign and Indigenous. Coins and
inscriptions play some part, but the texts receive greater weightage. Now, new methods are adopted.
- There is a need to be more critical about the dates and contents of the texts. This may be done if we examine/ corroborate
the texts in the context of archaeological evidence.
- The archaeologists were initially inspired by written texts, and several sites mentioned in the Brahmanical and Buddhist
texts were excavated. This immensely enriched historical information, though the digging results did not always confirm the
contents of the texts, it is advisable to examine the texts in the context of archaeological findings.
- For the study of the age of the Rig Veda, the Gandhara grave culture need to be considered. In this culture, the horse was
used, and the dead were cremated in the second millennium BC. We have to establish a co-relation between the later
Vedic age, on the one hand, and the Painted Grey Ware and other types of archaeological finds, on the other.
- Similarly, early Pali texts have to be related to the Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW) archaeology.

- The information derived from the Sangam texts needs to be co-related with that inferred from inscriptions and early
Megalithic archaeology in peninsular India.
Ethno-Archaeology –
- Ethno-archaeology studies the behaviour and practices of living communities in order to interpret the
archaeological evidence related to communities of the past.
- Ethnography:
- Ethnography is the study of living cultures and communities.
- The Indian subcontinent is an area where many traditional features and methods survive-for instance in
agriculture, animal husbandry, house building, the clothes people wear and the food they eat.
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Archaeology more authentic than texts:

- Archaeological evidence should be considered far more important than the long family trees found in the Puranas.
- The Puranic tradition could be used to date Rama of Ayodhya to around 2000 BC, but diggings and extensive
explorations in Ayodhya do not show any settlement around that date.
- Similarly, although Krishna plays an important role in the Mahabharata, the earliest inscriptions and sculptural
pieces from Mathura between 200 BC and 300 CE do not attest to his presence.
- Further, based on literary traditions and epigraphic material. Vardaman Mahavira and Gautama Buddha are generally
dated to the sixth century BC, but the cities they visited are archaeologically not older than 400 BC.
- Hence, on chronological and rational grounds, archaeology, inscriptions, and coins are more important than texts.
Contribution of archaeology –
- Inscriptions may indicate the regnal period of a king, his conquest, and its extent, but they also reveal trends in the
development of polity, society, economy, and religion. This study, therefore, does not use Inscriptions merely for
political or religious history.
- Epigraphic land grants are valued not for the family trees and lists of conquest, but more importantly for the rise of
new states and changes in the social and agrarian structure, particularly in post-Gupta times.
- Coins need to be used not only for the reconstruction of the history of the Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Satavahanas and
Kushanas, but also for the history of trade and urban life.
- In sum, a careful collection of the material derived from texts, coins, inscriptions, archaeology, etc., is central to
historical reconstruction.
Critical evaluation –
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- The grammatical works of Panini and Patanjali have almost fixed dates, and they are comparatively free from myths
and legends and are therefore as important as coins, inscriptions, and the results of excavations.
- A royal inscription contains exaggerations. The term hundreds of thousands being slained in the Kalinga War (as
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mentioned in the XIIIIth Major Rock Edict) seem to be a cliché in Ashokan inscriptions. It is applied to people and
animals and raises doubts about the number of the people killed in the Kalinga war and those brought to
Pataliputra.
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- There are exaggerations too in the inscriptions of Samudragupta and King Chandra.
Relative importance –
- We have seen that this raises the problem of the relative importance of the sources. Thus, coins, inscriptions, and
archaeology are considered more important than mythologies found in the epics and Puranas.
- Mythologies may support dominant norms, validate social customs, and justify the privileges and disabilities of
people organized in castes and other social groups, but the events described in them cannot be taken to be true.

Inscriptions
The study of inscriptions is known as Epigraphy. Epigraphy includes deciphering the text of inscriptions and analyzing
the information they contain. It also includes paleography, the study of ancient writing.
- Inscriptions were carved on seals, stone pillars, rocks, copperplates, temple walls, wooden tablets, and bricks or
images.
- In India as a whole, the earliest inscriptions were recorded on stone.
- However, in the early centuries of the Christian era, copper plate began to be used for this purpose. Even then the
practice of engraving inscriptions on stone continued on a large scale in south India. Moreover, a large number of
inscriptions recorded on the walls of temples serve as permanent records in South India.
Inscriptions as a source of history

- Political History: Inscriptions are a valuable source of information on political history. The geographical spread of a
king's inscriptions is often taken as indicating the area under his political control. Example- Ashokan Inscriptions,
Nasik Pandava Leni Prasastin of Gautami Putra Satkarni by Gautami Balashree, Naneghat cave inscription of
Satakarni I by Naganika, Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta, Aihole Meguti Jain temple Inscription of
Pulakesin II, Hathigumpha inscription on Udayagiri hillock in Bhubaneshwar glean the political conquests of
Mahameghavahana/ Chedi Kharvela.
- Political Processes: Inscriptions have also been used as a major source of information on political structures and
administrative and revenue systems. Inscriptions shed light on the history of settlement patterns, agrarian relations
and class and caste structures. E.g., Two inscriptions dated 919 and 921 CE of Parantaka I from Uthiramerur talks
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about the Village administration of the Cholas. The inscriptions indicate the existence of 2 village assemblies – Ur
and Sabha. The Sabha was exclusively of Brahmins, while the Ur constituted all.
- Chronological Information: Inscriptions provide dateable information on the history of religious sects, institutions,
and practices.
- Donative records help identify the sources of patronage enjoyed by ancient religious establishments.
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- They also give glimpses into sects and cults that were once important but did not leave any literature of their
own e.g., the Ajivikas sect and the yaksha and Naga cults. The Barabar cave inscriptions of Asoka and
Dasharatha (Bandhupalita) are important in this regard. They glean donations of these caves to the Ajivikas.
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- Historical geography: Inscriptions can help identify and date sculptures and structures, and thus throw light on the
history of iconography, art, and architecture. They are also a rich source of information on historical geography.
For Example, the location of the ancient Buddhist monastic site, Kapilvastu has been fixed on the basis of
inscribed monastic seals.
- Cultural History: Inscriptions reflect the history of languages and literature, and a few refer to the performing arts.
For example, the 7th century Kudumiyamalai inscription gives the musical notes used in seven classical ragas.
Inscriptions from Tamil Nadu refer to the performing of various kinds of dances. The pillars of the eastern and
western gateways of the Nataraja temple at Chidambaram have label inscriptions describing the dance poses of
108 sculpted figures carved on them, quoting verses from the Natya Shastra of Bharatamuni.
- Economic History: Inscriptions also reflect various aspects of the economic history.
- Taxation – Rummendei (Lumbini) commemorative pillar edict of Ashoka – Bali was fully remitted, and Bhaga
was reduced to one-sixth.
- Guilds –
- Mandsaur Pillar inscription of Kumargupta I speaks of migration of guilds of silk weavers from
Saurashtra region to Mandsaur (M.P.).
- Anjuvannam (medieval South Indian guilds) find mention in – Kollam Cu plates of Sthanu Ravi (9th cent.
CE), Kochi Plates of Bhaskar Ravi Varman (11th cent. CE), Kottayam Plates of Veera Raghava (13th cent.
CE).
- Money Lending – Nasik cave inscription of Usavadutta (son-in-law of Nahapana) records an ‘aksayanivi’ (a
permanent endowment) of 3000 Karshapanas invested with 2 weaver’s guilds at Govardhana. Out of this 3000
Karshapana, 2000 were deposited with a weaver’s guild @ 12% interest per annum. The remaining 1000 were
invested in another guild @ 9% interest per annum.
- Famine Relief measures – Cu plate inscriptions @ Sohgaura (U.P.) and Mahasthangarh.
- Social History:
- Sati practice from the Eran Inscription of Bhanugupta, dated 510 CE. Bhanugupta’s general Goparaja died in a
battle with the Maitras following which his wife committed sati.
- The practice of Vishti meant manual forced labour, more precisely it can be termed as a form of tax to be paid
to the king in form of labour. This practice can be found for the 1st time in Rudradamana I’s inscription @
Girnar hills in Junagadh. There Rudradamana says that he re-constructed the damaged Sudharshan Lake
within a short span of time without oppressing the inhabitants of towns and villages of any kind of taxes,
impositions or forced labour (vishti). Upinder Singh notes that since these Vishti inscriptions are widespread
in Central India (M.P.) and Kathiawad region, this very practice was prevalent in these regions.
- Religious History:
- Besnagar/ Vidisha/ Bhilsa pillar inscription of Heliodorus, ambassador of the Indo-Greek King of Taxila –
Antialcidus (Amtalakita) to the court of Bhagabhadra Sunga (5th or 9th Sunga king). The pillar is a garudhwaja
and is the earliest extant pillar of Bhagwatism in the subcontinent. In this pillar Heliodorus calls himself
Bhagawat (worshipper of Vasudeva Krishna) and hails Vashudeva Krishna as Deva-deva.
- Eran Varaha inscription of Huna Tormana, dated 510 CE. Dedicated to Varahadeva, an avatar of Vishnu.
- The Eran Pillar of Budhagupta, dated 484-85 CE. This pillar which was erected by one Matrivishnu and his bro
Dhanyavishnu, in the honour of Janardhana as a dhwaj-sthambha (flag staff). It has a Garuda with a serpent at
its top and is related to Vaishnavism.
- Lakulisha Mathura pillar inscription, early Guptas, dated 380 CE – It is the earliest epigraphic evidence of
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Pashupat Shaivism. Written in Sanskrit language and early Gupta script. The inscribed pillar records the
installation of two Shiva Lingas by Udita Acharya in the year 61 following the era of the Guptas in the reign of
Chandragupta Vikramaditya. (Gupta era 61 means 319 + 61 = 380 CE.).
Significance of Inscriptions as sources –

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- They are usually contemporaneous to the events they speak of, and their information can be connected to a time
and place.
- Changes and additions made to them can usually be detected without much difficulty.
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- The text of inscriptions may be brief, but many short inscriptions can often provide important historical
information.
- Compared to literary sources, which tend to give a theoretical perspective, inscriptions often reflect what people
were actually doing.
- Inscriptions are material remains and have to be understood in relation to the larger contexts in which they are
found. They are also texts, connected with prevailing structures of power, authority, and social status.
- Helps archaeologists to delineate the evolution of languages - Prakrit, Sanskrit, Aramaic, Greek and the script –
Brahmi, Kharosthi. Different inscriptions shows development of languages and script from where scholars can
discern the evolution of alphabets. Inscription also helps in understanding the status of court language. At times
local dialects were also highlighted. In some places bilingual inscriptions also found like the Ashokan bilingual
edict of Greek and Aramaic from Sar-i-Kuhna, Kandahar.
Variation in inscriptions –
- Most inscriptions bearing on the history of the Maurya, post-Maurya, and Gupta periods have been published in a
series of collections called Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, but not many inscriptions of the post-Gupta period
figure in such systematic compilations.
- In the case of south India, topographical lists of inscriptions have been published. Still, over 50,000 inscriptions,
mostly of south India, await publication.
- The Harappan Inscriptions, which await decipherment, seem to have been written in a pictographic script in which
Ideas and objects were expressed in the form of pictures.

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Rummendei/ Lumbini
Commemorative
Pillar, Lumbini (Nepal)
Uthiramerur
Inscription of
Parantaka I
Lakulisa
Mathura
Pillar

Classification of Inscriptions –
- Inscriptions can be classified in several different ways, for instance according to the surface they are engraved on,
language, age, and geographical region.
- Official and Private records –
- They can also be classified into official and private records, depending on whose behalf they were inscribed.
- Ashoka's edicts and royal land grants are examples of official records. They convey royal orders and
decisions regarding social, religious, and administrative matters to officials and the people in general.
- Inscriptions recording grants made by private individuals or guilds to temples, or to Buddhist or Jain
establishments are examples of private records. These are votive records of the followers of Buddhism,
Jainism, Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and the like. They appear on pillars, tablets, temples, or images as marks of
devotion.
- Classification based on content and purpose:

- Inscriptions can also be classified according to their content and purpose into types such as – donative,
dedicative, and commemorative inscriptions.
- Commemorative inscriptions:
- The Lumbini pillar inscription of Ashoka is a royal commemorative inscription, recording a specific event-the
visit of the king to the Buddha's birth-place. Similarly, was the Nigvalisagar inscription was a commemorative
one commemorating the birth of Kanagamana Buddha.
-
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The tradition of memorial pillars lives on in certain parts of the country today, e.g.. in Karnataka and among
tribal communities of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The Maria and Muria Gond tribes of the Bastar region of
Madhya Pradesh still erect memorials of stone and wood. Some are plain, others are beautifully carved or
painted. These memorials are linked with beliefs and rituals related to death and afterlife and are a very
important part of the cultural life and identity of the people.
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- Donative Inscriptions :
- Donative records refer specially to gifts of money, cattle, land, etc., mainly for religious purposes. made not
only by kings and princes but also by artisans and merchants. These were inscribed on shrine walls, railings,
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and gateways.
- The excavation and donation of caves to ascetics was recorded in inscriptions in the caves. Donative
inscriptions include records of the installation of religious images, often inscribed on the .images themselves.
- Others record investments of money made by people, out of the interest of which lamps, flowers, incense, etc.
were to be provided for the worship of the deity.
- Recording land grants, made mainly by chiefs and princes, are very important for the study of the land system
and administration in ancient India. These were mostly engraved on copper plates. They record grants of
lands, revenues, and villages made to monks, priests, temples, monasteries, vassals, and officials.
- They were written in all languages, including Prakrit, Sanskrit, Tamil, and Telugu.
- Royal land grants:
- Royal land grants are an important category of donative records. There are thousands of such inscriptions,
some on stone, but mostly inscribed on one or more copper plates. Most of them record grants made by kings
to Brahmanas and religious establishments.
- The earliest stone inscriptions recording land grants with tax exemptions are Satavahana and Kshatrapa
epigraphs found at Nasik. Satavahanas were the ones who started the practice of donating land grants to the
Brahmins.
- The mid-4th century Pallava and Shalankayana grants are the earliest surviving copper plate grants. One of the
oldest copper plate grants from north India is the late 4th century CE Kalachala grant of king Ishvararata.
- Copper plate grants increased in number and frequency in the early medieval period.

- Royal inscriptions:
- Royal inscriptions include prashastis (panegyric). Most royal inscriptions (and some private ones too)
usually begin with a prashasti, but some inscriptions are entirely devoted to eulogizing the attributes and
achievements of kings and conquerors and ignore their defeats or weaknesses.
- Well-known examples are the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharvela, a 1st century BCE/1st century CE king of
Kalinga in Orissa, and the Allahabad prashasti of the 4th century Gupta emperor Samudragupta.
- Certain inscriptions record the building of waterworks, wells, and charitable feeding houses by private
individuals. A series of unique records of royal initiatives of this kind are inscribed on a granite rock at
Junagadh (Girnar) in Gujarat. Apart from a set of Ashokan edicts, this rock bears two other important
inscriptions –
- A 150 CE inscription of the Shaka ruler Rudradamana records the beginning of the construction of a water
reservoir known as Sudarshan lake in the 4th century BCE during the time of the Maurya emperor
Chandragupta, its completion during the reign of Ashoka, and its repair in the 2nd century CE.
- A 5th century inscription on the same rock (northern face of the rock), of the time of the Gupta king
Skandagupta. This inscription is divided into 2 parts. 1st part describes as to how the lake burst its banks
due to excessive rains and was repaired after two years' work. While the 2nd part describes the construction
of a temple.
- Script used in Inscriptions:
-
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The earliest Inscriptions were written in Prakrit in the third century BCE.
- Sanskrit was adopted as an epigraphic medium in the second century AD and its use became widespread in
the fourth and fifth centuries, but even then, Prakrit continued to be used.
- Inscriptions began to be composed in regional languages in the ninth and tenth centuries.
- Most Ashokan inscriptions were engraved in the Brahmi script, which was written from left to right. but
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some were also incised in the Kharosthi script which was written from right to left.
- However, the Brahmi script prevailed virtually all over India except for the north-western part. In the NW,
Greek and Aramaic scripts were employed in writing Ashokan inscriptions in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but
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Brahmi continues to be the main script till the end of Gupta times.
- For Indian history, the earliest deciphered inscriptions are Iranian. They belong to the sixth-fifth centuries
BC and are found in Iran. They appear in Old-Indo-Iranian and also in Semitic languages in the cuneiform
script. They speak of the Iranian conquest of the Hindu or Sindhu area.
- In India, the earliest deciphered are Ashokan inscriptions. They are generally written in Brahmi script and
Prakrit language in the third century BC. They throw light on Maurya history and Ashoka's achievements.
- In the fourteenth century CE, two Ashokan pillar inscriptions were found by Firoz Shah Tughlaq, one in
Meerut and another at a place called Topra in Haryana. He brought them to Delhi and asked the pandits of
his empire to decipher the inscriptions, but they failed to do so.
- These epigraphs were first deciphered in 1837 by James Prinsep, a civil servant in the employ of the East
India Company in Bengal.
- Limitations for using the inscriptions as a source –
Although a wide range of information is provided by inscriptions, still they. (especially Prashastis) have certain
limitations:
- Happenchance Event: The discovery of inscriptions depends on chance and not all the Inscriptions inscribed during
a king's reign need necessarily be found. Furthermore, movable inscriptions are not always found in situ, i.e., in their
original place.
- Eulogizing Patrons; Royal Inscriptions naturally tend to exaggerate the achievements of the ruling king For example,
In Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta is elevated to the level of gods by Harisena.

- Conflicting information// Genealogy: Sometimes, confusion is created when a genealogy mentions kings with the
same name, or when different inscriptions contradict each other on particular details. For instance, Skandagupta and
Ramagupta, are ignored in Gupta genealogies because they did not come within the direct line of succession of the
later ruler..
- Conflicting Claims: There are cases where inscriptions of different dynasties make conflicting claims. For
instance, a Gurjara-Pratihara inscription states that king Vatsaraja conquered all of Karnataka. However, the
contemporary Rashtrakuta king Dhruva claims in his inscriptions to have defeated Vatsaraja and to have
ruled over the Karnataka area.
- Cross-Verification: Since most inscriptions are written in praise of the ruling elite, the details of political events
given in inscriptions should be cross-checked.
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Sources of History - Numismatics
Numismatics –
- Numismatics or the study of coins includes the analysis of the material out of which coins were made; the identification of
the sources of the metals; the classification and study of the form of coins based on their fabric (size, shape, thickness,
design, workmanship), metrology (weight), design, metallic composition. techniques of manufacture, and message
content.
- In modern times, money functions as a medium of exchange, a store of value, a unit of accounts, and a medium
of deferred payment. In its most general sense, money is any item that is accepted by a community for the
exchange of goods or services or for the discharge of debt.
- Metrology-the measurement and arrangement of coins by weight-is an important aspect of numismatics.
Currency & Coinage –

- Currency is a medium of exchange backed by an issuing authority, one that can be used to immediately discharge any
kind of financial obligation.
- Coinage is metal currency. It has a definite size, shape, and weight standard, and bears the stamp of an issuing authority.
Coins:
- The main message-bearing side of a coin is known as the obverse and the other side the reverse.
- In the world context, the earliest coins appear in Lydia in West Asia in c. 700 BCE and were made of electrum, a natural
-
alloy of gold and silver.
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Ancient coins are usually discovered by accident. A very small proportion finds its way into the hands of coin collectors or
governments; the majority end up getting lost, melted down, or destroyed. Coins occur as stray individual finds or as part
of coin hoards.
- Hoards are especially valuable for monetary history and consist of coins withdrawn from human custody (due to
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being buried underground for safety, or fire, floods, loss, etc.) and found subsequently.
- In the course of circulation, coins are subjected to wear and tear and their weight gradually decreases. This fact
enables numismatists to arrange them in a chronological sequence and to distinguish between coins of a hoard
that have been in circulation for greater and less periods of time.
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- Various techniques are used for ascertaining the metal content of coins.
- Mint towns can be identified by noting sites where large numbers of coin moulds have been found.
Obverse
Reverse
Coin of Menander

Coins as a source of history
- Determination of Chronology: In the course of circulation, coins are subjected to wear and tear and their weight
gradually decreases. This fact enables numismatists to arrange them in a chronological sequence.
- Monetary History: Coins provide clues to several important historical processes. They are linked to monetary history,
which includes an analysis of the production and circulation of coinage, the monetary value attached to coins, and the
frequency and volume of issues. Monetary history is in turn an important aspect of the history of exchange and trade.
For e.g., declining gold coins in the Gupta age suggested decline in trade with Rome.
- Development of Trade and Commerce: The wide distribution of Kushana coins indicates the flourishing trade. The
double mast ship on certain Satavahana coins reflects the importance of maritime trade in the Deccan during
this period. Roman coins provide information on Indo-Roman trade. The few coin series issued by guilds
indicate the importance of these institutions.
- Political Set-Up: Coins also offer information on ancient political systems. The term gana on coins of the Yaudheyas
and Malavas points to their non-monarchical polity. City coins are suggestive of the importance and possible
autonomy of certain city administrations.
- Reflect Political Changes: Changes in coinage patterns mirrored political changes. With the expansion of the
Magadha empire, the Magadhan type of punch-marked coins came to gradually replace those of other states.
Counter struck coins indicate defeat of one ruler by the another. Like coins of Nahapan counter struck by
Gautamiputra Satakarni appears in Jogalthambi hoard. This indicates that GPS defeated Nahapana.
- Territorial Extent: As important royal message-bearing media, coins form a vital source of political history. The area of
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circulation of dynastic issues is often used to estimate the extent and frontiers of empires. However, coins often
circulated beyond the borders. They also sometimes continued to circulate for some time after a dynasty faded from
power. E.g., the territorial extent of Kushan ruler Kanishka upto Mathura was determined by his coins in the said
territory.
- Understanding the Political History: Coins are an important source for the political history of India between c. 200
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BCE and 300 CE. Most of the Indo-Greek kings are known almost entirely from their gold coins which are specifically
attributed to kings. Coins also offer information on the Parthians, Shakas, Kshatrapa, Kushans, and Satavahanas. Coins
found in various parts of north and central India mention kings whose names end in the suffix 'naga', about whom little is
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known from other sources. Even coins were issued on the instance of the royal coronation and relates to eras like
Gupta Era, Saka Era.
- Connecting the Dots/ Supplement the Literary sources: Sometimes, numismatic evidence offers more than just the
names of kings and provides biographical details. For instance, the only specific detail we know about the life of the
Gupta king Chandragupta I is that he married a Lichchhavi princess, and this detail comes from coins
commemorating the marriage. Coins have helped prove that a Gupta king named Ramagupta ruled between
Samudragupta and Chandragupta II.
- Cultural Developments: The performance of the Ashvamedha sacrifice by Samudragupta and Kumaragupta I is
recorded on coins i.e., Gold coin of Yupa type. The archer and battle-axe coin types of Samudragupta tell us
about his physical prowess, while the lyrist type, which shows him playing the lyre/ vina, represents a completely
different aspect of his personality.
- Linguistic Developments: The legends on coins give information on the history of languages and scripts. For e.g., in
Satavahana coins the legends were generally in the Prakrit language and Brahml script. However, the portrait
coins use a Dravidian language and Brahmi script.
- Religious Developments: The depiction of deities on coins provides personal religious preferences of kings,
royal religious policy, and the history of religious cults. For instance, representations of Balarama and Krishna
appear on 2nd century BCE coins in Afghanistan, indicating importance of the cults of these gods in this region.
The depiction of a great variety of figures from Indian, Iranian, and Graeco-Roman religious traditions on the
coins of the Kushana kings is generally interpreted as a reflection of their eclectic religious views. But it can
equally be read as evidence of the many religious cults prevailing in their empire and the wide range of
religious symbols through which the Kushanas chose to legitimize their political power.

Although coins do provide important political informations but as any source is not finite and complete in itself and
are fragmentary in nature therefore on one hand, needs to be supplemented with other sources through what,
D.D.Kosambi called Combined Method of Indology and on the other hand, requires constant reevaluation, revisiting
and reassessment for better understanding of our past.
Chandragupta I – Kumardevi type

Double mast ship coin –
Vashishtputra Sri Pulamavi
(2nd cent. CE)
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Lyre type coin - Samudragupta
coin, pic taken at Indian museum -
Kolkata
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PN

Previous Years – Sources
Historiography Based Questions

1. How did early Indian historical tradition, as reflected in Itihasa-Purana, emerge?
What are the distinctive features of this genre? [2018, 20 Marks]
2. Discuss the changing approaches to the study of early Indian history [2006,
60m]
3. 'Ancient Indians had no taste for historiography; their scholars cared more for
religious, spiritual and philosophical studies. Indian historiography is
essentially an Islamic heritage." Comment upon this statement with special
reference to the contemporary writers and their works which help us in the
reconstruction of history of the early medieval period of Indian history. [1996,
60m]
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Archaeological Sources
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1. Do you agree that archaeological evidence often helps in the better
understanding of literary sources? Comment. [2019, 15 Marks]
2. Art and culture are reflected to a far greater extent than political history in the
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epigraphic sources. Comment. [2017,15 Marks]

3. "Reconstruction of Early Indian history is hardly possible without the help of
inscriptions and coins." Discuss. [2007, 60m]
4. Assess the pattern of settlement, economy, social organization and religion of
India during 2000 to 500 BC from archaeological evidence. [2003, 60m]
Literary Sources
1. How far can the ancient Indian Sruti literature be used as historical sources?
[2015, 15m)
2. Evaluate the contribution of the Puranas in disseminating secular knowledge
among the masses in ancient India. [2013,15m]

Previous Years – Sources
Foreign Accounts
1. Foreign accounts as a source of ancient Indian history may have some
advantages but also have a few shortcomings. Citing appropriate examples,
examine the statements. [2022, 15 marks]
2. "While using the accounts of foreign writers, historians must distinguish
between statements based on hearsay and those grounded in perceptive
observations." Elaborate with examples. [2014,15m]
3. In what ways are the accounts of the Graeco Romans and the Chinese helpful
reconstructing the social history of India? How far is their information
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corroborated by other Contemporary sources? (2009, 60m]
Theme Based Questions

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1. Critically evaluate the theory and practise of land revenue system in ancient
India. [2016, 20 Marks]
2. "The copious references to the preservation of Varnashrama system by the
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kings eulogized in inscriptions are mere reflection of the Smriti tradition."

Discuss. [2016,15 Marks)
3. On the basis of contemporary sources assess the nature of banking and usury
in ancient India. 2013, 15m]
4. Evaluate the ownership of land in ancient India on the basis of literary and
epigraphic sources. [2013,15m]
5. Discuss the types of lands and the Science of agriculture mentioned in the
literature and epigraphs of ancient India. [2011, 20m]
6. What light do early inscriptions and literature throw on the status of women in
politico socio-economic spheres? (2010, 60m]
7. Assess the status of women in India from c. 4th century BC to c. 6th century AD.
[2005, 60m]

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History Optional- Paper Style and Syllabus

Section B- 125 Marks

Section B- 125 Marks

- What to read ? - Sources of Reading-

Class Notes/ PDF

Sources of History (Scope of Syllabus) –

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 4 of 55

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 5 of 55

- What is the requirement for periodisation ?

- Parameters of periodisation of History –

# Other ways of Classification –

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 6 of 55

- Usage of the term ‘Colonial’ instead of ‘Modern’ –

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 7 of 55

Historiography and its schools

Orientalist (Indologist) school of historiography –

which Gauri Viswanathan has termed ‘Reverse acculturation’.

Works/ Contributions of the Orientalist scholars –

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 8 of 55

- Institutionalization of this school of thought –

Colonial context of Indological writings –

about the problems of this world.

Nationalist school of historiography –

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 9 of 55

and the Gupta empire.

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 10 of 55

- Contribution of Marxist historiography :

- D.D. Kosambi (1907-66) –

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 11 of 55

Subaltern historiography (History from Below) –

Das, N.K Chandra, Stephen Henningham, Gautam Bhadra.

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 12 of 55

The domain of ‘New History’ –

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 13 of 55

Categorization of the Ancient Period/ Periodization of the History

Understanding the Nomenclature – Pre-History vs Proto-History vs History

Pre - History History

Need for the term Proto-History –

Advent of Vedic Age Advent of Brahmi,

Lithic Age Metal age (Cu - Bronze)

Chalcolithic Farming Culture Chalcolithic Cu Hoard Culture –

Placing Ancient and Early Medieval History in the Timeline –

Pre-Historic India- Stone Age (Origin to 10000 BCE)

Indus Valley (Harappan)

Aryans & Vedic Age (1500 BCE-600 BCE)

Age of Mahajanapadas (Monarchies and Oligarchies)

Mauryan Age (325-185 BCE)

Post Mauryan India (200 BCE-300CE)

Gupta Age (320-550CE)

Early Medieval ( 750-1000 CE, 1000-1200 CE)

History by Pratik Nayak-PNLIVE Page 15 of 55