Ancient Indian History

By Growhills 3.9.24

Explore a detailed overview of Ancient Indian History, covering key kingdoms, cultures, and events from early civilizations to medieval empires, including influential rulers, literature, and the evolution of society across the Indian subcontinent.

Ancient Indian History

Stone Age

It is suggested that the human being in India appeared around 1.4 million years ago. The early man used tools of stone, dressed by crude clipping. It is divided into 4 four parts.

1. The Paleolithic Age or Old Stone Age (5,00,000--9000 BC): Paleolithic men or Quartzite men were hunters, used unpolished tools, and rough stones and sheltered in caves. Last phase of this period Homo Sapiens appeared.

2. The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age (9000-4000BC): It is a transitional stage between the Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age. The people of this age lived on hunting, fishing, and food gathering. Late stage of this period they domesticated animals.

3. Neolithic Age or New Stone Age (4,000-1000BC): The people of this age used polished stone, particularly stone axes. They first used handmade pottery and potter wheel. It is reported that dogs were buried with their masters in graves. They also lived in a cave which is decorated with hunting and dancing scenes.

4. The Calcolithic Age (2,800-700BC): The people first used metal tools similar to stone forms and Copper was the first metal. The culture based on the use of stone and copper tools is called Chalcolithic Culture.

Indus Valley Civilisation

It is one of the four world's earliest civilizations ( Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China). It belongs to the Bronze age and the most accepted period is 2500-1700 BC, which flourished along the Indus River. Agriculture was their main occupation due to soil fertility. Wooden ploughs and stone sickles were used for harvesting. Wheat, barley, dates, peas, sesame, mustard. millet etc. crops were produced. They were the world's first cotton producer. They had well-planned towns with underground drainage systems. They domesticated buffaloes, oxen, sheep, asses, goats, goats, pigs, elephants, dogs, cats etc. A terracotta figurine, where a plant is shown growing out of the embryo of a woman and represents the Mother goddess was their Chief Female Deity. Pashupati Mahadeva represented in seals, sitting in a yogic posture on a throne and having three faces and horns was their Chief Male Deity.

Harappan Civilisation:

It is the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent. Located in Pakistan Punjab Pradesh.

Mohanjhadaroo:

‘Mound of the Dead'. It is located in the Sindh Province of Pakistan.

The Aryans

According to Max Muller Aryans migrated from Central Asia and settled in the place which is known as the land of seven rivers. ‘Aryan’ literally means high birth. Based on occupation, four social divisions were seen, viz.-Brahmin, Khatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, and later on it became hereditary. The growing cult of sacrifice enormously added to the power of Brahmins. Khatriyas were the warrior class,. Vaishyas were agriculturists, cattle rearers, traders, artisans, and metal workers.
Shudras were the lowest in the social hierarchy and were born to serve the upper three classes. The senior-most person or head of a family was called ‘Kulapa’, several families formed a village, several villages formed a ‘Vis’ (district), and several vires formed a ‘Jana’ or ‘Tribe’.

The Vedas:

Vedic texts are divided into Sruti Veda (hearing) and Smriti Veda (Memory). The word Veda comes from the word Vid’ which means ‘Knowledge’. Vedas are four types- Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda.

Rigveda: It is the oldest religious book composed around 1700 BC. It contains 1028 hymns and is divided into 10 mandalas. The people of the Rigvedic period (1500 BC-1000 BC) had knowledge of the rivers- Yamuna, Saraswati, and Ganga. They lived in the Sapta Hindva region. Agriculture was their sole occupation and cow was the standard unit of exchange. Saraswati is the deity river in Rigveda and they believed in nature worship. ‘Ayurveda is the upaveda of Rigveda deals with medicine.

Samaveda: Samaveda is a collection of melodies and chants. It derives from ‘saman’ which means melodies. Its hymns were recited by Udgatri and contain Dhrupad Raga. It represents the force of spiritual knowledge and the power of devotion. It is an ancient Vedic Sanskrit text compiled around 1200 BC to 1000 BC. ‘Gandhravaveda’’ is its unpaved, which deals with art and music.

Yajurveda: It is one of the ancient Vedic Sanskrit texts compiled around 1200 BC to 800 BC. The beliefs and rituals of non-Aryans are written in it. It deals with the procedure for the performance of sacrifice. It is a compilation of ritual offering formulas that were said by the priest of the Hindu religion. ‘Dhanurveda’ is the Upaveda of Yajurveda deals
with the art of warfare.

Atharveda: The language of Atharvaveda is different from Vedic Sanskrit. It contains 20 books, with a total of 730 hymns compiled within the period 1000 BC to 900 BC. Atharvaveda contains charms and spells to off evils and diseases. It is the fourth Veda and a book of magical formulas (Mantras). ‘Shilpaveda’ is the upaveda that deals with architecture.

The Upanishads (Period 800 -500 BC): It refers to the knowledge, acquired by sitting close to the teacher and it is also called ‘Vedarita’ because it was denoted the last phase of the Vedic period. There are 108 Upanishads, they are spiritual and philosophical in nature and reveal the aim of the Vedas. They define the doctrine of Karma, Atma (soul), Brahma (God), and the origin of the Universe.

Brahmanas: These are the prose commentaries on various Vedic hymns, which explain the hidden meaning behind the hymns. They are ritualistic by nature. The ‘Satapata Brahmana’ attached to Yajurveda is the most important and it recommends one hundred sacred paths. It is to the period 900-700 BC.

The Aranyakas: The sage dwelling in the forest explained the Vedic scriptures to their pupils in the form of Aranyakas, have magical power and they form the concluding part of the Brahmanas. These do not lay emphasis on
rites, rituals, and sacrifices but have the philosophy of mysticism.

Vedangas: These are the auxiliary disciplines of Hinduism, developed in ancient times. These are- 1. Siksha (deals with pronunciation), 2. Kalpa (deals with rituals), 3. Vyakarana (grammar), 4. Nirukta (etymology), 5. Chanda (metrics), 6. Jyotisha (astronomy). Panini wrote Ashtadhyayi (400 BC) on Vayakarana.

Philosophy: The Six system of Hindu philosophies, given by six philosophers of ancient India.

1. Nyaya (analysis) ...Gautama.

2. Valesesika ...Kannada.

3. Sankhya (enumeration) ... Kapila.

4. Yoga ( application) ..... Patanjali

5. Purva Mimansa (inquiry).....Jamini.

6. Uttara Mimansa (vedanta) ... Vyasa.

Sutras: Sutra literature is divided into three classes -Srauta Sutra (dealing with large public sacrifice), Griha Sutra (dealing with rituals connected with birth, naming, and marriage), and Dharma Sutra (explain social and local customs).

Puranas: Puranas literally means “ancient, old”. Puranas include mythology, folk belief, cosmogony, various legends, low codes, and miscellaneous topics. It refers to the change in the mode of worship (from sacrifice to idol worship) and the visual appeal of deities as against the worship of ideas. Vyasa is the compiler of Puranas.

Epic: The two great Hindu epics- the Mahabharata, written by Ved Vyas, is older than the Ramayana written by Valmiki. Originally Mahabharata consisted of 880 verses, then it was raised to 24000 verses and Ramayana consisted of 6000 verses, which was finally raised 24000 verses.

Smritis: There is a genre of Sanskrit theological texts. Smritis' other name is Dharma Shastra, which are the law books written in sloka form. The important smritis are Manav Dharma Shastra, Vishnu Dharma Shastra, Yajnavalkya Smriti, and Narada Smriti. The most famous and oldest one is Manav Dharma Shastra or Manusmriti. Manu, in the mythology of India, is supposed to be the first king and lawmaker.

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Dynasty After Bhaskar Varman

Pre-Mauryan Age and Magadha

In the 6th century B.C. many Janapadas sprung up, larger of which is called Mahajanapadas. They are located mostly in UP and Bihar. From different sources, 16 Mahajanapadas have been known these are - Gandhara, Anga, Magadha, Kash, Vajji, Malla, Chedi, Vatsa, Kosala, Kuru, Panchala, Matsya, Surasenas, Asmka, Avanti, Kamboj. Among these Vajji was a confederacy of eight republican clans and
Asmaka was the Southernmost Maahajanapada. Lichchhavis is said to be the world oldest republic in the world.

Jarasandha and Brihadratha founded Magadha and it became more powerful than any other Mahajanapada. Its actual growth started under Haranyakas, expansion took place under Sisunagas and Nandas, and reached the zenith under Mauryas.

Haranyaka Dynasty:

Bimbisara(544-492BC): He was contemporary to Gautam Buddha, his capital was Rajgir (Girvraja). He was the first king to have a standing Army. His three wives belonged to the royal family- Mahakosaladevi (Koshala), Chellana (Lichchavi), and Khema ( Madra clan of Punjab).

Ajatshatru (492-460): He was the son of Bimbisara and Chellean, who occupied the throne by killing his father Bimbisara. He defeated his maternal uncle Prosenjit, king of Kosala, and destroyed Vaishali. The first Buddhist Council was patronized by him.

Udayin (460-444 BC): Known as Udayabhadra and his capital was Pataliputra. His successors were weak rulers, they were- Anuruddha, Munda, and Naga-Dasak.

Sishunaga Dynasty (412-344):

Sishunaga: He was the minister of Nag-Dasak and was elected by the people. His capital was shifted to Vaishali. He destroyed the power of Avanti with its capital Ujjain.

Kalasoka: He shifted his capital from Vaishali to Pataliputtra and he convened the 2nd Buddhist Council (383 BC). He was killed by the founder of the Nanda Dynasty.

Nanda Dynasty (344-323 BC): It is the first non-Khatryia dynasty.

Mahapadmananda: He is the founder of the Nanda dynasty. He is described as ‘the first empire builder of Indian history’.He conquered Koshala and Kalinga

Dhanananda: He was the last ruler of this dynasty. Alexander invaded during his tenure in 326 BC. He was killed by Kautilya, assisting Chandragupta Maurya.

Iranian Invasion: Cyrus of Persia was the first foreign invaded India (550 BC) when Bimbisara ruled over Magadha. He destroyed the city of Capisa and enrolled Indian soldiers in the Persian army. His successors, Darius (518 BC) and Xeres invaded North-west India.

Alexander's Invasion: In 328 BC Alexander the king of Macedonia (Greek) conquered Kabul and moved to India through the Khyber Pass. In 326 BC he invaded Taxila. He then challenged Porus (Battle of Hydaspes), defeated and arrested him but due to his bravery Alexander released him and made him, his ally. After the battle of Sakala, they reached the river Beas but his fatigued army refused to cross the river. Then he placed North-western India under the Greek Governor Selucas Nikator and returned to his kingdom. He remained in India (326-325 BC) for about 19 months and died in Babylon, at the age of 33 years in 323 BC.

Religion Emerged:

Jainism: Rishabhnath was the first Tirthankara, followed by Prasvanath as the 23rd, and Vardhaman Mahavira as the 24th. Mahavira was born in 540 BC at Kundagram near Vaishali, Bihar. His father belonged to the Jnatrika clan, and his mother, Trisha, was a Lichchhavi princess. At the age of 30, Mahavira renounced worldly life and attained perfect knowledge at 42. His eleven disciples were called Gandharas. He passed away at 72 in 468 BC at Pavapuri. Jainism is divided into two sects: the Digambaras, led by Bhadrabahu, who advocate nudity, and the Svetambaras, led by Sthulabhadra, who wear white robes. The sacred texts of Jainism are the Agam Sutras, written in Prakrit.

Buddhism: Founded by Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha), Buddhism began with his birth in 563 BC in Lumbini, southern Nepal. His father, Suddhodhana, was a Saka ruler, and his mother, Mahamaya, died seven days after his birth, leaving him to be raised by his aunt, Gautami. At 16, he married Yashodhara, and they had a son named Rahul. Buddhism is divided into two main sects: Hinayana and Mahayana. Its sacred text, the Tripitaka, written in Pali, consists of three parts: Vinaya Pitaka (rules for monastic discipline), Sutta Pitaka (a collection of Buddha’s sermons), and Abhidhamma Pitaka (philosophical teachings). Buddha passed away at the age of 80 in 483 BC at Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.. 0 0 0.

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