Ancient Indian History(Quick Revision) - West Bengal PCS Exam Notes

Pre-Harappan Period

	Lower Paleolithic			Hand axe & cleaver industries	Pahalgam, Belan valley (U.P),
	(600,000 – 60,000 BC)				Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, 16 R Singi Talav
	Middle Paleolithic			Tools made on flakes	Bhimbetka, Nevasa, Pushkar, Rohiri
	(150,000 – 40,000 BC)				hills of upper sind
	Upper Paleolithic			Tools made on flakes & blades	Rajasthan, Parts of Belan & Ganga
	(45,000 – 10,000 BC)				Valley (U.P).
	Mesolithic/ Microlithic			Parallel sided blades of chert,	Bagor (Raj), Langhnaj (Guj), Sarai
	(10,000 – 7000 BC)			chalcedony, jasper, agate	Nahar Rai, Chaopani Mando, Mahdaha,
					Damdama (U.P), Bhimbetka, Adamgarh.
	Neolithic			Earthern pots	Mehrgarh (Pak) Gufkral & Burzahom
	(8000 BC – 2000 BC)				(J&K), Mahgara, Chopani Mando,
					Kodihwa in Belan Valley (U.P.) Chirand
					(Bihar).
	Chalcolithic			Distinct painted pottery	Cultures: Ahar culture (oldest), Kayatha,
	(3000-900 B.C.)			Fire worship widespread.	Malwa culture, Salvada culture, ,
					Prabhas culture, Rangpur culture &
					Jorwe culture (newest).
	Copper Hoard Culture			Harpoons, Antennae swords,	Gungeria (M.P-largest)
				Anthromorphs
	OCP Culture			Pottery with bright red slip &	All over gangetic plain with same
	(Ochre coloured pottery)			painted in black.	regions as that of copper hoard culture.
	•Ahar people (Aravalli region) – distinctive black & red ware decorated with white designs.
	•Prabhas & Rangpur wares have a glossy suface due to which they are called lusturous red ware.
	•Jorwe culture (Maharashtra) – painted black on red but has a matt surface treated with a wash.
				Select Harrapan Cities (Chalcolithic Age)
1.		Harappa	Great granary, 40 % of total seals found here; Seals usually made of steatite
		[Dayaram Sahni]	depicting elephant, bull, unicorn, rhinoceros; figurines – torso
2.		Mohenjodaro	“Mound of the dead”; largest of all cities; Great Bath; granary; city was
		[R.D Banerjee]	flooded occasionally, figurines of yogi, bronze dancing girl, seal bearing
			Pashupati.
3.		Lothal	[S.R. Rao]. Earliest cultivation of rice; Fire altars

4.		Kalibangan	[A. Ghosh]. Fire Altars showing cult sacrifice;

5.		Dholavira,	[R.S. Bisht]
6.		Banwali	[R.S. Bisht] Fire Altars;
7.		Mehrgarh	Evidences of cotton;

	Indian Religious Books
Puranas	Divided into sarga, pratisarga, manvantantar, vamsa (genealogical list of kings) &
	vamsanucharita. 18 main puranas & 18 subsidiary puranas.
Vedas	Meaning “knowledge”. Rigveda (hymns), Yajurveda (sacrificial formulae), Atharvaveda
	(magical charms & spell), Samveda. Vedas are called aparusheya (not created by man) &
	nity
Upanishads	About 200 in number. Deal with philosophy. Oldest & most important are Chhandogya &
	Brihadranyaka. Other important are Kathak, Isa, Mundaka, Prasna etc. Do not believe in
	sacrificial ceremonies.
Brahmanas	Talks about vedic hymns, their application, stories of their origin. Each Brahmana is
	associated with one of the four VedasAitareya brahmana is associated with Rig Veda &
	Satapatha Brahmana with Yajur veda.
Aranyakas	Meaning ‘the forest books’. They discuss philosophical meditation & sacrifice.
Vedangas	Evolved for proper understanding of the Vedas. Six in all: Siksha (phonetics), Kalpa
	(rituals), Vyakarna, Nirukta (Etymology) Chhanda (metrics) & Jyotisha.
Vedanta	Advaita Vedanta of Adi Sankara.

Ancient Books & Authors

1.	Mudrakshasha (Chandragupta Maurya defeating the Nandas);	Vishakhadatta
	Devichandraguptam
2.	Malavikagnimitram (Pushyamitra Sunga)	Kalidas
3.	Gudavaho (Yasovarman of Kannauj)	Vakpati
4.	Vikramanakadevacharita (Chalukya king Vikramaditya)	Bilhana
5.	Kumarapalacharita	Jayasimha
6.	Hammirakavya	Nyayachandra
7.	Dvayashraya Mahakavya; Sapta Sadhana	Hemchandra
8.	Navashasankacharita	Padmagupta
9.	Bhojaprabandha	Billal
10.	Prithvirajcharita	Chandrabardai
11.	Meghaduta; Raghuvamsa; Kumarasambhava; Vikramorvasiyam	Kalidas
	Abhijnanashakuntalam (Drama);
12.	Mrichakatika	Sudraka
13.	Uttarama-Charita; Malati Madhava	Bhavbhuti
14.	Amarakosha	Amarasimha
15.	Si-yu-Ki	Hiuen Tsang
16.	Brahmasiddhanta; Khandakhadya	Brahmagupta
17.	Dasakumaracharita	Dandin
18.	Astanga-Sangraha; Astanga-Hirdaya-Samhita	Vagabhatta
19.	Panchsiddhantika; Suryasiddhanta; Brihatsamhita	Varahamihira
20.	Karpuramanjari; Bala Ramayana; Bala Bharata; Kavyamimamsa;	Rajshekhara
	Bhuvana Kosha; Haravilasa
21.	Adinathacharita (Jaina Narrative)	Vardhamana
22.	Shantinathacharita (Jaina Narrative)	Devachandra
23.	Parsvanathacharita (Jaina Narrative)	Devabhadra
24.	Prithviraja Vijay	Jayanka
25.	Karnasundari	Bilhana
26.	Saraswati Kanthabharana	Bhoja
27.	Dasharupa	Dhananjaya
28.	Harikeli Nataka	Visaladeva
29.	Prasannaraghava	Jayadeva
30.	Siddhanta Shiromani [4 parts – Lilavati, Bijaganita, Grahaganita &	Bhaskaracharya
	Gola (on Astronomy)]
31.	Rajmariganka (On Astronomy)	King Bhoja
32.	Chikitsakalika or Yogamala	Tisata-Vagbhatta’s Son
33.	Mitakasara	Vijnanaeshvara
34.	Nitishastra (On Polity)	Mathara
35.	Nitisara (On Polity)	Kamandaka
36.	Sushruta Samhita (encyclopedia on surgery)	Sushruta
37.	Charaka Samhita (Teachings of Atreya)	Charaka
38.	Buddhacharita, Vajrasuchi, Suandarananda	Asvaghosha
39.	Mahabhasya	Patanjali
40.	Harshacharita, Kadambari	Banabhatta
41.	Ravan Vadha	Bhattin

Famous Inscriptions

Inscription	King		Aspect
Junagarh Rock	Rudradaman (Saka)		Sanskrit. Says that a dam on the sudarshana lake
			was constructed by Pushyagupta a governor of
			Chandragupta Maurya
Allahabad Pillar	Samudragupta		Sanskrit. Composed by Harisena
Aihole Inscription	Pulakeshin II		Mentions Harsha defeat by Pulakeshin II.
			Composed by Ravikriti Vishnuvardan son of King.
Gwalior Inscription	Bhoja		Most famous Pratihara king.
Hathigumpha	Kharvela
Boghaz koi	Proves Rig Veda to be		Indra, Varuna, Mitra, two Nasatyas mentioned
[1400 B.C.]	more than 1400 BC old.
Nanaghat Inscription	Satkarni I		Achievements of the king
	[Satvahana king]
Nasik Inscription	Gautamiputra Satkarni		Achievements of the king.
Mehrauli Iron Pillar	Chandragupta II
Mandsor Inscription	Kumaragupta I		Composed by Vatsabhatti.
Bhitari Stone pillar	Skandagupta
Tiruvalangadu	Rajendra I (Chola)		His conquests (annexed whole of SriLanka)
Uttaramerur	Cholar Period		Chola village assemblies
Besnagar Inscription	Near Vidisa (MP). Mentions Heliodorus the ambassador of king Antialcidas
	called himself Bhagvata & erected garudadhvaja in his honour of Vasudev.
		Buddhist Councils
I Buddhist Council	500 BC at	Ajatsataru .		Record the Buddha’s sayings (sutra) and codify
	Rajgaha	Presided by		monastic rules (vinaya). Rajgaha is today’s
		Mahakasyapa		Rajgir
II Buddhist Council	383 BC at	Kalasoka		The conservative schools insisted on monastic
	Vaishali			rules (vinaya). The secessionist Mahasangikas
				argued for more relaxed monastic
				rules.Rejection of the Mahasanghikas
III Buddhist Council	250 BC	Ashoka..		Purpose was to reconcile the different schools of
	Pataliputra			Buddhism. Presided by Moggaliputta Tissa
IV Buddhist Council	100 AD	Kanishka		Division into Hinayana & Mahayana. Theravada
	Kashmir	Presided by		Buddhism does not recognize the authenticity of
		Vasumitra &		this council, and it is sometimes called the
		Asvaghosha		“council of heretical monks”.
V Buddhist Council	1871	King Mindon		recite all the teachings of the Buddha and
	Myanmar			examine them in minute detail to see if any of
				them had been altered
VI Buddhist Council	1954	P.M. U Nu
	Yangoon

				Nastika Shools of Indian System of Philosophy
Charvaka			Believes only in materialism. No life beyond death, no soul no god.
Jaina			The names of two tirthankaras, Rishabhanath & Aristhanemia finds mention in Rig Veda.
540 BC			Twenty third was Parsva, son of Ishvaku king Asvasena. Said to have flourished 300 yrs
			before Mahavira. Mahavira, the last Tirthankara born in Kundagrama near Vaisali. His
			father Siddhartha was the head of Jnatrika clan & mother Trisala was the sister of Chetaka,
			a Lichchhavi noble. Chetaka’s dauthter was married to Bimbisara the king of Magadha.
			Mahavira was married to Yasoda. Left home at 30 & attained Kaivalya at 42. He accepted
			4 doctrines of Parsava & added celibacy to it. Chandragupta Maurya patronized it. Passed
			away at Pawapuri.
Buddha			Gautama (known as Siddhartha as prince) was born in Lumbini near Kapilvastu to
566 B.C.			Suddhodhana, the king of Sakya republic & Mayadevi who died seven days after his birth.
			Gautama was married to Yasodhara from whom he had a son Rahul. 6 years of meditation
			led to enlightenment. First sermon in Sarnath known as ‘Set in motion the wheel of law’.
			Eight fold paths. Buddhism denies efficacy of vedic rituals & superiority of brahmanas.
			Followers were upasakas & bhikshus. Died at the age of 80 in Kushinagar.
				Astika Schools of Indian System of Philosophy
	Vaisesika				Five elements – Earth, water, air, fire, Ether.
	Nyaya				Accepts all categories of Vaisesika & adds one Abhava (negation).
	Samkhya				Oldest of all. Twenty five basic principles first being ‘Prakriti’. Gives
					doctrine of 3 qualities – virtue (sattva), passion (rajas) & dullness (tamas)
	Yoga				Salvation through: Yama (self control), Niyama, Asanas, Pranayama,
					Pratyahara (restrain), Dharana (steady mind), Dhyana & Samadhi.
	Mimamsa				Recognises Vedas as final authority.
	Vedanta				Adi Sankara is protagonist. Ultimate reality ‘Brahma’ is one. Highest
					level of truth is that the whole world that exists is Maya. Ramanuja
					(founder of Sri Vaishnavism) differed from Sankara on his commentaries
					on Upanishads & Gita.
					Forms of Marriage
	1.	Brahma			Duly dowered girl to a man of the same class
	2.	Daiva			Father gives daughter to a sacrificial priest as a part of his fee
	3.	Arsa			A token bride price of a cow & a bull is given in place of the dowry
	4.	Prajapatya			Father gives girl without dowry & without demanding the bride price
	5.	Gandharva			Love Marriage
	6.	Asura			In which bride was bought from her father
	7.	Rakshasa			Marriage by capture, practiced especially by warriors.
	8.	Paishacha			Marriage by seduction
	Daiva marriage was considered ideal 7 paisacha the worst.

		Dynasties of Ancient Northern India
Dynasty	King		Description
Haryanka	Bimbisara*		Founded after overthrowing the Brihadrathas. He also annexed
			Anga
	Ajatasatru		Conquered Lichhavis of Vaisali. Also defeated Prasenajit of
			Kosala. Succeded by Udayani who founded Pataliputra.
Sisunga	Sisunga		People elected Sisunga as Udayani & his 3 successors were
			unworthy
Nanda	Mahapadma		Barber but a great military genius. Defeated many dynasties.
	Nanda*
Alexander’s	Alexander		Defeated Persian King Darius III & marched to India through
Campaign			Khyber pass. King of Taxila offered help.
Mauryas	Chandragupta		Educated by Chanakya at Taxila. ‘Parisistha Parvam’ a jain text
	Maurya*		describes that he defeated the Nanda king & became ruler of
	[324-300 BC]		Magadha empire. Defeated Greek, Selecus who had succeded
			Alexander in the eastern part. Selecus sent Megasthenes to his
			court.
	Bindusara		He appointed his two sons, Sumana at Taxila & Ashoka at Ujjain.
	[300-273 BC]		Ptolemy Philadelphous of Egypt sent Dionysius to his court.
	Ashoka		Known as devanampiya & piyadasi. Edicts were in Greek &
			Aramaic in Afghanistan, Prakrit language & Kharosthi script in
			Pakistan. Prakrit language & Brahmi script in other areas. Rock
			Edict XIII (Kalinga war) Bhabru Edict (Buddhism as his religion)
			VII (all sects desire self control & purity) XII (equal respect to all
			religion) II (Dhamma – Common code of conduct). Succeded by 6
			Mauryan kings from Dasaratha to Brihadratha.
Sunga	Pushyamitra		Army chief of Maurya king Brihadratha killed him while he was
	Sunga		reviewing the army. Succeded by Agnimitra, Jethmitra &
			Vasumitra. Last king was Devabhuiti.
Meghavahanas	Kharavela		Hathigumpha inscription on Udaigiri hills near Bhubneshwar
			refers his achievement till 13^th year. Ruled Kalinga.
Satvahanas of	Simuka*		Satvahanas also known as Andhras. Succeeded by Krishna,
Deccan	[235-213 BC]		Satkarni I, Satakarni II, Gautamiputra Satakarni, Pulmavi II, Sri
			Yajna Satakarni.
Indo Greeks	Menander		Ruled in Pakistan region. Converted to Buddhism by Nagasena.
			Milindapanho is related to their conversation.
Sakas	Nahapana		Sakas also known as Scythians were driven out of their original
			home land by Yueh Chi who later came to be known as Kushanas.
			Nahapana ruled in western India.
	Rudradaman		Junagarh Rock Inscription talks about him. He undertook the
	130-150 AD		repairs of the Sudarsan dam built by Pushyagupta, governor of
			Chandra Gupta Maurya. Ujjaynii was capital. Dynasty came to an
			end with the last king being defeated by Chandragupta II in 390
			AD
Kushanas	Kadphises I		Also called Kujula Kadphises. Kadphises I was succeded by his
			son Wema Kadphises or Kadphises II – devotee of Shiva.
	Kanishka		Succeded Kadphises II. Capital of his vast empire was Purushapur
	73 – 101 AD		or modern Peshawar.

		The Guptas & Later Period
Guptas	Chandragupta I	Sri Gupta was the first Gupta king followed by Ghatotkacha.
	AD 320 AD	Chadragupta I was Ghatotkacha’s son.
	Samudragupta	Son of Chandragupta I. Undertook south India campaign.
		Meghavarna, King of Srilanka sent an embassy to his court to
		build a monastery at Bodh Gaya.
	Chandragupta II	Son of Samudtragupta & Duttadevi. Married his daughter
	380-413 AD	Prabhavatigupta to Rudrasena II of Vataka dynasty. Defeated
		Sakas & took the title of Vikramaditya.
	Later Guptas	Kumaragupta I, Skandagupta (Inflicted a crushing defeat on the
		Hunas; repair of the dam on Sudarsana lake built by chandragupta
		maurya & earlier repared by Rudradaman I.
Post Gupta	From the decline of Gupta & the rise of Harsha there flourished four major kingdoms
Peiod	in north India: Guptas of Magadha, Maukharis (around Kanauj), Maitrakas
	(Saurashtra – Vallabhi as capital), Pushyabhutis of Thaneshwar (Uttaranchal).
Pushyabhuti	Harshavardhana	Son of Prabhakarvardhana of Pushyabhuti of Thaneshwar. Brother
	606 – 647 AD	of Rajyavardhana & Rajyasri (sister married to Maukhari king,
		Grahavarman of Kanauj, later killed by Sasanka of Gauda). Also
		known as Siladitya. Gauda was later divided between him &
		Bhaskarvarman, the king of Kamarupa.
Deccan &	Vatakas (Deccan) – Vindhyasakti, Pravarasena*. Replaced by Chalukyas.
South India	Rashtrakutas – Dantidurga I*. They succeded Chalukyas of Badami.
	Western Gangas (Mysore) – Konkanivarman Dharmamahadhiraja*
	Kadamba Dynasty of Banavasi – Mayursarman, Kakusthavarman*
	Pallavas of Kanchipuram – Simhavishnu, Mahendravarman , Narsimhavarman
	Later Kanauj was ruled by Yashovarman (discussed in Vakpati’s Gaudavaho)
Gurjara	Nagabhatta I*	After Nagabhatta I came Vatsaraja who defeated Dharmapala but
Pratiharas		was in turn defeated by Rashtrakuta king Dhruva. Dhramapala
		taking advantage installed his nominee chakrayudha at Kanauj
	Nagabhatta II	Defeated Chakrayudha & captured Kanuaj & defeated
		Dharmapala. Ramabhadra succeded him
	Bhoja	Succeded his father Ramabhadra. Defeated Rashtrakuta king
		Krishna II. He was devotee of Vishnu & took the title of
		Adivaraha. He was followed by great ruler Mahendrapala I
Palas	Gopala*	Elected by people to end Matsyanyaya (internal disorder). Next
		was Dharmapala who installed Chakrayudha at Kanauj but was
		defeated by Dhruva.
	Devapala	Most mighty pala king.
Rashtrakutas	Dantidurga*	Dantidurga was succeded by his uncle Krishna I (built Kailasha)
	Dhruva	Defeated both the Pratihara king Vatsaraja &Pala Dharampala.
		Was succeded by Govinda III & later Amoghavarsha I. Later
		came Indra III (defeated pratihara Mahipala I) & Krishna III
Kamarupa	Bhaskarvarama	Ruled by single dynasty from the time of Mahabharata upto middle
		7^th century till Bhaskaravarma (ally of Harsha). Dynasty came to
		an end after his death.

South India

Cholas

Karikala

Defeated joint forces of Chera & Pandyas. Also conquered Sri

Lanka. Capital was at Puhar (Kaveripattanam)

Pandyas

Nedunjeliyan

Capital at Madurai & port at Korkai. Defeated Cholas & Cheras

Cheras

Nedunjeral

Cheras are also known as Keralaputras. Nedunjeral Adan &

Adan

Sengutturan were the greatest king.

Kings & their Court Jewels

Pushyamitra Sunga

Patanjali

Mahendrapala I (Pratihara)

Rajshekhara

Kanishka

Parsva, Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha, Charaka, Sushruta, Nagarjuna

Chandragupta II

Kalidas, Fa-Hien, Varahamihira

Monuments of Ancient Period

Udaygiri Caves

During Chandragupta’s reign at Vidisha, M.P.

Angorwatt Temples

Suryavarman Ii

Vikramashila University

Pala King Dharampala

Kailash Temple (Ellora)

Rashtrakuta king Krishna I

Dilwara Temple

Tejapala

Rathas of Mamallapuram

Mahendravarman I (Pallava King)

Khajuraho temples

Chandelas

Martanda temple (Kashmir)

Lalitaditya Muktapida

Gommateswara (Son of Rishabnath)

Chamundaraya, Minister of the Ganga King, Rajamalla

(Sravanbelagola, Karnataka)

10.

Hoysalesvara Temple (at Halebid)

Ketamalla, a minister of KingVishnuvardhana (Karnataka)

Mahajanapadas

Kasi

Varanasi

Kosala

Sravasti

Kuru

Indraprashta

Kamboja

Rajput

Anga

Champa

Avanti

Ujjayini & Mahishmati

Ashmaka

Potana

Malla

Kusinagar & Pawa

Magadha

Rajgriha or Giriraj

Matsya

Virat Nagari

Vajji

Vaisali

Vatsa

Kausambhi

Surasena

Mathura

Panchala

Aichhatra

Chhedi

Shuktimati

Gandhara

Taxila & Pushkalavati

Administrative Units & Their Ancient Names

S	Administrative Part	North India	South India
1.	Provinces	Bhukti	Mandalam
2.	Divisions	Vishaya or Bhoga	Kottams or Vallandadu
3.	District	Adhistana/Pattana	Nadu
4.	Tehsil	Vihtis	Pattala/Kurram

Jargon of Ancient Period

Lohit Ayas	Copper	Pradeshika	Head of district Administration
Syam Ayas	Iron	Nagarka	City administration
Vanik	Traders	Jesthaka	Chief of a Guild
Gramini	Village Head	Prathamakulika	Chief of artisans
Bhagadugha	Tax collector	Uparika	Governor of Bhukti
Sthapati	Chief Judge	Didishu	Remarried woman
Takshan	Carpenter	Amatya	High official
Niska	Unit of currency	Dvija	Initiation into education
Satamana	Unit of currency	Yukta	Revenue officer in the Mauryan period.
Pana	Term used for coin	Rajjukas	Land measurement & fixing land revenue
Shresthi	Guilds	Sabha	Assembly of few select ones
Vihara	Buddhist Monastery	Samiti	Larger Assembly
Chaitya	Sacred Enclosure	Dharamamahamatya	Most important post created by Asoka.

Miscellaneous Facts:

The Sangama literature [0-400AD] consists of 30,000 lines of poetry divided into two main groups, Patinenkilkanakku (older) & Pattupattu (newer). Established by Pandyan kings of Tamil region.

The credit to complete the chart of Ashokan alphabets goes to James Prinsep.

Most of the modern scripts of India including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Nagari, Gujarati, Bangla have developed from Brahmi script. Ashokan inscription of Shahbazgari & Manashera are written in Kharoshthi.

The earliest coins were punch marked silver & copper coins. They bear only symbol & no inscription or legend. Kushanas (Vima Kadphises – figure of Siva standing beside a bull) issued mostly gold coins.

Buddha did not visit Taxila in his life.

Some of the important rock painting sites are Murhana Pahar (U.P), Bhimbetka, Adamgarh, Lakha Juar (M.P.) & Kapagallu (Karnatka).

The extent of Indus valley civilization was Sutkagendor (Baluchistan), Alamgirpur (Meerut), Daimabad (N. Maharashtra) & Manda (J & K). Harrapan civilization is often referred to as Bronze Age civilization. No unambiguous depiction of horse found on any seal. The largest number of seals depict unicorn.

Inscription was from right to left but if more than one line than alternated to left to right & vice versa.

Yoga was in vogue in Indus civilization. Shiva, Mother goddess, trees, linga, yoni were worshiped. Chanhudaro is the only city without a citadel & Surkotada is the only site where the actual remains of a horse have been found.

Decline of Harrapa: Wheeler (Barbarian Aryans attack), John Marshall (environment degradation).

The Nadisukta hymn of Rig Veda mentions 21 rivers which include Ganga in the east & the Kubha (Kabul) in the west. Saraswati is considered to be the most important. Zero was known in rig vedic times

In the vedic age the varnas were not rigid but they became so in the later vedic period & became birth based rather than profession based. Untouchability had not yet reared its ugly head. Jati had not become a rigid system. Bali which was a voluntary gift to chief earlier became a regular tax in the later vedic age.

Moksha can be acquired by Gyan, Bhakti & Karma. Four dynasties stand out prominently in the sixth century B.C are Haryankas of Magadha, Ishvakus of Kosala, the Pauravas of Vatsa & the Pradyotas of Avanti.

During the time of Ashoka, Pataliputra was administered by a city council of 30 members divided into a board of 5 members each. Sales tax on goods was 10 %. The Ashokan Pilar with Lion Capital is located at Lauriya Nandangarh, Pillar capital from Rampurva & Capital from Sarnath. Seven rock cut chaitya

caves in the Barabar & Nagarjuni hill show that the tradition of rock cut caves in India began with the

Mauryas.

The indo-Greeks were the first whose coins carried the portraits of kings & their names. Also they were the first rulers to issue gold coins.

In the south the old phase is known as the megalithic phase with the burials being marked by abundance of iron tools & a Black & red pottery. It appears there was an abrupt change from Neolithic to iron age, without any significant Chalcolithic or Bronze age.

Anuloma (marriage between male of higher varna& female of lower varna) was considered better than Pratiloma (vv). Grihasta ashram had the duties of yajna, adhyayana &dana.

Hinayana was the old order. Mahayana introduced concept of Bodhisttavas, worship of Buddha as god (Hinayanists considered him just a great teacher), salvation of all beings, Sanskrit as new language. The development of Mahayana philosophy is ascribed to Nagarjuna who propounded Madhyamika school of Buddhist philosophy popularly known as Sunyavada.

The Mathura & Gandhara schools of art flourished during Kushana period. Mathura school had the distinction of producing the first image of Buddha & Gandhara school was a hybrid of Indo-Greek form.

The Stupas as Sanchi, Sarnatha, Amaravati, Bharhut are the best examples. I-tsing came to India in 7^th century after spending several years in Sumatra & Sri Vijaya learning Buddhism.

In south India, among the Nayannar saints, Tirumular’s Tirmurais are prominent. Saiva saints (Nayannars) were 63 in number. Lingayat (founded by Basava – Kalachuri) was other important sect of Saivism in south India influenced by both Sankara & Ramanuja. Vaishnave saints known as Alvars are traditionally 12 in number. Collection of their work is known as Nalayiraprabandham.

The first Jaina council was held at Pataliputra by Sthulabahu in the beginning of third century BC & resulted in compilation of 12 Angas to replace the lost 14 Purvas. In the sixth century A.D. the second Jaina council was held at Valabhi under Devaradhi Kshamasramana & Jain canon was defined.

The avatars of Vishnu are matsya, kurma (tortoise), varah (boar), narasimha, vaman (dwarf), parasurama, rama, Krishna, Buddha (the enlightened one) & kalki (to appear).

West Bengal was known as Gauda & East Bengal as Vanga. Utkala (Orissa), Pragjotishpur (Assam).

The king of Suvarnadwipa (modern Malaya), Balaputradeva erected a monastery at Nalanda & requested Devapala to donate five villages for the maintenance.

The philosophy of Sankaracharya (Adi Sankara) is known as Advaita meaning ‘non dual’. He believed that absolute reality called ‘Brahma’ is non dual. Jyotirmatha at Badrinath, Sharadapitha at Dwakra,

Govardhanamatha at Puri & Shringerimatha in south. He organized Ascetics in ten orders – Giri, Puri (city), Bharati (learning), Vana (wood), Aranya (forest), Parvata, Sagara, Tirtha, Ashrama& Saraswati.

Angkorvat temple dedicated to Vishnu & the famous Borobudur stupa in Java. The Sailendra dynasty ruled over SE Asia & followed Mahayana Buddhism.

Eastern King (Samrat), Western King (Suvrat), Northern king (Virat), Southern King (Bhoja). After partition of India the largest number of Harappan settlements have been found in Gujarat.

The utensils of the Harappan people were made of clay. Lead was not known to the Indus valley people. The Aryans came from Central Asia is widely accepted. The Vedic Aryans first settled in the region of Sapta Sindhu.

The Gayatri Mantra is addressed to Savitri (associated with sun god). Two highest gods in the Vedic religion were Indra (war god) & Varuna (ocean god). Division of vedic society The oldest mention of varna system (four classes) is in the Purusha sukta of Rigveda. The dasas & dasyus mentioned in the Rig Veda refer to non-Aryans.

The Hindu social sacraments such as marriage are performed on the basis of ritual described in the Grihyasutras. The symbols associated with the five great events of the Buddha are birth (lotus & lion), great renunciation (horse), attainment of knowledge (banyan tree), first sermon (wheel), death (stupa & foot prints). According to Buddha the cause of all sorrows is Trishna (attachment).

Vinayak Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka, Abhidhamma Pitaka contain teachings of the Buddha. Jatakas are stories of Buddhas previous life. Outside India, Buddhism was first accepted in Sri Lanka.

The Mauryan sculptors had gained highest perfection in the carving of Pillars & the most striking feature is their polish. Two great Buddhist stupas rebuilt during the Sunga (were Brahmanas) Period were Dhammekh stupa at Sarnath & the stupa at Sanghot.

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