Sunday, June 27, 2010
history themes part 1
NOTE ON PLACES AND AREAS IN
ANCIENT INDIA
1. AIHOLE near Badami with rock cut and structural temples of
Western Chalukya period, is favous for the temples of Vishnu, Ladkhan
and Durga. It furnish examples of a well developed Deccan style of
architecture. The other three styles of ancient India being Nagar
Dravidian and Vesara. It is also famous for its inscription or Prasasti
composed by Ravikirti, the court poet of Pulkesin II. This prasasti
mentions the defeat of Harsha by the Chalukya king, Pulkesin II, a r
rare event of a Northern emperor or ruler being defeated by a ruler
south of Narmada.
2. ACHICHHATRA identified with modern Ramnagar in Bareily district
of U.P. was the capital of North Panchala in the first half of first
millennium B.C. Exacavation grove that it had moats and ramparts
around it, it has revealed terracottas of the Kushan period, and also
remarkable siries of coins of second century A.D. Its importance lies in
the fact that it was on the important ancient Indian northern trade
route linking Taxila and Inidraprastha with Kanyakubaj and Sravasti,
Rajgriha and Pataliputra indicating that trae could be one of the
reasons for its prominence.
3. AJANTA near Aurangabad (Maharashtra), is famous for wonderful
Buddist caves, and also paintings probably executed only b the
Buddhist monks. Paintings of exceptional skill belong to the period
between 2nd century B.C. and 7th Century A.D. One of the cave well
depicts the reception of a Persian mission in the Chalukya court of
Pulkasin II indicating cultural and commercial contacts with the Persian
empire.
4. ANUPA in Narmada valley mentioned in the Nasik inscription (dated
115 A.D.) of Gautami Balasri, mother of the Satvahana ruler Sri
Satakarni (Circa 72-95 A.D.) was conqured bythe latter from the
sakas, and was a bone of contention for long between the Sakas and
the Satvahanas. The sakas were responsible for driving the
Satavahanas. Into the south -eastern and western direction. In other
words, Anupa signifies the earlier homeland of the Satvahanas.
5. APARNTAKA (Aparanta), identified withk Konkan, i.e. North
western region of the Deccan, was a bone of contention between the
sakas and the Satavahanas and is mentioned in Nasik Inscription
Dinesh Rathod Page 1 of 17
(dated circle 155 A.D.) of Gautami Balasri. Gautamiputa stakarni
conquered it from theSakas. According to the Mahavamsa, the third
Buddhist council deputed Great elder Dharamarakshita to do
missionary work in Aparantaka region. Literacy evience locates the
Abhiras in this region, who probably were responsible for identifying
Lord Krishna as the diety of cowherd and milk-maids.
In matters relating to trade and commerce it was famous for the
production of cotton textiles in ancient times and ated, as the
hinterland for the ancient ports of Bharukachechha and Sopara.
6. ARIKAMEDU near Pondicherry, known to the periplus as podoka,
wa port of call in Sangam Times (200 B.C.) on the route of Malaya and
china. Recent excavation during which a veryrich treasure of Roman
beads, glass and coins, and of Roman and south Indian Pottery were
found have proved that it was once a prosperous settlement of
Western trading people, including the Romans.
The favourable balance of Payments position ejoyed by India in its
trade with Rome is amply revealed by the rich haul of Roman gold
coins.
7. AYODHYA also known as A-yu-te or Abhur of Saketa on the river
Sarya (Modern Ghaghra) in Faizabad district of U.P. was the earliest
capital of the Kosala Janapade and was the seat of the epic hero,
Rama. It is also known for its short Sanskrit inscription of king
Dhandeva of Kosal (belonging probably to the first century B.C.) which
refers to the conducting of two Asvamedha sacrifices by king
Pushyamitra. From the economic view-point it was located on the
important trade of Tamralipti-Rajagriha-Sravasti which passed via
Ayodhya.
8. AMRAVATI near modern Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), is famous
for its stupa and as an art center flourishing under the Satavahanas
and the pallavas. Second century works of art khow mastery of stone
sculpture. Amravati bas-reliefs have the representation of ancient
Indian vehicles - the boat or the ship or the cart, and of a foreign
mission (like the Ajanta cave paintings) of marchants being received
by a king. In ancient times is was an important center of trade, and
ships from here sailed to Burma and Indonesia.
It is maintained by some scholars that a human figure, for the first
time, that a marble stone relief was executed.
Dinesh Rathod Page 2 of 17
9. ASIKA (Probably on the left bankof the river Krishna), is mentioned
in the Nasik inscription (dated circe 115 A.D.) of Gautami Balasri, it
was conquered by the Satavahana rular Gautamiputra Satakarini
(………) The latter fact reveals that Gautamiputra Satakarni gained a
stronger hold of southern India which proved beneficial because of the
continuing Saka pressure even after his victory against the Sakas.
King Kharavela of Kalinga also made a claim of its conquest.
10. AVANTI (western Malva) one of the 16 Janapadas of 6th century
B.C. with its capital at Ujjain; struggle dhard against Magadhan
imperialism but in vain. According to Buddhist traditions, Asoka, the
Mauryan ruler, served as the Viceroy of Avanti, while he was a prince.
Since Malwa region is important politically, and economically it became
a bone of contention between the Sakas. And the Satavahanas,
Rashtrakutas and Pratiharas in ancient India. It is through this region
that the importanttrade routes from eastern and western Indian
passed Via Ujjain to the important Western ports Bharukachchha
(Broach) and Soparaka (Sopara).
11. ANGA one of the 16th Janapadas of 16th century B.C. Lay to the
east of Magadha with Champa, near Bhagalpur, as its capital. Some of
the Anga monarchas, like Brahmadatta, appear to have defeated their
Magadha contemporaries. Subsequently, however, Magadha emerged
supreme leading to the establishment of the first empire of ancient
India. In other words, the conquest of Anga by Magadha was one of
the stepping stones for the Magadhan Empire.
12. BARHUT in central Indian is famous for Buddhist Stupa and stone
railings which replaced the wooden ones in the Sunga period. Barhut
sculptures depict the visit of king Ajatasatru to the Buddha. Barhut
along with Sanchi and Bodh-Gaya represent the first organized art
activity of the Indian people as a whole. Furthermore, all these clearly
indicate the transition of sculpture from wood to stone.
13. BARYGAZA OR BHARUKACHCHA (Broach) was the oldest and
largest northern most entrepot on the mouth of the Narmada river in
modern Maharashtra. It handled the bulk of the trade with western
Asia (Jataka stories and the Periplus mention it). It was also one of the
district head quarters of the Saka rulers. According to Jain traditions, it
was the capital of the Saka empire. It was international trade that
mode Barygaza important in ancient India.
Dinesh Rathod Page 3 of 17
14. BARBARICUM was an important port in the Indus delta, receiving
Chinese furs and silks through Bacteria for export to the West. It
added to the growing prosperity of India in the first century A.D.
15. BADAMI (MODERN NAME FOR VATAPI) in Bijapur district was
founded by pulkesin I as an early capital of the Western Chalukyas. It
as a hill-fort and an exquisite cave temple of lord Vishnu excavated
during the rule of Manglesh, the Chalukya ruler. Huen-tsang visited it.
16. BODH-GAYA situated six miles south of Gaya in Bihar on the
western bank of the Nilajan river, was the place where the Buddha
attained enlightenement. It was part of the Magadha janapada.
17. BANAVASI (north kanara in Karnataka) also known as Vaijayanti,
was the capital of the Kadambas who were defeated by the Chalukya
king Kirtivarman during the last quarter of the 6th century A.D.
According to the Ceylonese chronicles Ashoka sent a mission to Deccan
with the Monk Rkshita who went as far as Banavasi.
18. BRAHMAGIRI in Chitaldurg district of Karnataka, is remarkable
for its continuity of cultural heritage extending from Neolithic (stoneage
culture) to megalithic (early historic culture-3rd century B.C. to Ist
century B.C. with possible links with Mediter anean and Caucasian
Megaliths) revealing ancestory worship and animism pointing to the
practice of cist and pit burials. It is the site of one of the two minor
rock edicts of Askoka. These edicts suggest the provability of Ashoka
entering the Sangha as a full monk after two and a half years of his
conversion to Buddhism.
19. BURZAHOM in Kashmir Valley near Srinagar, is associated with
megalithic settlements (dating 2400 B.C.) where the people lived on a
plateau in pits using tools and weapons of stone (axe) and bones. (The
only other site which has yielded considerable bone implements is
Chirand, 40 km. West of Patna on the northern bank of the Ganges
and using coarse grey pottery. The information that we gather from
the two places, recently discovered, throws light on the proto-histroy
of India).
20. BAMIYAN an important Buddhist and Gandhara Art center in
Afghanistan in the early Christian centuries, has tall rock-cut Buddha
statues. The ancient trade route linking north western India with China
passed through it. It was the capital of the Hunas in the 5th and the
6th centuries A.D.
Dinesh Rathod Page 4 of 17
21. BELUR with a group of Hoysala monuments including the famous
Chennakesava temple (built around 1117 A.D.) represents an art
which applies to stone the technique of the ivory worker or the
goldsmith.
22. CHIDAMBARAM a town in south Arcot district in Tamilnadu is
famous for its great Hindu Siva Temple dedicated to Nataraja, i.e. Siva
in his aspects of cosmic dance. The Nataraja sculptures are esteemed
as tehgreatest specimens of sculpture in the world. Also,
Chidambaram bears evidence to the birth as well as the development
of Shaivism to begin with insouthern Indian and its consequential
spread to the whole of India.
23. CHEDI OR CHETI one of the 16 Janapadas of 6th century B.C.
roughly corresponds to modern Bundelkhand and adjacent tracts. It
lay near the Kanuna, its metropolis was suktimati to Sottihivatinagar.
24. CAAMPA the capital city of the Anga Janapada on the border of
Bengal was of great commercial importance in ancient times; for it was
a river port from which ships would sail down the Ganges and the
coast the south India, returning with jewels and spices which were
much in demand in the North. By Mauryan times, with the eastward
expansion of Aryan culture, Tamralipti replaced in in importance. An
interesting feature of this is the fact that a Hindu Kingdom with the
same name came into existence in the mainland of South east Asia.
Indeed it is difficult to say how exactly this name came to be
transplanted in South-east Asia.
25. DASAPURA modern Mandasor in western Malwa, was disputed
between the Sakas and the Satavahanas. Its famous Siva temple of
the guild of Silk weavers, was built during the reign of kumar Gupta I
(414 A.D.-455 A.D.) the institution that is responsible for building the
Siva temple indicates the climax of Indian trading and commercial
activities in ancient Indian. It also reveals that manufacture of silk was
no longer the secret monopoly of China and it had taken roots in India
by the 5th century A.D.
26. DEVAKA modern Dokak in Nowgong district in Assam, a frontier
country which paid tribute to Samudragupta claiming the payment of
tribute by Kamarupa goes along with Devaka. However, it is to be
borne in mind that Harisena's Prasasti is of doubtful historical validity.
The one significant thing that is known is the fact that no ruler of the
northern India could ever conquer the Assam region but instead
Dinesh Rathod Page 5 of 17
Burma conquered it and it was wrenched from Burma by the British in
1829 by the Treaty of Yandavoo.
27. DEOGARH in Jhansi district of U.P. is famous for its Dasvatara
Vishnu temple belonging to the Gupta period. The temple may be
considered as most respresentative and well known example of the
early sikhara style of temple architecture in example of the early
sikhara style of temple architecture on the panels of its walls. Deogarh
is one the temples with which began the temple architecture of India.
In particular, the Shikhara is the unique feature of the
northerntemples compared to those of southern Indian.
28. DWARAKA Legends associate this place toYadavas after the
battle of Kurukshetra. According to mythology Dwaraka was destroyed
by the huge tidal wave as per the forewarning of Lord Krishna. In very
recent times Dr. S.R.Rao with the cooperation of the Department of
Ocenography, did carry out under-sea explorations. Some artifacts
including stone anchors have been found dating back to the Harappan
period. The exploration is still continuing.
29. ELLORA With three distinct groups of rock-cut architecture
associated with Buddhism, Jainism and Brahmanical Hinduism, is
famous for its temple of Kailash (Siva) "an entire temple complex
completely hewn-out of the live rock in imitation of a distinctive
structural form". The temple ws built by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I
(758-773 A.D.) and is one of the most magnificent examples of
Dravida architecture with its four principal characteristic components,
viz. Vimana, Mandapa, nandi mandapa and gopuram. The Ellora
sculptures are famous for their liveliness.
30. ERAN Besnagar district (Madhya Pradesh) is famous on account of
Eran Inscriptions dated 510 A.D. This inscription mentions the practice
of Sati, first of its kind. It is also famous for its colossal board, the
zoomorphic incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
31. ELEPHANTA beautiful little island off Bombay, with latest
cavetemples in Ellora style was famous for their sculpture, especially
the great Trimutti figure of Siva, emblem of the Maharashtar Govt.
representing the highest plastic expression of the Hindu concept of
divinity.
32. GANDHARA with Taxila and peshwar as two capitals, in earlier
and later ancient periods was one of the 16 Janapadas (6th century
B.C.) onthenorth-western frontier of India. Under the Kushans it
Dinesh Rathod Page 6 of 17
become a popular center of Mahayana Buddhism and Gandhara art-
Indian images both secular and religious (the Buddha and Lord
Krishna) but in long floating garments, as is the tradition of early
Greek sculpture. It was a meeting ground for several civilizations and
mercantile communities belonging to different countries.
33. GORATHAGIRA A hill fortress on the modern Barabar hills in the
Gaya district of Bihar, was attacked by King Kharavela of Kalinga in
the 8th year of his reign. This fact is known from the Hathigumpha
Inscription of king Kharavela.
34. GANGAIKOND-CHOLA-PURAM was capital city of the greatest
Chola ruler Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 A.D.) who built it after the
successful Chola military camaign upto the bank of the river Ganges in
1021-22. Currently the city lies inruins and its enormous tankshas
dried up.
35. GIRNAR hill near Janagarh in Gujarat, where a Mauryan governor
is said to have built an artificial lake, known as Sudarsana lake which
Rudradaman, the Saka ruler renovated. Rudradaman's Sanskrit
Inscription was located here and it is the first Sanskrit inscription It
had been a sacred place to the Jainas since remote times because Jain
shrines are also located here.
36. HASTINAPURA aim district Meerut in U.P. (known as Asandivant)
was the capital of the ancient tribe of the Kurus. Later the floods
destroyed it. Recent excavations prove that the people of this region
used iron by about 700 B.C. that is the Aryans had learnt the art of
making iron which revolutionized the whole socio-economic pattern of
Aryan communities. It was this fact that lay at the base of the
Economic Revolution that India passed through between 1000 B.C. to
600 A.D. with far too many consequences like the emergence of an
empire, various kinds of guilds, brisk trade both with in and with out
the country and links with buth South-east Asia and the Roman
empire.
37. HATHIGUPHA on Udaigir hill, three miles from Bhuvaneshwar in
the puri district of Orissa, is famous for an inscription in post-ashokan
character, engraved inside the elephant cave. It depicts the meteoric
and dazzling carer of Jaina king Kharavela, the 3rd ruler of the Cate
dynasty. It also refers to the building of an equeduct in Kalinga by one
of the Nanda rulers of Pataliputra. The importance of this inscription
lies in the fact that it is the first important sign-post in fixing the
chronology of ancient India.
Dinesh Rathod Page 7 of 17
38. HAILBID is famous for Hoysalesvara temple (Hoysala period)
designed and built by Kedoroja, the master-building of Narasimha I.
The infinite wealth of sculpture over the exterior of this temple makes
it one of the most remarkable monuments of the world. Known as
Dwaramudra it was the capital of the Hoysalas.
39. INDRAPRASTHA identified by Jain scholars with the site around
the enclosure of the Purana Oila (Delhi) one of the sites of painted
Grey Ware (10th century B.C.) finda, was the legendry capital of the
Pandava brothers of the epic Mahabharata, which they lost to the
Kauravas having been defeated in the gambling match. After the
second battle of Tarain (1192) Moh. Gauri appointed Outbuddin Aibak
as his deputy at Indraprastha which became a base for Aibak's
successful operations against north Indian states.
40. KURA one of the 16 Janapadas of 6th century B.C., was in the
neighbourhood of Delhi. Among its towns may be mentioned
Indraprastha and Hastinapur. This place clearly brings home the truth
to us that Mahabharata was not purely fictional story but some amount
of historical evidence is embedded in the story. As a matter of fact,
Vasudeve Krishna is now known as a historical personality as borne
out by the writings of patanjali and other sources of evidence.
ANCIENT INDIA
1. AIHOLE near Badami with rock cut and structural temples of
Western Chalukya period, is favous for the temples of Vishnu, Ladkhan
and Durga. It furnish examples of a well developed Deccan style of
architecture. The other three styles of ancient India being Nagar
Dravidian and Vesara. It is also famous for its inscription or Prasasti
composed by Ravikirti, the court poet of Pulkesin II. This prasasti
mentions the defeat of Harsha by the Chalukya king, Pulkesin II, a r
rare event of a Northern emperor or ruler being defeated by a ruler
south of Narmada.
2. ACHICHHATRA identified with modern Ramnagar in Bareily district
of U.P. was the capital of North Panchala in the first half of first
millennium B.C. Exacavation grove that it had moats and ramparts
around it, it has revealed terracottas of the Kushan period, and also
remarkable siries of coins of second century A.D. Its importance lies in
the fact that it was on the important ancient Indian northern trade
route linking Taxila and Inidraprastha with Kanyakubaj and Sravasti,
Rajgriha and Pataliputra indicating that trae could be one of the
reasons for its prominence.
3. AJANTA near Aurangabad (Maharashtra), is famous for wonderful
Buddist caves, and also paintings probably executed only b the
Buddhist monks. Paintings of exceptional skill belong to the period
between 2nd century B.C. and 7th Century A.D. One of the cave well
depicts the reception of a Persian mission in the Chalukya court of
Pulkasin II indicating cultural and commercial contacts with the Persian
empire.
4. ANUPA in Narmada valley mentioned in the Nasik inscription (dated
115 A.D.) of Gautami Balasri, mother of the Satvahana ruler Sri
Satakarni (Circa 72-95 A.D.) was conqured bythe latter from the
sakas, and was a bone of contention for long between the Sakas and
the Satvahanas. The sakas were responsible for driving the
Satavahanas. Into the south -eastern and western direction. In other
words, Anupa signifies the earlier homeland of the Satvahanas.
5. APARNTAKA (Aparanta), identified withk Konkan, i.e. North
western region of the Deccan, was a bone of contention between the
sakas and the Satavahanas and is mentioned in Nasik Inscription
Dinesh Rathod Page 1 of 17
(dated circle 155 A.D.) of Gautami Balasri. Gautamiputa stakarni
conquered it from theSakas. According to the Mahavamsa, the third
Buddhist council deputed Great elder Dharamarakshita to do
missionary work in Aparantaka region. Literacy evience locates the
Abhiras in this region, who probably were responsible for identifying
Lord Krishna as the diety of cowherd and milk-maids.
In matters relating to trade and commerce it was famous for the
production of cotton textiles in ancient times and ated, as the
hinterland for the ancient ports of Bharukachechha and Sopara.
6. ARIKAMEDU near Pondicherry, known to the periplus as podoka,
wa port of call in Sangam Times (200 B.C.) on the route of Malaya and
china. Recent excavation during which a veryrich treasure of Roman
beads, glass and coins, and of Roman and south Indian Pottery were
found have proved that it was once a prosperous settlement of
Western trading people, including the Romans.
The favourable balance of Payments position ejoyed by India in its
trade with Rome is amply revealed by the rich haul of Roman gold
coins.
7. AYODHYA also known as A-yu-te or Abhur of Saketa on the river
Sarya (Modern Ghaghra) in Faizabad district of U.P. was the earliest
capital of the Kosala Janapade and was the seat of the epic hero,
Rama. It is also known for its short Sanskrit inscription of king
Dhandeva of Kosal (belonging probably to the first century B.C.) which
refers to the conducting of two Asvamedha sacrifices by king
Pushyamitra. From the economic view-point it was located on the
important trade of Tamralipti-Rajagriha-Sravasti which passed via
Ayodhya.
8. AMRAVATI near modern Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh), is famous
for its stupa and as an art center flourishing under the Satavahanas
and the pallavas. Second century works of art khow mastery of stone
sculpture. Amravati bas-reliefs have the representation of ancient
Indian vehicles - the boat or the ship or the cart, and of a foreign
mission (like the Ajanta cave paintings) of marchants being received
by a king. In ancient times is was an important center of trade, and
ships from here sailed to Burma and Indonesia.
It is maintained by some scholars that a human figure, for the first
time, that a marble stone relief was executed.
Dinesh Rathod Page 2 of 17
9. ASIKA (Probably on the left bankof the river Krishna), is mentioned
in the Nasik inscription (dated circe 115 A.D.) of Gautami Balasri, it
was conquered by the Satavahana rular Gautamiputra Satakarini
(………) The latter fact reveals that Gautamiputra Satakarni gained a
stronger hold of southern India which proved beneficial because of the
continuing Saka pressure even after his victory against the Sakas.
King Kharavela of Kalinga also made a claim of its conquest.
10. AVANTI (western Malva) one of the 16 Janapadas of 6th century
B.C. with its capital at Ujjain; struggle dhard against Magadhan
imperialism but in vain. According to Buddhist traditions, Asoka, the
Mauryan ruler, served as the Viceroy of Avanti, while he was a prince.
Since Malwa region is important politically, and economically it became
a bone of contention between the Sakas. And the Satavahanas,
Rashtrakutas and Pratiharas in ancient India. It is through this region
that the importanttrade routes from eastern and western Indian
passed Via Ujjain to the important Western ports Bharukachchha
(Broach) and Soparaka (Sopara).
11. ANGA one of the 16th Janapadas of 16th century B.C. Lay to the
east of Magadha with Champa, near Bhagalpur, as its capital. Some of
the Anga monarchas, like Brahmadatta, appear to have defeated their
Magadha contemporaries. Subsequently, however, Magadha emerged
supreme leading to the establishment of the first empire of ancient
India. In other words, the conquest of Anga by Magadha was one of
the stepping stones for the Magadhan Empire.
12. BARHUT in central Indian is famous for Buddhist Stupa and stone
railings which replaced the wooden ones in the Sunga period. Barhut
sculptures depict the visit of king Ajatasatru to the Buddha. Barhut
along with Sanchi and Bodh-Gaya represent the first organized art
activity of the Indian people as a whole. Furthermore, all these clearly
indicate the transition of sculpture from wood to stone.
13. BARYGAZA OR BHARUKACHCHA (Broach) was the oldest and
largest northern most entrepot on the mouth of the Narmada river in
modern Maharashtra. It handled the bulk of the trade with western
Asia (Jataka stories and the Periplus mention it). It was also one of the
district head quarters of the Saka rulers. According to Jain traditions, it
was the capital of the Saka empire. It was international trade that
mode Barygaza important in ancient India.
Dinesh Rathod Page 3 of 17
14. BARBARICUM was an important port in the Indus delta, receiving
Chinese furs and silks through Bacteria for export to the West. It
added to the growing prosperity of India in the first century A.D.
15. BADAMI (MODERN NAME FOR VATAPI) in Bijapur district was
founded by pulkesin I as an early capital of the Western Chalukyas. It
as a hill-fort and an exquisite cave temple of lord Vishnu excavated
during the rule of Manglesh, the Chalukya ruler. Huen-tsang visited it.
16. BODH-GAYA situated six miles south of Gaya in Bihar on the
western bank of the Nilajan river, was the place where the Buddha
attained enlightenement. It was part of the Magadha janapada.
17. BANAVASI (north kanara in Karnataka) also known as Vaijayanti,
was the capital of the Kadambas who were defeated by the Chalukya
king Kirtivarman during the last quarter of the 6th century A.D.
According to the Ceylonese chronicles Ashoka sent a mission to Deccan
with the Monk Rkshita who went as far as Banavasi.
18. BRAHMAGIRI in Chitaldurg district of Karnataka, is remarkable
for its continuity of cultural heritage extending from Neolithic (stoneage
culture) to megalithic (early historic culture-3rd century B.C. to Ist
century B.C. with possible links with Mediter anean and Caucasian
Megaliths) revealing ancestory worship and animism pointing to the
practice of cist and pit burials. It is the site of one of the two minor
rock edicts of Askoka. These edicts suggest the provability of Ashoka
entering the Sangha as a full monk after two and a half years of his
conversion to Buddhism.
19. BURZAHOM in Kashmir Valley near Srinagar, is associated with
megalithic settlements (dating 2400 B.C.) where the people lived on a
plateau in pits using tools and weapons of stone (axe) and bones. (The
only other site which has yielded considerable bone implements is
Chirand, 40 km. West of Patna on the northern bank of the Ganges
and using coarse grey pottery. The information that we gather from
the two places, recently discovered, throws light on the proto-histroy
of India).
20. BAMIYAN an important Buddhist and Gandhara Art center in
Afghanistan in the early Christian centuries, has tall rock-cut Buddha
statues. The ancient trade route linking north western India with China
passed through it. It was the capital of the Hunas in the 5th and the
6th centuries A.D.
Dinesh Rathod Page 4 of 17
21. BELUR with a group of Hoysala monuments including the famous
Chennakesava temple (built around 1117 A.D.) represents an art
which applies to stone the technique of the ivory worker or the
goldsmith.
22. CHIDAMBARAM a town in south Arcot district in Tamilnadu is
famous for its great Hindu Siva Temple dedicated to Nataraja, i.e. Siva
in his aspects of cosmic dance. The Nataraja sculptures are esteemed
as tehgreatest specimens of sculpture in the world. Also,
Chidambaram bears evidence to the birth as well as the development
of Shaivism to begin with insouthern Indian and its consequential
spread to the whole of India.
23. CHEDI OR CHETI one of the 16 Janapadas of 6th century B.C.
roughly corresponds to modern Bundelkhand and adjacent tracts. It
lay near the Kanuna, its metropolis was suktimati to Sottihivatinagar.
24. CAAMPA the capital city of the Anga Janapada on the border of
Bengal was of great commercial importance in ancient times; for it was
a river port from which ships would sail down the Ganges and the
coast the south India, returning with jewels and spices which were
much in demand in the North. By Mauryan times, with the eastward
expansion of Aryan culture, Tamralipti replaced in in importance. An
interesting feature of this is the fact that a Hindu Kingdom with the
same name came into existence in the mainland of South east Asia.
Indeed it is difficult to say how exactly this name came to be
transplanted in South-east Asia.
25. DASAPURA modern Mandasor in western Malwa, was disputed
between the Sakas and the Satavahanas. Its famous Siva temple of
the guild of Silk weavers, was built during the reign of kumar Gupta I
(414 A.D.-455 A.D.) the institution that is responsible for building the
Siva temple indicates the climax of Indian trading and commercial
activities in ancient Indian. It also reveals that manufacture of silk was
no longer the secret monopoly of China and it had taken roots in India
by the 5th century A.D.
26. DEVAKA modern Dokak in Nowgong district in Assam, a frontier
country which paid tribute to Samudragupta claiming the payment of
tribute by Kamarupa goes along with Devaka. However, it is to be
borne in mind that Harisena's Prasasti is of doubtful historical validity.
The one significant thing that is known is the fact that no ruler of the
northern India could ever conquer the Assam region but instead
Dinesh Rathod Page 5 of 17
Burma conquered it and it was wrenched from Burma by the British in
1829 by the Treaty of Yandavoo.
27. DEOGARH in Jhansi district of U.P. is famous for its Dasvatara
Vishnu temple belonging to the Gupta period. The temple may be
considered as most respresentative and well known example of the
early sikhara style of temple architecture in example of the early
sikhara style of temple architecture on the panels of its walls. Deogarh
is one the temples with which began the temple architecture of India.
In particular, the Shikhara is the unique feature of the
northerntemples compared to those of southern Indian.
28. DWARAKA Legends associate this place toYadavas after the
battle of Kurukshetra. According to mythology Dwaraka was destroyed
by the huge tidal wave as per the forewarning of Lord Krishna. In very
recent times Dr. S.R.Rao with the cooperation of the Department of
Ocenography, did carry out under-sea explorations. Some artifacts
including stone anchors have been found dating back to the Harappan
period. The exploration is still continuing.
29. ELLORA With three distinct groups of rock-cut architecture
associated with Buddhism, Jainism and Brahmanical Hinduism, is
famous for its temple of Kailash (Siva) "an entire temple complex
completely hewn-out of the live rock in imitation of a distinctive
structural form". The temple ws built by the Rashtrakuta king Krishna I
(758-773 A.D.) and is one of the most magnificent examples of
Dravida architecture with its four principal characteristic components,
viz. Vimana, Mandapa, nandi mandapa and gopuram. The Ellora
sculptures are famous for their liveliness.
30. ERAN Besnagar district (Madhya Pradesh) is famous on account of
Eran Inscriptions dated 510 A.D. This inscription mentions the practice
of Sati, first of its kind. It is also famous for its colossal board, the
zoomorphic incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
31. ELEPHANTA beautiful little island off Bombay, with latest
cavetemples in Ellora style was famous for their sculpture, especially
the great Trimutti figure of Siva, emblem of the Maharashtar Govt.
representing the highest plastic expression of the Hindu concept of
divinity.
32. GANDHARA with Taxila and peshwar as two capitals, in earlier
and later ancient periods was one of the 16 Janapadas (6th century
B.C.) onthenorth-western frontier of India. Under the Kushans it
Dinesh Rathod Page 6 of 17
become a popular center of Mahayana Buddhism and Gandhara art-
Indian images both secular and religious (the Buddha and Lord
Krishna) but in long floating garments, as is the tradition of early
Greek sculpture. It was a meeting ground for several civilizations and
mercantile communities belonging to different countries.
33. GORATHAGIRA A hill fortress on the modern Barabar hills in the
Gaya district of Bihar, was attacked by King Kharavela of Kalinga in
the 8th year of his reign. This fact is known from the Hathigumpha
Inscription of king Kharavela.
34. GANGAIKOND-CHOLA-PURAM was capital city of the greatest
Chola ruler Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 A.D.) who built it after the
successful Chola military camaign upto the bank of the river Ganges in
1021-22. Currently the city lies inruins and its enormous tankshas
dried up.
35. GIRNAR hill near Janagarh in Gujarat, where a Mauryan governor
is said to have built an artificial lake, known as Sudarsana lake which
Rudradaman, the Saka ruler renovated. Rudradaman's Sanskrit
Inscription was located here and it is the first Sanskrit inscription It
had been a sacred place to the Jainas since remote times because Jain
shrines are also located here.
36. HASTINAPURA aim district Meerut in U.P. (known as Asandivant)
was the capital of the ancient tribe of the Kurus. Later the floods
destroyed it. Recent excavations prove that the people of this region
used iron by about 700 B.C. that is the Aryans had learnt the art of
making iron which revolutionized the whole socio-economic pattern of
Aryan communities. It was this fact that lay at the base of the
Economic Revolution that India passed through between 1000 B.C. to
600 A.D. with far too many consequences like the emergence of an
empire, various kinds of guilds, brisk trade both with in and with out
the country and links with buth South-east Asia and the Roman
empire.
37. HATHIGUPHA on Udaigir hill, three miles from Bhuvaneshwar in
the puri district of Orissa, is famous for an inscription in post-ashokan
character, engraved inside the elephant cave. It depicts the meteoric
and dazzling carer of Jaina king Kharavela, the 3rd ruler of the Cate
dynasty. It also refers to the building of an equeduct in Kalinga by one
of the Nanda rulers of Pataliputra. The importance of this inscription
lies in the fact that it is the first important sign-post in fixing the
chronology of ancient India.
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38. HAILBID is famous for Hoysalesvara temple (Hoysala period)
designed and built by Kedoroja, the master-building of Narasimha I.
The infinite wealth of sculpture over the exterior of this temple makes
it one of the most remarkable monuments of the world. Known as
Dwaramudra it was the capital of the Hoysalas.
39. INDRAPRASTHA identified by Jain scholars with the site around
the enclosure of the Purana Oila (Delhi) one of the sites of painted
Grey Ware (10th century B.C.) finda, was the legendry capital of the
Pandava brothers of the epic Mahabharata, which they lost to the
Kauravas having been defeated in the gambling match. After the
second battle of Tarain (1192) Moh. Gauri appointed Outbuddin Aibak
as his deputy at Indraprastha which became a base for Aibak's
successful operations against north Indian states.
40. KURA one of the 16 Janapadas of 6th century B.C., was in the
neighbourhood of Delhi. Among its towns may be mentioned
Indraprastha and Hastinapur. This place clearly brings home the truth
to us that Mahabharata was not purely fictional story but some amount
of historical evidence is embedded in the story. As a matter of fact,
Vasudeve Krishna is now known as a historical personality as borne
out by the writings of patanjali and other sources of evidence.
history themes part 2
41. KAJANGALA in Raj mahal district in Eastern Bihar, where king
Harsha (606-647 A.D.) held his court while campaigning in eastern
India.The Chiense pilgrim Huen-Tsang first saw Harsha here.
42. KAPISA It is the region near Kabul, probably Kipin as referred to
by Chineses writers. The presiding diety of the city according to
Chiense writers was zeus. The Greek god. The gold and silver coins
issued by the Greek kings have been discovered from this region in big
numbers. The Greeks were the first to issue gold coins in India. These
coins testify to the growing trade links between India and Central Asia
and China and also with the Roman world. Far more important is the
fact that these coins testify to the gowing worship of Vasudeva-krishna
or the Bhagavata cult which later repened as Vaishnavism.
43. KIPIN is identified with Kapisa or Kafirstan in Kashmir. It
indicated the wide region know in earlier times as the Mahajanapada
of Kamboja. It was ruled by the Sakas, the Kushans and the Hunas in
succession. The name Kamboja reappears as the name of kamboja, an
important of the mainland of South-East Asia.
Dinesh Rathod Page 8 of 17
44. KAMPILYA was the capital of southern Panchalas, one of the
tribal communities of the Aryans. This fact proves that the Aryans, to
begin with in India, lived as various tribes. The tribes were in constant
war with eachother culminating in the emergence of the Magadha
Empire.
45. KUSAMDHVALA (Patliputara) Gargi-Samhita alludes that in the
2nd century B.C. the Yavanas (Indo-Bacterians) having reduced
Saketa, Panchala, and Mathura reached kusumdhvana. Demetrios,
was, most probably, the Yavana leader. He was defeated or he retired
withouth fighting.
46. KASI one of the 16 Janapadas of the 6th century B.C. with its
capital of the same name. It was also called Varanasi (69). It greatly
prospered under the rule of Brahmadatta.
47. KOSAL one of the 16 janapadas of the 6th century B.C. had three
different capitals (Saketa, Ayodhya and Sravasti) in three different
periods. It region roughly corresponded to modern oudh.
48. KUSINAGAR (Kusinara ?) moder Kasia, in Gorakhpur district in
UP was a small town where the Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana. It
was one of the two capitals of the Mall Janapada in pre-Buddhists
times. It was visited by Ashoka and the Chinese pilgrim Fa-hien.
49. KANYAKUBJA (Kanauj) on the bank of river Gangas in UP rose
to prominence during the time of Mukhar is, Harsha and Gujara-
Pratiharas. Under the pratiharas, Kanauj successfully resisted the
Arabs. In the 9th century A.D. It was disputed among the Palas of
Bengal, Prathiharas, and the Rashtrakutas. It was situated on a very
important trade-route linking north-Western regions of India with
Prayaga, Kasi, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Rajagriha, Tamralipti.
50. KAUSAMBI identified with the villagesof Kosam near Allahabad
was one of the earliest cities, so prominent that Anand, the Buddhist
monk, though it important enough for a Buddha to die in. Recent
excavation it here unearthed historically and culturally important
terracotta figures. It was built in the shape of a trapezium and was the
capital of the vastse Janapada. One of the Ashokan Pillars was located
here. It was also an inscription of the Kushan monarch.
60. KARNA-SUVARNA : refers to the region of Bengal and some
parts of Bihar and Orrisa, fuled by sasanka in the early 7th century
A.D. Harsha conquered the region from him after 619 A.D.
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61. KANHERI In Thana district near Bombay, has rock cut Chaitya
shrines with elaborately decorated railings belonging to the third
century A.D. One inscription of the last great ruler of the Satavahana
dynasty. Yajnasri Satakarni is found here. Kanheri Buddhist Tank
inscription makes mention of Matiemonial relationship between the
Sakas and the Satavahanas. It was the chief center of Buddhism in
Rashtrakuta times. Faint traces of the art of paintings may be traced in
the caves of Kanheri.
62. KANCHI modern canjeevaram, south-west to Madras is reckoned
among the seven sacred cities of the Hindus. It was an important
center of Jaina culture in the first half of the first millennium A.D. It
was one of the south Indian kingdoms conquered by Samudragupta. It
was visited by Huen-Tsang. It rose to prominence in 7th century A.D.
Under the Pallava king. It possesses the famous Kailashnath temple
(built by Pallava King Narsimhavarman - II) and Vaikuntha perumalla
(constructed sometime after the kailashnath). The Kailashnath temple
is a landmark in the development of dravida temple style with its
characteristic components-vimana, mandapa gopuram and an array of
vimanas along the walls of the court, i.e. peristyle cells.
63. KAVERIPATTANAM known as Puhar, was the Chola capital and
chief port in Sangam period (200 B.C.- 300 A.D.) with a large colongy
of foreigners. It was an important trade center. Ships sailing from here
to South-East Asia. A long poem on this Chola capital is the part of the
famous Sangam work pattupattu (Ten Idylls).
64. KURUKSHETRA near Thaneswar, to the north of Delhi in
Haryana, was the site of the great battle of Mahbharata. This battle
fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, formed the basis of
the story of the greatness of India epics the Mahabharata. It is in this
great war that Krishna prached his gospel of the Gita, to the Pandava
hero Arjuna who saw his own elders and kishmen arranged himself for
the fith and then early decided to renounce and retire. Krishna gave
him the message of disinterested perfomance of duty i.e. renunciation
in action but no renunciation of action. That a great war ws fought
between the cousin brothers - Kauravas and Pandavas is quite
possible.
65. MANYAKHET (modern Malkhed in Hyderabad region) was the
capital of Rashtrakuta Amoghavarsha I in the 9th century A.D.
66. MAHABALIPURAM is today a tiny coastal village 65 kms. south
of Madras. This port-city was founded by Pallava king
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Narasimhavarman in the 7th century A.D. Pallava kings created an
architecture of their own which was to be the basis of all the styles of
the south. In fact Mahabilipuram, the Pallava art with its monolithic
temples (rathas) and rocks sculptured in the shapes of animals with a
wonderfully broad and powerful naturalism, with whole cliffs worked in
stone frescoes, immenspictures unparalleled at the time in all Indian in
their order movement and lyrical value. The Descent of the Ganges,
the unique masterpiece of Pallava art was surely one of the most
remarkable compositions of all time (in which is portrayed the Ganges
coming down to earth, with gods, animals men and all creation in
adoration). The shore temple built by Rajasimha represents one of the
earliest examples of structural temples. the Pallvava monuments at
Mahabalipuram symbolize not only the transition from rockarchitecture
to structural stone temples but also significantly the
completion of the "Aryanisation" of South India during the Pallava
period.
67. MADHYAMIKA is identified with Nagari near Chitor in Rajasthan.
Patanjali alludes toYavana (Indo-Bacterian) invasion of Madhyamika.
68. MUSHIKAS on the lower Indus with its capital at Alord. Was the
greatest principality at the time of Alexander's invasion. Its king
mousikanas submitted to Alexander after brave resistance.
69. MATIPUR modern Mandawar in district Bijnor of UP was a center
of Hinayana Buddhist studies in the 6th and 7th centuries A.D. Huen-
Tsang stayed here for some time.
70. MADURAI popularly known as the city of festivals, was the seat
of the 3rd Sangam and was till the 14th century the capital of the
Pandyan kingdom which had sea-borne brade with Rome and Greece.
It is famous for the Minakshi temple.
80. MACCHA or Matsaya, was one of the 16 janapads. The Matsyas
ruled to the west of the Jamuna and south of the Kurus. Their capital
was at Viratnagar (modern Bairrat near Jaipur).
81. MALLA was one of the 16 Janapadas of the16th century B.C. The
territory of the Mallas was on the mountain slopes probably to the
north of the vijjain confederation. They had to branches with their
capitals at Kusinagar and Pawa. But in pre-Buddhist time the Mallas
were a monarchy.
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82. MUZIRIS modern canganors in Kerala at the mouth of the river
Periyar, an important port in Sangam period (20 B.C. - 300 A.D.)
abounded in ships with cargoes from Arabia and Roman world. Later
literature speaks of Roman settlements and a temple was built here ni
honour of Augustus.
83. NAGARJUNAKONDA is Krishna Velley, harboured a Neolithic
community with stone-axe-culture and primitive mode of agriculture.
With a few classical accidental looking sculptures in proves trade and
culture contacts with the Roman world. Survival of a Buddhist stupa
proves it to be a Buddhist center in early Christian centuries. The
beginning of Hindu temple architecture in south India are best traced
in the remains of the early brick temples of the Ikshavakus excavated
here anticipating the Nagara, Dravida and Vasars styles.
84. NASIK (also known as Naiskya and Govardhan) is famous for
exquisite rock-cut Buddhist temple (of the period 2nd BC - 1st A.D.)
with an engraved iscription of Gautami Balsari recording the
achievement of the Satavahanas ruler Gautamiputra Satakarni). A
large board of silver coins bearing the name, the titles of Nahapana
were discovered at Jogalthambi very close to the Nasik suggesting the
defeat of the Saka ruler bythe Satavahana knig. It is also famous for
the Chaitya and Vihar as pan-du-lonea.
85. PITHUNDA on the Godavari, was the capital of the Avapeople or
the Avamukta which was conquered as Samudragupta.
86. PADMAVATI was Nag capital is Gwalior region. Its king Ganapati
Naga was defeated by Samudragupta.
87. PRATISHTHANA (Paithan) at the mouth of the river godavri in
the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, was the capital of Satavahana
kings. It was an important commercial mart linked with Sravasti.
88. PURUSHPURA (modern Peshawar) was the capital of
Kanishka's vast empire and the center of Gandhara art. It became the
chief center of Buiddhist activity and studies with building of number of
huge Chaityas and viharas and with one stupa. The Chiense pilgrims
refer to a many storied relic-tower in which some relics of Buddha
were enshrined. It is here that the icons of Buddha and other Hindu
gods were first finely carved. In provided the meeting place of the
marchants of India, China, central Asia, Persia, and the Roman world.
Dinesh Rathod Page 12 of 17
89. PATTADAKAL near Aihole Badami is famous for magnificentrockcult
and sculptures temples in Chalukya and Pallava style. The number
of such temples is ten - four in the northern style and six in southern.
Most famous of these temples is lokesvara temple (now called
Virupaksha).
90. PANCHALA was one of the 16 janapadas of the 6th century B.C.
Its area correspondent to modern Bundelkhand and the portion of the
Central Doab. It had two divisions northern and southern, the Ganges
forming the boundary line. Their capitals were Ahicchatra and
Kampilya respectively. One of the early Panchalas kings, Durmukha, is
credited with conquests in all directions.
91. PUSHKALAVATI i.e. the "city of lotuses' in Afganisthan to the
north of the river Kabul (modern Charasadda) in the district of
Peshawar was conquered by Alexandar. It was the old capital of
western Gandhara. A gold coin (belonging to the 2nd century B.C.)
with the city goddess (Lakshmi) holding a lotus in her right hand and
an appropriate Kharoshthi legend "Pakhalavati devata" had been
discovered here pointing to the popularity of Indian goddess. It
remained under the rule of the Indo-Greeks, the sakas and the
Kushana. It was an important link in India's trade relations with
central Asia and China.
92. RAJAGRIHA moder Rajgir, near Patna in Bihar was and ancient
capital of Magadha under Bimbisara and Ajatsatru. It was here that
first Buddhist council was held after the death of Buddha. The
cyclopean walls of the this old commercial town are among themost
remarkable finds in India.
93. SAKALA modern Sialkot, capital of Menander, was the refuge of
Buddhist monks. It was here, according to Buddhist tradition, that
Pushyamitra Sungha declared to give an award of 199 dinars for the
head of a Buddhist monk.
94. SANCHI :near Bhopal famous for a Buddhist stupa and for one of
Ashoka's Minor Pillar Edicts. Sanchi sculptures along with Bharhut
Godh-Gaya represent the first organized art activity of the Indian
People. There are reliefs of the Jatkas on the stone walls around the
stupa. Sanchi revealed historically important inscription of the
Satavahanas and the Gupta kings. Kakanodbota probably was the
ancient name for Sanchi, which was inhabited by the tribal people
Kakar, and was conquered by the Samudragupta.
Dinesh Rathod Page 13 of 17
95. SRAVASTI moder Saket-Mahet on the borders of the Gonda and
the Bahraich districts of U.P. On the river Rapti - It was a famous
center of trade in ancient times, from where three important trade
routes emanated linking it with Rajagriha, Pratishthana, and Taxila. It
was one of the early capitals of the Janapad of Kosal. Later, it served
as the provincial headquarters of the Gupta kings. Fa-hien visited it.
96. SAKETA region around Ayodhya, was invaded by Yavanas (Indo-
Bacterin) is attested to by Patanjali.
97. SARNATH near Varanasi, is the place where the Buddha delivered
his frist sermon in the Deer park, this event being known as the
"Turning of the Wheel of Law". It is the site of the famous Ashokan
Pillar of Polished sand-stone whose lion capital was adopted by the
people of Free India as the state emblem. It was also the famous seat
of Gupta sculpture. Gupta plastic art reached its perfection e.g. the
seated Buddha in preaching posture.
98. SRAVANA-BELGOLA in Hasan district of Karnataka, is famous for
the monolithic statue of Gometeswara- 85fit. High, erected in 980 A.D.
by Chemundya Rai, the chief minister of the Ganga king Rachmal.
99. SOPARA port town known to the Periplus and ptolmey, carried
most of the ancient Indian trade with foreign countries; gradually it
began to lose its importance to Berygaza and Barharium- Ist century
A.D. onwards. It ahs survived as a village 40 miles north of Bombay.
100. TOSALI (Dhauli) near Bhuaneshwar in Puri district of Orissa,
was the seat of one of the Mauryan viceroyalties as well as one of the
fourteen major rock edicts of Ashoka. The Tosali rock edict refers only
to the conquered province.
101. TRIPURI now village near Jabalpur, was the capital of the
Kalachuri dynasty. The Kalachuri kings became independent in 10th
century A.D. In 1939, Tripuri had the distinction of being the venue of
the 54th session of Indian National congress.
102. TAMRALIPTI Tamluk in the Midnapur district of Western Bengal
was one of the most important port-towns of ancient India. Outlet to
south-east Asia when there was trade boom.
103. TANJORE is famous for Rajarajeswava or Brihadeswara temple
of lord Shiva which is the largest and tallest of all India temples with
its vimana towering to a height of nearly 200 feet over the
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Garbhagriha with Pyramidal body in thirteen tiers. It was the seat of
Chola government in the 9th century A.D. and later of an independent
kingdom after the fall of ther Vijayanagar Empire. Weight of the cap
80 tonnes. Conceived on a gigantic scale. Stone relief as minute as
that of jewelers.
104. THANESWAR near Kurukshetra, to the north of Delhi in the
province of Haryana, was the capital of the Pushyabhuti dynsty. The
kingdom of thanesar emerged into a powerful state under Harsha's
(606-647 A.D.) father, Prabhakarvardhan who was in constant warfare
against the Huns on the frontier and with the rulers of Malwa. Harsha
shifted his capital from Thaneswar to Kannauj. According to Heun-
Tsang the people of this city were specially inclined to trade. Thus
thanesar was a principal center of trade. It was attacked by Mahmud
of Ghazni in 1014 A.D. it is here that ahmad Shah Abdali first defeated
the Maratha army in 1759 boding to the Maratha collapse at Panipat in
1761.
105. UJJAIN in Madhya pradesh was the capital of Avanti (6th
century B.C.) and Chandragupta II, and was one of the provincial
capitals of the Mauryas. It was the modal point of two ancient trade
routes, one from Kausambui and the other from Mathura, its chief
exports being agate, jasper and carnelian. It has an observatory built
by Maharaja Savai Jai Sing II (1686-1743).
106. URAIYUR also known as Aragaru,on the river Kavari, was for
some time the Sangam chola capital, was famous for its pearls and
muslin, the latter being as think as the slough of the snake.
107. UTTARMERUR is a village of Tamil Nadu where nearly two
hundred inscriptions belonging to Pallava and Chola periods indicating
the nature and working of the village administration have been found.
According to Uttarmerur inscriptions Pallava and Chola villages enjoyed
maximum of autonomy inadministrative matters with popular village
assemblies like the Ur, Sabha, Mahasabha or Nagaram looking after
the village affains without any interference from royal officers. The
village of Uttarmerur was divided in thirty wards.
108. VATSGULMA modern Basim in the Ahoka district in the South of
Ajanta, was the capital of a Junior branch of the Vakatakas who are
mentioned in the Ajanta cave inscriptiona No. XVI.
109. VIDISA modern Besnagar, near Bhilsa, in East Malwa, was a
part of Sunga empire with Agnimitra, the sone of Pushyamitra Sunga
Dinesh Rathod Page 15 of 17
as viceroy. The Vidisa guild of ivory worker was famous for these
workers carved the stone sculpture on the gateways and railings
surrounding the Sanchi Stupa. It indicates commercial prosperity. It
was also famous for the Garuda Pillar Inscription which testified its
erection by a Greak ambassabor named Heliodorus in honour of
Vasudeva Krishna, the god of the Bhagavatas.
110. VAISHALI indentified with modern Basali in Muzaffarpur district
of Bihar, was apulent and prosperous town in the Buddhist period. The
second Buddhist Councial was held here. It served as the capital of
lichchavis. Later, Ajatsatru annexed it to this kingdom. Ambapali, the
famous charming courtesan, lived here and hosted to the Buddha at
one time and later she became a convert to Buddhism.
111. VENGI (in Andhra Pradesh) one of the south Indian kingdoms
probably joined the Sangha conquered by Samudragupta. It was the
capital of the eastern Chalukyas, and was disputed between the
Chalukyas and the Pallavas.
MAKING USE OF THE MAPS AND THE ACCOMPANYING
NOTES
You have two maps on ancient India, one with place names along with
rivers and the other with numbers (accompanied by an index).
In the map outline for both, you will see that the outlines of Nepal,
Bhutan, Bangaladesh, Punjab, China and Burma are left out. There are
reasons for it. At times the examiners will provide you the map with no
outlines of other countries or with the outlines of one a couple of
countries. To avoid this risk, we have deleted all the outlines. Far more
important is the reason that every place and apporoximate boundary
of any area or empire confruning to either the coastline or the river
systems. It is these two that you have to master when you attempt
practicing for the map questions.
Talking of how exactly you have to make use of the notes the following
are the hints:
(a) Every time do remember whether the place time is along the
coastline or along or close to a river, it is the only way that you can be
nearly accurate inplacing the places names required in the
examination.
Dinesh Rathod Page 16 of 17
(b) Do like this. Do prepare a number of outline maps along with rivers
- doing the latter by hand, while for the former relying on a tracer with
outlines of the Indian sub-continent and a carbon paper along with a
plain sheet of paper. This part of preparing the map you must master
and it should be done in not more than three of four minutes, that is
your practice must bring downthe time involved in preparing the brae
outlines.
First of all study the map with place names. After some time pick up
the map with numbers. You should be able to remember which
number refers to which place name. Whether your memory is correct
or not, you can test from the index for the numbers. At that time try
to remember where exactly a practice lar place name is located along
the river (at the mouth. Away from the mouth or in the mid or the tail
end, etc.) Accurately grasp the distance, which is a must because the
size of the map that you would be getting in the examination would be
the same as the one before your. And at thattime please remember
whether you can remember the tributaries of any river involved Ina
place name. In other words. You must know at that measurement any
particular place name can be marked on the map with only the
coastline and the river systems. If in the first one or two attempts you
have gone wrong, please do not get discourgaged. Do it again and
again till the time you in attempting the and question, which is a
compulsory question in the examination.
Harsha (606-647 A.D.) held his court while campaigning in eastern
India.The Chiense pilgrim Huen-Tsang first saw Harsha here.
42. KAPISA It is the region near Kabul, probably Kipin as referred to
by Chineses writers. The presiding diety of the city according to
Chiense writers was zeus. The Greek god. The gold and silver coins
issued by the Greek kings have been discovered from this region in big
numbers. The Greeks were the first to issue gold coins in India. These
coins testify to the growing trade links between India and Central Asia
and China and also with the Roman world. Far more important is the
fact that these coins testify to the gowing worship of Vasudeva-krishna
or the Bhagavata cult which later repened as Vaishnavism.
43. KIPIN is identified with Kapisa or Kafirstan in Kashmir. It
indicated the wide region know in earlier times as the Mahajanapada
of Kamboja. It was ruled by the Sakas, the Kushans and the Hunas in
succession. The name Kamboja reappears as the name of kamboja, an
important of the mainland of South-East Asia.
Dinesh Rathod Page 8 of 17
44. KAMPILYA was the capital of southern Panchalas, one of the
tribal communities of the Aryans. This fact proves that the Aryans, to
begin with in India, lived as various tribes. The tribes were in constant
war with eachother culminating in the emergence of the Magadha
Empire.
45. KUSAMDHVALA (Patliputara) Gargi-Samhita alludes that in the
2nd century B.C. the Yavanas (Indo-Bacterians) having reduced
Saketa, Panchala, and Mathura reached kusumdhvana. Demetrios,
was, most probably, the Yavana leader. He was defeated or he retired
withouth fighting.
46. KASI one of the 16 Janapadas of the 6th century B.C. with its
capital of the same name. It was also called Varanasi (69). It greatly
prospered under the rule of Brahmadatta.
47. KOSAL one of the 16 janapadas of the 6th century B.C. had three
different capitals (Saketa, Ayodhya and Sravasti) in three different
periods. It region roughly corresponded to modern oudh.
48. KUSINAGAR (Kusinara ?) moder Kasia, in Gorakhpur district in
UP was a small town where the Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana. It
was one of the two capitals of the Mall Janapada in pre-Buddhists
times. It was visited by Ashoka and the Chinese pilgrim Fa-hien.
49. KANYAKUBJA (Kanauj) on the bank of river Gangas in UP rose
to prominence during the time of Mukhar is, Harsha and Gujara-
Pratiharas. Under the pratiharas, Kanauj successfully resisted the
Arabs. In the 9th century A.D. It was disputed among the Palas of
Bengal, Prathiharas, and the Rashtrakutas. It was situated on a very
important trade-route linking north-Western regions of India with
Prayaga, Kasi, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Rajagriha, Tamralipti.
50. KAUSAMBI identified with the villagesof Kosam near Allahabad
was one of the earliest cities, so prominent that Anand, the Buddhist
monk, though it important enough for a Buddha to die in. Recent
excavation it here unearthed historically and culturally important
terracotta figures. It was built in the shape of a trapezium and was the
capital of the vastse Janapada. One of the Ashokan Pillars was located
here. It was also an inscription of the Kushan monarch.
60. KARNA-SUVARNA : refers to the region of Bengal and some
parts of Bihar and Orrisa, fuled by sasanka in the early 7th century
A.D. Harsha conquered the region from him after 619 A.D.
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61. KANHERI In Thana district near Bombay, has rock cut Chaitya
shrines with elaborately decorated railings belonging to the third
century A.D. One inscription of the last great ruler of the Satavahana
dynasty. Yajnasri Satakarni is found here. Kanheri Buddhist Tank
inscription makes mention of Matiemonial relationship between the
Sakas and the Satavahanas. It was the chief center of Buddhism in
Rashtrakuta times. Faint traces of the art of paintings may be traced in
the caves of Kanheri.
62. KANCHI modern canjeevaram, south-west to Madras is reckoned
among the seven sacred cities of the Hindus. It was an important
center of Jaina culture in the first half of the first millennium A.D. It
was one of the south Indian kingdoms conquered by Samudragupta. It
was visited by Huen-Tsang. It rose to prominence in 7th century A.D.
Under the Pallava king. It possesses the famous Kailashnath temple
(built by Pallava King Narsimhavarman - II) and Vaikuntha perumalla
(constructed sometime after the kailashnath). The Kailashnath temple
is a landmark in the development of dravida temple style with its
characteristic components-vimana, mandapa gopuram and an array of
vimanas along the walls of the court, i.e. peristyle cells.
63. KAVERIPATTANAM known as Puhar, was the Chola capital and
chief port in Sangam period (200 B.C.- 300 A.D.) with a large colongy
of foreigners. It was an important trade center. Ships sailing from here
to South-East Asia. A long poem on this Chola capital is the part of the
famous Sangam work pattupattu (Ten Idylls).
64. KURUKSHETRA near Thaneswar, to the north of Delhi in
Haryana, was the site of the great battle of Mahbharata. This battle
fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, formed the basis of
the story of the greatness of India epics the Mahabharata. It is in this
great war that Krishna prached his gospel of the Gita, to the Pandava
hero Arjuna who saw his own elders and kishmen arranged himself for
the fith and then early decided to renounce and retire. Krishna gave
him the message of disinterested perfomance of duty i.e. renunciation
in action but no renunciation of action. That a great war ws fought
between the cousin brothers - Kauravas and Pandavas is quite
possible.
65. MANYAKHET (modern Malkhed in Hyderabad region) was the
capital of Rashtrakuta Amoghavarsha I in the 9th century A.D.
66. MAHABALIPURAM is today a tiny coastal village 65 kms. south
of Madras. This port-city was founded by Pallava king
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Narasimhavarman in the 7th century A.D. Pallava kings created an
architecture of their own which was to be the basis of all the styles of
the south. In fact Mahabilipuram, the Pallava art with its monolithic
temples (rathas) and rocks sculptured in the shapes of animals with a
wonderfully broad and powerful naturalism, with whole cliffs worked in
stone frescoes, immenspictures unparalleled at the time in all Indian in
their order movement and lyrical value. The Descent of the Ganges,
the unique masterpiece of Pallava art was surely one of the most
remarkable compositions of all time (in which is portrayed the Ganges
coming down to earth, with gods, animals men and all creation in
adoration). The shore temple built by Rajasimha represents one of the
earliest examples of structural temples. the Pallvava monuments at
Mahabalipuram symbolize not only the transition from rockarchitecture
to structural stone temples but also significantly the
completion of the "Aryanisation" of South India during the Pallava
period.
67. MADHYAMIKA is identified with Nagari near Chitor in Rajasthan.
Patanjali alludes toYavana (Indo-Bacterian) invasion of Madhyamika.
68. MUSHIKAS on the lower Indus with its capital at Alord. Was the
greatest principality at the time of Alexander's invasion. Its king
mousikanas submitted to Alexander after brave resistance.
69. MATIPUR modern Mandawar in district Bijnor of UP was a center
of Hinayana Buddhist studies in the 6th and 7th centuries A.D. Huen-
Tsang stayed here for some time.
70. MADURAI popularly known as the city of festivals, was the seat
of the 3rd Sangam and was till the 14th century the capital of the
Pandyan kingdom which had sea-borne brade with Rome and Greece.
It is famous for the Minakshi temple.
80. MACCHA or Matsaya, was one of the 16 janapads. The Matsyas
ruled to the west of the Jamuna and south of the Kurus. Their capital
was at Viratnagar (modern Bairrat near Jaipur).
81. MALLA was one of the 16 Janapadas of the16th century B.C. The
territory of the Mallas was on the mountain slopes probably to the
north of the vijjain confederation. They had to branches with their
capitals at Kusinagar and Pawa. But in pre-Buddhist time the Mallas
were a monarchy.
Dinesh Rathod Page 11 of 17
82. MUZIRIS modern canganors in Kerala at the mouth of the river
Periyar, an important port in Sangam period (20 B.C. - 300 A.D.)
abounded in ships with cargoes from Arabia and Roman world. Later
literature speaks of Roman settlements and a temple was built here ni
honour of Augustus.
83. NAGARJUNAKONDA is Krishna Velley, harboured a Neolithic
community with stone-axe-culture and primitive mode of agriculture.
With a few classical accidental looking sculptures in proves trade and
culture contacts with the Roman world. Survival of a Buddhist stupa
proves it to be a Buddhist center in early Christian centuries. The
beginning of Hindu temple architecture in south India are best traced
in the remains of the early brick temples of the Ikshavakus excavated
here anticipating the Nagara, Dravida and Vasars styles.
84. NASIK (also known as Naiskya and Govardhan) is famous for
exquisite rock-cut Buddhist temple (of the period 2nd BC - 1st A.D.)
with an engraved iscription of Gautami Balsari recording the
achievement of the Satavahanas ruler Gautamiputra Satakarni). A
large board of silver coins bearing the name, the titles of Nahapana
were discovered at Jogalthambi very close to the Nasik suggesting the
defeat of the Saka ruler bythe Satavahana knig. It is also famous for
the Chaitya and Vihar as pan-du-lonea.
85. PITHUNDA on the Godavari, was the capital of the Avapeople or
the Avamukta which was conquered as Samudragupta.
86. PADMAVATI was Nag capital is Gwalior region. Its king Ganapati
Naga was defeated by Samudragupta.
87. PRATISHTHANA (Paithan) at the mouth of the river godavri in
the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, was the capital of Satavahana
kings. It was an important commercial mart linked with Sravasti.
88. PURUSHPURA (modern Peshawar) was the capital of
Kanishka's vast empire and the center of Gandhara art. It became the
chief center of Buiddhist activity and studies with building of number of
huge Chaityas and viharas and with one stupa. The Chiense pilgrims
refer to a many storied relic-tower in which some relics of Buddha
were enshrined. It is here that the icons of Buddha and other Hindu
gods were first finely carved. In provided the meeting place of the
marchants of India, China, central Asia, Persia, and the Roman world.
Dinesh Rathod Page 12 of 17
89. PATTADAKAL near Aihole Badami is famous for magnificentrockcult
and sculptures temples in Chalukya and Pallava style. The number
of such temples is ten - four in the northern style and six in southern.
Most famous of these temples is lokesvara temple (now called
Virupaksha).
90. PANCHALA was one of the 16 janapadas of the 6th century B.C.
Its area correspondent to modern Bundelkhand and the portion of the
Central Doab. It had two divisions northern and southern, the Ganges
forming the boundary line. Their capitals were Ahicchatra and
Kampilya respectively. One of the early Panchalas kings, Durmukha, is
credited with conquests in all directions.
91. PUSHKALAVATI i.e. the "city of lotuses' in Afganisthan to the
north of the river Kabul (modern Charasadda) in the district of
Peshawar was conquered by Alexandar. It was the old capital of
western Gandhara. A gold coin (belonging to the 2nd century B.C.)
with the city goddess (Lakshmi) holding a lotus in her right hand and
an appropriate Kharoshthi legend "Pakhalavati devata" had been
discovered here pointing to the popularity of Indian goddess. It
remained under the rule of the Indo-Greeks, the sakas and the
Kushana. It was an important link in India's trade relations with
central Asia and China.
92. RAJAGRIHA moder Rajgir, near Patna in Bihar was and ancient
capital of Magadha under Bimbisara and Ajatsatru. It was here that
first Buddhist council was held after the death of Buddha. The
cyclopean walls of the this old commercial town are among themost
remarkable finds in India.
93. SAKALA modern Sialkot, capital of Menander, was the refuge of
Buddhist monks. It was here, according to Buddhist tradition, that
Pushyamitra Sungha declared to give an award of 199 dinars for the
head of a Buddhist monk.
94. SANCHI :near Bhopal famous for a Buddhist stupa and for one of
Ashoka's Minor Pillar Edicts. Sanchi sculptures along with Bharhut
Godh-Gaya represent the first organized art activity of the Indian
People. There are reliefs of the Jatkas on the stone walls around the
stupa. Sanchi revealed historically important inscription of the
Satavahanas and the Gupta kings. Kakanodbota probably was the
ancient name for Sanchi, which was inhabited by the tribal people
Kakar, and was conquered by the Samudragupta.
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95. SRAVASTI moder Saket-Mahet on the borders of the Gonda and
the Bahraich districts of U.P. On the river Rapti - It was a famous
center of trade in ancient times, from where three important trade
routes emanated linking it with Rajagriha, Pratishthana, and Taxila. It
was one of the early capitals of the Janapad of Kosal. Later, it served
as the provincial headquarters of the Gupta kings. Fa-hien visited it.
96. SAKETA region around Ayodhya, was invaded by Yavanas (Indo-
Bacterin) is attested to by Patanjali.
97. SARNATH near Varanasi, is the place where the Buddha delivered
his frist sermon in the Deer park, this event being known as the
"Turning of the Wheel of Law". It is the site of the famous Ashokan
Pillar of Polished sand-stone whose lion capital was adopted by the
people of Free India as the state emblem. It was also the famous seat
of Gupta sculpture. Gupta plastic art reached its perfection e.g. the
seated Buddha in preaching posture.
98. SRAVANA-BELGOLA in Hasan district of Karnataka, is famous for
the monolithic statue of Gometeswara- 85fit. High, erected in 980 A.D.
by Chemundya Rai, the chief minister of the Ganga king Rachmal.
99. SOPARA port town known to the Periplus and ptolmey, carried
most of the ancient Indian trade with foreign countries; gradually it
began to lose its importance to Berygaza and Barharium- Ist century
A.D. onwards. It ahs survived as a village 40 miles north of Bombay.
100. TOSALI (Dhauli) near Bhuaneshwar in Puri district of Orissa,
was the seat of one of the Mauryan viceroyalties as well as one of the
fourteen major rock edicts of Ashoka. The Tosali rock edict refers only
to the conquered province.
101. TRIPURI now village near Jabalpur, was the capital of the
Kalachuri dynasty. The Kalachuri kings became independent in 10th
century A.D. In 1939, Tripuri had the distinction of being the venue of
the 54th session of Indian National congress.
102. TAMRALIPTI Tamluk in the Midnapur district of Western Bengal
was one of the most important port-towns of ancient India. Outlet to
south-east Asia when there was trade boom.
103. TANJORE is famous for Rajarajeswava or Brihadeswara temple
of lord Shiva which is the largest and tallest of all India temples with
its vimana towering to a height of nearly 200 feet over the
Dinesh Rathod Page 14 of 17
Garbhagriha with Pyramidal body in thirteen tiers. It was the seat of
Chola government in the 9th century A.D. and later of an independent
kingdom after the fall of ther Vijayanagar Empire. Weight of the cap
80 tonnes. Conceived on a gigantic scale. Stone relief as minute as
that of jewelers.
104. THANESWAR near Kurukshetra, to the north of Delhi in the
province of Haryana, was the capital of the Pushyabhuti dynsty. The
kingdom of thanesar emerged into a powerful state under Harsha's
(606-647 A.D.) father, Prabhakarvardhan who was in constant warfare
against the Huns on the frontier and with the rulers of Malwa. Harsha
shifted his capital from Thaneswar to Kannauj. According to Heun-
Tsang the people of this city were specially inclined to trade. Thus
thanesar was a principal center of trade. It was attacked by Mahmud
of Ghazni in 1014 A.D. it is here that ahmad Shah Abdali first defeated
the Maratha army in 1759 boding to the Maratha collapse at Panipat in
1761.
105. UJJAIN in Madhya pradesh was the capital of Avanti (6th
century B.C.) and Chandragupta II, and was one of the provincial
capitals of the Mauryas. It was the modal point of two ancient trade
routes, one from Kausambui and the other from Mathura, its chief
exports being agate, jasper and carnelian. It has an observatory built
by Maharaja Savai Jai Sing II (1686-1743).
106. URAIYUR also known as Aragaru,on the river Kavari, was for
some time the Sangam chola capital, was famous for its pearls and
muslin, the latter being as think as the slough of the snake.
107. UTTARMERUR is a village of Tamil Nadu where nearly two
hundred inscriptions belonging to Pallava and Chola periods indicating
the nature and working of the village administration have been found.
According to Uttarmerur inscriptions Pallava and Chola villages enjoyed
maximum of autonomy inadministrative matters with popular village
assemblies like the Ur, Sabha, Mahasabha or Nagaram looking after
the village affains without any interference from royal officers. The
village of Uttarmerur was divided in thirty wards.
108. VATSGULMA modern Basim in the Ahoka district in the South of
Ajanta, was the capital of a Junior branch of the Vakatakas who are
mentioned in the Ajanta cave inscriptiona No. XVI.
109. VIDISA modern Besnagar, near Bhilsa, in East Malwa, was a
part of Sunga empire with Agnimitra, the sone of Pushyamitra Sunga
Dinesh Rathod Page 15 of 17
as viceroy. The Vidisa guild of ivory worker was famous for these
workers carved the stone sculpture on the gateways and railings
surrounding the Sanchi Stupa. It indicates commercial prosperity. It
was also famous for the Garuda Pillar Inscription which testified its
erection by a Greak ambassabor named Heliodorus in honour of
Vasudeva Krishna, the god of the Bhagavatas.
110. VAISHALI indentified with modern Basali in Muzaffarpur district
of Bihar, was apulent and prosperous town in the Buddhist period. The
second Buddhist Councial was held here. It served as the capital of
lichchavis. Later, Ajatsatru annexed it to this kingdom. Ambapali, the
famous charming courtesan, lived here and hosted to the Buddha at
one time and later she became a convert to Buddhism.
111. VENGI (in Andhra Pradesh) one of the south Indian kingdoms
probably joined the Sangha conquered by Samudragupta. It was the
capital of the eastern Chalukyas, and was disputed between the
Chalukyas and the Pallavas.
MAKING USE OF THE MAPS AND THE ACCOMPANYING
NOTES
You have two maps on ancient India, one with place names along with
rivers and the other with numbers (accompanied by an index).
In the map outline for both, you will see that the outlines of Nepal,
Bhutan, Bangaladesh, Punjab, China and Burma are left out. There are
reasons for it. At times the examiners will provide you the map with no
outlines of other countries or with the outlines of one a couple of
countries. To avoid this risk, we have deleted all the outlines. Far more
important is the reason that every place and apporoximate boundary
of any area or empire confruning to either the coastline or the river
systems. It is these two that you have to master when you attempt
practicing for the map questions.
Talking of how exactly you have to make use of the notes the following
are the hints:
(a) Every time do remember whether the place time is along the
coastline or along or close to a river, it is the only way that you can be
nearly accurate inplacing the places names required in the
examination.
Dinesh Rathod Page 16 of 17
(b) Do like this. Do prepare a number of outline maps along with rivers
- doing the latter by hand, while for the former relying on a tracer with
outlines of the Indian sub-continent and a carbon paper along with a
plain sheet of paper. This part of preparing the map you must master
and it should be done in not more than three of four minutes, that is
your practice must bring downthe time involved in preparing the brae
outlines.
First of all study the map with place names. After some time pick up
the map with numbers. You should be able to remember which
number refers to which place name. Whether your memory is correct
or not, you can test from the index for the numbers. At that time try
to remember where exactly a practice lar place name is located along
the river (at the mouth. Away from the mouth or in the mid or the tail
end, etc.) Accurately grasp the distance, which is a must because the
size of the map that you would be getting in the examination would be
the same as the one before your. And at thattime please remember
whether you can remember the tributaries of any river involved Ina
place name. In other words. You must know at that measurement any
particular place name can be marked on the map with only the
coastline and the river systems. If in the first one or two attempts you
have gone wrong, please do not get discourgaged. Do it again and
again till the time you in attempting the and question, which is a
compulsory question in the examination.
the mauryan empire
The Mauryan Empire:
Magadha
Between the sixth and the fourth centuries BC Magadha became the
most powerful Mahajanapda.Modern historians explain this
development in a variety of ways: Magadha was a region where
agriculture was especially productive. Besides iron mines were
accessible and provided resources for tools and weapons. Elephants an
important component of the army was found in forests in the region.
Also the Ganga and its tributaries provided a means of cheap and
convenient communication. However early Buddhist and Jaina writers
who wrote about Magdha attributed its power to the policies of
individual's ruthlessly ambitious kings of whom Bimbisara, Ajatshastru
and Mahapadma Nanda are the best known and their ministers who
helped implement their policies. Initially Rajagaha was the capital of
Magadha.
The old name means house of the king.Rajagaha was a fortified
settlement located amongst hills later in the fourth century BC the
capital was shifted to Patliputra commanding routes of communication
along the Ganga.
Mauryans
The Mauryan Empire was the first and one of the greatest empires that
were established on Indian soil. The vast Mauryan Empire stretching
from the valley of the Oxus to the delta of Kaveri was given a well knit
common administration.Chandragupta Maurya was the first ruler who
unified entire India under one political unit. About Mauryan rulers we
have epigraphically sources, literary sources, foreign accounts and
materials obtained from archaeological excavations. The Arthashastra
gives us detailed information about the administrative system of the
Mauryan Empire. The work was written by Kautilya who is also known
as Chanakya.Some scholars think that Kautilya was the real architect
of the Mauryan Empire and was also the prime minister of
Chandragupta Maurya.
Megasthenese the Greek ambassador from the court of Selectus to
that of Chandragupta Maurya wrote accounts of India and Indian
people. His book 'Indica' is lost but some fragments of it are known to
us in the form of quotations in the works of the later Greek writers.
1/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
However the most important and authentic source for the history of
Mauryan period is provided by the inscriptions of Ashoka.
Sources of Mauryan History
1.Epigraphical Evidences
The most authentic source of Mauryan history is the epigraphical
evidence. The edicts of Ashoka are the oldest, the best preserved and
the most precisely dated epigraphic records of India. The inscriptions
are engraved on rocks, boulders, cave walls and pillars of stone. The
inscriptions of Ashoka are of two kinds -the smaller group consists of
declaration of the king as a lay Buddhist to his church. These describe
his own acceptance of Buddhism and his relationship with the
Samgha.The second group of important inscriptions consists of Major
and Minor rock edicts and the pillar edicts.
They describe his famous policy of Dhamma.These inscriptions were
installed in prominent places either near towns or on important trade
and travel routes or in the proximity of religious centres and places of
religious importance.
2.Literary Sources
Of the religious sources the Buddhist and Jain traditions the early
Dharmashastra are of great importance. The Ashokavadana and
Divyavadana are two Buddhist texts containing information about
Bindusara,Ashoka's expeditions to Taxila to suppress a rebellion and
about his conversion to Buddhism.DipVamsa and Maha Vamsa describe
in detail the role played by Ashoka in the spreading of Buddhism in
SriLanka.Chaitra or Parisisthaparvan ( biography of Chanakya) of
Hemachandra provides very interesting information on Chandra Gupta
Maurya.
Amongst the Brahmanical works the Puranas give information on the
history of the Mauryas.Megasthenese 's Indica is another source in
which he had described the physical features of the country-
2/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
soil,climate,animals and plants, its government and religion, the
manners of the people and their art.
This book in original form has been lost. But most passages have been
preserved in form of epitomes and quotations which are found
scattered here and there in the later writings of various Greek and
Roman authors such as Strabo, Arrian and Plinius.Another important
source which gives valuable information on the Mauryan period is the
Arthashastra.It is believed to be the work of Vishnu Gupta Kautilya
also known as Chanakya.He was the chief advisor of Chandragupta
Maurya.His book Arthashastra is a standard work on politics and art of
government.
It is considered to be the most valuable work in the field of secular
literature.Mudra Rakshasa is another important work which throws
some light on Chandragupta Maurya's career. It is a drama written by
Vaisakha Dutta in the Gupta period. The author collected all the
information available to him in the 5th century AD.This drama gives
the detail of the revolution by which Chandragupta Maurya overthrew
the Nandas.It also mentioned that Chandragupta belonged to a low
caste
3.Foreign sources
As a sequence of Alexander's invasions of India a number of Greek
travellers visited India. They gave valuable information of India to the
outside world.Neachus was deputed by Alexander to explore the coast
between the Indus and the Persian Gulf.Onesicritus took part in the
voyage with Neachus and afterwards wrote a book about the voyage
and India.Megasthanese was sent as an ambassador to the court of
Chandragupta Maurya by Seleucus Nikator the Greek ruler of Persia.
His account about Mauryan India is compiled in Indika.
4.Evidences from Art and Architecture
The Mauryan Art remains include chaityas, viharas, stupas, animal
capitals surmounting the pillars. On some pillars the Edicts were
inscribed. These remains give us an information about the material
used at that time about the craftsmanship, about the peaceful times,
efficient administration ,religion of the king and people etc.From these
stupas,pillars,caves we can see the progress of Mauryan art in
3/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
different spheres like architecture,sculpture,art of polishing,
engineering and art of ornamentation.
5.Numismatic Evidence
The Mauryan empire was based on the money economy.Kautilya refers
to suvarna,silver pana and copper mashaka as a token currency. A
horde of punch marked silver coins were found at Golakhpur at a site
of ancient Patliputra belonging to Pre-Mauryan times. Most of these
coins have only symbols like tree in railing, sun, moon, mountain, and
animals, birds etc punched or stamped on them. These symbols on the
coins had probably some connection with local commerce such as the
guilds, local or provincial administration, the royal and dynastic
symbols etc.The sites from where these coins have been found imply
that these places were inhabited during the Mauryan period.
Causes of Magadhan Supremacy
The kingdom of Magadha rose to pre-eminence during the period of
Bimbisara and became the first great empire in India by the time of
Nanda.Magadha occupied a strategic position of geographical
importance. It was bound on the north and west by the river Ganges
and Son on the south by the spurs of the Vindhyas and on the east by
the river Champa.In this way it was safe from all four sides. Even its
two capitals Rajgriha and Patliputra were situated at a strategic
position from a geographic viewpoint. Its first capital Rajagriha was
surrounded by five hills forming a natural defence. While its second
capital Pataliputra being at the junction of the Ganges and the Son had
natural means of defence.
Natural resources were also favourable to Magadha.The rich iron
deposits were situated not far away from Rajgir.It was from this that
its rulers could make effective and strong weapons. Its adversaries
lacked reserves of iron ore and could not equip themselves with
weapons of such high quality. Hence they were easily defeated by
Magadhan rulers. Thus the local iron ore deposits made possible better
implements and weapons and a profitable trade in iron.
The land of Magadha was also fertile which yielded rich harvests.
Heavy rainfall made the land more productive even without irrigation.
They produced varieties of paddy which are mentioned in the early
Buddhist texts. Land taxes could be kept high which proved to be
4/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
regular and substantial source of income to the state without which
the maintenance of a big army could not be possible and the empire
could neither be built nor consolidated. Neighbouring forests provided
timber for buildings and elephants for the army.
Chandragupta Maurya (324-300 BC)
The Buddhist sources like Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa describe
Chandragupta Maurya as a scion of the Kshatriya clan of the Moriyas
branch of Sakyas who lived in Pipphalivana in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
The Mudrarakshasa a play written by Vishakha Datta uses the terms
like Vrishla and Kulahina for Chandragupta which mean a person of
humble origin.Tuskin a Greek writer also says that Chandragupta was
born in humble life. According to Buddhist sources Chandragupta's
father was killed in a battle and he was brought up by his maternal
uncle.Chanakya finding the signs of royalty in the child Chandragupta
took him as his pupil and educated him at Taxila which was then a
great centre of learning.Chandragupta's early life and education at
Taxila is indirectly proved by the fact that the Greek sources says that
he had seen Alexander in course of the latter's campaign of Punjab.
Bindusara (300-273 BC)
Chandragupta Maurya was succeeded by his son Bindusara.The Jain
scholar Hemachandra and Tibetan historian Taranath say that
Chanakya outlived Chandragupta and continued as a minister of
Bindusara.From Divyavadana it come to know that Bindusara
appointed his eldest son Sumana as his viceroy at Taxila and Ashoka
at Ujjain.
It also tells that a revolt broke out at Taxila and when it could not be
suppressed by Susima Ashoka was sent to restore peace. Some
scholars give the credit of south India conquest to Bindusara but most
scholars believe that this was done by his father Chandragupta
Maurya.Bindusara continued the policy of friendly relations with
Hellenic world. Pling mentions that Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt sent
Dionysius as his ambassador to his court.
5/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
Magadha
Between the sixth and the fourth centuries BC Magadha became the
most powerful Mahajanapda.Modern historians explain this
development in a variety of ways: Magadha was a region where
agriculture was especially productive. Besides iron mines were
accessible and provided resources for tools and weapons. Elephants an
important component of the army was found in forests in the region.
Also the Ganga and its tributaries provided a means of cheap and
convenient communication. However early Buddhist and Jaina writers
who wrote about Magdha attributed its power to the policies of
individual's ruthlessly ambitious kings of whom Bimbisara, Ajatshastru
and Mahapadma Nanda are the best known and their ministers who
helped implement their policies. Initially Rajagaha was the capital of
Magadha.
The old name means house of the king.Rajagaha was a fortified
settlement located amongst hills later in the fourth century BC the
capital was shifted to Patliputra commanding routes of communication
along the Ganga.
Mauryans
The Mauryan Empire was the first and one of the greatest empires that
were established on Indian soil. The vast Mauryan Empire stretching
from the valley of the Oxus to the delta of Kaveri was given a well knit
common administration.Chandragupta Maurya was the first ruler who
unified entire India under one political unit. About Mauryan rulers we
have epigraphically sources, literary sources, foreign accounts and
materials obtained from archaeological excavations. The Arthashastra
gives us detailed information about the administrative system of the
Mauryan Empire. The work was written by Kautilya who is also known
as Chanakya.Some scholars think that Kautilya was the real architect
of the Mauryan Empire and was also the prime minister of
Chandragupta Maurya.
Megasthenese the Greek ambassador from the court of Selectus to
that of Chandragupta Maurya wrote accounts of India and Indian
people. His book 'Indica' is lost but some fragments of it are known to
us in the form of quotations in the works of the later Greek writers.
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However the most important and authentic source for the history of
Mauryan period is provided by the inscriptions of Ashoka.
Sources of Mauryan History
1.Epigraphical Evidences
The most authentic source of Mauryan history is the epigraphical
evidence. The edicts of Ashoka are the oldest, the best preserved and
the most precisely dated epigraphic records of India. The inscriptions
are engraved on rocks, boulders, cave walls and pillars of stone. The
inscriptions of Ashoka are of two kinds -the smaller group consists of
declaration of the king as a lay Buddhist to his church. These describe
his own acceptance of Buddhism and his relationship with the
Samgha.The second group of important inscriptions consists of Major
and Minor rock edicts and the pillar edicts.
They describe his famous policy of Dhamma.These inscriptions were
installed in prominent places either near towns or on important trade
and travel routes or in the proximity of religious centres and places of
religious importance.
2.Literary Sources
Of the religious sources the Buddhist and Jain traditions the early
Dharmashastra are of great importance. The Ashokavadana and
Divyavadana are two Buddhist texts containing information about
Bindusara,Ashoka's expeditions to Taxila to suppress a rebellion and
about his conversion to Buddhism.DipVamsa and Maha Vamsa describe
in detail the role played by Ashoka in the spreading of Buddhism in
SriLanka.Chaitra or Parisisthaparvan ( biography of Chanakya) of
Hemachandra provides very interesting information on Chandra Gupta
Maurya.
Amongst the Brahmanical works the Puranas give information on the
history of the Mauryas.Megasthenese 's Indica is another source in
which he had described the physical features of the country-
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soil,climate,animals and plants, its government and religion, the
manners of the people and their art.
This book in original form has been lost. But most passages have been
preserved in form of epitomes and quotations which are found
scattered here and there in the later writings of various Greek and
Roman authors such as Strabo, Arrian and Plinius.Another important
source which gives valuable information on the Mauryan period is the
Arthashastra.It is believed to be the work of Vishnu Gupta Kautilya
also known as Chanakya.He was the chief advisor of Chandragupta
Maurya.His book Arthashastra is a standard work on politics and art of
government.
It is considered to be the most valuable work in the field of secular
literature.Mudra Rakshasa is another important work which throws
some light on Chandragupta Maurya's career. It is a drama written by
Vaisakha Dutta in the Gupta period. The author collected all the
information available to him in the 5th century AD.This drama gives
the detail of the revolution by which Chandragupta Maurya overthrew
the Nandas.It also mentioned that Chandragupta belonged to a low
caste
3.Foreign sources
As a sequence of Alexander's invasions of India a number of Greek
travellers visited India. They gave valuable information of India to the
outside world.Neachus was deputed by Alexander to explore the coast
between the Indus and the Persian Gulf.Onesicritus took part in the
voyage with Neachus and afterwards wrote a book about the voyage
and India.Megasthanese was sent as an ambassador to the court of
Chandragupta Maurya by Seleucus Nikator the Greek ruler of Persia.
His account about Mauryan India is compiled in Indika.
4.Evidences from Art and Architecture
The Mauryan Art remains include chaityas, viharas, stupas, animal
capitals surmounting the pillars. On some pillars the Edicts were
inscribed. These remains give us an information about the material
used at that time about the craftsmanship, about the peaceful times,
efficient administration ,religion of the king and people etc.From these
stupas,pillars,caves we can see the progress of Mauryan art in
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different spheres like architecture,sculpture,art of polishing,
engineering and art of ornamentation.
5.Numismatic Evidence
The Mauryan empire was based on the money economy.Kautilya refers
to suvarna,silver pana and copper mashaka as a token currency. A
horde of punch marked silver coins were found at Golakhpur at a site
of ancient Patliputra belonging to Pre-Mauryan times. Most of these
coins have only symbols like tree in railing, sun, moon, mountain, and
animals, birds etc punched or stamped on them. These symbols on the
coins had probably some connection with local commerce such as the
guilds, local or provincial administration, the royal and dynastic
symbols etc.The sites from where these coins have been found imply
that these places were inhabited during the Mauryan period.
Causes of Magadhan Supremacy
The kingdom of Magadha rose to pre-eminence during the period of
Bimbisara and became the first great empire in India by the time of
Nanda.Magadha occupied a strategic position of geographical
importance. It was bound on the north and west by the river Ganges
and Son on the south by the spurs of the Vindhyas and on the east by
the river Champa.In this way it was safe from all four sides. Even its
two capitals Rajgriha and Patliputra were situated at a strategic
position from a geographic viewpoint. Its first capital Rajagriha was
surrounded by five hills forming a natural defence. While its second
capital Pataliputra being at the junction of the Ganges and the Son had
natural means of defence.
Natural resources were also favourable to Magadha.The rich iron
deposits were situated not far away from Rajgir.It was from this that
its rulers could make effective and strong weapons. Its adversaries
lacked reserves of iron ore and could not equip themselves with
weapons of such high quality. Hence they were easily defeated by
Magadhan rulers. Thus the local iron ore deposits made possible better
implements and weapons and a profitable trade in iron.
The land of Magadha was also fertile which yielded rich harvests.
Heavy rainfall made the land more productive even without irrigation.
They produced varieties of paddy which are mentioned in the early
Buddhist texts. Land taxes could be kept high which proved to be
4/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
regular and substantial source of income to the state without which
the maintenance of a big army could not be possible and the empire
could neither be built nor consolidated. Neighbouring forests provided
timber for buildings and elephants for the army.
Chandragupta Maurya (324-300 BC)
The Buddhist sources like Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa describe
Chandragupta Maurya as a scion of the Kshatriya clan of the Moriyas
branch of Sakyas who lived in Pipphalivana in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
The Mudrarakshasa a play written by Vishakha Datta uses the terms
like Vrishla and Kulahina for Chandragupta which mean a person of
humble origin.Tuskin a Greek writer also says that Chandragupta was
born in humble life. According to Buddhist sources Chandragupta's
father was killed in a battle and he was brought up by his maternal
uncle.Chanakya finding the signs of royalty in the child Chandragupta
took him as his pupil and educated him at Taxila which was then a
great centre of learning.Chandragupta's early life and education at
Taxila is indirectly proved by the fact that the Greek sources says that
he had seen Alexander in course of the latter's campaign of Punjab.
Bindusara (300-273 BC)
Chandragupta Maurya was succeeded by his son Bindusara.The Jain
scholar Hemachandra and Tibetan historian Taranath say that
Chanakya outlived Chandragupta and continued as a minister of
Bindusara.From Divyavadana it come to know that Bindusara
appointed his eldest son Sumana as his viceroy at Taxila and Ashoka
at Ujjain.
It also tells that a revolt broke out at Taxila and when it could not be
suppressed by Susima Ashoka was sent to restore peace. Some
scholars give the credit of south India conquest to Bindusara but most
scholars believe that this was done by his father Chandragupta
Maurya.Bindusara continued the policy of friendly relations with
Hellenic world. Pling mentions that Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt sent
Dionysius as his ambassador to his court.
5/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
ashoka
Ashoka (273- 232 BC)
After the death of Bindusara in 273 BC Ashoka succeeded to the
throne. According to the Buddhist sources his mother was Janapada
Kalyani or Subhadrangi.As a prince he served as a victory first at
Ujjain and then at Taxila.According to the Buddhist tradition Ashoka
was very cruel in his early life and captured the throne after killing his
99 brothers.Ashoka is the first king in the Indian history who has left
his records engraved on stones. The history of Ashoka and his reign
can be reconstructed with the help of these inscriptions and some
other literary sources. The inscriptions on rocks are called Rock edicts
and those on pillars, Pillar edicts.
The Ashokan inscriptions are found in India, Nepal, Pakistan and
Afganistan.Altogether they appear at 47 places. However the name of
Ashoka occurs only in copies of Minor Rock Edict I found at three
places in Karnataka and one in MP.All other inscriptions refer to him as
devanampiya (beloved of the gods) and piyadasi.The inscriptions of
Ashoka were written in different scripts. In Afghanistan they were
written in Greek and Aramaic languages and script and in Pakistan
area in Prakrit language and Kharosthi script. Inscriptions from all
other places are in Prakrit language written in Brahmi script.
Kalinga war and its impact
The earliest event of Ashoka's reign recorded in his inscription is his
conquest of Kalinga (modern Orissa) in the 8th year of his reign. This
turned out to be first and also the last battle fought by him. The Rock
Edict III describes vividly the horrors and miseries of this war and its
impact on Ashoka.According to this edict one lakh people were killed in
this war, several lakhs perished and lakh and a half were taken
prisoners. He felt great remorse for the atrocities the war brought in
its wake.
He thus abandoned the policy of aggression and tired to conquer the
hearts of the people. The drums declaring wars were replaced by the
drums announcing ethical and moral principals with dhamma ghasa.He
sent ambassadors of peace to the Greek Kingdoms in West Asia and
several other countries. Within the empire he appointed a class of
officers known as rejjukas who were vested with the authority of not
only rewarding people but also punishing them if required.
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He thus abandoned the policy of aggression and tired to conquer the
hearts of the people. The drums declaring wars were replaced by the
drums announcing ethical and moral principals with dhamma ghasa.He
sent ambassadors of peace to the Greek Kingdoms in West Asia and
several other countries. Within the empire he appointed a class of
officers known as rejjukas who were vested with the authority of not
only rewarding people but also punishing them if required.
Dhamma of Ashoka
There is no doubt that Ashoka's personal religion was Buddhism. In his
Bhabru edict he says he had full faith in Buddha,Dhamma and
Sangha.he showed respect to all sects and faiths and believed in using
among ethical and moral values of all sects. In Rock Edict VII he says
all seeks desire both self control and purity of mind. In Rock Edict XII
he pronounces his policy of equal respect to all religious sects more
clearly.
The Dhamma as explained in Ashoka's edicts is not a religion or a
religious system but a moral law, a common code of conduct or an
ethical order. In Pillar Edict II Ashoka himself puts the question what is
Dhamma? Then he enumerates two basic attributes or constituents of
Dhamma: less evil and many good deeds. He says such evils as
rage,cruelty,anger,pride and envy are to be avoided and many good
deeds like kindness,liberty,truthfulness,gentleness,selfcontrol,purity of
heart, attachment to morality ,inner and outer purity etc are to be
pursued vigorously.Ashoka established hospitals for humans and
animals and made liberal donations to the Brahmans and ascetics of
different religious sects.
He erected rest houses, caused wells to be dug and trees to be planted
along the roads.Ashoka took for the propagation of Buddhism. He
conducted Dharamyatras and instructed his officials to do the same.
He appointed special class of officials called Dharamahamatras whose
sole responsibility was to propagate Dhamma among the
people.Ashoka sent missions to foreign countries also to propagate
dhamma.His missionaries went to western Asia, Egypt and Eastern
Europe. Of the Foreign kings whose kingdoms thus received the
message of Buddhism five are mentioned in the inscriptions of Ashoka
namely Antiochus, Syria and Western Asia, Ptolemy Philadelphus of
Egypt, Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia, Megas of Cyrene and
Alexander of Epirus.Ashoka even sent his son Mahendra and daughter
Sanghamitra to propagate Buddhism in Srilanka.
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Policy and Administration
The Mauryan Empire was one of the largest in the whole of the ancient
world. It ushered in a centralized form of government. From the
Arthashastra Ashokan inscription and from the fragments available
from Megasthense's account there have a good idea about the various
aspects of administration, economy, society and religion of the people.
The king was head of the state. He had judicial, legislative and
executive powers. The king issued what was known as sasana or
ordinances. The edicts of Ashoka are examples of the sansanas.The
king was assisted in administration by a council of ministers
(mantriparishad).Besides there were some referred as Adhyakshas
(superintendents).
Kautilya refers to a large number of superintendents like those of gold,
store houses, commerce, agriculture, ships, cows,
horses,chariots,infantry,the city etc.In the Maurya administration there
was an officer called yukta who was perhaps the subordinate officer in
charge of the revenues of the king.
The rajjukas were officers responsible for land measurement and fixing
their boundaries. They were also given power to punish the guilty and
set free the innocents. Another officer of the Mauryan Administration
was pradeshikas.Some scholars think that he was responsible for the
collection of revenue while others think that he was the provincial
governor. The Mauryan Empire was divided into provinces. During the
reigns of Bindusara, Ashoka was posted at Ujjain as Governor of the
Avanti region while his Brother Susima was posted at Taxila as the
governor of the north-western provinces. Provinces were subdivided
into the district each of these was further divided into groups of the
villages and the final unit of administration was the village. The
important provinces were directly under kumara (princes).According to
the Junagarh rock inscription of Rudradaman,Saurashtra was governed
by vaisya Pushyagupta at the time of Chandragupta Maurya and by
Yavana-raja Tushaspa at the time of Ashoka both provincial governors.
A group of officials worked in each district. The pradeshika was the
head of district administration who toured the entire district every five
years to inspect the administration of areas five years to impact the
administration of areas under his control. The rajjuka was responsible
for surveying and assessing the land, fixing its rent and record keeping
besides judicial functions. The duties of yukta largely comprised
secretarial work collection and accounting of revenue etc.There were
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intermediate levels of administration between district and that of
village. This unit comprised five to ten or more villages. The village
was the smallest unit of administration. The head of the village was
called gramika who was assisted in village administration by village
elders. It is difficult to say whether the gramika was a paid servant or
was elected by the village people. The villages enjoyed considerable
autonomy. Most of the disputes of the village were settled by gramika
with the help of village assembly. The Arthashastra mentions a wide
range of scales in salary, the highest being 48000 panas and the
lowest 60 panas.
City Administration
A number of cities such as Pataliputra, Taxila, Ujjain, Tosali,
Suvarnagiri, Samapa, Isila and Kausambi are mentioned in the edicts
of Ashoka.The Arthashastra has a full chapter on the administration of
cities.Megasthenese has described in detail the administration of
Pataliputra and it can be safely presumed that similar administration
system was followed in most of the Mauryan cities.Megasthenese
described that the city of Pataliputra was administered by a city
council comprising 30 members. These 30 members were divided into
a board of five members each. Each of these boards had specific
responsibilities towards the administration of city. The first board was
concerned with the industrial and artistic produce. Its duties included
fixing of wages, check the adulteration etc.The second board dealt with
the affairs of the visitors especially outsiders who came to
Pataliputra.The third board was concerned with the registration of birth
and death.
The fourth board regulated trade and commerce kept a vigil on the
manufactured goods and sales of commodities. The fifth board was
responsible for the supervision of manufacture of goods. The sixth
board collected taxes as per the value of sold goods. The tax was
normally 1/10th of the sold goods. The city council appointed officers
who looked after the public welfare such as maintenance and repairs of
roads,markets,hospitals,temples,educational
institutions,sanitation,water supplies etc.The officer in charge of the
city was known as Nagarka.The administrative machinery of the
Mauryan state was fairly developed and well organized. Numerous
depts regulated and controlled the activities of the state. Several
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important depts that Kautilya mentions are accounts, revenue, mines
and minerals, chariots, customs and taxation.
Economic Activities
The Mauryan state concerned machinery which governed vast areas
directly and to enforce the rules and regulations in respect of
agriculture, industry, commerce, animal husbandry etc.The measures
taken by the Maurya state for the promotion of the economy gave
great impetus to economic development during the period. The
vastness of India's agricultural and mineral resources and the
extraordinary skill of her craftsmen have been mentioned by
Megasthenes and other Greek writers. The large part of the population
was agriculturists and lived in villages. New areas were brought under
cultivation after cleaning the forest. People were encouraged to settle
down in new areas.
chief of the guild was called jesthaka.The guilds settled the disputes of
their members. A few guilds issued their own coins.
Among the crops rice of different varieties, coarse grains, sesame,
pepper, pulses, wheat, linseed, mustard, vegetable and fruits of
various kinds and sugarcane were grown. The state also owned
agricultural farms, cattle farms and dairy farms etc.Irrigation was
given due importance. Water reservoirs and dams were built and water
for irrigation was distributed. The famous inscription of Rudradaman
found at Junagarh mention that one of Chandragupta's governors,
Pushyagupta was responsible for building a dam on Sudarshana Lake
near Girnar in Kathiawad.From an inscription of Skandagupta it has
been known that this dam was repaired during his reign almost 800
years after it was built. Industry was organized in various guilds.
The chief industries were textile, mining and metallurgy, ship building,
jewellery making, metal working etc.The trade was regulated by the
state. India supplied to other states indigo, cotton and silk and
medicinal items. Provisions of warehouses, godowns and transport
arrangements were also made. Foreign trade was carried on by land as
well as by sea. Special arrangements were made for the protection of
trade routes. The state controlled and regulated the weights and
measures. The artisans and craftsmen were specially protected by the
state and offences against them were severely punished. The guilds
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were powerful institutions. It gave craftsmen great economic, political
and judicial powers and protection. The
The Sanchi Stupa inscription mentions that one of the carved gateways
was donated by the guilds of ivory workers.Similary the Nasik cave
inscription mentions that two weaver's guilds gave permanent
endowments for the maintenance of a temple.Kautilya says a full
treasury is a guarantee of the prosperity of the state and it is the most
important duty of the king to keep the treasury full at all the times for
all works. During the Mauryan period taxes were levied both in cash
and in kind and were collected by local officers. The chief source of
revenue was land tax and tax levied on trade etc.The land tax was
1/4th to 1/6th of the produce. Toll tax was levied on all times which
were brought for sale in the market. Tax was also levied on the
manufactured goods. Those who could not pay the tax in cash or kind
were to contribute their dues in the form of labor.Strabo mentions that
craftsmen, herdsmen, traders, farmers all paid taxes. The
Arthashastra describes revenues at great length. This was further
augmented by income from mines, forests, pasture lands, trade and
forts etc.Brahmans, children and handicapped people were exempted
from paying taxes. Also no tax was levied in areas where new trade
routes or new irrigation projects or new agricultural land were being
developed. Tax evasion was considered a very serious crime and
offenders were severely punished.
Society and Culture
Megasthenese speaks of Mauryan society as comprising seven castesphilosophers,
farmers, soldiers, herdsmen, artisans, magistrates and
councillors. He could not properly comprehend the Indian society and
failed to distinguish between jati, Varna and the occupation. The
chaturvana system continued to govern the society. But the craftsmen
irrespective of jati enjoyed a high place in the society. The material
growth mellowed the jati restrictions and gave people prosperity and
respectability. The urban way of life developed. The residential
accommodation and its wealth etc were entered into official records
and rules and regulation were well defined and strictly implemented.
The education is fairly wide spread. Teaching continued to be the main
job of the Brahmans. But Buddhist monasteries also acted as
educational institutions.Taxila, Ujjayini and Varanasi were famous
educational institutions. The technical education was generally
provided through guilds, where pupils learnt the crafts from the early
age. In the domestic life the joint family system was the norm. A
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married woman had her own properly in the form of bride gift and
jewels.
These were at her disposal in case of widowhood. The widows had a
very honourable place in the society. There are frequent references to
women enjoying freedom and engaged in many occupations. Offences
against women were severely dealt with.Kautilya laid down penalties
against officials in charge of workshops and prisons who misbehaved
with women.Megasthenese have stated that slavery did not exist in
India. However forced labour and bonded labour did exist on a limited
scale but were not treated so harshly as the slaves in the western
world. About one and half century of Mauryan rule witnessed the
growth of economy, art and architecture, education.
Art and Architecture
During the Mauryan period there was a great development in the field
of art and architecture. The main examples of the Mauryan art and
architecture that survived are
Ashokan pillars and capitals.
Remains of the royal palace and the city of Pataliputra
Rock-cut Chaitya caves in the Barabar and Nagarjuni hills
Individual Mauryan sculptures and terracotta figurines
Pillar and Sculpture
The pillars set up by Ashoka furnish the finest remains of the Mauryan
art. The pillars with Ashoka edicts inscribed on them were placed
either in sacred enclosures or in the vicinity of towns. The pillars are
made of two types of stone-the spotted red and white sandstone from
the region of Mathura and the buff coloured fine grained hard
sandstone usually with small black spots quarried in Chunar near
Banaras.The stone was transported from Mathura and Chunar to the
various sites where the pillars have been found and here the stone
was cut and carried by craftsmen. Each pillar has three parts: the prop
under the foundation, the shaft of the column and the capital. The
prop is buried in the ground. The shaft made of a single piece of sand
stone supports the capital made of another single piece of sandstone.
Thin round and slightly tapering shaft is highly polished and very
graceful in its proportions. The capital which is the third part of the
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pillar consists of some finally executed animal figures such as the lion
or the elephant.
The sacred dharmachakra with 24 spokes symbol engraved with
animal seulpures in relief and the inverted or bell shaped lotus. The
capital of the Sarnath Pillar is the magnificent and best piece of the
series. The wonderful life like figures of four lions standing back to
back and the smaller graceful and stately figures of four animals in
relief on the abacus and the inverted lotus- all indicate a highly
advanced form of art. The Indian government adopted this capital with
some modifications as its state emblem. The sculpture of the Mauryan
period is represented by the figures such as
• The Yakshi of Besnagar in MP.
• The Yaksha of Parkham near Mathura
• The Chauri bearer from Didarganj in Bihar
• The stone elephant from Dhauli in Orissa
Artistically these figures do not appear to belong to the same tradition
as the animal capitals. They were probably carved by local craftsmen
and not by the special craftsmen who were responsible for the animal
capitals
Decline of Mauryan Empire
Ashok ruled over 40 years and met with his death in 232 BC.The
decline set in and soon after the empire decline set in and soon after
the empire broke up. Seven kings followed Ashoka in succession in a
period of 50 years. The empire was divided into an eastern and
western part. The western part was governed by Kunala, Samprati and
others and the eastern part with southern India with its capital at
Pataliputra by six later Mauryan Kings from Dasarath to
Brihadratha.The revolt of the Andhras in the south and victorious raids
of Greek king in the west gave a blow to the power and prestige of the
Mauryan Empire. Due to the concern for the empire and total
disillusionment on kings unworthiness Pushyamitra the commander-inchief
killed the King Brihadratha while he was reviewing the army. This
is the only recorded and undisputed incident in the history of India till
the 12th century AD where the king was murdered and replaced.
Most of the historians agree that after Ashoka his successors were
weak who could not control the unrest and revolt in various parts of
the empire. Some historians hold Ashoka responsible for this
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decline.Ashoka's pacifist policies weakened the empire in terms of
wars and military strength. The centralised empire needed very strong
willed rulers which were not the case with Ashoka's successors. Some
historians think that Ashoka's welfare measures must have eaten away
a large chunk of income and overall income must have been very
inadequate to maintain the army and the administrative machinery.
Moral Codes of Ashoka
Ashoka in Rock Edict XII and many other edicts prescribes the
following codes:
Obedience to mother and father, elders, teachers and other
respectable persons.
Respect towards teachers
Proper treatment towards ascetics,relations,slaves,servants and
dependents, the poor and miserable,friends,acquaintances and
companions
Abstention from killing of living beings
Non-injury to all living creatures
Spending little and accumulating little wealth
Truthfulness
Purity of heart
Later Mauryas (232-184 BC)
The evidence for the later Maurya is very little and whatever is there is
in an uncertain form rendering the re construction of their history very
difficult. The Puranas besides Buddhist and Jaina literature do provide
us with some information on the later Maurya but there is no
agreement among them. Even among the Puranas there is lot of
variance between one Purana and another. But on one point which all
Puranas are in agreement is that the Mauryan dynasty lasted 137
years.Ashoka's death was followed by the division of the Mauryan
Empire into two parts-western and eastern. The western part was
ruled by Kunala (son of Ashoka) and then for a short time by
Samprati.It was later threatened by the Bactrian Greeks in the northwest
and by the Satvahanas and others in the Deccan.
The eastern part of the empire with Pataliputra as the capital came to
be ruled by Dasaratha.Dasaratha is also known as from the caves in
the Nagarjuni hills which he dedicated to Ajivikas.Three inscriptions
14/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
ordered by Dasartha Devanampriya state that the caves were
dedicated immediately on his accession.Samprati also mentioned in
the Matsya Purana is referred to in both the Buddhist and Jaina
literature as the son of Kunala.
According to Jaina tradition he was a grandson of Ashoka and a patron
of Jainism. He is said to have been converted to Jainism by Suhastin
after which he gave the religion both his active support as a ruler and
encouragement in other ways. The western part including the northwestern
province ,Gandhara and Kashmir was governed by Kunala.It is
possible that Kunala gradually extended his territory to include the
western province of the empire.According to the Puranas Dasaratha
reigned for eight years.Jaina sources mention that Samprati ruled from
Ujjain and Pataliputra.
This would suggest that the capital of the western part of the empire
was moved from the north to Ujjain.The decade following was to see
the conflict between Antiochus III of Syria and Euthydemus of Bactria
with Bactria emerging as a strong power ready to threaten northwestern
India.A number of Principalities in the trans-indus region
broke away from the empire while Samprati was occupied in
establishing himself at Pataliputra.Gradually the concentration of
attention moved to Magadha and the main line of the Mauryan dynasty
lived out its years at Pataliputra unable to control or prevent the
breaking up of the empire in the more distant regions.
After the reign of nine years Samprati was followed by Salisuka who
ruled for thirteen years. The successor of Salisuka mentioned as
Somavarman or Devavarman ruled for seven years. The last two kings
of the Mauryan dynasty were Satadhanvan who is said to have ruled
for 8 years and finally Brihadratha who ruled for seven years and was
assassinated by Pushyamitra Sunga.
15/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
After the death of Bindusara in 273 BC Ashoka succeeded to the
throne. According to the Buddhist sources his mother was Janapada
Kalyani or Subhadrangi.As a prince he served as a victory first at
Ujjain and then at Taxila.According to the Buddhist tradition Ashoka
was very cruel in his early life and captured the throne after killing his
99 brothers.Ashoka is the first king in the Indian history who has left
his records engraved on stones. The history of Ashoka and his reign
can be reconstructed with the help of these inscriptions and some
other literary sources. The inscriptions on rocks are called Rock edicts
and those on pillars, Pillar edicts.
The Ashokan inscriptions are found in India, Nepal, Pakistan and
Afganistan.Altogether they appear at 47 places. However the name of
Ashoka occurs only in copies of Minor Rock Edict I found at three
places in Karnataka and one in MP.All other inscriptions refer to him as
devanampiya (beloved of the gods) and piyadasi.The inscriptions of
Ashoka were written in different scripts. In Afghanistan they were
written in Greek and Aramaic languages and script and in Pakistan
area in Prakrit language and Kharosthi script. Inscriptions from all
other places are in Prakrit language written in Brahmi script.
Kalinga war and its impact
The earliest event of Ashoka's reign recorded in his inscription is his
conquest of Kalinga (modern Orissa) in the 8th year of his reign. This
turned out to be first and also the last battle fought by him. The Rock
Edict III describes vividly the horrors and miseries of this war and its
impact on Ashoka.According to this edict one lakh people were killed in
this war, several lakhs perished and lakh and a half were taken
prisoners. He felt great remorse for the atrocities the war brought in
its wake.
He thus abandoned the policy of aggression and tired to conquer the
hearts of the people. The drums declaring wars were replaced by the
drums announcing ethical and moral principals with dhamma ghasa.He
sent ambassadors of peace to the Greek Kingdoms in West Asia and
several other countries. Within the empire he appointed a class of
officers known as rejjukas who were vested with the authority of not
only rewarding people but also punishing them if required.
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He thus abandoned the policy of aggression and tired to conquer the
hearts of the people. The drums declaring wars were replaced by the
drums announcing ethical and moral principals with dhamma ghasa.He
sent ambassadors of peace to the Greek Kingdoms in West Asia and
several other countries. Within the empire he appointed a class of
officers known as rejjukas who were vested with the authority of not
only rewarding people but also punishing them if required.
Dhamma of Ashoka
There is no doubt that Ashoka's personal religion was Buddhism. In his
Bhabru edict he says he had full faith in Buddha,Dhamma and
Sangha.he showed respect to all sects and faiths and believed in using
among ethical and moral values of all sects. In Rock Edict VII he says
all seeks desire both self control and purity of mind. In Rock Edict XII
he pronounces his policy of equal respect to all religious sects more
clearly.
The Dhamma as explained in Ashoka's edicts is not a religion or a
religious system but a moral law, a common code of conduct or an
ethical order. In Pillar Edict II Ashoka himself puts the question what is
Dhamma? Then he enumerates two basic attributes or constituents of
Dhamma: less evil and many good deeds. He says such evils as
rage,cruelty,anger,pride and envy are to be avoided and many good
deeds like kindness,liberty,truthfulness,gentleness,selfcontrol,purity of
heart, attachment to morality ,inner and outer purity etc are to be
pursued vigorously.Ashoka established hospitals for humans and
animals and made liberal donations to the Brahmans and ascetics of
different religious sects.
He erected rest houses, caused wells to be dug and trees to be planted
along the roads.Ashoka took for the propagation of Buddhism. He
conducted Dharamyatras and instructed his officials to do the same.
He appointed special class of officials called Dharamahamatras whose
sole responsibility was to propagate Dhamma among the
people.Ashoka sent missions to foreign countries also to propagate
dhamma.His missionaries went to western Asia, Egypt and Eastern
Europe. Of the Foreign kings whose kingdoms thus received the
message of Buddhism five are mentioned in the inscriptions of Ashoka
namely Antiochus, Syria and Western Asia, Ptolemy Philadelphus of
Egypt, Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia, Megas of Cyrene and
Alexander of Epirus.Ashoka even sent his son Mahendra and daughter
Sanghamitra to propagate Buddhism in Srilanka.
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Policy and Administration
The Mauryan Empire was one of the largest in the whole of the ancient
world. It ushered in a centralized form of government. From the
Arthashastra Ashokan inscription and from the fragments available
from Megasthense's account there have a good idea about the various
aspects of administration, economy, society and religion of the people.
The king was head of the state. He had judicial, legislative and
executive powers. The king issued what was known as sasana or
ordinances. The edicts of Ashoka are examples of the sansanas.The
king was assisted in administration by a council of ministers
(mantriparishad).Besides there were some referred as Adhyakshas
(superintendents).
Kautilya refers to a large number of superintendents like those of gold,
store houses, commerce, agriculture, ships, cows,
horses,chariots,infantry,the city etc.In the Maurya administration there
was an officer called yukta who was perhaps the subordinate officer in
charge of the revenues of the king.
The rajjukas were officers responsible for land measurement and fixing
their boundaries. They were also given power to punish the guilty and
set free the innocents. Another officer of the Mauryan Administration
was pradeshikas.Some scholars think that he was responsible for the
collection of revenue while others think that he was the provincial
governor. The Mauryan Empire was divided into provinces. During the
reigns of Bindusara, Ashoka was posted at Ujjain as Governor of the
Avanti region while his Brother Susima was posted at Taxila as the
governor of the north-western provinces. Provinces were subdivided
into the district each of these was further divided into groups of the
villages and the final unit of administration was the village. The
important provinces were directly under kumara (princes).According to
the Junagarh rock inscription of Rudradaman,Saurashtra was governed
by vaisya Pushyagupta at the time of Chandragupta Maurya and by
Yavana-raja Tushaspa at the time of Ashoka both provincial governors.
A group of officials worked in each district. The pradeshika was the
head of district administration who toured the entire district every five
years to inspect the administration of areas five years to impact the
administration of areas under his control. The rajjuka was responsible
for surveying and assessing the land, fixing its rent and record keeping
besides judicial functions. The duties of yukta largely comprised
secretarial work collection and accounting of revenue etc.There were
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intermediate levels of administration between district and that of
village. This unit comprised five to ten or more villages. The village
was the smallest unit of administration. The head of the village was
called gramika who was assisted in village administration by village
elders. It is difficult to say whether the gramika was a paid servant or
was elected by the village people. The villages enjoyed considerable
autonomy. Most of the disputes of the village were settled by gramika
with the help of village assembly. The Arthashastra mentions a wide
range of scales in salary, the highest being 48000 panas and the
lowest 60 panas.
City Administration
A number of cities such as Pataliputra, Taxila, Ujjain, Tosali,
Suvarnagiri, Samapa, Isila and Kausambi are mentioned in the edicts
of Ashoka.The Arthashastra has a full chapter on the administration of
cities.Megasthenese has described in detail the administration of
Pataliputra and it can be safely presumed that similar administration
system was followed in most of the Mauryan cities.Megasthenese
described that the city of Pataliputra was administered by a city
council comprising 30 members. These 30 members were divided into
a board of five members each. Each of these boards had specific
responsibilities towards the administration of city. The first board was
concerned with the industrial and artistic produce. Its duties included
fixing of wages, check the adulteration etc.The second board dealt with
the affairs of the visitors especially outsiders who came to
Pataliputra.The third board was concerned with the registration of birth
and death.
The fourth board regulated trade and commerce kept a vigil on the
manufactured goods and sales of commodities. The fifth board was
responsible for the supervision of manufacture of goods. The sixth
board collected taxes as per the value of sold goods. The tax was
normally 1/10th of the sold goods. The city council appointed officers
who looked after the public welfare such as maintenance and repairs of
roads,markets,hospitals,temples,educational
institutions,sanitation,water supplies etc.The officer in charge of the
city was known as Nagarka.The administrative machinery of the
Mauryan state was fairly developed and well organized. Numerous
depts regulated and controlled the activities of the state. Several
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important depts that Kautilya mentions are accounts, revenue, mines
and minerals, chariots, customs and taxation.
Economic Activities
The Mauryan state concerned machinery which governed vast areas
directly and to enforce the rules and regulations in respect of
agriculture, industry, commerce, animal husbandry etc.The measures
taken by the Maurya state for the promotion of the economy gave
great impetus to economic development during the period. The
vastness of India's agricultural and mineral resources and the
extraordinary skill of her craftsmen have been mentioned by
Megasthenes and other Greek writers. The large part of the population
was agriculturists and lived in villages. New areas were brought under
cultivation after cleaning the forest. People were encouraged to settle
down in new areas.
chief of the guild was called jesthaka.The guilds settled the disputes of
their members. A few guilds issued their own coins.
Among the crops rice of different varieties, coarse grains, sesame,
pepper, pulses, wheat, linseed, mustard, vegetable and fruits of
various kinds and sugarcane were grown. The state also owned
agricultural farms, cattle farms and dairy farms etc.Irrigation was
given due importance. Water reservoirs and dams were built and water
for irrigation was distributed. The famous inscription of Rudradaman
found at Junagarh mention that one of Chandragupta's governors,
Pushyagupta was responsible for building a dam on Sudarshana Lake
near Girnar in Kathiawad.From an inscription of Skandagupta it has
been known that this dam was repaired during his reign almost 800
years after it was built. Industry was organized in various guilds.
The chief industries were textile, mining and metallurgy, ship building,
jewellery making, metal working etc.The trade was regulated by the
state. India supplied to other states indigo, cotton and silk and
medicinal items. Provisions of warehouses, godowns and transport
arrangements were also made. Foreign trade was carried on by land as
well as by sea. Special arrangements were made for the protection of
trade routes. The state controlled and regulated the weights and
measures. The artisans and craftsmen were specially protected by the
state and offences against them were severely punished. The guilds
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were powerful institutions. It gave craftsmen great economic, political
and judicial powers and protection. The
The Sanchi Stupa inscription mentions that one of the carved gateways
was donated by the guilds of ivory workers.Similary the Nasik cave
inscription mentions that two weaver's guilds gave permanent
endowments for the maintenance of a temple.Kautilya says a full
treasury is a guarantee of the prosperity of the state and it is the most
important duty of the king to keep the treasury full at all the times for
all works. During the Mauryan period taxes were levied both in cash
and in kind and were collected by local officers. The chief source of
revenue was land tax and tax levied on trade etc.The land tax was
1/4th to 1/6th of the produce. Toll tax was levied on all times which
were brought for sale in the market. Tax was also levied on the
manufactured goods. Those who could not pay the tax in cash or kind
were to contribute their dues in the form of labor.Strabo mentions that
craftsmen, herdsmen, traders, farmers all paid taxes. The
Arthashastra describes revenues at great length. This was further
augmented by income from mines, forests, pasture lands, trade and
forts etc.Brahmans, children and handicapped people were exempted
from paying taxes. Also no tax was levied in areas where new trade
routes or new irrigation projects or new agricultural land were being
developed. Tax evasion was considered a very serious crime and
offenders were severely punished.
Society and Culture
Megasthenese speaks of Mauryan society as comprising seven castesphilosophers,
farmers, soldiers, herdsmen, artisans, magistrates and
councillors. He could not properly comprehend the Indian society and
failed to distinguish between jati, Varna and the occupation. The
chaturvana system continued to govern the society. But the craftsmen
irrespective of jati enjoyed a high place in the society. The material
growth mellowed the jati restrictions and gave people prosperity and
respectability. The urban way of life developed. The residential
accommodation and its wealth etc were entered into official records
and rules and regulation were well defined and strictly implemented.
The education is fairly wide spread. Teaching continued to be the main
job of the Brahmans. But Buddhist monasteries also acted as
educational institutions.Taxila, Ujjayini and Varanasi were famous
educational institutions. The technical education was generally
provided through guilds, where pupils learnt the crafts from the early
age. In the domestic life the joint family system was the norm. A
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married woman had her own properly in the form of bride gift and
jewels.
These were at her disposal in case of widowhood. The widows had a
very honourable place in the society. There are frequent references to
women enjoying freedom and engaged in many occupations. Offences
against women were severely dealt with.Kautilya laid down penalties
against officials in charge of workshops and prisons who misbehaved
with women.Megasthenese have stated that slavery did not exist in
India. However forced labour and bonded labour did exist on a limited
scale but were not treated so harshly as the slaves in the western
world. About one and half century of Mauryan rule witnessed the
growth of economy, art and architecture, education.
Art and Architecture
During the Mauryan period there was a great development in the field
of art and architecture. The main examples of the Mauryan art and
architecture that survived are
Ashokan pillars and capitals.
Remains of the royal palace and the city of Pataliputra
Rock-cut Chaitya caves in the Barabar and Nagarjuni hills
Individual Mauryan sculptures and terracotta figurines
Pillar and Sculpture
The pillars set up by Ashoka furnish the finest remains of the Mauryan
art. The pillars with Ashoka edicts inscribed on them were placed
either in sacred enclosures or in the vicinity of towns. The pillars are
made of two types of stone-the spotted red and white sandstone from
the region of Mathura and the buff coloured fine grained hard
sandstone usually with small black spots quarried in Chunar near
Banaras.The stone was transported from Mathura and Chunar to the
various sites where the pillars have been found and here the stone
was cut and carried by craftsmen. Each pillar has three parts: the prop
under the foundation, the shaft of the column and the capital. The
prop is buried in the ground. The shaft made of a single piece of sand
stone supports the capital made of another single piece of sandstone.
Thin round and slightly tapering shaft is highly polished and very
graceful in its proportions. The capital which is the third part of the
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pillar consists of some finally executed animal figures such as the lion
or the elephant.
The sacred dharmachakra with 24 spokes symbol engraved with
animal seulpures in relief and the inverted or bell shaped lotus. The
capital of the Sarnath Pillar is the magnificent and best piece of the
series. The wonderful life like figures of four lions standing back to
back and the smaller graceful and stately figures of four animals in
relief on the abacus and the inverted lotus- all indicate a highly
advanced form of art. The Indian government adopted this capital with
some modifications as its state emblem. The sculpture of the Mauryan
period is represented by the figures such as
• The Yakshi of Besnagar in MP.
• The Yaksha of Parkham near Mathura
• The Chauri bearer from Didarganj in Bihar
• The stone elephant from Dhauli in Orissa
Artistically these figures do not appear to belong to the same tradition
as the animal capitals. They were probably carved by local craftsmen
and not by the special craftsmen who were responsible for the animal
capitals
Decline of Mauryan Empire
Ashok ruled over 40 years and met with his death in 232 BC.The
decline set in and soon after the empire decline set in and soon after
the empire broke up. Seven kings followed Ashoka in succession in a
period of 50 years. The empire was divided into an eastern and
western part. The western part was governed by Kunala, Samprati and
others and the eastern part with southern India with its capital at
Pataliputra by six later Mauryan Kings from Dasarath to
Brihadratha.The revolt of the Andhras in the south and victorious raids
of Greek king in the west gave a blow to the power and prestige of the
Mauryan Empire. Due to the concern for the empire and total
disillusionment on kings unworthiness Pushyamitra the commander-inchief
killed the King Brihadratha while he was reviewing the army. This
is the only recorded and undisputed incident in the history of India till
the 12th century AD where the king was murdered and replaced.
Most of the historians agree that after Ashoka his successors were
weak who could not control the unrest and revolt in various parts of
the empire. Some historians hold Ashoka responsible for this
13/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
decline.Ashoka's pacifist policies weakened the empire in terms of
wars and military strength. The centralised empire needed very strong
willed rulers which were not the case with Ashoka's successors. Some
historians think that Ashoka's welfare measures must have eaten away
a large chunk of income and overall income must have been very
inadequate to maintain the army and the administrative machinery.
Moral Codes of Ashoka
Ashoka in Rock Edict XII and many other edicts prescribes the
following codes:
Obedience to mother and father, elders, teachers and other
respectable persons.
Respect towards teachers
Proper treatment towards ascetics,relations,slaves,servants and
dependents, the poor and miserable,friends,acquaintances and
companions
Abstention from killing of living beings
Non-injury to all living creatures
Spending little and accumulating little wealth
Truthfulness
Purity of heart
Later Mauryas (232-184 BC)
The evidence for the later Maurya is very little and whatever is there is
in an uncertain form rendering the re construction of their history very
difficult. The Puranas besides Buddhist and Jaina literature do provide
us with some information on the later Maurya but there is no
agreement among them. Even among the Puranas there is lot of
variance between one Purana and another. But on one point which all
Puranas are in agreement is that the Mauryan dynasty lasted 137
years.Ashoka's death was followed by the division of the Mauryan
Empire into two parts-western and eastern. The western part was
ruled by Kunala (son of Ashoka) and then for a short time by
Samprati.It was later threatened by the Bactrian Greeks in the northwest
and by the Satvahanas and others in the Deccan.
The eastern part of the empire with Pataliputra as the capital came to
be ruled by Dasaratha.Dasaratha is also known as from the caves in
the Nagarjuni hills which he dedicated to Ajivikas.Three inscriptions
14/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
ordered by Dasartha Devanampriya state that the caves were
dedicated immediately on his accession.Samprati also mentioned in
the Matsya Purana is referred to in both the Buddhist and Jaina
literature as the son of Kunala.
According to Jaina tradition he was a grandson of Ashoka and a patron
of Jainism. He is said to have been converted to Jainism by Suhastin
after which he gave the religion both his active support as a ruler and
encouragement in other ways. The western part including the northwestern
province ,Gandhara and Kashmir was governed by Kunala.It is
possible that Kunala gradually extended his territory to include the
western province of the empire.According to the Puranas Dasaratha
reigned for eight years.Jaina sources mention that Samprati ruled from
Ujjain and Pataliputra.
This would suggest that the capital of the western part of the empire
was moved from the north to Ujjain.The decade following was to see
the conflict between Antiochus III of Syria and Euthydemus of Bactria
with Bactria emerging as a strong power ready to threaten northwestern
India.A number of Principalities in the trans-indus region
broke away from the empire while Samprati was occupied in
establishing himself at Pataliputra.Gradually the concentration of
attention moved to Magadha and the main line of the Mauryan dynasty
lived out its years at Pataliputra unable to control or prevent the
breaking up of the empire in the more distant regions.
After the reign of nine years Samprati was followed by Salisuka who
ruled for thirteen years. The successor of Salisuka mentioned as
Somavarman or Devavarman ruled for seven years. The last two kings
of the Mauryan dynasty were Satadhanvan who is said to have ruled
for 8 years and finally Brihadratha who ruled for seven years and was
assassinated by Pushyamitra Sunga.
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vedic city truth
Vedic CITyS truths
Things to remember
It is believed that before the coming of the Aryans in India the
greater part of northern and north-western India was inhabited by a
group of people known as Dravidians
The Dravidians could not meet challenge and hence gradually
moved southwards. The horse played a very important role in the lives
of the Aryans.
There is no trace of totemism and animal worship.
Rig Veda is collection of 1017 hymns supplemented by 11 others
called Valakhilyas. Purusukta theory developed in the later Vedic
period.
The first three Vedas -Rig,Sam and Yajur Veda are collectively
known as Trayi.
The word Arya comes from the root word meaning to cultivate and
Aryans as a whole were agriculturists who considered agriculture a
noble profession or occupation.
In the later Vedic period the purohita or priest was described as the
rashtragopa or the protector of the realm of the raja.
The king in later Vedic age performed Rajsuya sacrifice which was
supposed to confer supreme power on him. The king also performed
Vajpeya or the chariot race .The ritual lasted for 17 days and it was
supposed to elevate him from the position of Raja to that of Samrat.
Indra and Varuna lost their previous importance and prajapati
attained the supreme position in later Vedic age.
Pushan became the God of Sudras.
Rudra and Vishnu became more important than before.
Delhi Sultanate
The Slave Dynasty
1.Qutub-ud-din Aibek
2.Iltutmish
3.Raziya
4.Balban
5.Rulers of the Sultanate Period
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Khalji Dynasty
Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji
Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji was the founder of the Khalji dynasty. He came
to power after the overthrow of slave dynasty. Their ascendancy is
known as Khalji imperialism because with the accession of Jalaluddin
on the throne of Delhi, the supremacy of the Turks ended in India. He
expanded the boundaries of his empire besides his achievements
include suppression of the revolt of Malik Chhaju with the governor of
Oudh.He suppressed the thuggees a band of robbers and send them
off peacefully to Bengal. He adopted conciliatory policy towards the
Mongols. He allowed some of the Mongols to settle in India.
It was during the conquest of Bhilsa that Alauddin the nephew of
Jalaluddin started realising the dream of being sultan. In 1292 AD
Alauddin led an expedition to Devagiri hearing of its wealth.Devagiri
was forced to pay a huge war indemnity. This helped Alauddin in
buying the nobles and pleasing the soldiers who were dissatisfied by
the rule of Jalaluddin.Alauddin than hatched a conspiracy and got
Sultan Jalaludin killed and proclaimed himself as the sultan.
Alauddin Khalji
In 1296 Alauddin became the sultan after Malika Jan the widow of
Jalaluddin and her younger son Qadir Khan left Delhi. He also
exterminated the old Balbani and Jalali nobles.The reign of Alauddin
Khalji marks the zenith of the power of the Delhi Sultanate. In 1297 he
set off for conquering Gujarat. He sent an expedition under Ulugh
Khan and Nusrat Khan to Gujarat. On the way Ulugh Khan conquered
Jaisalmer.During the plunder of the rich port of Cambay Alauddin's
commander Nusrat Khan acquired a Hindu turned Muslim slave Kafur
who later on rose to become a great military general and the Malik
Naib of Alauddin.After the conquest of Gujarat Alauddin sent an
expedition under Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan to
Ranthambhore.However they were beaten by the Rajputs and Nusrat
Khan died.Alauddin went to Ranthambhor and annexed it in 1301.The
next expedition was sent to Mewar and after the siege of 8 months he
captured Chittor in 1303.The government of Chittor was put in the
hands of Khizr Khan, the eldest son of Alauddin.Chittor was renamed
17/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
as Khizrabad after the name of Khizr Khan. In 1305 Alauddin sent Ainul-
Mulk Multani for the conquest of Malwa which was placed under the
governorship of the latter. By the end of 1305 the whole of Northern
India fell into the hands of Alauddin and he directed his attention to
the conquest of Deccan.
Between 1307 and 1312 he began the southward expansion of his
empire. He invaded Devagiri in 1306-07 AD. The immediate cause for
this was unduly long delay in sending the annual tribute. In 1309 the
Kakatiya kingdom was attacked and its ruler Pratap Rudra Deva
accepted the suzerainty of Delhi and surrendered vast treasures. The
next expedition was against Vir Ballala III the Hoysala ruler in
1311.His capital Dwarsamudra was captured. The whole of Deccan was
forced to acknowledge the supremacy of Alauddin.His motives were to
secure the immense wealth and to force the southern states to accept
the suzerainty of the Sultanate. He had to face more than dozen
invasions. These invasions started from the end of 1296 and continued
upto 1308.The Mongols threatened not only Punjab,Multan and Sindh
but even Delhi and the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.This grave crisis
compelled him to take strong measures for the protection of the
northwest frontier. The 20 years of his rule came to an end with his
death on 2nd January 1316 AD.
Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah Khalji
A young son of the Sultan was placed on the throne and Malik Kafur
acted as the regent. Malik Kafur killed other members of the
Allauddin's family but he was murdered and Mubarak Khan the third
son became the regent. He imprisoned Sahibuddin and ascended the
throne as Qutub uddin Mubarak in the year 1316.He tried to win the
good will of the people.He liberalized Alauddin's rigorous
administrative policies and repealed economic regulations.All prisoners
were released and harsh regulations were cancelled. The lands which
were confiscated were given back to their legitimate owners. Taxes
were lowered. He was under the influence of youth called Hassan who
later was called Khusru Khan who conspired to kill him. Thus Khalji
dynasty came to an end.Khusro tried to strike a reign of terror to
control the nobles. This was resented by the nobles particularly Ghazi
Malik who captured and beheaded the sultan. He ascended the throne
under the title of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah.
18/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
Ruler of the Khalji Dynasty
Ruler of the Khalji Dynasty AD
1. Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji 1290-1296
2. Alauddin Khalji 1296-1316
3. Qutubuddin Mubarak 1316-1320
Tughlaq Dynasty
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq laid the foundation of the Ttughlaq Dynasty.The
word Tughlaq was not the name of any tribe or clan but was the
personal name of Ghiyasuddin.He had to face enormous problems as a
Sultan. There were riots in various parts of the empire and the royal
treasury was empty. He pursued a policy of reconciliation with the
nobles and the people who were severely restricted under Alauddin.He
liberalized administration in certain respects. He gave up the practice
of physical torture in case of economic offences and recovery of debts.
He also discarded Alauddin's system of measurement of land for the
assessment of land revenue. He attempted to improve the finances of
the state and perused a policy to encourage agriculture. His twin
object was to increase land under cultivation and improve economic
condition of the cultivators. He took keen interest in the construction
of canal for irrigation and formulated famine policy to provide relief to
peasants in time of drought. The state demand of revenue was fixed
between 1/5th and 1/3rd of the produce. He further instructed that the
land revenue should not be enhanced more than 1/11th of the
estimated produce.
He continued the system of Dagh and Chehra instituted by
Alauddin.He built the fortified city of Tughlaqabad and gave a new
touch to the architecture of the Sultanate period. In 1321 he
dispatched the crown prince Jauna Khan to re-establish Sultan's
authority in the south. He annexed Warangal.Madurai and Bengal.
19/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
Mohammad Bin Tughlaq
Jauna Khan ascended the throne in 1325 AD with the title of
Mohammad Bin Tughlaq.He ruled up to 1351.He was a profound
scholar of Persian, a penetrating critic,a litterateur of repute. He was a
great scholar of Persian and Arabic. He faced many revolts and
rebellions. The first of these revolts included his attempt to consolidate
his empire by curbing the rebellions of 1327 by his cousin Bahauddin
Garsharp in the Deccan and other of Kishulu Khan the governor of
Multan and Sind in 1328.One of the much condemned experiments of
the Sultan was the transfer of capital from Delhi to Devagiri
(1327).The transfer was attempted primarily due to two reasons -for
its central location and secondly its close proximity to the south which
was a newly conquered region. The transfer of capital involved the
shifting of the army, officials, servants, tradesmen, court and shift of
population. There was a widespread resentment against the Sultan
who decided to retransfer the capital to Delhi. The order of going back
to the old capital caused much distress to the people. Another of his
novel and daring experiments was the introduction of the token
currency of bronze coins in place of silver tanka in 1329-30.The value
of the token coins was deemed to be equal to a silver coin. The main
reason for this measure was the scarcity of silver.
This measure proved useful in the beginning but later on it caused
serious problems. People soon began to manufacture counterfeits of
bronze in large numbers. There was a surfeit of coins in circulation.
This naturally led to its depreciation and most people began to prefer
copper tankas for payments and silver or gold issues for receipts. The
Sultan was compelled to withdraw the token currency. He offered to
exchange all the token coins for the silver coins resulting in huge
losses to the treasury. He planned an expedition for the conquest of
Khurasan and Iraq. He raised an army of 3, 70,000 soldiers and gave
it a whole year's salary in advance. But the army did not leave for the
expedition and was disbanded. The scheme was abandoned when the
Sultan learnt that the conditions in Iraq had improved and was not
conducive to an expedition. Towards the end of his reign the sultan
increased the land revenue in the doab. He decided to enhance the
land tax in the doab because of richness of its soil.Doab was facing
total famine which was followed by plague. The Sultan raised the tax
from 5 to 10%. Therefore the peasants instead of paying the taxes
abandoned their lands and adopted highway robbery. The tax
collectors continued to collect taxes by oppression. It resulted in
20/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
extensive revolts. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq died in 1351.The whole of
south India became independent during his life time and three major
independent states- the empire of Vijaynagar,the Brahmani kingdom
and the Sultanate of Madura were founded in the territories of the
sultanate of the south.
Later Tughlaqs
Firoz Tughlaq was succeeded by his grandson who took up the title of
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah II.Within a year of his accession he fell
victim to intrigue and was beheaded in early 1389.For the next five
years Sultans- Abu Bakr, Muhammad Shah and Alauddin Sikandar
Shah ruled. In 1390 Nasiruddin entered Delhi and enthroned himself.
He was the last sultan of the dynasty and ruled from 1390-
1412.During his reign Timur the Mongol leader of Central Asia invaded
India. After plundering Delhi he returned to Samarkand.On his way
back he plundered Firozabad, Kangra, Meerut and Jammu.Khizr Khan
was appointed governor of Multan, Lahore and Dipalpur.Timur's
invasion dealt a fatal blow to the Tughlaq dynasty and the Sultanate of
Delhi. In 15th century the Sultanate completely disintegrated and
numerous provincial kingdoms emerged in various parts of the
country.
Rulers of the Tughlaq Dynasty
Rulers of the Tughlaq Dynasty AD
1. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah 1320-1325
2. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq 1325-1351
3. Firuz Tughlaq 1351-1388
4. Later Tughlaq 1388-1414
The Saiyyid Dynasty
Khizr Khan was not only the founder of the Saiyyid Dynasty but also
its ablest ruler. Khizr Khan did not rule as a sovereign ruler but
professed to rule as the deputy of Timur's son and successor. He
assumed the title of Shah and got the Khutba read in his name. In
21/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
1412 he conquered Gujarat,Gwalior and Jaunpur.In 1416 he defeated
Bayana and in 1421 he attacked Mewat.Due to the illness he died in
the year 1421.He was succeeded by his son Mubarak Shah in 1421
who ruled till 1434.He was succeeded by his son Muhammad Shah in
1434 who ruled till 1445 AD. He remained in his capital sunk in
indolence and pleasure. He was succeeded by his son Alauddin Alam
Shah 1445-51.He was the weakest ruler of the Saiyyid Dynasty. He
was deposed by Bahlol Lodhi, the powerful governor of Lahore and
Sirhind who founded the Lodhi dynasty.
Rulers of the Saiyyid Dynasty
Rulers of the Saiyyid Dynasty AD
1. Khizr Khan 1414-1421
2. Mubarak Shah 1421-1434
3. Muhammad Shah 1434-1445
4. Alauddin Alam Shah 1445-1450
Things to remember
It is believed that before the coming of the Aryans in India the
greater part of northern and north-western India was inhabited by a
group of people known as Dravidians
The Dravidians could not meet challenge and hence gradually
moved southwards. The horse played a very important role in the lives
of the Aryans.
There is no trace of totemism and animal worship.
Rig Veda is collection of 1017 hymns supplemented by 11 others
called Valakhilyas. Purusukta theory developed in the later Vedic
period.
The first three Vedas -Rig,Sam and Yajur Veda are collectively
known as Trayi.
The word Arya comes from the root word meaning to cultivate and
Aryans as a whole were agriculturists who considered agriculture a
noble profession or occupation.
In the later Vedic period the purohita or priest was described as the
rashtragopa or the protector of the realm of the raja.
The king in later Vedic age performed Rajsuya sacrifice which was
supposed to confer supreme power on him. The king also performed
Vajpeya or the chariot race .The ritual lasted for 17 days and it was
supposed to elevate him from the position of Raja to that of Samrat.
Indra and Varuna lost their previous importance and prajapati
attained the supreme position in later Vedic age.
Pushan became the God of Sudras.
Rudra and Vishnu became more important than before.
Delhi Sultanate
The Slave Dynasty
1.Qutub-ud-din Aibek
2.Iltutmish
3.Raziya
4.Balban
5.Rulers of the Sultanate Period
16/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
Khalji Dynasty
Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji
Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji was the founder of the Khalji dynasty. He came
to power after the overthrow of slave dynasty. Their ascendancy is
known as Khalji imperialism because with the accession of Jalaluddin
on the throne of Delhi, the supremacy of the Turks ended in India. He
expanded the boundaries of his empire besides his achievements
include suppression of the revolt of Malik Chhaju with the governor of
Oudh.He suppressed the thuggees a band of robbers and send them
off peacefully to Bengal. He adopted conciliatory policy towards the
Mongols. He allowed some of the Mongols to settle in India.
It was during the conquest of Bhilsa that Alauddin the nephew of
Jalaluddin started realising the dream of being sultan. In 1292 AD
Alauddin led an expedition to Devagiri hearing of its wealth.Devagiri
was forced to pay a huge war indemnity. This helped Alauddin in
buying the nobles and pleasing the soldiers who were dissatisfied by
the rule of Jalaluddin.Alauddin than hatched a conspiracy and got
Sultan Jalaludin killed and proclaimed himself as the sultan.
Alauddin Khalji
In 1296 Alauddin became the sultan after Malika Jan the widow of
Jalaluddin and her younger son Qadir Khan left Delhi. He also
exterminated the old Balbani and Jalali nobles.The reign of Alauddin
Khalji marks the zenith of the power of the Delhi Sultanate. In 1297 he
set off for conquering Gujarat. He sent an expedition under Ulugh
Khan and Nusrat Khan to Gujarat. On the way Ulugh Khan conquered
Jaisalmer.During the plunder of the rich port of Cambay Alauddin's
commander Nusrat Khan acquired a Hindu turned Muslim slave Kafur
who later on rose to become a great military general and the Malik
Naib of Alauddin.After the conquest of Gujarat Alauddin sent an
expedition under Ulugh Khan and Nusrat Khan to
Ranthambhore.However they were beaten by the Rajputs and Nusrat
Khan died.Alauddin went to Ranthambhor and annexed it in 1301.The
next expedition was sent to Mewar and after the siege of 8 months he
captured Chittor in 1303.The government of Chittor was put in the
hands of Khizr Khan, the eldest son of Alauddin.Chittor was renamed
17/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
as Khizrabad after the name of Khizr Khan. In 1305 Alauddin sent Ainul-
Mulk Multani for the conquest of Malwa which was placed under the
governorship of the latter. By the end of 1305 the whole of Northern
India fell into the hands of Alauddin and he directed his attention to
the conquest of Deccan.
Between 1307 and 1312 he began the southward expansion of his
empire. He invaded Devagiri in 1306-07 AD. The immediate cause for
this was unduly long delay in sending the annual tribute. In 1309 the
Kakatiya kingdom was attacked and its ruler Pratap Rudra Deva
accepted the suzerainty of Delhi and surrendered vast treasures. The
next expedition was against Vir Ballala III the Hoysala ruler in
1311.His capital Dwarsamudra was captured. The whole of Deccan was
forced to acknowledge the supremacy of Alauddin.His motives were to
secure the immense wealth and to force the southern states to accept
the suzerainty of the Sultanate. He had to face more than dozen
invasions. These invasions started from the end of 1296 and continued
upto 1308.The Mongols threatened not only Punjab,Multan and Sindh
but even Delhi and the Ganga-Yamuna Doab.This grave crisis
compelled him to take strong measures for the protection of the
northwest frontier. The 20 years of his rule came to an end with his
death on 2nd January 1316 AD.
Qutubuddin Mubarak Shah Khalji
A young son of the Sultan was placed on the throne and Malik Kafur
acted as the regent. Malik Kafur killed other members of the
Allauddin's family but he was murdered and Mubarak Khan the third
son became the regent. He imprisoned Sahibuddin and ascended the
throne as Qutub uddin Mubarak in the year 1316.He tried to win the
good will of the people.He liberalized Alauddin's rigorous
administrative policies and repealed economic regulations.All prisoners
were released and harsh regulations were cancelled. The lands which
were confiscated were given back to their legitimate owners. Taxes
were lowered. He was under the influence of youth called Hassan who
later was called Khusru Khan who conspired to kill him. Thus Khalji
dynasty came to an end.Khusro tried to strike a reign of terror to
control the nobles. This was resented by the nobles particularly Ghazi
Malik who captured and beheaded the sultan. He ascended the throne
under the title of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah.
18/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
Ruler of the Khalji Dynasty
Ruler of the Khalji Dynasty AD
1. Jalaluddin Firuz Khalji 1290-1296
2. Alauddin Khalji 1296-1316
3. Qutubuddin Mubarak 1316-1320
Tughlaq Dynasty
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq laid the foundation of the Ttughlaq Dynasty.The
word Tughlaq was not the name of any tribe or clan but was the
personal name of Ghiyasuddin.He had to face enormous problems as a
Sultan. There were riots in various parts of the empire and the royal
treasury was empty. He pursued a policy of reconciliation with the
nobles and the people who were severely restricted under Alauddin.He
liberalized administration in certain respects. He gave up the practice
of physical torture in case of economic offences and recovery of debts.
He also discarded Alauddin's system of measurement of land for the
assessment of land revenue. He attempted to improve the finances of
the state and perused a policy to encourage agriculture. His twin
object was to increase land under cultivation and improve economic
condition of the cultivators. He took keen interest in the construction
of canal for irrigation and formulated famine policy to provide relief to
peasants in time of drought. The state demand of revenue was fixed
between 1/5th and 1/3rd of the produce. He further instructed that the
land revenue should not be enhanced more than 1/11th of the
estimated produce.
He continued the system of Dagh and Chehra instituted by
Alauddin.He built the fortified city of Tughlaqabad and gave a new
touch to the architecture of the Sultanate period. In 1321 he
dispatched the crown prince Jauna Khan to re-establish Sultan's
authority in the south. He annexed Warangal.Madurai and Bengal.
19/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
Mohammad Bin Tughlaq
Jauna Khan ascended the throne in 1325 AD with the title of
Mohammad Bin Tughlaq.He ruled up to 1351.He was a profound
scholar of Persian, a penetrating critic,a litterateur of repute. He was a
great scholar of Persian and Arabic. He faced many revolts and
rebellions. The first of these revolts included his attempt to consolidate
his empire by curbing the rebellions of 1327 by his cousin Bahauddin
Garsharp in the Deccan and other of Kishulu Khan the governor of
Multan and Sind in 1328.One of the much condemned experiments of
the Sultan was the transfer of capital from Delhi to Devagiri
(1327).The transfer was attempted primarily due to two reasons -for
its central location and secondly its close proximity to the south which
was a newly conquered region. The transfer of capital involved the
shifting of the army, officials, servants, tradesmen, court and shift of
population. There was a widespread resentment against the Sultan
who decided to retransfer the capital to Delhi. The order of going back
to the old capital caused much distress to the people. Another of his
novel and daring experiments was the introduction of the token
currency of bronze coins in place of silver tanka in 1329-30.The value
of the token coins was deemed to be equal to a silver coin. The main
reason for this measure was the scarcity of silver.
This measure proved useful in the beginning but later on it caused
serious problems. People soon began to manufacture counterfeits of
bronze in large numbers. There was a surfeit of coins in circulation.
This naturally led to its depreciation and most people began to prefer
copper tankas for payments and silver or gold issues for receipts. The
Sultan was compelled to withdraw the token currency. He offered to
exchange all the token coins for the silver coins resulting in huge
losses to the treasury. He planned an expedition for the conquest of
Khurasan and Iraq. He raised an army of 3, 70,000 soldiers and gave
it a whole year's salary in advance. But the army did not leave for the
expedition and was disbanded. The scheme was abandoned when the
Sultan learnt that the conditions in Iraq had improved and was not
conducive to an expedition. Towards the end of his reign the sultan
increased the land revenue in the doab. He decided to enhance the
land tax in the doab because of richness of its soil.Doab was facing
total famine which was followed by plague. The Sultan raised the tax
from 5 to 10%. Therefore the peasants instead of paying the taxes
abandoned their lands and adopted highway robbery. The tax
collectors continued to collect taxes by oppression. It resulted in
20/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
extensive revolts. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq died in 1351.The whole of
south India became independent during his life time and three major
independent states- the empire of Vijaynagar,the Brahmani kingdom
and the Sultanate of Madura were founded in the territories of the
sultanate of the south.
Later Tughlaqs
Firoz Tughlaq was succeeded by his grandson who took up the title of
Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah II.Within a year of his accession he fell
victim to intrigue and was beheaded in early 1389.For the next five
years Sultans- Abu Bakr, Muhammad Shah and Alauddin Sikandar
Shah ruled. In 1390 Nasiruddin entered Delhi and enthroned himself.
He was the last sultan of the dynasty and ruled from 1390-
1412.During his reign Timur the Mongol leader of Central Asia invaded
India. After plundering Delhi he returned to Samarkand.On his way
back he plundered Firozabad, Kangra, Meerut and Jammu.Khizr Khan
was appointed governor of Multan, Lahore and Dipalpur.Timur's
invasion dealt a fatal blow to the Tughlaq dynasty and the Sultanate of
Delhi. In 15th century the Sultanate completely disintegrated and
numerous provincial kingdoms emerged in various parts of the
country.
Rulers of the Tughlaq Dynasty
Rulers of the Tughlaq Dynasty AD
1. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq Shah 1320-1325
2. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq 1325-1351
3. Firuz Tughlaq 1351-1388
4. Later Tughlaq 1388-1414
The Saiyyid Dynasty
Khizr Khan was not only the founder of the Saiyyid Dynasty but also
its ablest ruler. Khizr Khan did not rule as a sovereign ruler but
professed to rule as the deputy of Timur's son and successor. He
assumed the title of Shah and got the Khutba read in his name. In
21/26 I couldn't wait for success, so I went ahead without it.
1412 he conquered Gujarat,Gwalior and Jaunpur.In 1416 he defeated
Bayana and in 1421 he attacked Mewat.Due to the illness he died in
the year 1421.He was succeeded by his son Mubarak Shah in 1421
who ruled till 1434.He was succeeded by his son Muhammad Shah in
1434 who ruled till 1445 AD. He remained in his capital sunk in
indolence and pleasure. He was succeeded by his son Alauddin Alam
Shah 1445-51.He was the weakest ruler of the Saiyyid Dynasty. He
was deposed by Bahlol Lodhi, the powerful governor of Lahore and
Sirhind who founded the Lodhi dynasty.
Rulers of the Saiyyid Dynasty
Rulers of the Saiyyid Dynasty AD
1. Khizr Khan 1414-1421
2. Mubarak Shah 1421-1434
3. Muhammad Shah 1434-1445
4. Alauddin Alam Shah 1445-1450
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