Sources of knowing ancient history

 

 Sources of knowing Ancient Histor

To know the ancient history, all sources can be mainly divided into 4 parts.

1.co-operative

2.Emetological

3. Foreign authors and their literature

4. Archaeological Records

(i). Literary Sources

Literary sources can be divided into two parts

(i) Religious Literature

Vedas- It means- Vital knowledge, ie sacred and spiritual knowledge, Vedas are the source of information of the entire Vedic history. Their number is four - Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.

Rigveda

The Rigveda is considered the oldest of the four Vedas. It is divided in two ways. In the first type it is divided into 10 circles. Circles contain some hymns in Sukta, Sukta. The total hymns are 10627. The Rigveda has 64 chapters in another way. An octave is composed of eight chapters each. There are eight such octaves in total. Each chapter is then divided into sections. The number of classes is different in different chapters. The total class number is 2024. Each class has some mantras. Many mysteries of the universe have been inaugurated in them. Earlier it had 21 branches, but at present its branch branch is only promoted.

Yajurved

It has both prose and verse. In this, Yajna is the priority of karma. In ancient times it had 101 branches but at present it has only five branches - Kathak, Kapisthal, Maitrayani, Taittiriya, Vajasaneyi. This Veda has two distinctions - Krishna Yajurveda and Shukla Yajurveda. Maharishi Veda Vyasa has compiled Krishna Yajurveda. Its other name is also Taittiriya Samhita. Mantra and Brahmin parts are mixed in it. Shukla Yajurveda - It was given by Surya as a sermon to Yajnavalkya. It had 15 branches but at present Madhyandin also known as Vajasaneyi. It has 40 chapters, 303 anuvakas and 1975 mantras. The last forty-fourth chapter is Ishavasopanishad.

Samved

This is the lyrical book. It has a repository of singing, it is the origin of Indian music. The singing of the hymns is called Sama. It had 1001 branches. But nowadays only three are prevalent - Kothumiya, Jaiminiya and Ranayaniya. It is divided into anterior and posterior. There are four scandal in Purvartik - fiery scandal, Andra scandal, Powman scandal and Aranya scandal. There are a total of 640 mantras in all the four scandals. Then there are 10 mantras of Mahanamanyarchik. Thus, there are a total of 650 spells in the Purvartik. There are six readers. Uttarachik is divided into 21 chapters. There are nine readers. It has a total of 1225 mantras. Thus the Samaveda has a total of 1875 mantras. Most of the mantras in it are derived from the Rigveda. It can also be called the originator of worship.

Atharvaveda

Many subjects are described in this, Mathematics, Science, Ayurveda, Sociology, Agricultural Science, etc. Some people also find mantra-tantra in it. While this Veda preaches Brahman wisdom, it also tells about the remedy of salvation. It is also called Brahma Veda. It is also called Atharva Angiras mainly due to the mantras of Rishis and Atharvans. It is divided into 20 kandas. There are many sutras in each kand and there are mantras in sutras. There are a total of 5977 mantras in this Veda. Today its two branches Shaunik and Piplad are available. The scholar of the Atharvaveda is the master of the four Vedas. In the Yajna, the Rigveda calls for the Gods, the Samaveda is the oblation, the Yajurveda's Adhvaryu Dev: finishes the coterm and the Atharvaveda's Brahma controls the entire Yagya Karma.

Vedang - They can understand the meaning of Vedas in a simple way. Their number is 6 - Education, Kalpa, Grammar, Nirukta, Chanda and Astrology.

The simple interpretation made in prose form of the Brahmin Granth-Vedas is called Brahmin Granth.

Aranyak - It was composed in the forests. It is a Brahmin book. Is considered to be the last part, which has the primacy of knowledge and thinking,

Upanishads - To sit near the Guru to attain Brahman learning, also called Vedanta.

 Their total number is 108, the national motto of India is derived from the Satyameva Jayate Mundakopanishad.

In this Upanishad, Yajna has been compared to a broken boat.

 Sri Krishna is first mentioned in the Chandogyapanishad.

 The Upanishads get information about the political, social and religious situation of the then India.

Epics - Ramayana and Mahabharata are the two oldest epics of India. Based on the available evidence, his creation period is believed to be between the fourth century BC to the fourth century AD.

 Ramayana - Its creator is Maharishi Balmiki. There are 24000 verses in this epic written in Sanskrit language. This gives information about the political, social and religious conditions of erstwhile India.

 Mahabharata - Initially its name was Jayasahita. Its creator is Maharishi Ved Vyas. The original number of shlokas in it was 8800, but currently the total number is 1,00000. There are a total of 18 festivals in it.

 Shrimad Bhagwatgita is related to Bhishmaparva. The war of Mahabharata was fought in 950 BC, which lasted for 18 days, it is the largest epic in the world. It has been recognized as the fifth Veda.

Purana - It is also called Panchamveda.

 Lomaharsha and his son Ugrashrawa are considered compilers of Puranas. Their number is 18. These mainly contain the details of the lineage of ancient rulers.

 Among the Puranas is the most ancient and authentic Matsya Purana. It belongs to the Satavahana dynasty.

 Vishnu Purana gives information about the Maurya dynasty and Vayu Purana about Gupta dynasty.

Buddhist Literature - It is basically divided into four parts - Jataka, Tripitaka, Pali and Sanskrit.

• Jataka - This is a sacred book of Buddhists. It is a collection of 550 stories. Mahatma in it. Stories of Buddha's former lives are described. The paintings of Ajanta depict the stories of the Jataka.

 Tripitaka- The language of Tripitaka is Prakrit. These three are - Sutpitaka, Vinayapitaka and Abhidhammapitaka, Pali Granth - The oldest Buddhist texts are in Pali language.

 Milindapanho - This Buddhist book describes the conversation between the Greek King Minander (Milind) and the Buddhist monk Nagasen. Deepavansh - This is the first Buddhist book to throw light on the history of Sri Lanka (Sinhala island).

 Mahavansh - It contains a sorted list of the kings of Magadha.

• Chul dynasty - This gives information about the disintegration of the Kandi Chola empire.

Sanskrit texts

 Lalit Vistara - This is the first book of Buddhism in Sanskrit language.

 Divyavadan - It has a description about the Sunga dynasty and Maurya rulers.

Jain literature - They are in Prakrit and Sanskrit language, they are called Agam.

 Achagra Sutra - It describes the legal prohibition and ethics of Jain monks.

Bhagwati Sutra - It details the life of Mahavir Swami and his relationship with other contemporaries. There is also a description of 16 Mahajanapadas in this.

(ii) Non-Religious literature

1. Sangam Literature - It describes the rise of Chola, Chera and Pandya states. It has a total of 30,000 lines of poems. These poems are divided into two main groups (1.Patineedikalakanakku and 2.Patupattu). The first group is older than the latter group.

2. Manusmriti - This is the most ancient and authentic. This gives information about the political, social and religious conditions of the erstwhile Indian. It mentions eight types of marriage - Brahma, Daiva, Arya, Prajapatya, Gandharva, Asur, Rakshasa and Paishach. Note: Anulom Marriage - Marriage of upper class man to a lower class woman is called Anulom Marriage. Inverse Marriage- Marriage of upper class girl to a lower class man is called inverse marriage.

3.Nard Smriti - This gives information about the Gupta dynasty.

4.Arthashastra- This book written in Sanskrit language by Acharya Chanakya (Vishnugupta) or Kautilya is considered the first Indian book of Indian politics. The political, social, economic and religious conditions of the Mauryan period are described in this book containing about 6000 verses.

5. Mudrarakshas - This play composed by Visakhadatta describes the decline of the Nanda dynasty and the establishment of the Maurya dynasty by Chandragupta Maurya and his guru Chanakya.

6. Malavikagnimitram - This book by Kalidas describes the political situation of Pushyamitra Sung and his son Agnimitra and the Sunga and Yavan struggle.

7. Harshacharit - This book, written by Emperor Harsha's poet Banabhatta, gives information about Harsha's life and the history of the then Indian.

8. Swapnavasvadatta - This book, composed by Mahakavi Bhasa, mentions the relationship between Vatsaraja Udayan and Chandapradyot.

9.Rajatarangini - This book composed by Kalhan is related to the history of Kashmir. It is considered to be the first authentic book of Indian history.

10.Mritchkatikam - This play composed by Shudraka gives information about the Gupta period.

11. Vikramankadevacharit - This book composed by Kashmiri poet Wilhan gives information about Chalukya dynasty especially Vikramaditya Pancham.

12. Kirti-Kaumudi - This poetry written by Someshwar gives information about Chalukyan dynasty.

13. Avantisundari Katha - This book composed by Mahakavi Dandi gives information about the history of the Pallavas of South India.

14 Ashtadhyayi - This is the first authentic book of Sanskrit grammar composed by Panini.

(iii) Foreign authors and their literature

1.Herodotus - It is called the father of history. It created a book called Historica, which describes the mutual relations between India and Iran (Persia).

2. Megasthenes- This was the ambassador of Seleucus Nicator in the court of Chandragupta Maurya. The book Indica composed by it describes the Mauryan city administration and agriculture.

3. Dimecus- This Syrian king was the ambassador of Antiochus, who came to the court of Bindusara.

4. Dianosius- This Egyptian king was the ambassador of Ptolemy Philadelphia, who came to the court of Bindusara.

5.Plini- He wrote a book called Natural Historica. It describes the Indian animals, plants, minerals etc.

6. Fahyan (399-415 AD) - The first Chinese traveler who came to India during the rule of Chandragupta Vikramaditya. In his book, he has described the political and social conditions of the erstwhile India.

7. Hiuen Tsang (629-644E) - It is also known as the Emperor of travelers or Prince of travelers. It came to India during the reign of Emperor Harshavardhana. The travelogue written by it gives information about the then India from the C-U-Key. He studied and taught at Nalanda University.

8. Itsing - He was also a Chinese traveler. It visited Bihar state of India around 670 AD. He studied at Nalanda University

(iv) Archaeological Sources of Ancient History

Those old items obtained during excavation,

 Those that help in the creation of history are called archaeological sources. Among them are inscriptions, currency, memorial etc. John Cunningham is said to be the father of Indian archeology.

1. currencies or coins

 The existence of republics of ancient India is attested by currencies only. The dates inscribed on them help in determining the chronology.

The study of ancient coins is called Numismatics.

 The oldest coinage in India dates back to the 5th century BCE, which is called ahat coin (punch mark). It is mainly made of silver metal.

 The first gold coin in India was issued by the Indo-Yavana ruler.

 The highest gold coins in India were issued by the Gupta rulers and the purest gold coins were issued by the Kushan ruler Kanishka.

Satavahana rulers issued lead and putty coins. They did not issue gold coins

 The most powerful coins are found in the post-Mauryan period and the lowest number of post-Gupta period.

2. Records - Records are often found on pillars, rocks, copper plates, postures, sculptures, walls of temples, etc. The study of records is called Epigraphy.

 The oldest inscription of India is believed to be of Harappan period, which has not yet been read.

The earliest readable inscription is that of Emperor Ashoka, which succeeded James Prinsep in 1837 AD.

 The civil record is stored in the office of archivist in Mysore.

Some major inscriptions

1. Junagadh (Girnar) inscription - This is the record of the ruler Rudradaman I. This is the longest and first record of Sanskrit language.

2. Aaran inscription - It was issued by the Gupta ruler Bhanugupta. In this inscription, discussion of sati-practice is found first.

3. Aihole inscription - It belongs to Pulakeshin II, the Chalukya ruler of Badami, which was prepared by his minister Ravikirti.

4. Hathi Gumpha inscription - It was issued by Kalinga ruler Kharavel. In this inscription, the details of the first Christian events are found.

5. Allahabad inscription (Prayag Prasasti) - Originally, this inscription is of Emperor Ashoka. Later Samudragupta's achievements were carved on this by Harishan. Later, the Mughal ruler Jahangir also got his message engraved on it.

6. Masaki and Gurjara inscriptions - Both these inscriptions are from the emperor Ashoka, in which the names Ashoka Priyadarshi and Ashoka are mentioned respectively.

7.Babhu and Rumindei inscriptions - Both these inscriptions are from Ashoka, which shows Ashoka's faith in Buddhism.

8. Roopnath Records - This inscription shows Ashoka's faith in Shaivism. Persepolis and Naqsh-e-Rustom - This record describes the relationship between India and Iran.

9.Bogajkoi (Asia Minor) - In this inscription of 1400 BC, four deities named Indra, Varuna, Mitra and Nasatya are mentioned.

Memorial

• Takshshila - From the remains found here, information about the history of the Kushan dynasty is given. Ankorwat (Cambodia) and Borobudur Temple (Java) - Numerous statues found here show that India had commercial and cultural connections with these countries.