Archaeological Sources
Inscriptions – are writings / script which have been
excavated and gives information about political, social, religious life of that
particular period. The study of inscriptions is known as epigraphy. The
materials used for recording inscriptions are iron, gold, silver, copper,
bronze, clay, brick, crystal, wood, etc. The languages used are varied like
Pali, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Besides, the
Bramhi and the Karoshti script were also used. Inscriptions are classified
according to the material (information) they supply. Inscriptions can be
classified as follows:
Seals of the Indus Valley Civilization
Asokan edicts
Eulogies (Prasastis)
Dedicative inscriptions
Donative inscriptions
Miscellaneous / Others
Seals of the Indus Valley Civilization – A large number of
seals have been excavated made of clay, wax, and lead and they were used for
the purpose of trading. A number of seals of Indus Valley Civilization are from
different parts of India and Pakistan and also Sumeria, Egypt, anda Mesopotamia
(Iraq). The study of seals provides information about religious practices,
social system, habits, clothing about particular period Sindhu Valley seals
have pictographic script.
Ashokan edicts – The inscriptions of Ashoka can be divided
into Rock edicts – major and minor, cave inscriptions, pillar inscriptions.
Most of the edicts are in Bramhi script. They contained
orders and rules ot be followed by the people and Ashoka appointed religious
officers called ‘dharmamahamntras’ in order to enforce the orders. Ashokan
inscriptions are very useful. They tell us the extent of his empire. They were
found in Karnataka, Pesawar, Nepal which help us to know the geographical
extent of his empire.
Eulogies (Prasastis) – are biologies of kings written by
court poets. They contain the name, genealogy and an account of the career of
the ruler, his achievements and his administrative system. Examples of eulogies
are Hathigumpha inscription of King Kharavel of Kalinga, Allahabad Pillar
Inscription which tells us about King Samudragupta, Aihole Inscriptions of
Pulekesin II of the Chalukya dynasty.
Dedicated inscriptions – are dedicated to a memory of a
particular person or ruler. They give us information about the political,
religious and social life. Examples of dedicated inscriptions are the Garuda
Pillar Inscription at Besnagar of the Indo-Greek King Helyadorus and the
Mandasor Inscription of King Kumaragupta.
Donative inscriptions – refer to grants of land that were
donated to Hindu Brahmans and Buddhist monasteries, educational institutions
and temples. The inscriptions are on copper plates, stone pillars and also in
temples. These inscriptions are very important because they give the description
of the donors’ family for several generations and of the life and achievements
of the ruler. Example of donative inscriptions are the Chola inscriptions – it
is an official document.
Miscellaneous (Other records) – Inscriptions which belong
to private parties, e.g., the Nanaghat inscription of Queen Nagarika mentions
donations and the inscriptions of Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjore to Kuddavais
family. The dates of the images and buildings can be fixed and development of
language, evolution of art and religion can be traced with the help of these
inscriptions. Many private inscriptions add to our knowledge about the ruler of
that particular period.
Coins – The study of coins is called numismatics. We get
important historical information form coins.
The earliest coins of India were the punch mark coins. The
coins were used for trading purposes.
Greek Bactrian coins – another type of early coins are
Greco Bactrian coins issued by Greek ruler of Bactria in 305 BC. These coins
are a mixture of Greek and Eastern style showing the picture of the king and
his name. the coins were of silver, gold and copper.
Scythian Parthian coins – were an imitation of the Greek
coins but they were of inferior quality.
Kushana coins are found in large numbers and are useful for
learning about the Kushana dynasty.
Gupta coins are very artistic and impressive coins. Kings
Samudragupta and Chandragupta II issued different types of coins. The coins had
picture like Ashvamedha type, Archer type (bow and arrow), tiger slayer type,
beena type, etc. These coins give us cultural, religious and political
boundaries of the Gupta Empire. The study of coins is helpful to know the
technique of coins, information about artistic excellence, economic conditions
of the country. For e.g., coins of Samudragupta and Chandragupta II were made
of gold, but during Kumaragupta’s reign there were copper coins. Different
metals that were used in different provinces give us an idea of mining
resources. Coins which have geographical boundaries help us reconstruct the
history of that particular dynasty.
The study of coins is used together with literary evidence
in order to write factual history.
Monuments – are excavations dug out by archaeologists. They
enable us to trace the history of art and styles of architecture.
After excavation of Sindhu Valley many large buildings have
bee found. E.g., a swimming pool at Mohenjodaro and granary at Harappa, the Dockyard
at Lothal in Gujarat throw light on the material civilization of the Indus
Valley people. The excavation of ancient sites like Pataliputra, Sainath, Taxila,
Raigir provide information on various aspects of monuments.
Pottery – is also an important archaeological source which
throws light on the social, religious activities of the people. Harapan and
Indus Valley seals show the economic and religious activities of the people. Harappa
pottery had a red strip and black painted decoration of natural motifs like
flowers.
The Greek and Roman pottery also excavated in South Deccan
tell us that there were relations between these countries. Indian potters
decorated their pots with flower motifs, geometric design, animals and birds. Indus
valley people were also specialists in the art of glazing.
Artifacts – artifacts of semi-precious stones in silver and
gold, relic caskets found in Buddhist sites in various parts of India, toys,
tools, weapons, bows, ivory work, all artifacts tell us about the cultural and
material life of the people of that time. these antiques can be dated by Radiocarbon
method.
LITERARY SOURCES
Vedas – The Vedas are the oldest works. There are four Vedas:
Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda and Atharvaveda.
Rigveda – is the oldest and comprises of hymns dedicated to
Gods and composed by families of priests. The Rigveda is a primary source of information
for the study of the political, social, economic and religious life of the
early Vedic people.
Samaveda – is a collection of melodies. It is important for
the rituals. The text contains musical notes. Hence Samaveda is the earliest
work in Indian music.
Yajurveda – comprises of the white Yajurveda and the black
Yajurveda and was meant to be a guidebook for priests performing sacrifices.
Atharvaveda – is a collection of spells and magic charms
and is a prayerbook of the common people meant for application at the humbler
domestic sacrifices.
Brahamanas – are commentaries on the Vedas. They are ritual
texts, whose author speculated on the minute details of the Brahmanical
sacrifices. They are useful for political and geographical information e.g., Satapatha
brahman and Aitareya Brahmans.
Upvedas – is a higher branch of learning. They contain
detail knowledge and are four in number: Ayurveda (herbal medicine), Dhaveda
(Military science), Gandawaveda (Music) and Shilpaveda (architecture).
Vidangas – means parts of the Vedas which called help in
better understanding of Vedas. Subjects like Siksha (phonetics), kalpa
(rituals), vyakarana (grammar), nirukta (etymology), chhandas (metrics) and jyothisha
(astronomy).
Sutras – Along with the study of history of religion, there
were speciality schools dealing with pure rituals such as Grihasutra (household
rituals), Kalpasutras, Srautasutras, Dharmasutras.
Aryankas – was a forest text to be read by Sadhus and
householders in the Vanaprasthashrama.
Upanishads – are called Vedanta. The word Upanishad means
sitting at the feet of the teacher. The philosophical ideas that are contained
in this book were explained by the guru to his people. Upanishads contain
philosophy about Atman, Brahman and theory or resurrection of the soul.
Epics – are stories of the Aryans and they are of great
value for history as they throw light on social, political, religious and
cultural life of the Aryans. They also deal with human values, for e.g., the Aryans
were destroyed and their thirst for power and wealth ultimately led to a great
war which took place as described in the Mahabharata.
Dharmashastras – are smritis of different laws of ancient Indian
society. Some important smritis are Manu, Yajnavalkya, Narad and Brihaspati. They
give a great deal of information about Indian society. These smritis were laws
made by man. They describe the social practices and code of conduct of members
of the Hindu society. The most important is Manu smriti composed between 200BC
to 200AD. This smriti favors the Brahmins against the lower caste. All the smritis
give us useful information about Hindu society.
Puranas – give us a genealogical account of Hindu society. There
are eighteen puranas. The most important are the Vishnu Purana, the Vayu Purana,
Matsya, Brahma and Bhavishya. They are useful to history as they give information
about religion, philosophy, mythology, ceremonies, customs of Hindus of ancient
times.
Secular Hindu literature
Secular literary works give us valuable information about the
economic conditions. The secular literary sources are divided into general
sources, biographies and regional work.
General sources
Arthashastra written by Kautilya (Chanakya) during the period
of Chandragupta. Kautilya was the prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya. This
gives detail information about political, administrative set up, spy system,
socio economic life, and religious life.
Mudrarakshasa – a Play of Vishakadatta written during the
Gupta period deals with how Chanakya with the help of Chandragupta Maurya overthrew
the Nanda dynasty of Magadha.
Patanjali’s Mahabhasya and Panini’s Astadhyayi – These are
works in Sanskrit drama, but they contain political references of the times.
Prasastis – Harisena’s Prasastis on Samudragupta on the Allahabad
Pillar inscription gives information about the works and conquest of
Samudragupta
Bhara’s work – His drama such as Saphava, Vadutta and Pratgna,
Gougandhara give information about the political condition in India in the age
of King Padyota in Uillain.
Kalidas’works – such as Abhyyan, Shakuntala and Meghdoota discuss
the social life of that period.
Post Harsha works – dramas Nagananda Rathavai Priyadarshini
help us know the conditions of the politics and society in seventh century AD.
Biography
Banas Harshacharita – gives us detailed information of Harsha’s
administration and religious policy. Biographies are important even though the information
may be one sided because they help us to compare this information with archeological
sources.
Vakpatas Gauduahe of Ulhanas Chilbran Deva Schima – deals with
rulers Garhouarma and Vikramaditya of Kashmir.
Regional work
Kalhana’s Rajatarangini – Historian Kalhana has written Rajatarangini
– a history of Kashmir after the death of Harsha. It was written around
1149-1150 AD.
Chronicles of Gujarat and Nepal – Chronicles of Gujarat
such as Rasmala and Krisnakumudhi of Samervara and the Rajashekara and the
Hamira Madmareluva of Ruhena are chronicles of Nepal which help us to write the
history of this region.
Jain literature – The religious texts of the Jains are
called Agama Siddharta. They are in Aradha Magadhi Prakrit Language and in
Sutras style. Some literature also has commentaries on these texts. Jain literature
is useful of social, political, economic, religious, historical information.
Buddhist literature – is found in Pali and Sanskrit. It is
divided into Triptakas, Vinaya Pitika, Sutta Pitika and Abhidhamma Pitika. It contains
a summary of Buddhas teaching, rules for monastic life and principles of Buddhism.
Dhammapadas – are a collection of 423 sayings of Lord
Buddha.
Theragatha – contains poems written by Buddhist monks.
Therigatha – are poems written by buddhist nuns.
Non-Canonical literature
Milinda Panha (Questions of King Milinda) – discusses problem
of Buddhism and the answers are given by a very famous Buddhist teacher.
Dipallana and Mahavamsa – are chronicles of Ceylon and they
contain important historical information.
Jataka Stories – written in Sanskrit are 549 in number. They
deal with the previous births of Buddha. These stories give information about
the social, religious, economic and political condition of the relevant period.
Lalitavistara and Vipulyasutra – Lalitavistara contains
stories about the life of Buddha and Vipulyasutra explains principles of Lord
Buddha.
Foreign accounts
Foreigners such as Greek, Persian, Chinese, and Muslim historians
visited India from ancient times. Their historical accounts help us to write
the history of India. Roman historians visited India in ancient times, together
with the Greek and have left important documents which help us write history.
Greek accounts – Greek historians such as Herodotus and Certus
have made reference to Indians in their writing of Greek Persian wars. Herodotus’
‘Histories’ gives details of political conditions in northwest India.
Alexander’s Generals such as Arian, Skylax, Nearchus refer to
details of Greek invasions of India.
Greek ambassador Megasthenes’ book Indica gives us details
about social, political, economic details of Mauryan Empire.
Roman Historian Pliny wrote about Indian animals, plants
and mineral in the 1st century AD.
Egyptian historians – The geographer Ptolemy gives details
of Indians during the 2nd century AD. He gives geographical details.
Unknown authors – The anonymous authors’ ‘The Periplus of
the Erytherian Sea’ – this unknown author had visited India in 80 AD and he
records the port harbor and trade of India together with Maritime activities of
Indians.
Chinese travelers – Three Chinese travelers Fa Hein, Huien
T-Sang and It-Sing visited India from fifth to sixth century AD
Fa Hein (339-414 AD) – Visited India during the rule of
Emperor Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) and has recorded his experiences about
India and Indian people in a large volume. It gives us details about the social,
religious and political conditions of the Gupta Empire.
Huien T-Sang (626-645 AD) – is called the ‘Prince of
Pilgrims’. He stayed in India, studied at Nalanda university and participated
in religious assembly conducted by King Harsha at Kanauj. His book the ‘Record of
Western World’ is very useful for writing of the history of the period.
It-Sing visited India in seventh century AD. He records social
and religious conditions of India at that time.
Arab accounts
Al-Masudi the Arab historian has written about the hsiotry of Kanauj in 9th century AD.
Alberuni – visited India along with Mahmud Ghazni and his
book ‘Tehqiq – I – Hind’ (Tarikh I Hind) gives details of India in 1030 AD. He was
a scholar and translated Sanskrit sources. Alberuni also wrote from what he
read and not from what he saw. This is a drawback of his account as it can be
bias, but his accounts are useful for knowing the general condition of the
time.
Foreign accounts are useful as they can be verified with
other archaeological sources. The only drawback which must be kept in mind is
that the language, customs and traditions of Indian people could be presented
in a bias manner.
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