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DAILY
CLASS NOTES
HISTORY

Lecture - 02
History (Part-2)
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History (Part-2)

Changing Approaches to the study of Ancient Indian History:

Apart from the study of ancient texts, the 19th century witnessed developments in
epigraphy, numismatics, archaeology, and the study of art and architecture. The
decipherment of Ashokan Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts was a breakthrough. In recent
decades there have been four main schools of historiography in how historians study
India: Cambridge, Nationalist, Marxist, and subaltern. The once common "Orientalist"
approach, with its image of a sensuous, inscrutable, and wholly spiritual India, has died
out in serious scholarship. History writing in Ancient India started with the coming of
Europeans to India. Even though Indians possessed historical works, like Rajatarangini,
and Puranas, modern history writing as is understood today began with the Europeans.
Modern research regarding early Indian history started in the eighteenth century because
of the needs of the colonial administration set up by the British. Initially, the Manusmriti
was translated into English as the Code of Gentoo laws in 1776. The initial efforts
culminated with the establishment of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1784 in Calcutta.
This was followed in 1789 by the translation of the drama the Abhigyan Shakuntalam
into English in 1789, and the Mahabharata’s translation by Wilkins. The greatest push to
the Indological studies was given by F. Max Muller. The Revolt of 1857 was a great eye-
opener. It was strongly realized in Britain that it badly needed a deeper knowledge of the
Manners and social systems of an alien people over whom it had to rule. Similarly, the
Christian missionaries wanted to find out the vulnerable points in the Hindu religion to
win converts and strengthen the British Empire. To meet these needs, scriptures were
translated on a massive scale under the editorship of Max Muller. In these volumes,
western historians made certain generalizations about the nature of ancient Indian
history and society. It was said that the Indians lacked a sense of history. Further, Indians
were used to despotic rule. The caste system was considered to be the most vicious form
of social discrimination. Indians had never experienced feelings of nationalism or any kind
of self-government. Such was the view of western scholars. The first systematic history of
ancient India was prefaced by Vincent Smith in the form of Early History of India in
1904. His book based on primary sources emphasized political history. His approach was
core imperialist and haughty. He emphasized the role of foreign invasions and Alexander’s
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invasion took half of the space of his book. India was presented as a land of despotism
which did not experience political unity till the establishment of British rule. In sum, the
British interpretations of Indian history served to denigrate Indian character and
achievements and justify colonial rule. However, most of the generalizations were either
false or grossly exaggerated. They could serve as good propaganda material for the
perpetuation of despotic British rule. Their emphasis on Indian traditions of the one-man
rule could justify the system which vested all powers in the hands of the Viceroy. All this
was naturally challenged by the Indian scholars, who had received western education.
They were irked by the colonialist distortions of their history and at the same time
distressed by the contrast between the decaying feudal society of India and the
progressive capitalist society of England. A band of scholars took upon the mission to
reconstruct ancient Indian history in such a manner as to make a case for social reforms,
and self-government, and in doing so most of the themes were divided by the ideas of
Hindu revivalism. But many scholars like Rajendra Lai Mitra adopted a sound approach
and wrote a book on Indo- Aryans. Others tried to prove that despite the peculiarities,
the caste system was not different from the class system based on the division of labor.
Ramakrishna Bhandarkar and Vishwanath Kashinath Raj wade emerged as two great
dedicated scholars who pieced together varied sources to reconstruct the social and
political history of the country. R.G. Bhandarkar wrote the History of the Satavahanas
and the History of Vaishnavism. V.K. Rajwade wrote the History of the Institution of
Marriage. Pandurang Vaman Kane, a great scholar, wrote the History of the
Dharmashastra. Similarly, Roychoudhari focused on political history and so did D.R.
Bhandarkar, an epigraphist who wrote a book on Asoka. K.A. Nilkanta Sastri followed the
same approach in his book, A History of South India. Until 1960, political history
attracted the largest number of Indian scholars. British Historian, A.L. Basham, a
Sanskrit’s by training questioned the wisdom of looking at ancient India from the
modern point of view. His writings show a deep interest in the materialist philosophy of
the heterodox sect. His book Wonder that was India is a systematic survey of the various
sects of ancient Indian culture and civilization. During the last twenty-five years, there
has been a sea change in the methods and orientations of those who work in ancient
India. They lay greater stress on social, economic, and cultural processes. They compare
archaeological and anthropological evidence. Unfortunately, a few Indian writers magnify
the role of religion and believe that everything good and great originated in their
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country. This does not bode well for history writing on ancient India. There is a need to
be more balanced and critical in history writing to pass correct judgments to future
generations. Only then can one have an objective view of the early history of India.

A general outline of sources of Indian History:

The two major limitations regarding the sources of ancient Indian History are
“Availability and decipherment”. The entire spectrum of available sources can be divided
into two parts viz. Literary/written sources and Material-Archaeological sources

Literary/written sources: The literary/written sources to reconstruct Ancient Indian

history can be classified among three major categories, (i) Religious, (ii) Secular, and (iii)
Scientific. It also comprised some different kinds of sources like (iv) Sangam literature
and (v) travelogues of foreign travelers.

Religious sources: Religion was the backbone of the society of the Ancient World. India
was not an exception. Hence, we find a large amount of canonical/religious literature of
various religions, prevalent in Ancient India. These throw light on the religious, and
socio-economic aspects and political thought and ideology of the period under study.
However, such sources should be used with caution. Because, first of all, most of the
religious sources are retained through oral traditions and put into writing, hundreds of
years after their actual creation. Besides, ‘what-we-have-now’ are the editions of actual
writings. Secondly, religious literature was mainly written to guide with an idealist
approach. Hence, whatever is written is there, is a ‘dos and don’ts’ kind of nature and
not ‘as-actual’. Sometimes, the body of works like Puranas, though written in the 4th
century AD onwards, is written as if they were created 1000 years before and
prophesying something about 1000 years after! Hence, with tools like internal and
external criticism, a historian can make use of these sources and reconstruct the history
of Ancient India.

Vedic/Hindu canonical literature:

It comprised sources like four Vedas, Brahmans, Aranyakas, Upanishads, Shad-
darshanas, Shad-Angas, Sutras, Smritis, and Puranas.
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Buddhist Canonical Literature: Buddhism was the religion of the masses; hence, their
literature and their language of them were maintained by the followers. Hence, these are
in various languages, like, Prakrit (Pali), Tibetan, Chinese, Sinhala, etc. To challenge Vedic
religion, these were also written in the Sanskrit language. The vast body of Buddhist
literature comprised, mainly, the Pitakas, the Jatakas, etc.

Jain Canonical Literature: Ancient Jain literature is in various languages, like, Prakrit
(Ardhamagadhi, Shaurseni), Tamil, Sanskrit, etc. The literature can mainly be classified
into two parts, viz. Anga (14) and Agamas (purva). Besides, Chedasutras (6) and
Mulsutras (4) are also important parts of it. The Material/Archaeological sources
comprised (i) Inscriptions, (ii) Coins, (iii) Ancient Monuments, (iv) Sculptures & Paintings,
and (v) Archaeological Remains (i)

Inscriptions:
After contact between Persian and India, India came to know the importance of ‘art-in-
stone. Being a stable material, stones were used for engraving the king’s orders, policies,
and outlooks to the public and kept for time immemorial. These were also used for
issuing land grants to the grantee. With the same notion, court poets also engraved
eulogies by using such material to make them immortal. These are generally called
inscriptions and are written, either on rock or pillars. These are called Epigraphs or
edicts.

Epigraphs: The earliest epigraphs in India are those of Ashoka, the Mauryan Empire.
These were inscribed on rocks. Asoka also put up pillars in public places or places where
people can gather easily; and, inscribed them. Other inscriptions of importance
comprised Naganika’s inscription at Naneghat which gives information about various
sacrifices, performed by Satavahana King Satakarni I and his deeds . Gautami Balashri’s
and Yadnya Satkarani’s inscriptions at Nasik caves give information on the adventures of
Gautamiputra Satkarni, the great Satavahana king.

Kharvela’s inscription at Hathigumpa tells his deeds.

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Harisena’s inscription (eulogy) on the pillar of Allahabad (called ‘Prayagprashasti),

informs us about the adventures and campaigns of Samudragupta, the great Gupta
emperor.

Ravikirti’s eulogy at Aihole informs us about the adventures of Pulkeshi II, the Chalukya
king of Badami.

So far the epigraphs for ‘land grants’ are concerned; we find lots of information in there.
Like, as the king or issuing authority, his lineages, mythical origins of his dynasty, his
kingdom and its extent, then; the origin/gotra of the grantee; then; the purpose of the
grant, the extent and limits of granted land, list of rights and privileges to the grantee,
punishments to the trespassers or violators of the grant, etc. Such epigraphs, along with
the king’s biographical sketch, as immovable, also inform us about the extent of the
kingdom of the issuer.

Copper plates: Generally for ‘land grants’ the copper plates were engraved and issued to
the grantee. These are basically three plates of copper, tied with each other through the
copper knot. The upper and last portions are left unengraved as these can be blurred
with the ravages of time. Such copper-plate reveals the same information that is in the
land grants, engraved as epigraphs. Such copper plates give information on the
socioeconomic condition of that period. For example, the ‘Sauhagaura-copper plate’
informs us about severed draught and the measures undertaken by authorities to tackle
the problem of food shortage.

Coins:
Since the 6th century BC we receive information regarding coins in India. The earliest
were crude and punch-marked silver coins; then, after the stability of foreigners in India
like Greek, Kushanas, Parthian, round, cast-coins with busts of kings-Deities, their titles,
etc. With their influence, Indian dynasties also came up with developed coins. However,
those were the Guptas who came up with fully developed coins.
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Ancient Architecture/Monuments:
Earlier, during Stone Age, people took shelter in caves. However, the invention of
agriculture compelled them to reside on plains. Thus, the houses get started from the
Neolithic period. Initially, those were made from perishable materials like wood and
grass, hence, except for post-holes, we find nothing of that. The scenario changed when
burnt bricks were started utilized for constructing houses or public architecture or so-
called Ancient Monuments. This can be witnessed in the Chalcolithic period. Since then,
India witnessed developments and variations in material, as well as, types of
construction, public/civic, and individual. These, broadly, can be classified into Secular
and Religious architecture.

Secular Architecture/monuments:
So far the public and secular architecture is concerned; the first instances were brought
from western and north-western India which is the Harappan civilization of the
Chalcolithic period. During the Harappan civilization, India went through its first
urbanization. Hence, public/civic architecture of utmost importance has dotted these
cities. These comprised, long-wide roads, huge bathing places, tanks, religious places,
granaries/warehouses, thrashing floors, dockyards, man-made ports, sanitary
arrangements like bathrooms and gutters, stadiums, pavilions, palaces, fortifications,
bastions, etc. The site of Inamgaon, during the Chalcolithic period, also came up with a
large bund and canal. Then, in Maurayan and post-Mauryan periods, we find large
fortifications (Pataliputra), palaces (Pataliputra), stadiums (Nagarjunkonda), flights of
steps to the rivers (Nagarjunkonda), etc. The remains of houses also give information on
the standard of life and living conditions of that period. It also throws light on the civic
sense and personal hygiene of concerned people. Such sources give us information on
socio-economic conditions, the role of polity, defensive strategies, water management,
civic sense, and the lifestyle of the people of concern period.
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Religious Monuments:
The religious monuments started showing up during the Mauryan period. It started with
the caves of Ajivakas (at Barabar and Nagarujuni hills: Bihar), then, we find a large
number of Buddhist monuments in India. Then, since the Gupta period, we find the
beginning, growth, and classicality of Hindu monuments in India.

Buddhist Stupas, Chaityas, and Viharas:

Since the Early Historic period, India was dotted with Buddhist Stupas, Chaityas, and
Viharas. At the outset, the construction began in Northern India; then through Gujarat,
percolated to Maharashtra; and through Orissa, came to Andhra Pradesh. The Stupas
were created on the physical remains or used equipment of Buddha or noteworthy
Buddhist monks. These stupas were surrounded by beautifully decorative Gate-ways
(torana), e.g. stupas at Sanchi, Barhut (Madhya Pradesh); Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh);
Pauni, Kolhapur (Maharashtra); Sannati (Karnataka).

Hindu Temples: Since the Gupta period we witness the beginning of separate temple
architecture. Initially, drawing influenced form Buddhist cave art, these were started in
caves. However, to congregate large masses, these descended on plains. The first
experiment in separate-temple architecture can be seen in modest temple No. 7, at
Sanchi. It only comprises two parts, garbhagriha (sanctum) and mukhamandapa (frontal
space). Then, through Tigava, Nachana, and Devgadh (all in Madhya Pradesh), a
complete temple with a ‘garbhagriha-enclosed path of pradakshina-mukhmandapa at
three sides and pier’ emerged; and that is with beautiful sculptures. The treatment of the
Shikhara was to maintain it high, hence, it got narrower to the top. Hence, when a
viewer looks at the temple his gaze goes straight, from base to top. Such a style is called
the ‘Nagara style’. However, in Deccan and South India, the progress was different. At
the outset, Chalukyas experimented with Temple architecture, from rock-cut temples
(Badami) to separate temples (Pattadakal and Aihole). Near about the same time,
Pallavas created temples in rock-cut fashion (the ‘Ratha Temples at Mahabalipuram).
Then, Cholas came up with huge temples. Drawing from these experiments, the
Rashtrakutas 24 undertook an experiment of a beautiful temple; however, in a rock-cut
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fashion. That ithe s the Kailasa temple of Ellora. These temples in Deccan and South India
generally use stone slaplacedcing upon each other for the Shikharas. Hence, the Shikhara
looks steps-like, presenting a squat impression. Such, architectural style is known as the
‘Dravida style’.

Sculptures & Paintings Sculptures: The Harappan period we find evidence of sculptures in
India. These were made of various materials, like, stone, steatite, clay, terracotta, lime,
bronze, ivory, wood, etc. Some of them got placed in shrines and became idols or icons.
Some of them were made to beautify the walls of temples. Some of them were individual
sculptures, made for various purposes, like as toys and for entertainment. The bronze
statues of dancers (Harappan civilization) and toys (Diamabad) during the Chalcolithic
period show artistic merit, as well as expertise in the metallurgy of India. Various other
statues of the same period indicate places of entertainment, hairstyles, ornaments, and
costume of Harappans. The same is true with terracotta toys, which belonged to the
Shunga period. The Mauryan sculptures, like, the Yakshi of Didarganj indicate the
contemporary affluence and aesthetic sense of people. The sculptural reliefs on the
gateways of stupas (Sanchi, Barhut), not only display the growth of Buddhist ideology
but also of various other things like flora, fauna, civic architecture, etc. The statue of
Kanishka indicates the foreign origin of the king and costume of foreign style, like, high
shoes, overcoats, etc. Bronze statue of Poseidon and relieves on plates/mirror handles
(Kolhapur) indicate the trade relationship between Kolhapur and Rome during the
Satavahana period. The same is true of the finding of the ivory figure of Laxmi of Ter at
the site of Pompeii (in Rome). Gupta sculptures indicate the high artistic merit India
achieved during that period. At this time, the science of sculptures had attained
perfection and classicality. Hence, after the Gupta period, the sculptures were made on
the same models, that were determined during the Gupta period. Whereas the
development of icons/idols (individual sculptures for worship) regarding their poses and
the weapons they carry indicates, the development of religious ideology and the influence
they draw from various sources. These also indicate the synchronization of various cults.
A separate branch ‘Iconography’ studies such developments.
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Paintings: Earliest instances of paintings can be found in the rock shelters of Bhimbetaka
(Madhya Pradesh). These were drawn by Mesolithic cave-dwellers by using colors and
tools from his surrounding nature. Through these rock paintings, we can understand the
lifestyle of Mesolithic people; like their way of living, methods of hunting, the flora, and
fauna in their surroundings, etc. Then, we find beautiful paintings, especially from Ajanta
and then at Bagh. The world-famous paintings of Ajanta give us information about
religious ideology, spiritual serenity, ornaments, costumes, foreign visitors, etc. And of
course, through these paintings, we can understand the artistic merit and great esthetic
sense of the concerned period. Whereas, the paintings of the Chola king on the walls of
temples in Tamil Nadu, display the concept of ‘divine kingship’ of Chola polity.

Archaeological Remains: People settles-people live-create institutions and physical

structures and in some unfavorable conditions leave the place. The place gets abandoned
with material remains that people have left behind unintentionally. Then, by the
environmental 26 agents like wind, soil, and rain, a heap of soil gets accumulated in that
place. Then, again the next group of people settles over there. Then, the same cycle
continues. Thus, after a sequence of repeated settlements and abandoning, a heap of soil
forms over that place. Such heaps are called ‘archaeological mounds’, hiding in their belly
the history of mankind. Then certain kinds of historians, called archeologists unearthed
these mounds, called an excavation. Through excavation, archaeologists exposed the
hidden history of that specific settlement. The archaeological material they unearthed
can be used as sources for the reconstruction of the history of that particular settlement.
The material helps us to reconstruct the history of: those common people who were
disregarded by the written source; those periods before the discovery of writing; to
supplement the history, reconstructed by written sources. Following is a brief list of
archaeological material that can be used as a source:

Pottery:
During Protohistory up to the Early Medieval period, the base equipment of the common
people was pottery. The Pottery or ‘ceramic assemblage’ comprised various items, like,
bowls, plates, pots, etc. It should be noted the pottery gets differentiated according to
the respective culture that created them. The difference lies in shapes, fabrics, surface
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treatment (fabric, color, designs, painting), pottery-making technique, etc. Thus, a

specific pottery type is assigned to a particular culture/period. With such logic,
archaeologists can date the site relatively based on these differences. Hence, pottery is
considered the alphabet of that site. Beads Since time immemorial the bead industry is
one of the world-famous industries of India. These were made of various materials, like,
stone, semi-precious stones (like Agate, Chalcedony, Crystal, Turquoise, Lapis-lazuli),
glass, metals like gold, copper; terra cotta, ivory, shell, etc. Besides, those were of
different shapes like round, square, cylindrical, barrel-shaped, etc. The technology was so
higher that we have achieved the technique of making beads, inlaying other metal into
them. These can be used as a source to know the technological development & esthetic
sense of a specific period.
Faunal Remains/Bones: Excavations reveal a large number of bones or faunal remains.
These shed light on the surrounding historical ecology or ecosystem of that particular site.
Besides, we can also understand the dietary habits of concerned people.
Floral Remains: The floral remains also give us information on the surrounding historical
ecology and dietary habits of the concerned people.

Foundations of Architecture:
During horizontal excavations, we come across the foundation of architecture of the
related period. The architecture comprised civic architecture like huts, houses, palaces,
stadiums, assembly halls, bath-rooms, ware-houses, activity areas like kitchen-
bedrooms-hall-verandah-thrashing floors; a road, system of sanitation, water source,
etc. On these bases and the layout of sites, we can know the standard of living of the
people, besides, the spatial distribution in the area indicates the social division of a
particular period, if any. The structures like bunds/docks throw light on the economy
and technological development, attained by these people. Whereas; defensive
architectures, like fortifications, bastions, and moats indicate the affluence of that
particular site and the quantum of threat to that site.

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