indian history

1885	W.C. Bannerjee	Bombay
1886	Dadabhai Naroji	Calcutta
1887	Badruddin Tyabji	Madras
1888	George Yule	Allahabad
1889	William Weederburn	Bombay
1905	G.K. Gokhale	Banaras – Issues like welcoming the prince of wales led to feud
1906	Dadabhai Naoroji	Calcutta – Approval of issues of swadesi & national education.
		Dadabhai Naoroji was chosen as compromise president. He
		declared swaraj as the objective.
1907	Rashbihari Bose	Surat – split
1912	R.N. Madholkar	Bankipur. Shortest session as the efforts to make Aga Khan
		preside over proved futile.
1916	Ambika Charan	Lucknow.
	Mazumdar
1920		Calcuttta. Approval of Non cooperation Movement
1921		Ahmedabad – intensify Non Copperation Movement.
1924	Mahatma Gandhi	Belgaun
1928	Motilal Nehru	Calcutta. Adopted the Nehru Report – Constitution.
1929	Jawahar Nehru	Lahore. The resolution demanding complete independence was
		passed on the banks of river Ravi.
1930		No session but Independence Day Pledge adopted on 26th January
1938	S.C. Bose	Haripura.
1939	S.C. Bose	Tripuri. Formed ‘Forward Bloc’.

 

 

Harijan Bandhu, Harijan Sevak			Mahatma Gandhi
Samvad Kaumudi, Mirat-al-Akhbar			Raja Ram Mohun Roy
Tattvabodhini Patrika			Maharishi Devendranath Tagore
Indian Mirror			Maharishi Devendranath Tagore
Banga Darshan			Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay
Maratha (English) & Kesari (Marathi)			Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak
The Punjabi, ‘The Pupil’ (English)			Lala Lajpat Rai
New India			Bipin Chandra Pal
Bande Matram			Bipin Chandra Pal (Editing by Aurobindo Ghosh)
Yugantar			Barindra Kumar Ghose & Bhupendra Dutta (Anushilan Samiti)
Talwar			Verendranath Chattopadhyay
New India			Annie Besant (Demanding Home Rule)
Common Will			Annie Besant (Demanding Home Rule)
Indian Sociologist (London)			Shyamji Krishnaverma
Bandi Jivan			Sachindranath Sanyal
Al-Hilal			Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (during Khilafat)
The Comrade			Mohammad Ali  (during Khilafat movement)
Nation			G.K. Gokhale
Karmyogi			Aurobindo Ghosh
Prabudha Bharat, Udbodhava			Vivekananda
Darpan			Bal Shastri Jambekar
Socialist			S.A. Dange.

Wahabi	Shah Abdul Aziz & Saiyed Ahmad Raebarelvi. Objective was to reform the Muslim
Movement	society& convert ‘Dur-ul-Harb’ (Non-Islamic community) into ‘Dar-ul-Islam’.
	Origianlly the movement was started in Arabia by Muhammad Ibn-Aba-e-Wahid.
	Its main centre was Patna, Sittana (NW province).
Kuka	Bhai Ram Singh (Disciple of Bhai Balak Singh). It is also called Namdhari Mission.
Movement	Bhai Ram Singh asked his followers to worship cow & run langars, wear white clothes
	& not use any foreign commodity or service. Bhai Ram Singh was deported to Burma.
Santhal	Siddhu, Khanhu, Chand & Bhareo (four sons of Chulu Santhal of Raj Mahal district).
Rebellion	Under the Permanent Settlement of 1793 the lands of Santhal passed to Zamidars &
1855-56	later to European Indigo planters. 10,000 santhals were killed in this rebellion. After
	this the area was put under the direct control of the Governor General & was named
	Santhal Paragana.

Vasudeo Balwant Phadke was born in Maharashtra. He left the army & became a revolutionary. Later deported to Aden & died in 1883. He may be justly called the father of militant nationalism in India.

 

Kisan	Launched by Lala Lajpat Rai & Ajit Singh. The passing of the 1906 Punjab Land
Movements	Revenue Act & heavy increase in water tax caused panic. The poem of Banke Dayal,
	‘Pagri Sambhal O Jatta’ became famous. Lala & Ajit Singh were sentenced to 6 months
	prison. Later the DSP of Layalpur Clough was assassinated. Ajit Singh escaped to
	France while Bhai Parmanand’s house search yielded a book on bomb making.
Moplah	Khilafat movement in Malabar incited communal feelings in Muslim peasants directed
Rebellion	towards Hindu land holders.

Rajaram Mohun		Laid stress on the study of English & established the Hindu College in Calcutta
Roy		alongwith David Hare.
Maharishi		The grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore. He inspired a number of thinkers like
Devendranath		Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar & Akshay Kumar Datta who became Brahmo Samaj
Tagore		members.  He  din’t  perform  his  fathers  antyeshti  samskara  as  it  involved  idol
		worship.
Keshav Chandra		He was greatly inspired with the lives of John the Baptist, Jesus Christ & hence he

 

Sen	came in confrontation with Devendranath Tagore. Consequently the Brahmo Samaj
	was split into the Brahmo Samaj of India under him & Adi Brahmo Samaj under
	Devendranath. He opposed child marriage but married her own minor daughter to
	Maharaja of Cooch-Behar. Hence there was a further split into Neo Brahmo Samaj
	under him & Sadharan Brahmo Samaj
Ishwar Chandra	Became principal of Sanskrit college in Calcutta. Opened the Sanskrit college for
Vidyasagar	non  Brahmin  students.  He  founded  ‘Bethune  School  at  Calcutta’  to  encourage
	female education.
Bankim Chandra	First graduate of Calcutta University which was estd in 1857 based on the lines of
	Macaulay Minute. He became a deputy collector. Wrote the famous Bande Matram
	(Anand Math) & published Banga Darshan magazine.
Ramakrishna	Became a priest in the temple of Goddess Kali at Dakshineshwar.
Paramhamsa	(1836-86)
Swami	In 1893 he attened the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. In 1897 he established
Vivekanand	the  Ramakrishna  Mission.  His  disciple,  Sister  Nivedita  even  helped  many
(1863-1902)	revolutionaries from Bengal directly.
Swami Dayananda	Known in early life as Mul Shankar & born in Gujarat. Received his education at
1824-83	the feet of Swami Virajananda at Mathura. Founded Arya Samaj in 1875 based on
	a set of 28 principles (later 10). He estd the HQ of Arya Samaj at Lahore. Passed
	away on Diwali at Jodhpur following the mixing of glass powder in his drink.
	Through his Satyartha Prakasha he emphasized Vedas. He laid emphasis on the
	worship  of  a  formless  god  &  abandonment  of  idolatory.  He  emphasized  on
	Ashrama system of education. He stressed on swadeshi, swadharma, swabhasha &
	swarajya. He considered Vedas as infallible.
Jyotibha Phule	In  1873  he  founded  Satya  Shodhak  Samaj.  Gave  testimony  before  Hunter
	Commission against Christian missionaries. Later given the title ‘Mahatma’.
Sayyid Ahmad	In 1875 founded the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh which later
Khan	became Aligarh University. Opposed polygamy, purdah, abolition of the practice of
	easy divorce, reform in madrasa.
	Freedom Fighters
Lokmanya Tilak	Introduced the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi & Shivaji festivals. Paticipated in
1856-1920	Home Rule Movement in 1916. Called by Britishers as ‘Biggest Traitor’ & ‘Father
	of Indian dissatisfaction’
Lala Lajpat Rai	Sher-e-Punjab. Was sent to Jail at Mandey on the charges of seditious activities.
Sri Aurobindo	His development of National education & editing of Bande Mataram (started by
Ghosh	Bipin Chandra Pal) gave momentum to Bengal partition movement. Left Baroda to
	work in the National College in Calcutta.
Chapekar Brothers	Chapekar Brothers – Damodar & Balakrishna. Killed two British officials Rand &
	Aryst. Celcbrated Shivaji & Ganesh Utsavs.
Savarkar Brothers	Ganesh  Savarkar,  Vinayak  Damodar  Savarkar  &  Narayana  Savarkar.  V.D.
	Savarkar organized the New India Association in London. Organizing lectures at
	the  India  House  founded  by  Shyamji  Krishna  Verma.  He  was  linked  to  the
	assassination  of  Jackson  at  Aurangabad.  Sentenced  to  imprisonment  in  the
	Andamans from 1911-24.
Shyamji Krishna	India  House  had  become  centre  of  V.D  Savarkar,  Sardar  Singh  Rana,  Madam
Verma	Bhikaji kama & Madan Lal Dhingra.
Madam Kama	Represented India in the International Conference at Stutteguard in Germany.

 

 

 

Madan Lal	He short dead the assistant of the Secretary of State Curzon Wyllie. Gopal Krishna
Dhingra	Gokhale clled it as a heinous act meant to spoil the name of India.
Chandra Shekhar	Involved in the assassination of Saunders (officer who ordered the Lathi Charge in
Azad	which Lala Lajpat was killed), alongwith Bhagat Singh & Rajguru. He had chalked
	out a plan to blow up the train in which the Viceroy Lord Irwin was traveling. He
	was killed in a police encounter  at Alfred Park in Allahabad.
Harkishen Talwar	Shot  the  Governor  of  Punjab  but  the  latter  escaped  with  injuries  only  Later
	Harkishen was hanged.
Bhagat Singh	In association with Chhabil Das & Yashpal he had founded the Punjab Naujavan
	Bharat Sabha.
Rani Gaidinliu	Lead the Nagas in the revolt. Yadunaga was the other leader.
Subhas Chandra	Passed  the Civils  in  1920 but  preferred to  serve  the  nationalist  cause. He  was
Bose	elected  the  Mayor  of  Calcutta  in  1923  but  soon  arrested  &  sent  to  Mandalay.
	Elected President at the Haripura session of Congress in 1938. He left for Kabul
	along with his friend Bhagat Ram. From there he went to Germany & met Hitler.
	He was first addressed as Netaji in Germany.
Udham Singh	Whilst living in England in 1940, Singh shot dead Sir Michael O’Dwyer, former
	Governor General of the Punjab.

 

	Later Mughals
1707-12	Bahadur Shah I
1712-13	Jahandar Shah
1713-19	Farukk Siyar
1719-48	Muhammad Shah Rangila
1748-54	Ahmad Shah
1754-59	Alamgir II
1759-1806	Shah Alam II
1806-1837	Akbar Shah II
1837-57	Bahadur Shah II

 

	Later Mughal Rulers
Bahadur Shah I	After the death of Aurangzeb, prince Muazzam, Azam & Kam Bakhsh fought in
1707-1712	which Mauzzam emerged victorious & assumed the title of Bahadur Shah I. Banda
	Bahadur who killed Wazir khanwas defeated by him. Was referred to as ‘Shah-i-
	Bekhabar’.
Jahandar Shah	Later after Bahadur Shah’s death, his son Jahandar Shah came to power after killing
1712-13	his other brothers with the help of Zulfikar Khan. He made peace with the Jats,
	Shahuji & honoured rajput kings.
Farrukh Siyar	Nephew  of  Jahandar  Shah,  Farrukh  Siyar  killed  him  with  the  help  of  Sayyid
1713-19	brothers – Abdulla Khan (Wazir) & Hussain Ali Khan (Mir Bakshi). Farrukh Siyar
	tried to check the powers of Sayyid brothers but the latter got him killed & crowned
	two princes Raffi-ud-Darajat, Raffi-ud-Daula in quick succession. Later they made
	Muhammad Shah (Grandson of Bahadur Shah I) as the king. After his accession the
	Sayyid brothers fell victim to the intrigue of Turani Amirs.
Muhammad	During his tenure most the independent kingdoms were established: Nizam-ul-Mulk
Shah Rangila	(Deccan),  Saadat  Khan  (Awadh)  &  Murshid  Quli  Khan  (Bengal).  Iranian  King
1719-48	Nadir Shah invaded in 1739 on invitation of Saadat Khan (Awadh). The latter was
	imprisoned by Nadir Shah for not able to pay the promised ransom. Nadir Shah
	took the peacock throne & the Kohinoor diamond with him.
Ahmad Shah	Son of Muhammad Shah. During his reign Ahmad Shah Abdali (claimed himself
1748-54	ruler  of  Kandhar  after  the  assassination  of  Nadir  Shah  by  Persian  in  1747)
	repeatedly attacked. Later Ahmad Shah was killed & deposed by his own Wazir
	Imad-ul-Mulk.
Alamgir II	Actual name Aziz-ud-din. Frequency of Abdali attacks increased. [1754-59]
Shah Alam II	1759-1806
Akbar Shah II	1806-1837
Bahadur Shah II	1837-57

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

					Other Contemporary States
	Bihar			After Saadat Khan, *Safdarjung* became the king  who was an impartial ruler &
				carried out many reforms & was made the wazir of mughal empire. Shuja-ud-Daula
				succeded him to throne. He was also made the wazir of mughal empire but he sided
				with Ahmad Shah Abdali in the Third Battle of Panipat.
	Bengal			Murshid Quli Khan was an able ruler. Later his son in law Shuja-ud-din & his son
				Sarfaraz came in that order. Sarfaraz was defeated by Alivardi Khan of Bihar. Later
				Alivardi Khan was defeated by Raghuji Bhonsle & forced him to surrender Orissa.
				After the death of Alivardi khan his grandson Siraj-ud-daula tool over who lost to
				Britishers under Lord Clive.
	Hyderabad			Nizam-ul-mulk Asaf Jah founded the state of Hyderabad in 1724.
	Mysore &			Since the downfall of the Vijaynagar empire Wodeyar dynasty was ruling. But in
	Haider Ali			the 18th century two minister Nanjaraj & Devaraj usurped power early reducing the
				King Krishna Raj to a puppet. Haider Ali rose to become the Commander-in-Chief
				of the Mysore army & became the sultan after Nanjraj’s death. He was defeated by
				Peshwa Madhav Rao.
	Tipu Sultan			He defeated the combined forces of Marathas & Nizam in 1787 & soon after
				claimed himself Padshah at Seringapattam. He attempted to reduce the custom of
				jagirs& hereditary possession of poligars (small chieftans). He was a staunch
				muslim. He donated money to hindus but later got the temples abolished.
	Travancore			Martanda Verma
	Rajput States			Marwar (Ajit Singh), Amer (Sawai Jai Singh)
	Rohilkhand			Area between Agra & Awadh. Muhammad Khan Bangash ruled who was defeated
				by Maharana Chhatrasal of Bundelkhand with the help of Marathas.
	Sikhs			Ruler of one of the 12 Misls called Sukarchakiya. He with the help of his brave
				commander Hari Singh Nalwa won Multan, Kashmir & Peshawar.
					The Peshwas
	1713-20		Balaji Vishwanath		Shahu appointed him as the Peshwa.
	1720-40		Baji Rao I		Baji Rao I succeded who was the most charismatic leader in
					Maratha history after Shivaji.He conquered Malwa, Bundelkhand
					& even raided Delhi.
	1740-61		Balaji Baji Rao		Son of Baji Rao I  Balaji Baji Rao (Nana Saheb – different from
					the later Nana Saheb, adopted son of Baji Rao II) who defeated
					the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Maratha however received a
					terrible blow at the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761-Panipat
	1761-72		Madhav Rao I		Defeated Nizam, Mysore, Rohillas, Rajputs Jats. In 1771 he
					confined the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II  by giving pension.
	1772-73		Narayan Rao		Short tenure. Tussle with Ragunath Rao over Peshwa claim.
	1774-95		Madhav Rao II		Became Peshwa after treaty of Salbai supported by Nana
					Phadnavis.  In the meantime Mahadji Scindia who had brought
					Shah Alam under his control became the actual ruler of Delhi till
					his death in 1794.
	1796-1818		Baji Rao II		Incompetent son of Raghunath Rao (who was had earlier stuggled
					with Narayan Rao to become Peshwa & sided with Britishers)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	Important Battles
1744-48	First Anglo-French Carnatic war. Madras returned to British by the treaty of Aix-la-
	Chappalle. In battle of St. Thome, a small French Army defeated Nawab Anwar-ud-
	din’s large one.
1748-54	Second Anglo French Carnatic war. The French sided with Muzaffar Jang (grandson of
	Asaf Jah) & Chanda Sahib (in Carnatic) while the Enlish supported the claims of Nasir
	Jang (son of late Nizam, Asaf Jah) & Anwar-ud-din (Carnatic) Initially the French
	under Dupleix had success (& stationed officer Bussy at Hyderabad) but later the
	English got hold. Treaty of Pondicherry signed.
1757-63	Third Anglo French Carnatic war. French captured Fort St. David. Lally did the
	mistake of recalling Bussy from Hyderabad. Later the French were badly routed at
	Wandiwash by the British under Sir Eyre Coote.
1757	Battle of Plassey. British under clive & treacher Mir Jaffar routed Siraj-ud-daula. Mir
	Jafar was made Bengal but later replaced by his son-in-law Mir Kasim. He revolted &
	was again replaced by Mir Jafar.
1760	Battle of Wandiwash. French decisively defeated
1761	Third Battle of Panipat. Marathas defeated by Ahmad Shah Abdali
1764	Battle of Buxar. Mir Kasim, Shuja-ud-daula & Shah Alam II defeated by Major Munro.
	Treaty of Allahabad signed which gave the diwani of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa & Bihar to
	the Enlish & trading rights in Awadh. Shah Alam on pension of 26 laksh/annum.
1767-69	I Anglo Mysore war. Both the British & Haider Ali returned each others territories The
	britisheres committed to help Haider against a third party invasion
1775-82	First Anglo Maratha war. The British army was defeated. The humiliating convention
	of Wadgaon was concluded in which the company was required to give up all the
	advantages of Treaty of Purandhar. Peace was at last restored by treaty of Salbai signed
	between Warren Hastings & Mahdji Scindia whereby salsette & Bassein were given to
	the British.
1780-84	II Anglo Mysore War. In 1782 Haider Ali passed away due to illness leaving the
	struggle to Tipu. War concluded by treaty of Mangalore
1790-92	III Anglo Mysore war. Tipu signed the treaty of Seringapattam
1799	IV Anglo Mysore war. When the subsidiary alliance was offered to Tipu Sultan he
	flatly refused & hence the war happened in which the Marathas & the Nizam helped the
	Britishers. Tipu died fighting the war.
1803-1805	Second Anglo Maratha war. Marathas defeated.
1814-16	Anglo Nepal war. War came to an end by treaty of Sagauli
1817-19	Third Anglo Maratha war. Marathas decisively defeated
1823-26	First Anglo Burmese war. Buremese defeated & conducted Treaty of Yandahboo
1839-42	First Anglo Afghan war. The Britishers were defeated.
1845-46	First Anglo-Sikh war. Sikhs defeated & Treaty of Lahore conducted
1848-49	Second Anglo Sikh war. Sikhs defeated & Punjab annexed to British. Maharaja Dalip
	Singh given an annual pension of 50,000 pounds & sent to England for higher studies
	& later converted to Christianity. The Kohinoor was gifted to Queen Victoria.
1852	Second Anglo Burmese war. English successful
1878-80	Second Anglo Afghan war. English suffered losses.
1885-87	Third Anglo Burmese war. English annexed Burma
1919-21	Third Anglo Afghan war. English though victorious did not benefit from the war.

 

 

 

 

 

					Important Treaties
	Treaty of Pondicherry				After the II Carnatic war. Muhammad Ali, son of late Anwar-ud-din was
					accepted as the Nawab of Carnatic.
	Treaty of Mangalore				Signed between Tipu & British in 1784. Under this Tipu withdrew his army
1784					from Carnatic & English withdrew theirs from the Carnatic.
	Treaty of Seringapattam				After III Anglo Mysore war. Tipu had to pay heavy war indemnity & send as
1792					hostages his two sons to the English. Half of his territory was ceded. He paid
					the war indemnity & his two sons were released.
	Treaty of Amritsar 1809				Signed between British & Ranjit Singh in which the latter recognized their
					rights in the Cis-Sutlej areas.
	Treaty of Sagauli				After Anglo Nepalese war. The Gurkhas gave up their claim over the Tarai
					region& ceded claim over the areas of Kumaon & Garhwal to the British.
	Treaty of Lahore				After the first Anglo Sikh war. The territories lying to the south of river
					Sutlej  were given to the company.
					Land Settlements
	Zamindari System (19%)				Bengal, Bihar, Banaras, division of NW provinces & northern Carnatic.
					90 % of the revenue went to government & 10 % to Zamindar (British)
	Mahalwari System (30%)				Major parts of NW provinces, Central provinces & Punjab. Responsibility
					of paying revenue was with the entire village or mahal. (Based on
					traditional Indian system of economic community)
	Ryotwari system (51%)				Bombay & Madras presidencies, Assam, Berar & certain other parts. Land
					revenue was fixed for 20-40 years at a time (French in Origin)
					Books/Articles & Authors (Modern)
		Ghulamgiri (challenged superiority of Brahmins)					Jyotiba Phule
		Tuhfat-ul-Muwahhidin (Gift to Monotheists in Persian)					Raja Rammohun Roy
		Dharma Tritiya Ratna, Ishvara & Life of Shivaji					Jyotiba Phule
		New Lamp for the Old (Series of Articles criticizing Congress)					Aurobindo Ghosh
		Doctrine of Passive Resistance (Articles in Bande Mataram)					Aurobindo Ghosh
		Indian War of Independence (seized by British)					V.D. Savarkar
		Loyal Muhammadans of India					Sayyid Ahmad Khan
		Tahaib-al-Akhlaq					Sayyid Ahmad Khan
		Asbab-e-Bagawar-e-Hind (Held Bahadur Shah II as fool for revolting)					Sayyed Ahmad Khan
		Neel Darpan					Dinbandhu Mitra
		How did America get Freedom					Ram Prasad Bismil
		The activities of Bolsheviks, The wave of the Mind, Colour of Swadeshi,					Ram Prasad Bismil
		Revolutionary Life
		Systematic History of Ancient India					V.A. Smith
		Hindu Polity					K.P. Jayaswal
		Political History of Ancient India					H.C. Raychaudhary
		A History of Ancient India; A history of South India					K.A. Nilkant Shastri
		Hindu Civilization; Chandragupta Maurya; Asoka;					R.K. Mookerji
		Fundamental Unity of India
		History of Dharmashastra					P.V. Kane
		The Wonder That was India					A.L. Basham
			Socio-Religious Reformers & their Organizations

 

 

 

Atmiya Sabha (1815)	Raja Rammohun Roy
Brahmo Samaj (1828)	Raja Rammohun Roy.
Tattvabodhini Sabha (1839). Later merged with	Mahrishi Devendranath Tagore.
Brahmo Samaj in 1842
Indian national Social Conference	M.G. Ranade
Harijan Sevak Sangh	Mahatma Gandhi
Satya Shodhak Samaj (1873)	Jyotirao Phule (fight caste oppression)
Shri Narayana Dharma Partiplana Yogama	Shri Narayan Guru (fight caste oppression)
South Indian Liberal Federation (later became	T. Teagaraja & T.M. Nair (Self respect)
justice party & then Dravida Kazhagam)
Prarthana Samaj (1867)	Atma Ram Pandurang
Arya Samaj (1875)	Swami Dayanand
Servants of India Society (1905)	Gopal Krishna Gokhale (Rejected Knighthood)
Hindu Dharma Sangrakshini Sabha (1893 at	Chapekar Brothers – Damodar & Balakrishna.
Nasik)
Abhinav Bharat	V.D. Savarkar
New India Association	V.D. Savarkar
Anushilan Samiti	Aurobindo Ghose, Barindra Kumar Ghose, B.P.
	Mitra, Abinash Bhattacharya & Bhupendra Dutta
Patriotic Association	Sayyid Ahmad Khan
Muhammad Anglo-Oriental Defence Association	Sayyid Ahmad Khan
Bahiskrit Hitkarni Sabha (1924)	B.R. Ambedkar
Akhil Bharatiya Dalit Varg Sabha	B.R. Ambedkar

 

	Movements/Organizations
Aligarh Movement	Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan
Deoband	Represented  by  Mohammad  Qasim  Nanautavi  &  Rashid  Ahmad  Gangohi.
Movement	Nanautavi founded the ‘Dar-ul-Ullema’ madrasa at Deoband. This movement was
	strictly  based  on  Islamic  tradition unlike liberal  Aligarh movement.   The  also
	promulgated a fatwa against Sayyid Ahmad’s associations. In 1919, Mufti Liyaqat
	Ullah  Sahib  founded  the,  ‘Jamaitul  Ulema-i-Hind’  to  further  work  in  this
	direction. His role was prominent in the Khilafat movement.
Muslim League	Nawab Wakar-ul-Mulk presided over a gathering at the invitation of Nawab Salim
	Ullah of Dacca. Muslim league was the result. The constitution of the league was
	prepared in 1907 at Karachi. The first session of the league was held in 1908 at
	Amritsar. The same year Aga Khan became the president. The league supported
	partition of Bengal & was a loyalist organization. After 1913 Aga Khan left the
	league which led to the emergence of new leaders like Muhammad Ali, Shaukat
	Ali & M.A. Ansari.
Home Rule League	Estd by Annie Besant at Madras in September 1916. She was the president &
	other   members   included   Arundale,   P.C.   Ramaswamy   Iyer,   V.P.   Wadia.
	Balgangadhar Tilak had estd another Home Rule League in April 1916 at Pune.
Champaran	European  planters  forced  the  farmers  to  cultivate  Indigo  on  atleast  3/20
Satyagraha 1917	(Tinkathiya) parts of their land. Rajendra Prasad, Mazhur-ul-Haq, J.B. Kriplani,
	Mahadev Desai accompanied him. An enquiry was set up to alleviate miseries of
	which even Gandhi was a member.
Kheda Satyagraha	Kheda peasants refused to pay revenue due to failure of crops. After Satyagraha

 

 

 

 

1918	the government issued instructions to collect revenue only from those who could
	afford to pay. Indulal Yagnik & Vallabh Bhai Patel supported Gandhi.
Ahmedabad Mill	Mahatma Gandhi considered 35 % increase in salary as just. He undertook a fast
Problem 1918	unto death & the strike came to an end. Ambalal Sarabhai’s sister Anasuya Behn
	was main lieutenant of Gandhi here.
Rowlatt Act	In March 1919, the Britishers passed the Rowlatt Act according to which any
	Indian could be arrested on the basis of suspicion. A nationwide satyagraha was
	organized which involved arrest of Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Satyapal, Dr. Saiffuddin
	Kitchlew & Arya Samaj leader Swami Shradhananda (shoot if you can rally).
Jallianwala Bagh	Demanded  to  know  the  whereabouts  of  Satyapal  and  Kitchlew  throught  the
Massacre	reciting of  the poem ‘Fariyad’ on the day of Baisakhi (13th  April, 1919). Martial
	law was proclaimed later at Lahore, Gujarat & Layal with curfew at Amritsar. An
	enquiry was setup under Hunter. Rabindranath Tagore renounced his title.
Khilafat Movement	Sultan of Turkey was the Caliph. The allied powers were arrayed against Turkey.
	Mulana Abul Kalam Azad, M.A. Ansari, Saiffudin Kitchlew, Maulvi Abdulbari,
	Hakim Ajmal Khan & the Ali brothers were prominent leaders. British signed the
	Treaty of Tibers, partitioned Turkey & its Sultan was made a prisoner & sent to
	Constantinople.
Non Cooperation	Approval at Congress session in 1920. Leaders like Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Annie
1920-22	Besant & Bipin Chandra Pal not in agreement & left the congress. Students took
	their names off school. Kashi Vidyapeeth, Bihar Vidyapeeth, Jamia Milia Islamia
	were set up. No Congress leader contested for elections. Mass demonstrations
	before  Duke  of  Connaught  &  Prince  of  wales.  Tilak  Swarajya  Fund  was
	established. Moplah rebellion was the ugly face. Chauri Chaura in Gorakhpur, UP
	incidence led to its recall. Congress leaders like Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das
	formed as separate group within the congress known as Swarajya Party with a
	purpose not to let the movement lapse.
AITUC	Formed  in  1920  with  Lotvala’s  help.  M.N  Roy,  Muzzafarabad  Ahmad,  S.  A
1920	Dange  &  Shaukat  Osmani  led  the  trade  unionist  movements.  The  Britishers
	leveled the kanpur/Meerut conspiracy against them.
Swaraj Party	Suspension   of   Non   Cooperation   movement   disoriented   the   leadership.
	Chittaranjan Das & Motilal Nehru were called ‘Pro-Changers’ & did not support
	the non cooperation movement. The other group was ‘no-changers’ & included C.
	Rajgopalachari, M.A. Ansari. In 1923 Das & Nehru formed the Swaraj Party at
	Allahabad with a view to take part in the 1923 Council elections. The swaraj party
	got  clear  majority  in  the  Central  legislature  &  Provincial  legislatures  except
	Bengal. After the passing away of Chittaranjan Das in 1925 the party weakened &
	further some of the leaders became corrupt. Therefore in the election of 1926 it
	suffered miserable defeat in all the provinces except Madras.
Hindustan	Established in October 1924 in Kanpur by revolutionaries like Ramprasad Bismil,
Republic	Jogesh Chatterjee, Chandrashekhar Azad and Sachindranath Sanyal. The Kakori
Associaiton 1924	Train Action was a notable act of terrorism by this group but trial prooved to be a
	major  setback.However,  the  group  was  reorganized  under  the  leadership  of
	Chandrashekhar Azad and with members like Bhagat Singh, Bhagwati Charan
	Vohra  and  Sukhdev  on  9  and  10  September  1928-  and  the  group  was  now
	christened Hindustan Socialist  Republican  Association (HSRA).  Bhagat  Singh,
	Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged in March 1931.
Communist Party	Was declared illegal in 1934. This ban continued till 1942 when there was an

 

 

 

of India 1925	agreement that the communist will support British in the war effort & sabotage the
	quit India movement. In a memorandum to the Cabinet Mission in 1946, they put
	forward a plan for the division of India into 17 sovereign states.
Bardoli Satyagraha	In Bardoli district of Surat under Vallabh Bhai Patel. The government had raised
	the tax rate by 30% despite famine.
All India States	Formed  in  1926  whose  first  session  was  held  under  the  presidentship  of  the
People Conference	famous leader of Ellore, Diwan Bahadur M. Ramachandra Rai.
Simon	The purpose was the review the Act of 1919 after a gap of ten years. The 7
Commission	member commission was labeled ‘White Men Commission’. Huge demonstration
	under Govind Vallabh Pant at Lucknow & Lala Lajpat at Lahore. The report of
	Simon  Commission  was  published  in  May  1930.  It   stated  the  constitutional
	experiment  with  Dyarchy  was  unsuccessful  &  in  its  place  recommended  the
	establishment  of  autonomous  government.  It  recommended  special  powers  to
	governor  general  &  governors  to  look  after  the  interest  of  minorities,
	strengthening  the  centre,  increasing  electorate  base  on  communal  basis,
	Indianization of defence forces, delink Burma from India & Sindh from Bombay.
	The Indians rejected the report as it gave no regard to Dominion Status. It became
	a basis for the Govt of India Act 1935.
Nehru Report,	Secretary  of  State,  Lord  Birkenhead  challenged  the  Indians  to  produce  a
1928	constitution that would be acceptable to all. A meeting held at Bombay set up a 8
	member committee headed by Motilal Nehru & others included Bose, Tej Bahadur
	Sapru, Sir Ali Imam, Shahib Qureshi, Sardar Mangal Singh, MS Anney & G.R
	Pradhan.  The  report  was  placed  before  Congress  Session  in  Calcutta  in  1928
	where it was adopted unanimously. It recommended reservation for minorities
	instead of separate electorates. Jinnah & President of Central Sikh league, Sardar
	Kharak  Singh  rejected  it.  Later  Jinnah  convened  an  All  India  Conference  of
	Muslims & drew up a list of 14 point. Jawahar & Bose were not happy with the
	dominion status.
Dandi March	Reached Dandi after marching with 78 handpicked followers & formally launched
April 1930	the Civil Disobedience Movement by breaking the Salt laws. Many muslims kept
	themselves  aloof  but  in  the  NWFP  an  organization  of  Khudai  Khidmatgar
	(Servants of Gods – Red Shirts) under Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan (Frontier Gandhi)
	participated in full.
I Round table	Held under the Chairmanship of Ramsay MacDonald. Failed to resolve any issues
Conference	as it was opposed by congress.
Nov 1930
Gandhi Irwin Pact	As  per  it  Gandhi  agreed  to  suspend  the  Civil  Disobedience  Movement  &
March 1931	participate in the Second Round Table conference but most of the leaders did not
	like this pact.
II Round Table	At London. Mahatma Gandhi returned to India as no agreement could be reached.
Conference 1931	In January 1932 the civil disobedience movement was resumed.
McDonald	The British PM Ramsay MacDonald made an announcement according to which
Communal Award	the depressed classes were considered as separate community. Mahatma Gandhi
1932	went on a fast unto death in Yeravada Jail. An agreement was reached with the
	consent of Mahatma Gandhi & Ambedkar which came to be known as ‘Poona
	Act’.  The  British  government  also  approved  it.  Accordingly  148  seats  were
	reserved in different provincial legislatures in place of 71 as per communal award.
III Round Table	The  congress  once  more  didn’t  take  part  in  it.  None  the  less  the  British

 

 

 

Conference 1932	Government issued a white paper which became basis for Govt of India Act 1935.
	Individual Civil Disobedience was launched in 1933
Congress Socialist	founded  in  1934  by  Jai  Praksh  Narain  &  Acharya  Narendra  Deva  within  the
Party 1934	Indian National Congress. Its members rejected what they saw as the Communist
	Party of India’s loyalty to the USSR as well as the anti-rational mysticism of
	Mohandas Gandhi. Although a socialist, Jawaharlal Nehru did not join the CSP.
	After independence, the CSP broke away from Congress, under the influence of JP
	Narayan and Basawon Singh (Sinha), to form the Socialist Party of India.
August Offer 1940	Envisaged that after the war a representative body of Indians would be set up to
	frame the new constitution.
Individual	Started in October 1940. In it Vinoba Bhave, Jawahar Nehru & Brahma Dutt were
Satyagraha 1940	the first 3 satyagrahis.
Cripps Mission	Viceroy  Lord  Linlithgow  expanded  is  Executive  council  by  taking  five  more
1942	Indians into it. The Indians were dissatisfied as it did not like the rights of the
	princely states to join or stay out of the Indian constitution. The demand for Pak
	also not considered leading to Muslim league rejecting the plan.
Quit India	The fear of an impending Japanese invasion Gandhi launched this campaign. In
Movement	the midst the government arrested all Indian leaders – Gandhi at Poona, others at
1942-44	Ahmadnagar fort. Rajendra Prasad was interned in Patna. The Congress Socialist
	Party  whith  its  leaders  like  Ram  Manohar  Lohia,  Achyuta  Patwardhan  played
	important role. Communist Party remained loyal to the British. The Muslims by &
	large remained indifferent.
INA	Captain Mohan Singh founded it in 1942. In 1943 he reached Singapore & gave a
	the cry of ‘Dilli Chalo’. He was made the president of the Indian Independence
	League.  The  name  of  the  brigades  were  Subhash,  Gandhi,  Nehru  &  Rani
	Lakshmibai. In Nov 1943, Japan handed over Andamans & Nicobar Islands to
	him. He named  them Shaheed Island & Swaraj Island respectively. The army
	marched towards imphal after registering victory over Kohima. But later Japan
	accepted defeat & Subhas died in a plain crash after crossing Formosa Island.
C.R. Formula 1944	To resolve the constitutional impasse Rajagopalachari evolved a formula in March
	1944. But it was rejected by Jinnah who would not settle without Pakistan.
Wavell Plan &	The main provisions were akin to Cripps mission proposals. It essentially dealt
Shimla Conference	with  the  Indian  demand  of  self-rule  &  reconstitution  of  viceroy’s  executive
1945	council  giving  a  balanced  representation  to  the  major  communities.  Executive
	council  was  an  interim  arrangement  in  which  all  but  the  Viceory  &  the
	Commander in Chief were to be Indians & all portfolios except defence were to be
	held by Indian members. Conference broke down because of Jinnah’s insistence
	that Muslim league alone represented Indian Muslims & hence no non league
	muslim members could be nominated to viceroy’s council.
Cabinet Mission	Pathick Lawrence (secretary of state for India), Stafford Cripps & A.B. Alexander.
1946	Jinnah stuck his demand for Pakistan. It proposed the formation of Union of India
	comprising  both  British  India  &  princely  states  (only  foreign,  defence  &
	communication).  A  constitutional  assembly  was  to  be  formed  consisting  of
	representatives of Provincial assemblies & princely states, elected on communal
	basis in proportion to the population of each province. Envisaged interim govt &
	said that until the constitution is framed & the govt estd British forces will not
	withdraw. The Congress & Muslim league accepted it in June 1946.
Elections	Following cabinet mission elections were held. Congress secured 205 out of 214

 

 

 

		general seats & had support of 4 sikh members. The Muslim league got 73 out of
		78  Muslim  seats.  Jinnah  became  greatly  disturbed  by  the  election  results.  He
		demanded separate constituent assembly & started instigating violent action. Later
		16  August  1946  was  fixed  as  direct  action  day to withdraw its  acceptance  of
		cabinet  mission  plan.  Communal  riots  broke  out  in  Bengal,  United  Province,
		Punjab, Sindh & NWFP. Interim government was formed with Jawahar Nehru as
		head& 14 members – 6 congress, 5 League, one each Christian, Sikh & Parsi.
		However Muslim league kept out of the Interim government.
INA Trails		Held at Red Fort in Delhi. Nehru, Bhulabhai Desai, Tejbahadur Sapru fought the
		case on behalf of three senior INA officers, Shahnawaz khan, P.M. Sehgal & G.S.
		Gurudayal Dhillon led to their acquittal.
RIN Mutiny 1946		Indians serving in the Royal Indian Navy mutined. Around 5000 naval ratings put
		up INA badges.
Mountbatten Plan		Mountbatten came to India as Viceroy. He put forth the plan of partition of India
		in 3 June 1947. Punjab & Bengla would be divided into two parts with muslim &
		non muslim majority. Baluchistan had the right to determine which side to join.
		The power would be transferred on 15 August 1947. Referendum were to be held
		in NWFP, Sylhet (to join Assam or East Bengal). Legislative assembly of Sindh
		was to decide whether to join India or not.
Indian Independece		The British Parliament passed the Indian Independence act on 18th    July 1947.
Act 1947		Partition on 15th  August. The act provided separate governor generals for the two
		dominions.  Abolition  of  the  post  of  secretary  of  state  for  India.   Pending  the
		adoption  of  new  constitution,  the  administration  of  the  two  dominions  &  the
		provinces  would  be  carried  on  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the
		government of India act 1935 though special powers of the Governor General &
		the  Provincial  governors  would  be  ceased.  Jinnah  became  the  first  governor
		general of Pakistan.
Unification Drive		On 5th July 1947, Vallabhbhai Patel appealed to the Indian provinces to handover.
		He followed up his appeal with a hurricane tour of 40 days in which he invited all
		the native princes to join the Indian union by 5th  August. In Kashmir Hari Singh
		sent  his  PM  Meharchand  Mahajan  with  the  signed  papers  for  the  merger.  In
		Hyderabad  the  nawab  wanted  to  continue  his  arbitary  rule  with  the  help  of
		Rajakars. Finally after military action, Rajakars were expelled & the instrument of
		accession signed.
Pondicherry & Goa		The  other  French  territories  were  Karaikal,  Mahe,Yanam  &  Chandernagore.
		Chandernagore had acceded to India on the basis of a plebiscite. In 1954 all the
		French possession in India were formally handed over to India though the legal
		transfer took place in 1962. Operation ‘Vijay’ was carried out for the liberation of
		Goa when satyagraha failed in 1961. It became a state in 1987.

			North India
Ghadvalas			Chandradeva*. Jaichandra fought Muhammad Ghur
Chandellas of Jejakabhukti/Bundelkhand			*Vidyadhara* & Yashovarman
Paramaras of Malwa			Vakpati Munjal & *Bhoja*
Chahamanas/Chauhans of Sakambhari			Vigraharaja IV Visaladeva, *Prithviraj III* (Chauhan)
Kalachuris of Tripuri			Kokalla, Gangeyadeva & *Karna* (Rajshekhara)
Chalukyas/Solankis of Gujarat			Bhima I & *Jayasimha Siddharaja*
Kashmir			Avantivarman (supplanted Karkota dynasty to which
			belonged Lalitaditya Muktapida.
	East & the North East
Bengal (Sena dynasty)			Lakshmanasena (last Hindu ruler of Bengal)
Orissa			Avantavarman Chodaganga (Mother daughter of Rajendra
			Chola) of Eastern Gangas & Narsimha I (sun temple)
Assam (Ahoms)			Ahoms, a Shan tribe settled in mid 13th Century.
	Deccan & the South
Chalukyas of Kalyani			*Vikramaditya VI* (Introduced Chalukya-Vikram era)
			Bilhana’s Vikramanankadevacharita is based on him
Yadavas of Devagiri			Bhillama V*, *Simhana*
Kakatiyas of Warangal			Ganapati (ruled for 60 years)
Cholas			Vijayalaya*, Rajaraja the Great, *Rajendra I*, Rajadhiraja,
			Rajendra II, Kulottunga I
Hoysalas of Dwarasamudra			Nrpakama*, Vishnuvardhan, Ballala II & Ballala III
Pandyas			*Jatavarman Sundara.Pandya I*
	Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526 AD)
Slave Dynasty				Sayyid Dynasty
1206-10	Qutubuddin Aibak.			1412-20		Khizr Khan
1210-36	Shamsuddin Iltutmish			1420-33		Mubarak Shah
1237-41	Razia Sultana			1433-43		Muhammad Shah
1241-46	Bahram Shah & Masud Shah			1443-51		Alauddin Alam Shah
1246-66	Nasirruddin Mahmud			Lodhi Dynasty
1266-86	Balban			1451-89		Bahlul Lodhi
1286-90	Kaikhusrau, Kaiquabad & Kaimur			1489-1517		Sikander Lodhi
Khalji Dynasty				1517-26		Ibrahim Lodhi
1290-96	Jallaluddin Khalji
1296-1316	Allauddin Khalji
1316-20	Mubarak Shah & Khusrau khan
Tughlaq Dynasty
1320-25	Ghiasuddin Tughlaq
1325-51	Muhammad bin Tughlaq
1351-88	Firuz Shah Tughlaq
1388-94	Mohammad Khan, Ghiasuddin Tughlaq Shah II,
	Abu Baqr, Nasiruddin Muhammad, Humayun
1394-12	Nasirrudin Mahmud Tughlaq

 

		Delhi Sultanate
Slave	Qutbuddin	Died while playing Chaugan. Aram Shah (short period)
	Aibak
	Shamsuddin	He defeated Yalduz of Ghazni & Qubacha of Multan. Captured the
	Iltutmish	fort  of  Ranthambor,  Lakhnauti.  Organized  the  iqta  system  (land
		assignment) & currency (introduced copper tanka & silver jital).
	Razia Sultana	Married  Malik  Altunia  (Governor  of  Bhatinda).  Turkish  Aamirs
		played  the dominant  role  &  after Razia,  they enthroned  Bahram
		Shah, Masud Shah & Nasiruddin Mahmud in that order.
	Balban (Ulugh	Balban  was  Turkish  slave  of  Iltutmish.  He  poisoned  his  master
	Khan)	Nasiruddin Mahmud. Killed the rebel governor of Bengal, Tughril
		Khan.  He  revived  the  practice  of  sijda  (prostration)  &  paibos
		(kissing monarch’s feet).
		Kaikhusrau, Kaiquabad & Kaimurs had short duration.
Khalji	Jalaluddin Khalji	Descended at the age of seventy. Later Alauddin murdered his uncle
		& father in law Jalaluddin & seized the throne.
	Alauddin Khalji	Lay  seige  to  Ranthambor  which  was  under  redoubtable  Hammir
		Deva  which  continued  till  one  year.  Later  Chittor  under  Ratan
		Singh (wife Padmini) fell & was renamed Kizhrabad. Malik Kafur
		campaigned	against	Kaktiyas	(Warangal),	Hoysalas
		(Dwarasamudra) & Pandyas. Mubarak Shah (son) & Khusrau khan
		had short rule.
		Kharaj  (land  tax  –  50%),  Charai,  Gharii  (dwelling  tax).  First  to
		introduce permanent standing army, dagh &   chehra. Afghans &
		Sultan’s Indian officers rose to prominence.
Tughlaq	Ghiyasuddin	Earlier called Ghazi Malik. Ghiasuddin had repelled mongol attack
	Tughlaq	under khaljis before ascending throne. Attaked Kaktiyas & Bengal
		succesfully. Founded third city of Delhi – Tughlaqabad.
	Muhammad bin	Open consorting with Hindus & Jogis. Killed Ulemas, qazis who
	Tughlaq	rose in rebellion. Shifted capital to Devagiri (renamed Daulatabad),
		token currency (bronze coin-jittal). Shifted to Swargadwari during
		famine. At his death Barani commented, ‘at last the people got rid
		of him & he got rid of the people’. First sultan to visit the shrine of
		Moinuddin Chisti. Disciple of Shaikh Alauddin & Jinaprabha Suri.
	Firuz Shah	Not a military leader. Conqured Thatta, Orissa (uprooted Jagannath
	Tughlaq	idol),  Nagarkot.  Distributed  iqtas, made  them heritable increased
		salaries.   Founded   Fatehabad,   Hissar,   Firuzpur,   Jaunpur   &
		Firuzabad. Built canals. Influence of Ulema revived. First muslim
		ruler to impose Jaziya on Brahmins but abolished Ghari & Charai.
		Visited  the  shrine  of  Salar  Masud  Ghazi  &  became  fanatical.
		Removed   paintings   from   palace.   Got   many   sanskirt   works
		translated in Persian

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

		South India
Vijaynagar	Harihara &	These brothers were released by Muhammad Tughlaq & they laid
	Bukka	the foundation of Vijaynagar empire (Sangama dynasty)
	Deva Raya I	Succeded  his  father  Harihara  II.  Lead  a  crushing  defeat  against
		Sultan  Firuz  Shah  Bahmani.  Constuction  of  dam  across  the
		Tungabhadra. Italian, Nicolo de Conti came during his period.
	Deva Raya II	Sometimes called Immadi Deva Raya. One of the greatest Sultan.
Bahamani	Firuz Shah	Great king. Lost to Deva Raya I & abdicated throne in favour of his
	Bahman	brother Ahmad Shah I who transferred Bahmani Kingdom capital
		from  Gulbarga  to  Bidar.  Later  with  the  help  of  Iranian  prime
		minister Mahmud Gawan, Ahmad Shah I expanded considerably.
		Later Bhahmani kingdom got divied into five regions – Golconda,
		Bijapur, Ahmadnagar, Berar & Bidar.
Tuluva	*Kishna Deva	After Deva Raya II came Suluva dyansty, which was replaced by
	Raya*	Tuluva dynasty whose geatest ruler was Krishna Deva Raya. Ablest
		of Vijaynagar soverigns. After him Rama Raja succeded.
		Delhi Sultanate Continued
Timur	Timur 1398 AD	During the reign of Mahmud Tughlaq who fled the city. He
Invastion		assigned Delhi to Khizr Khan & hence Sayyid dynasty was born.
Sayyids	Khizr Khan	Khizr Khan’s reign as well as that of his successors, Mubarak Shah,
		Muhammad Shah & Alauddin Alam Shah was spent trying to
		control the rebellious leaders (esp. Khokhars led by Jasrath).
Lodis	Bahlul Lodi	First dynasty to be headed by Afghans. Principal event of Bahlul
		Lodi’s life was the annexation of Juanpur kingdom.
	Sikander Lodi	Contemporary of Mahmud Begarha of Gujarat & Rana Sanga of
		Mewar. The rent rolls of his reign formed the basis during Sher
		Shah Suri period. Imposed the Jaziya. The Bahluli coin remained in
		circulation till Akbar’s rule. He was the only sultan to be killed in
		the battle field.
		Smaller States
Assam	Ahoms – Greatest ruler during this peiod was Suhungmung
Gujarat	Muzaffar’s Shah grandson, Ahmad Shah I founded new capital Ahmedabad. Was the
	first sultan to levy Jaziya on hindus of Gujarat. *Mahmud Begarha* was the greatest
Mewar	Rana Kumbha. His grandson was Rana Sanga.
Amber	Under Prithviraj who fought under Rana Sanga at Khanua
Jaunpur	Under Sharquis. Jaunpur is in eastern U.P.
Kashmir	*Zianul Abidin*. Abolished Jaziya. Got Ramayana & Mahabharata translated into
	Persian. Allowed Kashmiri pandits to return to the state.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	Mughal Empire
Babur	Zahiruddin  Muhammad  Babur.  Ascended  throne  of  Farghana.  Daulat  Khan  Lodi,
1526-30	govenror of Punjab invited him to dethrone Ibrahim Lodi but later retracted. Ibrahim Lodi
	perished in 1526 at Panipat. Battle of Khanua in 1527 against Rana Sanga in which Babur
	won by effective use of artillery & mounted archers. Died around 1529 & burried at
	Kabul. Introduced Char Bagh (symmetric gardens).
Himayun	His early fight was with Bahadur Shah of Gujarat whom he defeated but did not depose.
1530-56	In  Bihar  the  Afghans  rallied  under  Sher  Shah  Suri.  At  the  battle  of  Chausa  in  1939
	Himayun was defeated by Sher Shah. He finally left India in 1544 for the Safavid court. A
	decade after the death of Sher Shah, Himayun occupied back Delhi but died within seven
	months after a fall from the steps of his library.
Sher Shah	Son of a small Jagirdar from Jaunpur. Defeated Raja Maldeo of Marwar in the battle of
1540-45	Samel in 1544 & also won Chittor. He realized Jaziya from Hindus. Revived system of
	Dagh & Chehra. Introduced a system of crop rates form the first time. Introduced uniform
	standard gold, silver & copper coins replacing the debased coins & introduced uniform
	weights. Maintained army through Sawars. Died in 1545 (5 years rule).
Akbar	Born  in  Amarkot.  Bairam  Khan  invited  Hemu  (Afhan  assumed  title  of  Hemchandra
1556-1605	Vikramaditya) in 1556 at the second battle of Panipat in which Hemu was slained. Later
	Akbar discharged Bairam Khan & married his widow. Akbar’s foster mothers son Adam
	Khan  won  Malwa  defeating  Baz  Bahadur.  Won  at  Gondwana,  Chittor  (Udai  Sing),
	Ranthambor & Marwar. Rana Pratap ascended Mewar after the death of Udai Singh. In
	1576 the Haldi ghati war between Man Singh (grandson of Bhara Mal of Amber who
	entered imperial services) & Rana Pratap. In 1571 Akbar shifted his capital to Fatehpur
	Sikri.  Later  marched  against  Ahmedabad,  Kabul  (deposed  Mirza  Hakim).  In  1585  he
	trasnferred his capital to Lahore. Later won Baluchistan, Qandhar, Ahmadnagar (Chand
	Bibi), Khandesh (Akbar’s last major miliary campaign). In 1579 he abolished Jaziya. He
	issued Mahzar which entitle him to choose one of the interpretations of Muslim law. Only
	Raja Birbal accepted Din-i-Ilahi. Todar Mal, Bhagwan das, Man Singh declined it. He
	abolished the position of wazir after Bairam khan. Revived chehra & dagh.
Jehangir	Jehangir’s elder brother Khusrau revolted thrice against Akbar & was blinded. He became
1605-27	the  first  ruler  to  conquer  Kangra.  Amar  Singh,  Son  of  Rana  Pratap  at  Ajmer  also
	surrendered. The Persians got control of Qandhar back in their second attempt. Deccan
	(ruled by Malik Ambar of Ahmadnagar) was subdued again by prince Khurram. Jehangir
	ordered the murder of fifth sikh guru Arjun Dev (the first to be murdered by Mughals).
	Visited dargah of Moinuddin Chisti several times. Married Iranian widow (Mehrunisa),
	who was given the title Nur Jahan.  Nur Jahan’s brother was Asaf khan whose daughter
	Mumtaz Mahal (Arjumand Banu) was married to Shah Jahan.
Shah	Sent his two sons Dara  Shukoh& Aurangzeb as hostages to his fathers court. He was
Jahan	helped in his throne capture by his father in law, Asaf Khan. Ordered execution of his
1628-58	brothers  &  their  sons  after  accession.  Increased  control  over  Bundelkhand  (Ruled  by
	Jehangir’s hard core friend Bir Singh Deo’s son Jujhar Singh). Qandhar was capture for a
	brief period but lost back to the Safavids. His Peacock throne & capital Shahjahanabad are
	remembered. Reformed the zat & sawar system. Iranis & Turanis dominated the nobility.
	Instituted month scales on the basis of difference between official estimate of income
	(Jama) & actual amount collected (hasil).
Aurangzeb	War of succession between Dara, Shah Shuja, Auranzeb & Murad – all sons of Mumtaz
1658-1707	Mahal. Mir Jumla was deputed by Aurangzeb to restore authority in Bengal, Bihar, Orissa.
	Later in Assam Ahom king agreed to be a vassal of Mughals. He banned Nauroz, the

 

Persian new year, banned painters, musicians, drinking & women pilgrimage. Pilgrimage tax on Hindu abolished by Akbar reinstated. Destroyed the Keshava Rai Temple at Mathura built by Bir Singh Bundela.Reimposed Jaziya tax. His son prince Akbar revolted

 

• was sheltered by Maratha ruler Sambhaji. Aurangzeb lay seize on Bijapur & Golconda

 

• He was also known as Alamgir.

 

Shivaji	Shivaji tutor was Dadaji Kond-deva. Shivaji killed Afzal Khan (general of Ali Adil Shah
	II) while meeting. Later he almost defeated the governor of the Deccan, Shaista Khan who
	was replaced by Prince Mauzzam on orders of Aurangzeb. Raja Jai Singh was given the
	responsibility of tackling Shivaji who won & conducted the treaty of Purandhar. Later
	Shivaji visited mughal court & was captured but escaped.
Later	Shivaji – Sambhaji – Rajaram (Sambhaji’s brother). In the meanwhile Sambhaji’s son
Marathas	Shahu was taken to the Mughal household. Later when Rajaram died, his widow Tara Bai
	declared her four year old son Shivaji II, king & herself the regent. Later Shahu was
	released by Bahadur Shah I who appointed Balaji Vishwanath as Peshwa. Baji Rao I
	succeded  who  was  the  most  charismatic  leader  in  Maratha  history  after  Shivaji.He
	conquered Malwa, Bundelkhand & even raided Delhi. He was succeded by his son  Balaji
	Baji Rao (Nana Saheb – different from the later Nana Saheb, adopted son of Baji Rao II)
	who defeated the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Maratha however received a terrible blow at
	the hands of Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761 at Panipat.

				Selective Treaties & Battles
Treaty of Purandhar				Jai Singh defeated Shivaji. Shivaji had to surrender 23 out of the thirty
				five forts held by him.
Treaty of Palkhed				Nizam of Hyderabad was forced to recognize Maratha claimsto chauth
				& sardeshmuhi in the Deccan (durin Baji Rao I’s tenure).
Treaty of Warna				Claims of Tara Bai settled by granting her Kolhapur
Treaty of Bhalke				Marathas won large parts of Khandesh by invading Karnataka.
Battle of Talikota (1565)				Between Vijayanagara Empire (Rama Raya, son of Achutya Raya) and
				Deccan sultanates, resulted in Vijayanagar’s defeat.
				Books of Medieval Period
	1.	Taj-ul-Maasir			Hasan Nizami
	2.	Tabaqat-i-Nasiri			Minhaj Siraj
	3.	Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi (Most important work of sultanate period)			Ziauddin Barani
		Fatwah-i-Jahandari
	4.	Futuh-us-Salatin (establishment of Bahmani Kingdom)			Isami
	5.	Tarikh-i-Firuzshahi			Afif
	6.	Tarikh-i-Mubarak Shahi			Yahya Sirhindi
	7.	Akbar Nama			Abul Fazal
	8.	Tabaqat-I-Akbari			Nizammudin Ahmad
	9.	Muntakhab-al-tawarikh			Badauni
	10	Badshahnama/Padshahnama			Abdul Hamid Lahori
	11	Muntakhab-ul Lubab (Aurangzeb’s reign)			Khafi Khan
	12	Mirat-i-Ahmadi			Ali Muhammad Khan
	13	Padmavat (on Padmini – wife of Ratan Singh, King of Chittor)			Malik Mohammad Jaisi
	14	Tughluq Nama, Tarik-i-Alai, Nuh Sipihr, Ashiqa			Amir Khusro
	15	Marwar ra Pargani ri Vigat (Info on Rajasthan)			Munhta Nainsi

 

16	Chandayan	Maulana Daud
17	Himayun Nama	Gulbadan Begum
18	Bhavartha Dipika	Gyaneshwara
19	Safarnama or Rihla	Ibn Batuta
20	Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri (Autobiography)	Jehangir
21	Tarikh-i-Shershahi	Abbas Sarwani
22	Tuzuk-i-Baburi/ Baburnama (in Turkish –Autobiography)	Babur
23	Shahjahannama	Inayat Khan
24	Dayabhaga	Jimuta Vahna
25	Periya Puranam (12th book of Tamil Veda called Tirumurai)	Shekkilar
26	Sur Sagar (Life of Krishna)	Sur Das
27	History of Aurangzeb, The fall of the Mughal Empire	Jadunath Sarkar
28	Mahmud of Ghazni	Mohammad Habib
29	The Administration of the Delhi Sultanate	I.H. Qureshi
30	Foundation of Muslim Rule in India	A.B.M. Habibullah
31	Agrarian System of Mughal India	Irfan Habib

 

Monuments of Medieval Period
College of Ajmer (Converted to Adhai din ka Jhompra)	Vigraharaja IV Visaladeva
Rudra Mahakala temple, Siddhapura	Jayasimha Siddharaja
Jagannath Temple at Puri	Anantavarman Chodaganga
Sun Temple, Konark	Narasimha I ( E. Gangas)
Brihadesvara/Rajarajeswara temple at Thanjavur	Rajaraja the Great
Quwwat-al-Islam mosque, Delhi	Qutbuddin Aibak
Adhai din ka Jhompra	Qutbuddin Aibak
Himayun’s Tomb	Akbar’s step mother Haji Begum
Tomb of Sher Shah at Sasaram	Sher Shah
Agra Fort	Akbar
Buland Darwarza (commemorate Gujarat victory)	Akbar
Shalimar Garden	Shah Jahan
Badshahi Mosque at Lahore (largest in subcontinent)	Aurgangzeb
Man Mandir, Gwalior	Man Singh
Hauz Khas	Alauddin Khalji
Akbar’s Mausoleum at Sikandara	Akbar. Completed by Jehangir.
Madrasa at Bidar	Mahmud Gawan

 

		Kings & their Court Jewels
1.	Lakshmansena	Jayadeva, Halayudha, Sridharadasa.
2.	Vikramaditya VI (Chalukya)	Bilhana (Vikramanankadevacharita) Vijnanaeshvara (Mitakshara)
3.	Sharqis of Jaunpur	Malik Muhammad Jaisi
4.	Akbar	Tansen, Todar Mal, Tulsidas (just contemporary)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

					Prominent Foreign Travellers
	1.		Marco Polo			Venetian Traveller visited Pandya kingdom
	2.		Ibn Batuta			Muhammad bin Tughlaq
	3.		Nicolo Conti			Italian visited Vijayanagar during the reign of Deva Raya I
	4.		Abdur Razaq			Visited the court of Zamorin in Calicut & travelled to Vijaynagar
						during the reign of Deva Raya II
	5.		Nikitin			Russian, visited Bahmani kingdom & Gujarat
	6.		Nuniz			Portuguese, stayed at Vijayanagar during Krishna Deva Raya
	7.		Ralph Fitch			British during Akbar’s reign
	8.		William Hawkins			English merchant. Received a mansab from Jehangir
	9.		Thomas Roe			Ambassador of English King James I to Jehangir’s court.
						Obtained trade concessions. Wrote “Embassy”.
	10.		Peter Mundy			English traveller during Shah Jahan’s reign.
	11.		Tavernier			French jweller. Aurangzeb’s reign.
	12.		Bernier			French Physician. Most important account of all European.
						Aurangzeb’s reign. Wrote ‘Travels in the Mughal Empire’.
	13.		Nicolo Manucci			Italian. Aurangzeb’s reign.
						Jargon of Medieval Period
	Mamluk			White slaves			Ur	Common village assembly (Chola  period)
	Muqaddam			Village head			Nagaram	Assembly of merchants (Chola  period)
	Sondhar			loans			Sabha	Assembly of Brahmins (Chola  period)
	Khots			Village head			Khutba	A sermon made in Friday mosque
	Sharia			Muslim law			Madad-i-Maash	Tax free grants of land
	Subas			Provinces			Waqf	Grants to muslim religious establishment
	Mir Bakshi			Military department			Pargana	Around Hundred villages.
	Ummah			Muslim believers			Sadr us sadur	Ecclesiastical affairs
	Mir Saman			Supply department			Qanungos	Keeper of revenue records
	Shiqdar			Headed Pargana.			Zabt	Revenue based on land measurement
	Amils			Revenue officer			Ibadat Khana	House of worship (Fatehpur Sikri)
	Hundis			Bills of Exchange			Diwan	Function of finance (Akbar’s time)
	Dhimmis			Non-Muslim people			Wujuhat	Taxes on cattle,grazing,orchards.
	Vimans			Towers of temple			Shaikhzadas	Indian Muslims nobility
	Din			Religion			Peshwa	Prime minister (Shivaji)
	Ganj			A grain market			Amatya	Revenue minister (Shivaji)
	Gomashta			Commercial agent			Sumant	Foreign minister (Shivaji)
	Hun			A gold coin			Bargir	Cavalrymen (horse belonged to leader)
	Dam			Coin (1/4th of rupee)			Nankar	Portion of revenue given to Zamidar
	Sarkar			A number of Paragana			Diwan-i-Arz	Ministry of Military Affairs
	Khums			Tax on plunder			Diwan-i-Insha	Ministry of Royal Correspondences
	Zawabit			Non Shariat state laws			Diwan-i-Risalat	Religiour affairs
	Faujdar			Incharge of Sarkar			Diwan-i-Kul	Wazir or chief imperial fiscal minister.
	Malfuzat			Sayings of sufi saint			Diwan-i-Wizarat	Department of finance
	Tankah			Silver coin			Khalisa	Land revenue directly for imperial treasury
	Kanqah			Sufi lodging			Wilayat	Spiritual territory of a sufi
	Misl			Sikh Regions  (12)			Umra	Collective term for nobility
							Watandar	Desais & Deshmukh (collective term)

 

Extent of Mughal Empire at Akbar’s Death

Miscellaneous Facts:

 

1.Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 AD. The Quran alongwith the Hadith (sayings of the prophet) is venerated as supreme sources of authority in Islam. Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to Medina is known as Hijra & the muslim calendar commences from this year. At the battle of Badr Muhammad first wielded sword to assert his prophethood. Quibla the direction to be faced during prayer changed from Jerusalem to Mecca.

 

2.Prophet’s son-in-law Ali was regarded as lawful immediate by some section (shiis) while other group considered his close followers Abu Bakr, Umar & Uthman as legal heir (came to be known as Sunnis).

 

3.Mahmud of Ghazni was the son of Subuktigin (founder of Ghaznavid dynasty). Subuktgin had defeated the Hindhshahi ruler Jaipal. Utbi was the court historian of Ghazni. Mahmud raided 17 times which

 

 

 

 

 

included Nagarkot, Mathura, Kanauj & Somanath temple (1025 AD when Chalukya king Bhima I was ruling Gujarat). He patronized Al-Beruni.

 

4.Muhammad Ghur first invasion was against Multan which he won easily. His invasion of Gujarat ended in a crushing defeat at the hands of the Chalukyan forces. Then followed Battle of Tarain I & II, invasion of Ghadavala ruled by Jaichandra. After Ghur’s death his senior slave Tajuddin Yalduz occupied Ghazni, Qubacha occupied Multan, Ali Mardan took Lakhnauti (Bihar-Bengal) while Aibak took Delhi. At the same time Bhaktiyar Khalji, another slave raided province of Bihar destroying monasteries of Nalanda & Vikramshila & even attacked the Bengal ruler Lakshmanasena. Eastern Chalukyas ruled at Vengi.

 

5.Chola king Rajendra I captured whole of Sri Lanka & reasserted Chola soverignity over Kerala & Pandyan country. He conquered north upto Ganga & assumed the title of Gangaikonda. Marco Polo visited the Pandyan Kingdom around 1293 AD.

 

6.Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign saw the rise of two independent states in south – Vijaynagar & Bahamani. The Tungabhadra doab had been a source of conflict between the Cholas & the western Chalukyas, between Yadavas & Hoysalas as well as between the Vijaynagar & the Bahmani Kindom.

 

7.The largest indigenous industry during the Delhi sultanate period was that of textiles. During Firuz Shah the slaves rose to an all time high. While India’s indigenous architecture is trabeate (space spanned by beams laid horizontally), the Islamic form is arcuate (arches are used to bridge a space).

 

8.All the Lodi rulers were buried on the Bagh-i-Jud known today as Lodi Garden. The coins of Mahmud Ghazni, Iltutmish, Nasirudin Mahmud, Balban, Alauddin Khalji bear the name of Abbasid Caliph.

 

9. Mansabdars had dual ranks – zat (personal rank & expenses) & sawar (cavalry rank). Land revenue systems were batai (crop divided between state & the peasant), hast-o-bud (official inspection for estimation), kankut system (estimation of land & yield), nasaq system (based on previous estimates).

 

10. The sants of the Vithoba cult & their followers called Varkari emphasized annual pilgrimage to Pandharpur (Mahrashtra). The most important saint was Jnaneshvar. Saguna Bhakti (Tulsi Das, Chaitanya, Surdas, Mirabai, Nimbarka& Vallabha) believed in doctrine of incarnation while Nirguna bhakti (Kabir) worshiped formless aspect of divinity.

 

11. Guru Angad developed the Gurmukhi script. Guru Arjun Dev completed Adi Granth. Guru Hargobind constructed the Akal Takht at the Golden Temple & asked his followers to built the fort of Lohgarh. Enraged Jehangir had the Guru imprisoned for 2 years.

 

12. Of the various Sufi orders in India the Chishti (founder was Moinuddin Chisti) & Suharawadi (Shaikh Bahauddin Zakariya whose Khanqah at Multan became an important pilgrimage centre) orders (silsilas)

 

 

 

 

 

were the most prominent. Other prominent saints were Shaikh Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki & Nizamuddin

 

Auliya. Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi (Naqshbandi order) was contemporary of Jehangir.

 

13. There was no Maratha in Akbar’s nobility & only one in that of Jehangirs. In Aurangzeb’s time the Marathas increased considerably & foreign nobility declined. Dara Shukoh brother of Auranzeb got 52 Upanishads converted into Persian, the collective work being known as the Sirr-i-Akbar. Murshid Quli Khan was a talented revenue officer during the time of Shah Jahan who helped prince Aurangzegb streamline the revenues in Deccan.

 

14. Uprisings during Aurangzeb period were Jats (Gokula, Rajaram, Churaman & Surajmal-the adopted son of Badan Singh), Satnami, Sikhs (Guru Harkishan summoned to Delhi – Bangla Sahib is the site where he resided; Guru Teg Bahadur was beheaded at present Sis Ganj Gurudwara site; Guru Gobind Singh born in Patna), Bundelas of Ochha (under Chhatrasal)

 

15. On Baisakhi day in 1699, Guru Gobind Singh established the Khalsa panth. In the succession that followed after Aurangzeb, Govind Singh supported Bahadur Shah in the hope of getting justice against Wazir Khan (who killed Guru’s son) but all in vain. Gobind Singh appointed Banda Bahadur (later kille Wazir khan) to wage war against the mughals but he failed & was humiliated before being executed.

 

16. Shivaji assumed titles of Chhatrapati, Gobrahmance Pratipalak (protector of cows & Brahmins). His consecration marked the commencement of a new era, the Rajyabhisheka saka.

 

17. Bengal was the main silk centre. Land owner ship was Khudkhasta (Owner & land in the same village), Pahikashta (different village) & Muqarari raiya (He leased his spare land to tenants called muzarin). During mughal period there is no evidence of joint ownership of land. Slave trade focus shifted from Multan to Kabul. Freshly minted coins had a greater value than those minted in previous regimes.

 

18. Thomas Roe went to Jehangirs court to get concessions for operation. Dutch obtained a farman from the Sultan of Golconda to operate at Masulipatnam.

 

19. The Mughal school of painting began with Himayun & reached its pinnacle during Jehangir. Himayun also started the Mina Bazar for royal ladies.

 

 

Miscellaneous Facts from Mocks:

 

1. Qutbuddin Aibak was not recognized by the Caliph of Baghdad. Kashmir was never a part of sultanate of Delhi. ‘Janam Sakhis’ are the biographical writings abouth the Sikh gurus. The utterances of Namdev, Kabir, Ravidas, Shaikh Fariduddin Masud (Sufi Saint), Dhanna have been included in Adi Granth. Printing press was introduced in India by the Portuguese.

 

 

 

 

 

2. The most important system of land revenue was the Zabti system. The term ‘Urs’ referred to the death anniversary of a Sufi saint. The Sisodiyas of Mewar did not submit to Akbar during his reign. Shahjahan did not write his autobiography. Bairagis in India were a Vaishnavite sect.

 

3. Portuguese-Dutch-English-French was the correct sequence of foreigners coming to India. In medieval period Polaj was the most fertile land & banjar the least fertile.

 

4. Bijapur (Adil Shahi Dynasty), Ahmadnagar (Nizamshahi dynasty), Golkonda (Qutbshahi dynasty), Bidar (Barid Shahi dynasty).

 

5. Delhi Sultanate reached its maximum limit during Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Invasion of Chengiz Khan (Iltutmish reign), Invations of Tarmahirin (Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign), Invasion of Nadir Shah (Muhammad Shah) & Invasion of Timur (Nasiruddin Mahmud Tughlaq).

 

6. Mir Syed Ali, Daswant & Khwaja Abdus Samad were famous painters at the court of Himayun & Akbar. Mansur & Bishan Das were leading court painters under Jehangir. The translation of Mahabharata in Persian (Razmnama) was carried out during the reign of Akbar by Faizi. Gol Gumbaz at Bijapur s built over the tomb of Muhammad Adil Shah.

 

7. The dominant form of decoration employed in the buildings of the sultanate period is called arabesque. Various regional languages of medieval India arose out of Apabhramsa. The pushtimarg was the philosophy of Guru Vallabhacharya (Surdas was his disciple).

 

8. Moinuddin Chisti (Ajmer), Nizamuddin Auliya (Delhi), Farduddin Masud (Pak Patan, Pakistan) & Khwaja Syed Mudammad Gesu Daraz (Gulbarga) are the famous sufi shrines.

 

9. Krittivasa translated Ramayana into Bengali. Kabir, Ravidas, Dhanna & other low cast bhakti saints were belived to be disciples of Ramananda. Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah of Golconda founded the city of Hyderabad. Arabs were not a part of Mughal nobility. Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khanan was a mughal noble & poet under Akbar.

 

10. The sufi silisilas were Suhrawadi, Firdausi, Shattari, Chisti, Qadiri & Naqshbandi. Amer was Jaipur, Marwar (Jodhpur), Mewar (present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Rajsamand and Udaipur).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-Harappan Period

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

Ancient Books & Authors

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

 

 

 

 

 

Famous Inscriptions

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

South India

Cholas

Karikala

Defeated joint forces of Chera & Pandyas. Also conquered Sri

Lanka. Capital was at Puhar (Kaveripattanam)

Pandyas

Nedunjeliyan

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

Cheras

Nedunjeral

Cheras are also known as Keralaputras. Nedunjeral Adan &

Adan

Sengutturan were the greatest king.

Kings & their Court Jewels

1.

Pushyamitra Sunga

Patanjali

2.

Mahendrapala I (Pratihara)

Rajshekhara

3.

Kanishka

Parsva, Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha, Charaka, Sushruta, Nagarjuna

4.

Chandragupta II

Kalidas, Fa-Hien, Varahamihira

Monuments of Ancient Period

1.

Udaygiri Caves

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

2.

Angorwatt Temples

Suryavarman Ii

3.

Vikramashila University

Pala King Dharampala

4.

Kailash Temple (Ellora)

Rashtrakuta king Krishna I

5.

Dilwara Temple

Tejapala

6.

Rathas of Mamallapuram

Mahendravarman I (Pallava King)

7.

Khajuraho temples

Chandelas

8.

Martanda temple (Kashmir)

Lalitaditya Muktapida

9.

Gommateswara  (Son of Rishabnath)

Chamundaraya, Minister of the Ganga King, Rajamalla

(Sravanbelagola, Karnataka)

10.

Hoysalesvara Temple (at Halebid)

Ketamalla, a minister of KingVishnuvardhana (Karnataka)

Mahajanapadas

Kasi

Varanasi

Kosala

Sravasti

Kuru

Indraprashta

Kamboja

Rajput

Anga

Champa

Avanti

Ujjayini & Mahishmati

Ashmaka

Potana

Malla

Kusinagar & Pawa

Magadha

Rajgriha or Giriraj

Matsya

Virat Nagari

Vajji

Vaisali

Vatsa

Kausambhi

Surasena

Mathura

Panchala

Aichhatra

Chhedi

Shuktimati

Gandhara

Taxila & Pushkalavati

Administrative Units & Their Ancient Names

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

 

Jargon of Ancient Period

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

 

 

 

 

Miscellaneous Facts:

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

5. Buddha did not visit Taxila in his life.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

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

 

Mauryas.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

In the early 2nd century BC, a tribe on the Central Asian frontier of China called Hsiung-nu defeated a neighboring one known as Yueh-chih. After more conflict, the survivors of the Yueh-chih were dislocated west, passing down the Ili river valley and along the southern shore of lake Issyk Kul. This movement also pushed Saka tribes (and others) ahead of them. Sometime between 145 and 125 BC, these nomad invaders burst into Bactria and Parthia. A generation later, they were pressing into the Kabul valley and onto the Punjab plain. At around the beginning of the Christian era, one of the five Yueh-chih chiefs, K’iu-tsiu-k’io, attacked and defeated the others, leaving his clan in control; the Kuei-shang (Kushans).

Kujula Kadphises (30-80 AD) established the Kushan dynasty in 78 AD by taking advantage of disunion in existing dynasty of Pahalava (Parthian) and Scytho-Parthians, and gradually wrested control of southern prosperous region, which is the northwest part of ancient India, traditionally known as Gandhara (now Pakistan). It was his grandson Vima Kadphises who made Kushan a paramount power of northern India. His reign saw emergence of Kushan empire when he conquored north-western India (modern Punjab). Soon he came under influence of Hinduism (most likley embraced it for good) and took opportunity to proclaim himself Mahishwara, another name for Lord Shiva, on his coins (Shiva is a prominent Hindu god). Kushan kings introduced gold and copper coins, a large number of them have survived till today. It was the Kushan emperor, Vima Kadaphises who introduced the first gold coins of india. Kushan empire covered north west of India (includes Pakistan and modern Afganistan) and northern India. Ample evidences of trade with China, cental Asia, Egypt and Rome are available which made their economy very strong and kingdom wealthy and prosperous.

Vima’s able son Kanishka (100 – 126 AD) followed and took control of this dynasty in 100 AD. Kanishka is the legendary ruler of ancient India and according to most historians the greatest ruler of Kushan dynasty. He and his descendents called themselves `Devputra’ which means son of god, who ruled Aryavarta, the India. He established an era, commonly known as Shaka era, starts from 78 AD. Shaka era is still in use in India. Kanishka’s empire consisted Bactria (modern Afghanistan), part of central Asia (Tajikistan), north-western India (modern Pakistan) and Northern India till Pataliputra or Patana. Kushan empire.

Huvishka succeeded Kanishka I. He was founder of a city Hushka in Kashmir named after him (described by Kalhan in Rajatarangini). Kushana empire was at its zenith during Kanishka’s and Huvishka’s reign. After Huvishka’s reign, Vasudeva I took control of this dynasty which by then had lost control over regions beyond Bactria or perhaps the Bactria itself. The Kushan dynasty had been totally assimilated in Indian culture. Vasudeva I was the last great king of the dynasty when Kushana empire was at it’s height of splendor and prosperity.

Kushan empire had started its decline soon after Vasudeva’s death. Vasudeva was followed by his son Kanishka II who lost all the territories west of river Indus to Sassanians. Vasudeva II, Vashishka, and Shaka are the kings who followed after the Kanisha II. After Vashishka the Kushan empire had completly disintegrated into few small kingdoms. By fourth century AD this dynasty went into total obscurity with advent of mighty Gupta emperors.

 

Kanishka:

His Date:

There is a sharp controversy about Kanishka’s date centering round two points:

(1) Whether the Kanishka group preceded or succeeded the Kadphises group, and

(2) Whether Kanishka started his rule in 78 A.D. or later or earlier.

(1) Cunningham was the first writer to sponsor the theory that Kanishka’s era started from 58 B.C. which came to be known after­wards as Vikrama Samvat: Cunningham, however, gave up this theory later on, but Fleet and after him Kennedy held this view with all ear­nestness. As a corollary of the above contention it follows that Kanishka group of kings preceded Kadphises group of kings.

But on a careful analysis of the archaeological and numismatic evidences scholars have come to the conclusion that there can be no doubt that the Kanishka group of kings did not precede but followed the Kadphises group of kings.

In support of this view scholars point out if the series of coins issued successively by alien rulers of India upto Vasudeva-I, are care­fully studied it will be evident that the coins of the Kadphises kings were issued immediately after those of the Sakas and the Parthians.

Again, the coins of Kanishka and Huvishka, although differ in some details, they seem to be largely prototypes of Wima Kadiphises.

It must also be noted that the practice of issuing bilingual and by scriptural coins introduced by the Indo-Greek kings was continued throughout the Saka-Pahlava period upto the time of Kadphises. The continuity of the practice without break till the time of Wima Kadphises was broken only at the time of Kanishka who gave up the practice of issuing bilingual coins.

The legend of his coins was Greek but most of them were not, however, in Greek. Hurishka and Vasudeva followed the practice of Kanishka. Thus we find that while there was a continuity in the method of the striking coins followed upto Wima Kadphises from the line of the Indo-Greeks a different method was followed and continued by Kanishka and his successors. These two different sequences when compared leave no doubt that the Kushana group followed Kadphises group of kings.

Turning to the second point, we find that scholars like Sir John Marshall, Sten Konow, Vincent Smith, Van Wijk and some other scholars are of the opinion that Kanishka began his rule in the first quarter of the second century A.D., sometime between 125 to 128 A.D. which lasted for about a quarter of a century.

But Ferguson had held long before that Kanishka started his first regional year in 78 A.D. and inaugurated an era from that date which came to be known as the Saka era (Sakabda) which is still current in different parts of India. Ferguson’s view has been supported by scholars like Oldenberg, Thomas, Rapson, R. D. Banerjee, Dr. Raichaudhuri and others. One of the latest scholars to support the view that Kanishka started his rule in 78 A.D. which was also the beginning of an era is Van Lohuizen-de Leeuw.

It has been argued against the above view held by most of the scholars, that if we agree that Kadphises-I reigned about 50 A.D. and Kanishka about 78 A.D. then we are left with only 28 years roughly for the two reigns of Kadphises-I and Kadphises-II which is a very short span for two reigns. But when we remember that Kadphises died at the age of eighty, his son Kadphises-II must have ascended the throne at pretty old age. This makes accession of Kanishka in 78 AD. quite tenable.

Marshall, Sten Konow and others who are of the opinion that Kanishka ruled in the first quarter of the second century A.D. is- directly against the evidence of Junagarh inscription of Rudradamana. Dr. Raichaudhuri draws our attention to the fact that it is clearly mentioned in the Junagarh inscription that Rudradamana held sway over the lower Sindhu region in the first half of the second century A.D.

The South Bihar (Sui-Bihar) inscription of Kanishka mentions lower Sindhu area as within the dominions of Kanishka. Obviously, both Rudradamana and Kanishka were not rulers over the same region simultaneously. This proves the untenability of the view that Kanishka ruled in the second century A.D. There is also no evidence to show that there was the inauguration of any era in the second century A.D.

Dr. Majumdar’s contention that Kanishka was the founder of Traikutaka-Kalachuri-Chedi era of 248-249 A.D. is absolutely unten­able in view of the Chinese evidence that An-Shi-Kao who lived dur­ing the second century A.D. translated a work Margabhumi-sutra written by Sangharaksha, chaplain of Kanishka. This precludes plac­ing Kanishka in the third century A.D. as Dr. R. C. Majumdar has done. Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar’s view that Kanishka ascended the throne in 278 A.D. is untenable on the same grounds.

Thus most of the scholars are of the view that Kanishka started his rule in 78 A.D. which was also the year from which the Saka era is counted.

It has been contended by some scholars that if the era was found­ed by Kanishka why should it have been named Saka era and not Kushana era, after all the Kushanas were not Sakas. But it may be pointed out that the close association of the Yue-chi people of which the Kushanas were a branch, with the Saka-Pahlava made them a com­posite people with a composite culture in which the contributions of the Sakas was quite large.

Further, the Kushanas were not Greeks but some of Kanishka’s coins bore Greek legend on them. It is therefore no conclusive argument to say that since the era was called Saka era Kanishka could not be its founder. Likewise the contention that the Saka era was not followed in northern India although Kanishka was a ruler of the north is untenable.

Facts are, however, otherwise. This era was abandoned temporarily during the Gupta rule when it was confined to the south where its use was spread by the Jainas. But with the end of the Gupta rule the Saka era came back into use and Continues to be used even today in different parts of India.

Thus after an analysis of evidences, literary, numismatic as well as epigraphic, the balance of arguments remains in favour of placing the Kanishka group of kings after the Kadphises group of kings and fixing 78 A.D. as the starting point of Kanishka’s rule, and also the beginning of the era known as Saka era or Sakavda.

His Conquests: Extent of His Empire:

Kanishka was alone among the Kushana kings who has left a name cherished by tradition and famous in India as well beyond her limits.

At the time of accession to the throne Kanishka’s empire compris­ed Afghanistan, large part of Sindhu, portions of Parthia and the Punjab. He appears to have not forgotten to avenge the defeat of his predecessor Kadphises at the hands of the Chinese general Pan-chao. He also played the part of a conqueror in the early years of his reign. Dr. Smith credits him with the conquest and annexation of the Kashmir Valley. He certainly showed, remarks Smith, a marked preference for that delightful country.

Here he erected nume­rous monuments and founded a town, which although now reduced to a petty village, still bears his honoured name. We have, however, no details about the war with the king of Kashmir. Rajatarangini refers to three kings Hushka, Jushka and Kanishka who are described as decendants of Turuksha ruler and were given to acts of piety and built monasteries, Chaityas and similar other structures.

According to tradition Kanishka penetrated into the interior of India and attacked Pataliputra, the capital of Magadha. It is said that he carried away Asvaghosh, a Buddhist tradition, after the capture of Pataliputra and Buddhist Philosopher Asvaghosa fell into the hands of Kanishka who took the saga with him. Asvaghosa was in­deed one of the luminaries that graced the court of Kanishka. We may, therefore, conclude that at least a part of Magadha including Pataliputra was conquered by Kanishka.

Kanishka seems to have waged war against the western Satraps of Ujjaini. Numismatic evidence proves the inclusion of Malwa in his empire. Sylvan Levi, D. C. Sircar and Rapson suggest that the western Satrap Nahapana who ruled over Kathiawar, Malwa and Sourashtra had been a vassal of Kanishka. Some scholars hold that it was Chastana who was defeated by Kanishka and was compelled to hand over a part of Malwa to him.

According to Dr. Smith, Kanishka also waged war against the Parthians. Kanishka also con­quered Kashgarh, Khotan and Yarkhand. He is credited with defeat­ing the Chinese and thereby avenging the defeat of his predecessor Kadphises II at the hands of the Chinese general Pan-chao and com­pelled the Chinese to surrender hostages to him.

From the Chinese source as also from Buddhist traditions we come to know Kanishka conquered Kajangal in the Rajmahal hills in Bengal, some parts of Malda, Murshidabad, Bogra, Midnapur, etc. But in absence of any other evidences to support the indirect evidence furnished by the find spots of the coins of Kanishka it is difficult to come to any definite conclusion with regard to the inclusion of Bengal in Kanishka’s empire.

Kanishka’s empire comprised vast tacts of land extending from Afghanistan, and Khotan, Yarkhand, Kashgarh, etc. in Central Asia to Benares, and perhaps to parts of Bengal. His empire included Gandhara, Peshawar, Oudh, Pataliputra, Mathura. Inclusion of Kashmir is borne out by both the Chinese and Buddhist evidences. The western Satrapies seem to have been under his suzerainty.

Ac­cording to Hiuen TSang Kanishka Raja of Gandhara in old days having subdued all the neighbouring provinces and brought into obe­dience the people of distant countries, governed by his army a wide territory even to the east of the Tsung-ling mountains. All this proves that Kanishka’s sway extended beyond the borders of India.

The Buddhist tradition and Kanishka’s own inscriptions are ample testimony to the vast expanse of his dominions within India. Selec­tion of Purushapura, i.e. Peshawar, proves that Kanishka’s imperial possessions spread far towards the west and north.

 

Administration:

Kanishka was a mighty conqueror, but no less was his ability as an administrator and he was even mightier in peaceful pursuits and in his solicitousness of the welfare of the people. For an effective and efficient rule of the empire he resorted to the system of Satrapies and appointed Mahakshatrapa Kharapallana and Kshatrapa Vanaspara in the eastern part of the empire.

The northern part was ruled by Gene­ral Lala as Mahakshatrapa with Vaspasi and Laika as Kshatrapas. The seat of the Central Government was at Purushpura or Peshawar. This practice of rule through Great Satraps and Satraps was the con­tinuation of the system followed by the Sakas and the Pahlavas.

We find a conscious emulation of the methods of Asoka by the Kushana king Kanishka. He pursued the policy of propagating Bud­dhism both within India and outside India. It was in connection with his missionary activities that he established close relationship, religious cultural and commercial, not only with China, Tibet and Central Asia but also with Rome and influx of gold from China and Rome in parti­cular. The prosperity of the empire attested by the fine gold coins struck by Kadphises I appears to have increased under Kanishka. The unmistakable influence of Rome on the Indian coinage of the time could be noticed.

From the Periplus we know that gold and silver specie constituted one of the imports of Barygaza, i.e., Borach, a port on the eastern sea board of India. Swell has also mentioned to huge hoard of Roman coins of the first five Roman emperors discovered in the Madras Presidency. The very name dinara of gold coins seems to have close affinity with the Roman denarius and drama for silver coins has been adopted from the Greek drachma.

Kanishka assumed epithet like Shaonaus Shoo, as found on his coins, was an adaptation of the Parthian title Basileos Basileon. From Shaonaus Shoo the letter Shaahan Sha was derived.

Religion:

As it is customary for the Buddhist writers to depict a person wicked before conversion and turned into saint after conversion to Buddhism. Kanishka has been described by them to be devoid of the sense of right or wrong before his conversion. This view of the Buddhist writers has not been accepted by most of the scholars who think that it is an attempt on the part of the Buddhist writers to glorify Buddhism.

Before conversion to Buddhism Kanishka was a believer in many gods, Persian, Greek, Hindu, etc. This is proved by the figures imprinted on his coins. The exact date of conversion of Kanishka is, however, not known. The conversion is supposed to have taken place after some years he had been on the throne. It is supposed that after his association with the Buddhist philosopher and Saint Asvaghosha, he must have come under his influence.

Asvaghosha must have won the heart of Kanishka so completely that the latter gave up his alle­giance to his previous gods and got converted to Buddhism. Here is a second instance of a great conqueror and emperor being converted to Buddhism and taken to the policy of peace and brotherliness in place of the policy of military conquests.

Kanishka was a close copy of Asoka. What is specially noteworthy about Kanishka is that he was the only foreigner who became a con­vert to an Indian religion and turned into zealous missionary. In his missionary activities we find him to an emulator of Asoka whose foot­steps he tried to follow closely.

We renovated the old monasteries which were in a state of disrepair and built many a new one. He endowed the monasteries with liberal money grants for the maintenance of the monks who dwelt in them. Kanishka caused the construction of a number of stupas in the memory of Sakyamuni.

He also sent missionaries for the propagation of Buddhism to China, Tibet, Japan and Central Asia. The sculptors, painters, as well as the architects of his time also became active propagandists of Buddhism. The celebrated Chaitya it Peshawar constructed under his orders excited the wonder and appreciation of travellers down to a late period and famous sculp­tures therein included a life-size statue of himself.

During his time there arose disputes about Buddhism, among 18 schools of Buddhism prevalent at that time, as we know from the Tibetan historian Taranath. It became necessary to restore the dis­putes and to that end Kanishka convoked the Fourth Buddhist Coun­cil to which was attended by 500 monks.

There is a controversy with regard to the venue of the Council. According to some it was held at Kundavana in Kashmir but others hold that it met at Jullundur in the Punjab. In the Council the entire Buddhist literature was thoroughly examined and commentaries on the three Pitakas were prepared, which were compiled in Mahavibhasha which is the greatest work on Bud­dhist Philosophy.

This voluminous work is considered to be the encyclopaedia of Buddhism. The decisions of the Council were ins­cribed in copper plates and deposited in a stupa built for the pur­pose, packed in stone chests. Vasumitra acted as the President and Asvaghosha as the Vice-President of the Council.

 

Buddhist Council:

The period of Kanishka saw the transformation of the Hinayana form of Buddhism into Mahayana form. In the Hinayana form the worship of Buddha was only by relics like footprint of Buddha, an empty seat of Buddha, that is, some sort of symbol used to be placed in front of the worshipper.

There used to be no figure or image of Buddha to worship. This needed great concentration of mind on the part of the worshipper and the method was very subtle and could be followed by persons of great self-control, and of deepest religious bent of mind. This method of proceeding along the Path of Buddhist reli­gion was called Hina-Yana, i.e., lesser vehicle, i.e., subtle mode of trans­port in the path of religion.

But during Kanishka’s time worship of the image of Buddha came into use. It became easy to concentrate by keeping as visible representation of Buddha in form. This was a greater and easier method hence called Mahayana Buddhism. In the Hinayana form of worship emphasis was laid on good action but in Mahayana system worship of Buddha and Bodhisattvas was emphasis­ed. The use of Pali as the language of the Buddhist religious books was now replaced by Sanskrit.

Art and Learning:

Kanishka’s patronage of art and learning marked the beginning of a cultural renaissance which was to reach its peak and flower under the Guptas A large volume of Sanskrit literary works both religious and secular, was produced during the period. Asvaghosha, the great­est Buddha Philosopher, saint and literary figure of the time adorned the court of Kanishka.

He was a versatile genius whose contributions to the cultural life of the time centred round poetry, philosophy, drama, music. Buddhacharit and Sutralankar are his two most famous works. Buddhacharit on the life of Gautama Buddha in Sanskrit verse has been regarded as a Buddhist epic. Another great Buddhist writer of fame who adorned the court of Kanishka was Nagarjuna. He was the greatest exponent of Mahayana Buddhism.

Charaka, the celebrated master of the science of medicine, was the court physician of Kanishka. Mathara, a politician of great acumen, was a minister of Kanishka. Be­sides these worthies, the Greek engineer Agesilaus and many others played a leading part in the religious, literary, scientific, philosophical and artistic activities of the reign. It is of great interest to know that Nagarjuna in his celebrated work Madhyamikasutra expounded the theory of relativity in its preliminary form.

Another celebrity that adorned the court of Kanishka was Vasu­mitra who presided over the Fourth Buddhist Council held during the reign of Kanishka.

Kanishka was also a great builder and a patron of art and archi­tecture. The works of architecture, art of sculpture of his time are found in Mathura, Peshawar, Taxila and Amaravati. The Sirsukh city in Taxila with its hall, buildings and monasteries was built by him. Statues, sculptures, monasteries added to the beauty of the city.

The Gatidhara School of art was the product of Graeco-Roman-Buddhist school of art and sculpture. Totally indigenous art also flourished during his reign at Amaravati. The ornamental sculpture depicted in the Amaravati medallion bear testimony to the excellence of purely Indian style uninfluenced by any foreign art. At Mathura find of Kanishka’s headless statue is an example of the massive sculptural art of the time.

Estimate of Kanishka:

Kanishka happens to be one of the few kings in history who came in as a conqueror and won an empire but was conquered by the religion, language and culture of the country of his conquest. He was an intrepid warrior, a mighty conqueror but what was more he was equally great as an administrator. If he was great in war and administration he was greater still in the arts of peace.

He was a great patron of art and literature. He built a vast empire which ex­tended from Central Asia to Mathura, Benares and probably to parts of Bengal but he gave it an administration which brought peace and prosperity to the country and the people, which conduced to pursuit of religion, art, architecture and literature. Before his conversion to Buddhism he was eclectic in his religious belief and was a polytheist.

After becoming a Buddhist he became an ardent missionary of the Mahayanism. He rendered a great service to Buddhism by convening the Fourth Buddhist Council which resolved the disputes that arose among the Buddhists about Buddhist religion. He was a great patron of Buddhism as his predecessor of the Maurya Dynasty Asoka. Like Asoka he sent missions for propagation of Buddhism in China, Japan, Tibet, Central Asia, etc.

He patronized the Buddhist philosophers like Asvaghosha, Basumitra, Nagarjuna, Political scientist like Mathara, medical scientist like Charaka, and engineer like Greek Agesilaus.

He was a great patron of art and architecture. The city of Purushapura, his capital, Taxila, Mathura were beautified by monas­teries, stupas, etc. The tall Chaitya at his capital with its sculpture forced the admiration of visitors even after long time.

The beneficence of his rule was seem in the prosperity of the people resulting from the influx of huge quantity of gold by way of trade with foreign countries like China, Rome, etc.

Kanishka has been likened to Asoka as a conqueror, preacher. But although he was definitely a lesser personality than Great Asoka, he was the nearest emulator of Asoka in his spirit of toleration of other religions, patronage of Buddhism, and missionary zeal. He, how­ever, was not an apostle of non-violence as Asoka had been yet he had initiated a cultural renaissance which reached its zenith under the Guptas.

Kanishka’s reign constituted a brilliant epoch in the his­tory of ancient India and the darkness that descended on the Indian History after the fall of the Mauryas was lifted during his reign. Kanishka rightly deserves a place among the best rulers of the ancient history of India.

Art, Sculpture and Architecture in Kushana Empire

The Kushana period witnessed a remarkable development in art, sculpture and architecture. The Gandhara School of Art and Sculp­ture marked a happy blending of the Graceo-Romano-Buddhist style and techniques. The distinguishing features of the Gandhara Sculp­ture owed their origin to Greek and Roman styles yet the art essen­tially was Indian in spirit. The Gandhara artists had the hand of a Greek but the heart of an India.

The most remarkable contribu­tion of the Gandhara School of art is to be seen in the evolution of the image of Buddha, perhaps in imitation of the Greek God Apollo. Images of Buddha and Bodhisatva illustrating the past and present lives of Buddha were executed in black stone. The figures show an excellent idea of human anatomy that swayed the artists.

These works of art offer a striking contrast to similar art that we witness else­where in India. The smooth round features of the idealised human figures, draped in transparent and semi-transparent cloth closely fit­ting to the body and revealing its outline were due to the influ­ence of the Hellenistic art of Asia Minor and the Roman Empire.

The images of Buddha pertaining to the Gandhara school cen­tres of which were Gandhara, Jalalabad, Hadda and Baniyan in Afghanistan, Peshawar and Swat Valley, were more animated and anatomically perfect than those found in other parts of India. While the former are more beautiful physically and accurate in anatomical details as such more realistic, the Indian art and sculpture which pro­duced the images of Buddha were more idealistic giving a spiritual and sublime expression to the images.

The technique of the Gan­dhara School of art of the Kushana period spread through China to the Far East and influenced the art of China and Japan. The Gandhara art, according to V. A. Smith, was based on the cosmopolitan art of the Asia Minor and the Roman Empire.

There were also purely Indian schools of art in India during the period of the Kushanas. There were the schools of art at Amaravati, Jagayyapeta and Nagarjunikonda. In the Amaravati human figures are characterised by slim, blithe features and have been repre­sented in most difficult poses and curves. The technique of art reach­ed a high standard of development. Plants and flowers, particularly lotuses, have been represented in the most perfect, lifelike manner.

Two Chaityas and a Stupa discovered at Nagarjunikonda are the relics of the indigenous school of art and show a high standard of development. The limestone panel of figures depicting the nativity of Buddha is an excellent piece of sculpture of the Kushana period which was entirely indigenous.

Architecture of the Kushana period was not so remarkable as the sculpture of the period. There were beautiful temples, monas­teries, Stupas which indicate considerable development during the period although the technique of architecture did not attain the standard of excellence of sculpture. The famous tower of Kanishka at Purushapura (Peshawar) was one of the wonders of the world. Much of the architectural specimens of the period perished with time.

Caves hewn in solid rock with pillars and sculptures, hundreds of which have been found in different parts of the Kushana Empire show a great improvement upon the technique of excavation that was in use during the time of Asoka. A Chaitya with rows of columns on two sides was a fine work of art of sculpture and architecture. The Chaitya at Karle is an excellent illustration.

Fa-hien who visited India during the rule of Chandragupta II {5th century) was struck with wonder to find a large number of Stupas, dagobas (small stupa), Chaityas and images of Buddha carved out of stone during the Kushana period.

There has been a sharp difference of opinion about the celebrity, and the extent of influence of the Gandhara art upon the Indian art during the reign of the Kushanas. Modern scholars think that the Gandhara School of sculpture has attained a celebrity perhaps beyond its merits.

According to some European scholars, the Gandhara School of art was the only school in Ancient India which can claim a place in the domain of art. There are others who are of the opinion that the source of subsequent development of Indian art as well as of the Far East was the Gandhara School of art which developed as a result of a happy blending of the Graco-Romano-Buddhist art.

But despite the foreign influence upon the school of Gandhara art, scholars like Havell, Will Durant, R. C. Majumdar and others are of the opinion that the influence, Hellenistic and Roman, upon the Indian art which was the Gandhara School of art was technical but spirit and the subject matter of the art was purely Indian.

1. D. Banerjee’s view that the Gandhara art influenced the Indian art for nearly five centuries to follow is untenable on the ground that there were indigenous schools of art at Ainaravati, Nagarjunkonda, etc. where there was no influence of Gandhara School of art. The influence of the Gandhara art failed to penetrate into the interior of India and had no influence on the later development of the Indian, art. But the Gandhara School of art achieved a grand success in. becoming the parent of the Buddhist art of Eastern and Chinese Turkestan, Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan.

Literature:

The Kushana period witnessed a remarkable development of literature and Sanskrit language. Under the patronage enjoyed by the scholars and Buddhist philosophers of the time a massive develop­ment in secular and religious literature took place. A large number of standard works in Sanskrit language were written during the period.

Asvaghosha’s Buddhacharita, Saudarananda Kavya, Vajrasuchi, Sariputta Prakarana, Vasumitra’s Mahabibhasa—regarded as the Bud­dhist encyclopaedia, Nagarjuna’s Madhyamika-Sutra in which the theory of relativity was propounded, Charaka’s work on medicine, etc. contributed to the fund of human knowledge. Under the Kushanas the royal court became a seat of luminaries mentioned above as also of the Political Scientist Mathara, Greek engineer Agesilaus, etc.

 

The Kushana period witnessed a remarkable development in art, sculpture and architecture. The Gandhara School of Art and Sculp­ture marked a happy blending of the Graceo-Romano-Buddhist style and techniques. The distinguishing features of the Gandhara Sculp­ture owed their origin to Greek and Roman styles yet the art essen­tially was Indian in spirit. The Gandhara artists had the hand of a Greek but the heart of an India.

The most remarkable contribu­tion of the Gandhara School of art is to be seen in the evolution of the image of Buddha, perhaps in imitation of the Greek God Apollo. Images of Buddha and Bodhisatva illustrating the past and present lives of Buddha were executed in black stone. The figures show an excellent idea of human anatomy that swayed the artists.

These works of art offer a striking contrast to similar art that we witness else­where in India. The smooth round features of the idealised human figures, draped in transparent and semi-transparent cloth closely fit­ting to the body and revealing its outline were due to the influ­ence of the Hellenistic art of Asia Minor and the Roman Empire.

The images of Buddha pertaining to the Gandhara school cen­tres of which were Gandhara, Jalalabad, Hadda and Baniyan in Afghanistan, Peshawar and Swat Valley, were more animated and anatomically perfect than those found in other parts of India. While the former are more beautiful physically and accurate in anatomical details as such more realistic, the Indian art and sculpture which pro­duced the images of Buddha were more idealistic giving a spiritual and sublime expression to the images.

The technique of the Gan­dhara School of art of the Kushana period spread through China to the Far East and influenced the art of China and Japan. The Gandhara art, according to V. A. Smith, was based on the cosmopolitan art of the Asia Minor and the Roman Empire.

There were also purely Indian schools of art in India during the period of the Kushanas. There were the schools of art at Amaravati, Jagayyapeta and Nagarjunikonda. In the Amaravati human figures are characterised by slim, blithe features and have been repre­sented in most difficult poses and curves. The technique of art reach­ed a high standard of development. Plants and flowers, particularly lotuses, have been represented in the most perfect, lifelike manner.

Two Chaityas and a Stupa discovered at Nagarjunikonda are the relics of the indigenous school of art and show a high standard of development. The limestone panel of figures depicting the nativity of Buddha is an excellent piece of sculpture of the Kushana period which was entirely indigenous.

Architecture of the Kushana period was not so remarkable as the sculpture of the period. There were beautiful temples, monas­teries, Stupas which indicate considerable development during the period although the technique of architecture did not attain the standard of excellence of sculpture. The famous tower of Kanishka at Purushapura (Peshawar) was one of the wonders of the world. Much of the architectural specimens of the period perished with time.

Caves hewn in solid rock with pillars and sculptures, hundreds of which have been found in different parts of the Kushana Empire show a great improvement upon the technique of excavation that was in use during the time of Asoka. A Chaitya with rows of columns on two sides was a fine work of art of sculpture and architecture. The Chaitya at Karle is an excellent illustration.

Fa-hien who visited India during the rule of Chandragupta II {5th century) was struck with wonder to find a large number of Stupas, dagobas (small stupa), Chaityas and images of Buddha carved out of stone during the Kushana period.

There has been a sharp difference of opinion about the celebrity, and the extent of influence of the Gandhara art upon the Indian art during the reign of the Kushanas. Modern scholars think that the Gandhara School of sculpture has attained a celebrity perhaps beyond its merits.

According to some European scholars, the Gandhara School of art was the only school in Ancient India which can claim a place in the domain of art. There are others who are of the opinion that the source of subsequent development of Indian art as well as of the Far East was the Gandhara School of art which developed as a result of a happy blending of the Graco-Romano-Buddhist art.

But despite the foreign influence upon the school of Gandhara art, scholars like Havell, Will Durant, R. C. Majumdar and others are of the opinion that the influence, Hellenistic and Roman, upon the Indian art which was the Gandhara School of art was technical but spirit and the subject matter of the art was purely Indian.

1. D. Banerjee’s view that the Gandhara art influenced the Indian art for nearly five centuries to follow is untenable on the ground that there were indigenous schools of art at Ainaravati, Nagarjunkonda, etc. where there was no influence of Gandhara School of art. The influence of the Gandhara art failed to penetrate into the interior of India and had no influence on the later development of the Indian, art. But the Gandhara School of art achieved a grand success in. becoming the parent of the Buddhist art of Eastern and Chinese Turkestan, Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan.

Literature:

The Kushana period witnessed a remarkable development of literature and Sanskrit language. Under the patronage enjoyed by the scholars and Buddhist philosophers of the time a massive develop­ment in secular and religious literature took place. A large number of standard works in Sanskrit language were written during the period.

Asvaghosha’s Buddhacharita, Saudarananda Kavya, Vajrasuchi, Sariputta Prakarana, Vasumitra’s Mahabibhasa—regarded as the Bud­dhist encyclopaedia, Nagarjuna’s Madhyamika-Sutra in which the theory of relativity was propounded, Charaka’s work on medicine, etc. contributed to the fund of human knowledge. Under the Kushanas the royal court became a seat of luminaries mentioned above as also of the Political Scientist Mathara, Greek engineer Agesilaus, etc.

The Gupta Empire stretched across northern, central and parts of southern India between c. 320 and 550 CE. The period is noted for its achievements in the arts, architecture, sciences, religion, and philosophy. Chandragupta I (320 – 335 CE) started a rapid expansion of the Gupta Empire and soon established himself as the first sovereign ruler of the empire. It marked the end of 500 hundred years of domination of the provincial powers and resulting disquiet that began with the fall of the Mauryas. Even more importantly, it began a period of overall prosperity and growth that continued for the next two and half centuries which came to be known as a “Golden Age” in India’s history. But the seed of the empire was sown at least two generations earlier than this when Srigupta, then only a regional monarch, set off the glory days of this mighty dynasty in circa 240 CE.

GUPTA PERIOD – EARLY DAYS TO THE ZENITH

Not much is known about the early days of this Gupta dynasty. The travel diaries and writings of Buddhist monks who frequented this part of the world are the most trustworthy sources of information we have about those days. The travelogues of Fa Hien (Faxian, circa 337 – 422 CE), Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang, 602 – 664 CE) and Yijing (I Tsing, 635 – 713 CE) prove to be invaluable in this respect. The Gupta Empire during the rule of Srigupta (circa 240 – 280 CE) comprised only Magadha and probably a part of Bengal too. Like the Mauryas and other Magadha kings who preceded him, Srigupta ruled from Pataliputra, close to modern day Patna. Srigupta was succeeded to the throne by his son Ghatotkacha (circa 280 – 319 CE).

CHANDRAGUPTA I

From the Kushans, the Gupta kings learned the benefit of maintaining a cavalry and Chandragupta I, son of Ghatotkacha, made effective use of his strong army. Through his marriage with Licchhavi Princess Kumaradevi, Chandragupta I received the ownership of rich mines full of iron ore adjacent to his kingdom. Metallurgy was already at an advanced stage and forged iron was not only used to meet the internal demands, but also became a valuable trade commodity. The territorial heads ruling over various parts of India could not counter the superior armed forces of Chandragupta I and had to surrender before him. It is conjectured that at the end of his reign, the boundary of the Gupta Empire already extended to Allahabad.

SAMUDRAGUPTA

Samudragupta (circa 335 – 375 CE), Chandragupta I’s son who ascended the throne next, was a military genius and he continued the growth of the kingdom. After conquering the remainder of North India, Samudragupta turned his eyes to South India and added a portion of it to his empire by the end of his Southern Campaign. It is generally believed that during his time the Gupta Empire spanned from the Himalayas in north to the mouth of Krishna and Godavari rivers in the South, from Balkh, Afghanistan in the west to the Brahmaputra River in the east.

Samudragupta was very attentive to rajdharma (duties of a king) and took special care to follow Kautilya’s (350 – 275 BCE) Arthashastra (an economic, social and political treatise that has clear instructions about how a monarchy should be governed) closely. He donated large sums of money for various philanthropic purposes, including the promotion of education. Besides being a courageous king and able administrator, he was a poet and musician. The large number of gold coins circulated by him showcases his multifaceted talent. An inscription, probably commissioned by subsequent Gupta kings, known as the Allahabad Pillar is most eloquent about his humane qualities. Samudragupta also believed in promoting goodwill among various religious communities. He gave, for example, Meghavarna, king of Ceylon, permission and support for the construction of a monastery in Bodh Gaya.

CHANDRAGUPTA II

A short struggle for power appears to have ensued after the reign of Samudragupta. His eldest son Ramagupta became the next Gupta king. This was noted by 7th century CE Sanskrit author Banbhatta in his biographical work, Harshacharita. What followed next forms a part of Sanskrit poet and playwright Visakh Dutta’s drama DeviChandra Guptam. As the story goes, Ramagupta was soon overcome by a Scythian king of Mathura. But the Scythian king, besides the kingdom itself, was interested in Queen Dhruvadevi who was also a renowned scholar. To maintain peace Ramagupta gave up Dhruvadevi to his opponent. It is then Ramagupta’s younger brother Chandragupta II with a few of his close aides went to meet the enemy in disguise. He rescued Dhruvadevi and assassinated the Scythian king. Dhruvadevi publicly condemned her husband for his behaviour. Eventually, Ramagupta was killed by Chandragupta II who also married Dhruvadevi sometime later.

Like Samudragupta, Chandragupta II (circa 380 – 414 CE) was a benevolent king, able leader and skilled administrator. By defeating the satrap of Saurashtra, he further expanded his kingdom to the coastline of the Arabian Sea. His courageous pursuits earned him the title of Vikramaditya. To rule the vast empire more efficiently, Chandragupta II founded his second capital in Ujjain. He also took care to strengthen the navy. The seaports of Tamralipta and Sopara consequently became busy hubs of maritime trade. He was a great patron of art and culture too. Some of the greatest scholars of the day including the navaratna (nine gems) graced his court. Numerous charitable institutions, orphanages and hospitals benefitted from his generosity. Rest houses for travellers were set up by the road side. The Gupta Empire reached its pinnacle during this time and unprecedented progress marked all areas of life.

POLITICS & ADMINISTRATION

Great tact and foresight were shown in the governance of the vast empire. The efficiency of their martial system was well known. The large kingdom was divided into smaller pradesha (provinces) and administrative heads were appointed to take care of them. The kings maintained discipline and transparency in the bureaucratic process. Criminal law was mild, capital punishment was unheard of and judicial torture was not practised. Fa Hien called the cities of Mathura and Pataliputra as picturesque with the latter being described as a city of flowers. People could move around freely. Law and order reigned and, according to Fa Hien, incidents of theft and burglary were rare.

The following also speaks volumes about the prudence of the Gupta kings. Samudragupta acquired a far greater part of southern India than he cared to incorporate into his empire. Therefore, in quite a few cases, he returned the kingdom to the original kings and was satisfied only with collecting taxes from them. He reckoned that the great distance between that part of the country and his capital Pataliputra would hinder the process of good governance.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

People led a simple life. Commodities were affordable and all round prosperity ensured that their requirements were met easily. They preferred vegetarianism and shunned alcoholic beverages. Gold and silver coins were issued in great numbers which is a general indicative of the health of the economy. Trade and commerce flourished both within the country and outside. Silk, cotton, spices, medicine, priceless gemstones, pearl, precious metal and steel were exported by sea. Highly evolved steelcraft led everyone to a belief that Indian iron was not subject to corrosion. The 7 m (23 ft) high Iron Pillar in Qutub complex, Delhi, built around 402 CE, is a testimony to this fact. Trade relations with Middle East improved. Ivory, tortoise shell etc. from Africa, silk and some medicinal plants from China and the Far East were high on the list of imports. Food, grain, spices, salt, gems and gold bullion were primary commodities of inland trade.

RELIGION

Gupta kings knew that the well-being of the empire lie in maintaining a cordial relationship between the various communities. They were devout Vaishnava (Hindus who worship the Supreme Creator as Vishnu) themselves, yet that did not prevent them from being tolerant towards the believers of Buddhism and Jainism. Buddhist monasteries received liberal donations. Yijing observed how the Gupta kings erected inns and rest houses for Buddhist monks and other pilgrims. As a pre-eminent site of education and cultural exchange Nalanda prospered under their patronage. Jainism flourished in northern Bengal, Gorakhpur, Udayagiri and Gujarat. Several Jain establishments existed across the empire and Jain councils were a regular occurrence.

LITERATURE, SCIENCES & EDUCATION

Sanskrit once again attained the status of a lingua franca and managed to scale even greater heights than before. Poet and playwright Kalidasa created such epics as Abhijnanasakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram, Raghuvansha and Kumarsambhaba. Harishena, a renowned poet, panegyrist and flutist, composed Allahabad Prasasti, Sudraka wrote Mricchakatika, Vishakhadatta created Mudrarakshasa and Vishnusharma penned Panchatantra. Vararuchi, Baudhayana, Ishwar Krishna and Bhartrihari contributed to both Sanskrit and Prakrit linguistics, philosophy and science.

Varahamihira wrote Brihatsamhita and also contributed to the fields of astronomy and astrology. Genius mathematician and astronomer Aryabhata wrote Surya Siddhanta which covered several aspects of geometry, trigonometry and cosmology. Shanku devoted himself to creating texts about Geography. Dhanvantri’s discoveries helped the Indian medicinal system of ayurveda become more refined and efficient. Doctors were skilled in surgical practices and inoculation against contagious diseases was performed. Even today, Dhanvantri’s birth anniversary is celebrated on Dhanteras, two days before Diwali. This intellectual surge was not confined to the courts or among the royalty. People were encouraged to learn the nuances of Sanskrit literature, oratory, intellectual debate, music and painting. Several educational institutions were set up and the existing ones received continuous support.

ART, ARCHITECTURE & CULTURE

What philosopher and historian Ananda Coomaraswamy said in The Arts & Crafts of India & Ceylone, about the art of the region must be remembered here,

The Hindus do not regard the religious, aesthetic, and scientific standpoints as necessarily conflicting, and in all their finest work, whether musical, literary, or plastic, these points of view, nowadays so sharply distinguished, are inseparably united.

The finest examples of painting, sculpture and architecture of the period can be found in Ajanta, Ellora, Sarnath, Mathura, Anuradhapura and Sigiriya. The basic tenets of Shilpa Shasrta (Treatise on Art) were followed everywhere including in town planning. Stone studded golden stairways, iron pillars (The iron pillar of Dhar is twice the size of Delhi’s Iron Pillar), intricately designed gold coins, jewellery and metal sculptures speak volumes about the skills of the metalsmiths. Carved ivories, wood and lac-work, brocades and embroidered textile also thrived. Practicing vocal music, dance and seven types of musical instruments including veena (an Indian musical stringed instrument), flute and mridangam (drum) were a norm rather than exception. These were regularly performed in temples as a token of devotion. In classic Indian style, artists and litterateurs were encouraged to meditate on the imagery within and capture its essence in their creations. As Agni Purana suggests, “O thou Lord of all gods, teach me in dreams how to carry out all the work I have in my mind.”

DECLINE OF THE EMPIRE

After the demise of his father Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta I (circa 415 – 455 CE) ruled over the vast empire with skill and ability. He was able to maintain peace and even fend off strong challenges from a tribe known as Pushyamitra. He was helped by his able son Skandagupta (455 – 467 CE) who was the last of the sovereign rulers of the Gupta Dynasty. He also succeeded in preventing the invasion of the Huns (Hephthalites). Skandagupta was a great scholar and wise ruler. For the well being of the denizens he carried out several construction works including the rebuilding of a dam on Sudarshan Lake, Gujarat. But these were the last of the glory days of the empire.

After Skandagupta’s death the dynasty became embroiled with domestic conflicts. The rulers lacked the capabilities of the earlier emperors to rule over such a large kingdom. This resulted in a decline in law and order. They were continuously plagued by the attacks of the Huns and other foreign powers. This put a dent in the economic well-being of the empire. On top of this, the kings remained more occupied with self-indulgence than in preparing to meet with the challenges of their enemies. The inept ministers and administrative heads also followed suit. Notably, after the defeat and capture of Mihirakula, one of the most important Hephthalite emperors of the time, Gupta King Baladitya set him free on the advice of his ministers. The Huns came back to haunt the empire later and finally drew the curtains on this illustrious empire in circa 550. The following lines of King Sudraka’s Mricchakatika (The Little Clay Cart) aptly sum up the rise and fall in the fortune of the Gupta Dynasty.