India's Ancient past

Cover page
Halftitle page
Title page
Copyright page
Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
Plates
Maps
1. The Significance of Ancient Indian History
	Unity in Diversity
	The Relevance of the Past to the Present
	Chronology
2. Modern Historians of Ancient India
	Colonialist Views and their Contribution
	Nationalist Approach and its Contribution
	Move Towards Non-Political History
	Communal Approach
	Chronology
3. Nature of Sources and Historical Construction
	Material Remains
	Coins
	Inscriptions
	Literary Sources
	Foreign Accounts
	Village Study
	Natural Sciences
	Historical Sense
	Constructing History
	Chronology
4. Geographical Setting
	Emergence of India
	The Role of the Monsoon
	The Northern Boundaries
	Rivers
	Natural Frontiers and Cultural Contacts
	Minerals and Other Resources
	Chronology
5. Ecology and Environment
	Ecology
	Environment and Human Advance
	Surroundings and Settlements
	The Rain and Human Effort
	Ancient Attitudes Towards the Environment
	Chronology
6. The Linguistic Background
	Principal Language Groups
	Austro-Asiatic
	Tibeto-Burman
	Dravidian
	Indo-Aryan
	Ethnic Groups and Language Families
	Chronology
7. Human Evolution: The Old Stone Age
	African Ancestors of Human Beings
	The Early Man in India
	Phases in the Palaeolithic Age
	The Mesolithic Age: Hunters and Herders
	Art in the Old Stone Age
	Earliest Human Organization
	Chronology
8. The Neolithic Age: First Food Producers and Animal Keepers
	Earliest Rural Settlements in Baluchistan
	Use of Bone Tools in the Sites of Burzahom and Chirand
	Neolithic Settlements in South India
	Farming and Cereals
	Progress in and Limitation of the Neolithic Phase
	Chronology
9. Chalcolithic Cultures
	Chalcolithic Settlements
	Importance of the Chalcolithic Phase
	Limitations of Chalcolithic Cultures
	The Copper Hoards and the Ochre-Coloured Pottery Phase
	Chronology
10. Harappan Culture: Bronze Age Urbanization in the Indus Valley
	Introduction
	Town Planning and Structures
	Agriculture
	Domestication of Animals
	Technology and Crafts
	Trade and Commerce
	Social Organization
	Polity
	Religious Practices
	The Male Deity in the Indus Valley
	Tree and Animal Worship
	The Harappan Script
	Weights and Measures
	Harappan Pottery
	Seals and Sealings
	Images
	Terracotta Figurines
	Stone Work
	End of the Indus Culture
	Maturity
	Post-Urban Phase
	Percolation of New Peoples
	Problem of Origin
	Was the Harappan Culture Vedic?
	Problem of Continuity
	Chronology
	Chronology of Harappan Archaeology
11. Identity of Aryan Culture
	Texts for Traits of Aryan Culture
	The Horse, its Domestication and Diffusion
	The War Chariot
	Spoked Wheels
	Horse Remains in the Subcontinent
	Pit-dwelling
	Birch
	Cremation
	The Fire Cult
	Animal Sacrifice
	Horse Sacrifice
	The Cult of Soma
	The Svastika
	Language and Inscriptional Evidence
	Dispersal of the Indo-Aryans
	Chronology
12. The Age of the Rig Veda
	Arrival of the Indo-Aryans
	Tribal Conflicts
	Cattle Rearing and Agriculture
	Tribal Chiefdom
	Tribe and Family
	Social Differentiation
	Rig Vedic Gods
	Chronology
13. The Later Vedic Phase: Transition to State and Social Orders
	Expansion in the Later Vedic Period (c. 1000–500
	Use of Iron
	Agriculture
	Arts and Crafts
	Settlements
	Political Organization
	Social Organization
	Gods, Rituals, and Philosophy
	Chronology
14. Jainism and Buddhism
	The Causes of Origin
	Vardhamana Mahavira and Jainism
	Doctrines of Jainism
	Spread of Jainism
	Contribution of Jainism
	Gautama Buddha and Buddhism
	Doctrines of Buddhism
	Features of Buddhism and the Causes of its Spread
	Causes of the Decline of Buddhism
	Significance and Influence of Buddhism
	Chronology
15. Territorial States and the Rise of Magadha
	Conditions for the Rise of Large States
	The Mahajanapadas
	The Rise and Growth of the Magadhan Empire
	Causes of Magadha’s Success
	Chronology
16. Iranian and Macedonian Invasions
	Iranian Invasion
	Results of the Contact
	Alexander’s Invasion
	Effects of Alexander’s Invasion
	Chronology
17. State Structure and the Varna System in the Age of the Buddha
	Second Urbanization
	Rural Economy
	Administrative System
	Army and Taxation
	The Republican Experiment
	Social Orders and Legislation
	Conclusion
	Chronology
18. The Maurya Age
	Chandragupta Maurya
	Imperial Organization
	Ashoka (273–32
	Ashokan Inscriptions
	Impact of the Kalinga War
	Internal Policy and Buddhism
	Ashoka’s Place in History
	Chronology
19. The Significance of Maurya Rule
	State Control
	Economic Regulations
	Art and Architecture
	Spread of Material Culture and the State System
	Causes of the Fall of the Maurya Empire
	Brahmanical Reaction
	Financial Crisis
	Oppressive Rule
	New Knowledge in the Outlying Areas
	Neglect of the North-West Frontier and the Great Wall of China
	Chronology
20. Central Asian Contact and Mutual Impact
	I Political Aspects
	The Indo-Greeks
	The Shakas
	The Parthians
	The Kushans
	The Indo-Sassanians
	II Cultural Consequences
	Structures and Pottery
	Better Cavalry
	Trade and Agriculture
	Polity
	New Elements in Indian Society
	The Origin of Mahayana Buddhism
	Gandhara and Mathura Schools of Art
	Language, Literature, and Learning
	Science and Technology
	Chronology
21. The Satavahana Phase
	Political History
	Aspects of Material Culture
	Social Organization
	Pattern of Administration
	Religion
	Architecture
	Language
	Chronology
22. The Dawn of History in the Deep South
	The Megalithic Background
	State Formation and the Development of Civilization
	Three Early Kingdoms
	The Purse and the Sword
	Rise of Social Classes
	Beginnings of Brahmanism
	Tamil Language and Sangam Literature
	Social Evolution from Sangam Texts
	Chronology
23. Crafts, Commerce, and Urban Growth (200
	Crafts and Craftsmen
	Types of Merchants
	Trade Routes and Centres
	Goods in Foreign Trade
	Money Economy
	Urban Growth
	Chronology
24. Rise and Growth of the Gupta Empire
	Background
	Chandragupta I (
	Samudragupta (
	Chandragupta II (
	Fall of the Empire
	Chronology
25. Life in the Gupta Age
	System of Administration
	Trends in Trade and the Agrarian Economy
	Social Developments
	The State of Buddhism
	The Origin and Growth of Bhagavatism
	Art
	Literature
	Science and Technology
	Chronology
26. Spread of Civilization in Eastern India
	Signs of Civilization
	Orissa and Eastern and Southern MP
	Bengal
	Assam
	The Formative Phase
	Chronology
27. Harsha and His Times
	Harsha’s Kingdom
	Administration
	Buddhism and Nalanda
	Chronology
28. Brahmanization, Rural Expansion, and Peasant Protest in the Peninsula
	The New Phase
	States of the Deccan and South India
	The Kalabhra Revolt
	Conflict between the Pallavas and the Chalukyas
	Temples
	Demands on the Peasantry
	Land Grants and Rural Expansion
	Social Structure and Brahmanization
	Chronology
29. Developments in Philosophy
	Goals of Life
	Samkhya
	Yoga
	Nyaya
	Vaisheshika
	Mimamsa
	Vedanta
	Charvaka and the Materialistic View of Life
	Chronology
30. Cultural Interaction with Asian Countries
	India’s Relations with the Outside World
	Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, and Central Asia
	Christianity and West Asian Relations
	Indian Culture in Southeast Asia
	Cultural Give and Take
	Chronology
31. From Ancient to Medieval
	Social Crisis and Agrarian Changes
	Rise of Landlords
	New Agrarian Economy
	Decline of Trade and Towns
	Changes in the Varna System
	Rise of Regional Identities
	Trends in Literature
	The Divine Hierarchy
	The Bhakti Cult
	Tantrism
	Summary
	Chronology
32. Sequence of Social Changes
	Introduction
	Tribal and Pastoral Phase
	Agriculture and the Origin of the Upper Orders
	The Varna System of Production and Government
	Social Crisis and the Rise of the Landed Classes
	Summary
	Chronology
33. Legacy in Science and Civilization
	Religion
	The Varna System
	Philosophical Systems
	Crafts and Technology
	Polity
	Science and Mathematics
	Medicine
	Geography
	Art and Literature
	Strength and Weakness
	Chronology
Chronology of Literary Sources
Bibliography
Index