SOURCES OF ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY

Amongst the people of ancient times, there were some who started writing history long
after they had learnt to write. India in spite of her hoary civilization, was not very much
history-minded. Ancient Indians have left us philosophy, poetry and religious literature
in abundance through their great intellectual and literary activity, but hardly any history
book of the same category and antiquity. Thus, ancient Indian history has to be gathered
and reconstructed indirectly through literature and the non-textual material.

Without getting into argument as to the meaning of history, it may however,

be said that till recently scholars working on the past of Indian sub-continent have placed
undue emphasis on political, administrative and constitutional aspects as against social,
economic, cultural developments and the history of ideas. The existing tendency has also
been to view Indian history from the centre and through the eyes of the government at the
centre, neglecting the development of history at the provincial and local level. In this
context, therefore, a fresh reassessment of conventional attitudes needs to be made.

The sources of the study of ancient Indian history may be divided into two
broad categories:

1. Literary or Textual Sources;

2. Archaeological or Non-textual Sources.

1. LITERARY OR TEXTUAL SOURCES

The textual sources consist of both indigenous as well as foreign material.

A. INDIGENOUS TEXTS

BRÂHMANICAL TEXTS

Brâhmanical texts may be divided into two broad categories i.e. religious and non-
religious. Religious texts consist of
1. The Vedas
2. The Brâhmanas
3. The Âranyakas
4. The Upanisads
5. The Upavedas
6. The Sûtras
7. The Purânas

1
 8. The Smrtis
9. The Epics and
10. Various commentaries etc.

Non-religious texts include

1. Chronicles
2. Grammatical works
3. Biographies
4. Scientific works
5. Works on politics
6. Dictionaries, lexicons and manuals.
7. Other texts dealing with non-religious themes.

The four Vedas are Rg, Sâma, Yajur and Atharva. The Vedas are also called
Œruti (i.e. what is heard as opposed to what is composed or remembered). They are
therefore seen as revealed and self-authoritative. Various rsis, thus, are not seen as the
authors of the hymns, but only a medium communicating between gods and men. The Rg
Veda, which is the oldest, consists of 1028 hymns or œuktas of unequal length and
grouped into 10 chapters called mandalas. Its hymns are addressed to various deities like
the Varuna, Agni, Indra etc. The Yajur Veda, consisting of 40 chapters is divided into two
parts i.e. the Whita Yajur Veda and the Black Yajur Veda. The principal distinction
between the two is that while the former contains the hymns the latter deals with the
commentaries. The Sâma Veda consists of 1549 hymns and most of them are from the Rg
Veda. This Veda, whose hymns were merely used for melody, is quite important for the
history of Indian music as well as the growth of sacrificial ceremonies. The Atharva
Veda, which contains 731 hymns deals with charms and magic spells etc with whose help
one could overcome demons and enemies, win over friends and attain worldly successes.
A critical study of the Vedas can throw a flood of light on some of the history of Âryans
in India, their movements, social and religious life as well as political ideas and
institutions during the Vedic period.

The Brâhmanas are commentaries on the Vedic hymns. Each Veda has its
own Brâhmana. The Aitareya Brâhmana and the Kauseitaki or Sañkhyana Brâhmana
belong to the Rg Veda. The Taittrîya Brâhmana and the Œatapatha Brâhmana belong
respectively to the Black and Whita Yajur Veda. The Tândyamahâ Brâhmana, the
Œadavimsa Brâhmana and the Jaiminiya Brâhmana belong to the Sâma Veda. An ancient
work of the Brâhmana class belonging to the Atharva Veda is not known.
The Âranyakas and the Upanisads are mainly the works on philosophy and
ethics. The Âranyakas, generally called the forest books, actually form parts of the
Brâhmanas. The six known Âranyakas the Aitreya, the Samkhyana, the Taittriya, the
Maitrayene, the Yadhandin Brihada and the Talavakara Âranyakas. Though there are
nearly 300 Upanisads in all, the chief among them are the Iœ, the Prasana, the Aitreya, the
Taittrîya, the Kathâ, the Svâteœavtâra and the Chandogaya Upanisadas etc. Early Indian

2
views on metaphysical matters including soul, God, karma and salvation may be found
in these texts.

The Upavedas are treatises on sciences and art. Each Veda containd an
Upaveda i.e. a subsidiary Veda. The Âyuraveda, which deals with the science of
medicine, science of plants etc, is the Upaveda of the Rg. The Dhanuraveda, which is a
subsidiary Veda of the Yajura Veda, deals with the art of warfare. The Gañdharvaveda,
a subsidiary of the Sâma Veda, deals with the art of music (vocal and intrumental) and
dancing. The Œilpaveda, the Upaveda od the Atharva Veda, deals with architecture.

Amongst the Sûtras, the Grha Sûtra and the Dharma Sûtra are the most
important. The former relates to the rites and sacrifices to be performed at home, where
as the latter is a manual on Dharma.

The two great epics i.e. the Râmâyana of Vâlmîki and the Mahâbhârata of
Ved Vyâs were composed between the fourth century BCE and fourth century CE.
Though these epics are generally regarded as legendary, but they supply useful
information on the period to which they belong.

The Purânas and the Up-purânas i.e. the major and minor Purânas are at least
18 each in number. They were composed between the third century CE and c.1000 CE.
Important Purânas are the Visnu, Vâyu, Brahma, Bhavisya, Vâmana, Skandha, Liñga,
Œiva, Bhâgavata, Garuda, Nârada, Kûrma, Brahmânda, Varâha, Padma, Matsya,
Mârkandeya and Agni. These texts deal mainly with subjects: creation of the universe,
rebirth of the universe & its destruction, geneology, the great periods of time with Manu
as the primeval ancestor and the history of the dynasties. The lists of kings begin with
mythical names & events and generally end up with historical personalities. It becomes
very difficult to find out as to where mythical element ends and reality begins in Purânas.
Moreover they are also contradictory on various issues particularly the lengths of the
reigns of kings.

Similar to the chronicles, but differing both in spirit, object and literary form,
are the biographies of famous kings. The most famous specimens, written in verse and
prose are Harsa-carita, Gaudâvaho, Navasâhasnka-carita, Vikramânka deva-carita,
Kumârapâla-carita, Râma-carita, Prthvî-râja-vijaya and Somapâla-vilâsa. They contain
valuable materials for history, but can hardly claim the rank of historical works. The
reason for this is that the authors of these books steadily kept in mind the object of
eulogizing the kings who generally were their patrons and hence impartial and true
account is wanting, besides the fact that the authors had cared more for literary effect than
a delineation of facts. As a result these works are dominated by irrelevant topics or
objects of minor importance which proved more susceptible to poetic treatment and
literary embellishment than dry historical facts and events. The Harsa-carita, for
example, though written in prose, contains mostly rhetorical descriptions and literary

3
embellishments, and though it consists of more than 250 printed pages, it covers the only
first few months of the reign of Harsa, and all the historical events covered in this text
would not take more than a dozen pages.
Amongst the grammatical works Paninî's Mahâbhâsya, which was composed
in the fourth century BC, is the most outstanding. It throws light on various aspects of the
polity of the time, particularly the non-monarchical form of government of the time.
Patañjali wrote a commentary on this text in the second century BC, which refers to the
events of the Greek invasion.

Kautilya's Arthasâstra and Kamandaka's Nîtisâstra are famous works on

politics, the former being one of the greatest and earliest treatises on the science of
politics. Arthasâstra throws light on literally every aspect of politics and administration.
It perhaps belongs to the 4th-3rd century BCE. Nîtisâstra was most probably written in
during the Gupta period and may be called a revised version of Arthasâstra.

The Sûrya Sidhânta and the Romak Sidhânta of Arya Bhatta are works on
astronomy. Charak Sidhânta and Susruta Sidhânta are works on medical science. These
texts besides providing invaluable information on the topics with which they deal also
provide some information on historical matters.

Plays of Kâlidâsa including the Mâlavikâgnimitram, the Vikramorvasya and

the Shakuntalam as well as his lyrical poem the Meghadûta are some of the finest literary
pieces ever created and such texts also provide valuable historical information.

Insufficient, contradictory, ambiguous and over-whelmingly ritualistic-- such

being the nature of the indigenous textual sources, the study of ancient Indian history is
like skating on thin ice for the teachers and the students alike. However, the view which
is given currency from time to time, is not true that ancient Indians had no sense of history
writing and in doing so our attention is drawn to the remarkable dearth of history writing
in ancient india. The absence is striking in the voluminous general and religious literature
of the period, of not only of manuscripts of ancient historical works but also of references
to them. Although the major exceptional extant history work, the Kashmir Chronicle of
Kalhana, appeared from the outlying region of the sub-continent, it would be dangerous
to assume as some scholars have done that many important manuscripts of historical
character, produced in the main centres of India, been destroyed by later invaders. No
doubt much was ravaged but there is no reason to believe that only historical works and
references to them were singled out for destruction. The ignorance of the careers of, and
the absence of even any casual reference to distinguished emperors like Samurdagupta,
Candragupta, Skandagupta, Kaniska and a host of other rulers and personages of
eminence, in Sanskrit literature, may be regarded as almost decisive factor in reaching the
inevitable conclusion that no works comparable with that of Thucydides and Herodotus
were written in India.

4
 Despite the fact that solid body of historical literature is wanting, it is possible
to pursue in rough outlines the changing ideas of history in ancient India. The Purânas,
for example, in their sections called Itihâsa, give lists of kings as well as exhaustive
references to traditions and institutions. These writings rest upon the fundamental
conjecture that the universe changes through tremendous cycles of time and thus convey
a drastically different historical sense from that to be found in western writings. Early
Buddhist and Jain writings in India divulge the influence of this tradition but, like the
Muslims and Christians whose faiths had also gathered round historical founders, they
show a keener biographical and chronological sense and are thus, historically more
trustworthy than the Purânic tradition. But a significant change in the sense of history is
to be found in the kâvya writings beginning from about the 1st century CE. This highly
polished form of literature rewrites and reinterprets the earlier itihâsa traditions and in the
process historical truth slowly becomes imbibed in and obscured by aesthetics and legend.

Similar to the chronicles, but differing both in spirit, object and literary form,
are the biographies of famous kings. The most famous specimens, written in verse and
prose are Harsa-carita, Gaudâvaho, Navasâhaœñka-carita, Vikramâñka deva-carita,
Kumârapâla-carita, Râma-carita, Prthvî-râja-vijaya and Somapâla-vilâsa. They contain
valuable materials for history, but can hardly claim the rank of historical works. The
reason for this is that the authors of these books steadily kept in mind the object of
eulogizing the kings who generally were their patrons and hence impartial and true
account is wanting, besides the fact that the authors had cared more for literary effect than
a delineation of facts. As a result these works are dominated by irrelevant topics or
objects of minor importance which proved more susceptible to poetic treatment and
literary embellishment than dry historical facts and events. The Harsa-carita, for
example, though written in prose, contains mostly rhetorical descriptions and literary
embellishments, and though it consists of more than 250 printed pages, it covers the only
first few months of the reign of Harsa, and all the historical events covered in this text
would not take more than a dozen pages.

Thus, it may be said that though history is not altogether lacking in our
ancient texts, it ought to be clearly pointed out that the works under review do not reach
the standard which entitles them to be ranked as historical in the proper sense of the term.
"They are limited in their objects, eulogistic in character, rhetorical or poetic in style, and
aiming more at edification and entertainment than a statement of positive facts," as
pointed out correctly by R.C. Majumdar. It was only with Kalhana that a true conception
of history and the correct method of writing it became known when he said that the
mission of a historian should be to "make vivid before one's eyes pictures of a bygone
age."

The Brâhmanas while endeavouring to delve into the mysteries of time and
history had evolved a cosmic framework which divided time into kalpas and yugas. This
involved a cyclic conception of history, with kali yuga being at the lowest point.

5
Therefore, history, as we understand it today, did not find much popularity with the
ancient Indians because the cyclic conception placed the ultimate reality and the goal of
life outside the succession of births and rebirths. History itself was of little significance
therefore except as a means to an end.

' ·
THE SANGAM LITERATURE

'
The San · gam classics, comprising the extant literary texts of the early Tamils, contain
extraordinarily abundant data of historical value. They throw a flood of light on the
political, and still more on the social and religious conditions of the early Tamils. But the
'
determination of the chronology of the San · gam age on the one hand, and the sifting of
the historical data from the vast mass of miscellaneous material on the other, is by no
'
means an easy task. The origin of the San · gam, the celebrated literary academy, is itself
' ·
shrouded in mystery. The earliest account of the Sangam appears in a commentary on the
Iraiyanâr Ahapporul, which is probably not earlier than eighth century CE. Moreover it
is coloured by the belief in the supernatural and the number of years (9,990) for which
it lasted as well as the poets (8,598) contributing to it, appears incredible! In mitigation,
however, it may be said that like other ancient Indian texts, this early Tamil literature is
also a tangled mixture of fact and fiction. It is not possible to determine whether there
' ·
existed three Sangams or just one. The legend that the Pândyan kings changed their
capitals twice before they settled down at the present Madurai, is supported partly by a
reference in the Mahâbhârata as well as by Pliny. The fact of the three capitals was
' ·
perhaps responsible for the legend of the three Sangams. The determination of the age
' ·
of the Sangam has proved an equally waxed problem, for speculation on it has ranged
from 500 BCE to 500 AD, not to speak of the extreme views on its upper and lower
' ·
limits. However, the generally accepted view which assigns the Sangam to the early
centuries of the Christian era seems to be based on valid grounds. E.g. the Gajabâhu-
' · '
Senguttuvan synchronism ascribes the events embodied in the Silappadikâram to the
second century AD, the remarkable coincidence of the Tamil literary references with the
data furnished by the Greek geographers of the first and second centuries AD, reinforced
by the discovery of the Roman coins of that period in south India, all point towards this
view. But some scholars have criticised this view on the ground that the south Indian
Brâhmî inscriptions of the third and second centuries BCE reveal Tamil of a crude form
' ·
and that the well-developed language of the Sangam classics could not have appeared
before fifth century CE.

The extant Œañgam literature comprises of eight anthologies known as

Ettuttogai of short lyrics and the Ten Idylls called Pattuppâttu. These poems may broadly
be classified into two broad groups called "Puram" and "Aham", the former dealing with
the external matters like war, patronage of kings etc. and the former related to matters
of the heart. Chronologically the material in both the categories is of composite nature.
Tradition classifies the "18-Minor-Works" called "Patinenkîlkanakku" and the two great

6
epics called manimékhalai and Œilappâdikâram, among the Œañgam classics. The two
epics, whose themes in all probability belong to the second century Ad, are anterior to
many of the didactic works. Mandotimékhalai appears to be totally Buddhist in setting
and Buddhist philosophy of the third and fourth centuries CE is clearly discernible in it.
This text reveals that Kâñci had become a centre of Buddhist learning.

While assessing the historical value of the early Tamil literature, it may be
said that among the Œañgam classics, Puranânûru, Pattupâttu, and Padirruppattu are the
most important texts for the reconstruction of ancient south Indian history. Though the
aham poems, which deal with love, occasionally advert to historical events and social
customs, they are not as full and vivid in these respects as the Puram works in general,
which deal with the situations in an objective and realistic manner. A principal drawback
of the Œañgam poems, however, is that a continuous political history of the dynasties of
the age cannot be reconstructed, for it is difficult to determine the genealogy or
chronological relationship of the kings who figure in the classics.

1.2. BUDDHIST LITERATURE

Buddhist literature, most of which was composed in Pâli language, may be divided into
two categories: Canonical and post-Canonical.

1.2.1 CANONICAL LITERATURE

The Canonical literature, which exists in the shape of Tipitaka, consists of the following
texts:

1.2.1.1. THE VINAYA PITAKA: It has the following parts:

A. Pâtimokkha
B. Khandhakas: Mahâvagga & Cullavagga
·
C. Vibhanga
D. Parivârapâtha.

The Pâli Vinaya purports to be essentially a record in chronological order of events

following the Enlightenment: particularly of the gradual working out of regulations for
the harmonious life of the samgha. Prefixed to the central narrative is the Pâtimokkha,
which consists of the rules for individual discipline of members of the samgha apparently
extracted from the central narrative and arranged as sûtra and commentary: the sûtra
stating the rule and the commentary stating the circumstances in which it first came to
be formulated in terms of time, place and persons involved with the terms used being
explained along with the application of the rule in varying circumstances. The central

7
narrative i.e. Khandhakas (Mahâvagga and Cullavagga) contains mostly the regulations
relating to the organisation of the samgha, apparently established as particular difficulties
arose. Supplementary sections were later on added to this narrative. The Parivârapâtha,
an index to the Vinaya, was added much later on in Sri Lanka.

1.2.1.2. THE SUTTA PITAKA: It consists of the following divisions:

.
1. Anguttara Nikâya
2. Dîgha Nikâya
3. Majjhima Nikâya
4. Samyutta Nikâya
5. Khuddhaka Nikâya: It consists of these texts:
1. Khuddhakapâtha
2. Dhammapada
3. Jâtaka
4. Sutta-Nipâta
5. Petavatthu
6. Vimânavatthu
7. Theragâthâ
8. Therîgâthâ
9. Buddhavamsa
10 Cariyapitaka
11. Apadâna
12. Niddesa (Mahâniddesa and Cullaniddesa)
13. Udâna
14. Itivuttaka
15. Patisambhidâmaga.

The Sutta Pitaka shows no overall chronological framework, the

arrangements being by length, topic and mnemonic convenience. The actual doctrine of
the Buddha is usually presented against a background of events which give point and
force to it.

1.2.1.3. ABHIDHAMMA PITAKA:

1. Dhammasañgani
2. Vibhañga
3. Kathâvatthu
4. Puggalapaññati
5. Dhâtukathâ
6. Yamaka
7. Patthâna.
The Abhidhamma is not mentioned in the suttas, it appears that at one
time it did not form a separate pitaka.As a matter of fact it is not even held by the

8
commentators to be the word of the Buddha in the same sense as the suttas. As far as the
contents of the Abhidhamma are concerned, they do not form a systematic philosophy, but
are a special treatment of the Dhamma as found in the Sutta Pitaka. Most of the matter
is psychological and logical; the fundamental doctrines mentioned or discussed are those
already propounded in the suttas and, therefore, taken for granted.

1.2.2. POST-CANONICAL LITERATURE:

1. Milindapañha
2. Aryamañjusrimûlakalpa
3. Various atthakatha^ s.

It may be said that Buddhist literature, apart from other things, provides
historical information on records of contemporary events, Magadhan, Kâsi, Videha and
other kings, various wars, social, economic, cultural, political and religious aspects of
various periods.

1.2.3. JAIN LITERATURE

The Jain literature may be divided into two broad categories: The Canonical and the post-
Canonical. The Canonical texts include:

1. The Añgas
2. The Upañgas

Important post-Canonical texts include:

1. The Pariœistha Parvana of Hema Candra

FOREIGN TEXTUAL SOURCES

Foreign textual material may be divided into three broad categories: Western, Chinese and
Sri Lankan.

SRI LANKAN

The Dîpavamsa and the Mahâvamsa with its supplement the Cûlavamsa, apart from
other things, provide a list of kings of Magadha in order to provide a chronological
framework and background for the events within the Buddhist tradition and the
succession of teachers. The date of the Buddha is based on the testimony of the Sri

9
Lankan chronicles only. The facts provided by these texts also help in solving some of the
chronological problems related to the kings of Magadha.

NON-TEXTUAL OR ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES

Archaeology is the most important new source of evidence for the study of ancient Indian
history. It is the science of systematic study of antiquities and the construction of earlier
history of nations and peoples from the remains of the buildings, burial places,
implements, utensils, weapons, ornaments and the like, most of which lie buried in the
ground, layer upon layer. These buried remains when unearthed, show the contours of the
existence of man and in this way archaeology has "extended history's view backward in
time a hundred fold." Extensive use of archaeological evidence by providing tangible and
three-dimensional facts in the material remains, discovered through survey and
excavation, has enriched ancient Indian history. A knowledge of the nature of the
archaeological source and the techniques of handling it are essential for any
understanding of the ideas of history in ancient India. The archaeological evidence may
largely be divided into four broad categories:

1. Inscriptions
2. Numismatics
3. Architecture, sculpture, paintings etc and
4. Other archaeological antiquities, remains and
surface collections.

1. INSCRIPTIONS

Inscriptions, though are generally included in the category of archaeological sources, but
in reality form a link between the textual and archaeological sources. These inscriptions
engraved on rocks, stones, iron pillars, caves, slabs, bricks, sculptures, ivory plaques,
conch & tortoise shells, terracotta seals and copper and bronze plates, have played a
stellar role in the reconstruction of ancient Indian history. Inscriptions tend to be far more
accurate as data on a particular period than the textual sources. They are perforce brief
as inscribing is a difficult process. With few exceptions like the praœastis (eulogies), they
contain to the point and essential information. Further more, as they cannot be tempered
with after they are engraved, passages cannot be added or changed as can be the case with
the textual material which was passes from generation to generation orally and more than
one version of the same text in most cases is available which happened as a consequence
of the editing, re-writing and/or interpolation processes. These inscriptions may be
grouped into various categories including the sepulchral inscriptions, religious &
mythological, commercial, regnal or state inscriptions, historical and religious inscriptions

10
etc. From the epigraphical study of these inscriptions, the social, economic, political and
cultural conditions of the people of a particular period may be obtained and their history
reconstructed. From these inscriptions can be known the names and titles of the some of
the kings who issued them, chronological history of some dynasties, achievements of
kings, extent of kingdoms, identification of settlements, various aspects of the policies
followed by the issuing kings and matters relating to script, calligraphy and historical
geography etc. Aœoka, who is almost exclusively known through his inscriptions, was the
first to issue a large number of them. They are mostly in Brâhmî script, but some were
issued in Kharosthî, Greek and Aramaic. The important known edicts of Aœoka are the
14 rock edicts and 7 pillar edicts. It is on the basis of these and other minor edicts that we
known of his dhamma policy, an idea about the extent of his kingdom, various titles used
by him (e.g. piyadassi, Devanampiya), various officials of the state (e.g. râjukas),
contemporary kings with whom he had contacts and many other miscellaneous facts
regarding him. Other important inscriptions are the Allahabad Pillar Inscription (Praœasti)
of Samudragupta composed by his court poet Harisena, the Aihole inscription of
Pulakeœin II and Gwalior Inscription of Bhoja. Hathigumpha is the most important cave
inscription. The inscriptions may be divided into two categories: Official and private. The
official inscriptions basically glorify the deeds and accomplishments of the kings who
issued them. The private inscriptions, which are not very many in numbers, were issued
by private individuals and are mostly in the form of religious donations. They are mainly
engraved on buildings of religious nature and statues of deities.

We depend too a very large extent on the inscriptions "not only for the
political history, but also for nearly all the chronological details that we require in
connection with the linguistic, palaeographic, literary, religious, social and administrative
developments, and, in short, in connection with every development of research into the
past of India." The chronology of kings and events has also been largely reconstructed
from epigraphical evidence. The land grant inscriptions of the post-Gupta period because
they are legal charters pertaining to the granting of land are providing very interesting
evidence on this period, which evidence may probably change our entire understanding
of this period.

The inscriptions, however, do not suffice either to restore a reasonably

comprehensive dynastic list or to define the regnal years and complete territorial holdings
of those kings whose name survive.

2. NUMISMATICS

Numismatics has become an independent subject of study just as history is, and
numismatists have contributed to history while historians have used numismatic evidence
for historical writing. Among the non-textual sources, inscriptions and coins provide the

11
most important materials for writing the history of ancient India. But between them there
is a difference in nature. Inscriptions in fact are the earliest form of written history in
prose and thus are capable of betraying the historical ideas of their authors, whereas a
small coin has hardly any space for even two complete sentences -- scarcely enough in
which to espy any lucid idea of history or much historical facts on the part of the issuing
authority. Even if we uncover any thing like that it is disconnected and does not give
much more than what is already known. The coins very rarely correct and/or supplement
historical ideas and facts. They either authenticate or exemplify them. Thus, the biggest
problem with numismatics is that they do nor tender unequivocal evidence of historical
thought. In regions and epochs where coins alone have played the major role in the
reconstruction of history they have not succeeded in presenting more than a skeletal
silhouette, to which even a few sentences in literary sources or inscriptions have proved
adequate to bring flesh and blood.

Indian coinage may broadly be divided into two series: those issued by kings
of foreign origin and those struck by kinds of indigenous origin.

The coins of Indo-Greeks, the Indo-Scythians, the Scytho-Parthians, the

Yavanas, the Œaka-Pahlavas, the Œaka-Satraps and the Kusãnas . . carry the names of kings
with full appellations as well as their personal epithets such as Soter, Epithanes, Basileus,
Basileus Basileôn, Shao, Shaonano, Shaonano Shao, Dikaios etc. Thus, the status of the
king, even though it may have been paltry in some cases, could be easily known. In
certain cases, even the status of the king's father was mentioned. But the Indian kings,
especially those who ruled before the Christian era, when their issued inscribed coins for
the first time, were not very particular even to mention the title of râjâ on their coins.
Some exceptions can only be found in the case of the coins of some of the Gupta kings,
whose personal epithets (virudha) and titles such as Vikrama, Parãkrama, Mahendra,
Rãjã, Mahãrãjãdhirãja, Rãjãdhirãja, Mahãrãjãdhirãjaparambhattâraka occur. It is very
curious to notice that even though a local Indian king would not balk from using
grandiose and pompous titles in his inscriptions, a great emperor might disregard coins
as a mode of exhibiting his ephemeral authority. On the other hand, the Gupta kings are
meticulous to inscribe on their coins legends which express the well-known Indian idea
that by the merit accumulated by sacrifice or good deeds the king may become equal to
the gods or become an Indra and accomplish heaven.

Assuming that kings were aware of the fact that coin-legends could serve as
indoctrination as well as for perpetuating their fame, it may be insinuated that whereas
the kings of foreign origin laid emphasis on their material power and the outward show
of regal pageantry and resplendence, the Indian kings, who also trumpeted their conquest
of the whole earth in inscriptions, preferred on their coins to underscore their righteous
deeds and their belief in the doctrine of karma. Thus, in the case of Indian kings, the duty
aspect rather than the power aspect of the king was more emphasized. This may perhaps
demonstrate why most kings did not care to issue coins with regal titles, or, in the post-

12
Gupta period, often did not bother to strike their own coins at all if normal trade purposes
were well served by older coins, no matter whether these coins were issued by the
predecessor kings of their own dynasty or by foreign dynasties.

Though some coins do mention dates and era, no accepted notion of chronology
is revealed in coins. Kaniska
. started a new system of time reckoning which was followed
by his successors, which is mentioned in the inscriptions, but strangely no reference is
found to this in the coins. Œaka-Satraps of western India and later Guptas in their silver
coins, used dates. Some kings like the Maukharis, Îœvaradatta, Pratâpaœîla and Œîlâditya,
on the other hand, dated their coins in regnal years.

Another important characteristic of the ancient Indian coins is that the element of
space predominated over the element of time. The coin-types are primarily local in
character and at no time the same kind of coinage was current throughout any of the great
empires. Different and distinct varieties were in circulation in different areas at the same
time during the reign of the Guptas and the Œãtavãhanas.

3. ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE AND PAINTINGS

Architectural remains are the most important archaeological source of information on
ancient Indian history. Life of an ancient Indian in its vivid forms is discernable from the
building remains and various sculptures and paintings of the period. The remains of
various buildings including palaces, fortifications, drains, wells, temples, stûpas, caityas
and monasteries are a great sources of information on the material and individual skills
of the people as well as their social and religious history. Most of the history of the Indus
Civilisation is known to us from its architectural and sculptural remains. The architectural
remains of the Indus Civilisation give evidence of an advanced sense of civic planning
and organisation. Each of the urban settlements of this civilisation was divided into the
citadel area, where the essential institutions of civic and religious life were located, and
the residential area where the urban population resided. Sculptures reflect the religious,
cultural and artistic attitudes of the people of the time to which they belong. For example,
whole lot of Jâtaka stories are sculptured at Bharhut and other places. The paintings at
Ajanta, Ellora, Bagh and many other places depict the life of ancient India in its various
aspects. At Ajanta, for example, are shown "princes in their palaces, ladies in their
harems, coolies with their loads slung on their soldiers, beggars, peasants and ascetics,
together with all the many beasts and birds and flowers of India, in fact the whole life of
the times, perpetuated on the dim walls of the caves...."

4. ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS, ANTIQUITIES AND SURFACE

COLLECTIONS
As once Cunningham put it: "Archaeology is not limited to broken sculptures, old
buildings and mounds of ruins, but includes everything that belonged to the world's
history..." It is equally significant that an exact and detailed record be kept of all the
observations made on the ground-surface. Potsherds found in the excavations as well as

13
on the ground have been of immense help in determining the span of various cultures.
Now the cultures related to the potteries like the Painted Grey Ware, Northern Black
Polished Ware and Black & Polished Ware have been to a great extent classified and
dated. Beads, objects and ornaments of various metals, glass objects etc help not only in
determining the movements of materials and men from one place to another, but also in
the location of trade routes and condition of the economy. The seals from the Indus
Civilisation, numbering more than 2,000, appear to have been used either as some kinds
of authority-letters or tokens by the merchants. They are small in size and are flat, square
or rectangular in shape and have a pictorial motif, both human and animal, as well as an
inscription. The inscriptions on the seals have not been deciphered satisfactorily as yet.

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND TEXTUAL

SOURCES

For the periods, for which no textual evidence is available or it cannot be used i.e. pre-
historic and proto-historic, archaeology is text-free. For the historic period, archaeological
evidence is used both as text-aided as well as text-free. In the case of India, however,
archaeology has still not developed as an independent subject. Most of the themes are
dictated by textual evidence and archaeological evidence is often used to substantiate and
elaborate upon themes derived through textual material. Thus, most of Indian archaeology
is text-dependent archaeology. Techniques of archaeological excavation have now been
greatly improved and the interpretation archaeological data can provide substantial
evidence for historical reconstruction. It is a great pity that historians of ancient India
make so little use of archaeological data since the evidence which it provides is of major
importance.

The results of most of the excavation till recently may be stated to have been
the procurement of pieces of sculpture and the clearance and conservation of structural
remains. The principle of stratigraphy, which had already found successful use outside
India, is seldom mentioned in India and its absence leads to really serious confusion.

The facts provided by the material remains discovered through excavation

and surface survey not only corroborate literary evidence but also help in filling up the
gaps left by the textual sources. Objects of everyday use, such as ceramics, beads,
implements of various kinds, are found in abundance and some of them provide an
excellent base for statistical analysis. For example, statistical study of the shape and
texture of various wares provide evidence of the pattern of living, but the distribution of
a particular type of ceramic culture in any kind of geographical region can give clues to
trade and commercial distribution or migration of people. Similarly, coins can provide a
good base for statistical analysis.

14
 The beginnings of Indian history can now be traced back to remote antiquity
not on the basis of the obvious myths of the textual material, but on the basis of the
concrete evidence from archaeological material. The foundations of the Indian
civilisation, can now be more clearly defined and most of the credit for this goes to the
archaeological sources.

However, it must be remembered that to bring the textual and archaeological

sources together is not an easy task and often produces conflicts, strains and uneasy
balances. The nature of the evidence controls the nature of the perception. A scholar,
largely depending upon textual sources, would think of the Sâkyans, Mallas and
Magadhans as groups of people identifiable as more or less artificial organisations of
people based on such ties as politics, proximity, geography, tradition and culture etc. On
the other hand, an archaeological-minded scholar would be more interested in the material
culture and for him buildings, fortifications, weapons, ornaments, implements, crafts,
technological processes, pottery and the like are the main pillars of evidence. They mostly
either look from a different angle or different aspects altogether. Archaeological material
used in conjunction with the textual material can be misused and abused if employed only
to illustrate what is known from the texts. Often square pegs are fitted into round holes
resulting in scissors and paste history. In this kind of exercise, individual monuments and
other features of settlements reflected in textual documents are not only assumed to be
identifiable or locatable among archaeological materials, their identification is assumed
to be of primary importance. In fact, however, not many sites can be equated so easily.
Moreover, the illusion that the textually known can be equated en masse with the
archaeologically known has generated insurmountable problems. But for this the
archaeologists themselves are largely to be blamed because they depend upon the
methodology and paradigms spelled out by those who mostly depend upon the strength
of the textual evidence. Archaeology still is not an independent subject in its own right
and hence the problems. Whereas textual evidence is largely concerned with the life of
the élite, archaeological evidence provides information not only on the life of the élite but
also of the masses. Settlements when they are excavated, reveal evidence of people at all
levels of society. Textual evidence has been used more often than not so far mainly to
obtain lists of kings and their activities. Archaeology, on the other hand, is not concerned
with the lists of kings and the like. The fact that archaeology is concerned with the study
of material remains and that it uses technological change as a basis for recognising
cultural and other changes directs attention to these much neglected aspects of the ancient
past such as social structure, technological change and the economy. Dynastic history is
merely a part of the much larger fabric which goes into the making of history. We now
have a fairly good knowledge of the various activities of the people of the Indus
civilization that it is possible to reconstruct their daily activities, yet we do not know the
name of a single of their rulers. Archaeology, in this way, demonstrates that the pursuit
of compiling regnal tables may be interesting to a few but it is marginal to the essential
study of the past.

15
 A salient feature that comes to mind in the archaeology-aided history in the
Indian context, is the problem of chronology. Dates in ancient Indian history are mostly
based on the textual evidence, just as various periods, reigns and ages are based on textual
sources exclusively. Archaeology has up to now played a second fiddle to textual history.
Normally it is left to the archaeologist to relate his data with the textual material and not
vice-versa. An important example of this is the date of the Buddha. As now it is believed
that the generally accepted date of the Buddha's death (c.483 BCE) is older by about 100
years than in reality, all that was archaeologically known from the sixth century BCE
onwards, has been related to the age of the Buddha! In reality this material should have
been shown as pre-Buddhist or not dated on the higher range.

Studying the two sources together serves one very important purpose. Textual
sources cannot be called downright mythical or unhistorical, as some people still take
them to be. Now some of the settlements mentioned in the textual sources have been
identified beyond any doubt. The travel accounts of Fa-hsien and Xuanzang, for example,
were used by Alexander Cunningham in fixing and finding out dozens of ancient Indian
settlements. The mention of certain fortification-walls, moats and the like in the textual
sources and their corroboration in the archaeological sources proves that though there is
a tendency in the textual sources to exaggerate and the archaeological data on the whole
is quite limited, yet the two can offer sufficient material by way of corroboration. Their
utility can also be immense when the two contradict each other. The bringing together of
both archaeological and historical evidence can greatly amplify various deficiencies in the
textual records, repair their omissions by highlighting and correcting those deficiencies
and supply not only confirmation but precise meaning from material relics. But at the
same time we must remember that "any picture of the past recaptured by our inadequate
techniques from the fragmentary evidence available to us cannot be more than a rough
approximation to the truth, a fleeting glimpse of conditions and developments to a great
extent outside the range of discovery." (F.T. Wainwright).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Archaeology in India, published by the Government of India,

through the Publications Division, New Delhi: 1976: 5-48.
(reprint, no author mentioned).

2. R. Thapar, "Communalism and ancient Indian history," in R.

Thapar, H. Mukhia & B. Chandra; Communalism and the writing
of Indian History, N. Delhi: People's Publishing House,
1977: 1-23.

16
3. R.C. Majumdar, "Sources of Indian history," in R.C.
Majumdar et al; The Vedic Age, Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya
Bhawan, 1971: 47-65.

4. C.H. Philips (ed); Historians of India, Pakistan and

Ceylon, London: Oxford University Press, 1961: chapters 1,
3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 19 & 20.

5. A.B. Keith; History of Sanskrit literature, London: Oxford

University Press, 1920.

6. M. Winternitz; A history of Indian literature, tr. S.

Ketkar & H. Kuhn, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1933.

7. B.C. Law: History of Pâli literature, London: Kegan Paul,

Trench, Trübner & Co. Ltd, 1933.

17