Chapter 3: THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF INDIA

THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF INDIA:

South Asians were hunters who made stone tools during old and middle stone ages from 500000 B.C.E. to 11000 B.C.E. and drew the cave paintings at ‘Bhimbetka’. South Asian farming first began at ‘Mehrgarh’ in Baluchistan, Pakistan. Mehrgarh is situated about 150 miles to the northwest of Mohenjo-Daro at the foot of the Bolan Pass, which links the Indus valley via Quetta and Kandahar with the Iranian plateau. According to the recent archaeological research mentioned in the book "A history of India" by Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund, the cultivation of grain started around 7000 B.C.E. in southern Asia. In this period increasing rainfall during monsoon helped the civilisation at the Indus valley to cultivate the alluvial lands on a small scale. There they built stone walls which retained the sediments of the annual inundation. Initially the archaeologists mistook these walls for dams built for irrigation, but the holes in these walls showed that they were designed so as to retain soil but not water. Such construction were found near Quetta and Las Bela and also in the Bolan valley, around 50 miles from Mehrgarh. The great cities of Mohenjodaro and Harappa from 3000 B.C.E. to 1500 B.C.E. provide us with much archaeological evidence of a refined, indigenous Indian civilization. There was no Aryan invasion, but there was a migration of a group of nomadic people from Iran and Afghanistan, who called themselves 'Arya' or 'the noble'. The Indo-Aryan culture has developed uniquely within India herself over the last four millennia, but it’s origin lie in the fusion of values and heritage of the 'Arya' and the indigenous people of India.

According to Ms. Saroj Bala, Director of the Delhi Chapter of the Institute of scientific research on Vedas (I-Serve)-

The birth of Lord Rama was at 12.05 hours on 10th January 5114 B.C.E.

Hanumana met Sita in Ashok Vatika on 12th September 5076 B.C.E.

Mahabharat war held from 13th October 3139 B.C.E. at Kurukshetra.

Kali Yuga started from 18th February 3102 B.C.E. 

These dates were calculated by a software 'Planetarium Gold',  purchased from USA, by feeding it the position of  planets as mentioned in the Hindu mythological books, during that period.

"It is a result of 10 years of extensive research work ", said Mr. Peeyush Sandheer, Associate Director, I-Serve. Sandheer added that the references to astronomical dates in Rig Veda, Ramayana and Mahabharata were corroborated by oceanographic geological remote sensing and anthropology.

    
'The Riga Veda' is the oldest text of the Indian language family, it along with three other 'Vedas' and much complementary Vedic literature is a key text of Vedic Hinduism. The Indo-Aryans expanded from the Punjab to the Ganga basin, cut down the forests and created conditions for the vast agricultural infrastructure of north India, that we have today.

In the book "The Indo-Aryan Controversy", edited by Edwin Bryant, Laurie L. Patton, it is mentioned at page 50 , that in 1786 C.E., Sir William Jones, a Calcutta High Court Judge, made a very significant linguistic observation - "The Sanskrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of wonderful structure, more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them stronger affinity both in the roots of verbs and in the forms of grammar than could have been produced by accident, so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which perhaps no longer exits." (Jones 1788:422-3)

Nearly a century later, an eminent Sanskrit scholar, F. Max Muller, said that the Rig Veda was to be dated around 1200 B.C.E., this till date has been agreed by most of the historians world wide.  

1500 B.C.E. to 600 B.C.E. is generally known as the Vedic Age in ancient history of India, out of which, 1200 B.C.E. to 600 B.C.E. is mostly known as the Epic Age. In this period 'Vedas' were compiled and also 'Varna' was classified in terms of 'Aryans' and 'Dasas' (slaves).'Aryans' were classified in three 'Varnas' i.e. 'Brahmins'-the priest, 'Kshatriyas'-the warriors and 'Vaisyas'-the herders, farmers, merchants and crafts people. The non-Aryans were kept in 'Sudra Varna'. Their duty was to serve the upper three varnas as farm workers, servants and labourers.

The Rig Veda mentions the celebrated "battle of ten kings"- Book 7, hymns 18, 33, 83 on the river Parusni (Ravi). The Bharata king Sudasa, son of Devodasa, defeated the Puru king Trasadasyu, s/o Purukutsa. The first Kuru king mentioned in the Rig Veda is Kuru, the son of Samvarna, grandson of Ajamidha a descendent of Trasadasyu. It also mentions by name some thirty Aryan tribes and class. A term "Panch Lokah" meaning 'five peoples' is used throughout the Rig Veda to refer to the major tribes, of which four are regularly paired: Yadu with Turvasa and Ayu with Druhyu. A fifth tribe Puru together with its ally or sub-tribe Bharata, appears to have arrived later, overpowering the earlier tribes. The main dynasty in the Rig-Vedic hymns are Bharata and Puru dynasties of three to five generations.

Bharata: Atithi>Devodasa>Sudasa

Puru: Mandhata>Purukutsa>Trasadasyu>Trksi

The latest Bharata or Puru king mentioned in Books 2 to 7 is Trasadasyu's son Trksi.

From Mahabharat to Mahapadma Nand there were 37 Magadha Kings starting with Jarasandh descendent of King Brihadrath, and King Ripunjaya being the last. Of the several kingdom and dynasties of which 'Purana' have recorded political history, there is the kingdom of Magadha. It is at Magadha, Chandragupta and Ashoka ruled and it is on these names that the modern computation of dates has been based. The kingdom of Magadha was founded by King Brihadrath, son of Uparichara Vasu, the 6th in descent from Kuru of the Lunar dynasty, that happened 161 years before the great Mahabharat war i.e. 3300 B.C.E. Tenth in descent from Brihadrath was Jarasandha, who perished at the hands of Kamsa and in his place Sahadeva was installed on the throne. According to Adi Parva, Mahabharata, Book-I, Chapter-90, Shloka-39-41, Ajamidha had four wives named Kaikeyi, Gandhari, Vimala and Riksha by whom he had 2400 sons. Among them, Samvarna became the ruler of the dynasty. During his rule there happened a great loss of people from famine, pestilence, drought and disease. At the same time Panchala also attacked them. Samvarna then with his wife, ministers and relatives fled in fear and took shelter in the forest on the banks of river Sindhu extending to the foot of mountains. There they lived for around 1000 years. Samvarna begat upon wife Tapti, the daughter of Vaivaswat Manu, a son named Kuru. This Kuru was exceedingly virtuous and devoted to asceticism. He made a field (Kurukshetra) sacred by practicing asceticism there. Even as per Bhagawat Purana, the ancestors of Magadha kings since 4159 B.C.E. is as follows:-

    

01.      Ajamidha (wife-Riksha)
02.      Samvarna
03.      Kuru
04.      Sudhanvan/Parikshit/Prajana/Yaju
05.      Suhotra
06.      Chyavana
07.      Kriti
08.      Uparichara Vasu/Chaidya/Pratipa
09.      Brihadratha 
10.      Kusagra
11.      Vrisabha/Rishabha
12.      Pushpavanta
13.      Satyahita
14.      Satyadhrithi
15.      Sudhanvana II/Dhanusha
16.      Sarva
17.      Sambhava
18.      Jarasandha
19.      Sahadeva
20.      Somapi/Marjari
21.      Shrutashrava    
22.      Ayutayu/Apratipa 
23.      Niramitra 
24.      Sukrutta/Sukshatro 
25.      Brihatkarma 
26.      Syenajit 
27.      Shrutanjaya 
28.      Mahabala/Vibhu 
29.      Suchi  
30.      Kshemya
31.      Aruvrata/Suvrata 
32.      Sunetra/Dharmanetra  
33.      Nirvrutti 
34.      Suvrata 
35.      Dhrudhasena/Mahasena 
36.      Sumati/Mahanetra 
37.      Subala/Suchala
38.      Sunetra 
39.      Satyajit 
40.      Vishvajit/Veerajit 
41.      Ripunjaya

King Ripunjaya was assasinated by his minister Sunika, who installed his son, Pradyota Mahasena on the throne.

The Pradyota Dynasty-(682-544 B.C.E.)-Capital at Vaishali

1. Pradyota Mahasena  -(682-659 BCE)         
2. Balaka                       -(659-635 BCE)
3. Visakhayupa             -(635-585 BCE)
4. Janaka/Ajaka            -(585-564 BCE)
5. Nandivardhana         -(564-544 BCE)

The 'Vedic' polity was consolidated in sixteen 'Mahajanpadas' of which 'Magadha' was the dominant state. Both the Persians and the Greeks invaded north-west India during the later part of this period. Vedic Hinduism was strongly challenged by the religious dissenters such as Ajivakas, Buddhists and Jains, who objected to the caste system, animal sacrifices, Brahman dominance and the Vedas. This all happened in the Vedic Age i.e. 1500 B.C.E. to 600 B.C.E.
The sixteen mahajanapadas as per the Buddhist “Anguttara Nikaya” are-

1.   Anga
2.   Assaka(Asmaka)
3.   Avanti
4.   Chedi
5.   Gandhara
6.   Kashi
7.   Kamboja
8.   Kosala
9.   Kuru
10.   Magadha
11.   Malla
12.   Machcha(Matsya)
13.   Panchala
14.   Sursena
15.   Vriji
16.   Vatsa(Vamsa)

The sixteen mahajanapadas as per the Jain sutra “Vyabhyaprajnapti” are-

1.   Anga
2.   Banga(Vanga)
3.   Magadha
4.   Malaya
5.   Malavaka
6.   Achha
7.   Kochcha
8.   Padha
9.   Vaccha
10.   Ladha(Lata)
11.   Bajji(Vajji)
12.   Moli(Malla)
13.   Kasi
14.   Kosala
15.   Avaha
16.   Sambhuttara
    

The Haryanka Dynasty-(544-413 B.C.E.)-Capital at Rajagriha and Pataliputra. It was king Udayin, who built the city of Kusuma (Pataliputra) on the banks of the Ganges river.

1. Bimbisar                    -(544-492 BCE)
2. Ajatshatru                  -(492-460 BCE)
3. Udayin                       -(460-444 BCE)
4. Anuruddha                 -(444-440 BCE)  
5. Munda                        -(440-437 BCE)
6. Nagadasaka                -(437-413 BCE)

The Shaishunag Dynasty-(413-345 B.C.E.)-Capital at Rajagriha, Vaishali & Pataliputra

1. Shishunag                     -(413-395 BCE)
2. Kalashoka                     -(395-367 BCE)
3. Nandivardhana             -(367-355 BCE)    
4. Mahanandin                  -(355-345 BCE)

       
The Nanda Dynasty (345- 324 B.C.E.)-Capital at Pataliputra 

Mahapadma Nanda, who has been described in the Puranas as “The destroyer of all the kshatriyas”, defeated many other kingdoms, including the Panchalas, Kasi, Haihayas, Kalinga, Asmakas, Kurus, Maithils, Surasena and the Vitihotras; to name a few. He expanded his territory south of the Vindhya range into the Deccan plateau. He was the illegitimate son of Mahanandin, a Kshatriya king of the Shishunag dynasty and a Shudra mother. The Hathigumpha inscription of Kharvela, mentions a king named Nanda, building a canal and conquering an area, the existence of an area called Nau Nand Dehra  (present day Nanded) on the Godavari river is taken by some scholars as reflecting Nanda rule over the Deccan. The Nanda dynasty was also mentioned in the ancient Sangam literature of Tamilnadu. The famous tamil poet Mamulanar of the Sangam literature described the capital city of Pataliputra of the Nanda dynasty and the wealth and treasure that was accumulated by the great Nanda rulers. Their unpopularity possibly due to their financial extortion facilitated a revolution leading to their overthrow by Chandragupta Maurya & Kautilya.

The Mahabodhivamsa lists the following nine kings of the Nanda dynasty-
       
1.    Mahapadma Nanda (Ugrasena)
2.    Panduka
3.    Pandugati
4.    Bhutapala
5.    Rashtrapala
6.    Govishanaka
7.    Dashasiddhaka
8.    Kaivrata
9.    Dhanananda (Agrammes)

Chandragupta Maurya, with the guidance of Chanakya, defeated Dhananand and controlled the entire north India, which King Bindusar further extended it. After fighting the Kalinga war, Ashoka embraced Buddhism. Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of Maurya empire and the first emperor to unify most of Greater India into one state. The Mauryan kings were-

The Maurya Dynasty (324-180 B.C.E.)-Capital at Pataliputra


1.    Chandragupta       -(324-297 BCE).
2.    Bindusara             -(297-273 BCE)
3.    Ashoka                 -(273-232 BCE)
4.    Dasharatha           -(232-224 BCE)
5.    Samprati               -(224-215 BCE)
6.    Shalishuka            -(215-202 BCE)
7.    Devavarman         -(202-195 BCE)
8.    Shatadhanvan       -(195-187 BCE)
9.    Brihadratha           -(187-180 BCE)

Once the major ruler of Mauryan empire Samrat Ashoka died , the kingdom disintegrated into small independent kingdoms. Yavanas (Indo-Greeks) captured the north-west frontier. The peninsula was captured by Satavahanas. During the last two years of Mauryan dynasty , king Brihadratha faced a number of rebellions. The north-western province of the kingdom were captured by the yavanas. This was a major cause of resentment in the army of Mauryans. As a result the Mauryan commander-in-chief , Pushyamitra Shunga , assassinated King Brihadratha , while he was taking the guard of honor of his forces and claimed the throne.

The Shunga Dynasty (180 to 73 B.C.E.)-Capital at Pataliputra and Vidisha

Pushyamitra Shunga waged a few wars to strengthen his position. He defeated yavanas to recapture Punjab. He also defeated Kharvela of Kalinga. Pushyamitra’s son Agnimitra further expanded the kingdom waging constant wars in Vidarbha. Agnimitra was also portrayed as a courageous heroic king by Kalidasa. Pushyamitra was a Brahmin by caste and so he hated Buddhism and wanted to bring in the old Vedic culture. He ordered to kill 84000 Buddhists in one day. He also destroyed thousands of monasteries and stupa all over India. Shunga’s were instrumental in reinforcing Vedic culture in India. It is claimed by some historians that Manu Smriti was either written or compiled by Bhrigu during 180-149 B.C.E. , though historian A.L.Vasan says that it was written in between 300 to 200 B.C.E.. Patanjali’s yoga sutra was also written during his rule. The last ruler of Shunga empire was Devabhuti. It is said that he was least interested in ruling the kingdom and more fond of the company of women.

 

01.    Pushyamitra Shunga -(180-151 BCE)
02.    Agnimitra Shunga      -(151-141 BCE)

03.    Sujestha Shunga         -(141-132 BCE)

04.    Vasumitra Shunga      -(132-124 BCE)

05.    Udanka Shunga          -(124-116 BCE)

06.    Pulindak Shunga        -(116-107 BCE)

07.    Yopvasu Shunga         -(107- 99 BCE)

08.    Vajramitra Shunga      -(  99- 91 BCE)

09.    Bhagwat Shunga         -(  91- 83 BCE)     
10.    Devabhuti Shunga      -(  83-73 BCE)

King Devabhuti Shunga was assassinated by Vasudeva Kanva, the Brahmin minister, in 73 B.C.E. and Kanva dynasty was established.

The Kanva Dynasty (73-30 B.C.E.)-Capital at Pataliputra and Vidisha
 
1.    Vasudeva     -(73-66 BCE)    
2.    Bhumimitra -(66-52 BCE)
3.    Narayan       -(52-40 BCE)
4.    Susarma       -(40-30 BCE)

30 B.C.E. to 320 C.E.- the period saw the invasions of Bactrians , Parthians , Shakas and Kushans. King Susarma of Kanva dynasty was killed by his commander-in-chief Simhaka Satkarni/ Balipuchhak, who established the Satvahana dynasty. He was followed by Krsna-Srimalla-Poornotsang-Srisatkarni-Skandstambhin-Lambodar-Apilaka-Meghswati-Swati-Skandsatkarni-Mrigendra-Kuntala-Saumya-Swatikarni-Puloman-Magha-Arista-Hala-Mundalaka-Pulindsena-Cakora-Mahendra-Sivswati-Gautamiputra-Puloman II-Sivasri-Sivaskanda-Yagnasri-Vijayasri-Candasri-Puloman III. The Satvahana dynasty kings ruled for around 350 years, mostly around the Deccan plateau, due to the regular invasions from north and north-east. By the beginning of the second century C.E. the Greek power reached river Yamuna. A hundred years later the Scythians of Seistan (Sakasthana) occupied the delta of river Indus (Sindhu) i.e. Sakadvipa. The history of North-West India during one century before and after Christ is of great interest for many reasons. Greeks, Partho-Scythians and Yue-Chi(Kushan) entered India. They founded colonies and established states, some of which were long-lived, e.g. the empire of the Satraps of Ujjain, lasted till the fourth century C.E. At one time the Greek condottiere advanced as far as the river Ganges and possibly up to Pataliputra. Out of the mingling of the Greeks and Hindus was born the Greeco-Buddhist art of Gandhara whose influence radiated on all sides reaching Amravati and even central Asia, Indonesia and Indo-China beyond the seas. 

320 C.E. to 550 C.E.-The Gupta dynasty was enlarged and efficiently ruled by Chandragupta-I. Shakuntalam (Kalidas) and Kamsutra (Vatsyayana) were written during this period , when even Aryabhatta achieved feats in Astronomy(520 C.E. to 606 C.E.)-During this period Hunas moved to India. This was an age of small kingdoms and the north was divided into warring factions. Only during 606 C.E. to 647 C.E., King Harshavardhan  controlled most of them and ruled the entire area majestically. During his reign Hieun Tsang , the Chinese traveler and writer , visited India. After the death of Harshavardhana his kingdom again disintegrated into small states , even as Hunas invaded. 

The Gupta Dynasty (320 C.E.-550 C.E.)-Capital at Pataliputra

01.  Shrigupta
02.  Ghatotkacha
03.  Chandragupta I
04.  Samudragupta
05.  Ramagupta
06.  Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya I)
07.  Kumaragupta I
08.  Skandagupta
09.  Purugupta
10.  Kumaragupta II
11.  Buddhagupta
12.  Narsimhagupta
13.  Bhanugupta
14.  Vainyagupta
15.  Kumaragupta III
16.  Vishnugupta

In 1928 AD, a copperplate was found at Gunaighar, a village about 18 miles to the north-west of the town of Comilla, Bangladesh. The translation says-" The glorious Maharaja Vainyagupta issues a command. In the current year of One Hundred Eighty Eight on the 24th day of the month of Pausa, Gupta era, i.e. around 510 AD, by the royal ambassador, the great frontier king Maharaja Vijayasena. This is written by Karna-Kayastha Naradatta, who is the minister in charge of Peace and War." 

The Vardhana Dynasty (550 C.E.-647 C.E.)-Capital at Kannauj

1.    Naravardhana
2.    Rajyavardhana
3.    Adityavardhana
4.    Prabhakaravardhana
5.    Rajyavardhana
6.    Harshavardhana

The Nidhanpur (a village in Panchakhanda Pargana of Sylhet district) copper plates found in 1912 AD, gives the genealogy of the Kamarupa (Pragyajyotisha) kings.

01.   Naraka

02.   Bhagadatta

03.   Vajradatta(Unnamed kings of the dynasty who ruled for about 3000 years).

04.   Pushya Varmma

05.   Samudra Varmma (wife-Dattadevi)

06.   Bala Varmma (wife-Ratnavati)

07.   Kalyan Varmma (wife-Gandharvavati)

08.   Ganapati Varmma (wife-Yajnavati)

09.   Mahendra Varmma (wife-Suvrata)

10.   Narayan Varmma (wife-Devavati)

11.   Mahabhuti Varmma (wife-Vijnanavati)

12.   Chandramukh Varmma (wife-Bhogavati)

13.   Sthita Varmma (wife-Nayanadevi)

14.   Sisthita Varmma (wife-Shyamadevi)

15.   Supratishthita Varmma

16.   Bhaskar Varmma (He was contemporary to King Harshavardhan)   


The later Gupta Dynasty (600 C.E.-750 C.E.)-Capital at Magadh

1.    Damodaragupta
2.    Mahasenagupta
3.    Madhavagupta
4.    Adityasena
5.    Devagupta

The Pala Dynasty (750 C.E.-1077 C.E.)-Capital at Karnasuvarna

01.  Gopala I
02.  Dharmapala
03.  Devapala
04.  Mahendrapala
05.  Surapala I
06.  Vigrahapala I
07.  Narayanpala
08.  Rajyapala
09.  Gopala II
10.  Vigrahapala II
11.  Mahipala I
12.  Nyayapala
13.  Vigrahapala III
14.  Mahipala II
15.  Surapala II
16.  Ramapala

The Kamauli grant of Vaidyadeva(1126-1140 AD), found at Varanasi records the victory of Mayana, the General of Gauda ruler Ramapala. The Assam plates of Vallabhadeva(1180-1200 AD), give the names of the three rulers, who were the successor of King Vaidyadeva.

The Sena Dynasty (1070 C.E.-1230 C.E.)-Capital at Gauda, Bikrampur, Nabadwip, Lakhnauti

1.    Samanta Sena
2.    Hemanta Sena
3.    Vijaya Sena
4.    Ballal Sena
5.    Lakshman Sena
6.    Keshava Sena
7.    Vishvarupa Sena

The Karnat Dynasty (1097 C.E.-1325 C.E.)-Capital at Simaraongarh (presently Birganj,Nepal)

1.    Nanyadeva
2.    Gangadeva

3.    Narsinghdeva

4.    Ramsinghdeva

5.    Shaktisinghdeva

6.    Bhupalsinghdeva

7.    Harisinghdeva