Ancient Indian Literary sources of History Part II

Ancient Indian literary sources form the bedrock of historical, cultural, and religious studies in the Indian subcontinent. These sources, composed over millennia, encompass diverse genres such as religious scriptures, epics, philosophical treatises, historical chronicles, and scientific texts. Broadly, they can be categorized into Vedic, non-Vedic, and regional literatures.

The Vedic corpus, comprising the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, and Atharvaveda, along with the associated Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads, represents the earliest religious and philosophical traditions. The Mahabharata and Ramayana, the great epics, provide insights into social, ethical, and political life. The Puranas serve as encyclopedic records of mythology, cosmology, and genealogies of kings and sages.

Non-Vedic traditions include Buddhist and Jain texts such as the Tripitaka and Agamas, which document religious philosophies and historical events. The Arthashastra by Kautilya, Manusmriti, and Rajatarangini by Kalhana contribute to political, legal, and historiographical traditions. Tamil Sangam literature, particularly texts like Tolkappiyam and Pattuppāṭṭu, sheds light on early South Indian society.

Scientific treatises such as Sushruta Samhita (medicine), Aryabhatiya (astronomy), and Natya Shastra (dramatics) showcase India's advancements in various fields. These literary sources, written in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Tamil, and other languages, remain invaluable for understanding India's ancient heritage. Their study continues to shape historical and archaeological interpretations of Indian civilization.

1. Ancient Indian Literary Sources -Gurvendra Kushwaha UGC Research Fellow, Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute, (Deemed to be University)

2. Introduction Buddhists: Buddhist scholars made a significant contributions to the evolution of historical traditions in ancient India All the Buddhist works are of historical importance It cannot be denied that in the canonical Pali texts the history is mixed up with legends

3. Buddhist Historiography The first Buddhist texts are Pitaka The Buddhist councils held at Rajgriha (483 BCE) three months after the death of Buddha and at Vaishali (383 BCE) during the reign of Ajatashatru and Kalashok respectively Tripitakas throw light on social, economic, political and religious history of ancient India

4. Buddhist Historiography Vinaya Pitak : It contains historical information about two powerful rulers Bimbisara 2. Ajatshatru It contains the information regarding their, political, socio-economic life Mahavagga : informs Gautam Buddha attained the enlightenment and first sermon delivered at Sarnath. Chullavagga : provides historical antecdots of the life of the Buddha

5. Buddhist Historiography Diggha Nikaya : It has various sutta such as: Samannphala Sutta, Ambattha Sutta, Sondanda Sutta, Mahali Sutta, Lohiccha Sutta, Mahaparinibban Sutta, Sangiti Sutta, Janavasabha Sutta, Mahanidan Sutta, Mahasadipatthana Sutta, Mahaduapatthan Sutta. Majjhim Nikaya : This nikaya mainly concerned with the life and the itenary of the Buddha. Anguttar Niakaya : It contains a list of 16 Mahajanpadas that existed in the age of Buddha Khuddaka Nikaya : it records the Jataka which contains a lot of valuable historical data Sutta Nipata , the part of Khuddak deals with social and economic conditions of the people

6. Buddhist Historiography Abhidhammapitaka : composed by Thera Mogaliputta Tissa (the president of the third Buddhist Council) held at Pataliputra under the patronage of Ashoka Kathavatthu , the third book of Abhidhamma Pitaka has some historical information Milindapanho : a non canonical or an extra canonical literature preserves the history of rule of Bactrian Greek ruler Menander over the western India. Menander became popularly known as Milinda after being converted to Buddhism by Nagsena The authorship and date of Milindapanho is controversial

7. Buddhist Historiography Samantapasadika : the 14 commentaries on Vinaya Pitaka, written by Buddhaghosha (a native of Bodhgaya) in the first half of the fifth century is most important from the historical point of view It provides the dynastic history of Magadha from sixth century BCE to the time of Ashoka Sumangalavilasini : the other commentaries of Buddhaghosha on Diggha Nikaya is also important to historical reconstruction, It contains the information of Nalanda which grew as a Buddhist University in fifth century

8. Buddhist Historiography The two Celonese chronicles, Dipavamsha and Mahavamsha are important historical records, both the chronicles deals with some aspect of ancient Indian hisory Dipavamsha : written at the end of the fourth century CE by anonymous Buddhist writer It deals with the reign of the great Maurya king Ashoka and the notable events that took place in his time Mahavamsha (Great History): compiled by Mahanam in 431 CE It records the Bimbisara was 15 years old when was appointed king by his father Then he reigned for full 52 years It also informs about the origin and parentage of the Chandragupta

9. Buddhist Historiography Buddhists presented history in the form of Avadana अवदान means ‘in which some evidences of historical writings are preserved’ Ashokavadan : composed in the first century CE by anonymous Buddhist scholar of Sarvastivad school It is divided into four chapters पंसुप्रदनावदान , वितसोकावदान, कुणालावदान and अशोकवदान The text throw light on Anga Mahajanpada Divyavadana : datable to the fourth century CE It throw light on the prosperity of the Magadha kingdom It also discuss that Ganga forms the boundary between the kingdom of Magadha and Licchivi It refers the multiple visits Buddha to Vaishali Hastinapur (a prosperous city) was visited by Buddha

10. Buddhist Historiography Lalitavistara (an important Sanskrit Buddhist text) of early first century CE contains the early life of the Buddha Buddhacharita written by Ashvaghosha (who was in the court of Kanishka) Deals with main events of the life of the Buddha from his birth to his Mahaparinirvana Mahabodhivansha composed by Upatissa in 11th century CE has some historical value The different schools which emerges after the second Buddhist Councils is mentioned in it Manjushrimulakalpa (a Sanskrit text composed in ninth century carries the political history of Nandas , Mauryas , Maitrakas , Maukharis , Pushyabhuti , and Pala

11. Historical Biographies Definition: A historical biography is the words deals with the life, character and deeds of a historical personality, eminent king who occupies an important place in the history of a particular nation or a region. It is based more on facts than fiction Historical biographies of ancient period as a whole are in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhransha

12. Historical Biographies

13. Historical Biographies Harshcharita of Banabhatta (the court poet of Harsha) Bana calls Harshcharit as an आख्यायिक (as it has a historical basis) It consists of eight उच्छवास (chapters ) First three chapters devoted to the life of the author Fourth chapter mentions that Rajyashree was married to Grahvarma (the Maukhari ruler) The fifth chapter devoted to the Prabhakarvardhana and his son Rajyavardhan’s conflict with the Hunas In the sixth chapter mentions that Rajyavardhana offered throne to the Harsh and all the stories up to the search of Rajyashree In the last two chapters Bana described the life and culture of the tribal people of the Vindhya region

14. Historical Biographies Gaudavaho the Prakrit work of Vakpatiraj , which consists of 1209 gathas of his patron Yashovarman of Kannauj It was composed in 736 CE to celebrate the victory over Gauda Navasahsankcharita a Sanskrit text of Padmagupta (also called Parimalgupta ) composed in 1005 CE in 18 cantos It deals with the history of the Parmara king Sindhuraj ( Navsahasank of Malwa) Ramacharita of Sandhyakarnandi may be regarded as the one of the best specimen of historical biographies It is a द्वाश्रयकाव्य It provides the detail history of the life and achievement of the Rampala Kumarpalacharita of Hemchandra (the celebrated Jain scholar of 12th century) is another historical biography Hemchandra was of two kings Jayasimha Siddharaj and Kumarpal of Chalukya dynasty of Anhilwada

15. Historical Biographies Vikramankdevcharita of Bilhana composed under the patron of Vikramaditya VI ( Tribhuvanmalla ) the famous ruler of Chalukyas of Kalyani It has 18 contos Bihlana belonged to Sarasvat Brahman of Kashmir M A Stain opines “The narrative of Bana and Bilhana , too treats of historical facts yet their heros are painted all white and their enemies all black.” Vikramankabhyudaya Charita of Someshvara III ( Bhulokmalla ) (one of the later Chalukya ruler of Kalyani It is an incomplete biography of his father Vikramaditya VI Somapalavijaya of Jalhana (a celebrated Kashmiri brahmana scholar) of twelfth century CE It is a short biography of king Sompala

16. Historical Biographies Prithvirajvijaya of Jayanak is a Sanskrit text of 12 cantos provides a life-history of his patron Prithviraja III (the Chahman king of Ajmer) Jayanak has presented an authentic biographical history of the Chahmanas of Shakambhari Prithviraj Raso of Chanda Bardai consists of 1400 verses is the biography of Prithviraj III Chand Bardai states the Agnikula theory in this book regarding the origin of Pratihara, Parmara , Chalukya and Chahaman

17. Historical Writings Kalidas: His historical sense is reflected in his Malavikagnimitram (a drama of five acts) The story of Purshyamitra Shunga who assassinated Brihadratha (the last ruler of Maurya) is referred It also has some mythical an imaginary elements क्षेमेन्द्र rightly called Kalidas as इतिहासदर्शी in his famous work कण्ठावर्ण Vishakhadatta : the two drama 1. Mudrarakshash and 2. Devi- Chandraguptam is of historical importance Mudrarakshasha deals with the end of the Nanda dynasty and establishment of the Maurya dynasty Devi- Chandraguptam describes the Ramgupta (the son and successor of Samudragupta )

18. Historical Writings राजतरंगिणी of Kalhana (a minister of Harsha) the son of Champak composed it in 1149 CE He occupied the highest place among the ancient historians It is a Sanskrit Text nearly 8000 verses Kalhana was the source of inspiration for future historians of India. Contains traditional history from the beginning of Kaliyuga to the end of the sixth century CE Covering the period from early seventh century CE to the middle of the twelfth Century CE

19. References Carr. E. H. 1961. What is History? . London: Palgrave Macmillion . Singh, G. P. 2017. Ancient Indian Historiography Sources and Interpretation . New Delhi: D. K. Printworld . Raychaudhari , H. C. 1972. Political History of Ancient India . Calcutta: University of Calcutta Press. Sen, S. P. 1979. Historical Biography in Indian Literature . Calcutta: Institute of Historical Studies. Pathak, V. S. 1966. Ancient Historians of India . Bombay: Asia Publishing House. Warder, A. K. 1987. An Introduction to Indian Historiography . Chandigarh: Haryana Sahitya Academy.

20. Thank You!