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Showing posts with the label Ancient India

Chaneti Stupa

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                                                                                Chaneti Stupa / Image Source Three km north-west of the Buddhist site of Sugh in the Yamunanagar district of Haryana is located Chaneti which is home of one of the earlier and largest Buddhist stupas. This massive structure bears testimony to the greatness of the ancient Buddhist architecture. A Stupa is a hemispherical dome and contains a small chamber in which the relics of the Buddha and his disciples were placed in a casket. The casket is often beautifully carved. Chaneti stupa is one of those ones raised in the 3rd century BC by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka in honour of the Buddha all over India. The stupa, in its final form, was completed during the reign of Kushana rulers who were devout Buddhists. How to reach Chaneti  Air: Nearest airport to Chaneti is at Chandigarh which is 83 km from Yamunanagar. Chandigarh airport is connected by flights with major cities in India. Road: It takes 1 hour 30 minutes

Fifth Siddha Day celebrated

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Fifth Siddha Day was celebrated by Union Ministry of Ayush on 23rd December.  Siddha system of medicine is one of the oldest codified traditions of healthcare originated in the Indian sub-continent with many intricate, novel therapeutic interventions and treatment modalities.  Siddha system of medicine is one of the oldest codified traditions of healthcare originated in the Indian sub-continent. The Siddha system is still being practised in the southern parts of India. Ayush Ministry observes Siddha Day on eve of Siddhar Agathiya’s  birthday every year. Siddhar Agathiya is the father of Siddha Medicine.  The day is observed in the Tamil month of Margazhi. 

Maitraka rulers of Valabhi

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                              Maitrakas of Valllabhi Family Tree / Image Tree Vallabhi, a famous centre of learning rivalling Nalanda in ancient India, once served as the capital of the Maitraka Dynasty which arose in Gujarat and Saurashtra in western India in the late 5th century AD on the debris of the Gupta Empire.  Vallabhi was a  port city which was of substantial commercial significance. The Maitraka dynasty ruled from approximately 475 to 776 CE.  Vallabhi has been described as famous centre of learning and trade in Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of the Streams of Stories), a commentary written in the 11th century AD on the extinct Brihatkatha by Guṇaḍhya.  Maitraka dynasty was founded in 475 CE by Bhatarka , who was a military governor of Saurashtra under Gupta Empire. He was a commander of Skandagupta, the last great Gupta ruler. Bhatarka did not assume the royal titles and continued to style himself as Senapati (General). He was responsible for setting up the famed univ

Harappan-era city of Dholavira added to UNESCO list as World Heritage site

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Close on the heels of Telangana's 13th-century Ramappa Temple receiving the title of World Heritage Site during the ongoing 44th session of the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in Fuzhou in China, now the Harappan city of Dholavira in the Bhachau taluka of Kutch district in Gujarat has been inscribed on the list.   Dholavira is the  first Indus Valley Civilisation site in India  to be bestowed  the coveted title by UNESCO.  The archeological site of Dholavira is one of the two largest Harappan settlements in India. Rakhigarhi in Haryana is the other larger Indus Valley Civilization (also known as Harappan civilisation) site.  Locally known as Kotada timba, meaning a large fort, Dholavira was first explored by ASI’s J P Joshi in 1968. However, it was excavated extensively by RS Bisht in the 1990s.  Dholavira is one of the most well-preserved urban settlements from ca. 3000-1500 BCE. The site comprises a cemetery and  a fortified city .  Dholavira  had a  sophisticated water m

History Ancient India - MCQs – Set 1

1. At which of the following Indus Valley Sites, the remains of camel bones have been found? (a) Surkotada (b) Kalibangan (c) Lothal (d) Kot Diji 2. Which one of the following was not cultivated in the Indus Valley civilization? a) Wheat b) Barley. c) Sugarcane d) Sesamum 3. Which of the following birds was worshiped by the people of Harappan civilization? (a) Pigeon (b) Eagle (c) Crow (d) Peacock 4. What does the name Kalibangan mean? (a) Black Bangles (b) Clay Bangles (c) Glass Bangles (d) Yellow Bangles  5. Which of the following events in Buddha's life did not take place on a full moon day (Purnima)? (a) Birth (b) Death (Mahaparinirvana) (c) Enlightenment (d) Renunciation (Mahabhinishkramana)  6. To whom is the sacred text of Jainism, Kalpasutra, ascribed to ? (a) Bhadrabahu (b) Sthulabhadra (c) Hemachandra (d) Nayachandra 7. Who among the following rulers was not a patron of Jainism? (a) Kharavela  (b) Amoghavarsha (c) Gaud Shashank (d) Chandragupta Maurya 8. To whom is Saripu

Palas of Bengal and Bihar

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                                                                    Pala empire with neighbours / Wikimedia Commons We know little of events in Bengal from the death of Harsha in 647 AD up to the rise of the Palas in Eastern India. What is known to us that during this period, Bengal was subjected to a condition known as Matsya nyaya (the rule of strong devouring the week). Against this backdrop Gopala was chosen ( Grahita ) as king by the people. He founded the Pala dynasty which ruled regions of Bengal and Bihar for about four centuries from the middle of the 8th century until the end of the 12th century. There are instances when rulers were chosen by the people, ministers and nobles in ancient India. Harsha was invited by the nobles of Kannauj to assume the throne when Grahavarman died childless.  The appointment of the boy Nandivarman (735-797) as the Pallava ruler of Kanchi by an assembly of nobles and ministers is another case in point.   Though details of Gopala’s reign is not k

Somapura Mahavihara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

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                         First level plinth at Somapura Mahavihara/ Image source One of the famous Buddhist monasteries in ancient India, Somapura Mahavihara , the remains of which are located at the Paharpur archaeological site in the Naogaon district of Bangladesh , was built by the second Pala ruler Dharmapala (r. 770- c.810). The Pala rulers were great patrons of Buddhism and built several monasteries.  Somapura Mahavira is one of the best few preserved Buddhist monasteries to survive the Muslim invasions  under  Afghan military chief   Ikhtiyar- al-Din Muḥammad Bakhtiyar Khalji, popularly known as  Bakhtiyar Khilji . The other famous Buddhist monastery of Vikramshila (in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar), built by Dharampala , was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji. Missions sent from Vikramshila monastery resulted in the establishment of Vajrayana form of Buddhism in Tibet in 11th century AD.

Facts about Important Gupta Rulers

Not much is known about the events in North India after the downfall of the Kushana dynasty but it seems probable that by the 3nd century AD the Indian territories east of the Punjab and Malwa were ruled by small Indian kings.  Chandra Gupta I In this backdrop, in 320 AD there emerged a king named Chandra Gupta whose successors were instrumental in restoring the glory of the Mauryan dynasty (322 BCE - 185 BCE) to a great degree. He was the son of 2nd Gupta king Ghatotkacha whose father Srigupta I is considered the founder of the Gupta kingdom. It was, however, Chandra Gupta who was responsible for elevating the kingdom to the imperial status.  Chandra Gupta I strengthened his position by matrimonial alliance with the tribe of Lichchhavi whose princess Kumaradevi was married to him. (The Licchhavi clan made its reappearance, eight centuries after their defeat by Magadhan emperor Ajatashatru.)  Special coins were issued to commemorate this marriage which has been described by eminent

Jandial Temple Taxila

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The 2,000-year-old Greek temple in Jandial (now in Pakistan) is a famous landmark in temple architecture in India. It was excavated from one of the mounds which covered the city of Taxila or Takshashila   .  The Jandial temple was probably Zoroastrian and contained a square sanctuary, a meeting hall and a courtyard. Its inner and outer entrances were each flanked by two large pillars of Ionian pattern. 

Ashtadhyayi of Panini

Ashtadhyayi is a treatise on grammar composed in the 4th century B.C. by Panini. The work is the most detailed and scientific grammar composed before the 19th century in any part of the world.  Consisting of over 4000 grammatical rules, Panini’s grammar is one of the greatest intellectual achievements of any ancient civilization.  Later Indian grammars such as Mahabhasya of Patanjali and Kasika Vrtti of Jayaditya and Vamana are commentaries on Panini. Panini was associated the ancient university of Taxila or Takshashila.   Reference: The Wonder that was India by A. L. Basham 

Aihole Prasasti of Ravikirti

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                                        Aihole inscription of Ravi Kirti/Wikimedia Commons Aihole Prasasti (Inscription) is a panegyric of Pulakesin II, the greatest king of Chalukya Dynasty, which ruled from Vatapi (now called Badami) in Karnataka. Pulakesin II reigned from 610 to 642 CE.  Dated A.D. 634, Aihole Inscription was composed by his Jain court poet, Ravikirti, who claimed equal sta tus with poets  Kalidasa and  Bharavi as a result of his composition . Engraved on the walls of Meguti temple at  Aihole, the inscription gives a detailed account of his victories.  Jain Maguti Temple Jain Meguti Temple is the  only dated architectural monument in Aihole. 

Samudragupta

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Samudra Gupta  was the second ruler of the famed Gupta Empire and one of Indian history’s greatest military minds.    Allahabad Pillar | Wikimedia Commons Samudra Gupta (reigned c.330 – c.380) was the second ruler of the Gupta dynasty, the golden period of Hinduism. He was appointed by his father Chandra Gupta I to succeed him. The coins of an obscure prince, Kacha, suggest that his accession to the throne did not go unchallenged.   A detailed record of Samudragupta’s reign is preserved in the Allahabad pillar inscription composed by his court poet and minister Harisena . The inscription is engraved on a pillar erected by Asoka six centuries before him. In the inscription he is mentioned to have "violently uprooted" no less than nine kings of Northern India, and to have annexed their kingdoms to his own.  Samudra Gupta possessed domains from Assam to the borders of Punjab. He performed Ashvamedha Yajna. This was the first Ashvamedha after Pushyamitra Sunga, the founder of th

Bhadrabahu, The Jaina Teacher

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Chandragupta Maurya and Bhadrabahu / Image Credit Bhadrabahu was the Jaina monk under whose leadership, due to a serious famine at the end of Mauryan emperor Chandragupta’s reign, a large number of Jaina monks migrated from Magadha to Sarvanabelgola in Karnataka at the close of the fourth century BC. These monks set up important centres of Jainism in Deccan. Out of this exodus arose the famous split of Jainism into two sects, namely the Digamabaras (“Space-clad”, i.e. naked) and Shvetambaras (“white clad”). While Bhadrabahu insisted that his followers should not wear clothes thereby retaining the rule of Nudity established by the Jaina founder Mahavira, Sthulabhadra, who remained in the North (Magadha), allowed the monks to wear white clothes.

Bharata; Author of Natyashastra

Natyashastra is the earliest surviving Indian textbook on three arts of drama, music and dancing. It was composed in the later centuries of the Christian era by an anonymous writer who in accordance with the custom of the time, attributed the work to the ancient sage Bharata.  Even today the best modern Indian dancers dance according to the rules laid down in Natyashastra.

Avvaiyar Early Tamil Poetess

Avvaiyar was an early Tamil poetess during the Sangam Age in ancient India. Her works are known for their literary merit.