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Sources O f I ndian H istory

Sources O f I ndian H istory. Made by - Itika Juyal B.A.(H)English 1 st semester. Ancient India. India is a country in South Asia whose name comes from the Indus River.

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Sources O f I ndian H istory

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  1. Sources Of Indian History Made by - Itika Juyal B.A.(H)English 1st semester

  2. Ancient India • India is a country in South Asia whose name comes from the Indus River. • "India is the cradle of human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only! “ - Mark Twain

  3. Sources of Indian History Sources of ancient Indian History can be described under the following five headings:- • Literary Sources • Archaeological Evidence Inscriptions Coins • Accounts of the Foreigners

  4. Literary sources • Upanishadas: Main source of Indian philosophy; also called "Vedantas“ • JainaParisistapravana, Buddhist Dwipavamsaand Mahavamsacontain traditions which supply us some historical materials. GargiSamhita, a book on astronomy, the grammerof Panini and Patanjalialso contain materials that help us in the recontruction of the history of the ancient period of India.

  5. Archaeological Evidence • General Sir Alexander Cunningham is the Father of Indian Archaeology. • The archaeological evidence is obtained by the systematic and skilled examination of building monuments, and work of art. • The discovery of India's oldest cities by Daya Ram Shahni was the biggest achievement of Archaeological Survey of India under Marshall.Thecities discovered were named Harappa and Mohenjodaro and the civilisation as the Indus Valley Civilisation.

  6. Inscriptions • Inscriptions are the most reliable evidence and their study is called epigraphy. • These are mostly carved on gold, silver, iron, copper, bronze plates or stone pillars, rocks temple walls and bricks and are free from interpolations. • Inscriptions again are mainly of three types:- royal eulogy, official documents like royal rescripts, boundary marks, deeds, gift, etc. and private records of votive, donative or dedicative type.

  7. Coins • The study of coins is known asnumismatics. • Ancient Indian coins have been discovered from which idea about the contemporary economic condition, currency system, development of the matallurgical art has been obtained. • Samudragupta'sAswamedhacoins and Lion-slayer coins gives us an idea of his ambition and love of hunting.

  8. Accounts of the Foreigners •  A great deal of our knowledge of ancient Indian History are supplemented by the writing of foreigners. Example: • Hiuen Tsang(C) • Buddhist Records of the Western World • Describes the social, economic and religious conditions of India in the 5th and 7th Century AD.

  9. Shruti literature • The Vedas are divine and eternal. The Vedas are truly considered to be the boundless repository of “knowledge par excellence”. • The Vedas are known as the Shruti literature. • The Shruti is treated as the supreme and ultimate authority

  10. Smriti literature • Smriti  means "that which is remembered," refers to a specific body of Hindureligiousscripture, and is a codified component of Hindu customary law.   • It is generally seen as secondary in authority to Sruti. It portrays the traditions of the rules on dharma, especially those of lawful virtuous persons example Ramayana

  11. The Smriti texts have become a binding of “sacred literature” • It includes : • The six Vedangas • The Ithihasas : the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as well as, the Puranas[3] It is within all of these works that the rules of dharma remain and are passed down.

  12. Sides of Smriti • Smriti as Tradition(. Smriti as Tradition consists of Smriti as memories. It is from these memories that the rules of dharma are preserved and passed down.) • Smriti as Texts( refers to the notion of Traditional Texts. These consists of mostly the dharmasastras and are described as literature which has been “inspired by the smrti”. )

  13. Shruti v/s Smriti • The first source of dharma is Sruti: the Vedas or Revelations whereas Smriti is the second source of authority for dharma • The Shruti statement is accepted as the final word whereasthe Smriti is interpreted in consonance with the Shruti. • Shruti can not be altered at all whereasthe Smriti might undergo modifications • Shruti is considered to be the more authoritative, in practice whereas the Smriti texts are more influential in modern Hinduism.

  14. Thank you

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