Ancient History

Buddhist Councils

I Buddhist Council 500 BC at Ajatsataru . Record the Buddha’s sayings (sutra) and codify Rajgaha Presided by monastic rules (vinaya). Rajgaha is today’s Mahakasyapa Rajgir II Buddhist Council 383 BC at Kalasoka The conservative schools insisted on monastic Vaishali rules (vinaya). The secessionist Mahasangikas argued for more relaxed monastic rules.Rejection of the Mahasanghikas III … Read more

The Sakas

 Facts related to Uttar Pradesh Shakas had set up their Kshsatraps in Mathura. The brahmi inscription s of Mora(Mathura ) is associated with Sakas. conquered the area of Mathura over Indian kings around 60BCE. Some of their satraps were Hangamasha and Hagana, who were in turn followed by the Saka Great Satrap Rajuvula. The … Read more

Nanda Dynasty

 , family that ruled Magadha, in northern India, between c. 343 and 321 BCE. The immediately preceded the dynasty of the Mauryas, and, as with all pre-Maurya dynasties, what is known about it is a mixture of fact and legend. Indigenous traditions, both Brahmanical and Jaina, suggest that the founder of the dynasty, Mahapadma … Read more

Magadh With Special Emphasis On Uttar Pradesh

 Magadh with reference to Uttar Pradesh All the states were perpetually at war with each other. Kaushal annexed Kashi  and Avanti grabbed Vats. Later on Kausha and Vats in turn were subjugated one by one by Magadh, which became most powerful in the entire region. Magadh was ruled in succession by Haryank, Shishunag and … Read more

Harsha-Vardhan : The last great Hindu ruler of Northern India; cultural achievements during his period.

Emperor Harshavardhana, better known as Harsha, lived from 590 to 647 CE and was the third ruler of the Vardhana Empire, the last great empire in ancient India before the Islamic Invasion. He ruled from 606 CE to 647 CE. After Harshavardhana’s death, however, the Vardhana dynasty came to an end and its empire dissolved. India, the land beyond the … Read more

Vakataks

 Vakataka dynasty, Indian ruling house originating in the central Deccan in the mid-3rd century CE, the empire of which is believed to have extended from Malwa and Gujarat in the north to the Tungabhadra in the south and from the Arabian Sea in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the east. The … Read more

Religious Sects

 : Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya, Madhwacharya – Sri Basaveshvara, Veerashaivism and Vachana movement  The revival and expansion of Hinduism after the Gupta period took many forms. The chief gods were the Shiva and Vishnu and many magnificent temples were built to proclaim their supremacy. The rise of the worship of Shiva and Vishnu marked the growth … Read more

The Chandelas

 Facts related to Uttar Pradesh Yashovarman, also known as Lakshavarman, was a king of the Chandela dynasty of India. He ruled in the Jejakabhukti region (Bundelkhand in present-day Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh). The Khajuraho inscription also states that Yashovarman turned the rivers Ganga and Yamuna into his "pleasure-lakes", and that the waters of these rivers became muddy when his might elephants bathed in … Read more

Ancient History

Indus Valley Civilization

  • Discovered in 1921
  • Belonged to the bronze age
  • An area of about 1.3 mn sq km
  • Existed between 3300-1600 BC in three phases: early, mature and late phases
  • Sites

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Pandyan Contributions

 Economic contribution External trade was carried on between South India and Hellenistic kingdom of Egypt and Arabia as well as the Malay Archipelago. The author of the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea (75 A.D.) gives the most valuable information about the trade between India and the Roman Empire. He mentions the port of Naura … Read more