Introduction to India’s Ancient Past

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Book No. – 11 (History)

Book Name – India: The Ancient Past (Burjor Avari)

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1. Defining terms

2. Why Study Ancient India?

3. Time, space and people

3.1. Chronological signposts

3.2. Physical geography and its impact on history

3.3. Myths and sacred geography

3.4. Social and cultural diversity

4. Sources of study

4.1. Reconstructing the history of ancient India

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Introduction to India’s Ancient Past

Chapter – 1

Harshit Sharma

Alumnus (BHU)

Defining terms

Modern India came into existence in 1947 after the partition of British India, now the largest democracy and a growing economic power.
Geographically, India once included Pakistan and Bangladesh, with cultural ties to Nepal, Sri Lanka, and historical connections with Afghanistan.
The term India originates from the Sanskrit word sindhu, meaning river frontier, referring to the Indus River.
The earliest reference to India in the Rig-Veda mentions Sapta-Sindhava, a region in Punjab.
Persians in the 6th century BCE used Hindhu (from sindhu), while Alexander the Great referred to the land around the Indus as India.
Ancient Indians used terms like Bharat, Madhyadesha, Aryavarta, and Jambudvipa for their land. The constitution of the Republic of India also recognizes the country as India that is Bharat.
The ancient period starts around 7000 BCE with the emergence of the first farming community at Mehrgarh in Baluchistan.
The history of farming in India marks the antiquity of its civilization, not based on ancient texts but archaeological findings.
The book covers ancient Indian history up to CE 1200, when the civilization came under pressure from Islamic and Western forces.
Prior to CE 1200, India faced outside influence but largely maintained autonomy under indigenous rulers.
After CE 1200, India’s political and cultural autonomy was compromised by Turco-Afghan, Mogul, and British rule, which reshaped its identity.
The ancient Indian civilization, before CE 1200, was rooted in its native soil and was a composite civilization.
The term Hindu was first used by Persians and later by Arabs and Turks to refer to the people beyond the Indus River.
Initially, Hindus did not self-identify with the term but used their sect or caste names for self-description.
Ancient India, until around 3000 BCE, showed little evidence of Hindu culture.
Vedic Hindu culture began around 2000 BCE and lasted for about 1500 years, influencing the next religious groups like Buddhists and Jains.
Puranic and devotional Hinduism emerged around CE 300 and continued thereafter.
India’s classical civilization was shaped by collaboration between various groups, including Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, dissenters, and even atheists.
The greatest monuments and intellectual progress in ancient India reflect this cultural partnership.

Why Study Ancient India?

Studying ancient India should not aim to glorify the country or proclaim unproven achievements.
This tendency often arises as a defensive reaction to Western progress and is fueled by exaggerated praise from some foreign intellectuals.
Another flawed reason is to focus on the decline of India after the arrival of Islam, comparing it negatively to the pre-CE 1200 period.
For many in the West, interest in ancient India often stems from religion, particularly Hindu and Buddhist traditions, leading to stereotypes like Indians as highly spiritual and fatalistic.
This view overlooks other important legacies from ancient India, such as in intellect, art, and morality.
The intellectual heritage of ancient India is vast, with contributions like the number system on which modern science is based.
Ancient Indians were great grammarians, mathematicians, and astronomers, whose work influenced mainstream studies.
Indians were also early pioneers of debate, demonstrating both passionate and logical discourse, predating similar practices in European civilization.
The artistic heritage of India includes beautifully crafted jewelry, toys, and bronze works, indicating a sophisticated lifestyle from the Harappan civilization.
Indian textile designs continue to influence global fashion, and Indian temples attract millions of tourists.
Ancient India had a vision of a morally ordered society, emphasizing international amity and goodwill.
Indian warfare was guided by ethical principles, unlike many other civilizations that engaged in rapacious warfare.
Distinguished modern figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, and Jawaharlal Nehru emphasized India’s peaceful and affirmative values.
Studying ancient India requires a critical and comparative approach, acknowledging its shortcomings in certain areas.
In terms of technology, ancient India lagged behind China, which was more advanced in this field.
India also developed scripts later than Mesopotamia and Egypt, and historiography was not a focus, unlike in Chinaand Rome.
Ancient India showed disregard for inequality and poverty, issues that have persisted throughout its history.
While many ancient texts lamented poverty and inequality, they rarely expressed outrage, with the caste system being a major factor in this passivity.
The caste system remains one of the greatest moral blots on the record of ancient India.

Time, space and people

Chronological signposts

Ancient Indians were skilled in calculating time, but did not standardise the dates of important events.
This lack of standardisation is due to India’s political and cultural fragmentation and regionalisation, except during the Mauryan (321 BCE–185 BCE) and Gupta (CE 320–467) empires.
Numerous ancient Indian calendars were used, each with its own commencement year, by different dynasties or religious communities.
Early modern scholars helped systematise ancient Indian studies by establishing the credibility of dates and synchronising them with the European system (BC/AD, now BCE/CE).
Synchronisation was aided by foreign sources and mathematical calculations from ancient India itself.
Greek sources indicate Alexander the Great invaded India in 327 BCE, which helped scholars determine the accession date of Chandragupta Maurya.
Aryabhatta, a famous astronomer, completed his work in CE 499, marking the end of 3,600 years of the Kali Yuga, starting in 3101 BCE.
By CE 2000–01, Hindus had completed the first century of their sixth millennium.
Islamic historiography, more systematic than ancient Indian dating, developed a reliable dating system based on the Islamic lunar calendar (starting CE 622).
This allows for confident dates like CE 1000, when Mahmud of Ghazni attacked India.
The European dating system is inaccurate because Christ was born at least four years before CE 1, the supposed year of his birth.
Additionally, there have been slippages of days and days artificially added by Church authorities.
The modern European system is now updated and universal, with Common Era (CE) used instead of Anno Domini (AD).
All dates in ancient Indian history are somewhat fluid, and a degree of flexibility (a few years) must be accepted when dating some events.

Physical geography and its impact on history

Geography plays a crucial role in shaping a country’s history, and it was significant in ancient India.
The northern mountains (Sulaiman, Hindu Kush, Chitral valley, Karakorams, and Himalayas) provided several mountain passes (e.g., Bolan, Gomal, and Khyber) that allowed invasions and migrations.
These passes were crucial for the entry of early humans from eastern Africa and Indo-European waves like the Aryans.
Buddhism spread to Central Asia through these passes, while the northeastern mountains acted as a barrier between India and China.
The northern mountains are the source of India’s great rivers, which are filled by glacier melt in spring and summer.
The three major river systems from these mountains are:
- Indus River (originates in Tibet, flows through Kashmir and Punjab, empties into the Arabian Sea).
- Brahmaputra River (starts in Tibet, flows east, then south-west into India, joining Padma, ending in the Bay of Bengal).
- Ganges–Yamuna River system (flows from the Indian Himalayas, merging at Allahabad, flows east into the Bay of Bengal).
These river valleys (Indus, Brahmaputra, Ganges–Yamuna) were the centres of population, farming, and city-buildingin ancient India.
Early farming started in Baluchistan and the Indus region, where the first Indian civilisation, the Harappan, developed.
In the second millennium BCE, the Aryans cleared forests of the Ganges–Yamuna plain for farming, where Vedic culture flourished and significant cities were established.
The Vindhya mountains to the south acted as a barrier between north and south India, but passes allowed migration and communication, such as the movement of Brahman priests promoting Vedic Hinduism.
South of the Vindhyas lies the Deccan Plateau, which faces a water scarcity due to limited monsoon rains and fewer rivers with little water flow.
Major rivers in the south include:
- Narmada, Tapti, Mahanadi (from the Vindhyas), and
- Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Penner, Kaveri (with poorer flow compared to northern rivers).
The Western Ghats (low mountains) influence river flow in the south, and the Eastern Ghats have no major rivers.
Irrigation has been crucial in the Deccan region, supporting its regional kingdoms (e.g., Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas) and leading to the prosperity of the area.
The rock-cut temples, monuments, and palaces in the Deccan testify to the wealth of these polities.
Further south, along the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, the Kerala and Tamil kingdoms thrived with irrigationand international trade from the first millennium CE.
The coastline of India, though not highly indented, is extensive, stretching from the Makran coast in the west to the Bangladesh delta in the east.
India’s coastline facilitated trade with Mesopotamia, Arabia, Persia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Roman Empire, and East Africa.
On the east coast, trade and traffic flowed between India and Southeast Asia, making India the hub of sea routes in the ancient world.

Myths and sacred geography

The idea of geographical sacred space is central to Hindu religion and mythology.
For most Hindus, the subcontinent of India itself is considered a sacred land, sanctified by the footprints of saints and sages over millennia.
Modern Hindu revivalist organisations often tap into this sentiment, leading to conflicts with other religious communities.
The continuity of Hindu myths and legends is central to India’s religious life, preserved in epics like the Ramayanaand Mahabharata.
Hindu myths encompass human, divine, and cosmic universes, dealing with themes like nature, creation, gods, animals, reincarnation, heroism, and morality.
These myths have been passed down for four millennia through word of mouth and are still popular in folklore, festivals, literature, music, dance, drama, and modern media like cinema and TV.
These myths occupy an inner sacred space in the human psyche, beyond geographical boundaries.
India is a land of pilgrims and saints, with Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians all participating in pilgrimage.
The Hindu pilgrims visit sacred mountains, rivers, lakes, and cities to perform rituals and ceremonies.
The Himalayan peaks are worshipped as the abode of gods and a repository of their heroic deeds.
The mythical Meru mountain, located in the Himalayas, is considered the center of the universe.
Rivers in Hinduism are seen as sources of life.
The Sarasvati river, associated with the goddess of learning, was particularly revered among the seven rivers of the Punjab (Sapta Sindhu).
The Ganges river holds the most sacred place in the Hindu heart; bathing in its waters is essential for Hindus, even despite modern pollution.
Sacred geography is deeply embedded in the Hindu psyche, evidenced by secular figures like Nehru expressing its influence.
Lakes are also considered sacred, as they are associated with deities.
Cities in India also hold sacred significance. Six major northern cities are considered sacred:
- Ayodhya (birthplace of Rama),
- Mathura (birthplace of Krishna),
- Hardwar (site of Kumbh Mela and the source of the Ganges),
- Kashi (final destination for dying Hindus on the Ganges),
- Prayag (where Ganges, Yamuna, and the Sarasvati meet, site of Kumbh Mela),
- Dwarka (where Krishna sought safety).
These northern cities are located in Madhyadesha, the spiritual heartland of Hindu, Aryan, and Brahmanic culture.
The three important southern sacred cities are:
- Madurai,
- Kanchipuram,
- Rameshwaram.
These southern cities were added to the list of sacred sites after the south conformed to the Vedic/Brahmanictraditions.

Social and cultural diversity

Ancient Indians were as diverse as their modern descendants, with ethnic groups shaped by history, geography, and culture.
Racial classification terms like Negrito, Proto-Australoid, Mongoloid, Mediterranean, and Nordic-Aryan were used in the past but are now considered irrelevant and dangerous.
A more meaningful concept is ethnic diversity, where India is seen as a nation of many ethnic groups.
Some ethnic groups, called Adivasis or aborigines, have lived in India for millennia, originally as nomadic hunter-gatherers or forest-dwellers.
Different ethnic groups developed distinct cultures in diverse terrains like mountains, river valleys, plains, deserts, coasts, and forests.
Groups like the Aryans, Iranians, Turco-Afghans, Graeco-Macedonians, and Tibeto-Burmans came from abroad and integrated into the Indian ethnic mix.
Occupational diversity was also significant, with hunter-gatherers and forest-dwellers dominating most of India until the first millennium BCE.
Major farming activities began in the Ganges–Yamuna plains with the clearing of forests and the development of irrigation skills in the south.
As farming and pastoralism expanded, they displaced hunter-gatherers and forest-dwellers, leading to the rise of town-dwellers, craftsmen, and traders.
Religious diversity was evident in ancient India, with animistic and nature-worshipping practices among aborigines, while the Harappan civilization began developing religious rituals.
The fusion of Indo-Iranian Aryans with ancient Indians led to the formation of Vedic Hinduism and the emergence of the caste system.
While many adhered to Vedic Hinduism, others remained outside its fold, practicing animism or following alternative religious traditions like Buddhism and Jainism.
Ancient India evolved into a multi-faith society, with Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Zoroastrianism becoming known by CE 1200.
Linguistic diversity in ancient India is notable, although the language and script of the Harappan civilization remain a mystery.
The two main language families in ancient India were Indo-Aryan and Dravidian.
The Dravidian language family is believed to be indigenous to India, with Tamil considered the oldest living Indian language.
Sanskrit, the language of the Indo-Aryan family, evolved from a fusion of Aryan and native Indian tongues, flourishing in both the north and south of India.
The vernacular languages of the north, Prakrits and Apabrahmashas, evolved from Sanskrit and led to the development of modern regional languages.
Sanskrit is now largely moribund, while Tamil remains the predominant Dravidian language, enriched by Sanskrit.
Telugu and Kannada, two other Dravidian languages, also developed during ancient times.

Sources of study

The contents of this book are based on the writings of eminent historians of ancient India, drawing evidence from primary sources such as archaeological finds, literary texts, and modern multi-disciplinary research.
Archaeology in India began with the British and greatly expanded historical knowledge.
Three strands of archaeological work in India:
- Material remains above the ground, including inscriptions on rocks, stones, pillars, walls, and copper plates, serving purposes like religious piety, commemorations, dedications, commercial records, and prasastis (eulogies of kings).
- Recovery of materials under the ground, notably prehistoric fossils and tools, as well as discoveries of the Harappan culture from the 1920s.
- Recent excavations at famous religious, urban, or commercial sites to corroborate textual and epigraphic evidence.
Inscriptions have greatly expanded our knowledge of ancient history, with efforts made by the Department of Archaeology of the Government of India to repair and preserve them.
The literary corpus is divided into religious and secular texts.
- Religious texts include works in Sanskrit, Pali, Tamil, and Prakrit, such as the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Tripitakas, Dipavamsa, Agam texts of the Jains, Dharmashastras, Puranas, and devotional hymns.
- Secular texts include works on political economy (like the Arthashastra), mathematics, astronomy, medicine, grammar, architecture, and arts (poetry, music, dance, and drama).
No systematic historical works exist in ancient India like those by Herodotus, Livy, or Ssu-Ma Chien, but two valuable historical works are:
- A biography of King Harsha by Banabhatta.
- Rajatarangini, an account of Kashmir history by Kalhana.
Greek, Chinese, Roman, and Islamic writers, such as Al-Biruni, also left valuable accounts of India.
Historians extract material from religious and secular texts but face challenges distinguishing historical from non-historical evidence.
Multi-disciplinary research has enhanced our understanding of ancient India, with contributions from fields like anthropology, ethnography, geology, meteorology, genetics, biology, and botany.
Genetics provides insights into the origins of South Asian people, while anthropology offers valuable oral history of marginalized and subaltern groups in India.

Reconstructing the history of ancient India

Eighteenth century saw two important developments in India: the political ascendancy of the British East India Company after the Battle of Plassey and the rise of Indology.
The British control over India tightened after this battle, eventually making India a virtual colony.
Indology emerged as a study of India through European perspectives, sparked by a new interest among scholars, administrators, and intellectuals.
This era saw the rise of orientalists, such as Sir William Jones and Charles Wilkins, who studied Sanskrit and translated Indian texts, linking British domination and the development of Indology.
Warren Hastings, Governor-General of Bengal, played a crucial role in patronizing orientalists and encouraging the study of ancient Indian culture and texts.
The orientalists focused primarily on Sanskrit texts, which limited their interpretations of India’s history and culture.
The second phase saw challenges to the orientalist approach, especially with the rise of movements like utilitarianism, evangelism, and free trade in Britain.
James Mill‘s History of British India argued that India had been gripped by oriental despotism and was only saved by British rule, creating a justification for colonial control.
Lord Macaulay’s proposal to adopt English as the medium of instruction in India’s educational institutions further strengthened British influence.
In the third phase, an Indian response to colonial historiography emerged, with figures like B.G. Tilak, Dayanand Saraswati, and V.D. Savarkar glorifying India’s past, particularly Hinduism.
R.G. Bhandarkar and H.C. Raychaudhuri adopted a more measured approach, critically analyzing available evidence.
The fourth phase, post-independence, saw a shift in British and European historians’ attitudes, becoming more humblein their approach.
A.L. Basham‘s The Wonder that was India became a notable work in the post-colonial era, with D.D. Kosambiintroducing a Marxist approach to Indian history.
Kosambi utilized a Marxist methodology to study history by posing social and economic questions about the past.
Romila Thapar, a leading Indian historian, continued this shift, conducting extensive research on ancient Indian history.
Ancient India remains a fertile area for historical research, with primary sources continuing to offer new insights.