Introduction

• Ancient Indians were more familiar with the art than the science of historiography.
• It is unreasonable to expect scientific, serious, or entirely genuine histories from the authors of ancient times.
• Modern historians often disregard the ancient forms and ideas in which historical works were written.
• The tradition of historical writing in India began with Vedavyasa and continued until the twelfth century AD.
• The oldest Indian historical tradition is found in the Rgveda.
• Rgveda hymns about the Aryan people reflect their historical sense, marking the earliest evidence of historical thought in India.
• The composition of the original Bharata Itihasa or Bharata Samhita and the Purana Samhita by Vyasa during the Dvapara age marked the beginning of Indian historiography.
• The two main traditions of early historiography were the epic and Puranic traditions, with the Puranic tradition being of greater value.
• Puranakara were the first to record and preserve dynastic genealogies and chronology, key components of history.
• The historical and chronological information in the Puranas includes details about the kings of various dynasties and their reign lengths.
• The Puranic tradition provided a systematic dynastic history of India up to the start of the Gupta rule.
• The details of the Gupta and post-Gupta dynasties, though not highly systematic, still hold considerable historical value.
• Buddhist and Jain scholars also contributed to historical writing before the seventh century AD.
• The chapter discusses the tradition of historical writing in ancient India through three contexts: the Itihasa-Puranatradition, the Vedic tradition, and the Epic and Puranic traditions.

Itihasa-Purana Tradition

• The Itihasa-Purana tradition marked the beginning of ancient Indian historical tradition.
• The three main constituent elements of this tradition were:
  • Akhyana (narratives)
  • Itihasa (past events)
  • Purana (any old tale or ancient lore)
• These three elements form rudimentary specimens of history and contain the seeds of history.
• Akhyana refers to the presentation of history in a narrative style.
• Itihasa signifies history not only as a record of the past but also as a trustworthy guide to contemporary cultures and civilizations.
  • It includes ancient events arranged in the form of stories based on historical truth.
  • Writers of the Itihasa tradition focused more on depicting contemporary social, economic, political, religious, and cultural life than merely describing wars, battles, and political conflicts.
• Purana generally refers to tales of primeval antiquity or ancient stories, which may be quasi-historical, mythological, or fanciful.
• Itihasa and Purana, in the widest sense, denote actual traditional history.
• Various legendary and historical accounts of past or primordial events of mankind are incorporated in the Itihasa and Purana.
• The earliest form of Itihasa, based on real or oral tradition, emerged during the Vedic age.
• Written records of this tradition appeared much later, marking the beginning of written history.
• The literature of both Vedic and Post-Vedic times contains the rudiments of history.