Ancient Indian historical sources are original sources that contain important historical information. Historical sources include “every kind of evidence that man has left from his past activities. Historical sources include documents, artifacts, archaeological sites, oral transmissions, inscriptions, paintings, drawings, etc.

Literary Sources of ancient Indian history

The writings in books which give us important information about the past are called artistic sources. The Vedas, Upanishads, Smritis, Ramayana, Mahabharata and Sangam literature throw light on the political, social, economic and religious conditions of early India.They are important for understanding ancient languages, the culture of ancient India, and the origins of people such as the Aryans.The earliest Indian literature took the form of the canonical Hindu sacred writings.

Literary sources can be broadly divided into two categories: religious literature and non-religious literature.

 

 

Religious literature

 

 

VEDIC TEXTS

From Ancient India, Vedic text is the primary text of Hinduism. The word Veda is derived from the Sanskrit word Veda, which means knowledge or knowing, a vast collection of strict texts originating in ancient India. The Vedic literature classified into four volumes. Rigveda is regarded as one of the most sacred texts of Hinduism, Rigveda is divided into ten books, which are known as mandalas.

Samaveda is a Veda of songs and chants; it holds divine status in the Hindu tradition. Yajurveda is the most important Veda, specifically for the sacrificial rituals, which were the cornerstone of vedic religion. Atharvaveda is an ancient Hindu scripture, it is commonly known as the fourth Veda. It is called the Veda of the Magical Formula.

 

SMRITI TEXTS

In ancient India, after Sutras, Smriti texts were formed. The Smriti text helps us understand the social, religious, economic, political, and cultural life of the people of ancient India.
Many smriti are ancient legal texts or dharma sastras of Hinduism; they describe the social system. Manu Smriti is earliest Smriti work. It was written between the period 200 BC and 200 AD. Yajnavalkaya Smriti was an another Smriti text written in between 100 AD-300 AD. Narada Smriti was written in between 300 AD and 400 AD. Brihaspathi Smriti was written between 300 AD and 500 AD. Kathyayana Smriti were written between 400 AD and 600 AD.

 

 

SUTRA

In Ancient India After Vedic texts, Sutra literature arrived Kalpasutra is very famous among sutra literature, which deals with rules and regulations. It has three parts: The Sauta Sutra deals with the subject of rituals and various types of ceremonies. These contain the rules for performing great sacrifices. Grihya Sutras are sacred Hindu texts that give data about Vedic domestic customs and domestic services. These include ascetic rules of everyday existence. The Dharma Sutra deals with the social life of the Vedic era, in which various types of conduct and religious matters are explained.These are books of instructions on spiritual and non-religious law. These are the oldest law books.

 

 

PURANA

From ancient India, after the Smriti texts Purana were compiled, the word ‘Purana means ‘the old’. The Puranas are a category of Hindu texts written by Vyasa. There are 18 Mahapuranas and several Upapuranas in Hinduism: Agni, Brahma, Kurma, Markandeya, Naradiya, Padma, Bhavishya, Brahmavaivarta, Shiva, Vamana, Bhagvata, Garuda, Brahmand, Vishnu, Varaha, Linga, Skanda and Mathsya.

Shaiva purana consisted of Shiva purana, Vayu purana, and Skanda purana. Vaishnava purana consisted of Vishnu purana, Garuda purana, Matsya purana, and Varaha purana. Matsya purana is considered as the oldest purana.

 

 

EPICS

 The extraordinary epics of India are the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The Ramayana and Mahabharata can also be used as ancient Indian historical sources. They are known as “histories” (“thus”) or narratives .

The ancient Indian epic Ramayana was written in the 5th century BCE . The Ramayana written by Valmiki. The ancient Indian city, Ayodhya is known to be the setting of Ramayana. Mahabharata written by Veda Vyasa. He is older and probably dates around the tenth–fourth century BCE. Its main story, which is the Kaurava-Pandava conflict, may belong to the post-Vedic period. Its descriptive part may belong to the post-Vedic period and the didactic part generally belongs to the Mauryan and Gupta periods

 

 

Buddhist Religious Literature

In ancient India, another important religious literature was Buddhist literature. The Tripitaka, a Pali text written after the death of the Buddha, tells us about India at the time of the Buddha and the 16 Mahajanapadas. Tripitaka is the general name given to Buddhist canonical literature and their commentaries in Pali. Tripitaka survives in Pali, Japanese, Chinese and Tibetan versions. Some Buddhist literatures, such as the Pitaka, are the oldest Buddhist texts. There are three types of pitakas, Sutta pitaka, a religious ideology of Lord Buddha, Vinaya pitaka Consisting of the law of Buddhist sanghas, Abhidhamma pitaka throws light on philosophical ideas of Buddhists.

 

Top Stories on Spotlight

 

Jataka Stories are a body of literature comprising account of previous lives of the Buddha. Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa are Sri Lankan Buddhist text that provide information about the close relations between India and Sri Lanka. Divyavadana was another important Buddhist text which consisted of information about different rulers. Milindapanha is an important Buddhist text; it claims to be a dialogue between the Indian Buddhist sage Nagasena and the king of Milinda, Menander, the Greek ruler of an Indo-Greek kingdom.

 

 

Jain Religious Literature

In ancient India, Jainism was a religion that developed in the sixth century and was founded by Mahavira. The Jain Literature is called Jain Agamas. They are canonical texts of Jainism based on Mahaveer’s teaching. Jain literature mainly consists of 14 Purva, 12 Anga, 12 Upanga and Niryukti. There are 46 texts in Jainism.

The Acharangasutra is part of Agamas, which were based on the teaching of Mahaveera. Bhagvathi sutra, throw light on the life of Mahaveera. Parishistaparvan is another important Jain text. This text deals with the histories of the earliest Jain teachers. The Bhadrabahucharitha throws light on the life of Jain Acharva Rhadrahahu and Chandragupta

 

 

Non-Religious literature

Non-religious literary sources are Arthashastra, Muderakshasa, Mahabhashya, Rajatarangini, vikramankadevacharitha, Ashtadhayayi, Malavikaagnimitra, charaka samhita and Hariachritha.

•Arthashastra was a formous book on state craft written by the famous philosopher kautilya also known as chanakya .

•Mudrarakshasa was written by vishakadutta, it gives us information about the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya to power in ancient India .

•Mahabhashya was written by Patanjali, a commentary on panani’s text that provides some information about the history of the Sunka Dynasty.

•Rajatarangini was written by Kalhana. This book deals with the history of the north western ancient Indian subcontinent, particularly the king of Kashmir.

•Vikramankadevacharitha was a literary masterpiece by Bilhana, who wrote it in the corner of his patron, King Vikramaditya.

•Ashtadhayayi, which was written by Panini, is the oldest grammar literature in ancient India. It gives us information about the socio-political and religious conditions of the Pre-Mauryan period.

•Malavikaagnimitra was written by Kalidasa. It deals with the love story of king Agni Mitra and quarter dance Malavika.

•Charaka Samhitha and Sushrutha Samhitha contain a wealth of healing for the body and mind. Maharshi Charak wrote ‘charak samhita’ and ‘The Sushrutha Samhitha was written by the famous physician and surgeon Susruta in the 6th century BCE.

•Harshacharitha was written by Banabatta. It is a biography of Indian Emperor Harvardhana.

Also Read

Ancient Indian History: Geographical Structure