Ancient Indian History
🔒 Log in to trackAncient Literature & Authors
🔒 Log in to trackAncient Indian literature includes Sanskrit epics and plays, Pali and Ardhamagadhi religious texts and Tamil Sangam works. Foreign accounts and inscriptions add to the record. Exams mostly ask you to match a book with its author.
Science and medicine
- Charaka wrote on medicine.
- Sushruta wrote on surgery.
- Aryabhata, Varahamihira and Brahmagupta wrote on astronomy and maths.
- Vagbhata wrote Ashtanga Hridaya.
Religious literature
- The Buddhist canon is the Tripitaka, in Pali.
- The Jain canon is in Ardhamagadhi.
- Deepavamsha and Mahavamsha are Sri Lankan chronicles that mention Ashoka.
Foreign accounts
| Source | Author |
|---|---|
| Indica | Megasthenes |
| Fo-kwo-ki | Fa-Hien |
| Si-Yu-Ki | Hiuen Tsang |
| Periplus of the Erythraean Sea | Unknown Greek sailor |
Pliny and Ptolemy also described India.
Other texts to know
| Text | Note |
|---|---|
| Manusmriti | Law text of the Manu tradition |
| Milindapanha | Dialogue of Menander and the monk Nagasena |
| Gathasaptashati | Prakrit verses by the Satavahana king Hala |
| Kavirajamarga | Early Kannada poetics by Amoghavarsha |
| Tirukkural | Tamil couplets by Thiruvalluvar |
| Silappadikaram | Tamil epic by Ilango Adigal |
The Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads and Puranas are religious and philosophical texts. Use them with care as history.
Watch: A Sangam text is Tamil. A Pali text is Buddhist. Do not mix the language with the region.
Inscriptions and coins
James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1837. The Hathigumpha inscription tells of Kharavela.
Tip: Coin ladder: punch-marked coins came first. The Indo-Greeks issued portrait coins. The Kushanas issued gold. The Guptas issued dinaras.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Match the Sanskrit book with its author
A book title in the stem and four author names in the options.
Recall the author table row by row.
Group plays: Bhasa, Shudraka, Vishakhadatta, Kalidasa.
Group prose: Banabhatta, Dandin.
The same author-book pairs repeat in exams.
The Mrichchhakatika is a play by:
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It is a social play about a merchant and a courtesan.
Its author is Shudraka.
Shudraka
Historical value of texts
"Which book is a history of Kashmir", "biography of Harsha", "Sri Lankan chronicles".
Rajatarangini: Kalhana, Kashmir.
Harshacharita: Banabhatta, Harsha.
Deepavamsha and Mahavamsha: Sri Lanka.
Each historical work has one subject.
Kalhana's Rajatarangini is a chronicle of:
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It is the first history text of its kind.
It concerns a northern region.
Kashmir
Foreign accounts
"Indica", "Fo-kwo-ki", "Si-Yu-Ki", "Periplus".
Megasthenes: Indica.
Fa-Hien: Fo-kwo-ki. Hiuen Tsang: Si-Yu-Ki.
Periplus: an unknown Greek sailor.
Each account has one author or one pilgrim.
The book Fo-kwo-ki is an account by:
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The traveller was Chinese.
He came under Chandragupta II.
Fa-Hien
Scientific writers
"Father of Indian surgery", "Aryabhatiya", "Brahmasphuta Siddhanta".
Charaka: medicine. Sushruta: surgery.
Aryabhata: Aryabhatiya. Varahamihira: Brihat Samhita. Brahmagupta: Brahmasphuta Siddhanta.
Vagbhata: Ashtanga Hridaya.
Each scholar has one field and one book.
The Brahmasphuta Siddhanta was written by:
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It dates to 628 CE.
Its author gave rules for zero.
Brahmagupta
Religious canons and inscriptions
"Language of the Tripitaka", "Jain canon", "Who deciphered Brahmi", "Hathigumpha".
Buddhist canon: Tripitaka in Pali.
Jain canon: Ardhamagadhi.
Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1837. Hathigumpha: Kharavela.
Each source pairs with one language or person.
The Buddhist Tripitaka was written in which language?
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It is not Sanskrit.
It is the language of the early Buddhist canon.
Pali
Shortcuts that save time
Kalidasa wrote Meghaduta, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava, Shakuntalam. Shakuntalam is his most famous play.
Kalhana wrote the history of Kashmir. Banabhatta wrote Harsha's life.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Giving Kautilya as author of the Mudrarakshasa.
Kautilya wrote the Arthashastra. Vishakhadatta wrote the Mudrarakshasa.
Attributing Panchatantra to Narayana Pandit.
Panchatantra is by Vishnu Sharma. Narayana Pandit wrote the Hitopadesha.
Confusing Charaka and Sushruta.
Charaka is for medicine. Sushruta is for surgery.
Placing Prinsep's decipherment of Brahmi before 1800.
Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1837.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Ramayana: Valmiki. Mahabharata: Vyasa. Ashtadhyayi: Panini. Arthashastra: Kautilya.
Kalidasa: Shakuntalam, Meghaduta, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava.
Mudrarakshasa: Vishakhadatta. Mrichchhakatika: Shudraka. Swapnavasavadatta: Bhasa.
Rajatarangini: Kalhana. Harshacharita and Kadambari: Banabhatta.
Indica: Megasthenes. Fo-kwo-ki: Fa-Hien. Si-Yu-Ki: Hiuen Tsang.
Buddhist canon: Pali Tripitaka. Jain canon: Ardhamagadhi.
Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1837.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.