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Summary
Ancient India Class 06

PYQs discussion (5:09 PM).

Pottery culture of India (5:39 PM)

  • Pottery plays an important role in studying culture and in constructing the past.
  • It reflects the social economic and environmental conditions of culture.
  • Ochre colour pottery:
  • It signifies bronze age culture in the Indo-Gangetic plain region and artefacts of this culture show similarities with late Harappan culture and early Vedic culture.
  • Black and Red Ware pottery:
  • It is associated with the neolithic phase, the Harrapan age, the iron age as well as the megalithic age.
  • Painted Grey Ware (PGW)
  • This represents the iron age culture of the western Gangetic plain.
  • It is associated with the village and early town settlements, the domestication of houses, and the advent of iron metallurgy.
  • Northern black polish Ware (NBPW)
  • It represents the urban iron age with the emergency of Mahajanpadas and the rise of the Magadha empire.

Foreign invasions (5:52 PM)

  • Sources for foreign invasion:
  • Coinage.
  • Inscriptions.
  • Some Buddhist texts (especially those talk about Kanishka).
  • Archaeology.
  • Chien Han shu- it is a Chinese text that provides information regarding the movement and migrations of people in central Asia.
  • Indo-Greek Kingdom:
  • Around 200 BC, Indo-greek kingdoms were settled in the northwest region of the Indian subcontinent.
  • In Indian text, the term Yavana signifies people of greek origin, however, later this term signified all outsiders.
  • The 1st Indo-greek king can be an Apollodotus-I because he ruled from Punjab and Gandhara region.
  • The most famous rulers are Demetrius and Menander.
  • Menander is mentioned as Milinda and his conversation with a Buddhist sage Nagsena is recorded in a very famous work Milindapanho.
  • At the end of this conversation, Milinda converts to Buddhism and becomes a great patron of it.
  • A greek king Antalciad sends his ambassador to Shunga King Bhagabhadra.
  • His ambassador Heliodorus erected a pillar called Garuda Dhwaja in Vidisha(MP) in the honor of god Krishna.
  • Heliodorus calls himself Bhagwat in this inscription.
  • Significance of greek rule:
  • They issued gold coins for the 1st time.
  • Many coins had the names of kings inscribed on them.
  • Coins with both greek legends and images of Indian deities have been found.
  • Greek influence is most seen in sculpture, especially in the Gandhara school of art.
  • Shakas (Indo-Scythians):
  • They were a group of nomadic pastoral tribes that moved toward India in the 2nd century BC.
  • Indo-Scythians signify Shakas who came toward India, replaced indo-greeks, and had a larger kingdom.
  • Some of the earliest known rulers are Maues, Azas-I, and Chastana. 
  • Chastana ruled from Ujjain.
  • The starting of Saka Samvat 78 AD marks the accession of Kusan ruler Kanishka, however, some history opines that it is the accession of Chastana.
  • A branch of Shaka ruled from Gujrat who are knowns as western Kshatarap.
  • The most important ruler from western Kshatrap is Rudradaman-I(130-150 AD).
  • Rudradaman-I(130-150 AD):
  • He was the grandson of Chastana and during his reign, western Kshatarap reached its zenith.
  • He took up the title of Mahakshatarap and defeated the Satavahana rulers.
  • He conducted the repair work of Sudarshan lake in the Kathiawar region in Gujarat.
  • This lake was constructed by Pushyagupta a governor of Chandragupta Maurya.
  • This information is derived from the Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman.
  • He also maintained marital relations with Satavahana, for example, his daughter was married to Vashishtiputra Satakarni a Satavahana king.
  • A ruler from Ujjain is mentioned in the ancient text who defeated Shakas from his regions, he called himself Vikramaditya and became a coveted title.
  • Vikram Samvat marks the defeat of the Shaka ruler which start in 57 BC.
  • Shakas in the northwest declined because of attacks from Parthians and Kushans.
  • In Gujrat despite hostilities with Satavahanas, they maintained their rule, only during the reign of Chandragupta-II the rule of western Kshatrapas came to an end.
  • Parthians:
  • Parthians originated from Persia, the most famous Parthian king was Gondophares, also known as Guduvhara.
  • During his reign, Saint Thomas visited India for the propagation of Christianity.
  • There is a theory that Vikram Samvat makes the accession of Azes-I in 57 BC a Parthian king.

Kushans (7:11 PM)

  • Kushans were one of the branches of the Yuezhi Tribe which roamed around the provinces of china to central Asia.
  • They defeated the Parthians and Shakas and set up their independent kingdom.
  • The Foundation of the empire was laid by Kujula Kadphises.
  • Kanishka:
  • Kanishka is considered the greater Kushana ruler who was the son of Vima Kadphises.
  • His kingdom included the entire North-west frontier of India including Punjab, the region around the Indus river as well as Afghanistan, parts of central Asia, parts of china, and a significant part of the Ganga doab region.
  • His main capital was Purushpura(modern Peshawar), and Mathura was his second capital.
  • He conveyed the 4th Buddhist council in Kashmir.
  • The scholar in his court included Ashvagosh, Vasumitra, Charak, Pansva, and Nagarjuna.
  • Kanishka became a great patron of Mahayana Buddhism as well as a Patron of art and architecture.
  • Significance of the Kushana empire:
  • Sanskrit literature flourished in this period, for example, Ashvagosh is often considered the 1st Sanskrit dramatist, known for his famous work Buddha Charitra.
  • Both Gandhara and Mathura schools flourished, while Mathura is indigenous Gandhara school has greek and roman influences
  • Kushans were an integral part of the ancient silk route which connected China to Europe, because of customs duties the empire became very prosperous.
  • They issued gold coins on large scale.
  • The quality of the gold was unmatched.
  • Buddhism spread to many parts of the world.
  • Modern clothes such as overcoats and sherwanis have Kushana origin.
  • Some historians argue that the Kushana period was a perfect forerunner of the Gupta period which is considered the golden age of India.
  • Later rulers such as Vashishka, Huvishka, and Vasudev could not contain the empire.
  • By the early 3rd century, the empire disintegrated.

Satavahana (7:45 PM)

  • The main sources are:
  • Naneghat cave in Pune.
  • Nasik caves.
  • Puranas.
  • Numismatics.
  • They are identified with the Andhara of Puranas even though the term Satavahana is not mentioned anywhere in Puranas and the term Andhra is not mentioned in any of the inscriptions.
  • The Satavahana term has a Prakrit origin which signifies the Sun god's chariot.
  • The earliest known ruler is Simuka.
  • The 3rd king of the dynasty was Satkarni-I who took the title of lord of Dakshinpath.
  • He fought with Chedi king Kharavela.
  • Satvahanas were involved in a prolonged conflict with Shakas mainly for premium ports such as Bhigukachcha, Kalyan, and Suparka.
  • The greatest ruler of this dynasty was Gautamiputra Satkarni.
  • He defeated a Shaka ruler Nahapana and restruck silver coins in his name which were issued by Nahapana.
  • He defeated the Shakas, Pallavas, and Yavanas.
  • He took the title of Maharaja and was described as Ekbrahaman and Kshetiya Dapa Manamada.

The topic for the next class: Satavahana (to continue).