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Ancient History

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Published in: History
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Short summary of Ancient History important for Competitive Exams and class exams

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  1. EDUCATION MAURAYAN PERIOD 1. 2. 3. 4. 'Charaka' became famous for medicine and 'Sushruta' for surgery. written by Charaka was an authentic and exhaustive work on medicines. Susruta Samhita was written by Sushruta based on Surgery. 'Charak Samhita' Chanakya, who was a renowned philosopher, scholar and teacher. His most famous work is 'Arthashastra' .The currcula of studies mentioned in the Arthashastra refers primarily to the education of princes. After Upanayana the prince learnt the four Vedas and the Vedic study included a study of sciences. They also learnt logic, economics and politics. Education of those times was primarily life skills based which is so different from what education is today. The curricula in the Ramayana for the princes was Dhanurveda, Nitishastra, Siksha (lore) of elephants and chariots, Alekhya and Lekhya (Painting and writing), Langhana (jumping) and Tairana (swimming). GUPTA PERIOD 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. In the Gupta period, the Jain and Buddhist systems of education assumed a different dimension. Students from other countries like China and South-East Asia came to the Buddhist monasteries for education. The monasteries were normally maintained by grants from kings and the rich mercantile class. They attracted scholars from far and near. Fa-Hien also spent several years in the monastery at Pataliputra, studying Buddhist religious books. Besides Pataliputra, there were other centres of learning like Vanarasi, Mathura, Ujjain and Nasik. Nalanda University was known all over Asia for its high standards of scholarship. The subjects taught included Vedanta, philosophy, study of the Puranas, epics, grammar, logic, astronomy, philosophy, medicine etc. Sanskrit, the court language was the medium of instruction. The Jains used Sanskrit literature like 'Adipurana' and ' Yashatilaka' for educational purposes in the earlier phase. But to make education more popular, the medium was changed to Prakrit and other regional languages like Tamil, Kannada and so on. Books in the Jain and Buddhist libraries were written on palm leaves that were tied together and were known as "granthas". Slowly, Jainism and Buddhism lost royal patronage and their monasteries started declining as centres of education and learning. The 'mathas ' supported by Brahmins were institutions
  2. parallel to Jain and Buddhist monasteries. educational purposes. POST GUPTA PERIOD The 'maihas ' functioned like ashramas for 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Art and education made great strides in the reign of Harshabardhan. He encouraged education at all levels; education was given in temples and monastries and higher education in universitiesof Taxila, Ujjain, Gaya and Nalanda. In Nalanda, Hiuen Tsang spent several years studying Buddhists sculptures. Shilabhadra a renowned scholar was its head. In the seventh and eighth centuries, 'ghatikas ', or colleges attached to the temples emerged as new centres of learning. The 'ghatikas ', provided Brahmanical education. The medium of instruction was Sanskrit. Entry to these temple colleges was open only to the upper castes or 'dvijas ' (twice born). Use of Sanskrit as the medium of instruction distanced the common people from education. Education became the privilege of only the uppermost sections of society.
  3. ARCHITECTURE MAURAYAN PERIOD 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In the Mauryan period (322-182 BC) especially under Ashoka architecture saw a great advancement. Mauryan art and architecture depicted the influence of Persians and Greeks. During the reign ofAshoka many monolithic stone pillars were erected on which teachings o'Dhamma' were inscribed. The stupas of Sanchi and Sarnath are symbols of the achievement of Mauryan architechture. The gateways of the Sanchi Stupa with the beautiful sculpture depicting scenes from Jataka stories are specimens of the skill and aesthetic sense of the artisans. Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi The blending of Greek and Indian art led to the development of Gandhara art which developed later. The other schools of art and architecture were the indigenous Mathura school and Amaravati school. A large number of statues of the Buddha were built by the artisans of these schools specially after first century AD under the influence of the Kushanas. Under the Gandhara school of art life-like statues of Buddha and Bodhisattavas were made in the likeness of Greek gods even, though the ideas, inspirations and subjects were all Indian. Rich ornaments, custumes drapery were used to impart physical beauty. The sculptures were in stone, terracotta, cement like material and clay.
  4. The figures of the Mathura school were made of spotted red stone. They had more of spiritual look in them. Here along with Buddha we find sculptures of Jaina dieties also. The Amaravati school developed under the patronage of the Satavahanas of the Andhra region. A great Stupa was built at Amaravati in the Lower Godavari region. The walls of the Stupa are adorned with bas relief, had carved medallion and decorative panels. Nagarjunkonda is another place that is famous for Buddhist architecture. The Gupta period marks the beginning of the construction of free-standing Hindu temples. An example of this is the temple at Deogarh (Jhansi district) which had a central shrine or garbhagriha where the image of the deity was placed. Another temple at Bhitrigaon (Kanpur district) are two fine examples of this period..
  5. Free-standing temples 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The temple building activities that began during the Gupta rule continued to flourish in later periods. In southern India the Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas, Hoyshalas and later the rulers of the Vijaynagar kingdom were great builders of temples. The Pallava rulers built the shore temple at Mahabalipuram. Pallavas also built other structural temples like Kailashnath temple and Vaikuntha Perumal temples at Kanchipuram. The Cholas built many temples most famous being the Brihadeshwara temple at Tanjore. The Cholas developed a typical style of temple architecture of South India called the Dravida style, complete with vimana or shikhara, high walls and the gateway topped by gopuram. Magnificent temples were built at Belur, Halebid where the stone engravings reached even greater heights. In north and eastern India magnificent temples were also constructed and the style followed by them is referred to as the Nagara style. Most of them consisted of the shikaras (spiral roofs), the garbhagriha (sanctum) and the mandap (pillared hall). Orissa has some of the most beautiful temples such as the Lingaraia temple built by the Ganga rulers and the Mukteshwara temple at Bhubaneshwar and the Jagannath temple at Puri. The sun temple at Konark was built in thirteenth century by the eastern Ganga ruler Narshimha Deva I. The temple is dedicated to Surya (the sun god) and has been designed as a twelve wheeled chariot. The temple complex at Khajuraho was built by Chandella rulers between the tenth and eleventh centuries in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. Most important among them is the Kandariya Mahadev temple. Kandariya Mahadev Temple Khajuraho Temples
  6. 9. 1. 2. 3. 4. '4 Mount Abu in Rajasthan is known for the Dilwara temple dedicated to Jain tirthankaras. These were built in pure white marble and adorned with exquisite sculpture. These were built under the patronage of Solanki rulers. Cave architecture The development of cave architecture is anotherunique feature and marks an important phase in the history of Indian architecture. More than thousand caves have been excavated between second century BC and tenth century AD. Famous among these were Aianta and Ellora caves of Maharashtra, and Udaygiri cave of Orissa. These caves hold Buddhist viharas, chaityas as well as mandapas and pillared temples of Hindu gods and goddesses. AJANTA CAVES Group Of Monuments at Mahabalipuram 1. 2. 3. 4. Rock-cut temples Temples were hewn out of huge rocks. The earliest rock-cut temples were excavated in western Deccan in the early years of the Christian era. The chaitya at Karle with fine high halls and polished decorative wall is a remarkable example of rock-cut architecture. The Kailash temple at Ellora built by the Rashtrakutas and the ratha temples of Mahabalipuram built by the Pallavas are other examples of rock-cut temples. Most probably the stability and permanence of rocks attracted the patrons of art and builders who decorated these temples with beautiful sculptures.

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