Indian History

Throughout most of ancient Indian history, the role of women was more or less confined to the home. Though there are instances where women wielded power and authority, this did not imply the common lot of the women in ancient India. A woman was under the patriarchal authority of her parents, husband and sons. Even under Buddhism which boasted of liberal rules, a nun would be treated as subordinate to her male counterpart. Manu , one of the famous lawgivers of ancient India, declared that wife, like the slave and the son, has no right to property. However, some allowed a woman to own their special property ( stridhana ) in the form of jewellery and clothing. In ancient Indian society a woman could find their role in religion, but could not serve the temples as priestess. However in Vedic period the position of women was much more enhanced. Women seers are said to have composed some o the Vedic hymns. The famous discussion between Gargi and Yajnavalkya is well known. But by the begin

" The system of blood circulation was discovered by them centuries before Harvey was heard of." - P. Johnstone The history of medicine in India is as old and as rich as its civilization. Some of the earliest practices of ancient Indian medicine have been documented by Charaka and Shushruta , the two great teachers of Indian medical science. An alumnus of the famed centre of learning Taxila (presently in the Punjab province of Pakistan), he wrote Charaka Samahita , while Shushruta- Samhita was composed by Shushruta. These two are the basic textbooks of Indian medicine. It can be inferred from these textbooks of ancient Indian science that ancient India placed great importance on prevention rather than cure. Personal hygiene and public health were accorded their due importance. The medical texts recognized the importance of fresh air and light. Though vegetarianism was much encouraged in ancient India, the ancient medical texts recommended the use of both meat and

An awesome feat of engineering, the Kailash Temple or the Kailashnath Temple , dedicated to Hindu God Shiva, is the most impressive remainder of the Rashtrakuta dynasty of Deccan that held sway for more than two centuries. Under the Rashtrakutas the rock-cut architecture in India reached its zenith. Carved out of the single rock (monolithic) hewn out of Charanandri hills at Ellora under the instructions Rashtrakuta king Krishna I (756-775), the Kailashnath Temple has been described in glowing terms by Percy Brown , the noted writer on Indian architecture. He says, "The temple of Kailash at Ellora is not only the most stupendous single work of art executed in India, but as an example of rock architecture it is unrivalled…. The Kailash is an illustration of one of those occasions when men's minds, hearts and heads work in unison towards the consummation of a supreme ideal. It was under such conditions of religious and cultural stability that this grand monolith representa

Recently an inscription on stone, with three big Indus signs and possibly a fourth, has been discovered in the archeological site of Dholavira in the state of Gujarat. The discovery of three-metre long inscription becomes all the more significant since for the first time a Harappa script has been found engraved on a natural stone in the Indus Valley. So far the Harappa script has been found on seals made of terracotta, steatite, ceramics etc. An artist's impression of Dholavira

That wearing bangles in India is an ancient tradition can be gauged from the fact among the various objects found during the excavations of the Harappan cities bangles are also included. And the tradition continues even today. Bangles were also the prized possession of the women in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Iran.

The important pre-Harappan and Harappan civilization site of  Kot Diji is l ocated on the left bank of the Indus River at the foot of the Rohri Hills of Khairpur  district in the Sindh province of Pakistan .  The excavations at Kot Diji were undertaken by F. A. Khan and G.S. Ghurye of the Pakistan Department of Archaeology between 1955 and 1957. The Harappan culture at Kot Diji had typical features- a well regulated town –plan with lanes, houses with stone foundations and mud brick walls. The roofs were covered with reed mats as discovered by plastered mud impression. Storage jars, built on the mud floors, and large unbaked cooking brick-lined ovens were also found. A broken steatite seal, a few inscribed potsherds, beads of terracotta, semi-precious and etched carnelian and other beads, copper / bronze objects, bangles, arrowheads, metal tools and weapons (a blade axe, chisels and arrow heads), terracotta bull, bird and five figurines of the Mother Goddesses were also disc

Shakuntala stops to look back at Dushyanta, Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906). Kalidasa, the greatest of India’s dramatists and poets, has been given the title of Indian Shakespeare by his first English translator, Sir William Jones , the first president of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, founded in 1784. His Abhijnanasakuntala (Recognition of Sakuntala) won unqualified praise from Goethe . Not much is known of Kalidasa‘s life, but there is sufficient evidence to conclude that he lived at the court of Chandragupta II (c 376-415) of the Gupta dynasty. Chandragupta II was a great patron of the arts. Kalidasa wrote three dramas namely Malvikagnimitra , a comedy of harem love and intrigue ending in the marriage of Shunga king Agnimitra and princess Malvika ; Vikramorvasi (Urvasi won by valour), narrating the ancient story of love, separation and final union of the king Puruavas and the nymph Urvasi, and Abhijnanasakuntala . He was the author of two long poems Kumarasambhava (Birth

First Buddhist Council If tradition is to be believed, soon after the Buddha’s death the first Buddhist Council ( sangiti ) was held at Sattapanni cave near the Magadhan capital of Rajagriha, to compile the dhamma (religious doctrines) and the vinaya (monastic code). Rajagriha, which once served the capital of Bimbisara of Magadhan Empire, is sixty miles to the south-east of the modern Patna, the capital of Bihar. The council was participated in by five hundred monks. At the council, Upali , one of the Buddha’s chief disciples, recited the vinaya pitaka , or Rules of the Order, while another important disciple Ananada recited the sutta pitaka , the collection of the Buddha’s sermons on matters of doctrine and ethics. Second Buddhist Council A century later Vaishali became the venue for the second Buddhist council which was convened to settle a serious dispute over the 'ten points’. It is at Vaishali council where schism raised its head. Since either of the parties did no

                                                                                               Western Chalukya Empire / Image Source Karka II , the last ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty of Manyakheta (modern Malkhed in Gulbarga (modern Kalaburagi) district in Karnataka), was overthrown in AD 974 by Tailapa or Taila II , who started a new line of Chalukyas known as the Chalukyas of Kalyani. The dynasty produced some of the greatest rulers though the genealogy of the rulers of the Chalukyas of Kalyani is still in the realm of debate. The kingdom established by Tailapa, with its capital at Kalyani (Karnataka) is known as later Chalukya or the Chalukyas of Kalyani (The earlier Chalukyas being the Chalukyas of Badami ). There were many Chalukya dynasties. Of them, the four most important were: the Chalukyas of Badami or Vatapi (also known as early western Chalukyas), the Chalukyas of Vengi (also known as eastern Chalukyas), the Chalukyas of Kalyani (also known as western Chalukyas )

India, the cradle of Buddhism, is home to many sacred shrines of Buddhism. Lumbini (in Nepal), Bodh Gaya in Bihar, Sarnath and Kusinagar in Uttar Pradesh, where the four key events of the Buddha’s life, namely birth, attainment of enlightenment, deliverance of the first sermon and death took place respectively, are looked upon with great reverence. To these are added four other places which were also intimately associated with the Buddha’s life. These are Srasvasti , Sankasya , Rajagriha and Vaishali . These eight places have all along been considered as the eight holy places ( ashtamahasthanas ) and are well-known pilgrimage destinations. In addition to the eight sacred shrines, some of the other important Buddhist sites of ancient India are: Nagarjunakonda and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh; Nalanda and Vikramshila in Bihar; Junagarh and Valabhi in Gujarat; Snachi and Bharhut in Madhya Pradesh; Ajanta - Ellora in Maharashtra; Udayagiri, Lalitgiri and Dhaulagiri in Or