Indian History

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