Ancient History

A chaitya is a Buddhist or Jain shrine including a stupa. In modern texts on Indian architecture, the term chaitya-griha is often used to denote assembly or prayer hall that houses a stupa. Chaityas were probably constructed to hold large numbers of devotees and to provide shelter for them.

Nalanda was an ancient centre of higher learning in Bihar, which was a Buddhist centre of learning from the fifth or sixth century A.D. to 1197 CE. Nalanda flourished between the reign of the Sakraditya (whose identity is uncertain and who might have been either Kumara Gupta I or Kumara Gupta II) and 1197 A.D, supported by patronage from the Hindu Gupta

The temple of Angor Vat is located in Angkor, Siem Reap Province, in Cambodia. It is the largest Hindu temple complex in the world. The temple was built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.

The Ghadar Party, initially the Pacific Coast Hindustan Association, was formed in 1913 in the United States under the leadership of Har Dayal, with Sohan Singh Bhakna as its president. The members of the party were Indian immigrants, largely from Punjab. Many of its members were students at University of California at Berkeley including Dayal, Tarak Nath Das, Maulavi Barkatullah, Kartar Singh Sarabha and V.G. Pingle.

Land grants formed an important feature of the Satavahana rural administration. Inscriptions show that the Satavahanas started the practice of granting fiscal and administrative immunities to Brahmins and Buddhist monks. Earlier, the grants to individuals were temporary but later grants to religious beneficiaries were permanent. Perhaps the earliest epigraphic grant of land is found in the Nanaghat Cave Inscription of naganika, who bestowed villages (grama) on priests for officiating at Vedic sacrifices, but it does not speak of any concessions in this context. These appear first in grants made by Gautamiputra Satakarni in the first quarter of the second century A.D.

It was during Harsha’s reign that Hiuen Tsang came to India. He has given a vivid description of the social, economic and religious conditions, under the rule of Harsha spoke highly of the king.

The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC. Originating from the kingdom of Magadha in the Indo- Gangetic plains (modern Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bengal) in the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent, the empire had its capital city at Pataliputra (modern Patna). The Empire was founded in 322 BC by Chandragupta Maurya. The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from approximately 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent.

The Brihadeshwar Temple at Thanjavur (Tanjore) in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva and a brilliant example of the major heights achieved by Cholas in Tamil architecture. It is a tribute and a reflection of the power of its patron Raja Raja Chola I. It remains India’s largest temple and is one of the greatest glories of Indian architecture. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Great Living Chola Temples”.

The Arthasastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy which identifies its author by the names ‘Kautilya’ and ‘Vishnaugupta’, both names that are traditionally identified with Chanakya (c. 350–283 BC), who was a scholar at Takshashila and the teacher and guardian of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of Mauryan Empire.

The date of Kanishka’s accession is disputed, ranging from 78 to 248. The generally accepted date of 78 is also the basis for an era presumably started by the Shakas and used in addition to the Gregorian calendar by the present-day Indian government.

The Harappan civilisation never had a chance with this Red soil. This is the reason why Copper was used for almost all purpose, because it is available and Iron was not known to them because they are not exposed.

Trimurti was not worshipped by the Indus valley people.

It is generally believed that economy of the Harappan people was mainly based on external trade. It is true to the extent that the Harappan urban centres were supported by the external trade but actually agriculture was the backbone of the civilization.

Cow has not been found in the excavation in Terracotta of Indus Valley sites. Cow was related to vedic culture not from Indus civilization.

According to the ASI, Lothal had the world's earliest known dock, which connected the city to an ancient course of the Sabarmati river on the trade route between Harappan cities in Sindh and the peninsula of Saurashtra when the surrounding Kutch desert of today was a part of the Arabian Sea.