Ancient History

In 630 BC, Harshavardhana faced defeat at the hands of Pulakesin II, the Chalukya King of Vatapi, in Northern Karnataka. The defeat resulted in a truce between the two kings, with Harsha accepting River Narmada as the southern boundary for his kingdom.

The people of the Indus Civilization achieved great accuracy in measuring length, mass, and time. They were among the first to develop a system of uniform weights and measures. Their smallest division, which is marked on an ivory scale found in Lothal, was approximately 1.704 mm, the smallest division ever recorded on a scale of the Bronze Age.

The Harshacharita, is the biography of Indian Emperor Harsha by Banabhatta, also known as Bana, who was a Sanskrit writer of 7th century in India. He was the ‘Asthana Kavi’, meaning ‘Court Poet’, of King Harsha.

Sangam period is the period in the history of ancient southern India (known as the Tamilakam) spanning from c. 30th century BC to c. 4th century CE. It is named after the famous Sangam academies of poets and scholars centered in the city of Madurai.

The convocation of an assembly at Kannauj was one of the most significant events of the reign of Harsha. The purpose of this assembly was to simplify the doctrines of Mahayanism. This assembly was convened in 643 A.D. It was attended by kings of eighteen countries, 3000 Brahmanas and Jains, 3000 Buddhist monks of Mahayana and Hinayana sects and 1000 Buddhist monks of Nalanda Vihara.

The Satavahana kings mostly used lead as the material for their coins. Most of their coins are in that metal. Silver coins are very rare. Next to lead they used an alloy of silver and copper, called “potin”. Many copper coins are also available.

Megasthenes was a Greek ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period, author of the work Indica. He was born in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and became an ambassador of Seleucus I of the Seleucid dynasty possibly to Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra.

Vamsathapakasini is among the last Buddhist texts produced in India. It gives us information about the origin of the Mauryas.

Seleucus I Nicator was a leading officer of Alexander the Great’s League of Corinth and one of the Diadochi. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander’s death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire.

Sarnath is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. It is located to the north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh.

It is contained within the Shatapatha Brahmana (Brahmana is a collection of ancient Indian texts with commentaries on the Vedas.), which is itself a part of Shukla Yajur Veda. Brihad means great. Aryanka means pertaining to the forest. Aranyaka in the Upanishadic context refers to a treatise to be read or expounded by anchorites in the quiet of the forest.

The C 600 BC saw the religious and economic reform movement in the Gangetic basin. Numerous religious sects arose in this area in Sixth Century BC. We hear of as many as 62 religious sects. Many of these sects were based on regional customs and rituals practiced by different people.

The great medical trio of ancient India is Charak, Sushruta, Patanjali. Charaka (3rd century BC) was one of the principal contributors to Ayurveda, a system of medicine and lifestyle developed in Ancient India. He is known for authoring the medical treatise, the Charaka Samhita. The Sushruta Samhita is an ancient Sanskrit text on medicine and surgery, and one of the most important such treatises on this subject to survive from the ancient world.

In the Vedas, Indra is the king of Svarga (Heaven) and the Devas. He is the god of the heavens, lightning, thunder, storms, rains and river flows.

The original meaning of the word philosophy comes from the ancient Greek roots philo- meaning "love" and -sophos, or "wisdom."