Give an account of the development of science and technology in ancient India. प्राचीन भारत में विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी के विकास का विवरण दीजिए। [BPSC, 2001]

OR

Give an outline of the development of science, literature and education in ancient India. प्राचीन भारत में विज्ञान, साहित्य और शिक्षा के विकास की रूपरेखा दीजिए। [BPSC, 2012] ©selfstudyhistoty.com

Ans:

• The term ganita, meaning the science of calculation, also occurs copiously in Vedic literature. This term (ganita) included astronomy, arithmetic, and algebra.
  • Geometry then belonged to a different group of sciences known as kalpa.
• In India, a substantial part of mathematics developed as a sequel to astronomical advancement; and it is no accident that the bulk of post-Vedic mathematics has been found only in association with the Siddhantas, a class of astronomical works.
• Jaina priests showed remarkable interest in the study and development of mathematics.
  • They devoted one of the four branches of Anuyoga (religious literature) to the elucidation of ganitanuyoga (mathematical principles) and prescribed proficiency in samkhyana (science of calculation) and jyotisa (astronomy) as an important prerequisite of the Jaina priest.
• Geometry: Development took place in two phases:
  • Like other branches of mathematics, geometry in India in the post-Vedic period was developed in the course of dealing with practical problems.
  • Although there are quite a few examples of important results having been obtained, the subject never grew into an abstract and generalized science in the manner it did at the hands of the contemporary Greeks.
  • The begining of geometry can be traced from the first phase, during which it was referred to as Rekhaganit. This was the outcome of Religious Sacrifices which resulted in the emergence of the geometrical methods and design for the construction of altars and sacrificial places.
    • Vedic people new the methods of making square equal in area to triangle, rectangles, circles and to sum & differences of squares ie., making of square equal in area to sum and differences of square. These references and descriptions are found mainly in Sulvasutras but to some extent also in Satpatha Brahamana & Taittirya Somhita.
  • In the second century B.C. Apastamba produced a practical geometry for the construction of altars at which the kings could offer sacrifices.
    • It describes acute angle, obtuse angle, right angle.
    • Aryabhata formulated the rule for finding the area of a triangle, which led to the origin of trigonometry.
    • The most famous work of this time is the Suryasiddhanta, the like of which is not found in contemporary ancient East.
  • Between 400-1200:
    • In the second phase development is associated with the contribution of Brahmagupta. His greatest contribution being the Cyclic Quadrilateral.
    • Mahaviracharya (9th century AD) was a mathematician who wrote a famous book ‘Ganitasarsangrah‘. He present formula for area and circumference of a eclipse.
• Arithmetic:
  • The development of arithmetic largely centered round the mode of expressing numbers.
  • The ancient Indians made three distinct contributions:
    • The notation system;
      • The Indian notational system was adopted by the Arabs who spread it in the Western world. The Indian numerals are called Arabic in English, but the Arabs themselves called their numerals hindsa.
      • Before these numerals appeared in the West they had been used in India for centuries. They are found in the inscriptions of Asoka, which were written in the third century B.C.
    • The decimal system:
      • The earliest epigraphic evidence for the use of the decimal system is in the beginning of the fifth century A.D.
      • The Indians were the first to use the decimal system.
        • The famous mathematician Aryabhata (A.D. 476-500) was acquainted with it.
        • The Chinese learnt this system from the Buddhist missionaries, and the Western world borrowed it from the Arabs when they came in contact with India.
      • This development was of immense value of merit. Under this system any figure big or small can be expressed by putting zero and other nine numerals (1 to 9). In this system value of the digit depends upon its position, so it is known as the place value or positional value. Earlier the system did not Have symbols for 1 to 9 but only for 1, 10, 100, 1000, 10,000 etc. which was a lengthy and cumbersome process.
    • The use of zero:
      • Zero was discovered by the Indians in about the second century B.C. From the very beginning the Indian mathematicians considered zero as a separate numeral, and it was used in this sense in sums of arithmetic. In Arabia the earliest use of zero appears in A.D. 873. The Arabs learnt and adopted it from India and spread it in Europe.
      • there are several references to zero in literary works before its appearance in inscriptions and texts in association with numerals.
        • In Pingala‘s (c. 200 B.C.) Chandah-sutra zero is mentioned in the rules for calculating the number of long and short syllables in a metre of n syllables.
        • The Bakhshali Manuscript (A.D 200) uses zero in calculation and represents it by a dot as does the Kashmir recession of the Atharva-Veda.
      • It was the greatest contribution of the ancient Indian mathematicians.
    • An extensive literature exists on the Indian method of expressing numbers, particularly on the decimal place-value notation with zero, and on the question of its transmission to South and West Asia and to Europe leading to its international adoption.
      • This mode of reckoning we find more clearly stated in the mathematical-astronomical texts from Aryabhata onwards in such expressions as sthanatsthanam dasagunam syat (from one place to the next it should be ten times) and daiagunottarah samjnah (the next one is ten times the previous).
    • More than thirty inscriptions giving decimal place-value numeral notations are known. A circular symbol for zero appears in the Gwalior inscription of the reign of Bhojadeva in which the verses are numbered from 1 to 26 in decimal figures.
  • Extraction of Square and Cubic Roots: the above discussion shows that, the development of the decimal place-value notation also meant the evolution of a new kind of arithmetic.
    • The concept of multiplication, division, square roots, cube-roots based on the notation system developed.
    • In India the method first appeared in the Aryabhatiya (A.D. 499). This was followed by Brahmagupta (A.D. 598).
  • Theory of common fraction, rule of three, simple and compound Interest also developed in India. First reference of the rule of three is focused upon in the book of Aryabhatta .
  • Arithmetic had a relevance in trade, commerce and Astronomy in ancient times.
• Algebra:
  • The beginnings of algebra, or more correctly, the geometrical methods of solving algebraic problems, have been traced to the various Sulvasutras of Apastamba, Baudhayana, Katyayana, Manava, and a few others.
  • These problems involving solutions of linear, simultaneous, and even indeterminate equations arose in connection with the construction of different types of sacrificial altars and arrangements for laying bricks for them.
  • Algebra concerned both the Indian and the Greeks contributed to it, but in west Europe its knowledge was Borrowed not from Greece but from the Arabs who had acquired it from India.
  • Algebraic method was first attempted by Aryabhatta. He was the 1st Indian Algebraic. His work Aryabhattiam deals with rules for solution of a large no. of algebraic problems. He also developed the system of arithmetic progression and geometric progression.
  • Brahmagupta around 700 A.D. developed the rules for operating with negative quantities and with zero.
    • The differentiation of algebra as a distinct branch of mathematics took place from about the time of Brahmagupta, following the development of the techniques of indeterminate analysis (kuttaka). In fact, Brahmagupta used the terms kuttaka and kuttakaganita to signify algebra.
  • The term bijaganita, meaning ‘the science of calculation with elements or unknown quantities‘ (bija), was suggested by Prthudakasvamin (A.D 860) and used with definition by Bhaskara II.
  • The great contribution in this field was by Bhaskara II in 1200 A.D., who developed surds.
  • One more important contribution in the field of Algebra was “partial symbolism“.
• Trigonometry:
  • Trigonometry was developed as an integral part of astronomy. Without its evolution many of the astronomical calculations would not have been possible. Three functions, namely, jyat kojya (also kotijya), and utkramajya, were used and defined in ancient times.
  • Fairly accurate sine tables were worked out and given in most astronomical texts to facilitate ready calculations of astronomical elements.
  • It is said to be given a new direction by Aryabhatta who introduced sines which was known as Jaya.
  • Brahmagupta, Bhaskara I, and others gave formulas for the direct calculation of the sine of any angle without consulting any table. Thus in trigonometry there is evidence of an unbroken tradition of excellence and originality in India extending over several centuries.
• Calculus:
  • Rudimentary ideas of integration and differentiation are found in the works of Brahmagupta and Bhaskara II.
  • Bhaskara II, in particular, determined the area and volume of a sphere by a method of summation analogous to integration. In his famous book Lilavati on mathematics, he presents some important ideas of calculus.

• Astronomy made great progress in the country because the planets came to be regarded as. gods, and their movements began to be closely observed.
• Their study became essential on account of their connection with changes in seasons and weather conditions which were important for agricultural activities.
• There is considerable material on astronomy in the Vedic Samhitas. But everything is shrouded in such mystic expressions and allegorical legends that it has now become extremely difficult to discern their proper significance.
  • Much progress seems, however, to have been made in the Brahmana period when astronomy came to be regarded as a separate science called naksatra-vidya (the science of stars). An astronomer was called a naksatra-daria (star-observer) or ganaka (calculator).
• Astronomy during Vedic Period:
  • Idea on Universe: According to the Rg-Veda, the universe comprises prthivi (earth), antariksa (sky, literally meaning ‗the region below the stars‘), and div or dyaus (heaven).
    • There is speculation in the Rg-Veda about the extent of the earth. It appears from passages therein that the earth was considered to be spherical in shape and suspended freely in the air.
    • The Satapatha Brahmana describes it expressly as parimandala (globe or sphere). There is evidence in the Rg-Veda of the knowledge of the axial rotation and annual revolution of the earth.
      • It was known that these motions are caused by the sun.
      • According to the Rg-Veda, there is only one sun, which is the maker of the day and night, twilight, month, and year.
    • The sun is the cause of winds; says the Aitareya Brahmana. It states further: ‘The sun never sets or rises. When people think the sun is setting, it is not so; for it only changes about after reaching the end of the day, making night below and day to what is on the other side. Then when people think he rises in the morning, lie only shifts himself about after reaching the end of the night, and makes day below and night to what is on the other side. In fact he never does set at all.‘
    • The apparent annual course of the sun is divided into two halves, the uttarayana when the sun goes northwards and the daksinayana when it goes southwards. According to the Satapatha Brahmana the uttarayana begins from the vernal equinox. But it is clear from the Kausitaki Brahmana that those periods begin respectively from the winter and summer solstices.
    • The Rg-Veda says that the moon shines by the borrowed light of the sun. The phases of the moon and their relation to the sun were fully understood.
    • In the Atharva-Veda the eclipse of the sun is stated to be caused by Rahu the demon.
  • Calculation of Season:
    • In the Vedic Samhitas the seasons in a year are generally stated to be five in number, namely, Vasanta (spring), Grisma (summer), Varsa (rains), Sarat (autumn), and Hemanta-Sisira (winter). Sometimes Hemanta and Sisira are counted separately, so that the number of seasons in a year becomes six.
  • Equation of time:
    • Some scholars maintain that Vedic Hindus also knew of the equation of time. The Vedas prescribed various yajnas or sacrifices to be performed in different seasons of the year. The duration of these sacrifices used to vary; some were seasonal, some four-monthly, some year-long, and others even longer. It was necessary to calculate the time to begin and end a sacrifice.
  • Vedic people knew Jupiter and Venus but there is no clear cut conception of astronomy. In Mahabharatha mercury, mars and Saturn were mentioned but they didn’t have astronomical significance.
  • Taitterya Brahmana makes a mention of sun, moon, nakshatras and seasons.
• Post-Vedic Astronomy:
  • According to tradition, Vrddha Garga was the earliest Indian astronomer. His name is found in the Mahabharata. When the Mahabharata in its present form was compiled (4th Cent. A.D), Vrddha Garga had already come to be regarded as a great Indian astronomer who had lived many centuries earlier.
  • Greek influence:
    • The Sanskrit names of the signs of the zodiac have Greek origins, and it seems that Greek influence led to the sequence of planets being fixed in the names of the seven days of the week in Indian texts.
    • A Sanskrit text known as the Yavanajataka reflects the transmission of Hellenistic astronomical ideas into India.
    • However, Indian astronomers appear to have made certain major breakthroughs independently.
  • Aryabhata I (476–550 CE):
    • Scientific Indian astronomy dates from the year A.D 499 when Aryabhata I wrote Aryabhatiya.
    • He wrote two works:
      • Aryabhatiya:
        • deals with astronomy and mathematics
        • The mathematical part of the Aryabhatiya covers arithmetic, algebra, plane trigonometry, and spherical trigonometry.
        • It also contains continued fractions, quadratic equations, sums-of-power series, and a table of sines.
      • Aryabhata-siddhanta:
        • A lost work on astronomical computations, is known through the writings of Aryabhata’s contemporary, Varahamihira, and later mathematicians and commentators, including Brahmagupta and Bhaskara I.
    • He was aware of the ideas and methods of his predecessors, but struck his own course. In Aryabhatiya, he writes:
      • ‘I dived deep in the ocean of astronomical theories, true and false, and rescued the precious sunken jewel of true knowledge by means of the boat of my own intellect.’
    • Scientific explanation of eclipses:
      • He was the first astronomer to give a scientific explanation of eclipses.
      • He established that eclipses were not caused by the demons Rahu and Ketu, but by the moon coming between the earth and sun.
      • He worked out how to ascertain which part of the moon would be obscured during an eclipse.
    • He was also the first to discover that the earth rotated on its axis.
    • He calculated the position of the planets according to the Babylonian method.
    • He discovered the cause of lunar and solar eclipses.
    • The circumference of the earth which he measured on the basis of speculation is considered to be correct even now.
    • He propounded the theory that the earth is round and that it rotates around its own axis.
    • He pointed out that the sun is stationary and the earth rotates.
    • Another one of his many achievements was to find out the sine functions and use them in astronomy.
    • He worked out the equation for calculating the orbit of a planet, and gave an extremely accurate estimate of the length of a year (365.2586805 days).
    • Aryabhata calculated the sidereal rotation (the rotation of the earth referencing the fixed stars) as 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds; the modern value is 23:56:4.091.
    • He discovered that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight.
    • He was the author of two distinct systems of astronomy, the audayika and the ardharatrika. In the first, the astronomical day begins at the mean sunrise at Lanka, and in the other, it begins at the mean midnight.
    • Influence:
      • Aryabhata’s work was of great influence in the Indian astronomical tradition and influenced several neighbouring cultures through translations.
      • Some of his results are cited by Al-Khwarizmi and in the 10th century Al-Biruni stated that Aryabhata’s followers believed that the Earth rotated on its axis.
      • Calendric calculations devised by Aryabhata and his followers have been in continuous use in India for the practical purposes of fixing the Panchangam (Hindu calendar). In the Islamic world, they formed the basis of the Jalali calendar introduced in 1073 CE by a group of astronomers, versions of which are the national calendars in use in Iran and Afghanistan today.
  • Varahamihira:
    • Varahamihira was a 6th century astrologer, astronomer, and mathematician who belonged to Avanti (in western Malwa) towards the end of the fifth century in Ujjain.
    • He is considered to be one of the Navaratnas of the court of legendary ruler Yashodharman Vikramaditya of Malwa.
    • He wrote several treatises on astronomy and horoscopy.
    • Panchasiddhantika:
      • His Panchasiddhantika deals with five schools of astronomy:
        • Surya Siddhanta,
        • Romaka Siddhanta:
          • It bears a foreign name and represents perhaps the sum total of Greek astronomy transmitted to India.
          • It was influenced by Greek and Roman ideas.
        • Paulisa Siddhanta:
          • so called from Pulisa, the Greek, composed by Pulisa.
        • Vasishtha Siddhanta:
          • It is the oldest of the five.
          • From this discussion we deduce that the solar year was perhaps taken to consist of 365-366 days nearly. It is thus clear that considerable progress was made at the time in more correctly determining the luni-solar astronomical constants.
        • Paitamaha Siddhantas.
          • considered to be the most inaccurate of the five Siddhantas.
      • Two of these (Romaka and Paulisa) reflect a close knowledge of Greek astonomy.
        • The Romaka Siddhanta (“Doctrine of the Romans”) and the Paulisa Siddhanta (“Doctrine of Paul”) were two works of Western origin which influenced Varahamihira’s thought.
        • Indian astronomers valued the work of Greek astronomers with which they were familiar, but they arrived at their results independently, which were usually more correct.
      • He declared that Suryasiddhanta was the best of all five extant siddhantas available to him.
    • He was also an astrologer. He wrote on all the three main branches of Jyotisha astrology:
      • Laghu-Jataka,
      • BrihatJataka,
      • Brihat Samhita.
    • Brihatsamhita:
      • His Brihatsamhita is an encyclopaedic work dealing with diverse topics including
        • how to sharpen swords,
        • how to ascertain the value of precious metals and stones,
        • how to make trees bear fruit out of season,
        • how to distinguish the good breeds of animals, and
        • how to divine the location of water.
      • It also discusses the nature and structure of temples, palaces, and houses.
      • It gives an explanation of seasons and discusses meteorological issues such as the correlation between the clouds, winds, and amount of rainfall.
    • Varahamihira stated that the moon rotates round the earth and the earth rotates round the sun.
    • He utilized several Greek works to explain the movement of the planets and some other astronomical problems.
    • He described about the motion of Nakshatras and its impact on the human life.
    • In his works we also find descriptions of various varieties of gems and its characteristics along with the description of auspicious times of marriage and omens.
    • His work is valuable from the viewpoint of the history of Indian astronomy. He mentions the names of the following astronomers who preceded him: Lajadeva, who was a direct pupil of Aryabhata I; Aryabhata I; Pradyumna, who studied the motions of Mars and Saturn; and Vijayanandin, who made special observations of the planet Mercury.
  • Bhaskara I was the author of the Laghubhaskariya and the Mahabhaskariya which treat of Aryabhata‘s system of astronomy. He also wrote a commentary on the Aryabhatiya.
    • He was perhaps also a direct pupil of Aryabhata I; or he might have been a pupil of his direct pupils.
  • Brahmagupta:
    • Brahmagupta (598–670 CE) was an mathematician and astronomer who wrote two works on Mathematics and Astronomy:
      • Brahmasphutasiddhanta (Extensive Treatise of Brahma), a theoretical treatise in 628 CE, and
      • Khandakhadyaka (665 CE), a more practical text.
    • These texts became very influential within India, and their Arab translations and adaptations introduced Indian astronomy to the Arabs.
    • Brahmasputasiddhanta:
      • The Brahmasputasiddhanta is the first surviving Indian text containing a systematic discussion of astronomical instruments, as well as methods of computing astronomical elements from readings taken with them.
      • The instruments include:
        • accessories,
        • astronomical instruments for measuring time and observing the celestial bodies,
        • instruments that turn automatically for the duration of one day, and ones that rotate perpetually.
      • The text mentions nine astronomical instruments like:
        • chakra (a circular wooden plate graduated into 360º),
        • dhanus (a semicircular plate),
        • turyagola (a quarter plate),
        • kartari (two semi-circular plates joined together at different levels) etc.
      • The instruments, made of wood or bamboo, are very simple in design and could not have provided much precision in measurement.
        • This suggests that astronomers probably relied more on their superior computing skills.
        • However, Brahmagupta also referred to complex automatic devices called svayamvaha yantras, which reflects an awareness of the idea of perpetual motion.
      • In this work, he has corrected all the erroneous methods of Aryabhata I and has in more than one place corrected the longitude of the nodes, apogees, and other astronomical elements of planets.
      • He anticipated newton by declaring that all things fall to earth by law of nature, for it is the nature of the earth to attract and keep things.
        • He recognized gravity as a force of attraction. He followed the heliocentric solar system of gravitation (earlier developed by Aryabhata in 499), and understood that there was a force of attraction between the Sun and the Earth.
        • This theory was revolutionary in nature though it was not elaborated and explained properly.
    • Khandakhadyaka (meaning “edible bite”):
      • It is an astronomical treatise.
      • It gives easier methods of computation of the longitude of planets according to Aryabhata‘s ardharatrika system of astronomy.
      • In this work, he demonstrated the more correct method of interpolation by using the second differences.
      • The treatise contains eight chapters covering such topics as:
        • the longitudes of the planets,
        • diurnal rotation,
        • lunar and solar eclipses,
        • risings and settings,
        • the moon’s crescent and
        • conjunctions of the planets.
      • Khandakhadyaka was known in Sanskrit to Al-Biruni. The treatise was written as a response to Aryabhata’s Ardharatrikapaksa.
    • Brahmagupta criticized the Puranic view that the Earth was flat or hollow. Instead, he observed that the Earth and heaven were spherical.
    • Indeed, after Aryabhata I the next name of significance is undoubtedly Brahmagupta, who, coming 125 years after the former, did not find much scope for the further development of Indian astronomy. Thus being jealous of the great fame of Aryabhata I, he made some unfair criticisms of his work.
    • His methods have been accepted by all the subsequent famous astronomers like Bhaskara II.
  • Bhaskara II also contributed to astronomy and wrote a famous book “Siddhanta Shiromani“. There are four sections of it:
    • Lilavati: a mathematical book on mainly arithmetic and measurement. This seperate section is so voluminous that it can be taken as a separate book.
    • Bijaganita: devoted to algebra.
    • Grahagaṇita and Goladhyaya: Both these sections are devoted to astronomy.
• The Originality of Indian Astronomy:
  • Concepts of scientific astronomy in India were not borrowed wholesale from either Babylonian or Greek science rather the ancient sutrakaras or writers of aphorisms who stated only their results but not the methods by which they obtained them.
  • These methods were at first transmitted through generations of teachers, and in the course of ages they were lost.
    • Aryabhata I furnished only one stanza (Golapada) regarding his astronomical methods, which says: ‘The day-maker has been determined from the conjunction of the earth (or the horizon) and the sun; and the moon from her conjunctions with the sun. In the same way, the ―star planets‖ have been determined from their conjunctions with the moon.‘
    • No other Indian astronomer has left us anything of the Indian astronomical methods.
  • There is no doubt that Greek astronomy came to India before the time of Aryabhata I. Varahamihira has given us a summary in his Panca-siddhantika of what was known by the name of the Romaka-siddhanta, but nothing of the epicyclic theory (found in Greek systems of astronomy) is found in it.
  • A verbal transmission of that theory together with that of a few astronomical terms from a foreign country was quite possible. It must be said to the credit of Indian astronomers that they determined all the constants anew.
  • The Indian form of ‘evection equation‘ is much better than that of Ptolemy and stands on a par with that of Copernicus.
  • It is from some imperfections also that this originality may be established. For instance, the early Indian astronomers recognized only one part of the equation of time, viz. that due to the unequal motion of the sun along the ecliptic.
  • In regard to the methods of spherical astronomy, the Indian astronomers were in no way indebted to the Greeks. The Indian methods were of the most elementary character, while those of Ptolemy were much advanced and more elegant. Yet the Indian astronomers could solve some problems where Ptolemy failed.
    • For instance, they could find the time of day by altitude and the altitude from the sun‘s azimuth.
  • Thus, although scientific Indian astronomy is dated much later than the time of Ptolemy, barring the mere idea of an epicyclic theory coming from outside India, its constants and methods were all original. i.e. the Greek knowledge may have influenced Indian astronomy to some extent, there is no doubt that the Indians pursued the subject further and made use of it in their observations of the planets.

• The ancient Indian physicians studied anatomy.
• They devised methods to diagnose diseases and prescribed medicines for their cure.
• The earliest mention of medicines is in the Atharva Veda. But, as in other ancient societies, the remedies recommended were replete with magical charms and spells, and medicine could not develop along scientific lines.
• Ayurveda, the traditional system of Indian medicine, is a special branch of knowledge on life dealing with both body and mind. This is implicit in the two components of the term ayurveda: ayus (‘life‘) and veda (‘science‘) i.e. “The Science of Life”.
  • The scope of Ayurveda is not limited to physical health alone. It also seeks to promote a totality of physical, mental, and spiritual health in the context of man‘s interaction with his environment.
• Diseases:
  • Diseases are believed to be caused either by an inordinate build-up of one of the doshas in its location or by its movement into another area of the body.
  • They are divided into those that can be cured, those that can only be alleviated, and those for which there is no cure.
  • They are linked to other factors including lapses of judgement, the suppression of natural urges, karma, and the influence of demons.
  • The discussion of epidemics mentions their connection with bad water, rats, and mosquitoes.
• Methods of medical diagnosis
  • Methods of medical diagnosis include direct perception and inference.
  • Sushruta states that touching, looking, and questioning are the three methods that a doctor should use while examining a patient, but adds that he should use all of his five senses.
  • Ayurveda prescribes various kinds of therapies including dietary regulation, massage, enemas, ointments, bloodletting, and surgery. It emphasizes moderation, including in eating, exercise, and medication.
• In post-Maurya times India produced two, famous scholars of the Ayurveda, Susruta and Charaka. While Vagbhata belonged to Gupta period.
• Charaka Samhita (by Charaka):
  • Along with the Sushruta Samhita, it is one of the two foundational texts of this field that have survived from ancient India.
  • The Charaka Samhita contains several chronological layers. The origins of the work may go back to the 3rd/2nd century BCE. Charaka was considered a medical authority by the early 5th century CE.
  • According to the Charakasamhita, ayus comprises sukha (happiness), duhkha (sorrow), hita (good), and ahita (bad).
    • Sukhamayuh or a life of happiness is free from physical and mental disease; endowed with vigour, strength, energy, and vitality; and full of all sorts of enjoyment and success.
    • Asukhamayuh or a life of duhkha is just the opposite.
  • It is like an encyclopaedia of Indian medicine.
  • It describes various types of fever, leprosy, hysteria (mirgi) and tuberculosis.
    • Possibly Charaka did not know that some of these are infectious.
  • His book contains the names of a large number of plants and herbs which were to be used as medicine.
  • The book is thus useful not only for the study of Indian medicine but also for that of ancient Indian flora and chemistry.
  • In subsequent centuries Indian medicine developed on the lines laid down by Charaka.
  • The Charaka Samhita is divided into 120 chapters arranged in 8 sections:
    • The Sutra section deals with pharmacology, food, certain diseases and their treatment, doctors and quacks, and various philosophical issues.
    • The second (Nidana) section deals with the causes of eight important diseases.
    • The third (Vimana) deals with issues such as taste, nutrition, pathology, and medical studies.
    • The fourth (Sharira) deals with anatomy, embryology, and philosophy.
    • Then there are sections dealing with:
      • diagnosis and prognosis (Indiriya),
      • therapy (Chikitsa),
      • pharmacy (Kalpa), and
      • a further discussion of therapy in general (Siddhi).
  • The Charaka Samhita gives details of how a hospital should be equipped like what kind of hospital building, staffs and supplies should be in an ideal hospital.
    • The Chinese pilgrim Faxian also refers to houses dispensing charity and medicine in the cities of north India.
  • Charaka Samhita states that wholesome diet is essential for good health and to prevent diseases, while unwholesome food is an important cause of diseases.
  • It suggests that foods are source of heat, nutritive value as well as physiological substances that act like drugs inside human body.
  • Along with medicine, proper nutrition is essential for expedient recovery from sickness or surgery.
• Sushruta Samhita (By Susruta):
  • The original text, which dealt basically with surgery, may have been composed in the late centuries BCE, but it was added to and edited over several centuries till about the 5th century CE.
    • The text was translated to Arabic as Kitab-i-Susrud in the 8th century.
  • The text consists of six sections:
    • Sutra:
      • It deals with issues such as the origin and parts of medicine, a doctor’s training, therapeutic substances, food, surgery, the treatment of wounds, and the extraction of splinters.
    • Nidana:
      • It deals with symptoms of diseases, their pathology, prognosis, and surgery.
    • Sharira:
      • It deals with embryology, anatomy, and philosophy.
    • Chikitsa:
      • It deals with therapy, Kalpa with poisons.
    • Uttara:
      • It deals with eyes, teeth, children’s care, and diseases attributed to demons, etc.
  • Surgery (Sushruta Samhita):
    • The Sushruta Samhita describes surgery as the most useful branch of medical knowledge and gives information on surgical techniques and practices in ancient India.
    • Describes the method of operating cataract, stone disease and several other ailments
    • The author discusses the training of a surgeon and gives a detailed description of his tools. He mentions as many as 121 implements to be used for operations.
    • There are descriptions of surgical procedures such as:
      • the dislodging of the eye lens for the removal of cataract,
      • cutting for a stone in the bladder,
      • removing splinters and arrows, and suturing.
      • making incisions, probing, extraction of foreign bodies,
      • alkali and thermal cauterization,
      • tooth extraction, excisions, and trocars for draining abscess, draining hydrocele and ascitic fluid,
      • the removal of the prostate gland, urethral stricture dilatation, vesiculolithotomy,
      • hernia surgery, caesarian section, management of haemorrhoids,
    • The text also refers briefly to plastic surgery:
      • a flap from the skin being grafted to repair a severed nose (rhinoplasty), and
      • the repair of torn earlobes.
    • It also discusses how corpses can be used to study human anatomy.
    • In the treatment of disease he lays special emphasis on diet and cleanliness.
• Navanitakam:
  • a medical work, which is a manual of recipes, formula and prescriptions, was compiled during this period.
• Vagbhata:
  • He was one of the most influential classical writers of Ayurveda.
  • Several works are associated with his name as author, principally the Astanga hridaya (Heart of Medicine) and the Astangasangraha (Tome on Medicine).
  • Ashtangahridaya (Heart of Medicine) is a comprehensive and systematic presentation of Ayurvedic medical knowledge, which may belong to c. 600 CE.
• Kasyapa’s Compendium of 7th Century deals principally with the ailments of women and children.
• Veterinary science:
  • The Hastyayurveda of Palakapya deals with the diagnosis and treatment of the major diseases of elephants through medication and surgery.
• Impact of Ayurveda outside India:
  • The ideas of Ayurveda had an impact outside the subcontinent as well. The major texts became accessible to other regions and cultures via translations into languages such as Arabic, Persian, and Tibetan.
  • There is evidence that Ayurvedic ideas influenced botanical science in Europe as well.

• It is defined as the extraction, purification, alloying and application of metals.
• For over 7,000 years, India has had a high tradition of metallurgical skills.
• Copper Metallurgy:
  • The first evidence of metal in the Indian subcontinent comes from Mehrgarh in Baluchistan, where a small copper bead was dated to about 6000 BCE; it is however thought to have been native copper, not the smelted metal extracted from ore.
  • The growth of copper metallurgy had to wait for another 1,500 years; that was the time when village communities were developing trade networks and technologies which would allow them, centuries later, to create the Harappan cities.
  • Archaeological excavations have shown that Harappan metal smiths obtained copper ore from the Aravalli hills, Baluchistan or beyond. They soon discovered that adding tin to copper produced bronze, a metal harder than copper yet easier to cast, and also more resistant to corrosion.
  • Various equipments like spearheads, arrowheads, axes, chisels, sickles, blades as well as the well-known sculpture of ‘Dancing Girl‘ manifests the metallurgical skill if Harappan metal smiths.
  • Later, in the classical age, copper-bronze smiths supplied countless pieces of art. e.g. the Buddha figure in Sultanganj in Bihar, measuring 2.3 m high, weighing over 500 kg.
  • In Tamil Nadu, we find thousands of statues such as the beautiful Nataraja statues of the Chola period, among other famous bronzes.
• Gold Metallurgy:
  • Harappans also used gold and silver to produce a wide variety of ornaments such as pendants, bangles, beads, rings or necklace parts.
  • In antiquity gold would usually have been collected by panning alluvial sands from placer deposits. However India has the distinction that the deepest ancient mines in the world for gold come from the Maski region of Karnataka with carbon dates from the mid 1st millennium BC.
  • Megasthenes mentions about the ‘gold-digging ants‘. It suggest the use of gold was prevalent.
• Iron Metallurgy:
  • The Ganges civilization, which emerged in the first millennium BCE, belonged to the Iron Age.
  • The recent excavations in central parts of the Ganges valley and in the eastern Vindhya hills have shown that iron was produced there possibly as early as in 1800 BCE.
  • Its use appears to have become widespread from about 1000 BCE, and we find in late Vedic texts mentions of a ‘dark metal‘ (krṣnayas), while earliest texts (such as the Rig-Veda) only spoke of ayas, which, it is now accepted, referred to copper or bronze.
  • Whether other parts of India learned iron technology from the Gangetic region or came up with it independently is not easy to figure out. What seems clear, however, is that the beginnings of copper-bronze and iron technologies in India correspond broadly with those in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and the Caucasus, but were an independent development, not an import.
  • India was a major innovator in the field, producing two highly advanced types of iron.
    • Wootz Steel:
      • The wootz steel, produced in south India from about 300 BCE, was iron carburized under controlled conditions.
      • The first, Wootz steel is primarily iron containing a high proportion of carbon (1.0-1.9%).
      • Exported from the Deccan all the way to Syria, it was shaped there into ‘Damascus swords‘ renowned for their sharpness and toughness.
      • But it is likely that the term ‘Damascus‘ derived not from Syria‘s capital city, but from the ‗damask‘ or wavy pattern characteristic of the surface of those swords.
      • In any case, this Indian steel was called ‘the wonder material of the Orient‘.
      • A Roman historian recorded that among the gifts which Alexander the Great received from Porus of Taxila, there was some two-and-a-half tons of wootz steel-it was evidently more highly prized than gold or jewels.
      • Later, the Arabs fashioned it into swords and other weapons, and during the Crusades, Europeans were overawed by the superior Damascus swords. It remained a favoured metal for weapons through the Moghul era.
    • Iron pillar:
      • The second advanced iron is the one used in the famous 1,600-year-old Delhi Iron Pillar, which, at a height of 7.67 m, consists of about six tons of wrought iron.
      • It was erected during, Chandragupta II Vikramaditya at Vishnupadagiri (modern Udayagiri). The pillar was brought to its current location in the New Delhi‘s Qutub complex. It is still rustless.
      • It’s rust-resistant is still a major question.
        • Only recently have its rust-resistant properties been fully explained. They are chiefly due to the presence of phosphorus in the iron. The phosphorus together with iron and oxygen from the air, contributes to the formation of a thin protective passive coating on the surface, which gets reconstituted if damaged by scratching.
      • There are a few more such pillars in India, for instance at Dhar (Madhya Pradesh) and Kodachadri Hill (coastal Karnataka).
      • Besides, the same technology was used to manufacture huge iron beams used in some temples of Odisha, such as Jagannath of Puri (12th century).
• The production of metallic zinc:
  • The earliest firm evidence for the production of metallic zinc is from India.
  • Of the metals used in antiquity zinc is one of the most difficult to smelt since zinc volatalises at about the same temperature of around 1000 degree C that is needed to smelt zinc ore. i.e. it tends to vaporize while its ore is smelted.
  • Sometimes part of copper ore, pure zinc could be produced only after a sophisticated ‘downward‘ distillation technique in which the vapour was captured and condensed in a lower container.
    • This technique, which was also applied to mercury, is described in Sanskrit texts such as the 14th-century Rasaratnasamuccaya.
  • There is archaeological evidence of zinc production at Rajasthan‘s mines at Zawar from the 6th or 5th century BCE. The technique must have been refined further over the centuries.
  • India was, in any case, the first country to master zinc distillation, and it is estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 tons of zinc was smelted at Zawar from the 13th to the 18th century CE
    • there is documentary evidence to show that an Englishman learned the technique of downward distillation there in the 17th century and took it to England-a case of technology transfer which parallels that of wootz steel.
  • Another remarkable artistic innovation by Indian metalworkers of the past was the use of zinc in making highly elegant bidri ware, an inlayed zinc alloy, which came into vogue in Bidar.
• Mercury:
  • Mercury is a metal that has been of great alchemical importance in ancient times.
  • Mercury is a volatile metal which is easily produced by heating cinnabar followed by downward distillation of the mercury vapour. Some of the earliest literary references to the use of mercury distillation comes from Indian treatises such as the Arthashastra of Kautilya
    • Some evidence for mercury distillation is reported from the ancient Roman world.
  • The vermilion or cinnabar i.e. mercuric sulphide has had great ritual significance, typically having been used to make the red bindi or dot on the forehead usually associated with Hinduism.
• Textual reference on ancient Indian Metallurgy:
  • Vedas:
    • Rig veda uses the word ayas, which refers to copper or bronze, not to iron.
    • In later vedas, terms like krsnayas, kalayasa or syamayas, i.e., ‘dark metal‘, came into use, which clearly referred to iron; loha (literally, red‘) or lohayas a generic term for metal, and often came to mean iron.
  • Arthasastra:
    • A passage, from a long chapter on the ‘department of mines‘, reveals an intimate knowledge of the different types of metal ores and the ways to test and purify different metals, or to create alloys.
    • Kautilya said, that the Director of Mines, being conversant with the sciences of metal veins in the earth and metallurgy, the art of smelting, or having the assistance of experts in these, and fully equipped with workmen skilled in the work and with implements, should inspect an old mine by the marks of dross, crucibles, coal and ashes, or a new mine, where there are ores in the earth, in rocks or in liquid form, with excessive colour and heaviness and with a strong smell and taste.
  • Varahamihira (5th CE):
    • In Khaḍgalakṣaṇam, Varahamihira explains the process of carburization and hardening of iron swords. Carburization is the controlled addition of carbon to iron, so as to turn it into steel.
  • Nagarjuna (7th or 8th century CE):
    • Narjuna, in his, Rasendramangalam, a process for whitening copper is described.
  • Vagbhaṭa (13th century)
    • In his Rasaratnasamuccaya gives us a systematic exposition of the principal metals in a well-known text of alchemy.
    • Each metal‘s properties and medicinal uses are clearly brought out, although, of course, within the alchemical framework of the times.
• Classification of metals in Ancient Indian literature:
  • Acoording to ancient Indian literary reference, in nature there are four suddha lohas (native metals) viz., suvarṇa (gold), rajata (silver), tamra (copper) and loha (iron).
    In addition there are two putilohas– naga (lead) and vaṅga (tin) and
  • Three misra loha (alloys) viz., pittala (brass), kaṃsya (bell metal) and varta loha (an alloy made of five metals).
• Thus the evidences suggest that ancient Indian metallurgists have also made major contributions which deserve their place in the metallurgical history of the world along with other great civilizations of the world. As clearly seen in the case of zinc and high-carbon steel, ancient India contributed significantly to their modern metallurgical advances and in the development of metallurgical study leading to the Industrial Revolution in Europe.

• Classified in two forms:
  • Shruti:
    • Literally means “that which is heard” and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism.
    • It was revealed to the sages by the God. I.e heard by sage, that’s why known as Shruti.
    • it includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts—the Samhitas, the early Upanishads, the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas.
    • They have been referred to as apauruṣeya (not created by humans).
  • Smriti:
    • Literally means “that which is remembered”.
    • These are a body of Hindu texts usually attributed to an author, traditionally written down, in contrast to Śrutis (the Vedic literature) considered authorless, that were transmitted verbally across the generations and fixed.
    • Smrtis represent the remembered, written tradition in Hinduism. Smrtis represent the remembered, written tradition in Hinduism.
    • The Smrti literature is a vast corpus of derivative work. All Smriti texts are regarded to ultimately be rooted in or inspired by Shruti.
    • The Smrti corpus includes, but is not limited to:
      • The six Vedangas (grammar, meter, phonetics, etymology, astronomy and rituals),
      • Upavedas (means applied knowledge) and are traditional literatures which contain the subjects of certain technical works. e.g. Āyurveda, Dhanurveda etc.
      • The Itihasa (literally means “so indeed it was”), Epics (the Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana),
      • The texts on the four proper goals or aims of human life:
        • Dharma: These texts discuss dharma from various religious, social, duties, morals and personal ethics perspective. Each of six major schools of Hinduism has its own literature on dharma. Examples include Dharma-sutras (particularly by Gautama, Apastamba, Baudhayana and Vāsiṣṭha) and Dharma-sastras (particularly Manusmṛti, Yājñavalkya Smṛti, Nāradasmṛti and Viṣṇusmṛti). At the personal dharma level, this includes many chapters of Yogasutras.
        • Artha: Artha-related texts discuss artha from individual, social and as a compendium of economic policies, politics and laws. For example, the Arthashastra of Chanakya, the Kamandakiya Nitisara, Brihaspati Sutra, and Sukra Niti.
        • Kama: These discuss arts, emotions, love, erotics, relationships and other sciences in the pursuit of pleasure. The Kamasutra of Vātsyāyana is most well known. Others texts include Ratirahasya, Jayamangala, Smaradipika, Ratimanjari, Ratiratnapradipika, Ananga Ranga among others.
        • Moksha: These develop and debate the nature and process of liberation, freedom and spiritual release. Major treatises on the pursuit of moksa include the later Upanishads (early Upanishads are considered Sruti literature), Vivekachudamani, and the sastras on Yoga.
      • The Puranas (literally, “of old”),
      • The Kavya or poetical literature,
      • The extensive Bhasyas (reviews and commentaries on Shrutis and non-Shruti texts),
      • The sutras and shastras of the various schools of Hindu philosophy,
      • The numerous Nibandhas (digests) covering politics, medicine (Caraka Samhita), ethics (Nitisastras), culture, arts and society.
• The Shruti literature (or The vedic texts):
  • What is veda? The word veda is derived from the root vid which means ‘to know’. The word veda means the sacred knowledge contained in the texts known as Vedic text.
  • The texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.
  • Vedas are also called sruti (“what is heard”) literature, distinguishing them from other religious texts, which are called smṛti (“what is remembered”).
    • Hindus consider the Vedas to be apauruseya, which means impersonal, authorless.
    • The vedas are considered revelations seen by ancient sages after intense meditation.
    • In the Hindu Epic Mahabharata, the creation of Vedas is credited to Brahma.
    • The Vedic hymns themselves assert that they were skillfully created by Rishis (sages), after inspired creativity, just as a carpenter builds a chariot.
  • There are four Vedas: the Rigveda, the Yajurveda, the Samaveda and the Atharvaveda. Each Veda has been sub-classified into four major text types.
    • The Samhitas (the collections of the humns or mantras). The nature of humns varies from one veda to another veda samhita.
      • The Rigveda samhita is a collection of 1,028 hymns divided into 10 mandalas. They are the earliest compositions and hence depict the life of the early Vedic people in India.
      • The Samaveda samhita is a collection of verses mostly taken from the Rigveda but arranged in a poetic form to facilitate singing. i.e the prayers of the Rig Veda were set to tune, and this modified collection was known as the Sama Veda Samhita.
      • The Yajurveda samhita contains not only humns but also rituals which have to accompany their recitation. i.r. humns represents mantras in performance of sacrifices.
        • The rituals reflect the social and political milieu in which they arose.
        • the rituals were to be performed publicly or individually.
      • The Atharvaveda samhita is a collection of hymns related to worldly affairs cantains magical spells and charms to ward off the evil spirits and diseases.
        • Its contents throw light on the beliefs and practices of the non-Aryans.
    • the Brahmanas (these are full of ritualistic formulae and explain the social and religious meaning of rituals), and
      • Prose commentaries on samhitas.
      • They gave details and explanation of sacrificial rituals and their outcome.
    • the Aranyakas (text on rituals, ceremonies, sacrifices and symbolic-sacrifices),
      • Composed in Aryankas i.e. forest jungle.
      • They interpret sacrificial ritual in a philosophical way.
      • They represent spiritual explanation of sacrifice.
    • the Upanishads (texts discussing meditation, philosophy and spiritual knowledge).
      • The word Upanishad is derived from upa (nearby), and nishad (to sit-down), that is, “sitting down near”. Groups of pupil sit near the Guru to learn from him in the Guru-shishya parampara or tradition.
      • The Upanishads mark the culmination of Indian thought and are the final parts of the Vedas. As the Upanishads contain abstract and difficult discussions of ultimate philosophical problems, they were taught to the pupils at the end. That is why they are called the end of Vedas.
        • Vedas start with the worship of the manifest, as that is obvious and then slowly transform to the knowledge of the unmanifest.
        • The Upanishads reflect the last composed layer of texts in the Vedas. They are commonly referred to as Vedanta, variously interpreted to mean either the “last chapters, parts of the Vedas”.
      • The Upanishads form an important part of our literary legacy. They deal with questions like the origin of the universe, life and death, the material and spiritual world, nature of knowledge and many other questions.
      • They represent philosophical ideas about sacrifices, universe and human body but the concepts of Brahman (Ultimate Reality) and Atman (Soul, Self) are central ideas in all the Upanishads.
      • The Upanishads are the foundation of Hindu philosophical thought and its diverse traditions.
      • The earliest Upanishads are the Brihadaranyaka which belongs to the Sukla Yajur Veda and Chand yogya which belongs to the Sama Veda. Some of the other important Upanishads are the Aitareya, Kena, Katha Upanishad.
      • Note:
        • There are more than 200 known Upanishads, one of which, the Muktika, gives a list of 108 Upanishads.
        • Only the early Upanishads are considered Sruti literature while the rest are included in Smriti literature.
    • Aranyakas are sometimes identified as karma-kanda (ritualistic section), while the Upanishads are identified as jnana-kanda (spirituality section).
  • Shruti literature as a source of history:
    • Positive aspects:
      • Main source for knowing vedic life and vedic culture from 1500 BC to 600 BC. It throws light on social, economic, political and religious life of vedic period.
      • These are an important source of Brahmanical tradition. It reflects their religious beliefs, practices and point of view.
      • It gives Geographical information about North and North-west India. e.g. name of rivers, mountains etc.
    • Limitations:
      • Religious literature: the religious ideas overshadow the historical facts. References to possible historical events are few. e.g. battle of 19 kings.
      • Within religions many extra-worldly things are mentioned.
      • Problem in co-relating the evidences with archaeology. There is no adequate archaeological evidences to substantiate the literary sources.
      • This are vagueness and ambiguity. Exact meaning of the words are not easy to find out.
      • Problem with dating, chronology and authorship.
        • The dates suggested varies from 6000 BC to 1000 BC.
      • The historical usefulness is limited to only a particular region i.e. North-western part of India.
• Various smriti literatures:
  • Vedangas:
    • Six classes of sutras are recognized as Vedangas ie, limbs of the Vedas. It is also known as extention of Vedas.
    • These are not books but subjects.
    • These are essential for reading and understanding Vedas and applying it.
    • These can be tabulated as follows:
      • Shiksha: Shiksha deals with pronunciation of Vedic Mantras (phonetics)
      • Nirukta: Nirukta is concerned with etymology (origin of words and formation os vedic words)
      • Chhanda: Chhanda as its name implies, acquaints us with metrical formation of Vedic Mantras. i.e. arrangement of the words in verse.
      • Vyakarana: Is concerned with grammar.
      • Jyotisha: Jyotisha deals with astrology..
      • Kalpasutras: It deals with ceremonial guides or didactic manuals on ritual practice. Broadiy, the following four sub-division of the Kalpasutras can be identified:
        • Shrautasutras: It incorporate such rituals as were derived from Shrutis (the Vedas, Brahmanas, etc.). Often, these were public ceremonies, such as the Rajasuya and Ashvamedha.
        • Grihyasutras: contain detailed prescriptions about domestic rituals, especially Samskaras (sacraments), such as the ones connected with birth, marriage, death, etc.
        • Shulbasutras: It is directly attached to the Shrautasutras, lays down norms, methods and minute rules regarding the measurement and construction of sacrificial altars.
        • Dharmasutras: It prescribe the norms of the daily conduct of individuals and the consequences of their violations.
          • Dharmasutra’s represents the earliest law books in ancient times written between 600-300 B.C.
          • Various Dharmasutras:
            • Gautama Dharmasutras:
              • Oldest
              • 1/4th of the total sutras on Rajdharma.
            • Apastamba Dharmasutras:
              • Second Oldest
              • 1/10th of total sutras on Rajdharma.
              • Commentary by Hardatta known as Vijjvalavrtti.
            • Baudhyana Dharmasutras:
              • Chronologically later than Apastamba.
              • 1/8th of the total sutras on Rajdharma.
            • Vasistha Dharmasutras:
              • Abouth 1/6th ol the total is on Rajdharma
            • Vishnu Dharmasutras:
              • It professes to be a revealation by the Supreme being – the Dharmasutras are avowedly the works of sages.
              • Commentary by Bharuchi.
        • Notes: Sutras style of writing are in essence the ideas expressed in very short and condensed statements.
  • Upaveda:
    • Upaveda means applied knowledge and are traditional literatures which contain the subjects of certain technical works.
    • They are as follows:
      • Āyurveda: Deals in Medicine and associated with the Rigveda
      • Dhanurveda: Deals in Archery and associated with the Yajurveda
      • Gāndharvaveda: Deals with Music and Dance and associated with the Samaveda
      • Shastrashastra: Deals with military technology and associated with the Atharvaveda
  • Dharmashastras:
    • Dharmashastras is a genre of Sanskrit theological texts, and refers to the treatises (sastras) of Hinduism on dharma.
    • There are many Dharmashastras, variously estimated to be 18 to about 100, with different and conflicting points of view.
    • Each of these texts exist in many different versions, and each is rooted in Dharmasutra texts dated to 1st millennium BCE that emerged from Kalpa (Vedanga) studies in the Vedic era.
    • The texts include discussion of:
      • ashrama (stages of life),
      • varna (social classes),
      • purushartha (proper goals of life),
      • personal virtues and duties such as ahimsa (non-violence) against all living beings,
      • rules of just war,
      • duties and rites of the kings,
      • slaves and their rights,
      • rights to property
      • Laws related to marriage and inheritance
      • Jatis and their duties etc.
    • Some important Dharmashastras:
      • Manu smriti:
        • Belongs to Post-Mauryan Period
        • Seven kinds of slaves.
        • Women could utter Mantras only at the time of marriage.
        • Women have no right to property except Stridhana.
        • Women remain under the guardianship of father, husband and son.
        • Four ashramas.
        • Condemns Niyoga
        • Condemns Gambling
        • Gods are pleased in homes where women are honoured.
        • Reference of Varnashankara
        • Reterence of Vratya-kshatriya (fallen kshatria) – term used for foreign ruling group.
      • Yajnavalkya smriti:
        • More systematic, precise and concise than Manusmriti.
        • Does not condemned Niyoga.
        • Prescribes methods to bringing gambling under slate control to add to revenue of state – but does not condemn it.
        • Defines rights of widows.
        • Accepts right of women to inherit property.
      • Narada smriti:
        • Similarities with Manusmriti.
        • Not opposed to Niyoga
        • Not opposed to remariage of women
        • Refers to 15 kinds of slaves
        • Contains detailed description on slaves
      • Brahaspati smriti:
        • First to make a clear distinction between civil & criminal justice.
        • Focus on law- little on polity
        • FolLows Manusmriti very closely
  • Philosophical Literature:
    • Sankhya:
      • Samkhya Sutra – By Kapila
      • Sankhya Karika – By Iswar Krishna also known as Vindhyavas – 6th century AD Most important commentary
      • Tatva Kumudi – By Vachaspali – 9th century AD
    • Yoga:
      • Yoga Sutra – By Patanjali
      • Yog Bhasya – By Vyas – Earliest Commentary
      • Rajamartanda – By Bhoj 100 AD
    • Nyaya:
      • Nyaya Sutra – Gautam
      • Nyaya Bhasya – Earliest commentary – By Pakshila Swamin Vatsayayan – 4th century AD
      • Nyaya praves – By Dinnaga (A Buddhist) – Criticises Vatsyayan
      • Nyaya Vartika – One of world’s greatest treatise on logic – By Uddyotakar – A Pasupat – Supports Vatsyayan against Dinnaga
      • Nyaya Bindu – By Dharmakirti (A Buddhist) – Supports Dinnaga against Uddyotkar
      • Tattva Chintamani – First on Modern Nyaya – By Gangesa – 12th century AD
      • Nyayavatara – By Diwakar (A Jaina) – First systematic writing on Jaina logic
    • Vaiseshika:
      • Vaiseshika Sutra – By Kanada or Kanbhuk or Uluk or Kashyap
      • Padarth Oharm Sangrah – By Prashast pad – 5th century AD
    • Purva Mimamsa:
      • Mimamsa Sutra – By Jamini – 4th century BC
      • Sabar Bhasya – By Sabar Swami 1st century AD
      • (a) Slokavartıka, (b) Tantra Vartika, (c) Tuptika, (d), Brihattika, (e) Madhyama Tika – By Kumaril Bhatt -6th-7th century AD
      • Vidhi Vivek & Bhawana Vivek – By Mandan Misra
      • (a) Sarvadarshansamgraha, (b) Jaiminiya – Nyaya – Mal Vistara – By Madhav – Brother of Sayana
      • Tattva bindu – by Vachaspati Misra
    • Vedanta:
      • Badaryan – Wrole Brahmasutra or Vedant Sutra
      • Gaudpad – Mentor of Shankara First systematic commentary – Agama Sastra & Gaudpadkarika
      • Shankara – Brahmasutra Bhasya
      • Sri Harsa – Wrote Khandana Khanda Khadya on Advaita
      • Ramanuj – Lived in 11th century – Wrote Vedant Sar or Vedanta Samgraha or Vedant Dip
      • Nimbarka- Wrote Parijat Saurav – Commentary on Brahmasutra – Expounded Dvaita Dvaita
      • Madhav or Anandtirtha or Purnaprajna – Commentory on Brahmasutra – Wrote Anuvyakhyan Expounded Dvaita
      • Mandan Misra – Wrote Brahma Siddhi
      • Vallabha – Wrote Anubhasya – On Brahmasutra – Expounded Suddha Advaita
  • Purana:
    • The word Purana literally means “ancient, old” ( ‘story of the old days’), and it is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly legends and other traditional lore.
    • The Purana emerged out of Bardic traditions. I.e. The original authors of the Puranas like those of the epics, were the Sutas or the bards.
      • Bards were professional class used to recite the ancient lores.
      • In almost all the Puranas the Suta Lomaharshana or his son Ugrasrava appears as narrator.
    • Composed primarily in Sanskrit, but also in Tamil and other Indian languages, several of these texts are named after major Hindu deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma and Shakti.
    • Although we cannot date puranas by its character of repeating the stories of the old days, one can trace their composition from 300 CE to 1000 CE.  The earliest Puranas were compiled in the Gupta period.
    • There are eighteen Puranas and about the same number of Upapuranas. Some of the well known Puranas are – Brahma, Bhagvat, Padma, Vishnu, Vayu, Agni, Matsya and Garuda.
      • Vishnu, Narada, Bhagvata, Garuda, Padma & Varaha Puranas are vaisvainite
      • Matsya, Kurma, Linga, siva, Skanda and Agni Puranas are saivite
      • One Brahma Purana is also known as Adi Purana for it is first in chronology.
      • Bhagvata Purana is the most popular– a work of 9th century – contains 12 books – Book X is devoted to the life of Krishna – Kapila (Sankhya System) and Buddha appear as incarnation of Vishnu. This purana rejects superiority of Brahman on the basis of birth
      • Agni purana has an encycopaedic character – it deals with subjects like astronomy, geography, grammer, law, nedicine, politics elc. – It is saivite and deals with cult of Linga, Durga, Ganesh etc.
      • The Brahmavaivarta Purana,shows “Brahma” to be the creator of the world.
      • In the Garuda Purana more emphasis is laid on various forms of Vishnu-worship. Like the Agni Purana, this work too has assumed as encyclopaedic form.
        • The contents of the Ramayana the Mahaharata and the Harivamsa are retold and there are sections on cosmography, astronomy and
        • astrology, omens and portents, chiromancy, medicine metrics, grammar, knowledge of precious stones (ratnapariksha) and politics (niti).
      • The most important purana is Vishnu Dharmottara purana. It is encyclopedic in nature. Along with the narratives, it also deals with cosmology, cosmogony, geography, astronomy, astrology, division of time, pacification of unfavourbale planets and stars, genealogies (mostly of kings and sages), manners and customs, penances, duties of Vaishnavas, law and politics, war strategies, treatment of diseases of human beings and animals, cuisine, grammar, metrics etc.
    • Puranas are mythological works which propagate religious and spiritual messages through parables and fables.
      • They have a potent influence in the development of the religious lives of the people. These are meant for the celebration of religion, the glorification of saints and kings, and the edification of readers, whose faith is to be strengthened.
      • They are full of myths, stories, legends and sermons that were meant for the education of the common people.
        • Thus, they are the instruments of popular education. Dharma or social duty reflects the same Hindu law codes basically Brahminical, and is given in illustrative stories, and in lecture form.
      • Puranas is devotional material from the bhakti tradition; the stories about the gods who are the objects of people’s loyalty, and practices of various kinds appropriate to the worship of those gods.
      • The gods are stratified, for there appear both vedic and post vedic deities together. Of the vedic gods, indra, agni, soma, vayu and surya reappear in puranic lore, but they are no longer central, as they were to vedic ritual and some of their functions have changed. It is as if they have been demoted in favour of the famous Hindu ‘triad’ of Brahma, the creator, Visnu the preserver, and Siva the destroyer, who dominate puranic literature.
    • Some of these Puranas have a local tinge so that the Brahma Purana may represent the Orissa version of the original work just as the Padma may give that of Pushkara, the Agni that of Gaya, the Varaha that of Mathura.
    • From the historical point of view the most important Puranas giving ancient royal-genealogies are the Vayu, Brahmana, Matsya and the Vishnu.
    • Alberuni mentions all the 18 puranas.
    • Theme (subject matter) of purana:
      • Have five core subjects:
        • Sarga, the original creation of the universe
        • Pratisarga, the periodical process of destruction and re-creation
        • Manvantara, the different eras or Cosmic cycles
          • Four ages/yugas are mentioned in purana: Krita, Treta, Dwapar and Kaliyug.
          • According to purana, each next, is phase of deterioration and degeneration in all aspect (particularly moral).
          • This cycle of time connected with cyclical decline and revival of dharma.
        • Surya Vamsha and Chandra Vamsa, the histories of the solar and lunar dynasties of Gods and sages
        • Vamshanucharita, the genealogies of kings.
          • Dynastic history of Haryanka, Nanda, Maurya, Shunga, Satavahana etc aree given. The list ends with Guptas. indicating that most puranas were compiled during this time.
      • Around this core skeleton of the five subjects any Purana adds other diverse materials:
        • Social traditions and customs,
        • Social ceremonies and sacrifices, rituals,
        • Festivals,
        • the duties of various castes,
        • different types of donations,
        • Also reflect the emergence of religious cults based on devotion- Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti etc.
        • Purana reflects interation of Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical culture traditions and development of Hindu religious practices.
        • details of the construction of temples and images, and
        • descriptions of places of pilgrimage.
        • Description of details of Mantras are mentioned in Puranas
        • Description of priestly class and
        • Description of many folk tradition e.g. tree worship,
        • Details of Astronomy,
        • Details of medicines,
        • deal with cosmology,
        • Details of rules and laws,
        • Interestingly, one purana, viz., vayu-purana attempts at geography, music, etc.
          • Gives account of mountains, rivers and places etc.
      • The law books of Gupta age allowed shudras and women to study puranas. So, Purana had larger reach. That means larger spread.
        • Purana played a role in spreading both religious and secular ideas in ancient times.
      • The Puranas are the meeting point of diverse religious and social beliefs, are linked with the vital spiritual and social needs and urges of the people, and are a unique outcome of the ever-continuing synthesis based on an understanding between various groups of vedic Aryans and non-Aryans.
    • Problem with Purana as a source of History:
      • There is a vital difference between history and mythology.
        • History follows a certain method and therefore, it is possible to dispute what a historian claims, because history tries to gather as many evidences (not facts) as possible.
        • Puranas, however, are altogether different. The relevance of evidences is totally alien to puranas. It is, therefore, impossible to refute what puranas claim. Nor can we defend the same.
      • Apart from the neglect of evidence, puranas suffer from one more defect. All puranas combine legends related to gods and demons, life after death, etc. which disqualify mythology from becoming worthy of serious philosophical study.
      • In defence of puranas, it can be said that though puranas are related to mainly theological issues, they include almost all activities of life and hence they ought to occupy an important position in the list of disciplines. But this all inclusiveness itself is a serious defect.
  • Itihasas (Also called Epics):
    • The two well-known and popular epics from Sanskrit tradition are the Ramayana by Valmiki, and the Mahabharata by Vyasa. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata are two epics which have influenced literature for several centuries in all parts of India.  The Mahabharata and the Ramayana have several renderings in different Indian languages.
    • The aim of the epics is to drive home to all the laws of the smritis and the principles of the sruti by means of the exploits of their great national heroes – Rama and Krisna.
    • Ramayana is the account of the deeds of a divinely great hero who set an example for the entire human race. It deals with ideal conditions of humanness a sense of brotherhood obedience to moral law firmness of character, honesty, sacrifice and unbounded goodness.
      • The Ramayana presents a picture of an ideal society.
      • The Ramayana accepts the principles of Sanatana Dharma and duties of ruler in particular.
    • Mahabharatha has a more profound theme which involves history, mythology, ethics and metaphysics.
      • Originally, it was written in Sanskrit and contained 8800 verses and was called “Jaya” or the collection dealing with victory. These were raised to 24,000 and came to be known as Bharata, named after one of the earliest Vedic tribes. The final compilation brought the verses to 100,000, which came to be known as the Mahabharata or the Satasahasri Samhita. It contains narrative, descriptive and didactic material, relating to conflict between the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
      • The Mahabharata contains the famous Bhagavad Gita which contains the essence of divine wisdom and is truly a universal gospel. Though it is a very ancient scripture, its fundamental teachings are in use even today
    • The epics are essentially different from the early Vedic literatures. The arose not among the priestly classes but among traditional bards called sutas.
      • These also served as charioteers who witnessed the actual battle-scenes and described them at first-hand in their ballads.
      • They are martial poetry, concerned not with the praise of deities but of kings and nobles, not connected with the details of sacrifices, but with events like wars, and imbued not with higher philosophical motives, but with the practical purpose of gaining some reward from the audience before whom they were recited.
    • We do not have them in their original and untempered form.
      • They are added to by different hands at different periods. To the nucleus many pieces of the ancient bardic poetry containing legends connected or unconnected with the life of the epic heroes, of sacred poetry dealing with numerous myths and legends of brahmanical origin.
      • And large sections devoted to philosophy and ethics, cosmologies and genealogies in the fashion of puranas, legends, fables and parables. These additions indicate the great popularity which this epic has enjoyed at all times. The zealous spirit of compliers to bring together all that could be collected in it.
  • One of the distinctive features of Itihasa-Purana tradition is that the doctrine of avatar (divine incarnation) is fully developed in the epics and the puranas.
    • The purpose of an avatar is; 1. for protection of the virtuous, 2. for destruction of the wicked and for the establishment of dharma (moral order).

Buddhist Literature:

The earliest Buddhist works were written in Pali, which was spoken in Magadha and South Bihar. The Buddhist works can be divided into the canonical and the non-canonical.

• The Canonical literature:
  • The canonical literature is best represented by the “Tripitakas”, that is, three baskets – Vinaya Pitaka, Sutta Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka. All the three pitakas are in Pali.
    • Vinaya Pitaka deals with rules and regulations of daily life.
    • Sutta Pitaka contains dialogues and discourses on morality and deals with Dharma.
      • Largest & most important of the Tripitakas, contains the teachings of Buddha.
      • It is divided into five “Groups” (Nikayas):
        • Digha (long) Nikaya: The collection of long sermons ascribed to the Buddha, with accounts of the circumstances in which he preached them.
        • Majjhima (medium) Nikaya: Shorter sermons.
        • Samyutta (connected) Nikaya: Collections of brief pronouncements.
        • Anguttara (Graduated) Nikaya: Collection of over 2,000 brief statements, arranged in eleven sections
        • Khuddaka (Minor) Nikaya: Contains miscellanecus works in prose and verse.
          • Among the contents of the Khuddaka are:
            • Dhammapada (verses on virtue) :- containing a summary of Buddha’s universal teachings.
            • Theragatha (Hymns of the elder monks)
            • Therigatha (Hiymns of the elder Nuns)
            • Jatakas (a collection of over 500 poems which doscribe the previous births of Buddha, many of them being in the animal forms).
    • Abhidhamma Pitaka deals with philosophy and metaphysics. It includes discourses on various subjects such as ethics, psychology, theories of knowledge and mataphysical problems.
  • The Mahayana sutras are a broad genre of Buddhist scriptures that various traditions of Mahayana Buddhism accept as canonical. They are largely preserved in the Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tibetan Buddhist canon, and in extant Sanskrit manuscripts.
    • Around one hundred Mahayana sutras survive in Sanskrit, or in Chinese and Tibetan translations.
    • Mahayana Buddhists typically consider the Mahayana sutras to have been taught by Gautama Buddha, committed to memory and recited by his disciples.
• Non-canonical literature:
  • The non-canonical literature is best represented by the Jatakas.
    • Jatakas are the most interesting stories on the previous births of the Buddha. It was believed that before he was finally born as Gautama, the Buddha practicing Dharma passed through more than 550 births, in many cases even in the form of animals. Each birth story is called a Jataka.
    • The Jatakas throw invaluable light on the social and economic conditions ranging from the sixth century BC to the second century BC. They also make incidental reference to political events in the age of the Buddha.
  • Milind Panho: It contains dialogue between Indo-Greek king menander and Buddhist monk Nagasen on philosophical issues. It is written in Pali (during post-Mauryan period).
  • Niti Gandha (Pali): It gives the account of teaching of Buddha andwritten in Pali.
  • Atthakatha (Commentary on tri-pitaka): It was written (in Pali) by Buddhaghosh in 5th century A.D.
  • Dipvamsa and Mahavamsa:
    • It was written (in Pali) in Srilanka (4th-5th century AD).
    • Subject matter is historial cum mythical account of Buddhas life + description of Buddhist council.
    • Here we get reference of Ashoka also.
  • Mahavastu (a Hegiography):
    • It is a sacred biography of Buddha.
    • It goves the detail of the rise of monastic orders i.e. “Sangha”.
    • Usage mixed language Sanskrit and Prakrit.
  • Lalitvistara: Hegiography of Buddha.
    • Usage mixed language Sanskrit and Prakrit.
  • Buddhacharita written by Ashwaghosh:
    • It was written in Sanskrit and maiinly deals with Buddha’s life.
  • Avadana literature: (Avadana means ‘Legends’)
    • It is a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives’ virtuous deeds to subsequent lives’ events.
    • These are stories that illustrate the workings of karma by revealing the acts of a particular individual in a previous life and the results of those actions in his or her present life.
    • This literature includes around 600 stories in the Pali language (“Legends”).
    • There are also a large number in Sanskrit collections, of which the chief are the Mahasaṃghika’s Mahavastu (“Great Book”) and the Sarvastivada’s Avadanasataka (Century of Legends) and Divyavadana (The Heavenly Legend).
    • These latter collections include accounts relating to Gautama Buddha and Ashoka
  • Mahayana (which emerged in 4th council) adopted Sanskrit as a language of Buddhist literature.

Jaina Literature:

• The Jain texts were written in Prakrit and were finally compiled in the sixth century AD in Valabhi in Gujarat.
• In Ancient time only canonical literature later in medieval time development of non-canonical literatire takes place.
• Agamas: It is a term used for Jaina canonical literature (and also for Saivite canonical literature). It include:
  • 14 Purvas: The text books of old jain Scriptures.
    • These are a large body of Jain scriptures that was preached by all Tirthankaras (omniscient teachers) of Jainism encompassing the entire gamut of knowledge available in this universe. The persons having the knowledge of purvas were given an exalted status of Shrutakevali or “scripturally omniscient persons”.
    • Both the Jain traditions, Svetambara and Digambara hold that all the fourteen purvas have been lost
  • 12 Angas: Jaina doctrine / Rules of conduct history of mahavir. It is most important deals with doctrine, rules and life and work of Mahavira.
  • 12 Upangas: Associated with each Angas. The subject matter is creation, universe and periodization.
  • 10 Prakirnas: Doctrinal matters / in verse form. These are supplements to Angas and upangas.
  • 6 Chedasutras: Rules for monks / nuns.
    • Its importance in Jainism is same as Vinay Pitaka in Buddhism.
  • 4 Malasutras:  Subject matter is sermons, life in the Sangha and duties of the monks.
  • Niryuktis: Commentaries on Angas prepared in 100 AD.
  • Kalpasutra: History of Janism from its birth, written by Bhadrabahu.
  • Acharang Sutras: Oldest Jaina text containing monastic rules.
• Among the important Jain scholars, reference may be made to Haribhadra Suri, (eighth century AD) and Hemchandra Suri, (twelfth century AD).
• Jainism helped in the growth of a rich literature comprising poetry, philosophy and grammar. These works contain many passages which help us to reconstruct the political history of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• The Jain texts refer repeatedly to trade and traders.

Sangam Literature:

• Sangam literature represents a vast collection of rich literature in Tamil produced during the Sangam Age (400-300 BC to 300-400 AD) in South India.
• They are secular literature but depicts various aspects of religious life. In the early period it was written in Brahmi, later Grantha script was used.
• It is product of three sangams (assemblies of litterateurs and poets) under the auspices of Pandayan kings.
• The works of First sangam do not exist now.
• The Second sangam produced the great work on grammer Tolkappiyam (written by Tolkappiyar).
• The Third sangam produced:
  • Patthu Patu (Ten Idyll),
  • Ettuthokai (Eight Collections)
  • 19 minor didactic poems, the most popular being Kural or Tirrukural (written by Tiruvalluvar),
  • 10 epics, the most important being Silapaddikaram and Manimekalai.
• The Sangam literature is essentially poems which represent two broad categories:
  • Agam (Love) and
  • Puram (War and Praise of kings).
• There is further division of Agam literature on the basis of regions viz.,
  • (a) Kurinchi – Hills,
  • (b) Palai – Dry land,
  • (c) Mullai – Forest land,
  • (d) Maaruntham – Cultivated land and
  • (e) Neithal – Coastal region.
• The sangam literature throws light on social, economic, religious and political life of sangam age.
• It depicts the life of ruling classes as well as common people. It provides information about dynastic history, exploits of kings, wars etc.
• It provides information about social classes, economic pursuits and religious practices and beliefs.

Other kind of literatures:

• Sanskrit Drama/ Plays
  • Rig Veda and Natyashastra:
    • Dialogue Hymns of the Rigveda represent earliest elements of Drama.
    • Bharata’s Natyashastra is the earliest extant work on sanskrit dramaturgy.
  • Asvaghosha:
    • Credited with authorship of 3 Buddhist dramas in Sanskrit.
    • Authorship of one of them that is Sariputra Prakarna is proved – the other two is doubtful.
  • Bhasha:
    • 2nd or 3rd century AD (before Kalidas)
    • Wrote largest no. of plays
    • Kalidasa makes a reverential reference to him
    • Wrote at least 13 plays in sanskit
    • Same important are – Madhyama Vyayoga, Pratima Natak, Abhishek Natak (takes themes from Ramayana), Charudata (Therme is love affair between Vasantsena & Charudatta – this is also theme of the play Mrichchhakatika by Sudraka),
    • Used Prakrit also.
  • Sudraka:
    • Before Kalidasa
    • Wrote the play Mrichchhkatika in Sanskrit
    • Based on plot of Charudatta of Bhasa – but in Sudrak’s play the theme is combined with political event and Vasantsena eventually became lawful wile of Charudatta.
    • Character Vidusak is also there
  • Kalidasa:
    • A Brahman of Ujjain and Saivite
    • 4th century AD
    • Recognised as gem of sanskrit literatures.
    • First Play – Malvikaagnimitra – comedy theme : Agnimitra falls in love with a maid
    • Second play – Vikramorvasiya – a fairy-tale of love of celestial nymph and a mortal elements borrowed from Rigveda, Satapath Brahman.
    • The most important play Abhijnan Sakuntala –
      • borrowed the story of Sakuntala from Mahabharat, theme revolves around Dushyant and Sakuntala –
    • Kalidasa wrote two Mahakavya also
      • Raghuvamsa:
        • Based on Ramayan & some Puranas,
        • Describes 30 kings of solar race one is Raghu
      • Kumarsambhav:
        • Story of birth of Kumar, son of Shiva & Parvati who vanquished the demon Taraka
    • Kalidasa wrote a lyrical poem Meghaduta and other poem Rituvsamhara
      • Meghaduta:
        • Theme : Yaksha seperated from his beloved through his master’s curse requests clouds to carry his message from Ranagiri to Alaka,
      • Ritusamhara:
        • Describes 6 seasons
  • Harsha: 3 plays are ascribed to him:
    • Ratnavali:
      • Most perfect play,
      • First work,
      • Closer imitation of Kalidasa
    • Priyadariska:
      • New Device Garbha-natak (Drama witinin a drama) – First time in Sanskrit play, later used by Bhavbhuti in Uttavaramacharit and by Rajshekhar in Balramayan
    • Nagnanda:
      • Depicts the story of Jimutavahana,
      • Buddhist tinge,
      • Last work
  • Bhavbhuti:
    • Beginning of 8th century AD
    • Born in Vidarbha
    • Court poet of Yasovarman (King of Kannauj) – according to Rajtarangini
    • Wrote 3 plays –
      • Mahavir Charita:
        • Describes early life of Rama,
        • Based an Ramayana,
      • Matti Madhav
        • Describes love between Malti & Madhav with happy ending
      • Uttararamacharita:
        • Deals with the story of Uttarakhand of the Ramayana,
        • Last among 3 plays,
        • Use of Garbha-Natak
    • Surpassed Kalidas in depicting sentiments – particularly Karuna (Pathos or tenderness)
    • No Vidushak in his plays negation of Hasya (Hurmour)
    • Love theme is more spiritual than sensuous (as in Kalidas)
  • Vishakhadutta:
    • 7th century AD
    • Son of Maharaja Bhaskardatta or Minister Prithu
    • Wrote Mudrarakshasa –
      • Based on political & historical themes,
      • Drama without a heroine,
      • Without Sringara (sentiments),
      • Describes role of Chankya in winning over Rakshasa, the minister of Nandas
    • Wrote Devichandragupta
      • Describes how Dhruvadevi was saved by Chandragupta II from the Sakas
    • Wrote Abhisarikavanchitak or Bandhitaka
      • Based on legend of Udayana and Padmavati
  • Rajshekhara:
    • Son of minister Darduka
    • Belonged to Yayavara family of Maharashtra
    • 9th century Ad
    • Was Guru of Mahendrapala (Pratihara)
    • His wife was Avantasundari, an accomplished pricess of Chahamana fanily
    • Composed 4 dramas:
      • Balramayan:
        • Uses Garbha Natak,
        • A Rama play,
      • Balbharata: For the king Mahipala (Pratihara),
      • Viddhasalabhanjika,
      • Karpuramanjari: It was composed at the instance of Awantsundari
    • Wrote Kavyamimamsa on poetics and Harivilasa and Bhuvanakosa on geography.
  • Kshemisvara: Also known as Kshemendra (but not Kashmirian writer Kshemendra)
    • Wrote Chandakausika for Mahipala (Pratihara)
    • 11th century AD
    • Wrote Naishadhnand
  • Some other plays:
    • Prasanna-raghav – Jayadev
    • Tapati Samvama – Kulshekhar (King of Kerala)
    • Karnasundari – Bilhan (Court of Vikramaditya VI)
    • Lalitavigraharajanatak – Somdev for Chahamana king Visaldev
• Katha or story literature:
  • Panchtantra is the earliest story collection.
    • It is compiled by Vishnu Sharma.
    • This book is of Gupta period.
    • It was written to educate the foolish sons of king Amarkirti.
  • Hitopadesh by Narayan is second famous collection of Indian stories.
  • Brihatkatha – By Gundhya – in Paisachi Prakrit – lost now, – probably 1st century AD.
  • Brihatkathaslovkasamgraha – By Buddhaswamin – 8th century AD – A version of Brihatkatha
    • Nepalese version of Brihatkatha
  • Brihatkathamanjari – By Kshemendra – 11th century AD
    • Kashmirian version of Brihatkatha
    • Kshemendra was court-poet of king Anant of Kashmir – He wrote Bharat Manjari, Ramayan Manjari, Padya Kadambari & Dasavatara Charita
  • Kathasavitsagar‘-. By Somdev – 11the century AD – Kashmirian version of Brihatkatha – This book was written for Suryamati, the wite of king Anant of Kashmir
  • Other story collections are-Shukptati, Baital Panchvishatika, Sinhasan Dwatrishika,
• Book on Polity:
  • Science of polity is known by different names – Arthashastra, Dandaniti, Nitisastra, Rajniti
  • Arthasastra – By Chanakya or Vishnugupta
  • Pratipad Panchik – Commentary on Arthashastra – By Bhattswami
  • Nitisar – By Kamandak – Bth century AD
  • Sukra Niti Sar – By Sukra Charya
  • Laghu Arhan Niti Sastra, – By Hemchandra

The development of education in ancient India:

• Aims of education
  • In ancient India, education was a matter of individual concern. The aim of education was the development of pupil’s overall personality.
  • With this view of education as a process of one’s inner growth and self-fulfillment, techniques, rules and methods were evolved.
  • It was believed that the development of a person meant, primarily, the training of his/her mind as the instrument of acquiring knowledge.
  • This knowledge would enhance his/her creative capacity. The thinking principle ‘manana shakti’ was reckoned higher than the subject of thinking. Thus, the primary subject of education was the mind itself.
• Brahmanical system of education:
  • One ashram (‘Brahmacharya‘) was meant for study. i.e. The whole phase was devoted to education.
  • It began with “Upanayana Sanskar” 
  • The study included Vedas. Grammar, logic, philosophy, epics, Arthashastra, Dharmashastra, Puranas.
  • Scientific study also e.g. astronomy, mathematics, medical science.
  • Taittiriya upanishad says that self education as proper method of attaining highest knowledge.
  • Maitrayani upanishad says that the ‘Gyan‘ (supreme knowledge) is outcome of learning (vidya), reflection (chintas) and austerity (tapas).
    • It further says that through inspection one can attain the satisfaction of soul and purity of mind.
  • Brahmins were teachers and teaching was one of the varnadharma of Brahmin.
  • The medium of instruction was Sanskrit.
  • Discrimination on education:
    • There was varna distinction in education system. Shudras had no right to education.
    • During rig vedic age, women had full right to education, but after that it was gradually denied and eventually it became very limited.
      • The Gupta period law books mention that they had right to study Puranas and Epics.
      • Pre-Gupta period law book mention that they would study only Atharva Veda.
  • in 7th and 8th centuries- ‘Ghatikas’ or colleges attached to temples emerged as new centers of learning. They provided Brahmanical education.
• Buddhist system of education:
  • Buddhist monastries were the centers of education known as Viharas sometimes Mahaviharas also.
  • The buddhist studies included Three Pitaka as central part but later it included Logic, Grammar, and some science also.
  • Study was part of the duties of the members of buddhist sanghas. Both monks and nuns had the right to education.
  • Teaching was imparted by senior monks.
  • The medium of instruction was Pali but later in mahayana tradition, Sanskrit was adopted.
  • Varna and Jati distinction was not applicable.
  • The monastries (e.g. Nalanda) had libraries. Important manuscripts were copied and stored.
• Jaina system of education:
  • Jaina monastery (Basadis) was also a center for Jaina education.
  • Study was one of the duties of Jaina Sangha’s members.
  • Nuns had also equal right to education.
  • Jaina studies included the Agamas  as central part.
  • The medium of instruction was Prakrit.
• Technical education:
  • Guilds were centers of technical and vocational education.
  • They were mainly associated with craft skills.
  • By post Mauryan period all important crafts were organised into guilds.
  • So guilds emerged as centers of all technical field education.
  • Some important crafts guilds were potters guilds, textile guilds. metal guilds.
  • This education and knowledge was transferred from one generation to another.
  • Guild gave patronage to astronomy, the study of position of stars to help them in ocean navigation.
  • Guilds has monopoly over specific technical knowledge.
• Languages of education
  • Sanskrit enjoyed a position of privilege in ancient India. It served as a medium of Brahmanical education. Sanskrit was the lingua franca of the educated upper castes as well as the Hindu rulers and courtiers.
  • ‘Prakrit’ as a language developed with the rise of Buddhism. It became the language of the masses. Ashoka, the Mauryan king used ‘Prakrit’ in his edicts. Pali was one of the early variants of Prakrit. Most of the Buddhist canonical writings are in Prakrit and Pali, though some Sanskrit literature was also in circulation.
  • Another language ‘Apabhramsha’ was used by Jain writers in Gujarat and Rajasthan for the composition of poetry.
  • The Dravidian languages Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam were in use in the southern parts of India. They found expression in the literature of this period as well.
• Education in the ancient period
  • Gurukul and Guru-Shisya Parampara (in vedic period):
    • Education was imparted by the teachers called Gurus to the pupils who gathered around them and came to live with them in their house as members of the family. Such a place was called Gurukul.
    • The Gurukul functioned as a domestic school, an ashrama, where the children’s learning was developed by the Guru who gave personal instruction as well as attention to the students.
    • Education was primarily the privilege of the upper castes. Learning was an intimate relationship between the teacher and the pupil called the Guru-Shishya Parampara.
    • The process of learning generally began with a religious ceremony, ‘Upanayana’ (sacred thread ceremony).
    • Education was normally imparted orally. It included memorization of texts like Vedas and Dharmashastras, fully or partially.
  • Post-Vedic, Mauryan and Post-Mauryan Period:
    • During the Post-Vedic, Mauryan and the post-Mauryan periods, the Indian society went through a phase of intensive change. With the growth of urban centres and trade, the mercantile community came to acquire an important position.
    • As a result, the guilds of the merchants began to play an active role in providing education. They became centres of technical education and fostered the knowledge of mining, metallurgy, carpentry, weaving and dyeing. There were new formulations in building and architecture. With the emergence of city life, new architectural forms evolved. The guilds also gave patronage to astronomy, the study of the position of stars, to help them in ocean navigation.
    • Medical knowledge began to be systemized as Ayurveda. The elements formed the basis for the Indian medical system. Knowledge of the medicinal properties of herbs and their usage reached a very advanced stage. ‘Charaka’ became famous for medicine and ‘Sushruta’ for surgery.
      • ‘Charak Samhita’ written by Charaka was an authentic and exhaustive work on medicines. Sushruta considered surgery as “the highest division of the healing arts and least liable to fallacy”.
    • Chanakya, was a renowned philosopher, scholar and teacher. His most famous work is ‘Arthashastra’. The curricula 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. 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
    • In the Gupta period, the Jain and Buddhist systems of education assumed a different dimension.
    • Buddhist monasteries admitted students for ten years. Learning began with the oral method. Later they shifted to the reading of literary texts.
    • The monasteries had libraries. Important manuscripts were copied and stored. 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.
    • 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 parallel to Jain and Buddhist monasteries. The ‘mathas’ functioned like ashramas for educational purposes.
  • Post-Gupta Period
    • In post Gupta Period, education made great strides in the reign of Harsha. He encouraged education at all levels; education was given in temples and monasteries and higher education in universities of Taxila, Ujjain, Gaya and Nalanda. In Nalanda, Hiuen Tsang spent several years studying Buddhists sculptures.
    • 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.
• Important centers of education:
  • Taxila:
    • This was a chief center of learning in 6th century B.C. Here sixteen branches of learning were taught in different schools; each presided by a special professor.
    • It was known for medicine, law, military science and nitishastra.
    • It was also important center for vedas and for craft knowledge.
    •  Jataka mention that it was most prominent education system and student came to study here from distant places.
    • Huan Tsang mention that it was famous center for medicine.
    • Famous personalities of ancient times like Jivaka (post vedic age), Kautilya, chandragupta maurya studied here.
  • Nalanda university:
    • Renowned for its cosmopolitan and catholic character, the University of Nalanda was famous for its faculty of Logic.
    • Hiuen Tsang, a famous Chinese traveler, records Nalanda University as a post graduate university for advanced study and research. 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.
  • Banaras: 
    • Famous center during 600 BC to 300 A.D. and continued later also.
    • It was known for medicine, surgery, art & music, nitishastra and Brahmanical studies like vedas and vedangas.
  • Vallabhi:
    • While Nalanda was the famous seat of learning in eastern India, Vallabhi was the renowned seat of learning in the western India.
    • Vallabhi was the center for the advanced learning in Hinayana Buddhism. Secular subjects like Arthasastra (economics), Niti Shastra (law) and Chikitsa Sastra (medicine) were also taught here.
  • Vikramasila:
    • The University of Vikramasila was renowned for Tantric Buddhism.
  • Salotgi:
    • In Karnataka.
    • It was an important Centre of learning. It had 27 hostels for its students who hailed from different provinces.
    • This college was richly endowed in 945 A.D. by Narayana the minister of Krishna III with the revenues of houses, land and levies on marriages and other ceremonies.
  • Ennayiram:
    • In Tamilnadu
    • It provided free boarding and tuition to 340 students. Other important centers of learning in South India were Sringeri and Kanchi. ©selfstudyhistoty.com