Sources of Ancient Indian History

Sources of Ancient Indian
History: Archaeological and

Literary Sources
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Sources of Ancient Indian History: Archaeological and
Literary Sources!
The purpose of history is to throw light on the past. This is done
through discovery and study of historical sources.
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It is rather easy to find sources for writing the history of the recent
past, because there is plenty of hand written and printed material on
and about modern State and Society. There is also enough material in
respect of medieval times.
But the real difficulty arises for writing ancient history. It is mentioned
in the great Indian epic Mahabharata that “History is that ancient
description which contains instructions of virtue, wealth, desire and
salvation”. In other words, India’s ancient seers laid greater emphasis
on those events which carried higher ideals rather than actual
happenings.
Image Source: asibbsrcircle.in/gallery/Rajarani2.JPG
In ancient Greece and Rome, there were historians to write the

accounts of their times. But ancient Indians who wrote on many
subjects, rarely wrote history. Most of ancient material has also been
lost. It is thus a challenging task to rediscover India’s ancient past. Yet
there are sources from which history is written.
These sources are divided into two main groups. They are
Archaeological and Literary. The Archaeological Source can again be
divided into three groups, namely, Archaeological Remains and
Monuments, Inscriptions and Coins. The Literary Source can also be
divided into three groups, namely, Religious Literature, Secular
Literature and Accounts of Foreigners. A brief account of these sources
is given below.
Archaeological Sources:
1. Archaeological remains and Monuments:
Ancient ruins, remains and monuments recovered as a result of
excavation and exploration are archaeological sources of history. The
archaeological remains are subjected to scientific examination of
radio-carbon method for its dates. Archaeological sources give us
some knowledge of the life of the ancient people. India is rich with
ancient ruins, remains, and monuments.
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Many historical places are lying buried under the earth. But
excavations are being carried out to bring some such places to light.
The material remains discovered from excavations and ruins speak a
good deal of the past. For example, the excavations at Mohenjo-Daro
and Harappa brought to the knowledge of the world the existence of
the Indus Valley Civilization.
Excavations have been conducted at Taxila, Pataliputra, Rajgir,

Nalanda, Sanchi, Barhut, Sarnath and Mathura. They are being done
at many other places too. By digging the old sites and mounds, and
discovering the material remains, historians try to understand the
past. Archaeology is the science and method to explore and
understand the ancient ruins and remains.
All over India there are countless historical monuments like, Temples,
Stupas, Monasteries, Forts, Palaces, and the like, which speak of their
time. Similarly, tools, implements, weapons and pottery etc. throw
light on the living conditions of the people. For historians, these are
sources of information. In the opinion of some eminent scholars, the
history of India before the third century B.C. was mainly the result of
archaeological research. Information gathered from literature and oral
traditions can be taken as historical accounts only if archaeological
evidences are available as supporting material.
2. Inscriptions:
Inscriptions supply valuable historical facts. The study of inscriptions
is called epigraphy. The study of the writings on ancient inscriptions
and records is called palaeography. Inscriptions are seen on rocks,
pillars, stones, slabs, walls of buildings, and body of temples. They are
also found on seals and copper plates. We have various types of
inscriptions. Some convey monarchical orders regarding
administrative, religious and major decisions to the public in general.
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These are called royal proclamations and commandments. Others are

records of the followers of major religions. These followers convey
their devotion on temple walls, pillars, stupas and monastries. The
achievements of kings and conquerors are recorded in prasastis, i.e.
eulogies. These are written by their court poets, who never speak of
their defects. Finally we have many donatives i.e. grants for religious
purpose.
India’s earliest inscriptions are seen on the seals of Harappa,

belonging to the Indus Valley Civilisation. The most famous
inscriptions of India are the huge inscriptions of Asoka. As that
emperor himself proclaimed, he got his edicts engraved on stone so
that they might last long. The Hatigumpha Inscription of Kharavela,
the Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta, and many other
rock and pillar inscriptions contain most valuable historical accounts.
Political, administrative and religious matters are gathered from such
sources.
Earliest inscriptions, namely, the seals of Harappa, dated about 2500

BC, have not been deciphered so far by any epigraphist. The later
inscriptions were engraved in the Prakrit Language in the third
century B.C. Ashokan inscriptions were written in the Brahmi script
from left to right. Some were also engraved in the Kharosthi script
from right to left. Sanskrit was used as an epigraphic medium in the
second century A.D. Inscriptions were also engraved in regional
languages in the ninth and tenth centuries.
For a study of Indus valley civilisation or the Harappan culture,

archaeology is regarded as the chief source of information. The same
archaeological evidences, collected from other parts of India, give a
picture of the most ancient civilisation of India. To understand the
pre-historic India, the historians must have to depend primarily on
archaeology. The archaeological evidences also provide the most
authentic information for writing the history of other subsequent
periods.
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Copper plates were more widely used for writing inscriptions. They are
called Tamrapata or Tamrapatra or Tamrasasana. They were used
even in the days of Buddha. Many copper plates contained land-
grants. They were also used to carry administrative orders. The
inscriptions are of many types. They were used for several purposes.
For historians they carry enough interest.
Numismatic:
The study of coins is known as numismatics. Coins form another
source of historical information. Ancient coins were mostly made of
gold, silver, copper or lead. Coin moulds of Kushan period made of
burnt clay have been also discovered. Some of the coins contain
religious and legendary symbols which throw light on the culture of
that time. Coins also contain the figures of kings and gods.
Some contain names and dates of the rulers. Coins also throw
significant light on economic life of ancient people. They indicate
regarding trade and commerce and help to reconstruct the history of
several ruling dynasties. Coins have been the primary source of our
information regarding the various Indian states during the same
period.
The coins of the Kushana and the Gupta period give interesting
accounts of those days. They throw light on religious, political,
economic and commercial conditions. Every coin of the past has some
story to convey.
Literary Sources:
1. Religious Literature:
History is not a record of only the rulers. It is mostly an account of the
people’s life and living. The literature of every time is like a mirror of
that time. Mental and social conditions of the people are known from
literary sources.
The Religious Literature of India is too vast. It includes the Vedas, the
Upanishads, the great epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and
the Puranas of the Hindus. These are like mines of information about
religious beliefs, social systems, people’s manners and customs,
political institutions, and conditions of culture.
The religious writings of the Jainas and the Buddhists are also
enormous. They include the Jatakas and the Angas etc. While dealing
with religious subjects, they also write about historical persons and
political events. Contemporary economic and social conditions are
vividly known from these sources.
2. Secular Literature:
There are many kinds of secular or non-religious literature. The law-
books of ancient India known as Dharmasutras and Smritis belong to
this group. They contain code of duties for kings, administrators, and
people. They also contain rules regarding property, and prescribe
punishments for murder, theft and other crimes.
Kautilya’s Arthasastra is a famous work. It not only speaks of the State

and polity, but also of socio-economic system. Authors like Patanjali
and Panini, though they wrote Sanskrit grammar, also described some
political events. The dramas of Kalidasa, Vishakhadatta, and Bhasa
give us useful information about the people and society.
There were some historical writings too. Bana wrote Harshacharita or

the Life of Harsha. Bilhana wrote about Vikramaditya. Kalhana’s
Rajatarangini was a historical text of great value. It is an account of the
history of Kashmir. It presents the career of the Kings in chronological
order. Chand Bardai wrote Prithviraj Charita. There are many other
biographical works and chronicles which contain historical
information.
Historians try to find correct material for history from all such literary
sources.
3. Accounts of Foreigners:
From very ancient times, foreigners visited India. Some of them left
valuable accounts of their travels or visits. Ancient Greek and Roman
historians also wrote about India from their knowledge and
information. All these foreign accounts prove useful for writing
history.
We know of Chandragupta Maurya’s victory over the Greeks from the

Greek accounts. They mentioned him as Sandrokottas in their
writings. The Greek ambassador Megasthenes stayed in the court of
Chandragupta Maurya and wrote his famous work Indika.
Unfortunately this work was lost. But fragments from it were
preserved in the quotations by other Greek writers. But even those
brief accounts are regarded most precious to know Mauryan polity and
society.
From works such as Ptolemy’s Geography, we know of India’s ports

and harbours. From Pliny’s work we know of trade relations between
Rome and India. These writers wrote in early centuries of the
Christian era. The Chinese traveler Fa-Hien left valuable accounts on
the time of the imperial Guptas. Hieuen Tsang, who is described as the
‘Prince of Pilgrims’ wrote details about the India of the age of Harsha.
Another Chinese, Itsing, visited India in 7the century A.D. His
accounts contain the socio-religious condition of those days.
Travellers from the Islamic world also visited India. Al Beruni who
came at the time of Mahmud of Ghazani studied Sanskrit himself. His
writings on ‘Hind’ give useful information.
History demands devotion to truth. Historians construct history from

various sources to present the truth of the past to the men of today and
the future.

Sources of Ancient Indian History

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Sources of Ancient Indian History

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Sources of Ancient Indian

History: Archaeological and

In ancient Greece and Rome, there were historians to write the

Excavations have been conducted at Taxila, Pataliputra, Rajgir,

These are called royal proclamations and commandments. Others are

India’s earliest inscriptions are seen on the seals of Harappa,

Earliest inscriptions, namely, the seals of Harappa, dated about 2500

For a study of Indus valley civilisation or the Harappan culture,

Kautilya’s Arthasastra is a famous work. It not only speaks of the State

There were some historical writings too. Bana wrote Harshacharita or

We know of Chandragupta Maurya’s victory over the Greeks from the

From works such as Ptolemy’s Geography, we know of India’s ports

History demands devotion to truth. Historians construct history from

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