3 Sources for the study of Indian History

P. Bhaskar Reddy

1. Introduction

India has a long history unlike many other countries in the world. The ancient Civilization of India differs from those of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, in that its traditions have been preserved without a break down to the present day. India has a Culture fully conscious of its own antiquity–a culture which indeed exaggerated the unity, and claimed not to have fundamentally changed for many thousands of years.

One of the defects of our history is the absence of any regular historical Chronicle. Prof R.C. Majumdar wrote in the 1950s that “Prior to the 13th century C.E we possess no historical text of any kind , much less such a detailed narrative as we possess in the case of Greece ,Rome or China“. He cited the 13th century because that was when Northern India, succumbing to Muslim rule, attracted the attention of Persian writers keen to chronicle the triumphs of Islam. Even Alberuni who visited India along with Muhammad of Ghazni said the Hindus do not pay much attention to the historical order of things; they are very careless in relating to the chronological succession of kings. Therefore, we have to depend upon a large number of sources for the reconstruction of History and Culture. But prior to pre-Islamic Civilization, for more than 80% of attestable Indian history there were no histories.

The literary genius of India, so fertile and active in almost all branches of study, was somewhat not applied to chronicling the records of kings and rise and fall of the dynasties. However, the only concrete result of historical study in the most ancient period is to be found in the long lists of kings preserved in the Puranas and Epics.

Pargiter was the first to make a bold attempt to coordinate the varying details of the Royal dynasties before the Mahabharata war .Various attempts were made after him to recover the past history with the help of available sources. Yet we are not in a position to firmly grasp to continuity of political history of India up to the beginning of the 6th century BCE. From this century onwards the sources of Ancient Indian History are increasingly available.

Efforts were made by the British to explore and interpret the history of India. In the end of 17th century C.E. a few Jesuit fathers succeeded in mastering Sanskrit, the classical language of India. Europeans made no real attempt to study India’s ancient past, and her early history was known only from brief passages in the works of Greek and Latin authors till the last half of the 18th century C.E. A few devoted missionaries in the Peninsula gained a deep understanding of contemporary Indian life, and a brilliant mastery of the vernaculars.

The definite results in this field were made by Sir William Jones, a linguistic genius, who was posted as the Judge of the Supreme Court at Calcutta. Before coming to India, Jones had already learnt all the important European languages as well as Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, Turkish and has recognized the relationship of European languages to Persian.

In the year 1784 William Jones with help of Charles Wilkins founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal. In the journal of this society ‘Asiatic Researches’, the first real steps in realizing the India’s past were taken. Jones himself translated the Kalidasa’s ‘Sakuntala‘, and ‘Gitagovinda‘ in 1792..

Charles Wilkins, has taken up the first translation of a Sanskrit work, ‘Bhagavatgita’ into English in 1784, followed by ‘Hitopadesa‘ in 1787. Several important translations appeared in successive issues of the journal of ‘Asiatic Researches’. Thus Jones and Wilkins were truly the fathers of Indology.

They were followed by many pioneers like a Frenchman, Anquetil-Duperron, a Persian scholar, published the translation of Upanishads in 1801. Interest in Sanskrit literature began to grow in Europe as a result of these translations.

Another notable contribution was made by Max Muller, a German scholar, who spent most of his working life as a Professor of Comparative Philology at Oxford. He translated the ‘Rigveda ‘ and also the great series of ‘Sacred Books of the East’ in English.

James Princep, an official of the Calcutta Mint and the Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, interpreted for the first time the earliest Brahmi script and was able to read the edicts of Asoka in 1837. He was assisted by Alexander Cunningham, a young officer of the Royal Engineers.

The literary efforts created curiosity amongst scholars and adventurers to probe further into the History and Culture of India. It resulted in the establishment of Archaeological department in the year 1862. Alexander Cunningham was appointed as the head of the Archaeological Survey. He devoted every minute he could spare from his duties to the study of the material remains of Ancient India from 1862 to 1885. He is regarded as the father of Indian Archaeology.

Lord Curzon, the Viceroy of India has reformed and enlarged the Archaeological Survey of India in 1902 and appointed Sir John Marshall as the Director–General. He was able to employ a number of expert assistants and excavated and discovered the world -famous sites of Harappa and Mohenjodaro representing the Indus Civilization in 1922. With the revival of the Archaeological Survey of India, its different activities like the excavations, explorations, Epigraphy, Numismatics, monuments etc have been taken up on serious note and these activities have proved useful for the reconstruction of Indian history.

2. Sources for the Study of Indian History

Several sources have contributed for the study of Indian History and Culture. These sources are conventionally divided into two categories – Literary and Archaeological. From a historian’s point of view, literary sources include all texts – long or short, written or oral, archaeological sources include all tangible material remains.

The Archaeological material includes Stone tools, Iron/Copper tools, Inscriptions, Numismatics, Monuments etc.

The literary sources can be divided into indigenous and foreign. The indigenous sources are further sub divided into religious and secular. The religious literature includes the Brahaminical, Buddhist and Jain texts.

2.1 Literary Sources for Ancient Indian History :

2.1.1 Religious Literature:

The first literary sources of India are the Samhitas, which includes four Vedas. Rig Veda is the most ancient of the Vedas and the first sacred record of historical importance. The Rig Veda mainly contains prayers, while the later Vedic texts comprise not only prayers but also rituals, magic and mythological stories. However, the Upanishads contain Philosophical speculations.

The Rig Veda provides us the information about the history and political system of the Aryans. The later Vedas, Brahmanas, Aryankas, Upanishads, Vedangas reveal the remarkable changes that the Aryan society undergone subsequently. In the course of time, special schools of thought came into existence for the systematic study of the various branches of Vedic literature.

The Smritis viz., Manu, Yagnavalkya, Brihaspati and Narada reveal us the social and religious conditions of India between 200 BCE to 600 CE.

The two epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are useful for knowing the living conditions of the Aryans during the later Vedic Age.

The Puranas provide dynastic history of ancient India after the war of Mahabharat upto the beginning of the Gupta rule. The Puranas have accounts of mountains, rivers and places, which are also useful for the study of historical geography.

2.1.2 Buddhist Literature:

The sacred scriptures of the Buddhists are in Pali. Early Buddhist literature is generally divided into canonical and non-canonical text. Canonical texts are the books which lay down the basic tenets and principles of Buddism. The Buddhist canonical literature is commonly referred to as Tripitakas.

The Tripitakas are: (i) Vinaya Pitaka, (ii) Sutta Pitaka , (iii) Abhidhamma Pitaka.

• The Vinaya Pitaka deals with rules and regulations which the Buddha promulgated for the future discipline of the order of monks and nuns.
• The Sutta Pitaka consists chiefly of discourses, both small and long as delivered by the Buddha himself on various occasions.
• The Abhidhamma Pitaka contains the profound philosophy of the Buddha’s teachings.

Afterwards, the Mahayana and the Tantrika sects of Buddhism created vast religious literature. The Jataka stories (549 in number) deal with the previous births of Buddha. These Buddhist Jatakas throws invaluable light on social and economic condition of the period.

No-canonical Buddhist literature in Pali includes the Milinda Panha which consists of a dialogue on various philosophical issues between king Milinda (Menander) and the monk Nagasena.

The Srilankan Chronicles – the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa contain a historical-cum-mythical account of a Buddha’s life, the Buddhist councils, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, the kings of Srilanka and the arrival of Buddhism on that Island. They also make incidental references to political events in the age of Buddha. The works of Nagarjuna, Asanga, Buddhagosha and the literary work Lalitavistara contain many historical and geographical references.

Jaina literature:

The Jain literature is written in the Ardha – Magadhi form of Prakrit and known as twelve Angas, compiled in 6th century CE. They contain many historical statements and references to princes and kingdoms of North India during the time of Mahavira. The Jaina texts refer repeatedly to trade and traders.

In the field of non-canonical literature, commentaries to the canonical texts form the most significant part. They also include stories, historical works like. Bhadrabhahucharita, Parishtaparvan of Hemachandra, semi historical works like Prabandha Chintamani of Merutunga etc.

2.1.2 Secular literature:

The secular literature of ancient India is vast. It includes biographical works of historical persons, historical texts, literary compositions, Dharma sutras (Law Books) and writings of foreigners. Pure literary works as dramas and poems and works on polity, economy and even grammar carried out by the scholars of Ancient India are also of valuable help in the reconstructing history and culture.

The most important book under this category is Arthasastra of Kautilya. It is a comprehensive treatise on state craft and public administration. It provides rich material for the study of ancient Indian polity and economy. The similarities between the administrative terms used in the Arthasastra and in the Ashokan Edicts would certainly suggest that the Mauryan rulers were acquainted with this work.

Similarly, the Mudrarakshasa of Vishakadatta and Kathasarithsagar of Kshamendra provide useful information concerning the period of Mauryas.

The Mahabhasya of Pathanjali and the Malavikagnamitram of Kalidasa, Mrichakatika of Sudraka, the Dasakumaracharitha of Dandi, Nitasara of Kamandaka throws useful light on the contemporary history and culture.

The works of Kalidasa include Abhijnanasakuntala, Vikramorvashiya, Raghuvamsa, Kumara sambhava and Meghaduta provide us with glimpses of the social and cultural life in the age of the Guptas.

The courts of early medieval kings attracted writers and poets, some of them were biographical compositions in praise of their royal patrons. The contemporary biographical works also provide good information on political history. The famous Sanskrit biographic writings include Bhanabhatta’s Harshacharita about king Harshavardhana. Vakpati wrote the Prakrit Gandavaha about Yashovarman of Kanauj. Bilhana’ s Vikramankadevacharita is woven around the Chalukya kings, especially Vikramaditya VI. Kumaraphalacharita of Jayasimha, Navashankacharita of Padmagupta, Prithvirajacharitha of Chand Bardai are the other important similar examples.

The best example of the earliest historical writing is provided by the Rajatarangini or ‘The stream of kings’ written by Kalhana in the twelfth century, Kalhana is often described as India’s first historian. His work gave a connected account of the kings of Kashmir from the early ones of legend to the historical rulers of the 12th century. He described the natural beauty of Kashmir with pride and feeling, wove lively character sketches and gave dramatic description of political events.

In addition to Sanskrit sources, we have some of the earliest Tamil text found in the corpus of Sangam literature. This was produced over a period of three to four centuries by the poets who assembled in colleges, patronized by chiefs and kings. The Sangam literature throw light on the political, social, religious and cultural history of south India during Pandya, Chera and Chola ages.

2.1.3 Foreign Accounts:

Indigenous literature can be supplemented by foreign accounts. The Greek, Roman and Chinese visitors came to India either as travelers or religious converts and they left behind accounts of the things that they saw. The earliest references to India in Greek texts date from the 5th century BCE and their frequency increases thereafter.

One of the most famous works is the Indica of Megasthenes; ambassador of Seleucus Nikator to the court of Chandragupta Maurya. This work furnishes valuable information not only about the system of Mauryan administration but also about social classes and economic activities in the Maurya period;

The many Greek and Latin texts of the 2nd century BCE to 2nd century AD referring to India include the works of Arrian, Strabo and Pliny and the anonymous Periplus of the Erythrean Sea. They provide valuable data for the study of ancient geography and commerce. Pliny’s Natural History tells us about trade between India and Italy.

Many Chinese monks made long and arduous overland Journeys to India, crossing mountains, plateaus and deserts in order to collect authentic manuscripts of Buddhist texts, meet Indian monks and visit places of Buddhist learning and pilgrimage. The best known among those who wrote accounts of their Indian travels are Fahien and Hiuen Tsang. They came to India in 5th and 7th century AD respectively. Fahien describes the social, religious and economic conditions of India in the age of the Guptas. Hiuen Tsang presents a similar account of India in the age of Harsha.

The series of Arab accounts starts with the Islamic advent of India in 8th century CE. Among the Muslim writers, Sulaiman and Al Masudi left brief records of India. Abu Rihan or Al Beruni, a native of Khwarizm was one of the greatest intellectuals of early medieval times came to India with Sultan Mahmmud of Ghazni wrote authentic account on India in the 11th Century CE. His work Tahqiq-i-Hind covers a large number of topics including Indian scripts, sciences, geography, astronomy, astrology, philosophy, literature, beliefs, customs, religions, festivals, rituals, social organization and law.

2.2 Literary sources of the Medieval Period:

The history of Medieval India is the story of continuous adjustments and mutual influences in the midst of many conflicts between different cultures with well marked traits of their own. The Muslim conquest of North India was affected towards the end of 12th century. The medieval period is characterized by the rise and fall of the Delhi Sultanate, formation of Vijayanagar empire, independent Bahmani kingdom in the South and the Mughal empire. Fortunately for the medieval period, there is abundant literary source material.

2.2.1 Delhi Sultanate :

The fundamental Persian chroniclers of the Turkish period are Amir Khusrau, Barani, Isami, Wassaf, Shamsi – Siraj Afif, Minhaj-us-Siraj, Ferishta and others.

The important works of the chroniclers are :

• Chachnama of Muhammad Ali-Bin-Abu Bakar gives us a brief account of Sindh before Qasims Invasion.
• Tarik-i-Sindh of Mir Muhammad Kasim describes the history of Sindh from Arab conquest to Akbar.
• Tabqat-i-Nasiri of Minhajuddin gives an account of Muhammad Ghor conquest of India and after.
• Amir Krushrau, ‘the prince of poets’ was the poet Laureate rose to fame under Balban, served the Khiljis, and lived to enjoy the patronage of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq. His prose work, the Khazain-universal-Futuh is the official history Alauddin’s campaigns. His works are of special importance since he was an eye witness to most of the events.
• Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi of Barani is the history of the Delhi Sultanate from Balban to Firoz Shah Tughlaq.
• Iban battuta, a famous Moorish traveler visited India during Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq. His account of the Delhi Sultanate from Qutubuddin aibak to Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq is largely a result of his experience and acquaintances in India.
• Among writers of other historical works the most distinguished were Minhaj-us-Siraj, the author of Tabakat-i-Firoz Shahi, Ghulan Yahya bin Ahmad, the author of Trit-i-Mubarak Shahi.
• Ferishta is the prince of Muslim historians, gives general history of the Muslim rule in India.

2.2.2 Sources of the Vijayanagar empire :

For the study of Vijayanagar empire, we have good number of sources. The contemporary writers both native and foreign, Muslim historians, Hindu Chroniclers and the compilers of the village Kaviles and Kaifiats furnish the historian amply with information about the role of the empire in South India.

• Vidhyaranya’s-kalagnana, Mathuravijayam, Saluvavamsabhyudayam, Amuktamalyada, krishnarayavijayam, Varadambikaparinayam, Achyutaramabhyudayam, the works of Asthadiggajas are the mines of historical information.

The rise of Vijayanagar in the 14th century and of the Portuguese power attracted many foreigners to India and as consequence foreign evidence on South India increases vastly in volume, variety and interest.

• Nicole de Conti, a Venetian merchant, visited Vijayanagar and gives a description of the Vijayanagar Court and festivals, currency and other matters.
• Athanasias Nikitin, a Russian merchant, describes the conditions of the Bahmani kingdom under Muhammad III. It is an eyewitness account and is valuable.
• Abdur Razzaq the Persian ambassador visited the Vijayanagar empire and witnessed the Mahanavami Festival. He gives a graphic picture of this great city with its fortifications, palaces, temples and other public buildings, administration and social life of South India 15th Century.
• During the first quarter of the 16th century the Italian Ludovico de Varthema, the Portuguese Duarte Barbosa, Domingo Paes and Fernao Nuniz visited Vijayanagar empire and left valuable accounts of South India.

2.2.3 The Mughal Period :

The Mughal period forms one of the most glorious chapters in the annals of medieval India. No period of Indian history is so rich in its sources as the age of Mughals. Many of the Mughal emperors were themselves men of letters and left us their records of events. Moreover the Mughal rulers regularly maintained court historiographers and encouraged them to write the official histories of their times.

• The autobiographies of Babar and Jahanghir, the official histories of Abul Fazal (Akbarnama, Aini Akbari) the letters of Aurangazeb, Jaisingh are the official and authentic sources of important event for the Mughal period.

The accounts of the Jesuits provide valuable information on some aspects of Indian history.

• Father Anthony Monserrate’s commentary throws much light on some aspects of Akbar’s administration.
• Father Pinheiro visited the Mughal court during the last years of Akbar and early years of Jahangir. He was the first to take deep interest in the common man.

The next source of information concerning the Mughal period is to be found in writings of the foreign travelers and merchants who visited and resided in the Mughal court.

• Ralph Fitch, the pioneer English visitor to India has described Akbar’s court and the cities of Agra and Fatehpur Sikri.
• William Hawkins came on a trade mission and has left an eyewitness account of Jahangir’s daily life, the Nauroj ceremony and court life.
• Henry Middleton has left a detailed account of the trade and administration of the port of Surat.
• Sir Thomas Roe was sent as ambassador by James I of England to the court of Jahangir. His description of the cities and of the Mughal emperor and princes is quite interesting.
• The English Factor Peter Munday gave eye-witness accounts of local administration and of the river transport system and incidentally of the excellent inter-communal relations.
• Jean Baptiste Tavernier, a diamond merchant gave valuable account of the cities and towns and the contemporary trade.
• Thevenot has left an account of towns, ports, customs, and the administrative and revenue systems.
• Sir William Norris was an envoy on behalf of East India Company to the court of Aurangzeb to secure the most favourable conditions for English trade. His account of South Indian towns and the Mughal court is another valuable source of information.

All these sources are of undoubted value as they throw light on the political history, conditions of the people, the state of trade and industry and history of religious institutions in medieval India.

2.3 Source of Modern Period:

There is plenty of literary source material on British period. The records that are preserved at the Indian office library (London), National Archives of India, Madras records office contain much information about the rise and fall of British power in India. Many servants of the English East India Company have left accounts of their travel. The biographies of National leaders and others are of great value for the history of freedom movement.

2.3.1 Archival Sources:

Archives, public as well as private, form the most valuable source material for the study of Indian history. For ancient India, archives are not available. Paper began to be used in medieval India for recording public business and for correspondence, but very few records of the pre-Mughal period have survived. Even the Mughal archives are not available in regular series, since they were lost or dispersed during the period of the disintegration of the empire. The available archival material for the British period is copious and rich. They provide information on every aspect of Indian history – political, administrative, constitutional, economic, social, cultural and religious – from the early days of the English settlements in India to the last days of the Raj.

2.3.2 Archieves of the Central Government:

The Archives of the government of India, mostly deposited in the National Archives of India, New Delhi are of prime value for the study of modern Indian history. It offers source material on varied aspects of Indian history for the past two centuries. These records provide information on commercial transactions of the East India company, the conquest of Bengal, the struggle with the Marathas, the annexation of Burma etc. The constitutional changes since the Regulating act of 1773, the emergence of a centralized system of government and the evolution of the company’s administrative system can be studied in detail and with accuracy in the records of the Public Department.

The Famine series are of importance for an objective assessment of the nature and extent of recurring famines in India can be examined with the help of the evidence available among the proceedings of the Public, Judicial and legislative departments.

The papers bearing on the emergence of the nationalist movement are to be found initially among the public series of the Home Department records but in 1907 a new series of records – Home Political – was started to deal exclusively with political and communal questions.

2.3.3 State Archives:

The archives of the states are also valuable for the history of India. The collections in the state Archives comprise the records of

• The former British Indian provinces
• The erstwhile princely states merged in the Indian union after independence and
• The foreign administrations other than those of the English.

The Archives of the now defunct princely states are valuable for the history of each of these states and their relations with the paramount power. The largest and the richest of this class of archives are those of the defunct state of Hyderabad.

Among the archives of the former British Indian Provinces, those of the three Presidencies – Bengal, Madras and Bombay are pre-eminent.

The early records of Fort William were lost during the sack of Calcutta in 1756, but the archives of the Presidency after the English success at Plassey survived in more or less complete series.

The archives of Madras deal with many areas now outside the Madras state. Materials of vital significance are also available there on the history of the states of Travancore, Cochin, Mysore and Hyderabad.

The archives of Bombay Presidency are indispensable for the history of western India including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Sind, and the Kannada speaking districts of the Presidency of Bombay which were incorporated in Mysore in 1956.

2.3.4 Judicial Records:

The archives of judicial courts constitute another class of valuable source material for Indian history. These records offer, in addition to evidence of primary importance on the development of judicial administration, significant data on the economic and social conditions of different classes of people. The earliest among the available judicial archives are those of the Mayor’s court at Fort St. George, beginning from 1689 AD and now in the custody of the Madras record office.

2.3.5 Private Archives:

These comprise the papers of individuals and families of note who played a significant note in the development of modern India, business and industrial corporations and institutions, societies and associations devoted to political, educational, social religious and cultural activities.

The history of Indian struggle for independence can be enriched by the use of the papers of eminent leaders of the nationalist movement and records of organizations like the Indian National Congress which are available at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.

3. Archaeological Sources:

The science which enables us to dig the old mounds in a systematic manner, in successive layers, and to form an idea of the material life of the people is called Archaeology. Archaeological material which can be utilized for the reconstruction of history may be grouped under the following heads:

• Material remains
• Inscriptions
• Coins

3.1 Material Remains:

The ancient Indian left innumerable material remains. The earliest traces of human existence in India, so far discovered, go back to the period between 3,00,000 and 2,00,000 BCE. A large number of primitive stone tools found in the Soan valley in North India and at Attirampakkam in the South India suggest this fact.

Initially the Paleolithic man was preparing tools and implements of rough stone and was essentially a food gatherer and depended on the nature for his food. He was a semi-nomad and was living under the rock shelters.

In the Neolithic period, the man began to domesticate the animals and cultivate plants, lived in huts and settled in groups in villages. During this time he prepared sharp and pointed tools for killing the fast moving animals.

Towards the end of the Neolithic period metals like copper, iron and bronze began to be used. This period was known as Chalcolithic period which was noticed in the excavations of several sites.

Unlike the more advanced stages, for which various types of sources are available, the study of the initial stages of human history is based entirely on the material remains left by early man.

When Archaeologists and Historians speak of the prehistoric stages in man’s past, they refer to the period when the primitive man was primarily a food gatherer or had just begun a settled life and for which no written records are available. The material remains of early man, available mostly in the form of stone tools and sometimes with the remains of the animal he hunted; do not speak comprehensively about his life. However, the basic information provided by the tools of early man, his habitat, about the communities still in the initial stages of social development, have led to certain conclusions about variations even in the earliest cultures and the cultural zones. Reconstructing the past from such reluctant materials can be intensely exciting, but it is not easy.

The establishment of Archaeological survey of India in 1862 and its revival and expansion by Lord Curzon in 1902 ,the appointment of Sir John Marshall as the Director General, paved the way for several scientific excavations in India. Marshall excavated and discovered the Indus civilization of Harappa and Mohenjodaro. Since then several ancient sites and mounds have been excavated by several archaeologists both British and Indian and added valuable information to the Indian history.

During the 20th century the discovery of Ajanta and Ellora and other caves, temples, Buddhist Stupas, Viharas, sites pertaining to Ramayana and Mahabharata have been studied and interpreted by several foreign and Indian scholars and added interesting and hitherto unknown information to our knowledge of the Indian history.

The Monuments are underlying witness of the artistic skill of India in various fields and testify its wealth and grandeur at different epochs of history. Different stupas, chaityas, temples, pillars, wall paintings, statues, forts, palaces, ornaments have been found in different places in India. They constitute one of the most important sources of the information regarding the cultural history of Ancient and Medieval of India.

By utilizing all these available sources it has been possible to throw light on the culture and civilization of India since 3rd minimum BCE.

3.2 Inscriptions:

An inscription is any writing that is engraved on stone, wood, metal, ivory plaques, bronze statues, bricks, clay shells, pottery, etc. The study of inscriptions is known as epigraphy.

The inscriptions, being contemporary records, have proved a source of the highest value for the reconstruction of the political and cultural history of Ancient and Medieval India. Inscriptions include the stone inscriptions and the copper plate grants issued by several Rulers or their subordinate Kings, Generals, Ministers etc

Though, the earliest recorded evidence of writing can be seen on the seals and sealing’s of the Harappan culture, these writings are yet to be deciphered. Several Indian and Western scholars have attempted to read these writings but in vain.

The earliest deciphered inscriptions belong to Mauryan emperor Ashoka, which are in different languages and scripts. Ashokan inscriptions were first deciphered in 1837 by James Prinsep, a civil servant in the employ of the East Indian Company in Bengal.

In the 3 rd century B.C, a single language, Prakrit, suffice to bring the message of a royal missionary to the doors of his humblest subjects throughout this vast sub-continent. So far about 33 Edicts and inscriptions of Asoka have been found incised on pillars, Cave walls and boulders including the bilingual (Greek & Aramaic) at Kandahar. These Edicts describe in detail the Asoka’ s views about DHAMMA, an earnest attempt to solve some problems that a complex society faced. The inscriptions show the efforts to develop Buddhist Dhamma throughout his vast empire. In these Edicts Asoka refers himself as “Beloved of the Gods” (Devanampiydasi). The inscriptions found in the Eastern part of India were written in Magadhi Prakrit using the Brahmi script. The scripts in use at that time were Brahmi, Kharosti and Armaic Greek, the former being the most developed and used script in his empire.

The Asokan Edicts are followed by the stone inscriptions pertaining to Satavahanas in the South and Sungas in the North India. The inscriptions issued by the Satavahanas are found near the Buddhist monuments, religious institutions and record the donation made to them by kings or queens. These inscriptions are in Brahmi script and the language was Sanskrit. These inscriptions refer the name of the king, his titles, geneology of the dynasty and the year of its issue. These inscriptions reflect the social, economic and religious conditions prevailing in the respective empire.

Some inscriptions are in eulogized, recording the achievements of kings and conquests. To this category belongs the Allahabad inscription of Samudragupta, the Hathigumpta inscription of Kharavela, the Nasik inscription of Balasri, the Girnar inscription of Rudradaman, the Aihole inscription of Pulakesin II etc.

Inscriptions began to be composed in regional languages in the ninth and tenth centuries.

The Copper-plate grants usually record the gifts to groups of scholars or individuals for advancement of education or for meritorious services to the kingdom. The inscriptions are incised in the languages like Sanskrit, Pali in the early years and later in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Oriya, Devnagari, Magadhi, Gujarati and other Indian languages and in Persian, Arabic and Urdu by Muslim kings. The copper- plates are secured to a copper ring and contains the royal seal either on the ring itself or on the top of the plate..

The Muslim kings that ruled parts of the Deccan like Adilshahis, Bahmanis, Baridshahis, Imamshahis, Qutubshahis, Mughals, Mysore Nawabs, Asafjahis etc erected inscriptions at various places and issued Firmans and Sanads as commendation for the meritorious services. These inscriptions, Sanads / Firmans were either in Arabic or Persian or in Urdu languages.

The donatives records refer, especially to gifts of money, cattle, land etc. for religious purposes. Inscriptions recording land grants, made by chiefs and princes which are very important for the study of the land system and administration. They also furnished us with the names of kings, boundaries of kingdoms, useful dates and clues to many important events of history.

The inscriptions of the private individuals are mainly engraved in temples or images of stones or metals. They have provided us information concerning dates of construction of temples, the development of Art and Architecture and temple cultures of different regions.

Thus, the inscriptions have been found very useful information in finding different facts of the history of Ancient and Medieval India.

3.3 Coins:

Numismatics is the science of the study of coins. The coins played an important role for the reconstruction of the Indian History and Culture. Before the coins were introduced the bartering system (Exchange of goods) was prevalent in ancient India.

The Punch-marked coins were the first coins, made in silver and copper, were in circulation during the period of Mahajanapadas.

Coins made of several metals like gold, silver, copper and other metals of different periods are discovered in various parts of Indian subcontinent.

All the important dynasties of ancient and medieval India had their own coinage. Most of them were issued by rulers and contain dates, figures of the rulers or gods and goddesses

The vast variety of coins issued by the Indo- Greeks, Sakas, Satavahanas, Kushans, Guptas etc; help us not only to build up the history of respective times but also show the artistic excellence of their periods.

The flourishing state of maritime trade and commerce in ancient India is attested by the discovery of Roman gold coins.

The Delhi Sultans and Mughals have introduced standardization in their currency.

The British Indian coins and currency contain the portrait of King or queen of England, the year and place of mint in different Indian languages .Subsequently paper currency was also introduced by British-India.

• Coins help us to fix up Indian chronology in different periods
• The legends on coins give information on the history of languages and scripts
• The vast circulation of gold and silver coins testifies the economic prosperity
• The area of circulation of coins is often used to estimate the extent and frontiers of empires
• Most of the Indo-Greek, Parthian, Saka and Kushana kings are known almost entirely from their coins.
• The depiction of deities on coins provides information about the religious preferences of kings, royal religious policy and the history cults.

4. Summary :

In sum, careful collection of the material derived from various texts, coins, inscriptions, material remains etc., is useful for reconstructing the history and Culture of India. All the sources are of undoubted value as they throw light on the political, social, economic, religious and cultural history in all respects.

Web links

• http://www.facts-about-india.com/sources-of-ancient-indian-history.php
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeology
• http://www.importantindia.com/323/literary-and-archaeological-sources-of-medieval-indian-history/
• http://www.historydiscussion.net/articles/sources-of-ancient-indian-history-archaeological-and-literary-sources/2336
• http://www.preservearticles.com/2013092033400/indian-history-3-important-sources-of-ancient-indian-history.html
• http://www.webindia123.com/history/source.htm