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India was once called the ‘Golden Bird’. It holds a glorious past. This is the most highlighted topic of all, i.e., the Indus Valley Civilization. It is said to be the most advanced of cultures and civilizations in the world. Then we have ancient kingdoms, which were very victorious. Ancient history is signified by coins, artefacts and other archaeological evidence found. These are also called the non-literary sources. They also include pottery, bangles, pieces of the artworks found in those times, toys used by children, etc. All these sources speak a great deal about the kind of life prevailing in the ancient times.
Other than these non-literary sources, there are these literary sources as well. They include any form of written and preserved written matter. They could be written on palm leaves or on barks of birch trees, etc. Then again, there are prashastis. These are engravings done on metals, or stones. They tell a great deal about the ancient past of India.
Father of ancient India:
Megasthenes is said to be the father of ancient India. He has been a renowned personality in India. He is said to have visited India during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. The duration of his stay in India and the exact day on which he visited India is not certain. It is disputed amongst scholars.
He visited Pataliputra, the Mauryan capital. But it is still uncertain as to what were the other parts of India that he visited. It is evident that he passed through the regions of Punjab in north-western parts of India, as it could be made out with his detailed descriptions of the rivers in those areas. He must have travelled to Pataliputra, the present-day Patna along the Yamuna and Ganga rivers.
His very famous book called Indica is one of his very pioneering works. It contains a compilation of all his ethnographic observations. He is also known to be the first foreign ambassador to India. He has used the title ‘INDICA’ and it is said that it plays a very important role in the nomenclature of the Indian subcontinent.
Importance of Ancient History:
Ancient history has a very beautiful commingling of various cultural elements from all the parts of the world, east, west, north and south. It holds a great significance in Indian history as it is in close proximity with the birth of many cultures and religions and cultures as Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism; where all these religions and cultures are intermingled and interacted.
- Ancient history tells us about the happenings in ancient India.
- We come to know about the proceedings which led to the development of the oldest cultures and traditions.
- It shows how agriculture began and the early practices that were prevalent in those times.
- Ancient History shows about the discovery of various commodities that were of great importance, and that of the early resources.
Sources of ancient Indian History:
We know about our past with the help of various archaeological sources. These could be literary or non-literary sources. The sources talk a great deal about life in the past. There are sites where one finds various evidences that lead to the inference that life would have existed then and there.
What are the literary sources?
Literary sources mainly include written records. During the ancient period, the written literature was mainly religious in nature. One could also find evidence from coins, local chroniclers, etc. The vedas and puranas can also be taken into consideration in literary sources. There are mainly four Vedas in Indian scriptures; Rigveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda and the Yajurveda.
There were even books like Jatakas, mainly Buddhist story books. These are also considered under the literary sources.
Conclusion:
India has a very rich ancient history. There is the concept of the Indus valley civilization, which is the most advanced of civilizations. Then again, one has all these empires which were victorious enough that their glories could be heard afar. Evidence of the ancient history could be obtained from archaeological sources, which are found during the excavations.
There are ample numbers of foreign accounts on the part of various travelers, ambassadors or many other literary scholars who came to visit ancient India during the reign of kings in the past.
