2600 BCE – 550 CE · Indian History timeline
Ancient India
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c. 2600 BCE
Planned cities: Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the major sites
Harappan cities were planned: streets crossed at right angles, covered drains ran along them, and a raised, walled Citadel stood apart from a larger Lower Town.
ImpactBig cities had a walled Citadel on the west and a larger Lower Town on the east.
Causes
- Settlements were planned first and then built, with bricks of a standard size.
Consequences
- Big cities had a walled Citadel on the west and a larger Lower Town on the east.
- The same layout at sites far apart shows one shared city culture.
- Covered drains joined to houses show careful planning of city life.
- Craft towns like Chanhudaro made beads and other goods for trade.
For the examSite matched with its key find: Great Bath, plough model, fire altars, bead-making; Sites matched with their rivers: Indus, Ravi, Sutlej
Prelims pointerLarge brick halls at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are called granaries, but their real use is uncertain.
ConnectedIndus Valley Civilisation at its height (parallel); Seals and the undeciphered Harappan script (parallel); Dholavira: the Harappan water city of Kutch (parallel); The Harappan cities decline (parallel)
c. 2600 BCE
Seals and the undeciphered Harappan script
Harappans carved small, mostly square seals of steatite with an animal and a short line of script. The script, written mostly right to left, has still not been read.
Prelims pointerThe one-horned 'unicorn' is by far the most common animal on the seals.
ConnectedIndus Valley Civilisation at its height (parallel); Planned cities: Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the major sites (parallel); Trade with Mesopotamia and the port of Lothal (parallel)
c. 2600 BCE
Indus Valley Civilisation at its height
A **Bronze Age** civilisation of planned cities, at its peak from about **2600** to **1900 BCE**.
The Harappan or Indus Valley civilisation was at its height from about 2600 to 1900 BCE. It spread across the north-west of the subcontinent, with planned cities and standard bricks, weights and seals.
ImpactA Bronze Age civilisation of planned cities, at its peak from about 2600 to 1900 BCE.
Consequences
- Farming, crafts and long-distance trade supported large cities.
- Standard weights and brick sizes show careful measurement over a huge area.
- Some read clay female figures as a mother goddess and a seated figure on seals as proto-Shiva; both views are debated.
For the examOrder the finds at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro and Marshall's announcement; Far-off sites matched with their modern region: Alamgirpur, Manda, Daimabad, Shortughai; Claim that the horse was a common Harappan animal
Prelims pointerThe horse is not shown on Harappan seals; horse bones claimed at Surkotada are disputed.
ConnectedEarly Harappan villages and towns (cause); Planned cities: Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the major sites (parallel); Seals and the undeciphered Harappan script (parallel); Dholavira: the Harappan water city of Kutch (parallel); Trade with Mesopotamia and the port of Lothal (parallel); The Harappan cities decline (parallel); Copper-and-stone farming villages: the Chalcolithic cultures (parallel)
c. 2300 BCE
Trade with Mesopotamia and the port of Lothal
Harappans traded with lands to the west. Mesopotamian texts name a land called Meluhha, most likely the Indus region, and Lothal in Gujarat was a Harappan port town.
WhoS.R. Rao
ImpactHarappan seals, weights and beads have been found in Mesopotamia and Bahrain.
Causes
- Harappan crafts used raw materials from far away, such as lapis lazuli and copper.
Consequences
- Harappan seals, weights and beads have been found in Mesopotamia and Bahrain.
- The trade was at its height in the time of Sargon of Akkad, about 2300 BCE.
- Long-distance trade brought raw materials in and carried Harappan goods as far as Mesopotamia.
PeopleS.R. Rao (Archaeologist who excavated Lothal, 1955–60)
For the examAncient names matched with places: Meluhha, Dilmun; Lothal near the Gulf of Khambhat; Use of the Lothal brick basin as a dockyard, and the debate around it
Prelims pointerS.R. Rao read Lothal's large brick basin as a dockyard; some doubted it, but recent studies support him.
ConnectedIndus Valley Civilisation at its height (parallel); Seals and the undeciphered Harappan script (parallel); Dholavira: the Harappan water city of Kutch (parallel)
c. 2000 BCE
Copper-and-stone farming villages: the Chalcolithic cultures
Chalcolithic means 'copper and stone': people used a little copper along with stone tools. Village cultures grew in Rajasthan, central India and the Deccan; a few were as old as the Harappans, but most came later.
ImpactThey stayed village cultures, without the planned cities of the Harappans.
Causes
- Farming villages in Rajasthan, Malwa and Maharashtra began to use a little copper along with stone.
Consequences
- They stayed village cultures, without the planned cities of the Harappans.
- The Jorwe villages of Maharashtra lasted until about 700 BCE.
- Mixed farming, herding and hunting spread across western India and the Deccan.
For the examChalcolithic culture matched with its site: Ahar, Kayatha, Malwa, Jorwe; Order the Kayatha, Malwa and Jorwe cultures
Prelims pointerAhar (or Banas) culture: Ahar, Gilund and Balathal, in south-east Rajasthan.
ConnectedInamgaon: life in a Jorwe farming village (parallel); Indus Valley Civilisation at its height (parallel)
c. 1900 BCE
The Harappan cities decline
After about 1900 BCE the big Harappan cities declined. City standards fell, and people moved to smaller villages further east and south.
ImpactSmaller Late Harappan settlements carried on until about 1300 BCE.
Causes
- Climate change, drying or shifting rivers and floods are among the suggested causes.
Consequences
- Smaller Late Harappan settlements carried on until about 1300 BCE.
- People moved east and south to wetter lands, where village farming went on.
- City life gave way to village life across the north-west.
For the examTheories of Harappan decline and the evidence for each; Claim that an Aryan invasion destroyed the Harappan cities
Prelims pointerMortimer Wheeler blamed an Aryan invasion in 1947; this view is now rejected.
ConnectedIndus Valley Civilisation at its height (parallel); Planned cities: Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the major sites (parallel)
c. 1500 BCE
The Early Vedic age and the Rig Veda
The Early Vedic or Rig Vedic age, about 1500–1000 BCE, is named after the Rig Veda, the oldest Veda. Its people were cattle-herding tribes of the Sapta Sindhu, the land of seven rivers.
ImpactTribes (jana) led by a chief (rajan) lived by herding; cattle were the main wealth.
Causes
- Older textbooks say Indo-Aryan-speaking groups settled the north-west in the 2nd millennium BCE; their origin is still debated.
Consequences
- Tribes (jana) led by a chief (rajan) lived by herding; cattle were the main wealth.
- After the Battle of the Ten Kings, the winning Bharatas joined the Purus to form the Kurus.
- Society was organised in tribes, and wealth was counted in cattle.
- Chiefs led tribes, not territories; kingdoms came later.
For the examRig Vedic river matched with its modern name: Parushni and Ravi; Position of women in the Rig Vedic age; The Bharata chief who won the Battle of the Ten Kings
Prelims pointerA rajan was a tribal chief, not a king with a capital, palace or taxes.
ConnectedThe Later Vedic age: kingdoms, rituals and varna (effect); The sixteen Mahajanapadas (effect); The Upanishads question ritual (parallel)
c. 1400 BCE
Inamgaon: life in a Jorwe farming village
Inamgaon, on the Ghod river in Pune district, Maharashtra, was a large Chalcolithic village. Its Jorwe phases ran from about 1400 to 700 BCE.
Prelims pointerExcavated by archaeologists of Deccan College: Sankalia, Dhavalikar and Ansari.
ConnectedCopper-and-stone farming villages: the Chalcolithic cultures (parallel)
c. 1000 BCE
Iron reaches the Ganga valley
From about 1000 BCE, iron came into use in the north-west and spread into the upper Ganga valley with Painted Grey Ware settlements. Later Vedic texts call it krishna ayas, the 'dark metal'.
Prelims pointerEarly iron was used mostly for weapons; iron farm tools were fewer.
ConnectedThe Later Vedic age: kingdoms, rituals and varna (parallel); The sixteen Mahajanapadas (effect); Towns return: the second urbanisation of the Ganga valley (effect)
c. 1000 BCE
The Later Vedic age: kingdoms, rituals and varna
In the Later Vedic age, about 1000–600 BCE, Vedic life moved east into the Ganga–Yamuna doab. Farming grew, kings became stronger and the varna order hardened.
ImpactTribes merged into larger kingdoms; the Kurus and Panchalas were the strongest.
Causes
- Vedic groups spread from Punjab into the Ganga–Yamuna doab.
Consequences
- Tribes merged into larger kingdoms; the Kurus and Panchalas were the strongest.
- These kingdoms grew into the Mahajanapadas of the 6th century BCE.
- Tribal chiefs gave way to kings ruling territories.
- The varna order hardened and moved toward status by birth.
For the examChanges from the Rig Vedic to the Later Vedic age: gods, women and kingship; Order the Rig Veda, the later Vedic texts and the Upanishads
Prelims pointerWomen lost the right to attend the assemblies.
ConnectedThe Early Vedic age and the Rig Veda (cause); The sixteen Mahajanapadas (effect); Iron reaches the Ganga valley (parallel); The Upanishads question ritual (effect)
c. 1000 BCE
Megalithic burials of South India
From about 1000 BCE, people in South India buried their dead under or inside large stones, called megaliths, often with iron tools and weapons.
Prelims pointerTypical pottery of the burials is black-and-red ware; burial types include cists, dolmens, stone circles and urn burials.
ConnectedIron reaches the Ganga valley (parallel); The Sangam age: Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas (effect)
c. 600 BCE
Ganas and sanghas: states ruled by assemblies
Some states of this age, called ganas or sanghas, were ruled not by one king but by many rajas who met in an assembly.
Prelims pointerSlaves (dasas) and hired workers (kammakaras) could not take part in the assemblies.
ConnectedThe sixteen Mahajanapadas (parallel); The Buddha and the rise of Buddhism (parallel); Mahavira and the rise of Jainism (parallel)
c. 600 BCE
The sixteen Mahajanapadas
Early Buddhist and Jaina texts name sixteen large states of the 6th century BCE, called mahajanapadas. Most were kingdoms; a few were ruled by assemblies.
ImpactRulers now collected regular taxes from farmers, traders and craftspeople.
Causes
- The growing use of iron in the Ganga valley helped older tribal lands grow into bigger states.
Consequences
- Rulers now collected regular taxes from farmers, traders and craftspeople.
- Over time Magadha grew into the strongest of them all.
- States now ruled fixed areas of land, not just groups of people.
- The Buddha and Mahavira taught in these states, and early Buddhist and Jaina texts are a key record of them.
For the examMahajanapadas matched with their capitals: Kosala, Vatsa, Avanti, Anga; Ashmaka on the Godavari, far from the Ganga plain; Kingdoms and assembly-ruled states among the sixteen
Prelims pointerVajji and Malla were ruled by assemblies of clans, not by one king.
ConnectedThe Later Vedic age: kingdoms, rituals and varna (cause); Ganas and sanghas: states ruled by assemblies (parallel); Towns return: the second urbanisation of the Ganga valley (parallel); Bimbisara and the rise of Magadha (parallel); Chandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire (effect)
c. 600 BCE
Towns return: the second urbanisation of the Ganga valley
From about the 6th century BCE, towns grew again in the middle Ganga valley, the first cities in India since the Harappan age.
Causes
- Iron ploughshares and tools helped farmers grow more.
- The extra grain fed people in the towns and paid the rulers' taxes.
Prelims pointerNorthern Black Polished Ware (NBPW), a fine pottery, marks this phase of town life.
ConnectedIron reaches the Ganga valley (cause); The sixteen Mahajanapadas (parallel)
c. 600 BCE
The Upanishads question ritual
The Upanishads, compiled from about 600 BCE, turned from ritual to questions about the self, life and death. They are the last part of the Vedas and the base of Vedanta.
Prelims pointerUpanishad means 'sitting near' a teacher; tradition counts 108 Upanishads.
ConnectedThe Later Vedic age: kingdoms, rituals and varna (cause); The Buddha and the rise of Buddhism (parallel); Mahavira and the rise of Jainism (parallel)
c. 563 BCE
The Buddha and the rise of Buddhism
The **Buddha** questioned the authority of the **Vedas** and caste, and taught a **Middle Path** open to all.[^ncert-thinkers]
Siddhartha Gautama, son of a Shakya chief, became the Buddha, 'the awakened one'. He taught in the Ganga valley and founded the sangha of monks and nuns.
ImpactHe taught the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path as the way out of suffering.
Causes
- Like the Upanishadic thinkers, new teachers of this age were asking why people suffer and how to be free.
Consequences
- He taught the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path as the way out of suffering.
- His sangha admitted women as nuns and treated all its members as equal, whatever their caste.
- Buddhism offered a way out of suffering through right living, not through ritual.
- He taught in Prakrit, the language of ordinary people, so his message reached them.
- Places of his life, such as Lumbini, Bodh Gaya and Sarnath, are now World Heritage Sites.
For the examPlaces of his life matched with events: Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar; The three Pitakas matched with what each contains; His dates: the traditional dating and the later dating of many historians
Prelims pointerLumbini, the Buddha's birthplace, is in Nepal, not in India.
ConnectedThe Upanishads question ritual (parallel); Mahavira and the rise of Jainism (parallel); Ganas and sanghas: states ruled by assemblies (parallel); Bimbisara and the rise of Magadha (parallel); The First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha (effect); The Kalinga war and Ashoka's Dhamma (parallel); The Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali (effect)
c. 544 BCE
Bimbisara and the rise of Magadha
Bimbisara, the first important king of the Haryanka dynasty, came to the throne of Magadha in about 544 BCE. He used marriage and war to make Magadha strong.
ImpactHis Kosalan marriage brought a village of Kashi as dowry, and Anga gave him its capital, Champa.
Causes
- Magadha had fertile soil, iron ore nearby and forests that gave elephants for its army.
Consequences
- His Kosalan marriage brought a village of Kashi as dowry, and Anga gave him its capital, Champa.
- Later kings built on this base, and Magadha's capital moved from Rajgir to Pataliputra.
- Marriage alliances and the conquest of Anga began Magadha's rise above the other states.
- The Ganga and its branches gave Magadha cheap transport for trade.
For the examReasons for the rise of Magadha: soil, iron, elephants, rivers and able rulers; The Haryanka king who won Anga and made marriage alliances
Prelims pointerHis reign is dated from about 544 BCE, following Buddhist records; other dates differ by a few years.
ConnectedThe sixteen Mahajanapadas (parallel); The Buddha and the rise of Buddhism (parallel); Ajatashatru wins Kashi and the Vajji lands (effect)
c. 540 BCE
Mahavira and the rise of Jainism
Vardhamana Mahavira, born near Vaishali, became the 24th and last tirthankara of Jainism. He taught that ahimsa, not harming any living being, is at the heart of a good life.
ImpactHe added a fifth vow, brahmacharya (celibacy), to Parshvanatha's four.
Causes
- Jain tradition says Parshvanatha, the 23rd tirthankara, had already taught four vows.
Consequences
- He added a fifth vow, brahmacharya (celibacy), to Parshvanatha's four.
- Jainism came to be supported mostly by traders, and its monks later split into two groups.
- Jainism made non-violence to every living being its central rule.
- Like the Buddha, Mahavira rejected the authority of the Vedas and taught in Prakrit, the people's language.
For the examJain terms matched with their meanings: tirthankara, kevala, Jina, triratna; The two datings of Mahavira's life
Prelims pointerMahavira did not found Jainism: Rishabha is the first tirthankara, and Mahavira the 24th.
ConnectedThe Buddha and the rise of Buddhism (parallel); Ganas and sanghas: states ruled by assemblies (parallel); The Ajivikas and the idea of fate (parallel); The Upanishads question ritual (parallel); Bhadrabahu takes Jain monks south (effect)
c. 518 BCE
Persian rule in Gandhara and the Indus region
In about 518 BCE, the Persian king Darius I added the Indus region to the Achaemenid empire. It paid the largest tribute of any Persian province.
ImpactGold dust from India became a big part of Persian revenue, and Indian soldiers served in Xerxes' army.
Causes
- The Achaemenid empire of Persia was growing east, towards the rich lands along the Indus.
Consequences
- Gold dust from India became a big part of Persian revenue, and Indian soldiers served in Xerxes' army.
- Scholars see Iranian influence in the later Mauryan pillars and in the wording of Ashoka's edicts.
- For about two centuries, the north-west was linked to the Persian empire.
- Kharoshthi came into use in the north-west under Persian rule.
- Trade between India and Iran grew.
For the examEffects of Persian rule on the north-west: script, trade and art; The Persian king who added the Indus region to his empire
Prelims pointerGandhara appears in the Behistun inscription; Hindush (Sind) appears only in later lists, such as at Persepolis.
ConnectedThe sixteen Mahajanapadas (parallel); Alexander's invasion of north-west India (effect)
c. 500 BCE
The Ajivikas and the idea of fate
The Ajivikas, led by Makkhali Gosala, arose in the same age as Buddhism and Jainism. They believed that everything is fixed by fate, niyati.
Prelims pointerTheir ideas are known mainly from Buddhist and Jain texts, not their own.
ConnectedMahavira and the rise of Jainism (parallel); The Buddha and the rise of Buddhism (parallel)
c. 492 BCE
Ajatashatru wins Kashi and the Vajji lands
Ajatashatru ruled Magadha from about 492 to 460 BCE. Tradition says he imprisoned and killed his father Bimbisara, then won Kashi and the Vajji lands.
Prelims pointerHis war with the Vajjis of Vaishali lasted about 16 years.
ConnectedBimbisara and the rise of Magadha (cause); The Nanda dynasty of Magadha (effect)
c. 483 BCE
The First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha
Soon after the Buddha's death, Buddhist tradition says, his monks met at Rajagriha to agree on his teachings and rules.
Prelims pointerIt met in the Saptaparni cave at Rajgir.
ConnectedThe Buddha and the rise of Buddhism (cause); The Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali (parallel)
c. 383 BCE
The Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali
About a century after the Buddha's death, monks met at Vaishali to settle a quarrel over the rules of monastic life.
Prelims pointerTradition dates it to about 383 BCE, a hundred years after the Buddha's death.
ConnectedThe Buddha and the rise of Buddhism (cause); The First Buddhist Council at Rajagriha (parallel); The Third Buddhist Council and the missions abroad (parallel)
c. 343 BCE
The Nanda dynasty of Magadha
In the mid-4th century BCE, Mahapadma Nanda founded the Nanda dynasty. The Nandas became the most powerful rulers Magadha had yet seen.
ImpactThe Nandas held at least parts of Kalinga, as the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela suggests.
Causes
- Tradition says Mahapadma was of low, non-Kshatriya birth, yet he took Magadha from the Shishunagas.
Consequences
- The Nandas held at least parts of Kalinga, as the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela suggests.
- In about 321 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya, helped by Kautilya, overthrew the last Nanda king.
- Their large, rich kingdom became the base of the Mauryan empire.
- Their wealth and huge army show how much revenue Magadha now collected.
For the examOrder of Magadhan dynasties: Haryanka, Shishunaga, Nanda, Maurya; The Nanda king who took the title ekarat
Prelims pointerThe Nandas were famous for their wealth, but the later Nandas became weak and unpopular.
ConnectedAjatashatru wins Kashi and the Vajji lands (cause); Chandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire (effect); Alexander's invasion of north-west India (parallel)
326 BCE
Alexander's invasion of north-west India
Alexander of Macedon invaded north-west India in about 327–325 BCE. He won battles in the Punjab but then had to turn back.
ImpactHe set up Greek settlements in the north-west, but most of them did not last long.
Causes
- Alexander had destroyed the Persian empire, whose eastern lands had once reached the Indus.
Consequences
- He set up Greek settlements in the north-west, but most of them did not last long.
- The invasion weakened the small north-western states and so helped the Mauryas expand there later.
- The campaign brought Greece and India into closer contact.
- It ended what was left of Persian control in the north-west.
For the examGreek and modern river names: Hydaspes and Hyphasis; Order of Alexander's moves from Taxila to Babylon
Prelims pointerAlexander died at Babylon in 323 BCE, not in India.
ConnectedPersian rule in Gandhara and the Indus region (cause); Battle of the Hydaspes: Alexander and Porus (parallel); The Nanda dynasty of Magadha (parallel); Chandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire (effect); The Indo-Greeks and King Menander (parallel)
326 BCE
Battle of the Hydaspes: Alexander and Porus
In 326 BCE, Alexander defeated Porus on the Hydaspes, the river now called the Jhelum.
Prelims pointerPorus lost, but Alexander let him keep his kingdom and even added land to it.
ConnectedAlexander's invasion of north-west India (parallel)
321 BCE
Chandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire
The **Mauryas** ruled most of the subcontinent from **Pataliputra**, from about **321** to **185 BCE**.[^p-themes]
Chandragupta Maurya, helped by Kautilya (Chanakya), overthrew the Nanda king and founded the Mauryan Empire in about 321 BCE, with its capital at Pataliputra.
ImpactThe Mauryas ruled most of the subcontinent from Pataliputra, from about 321 to 185 BCE.
Consequences
- For the first time, one dynasty ruled most of the subcontinent from a single capital.
- Its officials, spies and provincial governors became a model of large-scale government in India.
- Under Ashoka the state spread a moral code, dhamma, across the empire.
For the examOrder of Mauryan rulers: Chandragupta, Bindusara, Ashoka; The Mauryan king with the title Amitraghata; Extent of the empire in the north-west
Prelims pointerKautilya is also called Chanakya; the Arthashastra is traditionally said to be his work.
ConnectedThe Nanda dynasty of Magadha (cause); Alexander's invasion of north-west India (cause); How the Mauryas ruled: Kautilya and Megasthenes (parallel); Chandragupta's treaty with Seleucus (parallel); Bhadrabahu takes Jain monks south (parallel); The Kalinga war and Ashoka's Dhamma (effect); The decline of the Mauryan Empire (parallel)
c. 303 BCE
Chandragupta's treaty with Seleucus
Seleucus Nicator, Alexander's successor in the east, fought Chandragupta and then made a treaty with him in about 303 BCE. The terms favoured Chandragupta.
For the examTerms of the treaty: land, elephants, marriage and an ambassador
Prelims pointerThe treaty included a marriage alliance; the sources do not agree on who married whom.
ConnectedChandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire (parallel); How the Mauryas ruled: Kautilya and Megasthenes (effect)
c. 300 BCE
How the Mauryas ruled: Kautilya and Megasthenes
We know Mauryan government mainly from two works: the Arthashastra, said to be by Kautilya, and the Indica of the Greek envoy Megasthenes.
ImpactA large army and a wide network of spies kept watch over the empire.
Causes
- A huge empire needed officials, soldiers and taxes to hold it together.
Consequences
- A large army and a wide network of spies kept watch over the empire.
- Ashoka later added officials called dhamma-mahamattas to spread his moral code.
- It shows a central government with specialised officials, a standing army and a spy system.
- The Arthashastra is a key early Indian work on statecraft.
For the examMauryan officials matched with their work: samaharta, sannidhata; Megasthenes' account of how Pataliputra was governed
Prelims pointerMegasthenes' Indica is lost; it survives only in quotations by later Greek and Roman writers.
ConnectedChandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire (parallel); Chandragupta's treaty with Seleucus (cause); The Kalinga war and Ashoka's Dhamma (parallel)
c. 300 BCE
The Sangam age: Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas
The Sangam age, usually dated about the 3rd century BCE to the 3rd century CE, is named after the assemblies of Tamil poets. The Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas ruled the Tamil country.
ImpactTamil poems were gathered in the Ettuthogai (Eight Anthologies) and the Pattuppattu (Ten Idylls).
Causes
- After the megalithic Iron Age, towns, trade and chiefdoms grew in the far south.
Consequences
- Tamil poems were gathered in the Ettuthogai (Eight Anthologies) and the Pattuppattu (Ten Idylls).
- These poems remain the main record of early Tamil society.
- Sangam poetry is the oldest body of Tamil literature.
- Ports such as Puhar and Muziris traded with the Roman world.
For the examSangam kingdoms matched with capitals and ports: Madurai, Uraiyur, Puhar, Muziris; The Ettuthogai, Pattuppattu and the two Tamil epics
Prelims pointerTradition speaks of three Sangams under Pandya patronage; the last met at Madurai.
ConnectedMegalithic burials of South India (cause); Ashoka's edicts and inscriptions (parallel); Trade with Rome: Arikamedu and Muziris (parallel); Kharavela of Kalinga and the Hathigumpha inscription (parallel); The Pallavas of Kanchi and Mahabalipuram (effect)
c. 298 BCE
Bhadrabahu takes Jain monks south
Jain tradition says a great famine in Magadha led Bhadrabahu to take many Jain monks south, and Chandragupta Maurya went with them to Shravanabelagola.
Prelims pointerThe southern monks stayed naked (Digambaras) and the Magadha group wore white (Shvetambaras); the split grew slowly.
ConnectedChandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire (parallel); Mahavira and the rise of Jainism (cause)
c. 261 BCE
The Kalinga war and Ashoka's Dhamma
The suffering of the **Kalinga** war turned **Ashoka** from conquest to **dhamma**, a moral code for all his subjects.[^a-themes]
In about 261 BCE, Ashoka conquered Kalinga (Odisha). The killing filled him with remorse, and he turned from war to spreading dhamma.
ImpactRock Edict XIII records his deep remorse for the suffering the war caused.
Causes
- Ashoka set out to conquer Kalinga, on the east coast, which lay outside his empire.
Consequences
- Rock Edict XIII records his deep remorse for the suffering the war caused.
- He gave up wars of conquest and used his edicts and officers to spread dhamma.
- A victorious king gave up wars of conquest after his greatest victory.
- Dhamma asked people of all faiths to respect each other.
- New officers, the dhamma-mahamattas, carried the king's message to the people.
For the examContents of Ashoka's dhamma, and how it differed from Buddhism; The edict that records the Kalinga war and Ashoka's remorse; The inscription that first gave the name Ashoka
Prelims pointerDhamma was a moral code for all subjects, not the same as Buddhism.
ConnectedChandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire (cause); Ashoka's edicts and inscriptions (effect); The Third Buddhist Council and the missions abroad (parallel); Mauryan pillars and the Sarnath Lion Capital (parallel); How the Mauryas ruled: Kautilya and Megasthenes (parallel); The Buddha and the rise of Buddhism (parallel); The decline of the Mauryan Empire (effect)
c. 260 BCE
Ashoka's edicts and inscriptions
Ashoka had his messages cut into rocks and pillars across the empire. They are among the earliest readable written records of India, mostly in Prakrit and the Brahmi script.
ImpactThe edicts were written in local scripts: Brahmi in most places, Kharoshthi in the north-west, Greek and Aramaic at Kandahar.
Causes
- After the Kalinga war, Ashoka wanted his people to know and follow dhamma.
Consequences
- The edicts were written in local scripts: Brahmi in most places, Kharoshthi in the north-west, Greek and Aramaic at Kandahar.
- James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in the 1830s, opening up the history of the Mauryas.
- The edicts are the king's own words, a rare direct source for ancient Indian history.
- Their spread across the subcontinent shows how far Mauryan rule reached.
For the examEdict sites matched with scripts: Shahbazgarhi, Mansehra, Kandahar, Girnar; Edict sites in Odisha with the Separate Kalinga Edicts; The officer who deciphered Brahmi
Prelims pointerAt Dhauli and Jaugada in Odisha, Rock Edicts XI–XIII are replaced by two Separate (Kalinga) Edicts.
ConnectedThe Kalinga war and Ashoka's Dhamma (cause); Mauryan pillars and the Sarnath Lion Capital (parallel); The Sangam age: Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas (parallel)
c. 250 BCE
Mauryan pillars and the Sarnath Lion Capital
Ashoka's pillars are single shafts of polished Chunar sandstone, crowned with animal capitals. The best known, the Sarnath Lion Capital, is the source of India's State Emblem.
Prelims pointerThe Didarganj Yakshi, found in 1917 near Patna, is usually dated Mauryan, but some scholars date it later.
ConnectedThe Kalinga war and Ashoka's Dhamma (parallel); Ashoka's edicts and inscriptions (parallel); Samudragupta and the Prayaga pillar inscription (parallel)
c. 250 BCE
The Third Buddhist Council and the missions abroad
Sri Lankan chronicles say the Third Buddhist Council met at Pataliputra under Ashoka in about 250 BCE, led by Moggaliputta Tissa.
Prelims pointerTextbooks call Mahinda and Sanghamitra Ashoka's son and daughter; another tradition calls Mahinda his brother.
ConnectedThe Kalinga war and Ashoka's Dhamma (parallel); The Second Buddhist Council at Vaishali (parallel); The Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir (parallel)
c. 230 BCE
The Satavahanas of the Deccan
The Satavahanas, called Andhras in the Puranas, ruled the Deccan after the Mauryas. Tradition dates their first king, Simuka, to about 230 BCE; many historians date them later.
ImpactGautamiputra Satakarni (c. 106–130 CE) defeated the Shaka ruler Nahapana and restored their power.
Causes
- As Mauryan power faded, local rulers in the Deccan built their own kingdom.
Consequences
- Gautamiputra Satakarni (c. 106–130 CE) defeated the Shaka ruler Nahapana and restored their power.
- Their rule ended in the early 3rd century CE, and the Ikshvakus followed in the Andhra region.
- They were the first big kingdom of the Deccan after the Mauryas.
- They gained from long-distance trade, including trade with the Roman world.
For the examThe Satavahana king who defeated Nahapana; Features of Satavahana rule: metronymics, land grants, trade
Prelims pointerHis mother Gautami Balashri's inscription at Nasik records Gautamiputra's deeds.
ConnectedThe decline of the Mauryan Empire (parallel); The Shakas and Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription (parallel); Trade with Rome: Arikamedu and Muziris (parallel); Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati schools of art (parallel); The Vakatakas of the Deccan (effect)
c. 185 BCE
The decline of the Mauryan Empire
After Ashoka's death in about 232 BCE, the empire broke up under weak rulers. In about 185 BCE, the last king, Brihadratha, was killed by his general Pushyamitra Shunga.
ImpactIn about 185 BCE, Pushyamitra killed Brihadratha and ended Mauryan rule.
Causes
- Heavy spending on the army and officials strained the treasury.
- Neglect of the north-west frontier let Greek invaders in.
Consequences
- In about 185 BCE, Pushyamitra killed Brihadratha and ended Mauryan rule.
- North India split into smaller kingdoms, while foreign rulers came in from the north-west.
- The first all-India empire ended, and power passed to regional and foreign rulers.
For the examCauses of the Mauryan decline, including the debated Brahmanical-reaction theory; The general who killed the last Mauryan king
Prelims pointerSome historians blame a Brahmanical reaction to Ashoka's policies; this is one debated theory, not a settled cause.
ConnectedChandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire (parallel); The Kalinga war and Ashoka's Dhamma (cause); The Shungas and the Kanvas (effect); The Indo-Greeks and King Menander (effect); The Satavahanas of the Deccan (parallel)
c. 185 BCE
The Shungas and the Kanvas
Pushyamitra Shunga, a brahmana general, founded the Shunga dynasty in about 185 BCE. It ruled from Pataliputra and Vidisha until about 73 BCE, when the Kanvas took over.
Prelims pointerPushyamitra performed two Ashvamedha sacrifices, recorded in an inscription at Ayodhya.
ConnectedThe decline of the Mauryan Empire (cause); Kalidasa, the great Sanskrit poet (parallel)
c. 155 BCE
The Indo-Greeks and King Menander
After the Mauryas, Greek rulers from Bactria took north-western India in the 2nd century BCE. Their best-known king, Menander, ruled from about 155 BCE.
ImpactThe Milindapanha records Menander's questions and the monk Nagasena's answers on Buddhism.
Causes
- Mauryan weakness left the north-west open to the Greeks of Bactria.
Consequences
- The Milindapanha records Menander's questions and the monk Nagasena's answers on Buddhism.
- Greek rule in the north-west helped give rise to Gandhara art with Greek features.
- They were the first of several foreign powers to rule the north-west after the Mauryas.
- Greek and Indian traditions met in the north-west.
For the examThe Indo-Greek king known as Milinda; Firsts in Indian coinage: portrait coins and gold coins
Prelims pointerDo not credit the Indo-Greeks with the first gold coins on a large scale; that was the Kushans.
ConnectedThe decline of the Mauryan Empire (cause); Alexander's invasion of north-west India (parallel); Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati schools of art (effect); Kanishka and the Kushan Empire (parallel)
c. 50 BCE
Kharavela of Kalinga and the Hathigumpha inscription
Kharavela, a Jain king of Kalinga of the Chedi (Mahameghavahana) line, recorded his reign year by year in the Hathigumpha inscription at Udayagiri near Bhubaneswar.
Prelims pointerHe is usually placed in the 1st century BCE; some scholars prefer the 2nd century BCE.
ConnectedThe Kalinga war and Ashoka's Dhamma (parallel); The Sangam age: Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas (parallel)
c. 50 CE
Trade with Rome: Arikamedu and Muziris
In the 1st century CE, South Indian ports sent pepper, textiles and gems to the Roman Empire, and Rome paid largely in gold coins.
Prelims pointerArikamedu, just south of Puducherry, was an Indo-Roman trading station, excavated by Mortimer Wheeler.
ConnectedThe Sangam age: Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas (parallel); The Satavahanas of the Deccan (parallel)
c. 100 CE
Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati schools of art
Around the 1st century CE, the Gandhara and Mathura schools made some of the first images of the Buddha in human form; which came first is debated.
Prelims pointerAmaravati's stone is pale limestone, though often called marble.
ConnectedKanishka and the Kushan Empire (parallel); The Indo-Greeks and King Menander (cause); The Ajanta caves and their paintings (parallel)
after 127 CE
The Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir
Tradition says the Fourth Buddhist Council met in Kashmir under Kanishka, whose reign began about 127 CE. Vasumitra presided.
Prelims pointerIt is linked to the Sarvastivada school; scholars there wrote commentaries on the scriptures.
ConnectedKanishka and the Kushan Empire (cause); The Third Buddhist Council and the missions abroad (parallel)
c. 127 CE
Kanishka and the Kushan Empire
The Kushans, a clan of the Yuezhi, built an empire from Central Asia to the Ganga valley. It was at its height under Kanishka, who came to the throne in about 127 CE.
ImpactKanishka ruled from Purushapura (Peshawar), with Mathura as a second capital.
Causes
- The Yuezhi nomads moved west from China's borders and took Bactria.
Consequences
- Kanishka ruled from Purushapura (Peshawar), with Mathura as a second capital.
- Control of the Silk Road made the Kushans rich and carried Buddhism into Central Asia.
- Silk Road trade linked India with China, Central Asia and the Roman world.
- Kanishka was a great patron of Buddhism.
- The Gandhara and Mathura schools of art flourished under the Kushans.
For the examKanishka's date: the Rabatak dating and the older 78 CE view; Kushan rulers matched with what they are known for: Kujula, Vima Kadphises, Kanishka
Prelims pointerThe Shaka era begins in 78 CE, but who started it is disputed.
ConnectedThe Indo-Greeks and King Menander (parallel); The Fourth Buddhist Council in Kashmir (effect); Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati schools of art (parallel); The Shakas and Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription (parallel)
150 CE
The Shakas and Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription
The Shakas, a Central Asian people, entered north-western India in the 1st century BCE. Their ruler Rudradaman I left the Junagadh inscription of about 150 CE.
ImpactHis inscription on the Girnar rock, which also carries Ashoka's edicts, records his repair of the Sudarshana lake.
Causes
- Shaka groups moved from Central Asia into north-western India; Maues was one of their earliest kings.
Consequences
- His inscription on the Girnar rock, which also carries Ashoka's edicts, records his repair of the Sudarshana lake.
- The Western Kshatrapas ruled until the end of the 4th century CE, when the Guptas took Gujarat.
- It marks the rise of Sanskrit as the language of royal inscriptions.
For the examThe first long inscription in chaste Sanskrit; The history of the Sudarshana lake from the Mauryas to Rudradaman
Prelims pointerThe Junagadh inscription is the first long inscription in chaste Sanskrit.
ConnectedThe Satavahanas of the Deccan (parallel); Kanishka and the Kushan Empire (parallel); Chandragupta founds the Mauryan Empire (parallel); The Gupta Empire begins (parallel); Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (parallel)
c. 250 CE
The Vakatakas of the Deccan
The Vakataka dynasty, founded by Vindhyashakti around 250 CE, ruled the Deccan after the Satavahanas. At its height it stretched from Malwa to the Tungabhadra.
Prelims pointerPrabhavatigupta, daughter of Chandragupta II, married the Vakataka king Rudrasena II and later ruled as regent.
ConnectedThe Satavahanas of the Deccan (cause); Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (parallel); The Ajanta caves and their paintings (effect)
320 CE
The Gupta Empire begins
The **Guptas** united much of north India, and their age saw great work in **Sanskrit** literature, science and art.[^g-nios]
Chandragupta I came to power in about 320 CE and began the Gupta era. His son Samudragupta and grandson Chandragupta II built a large empire in north India.
ImpactThe Guptas united much of north India, and their age saw great work in Sanskrit literature, science and art.
Consequences
- A large empire again ruled most of north India from the Ganga valley.
- Sanskrit poetry, temples and the art of Ajanta flourished in its time.
- Aryabhata and other scholars made major advances in astronomy and mathematics.
For the examOrder of Gupta rulers: Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II, Skandagupta; The Licchavi princess whose marriage helped the Guptas rise; Whether the Gupta age was a 'golden age'
Prelims pointerThe Gupta age has often been called a classical or golden age; historians today question that label.
ConnectedSamudragupta and the Prayaga pillar inscription (effect); Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (parallel); Gupta decline and the Huna invasions (effect); Aryabhata writes the Aryabhatiya (parallel); Kalidasa, the great Sanskrit poet (parallel); Ganas and sanghas: states ruled by assemblies (parallel); Nalanda Mahavihara is founded (parallel)
c. 335 CE
Samudragupta and the Prayaga pillar inscription
Samudragupta, son of Chandragupta I and Kumaradevi, came to the throne in about 335 CE. His conquests are praised in the Prayaga (Allahabad) pillar inscription.
ImpactHe defeated twelve rulers of the south (Dakshinapatha) and then let them rule again.
Causes
- He came to the throne of a growing kingdom in the Ganga valley.
Consequences
- He defeated twelve rulers of the south (Dakshinapatha) and then let them rule again.
- Frontier states and forest kingdoms accepted his authority, and the Gupta empire became the leading power of north India.
- He made the Guptas the chief power of north India and drew tribute from far beyond.
- His prashasti is a key source for early Gupta history.
For the examSamudragupta's different treatment of the northern and southern kings; The court poet who wrote the Prayaga prashasti
Prelims pointerThe label 'Napoleon of India' is the historian V.A. Smith's, not an ancient title.
ConnectedThe Gupta Empire begins (cause); Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (effect); Mauryan pillars and the Sarnath Lion Capital (parallel); The Pallavas of Kanchi and Mahabalipuram (parallel)
c. 380 CE
Chandragupta II Vikramaditya
Chandragupta II, who took the title Vikramaditya, ruled from about 380 CE. He defeated the Shakas of western India and brought the Gupta empire to its height.
ImpactHe gained the rich western coast and began to issue silver coins there.
Causes
- The Shakas (Western Kshatrapas) still held Gujarat, Saurashtra and Malwa.
Consequences
- He gained the rich western coast and began to issue silver coins there.
- His daughter Prabhavati's marriage into the Vakataka family brought the Deccan under Gupta influence.
- The Gupta empire reached its widest extent and controlled the western ports.
- The iron pillar shows the high skill of Indian iron-workers.
For the examFacts about the Mehrauli iron pillar: inscription, rust-resistance, first site; The Gupta king who defeated the Western Kshatrapas
Prelims pointerThe pillar probably stood first at Udayagiri near Vidisha and was moved to Delhi later.
ConnectedSamudragupta and the Prayaga pillar inscription (cause); The Shakas and Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription (parallel); Faxian (Fa-Hien) visits India (parallel); Kalidasa, the great Sanskrit poet (parallel); The Vakatakas of the Deccan (parallel)
c. 400 CE
Kalidasa, the great Sanskrit poet
Kalidasa, the greatest poet and playwright of classical Sanskrit, probably lived in the time of Chandragupta II, around 400 CE. Little is known of his life.
Prelims pointerMalavikagnimitram's hero is Agnimitra, son of the Shunga founder Pushyamitra.
ConnectedChandragupta II Vikramaditya (parallel); The Shungas and the Kanvas (parallel); Aryabhata writes the Aryabhatiya (parallel)
c. 405 CE
Faxian (Fa-Hien) visits India
Faxian (Fa-Hien), a Chinese Buddhist monk, travelled in India in the reign of Chandragupta II to visit Buddhist sites and collect texts.
Prelims pointerDo not confuse him with Xuanzang, who came over two centuries later, in Harsha's time.
ConnectedChandragupta II Vikramaditya (parallel); Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) in India (parallel)
c. 427 CE
Nalanda Mahavihara is founded
The great Buddhist monastery and centre of learning at Nalanda in Bihar was founded in the 5th century CE, traditionally by the Gupta king Kumaragupta I.
ImpactLater kings, Harsha and the Palas, kept supporting it, and scholars came from as far as China.
Causes
- Gupta kings supported Buddhist learning alongside Brahmanical religion.
Consequences
- Later kings, Harsha and the Palas, kept supporting it, and scholars came from as far as China.
- It was sacked around 1200 CE and never recovered; a new Nalanda University was set up by an Act of 2010.
- Nalanda was one of the greatest centres of learning in the ancient world.
- It spread Buddhist learning across Asia.
For the examPatrons of Nalanda from the Guptas to the Palas; The Chinese pilgrim who studied at Nalanda under Shilabhadra
Prelims pointerThe old Nalanda was sacked around 1200 CE, attributed to the raids of Bakhtiyar Khalji.
ConnectedThe Gupta Empire begins (parallel); Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang) in India (effect); Harsha of Thanesar and Kannauj (parallel)
c. 460 CE
The Ajanta caves and their paintings
Ajanta, near Aurangabad in Maharashtra, has about 30 Buddhist rock-cut caves. Its finest caves and paintings were made in the 5th century CE under the Vakataka king Harishena.
ImpactA second phase in the 5th century CE, paid for by Vakataka patrons, added caves and rich paintings.
Causes
- Buddhist monks needed prayer halls and monasteries away from towns.
Consequences
- A second phase in the 5th century CE, paid for by Vakataka patrons, added caves and rich paintings.
- Ajanta became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
- Ajanta's paintings are the finest surviving examples of early Indian painting.
For the examThe two phases of Ajanta and their patrons; Ajanta on the Waghora river in Maharashtra
Prelims pointerMost books count about 30 caves; one textbook counts 29.
ConnectedThe Vakatakas of the Deccan (cause); Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati schools of art (parallel); The Satavahanas of the Deccan (parallel)
499 CE
Aryabhata writes the Aryabhatiya
In 499 CE, Aryabhata, working at Kusumapura near Pataliputra, wrote the Aryabhatiya, a short work on mathematics and astronomy.
ImpactHe said the Earth spins on its axis and explained solar and lunar eclipses correctly.
Causes
- Astronomers of the Gupta age were working to measure the heavens more exactly.
Consequences
- He said the Earth spins on its axis and explained solar and lunar eclipses correctly.
- India's first satellite, launched on 19 April 1975, was named Aryabhata.
- He placed Indian astronomy on a mathematical footing.
- His ideas were studied for centuries in India and beyond.
For the examScholars matched with works: Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Brahmagupta; Claim that Aryabhata invented zero
Prelims pointerDo not credit Aryabhata with inventing zero; the rules for zero are Brahmagupta's.
ConnectedThe Gupta Empire begins (parallel); Kalidasa, the great Sanskrit poet (parallel)
c. 500 CE
Early Gupta temples: Deogarh and Bhitargaon
In the Gupta age, Indians began to build free-standing stone and brick temples. The Dashavatara temple at Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh, of about 500 CE, is among the best known.
Prelims pointerDeogarh is a Vishnu temple; a panel shows Vishnu lying on the serpent Shesha.
ConnectedThe Gupta Empire begins (parallel); Pulakeshin II and the Chalukyas of Badami (effect)
c. 550 CE
Gupta decline and the Huna invasions
From the mid-5th century, attacks by the Hunas from Central Asia and the rise of local rulers weakened the Guptas. By about 550 CE the empire had come to an end.
ImpactThe empire's wealth shrank; later kings put less gold in their coins.
Causes
- Under Kumaragupta I, the Hunas of Central Asia began to threaten the empire.
Consequences
- The empire's wealth shrank; later kings put less gold in their coins.
- North India split into regional kingdoms, such as Harsha's.
- The last large empire of ancient north India came to an end.
For the examOrder of the Huna events: Skandagupta, Toramana, Mihirakula, Yashodharman; The Malwa ruler who defeated Mihirakula
Prelims pointerThe Gupta king Narasimhagupta Baladitya is also said to have defeated Mihirakula.
ConnectedThe Gupta Empire begins (cause); Harsha of Thanesar and Kannauj (effect); The Shakas and Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription (parallel)
Notes and practice