Ancient Indian History
🔒 Log in to trackAncient Literature & Authors
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| Work | Author | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ramayana | Valmiki | Adi Kavya |
| Mahabharata | Ved Vyasa | Originally Jaya; Bhagavad Gita is part of the Bhishma Parva |
| Ashtadhyayi | Panini | Sanskrit grammar |
| Mahabhashya | Patanjali | Commentary on Panini (Shunga age); also Yoga Sutra |
| Arthashastra | Kautilya | Statecraft |
| Natyashastra | Bharata Muni | Drama, dance, music |
| Buddhacharita | Ashvaghosha | Life of Buddha |
| Abhijnanashakuntalam, Meghadutam, Raghuvamsham, Kumarasambhavam, Malavikagnimitram, Vikramorvasiyam, Ritusamhara | Kalidasa | Gupta court |
| Mudrarakshasa, Devichandraguptam | Vishakhadatta | Mudrarakshasa = rise of Chandragupta Maurya |
| Mrichchhakatika ("Little Clay Cart") | Shudraka | Social drama |
| Swapnavasavadatta | Bhasa | Udayana–Vasavadatta story |
| Kamasutra | Vatsyayana | — |
| Panchatantra | Vishnu Sharma | Animal fables |
| Hitopadesha | Narayana Pandit | Fables |
| Amarakosha | Amarasimha | Sanskrit thesaurus |
| Harshacharita, Kadambari | Banabhatta | Harsha's court |
| Nagananda, Ratnavali, Priyadarshika | Harshavardhana | — |
| Kiratarjuniya | Bharavi | — |
| Shishupalavadha | Magha | — |
| Dashakumaracharita, Kavyadarsha | Dandin | — |
| Manusmriti | Manu | Law book |
| Brihatkatha | Gunadhya | In Paishachi Prakrit |
| Gathasaptashati | Hala (Satavahana) | Prakrit poems |
| Kavirajamarga | Amoghavarsha I | Kannada |
| Mattavilasa Prahasana | Mahendravarman I | Pallava farce |
Science & medicine
| Work | Author |
|---|---|
| Charaka Samhita | Charaka (medicine) |
| Sushruta Samhita | Sushruta (surgery, "father of surgery") |
| Aryabhatiya | Aryabhata |
| Brihat Samhita, Pancha Siddhantika | Varahamihira |
| Brahmasphuta Siddhanta | Brahmagupta |
| Ashtanga Hridaya | Vagbhata |
Foreign accounts: Indica – Megasthenes · Fo-kwo-ki – Fa-Hien · Si-Yu-Ki – Hiuen Tsang · Periplus of the Erythraean Sea – anonymous Greek sailor (1st century CE, Indo-Roman trade) · Natural History – Pliny the Elder · Geography – Ptolemy.
Four language streams, one story
Ancient Indian writing survives in four main streams: Sanskrit (Brahmanical texts and court poetry), Pali (the Buddhist canon), Prakrit/Ardhamagadhi (Jain canon, Satavahana records) and Tamil (Sangam corpus). Inscriptions and coins complete the picture — they are history's own documents, and travellers' accounts supply the outside view.
Buddhist and Jain texts
The Buddhist canon, the Tripitaka, is in Pali: Vinaya Pitaka (rules), Sutta Pitaka (dialogues), Abhidhamma Pitaka (philosophy). Around them: the Jatakas (stories of the Buddha's former births — a mine of social history), the Milindapanha (Menander–Nagasena dialogue), Ashvaghosha's Buddhacharita (life of the Buddha, in Sanskrit), and Sri Lanka's Deepavamsha–Mahavamsha chronicles. The Jain canon is in Ardhamagadhi Prakrit: 12 Angas, compiled at the Pataliputra council (Sthulabhadra) and written down at Vallabhi (Devarddhi); the Kalpasutra is credited to Bhadrabahu. Both faiths chose the people's language on purpose — which is why their texts are also social documents.
Tamil classics
The twin epics: Silappadikaram ('the lay of the anklet') by Ilango Adigal — Kovalan and Kannagi's tragedy — and the Buddhist Manimekalai by Sittalai Sattanar as its sequel. Grammar stands in the Tolkappiyam; Purananuru (puram — war and public life) and Ahananuru (akam — love) are the classic anthologies; Maduraikkanchi paints Pandya Madurai; the Gathasaptasati of the Satavahana king Hala shows Prakrit's southern reach.
Inscriptions and coins as history
James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi (1837), unlocking Ashoka. Flagship records: Ashoka's edicts (Prakrit-Brahmi); the Hathigumpha inscription of Kharavela (Chedi king of Kalinga); Rudradaman's Junagadh (first long chaste Sanskrit); the Allahabad Prashasti (Harishena on Samudragupta); the Aihole inscription (Ravikirti on Pulakesin II). Coins: earliest punch-marked silver pieces; Indo-Greeks first put royal portraits; Kushanas first issued gold; Satavahanas used lead and potin; Guptas struck the finest gold dinaras. Travellers: Megasthenes (Indica), Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang (Si-yu-ki), I-tsing.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Sanskrit text ↔ author pairing
'Who wrote X' or match-the-column across kavyas, dramas and smritis.
Court-and-state set: Arthashastra-Kautilya, Mudrarakshasa-Vishakhadatta, Rajatarangini-Kalhana.
Drama set: Mrichchhakatika-Shudraka, Malavikagnimitram-Kalidasa, Harshacharita-Banabhatta (prose).
Distractors are always other authors' books — eliminate by pair memory, not guesswork.
The drama Mudrarakshasa, on the rise of Chandragupta Maurya, was written by —
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Vishakhadatta — it shows Chanakya outwitting the Nandas and installing Chandragupta.
Buddhist and Jain literature and languages
'The Tripitaka is in which language', 'Buddhacharita was written by', Jain canon language, Kalpasutra attribution.
Buddhist: Tripitaka in Pali; Jatakas (birth stories); Milindapanha (Menander-Nagasena); Buddhacharita-Ashvaghosha (Sanskrit).
Jain: canon in Ardhamagadhi; 12 Angas; Kalpasutra-Bhadrabahu; written down at Vallabhi (Devarddhi).
Sri Lankan Pali chronicles: Deepavamsha, Mahavamsha.
In which language is the Buddhist canonical collection Tripitaka written?
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Pali — the language of the people of the middle Ganga plain in the Buddha's time.
Tamil/Sangam works ↔ author and type
'Silappadikaram was written by', twin epics, Tolkappiyam as grammar, akam-puram classification of anthologies.
Twin epics: Silappadikaram-Ilango Adigal, Manimekalai-Sittalai Sattanar (Buddhist).
Grammar: Tolkappiyam; anthologies: Purananuru (puram), Ahananuru (akam).
The two epics are 'kavya' epics — separate them from the grammar and the anthologies.
The Tamil epic Silappadikaram ('the lay of the anklet') was composed by —
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Ilango Adigal; its Buddhist sequel, the Manimekalai, was written by Sittalai Sattanar.
Inscriptions and coins ↔ rulers and scripts
'Hathigumpha inscription belongs to', 'who deciphered Brahmi', earliest coins, first gold coins, first Sanskrit inscription.
Records: Hathigumpha-Kharavela; Junagadh-Rudradaman (first chaste Sanskrit); Allahabad-Harishena/Samudragupta; Aihole-Ravikirti/Pulakesin II.
James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi (1837).
Coin ladder: punch-marked silver earliest → Indo-Greek portraits → Kushana gold → Satavahana lead-potin → Gupta dinaras.
The Hathigumpha inscription belongs to which king?
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Kharavela, the Chedi (Mahameghavahana) king of Kalinga — recorded in a Jain cave at Udayagiri, Odisha.
Shortcuts that save time
Mrichchhakatika = little clay cart (Shudraka) · Swapnavasavadatta = dream of Vasavadatta (Bhasa) · Mudrarakshasa = Rakshasa's seal/ring (Vishakhadatta).
Which play deals with Chanakya outwitting the Nanda minister Rakshasa?
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'Seal of Rakshasa' → Mudrarakshasa by Vishakhadatta.
Charaka Samhita = general medicine (Kanishka's physician); Sushruta Samhita = surgery (plastic surgery, cataract).
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Patanjali wrote both the Mahabhashya (grammar) and is credited with the Yoga Sutra — Panini wrote the Ashtadhyayi.
Harshacharita is by Banabhatta; Harsha's own works are Nagananda, Ratnavali, Priyadarshika.
Amarakosha (Amarasimha) is a dictionary, not a Buddhist text.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Statecraft = Arthashastra (Kautilya); Chandragupta's story = Mudrarakshasa (Vishakhadatta).
Buddhist canon = Tripitaka in Pali; Jain canon in Ardhamagadhi; Buddhacharita = Ashvaghosha.
Tamil twin epics: Silappadikaram (Ilango Adigal) + Manimekalai.
Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1837; Hathigumpha = Kharavela.
Coin ladder: punch-marked silver → portrait (Indo-Greek) → gold (Kushana) → lead-potin (Satavahana) → dinaras (Gupta).
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.