Question

Analyze the literary sources and their limitations for reconstruction of early India under the period of your study.

Answer 1

Answer:

Ancient Indian History - Sources. Literary and Archaeological records are the two main categories that give evidences of Ancient Indian History. The literary source includes literature of Vedic, Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, and other literature along with other foreign accounts.

Answer 2

Answer:

Literary records give evidences of Ancient Indian History.

Explanation:

Literature&Ancient Books

• The Vedic literature comprised four Vedas -. Rigveda, Samaveda, Atharvanaveda, & Yajurveda, which provided information about the culture and civilization
• Ashtadhyayi written by Panini a grammar book gives  information on the art of writing in sutra
• The later Vedic literature comprises the Brahmanas, the Upanishads, & the Aranyakas.
• The Ramayana & the Mahabharata are epics of "great historical" significance.
• The Jain and the Buddhist literature had been written in Prakrit and Pali languages. The Buddhist books are known as Jataka stories which are  historical significance since they are related to previous birth of the Buddha.
• Arthashastra, a state art book written in Maurya by Kautilya. The book contains 15 sections covering different subjects related to politics, culture and society.
• Kalhana's Rajatarangini is the best source of history that modern historians esteem. His analytical approach to historical analysis and his balanced consideration of factual evidence has won him considerable interest among contemporary historians. The Smritis  & Dharmasutras were the rules & regulations for the rulers as well as the general public. It is equated with the law books & constitution of the comtemporary concept of polity & society.
• Malavikagnimitram  by Kalidasa provides information of Pusyamitra Sanga dynasty reign. Harshacharita by Banabhatta gives several historical facts, Vikramankadevacharita by Bilhana describes the triumphs/victories of the Chalukya king Vikramaditya.
• The Sangam literature has the form of poetry of 30,000 words, divided in two main categories, i.e. short and long - the Pattupattu & Patinenkilkanakku. This describes several of South India's kings & dynasties

Foreign Accounts of Travellers

• Regarding his knowledge about India, Herodotus was reliant on Persian sources. Megasthenes appeared in Chandragupta Maurya 's court. In his book entitled 'Indica,' he wrote about Indianculture &society.
• A book '‘Periplus of the Erythrean Sea’  written by an unknown Greek author who, based on his personal Indian Coast in 80AD journey gives precious indigenous coast knowledge.
• Hiuen-Tsang sent precious accounts of Harshavardhana and a few of Northern India 's modern rulers. AI-Biruni has provided significant India detail. He was Arab scholar & contemporary Ghazni Mahmud.

Limitations of Literary Texts

• Ancient texts do not necessarily reflect the past history  in a particular way. Prints were not identified. Printing wasn’t known. Everything was written on soft materials such as palm leaf, birch bark, paper and so on.
• The old manuscripts had to be manually copied as they were brittle in the course of time. But, as they were copying, there were chances for certain errors to have appeared. Manuscripts are often damaged by time ravages and a great deal of information is lost. The texts' context are not known and therefore the significance & authenticity is questionable.
• Ancient texts often suffer from interpolations because many of them were first transmitted  by oral traditions and written down  later. Most are religious in nature – and they offer some insight into current social circumstances, although they are difficult to place it in perspective.
• The literature of Purana and Epic is considered by the Indians as history, however there are no dates of events or kingdoms. The Puranas and Epics tell of Kings' genealogies and accomplishments. However, in chronological order they are not set.
• There is no trace of political history in the Vedas, although there is a reliable glimpses of the culture and civilisation during the Vedic period. Its language has a wide variety of definitions and varies in the usage of grammar. It has a certain style of expression wherein its emphasis completely shifts the meaning.⠀
• The works of Jain and Buddhist Literature such as biographical writings made lot of exaggerations to please their patron kings.
• Foreign Travellers accounts too had some limitations. Much of the Greek literature on India is focused on indirect knowledge, which contributes to certain inconsistencies and discrepancies. Save for Megasthenes, all of the others have influenced Indian history very slightly in the true sense. They were oblivious of the nation's language and traditions and theirinformation are full of fascinating myths and fancies.
• The works of Megasthenes as well as other Greeks among Alexander's accompanists have been lost and can only be translated from the subsequent woks. From periodically, Chinese voyageurs have visited India as Buddhist pilgrims and during the time of their stay, they gave an exaggerated account of Buddhism.
• Al-Beruni’s work although is fairly objective he has faltered because of his lack of proper understanding and his works too do not give any political information/details of his times