Examine the tradition of history writing in Ancient India.
Answers
During the 4th century B. C., Kautilya in his book ‘Arthashastra’ advises the king to dedicate some time for hearing the narrations of history.
History was conferred holiness equal to pious Veda, Atharvanaveda, Brahmanas, and Upanishads. The Itihas-Purana is one of the branches of knowledge of history.
Puranas
There are 18 main Puranas and 18 subsidiary Puranas.
The subject matters of history are (As per the Puranas),
Sarga (evolution of the Universe)
Pratisarga (involution of the Universe)
Manvantantar (recurring of the Time)
Vamsa (genealogical list of the kings and sages)
Vamsanucharita (life stories of some selected characters)
The reign of Parikshit (the grandson of Arjuna) was considered as a benchmark for the reference of the royal genealogies given in the Puranas.
In Puranas, all the earlier dynasties and kings prior to reign of Parikshit, have been mentioned in past tense. While the latter kings and dynasties have been narrated in a future tense.
This may be due to the fact that the Puranas were completed during the reign of Parikshit. As mentioned in the Puranas, the coronation of Parikshit marks the beginning of Kali Age.
In the context of the Puranas, it is observed that in ancient India, ltihas (History) was looked upon as a means to illuminate the present and future in the light of the past.
The purpose of history was to understand and inculcate a sense of duty and sacrifice by individuals to their families, by the families to their clans, by the clans to their villages, by the villages to Janapada and Rashtra, and ultimately to the whole humanity.
Answer:
Explanation:
Ancient communities all over the world used
various means like cave paintings, story-telling,
singing songs and ballads, etc. These traditional
means are looked upon as the sources of history
in modern historiography.