History of kashmir and magasthene indica
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Megasthenes (/mɪˈɡæsθɪniːz/ mi-GAS-thi-neez; Ancient Greek: Μεγασθένης, c. 350 – c. 290 BC) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book Indika, which is now lost, but has been partially reconstructed from the writings of the later authors.
Megasthenes
Bornc. 350 BCEDiedc. 290 BCENationalityGreekOccupationHistorian and diplomat
Megasthenes was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador of Seleucus I Nicatorof the Seleucid dynasty to Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra, India.[1] However, the exact date of his embassy is uncertain. Scholars such as Kaushik Roy place him in the Maurya court between 302 and 298 BCE, prior to Chandragupta's voluntary death in 297.[2] Other Greek envoys to the Indian court are known after Megasthenes: Deimachus as ambassador to Bindusara, and Dionysius, as ambassador to Ashoka.[3][4]
Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador of Seleucus I Nicator in the court of Chandragupta Maurya.[5]Arrian explains that Megasthenes lived in Arachosia, with the satrap Sibyrtius, from where he visited India:
Megasthenes lived with Sibyrtius, satrap of Arachosia, and often speaks of his visiting Sandracottus, the king of the Indians." Arrian, Anabasis Alexandri [6]
We have more definite information regarding the parts of India Megasthenes visited. He entered the subcontinent through the district of the Pentapotamia ("The five rivers", modern day Punjab region[7]), providing a full account of the rivers found there (thought to be the five affluents of the Industhat form the Punjab region), and proceeded from there by the royal road to Pataliputra. There are accounts of Megasthenes having visited Madurai, in Tamil Nadu[8][9], but he appears not to havevisited any other parts of India.
Indica
Main article: Indica (Megasthenes)
content, vocabulary and phrasing, even when the content has not been explicitly attributed to Megasthenes. Felix Jacoby's Fragmente der griechischen Historiker contains 36 pagestructed text
According to the text reconstructed by J. W. McCrindle, Megasthenes' Indica describes India as follows:
Geography
India is a quadrilateral-shaped country, bounded by the ocean on the southern and the eastern side.[15]The Indus river forms the western and the north-western boundary of the country, as far as the ocean.[16] India's northern border reaches the extremities of Tauros. From Ariana to the Eastern Sea, it is bound by mountains that are called Kaukasos by the Macedonians.
At the southern tip of India, the gnomon of the sundial often casts no shadow, and the Ursa Major is invisible at night. In the remotest parts, the shadows fall southward, and even Arcturus is not visible.[17]
India has many large and navigable rivers, which arise in the mountains on its northern border. Many merge into Ganges, which is 30 stadia wide at its source, and runs from north to south. The Ganges empties into the ocean that forms the eastern boundary of Gangaridai.[18] Other nations feared Gangaridai's huge force of the biggest elephants, and therefore, Gangaridai had never been conquered by any foreign king.[19]
Indus also runs from north to south, and has several navigable tributaries.[20] In addition, there are a large number of other rivers, supplying abundant water for agriculture. According to the native philosophers and natural scientists, the reason for this is that the bordering countries are more elevated than India, so their waters run down to India, resulting in such a large number of rivers.[21]
Hope it helps
Megasthenes
Bornc. 350 BCEDiedc. 290 BCENationalityGreekOccupationHistorian and diplomat
Megasthenes was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador of Seleucus I Nicatorof the Seleucid dynasty to Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra, India.[1] However, the exact date of his embassy is uncertain. Scholars such as Kaushik Roy place him in the Maurya court between 302 and 298 BCE, prior to Chandragupta's voluntary death in 297.[2] Other Greek envoys to the Indian court are known after Megasthenes: Deimachus as ambassador to Bindusara, and Dionysius, as ambassador to Ashoka.[3][4]
Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador of Seleucus I Nicator in the court of Chandragupta Maurya.[5]Arrian explains that Megasthenes lived in Arachosia, with the satrap Sibyrtius, from where he visited India:
Megasthenes lived with Sibyrtius, satrap of Arachosia, and often speaks of his visiting Sandracottus, the king of the Indians." Arrian, Anabasis Alexandri [6]
We have more definite information regarding the parts of India Megasthenes visited. He entered the subcontinent through the district of the Pentapotamia ("The five rivers", modern day Punjab region[7]), providing a full account of the rivers found there (thought to be the five affluents of the Industhat form the Punjab region), and proceeded from there by the royal road to Pataliputra. There are accounts of Megasthenes having visited Madurai, in Tamil Nadu[8][9], but he appears not to havevisited any other parts of India.
Indica
Main article: Indica (Megasthenes)
content, vocabulary and phrasing, even when the content has not been explicitly attributed to Megasthenes. Felix Jacoby's Fragmente der griechischen Historiker contains 36 pagestructed text
According to the text reconstructed by J. W. McCrindle, Megasthenes' Indica describes India as follows:
Geography
India is a quadrilateral-shaped country, bounded by the ocean on the southern and the eastern side.[15]The Indus river forms the western and the north-western boundary of the country, as far as the ocean.[16] India's northern border reaches the extremities of Tauros. From Ariana to the Eastern Sea, it is bound by mountains that are called Kaukasos by the Macedonians.
At the southern tip of India, the gnomon of the sundial often casts no shadow, and the Ursa Major is invisible at night. In the remotest parts, the shadows fall southward, and even Arcturus is not visible.[17]
India has many large and navigable rivers, which arise in the mountains on its northern border. Many merge into Ganges, which is 30 stadia wide at its source, and runs from north to south. The Ganges empties into the ocean that forms the eastern boundary of Gangaridai.[18] Other nations feared Gangaridai's huge force of the biggest elephants, and therefore, Gangaridai had never been conquered by any foreign king.[19]
Indus also runs from north to south, and has several navigable tributaries.[20] In addition, there are a large number of other rivers, supplying abundant water for agriculture. According to the native philosophers and natural scientists, the reason for this is that the bordering countries are more elevated than India, so their waters run down to India, resulting in such a large number of rivers.[21]
Hope it helps
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