Question

In what ways are the accounts of the graecoromans and the chinese helpful in reconstructing the social history of india ? How far is their information corroborated by other contemporary sources ?

Answer 1

Pranam __/\__

Smritis and accounts of Fa-Hien are the chief sources of knowledge about the social life of the Guptas. Fa-Hien had stayed in India for a long period of 9 years, from 401 to 410 A.D. and visited various places of north India, including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal. He had spent several years in Pataliputra and Tamralipta. Therefore he could have had a firsthand knowledge of the social life of the Guptas.