Question

secular literature of india

Answer 1

Literary Sources of Ancient Indian History

On July 3, 2013 By Ajay GoelCategory: History of Ancient India, History of India

Literary sources of Ancient Indian History: The ancient literature and the religious books are important sources of information for the reconstruction of ancient Indian history. Their classification is simple – religious and secular literature, historical literature and foreign accounts.

1. Religious Literary Sources of Ancient Indian History

Religious literature provides information for the period between the beginning of the Aryans into India and Alexander’s invasion into India.

The Vedic, Buddhist, Jain and other contemporary literature are the religious literary sources of Ancient Indian History.

The Vedic Literature

The Vedic literature – such as Chaturvedas, Vedanga, the Sutrasahitya, etc. gives us a clear picture of the political, social and economic life of the Aryans, and of the nonstop conflicts between the Aryans and the non-Aryans.

The four Vedas are Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharva. The Historic Facts about religious ceremonies and rituals of the Aryans can be traced from Vedic literature.

The Buddhist Literature

The principal Buddhist literature such as – Tripitaka, Nikaya, Jataka, Dvipavamsa or Dipavamsha etc. gives us an impression of the socio-economic-religious condition of existing Indian society.

Dvipavamsa (or Dipavamsa) together with Mahavamsa narrates the history of Ceylon. The life of the Buddha and the principles of Buddhism can be understood from the ‘Lalitavistara’ and ‘Vaipulya Sutra’.

The work called ‘Jataka’ contains records relating to the life of Buddha in his previous birth.  According to the Buddhist belief, the Buddha had experienced many births before being born in the Sakya family at Kapilavastu and thereafter got enlightened and came to be known as Buddha. There are about 550 Jataka that gives us an idea of the contemporary social, political, economic and religious life of the Indians. They were possibly compiled in the second and third centuries (A.D.).  The Jataka stories occupy an important place in the history of civilization of the third century A.D.

Other Imporant Religious Literatures as Sources of Ancient Indian History

The Jain religious works, such as, Bhagabati sutra, Merutunga, etc. are important religious works and serves as sources of Ancient Indian History.

The ‘Mahabhashya’ of Patanjali, the ‘Gargi-Samhita’, the ‘Ashtadhoyi’ of Panini, the ‘Arthashastra’ of Kautilya etc., contain valuable information of ancient Indian history. Kautilya was the prime-minister of Mauryan Empire. Arthashastra gives us details on various aspects of economy and government.

2. Historical Literary Sources of Ancient India

The historical materials are scattered and it is difficult to draw a comprehensive picture of the ancient age. The historical literature can be sub-divided into several groups. They are Puranas, the epics, dynastic history and biography.

The Puranas

The ‘Puranas’ serves as a source of historical facts of ancient India. There are eighteen Puranas. The puranas provides historical information of various dynasties. The fact relating to various dynasties and kingdom specially those about Magadhan Kingdom are collected. The chronological accounts given in the Puranas should be used with caution and care. In the Puranas, legends have been so unidentifiably mixed up with historical data that the data provided in Puranas should be used carefully. In the Puranas, it is held that the events of the past would repeat themselves in future.  An attempt to forecast the future has been made through these events.

The Ramayana and The Mahabharata

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two old epics of India, provide us with numerous historical materials. There is controversy about the historicity of the Ramayana, and many scholars are of opinion that story of the Ramayana is fictitious. But scholars of all categories are unanimous in their recognition of the historical value of the events narrated in the Mahabharata. The Kurukshetra war described in the Mahabharata is regarded generally as a historical event. According to Dr. R.C.Majumdar, the war occurred in 1000 B.C. Apart from the Kurukshetra war, the Mahabharata contains various accounts of social life and religious thinking of the people of ancient India