India's Ancient Past - RS Sharma

 India's Ancient Past by RS Sharma

Download PDF

Book Details

Book Name : India's Ancient Past 

Author : R S Sharma 

Language : English

Pages : 425

ISBN : 978-0-19-908786-0

Contents on the Book

1. The Significance of Ancient Indian History

Unity in Diversity; The Relevance of the Past to the Present; Chronology

2. Modern Historians of Ancient India

Colonialist Views and their Contribution; Nationalist Approach and its Contribution; Move Towards Non-Political History; Communal Approach; Chronology

3. Nature of Sources and Historical Construction

Material Remains; Coins; Inscriptions; Literary Sources; Foreign Accounts; Village Study; Natural

Sciences; Historical Sense; Constructing History; Chronology

4. Geographical Setting Emergence of India; The Role of the Monsoon; The Northern Boundaries; Rivers; Natural Frontiers and Cultural Contacts; Minerals and Other Resources; Chronology

5. Ecology and Environment Ecology; Environment and Human Advance; Surroundings and Settlements; The Rain and Human Effort; Ancient Attitudes Towards the Environment; Chronology

6. The Linguistic Background

Principal Language Groups; Austro-Asiatic; Tibeto-Burman; Dravidian; Indo-Aryan; Ethnic Groups and Language Families; Chronology

7. Human Evolution: The Old Stone Age

African Ancestors of Human Beings; The Early Man in India; Phases in the Palaeolithic Age; The

Mesolithic Age: Hunters and Herders; Art in the Old Stone Age; Earliest Human Organization;

Chronology

8. The Neolithic Age: First Food Producers and Animal Keepers

Earliest Rural Settlements in Baluchistan; Use of Bone Tools in the Sites of Burzahom and Chirand; Neolithic Settlements in South India; Farming and Cereals; Progress in and Limitation of the

Neolithic Phase; Chronology

9. Chalcolithic Cultures Chalcolithic SettlementCulture tance of the Chalcolithic Phase; Limitations of Chalcolithic Cultures; The Copper Hoards and the Ochre-Coloured Pottery Phase; Chronology

10. Harappan Culture: Bronze Age Urbanization in the Indus Valley Introduction; Town Planning and Structures; Agriculture; Domestication of Animals; Technology

and Crafts; Trade and Commerce; Social Organization; Polity; Religious Practices; The Male Deity

in the Indus Valley; Tree and Animal Worship; The Harappan Script; Weights and Measures;

Harappan Pottery; Seals and Sealings; Images; Terracotta Figurines; Stone Work; End of the Indus

Culture; Maturity; Post-Urban Phase; Percolation of New Peoples; Problem of Origin; Was the

Harappan Culture Vedic?; Problem of Continuity; Chronology; Chronology of Harappan

Archaeology

11. Identity of Aryan Culture

Texts for Traits of Aryan Culture; The Horse, its Domestication and Diffusion; The War Chariot;

Spoked Wheels; Horse Remains in the Subcontinent; Pit-dwelling; Birch; Cremation; The Fire Cult;

Animal Sacrifice; Horse Sacrifice; The Cult of Soma; The Svastika; Language and Inscriptional

Evidence; Dispersal of the Indo-Aryans; Chronology

12. The Age of the Rig Veda

Arrival of the Indo-Aryans; Tribal Conflicts; Cattle Rearing and Agriculture; Tribal Chiefdom; Tribe

and Family; Social Differentiation; Rig Vedic Gods; Chronology

13. The Later Vedic Phase: Transition to State and Social Orders

Expansion in the Later Vedic Period (c.1000–500 BC); Use of Iron; Agriculture; Arts and Crafts;

Settlements; Political Organization; Social Organization; Gods, Rituals, and Philosophy;

Chronology

14. Jainism and Buddhism

The Causes of Origin; Vardhamana Mahavira and Jainism; Doctrines of Jainism; Spread of Jainism;

Contribution of Jainism; Gautama Buddha and Buddhism; Doctrines of Buddhism; Features of

Buddhism and the Causes of its Spread; Causes of the Decline of Buddhism; Significance and

Influence of Buddhism; Chronology

15. Territorial States and the Rise of Magadha

Conditions for the Rise of Large States; The Mahajanapadas; The Rise and Growth of the

Magadhan Empire; Causes of Magadha’s Success; Chronology

16. Iranian and Macedonian Invasions

Iranian Invasion; Results of the Contact; Alexander’s Invasion; Effects of Alexander’s Invasion;

Chronology

17. State Structure and the Varna System in the Age of the Buddha

Second Urbanization; Rural Economy; Administrative System; Army and Taxation; The RepublicanExperiment; Social Orders and Legislation; Conclusion; Chronology

18. The Maurya Age

Chandragupta Maurya; Imperial Organization; Ashoka (273–32 BC); Ashokan Inscriptions; Impact

of the Kalinga War; Internal Policy and Buddhism; Ashoka’s Place in History; Chronology

19. The Significance of Maurya Rule

State Control; Economic Regulations; Art and Architecture; Spread of Material Culture and the

State System; Causes of the Fall of the Maurya Empire—Brahmanical Reaction, Financial Crisis,

Oppressive Rule, New Knowledge in the Outlying Areas, Neglect of the North-West Frontier and

the Great Wall of China; Chronology

20. Central Asian Contact and Mutual Impact

I Political Aspects—The Indo-Greeks, The Shakas, The Parthians, The Kushans, The IndoSassanians; II Cultural Consequences—Structures and Pottery, Better Cavalry, Trade and

Agriculture, Polity, New Elements in Indian Society, The Origin of Mahayana Buddhism, Gandhara

and Mathura Schools of Art; Language, Literature, and Learning; Science and Technology;

Chronology

21. The Satavahana Phase

Political History; Aspects of Material Culture; Social Organization; Pattern of Administration;

Religion; Architecture; Language; Chronology

22. The Dawn of History in the Deep South

The Megalithic Background; State Formation and the Development of Civilization; Three Early

Kingdoms; The Purse and the Sword; Rise of Social Classes; Beginnings of Brahmanism; Tamil

Language and Sangam Literature; Social Evolution from Sangam Texts; Chronology

23. Crafts, Commerce, and Urban Growth (200 BC–AD 250)

Crafts and Craftsmen; Types of Merchants; Trade Routes and Centres; Goods in Foreign Trade;

Money Economy; Urban Growth; Chronology

24. Rise and Growth of the Gupta Empire

Background; Chandragupta I (AD 319–34); Samudragupta (AD 335–80); Chandragupta II (AD 380–

412); Fall of the Empire; Chronology

25. Life in the Gupta Age

System of Administration; Trends in Trade and the Agrarian Economy; Social Developments; The

State of Buddhism; The Origin and Growth of Bhagavatism; Art; Literature; Science and

Technology; Chronology

26. Spread of Civilization in Eastern India

Signs of Civilization; Orissa and Eastern and Southern MP; Bengal; Assam; The Formative Phase;

Chronology

27. Harsha and His Times

Downloaded From : www.EasyEngineering.net

Dow

Harsha’s Kingdom; Administration; Buddhism and Nalanda; Chronology

28. Brahmanization, Rural Expansion, and Peasant Protest in the Peninsula

The New Phase; States of the Deccan and South India; The Kalabhra Revolt; Conflict between the

Pallavas and the Chalukyas; Temples; Demands on the Peasantry; Land Grants and Rural

Expansion; Social Structure and Brahmanization; Chronology

29. Developments in Philosophy

Goals of Life; Samkhya; Yoga; Nyaya; Vaisheshika; Mimamsa; Vedanta; Charvaka and the

Materialistic View of Life; Chronology

30. Cultural Interaction with Asian Countries

India’s Relations with the Outside World; Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, and Central

Asia; Christianity and West Asian Relations; Indian Culture in Southeast Asia; Cultural Give and

Take; Chronology

31. From Ancient to Medieval

Social Crisis and Agrarian Changes; Rise of Landlords; New Agrarian Economy; Decline of Trade

and Towns; Changes in the Varna System; Rise of Regional Identities; Trends in Literature; The

Divine Hierarchy; The Bhakti Cult; Tantrism; Summary; Chronology

32. Sequence of Social Changes

Introduction; Tribal and Pastoral Phase; Agriculture and the Origin of the Upper Orders; The Varna

System of Production and Government; Social Crisis and the Rise of the Landed Classes; Summary;

Chronology

33. Legacy in Science and Civilization

Religion; The Varna System; Philosophical Systems; Crafts and Technology; Polity; Science and

Mathematics; Medicine; Geography; Art and Literature; Strength and Weakness; Chronology

Preface

The present book is based on a good portion of my Ancient India, which was first published by the National Council of Educational Research and Training in 1977, but the obscurantist elements got it withdrawn from circulation by the same body in 1978. The book was restored in 1980, and several lacs were printed for school students. However, when in 2001 the NCERT published it,

some passages were removed without the author’s consent. Finally in 2002 the NCERT withdrew the book because of extreme conservatism. When the Oxford University Press approached me for publication, I decided to get the revised copy of the existing edition published by them. I substantially revised the book and added four new chapters to it. In doing so I took account of new ideas and materials available to me.

The book covers Indian history from the beginning to the 7th century AD. Since it is mainly meant for undergraduates and general readers, I have used non-English words without diacritics. I have also avoided chapterwise

references, but an up-to-date chapter-wise bibliography has been provided at the end of the book for the materials I have used. I will feel happy if the book retains its old popularity.

Patna

R.S. Sharma

July 2005

(RAM SHARAN SHARMA)

*Related Keywords *

Rs Sharma pdf book 

Rs Sharma ancient India

India's ancient past pdf bye rs Sharma

Ram sharan Sharma pdf book

RS Sharma 

Ram sharan Sharma