QRN Pre Historic &Vedic Civilization
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Indian history forms an important part of the General Awareness paper of Civil Ser- vices (Prelims) Examination. Based on analysis of types of questions asked in previous years, we have compiled this feature to help you to be better prepared for the examination, as also to make your preparation easier. This will be a regular fea- ture in the magazine and in coming months we will also provide you with similar notes on Indian Constitution and other topics. Pre-historic and Vedic Civilisation 1. Ancient geographers referred to Himalayas, as also their less elevated off- shoot—the Patkai, Lushai and Chittagong hills in the east and the Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges in the west— as Himavat. 2. Jambu-dvipa was considered to be the inner- most of seven concentric island-continents into which the earth, as per Hindu cos- mographers, was supposed to have been divided. The Indian sub-continent is said to part of Jambu-dvipa. 3. Sapta sindhavah is the name of the country of the Aryans in the Vedas. 4. In the ancient litera- ture, there are references of India being divided into five divisions. In the centre of the Indo-Gangetic plains was the Madhya-desh, stretching from river Saraswati, which flowed past Thanesar and Pehowa (present-day Haryana) to Allahabad and Varanasi. The western part of this area was known as Brahamrishi-desh, and the entire region was roughly equivalent to Aryavrata as described in the grammar of Patanjali. To the north of Madhya-desh lay Uttarap- atha and to its west Aparan- ta (Western India), to its south Dakshinapath or Dec- can and to its east Purva- desh. The term Dakshinapath was in some ancient works restricted to the upper Dec- can, north of river Krishna and far south was termed as Tamilakam or the Tamil country. 5. The Negritos were the first human inhabitants of India. Originally, they came from Africa through Arabia, Iran and Baluchistan. They have practically disappeared from the soil of India, except in Andaman Islands. 6. The Munda languages belong to the Austro-Asiatic family and are to be found at present in the eastern half of Central India, southern bor- der of the Himalayas and Kashmir and the territory east of Nepal. 7. Prakit was the single language of Indian sub-con- tinent in third century B.C. Sanskrit came into being a few centuries later. 8. The term Paleolithic is derived from two Greek words meaning Old Stone. This name is applied to the earliest people as the only evidence of their existence is furnished by a number of rude stone implements. 9. Paleolithic men in India are also known as Quartzite men from the fact that majority of chipped stones found in different parts of India are made of hard rock called quartzite. 10. Paleolithic paintings have been found in caverns at Singanpur near Raigarh in Madhya Pradesh, as also in Kaimur ranges and some places in Mirzapur district. 11. With the advent of age of metals, in Northern India, copper replaced stone as ordinary material for tools and weapons. And, it took several centuries for iron to replace copper. In Southern India, however, the Iron Age immediately succeeded the Stone Age. 12. The Indus civiliza- tion existed in the same peri- od as those of Egypt, Assyria and Babylonia. 13. Mohenjodaro was discovered by R.D. Banerjee in 1922 and Harappa by R.B. Dayaram Sahni. Later on, the work was taken over by Sir John Marshall, Director- General of Archeology. 14. The fertile surround- ing region of Mohenjodaro is called Nakhlistan or the Garden of Sind. 15. It is presumed that Iron was not known to the Indus Valley civilisation as not a single scrap of iron has been found in the excava- tions at various sites. 16. Developed city-life, use of potter’s wheel, kiln- burnt bricks, and vessels made of copper and bronze are some common and dis- tinctive features of all the civilizations of the pre-his- toric period. 17. The use of mud mor- tar was common during Indus Valley civilisation. Gypsum and mud were used for plaster. In case of drains, gypsum and lime mortar was used. 18. The most important feature of houses of Mohen- jodaro is the presence in them of one or more bath- rooms, the floors of which were fully laid and connect- ed by means of drainage channels with the main street. 19. More than 500 seals have been discovered at var- ious places inhabited by peo- ple of Indus Valley civiliza- tions. These were made of terra-cota. 20. The seals and paint- ed pottery of the Indus Val- ley show the figures of Pipal and Acacia trees. They were regarded as celestial plants and were supposed to be inhabited by divine spirits. 21. The people of Indus Valley also practiced the worship of Lings and Yoni symbols. The likelihood that both Shiva and Ling worship have been inherited by Hindus from the Indus Valley is rein- forced by the prevalence of the bull (the vehicle of Shiva) or bull-like animals amongst the seal-symbols. 22. The pottery of Indus Valley was generally wheel- made and was painted red 182 ! SEPTEMBER 2003 ! THE COMPETITION MASTER CIVIL SERVICES (PRELIMS) SPECIAL Quick Revision Notes™ on Indian History
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Transcript of QRN Pre Historic &Vedic Civilization
Indian history forms animportant part of the GeneralAwareness paper of Civil Ser-vices (Prelims) Examination.Based on analysis of types ofquestions asked in previousyears, we have compiled thisfeature to help you to be betterprepared for the examination, asalso to make your preparationeasier. This will be a regular fea-ture in the magazine and incoming months we will alsoprovide you with similar noteson Indian Constitution andother topics.
Pre-historic and VedicCivilisation
1. Ancient geographersreferred to Himalayas, asalso their less elevated off-shoot—the Patkai, Lushaiand Chittagong hills in theeast and the Sulaiman andKirthar ranges in the west—as Himavat.
2. Jambu-dvipa wasconsidered to be the inner-most of seven concentricisland-continents into whichthe earth, as per Hindu cos-mographers, was supposedto have been divided. TheIndian sub-continent is saidto part of Jambu-dvipa.
3. Sapta sindhavah isthe name of the country ofthe Aryans in the Vedas.
4. In the ancient litera-ture, there are references ofIndia being divided into fivedivisions. In the centre of theIndo-Gangetic plains wasthe Madhya-desh, stretchingfrom river Saraswati, whichflowed past Thanesar andPehowa (present-day
Haryana) to Allahabad andVaranasi. The western partof this area was known asBrahamrishi-desh, and theentire region was roughlyequivalent to Aryavrata asdescribed in the grammar ofPatanjali. To the north ofMadhya-desh lay Uttarap-atha and to its west Aparan-ta (Western India), to itssouth Dakshinapath or Dec-can and to its east Purva-desh. The term Dakshinapathwas in some ancient worksrestricted to the upper Dec-can, north of river Krishnaand far south was termed asTamilakam or the Tamilcountry.
5. The Negritos were thefirst human inhabitants ofIndia. Originally, they camefrom Africa through Arabia,Iran and Baluchistan. Theyhave practically disappearedfrom the soil of India, exceptin Andaman Islands.
6. The Munda languagesbelong to the Austro-Asiaticfamily and are to be found atpresent in the eastern half ofCentral India, southern bor-der of the Himalayas andKashmir and the territoryeast of Nepal.
7. Prakit was the singlelanguage of Indian sub-con-tinent in third century B.C.Sanskrit came into being afew centuries later.
8. The term Paleolithicis derived from two Greekwords meaning Old Stone.This name is applied to theearliest people as the onlyevidence of their existence isfurnished by a number of
rude stone implements.9. Paleolithic men in
India are also known asQuartzite men from the factthat majority of chippedstones found in differentparts of India are made ofhard rock called quartzite.
10. Paleolithic paintingshave been found in cavernsat Singanpur near Raigarh inMadhya Pradesh, as also inKaimur ranges and someplaces in Mirzapur district.
11. With the advent ofage of metals, in NorthernIndia, copper replaced stoneas ordinary material for toolsand weapons. And, it tookseveral centuries for iron toreplace copper. In SouthernIndia, however, the Iron Ageimmediately succeeded theStone Age.
12. The Indus civiliza-tion existed in the same peri-od as those of Egypt, Assyriaand Babylonia.
13. Mohenjodaro wasdiscovered by R.D. Banerjeein 1922 and Harappa by R.B.Dayaram Sahni. Later on,the work was taken over bySir John Marshall, Director-General of Archeology.
14. The fertile surround-ing region of Mohenjodaro iscalled Nakhlistan or theGarden of Sind.
15. It is presumed thatIron was not known to theIndus Valley civilisation asnot a single scrap of iron hasbeen found in the excava-tions at various sites.
16. Developed city-life,use of potter’s wheel, kiln-burnt bricks, and vessels
made of copper and bronzeare some common and dis-tinctive features of all thecivilizations of the pre-his-toric period.
17. The use of mud mor-tar was common duringIndus Valley civilisation.Gypsum and mud wereused for plaster. In case ofdrains, gypsum and limemortar was used.
18. The most importantfeature of houses of Mohen-jodaro is the presence inthem of one or more bath-rooms, the floors of whichwere fully laid and connect-ed by means of drainagechannels with the mainstreet.
19. More than 500 sealshave been discovered at var-ious places inhabited by peo-ple of Indus Valley civiliza-tions. These were made ofterra-cota.
20. The seals and paint-ed pottery of the Indus Val-ley show the figures of Pipaland Acacia trees. They wereregarded as celestial plantsand were supposed to beinhabited by divine spirits.
21. The people of IndusValley also practiced theworship of Lings and Yonisymbols. The likelihood thatboth Shiva and Ling worshiphave been inherited by Hindusfrom the Indus Valley is rein-forced by the prevalence ofthe bull (the vehicle of Shiva)or bull-like animals amongstthe seal-symbols.
22. The pottery of IndusValley was generally wheel-made and was painted red
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Quick Revision Notes™on Indian History
and black.23. The Dravadians are
thought to have come toIndia from eastern Mediter-ranean. At one time theDravadian culture wasspread throughout India.
24. Puja ceremoniesalong with flowers, leaves,fruits and water were per-formed by Dravadians.Aryans were accustomed toHoma rites or sacrificial fire.Infact, the word puja hasbeen derived from a Drava-dian root called Puru, whichmeans “to smear”.
25. The Dravadian lan-guage is still spoken by theBrahui people of Baluchis-tan.
26. As per the theorypropagated by late Bal Gangadhar Tilak the originalhome of Aryans was the Arc-tic region. However, themost widely accepted viewis that the Aryans originatedfrom Central Asia. The viewwhich is accepted in West isthat original home of Aryanswas in South-East Europe.
27. In the early vedicperiod river Ravi wasknown as Parushni, riverJhelum as Vitasta, Chenabas Asikni, Beas as Vipas andSutlej as Sutudri.
28. The word Vedacomes from the root vid, toknow. It means knowledgein general. It is speciallyapplied to branch of litera-ture which has been handeddown by verbal transmis-sion and is declared to besacred knowledge or Sruti.
29. Hindus consider theVedas to be revealed booksand give them the titles ofApaurusheya (not made byman) and nitya (Eternal).
30. According to Kau-tilya, “The three Vedas,Sama, Rig and Yajus consti-tute the triple Vedas. Thesetogether with Atharvaveda
and the Itihasa Veda areknown as the Vedas.” Theordinary definition of theVeda does not include Itihasa.
31. The Veda consists offour different classes of liter-ary compositions: (a) theMantra constitutes the old-est division of Vedic litera-ture and is distributed infour Samhitas or collectionsknown as the Rik, Sama,Yajus and the Atharva; (b)Brahmanas are the secondclass of Vedic works. Theyare mainly prose texts con-taining observations on sac-rifice; (c) Aranyakas or foresttexts are books of instructionto be given in the forest orwritings meant for wood-dwelling hermits; (d) Lastlythere are the Upnishadswhich are either imbeddedin the Aranyakas or formtheir supplements. Theabove named literary worksare classed as Sruti, or reve-lation, and constitute theVedic literature proper.
32. The Brahamanas arethe first specimens of praisein the world. They mark thetransition from the Vedic tolater Brahmanical socialorder.
33. The Vedangas areclass of compositions thatare regarded less authorita-tive than Sruti and are styledSmriti. The Vedangas are sixin number: Siksha (phonet-ics), Kalpa (ritual), Vyakaran(grammar), Nirukt (etymolo-gy), Chhand (metrics) andJyotish (astronomy).
34. In Vyakarana,Nirukt and Chhand we havethe great work of Panini,Yask and Pingal.
35. The Nyaya Darsanawas written by Gautam.According to it, Tarka or log-ic is the basis of all studies.Knowledge can be acquiredby four methods: Pratyaksha
or intuition, Anumana orinference, Upma or compari-son and sadba or verbal testi-mony.
36. The basis of thepolitical and social organisa-tion of the Rig Vedic peoplewas patriarchal family. Thesuccessive higher units werestyled gram, vis and jan.
37. The Purus and theTritsus were two of the mostfamous Rig-Vedic clans. Thenames of their prominentrulers are recorded in Rik-Samhita.
38. In the Rig-Vedicperiod the foot soldiers werecalled Patti and warriorswho fought from chariotswere called Rathins.
39. The foundation ofthe political and social struc-ture in the Rig-Vedic age wasthe family.
40. Visvavara, Ghoshaand Apala were some lead-ing women seers of Rig-Vedic times.
41. Agriculture was theprincipal occupation of thevillagers in Rig-Vedic times.
42. The standard unit ofvalue in Vedic period was acow, but necklets of gold(nishka) also served as ameans of exchange.
43. Rik Samgita is a col-lection of lyrics from earlyvedic age which consists ofhymns in praise of differentgods. These are grouped intobooks termed as ashtakas ormandalas.
44. Rig Vedic people didnot possess the art of writingand early literature ofAryans was known to betransmitted orally.
45. The early Vedic reli-gion has been designated bythe name of henotheism orkathenotheism (a belief insingle gods, each standingout as the highest).
46. Father Dyaus, theshinning god of heaven, and
mother Prithvi, the earthgoddess, are among the old-est of the vedic deities.
47. The worship ofVaruna, the encompassingsky, in the early Vedic age isone of the first roots of thelater doctrine of Bhakti.
48. An important char-acteristic of Vedic mythologyis the pre-dominance of themale element. Thus, Vediccivilisation presents a con-trast to the prehistoric cul-ture of Indus Valley, wherethe mother goddess is co-equal with her male partner.
49. Sacrifices occupied aprominent place in Vedic rit-uals. These included offer-ings of milk, grain, ghee andjuice of the Soma plant.
50. Before the close ofthe later Vedic period, theAryans had thoroughly sub-dued the fertile plains ofYamuna, upper Ganga andthe Gandak. The centre of theAryan world was the areasstretching from Saraswati tothe Gangetic plains andoccupied by Kurus, the Pan-chals and some adjoiningtribes. It was from thisregion that Brahmanicalcivilisation spread to the out-er provinces, to the land ofthe Kosalas and the Kasisdrained by the Sarayu andthe Varnavati, to the swampsof east of Gandak colonisedby the Videhas, and to thevalley of Wardha occupied bythe Vidarbhas.
51. The Aryan culturewas taken to South India byAgastya.
52. Most important tribeof Rigvedic period was theBharatas, after whom Indiahas been named in the Con-stitution. The two mostimportant rulers of Bharataswere Divodas and Sudas.Sudas is famous for his victo-ry in the Battle of Ten Kings.
53. The most distin-
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guished among the tribes oflater Vedic period were theKurus and Panchals, withtheir capitals at Asandivatand Kampila, respectively.
54. Balhika-Pratipiya,Parikshit and Janamejayawere powerful Kuru kingswho figure prominently inearly epic legends.
55. The reign of Pan-chals was home to severaltheologians and philoso-phers like king Pravahana-Jaivali and sages like Aruniand Svetaketu.
56. The fame of the landof the Panchals as centre ofBrahmanical learning waseclipsed by the Videhas,whose king Janak won thetitle of Samrat. The Videhanmonarchy fell shortly beforethe rise of Buddhism. Itsoverthrow was followed bythe rise of the Vajjian Con-federacy.
57. The kings of severalregions gave themselves var-ious titles. While the kings ofmiddle country were calledraja, the eastern kings weretitled Samrat, the southernBhoj, those in the westSvarat, and the rulers of thenorthern realms were calledVirat.
58. The taxes collectedfrom people in the laterVedic age were referred to asbali and sulka.
59. During late Vedicperiod, Vratyas and theNishads were two importantbodies of men outside theregular castes. The Vratyaswere Aryans outside thepale of Brahminism. Theyappear to have had somespecial connection with thepeople of Magadha and thecult of Shiv. The Nishadswere non-Aryan people wholived in their own villagesand had their own rulers.They were probably identi-cal with modern Bhils.
60. Shortly before therise of Buddhism there weresixteen great nations thatoccupied the territory fromKabul valley to the banks ofGodavari. These were: Anga(East Bihar), Magadha(South Bihar), Kasi(Benaras), Kosala (Oudh),Vriji (North Bihar), Malla(Gorakhpur district), Chedi(between Yamuna and Nar-mada), Vatsa (Allahabadregion), Kuru (Thanesar, Delhi and Meerut districts),Panchal (Bareilly, Buduanand Farrukhabad districts),Matsya (Jaipur), Surasena(Mathura), Asmak (on theGodavari), Avanti (in Mal-wa), Gandhara (Peshawarand Rawalpindi districts)and Kamboj (South-westKashmir and parts ofKafiristan).
61. The Vriji peoplewere regarded by the Bra-haman law-givers asVratyas or degraded Ksha-triyas. The Vrijis had nomonarch, but a popularassembly of elders who car-ried on the business of theState. This type of polity wasknown as Gana or republic.The Mallas also had a simi-lar constitution.
62. The four kingdomsof later Vedic age who grewmost powerful were: Avanti,Vatsa, Kosala and Magadha.
63. The kingdom ofAvanti had its capital atUjjain in modern Malwa.
64. One prominent rulerof Vatsa territory wasUdayana, a scion of theBharat race.
65. Kosala had its capi-tal at Ayodhya and wasruled by a dynasty thatclaimed descent from illus-trious Ishvaku, famed inVedic and epic traditions.
66. The Kosalas extend-ed their boundaries in sever-al directions, including
Nepalese Tarai, but theirambitious designs were frus-trated by Magadha power.
67. Gargi and Maitreyiwere two prominent intellec-tual women of late Vedicperiod.
68. Magadha and Angawere two kingdoms whichthe Aryans could not Brah-manise thoroughly andcame to possess a mixedpopulation. Kikatas wereprominent non-Aryans wholived in Magadha. Theywere known for their wealth.There was a dislike for Mag-adha in the Rigveda and thesame dislike was continuedeven during the period oflater Vedic civilisation.
69. In the sixth and fifthcentury B.C. the throne ofMagadha was occupied by aline of kings styled Saisuna-gas in the Purans, an appella-tion derived from Sisunaga,the first king of the line inthe Puranic list.
70. The Buddhist writ-ers, however, put Sisunagamuch lower in the list ofMagadha kings and split theline into two distinct groups.To the earlier of the twogroups they give the nameHaryanka, whose mostremarkable king was Sreni-ka or Bimbisara.
71. The Ashtadhyayi ofPanini is a book on Sanskritgrammar.
72. Khari, Patra, Vista,Satamana, Adhaka, Achita,Purusha and Dishta weredifferent kinds of weightsand measures used in laterVedic age.
73. Taxila or Tak-shashila was a great centreof learning in late Vedic peri-od. It was famous for theteaching of medicine, lawand military science.
74. India and Persiahave very ancient relations.There are many common
gods in the Rig Veda and theZinda Avesta. The Iraniangods Mithra, Yima and Vere-traghna have their counter-part in the Indian Mitra,Yama and Indra Vritrahan.
75. The Boghaz-Koiinscriptions of about 1400B.C. refer to certain contractsmade between the King ofthe Hittites (in Persia) andthe King of Mitani. In thoseinscriptions same gods arementioned as the protectorsof these contracts.
76. The continuance ofstrong influence of Persiaupon India in the Vedic ageis indicated by prevalence ofthe Kharoshti script, a vari-ety of Aramaic, in theprovinces near the Frontier,by the long continued use ofthe Persian title Satrap, bythe form of the Ashokainscriptions and by thearchitecture.
77. Sanskrit is a branchof a linguistic tree known asIndo-European. The trunk ofthe tree was a commontongue probably spoken inthe region north-west of theBlack Sea about 2500 B.C.
78. The Upanishadsprobe into the nature ofuniverse and the humansoul, and the relation ofeach to the other. Theymake no absolute state-ments of right and wrong,of creation, the gods orman; instead, they specu-late, seeking always to findtruth, as opposed to statingit, and offering a widerange of possibilities.
79. A rudimentaryadministrative system wasprevalent during the Vedicperiod. The tribal kingdom(rashtra) contained tribes(jana), tribal units (vish) andvillages (grama). The nucle-us was the family (kula),with the eldest male memberas its head (kulapa)
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