Quick Facts of India`

7/30/2019 Quick Facts of India`

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Indian History forms animportant part of the General

Awareness paper of Civil Ser-vices (Prelims) Examination.Based on analysis of types ofquestions asked in previous

years, 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 in

coming months we will alsoprovide you with similar noteson Indian Constitution andother topics.

Beginning ofMagadhan Ascendancyand beyond

1. Magadha kingdomsmost remarkable king wasSrenika or Bimbisara, whowas anointed king by hisfather at the young age of 15.

2. The capital of Bimbi-saras kingdom was Giriv-raja. It was girded withstone walls which are amongthe oldest extant stone struc-tures in India.

3. The most notableachievement of Bimbisarawas the annexation of neigh-

bouring kingdom ofAnga orEast Bihar. He also enteredinto matrimonial allianceswith ruling families ofKosala and Vaishali. TheVaishali marriage paved theway for expansion of Maga-dha northword to the bor-ders of Nepal.

4. Gautama Buddha andVardhaman Mahavira prea-ched their doctrines duringthe reign of Bimbisara.

5. The modern town ofRajgir in the Patna district

was built by Bimbisara. Hehad named it Rajagriha or thekings house.

6. Bimbisara was suc-ceeded by his son Ajatsha-tru. Tradition affirms that Bim-bisara was murdered by Ajat-shatru.

7. To repel the attacks ofthe Vrijis of Vaishali, Ajat-shatru fortified the village ofPataligrama, which stood at

the confluence of Ganga andSona rivers. This fortress,within a generation, devel-oped into the stately city ofPataliputra (modern dayPatna).

8. According to thePuranas, the immediate suc-cessor of Ajatshatru wasDarsaka, after whom camehis son Udayi.

9. The name ofDarsakaalso occurs in a play named

Svapna-Vasavadatta, attri-buted to Bhasa, which repre-sents him as a brother-in-lawand contemporary of Uday-ana, king of Kausambi.However, Jain and Buddhistwriters assert that Udayi wasson of Ajatshatru.

10. Bimbisaras dynasticlineage ended with the Nan-da dynasty taking over thereigns of Magadha. The firstking of Nanda dynasty was

Mahapadma or MahapamapatiNanda. He was succeeded byhis eight sons, of whom thelast was named Dhana-Nanda.

11. Dhana-Nanda wasoverthrown by Chan-dragupta Maurya, thefounder of a new and moreillustrious dynasty.

12. Among the State

functionaries, the Purohitwas of special importance inKasi-Kosala, as we learnfrom Ramayan and several

Jatakas. In Kuru-Panchal andMatsya countries it was theSenapati who held the spe-cial place.

13. The armies of theperiod usually consisted ofinfantry, cavalry, chariotsand elephants. While rulers

of deltaic regions wereknown to maintain smallnaval fleets, a big navaldepartment came into beingonly during the reign of Chan-dragupta Maurya.

14. The Indian infantryusually carried long bowsand iron-tipped arrowsmade of cane. They used towear cotton garments. Thechariots of the cavalry weredrawn by horses or wild

asses and carried six soldiersapiecetwo bowmen, twoshield bearers and twocharioteers.

15. Greek writers beartestimony to the fact that inthe art of war Indians werefar superior to other peoplesof Asia. Their failure against

foreign invaders was oftendue to inferiority in cavalry.Indian commanders pinnedtheir faith more in elephantsthan horses.

16. The oldest source ofrevenues was the bali. Bha-ga, the kings share of reapedcorn, became the mostimportant source of Staterevenue in course of time.Among the most importantrevenue officials was theGrama-bhojaka or villagehead-man.

17. The early Buddhisttexts refer to six big citiesthat flourished during thedays of the Buddha. Thesewere: Champa (near Bha-galpur), Rajagriha (in Patnadistrict), Sravasti (Saheth-Maheth), Saketa (Oudh),Kausambi (near Allahabad)and Benaras (Varanasi).

18. The usual recrea-tions of women during the

Magadhan era were singing,dancing and music. Littleprincesses used to play withdolls calledpanchalikas.

19. The chief pastimesof knights were gambling,hunting, listening to tales ofwar and tournaments inamphitheatres. Buddhisttexts refer to acrobatic feats,combats of animals and akind of primitive chessplay.

20. The principal sea-ports of the period were:Bhrigukachcha (Broach),Surparaka (Sopara, north ofMumbai), and Tamralipti(Tamluk in West Bengal).

21. The chief articles oftrade during the Magadhanera were: silk, muslin,embroidery, ivory, jewelleryand gold. The standard unitof value was the copperKarshapana, weighing a lit-tle more than 146 grains. Sil-ver coins, called Purana orDharana, were also in circu-lation. The weight of a silvercoin was a little more than 58grains, which is one-tenth ofthat of the Nishka known tothe Vedic texts.

22. The first undoubtedhistorical reference toimage-worshipby an Aryan

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tribe occurs in passage ofCurtis, who states that animage of Herakles was car-ried in front of Pauravaarmy as it advanced againstAlexander.

23. The early Magad-

han period saw develop-ment of variant languagesfrom Sanskrit. In the townsand the villages a popularform of Sanskrit, Prakrit,was spoken. This had localvariations; the chief west-ern variety was calledShauraseni and the easternvariety Magadhi. Pali wasanother local language. TheBuddha, wishing to reachwider audience, taught in

Magadhi.

Persian andMacedonian Invasions

24. Cyrus, the founderof the Achaemenian empireof Persia, destroyed thefamous city of Kapisa nearthe junction of the Ghorbandand Panjshir rivers north-east of Kabul.

25. The successor ofCyrus, Darius sent a naval

expedition to the Indusunder the command ofSky-lax. This expedition paved theway for the annexation of theIndus valley as far as thedeserts of Rajputana. The area

became the most populoussatrapy of the Persianempire andpaid a tribute pro-

portionately larger than all therest360 Eubic talents ofgold dust, equivalent tomore than a millionsterling.

26. Once the Persianhold over Indian possessions

became weak, the old territo-ry ofGandhara was dividedinto two parts. To the west ofIndus river lay the kingdomof Pushkalavati in the mod-ern district of Peshawar; tothe east was Takshasila inpresent district of Rawalpin-

di. Tradition affirms thatMahabharata was first recitedin Takshasila.

27. In 331 B.C., Alexan-der inflicted heavy blowson the king of Persia andoccupied his realm. In 327

B.C. Alexander crossed theHindukush and resolved torecover the Indian sat-rapies that had once beenunder his Persian prede-cessors.

28. To secure his com-munications, Alexander gar-risoned a number of strong-holds near modern Kabuland passed the winter of327-326 B.C. in warfare withfierce tribes of Kunar and

Swat valleys.29. Alexander finallycrossed Indus river in 326B.C. using a bridge of boats.Ambhi, the king of Taxilagave him valuable help inthis.

30. Alexanders marchfaced a major hurdle when itreached the banks ofHydaspes (modern Jhelum)river, near the town of

Jhelum. Here he faced stiff

resistance from Pauravaking (Porus).31. After crossing the

Akesines (Chenab) and theHydraotes (Ravi), Alexanderstormed Sangala, the strong-hold of the Kathaioi, andmoved on to the Hyphasis(Beas). He wished to pressforward to the Ganga valley,

but his war-worn troopsrefused. Alexander erected 12towering altars to mark theutmost limit of his march, andthen retraced his steps to

Jhelum.32. During the return

journey, Alexander receiveda dangerous wound whilestorming a citadel of thepowerful tribe of theMalawas. He returned toBabylon after a long andtreacherous journey and

died soon after in 323 B.C.33. The Persian con-

quest unveiled India for thefirst time to the Westernworld and established con-tact between the people of

both regions.

34. The introduction ofnew scriptsAramaic,Kharoshti and the alphabetstyle Yavanani by Paninican be traced to Greeksource.

35. The Macedoniangarrisons were swept away

by Chandragupta Maurya.However, these were notwiped out completely.Colonies like Yavana contin-ued to serve the king of

Magadha just as they servedthe Macedonians, andcarved out an independentkingdom only after the sunset of Magadha.

36. One positive out-come of Alexanders inva-sion was that Greeks of laterages got to learn lessons inphilosophy and religionfrom Indian Buddhists andBhagavatas and Indianslearned use of coins, hon-

oured Greek astronomersand learned to appreciateHellenistic art.

37. One of the mostremarkable things inthe foreign policy ofAlexander was his encour-agement of inter-racialmarriages. He was the firstruler known to history whocontemplated the brother-hood of man and the unityof mankind. The WhiteKafirs of Kafiristan,classed in Ashokas edictsas definitely Greeks, aresaid to be descendedfrom Alexanders men.Of the ruling Frontierfamilies, eight claimdirect lineage from the sonborn to Alexander byCleophis queen of theAssakenoi.

Jainism andBuddhism

38. The parents ofMahavira were Siddhartha,a Janatrika chief of Kunda-pura, and Trishala, a Ksha-triya lady related to the rul-

ing families of Vaishali andMagadha.39. Mahavira married a

princess named Yashoda.40. Mahavira forsook

the world at the age of thirtyand roamed as a nakedascetic in several parts ofeastern India and practicedsevere penance for 12 years.Half of this time wasspent with a mendicant(beggar) friar (brother)

named Goshala who subse-quently left him and becamethe leader of the Ajivikasect.

41. In the 13th year ofpenance, Mahavira attainedthe highest spiritual knowl-edge called Kevala-jnana,on the northern bank ofriverRijupalika, outside Jrimb-hikagrama, a little knownlocality in eastern India. Hewas now known as a

Kevalin (omniscient), a Jina(conqueror) and Mahavira(the great hero).

42. Mahavira becamethe head of a sect calledNigranthas (free from Fret-ters), known in later times as

Jains or followers of Jina(conqueror).

43. Mahavira died atPava in south Bihar, afterwandering for 35 years as areligious teacher, at the ageof 72.

44. The Jains believethat Mahavira was not the

founder of a new religious sys-tem, but the last of a longsuccession of24 Tirthankarsor ford-makers across thestream of existence.

45. The 23rd teacher,Parsav, the immediate pre-decessor of Mahavira, was a




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prince of Benaras andenjoined on his disciples thegreat four vows of non-injury,truthfulness, abstention fromstealing and non-attachment.

Mahavira added the vow ofBrahamcharya or continence

to this.46. Jainism was atheis-tic in nature, the existence ofGod being irrelevant to itsdoctrine. It believes that uni-verse functions according toan eternal law and is contin-ually passing through aseries of cosmic waves ofprogress and decline. Every-thing in the universe, mate-rial or otherwise, has a soul.The purification of the soul

is the purpose of living, forthe pure soul is releasedfrom the body and thenresides in bliss.

47. Jains believe that byfollowing the three-foldpath of right Belief, rightKnowledge and right Con-duct, souls will be releasedfrom transmigration andreach the pure and blissfulabode or Siddha Sila.

48. Jainism spread

rapidly among the tradingcommunity. The emphasis onnon-violence prevented agricul-turists from being Jainas, sincecultivation involved killinginsects and pests.

49. According to the tra-dition of the Svetambara

Jains, the original doctrinetaught by Mahavira wascontained in fourteen oldtexts styled Purvas.

50. Close to 4th centuryB.C., due to a famine insouth Bihar, important sec-tions of Jains, headed byBhadrabahu, fled to Mysore.

51. To revive the knowl-edge of sacred texts, whichwas passing into oblivionfollowing the famine insouth Bihar and fleeing ofmajority of Jains, a councilwas convoked by those who

were left behind in Patalipu-tra, which resulted in compi-lation of the 12 Angas whichare regarded as the most impor-tant part of the Jain canon.Another council was held atValabhi in Gujarat in 5th or

6th century A.D. whichmade a final collection of thescriptures and reduced themto writing.

52. The followers ofBhadrabahu, on their returnto the north, refused toacknowledge the Angas andcame to be known as Sve-tambaras (clad in white) asthey wore white garmentsnotwithstanding the injunc-tions of Mahavira. The origi-

nal followers came to be calledDigambaras (sky-clad ornaked).

53. Gautama Buddhawas born as Siddhartha toSuddhodana, a Raja or nobleof Kapilvastu (in the NepalTerai to the north of Bastidistrict of Uttar Pradesh)and Maya, a princess ofDevadaha, a small town inthe Sakya territory.Maya diedwhile giving birth to Sid-

dhartha and he was brought upby his aunt and step-motherPrajapati Gautami.

54. The site of nativity ofGautama Buddha is marked

by the celebrated Rummin-dei Pillar of Ashoka.

55. Siddhartha was mar-ried to Yashodara at the ageof 16. Yashodara was alsoknown as Bhadda Kachc-hana, Subhadraka, Bimbaor Gopa.

56. The Great Renunci-ation took place when Sid-hartha reached the age of 29.For six years he lived as ahomeless ascetic. At Uruvilahe practiced the most rigidausterities only to find thatthey were of no help to himto achieve his goal.

57. Sidhartha finally satunder apipal or Banyan tree

at modern Bodh Gaya, aftertaking a bath in the stream ofriver Nairanjana, modernLilajan. Here he attained thesupreme knowledge andinsight and became knownas Buddha or the Enlight-

ened One, Tathagata (hewho attained the truth) andSakya-muni or the sage ofthe Sakya clan.

58. The first sermon byBuddha was given in theDeer Park near Sarnath, inthe neighbourhood ofBenaras. This sermon wascalled the Turning of theWheel of Law, and was thenucleus of the Buddhist teach-ings.

59. Among Buddhasearly converts was hiscousin Devadatta who, sub-sequently broke away andfounded a rival sect that sur-vived in parts of Oudh andwestern Bengal till the Gup-ta period.

60. The Buddha is saidto have died at the age of 80at Kusinagar, modern Kasiain the Gorakhpur district ofUttar Pradesh.

61. Buddha taught hisfollowers the four NobleTruths (Arya Satya) con-cerning suffering, the causeof suffering, the destructionof suffering and the way thatleads to the destruction ofsorrow.

62. As per Buddhistteachings, salvation is pos-sible through the Eight-fold Path, which consistedof eight principles ofaction, leading to a bal-anced, moderate life (rightviews, resolves, speechconduct, livelihood, effort,recollection and medita-tion, the combination ofwhich was described asMiddle Way).

63. The doctrine of kar-ma was essential to the Bud-dhist way of salvation.

Unlike the brahmanical idea,karma was not used toexplain away caste status,since Buddha rejected caste.

64. Buddhism was athe-istic, in as much as God wasnot essential to the Universe,

there being a natural cosmicrise and decline.65. The acceptance of

nuns in the Buddhist monas-teries was a revolutionarystep from the point of viewof the status of women.

66. The earliest surviv-ing form of Buddhism,called Theravada, is stillpredominant in Sri Lankaand South-East Asian coun-tries.

67. Shortly after thedeath of Buddha a greatCouncil (Sangiti) was heldat Rajagriha to compile thereligious doctrine (Dharma)and the monastic code(Vinaya). A second councilwas convoked a century lat-er at Vaishali which con-demned the rules in respectof the ten points and revisedthe scriptures.

68. A fresh condemna-

tion of heresy took placeduring the reign of Ashoka,under whose patronage athird council was sum-moned at Pataliputra by alearned monk, Tisaa Mog-galiputta, 236 years afterBuddhas death.

69. The fourth councilwas held under Kanishkawhich prepared elaboratecommentaries (UpadeshShastras and Vibhasha Shas-tras) on the sacred texts.

70. According to SriLankan tradition, the sacredtexts and commentarieswere written down in booksin first century B.C. duringthe reign of King Vattaga-mani Abhaya. Later, thetexts, as distinguished fromthe commentaries, came to

be known as Pali.



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