What is History ?1. HISTORY IS SIMPLY THE STUDY OF PAST

2. STUDY OF MEN IN SOCIETY , ABOUT THEIR EVOLUTION

3. KNOWLEDGE WHICH TELL US THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARTS , SCIENCE IN PAST

4. “HERODOTUS” IS CONSIDERED AS THE FATHER OF HISTORY

5. THE SCHOLARS WHO WRITE ABOUT HISTORY ARE CALLED “HISTORIANS”

Scope of History

1. UNDERSTANDING THE TOTALITY OF PAST HUMAN ACTIONS

2. RECORDING THE PAST FACTS TO EXPLAIN AND

INTERPRET ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED , HOW IT

HAPPENED

3.  REFER TO THE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE WHICH USES A 

NARRATIVE TO EXAMINE AND ANALYSE A SEQUENCE

OF PAST EVENTS

Sources of History ( Indian)

1. LITERARY SOURCES

* INDIGENOUS LITERARY SOURCE – IT IS DIVIDED INTO TWO TYPES ‘SACRED’ AND ‘SECULAR’

1. “SACRED SOURCES ARE THE LITERATURE OF THE RELIGIONS”

2. DIVIDED INTO FOUR SOURCES – VEDIC , EPIC , SMRITI AND PURANAS.

* VEDIC LITERATURE - CHIEF SOURCES OF INFORMATION.

* FOUR IN NUMBERS – ‘RIG’ , ‘YAJUR’ , ‘SAMA’ AND ‘ATHARVA’

• THE GREAT EPICS ‘RAMAYANA’ AND ‘MAHABHARATA’

• MAHABHARATA INDICATES THE STRUGGLE OF

SUPREMACY AMONG ARYANS TRIBES WHEREAS THE

RAMAYANA SHOWS ARYANS COLONIZATION'S OF THE

SOUTH.

• THE SMRITI LITERATURE – CODES OF MANU ,

YAJNAWALKYA, NARADA AND PARASARA , USEFUL TO

KNOW ABOUT THE CONTEMPORARY LIFE.

• THE PURANAS , 18 IN NUMBER , IMPORTANT ARE VAYU ,

MATSYA , VISHNU , BRAHAMANANDA , AND

BHAGWATA.

2. ARCHAELOGICAL SOURCES

* EXCAVATIONS IN MOHENJO-DARO AND HARRAPPA HAVE REVEALED

THE CULTURE OF PEOPLE PRECEDED BY ARYANS.

* SEVERAL PLACES OF BUDDHIST SIGNIFICANCE ALSO EXCAVATED

LIKE IN NALANDA , SARNATH , SANCHI , INSCRIPTIONS AND

SCULPTURES BROUGHT TO LIGHT THROUGH EXCAVATION.

* COINS WERE MADE UP OF COPPER , SILVER AND EVEN OF GOLD

* COINS ARE USEFUL IN RECONSTRUCTION OF HISTORY

* BURNT CLAY (TABLETS) COINS WERE ALSO FOUND.