Ancient India for CDS

Ancient India questions in CDS are mostly one-line facts: which site had the dockyard, which traveller came in whose reign, which council split Buddhism. They look easy, which is why candidates lose marks on them. The options are built from pairs that sound alike: Fa-Hien and Hiuen Tsang, Gandhara and Mathura, Harappa and Mohenjo-daro.

This guide sorts the period into tables you can revise quickly, then lists the confusions examiners like to exploit.

The Harappan civilisation

The mature Harappan phase dates to c. 2600–1900 BCE. Harappa was excavated first, in 1921 under Daya Ram Sahni, and Mohenjo-daro in 1922 under R. D. Banerji. The civilisation was urban and Bronze Age: no iron, and its script is still undeciphered.

Common features: grid-planned streets, covered drains, standardised burnt bricks and weights, a citadel and a lower town at most large sites.

The Vedic age

The Early Vedic period is dated c. 1500–1000 BCE and the Later Vedic period c. 1000–600 BCE.

India's national motto, "Satyameva Jayate", comes from the Mundaka Upanishad. The Rigveda's tenth book contains the Purusha Sukta, the earliest mention of the four varnas.

Mahajanapadas, Buddhism and Jainism

Buddhist texts such as the Anguttara Nikaya list sixteen Mahajanapadas. Magadha became the strongest, first under Bimbisara and Ajatashatru (Haryanka dynasty), then the Shishunagas and the Nandas. Its capital moved from Rajagriha to Pataliputra.

Both new religions arose in this setting, and CDS likes to compare them.

The four Buddhist councils are a favourite matching question.

The Mauryas (c. 321–185 BCE)

• Chandragupta Maurya founded the empire with the help of Kautilya (Chanakya), author of the Arthashastra, a treatise on statecraft.
• Megasthenes, the envoy of Seleucus Nicator, lived at Chandragupta's court and wrote the Indica.
• Bindusara followed, then Ashoka, whose Kalinga war (c. 261 BCE) led him to the policy of dhamma.
• The dynasty ended when Pushyamitra Shunga killed the last Maurya, Brihadratha.

Ashoka's edicts are a topic on their own. Most are in Prakrit in the Brahmi script; those in the north-west use Kharosthi, and some in Afghanistan are in Greek and Aramaic. James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1837. Most edicts call the king Devanampiya Piyadasi; the name "Ashoka" appears in a few minor rock edicts such as Maski. Rock Edict XIII describes the Kalinga war. The lion capital from Sarnath is India's national emblem.

After the Mauryas

• Indo-Greeks: Menander (Milinda) is remembered through the Buddhist text Milindapanho, a dialogue with the monk Nagasena.
• Kushanas: Kanishka patronised Mahayana Buddhism and the fourth council. The Saka era (78 CE), the base of India's national calendar, is traditionally linked to him.
• Satavahanas ruled the Deccan.
• Sangam age in the far south: the Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdoms; Tamil literature including the grammar Tolkappiyam and the epic Silappadikaram.

The Guptas (c. 320–550 CE)

• Chandragupta I is linked to the start of the Gupta era (319–320 CE).
• Samudragupta's conquests are recorded in the Allahabad (Prayag) pillar inscription, composed by his court poet Harisena.
• Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya): the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hien visited during his reign. Kalidasa is traditionally placed at his court.
• Kumaragupta I is credited with founding Nalanda.
• Skandagupta resisted the Huns.

Science flourished: Aryabhata wrote the Aryabhatiya; Varahamihira wrote the Brihat Samhita. The rust-free iron pillar at Mehrauli, Delhi, belongs to this age.

Harsha and the south

Harshavardhana (606–647 CE) ruled from Kannauj. Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) visited during his reign and studied at Nalanda; Banabhatta wrote the Harshacharita. Harsha was checked on the Narmada by the Chalukya king Pulakeshin II, as the Aihole inscription records.

Travellers at a glance

Common confusions

• Harappan religion: there is no clear evidence of temples. Avoid options that describe a temple complex.
• Ashoka's script: the language is mostly Prakrit, the script mostly Brahmi. Don't swap language and script.
• Nalanda: founded under the Guptas, visited later by Hiuen Tsang. Vikramashila was founded later by the Pala king Dharmapala.
• Allahabad pillar: composed by Harisena for Samudragupta, not by Kalidasa.

Practice MCQs

1. The Great Bath was found at (a) Harappa (b) Mohenjo-daro (c) Lothal (d) Kalibangan
2. Which Veda contains spells and charms? (a) Rigveda (b) Sama Veda (c) Yajur Veda (d) Atharva Veda
3. "Satyameva Jayate" is taken from the (a) Rigveda (b) Mundaka Upanishad (c) Bhagavad Gita (d) Arthashastra
4. The fourth Buddhist council was held under (a) Ashoka (b) Ajatashatru (c) Kanishka (d) Harsha
5. Mahavira attained nirvana at (a) Kushinagar (b) Pawapuri (c) Sarnath (d) Vaishali
6. Which Ashokan edict describes the Kalinga war? (a) Rock Edict XIII (b) Pillar Edict VII (c) Maski edict (d) Rock Edict I
7. Who deciphered the Brahmi script? (a) William Jones (b) Alexander Cunningham (c) James Prinsep (d) John Marshall
8. The Allahabad pillar inscription was composed by (a) Kalidasa (b) Harisena (c) Banabhatta (d) Ravikirti
9. Fa-Hien visited India during the reign of (a) Harsha (b) Chandragupta Maurya (c) Chandragupta II (d) Kanishka
10. The Kailasa temple at Ellora was built under the (a) Pallavas (b) Rashtrakutas (c) Cholas (d) Chalukyas of Badami

Answers:

1. (b) Harappa is known for granaries, not the bath.
2. (d) The Atharva Veda deals with spells, charms and remedies.
3. (b) It is from the Mundaka Upanishad.
4. (c) Kanishka's council in Kashmir; the third was under Ashoka.
5. (b) Pawapuri; Kushinagar is where the Buddha died.
6. (a) Rock Edict XIII records Ashoka's remorse after Kalinga.
7. (c) James Prinsep, in 1837.
8. (b) Harisena, Samudragupta's court poet; Ravikirti wrote the Aihole inscription.
9. (c) Chandragupta II; Hiuen Tsang came under Harsha.
10. (b) Krishna I of the Rashtrakutas.

Revise this

The story continues in medieval India; for temples and sculpture in more depth, see art and culture for CDS.

• I can place eight Harappan sites and one feature of each.
• I can name what each of the four Vedas contains.
• I can fill the Buddhism–Jainism table from memory.
• I know the four Buddhist councils with place and patron.
• I can state the language and scripts of Ashoka's edicts and who deciphered Brahmi.
• I can match Megasthenes, Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang and I-Tsing to their rulers.
• I can tell Gandhara, Mathura and Amaravati art apart by material.