Themes of Indian History Part 1 Flashcards
(148 cards)
1
Q
Grains found at Harappan sites include
A
wheat, barley, lentil, chickpea and sesame.
2
Q
Millets are found from sites in
A
Gujarat
3
Q
terracotta models of the plough have been found at sites in
A
Cholistan and at Banawali (Haryana).
4
Q
Archaeologists have also found evidence of a
ploughed field at
A
Kalibangan (Rajasthan),
associated with Early Harappan levels
5
Q
Traces of canals have been found at
the Harappan site of
A
Shortughai in Afghanistan but not in Punjab or Sind.
6
Q
water reservoirs found in may
have been used to store water for agriculture
A
Dholavira (Gujarat)
7
Q
grinding equipment as well as vessels
for mixing, blending and cooking. These were made of
A
stone, metal and terracotta
8
Q
, Further Excavations at Mohenjodaro, 1937 author
A
ERNEST MACKAY
9
Q
the first site urban center to be discovered
was
A
Harappa.
10
Q
the first Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), often called the father of Indian archaeology
A
Alexander Cunningham,
11
Q
At sites such as the entire settlement was fortified, and
sections within the town were also separated by walls
A
Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat),
12
Q
The Citadel within was not walled off, but was built at a height.
A
Lothal
13
Q
Drainage system in Harappa was described by
A
ERNEST MACKAY
14
Q
little pots of this material were probably considered
precious because they were difficult to make
A
faience (a material made of ground sand or silica mixed with colour and a gum and then fired
15
Q
Hoards are
A
objects kept carefully by people, often inside
containers such as pots. eg gold
16
Q
almost exclusively devoted to craft production, including bead-making, shell-cutting, metal-working, seal-making and weight-making
A
Chanhudaro
17
Q
Specialised drills have been found at
A
Chanhudaro, Lothal and more recently at Dholavira.
18
Q
These were specialised centres for making shell objects – including bangles, ladles and inlay –
A
Nageshwar and Balakot
19
Q
established settlements such as Nageshwar and
Balakot in areas where
A
shell was available
20
Q
Lothal which was near sources of
A
carnelian (from Bharuch in Gujarat),
21
Q
There is evidence in the Khetri area for what archaeologists call the
A
Ganeshwar -Jodhpura culture, with its distinctive non-Harappan pottery and an unusual wealth of copper objects.
22
Q
copper for Harappa came from
A
Oman and Rajasthan
23
Q
Name given to Oman in Mesopotamia texts
A
Magan
24
Q
Mesopotamian texts mention contact with regions named
A
Dilmun (probably the island of Bahrain), Magan and
Meluhha, possibly the Harappan region
25
Mesopotamian texts refer to this region as a land of seafarers
Meluhha
26
weights made up of
chert with no marking
27
weights in Harappa
lower weights binary and higher weights decimal
28
way of life in what are called “Late
| Harappan” or “successor cultures
Rural way of life
29
Mohenjodaro and the Indus Civilisation, 1931. author
JOHN MARSHALL,
30
Harappa 1946”, Ancient India, 1947. author
R.E.M. WHEELER, “
31
“The Mythical Massacre at Mohenjodaro”, Expediton, 1964 author
G.F. DALES,
32
Deadman Lane theory by
JOHN MARSHALL
33
then Director-General of the ASI, tried to correlate this archaeological evidence with that of the Rigveda, the earliest known text in the subcontinent
R.E.M. Wheeler,
34
then Director-General of the ASI, tried to correlate this archaeological evidence with that of the Rigveda, the earliest known text in the subcontinent
R.E.M. Wheeler,
35
He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinentbetween the fourth and seventh centuries CE to locate
early settlements of Harappan civilization
Cunningham
36
seals were discovered at Harappa by
| archaeologists such as
Daya Ram Sahni
37
found similar seals at Mohenjodaro
Rakhal Das Banerji
38
in 1924, announced the discovery of a new civilisation in the Indus valley to the world
John Marshall, Dir ector -General of the ASI,
39
in 1924, announced the discovery of a new civilisation in the Indus valley to the world
John Marshall, Dir ector -General of the ASI,
40
He was the first professional archaeologist to work in India, and brought his experience of working in Greece and Crete to the field
John Marshall,
41
recognised that it was necessary to follow the stratigraphy of the mound rather than dig mechanically along uniform horizontallines.
R.E.M. Wheeler,
42
My Archaeological Mission to India and Pakistan, 1976 author
R.E.M. Wheeler,
43
Shamans are
men and women who claim magical and healing powers, as well as an ability to communicate with the other world
44
New modes of disposal of the dead, including the making of elaborate stone structures known as
megaliths, emerged in central and south India from the first millennium BC
45
an officer in the mint of the East
| India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi
James Prinsep,
46
some mahajanpadas were ruled by
Gana or sanghas= Oligarchies
47
the case of the the rajas probably controlled resources such as land collectively
Vajji sangha,
48
Brahmanas began composing Sanskrit texts known as the
Dharmasutras
49
Initially was the capital of Magadha
Rajagaha (the Prakrit name for presentday
Rajgir in Bihar) Later, in the fourth century BCE, the
capital was shifted to Pataliputra, present-day
Patna, commanding routes of communication along
the Ganga
50
(a Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya
Megasthenes
51
(a Greek ambassador to the court of Chandragupta Maurya
Megasthenes
52
There were five major political centres in the
| empire –
the capital Pataliputra and the provincial
centres of Taxila, Ujjayini, Tosali and Suvarnagiri,
all mentioned in Asokan inscriptions.
53
was possibly important for tapping the gold mines
| of Karnataka
Suvarnagiri (literally, the golden mountain)
54
These centres were carefully chosen, being situated
| on important long-distance trade routes
both Taxila and Ujjayini
55
excerpt of what kings official did
Megasthenes
56
mentions a committee with six
| subcommittees for coordinating military activity
Megasthenes
57
The new kingdoms that emerged in the Deccan and
| further south, including
the chiefdoms of the Cholas,
Cheras and Pandyas in Tamilakam (the name of the
ancient Tamil country, which included parts of
present-day Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, in addition
to Tamil Nadu)
58
Satavahanas who ruled over parts of
western and central India
59
story of The Pandya chief Senguttuvan visits the forest mentioned in
Silappadikaram, an epic written in Tamil
60
```
the Kushanas (c. first century BCEfirst
century CE), who ruled over a vast kingdom
```
extending from Central Asia to northwest India
61
Colossal statues of Kushana rulers have been
| found installed in a shrine at
Mat near Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).
62
adopted the title devaputra, or “son of god”, possibly
inspired by Chinese rulers who called themselves
sons of heave
Many Kushana rulers
63
samantas in empire of
Gupta
64
The Prayaga Prashasti (also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription) composed in Sanskrit by
Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta, arguably the most powerful of the Gupta rulers
65
Sudarshana lake
an artificial reservoir.
mentioned in rock inscription(c. second century CE) in Sanskrit, composed to record the achievements of the Shaka ruler Rudradaman.
built by a local governor during the rule of the Mauryas
66
describes the plight of the subjects of a wicked king;
these included elderly women and men, cultivators,
herders, village boys and even animals
Gandatindu Jataka
67
Vellar
Large landowners
68
Vellalar
Large landowners
69
adimai
slaves
70
uzhavar
ploughmen
71
gahapati
large landowner
72
gahapati in pali texts refers to
large landowner
A gahapati was the owner, master or head of a household, who exercised control over the women,
children, slaves and workers who shared a common
residence
73
Life in a small village on the outskirts of a
| forest in the Vindhyas is mentioned in this excerpt
The Harshacharita
74
was the daughter of one of the most important rulers in early Indian history, Chandragupta II
Prabhavati Gupta
75
Prabhavati Gupta and the village of Danguna story ,mentioned in charter engraved by
Chakradasa
76
An agrahara was
land granted to a Brahmana, who was usually exempted from paying land revenue and other dues to
the king, and was often given the right to collect these dues from the local people
77
chinese pilgrim visited Patliputra and found it in ruines
Xuan Zang
78
Votive inscriptions
record gifts made to religious institutions
79
Archaeological evidence of a bead-making industry, using precious and semi-precious stones, has been found in
Kodumanal (Tamil Nadu
80
The Malabar coast (present-day Kerala) trade mentioned in
Here is an excerpt from Periplus of the Erythraean Sea,
| composed by an anonymous Greek sailor (c. first century CE):
81
There are imported at bMalabar coast , in the first place, a great quantity of
coin; topaz … antimony (a mineral used as a colouring substance), coral, crude glass, copper, tin, lead
82
“Periplus” is a Greek word meaning
ailing around and
“Erythraean” was the Greek
name for the Red Sea
83
Names for successful merchants
masattuvan in Tamil and setthis and satthavahas in Prakrit
84
The first coins to bear the names and images of
| rulers were issued by
the Indo-Greeks, who established control over the north-western part of the subcontinent c. second century BCE
85
The first gold coins were issued c. first century CE
| by the
Kushanas
86
hoards of Roman coins have been found from archaeological sites in
south India.
87
Coins were also issued by tribal republics such
| as that of the
Yaudheyas of Punjab and Haryana (copper coins)
88
Some of the most spectacular gold coins were
| issued by the
Gupta rulers
89
Devanampiya Piyadassi:
Ashoka
90
Pativedaka in ashokan inscription means
reporter
91
contains a list of successive generations of teachers and students, many of whom were designated by
metronymics.
The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
92
were identified through metronymics (names derived from that of the mother).
Satavahana rulers
93
Satavahanas we know that succession to the throne
| was generally
patrilineal.
94
Purusha sukta , describing the sacrifice of
| Purusha, the primeval man mentioned in
Rigveda
95
Shakas who came b from Central Asia, were regarded as
mlechchhas
96
the best-known Shaka ruler (c. second century CE), rebuilt Sudarshana lake
Rudradaman,
97
Sanskrit texts and inscriptions mused the term to designate merchants
vanik
98
Mrichchhakatika written by
Shudraka
99
hero Charudatta was described as both a Brahmana
| and a sarthavaha or merchant in this play
Mrichchhakatika
100
included handling corpses and dead animals. Those who performed such tasks, designated as
chandalas
101
wrote that “untouchables” had to sound a clapper in the streets so that people could avoid seeing
them.
Fa Xian
102
observed that executioners and scavengers were forced to live outside the city.
Xuan Zang (c. seventh century),
103
a Pali text, where the Bodhisatta (the Buddha in a previous birth) is identified as a chandala
Matanga Jataka ,
104
is part of a dialogue between a king named Avantiputta and a disciple of the Buddha named Kachchana ;
Buddhist attitudes towards varna.
Majjhima Nikaya
105
, one of the anthologies of poems of the Tamil Sangam literature describing The poor generous chief
In
Puranaruru
106
In a myth found in a text known as the Buddhists suggested that originally human beings did not have fully evolved bodily forms, nor was the world of plants fully developed.
Sutta Pitaka
107
Mahasamatta meaning
king in Sutta Patika
108
sutas
who generally accompanied Kshatriya warriors
to the battlefield and composed poems celebrating
their victories and other achievements
109
FROM SHAHJEHAN BEGUM, NAWAB OF BHOPAL (ruled 1868-1901),
| Taj- ul Iqbal Tarikh Bhopal (A History of Bhopal), translated by
H.D. Barstow, 1876.
110
The rulers of Bhopal, Shahjehan Begum and her
successor Sultan Jehan Begum, provided money for
the preservation of the ancient site.
Sanchi Stupa
111
that dedicated his important volumes
| on Sanchi to Sultan Jehan
John Marshall
112
– literally, a hut with a pointed roof – or in groves where travelling mendicants halted.
kutagarashala
113
Verses from the Upanishads The nature of the self AND The true sacrifice
Chhandogya Upanishad
114
fter his death (c. fifth-fourth century BCE) his
teachings were compiled by his disciples at a council of “elders” or senior
monks at Vesali
Tipitaka
115
included rules and regulations for those who joined the
| sangha or monastic order
The Vinaya Pitaka
116
Buddha’s teachings were included in the
Sutta
| Pitaka;
117
dealt with philosophical matter
Abhidhamma Pitaka
118
As Buddhism travelled to new regions such as Sri Lanka, other texts such
as the were written
Dipavamsa (literally, the chronicle of the island) and Mahavamsa (the
great chronicle)
119
describing a
conversation between king Ajatasattu, the ruler of
Magadha, and the Buddha:
Sutta Pitaka;
120
Makkhali Gosala, BELONGED TO
Ajivikas
121
Ajivikas
FATALISTS
122
Lokayatas, usually described as
materialists
123
the Uttaradhyayana Sutta
Prakrit text relted to jainism Svetamber
124
the Uttaradhyayana Sutta
Prakrit text relted to jainism Svetamber
125
describing how a queen named Kamalavati
| tried to persuade her husband to renounce the world
the Uttaradhyayana Sutta
126
Jaina scholars produced a wealth of
| literature in a variety of languages –
Prakrit, Sanskrit
| and Tamil
127
is a biography of
| a saint or religious leader
Hagiography
128
( anatta)
soulless
129
advice given by the Buddha to a wealthy householder
| named Sigala... five ways should a master look after his servants
Sutta Patika
130
nibbana,
literally the extinguishing of the ego and
| desire
131
one of the Buddha’s dearest
disciples, who persuaded him to allow women
into the sangh
Ananda,
132
The Buddha’s foster mother,
i was the first woman to be
ordained as a bhikkhuni
Mahapajapati Gotam
133
respected women who had
| attained liberation in Budhism
theris,
134
collection of verses composed by bhikkhunis...Punna, a dasi or slave woman, went to the river each
morning to fetch water for her master’s household
The Therigatha
135
The importance attached
to conduct and values in Buddhism rather than claims ofsuperiority based on birth, the emphasis placed on
metta (fellow feeling) and karuna (compassion),
metta (fellow feeling) and karuna (compassion),
136
(Lumbini),
where he was born
137
(Bodh Gaya)
where he attained enlightenment
138
(Sarnath)
where he gave his first sermon
139
Kusinagara
where he attained nibbana
140
These came to be called the
| Elliot marbles after him.)
Amravati stupa
141
“It seems
to me a suicidal and indefensible policy
to allow the country to be looted of
original works of ancient art
H.H. Cole
142
Vessantara jataka on
Sanchi Stupa
143
This is a story about a generous prince who
gave away everything to a
Brahmana
Vessantara jataka
144
wheel
1st sermon of Buddha
145
motif suggests that many people who turned to Buddhism enriched it with their own pre-Buddhist and even non-Buddhist beliefs
The shalabhanjika
146
Interestingly, one of the
| earliest modern art historiansn, considered Sanchi to be a centre of tree and serpent worship
, James Fergusso
147
The Varaha or boar avatar of
| Vishnu rescuing the earth goddess, at
Aihole (Karnataka
148
Vishnu reclining on the serpent
| Sheshnag, sculpture from
Deogarh
| (Uttar Pradesh),
