Early Indian Notions of History

Subject: History

Unit: Reconstructing Ancient Indian History

Lesson: Early Indian Notions of History

Lesson Developers : Dr. Naina Dayal
College/Department: Assistant Professor, St. Stephen's
College, University of Delhi

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 Early Indian Notions of History

Table of contents

Chapter 1: Indian history

• Early Indian notions of history
• Exercises
• Summary
• Further readings
• Glossary

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1.2: Early Indian notions of history

Did early Indians lack a sense of history?

It is often said that the first truly historical work produced in India was Kalhana's
Rajatarangini (River of Kings). This consists of eight books, each called a taranga
(wave), and is composed in Sanskrit verse. The Rajatarangini contains an account of the
rulers of Kashmir, from the earliest ones to those of the 12th century CE, the period of
its author. Kalhana was a brahmana, the son of a minister, and he drew on a range of
sources -- monuments, coins, inscriptions, royal orders, manuscripts and his family
members' and his own recollections of recent times -- to write his history of Kashmir. He
also attempted to explain past events, but often ended up invoking fate. Nevertheless,
the Rajatarangini, with its awareness of evidence, interest in causation and sequential
narrative, is recognizable as a work of history. However, it is a text of the early 2nd
millennium CE.

When 18th/19th century European scholars looked for histories of early India, they found
very little that conformed to their idea of what a history should be. They concluded that
early India was deficient in history-writing. This lack was linked with Indian notions of
time. Indian scales of time were regarded as fantastically large, and Indians were
accused of subscribing to the view that time flows in cycles, according to which every
period of time invariably returns, every event is repeated, and nothing is unique. And
the theory of cyclical time was regarded as a hindrance to the development of a true,
linear historical sense. While nationalist histories developed in opposition to imperial
frames, scholars like R.C. Majumdar, nevertheless, accepted the idea that history was
relatively underdeveloped as a branch of early Indian literature.

Value addition: did you know?

What James Mill had to say about the 'chronology and
ancient history of the Hindus'
James Mill's enormously influential The History of British India was first published
in 1817. It was used as a text-book at the 'East India College' at Haileybury,
close to London, where young men were trained before being posted to India.
This is what Mill has to say at the beginning of the first chapter of the first volume
of his three-volume History:

'Rude nations seem to derive a peculiar gratification from pretensions to a remote

antiquity. As a boastful and turgid vanity distinguishes remarkably the oriental
nations they have in most instances carried their claims extravagantly high….

The present age of the world, according to the system of the Hindus, is
distinguished into four grand periods, denominated yugas. The first is the Satya
yuga, comprehending 1,728,000 years; the second the Treta yuga,

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comprehending 1,296,000 years; the third the Dwapar yuga, including 864,000
years; and the fourth the Kali yuga, which will extend to 432,000 years. Of these
periods the first three are expired, and in the year 1817 of the Christian era,
4911 of the last. From the commencement, therefore, of the Satya yuga, to the
present time, is comprehended a space of 3,892,911 years, the antiquity to which
this people lay claim.'

Mill roundly condemns such 'Hindu statements' which are 'not only carried to the
wildest pitch of extravagance, but are utterly inconsistent', and pronounces that
their 'wildness and inconsistency … place them beyond the sober limits of truth
and history'.
Source: Mill, James. 1990 reprint. The History of British India. Vol. 1.
New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 24, 27.

It is, however, possible to adopt a different approach. Romila Thapar makes a distinction
between 'embedded history' and 'externalized history'. Embedded history is where
historical consciousness can only be extracted with effort, as in myth, epic and
genealogy. Externalized history, on the other hand, exhibits a more evident historical
consciousness, as in chronicles of regions and biographies of figures of authority. If we
understand history as a mode of reflecting about the past, we can argue that a sense of
history is present in a branch of early Indian literature -- in the itihasa-purana
tradition. Even texts that invoke divine forces and narratives that are set in cosmological
time embed within themselves a commentary on their present, while at the same time
giving an account of the past.

The dana-stutis and other fragmentary narratives in Vedic

literature

Romila Thapar writes that embedded forms of history tend to be scattered. She draws
attention to the dana-stutis that are found in different parts of the Rig Veda (c. 2nd
millennium BCE). These are hymns in praise of gifts: bards composed eulogies on their
patrons who were often clan chiefs. The occasion for a stuti was a successful cattle raid
against a neighbouring community in which the chief and his followers captured a large
number of cattle. From the wealth he had acquired, the chief gave the bard cattle,
horses, gold, chariots and slave girls; and the bard recorded the hero's generosity in a
stuti, usually naming the donor. However, the dana-stutis were not just records of past
liberality, they also indicated what was expected from chiefs. Bards claimed that they
could bestow immortality on their patrons, and it is true that we know of some rajas
from the dana-stutis.

Extolling the raja's deeds was a part of sacrifices like the ashvamedha. From later Vedic
texts (c. 1st half of the 1st millennium BCE) we gather that a horse was let loose to
wander for a year as part of the yajna. During that period, vinagathins or lute-players -
- one a brahmana, the other a kshatriya -- sang about the raja's ritual and heroic
accomplishments every day at the place of sacrifice. One can note that only particular

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kinds of information were preserved in the stutis and the songs of the vinagathins --
what was important from the point of view of their bardic or brahmana or kshatriya
composers. The achievements of rajas were recorded. Not surprisingly, the composers of
such eulogies did not proclaim their patrons' failures. One can also note that it is likely
that many of the narratives that were later incorporated in the Sanskrit epics and
Puranas developed from such stutis and gathas (songs), as also from Vedic akhyanas
(cycles of stories that commemorated heroes).

The Sanskrit epics: the Ramayana of Valmiki and the Mahabharata

of Vyasa

Traditionally, the events of the Rama story are placed in the Tretayuga, and those of the
Mahabharata at the juncture between the Dvapara and Kali yugas; and the Kaliyuga is
believed to have begun in 3102 BCE. The Ramayana informs us that Valmiki saw Rama's
story with his mind's eye and turned the vision into the Ramayana; he did so when
Rama was ruling his kingdom. The Mahabharata tells us that Vyasa rose daily for three
years and created the Mahabharata; he did so after the Kurukshetra war, which ushered
in the Kaliyuga. The texts' information about their creation does not tally with the views
of modern scholars on the period of composition of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
There is broad agreement among scholars that, while the kernel of the stories contained
in the texts may date back to the early centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, as we have
them now, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are products of the final centuries BCE
and early centuries CE.

Value addition: did you know?

What does the word 'epic' mean? Why are the Ramayana and
the Mahabharata regarded as epics?
Epics recount tales of great heroes who undergo a series of adventures that test
their virtue and valour. Their stories encompass features like disputed succession
to an ancestral realm, abducted or humiliated wives, journeys through dangerous
uncharted lands and bloody wars – their heroes survive all this to emerge
victorious. In the form in which we have them, epics look back at a heroic age
that has passed and glorify values like bravery, honour, fortitude and unswerving
obedience to duty. Their heroes tend to have a special relationship with the gods
– an epic hero could be a part or an incarnation of a god, for instance. So, these
texts bring together the human and divine realms, often in the person of the
hero.

As a genre, the epic is not only narrative and heroic, it also tends to be oral in
origin. And since such texts have generally been transmitted orally, their stories
have been told in a particular way. Each narrator has recounted the tale in his
own manner – dwelling, for instance, on a part that he likes or considers
important, elucidating right and wrong, and so on. In the process, epics have
changed and grown. They begin with a core text that describes historical
happenings. Fresh material keeps on being introduced around this – later events,

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new values and didactic matter are added on and, during the evolution of an epic,
the scale of the core incident is also hugely inflated. Since all manner of material
is added to such texts repeatedly over a long period of time, we cannot speak of
a narrowly defined ‘epic age’.

The Ramayana and the Mahabharata display the features of epics. They are
narrative and heroic, and it is believed that the political situation they reflect
predates the period of their composition, that they look back at a past age. They
are generally held to be oral in origin. And scholars like J.L. Brockington have
argued that the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, like other epics, were composed
over a long period of time.
Source: Original

Traditionally, the Ramayana is regarded as a kavya -- a poem about idealized

characters, the Mahabharata is not. The latter is classified as itihasa, literally, 'thus (iti)
indeed (ha) it was (asa)'. However, we cannot say with certainty whether or not all the
events described in either epic are factually correct. Rather, modern scholars argue that
the Ramayana and the Mahabharata reflect historical processes of change. For instance,
Romila Thapar draws attention to the difference in the system of governance in the
chronologically early and late portions of the Mahabharata. She writes that while much of
the early layer indicates a period a little before the emergence of the monarchical state,
the later sections assume the existence of well-established monarchies, and the text
suggests the transition from 'lineage to state'. Given that both the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata are concerned with enduring problems for rulers, such as determining the
heir to the throne, it is not surprising that the two texts contain genealogies. The
Mahabharata contains the genealogy of the lunar line (chandravamsha), and the
Ramayana contains the genealogy of the solar line (suryavamsha). While these
genealogies may not be literally true, they do reflect an attempt to capture and order the
past or, to put it another way, a historical consciousness.

Value addition: what the sources say

The Bhrigus and the Mahabharata
Apart from genealogies of rulers, the Sanskrit epics contain genealogies of sages.
Here is one of the genealogies of the Bhrigus, an unconventional line of brahmanas,
who are an important presence in the Mahabharata:

'The blessed Lord Bhrigu issued forth by breaking open Brahma's heart. Bhrigu begot
the wise Shukra….A master of Yoga, he became the sagacious guru of the Daityas as
well as the Gods, remaining a celibate of wisdom and strict vows. And while this son
of Bhrigu was thus charged by the omnipresent One with the well-being of the
creatures, Bhrigu begot another flawless son, Chyavana, of the blazing
austerities….Manu's daughter Arushi became the wise Chyavana's wife, and from her
was born the greatly famous Aurva….His son was Richika, who begot Jamadagni.
Jamagadni begot four great-spirited sons, the last being Rama, not the least
endowed with virtues, skilled in all weapons and missiles, willful destroyer of the
barons [kshatriyas].'

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In the Mahabharata, the Bhrigus act in ways that do not conform to the norms of
conduct for brahmanas set forth in the literature on dharma, including the
Mahabharata itself. They are associated with violence -- they are sometimes hostile
to kshatriyas, and sometimes even to the gods. Rama (Parashu Rama), for instance,
is said to have destroyed the kshatriyas of the earth over and over again. One can
ask why genealogies of sages are found in a text about a feud in a kshatriya family.
Perhaps such genealogies were important because they preserved information about
the legitimate transmission of knowledge. And the Bhrigu brahmanas are associated
with the codification and transmission of the Mahabharata within the text.
Source: van Buitenen, J. A. B. trans. 1973. The Mahabharata: The Book of
the Beginning. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 149-50.

The Puranas

The Puranas, as we know them, are likely to have been composed from about the 4th-
5th centuries CE. The word purana refers to that which belongs to the past, and the
texts known as the Puranas suggest how the past was seen in the mid-1st millennium
CE. The Puranas contain narratives of beginnings. We are told, for instance, that the
earth was ruled by the Manus, of whom the first -- Manu Svayambhu -- was born of the
god Brahma. A great flood occurred at the time of a later Manu. Everything was
submerged, but Manu, his family and seven sages survived. Manu's children became the
ancestors to many lineages. In some versions of the story, Manu's eldest son --
Ikshvaku -- is said to be the ancestor of the suryavamsha, and the youngest child -- Ila -
- the progenitor of the chandravamsha. We gather that rulers of the solar and lunar
lineages ruled till the Mahabharata war. That event is a time-marker: after an account of
the war, the narrative goes on to chronicle the dynasties of the Kaliyuga, the present
corrupt age. Not surprisingly, the kings of the post-war period are depicted as inferior to
the suryavamshi and chandravamshi descendants of Manu's progeny. They are often not
of kshatriya stock, as rulers of the past were. It is evident that people of mixed caste,
those regarded as outcastes, shudras, foreigners and others of impure origin, as well as
upstarts could wield power in the Kaliyuga. The listing of dynasties and their kings brings
the account up to about the mid-1st millennium CE.

Value addition: interesting details

Genealogies in the future tense
Statements about what happened after the Mahabharata war are made in the future
tense in Puranic genealogies. So, the narrator says: 'I will now enumerate the kings
who will reign in future periods….' It is evident that the past lay in events that took
place before the war. The dynasties of the post-war period include the Shishunaga,
Nanda, Maurya, Shunga, Kanva and Andhra. The Guptas are mentioned towards the
end of the genealogical lists, and we are told that they will rule over the territories of
Prayaga, Saketa and Magadha. Does this indicate that the genealogies were put
together in the Gupta period? Was the future tense used so as to suggest that these
rulers were destined to rule? To assert their right to rule?
Source: Original

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There is much in the Puranic genealogies that can be dismissed as fiction. However, it is
important to note that many of the rulers mentioned in these genealogies are also
known from other sources -- from inscriptions and coins, for instance. It seems that
traditions of recording the names of rulers as well as the duration of their reigns existed
in early India. The Puranic genealogies were one form in which such information was
preserved. One may also note that genealogies become significant at times that witness
attempts to either contest or consolidate power. Invoking genealogies at such times can
be seen as a way of claiming an exalted status, and this would have been especially
important when such claims were tenuous. And scholars like Romila Thapar have drawn
attention to the fact that rulers of the post-Gupta period, many of them former
underdogs, started latching on to kshatriya genealogies to legitimize their power.

Prashastis and charitas

The Sanskrit epics and Puranas were composed in fairly simple Sanskrit verse. Although
Sanskrit learning was largely the preserve of the upper castes, and of brahmana men in
particular, these texts suggest that their contents may have been recounted before
audiences that included women and the lower castes. In other words, all sections of
society might have had access to the genealogies contained in the epics and Puranas.
But there were other texts that were probably meant for a more exclusive, elite
audience. These were usually written in ornate Sanskrit, and were associated with the
royal court. This category of texts includes prashastis (eulogistic inscriptions) and
charitas (accounts of the lives of great men).

While some of the earliest prashastis are in Prakrit, the best known are in Sanskrit. Such
inscriptions became common from around the 4th century CE. Perhaps the most famous
prashasti is Samudragupta's 4th century CE Allahabad pillar inscription, which is
inscribed on an Ashokan pillar. It was composed by Samudragupta's court poet and
minister, Harishena, in Sanskrit prose and verse, and eulogizes the Gupta king's military
achievements, cultural accomplishments and personality. It describes his victories over
the rulers of north India, and his expeditions to south India. It mentions rulers elsewhere
who acknowledged his supremacy. Samudragupta is depicted as an able and
compassionate king, his scholarship is praised, as are his musical performances and
poetry. While it is likely that some of the descriptions of Samudragupta's exploits are
true, it is important to remember that the text was composed by the king's court poet as
a panegyric.

Banabhatta's Harshacharita is the oldest surviving royal biography in India, and one of
the best known. This 7th century CE text in complex Sanskrit prose presents a glowing
picture of Banabhatta's patron -- Harshavardhana. It contains an account of the ruler's
ancestry and his early life, and culminates with his accession to the thrones of Thanesar
and Kanauj. Not surprisingly, prashastis and charitas depict their authors' patrons as

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ideal monarchs. This apart, it has been suggested that both kinds of eulogistic
compositions may have been especially useful in situations where rulers were somewhat
vulnerable. The Allahabad prashasti hints at a conflict regarding Samudragupta's claims
to the Gupta throne, and Harsha became king after the sudden death of his elder brother
and also claimed the kingdom of his deceased brother-in-law. These two rulers may not
have been the obvious choice for rulership. And one can ask whether prashastis and
charitas can be understood as means of legitimizing kings whose right to the throne
could have been questioned.

Value addition: what the sources say

The Harshacharita and Banabhatta
Given below is a long, complex , eulogistic sentence from the Harshacharita, which is
typical of the genre of charita:

'He [Harsha] was embraced by the goddess of Royal Prosperity, who took him in her
arms, and, seizing him by all the royal marks on all his limbs, forced him, however
reluctant, to mount the throne -- and this though he had taken a vow of austerity
and did not swerve from his vow, hard like grasping the edge of a sword; clinging
closely to duty through fear of stumbling in the uneven path of kings, and attended
with all her heart by Truth who had been abandoned by all other kings, but had
obtained his promise of protection, and waited on reverentially by the reflected
images of a fair handmaid standing near, which fell on his toe-nails, as if they were
the ten directions of space impersonate.'

In his biography of Harsha, Banabhatta also tells his audience about himself.
Interestingly, he describes himself as a Bhrigu brahmana. As has been mentioned
above, the Bhrigus are associated with the Mahabharata. In this way, among others,
Banabhatta links himself and his text with the itihasa tradition.
Source: Singh, Upinder. 2008. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India:
From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. New Delhi: Pearson Education, 31;
Pathak, V. S. 1966. Ancient Historians of India: A Study in Historical
Biographies. Bombay: Asia Publishing House, 32-39.

Parallel traditions of historical writing and dating systems

There were traditions of historical writing other than those that were related to rulers.
One tradition was that of the Buddhist monastic chronicle. While focusing on the sangha
or monastic order, it included more general information about the history of the period.
Maintaining such records probably became more important as monasteries became
wealthy institutions, attracting patronage from the rich and the powerful. One may
mention as examples the Dipavamsa and the Mahavamsa, or the Sri Lankan chronicles,
both composed in Pali in the mid-1st millennium CE, but narrating events from earlier
periods. The Dipavamsa focuses on the coming of Buddhism to Sri Lanka and the
establishment of the sangha. The Mahavamsa covers the same themes but also
highlights the history of the Mahavihara monastery, to which the author belonged. The

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history of the sangha was integrated with the political history of Sri Lanka, and even with
the rule of the Mauryas in India, for Ashoka is said to have sent his son Mahinda to
spread the message of Buddhism to the island. The Buddhists not only maintained
records of this sort, they also developed a system of chronology, where major events
were dated in terms of the number of years from the death of the Buddha.

There were other systems of dating as well. One involved the use of regnal years. This
was a system in which kings took the first year of their reign as the starting point,
counting the years of their rule from that beginning. This system was used by the
Mauryan ruler Ashoka, who used dates derived from the time of his consecration. So, for
instance, his 13th Major Rock Edict tells us that he conquered Kalinga when he had been
consecrated eight years. Many different eras were also used in early India. Examples
include the Vikrama era of 58 BCE, the Shaka era of 78 CE and the Gupta era of 319-20
CE. It is clear that cyclical time was not the only concept of time known to people in
early India. Linear time, too, was used extensively -- in genealogies, biographies and
chronicles, for instance. It is also clear that different categories of early Indian texts
exhibit a sense of history. We cannot always be sure of the historicity of their contents,
but we can be sensitive to the ways in which they demonstrate a historical
consciousness. We must remember, however, that these texts suggest how elites
reflected on the past, how they recorded and ordered it.

1.2: Exercises

Essay questions
1) What do you understand by the term 'history'? Do you think early Indians lacked a
sense of history?

2) What does the word 'epic' mean? Why are the Ramayana and the Mahabharata
classified as epics? How do they demonstrate a historical consciousness?

1.2 Objective questions

Question Number Type of question LOD

1 True or False 1

Question
The Rig Veda contains dana-stutis.

Correct Answer /
True
Option(s)

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Justification/ Feedback for the correct answer

The dana-stutis of the Rig Veda (c. 2nd millennium BCE) are hymns in praise of gifts.
Bards composed eulogies on their patrons who were often clan chiefs. A dana-stuti
mentions the gifts received by its composer, and usually the name of his benefactor.
And historians know of some rajas from the dana-stutis. Some scholars regard these
records as the 'earliest histories' of ancient India.

Resource/Hints/Feedback for the wrong answer

Reviewer’s Comment:

Question Number Type of question LOD

2 Match the following 2

Question
Match the following:

a) Gupta era i) dynasties of the Kaliyuga

b) Nanda and Kanva ii) account of the life of a great man

c) charita iii) 319-320 CE

d) Dipavamsa iv) Sri Lanka

Correct Answer /
a) and iii), b) and i), c) and ii), d) and iv)
Option(s)

Justification/ Feedback for the correct answer

a) Perhaps the best known dynastic era is the Gupta era of 319-320 CE. This was
projected as beginning from the year of accession of the first important Gupta king,
Chandragupta I. Interestingly, the use of the era began with retrospective effect,
from the time of Chandragupta II, around 80 years after it was supposed to begin. It
was only after they had consolidated their power that Gupta rulers started an era,
pushing back their claims to power as far back as possible.

b) The Nanda and Kanva dynasties appear in Puranic genealogies. They are

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presented as dynasties of the period after the Mahabharata war, which is said to
have ushered in the Kaliyuga, the present dark age. These were historical dynasties,
and such information in Puranic genealogies indicates that these records cannot be
dismissed as pure fiction, even if they seem rather fanciful at times.

c) Charitas were meant to be accounts of the lives of great men. Most of the charitas
that survive are in Sanskrit, and the style of these compositions is very ornate. It
seems likely that they were composed for elite consumption. One of the earliest
charitas we have access to is the Buddhacharita of Ashvaghosha (c. 1st century CE).
This is a biography of the Buddha. Banabhatta's Harshacharita is the oldest surviving
biography of an Indian king, and one of the best known.

d) The Dipavamsa (c. 4th-5th centuries CE) is the earliest Pali chronicle available
from Sri Lanka. It focuses on the coming of Buddhism to the island and the
establishment of the sangha or monastic order. The existence of a text like the
Dipavamsa suggests that traditions of historical writing in early South Asia were not
associated only with the royal court.

Resource/Hints/Feedback for the wrong answer

Reviewer’s Comment:

Summary 1.2

• When 18th/19th century European scholars looked for histories of early India,
they found very little that conformed to their idea of what a history should be.
They concluded that early India was deficient in history-writing. While nationalist
histories developed in opposition to imperial frames, scholars like R. C.
Majumdar, nevertheless, accepted the idea that history was relatively
underdeveloped as a branch of early Indian literature.

• However, if we understand history as a mode of reflecting about the past, we can

argue that a sense of history is present in a branch of early Indian literature -- in
the itihasa-purana tradition.

• The dana-stutis of the Rig Veda, the Sanskrit epics, the Puranas, prashastis,
charitas and chronicles of religious institutions, among other sources, exhibit a
sense of history, even though this sometimes has to be prised out.

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Further readings 1.2

Brockington, J. L. 1998. The Sanskrit Epics. Leiden: Brill.

Pargiter, F. E. 1962. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Pathak, V. S. 1966. Ancient Historians of India: A Study in Historical Biographies.

Bombay: Asia Publishing House.

Thapar, Romila. 1996. Time as a Metaphor of History: Early India. Delhi: Oxford
University Press.

Thapar, Romila. 2000. Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian History. Delhi: Oxford
University Press.

Thapar, Romila. 2002. Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300. Berkeley: University of
California Press.

Trautmann, T. R. 2009. Indian Time, European Time, in The Clash of Chronologies:

Ancient India in the Modern World, 25-52. Delhi: Yoda Press.

Glossary 1.2
akhyana: cycle of stories commemorating heroes recited at the time of a yajna

charita: account of the life of a great man

dana-stuti: hymn in praise of gifts

itihasa: literally, 'thus indeed it was'

prashasti: panegyric, eulogistic inscription

purana: literally, 'old'. The word is found in Vedic literature, where it denotes an ancient
narrative. However, we cannot be sure of its nature. Note that the term purana is a
singular noun, and must be seen as distinct from the many texts we know as the
Puranas.

raja: chief or king

vinagathin: lute-player who sang about a raja's ritual or heroic accomplishments at the
ashvamedha

yuga: an age, one of four periods of time. A mahayuga or 'grand yuga' consists of four
yugas in succession: Satya or Krita, Treta, Dvapara and Kali. Each successive yuga is
shorter, and is marked by a decline in dharma. At the end of one mahayuga, the cycle of
yugas begins again

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