The point of studying the past is to gain insight into it. Finding and analysing historical sources allows us to do this.

The abundance of written and printed materials about and about the contemporary state and society makes it easier to locate sources for producing historical accounts of the recent past. Regarding the Middle Ages, there is also sufficient information.

Writing about the past, meanwhile, has its own unique set of challenges. “History is that ancient description which contains instructions of virtue, wealth, desire and salvation,” says an epicline from India’s Mahabharata narrative. So, rather than focussing on concrete occurrences, the ancient Indian seers paid more attention to those that represented bigger principles.

At the Bhubaneswar Circle in Bhubaneswar, you may find the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

Historians were there in classical Greece and Rome to record the events of that era. The ancient Indians were prolific writers, yet they seldom ever documented their own history. A lot of old stuff has also gone missing. Finding India’s lost history is therefore a formidable challenge. History, however, is based on a number of sources.

You may classify these sources into two broad categories. We call them literary and archaeological. Once again, there are three basic categories of archaeological artefacts: monuments and relics, inscriptions, and coins. There are three subsets of literary sources: religious literature, secular literature, and accounts written by non-native speakers. Below, you will find a concise summary of these sources.

Primary Sources in Archaeology: 1. Artefacts and Relics from the Past:
Archaeological artefacts include prehistoric buildings, artefacts, and other artefacts unearthed via digging and investigation. Scientists use the radio-carbon technique to determine the dates of the archaeological artefacts. We learn about the ancient people’s daily lives via archaeological artefacts. Ancient structures, ruins, and artefacts abound throughout India.

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Underneath the surface of the ground are many historical sites. However, in order to uncover some of these hidden spots, excavations are now underway. What we know about the past is mostly based on artefacts unearthed during excavations and from ruins. Archaeological digs at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, for instance, revealed the Indus Valley Civilisation to the globe.

The sites of Taxila, Pataliputra, Rajgir, Nalanda, Sanchi, Barhut, Sarnath, and Mathura have all been the sites of archaeological digs. Many other locations are also doing these. In order to get a better understanding of the past, historians dig up ancient ruins and mounds in the hopes of finding artefacts. The study of prehistoric artefacts and their context is known as archaeology.

India is brimming with ancient structures that have stood the test of time: temples, stupas, monasteries, forts, palaces, and many more. In a same vein, artefacts like as weaponry, tools, and ceramics might provide insight on the people’s lifestyle. These serve as resources for historians. Historical accounts of India before to the third century B.C. are mostly based on archaeological finds, according to several prominent historians. If archaeological evidences are available to support the claims made in literature and oral traditions, then these narratives may be considered historical accounts.

Inscriptions: Inscriptions are a great source of information about the past. As a field of study, epigraphy focusses on inscriptions. Palaeography refers to the study of ancient documents and inscriptions. Stones, slabs, pillars, walls, and the bodies of temples all bear witness to inscriptions. You may also find them on copper plates and seals. A wide variety of inscriptions are available from us. Some communicate royal decrees to the populace on matters of administration, religion, and important policy issues.

Proclamations and commands issued by the monarch are known as these. Some are histories of the adherents of the world’s most prominent faiths. Walls, pillars, stupas, and monasteries are all places where these devotees express their faith. The prasastis, or eulogies, of kings and conquerors detail their accomplishments. The poets who penned these works for their court never once mentioned their flaws. Many donations, in the form of grants, are available for religious purposes.

The Indus Valley Civilization’s Harappa seals include some of the oldest inscriptions ever discovered in India. The massive inscriptions of Asoka are the most well-known inscriptions in India. The emperor had his decrees carved into stone to ensure their permanence, as he had publicly said. Among the many rock and pillar inscriptions that provide priceless historical records are those of Kharavela (Hatigumpha Inscription) and Samudragupta (Allahabad Pillar Inscription). The information acquired from these sources pertains to religious, administrative, and political problems.

So far, no epigrapher has been able to translate the oldest writings, namely the Harappa seals, which date back to about 2500 BC. Engraved in the Prakrit language in the third century B.C. are the following inscriptions. Written in a left-to-right fashion using the Brahmi alphabet, Ashokan inscriptions date back to ancient times. On a few of them, you can see the right-to-left Kharosthi writing. The second century A.D. saw the adoption of Sanskrit as an epigraphic medium. The ninth and tenth centuries also saw the engraving of inscriptions in local languages.

Archaeology is considered the main resource for studying the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Harappan civilisation. Similar artefacts unearthed in different regions of India provide a picture of India’s earliest known civilisation. Historiographers studying ancient India will mostly rely on archaeology. When it comes to writing the history of other eras that followed, the archaeological evidences are the most reliable source.

The use of copper plates for inscribing was increasingly common. You could hear them referred to as Tamrapata, Tamrapatra, or Tamrasasana. Even at the time of Buddha, they were in use. There were a lot of land grants on copper plates. You might even use them to transport administrative directives. There are many different kinds of inscriptions. They served several functions. Historians find sufficient interest in them.

Antiques and collectibles

Numismatics refers to the study of coinage. Another way to learn about the past is via coins. Metals such as lead, copper, or gold were the most common in ancient coinage. There have also been discoveries of Kushan era coin moulds crafted from burned clay. Coins from that era may teach us a lot about their society because of the religious and mythological emblems they include. There are depictions of gods and monarchs on coins as well.

There are a few that list the rulers’ names and times. Also, coins provide a lot of insight into the ancient people’s economic lives. They provide clues about commercial dealings and aid in piecing together the past of several reigning families. Our main source of knowledge on the many Indian states throughout that time has been coins.

Kushana and Gupta period coins provide fascinating glimpses into bygone eras. They provide insight on societal, political, economic, and business climates. Every ancient coin has a tale to tell.

Religious literature is one kind of literary source. History does not only chronicle the acts of rulers. A description of the people’s daily lives is the main focus. Every era’s literature reflects that era’s values and norms. Literature provides insight into people’s mental and social situations.

Indian sacred texts are too many to include here. It encompasses the Hindu canonical texts such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Puranas as well as the Upanishads and the Vedas. You may find a wealth of knowledge on people’s social systems, political structures, cultural circumstances, religious beliefs, and manners and customs in these.

Along these same lines, the Buddhist and Jain canons are immense. Among them are the Jatakas and the Angas, among others. They write about historical figures and political events and religious topics. From these sources, we may discern the current social and economic climate with remarkable clarity.

There is a wide variety of writing that does not pertain to religion; this is known as secular literature. Dharmasutras and Smritis, the ancient Indian legal texts, are part of this category. There is a code of conduct for monarchs, officials, and commoners in them. In addition to outlining the regulations for property, they also spell out the penalties for certain offences such as murder and theft.

One well-known work by Kautilya is the Arthasastra. It communicates not only about the political and state systems, but also about the social and economic ones. Patanjali and Panini, for example, published on Sanskrit grammar but also recounted some political happenings. We learn a lot about the culture and people of that time from the plays of Vishakhadatta, Bhasa, and Kalidasa.

Additionally, there were certain works of history. To chronicle Harsha’s life, Bana penned Harshacharita. About Vikramaditya, Bilhana wrote. An important historical document was Kalhana’s Rajatarangini. This is a chronicle of Kashmir’s past. It details the kings’ careers from the beginning to the end. The author of Prithviraj Charita is Chand Bardai. Numerous additional chronicles and biographical books also document past events.

Historians go through all of these literary sources in search of accurate historical data.

Accounts of Non-Indians: Non-Indians have been visiting India since ancient times. While travelling or visiting, several of them recorded insightful anecdotes. Historians from the classical Greek and Roman eras also documented events in India. History benefits from all these foreign eyewitness stories.

The Greek chronicles inform us about Chandragupta Maurya’s conquest of the Greeks. In their writings, they referred to him as Sandrokottas. While staying in Chandragupta Maurya’s court, the Greek envoy Megasthenes penned his magnum opus, Indika. Sad to say, this effort went down the drain. However, bits and pieces of it survived in the citations of other Greek authors. To understand Mauryan society and politics, even those short descriptions are significant.

We know about the harbours and ports of India from books like Ptolemy’s Geography. Rome and India had commercial ties, according to Pliny. These authors contributed to the canon of early Christian literature. During the reign of the imperial Guptas, the Chinese explorer Fa-Hien recorded important details. A man named Hieuen Tsang, often called the “Prince of Pilgrims,” documented the Harsha era in India. In the seventh century A.D., another Chinese traveler named Itsing reached India. His writings capture the social and theological climate of that time.

Muslims were not the only ones who travelled to India. During the reign of Mahmud of Ghazani, an individual named Al Beruni arrived and learnt Sanskrit. His works on ‘Hind’ provide valuable insights.

Devotion to truth is a requirement of history. In order to tell the truth about the past to mankind today and tomorrow, historians piece together accounts from a variety of sources.

Copyright – Ranganathan SVN Kondala – instagram @realmotivationmonk