Ancient and Medieval India

What the official syllabus says

GPSC Preliminary Examination, General Studies, under the heading History and Culture:

• Indus valley civilisation, Vedic age, Jainism and Buddhism.
• Contact with Central Asia and its consequences.
• Major Dynasties of Ancient, Medieval and Modern India and Gujarat - Their rulers, Administration, Social, Religious and Economic conditions, etc.
• The Bhakti Movement and Sufism.

Topics in detail

The official lines put India and Gujarat together; this page takes the all-India side, and the Gujarat side is on Gujarat: History. Rulers, administration and social, religious and economic conditions are asked for every major dynasty, so read each dynasty under those four heads.

Prehistory and the Indus Valley Civilisation

• Stone Ages in India: Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic sites and tools; Chalcolithic cultures
• Harappan civilisation: extent, phases (early, mature, late), major sites and what each is known for
• Town planning, drainage, the Great Bath, granaries, dockyard; burnt bricks and standard weights
• Economy: agriculture, crafts, seals, trade with Mesopotamia; the undeciphered script
• Religion and beliefs as seen in seals and figurines; theories of decline
• Harappan sites in Gujarat in outline (Lothal, Dholavira, Rangpur, Surkotada, Rojdi); detail on the Gujarat history page

The Vedic age

• Early Vedic (Rigvedic) period: geography of the Sapta Sindhu, tribal polity, sabha and samiti, pastoral economy
• Later Vedic period: expansion into the Ganga plain, rise of kingdoms, varna and ashrama, iron and agriculture
• Vedic literature: the four Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads; Vedangas in outline
• Religion: Rigvedic deities, sacrifice, the shift towards Upanishadic philosophy

Jainism, Buddhism and the age of the Mahajanapadas

• Sixteen Mahajanapadas, the rise of Magadha (Haryanka, Shishunaga and Nanda dynasties)
• Mahavira: life, the five vows, triratna, anekantavada; Shvetambara and Digambara; Jain councils (including the councils at Valabhi)
• Gautama Buddha: life, Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path; Buddhist councils; Hinayana and Mahayana; spread of Buddhism
• Other sects of the period (Ajivikas); contribution of Jainism and Buddhism to language, art and society

Contact with Central Asia and its consequences

• Persian (Achaemenid) and Macedonian (Alexander, 326 BCE) contacts and their effects
• Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Parthians and Kushanas; Kanishka and the Fourth Buddhist Council
• Western Kshatrapas in Gujarat and Malwa; Rudradaman's Junagadh (Girnar) inscription
• Consequences: coinage, Gandhara and Mathura schools of art, trade along the Silk Route, spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and China, new elements in astronomy and medicine

Major dynasties of ancient India

• The Mauryas: Chandragupta, Bindusara, Ashoka; administration as seen in the Arthashastra and Megasthenes; Ashoka's dhamma and edicts (including the rock edicts at Girnar, Junagadh)
• Post-Mauryan kingdoms: Shungas, Kanvas, Satavahanas; the Sangam age in the south
• The Guptas: Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II, Skandagupta; administration, society, literature, science (Aryabhata, Varahamihira), temple architecture
• Harshavardhana, Hiuen Tsang's account; the Maitrakas of Valabhi
• Southern dynasties: Pallavas, Chalukyas of Badami, Rashtrakutas, Cholas (local self-government, naval power)
• The tripartite struggle: Gurjara-Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas

Major dynasties of medieval India

• Rajput kingdoms and the Arab conquest of Sindh (712 CE); raids of Mahmud of Ghazni (including Somnath) and Muhammad Ghori
• The Delhi Sultanate: Slave, Khalji, Tughluq, Sayyid and Lodi dynasties; iqta system, market reforms of Alauddin Khalji, Muhammad bin Tughluq's experiments
• Regional kingdoms: Vijayanagara and the Bahmani kingdom; the Gujarat Sultanate in outline
• The Mughals from Babur to Aurangzeb; Sher Shah Suri's administration; mansabdari and jagirdari; Akbar's religious policy
• Mughal society, economy, art and architecture; decline of the Mughal empire
• The Marathas: Shivaji's administration (ashtapradhan, chauth and sardeshmukhi); the Peshwas; the Maratha confederacy

The Bhakti Movement and Sufism

• Origins in the south: Alvars and Nayanars; Shankaracharya, Ramanuja, Madhva
• Nirguna bhakti: Kabir, Guru Nanak, Raidas; saguna bhakti: Tulsidas, Surdas, Mirabai, Chaitanya
• Maharashtra: Jnaneshwar, Namdev, Eknath, Tukaram; Gujarat: Narsinh Mehta (see the Gujarat culture page)
• Sufism: silsilas (Chishti, Suhrawardi, Qadiri, Naqshbandi); Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, Nizamuddin Auliya; khanqah, sama
• Impact of Bhakti and Sufi movements on society, language and literature; idea of syncretism

Overlaps

Mains General Studies-I (A) History repeats the Indus valley, Vedic age, Jainism and Buddhism, and the Bhakti Movement, and asks for developments in administration and society from ancient to modern times.