Transcription
Hi everyone, welcome to Culture Quantum. I understand that now you are in the phase where your preparation is entering into a very exhausting phase, and so as so many thought processes must be going on with you at this point of time. Even a little bit of predictions, even little bit of help from the experts that what is most important becomes very handy.
So just like last year, we came up with the videos related to the probable topics in the entire history portion, and uh, it covered the portions from ancient history, medieval history, and art and culture, and so as modern Indian history. Some of the questions were directly from those videos, and it gives me a little bit of pride and happiness that I was a bit helpful to you.
So continuing with this endeavor, this year also I'm starting with the probable topics of the entire history portion, and so as the art and culture. So now I'm starting with the ancient and medieval history, the probable topics, and these predictions are based on the PYQs. So as I'm calling right now, these predictions as FYQs, which means future year questions, and it is a meticulously and so as curated list after looking at the various exams conducted by UPSC and so as the trend of the UPSC prelims examination.
So let's start with some of the topics, and uh, I'm starting with ancient history. So the very first thing in the ancient history, I would like to say to you, Gupta period is one very important phase in the Indian history, and so as it is a very important theme in the ancient history questions of the prelims examination. So though I know that you have done many classes in the coaching institutions and you must have studied NCERTs and many other things, but Gupta period you must revise. I'll just give you a little bit of probable topic from the Gupta that they have asked about the ports. They have asked about many administrative stuff. Now, the titles could be one thing which can be asked from the Gupta period. So Gupta rulers took the titles like Maharaj, Paramarak, and Paramishwar. So once again, I'm repeating that Gupta rulers took the titles like Maharaj, Paramishwara, and Paramarak. Apart from it, they have also taken titles like Param Dwat and Param Bhagwat. So Param Dwat and Param Bhagwat titles are the ones with which Gupta rulers tried to associate their names with the gods like God Vishnu, light, God Kartik, and many other gods from the Hindu pantheon. So remember that titles could be one thing that can be asked from the Gupta period.
Now moving further, the one very important running theme in the prelims examination is the timeline thing. So very often you are asked to arrange the dynasties according to the timeline, and also regional dynasties in the recent past has been more important in the prelims examination, and sometimes these are the difficult parts of the prelims paper. So let's see some of the regional dynasties in the post-Gupta period from North India also, and so as the South India also.
So I'm starting with the very first dynasty that is Maitrakas. Maitrakas ruled in the area of Saurashtra in Gujarat in between 475 to 776 AD. Sinapati Bhatarak was the founder of this dynasty, and they ruled from the city of Valabhi, which was their capital. Apart from it, Dhruvasena first was one of the very important initial ruler, and Dhruvasena first was the king at the time of the first Jain council which was held at Valabhi in 512 AD. Then comes the next important ruler of this dynasty whose name was Dhruvasena second. And Dhruvasena second was married to the daughter of Harshavardhan, which means that he was contemporary of Harshavardhan, and he has matrimonial relationship with the Pushyabhuti dynasty of Thanesar ruled by Harshavardhan. Wang in his book Si-yu-ki has mentioned that Dhruvasena second attended the Prayag assembly convened by Harshavardhan.
Another very important ruling dynasty in the post-Gupta period was the Maukhari of Kannauj. Maukhari of Kannauj, their origin is traced back to 510 AD, and they were a short-lived dynasty. By 606, this dynasty was completely decimated and it became the part of the Pushyabhuti dynasty of Thanesar. So first of all, Harivarman Maukhari was the founder of this dynasty, and uh, obviously in 100 years there were many rulers, but the last ruler of this dynasty was Grahavarman, and he was important in many senses. He was a powerful ruler and he exercised good power in the area of Kannauj. Kannauj was one of the most important industrial city of that time. Often you must have heard about Kannauj's relation with the IT. So it was the city of perfumes from a long time, but at this time also it was a very important industrial city. So Grahavarman got married to Rajyashri, who was the daughter of the Pushyabhuti ruler Prabhakaravardhana, and it was all good between the two dynasties, Maukhari of Kannauj and the Pushyabhutis of Thanesar. But both of them had a common enemy, and that common enemy was Shashanka, the ruler of Bengal. And in one such fight, Shashanka killed Grahavarman, and he also killed the ruler of the Pushyabhuti, Rajyavardhana. And in this situation, the rise of a new ruler has happened in the history of ancient India, that is Harshavardhan. Harshavardhan was able to free his sister Rajyashri from the captivity of Shashanka, and he was also able to free the city of Kannauj, and he was also the person who shifted the capital of Pushyabhuti dynasty from Thanesar to Kannauj.
After the decline of the Guptas, another dynasty with the name of the Guptas, that is Later Guptas, emerged in Magadha. Remember that Guptas and Later Guptas were not associated with each other. But maybe the Magadha rulers, the Later Guptas, they continued with the Gupta name to establish some sort of connection with the Guptas of Prayaga and Ujjain. So moving forward, this dynasty ruled from 490 to 750 AD, and their capital was Pataliputra. So it's not the Magadha like the Magadha of the past. It's a much weaker Magadha. Krishna Gupta was the founder of this dynasty, and the historical records say that his daughter was married to Adityavarman, who was the Maukhari ruler of Kannauj. Jivita Gupta is considered to be the last ruler of this dynasty. Otherwise, there are lesser-known things about this dynasty.
Previously in Maukhari episode, I was talking about the Gaudas of Bengal. Gaudas were the devoted Hindus of Bengal, and Shashanka was the most important ruler of this dynasty. As far as the tenure of this dynasty is concerned, it ran from 554 to 636 AD. Hardly 80 years, closer to 80 years they have ruled. But these years were very formidable, and they posed challenges to many other dynasties. So as previously I mentioned that Shashanka was the one who killed Grahavarman Maukhari, and so as he also killed Pushyabhuti ruler Rajyavardhana, after which Harshavardhan came to power. Shashanka was a formidable enemy, and he could not be completely defeated until his death in 636. Shashanka was also very much anti to the Buddhist faith of that time, and Shashanka was responsible for cutting the sacred Bodhi tree under which Buddha got enlightenment in Bodh Gaya. The old Bodh Gaya was Uruvela.
Another very important dynasty from the eastern India after the post-Gupta period is the Eastern Ganga dynasty of Eastern India. Eastern Ganga dynasty was a very powerful dynasty. But as far as their history is concerned, their history has three phases. So the first phase is basically the classical period, which started from 493 AD, and it continued till 1177 AD. So that was the Eastern Ganga classical period, and they ruled from Kalinga. After that, the second phase of the Eastern Ganga dynasty started from 1177 AD, continued till 1436 AD, and in this phase, Eastern Ganga dynasty ruled from Trikalinga. The last phase of this dynasty was from 1436 till 1947, and the last branch of the Eastern Ganga dynasty ruled from Kundi. That's why they are called as Kundi Ganga dynasty also. So three phases: classical, and second phase is called as imperial, and third phase is called as Kundi.
Now, as far as the Eastern Ganga dynasty is concerned, they ruled entire modern-day Odisha at that time, and in fact, it also included the areas from Chhattisgarh and modern-day Andhra. What is the biggest contribution of the Eastern Ganga dynasty? That they created some of the highly renowned, world-famous temples. The most important ones are Jagannath temple of Puri, Sun temple of Konark, Anantavasa temple of Bhubaneswar, Narasimha temple of Simhachalam. So these were the temples which they created, and a unique type of temple architecture started to develop under their patronage, and this unique style is called as Odishan style, but it maintains a little bit of distinctiveness from the original Nagara style. For example, that the temples of Odishan style has a deul shikara which is almost vertical from the base, but all of a sudden closer to the top, it starts curving. Another very important feature of the Odishan temple that they may have boundary walls, and the outer walls of the temples are lavishly decorated, but they keep the interior walls completely plain.
Another important post-Gupta period dynasty from the central and so has eastern and so as southern India was the Kalachuri dynasty. Why I have taken the three areas name? Because there were three branches of the Kalachuris. The first branch was the Kalachuris of Mahishmati, who ruled from 550 till 625. Though only 75 years, but they were very strong in the areas of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and also some parts of Andhra. As far as the Mahishmati branch of Kalachuri is concerned, they were the earliest patrons of the caves which were created in the Ellora, and the caves which were associated with Hinduism. So in a nutshell, Kalachuris of Mahishmati were earliest patrons of some of the Hindu caves of Ellora. The next branch of the Kalachuris was the Kalachuri rulers of Tripuri, and they ruled from 675 till 1212 from the areas of today's Madhya Pradesh, and particularly Tripuri is the area of Jabalpur. So they ruled from the area of Tripuri. Then the third branch of the Kalachuri is the Kalachuris of Kalyani. So Kalyani is in modern Karnataka. So founder of the third branch was Bijjala II, who usurped power from the Chalukya dynasty of Karnataka. And their rule was also not for a very long period, but they ruled for somewhere around 200 years in the 12th century AD.
When the Gupta Empire was emerging in North India, another formation was happening in Southern India after the decline of the Satavahanas. Satavahanas were replaced by Ikshvakus. Ikshvaku dynasty has a historical importance, religious, cultural importance, because it is believed that Lord Rama belonged to the Ikshvaku clan. As far as the historical things of the Ikshvakus are concerned, initially they were feudatories of the Satavahanas, and when they were feudatories of Satavahana, that time they ruled from Dhanyakaṭaka. Dhanyakaṭaka is the old name of Amaravati. In some documents, Dharanikota is also mentioned as Dhanyakataka. But later, when they have replaced Satavahanas and they have become rulers, so they started to rule from Nagarjunakonda. There is another name of Nagarjunakonda which is mentioned in many of the historical texts, that is Sri Parvatiya. So Sri Parvatiya is another name of Nagarjunakonda, and as such, Ikshvakus at many places are mentioned as Sri Parvatiya. As far as this name is concerned, it is also indicative of that Ikshvakus were devotees of Lord Shiva. Shaivism was very popular in the Ikshvakus. Vasisthiputra Chantamula was the founder of this dynasty, and the most important ruler of this dynasty was Matriputra Virapurushadatta. You can find one resemblance in both the names, that both the names are carrying the names of mother. It's a tradition which is continuing from the Satavahana period, and in Satavahana period also, you must have noticed names like Gautamiputra Satakarni versus Vasisthiputra Pulamayi. So matriarchal tradition of the Satavahanas continued in the Ikshvaku clan. Also, as far as the religious beliefs of the Ikshvakus are concerned, as I said that they were following the Shaivite faith, but at the same point of time, Lord Kartikeya was also very popular. For example, Virapurushadatta was a devotee of Lord Kartik, who is also known as Murugan Swami, Kuk Subramanya Swami, and also known as Mayon. So he was a devotee of Lord Kartik. But one very important aspect of the Ikshvakus, that their allegiance was not just associated with Hinduism. In fact, it was quite open allegiance, and one very interesting fact about the Ikshvakus, that on one hand, the rulers, the males, they seem to be the devotees of the Hindu pantheon, on the other hand, the queens of the kingdom, they were quite much associated with Buddhism. In fact, due to the contribution of the queens of the Ikshvaku, many stupas, monasteries, and Buddhist monuments were created in Nagarjunakonda, Dharanikota, and moreover, it is due to their contribution, due to their patronage, Amaravati school of art flourished.
Karnataka was always the land of many dynasties from the ancient times, and one of the very important dynasty in Karnataka was the Kadamba dynasty. So Kadambas ruled in Karnataka from 340 AD to 545 AD, near about 200 years. Mayurasharma was the founder of this dynasty. But the most important ruler of this dynasty was Kakusthavarman. Initially, the capital of the Kadamba was Banavasi, which is in Uttar Kannada district of modern times, and later it is Kakusthavarman who shifted the capital from Banavasi to the present-day Kolar, which is on the outskirts of Bangalore. As far as the achievements of Kakusthavarman is concerned, he is the one who was responsible for territorial expansion of Kadamba dynasty. Apart from it, he is also remembered for constructing many temples related to Hindus, and so as many premises associated with the Jains. So for example, he created Kolar temple, Kedareswara temple, and many of the Vasadis of the Jains at Shravanabelagola and Halebidu. Another very important fact about Kakusthavarman's tenure is his court poet Durvinita, who was equally competent in Sanskrit and Kannada, and Durvinita wrote Kakusthavarman Charita, which is basically the biography of Kakusthavarman. Apart from it, it is believed that the earliest Kannada writings started to emerge from the Kadamba dynasty period onwards, and they were the ones who were patronizing Kannada literature and the Kannada language.
Next important dynasty of Karnataka is the Western Ganga dynasty. You must not be confused that Western Ganga and Eastern Ganga were associated. Names are similar, but Western Ganga is completely different from the Eastern Ganga dynasty of Odisha. So let's start the history of the Western Ganga. They ruled from 350 AD to 1000 AD. As far as this dynasty is concerned, it was a very prominent dynasty which ruled the today's southern Karnataka, parts of Tamil Nadu, and parts of Kerala also. As far as the foundation of this dynasty is concerned, Konganivarman Madhava was the founder of this dynasty, and they ruled from the area of Kolar. Kolar, which was the capital of the previous dynasty which I mentioned, Kadambas. It was also the capital of the Western Ganga dynasty. But in the later times, Western Ganga rulers shifted their capital to Talakadu. Talakadu is on the banks of river Kaveri. As far as the contribution of the Western Ganga dynasty is concerned, their most important contribution was the promotion of Hinduism and Jainism. And moreover, not only they promoted these two religions, but also they promoted the structures related to institutional structures related to these two religions. So as the promotion of the Sanskrit language and Kannada language. One of the earliest prose of the Kannada language is Chavundaraya Purana, which was written in the 970s by Chavundaraya. So Kannada has taken a very big leap during the tenure of the Western Ganga dynasty.
Kalabhras were one very important dynasty from the Southern India, particularly the area of Tamil Nadu. Their rule was somewhere in between 3rd century AD to 6th century AD, and very often they are considered as a very mysterious dynasty because they disrupted the Sangam age developments, and they were not at all having any kind of allegiance to the Tamil culture and Tamil literature. So when we look at the coins of the Kalabhras, their coins were bearing the language Prakrit. So symbols and everything was resembling in the manner of the language Prakrit. Apart from it, Kalabhras, they were known for patronizing Buddhism and Jainism, but they were not known for patronizing the developments of the Sangam age of that time, and many a times Kalabhra's duration is considered to be dark ages in the history of the Tamil area. Then what about how their rule came to an end? So it is believed that in the 6th century AD, Simhavishnu of the Pallava dynasty completely defeated Kalabhras and restored the Tamil pride.
I know that regional dynasties and names of dynasties, their tenure, everything is not easy to absorb. So for your convenience, my handwritten notes, I will be uploading on my Telegram channel, that is t.me/culturequantum. Be associated with it, and you can download all these notes of these lectures from the Telegram channel.
When you look at the trend of the UPSC prelims paper, and particularly from the ancient and medieval ages, you will find that there is a theme which is popular in the question paper, that is land grants. Different names of the land grants. As far as the land grant history is concerned, Satavahanas were the first rulers who started the practice of granting the land. So if at all, if you get a question that land grant started from the period before Satavahana, so automatically it is wrong. Satavahanas started the practice of land grant, but it became a very broader practice at the time of the Guptas. And during the tenure of the Guptas, land grants were not only given to the priests or the priestly class, but it was also given to the officials and the people who were working in the kingdom. So let's talk about those land grants which were popular at the time of the Guptas and also after the post-Gupta period.
The very first category of the land grant is called as Nidhirmas. So they were permanent land endowments, meaning it has been permanently given to a person, and whatever he wants to do, he can do with that. Then the second one is referred as Nidhirmasayan. So Nidhirmasayan is also a permanent land endowment, and there is a specific condition which is mentioned that the person who has got Nidhirmasayan cannot be alienated from it, and indefinitely he can reap the benefits of Nidhirmasayan. The third category of the land grant was Apra Dharma. Once again, the third category of the land grant during Gupta period was Apra Dharma, and though it is also a land grant which is given to a person who can take all the benefits of it, but there is a condition that he cannot make subsequent gift of this land grant. It means that the person can enjoy the benefits of the land, but he cannot give it to anybody else. Then comes the fourth category of the land grant which is called as Bhumichhidra Nyaya. Bhumichhidra Nyaya is a category of the land which is barren. And if a person who has turned barren land into a cultivable land. So this land grant is given to the person, and moreover, these land grants were exempt from paying any kind of rent or taxes to the government. So these were the official category land grants.
But the land grants which were given to the Brahmins and the priestly class, they were called as Brahmadeya. So if the group of Brahmins are given land grant for their service, these lands were called as Brahmadeya. The next land grant given to the Brahmin society was Agrahara or Mangalam. These were often entire villages given to the Brahmin people, and these villages were tax-exempt villages. The third category is the Devadana land grant. Devadana land grant was given to the temple endowments or temple institutions. It was meant for the maintenance of the deity, and this land grant was given to the temple authorities, who could be Brahmins also, and who could be non-Brahmins also.
In the post-Gupta period, in the area of Odisha, Karasasan was one of the land grants, and this land grant, though it is given to the people, but it was not exempted from paying the taxes. So basically, the grantee was responsible for paying some portion of the revenue which is generated from this land grant, which is called as Karasasan.
During the Sangam age, particularly when the early Chola rulers were there, and once they were replaced by the Pallavas, so in both the dynasties, there was a special category of the land grant which was called as Irripati. So Irripati was a land grant which was meant for the revenue which is generated from this land to maintain the irrigation tanks, and irrigation tanks in those areas were called as Iri. So Irripati is a land grant meant for maintenance of the irrigation tanks during the tenure of the early Cholas and the Pallavas.
Moving further, the mainline Chola dynasty or the Imperial Chola dynasty were also responsible for many of the land grants, and in fact, there was a categorization, classification in the land grants of the mainline Chola dynasty, just like the Guptas. So the very first land grant of the mainline Chola dynasty is the Salabhoga. Salabhoga land grant was meant for maintenance of the schools, and it was meant for education. Then comes Palichanda. Palichanda was another land grant, and this land grant was given to the Jain institutions known as Palis. Pali means Jain temples, Jain monasteries, or Jain basadis. Another very important land grant during the mainline Chola dynasty period is Tirunamattukkanni. Tirunamattukkanni was given to the temples, and it was meant for the maintenance of the deity. Apart from it, Vagai was a category of the land which was owned by the non-Brahmin proprietors of the Chola period. So what does it indicate? That during the Chola period, particularly this Imperial Chola period, there were the peasant proprietors who were non-Brahmins also.
Another very important theme in the prelims examination, particularly when it comes to ancient India, so measurement units are often asked in exams. So let's start with the measurement units which were used during the Vedic period, and particularly the length measurements. So the very first is called as Angula. Angula is the width of the finger. Then comes after the Angula is the Hasta. Hasta is the measurement starting from the elbow until the tip of the middle finger. So it is approximately 45 cm. Then comes the Dhanus. So Dhanus is basically the length of a Dhanush, that is bow, you know, and it comes around 1.9 m. And then another very important unit at this time was Yojana. So Yojana was for the larger distances, which means 12 to 15 kilometers.
As far as the weight units of the Vedic period is concerned. Rati was the smallest unit, and Rati is basically the weight of a gunja seed, which comes around 0.11 g. After the Rati is the Karsha. Karsha is basically made from 16 Ratis. So you can do the multiplication and arrive at what is the exact gram weightage of the Karsha. The time unit measurement of the Vedic period, most important was Muhurta, and Muhurta is 48 minutes, and then comes the Ghati and Nadi, both of them are 24 minutes duration.
So let's talk about the measurement units of the classical period. Which period is called as classical? So basically starting from the Mauryas till the Guptas is the classical period. As far as the length unit of the classical period is concerned, they continued with the Angula and Hasta. But apart from it, they also came up with two more units. The unit is Danda, which is approximately closer to 3 m, and Krosha, which is approximately equivalent to 3.2 km.
Then come to weight and volume units. They continued with the concept of the Rati. Then comes the Suvarna, which is closer to 11 grams. Suvarna was followed by Tola. Very often we use the word Tola in purchase of gold. So Tola is 11.6 g. And then comes Drona. Drona was used for measuring the volume, and it is approximately closer to equivalent to 200 liters.
In the classical age, Nartana was the land measurement. And what was Nartana? In a particular day, a pair of oxen, how much land they can plow is the Nartana, and it comes around 67 acres. Apart from it, Kshetra, at this point of time, was called as agricultural land, and some of the popular land measurement units at this time were Kulya, Dronavapa, Ardha. So Kulya was the largest unit, then comes the Dronavapa, and Ardha was closer to half acres of land.
Coins are also one of the very important themes in prelims exam, and very often these are the most difficult questions of the prelims exam. So I'll not give you the entire list of the coins. I have just curated only two coins. The very first one is Aureus. Aureus was the standard Roman gold coin which was used in the Indo-Roman trade in between 1st century BC till 4th century AD. So it covers the period of the Guptas. Also, the second important coin, as my perspective is concerned for this year paper, is Kopek. Kopek was also a gold coin which was mentioned by the famous traveler to Vijayanagar, Abdul Razak of Samarkand, and this Kopek was equivalent to half a Vaha. Vaha was the gold coin of the Vijayanagar kingdom, and Vaha was also called as Pagoda. In the coin aspect, remember these two, that is Kopek mentioned by Abdul Razak, and Aureus, which was the standard gold coin of the Indo-Roman trade in between 1st century BC to 4th century AD.
Recently, the Baver manuscript was in the news. From where it has been found? Baver manuscript has been found from a place called Kucha in Xinjiang province of China, and it was found in a Buddhist Mahavihara. So what is so special about the Baver manuscript? Actually, it is one of the oldest surviving manuscripts which talks about the Indian system of Ayurveda, or Indian medicinal system, Ayurved.
Lake of Kashmir, which is historically known as Mahapadma Malik, was also recently in the news. And as far as this lake is concerned, it is fed by the Jhelum river. And moreover, this Mahapadma lake, there was one ruler of the Utpala dynasty of Kashmir whose name was Avantivarman. He took measures to stop the flooding from the Wular lake or Mahapadma lake into agricultural areas. His engineer, whose name was Suyya, he dredged the river bed of the Jhelum river, and so as this lake, and after dredging, embankment was done on this particular Mahapadma lake, and he permanently solved the problem of flooding in this area.
There are many historical personalities which are quite popular, and in the recent news, the very popular queen of India was Rani Durgavati of Gondwana. Rani Durgavati was the daughter of Kiratra, the Chandela ruler of Bundelkhand. In 1542, she was married to Dalpat Shah. After the death of her husband Dalpat Shah in 1550, she took the reign of Gondwana, and she started to rule the area as a regent of her son, Bir Narayan. It was Rani Durgavati of Gondwana who defeated Baj Bahadur of Malwa, and she was very successful in the Malwa campaign. In 1564, Akbar initiated a campaign against Rani Durgavati, and he entrusted the task of fighting with Rani Durgavati with his trusted general, Asaf Khan. Though in the initial phase, Rani Durgavati was able to defeat Asaf Khan, but in the later part of the fight, Akbar was successful, and Rani Durgavati sacrificed her life defending Gondwana.