History of INDIA

The history of India begins with evidence
of human activity of Homo sapiens as
long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier
hominids including Homo erectus from
about 500,000 years ago.[1] The Indus
Valley Civilization, which spread and
flourished in the northwestern part of the
Indian subcontinent from c. 3300 to 1300
BCE, was the first major civilization in
India.[2] A sophisticated and
technologically advanced urban culture
developed in the Mature Harappan
period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE.[3] This
Bronze Age civilization collapsed before
the end of the second millennium BCE
and was followed by the Iron Age Vedic
Civilization, which extended over much of
the Indo-Gangetic plain and which
witnessed the rise of major polities
known as the Mahajanapadas. In one of
these kingdoms, Magadha, Mahavira and
Gautama Buddha were born in the 6th or
5th century BCE and propagated their
śramanic philosophies.
Almost all of the subcontinent was
conquered by the Maurya Empire during
the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE. It
subsequently became fragmented, with
various parts ruled by numerous Middle
kingdoms for the next 1,500 years. This is
known as the classical period of Indian
history, during which India has
sometimes been estimated to have had
the largest economy of the ancient and
medieval world, controlling between one
third and one fourth of the world's wealth
up to the 18th century.
Much of northern and central India was
once again united in the 4th century CE,
and remained so for two centuries
thereafter, under the Gupta Empire. This
period, witnessing a Hindu religious and
intellectual resurgence, is known among
its admirers as the " Golden Age of India".
During the same time, and for several
centuries afterwards, southern India,
under the rule of the Chalukyas, Cholas,
Pallavas, and Pandyas, experienced its
own golden age. During this period,
aspects of Indian civilization,
administration, culture, and religion
( Hinduism and Buddhism) spread to
much of Asia.
The southern state of Kerala had
maritime business links with the Roman
Empire from around 77 CE. Islam was
introduced in Kerala through this route by
Muslim traders. Muslim rule in the
subcontinent began in 712 CE when the
Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim
conquered Sindh and Multan in southern
Punjab in modern day Pakistan,[4] setting
the stage for several successive invasions
from Central Asia between the 10th and
15th centuries CE, leading to the
formation of Muslim empires in the
Indian subcontinent
such as the Delhi Sultanate and the
Mughal Empire.
Mughal rule came from Central Asia to
cover most of the northern parts of the
subcontinent. Mughal rulers introduced
Central Asian art and architecture to
India. In addition to the Mughals and
various Rajput kingdoms, several
independent Hindu states, such as the
Vijayanagara Empire, the Maratha
Empire, Eastern Ganga Empire and the
Ahom Kingdom, flourished
contemporaneously in southern,
western,eastern and northeastern India
respectively. The Mughal Empire suffered
a gradual decline in the early 18th
century, which provided opportunities for
the Afghans, Balochis, Sikhs, and
Marathas to exercise control over large
areas in the northwest of the
subcontinent until the British East India
Company gained ascendancy over South
Asia.[5]
Beginning in the mid-18th century and
over the next century, large areas of India
were gradually annexed by the British
East India Company. Dissatisfaction with
Company rule led to the Indian Rebellion
of 1857, after which the British provinces
of India were directly administered by the
British Crown and witnessed a period of
both rapid development of infrastructure
and economic decline. During the first
half of the 20th century, a nationwide
struggle for independence was launched
by the Indian National Congress and later
joined by the Muslim League. The
subcontinent gained independence from
the United Kingdom in 1947, after the
British provinces were partitioned into the
dominions of India and Pakistan and the
princely states all acceded to one of the
new states.
Pre-Historic era
Stone Age
Main article: South Asian Stone Age
Further information: Mehrgarh, Rock
Shelters of Bhimbetka, and Edakkal Caves
Bhimbetka rock painting, Madhya
Pradesh, India (c. 30,000 years old)
Stone age (5000 BC) writings of Edakkal
Caves in Kerala, India.
Isolated remains of Homo erectus in
Hathnora in the Narmada Valley in
central India indicate that India might
have been inhabited since at least the
Middle Pleistocene era, somewhere
between 500,000 and 200,000 years ago.
[6][7]
Tools crafted by proto-humans that have
been dated back two million years have
been discovered in the northwestern part
of the subcontinent.[8][9] The ancient
history of the region includes some of
South Asia's oldest settlements[10] and
some of its major civilizations.[11][12]
The earliest archaeological site in the
subcontinent is the palaeolithic hominid
site in the Soan River valley.[13] Soanian
sites are found in the Sivalik region across
what are now India, Pakistan, and Nepal.
[14]
The Mesolithic period in the Indian
subcontinent was followed by the
Neolithic period, when more extensive
settlement of the subcontinent occurred
after the end of the last Ice Age
approximately 12,000 years ago. The first
confirmed semipermanent settlements
appeared 9,000 years ago in the
Bhimbetka rock shelters in modern
Madhya Pradesh, India.
Early Neolithic culture in South Asia is
represented by the Mehrgarh findings
(7000 BCE onwards) in present-day
Balochistan, Pakistan.[15] Traces of a
Neolithic culture have been alleged to be
submerged in the Gulf of Khambat in
India, radiocarbon dated to 7500 BCE.[16]
However, the one dredged piece of wood
in question was found in an area of strong
ocean currents. Neolithic agriculture
cultures sprang up in the Indus Valley
region around 5000 BCE, in the lower
Gangetic valley around 3000 BCE, and in
later South India, spreading southwards
and also northwards into Malwa around
1800 BCE. The first urban civilization of
the region began with the Indus Valley
Civilization.[17]
Bronze Age
Main article: Indus Valley Civilization
See also: Economic history of India and
Timeline of the economy of India
The docks of ancient Lothal as they
appear today.
"Priest King" of Indus Valley Civilization
The Bronze Age in the Indian
subcontinent began around 3300 BCE
with the early Indus Valley Civilization. It
was centered on the Indus River and its
tributaries which extended into the
Ghaggar-Hakra River valley,[11] the
Ganges-Yamuna Doab,[18]Gujarat,[19]
and southeastern Afghanistan.[20]
The civilization is primarily located in
modern-day India ( Gujarat, Haryana,
Punjab and Rajasthan provinces) and
Pakistan (Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan
provinces). Historically part of Ancient
India, it is one of the world's earliest
urban civilizations, along with
Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt.[21]
Inhabitants of the ancient Indus river
valley, the Harappans, developed new
techniques in metallurgy and handicraft
(carneol products, seal carving), and
produced copper, bronze, lead, and tin.
The Mature Indus civilization flourished
from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, marking
the beginning of the urban civilization on
the subcontinent. The civilization
included urban centers such as Dholavira,
Kalibangan, Rupar, Rakhigarhi, and Lothal
in modern-day India, and Harappa,
Ganeriwala, and Mohenjo-daro in
modern-day Pakistan. The civilization is
noted for its cities built of brick, roadside
drainage system, and multistoried
houses.
Early historic period
Vedic period
Main article: Vedic Civilization
See also: Vedas and Indo-Aryans
Map of North India in the late Vedic
period.
The Vedic period is characterized by
Indo-Aryan culture associated with the
texts of Vedas, sacred to Hindus, which
were orally composed in Vedic Sanskrit.
The Vedas are some of the oldest extant
texts in India[22] and next to some
writings in Egypt and Mesopotamia are
the oldest in the world. The Vedic period
lasted from about 1500 to 500 BCE,[23]
laying the foundations of Hinduism and
other cultural aspects of early Indian
society. The Aryans established Vedic
civilization all over north India, particularly
in the Gangetic Plain. This period
succeeded the prehistoric Late
Harappan, during which immigrations of
Indo-Aryan-speaking tribes overlaid the
existing civilizations of local people whom
they called Dasyus. The Aryans, originally
came from the Caspian Sea area of Asia.
[24] Settling first in Bactria and then in
the Hindu-Kush area of India, before
settling in the Ganges and Yamuna River
valleys.[25]
Many scholars throughout history have
maintained that the Aryans subjugated
the "backward aboriginies" that had
previously lived in northern India.[26]
However, discoveries of advanced
civilizations in the Indus River valley,
caused many scholars to change their
theories in this regard. The Aryans may
have received as much from the
neighboring cultures of northern India as
they contributed. Indeed when the Aryans
moved into India, they were semi-
nomadic pastoralists,[27] their clothing
was simple,[28] they had no regular legal
institutions[29] and their religion was a
very basic form of animism. The basis of
the Aryan economy had always been
centered around cattle raising.[30] During
this period of time, the cow began to be
venerated in Aryan society. Thus, the
origins of the later Hindu belief in India
that cows are sacred may have started
during this time.[31]
The swastika is a major element of Hindu
iconography.
Early Vedic society consisted of largely
pastoral groups, with late Harappan
urbanization having been abandoned.
[32] After the time of the Rigveda, Aryan
society became increasingly agricultural
and was socially organized around the
four varnas, or social classes. In addition
to the Vedas, the principal texts of
Hinduism, the core themes of the
Sanskrit epics Ramayana and
Mahabharata are said to have their
ultimate origins during this period.[33]
The Mahabharata remains, today, the
longest single poem in the world.[34] The
events described in the shorter,
Ramayana are from a later period of
history than the events of the
Mahabharata.[35] The early Indo-Aryan
presence probably corresponds, in part,
to the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture in
archaeological contexts.[36]
The Kuru kingdom[37] corresponds to the
Black and Red Ware and Painted Grey
Ware cultures and to the beginning of the
Iron Age in northwestern India, around
1000 BCE, as well as with the
composition of the Atharvaveda, the first
Indian text to mention iron, as śyāma
ayas, literally "black metal." The Painted
Grey Ware culture spanned much of
northern India from about 1100 to 600
BCE.[36] The Vedic Period also
established republics such as Vaishali,
which existed as early as the 6th century
BCE and persisted in some areas until the
4th century CE. The later part of this
period corresponds with an increasing
movement away from the previous tribal
system towards the establishment of
kingdoms, called mahajanapadas.
Mahajanapadas
Gautama Buddha undertaking extreme
ascetic practices before his
enlightenment on the bank of river Falgu
in Bodh Gaya, Bihar.
Detail of a leaf with, The Birth of Mahavira
(the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism), from the
Kalpa Sutra, c.1375-1400.
The Mahajanapadas were the sixteen
most powerful kingdoms and republics of
the era, located mainly across the fertile
Indo-Gangetic plains, however there were
a number of smaller kingdoms stretching
the length and breadth of Ancient India.
Nalanda is considered one of the first
great universities in recorded history. It
was the center of Buddhist learning and
research in the world from 450 to 1193
CE.
Main articles: Mahajanapadas and
Magadha Empire
Main articles: History of Hinduism, History
of Buddhism, and History of Jainism
See also: Adi Shankara, Gautama
Buddha, and Mahavira
Further information: Upanishads, Indian
Religions, Indian philosophy, and Ancient
universities of India
In the later Vedic Age, a number of small
kingdoms or city states had covered the
subcontinent, many mentioned in Vedic,
early Buddhist and Jaina literature as far
back as 1000 BCE. By 500 BCE, sixteen
monarchies and "republics" known as the
Mahajanapadas — Kasi, Kosala, Anga,
Magadha, Vajji (or Vriji), Malla, Chedi,
Vatsa (or Vamsa), Kuru, Panchala, Matsya
(or Machcha), Surasena, Assaka, Avanti,
Gandhara, and Kamboja — stretched
across the Indo-Gangetic Plain from
modern-day Afghanistan to Bengal and
Maharastra. This period saw the second
major rise of urbanism in India after the
Indus Valley Civilization.
Many smaller clans mentioned within
early literature seem to have been
present across the rest of the
subcontinent. Some of these kings were
hereditary; other states elected their
rulers. The educated speech at that time
was Sanskrit, while the languages of the
general population of northern India are
referred to as Prakrits. Many of the
sixteen kingdoms had coalesced to four
major ones by 500/400 BCE, by the time
of Gautama Buddha. These four were
Vatsa, Avanti, Kosala, and Magadha.[38]
The Brahmanical tradition was paralleled
by the non-Vedic Shramana movement.
The Buddha was a member of this
movement.[39] Shramana also gave rise
to Jainism[40], yoga[41], the concept of
the cycle of birth and death, the concept
of samsara, and the concept of liberation.
[42] The Brahmanical ashrama system of
life was an attempt to institutionalize
Shramana ideals within the Brahmanical
social structure.[43] The Shramana
movement also influenced the Aranyakas
and Upanishads in the Brahmanical
tradition.[44]
The Buddha found a Middle Way that
ameliorated the extreme asceticism
found in the Sramana religions.[45]
Around the same time, Mahavira (the
24th Tirthankara in Jainism) propagated a
theology that was to later become
Jainism.[46] However, Jain orthodoxy
believes the teachings of the Tirthankaras
predates all known time and scholars
believe Parshva, accorded status as the
23rd Tirthankara, was a historical figure.
The Vedas are believed to have
documented a few Tirthankaras and an
ascetic order similar to the shramana
movement.[47]
The Buddha's teachings and Jainism had
doctrines inclined toward asceticism, and
they were preached in Prakrit, which
helped them gain acceptance amongst
the masses. They have profoundly
influenced practices that Hinduism and
Indian spiritual orders are associated
with, including vegetarianism, prohibition
of animal slaughter and ahimsa (non-
violence). While the geographic impact of
Jainism was limited to India, Buddhist
nuns and monks eventually spread the
teachings of Buddha to Central Asia, East
Asia, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
Persian and Greek conquests
See also: Achaemenid Empire, Greco-
Buddhism, Alexander the Great, Nanda
Empire, and Gangaridai
Asia in 323 BCE, the Nanda Empire and
Gangaridai Empire in relation to
Alexander's Empire and neighbors.
In 530 BCE Cyrus, King of the Persian
Achaemenid Empire crossed the Hindu-
Kush mountains to seek tribute from the
tribes of Kamboja, Gandhara and the
trans-India region.[48] By 520 BCE, during
the reign of Darius I of Persia, much of the
northwestern subcontinent (present-day
eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan) came
under the rule of the Persian Achaemenid
Empire. The area remained under Persian
control for two centuries.[49] During this
time India supplied mercenaries to the
Persian army then fighting in Greece.[48]
Under Persian rule the famous city of
Takshashila became a center where both
Vedic and Iranian learning were mingled.
[50] The impact of Persian ideas was felt
in many areas of Indian life. Persian
coinage and rock inscriptions were
copied by India. However, Persian
ascendency in northern India ended with
Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia
in 327 BCE.[51]
By 326 BCE, Alexander the Great had
conquered Asia Minor and the
Achaemenid Empire and had reached the
northwest frontiers of the Indian
subcontinent. There he defeated King
Porus in the Battle of the Hydaspes (near
modern-day Jhelum, Pakistan) and
conquered much of the Punjab.[52]
Alexander's march east put him in
confrontation with the Nanda Empire of
Magadha and the Gangaridai Empire of
Bengal. His army, exhausted and
frightened by the prospect of facing larger
Indian armies at the Ganges River,
mutinied at the Hyphasis (modern Beas
River) and refused to march further East.
Alexander, after the meeting with his
officer, Coenus, was convinced that it was
better to return.
The Persian and Greek invasions had
important repercussions on Indian
civilization. The political systems of the
Persians were to influence future forms of
governance on the subcontinent,
including the administration of the
Mauryan dynasty. In addition, the region
of Gandhara, or present-day eastern
Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan,
became a melting pot of Indian, Persian,
Central Asian, and Greek cultures and
gave rise to a hybrid culture, Greco-
Buddhism, which lasted until the 5th
century CE and influenced the artistic
development of Mahayana Buddhism.
Maurya Empire
Main article: Maurya Empire
Further information: Chandragupta
Maurya, Bindusara, and Ashoka the Great
Maurya Empire under Ashoka the Great
Ashokan pillar at Vaishali, 3rd century
BCE.
The Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), ruled
by the Mauryan dynasty, was a
geographically extensive and powerful
political and military empire in ancient
India. The empire was established by
Chandragupta Maurya in Magadha what
is now Bihar.[53] The empire flourished
under the reign of Ashoka the Great.[54]
At its greatest extent, it stretched to the
north to the natural boundaries of the
Himalayas and to the east into what is
now Assam. To the west, it reached
beyond modern Pakistan, annexing
Balochistan and much of what is now
Afghanistan, including the modern Herat
and Kandahar provinces. The empire was
expanded into India's central and
southern regions by the emperors
Chandragupta and Bindusara, but it
excluded extensive unexplored tribal and
forested regions near Kalinga which were
subsequently taken by Ashoka. Like every
state, the Maurya Empire needed to have
a unified administrative apparatus.
Ashoka ruled the Maurya Empire for 37
years from 268 BCE until he died in 232
BCE.[55] During that time, Ashoka
pursued an active foreign policy aimed at
setting up a unified state.[56] However,
Ashoka became involved in a war with the
state of Kalinga which is located on the
western shore of the Bay of Bengal.[57]
This war forced Ashoka to abandon his
attempt at a foreign policy which would
unify the Maurya Empire.[58]
Slavery had begun in India during the
Vedic era. However, during the Mauryan
Empire slavery developed much more
rapidly.[59] The Mauryan Empire was
based on a modern and efficient
economy and society. However, the sale
of merchandise was closely regulated by
the government.[60] Although there was
no banking in the Mauryan society, usury
was customary with loans made at the
recognized interest rate of 15% per
annum.
Ashoka's reign propagated Buddhism. In
this regard Ashoka established many
Buddhist monuments. Indeed, Ashoka
put a strain on the economy and the
government by his strong support of
Buddhism. towards the end of his reign
he "bled the state coffers white with his
generous gifts to promote the
promulation of Buddha's teaching.[61] As
might be expected, this policy caused
considerable opposition within the
government. This opposition rallied
around Sampadi, Ashoka's grandson and
heir to the throne.[62] Religious
opposition to Ashoka also arose among
the orthodox Brahmanists and the
adherents of Jainism--a religion based on
non-violence toward all living beings.[63]
Chandragupta's minister Chanakya wrote
the Arthashastra, one of the greatest
treatises on economics, politics, foreign
affairs, administration, military arts, war,
and religion produced in Asia.
Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan
rule in South Asia falls into the era of
Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW).
The Arthashastra and the Edicts of
Ashoka are primary written records of the
Mauryan times. The Lion Capital of Asoka
at Sarnath, is the national emblem of
India.
Early Middle Kingdoms — The Golden Age
Main article: Middle Kingdoms of India
Ancient India during the rise of
theSunga and Satavahana empires.
The Kharavela Empire, now in Orissa.
Kushan Empire and Western Satraps of
Ancient India in the north along with
Pandyans and Early Cholas in southern
India.
Gupta Empire
The middle period was a time of notable
cultural development. The Satavahana
dynasty, also known as the Andhras, ruled
in southern and central India after around
230 BCE. Satakarni, the sixth ruler of the
Satvahana dynasty, defeated the Sunga
Empire of north India. Afterwards,
Kharavela, the warrior king of Kalinga,[64]
ruled a vast empire and was responsible
for the propagation of Jainism in the
Indian subcontinent.[64] The Kharavelan
Jain empire included a formidable
maritime empire with trading routes
linking it to Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand,
Vietnam, Cambodia, Borneo, Bali,
Sumatra, and Java. Colonists from Kalinga
settled in Sri Lanka, Burma, as well as the
Maldives and the Malay Archipelago. The
Kuninda Kingdom was a small Himalayan
state that survived from around the 2nd
century BCE to roughly the 3rd century CE.
The Kushanas migrated from Central Asia
into northwestern India in the middle of
the 1st century CE and founded an empire
that eventually stretched from Tajikistan
to the middle Ganges. The Western
Satraps (35-405 CE) were Saka rulers of
the western and central part of India.
They were the successors of the Indo-
Scythians and contemporaries of the
Kushans who ruled the northern part of
the Indian subcontinent and the
Satavahana (Andhra) who ruled in central
and southern India. Different dynasties
such as the Pandyans, Cholas, Cheras,
Kadambas, Western Gangas, Pallavas,
and Chalukyas, dominated the southern
part of the Indian peninsula at different
periods of time. Several southern
kingdoms formed overseas empires that
stretched into Southeast Asia. The
kingdoms warred with each other and the
Deccan states for domination of the
south. The Kalabras, a Buddhist dynasty,
briefly interrupted the usual domination
of the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas in the
south.
Northwestern hybrid cultures
The founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom,
Demetrius I "the Invincible" (205–171
BCE).
See also: Indo-Greek kingdom, Indo-
Scythians, Indo-Parthian Kingdom, and
Indo-Sassanids
The northwestern hybrid cultures of the
subcontinent included the Indo-Greeks,
the Indo-Scythians, the Indo-Parthians,
and the Indo-Sassinids. The first of these,
the Indo-Greek Kingdom, was founded
when the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius
invaded the region in 180 BCE, extending
his rule over various parts of present-day
Afghanistan and Pakistan. Lasting for
almost two centuries, the kingdom was
ruled by a succession of more than 30
Greek kings, who were often in conflict
with each other. The Indo-Scythians were
a branch of the Indo-European Sakas
(Scythians) who migrated from southern
Siberia, first into Bactria, subsequently
into Sogdiana, Kashmir, Arachosia, and
Gandhara, and finally into India. Their
kingdom lasted from the middle of the
2nd century BCE to the 1st century BCE.
Yet another kingdom, the Indo-Parthians
(also known as the Pahlavas), came to
control most of present-day Afghanistan
and northern Pakistan, after fighting many
local rulers such as the Kushan ruler
Kujula Kadphises, in the Gandhara region.
The Sassanid empire of Persia, who was
contemporaneous with the Gupta Empire,
expanded into the region of present-day
Balochistan in Pakistan, where the
mingling of Indian culture and the culture
of Iran gave birth to a hybrid culture under
the Indo-Sassanids.
Kushan Empire
Main article: Kushan Empire
The Kushan Empire expanded out of what
is now Afghanistan into the northwest of
the subcontinent under the leadership of
their first emperor, Kujula Kadphises,
about the middle of the 1st century CE. By
the time of his grandson, Kanishka,
(whose era is thought to have begun c.
127 CE), they had conquered most of
northern India, at least as far as Saketa
and Pataliputra, in the middle Ganges
Valley, and probably as far as the Bay of
Bengal.[65] They played an important role
in the establishment of Buddhism in India
and its spread to Central Asia and China.
By the 3rd century, their empire in India
was disintegrating; their last known great
emperor being Vasudeva I (c. 190-225 CE)
.
Roman trade with India
Main article: Roman trade with India
Coin of the Roman emperor Augustus
found at the Pudukottai, South India.
Roman trade with India started around 1
CE, during the reign of Augustus and
following his conquest of Egypt, which had
been India's biggest trade partner in the
West.
The trade started by Eudoxus of Cyzicus in
130 BCE kept increasing, and according to
Strabo (II.5.12.[66]), by the time of
Augustus, up to 120 ships set sail every
year from Myos Hormos on the Red Sea
to India. So much gold was used for this
trade, and apparently recycled by the
Kushans for their own coinage, that Pliny
the Elder (NH VI.101) complained about
the drain of specie to India:
"India, China and the Arabian
peninsula take one hundred million
sesterces from our empire per
annum at a conservative estimate:
that is what our luxuries and women
cost us. For what percentage of these
imports is intended for sacrifices to
the gods or the spirits of the dead?"
—Pliny, Historia Naturae 12.41.84.
[67]
The maritime (but not the overland) trade
routes, harbours, and trade items are
described in detail in the 1st century CE
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea.
Gupta rule
Gupta Empire (240 to 550 AD)
Main article: Gupta Empire
See also: Chandra Gupta I,
Samudragupta, Chandra Gupta II,
Kumaragupta I, and Skandagupta
Further information: Kalidasa, Aryabhata,
Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma, and
Vatsyayana
Further information: Meghadūta,
Abhijñānaśākuntala, Kumārasambhava,
Panchatantra, Aryabhatiya, Indian
numerals, and Kama Sutra
Queen Kumaradevi and King
Chandragupta I, depicted on a coin of
their son Samudragupta, 335–380 CE.
The Classical Age refers to the period
when much of the Indian subcontinent
was reunited under the Gupta Empire (c.
320–550 CE).[68][69] This period has
been called the Golden Age of India[70]
and was marked by extensive
achievements in science, technology,
engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic,
mathematics, astronomy, religion, and
philosophy that crystallized the elements
of what is generally known as Hindu
culture.[71] The decimal numeral system,
including the concept of zero, was
invented in India during this period.[72]
The peace and prosperity created under
leadership of Guptas enabled the pursuit
of scientific and artistic endeavors in
India.[73]
The high points of this cultural creativity
are magnificent architecture, sculpture,
and painting.[74] The Gupta period
produced scholars such as Kalidasa,
Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma,
and Vatsyayana who made great
advancements in many academic fields.
[75] Science and political administration
reached new heights during the Gupta
era. Strong trade ties also made the
region an important cultural center and
established it as a base that would
influence nearby kingdoms and regions in
Burma, Sri Lanka, the Malay Archipelago,
and Indochina.
The Gupta period marked a watershed of
Indian culture: the Guptas performed
Vedic sacrifices to legitimize their rule,
but they also patronized Buddhism, which
continued to provide an alternative to
Brahmanical orthodoxy. The military
exploits of the first three rulers—
Chandragupta I (c. 319–335),
Samudragupta (c. 335–376), and
Chandragupta II (c. 376–415) —brought
much of India under their leadership.[76]
They successfully resisted the
northwestern kingdoms until the arrival of
the Hunas, who established themselves
in Afghanistan by the first half of the 5th
century, with their capital at Bamiyan.[77]
However, much of the Deccan and
southern India were largely unaffected by
these events in the north.[78][79]
Brahmanical Expansion at the Expense of
Buddhism
Main articles: Decline of Buddhism in
India, Vaishnavism, and Shaivism
Ronald Inden notes:
"before the eighth century, the
Buddha was accorded the position of
universal deity and ceremonies by
which a king attained to imperial
status were elaborate donative
ceremonies entailing gifts to
Buddhist monks and the installation
of a symbolic Buddha in a
stupa....This pattern changed in the
eighth century. The Buddha was
replaced as the supreme, imperial
deity by one of the Hindu gods
(except under the Palas of eastern
India, the Buddha's homeland)
...Previously the Buddha had been
accorded imperial-style worship
(puja). Now as one of the Hindu gods
replaced the Buddha at the imperial
centre and pinnacle of the cosmo-
political system, the image or symbol
of the Hindu god comes to be housed
in a monumental temple and given
increasingly elaborate imperial-style
puja worship.[80]"
The replacement of the Buddha as the
"cosmic person" coincided with the same
period of time that the Buddha was
incorporated and subordinated within the
cult of Vishnu as an avatar. Although
Buddhism did not disappear from India
for several centuries after the eighth, royal
proclivities for the cults of Vishnu and
Shiva weakened Buddhism's position
within the sociopolitical context and
helped make possible its decline.[81]
Late Middle Kingdoms — The Classical Age
Main articles: Middle Kingdoms of India ,
Badami Chalukyas , Rashtrakuta , Eastern
Ganga dynasty, Western Chalukyas , and
Vijayanagara Empire
Pala Empire under Dharmapala
Pala Empire under Devapala
Chola Empire under Rajendra Chola c.
1030 C.E.
Badami Chalukya Empire