Unit 1
Introduction
A peep into India’s glorious past
Ancient India – the vedas, the vedic society and the Sanatana Dharma – rajamandala and the Cakravartins – Ramarajya – Yudhisthira’s ramarajya; Sarasvati – Sindhu Civilization and the myth of the Aryan Invasion; Classical India – Dharma as the bedrock of Indian society – Vaidika Brahmanya Dharma and the rise of Jainism and Buddhism – the sixteen Mahajanapadas and the beginning of Magadhan paramountcy – Kautilya and his Arthasastra – Chandragupta Maurya and the rise of the Mauryan empire – Gupta dynasty Indian art and architecture – classical sanskrit literature – Harsavardhana; Trade and commerce in classical and medieval India and the story of Indian supremacy in the Indian ocean region; The coming of Islam – dismantling of the traditional Indian polity – the Mughal empire – Vijayanagara samrajya and days of Maratha supremacy.