B.A. Social Notes

                Mahajanpadas   In the later Vedic period, the tribal organisations changed its identity and gradually shifted to the territorial identity, and the area of settlement were now regarded as janapadas or states. In transition  from tribe to monarchy, they lost the essential democratic pattern of the tribe but retained the idea of government through an essential democratic pattern of the tribe but retained the idea of government through an assembly representing the tribes. These states consisted of either a single tribe such as the Shakyas, Kolias, Mallas etc. or a confederacy of tribes such as the Vrijjis, Yadavas, Panchala etc. The people in the lower Ganges Valley and Delta, which were outside the Aryan pale, were regarded as Mlecchas. There was, therefore, a strong consciousness of the pure land of the Aryans called Aryavarta.  According to Anguttara Nikaya, there were about sixteen Mahajanpadas in the sixth century BC. Their capital and locations are given in a table o

                              Vedic Age The Vedic age began in India in about 1500 BC with the coming of Aryans, who scattered on the plains of of northern India. Max Muller believes it an anomaly to regard the race as Aryan because scientifically Aryans connotes nothing but language.The relationship between the race and language of these people with the classical languages of Europe was established by a Bavarian Franz Bopp 1816. Aryans developed Vedic culture based on Vedas. The meaning of the word Veda is "knowledge" , the best of all knowledge in the eyes of Hindus. It is a collection of hymns, prayers, charms, litanies, and sacrificial formulae. There are four Vedas, namely, Rig Veda, Sam Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda . Aryans' Arrival in India The Aryans came to India in several waves. The earliest wave is represented by the Rig Vedic people who appeared in the subcontinent in about 1500 BC. They came into conflict with the indigenous inhabitants called t

                               Harappan Civilization In 1924, scholars in history were roused by the announcement of Sir John Marshall that his Indian  aides,particularly R.D. Banerjee, discovered (1922-23) at Mohenjo-daro in the Larkana district of Sind, now in Pakistan, the remains of a civilization, one of the oldest of the world. A few hundred miles towards the north of Mohenjo-daro, four or five superimposed cities were excavated at Harappa in the Montgomery district of the Punjab, now in Pakistan. Recently, excavations carried out on the site of Kalibangan have revealed a third city as large as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. That the civilization was not confined to the limits of Indus Valley can be understood from the finds of relics of the same civilization at Sutkagendor on the sea board of south Baluchistan, in the west of Alamgirpur in the Uttar Pradesh in the east; and from Ropar in the Himalaya foothills in the north to Bhagatrav on the river kim in between the Narmada and

      The Saka Rule and Indian Culture The Sakas ruled over this country for a period of about five hundred years. They adopted Indian way of life and customs. They learnt much from Indian culture and contributed likewise to the life and culture of this country.The Indian culture was sufficiently influenced by the culture and traditions of the Sakas in different aspects. Administration The administrative machinery of the Saka rulers was of a very high standard. It was an admixture of Indo-Greek systems of administration.The king was head of the administration.Many titles,such as, 'Adhiraja', 'Rajadhiraja', 'Devaputra', 'Chakravarti' and others were adopted by the Saka rulers. The prime minister was the head of this council. In addition,many other officials,such as, Mahamatra, Rajuka, Mahesenapati, Dandanayaka, Mahadandanayaka, Senagopa, Koshadhyaksha, Bhandarika, Rajalipikar etc. ,were also appointed in order to assist the king in the administrat

       Greek Influence on Indian Culture The Greek invasion touched only the upper surface of Indian life and culture. Alexander was the first Greek who invaded India,but his invasion had no permanent effect upon Indian culture.As a consequence of Alexander's invasion,the coinage system underwent minute changes. The Gandhara art had its birth and some new avenues were opened for trade and commerce.This was the only effect of the invasion of Alexander on Indian culture. In fact,Alexander appeared like a conqueror and not as a propagator of culture and civilization.The second Greek invader was Seleucus ,who attacked India in about 306 B.C .This invasion,too,did not make any impact on Indian culture. In the middle of the third century B.C. two Greek dynasties-the Bactrian and the Parthian -were established in Greece.The rulers of these dynasties invaded India between 205 B.C . Demetrius,Menander and Eukratides were the main invaders who laid the foundation of Indo-Greek king

            The Bactrian Greek Rulers The territory situated across the Hindukush mountain was called Bactria , Balkh was the capital of the State of Bactria. Bactria was a prosperous state, and also known as an important centre of Greek civilisation. Balkh was the main centre of trade and commerce of middle Asia. In about 250 B.C. Diodotus, governor of Bactria, revolted against the rule of Antiochus I,grandson of Seleukus,and declared himself as an independent ruler of Bactria. But his military rule could not last long. The political discontent remained as before till 230 B.C. At last, Euthydemus,the inhabitants of Mongolia, ruined the dynasty which was Established by Diodotus. Euthydemus ascended the throne of Bactria. When he died in about 190B.C. He was succeeded by his able son Demetrius . He was great warrior and he adopted the policy of imperialism. The Invasion of Demetrius Demetrius was undoubtedly a powerful ruler of Bactria. He invaded India in about 184 B.C. The

Similarities between Buddhism and Jainism Dr. N.N. Ghosh has written," The points in which Buddhism and Jainism differ from Brahmanism or orthodox Hinduism are the points of resemblance between the former two ". Monier Williams has observed," Buddhism and Jainism were not related to each other as parents or child but rather children of common parents,born at different intervals,though at about the same period of time and marked by distinct characteristics,though possessed of a strong family of resemblance " . Common Rise- As Hinduism was becoming rigid day by day,people began to hate the bloody Yajnas and religions raised a voice against the shortcomings of Hinduism and gained ground. Thus,both  Jainism and  Bud dhism were Protestant religious movements. Principal of Ahimsa- Both religion had faith in the equality of all living beings. Hence they taught their followers not to kill anybody. Thus,the principle of ahimsa was followed by both the religion

Distinction between Hinyanism & Mahayanism                During the reign of Kanishka when the fourth Buddhist council was held,and it divided into two sects Hinayana and Mahayana. Kanishka was the powerful Kushan ruler and a staunch devotee of Buddhism. The followers of the Hinayana and Mahayana, school of Buddhism believed in the old religion propounded by Lord Buddha and the devotees of the Mahayana school made certain changes of their own choice. This event is called the transformation of Buddhism. Their differences are following- 1-Idol Worship- The followers of the Hinayana used to regard the Buddha as a great man. They never worshipped him as a god. But the followers of the Mahayana used to worship Lord Buddha as a god. They constructed of Lord Buddha and started worshipping him as the Hindus worshiped their gods. 2-Faith in Place of Reason- Lord Buddha had preached his followers not to accept anything blindly.It is the self efforts of a man which bring the frui

                     Contribution of Jainism The contribution of Jainism in the field of art and literature is unique. It has not only affected the day-to-day life of a man, but has its own philosophy. The principle of simple living and high thinking can easily be applicable to the monks and the followers of Jainism. Jain Literature: Jain literature is quite  extensive,their contribution  to the development of language and literature is considerable. The  whole of Jain literature was written in Prakrit,Magadhi and Apabhransha languages so that the people well versed in these languages could understand it well. Hemachandra , Haribhadra, Siddha Sena etc. are the famous writers of Jain literature. The chief subjects of Jain writers are religion,philosophy,grammar and mathematics.It is very fast and full of knowledge. The vernaculars also flourished due to composition of Jain literature in the dialects. Ahimsa:  Non-violence has a very important position in Jain religion

                                      Theory of Syadvada Jainism seems to be closely linked with the philosophy of 'Sankhya'. It also developed a kind of logic which cut at the root of all stable knowledge.It was technically named Syadvada or the theory of 'May be'. No absolute answer can be given for any question.There are seven modes of answering a question in Jainism. If the question is, 'Is there a soul'?, this logic of the Jains would admit of seven answer to it,viz, (i) is; (ii) is not ; (iii) is and is not ; (iv) is unpredictable ; (v) is and is unpredictable ; (vi) is not and is  unpredictable; (vii) is, is not and is unpredictable . First sense is that there is a soul exist , second sense is there is no soul exist and third sense is not inconceivable in which we must admit that we cannot describe it,and so on. This is equivalent to saying that knowledge is only probable.   Emancipation of Women: In Hinduism women were not given the right t

            Teachings of Mahavira Swami  The 'Agamas' the scared writings ,are compilation of the teachings of Jain Tirthankaras. Besides 12 'Agamas',the older parts of the 'Acharanga', 'Sutrakitanga' and 'Bhagavati Sutra' also contain the original matter on religion. The main teachings of Jainism are described below in the light of the above mentioned Jain literature.  No Faith in the Vedas and the Supremacy of Brahmin : Mahavira Swami had no faith in the authority of the Vedas and rejected the Vedic rituals and the supremacy of the Brahmins. He recommended very high moral code and ascetic way of life.He was favor of the severe self-mortification for the attainment of Nirvana. The Bahmin supremacy was not accepted by Mahavira. No Belief in the existence of God : Mahavira had no faith in the existence of.He did not regard him as the creator of the Universe. God, according to Mahavira Swami, is only the highest, the noblest and the

                                          Jainism The origin of Jainism is very old. Rishabh dev is the founder of Jainism. Bhaghwat Purana and Vishnu Purana also refer to Rishabha as an incarnation of Narayana. Jain religion is the outcome of the teachings of twenty-four Tirthankaras. They are shrouded in obscurity but we have sufficient details about Parshvanath, the twenty-third Tirthankara of Jainism. Parshvanath: Parshvanath was the real founder of Jainism. He was the son of Asvasena, the king of Banaras or Kashi. Prabhavati was the name of his wife. She was the daughter of king Narvarman . He renounced the world at the age of thirty and became an ascetic. After a profound meditation for 84 days , he attained the highest knowledge known as 'Kaivalya Gyana' in the Jain religion. He preached Jainism for about seventy years, and died of hundred years at the top of the hill known as Parshvanath hill.  Teachings of Parshvanath: He opposed the worship of gods and

                             Teachings of Buddhism The Buddha preached his followers the four truth concerning sorrow.He also preached the reason of sorrow and laid emphasis on Trishna (desires) as the chief sources of discontentment among human beings. Four Truths 1-The world is full of sorrow- Buddha describes this world as full of sorrow and sufferings.According to him ,birth is sorrow,death is sorrow,meeting with unpleasant is sorrow and separation from the pleasant is sorrow.Every wish unfulfilled is sorrow. 2-The reason of sorrow- The chief reason of sorrow is Trishna or desire for material enjoyment and earthly things 3-How does sorrows can be averted- If a man is able to exercise control over desires he can obtain Nirvan and escape from the unending cycle of births and rebirths. 4-Remedy of sorrow- He was of the opinion that self-mortification , repetition of prayers, sacrices and chanting of hymns were not sufficient to attain Moksha. Following the Ashthangika Ma

     Political Condition of Later Vedic Period We come to know from the epics that the Aryans had advanced further from the Punjab to the interior of the country.They had established their authority over the fertile Gangetic valley.During the epic age ,Aryans crossed the Vindhyachal mountain and established friendly relations with Deccan as Bali and Sugriva have been mentioned as foreign rulers in the Ramayana.Moreover,in take great war of the Mahabharata various kings from Deccan come to take part as friends of either Kauravas or Pandvas. Rise of Powerful States- Aryans had now established powerful kingdoms like Panchala,Kashi,Kosala etc.The ideal of Samrat and Samrajya had taken a concrete  shape during the Epic Age kings had now begun to adopt the titles like Samrat ,Adhiraj, Rajadhiraj and Sarvabhauma. Position of King- The king used to hold all the supreme powers of the state.Though the king during the Epic Age was a hereditary monarch,yet he was not the absolute despot