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POST MAURYAN SOURCES

Post-Mauryan is the name given to the period extending from approximately 200 B.C. 300 A.D., that is, from the fall of the Mauryan dynasty to the rise of Gupta power. Though several important new developments are seen in this phase, it is best viewed in terms of the continuity and intensification of political, economic and social processes that started in the post Vedic (6th, century BC) and matured in the Mauryan, culminating in the postMauryan. Our sources include literature (brahmanical, Buddhist as well as foreign accounts), archaeological excavations (late NBPW and post NBPW), coins (of a large variety and number), inscriptions (in Prakrit and, for the first time, Sanskrit) and architectural and art remains from these five hundred years.

LITERARY SOURCES
The reconstruction of the history of the subcontinent after the Maurya rule is based on a variety of sources. The sources for the history of these centuries are many and diverse. The dynastic genealogies found in the early Puranas, whose compilation may have begun during the early centuries of the Christian era, throw light on the political history of the times; their value is enhance when corroborated by inscriptions. Although the Dharmashastra works composed during the post-Maurya period are normative, they do provide the basic material for understanding the changing social structure. The Buddhist Jatakas, Divyavadana, Mahavastu, and the Milindpanho are equally useful. The Jatakas contain many stories of ordinary people, traders, and travellers. Incidental historical references occur in other Buddhist works such as the Milindhpanha and Lalitavistara. Jaina texts throw light on the history of Jainism The earliest Tamil literature, known as the Sangam, throws light on the process of social and political transformation in the far south. Pieces of information may also be culled from such texts as the Gargi Samhita and the Mahabhasya of Patanjali. Texts such as the Malavikagnimitra of Kalidasa and the Harshacharita of Banabhatta provide some information bearing on the period after the overthrow of the Mauryas.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOURCES
The vast body of material recovered from explorations and excavations of nearly 150 sites during the last half century and the impressive testimony of art and architecture both within the country and outside, is of great help in reconstructing the social and cultural history of the

period. The epigraphic records in Kharoshthi found in large numbers in Gandhara and Central Asia refer to different facets of Indias regular contacts with these regions. Coins bearing the names of rulers appeared in the 1st century BC and are of immense value for the study of political history, and for appreciating the significance of social and economic developments. Roman coins discovered in the subcontinent enable us to understand the pattern of trade between India and the Western world. The most well known of these accounts is the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea written by an anonymous Greek seafarer. BIBLIOGRAPHY A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India Upinder Singh Ancient India Vijay Kachroo Indias Ancient Past R. S. Sharma A History of India Piyush Chauhan Exploring Early India Ranabir Chakravarti

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