Indian Civilizations Past

5843 Words24 Pages
INDIA’S GLORIOUS PAST SHIRLEY G ROLL NO: F13056 Introduction: India is a country of great culture and heritage. Not to stop there, India had been a leader in science, technology, arts, weapon warfare and even modern sciences which include nuclear sciences and rocket science. No wonder India is still incredible India. As civilizations arose and faded away, as kingdoms were established and defeated, Indian culture went through different phases of changes and advancements. But there was one important thing to be noted here. Even as kings and queens from the Middle East and from other Asian zones established kingdoms in India, the culture that they brought in, was never able to sustain forever;…show more content…
This civilization is notable for the social life that prevailed and their contributions to social structuration and philosophy. More particularly, the Vedic literature which are hailed as the oldest sacred texts. These texts contain hymns and mantras to be recited during different ceremonies and also discussions on how ceremonies should be conducted. The society was ruled by tribal assemblies which is more similar to the modern day Assemblies of the Parliament. The society consisted of pastoral groups and they were divided into four social classes based on their occupations. Agriculture, still remained the chief occupation of the Aryans. Women were given a lot of importance and freedom, in which they were even allowed to take part in political functions. In fact, there were even woman scholars, whose names have been mentioned in Vedic literature. Some of the prominent women scholars are Gargi, Maitreyi, Vac, Ambhrni, Romasa and Khona. Vedic literature praises the birth of a scholarly daughter in these words: "A girl also should be brought up and educated with great effort and care." (Mahanirvana Tantra); and "All forms of knowledge are aspects of Thee; and all women throughout the world are Thy forms." (Devi Mahatmya) There was no practice of child marriage in the Aryan…show more content…
Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to India during the era of Chandragupta Maurya, has written an extensive account of India in his book, Indica. He has also written a good account on South India. Megasthenes writes about the fine pearls of the Pandya kingdom and the trades that flourished between the Pandya Kingdom and the Roman Empire. The Pandyas even sent emissaries to the roman emperor Augustus. While the Pandyas were famous for their pearls and ports and trade centers, the cholas were famous for their cotton trades. The Cholas were known so much for their trade that accounts of their trade were written in the book Periplus of the Ethyraean Sea , written by an Alexandrian Merchant between 81 AD and 96 AD. The Greek historian Ptolemy writes of the Chola country and their ports in his accounts of history as well. The Cholas controlled the most extensive shipping from the Coromandel coast across the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. They built their own ships of various sizes. Their large ships were called as Colandia, to go up the Ganges, and their lighter boats were used for local traffic. They also built huge vessels which reached Malaya and Sumatra. Thus it is evident that the Cholas had trade relations even with Southeast
Open Document