Indian History: Ancient & Medieval India — Indus Valley to Mughal Empire

Ancient and Medieval Indian History accounts for 3-6 questions in Graduate Level PSC papers. Questions test dynasties, rulers, capitals, and cultural achievements. These notes cover NCERT Class 6-8 History (Our Pasts I, II, III).

Indus Valley Civilisation (Harappan Civilisation) ~2500-1500 BCE

Fact	Detail
Period	~2500-1500 BCE (Bronze Age)
Discovered by	R.D. Banerji (Mohenjo-daro, 1922) and Daya Ram Sahni (Harappa, 1921)
Excavation director	Sir John Marshall (Director General of ASI)
Area	Largest ancient civilisation by area (Pakistan, NW India, Afghanistan)
Nature	Urban, planned cities; trade-based; no evidence of warfare
Script	Undeciphered (written right to left)
Declined	~1500 BCE (climate change, river drying, Aryan migration — debated)

Major Sites

Site	Location (modern)	Key feature
Harappa	Punjab, Pakistan	First discovered site; granaries
Mohenjo-daro	Sindh, Pakistan	Great Bath; largest site; “Mound of the Dead”
Lothal	Gujarat, India	Dockyard (earliest known); bead-making factory
Kalibangan	Rajasthan, India	Fire altars; ploughed field evidence
Dholavira	Gujarat, India	Water reservoirs; signboard with Indus script
Rakhigarhi	Haryana, India	Largest Indus site in India
Chanhudaro	Sindh, Pakistan	Bead-making; only site without a citadel
Banawali	Haryana, India	Barley cultivation; oval-shaped settlement

Features of Indus Valley Civilisation

Feature	Detail
Town planning	Grid pattern; streets at right angles; drainage system
Great Bath	At Mohenjo-daro; public bathing/ritual pool
Drainage	Advanced underground drainage — most advanced of ancient world
Materials	Bronze (copper + tin); no iron
Agriculture	Wheat, barley, cotton (first to cultivate cotton), rice
Animals	Humped bull (zebu) on seals; dogs, cats, elephants; horse debated
Religion	Mother Goddess worship; Pashupati seal (proto-Shiva); tree worship
Trade	With Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq); seals found in Mesopotamian sites

Vedic Age (~1500-600 BCE)

Early Vedic (Rig Vedic) Period (~1500-1000 BCE)

Fact	Detail
People	Indo-Aryans
Region	Sapta Sindhu (land of seven rivers — Punjab/NW India)
Key text	Rig Veda (oldest of the 4 Vedas; 1,028 hymns, 10 mandalas)
Society	Pastoral, semi-nomadic; cattle-rearing primary
Political unit	Jana (tribe); chief = Rajan (not hereditary initially)
Important rivers	Sindhu (Indus), Saraswati (now dried)
Religion	Agni (fire), Indra (war/rain), Varuna (water) — nature worship

Later Vedic Period (~1000-600 BCE)

Fact	Detail
Region	Expanded eastward to Ganga-Yamuna Doab
Key texts	Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Atharva Veda; Brahmanas, Aranyakas, Upanishads
Society	Varna system rigidified (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra)
Economy	Agriculture dominant; iron introduced
Political	Mahajanapadas (16 large states) emerged

The Four Vedas

Veda	Content	Key fact
Rig Veda	Hymns to gods	Oldest; 1,028 hymns; Gayatri Mantra from here
Sama Veda	Musical chants	”Book of melodies”
Yajur Veda	Rituals and sacrifices	Prose + verse
Atharva Veda	Spells, charms, medicine	Most “worldly” of the four

Mahajanapadas and Rise of Buddhism/Jainism (600-321 BCE)

16 Mahajanapadas

The most important for PSC:

Mahajanapada	Capital	Key fact
Magadha	Rajagriha, later Pataliputra	Most powerful; became Mauryan Empire base
Kosala	Shravasti	Buddha spent 25 rainy seasons here
Vatsa	Kaushambi	Important trade centre
Avanti	Ujjain	Western Indian power
Gandhara	Taxila	Centre of learning (Takshashila university)

Buddhism

Fact	Detail
Founder	Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE approximately)
Born at	Lumbini (Nepal)
Enlightenment at	Bodh Gaya (under Peepal/Bodhi tree)
First sermon at	Sarnath (Deer Park) — called Dharmachakra Pravartana
Death (Mahaparinirvana) at	Kushinagar
Four Noble Truths	Suffering exists; suffering has a cause; suffering can end; path to end suffering
Eightfold Path	Right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration
Key councils	1st: Rajagriha; 2nd: Vaishali; 3rd: Pataliputra (Ashoka); 4th: Kashmir (Kanishka)
Two sects	Hinayana (Theravada) — orthodox; Mahayana — liberal, worship of Buddha as god

Jainism

Fact	Detail
Founder	Vardhamana Mahavira (24th Tirthankara; 540-468 BCE approximately)
First Tirthankara	Rishabhadeva (Adinatha)
Born at	Kundagrama (Vaishali, Bihar)
Died at	Pavapuri (Bihar)
Key principles	Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truth), Asteya (non-stealing), Aparigraha (non-possessiveness), Brahmacharya (celibacy)
Two sects	Digambara (sky-clad/naked) and Svetambara (white-clad)
Symbol	Swastika

Maurya Empire (321-185 BCE)

Ruler	Period	Key achievement
Chandragupta Maurya	321-298 BCE	Founded the empire; defeated Seleucus Nicator; advisor = Kautilya (Chanakya)
Bindusara	298-272 BCE	Expanded south; called “Amitraghata” (slayer of enemies)
Ashoka	268-232 BCE	Greatest Mauryan ruler; converted to Buddhism after Kalinga War (261 BCE)

Ashoka — The Great

Fact	Detail
Kalinga War	261 BCE; massive bloodshed; Ashoka renounced violence and adopted Buddhism
Edicts	Rock Edicts and Pillar Edicts across India — earliest decipherable Indian inscriptions
Dhamma	Ashoka’s moral code — non-violence, tolerance, respect for elders
National emblem	Sarnath Lion Capital (4 lions) — adopted as India’s national emblem
Ashoka Chakra	24-spoke wheel from Sarnath pillar — on Indian flag
Spread Buddhism	Sent missionaries including son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka

Kautilya’s Arthashastra

Fact	Detail
Author	Kautilya (Chanakya / Vishnugupta)
Subject	Statecraft, economics, military strategy
Significance	One of the earliest treatises on political science and economics
Chanakya was	Advisor to Chandragupta Maurya; teacher at Takshashila (Taxila)

Gupta Empire — “Golden Age of India” (320-550 CE)

Ruler	Period	Achievement
Sri Gupta	~240-280 CE	Founder of the dynasty
Chandragupta I	320-335 CE	First great Gupta ruler; started Gupta Era (320 CE)
Samudragupta	335-375 CE	”Napoleon of India” (by historian V.A. Smith); greatest military conqueror
Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya)	375-415 CE	Greatest cultural patron; Navratnas in court; Fa Hien visited
Kumaragupta I	415-455 CE	Founded Nalanda University
Skandagupta	455-467 CE	Defeated the Huns; last great Gupta ruler

Golden Age Achievements

Field	Achievement
Literature	Kalidasa — Abhijnanashakuntalam, Meghadutam, Raghuvamsham
Mathematics	Aryabhata — value of pi, decimal system, earth rotation; wrote Aryabhatiyam
Astronomy	Varahamihira — Panchasiddhantika, Brihat Samhita
Medicine	Dhanvantari — Ayurveda development
Art	Ajanta and Ellora cave paintings (Ajanta = Buddhist; Ellora = Buddhist, Hindu, Jain)
Iron Pillar	Delhi Iron Pillar (Mehrauli) — rust-free after 1,600+ years; Gupta metallurgy

Delhi Sultanate (1206-1526)

Five Dynasties

Dynasty	Period	Founder	Key ruler
Slave (Mamluk)	1206-1290	Qutbuddin Aibak	Iltutmish, Razia Sultan, Balban
Khilji	1290-1320	Jalaluddin Khilji	Alauddin Khilji (market reforms, Mongol defeats)
Tughlaq	1320-1414	Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq	Muhammad bin Tughlaq (shifted capital to Daulatabad; token currency)
Sayyid	1414-1451	Khizr Khan	Weak rulers
Lodi	1451-1526	Bahlul Lodi	Ibrahim Lodi (defeated by Babur at Panipat, 1526)

Key Facts

Fact	Detail
Qutb Minar	Started by Qutbuddin Aibak; completed by Iltutmish
First Muslim woman ruler of India	Razia Sultan (daughter of Iltutmish; ruled 1236-1240)
Alauddin Khilji	Market control system; defeated Mongols multiple times; conquered most of South India
Muhammad bin Tughlaq	”Prince of Moneyers”; shifted capital from Delhi to Daulatabad (Maharashtra); introduced copper token currency
Ibn Battuta	Moroccan traveller; visited India during Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign; wrote Rihla

Mughal Empire (1526-1857)

Major Mughal Rulers

Ruler	Period	Key achievement
Babur	1526-1530	Founded Mughal Empire; won First Battle of Panipat (1526) defeating Ibrahim Lodi; wrote Baburnama
Humayun	1530-1556	Lost empire to Sher Shah Suri; regained it; died falling from library stairs
Akbar	1556-1605	Greatest Mughal; Din-i-Ilahi (new religion); Mansabdari system; Navratnas; religious tolerance; Fatehpur Sikri; Birbal, Tansen, Todar Mal
Jahangir	1605-1627	Patron of painting; married Nur Jahan; “Chain of Justice”
Shah Jahan	1628-1658	Built Taj Mahal (for Mumtaz Mahal); Red Fort, Jama Masjid; “Golden Age of Mughal architecture”
Aurangzeb	1658-1707	Last great Mughal; expanded empire to largest extent; imposed Jizya tax; orthodox; Deccan wars weakened empire
Bahadur Shah Zafar	1837-1857	Last Mughal emperor; symbolic leader of 1857 Revolt; exiled to Rangoon

Akbar’s Navratnas (Nine Gems)

Person	Known for
Birbal	Wit and wisdom
Tansen	Music (one of the greatest musicians in Indian history)
Todar Mal	Revenue system (land revenue reforms)
Abul Fazl	Wrote Ain-i-Akbari and Akbarnama
Faizi	Poetry
Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana	Poetry (Hindi couplets)
Man Singh	Military commander
Fakir Aziao-Din	Religious advisor
Mullah Do Piaza	Advisor

Important Travellers to India

Traveller	From	Period	Visited during	Wrote
Megasthenes	Greece	~302 BCE	Chandragupta Maurya	Indica
Fa Hien	China	~399-414 CE	Chandragupta II (Gupta)	Record of Buddhist Kingdoms
Hiuen Tsang	China	~630-645 CE	Harsha	Si-Yu-Ki (Great Tang Records)
Al-Biruni	Persia	~1017 CE	Mahmud of Ghazni	Kitab-ul-Hind
Ibn Battuta	Morocco	~1334 CE	Muhammad bin Tughlaq	Rihla
Marco Polo	Italy	~1292 CE	—	Visited South India (Kerala coast)
Niccolò Conti	Italy	~1420 CE	—	Visited Vijayanagara

Quick Revision — 30 Ancient & Medieval History Facts

1. Indus Valley discovered by: R.D. Banerji (Mohenjo-daro) and Daya Ram Sahni (Harappa)
2. Great Bath: Mohenjo-daro
3. Dockyard: Lothal (Gujarat)
4. Oldest Veda: Rig Veda
5. Total Vedas: 4
6. Buddha born at: Lumbini (Nepal)
7. First sermon at: Sarnath
8. Mahavira was: 24th Tirthankara
9. Chandragupta’s advisor: Chanakya (Kautilya)
10. Arthashastra author: Kautilya
11. Ashoka’s famous war: Kalinga (261 BCE)
12. National emblem from: Ashoka’s Sarnath Pillar
13. “Napoleon of India”: Samudragupta
14. Nalanda University by: Kumaragupta I
15. Kalidasa’s period: Gupta (Chandragupta II’s court)
16. Aryabhata’s contribution: Value of Pi, decimal system
17. Qutb Minar started by: Qutbuddin Aibak
18. First Muslim woman ruler: Razia Sultan
19. Capital shifted to Daulatabad by: Muhammad bin Tughlaq
20. First Battle of Panipat: 1526 (Babur vs Ibrahim Lodi)
21. Taj Mahal by: Shah Jahan
22. Din-i-Ilahi by: Akbar
23. Baburnama by: Babur
24. Last Mughal: Bahadur Shah Zafar
25. Tansen was in court of: Akbar
26. Jizya reimposed by: Aurangzeb
27. Megasthenes visited: Chandragupta Maurya’s court
28. Fa Hien visited: Gupta period
29. Hiuen Tsang visited: Harsha’s reign
30. Ibn Battuta visited: Muhammad bin Tughlaq’s reign

Notes based on NCERT Class 6 (Our Pasts I), Class 7 (Our Pasts II), Class 8 (Our Pasts III). PSC patterns from 2015-2024. Updated April 2026.