Sunday, January 19, 2014

Ancient Maps India ,Ramayana ,Mahabharata


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India Map sixth century BC
Ancient India during sixth century BC
Now that India is giving birth to its twenty-ninth State, Telengana,it is worth remembering that ancient India had fifty-six kingdoms.
Some of them are quite large and were Empires, some small like the Chera Kingdom in Tamil Nadu.
It is interesting to note that these small kingdoms were as prosperous if not more than the large kingdoms’ say in the period of Ramayana,Mahabharata.
The Tamil Chera King, Perunchotru Udiyan Cheralathan fed  both the armies of the Epic battle of Mahabharata.
For more details on this  read my post on this,
He used to liaise with both the warring groups, such was the respect he commanded and so was his states prosperity.
Even During Ramayana period the prosperity of the smaller states were in evidence.
What i have gleaned from these and other historical facts, in India, Austrian Empire, i that a State is prosperous if the Government is good and there are development activities.
The academic discussion that large Sates have more resources at their disposal, smaller easy to administer …are mere arm-chair discussions.
i was curious to find how ancient Map of India looked like.
Here are some Maps of ancient India from the Ramayana, Mahabharata days.
Ancient Map of India during Ramayana
India during The Ramayana period.
Kingdoms of India
Indian Kingdoms.
Ancient Kingdoms of India,

English: Author: JIJITH NR This image shows the locations places mentioned in Mahabharata and Ramayana. Some of the places retained their name during the period of Buddha and some even to the current times. Legend: yellow: kingdoms; blue: rivers; green: forests; brown: mountains; red: places (cities, towns, villages, mountain peaks, etc.)
India 100 BC
Indo Greeks in 100 BC.

Bharatvarsha, India Timeline.
  • . prehistoric
    Human habitation of India.
  • c. 5000 BCE – c. 1900 BCE
    The Indus Valley (or Harappan) Civilization.
  • c. 4000 BCE
    Indian village of Balathal inhabited.
  • c. 3000 BCE – c. 2600 BCE
    The rise of the great Indian cities of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa.
  • 2000 BCE
    Pepper is widely used in Indian cooking.
  • c. 1700 BCE – c. 1500 BCE
    Decline of the Harappan Culture in India.
  • c. 1700 BCE – 1100 BCE
    The Rig Veda written, mentioning the god Rudra (Shiva) for the first time.
  • c. 1700 BCE – 150 BCE
    The Vedic Period in India.
  • 1500 BCE
    The Indus Valley is invaded by Aryans - nomadic northerners from central Asia.
  • c. 1000 BCE
    The Aryans expand into the Ganges valley inIndia.
  • c. 700 BCE
    Indian scholars codify and reinterpret Aryanbeliefs to create the Upanishads texts forming the basis of Hinduism.
  • c. 700 BCE
    India is divided into 16 Aryan states or kingdoms.
  • c. 600 BCE
    Charaka and Sushruta found two schools of Ayurveda.
  • 599 BCE – 527 BCE
    Life of Indian philosopher Vardhamana, founder of Jainism.
  • 530 BCE
    Persia conquers the Indus Valley.
  • c. 500 BCE
    The kingdom of Magadha, ruled by Bimbisara, is the most powerful state in India.
  • c. 490 BCE – 410 BCE
    The life of Siddhartha Gautama or the Buddha, founder of Buddhism. The traditional date for his birth is 563 BCE, although contemporary scholarly consensus places his birth c. 490 BCE.
  • 327 BCE – 325 BCE
    Alexander’s campaign in northern India.
  • 320 BCE
    Chandragupta Maurya seizes the throne of Magadhan and expands the kingdom over northern and central India.
  • 298 BCE
    Indian ruler Chandragupta Maurya dies.
  • 298 BCE – 272 BCE
    Chandragupta’s son, Bindusara, rules and expands the Maurya Empire.
  • 273 BCE – 236 BCE
    Ashoka, grandson of Chandragupta Maurya,conquers most of central and southern India.
  • c. 269 BCE
    Ashoka becomes emperor of the Maurya dynasty in India.
  • c. 260 BCE
    Indian ruler Ashoka conquers the kingdom of Kalinga.
  • 232 BCE
    Indian ruler Ashoka dies and the Mauryaempire declines.
  • c. 200 BCE
    Beginning of the Greco-Bactrian conquests inIndia.
  • 186 BCE
    Demetrios wins a decisive battle in Gandhara, beginning the Yona (or Greek era) in India.
  • c. 165 BCE
    The Greco-Bactrian king Eucratides invadesIndia.
  • 160 BCE – 135 BCE
    Indo-Greek King Menander rules the Punjab.
  • c. 130 BCE
    Eucratids flee from Bactria to India. Rivalry between Eucratids and Euthydemids takes place in the Indo-Greek kingdoms.
  • 30 BCE
    Pepper is directly imported by Roman ships from India and its price decreases.
  • c. 1 CE
    First non-stop voyages from Egypt to India.
  • c. 1 CE – c. 100 CE
    The Mahayana movement begins in India with its belief in bodhisattva – saintly souls who helped the living.
  • 320 CE
    Gupta I founds the Gupta dynasty which would rule India for 600 years.
  • 380 CE – 415 CE
    Reign of Chandra Gupta II in India.
  • 450 CE
    India is invaded by the White Huns across theHindu Kush.
  • c. 500 CE – c. 600 CE
    In India the Tantric expands the number of deities to include helpful demons, contactable through ritual.
  • c. 550 CE
    The end of the reign of Visnugupta Chandraditya, last of the Gupta rulers in India.
  • 712 CE
    Muslim general Muhammed bin Quasimconquers northern India.

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