The book on “HISTORY OF INDIA – II (300 BCE-750 CE)” has been written for the history Honours students (2019-20) of the CBCS courses designed as a common syllabus for all Universities of Odisha. For the convenience of the students, different terminologies are clarified, Summary recaps are given, points and sub-points are highlighted, Model Questions are given and LMR (Last Minutes Revision) is also supplied.
In the first unit of the book, vivid depiction has been made on the expansion of agrarian economy, production relations, urban growth, trade and commerce, social stratification, class, varna, jati, gender. In the following units, discussions were also made Mauryan Empire, Post-Mauryan politics and the Cholas. Focus has also been given on Gupta Age, Agrarian Expansion, Land Grants, Graded Land Rights, Varna, Proliferation of Jatis, and Post-Gupta Politics. The subsequent chapter deals with topics like consolidations of the Brahmanical tradition, Dharma, Varnashram, Buddhism, Jainism, and Mauryan, Gupta art and architecture.
Chapterisation of this book is student-friendly and as per the new common syllabus. Language of the content is very simple and lucid as a common student can easily grasp and appear for the examination. In preparing this book, we referred both classical as well as contemporary books and different web sources pertaining to the topics of the book.
We hope, this book will surely find both students and teachers very useful and fulfill their needs. Lay readers interested in acquiring an insight into the glorious past of India shall also find the book quite useful and informative.
Contents –
UNIT-I: ECONOMY AND SOCIETY (CIRCA 300 BCE TO CIRCA 300)
1. Expansion of Agrarian Economy: Production Relations
2. Urban Growth: Trade and Commerce
3. Social Stratification: Class, Varna, Jati, Gender
UNIT-II: CHANGING POLITICAL FORMATIONS (CIRCA 300 BCE TO CIRCA CE 300)
4. The Mauryan Empire: Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka – Conquest, Administration
5. Post-Mauryan Polities with Special Reference to the Kushanas and the Satavahanas
6. The Cholas
UNIT-III: TOWARS EARLYMEDIEVAL INDIA (CE FOURTH CENTURY TO CE 750)
7. Gupta Age: Agrarian Expansion, Land Grants, Graded Land Rights and Peasantry
8. Varna, Proliferation of Jatis: Changing Norms of Marriage and Property
9. The Nature of Polities – The Gupta Empire
10. Post-Gupta Polities – Pallavas, Chalukyas and Vardhanas
11. The Vardhanas
UNIT-IV: RELIGION, CULTURE, PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIETY (CIRCA 300 BCE-CE 750)
12. Consolidation of the Brahmanical Tradition: Dharma, Varnashrama, Purusharthas
13. Buddhism: Hinayana and Mahayana
14. Jainism and its Major Principles
15. Development of Art and Architecture, Mauryan and Gupta
