History of India II

This book covers the Syllabus (Paper 3) Semester II for History Honours

Course Objective:
(i) The objective of this course is to acquaints the students with agrarian economy,
the growth of urban centres in northern and central India and the Deccan as well as craft production, trade routes and coinage
(ii) Process of state formation and the Mauryan and post-Mauryan plities with special reference to the Kushnas, Satavahanas and Gana-Sanghas.
(iii) Land grants, land rights and peasantry, urban decline and religious traditions of early India

I. Economy and Society (circa 300 BCE to circa CE 300):
[a] Expansion of agrarian economy: production relations.
[b] Urban growth: north India, central India and the Deccan; craft Production: trade and trade routes; coinage.
[c] Social stratification: class, Varna, jati, untouchability; gender; marriage and property relations

II. Changing political formations (circa 300 BCE to circa CE 300):
[a] The Mauryan Empire
[b] Post-Mauryan Polities with special reference to the Kushanas
[c] The Satavahanas; Gana-Sanghas.

III. Towards early medieval India [circa CE fourth century to CE 750]:
[a] Agrarian expansion: land grants, changing production relations; graded Land rights and peasantry.
[b] The problem of urban decline: patterns of trade, currency, and urban Settlements.
[c] Varna, proliferation of jatis: changing norms of marriage and property.
[d] The nature of polities: the Gupta empire and its contemporaries: post- Gupta polities -Pallavas, Chalukyas, and Vardhanas

IV. Religion, philosophy and society (circa 300 BCE- CE 750):
(a) Consolidation of the brahmanical tradition: dharma,Varnashram, Purusharthas, samskaras.
(b) Theistic cults (from circa second century BC): Mahayana; the Puranic tradition.
(c) The beginnings of Tantricism

V. Cultural developments (circa 300 BCE û CE 750):
[a] A brief survey of Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and Tamil literature. Scientific and technical treatises                                        [b] Art and architecture & forms and patronage; Mauryan, post-Mauryan
[c] The Gupta, post-Gupta