Ancient History - 1

Brahmavadini or "an expounder of the Veda" are those women who composed any hymns of the Vedas. The prominent among them were Lopamudra, Vishwawara, Sikta, Ghosha and Maitreyi. 

In Sanskrit plays of Gupta period, women and Sudras speak Prakrit.

In the year 1915, near a village called Maski in Raichur district of Karnataka, a rock inscription was discovered on a hill. In this inscription, for the first time, the name of Ashoka was found with titles like Devanampriya and Priyadarshi. It was then ascertained that Devanampriya and Priyadarshi was no other than Ashoka.

Devadasis are girls “dedicated” to worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. They are considered to be the human wives of Lord Jagannath.

Sapta Sindhu plays a prominent part in the hymns of the Rigveda and consequently, in the early Vedic religion.

Kosa was used for treasury and the rest of the three terms are related to family.

Susrutha Samitha was written by Susrutha. He is said to have been the best surgeon during the Gupta period.

Kharosthi script was deciphered by James Prinsep (1799—1840), using the bilingual coins of the Indo-Greek period. This in turn led to the reading of the Edicts of Ashoka, some of which, from the northwest of the Asian subcontinent, were written in the Kharosthi script.

Milindapanho wasn't written by one person. It is the collected dialogue between the Indo-Greek King Milinda (or Meander) and the Buddhist sage Nagasena.

Maski inscription at Raichur doab in Karnataka mentions his personal name, Devanam Priyadasi.

Avalokitevara is a bodhisatta who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He is one of the more widely revered bodhisattas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism.

Rupaka was a silver coin of Gupta period. 16 Rupakas were equal to 1 gold coin.

The Saka era started in 78 AD, while Vikram era started from 58 BC. So, if we want to convert Badami rock inscription of Pulakesin I to Vikram era, it will be 465 + 78 + 58 = 601 Vikram Samvat.

Bactria was the ancient civilisation of Iranian people. Ancient Bactria was located between the Hindu Kush mountain range and the Amu Darya river, covering the flat region that straddles modern-day Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

The word Hindu was used by Greeks to denote the country and people living beyond the Indus river. The word Hindu is derived from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which is the ancient name for the Indus River.

Anuvrata was the five main teachings of Jainism - Ashimsa, Asateya, Aparigraha, Satya and Brahmacharya.

Therigatha was a part of the Buddhist literature.

Apabhramsa means languages.

Ashoka stone pillars were meant to spread his Dhamma.

The II and XIll rock edicts mention the southern kingdoms of Chola, Pandya, Satyaputra, Keialaputra and Tambapanni.

Ashoka's edicts put stress on social harmony among the people by spreading ideas of equity instead of promotion of religion.

The earliest known copper-plate called Sohgaura is a Mauryan record that mentions famine relief efforts. It is one of the very few pre-Ashoka Brahmi inscriptions in India.

The given map is related to the reign of Ashoka towards the tend of his rule. Ashoka (304—232 BC), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty who ruled over the Indian subcontinent from 269 BC to 232 BC. His empire stretched from present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan in the west, to the present-day Bangladesh and the Indian state of Assam in the east, and as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra.

After 3^rd century AD, Roman empire came to an end. Indian merchants meanwhile had begun to rely more heavily on the South-East Asian trade.