Sunday, 1 February 2015

General awareness: Indian History notes # 4


Source: 12th NCERT History Part-I Chapter 3

·         In 1919 under the leadership of a noted Indian Sanskritist V.S. Sukthankar initiated the task of preparing a critical edition of Mahabharata.
·         ‘Kula’     -              Families
·         Jnati       -              Larger network of Kinfolk
·         Vamsha                -              Lineage
·         Mansusmriti mentioned 8 forms of marriage
·         Each gotra was named after a Vedic seer.
·         2 rules about gotra
A.      Women on marriage attain husband’s gotra
B.      Members of same gotra could not marry
·         Metronymics     -              Names derived from that of the mother.
·         The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad contains a list of successive generations of teachers and students, many of whom were designated by metronymics.
·         Satavahana rulers were identified through metronymics. But succession is patrilineal.
·         The Shungas and Kanvas, the immediate successors of the Mauryas were Brahmanas.
·         Jatis which shared a common occupation or profession were sometimes organized into Shrenis or Guilds.
·         ‘Venik’means  Merchants
·         Mrichchhakatika written by Shudraka portrayed hero Charudatta as both a Brahmana & a Sarthavaha or merchant.
·         Chinese Buddhist monk Faxian wrote that untouchables have to sound a clapper in the streets so that people could avoid seeking them.
·         Acc. To manusmriti , A men can acquire wealth in 7 ways
1.       Inheritance
2.       Investment
3.       Finding
4.       Work
5.       Purchase
6.       Acceptance of gifts from good people
7.       Conquest
·         Where as a women can acquire wealth in 6 ways acc. To Manusmriti.
·         Buddhist text in Pali, Majjhima Nikaya, is part of a dialogue between a king named Avantiputta and a disciple of the Buddha named Kachchana.
·         The text ‘Suttapitaka’ suggested that ‘Mahasammata’ the great elect, was chosen by the people.
·         Didactic refers something that is meant for purposes of instructions.Didactic section of the Mahabharata is the Bhagavad Gita.
·         The original story of Mahabharata was probably composed by charioteer bards known as Sutas.
·         In 1951-52, the archaeologist B.B.Lal excavated at a village named Hastinapur in the Meerut (Uttar Pradesh).