Chapter Four – Trace of human history on the Ganga Plain
For this purpose, in this context, the mainstream history has been taken into consideration. Even the officially circulated historical accounts, mainly timeline and geographical settings, cannot influence this work substantially.
Prehistoric accounts of India
The Vedic Age is not that much a pinpointed era. This period can only be ideated through inferences. As Megasthenes wrote Indica thus, the concept of Hindu was prevalent then. Without the presence of the word ‘Hindu’, Indica cannot be derived. The concept of Hindu is post-Vedic. Thus, the Vedic period must predate Megasthenes’s stay in India. The term ‘Indica’ has a close relationship with the Sanskrit word Hind (हिँड़.) which may be differently pronounced as ‘Yinr̃d’ (book titled “Origin of Hindu √ The Name”) and thought to be derived from the base Sanskrit word ‘ हिँड़.’. The Sanskrit word ‘ चर् ’ (Chaur) used in the Rigveda in the form of ‘ चरैबेति ’ (Chaureibeti ) is at the root of the concept of ‘ हिँड़.’.
The Vedas were not in written format until a much later stage of history and thus may be included in the list of old texts of India. Actually, they are acknowledged to be the oldest known literature of India. The same is applicable to the two epics of India, the Ramayan and the Mahabharat. In page number 41 of the book titled ‘History and Culture of Indian People - Volume 1’ it has been mentioned that the oldest part of the Vedas, i.e., the Samhita, is at least 3000 years old and may even be considerably older.
Earliest traceable kingdoms of India
The total area of the Ganga Plain (not basin) is said to be around 7.8 lakh (or 0.78 million) square kilometer. Area of the Ganga Basin is estimated at 10.8 Lakh (1.08 million) square kilometer. The Ganga Plain is spread from Rajasthan in the west to West Bengal in the east. Beyond West Bengal, in the east, there is the joint influence of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra, but that area is also considered a part of the Ganga Plain.
The earliest known traceable kingdoms of India were the Mahajanapadas of ancient India which have found references in the Vedic texts (of later phase). Mahajanapadas existed from present-day Afghanistan (Kamboja and parts of Gandhara) in the west to West Bengal in present-day India. The Janapadas that existed in the present geographical boundary of Bengal at that time included Anga and parts of Vrijji or Vajji. Prominent cities said to have existed and got mentioning in the texts of that period included Hastinapur, Indraprastha, Varanasi, Pataliputra and Rajagriha (Rajgir).
It is known that during the life time of Lord Gautam Buddha, sixteen great powers (Mahajanpadas) existed in the 7th and early 6th centuries BC, i.e., 2600-2500 years BP. Among the more important kingdoms were the Sakyas of Kapilavastu and the Licchavis of Vaishali. The Government of India provides this information through the website https://knowindia.gov.in/culture-and-heritage/ancient-history.php.
After the Mahajanapadas Magadha was the seat of the earliest empire known in India that has found reference in the Vedic texts and came into focus at around 2700 BP. From this point forward, three dynasties ruled in Magadha. Its fortune turned around 2350 BP when Chandragupta Maurya defeated the Nanda king Dhana Nanda (the famous Chanakya episode). The physical seat of power remained the same, but the name of the empire became known as the Maurya Kingdom.
Emperor Ashok the Great belonged to the Maurya dynasty. During his time, the Maurya Dynasty reached its political pinnacle. The