Lecture 01 origin of state

History of Indian Architecture
Lecture-1
Compilation & Presentation
PROF. RAJEEV KULKARNI
M. Arch., A.I.I.A
ARCHITECT

December 2021 History of Indian Architecture-Presentation by Prof. Rajeev Kulkarni, Architect 2

 Modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent from
Africa between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago
 Earliest known human remains in India date to 30,000 years ago
 Settled life, which involves the transition from foraging to farming
and pastoralism, began in Greater India around 7,000 BCE
 Agriculture involving wheat and barley & domestication of goats,
sheep, and cattle
 By 4,500 BCE settled life spread more widely and began to
gradually evolve into the Indus Valley Civilization
 Indus Valley civilization flourished between 2,500 BCE and 1900
BCE
 Noted for its urban planning, baked brick houses, elaborate
drainage, and water supply.
 Persistent drought caused the population of the Indus Valley to
scatter from large urban centers to villages
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December 2021 History of Indian Architecture-Presentation by Prof. Rajeev Kulkarni, Architect

 Indo-Aryan tribes moved into the Punjab from regions further
northwest in several waves of migration
 Vedic period marked by the composition of the Vedas, large
collections of hymns of these tribes whose postulated religious
culture, through synthesis with the preexisting religious cultures
of the subcontinent, gave rise to Hinduism.
 The concept of Varna, a social grouping system which divided
people into different groups based on their occupations and
abilities, such as priests, warriors, merchants, and tradesmen, was
created during this time.
 Towards the end of this period, around 600 BCE, after the pastoral
and nomadic Indo-Aryans spread from the Punjab into the
Gangetic plain, large swaths of which they deforested to pave way
for agriculture, a second urbanization took place.
 The small Indo-Aryan chieftaincies, or janapadas, were
consolidated into larger states, or mahajanapadas.
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 The urbanization was accompanied by the rise of new ascetic
movements in Greater Magadha, including Jainism and
Buddhism.
 These movements gave rise to new religious concepts, which
opposed the growing influence of Brahmanism and the primacy of
rituals, presided by the Brahmin priests, that had come to be
associated with Vedic religion.
 Most of the Indian subcontinent was conquered by the Maurya
Empire, during the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.
 From the 3rd century BCE onwards, Prakrit and Pali literature in
the north and the Tamil Sangam literature in southern India
started to flourish.
 In the 3rd century BCE, Wootz steel originated in south India and
was exported to foreign countries
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 Gupta Empire was one of the numerous dynasties which ruled
parts of India for the next 1,500 years.
 This period, witnessing a Hindu religious and intellectual
resurgence, is known as the classical or Golden Age of India.
 During this period, many aspects of Indian civilization,
administration, culture, and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism)
spread to much of Asia, while kingdoms in southern India began
to have maritime business links with the Middle East and the
Mediterranean.
 Indian cultural influence spread over many parts of Southeast
Asia, which led to the establishment of Indianised kingdoms in
Southeast Asia (Greater India).
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 The most significant event between the 7th and 11th centuries was
the Tripartite struggle centered on Kannauj that lasted for more
than two centuries between the Pala Empire, Rashtrakuta Empire,
and Gurjara-Pratihara Empire.
 Southern India saw the rise of multiple imperial powers from the
middle of the fifth century, most notably the Chalukya, Chola,
Pallava, Chera, Pandyan, and Western Chalukya Empires.
 The Chola dynasty conquered southern India and successfully
invaded parts of Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and
Bengal in the 11th century
 In the early medieval period, Indian mathematics, including
Hindu numerals, influenced the development of mathematics and
astronomy in the Arab world.
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 Islamic conquests made limited inroads into modern Afghanistan
and Sindh as early as the 8th century, followed by the invasions of
Mahmud Ghazni.
 The Delhi Sultanate was founded in 1206 CE by Central Asian
Turks who ruled a major part of the northern Indian subcontinent
in the early 14th century, but declined in the late 14th century, and
saw the advent of the Deccan Sultanates.
 This period saw the emergence of several powerful Hindu states,
notably Vijayanagara, Gajapati, and Ahom, as well as Rajput
states, such as Mewar.
 The 15th century saw the advent of Sikhism.
 The early modern period began in the 16th century, when the
Mughal Empire conquered most of the Indian subcontinent,
becoming the biggest global economy and manufacturing power,
with a nominal GDP that valued a quarter of the world GDP,
superior to the combination of Europe's GDP.
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 From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, large regions
of India were gradually annexed by the East India Company, a
chartered company, acting as a sovereign power on behalf of the
British government.
 Dissatisfaction with the Company rule in India led to the Indian
Rebellion of 1857, and led to the dissolution of the company.
 India was afterward ruled directly by the British Crown, in the
British Raj.
 The struggle for independence continued and after World War I, a
nationwide struggle for independence was launched by the Indian
National Congress, led by Mahatma Gandhi, and noted for
nonviolence.Later, the All-India Muslim League would advocate
for a separate Muslim-majority nation-state.
 After World War II, the British decided to leave the sub-continent
and gave independence to India & Pakistan in August 1947
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December 2021 History of Indian Architecture-Presentation by Prof. Rajeev Kulkarni, Architect 10

 The Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent began around 3300 BCE.
Egypt, Mesapotemia nad Indus valley region were the earliest
civilizations of the Old World.
 Indus Valley Civilization was the most expansive with a population
of over five million.
 Indus civilization flourished from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, marking
the beginning of urban civilization on the Indian subcontinent.
 The Idus valley civilisation developed new techniques in metallurgy
and handicraft and produced copper, bronze, lead, and tin.
 The civilization is noted for its cities built of brick, roadside drainage
system, and multi-storeyed houses and is thought to have had some
kind of municipal organisation.
 After the collapse of Indus Valley civilization, the inhabitants of the
Indus Valley civilization migrated from the river valleys of Indus and
Ghaggar-Hakra, towards the Himalayan foothills of Ganga-Yamuna
basin.
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 The Vedic period is the period (1500 to 500 BCE) when the Vedas
were composed
 The Vedic culture was located in part of north-west India, while
other parts of India had a distinct cultural identity
 Many of the concepts of Indian philosophy etrace their roots to
Vedic antecedents.
 Early Vedic society consisted of largely tribal and pastoral groups,
distinct from the Harappan urbanization which had been
abandoned
 Aryan society began to expand was socially organised around the
hierarchy of the four varnas, or social classes.
 This social structure was characterized both by syncretising with
the native cultures of northern India
 During this period, many of the previous small tribal units and
chiefdoms began to coalesce into Janapadas (monarchical, state-
level polities).
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 The Iron Age is defined by the rise of Janapadas, which are
realms, republics and kingdoms
 Kingdoms of Kuru, Panchala, Kosala, Videha
 The Kuru kingdom was the first state-level society of the Vedic
period
 The Kuru state organised the Vedic hymns into collections, and
developed the orthodox srauta ritual to uphold the social order
 King Parikshit and his successor Janamejaya, transforming this
realm into the dominant political, social, and cultural power
 As Kuru kingdom declined, the centre of Vedic culture shifted to
their eastern neighbours, the Panchala kingdom
 During the Late Vedic Period, the kingdom of Videha (Nepal &
Bihar today) emerged as a new centre of Vedic culture
 This period corresponds with a consolidation of increasingly large
states and kingdoms, called mahajanapadas, all across Northern
India.
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 new urban settlements arising at the Ganges plain
 large settlements that can be characterized as towns
 Largest of which were fortified by ditches or moats and
embankments made of piled earth with wooden palisades
 Magadha gained prominence, forming the base of the Mauryan
Empire
 This was influenced by the Vedic culture
 Increasing urbanisation led to the rise of new ascetic or Śramaṇa
movements which challenged the orthodoxy of rituals
 Mahavira, proponent of Jainism, and Gautama Buddha founder of
Buddhism were the most prominent icons of this movement
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15

 Sixteen powerful and vast kingdoms and oligarchic republics
 These Mahajanapadas evolved and flourished in a belt stretching
from Gandhara in the northwest to Bengal in the eastern part of
the Indian subcontinent and included parts of the trans-Vindhyan
region
 Early "republics" or Gaṇa sangha, such as Shakyas, Koliyas,
Mallas, and Licchavis had republican governments
 Characterized by the emergence of large cities with massive
fortifications, significant population growth, increased social
stratification, wide-ranging trade networks, construction of public
architecture and water channels, specialized craft industries like
ivory and carnelian carving, a system of weights, punch-marked
coins, and the introduction of writing in the form of Brahmi and
Kharosthi scripts.
 Many of the sixteen kingdoms had coalesced into four major ones
by 400 BCE. These four were Vatsa, Avanti, Kosala, and Magadha.
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Conjectural reconstruction of the main gate of Kushinagar circa 500 BCE adapted
from a relief at Sanchi. Kushinagar was a major city in Malla Ganasangh

City of Kushinagar in the 5th century BCE according to a 1st century BCE frieze
in Sanchi Stupa 1 Southern Gate.

 Jana-padas came into existence as a formation of a small state out
of the tribes controlling an area. These were later amalgamated
into larger states called Mahajanpadas
 New agricultural tools increased productivity, and domestication
of animals assured food supply and there was surplus available.
 The proseprity supported the ruling class and also a town with
many non-agricultural activities-which were centres of production
of essential goods and leisure activities - giving rise to a variety of
cultural pursuits
 The cultural activities were supported by ruling class, who were
also patrons of art & architecture-considered an integral part of
the culture and civilisation.
 The main construction material was wood, hence the only idea we
have about the art & architecture of this period is from its
depiction in the later Buddhist Rock cut architecture and Bhddist
paintings.
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 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_India
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_India#:~:text=In
do%2DIslamic%20architecture%20influenced%20the,as%20the%2
0Indo%2DSaracenic%20style.
 https://www.livehistoryindia.com/cover-story/2019/11/10/the-
great-sixteen-mahajanapadas
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Lecture 01 origin of state

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