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Nalanda

Nalanda

Nalanda is a historical place in central Bihar, India, 90 km south-east of the state capital of Patna. It is the place where one of the best known Universities of India existed. It is not inhabited now, and the nearest habitation is a village called Bargaon. Nalanda is important to the history of India, and that of Buddhism. Nalanda literally means the place that confers the lotus. The Jain Tirthankara Mahavira attained Moksha at Pavapuri, which is located in Nalanda. However, the site is better known for its importance in Buddhist history. The famous Nalanda University had been established at the site by the 5th century BCE and the Buddha is believed to have visited it and given sermons near "the Mango Grove of Pavarika". Later, Nalanda University became an important Buddhist centre of learning, at its peak accommodating up to 10,000 students. Among the famous teachers there was Nagarjuna. The Tang Dynasty Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang left detailed accounts of the university in the 7th century. In 1193, the Nalanda University complex was destroyed by Turkish Muslim invaders under Bakhtiyar Khalji; this event is seen as the final milestone in the decline and near extinction of Buddhism in India. A vast amount of what is considered to be Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana) actually stems from the late (9th-12th century) Nalanda teachers and traditions. Other forms of Buddhism, like the Mahayana followed in Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan, found their genesis in the hallowed portals of the ancient university. Theravada, the other main school of Buddhism, followed in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and elsewhere, and later the mystic Theravada schools also developed here. A number of ruined structures survive. Nearby is the Surya Mandir, a Hindu temple. The known and excavated ruins extend over an area of about 150,000 square metres, although if Xuanzang's account of Nalanda's extent is correlated with present excavations, almost 90% of it remains unexcavated. In 1951, a modern centre for Pali (Theravadin) Buddhist studies was founded nearby, the Nava Nalanda Mahavihara. Presently, this institute is pursuing an ambitious program of satellite imaging of the entire region. The Nalanda Museum contains a number of manuscripts, and shows many examples of the items that have been excavated.

External links

- [http://sarvadharma.org/Museum/Articles/nalanda.htm The Sack of Nalanda]
- [http://www.asiasocietymuseum.com/buddhist_trade/himalaya_tibet.html Manuscript originally from Nalanda]
- [http://www.infolanka.com/nalanda/ Nalanda College, Sri Lanka]
- [http://www.nalandacollege.ca Nalanda College, Toronto, Canada]
- [http://www.nalanda-monastery.org/ Nalanda Monastery, Lavaur, France]
- [http://indiaculture.nic.in/en/Org/nalanda.htm Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, Bihar State, India] Category:Former Buddhist Temples Category:Ruins Category:Cities of Ancient India Category:Ancient Universities of India Category:Jainism

India

The Republic of India is a country in South Asia which comprises of the majority of the Indian subcontinent. India has a coastline which stretches over seven thousand kilometres, and shares its borders with Pakistan to the west, the People's Republic of China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, and Bangladesh and Myanmar on the east. On the Indian Ocean, it is adjacent to the island nations of the Maldives on the southwest, Sri Lanka on the south, and Indonesia on the southeast. India also claims a border with Afghanistan to the northwest. India is the fourth largest economy in the world in terms of purchasing power parity. It is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. It is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, and a centre of important historic trade routes. Four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism have originated from India. Formerly a major part of the British Empire as the British Raj before gaining independence in 1947, during the past twenty years the country has grown significantly, especially in its economic and military spheres, regionally as well as globally. The name India , is derived from the Old Persian version of Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the river Indus; see Origin of India's name. The Constitution of India and general usage also recognises Bharat ( ), which is derived from the Sanskrit name of an ancient Hindu king, whose story is to be found in the Mahabharata, as an official name of equal status. A third name, Hindustan ( ) , or Land of the Hindus in Persian, has been used since the twelfth century, though its contemporary use is unevenly applied due to domestic disputes over its representiveness as a national signifier.

History

Stone Age rock shelters with paintings at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh are the earliest known traces of human life in India. The first known permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago and developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, which peaked between 2600 BC and 1900 BC. It was followed by the Vedic Civilisation. From around 550 BC onwards, many independent kingdoms came into being. In the north, the Maurya dynasty, which included Ashoka, contributed greatly to India's cultural landscape. From 180 BC, a series of invasions from Central Asia followed, with the successive establishment in the northern Indian Subcontinent of the Indo-Greek, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthian kingdoms, and finally the Kushan Empire. From the 3rd century AD onwards the Gupta dynasty oversaw the period referred to as ancient India's "Golden Age". Gupta dynasty built by emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BC]] In the south, several dynasties including the Chalukyas, Cheras, Cholas, Kadambas, Pallavas and Pandyas prevailed during different periods. Science, art, literature, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, religion and philosophy flourished under the patronage of these kings. Following the Islamic invasions in the beginning of the second millennium, much of north and central India came to be ruled by the Delhi Sultanate, and later, much of the entire subcontinent by the Mughal dynasty. Nevertheless, several indigenous kingdoms remained or rose to power, especially in the relatively sheltered south. Vijayanagara Empire was notable among such kingdoms. During the middle of the second millennium, several European countries, including the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British, who were initially interested in trade with India, took advantage of fractured kingdoms fighting each other to establish colonies in the country. After a failed insurrection in 1857 against the British East India Company, popularly known in India as the First War of Indian Independence and most commonly known in the West as the Indian Mutiny, most of India came under the direct administrative control of the crown of the British Empire. British Empire, Orissa built in the 13th century, is one of the most famous monuments of stone sculpture in the world.]] sculpture in the 10th century AD.]] In the early part of the 20th century, a prolonged and largely non-violent struggle for independence, the Indian independence movement, followed, to be eventually led by Mahatma Gandhi, regarded officially as the Father Of The Nation. The culmination of this path-breaking struggle was reached on 1947-08-15 when India gained full independence from British rule, later becoming a republic on 1950-01-26. As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, India has had its share of sectarian violence and insurgencies in different parts of the country. Nonetheless, it has held itself together as a secular, liberal democracy barring a brief period from 1975 to 1977 during which the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a "state of emergency" with the suspension of civil rights. India has unresolved border disputes with China, which escalated into a brief war in 1962, and Pakistan which resulted in wars in 1947, 1965, and 1971, and a border altercation in the northern state of Kashmir in 1999. India was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the United Nations. In 1974, India conducted an underground nuclear test, making it an unofficial member of the "nuclear club", which was followed up with a series of five more tests in 1998. Significant economic reforms beginning in 1991 have transformed India into one of the fastest growing economies in the world and added to its global clout.

Government

The Constitution of India states India to be a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India is a federal republic, with a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system. It has a three branch system of governance consisting of the legislature, executive and judiciary. The President, who is the head of state, has a largely ceremonial role. His roles include interpreting the constitution, signing laws into action, and issuing pardons. He is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The President and Vice-President are elected indirectly by an electoral college for five-year terms. The Prime Minister is the head of government and most executive powers are vested in this office. He (or she) is elected by legislators of the political party, or coalition, commanding a parliamentary majority, and serves a five-year term incumbent upon enjoying this majority. The constitution does not provide for a post of Deputy Prime Minister, but this option has been exercised from time to time. The legislature of India is the bicameral Parliament which consists of the upper house known as the Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, the lower house known as the Lok Sabha, or House of the People, and the President. The 245-member Rajya Sabha is chosen indirectly through an electoral college and has a staggered six year term. The 545-member Lok Sabha is directly elected for a five year term, and is the determinative constituent of political power and government formation. All Indian citizens above the age of eighteen are eligible to vote. The executive arm consists of the President, Vice-President and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet) headed by the Prime Minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament. In India's parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature. India's independent judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court has both original jurisdiction over disputes between states and the Centre, and appellate jurisdiction over the High Courts of India. There are eighteen appellate High Courts, having jurisdiction over a large state or a group of states. Each of these states has a tiered system of lower courts. A conflict between the legislature and the judiciary is referred to the President.

Politics

Chief Justice of India For most of its independent history, India's national government has been controlled by the Indian National Congress Party. Following its position as the largest political organisation in pre-independence India, Congress, usually led by a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family, dominated national politics for over forty years. In 1977, a united opposition, under the banner of the Janata Party, won the election and formed a non-Congress government for a short period after the unpopular 'emergency rule' imposed by Indira Gandhi in the previous Congress regime. In 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political party with a right wing nationalist ideology, became the largest single party, and established for the first time a serious opposition to the largely centre-left Congress. But power was held by two successive coalition governments, who stayed on with the support of the Congress. In 1998, the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) along with smaller parties and became the first non-Congress government to sustain the full five year term after it returned to power in 1999. The decade prior to 1999 was marked by short-lasting governments, with seven separate governments formed within that period. One however, a Congress government formed in 1991, lasted the full five years and initiated significant economic reforms. In the 2004 Indian elections the Congress party returned to power after winning the largest number of seats, by a narrow margin. Congress formed a government in alliance with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and with several mostly-regional parties called the United Progressive Alliance. The NDA, led by the BJP, currently forms the main opposition. All governments formed since 1996 have required party coalitions, with no single majority party, due to the steady rise of regional parties at the national level.

States and union territories

India is divided into twenty-eight states (which are further subdivided into districts), six Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi. States have their own elected government, whereas Union Territories are governed by an administrator appointed by the union government, though some have elected governments. India has had two scientific bases in Antarctica – the Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri, but has made no territorial claims so far.

Geography

Maitri in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the far east making up most of India's eastern borders]] India's entire north and northeast states are made up of the Himalayan Range. The rest of northern, central and eastern India consists of the fertile Indo-Gangetic plain. Towards western India, bordering southeast Pakistan, lies the Thar Desert. The southern Indian peninsula is almost entirely composed of the Deccan plateau. The plateau is flanked by two hilly coastal ranges, the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. India is home to several major rivers such as the Ganga (Ganges), the Brahmaputra, the Yamuna, the Godavari, and the Krishna. The rivers are responsible for the fertile plains in northern India which are conducive to farming. The Indian climate varies from a tropical climate in the south to a more temperate climate in the north. Parts of India which lie in the Himalaya have a tundra climate. India gets most of its rains through the monsoons.

Economy

monsoon India has an economy ranked as the tenth largest in the world in terms of currency conversion and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It recorded one of the fastest annual growth rates of 6.9% for the year ending March 2005. India's per-capita income by purchasing power parity is US$ 3,262, ranked 125th by the World Bank. India's foreign exchange reserves amount to over US$ 143 billion. Mumbai serves as the nation's financial capital and is also home to both the headquarters of the Reserve Bank of India and the pre-eminent Bombay Stock Exchange. While a quarter of Indians still live below the poverty line, a large middle class has now emerged along with the rapid growth of the IT industry. The Indian economy has shed much of its historical dependence on agriculture, which now contributes to less than 25 % of GDP. Other important industries are mining, petroleum, diamond polishing, films, textiles, information technology services, and handicrafts. Most of India's industrial regions are centred around major cities. In recent years, India has emerged as one of the largest players in software and business process outsourcing services, with revenues of US$ 17.2 billion in 2004 to 2005. Many small-scale industries provide steady employment to workers in small towns and villages. business process outsourcing While India receives only around three million foreign visitors a year, tourism is still an important but under-developed source of national income. Tourism contributes 5.3 % of India's GDP. The actual employment generation, both direct and indirect, is estimated to be 42 million, or about 10 % of India's work force. In monetary terms, it contributes about US$4 billion in foreign exchange. India's major trading partners are the United States, Japan, China and the United Arab Emirates. India's main exports items include agricultural products, textile goods, gems and jewellry, software services and technology, engineering goods, chemicals and leather products while its main import commodities are crude oil, machinery, gems, fertiliser, chemicals. For the year 2004, India's total exports stood at US$ 69.18 billion while the imports were worth at US $89.33 billion.

Demographics

India is the second most populous country in the world, with only China having a larger population. By 2030, India is expected to surpass China with the world's largest population, estimated at 1.6 billion. Language, religion, and caste are major determinants of social and political organisation within the highly diverse Indian population today. Its biggest metropolitan agglomerations are Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Delhi, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Chennai (formerly Madras). Chennai]] India's literacy rate is 64.8 % with 53.7 % of females and 75.3 % of males being literate. The sex ratio is 933 females for every 1000 males. Work Participation Rate (WPR) (the percentage of workers to total population) stands at 39.1 % with male WPR at 51.7 % and female WPR at 25.6 % inote|eu{inote|demostats{inote|religion{ref|languages{inote|tongues{see2|Christianity in India|Jews in India{seealso3|List of Indian languages by total speakers|List of cities in India|Religion in India{main|Culture of India{seealso4|List of World Heritage sites in India|Indian architecture|Indian family name|Cuisine of India{main|Sports in India{main|Holidays in India{Official Holidays of India{Topics related to India{portal{sisterlinks|India{wikitravel{wikicities|india|India{explain-inote{Web reference | title=India facts and figures | work=Embassy of India| URL= http://www.indianembassy.org/dydemo/indiaprofile/profile.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Forex reserves up by $1bn | work=Economic Times| URL= http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1093864.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India Economy | work=Travel Document Systems |URL= http://www.traveldocs.com/in/economy.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Services | work=India in Business| URL= http://www.indiainbusiness.nic.in/india-profile/ser-infotech.htm | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Destination India: An Unpolished Diamond | work=Times of India | URL= http://timesfoundation.indiatimes.com/articleshow/819309.cms | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= US, UAE, UK, China, Japan among India's top trade partners | work=Indian Express| URL= http://www.indianexpress.com/news/business/20050102-0.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= CIA Factbook : India | work=CIA Factbook | URL= http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/in.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Provisional Population Totals 2001 Census| work=Census of India| URL=http://www.censusindia.net/results/resultsmain.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Debating India & India's literacy rate | work=Debating India | URL= http://india.eu.org/1963.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= India – Country profiles | work=indexmundi.com | URL= http://www.indexmundi.com/India/ India | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Census of India 2001, Data on Religion | work=Census of India | URL= http://www.censusindia.net/results/religion_main.html | date=August 14 | year=2005{Web reference | title= Languages of India | work=India image | URL= http://indiaimage.nic.in/languages.htm| date=August 14 | year=2005{Book reference | Author=K.M. Matthew | Title=Manorama Yearbook 2003 | Publisher= Malaya Manorama | Year=2003 | ID=ISBN 8190046187{mnb|afgh|1{mnb|LoC|2{South Asia{Asia{Commonwealth of Nations{SAARC{Life in India{Link FA|sv{Link FA|sv

Patna

Patna (पटना) is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. Patna lies on the southern bank of the Ganges, as it flows past with the combined waters of the rivers Ghagra, Son and Gandak. At the point where the city is located, the sacred Ganges looks more sea than river: mighty, wide and never-ending. A bustling city of 1,200,000 people, the city is approximately 15 km long and 5 km to 7 km wide. The Buddhist and Jain pilgrim centres of Vaishali, Rajgir or Rajgriha, Nalanda, Bodhgaya and Pawapuri are all nearby. Patna is a sacred city for Sikhs also. Their tenth and last "human" guru, Guru Gobind Singh, was born here. It is the ideal gateway for all the places on this circuit. The monuments in and around the city take one down the history to its glorious past. Apart from being the administrative centre of the state and its historic importance, the city is also a major educational centre and medical centre. Sadly, because of the neglect by the Union government of India and the apathy of the state government, the educational institutions, some of the oldest and most prestigious in the country, have fallen behind over the last decade. The walled old area, called Patna City by the locals, is also a major trading centre.

Origin of name

The appellation Patna is etymologically derived from Patan, the name of the Hindu goddess Patan devi. Another theory says the name comes from Pattan, or a port in Sanskrit since the city, located near the confluence of four rivers, has been a thriving river port. The city has been known by various names during its more than two millennia long existence—Pataligram, Pataliputra, Kusumpur, Pushpapura, Azimabad, and the present day Patna. Greek history mentions Palibothra.

History

Main article: History of Patna Legend ascribes the origin of Patna to a mythological king Putraka who created Patna by magic for his queen Patali, literally Trumpet flower, which gives it its ancient name Pataligram. It is said that in honour of the first born to the queen, the city was named Pataliputra. Gram is the Sanskrit for village and Putra means son. From a scientific history perspective, it would be appropriate to surmise that the history of Patna started around the year 490 BC when Ajatashatru, the king of Magadh, wanted to shift his capital from the hilly Rajgriha to a more strategically located place to combat the Licchavis of Vaishali. He chose the site on the bank of Ganges and fortified the area. From that time, the city has had a continuous history, a record claimed by few cities in the world. Gautam Buddha passed through this place in the last year of his life, and he had prophesized a great future for this place, but at the same time, he predicted its ruin from flood, fire, and feud. With the rise of the Mauryan empire, the place became the seat of power and nerve centre of the sub-continent. From Pataliputra, the famed emperor Chandragupta Maurya (a contemporary of Alexander) ruled a vast empire, stretching from the Bay of Bengal to Afghanistan. Early Mauryan Patliputra was mostly built with wooden structures. Emperor Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, transformed the wooden capital into a stone construction around 273 BC. Chinese scholar Fa Hein, who visited India sometime around A.D. 399-414, has given a vivid description of the stone structures in his travelogue. Megasthenes, Greek historian and ambassador to the court of Chandragupta gives the first written account of Patliputra. Much later, a number of Chinese travellers came to India in pursuit of knowledge and recorded their observation about Pataliputra in their travelogues. In the years that followed, the city saw many dynasties ruling the Indian subcontinent from here. It saw the rules of the Gupta empire and the Pala kings. However, it never reached the glory that it had under the Mauryas. With the disintegration of the Gupta empire, and continuous invasions of the Indian subcontinent by foreign armies, Patna passed through uncertain times. Bakhtiar Khilji captured Bihar in the 12th century AD and destroyed many ancient seats of learning, Patna lost its prestige as the political and cultural center of India. The Mughal period was a period of unremarkable provincial administration from Delhi. The most remarkable period during these times was under Sher Shah Suri who revived Patna in the middle of the 16th century. He visualised a fort and a town on the banks of Ganga. Sher Shah's fort in Patna does not survive, but the mosque built in Afghan architectural style survives. Mughal emperor Akbar came to Patna in 1574 to crush the Afghan Chief Daud Khan. Akbar's Secretary of State and author of Ain-i-Akbari refers to Patna as a flourishing centre for paper, stone and glass industries. He also refers to the high quality of numerous strains of rice grown in Patna famous as Patna rice in Europe. Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb acceded to the request of his favourite grandson Prince Muhamad Azim to rename Patna as Azimabad, in 1704 while Azim was in Patna as the subedar. However, very little changed during this period other than the name,. With the decline of Mughal empire, Patna moved into the hands of the Nawabs of Bengal, who levied a heavy tax on the populace but allowed it to flourish as a commercial centre. During 17th century, Patna became a centre of international trade. The British started with a factory in Patna in 1620 for trading in calico and silk. Soon it became a trading centre for saltpetre, urging other Europeans—French, Danes, Dutch and Portuguese—to compete in the lucrative business. Peter Mundy, writing in 1632, calls this place, "the greatest mart of the eastern region". After the decisive Battle of Buxar (1765), Patna fell in the hands of the East India Company and continued as a trading centre. In 1912, Patna became of the capital of Orissa Province and Bihâr when Bengal Presidency was partitioned. It soon emerged as an important and strategic centre. A number of imposing structures were constructed by the British. Credit for designing the massive and majestic buildings of colonial Patna goes to the architect, I. F. Munnings. Most of these buildings reflect either Indo-Saracenic influence (like Patna Museum and the state Assembly), or overt Renaissance influence like the Raj Bhawan and the High Court. Some buildings, like the General Post Office (GPO) and the Old Secretariat bear pseudo-Renaissance influence. Some say, the experience gained in building the new capital area of Patna proved very useful in building the imperial capital of New Delhi. There are several prestigious educational institutions in Patna like Patna College, Patna Women's College, Patna Science College, Bihar College of Engineering, Patna Medical College (formerly, Prince of Wales Medical College), Nalanda Medical College , Patna Dental College and the Patna Veterinary College. Orissa was created as a separate province in 1935. Patna continued as the capital of Bihar province under the British Raj. Patna played a major role in the Indian independence struggle. Most notable are the Champaran movement against the Indigo plantation and the 1942 Quit India Movement. Patna continued to be the capital of the state of Bihar after independence in 1947, though Bihar itself was partitioned again in 2000 when Jharkhand was carved out as a separate state of the Indian union.

Geography

Patna is located on the south bank of the Ganges River, called Ganga locally. Patna has a very long riverline, and it is surrounded on three sides by rivers—the Ganga, Sone, and Poonpun (also spelt Punpun). Just to the north of Patna across the river Ganga flows the river Gandak making it a unique place having four largish rivers in its vicinity. The bridge over the river Ganga, named after Mohandas Gandhi, is 5850m long is said to be the longest single river bridge in the world.
- Altitude: 53 meters
- Temperature: Summer 43 °C to 21 °C, Winter 20 °C to 6 °C
- Rainfall (average): 1,200 mm

Climate

In Patna, as in most of Bihar, the summer temperatures rise very high as the hot tropical sun beats down with all its intensity coupled with a heat wave which though is not as severe as say in Delhi. The city, being near four large rivers, experiences a rather high humidity throughout the year. The summer begins in April and peaks in June/July with the temperature soaring up to 46° C till the moisture laiden monsoon wind bring some much-needed relief to the parched fields. The rains last through August & September and continue into early October. The northern Indian winters bring bitter cold nights and sunny days to Patna from November to February till the arrival of the spring that brings the weather to a full cycle. The local almanac divides the year into six seasons of roughly two months each. Apart from the usual four seasons: Summer, Monsoon, Winter and Spring, you may add mild winter between Monsoon and Winter and Mild summer just before the onslaught of the severe north Indian summer.

Demographics

The population of Patna is over 1,285,470 (2001 census), which has grown from 917,243 in the 1991 census. The population density is 1132 persons per square kilometre. There are 839 females to every 1,000 males. Overall Literacy rate is 62.9%, and female Literacy rate is 50.8%. Source – District Elementary Education Report Card 2004 of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi (www.eduinfoindia.net) In spite of the very bad press, Patna has a moderate crime rate. The main jail is Beur Jail. Many languages are spoken in Patna. Hindi is the official language of the state of Bihar. Thanks to the British influence since early days, English is also spoken extensively. The native dialect is Magahi. Other dialects from other regions of Bihar spoken widely in Patna are Bhojpuri, and Maithili. Other languages spoken in Patna include Bengali, and Oriya.

People and culture

Status of Women

The women are respected and have a say in the affairs of the family. If one compares the status of women if other parts of the north India, then it is comes as a pleasant surprise.

Family Orientation

People are religious and family oriented, and their lives are deeply rooted in tradition. The interests of the family take precedence over that of an individual. Families are generally large, though the government is actively encouraging family planning to curb rapid population growth. Extended families often live together or near each other, and form the basic social and economic unit of the society. The elderly are respected and cared for by their families. The society is patriarchal with the father considered the head of a household. Middle-class families, especially in urban areas, are becoming more nuclear, and a middle- or upper-class fathers are expected to take care of the children financially until they have finished an education and taken a job, regardless of how long it takes. Most poor women work outside the home because of economic necessity, and a growing number of urban women are joining the professional workforce.

Marriage

Most marriages are still arranged by parents; the degree to which the children are consulted depends on the family. Marriage is sacred and is considered to endure beyond death. Weddings are times of great celebration, expense, and feasting. Ceremonies are often elaborate. In many ceremonies, the bride and groom exchange garlands and promises before they circle around a fire seven times to solemnize the marriage. Bright clothing, jewellery, and flowers are part of almost every type of ceremony. The bride’s parents may still give a dowry, such as money or land, to the groom, even though the practice is illegal.

Cuisine

Staple food of majority of the population is “bhat, dal, roti, tarkari and achar”, prepared basically from rice, lentils, wheat flour, vegetables, and pickle grade raw, unripe fruits. Traditionally, mustard oil has been the popular cooking medium for Patnaites. Plain boiled milk as well as curd is widely used by all section of the Patnaites. "Kichdi", the broth of rice and lentils, seasoned with spices, and served with several accompanying items like curd, chutney, pickles, papads, ghee (clarified butter) and chokha (boiled messed potatoes, seasoned with finely cut onions, green chilies) constitutes the lunch for most Patnaites on Saturdays. Patna is also known for the sweet delicacies of central Bihar including Khaja, Motichoor ka Ladoo, Kala Jamun, Kesaria Peda, Parwal ka Mithai, Khubi ka Lai and Chena Murki. These owe their origin to towns in the vicinity of Patna: Khaja from Silao, Ladoo from Maner, Kala Jamun from Vikram, Khubi ka Lai from Bakhtiarpur, Kesaria Peda from Gaya and Chena Murki from Koelwar. Descendants of the original family members of the cooks, called halwais in the local language, have migrated to urban Patna and authentic sweet delicacies are now available in the city itself. Unlike the Bengali sweets which are soaked in syrup of sugar and are therefore wet, sweets of Patna and Bihar are mostly dry. There are several other traditional snacks and savouries:
- Pua', prepared from a mixture of powdered rice, milk, ghee (clarified butter), sugar and honey
- Pittha, steam cooked, mixture of powdered rice
- Tilkut, referred to as 'Palala' in Buddhist literature, is made of pounded 'tila' or sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum) and jaggery or sugar
- Chiwra, beaten rice, served with a coat of creamy curd and sugar or jaggery
- Makhana (a kind of water fruit) is prepared from lotus seeds and is taken puffed or as kheer, prepared with milk and sugar
- Sattu, powdered baked gram, is a high energy giving food. It is taken mixed with water or with milk. Sometimes, sattu mixed with spices are used to prepare stuffed 'chapattis', locally called as 'makuni roti'. A variety of non-vegetarian items are also prepared by a section of the population. Fish curries are widely used by a cross section of non-vegetarian population of all social groups. Mughal cuisine are well known and widely relished in Patna. Of late, Continental dishes are also catching up fancy. Various types of rolls which are also available in New York owe their origin to Patna. Some muslim families moved from here to Karachi in Pakistan during partition, and then to the US, taking with them their culture and cuisine. They sell various vegetarian and non vegetarian rolls and are rather popular by the generic name Roll Bihari in and around Lexington Avenue (South) in New York.
Transport
New York Patna is connected by Indian Railways to all major cities of India. It is situated on the main line of the Eastern Railway and a side line connects it to Gaya making it a Railway Junction. The airport at Patna is named Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport after a popular leader. Regular domestic flights, connecting Patna with Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai, Ranchi, and a few other places are available. National Highway 31 passes through Patna. A number of roads branching from Patna connect the city to other parts of Bihar. Bus services are available to all parts of the state, and several towns and cities of Jharkhand. The river Ganges is navigable throughout the year and there is considerable boat traffic for transporting cargo. However, with the construction of a bridge over Ganges, the river traffic and ferry services have lost their importance. Local public transport—City buses ply on few routes. Auto rickshaws and pedal rickshaws are the basic means of public transport within the city limits.
Economy
Patna has long been a major agricultural center of trade, its most active exports being grain, sugarcane, sesame, and medium-grained Patna rice. It is also an important business centre of eastern India. The hinterland of Patna is endowed with excellent agro-climatic resources and the gains of the green revolution have enabled the older eastern part of Patna (locally called as Patna City) to develop as a leading grain market of the state of Bihar, and one of the biggest in eastern India. Patna, being the state capital, with a growing middle income group households, has also emerged as a big and rapidly expanding consumer market, both for Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), as also for other consumer durable items. A large and growing population, and expanding boundaries of the city, is also spurring growth of service sector. The old and established educational institutions of the city have always been contributing to the national pool of excellent human resources.
Places of interest

In Patna
Some of the places of interest in the city are:
- Agam Kuan, literally the unfathomable well which is said to date back to the Ashokan period.
- Kumhrar, the site of the ruins of the Ashokan Patliputra
- Harmandir Saheb, constructed by Punjab ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, consecrates the birthplace of Guru Gobind Singh Jee
- State Secretariat Building and its Clock Tower, including the Martyrs Memorial commemorating the seven school and college students who were brutally killed by the armed forces under the command of the British Raj in front of the Patna Secretariat during the Quit India movement of 1942.
- High Court Building
- Golghar ( a beehive shaped granary)- One of the oldest British buildings in Patna.
- Patna Museum called the Jadu Ghar: The well-known museum has a fine collection of stone and bronze sculptures and terracotta figures of Hindu and Buddhist artists. Didarganj Yakshi is the most prized collection of this museum.
- Khuda Baksh Oriental Library: It has a collection of rare ancient manuscripts.
- Begu Hajjam's mosque, built in 1489 by the Bengal ruler Alauddin Hussani Shah
- Pathar ki Masjid built by Pervez, the elder brother of Shah Jehan and the first Mughal prince who made Bihar his residence
- Jalan Museum that houses an interesting museum famous for its jade collection and Chinese paintings
- Sadaqat Ashram on the banks of the river Ganga which later became the retreat of Dr. Rajendra Prasad
- Zoological and Botanical garden called Sanjay Gandhi Jaivik Udyan
- Padri Ki Haveli, deemed to be the oldest church in Bihar dating back to 1772
- Bankipore Club on the banks of the river Ganges. The dance hall of this club is said to be one of the original buildings built by the Dutch in the 17th century.
- Darbhanga House, also called Nav Lakha building. This was built by the Maharaj of Darbhanga. This beautiful building on the banks of Ganges now houses the post graduate departments of Patna University.
- Patna College administrative block said to be the Dutch Residence
- Gandhi Maidan called the Patna Lawns during the British Raj.
Around Patna
See also
- Bodh Gaya
- Vaishali
- Nalanda
- Rajgir
Education
Most of the government-run schools in Patna are affiliated to Bihar School Examination Board, whereas most of the private schools are affiliated to ICSE and CBSE boards. The government-run public schools lack many facilities, but are the only options for the poor who cannot afford the fees in private schools. The fees at Delhi Public School, Patna, is considered to be the highest amongst all schools of the city. Ishan International is the cheapest of all, and the most recommended by the Government Board too. A number of schools are run by Christians missionaries - prominent among them being the Jesuits. Unlike the rest of India, many colleges also provide an option for the plus 2 level of education (Class 11 and 12) raising the standard of education due to access to superior teachers of colleges. As a result, a high percent of the students are able to qualify in All India competitive examinations like IIT JEE and All India Medical Entrance. Higher Education Patna University, established in 1917 and among the oldest universities on the Indian subcontinent. It has 11 colleges, including famous colleges like Science College, Bihar National College Patna Women's College, Patna College and Patna Medical College & Hospital, formerly Prince of Wales Medical College & Hospital. Patna Women's College is a leading women's college in Bihar, followed by Magadh Mahila College. There are two engineering colleges in Patna :#Bihar College of Engineering, now National Institute of Technology, Patna :#Patna Institute of Technology There are two medical colleges: :#Patna Medical College and Hospital, :#Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, Patna is served by two universities, Patna University, which was established in 1917, and Magadh University, with its headquarters at Bodh Gaya. The city was a premier centre of education in the British India. It maintained its position till the sixties, but due to the continuous neglect of the educational infrastructure by the state and central governments, the city falls desperately short of the needs of the growing population for higher education. As such, a large number of students, after completing their school education, move away to New Delhi, and other parts of India, for pursuing higher studies.
Media & entertainment

References

- "Patna," Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2001
External links

- [http://bstdc.bih.nic.in/Patna.htm Bihar Government Tourism Department]
- [http://www.indev.nic.in/spicmacay/patna.html A Brief History of Patna]
- [http://www.astrainfotech.org/tourism/bihar.html Astra Infotech: Bihar tourism]
- [http://mysterindia.com/article325.html Mysterindia.com: India places: Patna]
- [http://www.patnadaily.com/photogallery/index.html PatnaDaily.com Patna_Photo Gallery] Category:Cities and towns in Bihar Category:Indian state-capitals

History of India

The History of India covers the birth of humanity as long as 700,000 years ago, to the birth of human civilization 5,000 years ago. The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world, dates back at least 5,000 years. According to the Indo-Aryan migration hypothesis, Aryans from the north-west of the Indian subcontinent migrated between 2000 BCE and 1500 BCE, possibly from Central Asia or the Middle East; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants apparently resulted in classical Indian culture. Arab incursions starting in the 8th century and Turkish in the 12th were followed by those of European traders, beginning in the late 15th century. By the 19th century, Britain had assumed political control of virtually all Indian lands. Indian armed forces in the British army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British colonialism led by Mohandas Gandhi,Vallabhbhai Patel, Subhas Chandra Bose and Jawaharlal Nehru brought independence in 1947. The subcontinent was divided into the secular state of India and the smaller Muslim state of Pakistan. A third war between the two countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In the 21st century, India has made impressive gains in economic investment and output, and stands as the world's largest democracy, with a population exceeding 1 billion, is self sufficient in terms of food, and is a fast-growing, economically strong country. Human civilizations in India are some of the earliest ever and were as significant as counterpart civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. Its history essentially includes all of the Indian subcontinent, including the more recent nations of Pakistan founded in 1947 after the partition of India, and Bangladesh founded in 1971. It is also inalienably linked with the history and heritage of close nations like Sri Lanka and Nepal and India's culture, economy and politics have in turn influenced the history of the nations of South East Asia and Central Asia, as well as Tibet, Afghanistan, Iran and China over thousands of years. India has also strongly infuenced the life and times in medieval Europe, especially with landing of Vasco Da Gama and the incorporation of India into the British Empire, from the 1700s to 1947.

The Paleolithic era

1947 Hominid remains in Hathnora in the Narmada Valley in Central India indicate that India has been inhabited since the Palaeolithic era. The precise date of these remains is unclear, and archaeologists put it anywhere between 200,000 to 700,000 years. The fossils are the earliest human remains found in South Asia. Recent finds include a quarry in the Kaladgi Basin, in southern India. Modern humans seem to have settled the subcontinent towards the end of the last ice age, 12,000 years ago. The first confirmed permanent settlements appeared 9,000 years ago in Bhimbetka in what is now Madhya Pradesh.

The Neolithic era

The early Neolithic culture in South Asia is represented by the Mehrgarh culture which began in 7000 BC, now in Baluchistan, Pakistan. The Mehrgarh community were mostly pastoral, lived in mud houses, wove baskets and tended to goats and their farms. By 5500 BC, pottery began to appear and later chalcolithic implements began to appear. By 2000 BC, the settlement was abandoned.

The Bronze age

Indus Valley Civilization

The transition of settlements from agricultural to complex urban communities occurred sometime between the early settlements at Mehrgarh, and 3000 BC. This period marked the beginning of the earliest urban society in India, known as the Indus Valley Civilization, also called the Harappan civilization, which thrived between 2800 BC and 1800 BC. It was centred along the Saraswati and Indus Rivers and their tributaries, and extended into the Ganges-Yamuna Doab, Gujarat, and northern Afghanistan. The civilization is noted for its cities built of brick, road-side drainage system and multi-storey houses. The earliest historic references to India may be those to the Meluhha in Sumerian records, possibly referring to the Indus Valley civilization. When compared to the contemporary civilizations of Egypt and Sumeria, the Indus Civilization possessed unique urban planning techniques, covered the largest geographical area, and may have been a single state, as suggested by the amazing uniformity of its measurement systems. The Mohenjo-daro ruins were once the centre of this ancient society. Indus Civilization settlements spread as far south as Bombay, as far east as Delhi, as far west as the Iranian border, and as far north as the Himalayas. Among the settlements were the major urban centres of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, as well as Dholavira, Ganweriwala, Lothal, Kalibanga and Rakhigarhi. At its peak, some archaeologists opine that the Indus Civilization may have had a population of well over five million. To date, over 2,500 cities and settlements have been found, mainly in the general region to the east of the Indus River in Pakistan along what is said by many to be the Saraswati River of the Vedas, currently known as the seasonally active Ghaggar-Hakra River. It is thought by some that geological disturbances and climate change may have been responsible for the drying up of the Saraswati River, leading to a gradual aridization of the region, ultimately leading to the civilization's downfall. Archaeological resources suggest that the diverse geography of ancient India was increasing in the amount and specialization of faunal remains around the era of 2400 and 1000 BC. This specialization suggests that the Indus valley civilizations were dependent upon the alluvial soils of the Rivers, which produced high yields of cereal grains, and cultivated plant materials. By the time of 2700 BC, the presence of a state level society is evident, complete with hierarchical rule and large scale public works. These include amazing accomplishments such as irrigation, warehouses for grain, public streets, and brick-lined drainage systems for sanitation. Around the mid 2nd millennium BC, the region of the River Basin in which approximately two-thirds of known sites were located dried, and the sites were abandoned.

Vedic civilization

1000 BC or Nakshatras identified by ancient Indian Astronomers.]] The Vedic civilization is the Indo-Aryan culture associated with the Vedas, which are the oldest extant Indo-European texts, composed in Vedic Sanskrit. The exact connection of the genesis of this civilization with the Indus Valley civilization on one hand, and a possible Indo-Aryan migration on the other hand, is the subject of disputes. Early Vedic society was largely pastoral. Later on, the society became agricultural, and was organized around four Varnas, or classes. Several small kingdoms and tribes merged to form a few large ones which were often at war with each other. In addition to the principle texts of Hinduism, (the Vedas), the great Indian epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the latter of which constitutes the longest poem in the world, are said to have been first written during this period, perhaps from a longer spoken tradition of unwritten recitation. The Bhagavad Gita, another primary text of Hinduism, is contained within the Mahabharata. Early Indo-Aryan presence probably corresponds to Ochre Coloured Pottery, archaeologically. The kingdom of the Kurus marks flowering of the Vedic civilization, corresponding to the Black and Red Ware and the beginning of the Iron Age in Northern India begins, around 1100 BC, likely also contemporary with the composition of the Atharvaveda. Painted Grey Ware spread over all of Northern India marks the late Vedic period, corresponding to a wave of urbanization occurred across the Indian sub-continent, spreading from Afghanistan to Bengal, in the 7th century BC. A number of kingdoms and republics emerged across the Indo-Gangetic plain and southern India during this period. 16 Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) are referred to in ancient literature of the period.

The Mahajanapadas

Mahajanapadas.]] By 600 BC, sixteen hereditary monarchies known as the Mahajanapadas stretched across the Indo-Gangetic plains from modern-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh. The largest of these nations were Magadha, Kosala, Kuru and Gandhara. The right of a king to his throne, no matter how it was gained, was usually legitimized through religious right and genealogies concocted by priests who ascribed to the king divine origins. Hindu rituals at that time were complicated and conducted by the priestly class. It is thought that the Upanishads, the secondary texts of ancient Hinduism, dealing mainly with philosophy, were first composed early in this period. The court language at that time was Sanskrit, while the dialects of the general population of northern India were referred to as Prakrits. In 537 BC, Gautama Buddha gained enlightenment and thus founded Buddhism, which was initially intended as a supplement to the existing Hindu Vedic dharma. Around the same time period, in mid-6th century BC, Mahavira founded Jainism. Both religions had a simple doctrine and were preached in Prakrit which helped it gain acceptance by the masses. While the geographic impact of Jainism was limited, Buddhist nuns and monks spread their teachings of Buddha to Tibet, Sri Lanka and South East Asia. In around 500 BC, the Indus Valley region was invaded by the Persian ruler Darius I making the far north-west of India a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Though the Persians made Taxila the capital, their influence was marginal and governed the region for around 150 years. The Persians were defeated by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. In 326 BC, Alexander the Great crossed the Hindu Kush mountains and invaded what is now Pakistan. However, costly campaigns against the forces of Magadha, and the will of his troops forced him to retreat to his empire after reaching the Beas River in Punjab. He appointed Greek governors to rule the newly acquired province to keep open trade routes between India and Greece. Greece), at its largest extent around 230 BC.]]

The Magadha empire

Amongst the 16 Mahajanapadas, the kingdom of Magadha rose to prominence under a number of dynasties that peaked in power under the reign of Asoka Maurya, one of India's most legendary and famous emperors. The kingdom of Magadha had emerged as a major power following the subjugation of two neighbouring kingdoms, and possessed an unparalleled military.

Shishunaga dynasty

The Shishunaga dynasty founded the Magadha Empire in 684 BC, whose capital was Pataliputra, near the present day Patna. This dynasty lasted till 424 BC, when it was overthrown by the Nanda dynasty. This period saw the development of two of India's major religions. Gautama Buddha in the 6th or 5th century BC was the founder of Buddhism, which later spread to East Asia and South-East Asia, while Mahavira founded Jainism.

Nanda dynasty

The Nanda dynasty was established by an illegitimate son of the king Mahanandin of the previous Shishunaga dynasty. Mahapadma Nanda died at the age of 88, ruling the bulk of this 100-year dynasty. The Nandas were followed by the Maurya dynasty.

Maurya dynasty

In 321 BC, exiled general Chandragupta Maurya overthrew reigning king Dhana Nanda to establish the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta was succeeded by his son Bindusara, who expanded the kingdom over most of present day India, barring the extreme south and east. During this time, most of the subcontinent was united under a single government for the first time. The kingdom was inherited by his son Ashoka The Great who initially sought to expand his kingdom. In the aftermath of the carnage caused in the invasion of Kalinga, he renounced bloodshed and pursued a policy of non-violence or ahimsa after converting to Buddhism. The Edicts of Ashoka are the oldest preserved historical documents of India, and from Ashoka's time, approximate dating of dynasties becomes possible. The Mauryan dynasty under Ashoka was responsible for the proliferation of Buddhist ideals across the whole of East Asia and South-East Asia, fundamentally altering the history and development of Asia as a whole. Ashoka the Great has been described as one of the greatest rulers the world has seen.

Shunga dynasty

The Sunga dynasty was established in 185 BC, about 50 years after Ashoka's death, when the king Brihadratha, the last of the Mauryan rulers, was brutally murdered by the then commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honour of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga then ascended the throne.

Early Middle Kingdoms - the golden age

The middle period, especially that associated with the Gupta dynasty, is known as India's Golden Age, a time of unparalleled cultural development. The Kushanas invaded northwestern India about the middle of the 1st century CE, from Central Asia, and founded an empire that eventually stretched from Peshawar to the middle Ganges and, perhaps, as far as the Bay of Bengal. It also included ancient Bactria (in the north of modern Afghanistan) and southern Tajikistan. Their power also extended into Turkestan and helped spread Buddhism to China. In South India, several kingdoms emerged. The earliest of these is the Pandya kingdom in southern Tamil Nadu, with its capital at Madurai. The Indo-Greek Kingdoms following the conquests of Alexander the Great ruled much of Gandhara from 180 BC to 10 CE. Around the same time in southern India, the Dravidian Pandyan kingdom began to take shape. An important source for the geography and history of that period is the Greek historian Arrian.

Satavahana empire

The Satavahanas, also known as the Andhras, were a dynasty which ruled in Southern and Central India starting from around 230 BC. Although there is some controversy about when the dynasty came to an end, the most liberal estimates are of about 450 years. Long before that their kingdom had disintegrated into successor states. Conflict with the Sakas and the rising ambitions of their feudatories, led to their decline. Several dynasties divided the lands of the kingdom among themselves.

Kushan empire

The Kushan Empire (c. 1st–3rd centuries) was a state that at its height, about 105–250, stretched from Tajikistan to the Caspian Sea to Afghanistan and down into the Ganges river valley. The empire was created by Tocharians from modern East Turkestan, China, but was culturally dominated by north India. They had diplomatic contacts with Rome, Sassanian Persia and China, and for several centuries were at the centre of exchange between the East and the West, spreading Buddhism through trade with China.

Gupta dynasty

In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Gupta Dynasty unified northern India. During this period, known as India's Golden Age, Hindu culture, science and political administration reached new heights. After the collapse of the Gupta empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms. The Gupta 'golden age' marked a period of significant cultural development. Their origins are largly unknown, however the Chinese traveller I-tsing provides the first evidence of the Gupta kingdom in Magadha. The Vedic Puranas are also thought to have been written around this period. The empire came to an end with the attack of the Huns from central Asia. A minor line of the Gupta clan continued to rule Magadha after the disintegration of the empire. These Guptas were ultimately ousted by the Vardhana king Harsha, who established an empire in the first half of the seventh century that, for a brief time, rivalled that of the Guptas in extent.

Late Middle Kingdoms - the classical age

Later, the Chola kingdom emerged in northern Tamil Nadu, and the Chera kingdom in Kerala. The ports of southern India were involved in the Indian Ocean trade, chiefly involving spices, with the Roman Empire to the west and Southeast Asia to the east. In the north, the first of the Rajputs, a series of kingdoms which managed to survive in some form for almost a millennium until Indian independence from the British.

Harsha's empire

King Harsha of Kannauj succeeded in reuniting northern India during his reign in the 7th century. His kingdom collapsed after his death. From the 7th to the 9th century, three dynasties contested for control of northern India: the Pratiharas of Malwa and later Kannauj; the Palas of Bengal, and the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan.

The Chalukyas and Pallavas

The Chalukya Empire ruled parts of southern India from 550 to 750 (from Badami,Karnataka)and again from 970 to 1190 (from Kalyani, Karnataka). The Pallavas of Kanchi were their contemporaries to the south. Over a period of roughly a century, the two kingdoms fought a series of low-intensity wars, each conquering the other's capitals at various points. The kings of Sri Lanka and the Keralan Cheras rendered support to the Pallavas, while the Pandyas rendered support to the Chalukyas. Whilst the northern concept of a pan-Indian empire had collapsed at the end of Harsha's empire, the ideal instead shifted to the south. The two dynasties were responsible for some of the greatest examples of both rock-cut and free-standing temples.

Chola empire

Chalukyas The Cholas emerged as the most powerful empire in the south in the 9th century and retained their pre-eminent position until the 13th century when the Vijayanagar empire was founded. The Cholas, like the Chalukyas and Pallavas before them, and the Vijaynagar after them, were responsible for some of India's finest monuments, and being located on the south tip of the peninsula, ruled Sri Lanka, and culturally dominated most of South East Asia, where the Hindu Srivijaya and Khmer empires of Indonesia and Cambodia used south Indian temple design. The Chola Navy was the most powerful for its time having conquered the neighbouring island of Lanka and other areas across the Bay of Bengal.

The Pratiharas, Palas and Rashtrakutas

The Pratiharas, also called the Gurjara-Pratiharas were an Indian dynasty who ruled kingdoms in Rajasthan and northern India from the sixth to the eleventh centuries. The Pala Empire controlled Bihar and Bengal, from the 8th to the 12th century. The Rashtrakutas of Malkhed (Karnataka) were a dynasty which ruled the Deccan during the 8th-10th centuries after the end of Chalukya rule. Each three kingdoms vied for north Indian domination around the same time that the Cholas were flourishing in the south.

The Rajputs

Cholas), built in the 18th Century.]] The first recorded Rajput kingdoms emerged in Rajasthan in the 6th century, and Rajput dynasties later ruled much of northern India, including Mewar (Sisodias), Gujarat (Solankis), Malwa (Paramaras), Bundelkhand (Chandelas), and Haryana (Tomaras). The Pallava dynasty of Kanchipuram ruled southeastern India from from 4th century to the 9th century. The Pratihara ruled northern India before the Rajputs. Various other dynasties such as the Yadav, Chera, Hoysala of Halebidu, Sena and Pala controlled various empires of their own.

The Islamic Sultanates

After the Arab-Turkic invasion of India's ancient northern neighbour Persia, various short lived Islamic empires invaded and spread across the subcontinent over a period of 1000 years. Prior to Turkish invasions, Muslim trading communities flourished throughout coastal South India, particularly in Kerala. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Sultanate of Delhi at the beginning of the 13th century. The Slave dynasty and Khilji empire managed to conquer large areas of northern India approximate to the ancient extent of the Guptas, but were ultimately unsuccessful in conquering the subcontinent, until the onset of the Mughals.

Vijayanagar empire

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Jain

from Mathura]] Jainism (pronounced in English as //), traditionally known as Jain Dharma (जैन धर्म) , is a classical religion with its origins in the prehistory of India. The Jains, although a small minority in India now, have continued to sustain the shraman (श्रमण) tradition. Jainism is significantly influential in both the ethical and economic spheres in India. Jainism places great stress on compassion to all living beings. Self-control (व्रत, vrata in Sanskrit) forms a central part of being a Jain. A lay Jain is termed a shravaka (श्रावक) i.e. a listener. The Jain Sangha (संघ) has four components: monks (साधु), nuns, lay men and women.

Overview of Jain Dharma

According to Jain beliefs, Jain philosophy is a codification of eternal universal truths which at times lapse among humanity, but later reappear through the teachings of human beings who have gained enlightenment or omniscience (Keval Gnan). According to jain tradition, Lord Rishabha (ऋषभ, sometimes pronounced as िरषभ) was the first human to receive the philosophy in this part of the universe, in the present cycle, and more recently Vardhaman Mahavira (599–527 BCE), or Lord Mahavira (महावीर). Jainism teaches that every single living thing is an individual and eternal soul, called jīva, which is responsible for its own actions. Jains see their faith as teaching the individual to live, think and act in ways that respect and honor the spiritual nature of every living being to the best of one's human abilities. Jains view God as the unchanging traits of the pure soul of each living being, chief among them being Infinite Knowledge, Perception, Consciousness, and Happiness ('Ananta Gnana, Darshan, Chaitanya,' and 'Sukh') — but as such does not believe in any single Omnipotent Supreme Being (see Ishvara). The universe itself is seen as being eternal, having no beginning and no end, precluding God from being any creator. The primary figures of Jainism are the Tirthankaras. Jainism has two main variants: Digambar and Shvetambar. Jains believe in ahimsa (or ahinsā), asceticism, karma, samsara, and the jiva. Jain philosophy has many scriptures written over a long period of time. One of the most cited scripture among all Jains is Tattvartha Sutra, or Book of Realities written over 18 centuries ago by the monk-scholar Umasvati (also known as Umasvami). The holy Vedas of the orthodox Hindus is not regarded as authoritative, and hence, Jainism (along with Buddhism) is a Shramana Paramparā (monastic tradition) as opposed to orthodox Hinduism which is a Vaidika Paramparā (Vedic tradition). Compassion to all fellow living beings (along with humans) is central to being a Jain. Jainism is the only religion where all followers, both monks and practicing lay persons, are traditionally vegetarian. In regions of India with strong Jain influence, often the majority of the population is vegetarian. In many towns, the Jains run animal shelters. In Delhi, there is a bird hospital run by a Jain temple. Many historians believe that Hinduism adopted vegetarianism as a recommendation (though never a requirement or a dogma) because of the strong influence of Jainism and Buddhism. As part of its stance on nonviolence, Jainism goes even beyond vegetarianism, in that the Jain diet also excludes most root vegetables as Jains believe such vegetables have an infinite number of individual souls, invisible to the naked eye. Jains also do not eat certain other foods believed to be unnecessarily injurious. Observant Jains do not eat, drink or travel after sunset and always rise before sunrise. Anekantavada, meaning simultaneous validity of multiple points of view is an important principle in Jainism. Another foundational principle of Jainism is the theory of relativity of knowledge, ie, Syādvāda. The Jains can be remarkably open minded towards other dharmas. There are several Hindu temples that are administered by Jain individuals. The Jain Heggade family has run the institutions of Dharmasthala including the Manjunath Temple for eight centuries. There are examples of Jains donating money for building churches and mosques. In India the Jains have often helped organize multi-religious discussions and functions. They have also sometimes been involved in activities to promote harmony among followers of rival faiths to help defuse communal tensions. Jains have been an important presence in Indian culture, contributing to Indian philosophy, art, architecture, sciences and the politics of Mohandas Gandhi which led to Indian independence.

Universal History and Jain Cosmology

According to Jain beliefs, the universe was never created, nor will it ever cease to exist. It is eternal but not unchangeable, because it passes through an endless series of cycles. Each of these upward or downward cycles is divided into six world ages (yugas). The present world age is the fifth age of one of these "cycles", which is in a downward movement. These ages are known as "Aaro" as in "Pehela Aara" or First Age, "Doosra Aara" or Second Age and so on. The last one is the "Chhatha Aara" or Sixth Age. All these ages have fixed time durations of thousands of years. When this reaches its lowest level, even Jainism itself will be lost in its entirety. Then, in the course of the next upswing, the Jain religion will be rediscovered and reintroduced by new leaders called Tirthankaras (literally "Crossing Makers" or "Ford Finders"), only to be lost again at the end of the next downswing, and so on. In each of these enormously long alternations of time there are always twenty-four Tirthankaras. In the current world age, the twenty-third Tirthankar was Parshva, an ascetic and teacher, whose traditional dates are 877-777 BC, i.e., 250 years before the passing of the last Tirthankar Lord Mahavira in 527 BC. Jains regard him and all Tirthankars as a reformer who called for a return to beliefs and practices in line with the eternal universal philosophy upon which the faith is said to be based. Hence the epithet Bhagavan is applied to Mahavira and most other Tirathankaras in the sense of the Venerable One. Bhagavan is shelter from ocean of rebirths]] The twenty-fourth and final Tirthankar of this age is known by his title, Mahāvīr, the Great Hero (599-527 BC). He too was a wandering ascetic teacher who attempted to recall the Jains to the rigorous practice of their ancient faith. Jains believe that reality is made up of two eternal principles, jiva and ajiva. Jiva consists of an infinite number of identical spiritual units; ajiva (that is, non-jiva) is matter in all its forms and the conditions under which matter exists: time, space, and movement. Both jiva and ajiva are eternal; they never came into existence for the first time and will never cease to exist. The whole world is made up of jivas trapped in ajiva; there are jivas in rocks, plants, insects, animals, human beings, spirits, et cetera. Any contact whatsoever of the jiva with the ajiva causes the former to suffer. Thus the Jains believed that existence in this world inevitably means suffering. Neither social reform nor the reform of individuals themselves can ever stop suffering. In every human being, a jiva is trapped, and the jiva suffers because of its contact with ajiva. The only way to escape from suffering is for the jiva to completely escape from the human condition, from human existence. Karma and transmigration keep the jiva trapped in ajiva. Achieving release from the human condition is difficult. The Jains believe that the jiva continues to suffer during all its lives or reincarnations, which are of an indefinite number. They believe that every action that a person performs, be it good or evil, opens up channels of the senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell), through which an invisible substance, karma, filters in and adheres to the jiva within, weighing it down and determining the conditions of the next reincarnation. The consequence of evil actions is a heavy karma, which weighs the jiva down, forcing it to enter its new life at a lower level in the scale of existence. The consequence of good deeds, on the other hand, is a light karma, which allows the jiva to rise in its next life to a higher level in the scale of existence, where there is less suffering to be endured. However, good deeds alone can never lead to release. karma The way to moksha (release or liberation) is withdrawal from the world. Karma is the cause-and-effect mechanism by virtue of which all actions have inescapable consequences. Karma operates to keep the jiva chained in an unending series of lifetimes in which the jiva suffers to a greater or lesser extent. Thus the way of escape must involve an escape from karma, the destruction of all karma and the avoidance of new karma. Then, at death, with no karma to weigh it down, the jiva will float free of all ajiva, free of the human condition, free of all future embodiments. It will rise to the top of the universe to a place or state called Siddhashila, where the jiva, identical with all other pure jivas, will experience its own true nature in eternal stillness, isolation and noninvolvement. It will be totally free. The way to burn up old karma is to withdraw from all involvement in the world as much as possible, and close the channel of the senses and the mind to prevent karmic matter from entering and adhering to the jiva. Such kind of an eternal liberation from the unbinding of the Jiva and the Pudgala (ajiva), such that no new reincarnation occurs into the material world, is called as Moksha. Ignorance (ajñāna) is the cause of binding, and true knowledge (kevala jñāna) is the cause of liberation. S. Vernon McCasland, Grace E. Cairns and David C. Yu describe Jain cosmology after the following manner: :"In Jain tradition, the first teacher of the religion, Rishabha, lived in the third period of Avasarpini, during which half of the world cycle things are getting worse. Since evil had begun to be found, a teacher called a Tirthankara was needed in order for people to cope with the problems of life. In the fourth period, evils proliferated such that twenty-three more Tirthankaras came into the world to teach people how to defeat evil and achieve mokasha. The present time, part of the fifth period, is 'wholly evil.' Now, men live no longer than 125 years, but the sixth epoch will be even worse. 'Man's life span will be only sixteen to twenty years and his height will be reduced to the size of a dwarf. . . . But then the slow upward movement of the first half of the world cycle, Utsarpini, will begin. There will be steady improvement until, in the first era, man's needs will be fulfilled by wishing trees, and man's height will be six miles, and evil will be unknown.' However, eventually things will degenerate again, with a repeat of Avasarpini; Usarpini will come again afterwards, in a neverending cycle, according to Jain cosmology." (McCasland, Cairns, and Yu, Religions of the World, New York: Random House, 1969: pages 485-486)

Beliefs and practices

Moksha." The wheel represents the dharma-chakra. This logo represents halting the cycle of reincarnation through relentless pursuit of truth.]] On one hand, there are the monks, who practice severe asceticism and strive to make this birth their last. On the other hand, there are the lay people, who pursue less rigorous practices, striving to attain rational faith and do good deeds in this birth. Due to the strict ethics embedded in Jainism, the laity must choose a profession and livelihood that does not involve violence to self and other living beings. In their effort to attain their highest and most exalted state of being a Siddha, which is the permanent release of the jiva from all involvement in worldly existence, the Jains believe that no spirit or divine being can assist them in any way. The Jains consider that the devas (angels or celestial beings) cannot help the jiva to obtain release. This has to be achieved by individuals through their own efforts. In fact, the devas cannot even gain their own release until they are reincarnated as humans and undertake the difficult actions of removing the karmas. The ethical code of Jainism is taken very seriously. Summarized in the Five Vows, they are followed by both lay people and monastics. These are: #Nonviolence (ahinsa, or ahimsa) #Truth (satya) #Non-stealing (asteya) #Chastity (brahmacharya) #Non-possession or Non-possessiveness (aparigrah) For lay people, 'chastity' means confining sexual experience to the marriage relationship. For monks/nuns, it means complete celibacy. Nonviolence involves being strictly vegetarian. The Jain is expected to follow the principle of non-violence in all his/her thoughts, words and deeds, not only towards fellow human beings, but also towards all living creature. There are some Jains who wear masks over their mouths and noses to avoid any possibility of breathing in tiny insects. Along with the above 5 traits JAINS also believe in forgiving others and keeping no harm feelings against any one in the heart. There is few more things which they completely believe in like AATMA can lead one to become PARMATMA but voice has to come form inner-self and no one can lead some one to any path but can only show the path. Also they think that one should not become angry as that is the biggest enemy on a human. They completely trust in the belief “JEEYO AUR JEENE DO” (live and let others live). Mahatma Gandhi was deeply influenced by the Jain emphasis on a peaceful, non-harming way of life which is common to the Jain philosophy and made it an integral part of his own philosophy.

Jain Symbols

Jains have few core symbols. One Jain symbol incorporates a wheel on the palm of the hand. The holiest one is a simple unadorned swastika or svastika. Major Jains symbols include:
- 24 Lanchhanas for Tirthankaras
- The Ashta-mangalas
- Om
- Triratna and Shrivatsa symbols.
- The dreams of Tirthankara's mother
- Dharma-chakra and Siddha-chakra

Jain Literature

The oldest Jain literature is in Ardha-Magadhi and Maharashtri Prakrit (Agamas, Agama-tulya, Siddhanta texts etc). Many classical texts are in Sanskrit (Tatvartha Sutra, Puranas, Koshas, Shravakacharas, Mathematics, Nighantus etc). Jain literature was also written in Apabhramsha (Kahas, rasas, grammars etc), Hindi (Chhah-dhala, Mokshamarga Prakashaka etc), Tamil (Jivakachintamani, Kural etc), Kannada (Vaddaradhane etc.). See Jain literature for more details.

Jain Worship and Rituals

Jains have built temples where images of their Tirthankaras are venerated. Jain rituals can be elaborate and include offerings of symbolic objects, with the Tirthankaras being praised in chant. In some Jain sects, temples and images are not required. Every day Jains bow their heads and say their universal prayer, the Namokar-mantra. All good work and events start with this prayer of salutation and worship. णमो अरिहंताणं - I bow to the Arahantas, the perfected human beings (Tirathankaras), Godmen.
णमो सिद्धाणं - I bow to the Siddhas, liberated bodiless souls, regarded as God.
णमो आयरियाणं - I bow to the Acharyas, the masters and heads of congregations.
णमो उवज्झायाणं - I bow to the Upadhyayas, the spiritual teachers.
णमो लोए सव्व साहुणं - I bow to all the spiritual practitioners in the universe, Sadhus.
एसो पंच णमोकारो - This fivefold obeisance mantra,
सव्व पाप पणासणो - Destroys all sins and obstacles, मंगलाणं च सव्वेसिम - And of all auspicious repetitions,
पढ्मम हवइ मंगलम - Is the first and foremost...
The pronunciation of this great mantra is most important. One who completely knows the pronunciation should only try to rhyme this. The English format of the same is
OM NAMO ARIHANTANAM,
OM NAMO SIDHDHANAM,
OM NAMO AYARIYANAM,
OM NAMO UVAJZAYANAM,
OM NAMO LOE SAVVA SAHUNAM,
ESO PANCH NAMOKKARO,
SAVVA PAV PPANHA SANHO,
MANGALANAM CHA SAVVASIM,
PADHAMAM HAVAI MAMGALAM.,
In the above prayer, Jains salute the virtues of their five benevolent. They do not pray to a specific Tirthankar or monk by name. By saluting them, Jains receive the inspiration from the five benevolent for the right path of true happiness and total freedom from the misery of life. Jain prayers do not ask for any favors or material benefits from their gods, the Tirthankaras or from sadhus and sadhvis. Jain worship may or may not involve temples. The sadhumargi Shvetambar Jains and the followers of Shrimad Rajachandra sect do not have temples. The Taranpanthi Jains have temples, but have books in place of idols. Jain rituals include:
- Pancha-kalyanaka Pratishtha
- Pratikramana
- Guru-vandan, Chaitya vandan etc. The Jain rituals for marriage and other family rites are distinct and uniquely Indian, usually minor variants of those in orthodox Hinduism.

Digambar and Shvetambar Traditions

It is generally believed that the Jain sangha became divided two major sects, Digambar and Shvetambar, about 200 years after the nirvana of Mahāvīr. Bhadrabahu, chief of the Jain monks, foresaw a period of famine and led about 12,000 people, to southern India. Twelve years later, they returned to find that the Svetambar sect had arisen. The followers of Bhadrabahu became known as the Digambar sect. The Digambar monks do not wear any clothes, the Svetambar monks wear white clothes. The sadhvis (lady religiuos persons) of both sects wear white clothes. There are also minor differences in