WS - AS - CB - VI - Hist - Reconstructing History
WS - AS - CB - VI - Hist - Reconstructing History
WS - AS - CB - VI - Hist - Reconstructing History
1. Reconstructing History
a) Which category of books would the Panchatantra, Hitopdesha, jatakas fall under?
i) Memoirs
ii) Biographies
iii) Folk tales
iv) Autobiographies
a)What are the two forms of literary sources that help us to reconstruct history of
India?
Manuscripts or as textual literature
c) Why do the works written by foreign travellers have to be read with some
caution?
As some of the travellers made certain observations about India which are not
correct.
b. How does the religious literature helps us to reconstruct the Indian history?
Information about the social, political, cultural and religious life of people is
known through the study of scriptures. They provide us with information about
the social conditions and religious beliefs during Vedic and later Vedic period.
The four Vedas – the Rig Veda , the Yajur Veda , the Sama Veda , and the
Atharva Veda belong to the ancient religious texts. Other ancient texts
comprise of the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas, the Upanishads, the Epics –
Ramayana and Mahabharata , and the Puranas . The Jain texts composed in 6th
century CE impart with the information on political history of present-day
eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The religious books of the Buddhists provide
information about the historical personalities and incidents. They throw light
on the life of the Gautam Buddha and some of his contemporaries.