Ancient India facts for kids

Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, Musée Guimet.

Ancient India was a huge area with a very old civilization and culture. It included lands that are now part of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

The Indus Valley Civilization was one of the first great civilizations. It thrived from about 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE. This was when cities first started to appear in the region. It was built around the Indus River and its smaller rivers. This civilization is famous for its cities made of brick. These cities had good drainage systems and houses with many floors.

Later, the Maurya Empire was founded in 321 BCE. For the first time, most of the Indian subcontinent was united under one government. Ashoka the Great was an important ruler. At first, he wanted to make his kingdom bigger. But after he became a Buddhist, he chose a path of ahimsa (non-violence). The Edicts of Ashoka are the oldest historical writings from India that we still have. Under Ashoka, Buddhist ideas spread across East Asia and Southeast Asia.

During the Gupta Empire, a ruler named Gupta was known as a very wise and good person. This time is often called the "Golden Age of India."

Key Moments in Ancient India
- Timeline of Events
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Key Moments in Ancient India

Timeline of Events

Map showing the largest extent of the Mauryan Empire in dark blue.

1500 BC – 600 BC: The Vedas and Brahmana texts were written.
700 BC – 300 BC: The Upanishads were created.
527 or 526 BC: Mahavira, who started Jainism, passed away.
Late 6th century BC: Darius, the Persian king, took over parts of what is now Pakistan.
486 BC: Buddha passed away (some say 483 BC).
400 BC: Panini wrote the first Sanskrit grammar book.
4th century BC: The epic stories of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were written.
327 BC – 25 BC: Alexander the Great entered the Indus Valley region (now Pakistan).
321 BC – 181 BC: Chandragupta Maurya started the Maurya Empire.
300 BC: Megasthenes from Greece visited the Maurya king.
300 BC: The Arthashastra was written (some scholars think it was 100 AD).
268 BC – 233 BC: The rule of Ashoka the Great.
185 BC – 75 BC: The Sunga dynasty ruled central India.
2nd century BC – 3rd century BC: Buddhism and Jainism were very strong in India.
1st Century BC – 1st century AD: Groups like the Shakas, Parthians, and Kushana invaded the Indus Valley.
1st Century BC – 2nd Century AD: The Satavahanas ruled.
58 BC – 57 BC: The Vikrama Samvat era began.
Chera, Chola & Pandiya Kingdoms were important in South India.
78 AD: The Shaka era began.
1st – 3rd century: The Kushan dynasty ruled. This was when the first pictures of Jaina tirthankars and Hindu gods with many arms appeared.
4th-5th century: The Vaktakas ruled central India and the Deccan.
4th - 6th century: The Gupta period was a "Golden Age" in the Gangetic valley.
500 AD: The Ajanta Caves were finished.
5th – 7th century: Vaishnavism, especially the worship of Krishna, grew. New local gods were worshipped, and Tantrism appeared.
5th – 6th century: The Huns invaded ancient Pakistan.
6th - 17th century: The Rajputs ruled different parts of West India.
6th century: The Kalachuri dynasty ruled the western coast of India.
6th - 8th century: The Pallava dynasty ruled southern India. Rock-cut buildings started, and temples grew in places like Mamallapurama and Kanchipuram.
6th-10th century: Tamil devotional poems were written.
7th – 8th century: Buddhism became less popular in ancient Pakistan and northern India. Hinduism grew stronger again.
7th – 10th century: The Rashtrakuta dynasty ruled the northern Deccan.
Early 8th century: Arab traders settled on the coast of Sindh (now Pakistan) and Gujarat in India.
8th – 12th century: The Pala dynasty ruled in Bihar, Bengal, and much of eastern India.
788 – 820 AD: The life of Adi Shankaracharya, a famous philosopher.
1018 AD: Mahmud Ghazni, a Muslim ruler, raided India for the first time.

Images for kids

Dholavira, an Indus Valley Civilization city, with steps to reach water in reservoirs.
An early 19th-century manuscript of the Rigveda, originally passed down by speaking.
Map of the Late Vedic era, showing early Iron Age kingdoms in northern India.
A carving from Sanchi Stupa showing the city of Kushinagar in the 5th century BCE.
Manuscript picture of the Battle of Kurukshetra.
The Mahajanapadas were 16 powerful kingdoms and republics in the Indo-Gangetic plains.
The Mauryan carved door of Lomas Rishi, one of the Barabar Caves, around 250 BCE.
The Silk Road and Spice trade, old trade routes that connected India with the rest of the world.
Copper Plate Seal of Kamarupa Kings at Madan Kamdev ruins.
Kadamba shikara (tower) with Kalasa (pinnacle) on top, Doddagaddavalli.
Coin of Emperor Harsha, around 606–647 CE.
Ambassador from Central India to the court of the Tang dynasty, around 650 CE.
Excavated ruins of Nalanda, a famous place for Buddhist learning from 450 to 1193 CE.
The Dasam Granth, written by Sikh Guru Gobind Singh.
Literacy in India grew slowly until 1947, then sped up from 1991–2001.
Ancient India during the rise of the Shungas, Satavahanas, Pandyas and Cholas.
The Great Chaitya in the Karla Caves, built from 2nd century BCE to 5th century CE.
Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves is home to the Hathigumpha inscription, made under Emperor Kharavela of Kalinga.
Carving of a multi-storied temple, 2nd century CE, Ghantasala Stupa.
The Ajanta Caves are 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments built by the Vakatakas.
Buddhist monks praying in front of the Dagoba of Chaitya Cave 26 of the Ajanta Caves.
Buddhist "Chaitya Griha" or prayer hall, with a seated Buddha, Cave 26 of the Ajanta Caves.
Many foreign visitors are shown as followers attending the Buddha's descent from heaven; painting from Cave 17 of the Ajanta Caves.
Martand Sun Temple Central shrine, for the god Surya, built by Lalitaditya Muktapida in the 8th century CE.
Kandariya Mahadeva Temple in the Khajuraho complex was built by the Chandelas.
Galaganatha Temple at Pattadakal (UNESCO World Heritage) is an example of Badami Chalukya architecture.
Bhutanatha temple complex at Badami, next to a waterfall, during the monsoon.
Vishnu image inside the Badami Cave Temple Complex, an example of Indian rock-cut architecture.
8th century Durga temple exterior view at Aihole complex. It includes Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain temples.
Kailasa temple, one of the largest rock-cut ancient Hindu temples in Ellora.
Shikhara of Indra Sabha at Ellora Caves.
Statue of the Buddha seated. Part of the Carpenter's cave (Buddhist Cave 10).
Jain Tirthankara Mahavira with Yaksha Matanga and Yakshi Siddhaiki at Ellora Caves.
One of the four entrances of the Teli ka Mandir, a Hindu temple built by Emperor Mihira Bhoja.
Sculptures near Teli ka Mandir, Gwalior Fort.
Jain cave monuments and statues carved into the rock face inside Siddhachal Caves, Gwalior Fort.
Ghateshwara Mahadeva temple at Baroli Temples complex, built by the Gurjara-Pratiharas.
The granite gopuram (tower) of Brihadeeswarar Temple, 1010 CE.
Chariot detail at Airavatesvara Temple built by Rajaraja Chola II in the 12th century CE.
Brihadeeswara Temple Entrance Gopurams at Thanjavur.
Shrine outer wall and Dravida style tower (shikhara) at Siddhesvara Temple at Haveri.
Ornate entrance to the closed hall from the south at Kalleshvara Temple at Bagali.
Shrine wall relief, molding frieze and miniature decorative tower in Mallikarjuna Temple at Kuruvatti.
Rear view showing lateral entrances of the Mahadeva Temple at Itagi.
An 1868 photo of the ruins of the Vijayanagara Empire at Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Gajashaala or elephant's stable, built by the Vijayanagar rulers for their war elephants.
Stone temple car in Vitthala Temple at Hampi.
A tower of victory.
Temple inside Chittorgarh fort.
The Man Singh (Manasimha) palace at the Gwalior fort.
Mahmud Gawan Madrasa, built by Mahmud Gawan, a minister of the Bahmani Sultanate, for religious and general education.
Rang Ghar, built by Pramatta Singha in Ahom Kingdom's capital Rongpur, one of the earliest outdoor stadiums in India.
Chittor Fort is the largest fort in India, one of the six Hill Forts of Rajasthan.
Ranakpur Jain temple was built in the 15th century with support from the Rajput state of Mewar.
Gol Gumbaz, built by the Bijapur Sultanate, has the second largest pre-modern dome in the world.
The Agra Fort showing the river Yamuna and the Taj Mahal in the background.
Fatehpur Sikri, near Agra, showing Buland Darwaza, a complex built by Akbar, the third Mughal emperor.
Humayun's Tomb in Delhi, built in 1570 CE.
The Red Fort, Delhi, its building started in 1639 CE and finished in 1648 CE.
Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of Fort William (Bengal), who looked after the company's lands in India.
Gold coin, minted 1835, showing William IV, King of the United Kingdom, and "Two mohurs" on the back, issued during Company rule in India.
Photograph (1855) showing the building of the Bhor Ghaut incline bridge, Bombay.
Charles Canning, the Governor-General of India during the rebellion.
Lord Dalhousie, Governor-General of India from 1848 to 1856, who created the Doctrine of Lapse.
Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, a main leader of the rebellion who lost her kingdom because of the Doctrine of Lapse.
Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor, made Emperor of India by the rebels. He was removed by the British and died in exile.
Two silver rupee coins from British India, 1862 and 1886, showing Victoria, Queen and then Victoria, Empress.
Ronald Ross, left, at Cunningham's lab in Calcutta, where they found out how mosquitoes spread malaria. Ross won a Nobel Prize in 1902.
Darjeeling Himalayan Railway train in 1870. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
A stamp cancellation from February 1931, celebrating New Delhi becoming the capital of British India.
Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817–1898), who wrote Causes of the Indian Mutiny, and started Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College.
Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922) was a social reformer and a leader in women's education in India.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was a Bengali language poet, writer, and painter, who won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1913.
Map of famines in India from 1800–1885.
Picture from The Graphic, October 1877, showing the suffering of animals and people in Bellary district during the Great Famine of 1876–78.
Government famine relief in Ahmedabad, India, during the Indian famine of 1899–1900.
A picture of orphans who lived through the Bengal famine of 1943.
Indian Cavalry on the Western front in 1914.
Indian cavalry from the Deccan Horse during the Battle of Bazentin Ridge in 1916.
Indian Army gunners with 3.7 inch Mountain Howitzers, Jerusalem 1917.
India Gate is a memorial to 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army who died in the First World War.
General Claude Auchinleck (right), Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army, with Viceroy Wavell (center) and General Montgomery (left).
Indian soldiers of the 7th Rajput Regiment about to go on patrol on the Arakan front in Burma, 1944.
The "Victory" stamp series issued by British India to celebrate the Allied victory in World War II.
The first meeting of the Indian National Congress in 1885. A. O. Hume, the founder, is in the middle.
Surya Sen, leader of the Chittagong armoury raid on April 18, 1930.
From the late 19th century, especially after 1920, under Mahatma Gandhi (right), the Congress led the Indian independence movement. Gandhi is shown here with Jawaharlal Nehru, who became India's first prime minister.
A map of the main religions in British India based on the 1909 census.
Rural Sikhs in a long oxcart train headed towards India. 1947.jpg

Rural Sikhs in a long oxcart train headed towards India in 1947.
Gandhi visiting Bela, Bihar, a village affected by religious fighting in March 1947. On the right is Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan.
Jawaharlal Nehru being sworn in as the first prime minister of independent India by Lord Louis Mountbatten on August 15, 1947.

Ancient India facts for kids

Contents

Key Moments in Ancient India

Timeline of Events

Images for kids

See also