Historiography : Indian Tradition

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Historiography means the writing and study of history. It includes the methods, sources, and ideas used to present the past.

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They were preserved through oral recitals. People remembered the deeds of ancestors, mythological stories, and social changes by speaking and reciting them.

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Harappan seals and artefacts show that Indians had mastered writing by the third millennium B.C.E. or earlier. The script is still undeciphered, so the exact meaning cannot yet be read.

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Ashoka Maurya’s edicts on rocks and stone pillars from the 3rd century B.C.E. are the earliest known written historical documents in India.

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Inscriptions began appearing on coins, metal images, sculptures, and copper plates. They provide information about kings, dynasties, territory, administration, society, climate, and famines.

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It records a royal order that the grain stored in a granary should be distributed carefully. It is linked to precautions taken during famine conditions.

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The Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas, Jain and Buddhist texts, historical accounts by Indian authors, and travelogues by foreign travellers give valuable information about the past.

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Harshacharit is the biography of King Harsha written by Banabhatta in the 7th century C.E. It gives a realistic picture of the social, economic, political, religious, and cultural life of that time.