Deccan and South Indian Kingdoms

Deccan Indian Kingdoms : During the Kushana Dynasty, an indigenous power, the Satavahana Kingdom (first century B.C.-third century A.D.), rose in the Deccan in southern India. The Satavahana, or Andhra, Kingdom was considerably influenced by the Mauryan political model, although power was decentralized in the hands of local chieftains, who used the symbols of Vedic religion and upheld the varnashramadharma . The rulers, however, were eclectic and patronized Buddhist monuments, such as those in Ellora (Maharashtra) and Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh). Thus, the Deccan served as a bridge through which politics, trade, and religious ideas could spread from the north to the south.

Farther south were three ancient Tamil kingdoms--Chera (on the west), Chola (on the east), and Pandya (in the south)--frequently involved in internecine warfare to gain regional supremacy. They are mentioned in Greek and Ashokan sources as lying at the fringes of the Mauryan Empire. A corpus of ancient Tamil literature, known as Sangam (academy) works, including Tolkappiam , a manual of Tamil grammar by Tolkappiyar, provides much useful information about their social life from 300 B.C. to A.D. 200. There is clear evidence of encroachment by Aryan traditions from the north into a predominantly indigenous Dravidian culture in transition.

Dravidian social order was based on different ecoregions rather than on the Aryan varna paradigm, although the Brahmans had a high status at a very early stage. Segments of society were characterized by matriarchy and matrilineal succession--which survived well into the nineteenth century--cross-cousin marriage, and strong regional identity. Tribal chieftains emerged as "kings" just as people moved from pastoralism toward agriculture, sustained by irrigation based on rivers, small-scale tanks (as man-made ponds are called in India) and wells, and brisk maritime trade with Rome and Southeast Asia.

Discoveries of Roman gold coins in various sites attest to extensive South Indian links with the outside world. As with Pataliputra in the northeast and Taxila in the northwest (in modern Pakistan), the city of Madurai, the Pandyan capital (in modern Tamil Nadu), was the center of intellectual and literary activities. Poets and bards assembled there under royal patronage at successive concourses and composed anthologies of poems, most of which have been lost. By the end of the first century B.C., South Asia was crisscrossed by overland trade routes, which facilitated the movements of Buddhist and Jain missionaries and other travelers and opened the area to a synthesis of many cultures (see Jainism, ch. 3). The Classical Age : Data 1995. Courtesy Library of Congress

More Resources on India :.   INDIA  Facts of India Indian Flag   National Bravery Awards for Indian Children   Indian National Anthem  Vande Mataram  National Flag of India   National Emblem of India  National Animal of India  National Bird of India  National Tree of India  National Flower of India  National Fruit of India   Taj Mahal  india map Festivals of India     Indian monuments    Political parties in India     Education in India   History of India   Travel to India  Climate of India   india geography    Indo gangetic plain    himalayas   Indian Coasts and Borders    Indian offshore islands   Rivers in India  climate india  Earthquakes in india  Demography of India  Indian fashion  Indian Society  indian fashion designers  india population    Life expectancy India   india health care   health care in India  Indian economy     India pakistan war     Transport in India  Mobile phone manufacturers  telecommunications in India & chinese mobile phones    Indian Armed Forces   India government

 Indian Freedom fighters  History of India    Harappa   Indian Kingdoms  Mauryan Empire    Deccan and South Indian Kingdoms   Gupta Empire  Southern dynasties in India  Comming of Islam   Mughal era   Maratha rulers   Sikhism   British invasion in India   British empire in India    British Raj   India independence movement  Congress party   Mahatma Gandhi    Independence of India     National Integration of India     Jawaharlal Nehru    Indira Gandhi     Rajiv Gandhi    india religion   Vedas  Karma  Jainism   Buddhism in India   Hindu God   Vishnu    Shiva   Hindu Goddesses    Hindu Ceremonies   Life cycle rituals   Temples in India  Pilgrimages in India  

Amazing Facts    Outdoor games   Tongue twisters   Baby Poems    India Flag  Festivals of India   Indian monuments   Schools of India   Indian national anthem  Baby Name Indian    History of India   Indian Baby Names  Indian fashion    Indian Vegetarian recipes  Nursery Rhymes    Baby Sleep  Baby Shower  indian recipes  newborn clothing  outsourcing   babysitting  Music download   home remedies  Pregnancy Short Stories

Raising good children          Home         Parenting articles, advice     BABY PICTURES

Copyright 2000.Indianchild.com. All rights reserved. No Content from our pages can be used/copied/downloaded for any use/publication/website in whatsoever manner without our written permission.  If you wish to spread the message of safe surfing and use any content from Indianchild.com, please indicate the source and give the article courtesy & link to www.Indianchild.com.