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Ancient India – UPSC GS1

This module of the GS Paper 1: History, Culture, Geography & Society course covers harappa to the guptas. It has 3 study lessons and a 21-question practice quiz. Free lessons can be read in full; premium lessons show a preview.

Lessons in this module

1. The Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilisation

Free 7 min

The Harappan Civilisation is India's first urban (city-based) culture. Its mature phase lasted roughly 2600–1900 BCE. It is called "Harappan" after the first site to be excavated, Harappa (on the Ravi, now in Pakistan), dug…

2. Vedic Age, Mahajanapadas, Buddhism and Jainism

Premium 8 min

Early (Rig) Vedic period: c. 1500–1000 BCE. People lived mainly in the land of the "Sapta Sindhu" (Punjab region). Cattle were the main wealth. The Rigveda is the oldest Veda. Later Vedic period: c. 1000–600…

3. Mauryas, Post-Mauryan Kingdoms and the Guptas

Premium 7 min

Chandragupta Maurya founded the empire with the help of Kautilya (Chanakya), whose Arthashastra is a treatise on statecraft. Megasthenes, the Greek envoy of Seleucus, described Pataliputra in his Indica. Ashoka fought the Kalinga war (c.…

 Module quiz: Ancient India (21 questions)

Maps & infographics in this module

Map of major Harappan sites: Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal, Dholavira, Kalibangan, Rakhigarhi, with the Indus river and the sea trade route to Mesopotamia
Harappa and Mohenjo-daro are in present-day Pakistan; Lothal, Dholavira, Kalibangan and Rakhigarhi are in India.
Timeline of Indian history from the Harappan civilisation to independence in 1947
Ten anchor dates – hang other facts on them.
Black-and-white photograph of brick walls and streets being excavated at Mohenjo-daro in 1924
Excavations at Mohenjo-daro in 1924, two years after R.D. Banerji began digging. Note the baked-brick walls lining the streets. Photo: unknown photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Square steatite stamp seal showing a unicorn-like animal and Indus script signs, next to its modern clay impression
A steatite stamp seal with the "unicorn" motif and Indus script (left) and a modern impression (right). The script is still undeciphered. Photo: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (open access), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Museum display of a balance and a row of cubical stone weights from the Harappan civilisation
Cubical stone weights with a display balance. Standard weights point to controlled, regulated trade. Photo: Gary Todd, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Steatite seal showing a seated figure with a horned headdress surrounded by animals
The so-called "Pashupati" (proto-Shiva) seal from Mohenjo-daro – an interpretation, not a certainty. Image: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Frequently asked questions

Lessons: The Harappan (Indus Valley) Civilisation; Vedic Age, Mahajanapadas, Buddhism and Jainism; Mauryas, Post-Mauryan Kingdoms and the Guptas.

Answer: Lothal. Lothal in Gujarat had a dockyard used for sea trade.

Answer: Kalibangan. Kalibangan (Rajasthan) shows a ploughed field with criss-cross furrows.

Answer: Sarnath. The first sermon (Dhammachakra-pravartana) was delivered at Sarnath, near Varanasi.

Answer: Kanishka. It was held in Kashmir under Kanishka; Buddhism split into Hinayana and Mahayana.

Related modules

Prehistoric and Harappan India3 lessons
Vedic Age, Mahajanapadas and Heterodox Religions4 lessons
Mauryas to Guptas5 lessons
Medieval India2 lessons
Early Medieval and Delhi Sultanate5 lessons
Mughals, Marathas and Bhakti–Sufi Movements5 lessons
Modern India4 lessons
Advent of Europeans and British Expansion5 lessons
Revolt of 1857 and Socio-Religious Reform4 lessons
Indian National Movement7 lessons
Post-Independence Consolidation4 lessons
World History2 lessons
World History in Depth6 lessons
Art and Culture2 lessons
Indian Art, Architecture and Literature6 lessons
Indian Geography2 lessons
Indian Physical and Economic Geography6 lessons
World Geography2 lessons
Physical Geography in Depth5 lessons
Geophysical Phenomena and Resource Distribution4 lessons
Indian Society2 lessons
Indian Society in Depth6 lessons

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