NCERT Book Class 12 History Chapter 4 Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings

82 THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY

THEME Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings
THEME TWO
FOUR Cultur al De
Cultural Devv elopments
(c. 600 BC
BCEE - 600 CE )

In this chapter we shall go on a long journey across a
thousand years to read about philosophers and their
attempts to understand the world they inhabited. We will
also see how their ideas were compiled as oral and written
texts as well as expressed in architecture and sculpture.
These are indicative of the enduring influence these
thinkers had on people. While we will be focusing on
Buddhism, it is important to remember that this tradition
did not develop in isolation – there were several other
traditions, each engaged in debates and dialogues with
the others.
The sources that historians use to reconstruct this
exciting world of ideas and beliefs include Buddhist, Jaina
Fig. 4.1 and Brahmanical texts, as well as a large and impressive
A sculpture from Sanchi body of material remains including monuments and
inscriptions. Among the best preserved monuments of
the time is the stupa at Sanchi which is a major focus in
this chapter.

Fig. 4.2
Shahjehan Begum
1. A Glimpse of Sanchi

Sanchi in the nineteenth century
The most wonderful ancient buildings in the state of Bhopal
are at Sanchi Kanakhera, a small village under the brow
of a hill some 20 miles north-east of Bhopal which we
visited yesterday. We inspected the stone sculptures and
statues of the Buddha and an ancient gateway … The ruins
appear to be the object of great interest to European
gentlemen. Major Alexander Cunningham … stayed several
weeks in this neighbourhood and examined these ruins
most carefully. He took drawings of the place, deciphered
the inscription, and bored shafts down these domes. The
results of his investigations were described by him in an
English work …
F ROM SHAHJEHAN BEGUM, NAWAB OF BHOPAL (ruled 1868-1901),
Taj- ul Iqbal Tarikh Bhopal (A History of Bhopal), translated by
H.D. Barstow, 1876.