Literary sources
Topic: Studying Indian History: Sources, Dating and Historiography · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 4 "Timeline and Sources of History"; Class 7, Ch 4 "New Beginnings: Cities and States"
Meaning
Literary sources are texts that tell us about the past. Some were written down; others were memorised and passed on by speaking. They include religious texts (the Vedas, and Buddhist and Jain texts), the epics and Puranas, Sangam poems, plays, and accounts by foreign visitors. Literary sources give names, events, beliefs and social life that objects alone cannot show. But authors had their own views, and many texts were written long after the events they describe, so historians compare them with archaeological and inscriptional evidence.
Example
Buddhist and Jain texts name cities of the Ganga valley, such as Rajagriha and Shravasti, in the 6th century BCE. Excavations at these places add objects and building remains that help test what the texts say.
Don't confuse with
- Inscriptions: writing carved on stone or metal at the time it was made. They are fixed and permanent, while literary texts were often copied, changed and added to over time.
Related concepts
- Sources of history
- Archaeology
- Numismatics
- Archaeo-botany
- Underwater archaeology
- Oral tradition
- Hagiography
- Kalhana
- Rajatarangini
- Indica of Arrian