What is the significance of Megasthenes Indica?

Megasthenes’ Indica is a very important source of Indian history. Indica has importance in the reconstruction of ancient India under the Mauryan Empire. It shows us the rich culture and economy of India. Also helps us to understand the administration, diverse culture, and philosophy of Ancient Indian people.

When was Indica written by Megasthenes?

Schwanbeck and McCrindle attributed several fragments in the writings of the 1st century BCE writer Diodorus to Megasthenes.

What is the meaning of Megasthenes?

Megasthenes (/mɪˈɡæsθɪniːz/ mi-GAS-thi-neez; Ancient Greek: Μεγασθένης, c. 350BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period.

What do you know about the famous book Indica?

Indica (Greek: Ινδική Indiki) is the name of a short military history about interior Asia, particularly the Indian subcontinent, written by Arrian in 2nd-century CE. The subject of the book covers the expedition of Alexander the Great that occurred between 336 and 323 BCE, about 450 years before Arrian.

What is the importance of arthashastra and Indica?

Explanation: Megasthenes ‘Indica’ and Kautilya’s ‘Arthasastra’ are useful sources for the study of Mauryan dynasty. Megasthenes was a Greek historian who wrote an account of India and also that of Chandragupta’s reign in his book “Indica”. Kautilya’s “Arthasasta” provide knowledge about state policy under Mauryas.

Who is the most powerful ruler of the Mauryas?

Chandragupta
Chandragupta was the most powerful Mauryan Emperor.

Who was Megasthenes Class 6?

Megasthenes was an ambassador who was sent to the court of Chandragupta by the Greek ruler of West Asia named Seleucus Nicator. Megasthenes wrote an account about what he saw. Here is a part of his description: “The occasions on which the emperor appears in public are celebrated with grand royal processions.

Who wrote Indica What does it contain?

Answer: Megasthenes was a greek ambassador at the court of Chandragupta Maurya. He had been sent to the court by Seleucus, the Greek ruler. He wrote a book named Indika which contained his impressions of what he heard and saw during his stay in India.

Who was Megasthenes in simple words?

Megasthenes, (born c. 350 bc—died c. 290), ancient Greek historian and diplomat, author of an account of India, the Indica, in four books. An Ionian, he was sent by the Hellenistic king Seleucus I on embassies to the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta.

Who is written by Indica?

Megasthenes
Indica/Authors

What do arthashastra and Indica tell us?

Indika, written by Megasthenes, tells us about the social, political and economic life of the people during the Mauryan times. 2. Arthashastra by Kautilya deals with governance of an empire. It describes the administration of the Mauryas.

What was the main theme of arthashastra?

The Arthashastra explores issues of social welfare, the collective ethics that hold a society together, advising the king that in times and in areas devastated by famine, epidemic and such acts of nature, or by war, he should initiate public projects such as creating irrigation waterways and building forts around major …