The trade of Sixth Century BCE:
(i) From the sixth century BCE, land and river routes criss-crossed the subcontinent and extended in various directions – overland into Central Asia and beyond, and overseas, from ports that dotted the costline-extending across the Arabian Sea to East and North Africa and West Asia, and through the Bay of Bengal to Southeast Asia and China.
(ii) A wide range of goods were carried from one place to another – salt, grain, cloth ,metal ores and finished products, stone, timber, medicinal plants, to name a few. Spices, especially pepper, were in high demand in the Roman Empire, as were textiles and medicinal plants, and these were all transported across the Arabian Sea to the Mediterranean.

Cunningham’s Confusion were:

(i) Cunningham’s main interest was in the archaeology of the Early Historic and later periods. Cunningham tried to place Harappan seals within the time-frame with which he was familiar.

(ii) He used the accounts left by Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who had visited the subcontinent between the fourth and seventh centuries CE to locate early settlement.

(iii) Cunningham also collected, documented and translated inscriptions found during his surveys. When he excavated sites he tended to recover artefacts that he thought had cultural value.

(iv) A site like Harappa which was not part of the itinerary of the Chinese pilgrims, did not fit very neatly within his framework of investigation. Cunningham did not realize how old Harappa artifacts were.

The inscriptions of Asoka on rocks and pillars are often regarded as most valuable sources to know about dhamma.

(i) The name of the ruler, Asoka, is mentioned as “devanampiya” , beloved of the gods and “piyadassi”, or “pleasant to behold”.

(ii) It reflects the anguish of the ruler as well as marks a change in his attitude towards warfare.

(iii) Asoka also tried to hold his empire together by propagating dhamma, the principles of which were simple and virtually universally applicable.

(iv) It was to ensure the well-being of people in this world. He appointed special officers, known as the dhamma mahamatta to spread the message of dhamma.

Siddharta as Buddha:

(i) Siddhartha as the Buddha was named at birth, was the son of a chief of the Sakya clan.

(ii) He had a sheltered upbringing within the palace, insulated from the harsh realities of life.

(iii) One day he persuaded his charioteer to take him into the city.His journey into the world outside was traumatic. He was deeply anguished when he saw an old man, a sick man and a corpse.

(iv) He realized in that moment that the decay and destruction of the human body was inevitable. He left the palace and set out in search of his own truth, he meditated for several days and finally attained enlightenment .

After this he came to be known as the Buddha or the Enlightened One. For the rest of his life, he taught dhamma or the path of righteous living.

Folowers of the Buddha:

(i) Monks, disciples of the Buddha, lived simply, possessing only the essential requisites for survivals, such as one bowl to receive food once a day from the laity.

(ii) They lived on alms, they were known as bhikkhus.

(iii) Initially, only men were allowed into the sangha, but later women also admitted. Many women who entered the sangha, an organisation of monks, became teachers of dhamma and went on to become theirs, or respected women who had attained liberation.

(iv) The Buddha’s followers came from many social groups like kings, wealthy men and gahapatis , and also humbler folk, workers, slaves and craftspeople Once within the sangha , all were regarded as equal, having shed their earlier social identities on becoming bhikkhus and bhikkunis.

(15.1 )Hidimba’s social practices not influenced by the Brahminical ideas as :

(i) She belonged to the rakshasa clan.

(ii) In Sanskrit texts they are often describe as odd, uncivilized or even animal-like.
(15.2)Hidimba’s clan was considered uncivilized in the Sanskrit text because they were not influenced by bramhminical ideals and were even like animal.
(15.3)The philosophy of dharamsutras about the endogamy not applied in the story as Pandavas were the ksahtriya clan and were influenced by brahminical ideas in which endogamy was given stress on but in the case of bhima, he married to the rakshasa clan girl, Hidimba which highlighted exogamy.