Ancient Texts and Authors

*** इस पृष्ठ को हिंदी में पढ़े ***‌

Books written by Kings

BookAuthorLanguage
RatnavaliHarshavardhanaSanskrit
PriyadarsikaHarshavardhanaSanskrit
NaganandaHarshavardhanaSanskrit
AmuktamalayadaSri Krishna Deva RayaTelugu
Tuzk-I-JahangirJahangirPersian
Babar Namah or Tuzk-e-BabariBabarChagatai

Biographies of Kings

BookAuthorLanguage
Harsha CharitaBana BhattSanskrit
Akbar-NamaAbul FazlPersian
Prithviraj RasoChand Bardai Brajbhasha
Humayun NamahGulbadan BegumPersian
Shah NamahFirdausiPersian

Other Ancient Books and Authors

BookAuthorLanguage
Buddha CharitamAshwaghoshaSanskrit
Geet GovindaJaya DevaSanskrit
Abhigyan ShakuntalamKalidasaSanskrit
Kumar SambhavaKalidasaSanskrit
MeghdootKalidasaSanskrit
MalavikagnimitraKalidasaSanskrit
RaghuvanshaKalidasaSanskrit
Mudra RakshasaVishakha DattaSanskrit
DevichandraguptamVishakha DattaSanskrit
PanchatantraVishnu SharmaSanskrit
RajtaranginiKalhanaSanskrit
ArthashastraKautilyaSanskrit
PadmavatMalik Mohd JayasiAwadhi
KamasutraVatsyayanaSanskrit
MrichchakatikamShudrakaSanskrit
KiratarjuniyaBharaviSanskrit
DashakumaracaritaDandinSanskrit
KavyadarsaDandinSanskrit
Ashtanga SangrahaVagbhataSanskrit
VasavadattaSubandhuSanskrit
AmarakoshaAmarasimhaSanskrit
Panch-SiddhantikaVarahamihiraSanskrit
Brihat-SamhitaVarahamihiraSanskrit
Brihat-JatakaVarahamihiraSanskrit
Kavirajamargam*SrivijayaKannada
VikramarjunavijayaPampaKannada
SantipuranaPonnaKannada
SilappadkaramIlango AdigalTamil
ManimekalaiSattanarTamil
KundalakesiNathakuthanaarTamil
Seevaka ChintamaniThiruthakkatevarTamil
RamavataramKambarTamil
Panduranga MahatyamTenali RamakrishnaTelugu
Andhra MahabharatamNannayya BhattarakaTelugu
Bhavartha DeepikaSant DnyaneshwarMarathi
Leela CharitraMhaimbhattaMarathi
Bhavarth RamayanEknathMarathi
* Some sources attribute the authorship of Kavirajamargam to Amoghavarsha. See this clarification here

Quiz on Ancient Texts of India

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Ancient Texts of India

TextOptionAuthor
1. Prithviraj Raso a. Vishaka Datta
2. Shah Namahb. Chand Bardai
3. Kumar Sambhavac. Firdausi
4. Buddha Charitamd. Kalidasa
5. Rajtaranginie. Ashwaghosha
6. Mudra Rakshasaf. Kalhana

Synopsis of Ancient Indian Books

Book and its AuthorFacts to remember
Mudra Rakshasa by Vishakha Datta. The book which gives an account of how Chandragupta Maurya overthrew the power of the Nandas with the help of Kautilya.
Padmavat by Malik Mohd Jayasi The book based on the life of Padmini, Queen of Chittor. Allauddin Khilji, the ruler of Delhi, laid siege to the fort of Chittor in order to take Padmini as his wife. When the soldiers died fighting, Queen Padmini committed Jauhar alongwith other women of the fort.
Malavikagnimitra by Kalidasa The book which is based on the life of Agnimitra son of Pushyamitra Sunga. The latter founded the Sunga dynasty after killing the last Mauryan King Brihadratha.
Arthashastra by Kautilya The ancient Indian treatise on Economics as well as politics written by Kautilya (Chanakya) who had helped Chandragupta overthrow the power of the Nandas.
Panchatantra by Vishnu Sharma A collection of Sanskrit fables which seeks to illustrate the principles of Politics (Rajneeti) through animal stories. It is considered a Nitishastra or a book on conduct of life.
Geet Govinda by Jaidev The book which deals with the love plays of the Dark Lord Krishna and his fair beloved Radha.
Kalidasa’s Abhigyan Shakuntalam The play based on the story of King Dushyant and Shakuntala as it appears in the beginning of the Mahabharata. King Dushyant and Shakuntala had a son name Bharat after whose name the country is named.
Kalhana’s Rajtarangini The book which deals with the history of Kashmir from the earliest times to 1150 A.D.
Ashtadhyayi by Panini It is highly systemised and complete book of Sanskrit grammar divided into eight chapters consisting of 3,995 sutras or rules.
Mahabhasya by Patanjali The book is a commentary on Panini's Ashtadhyayi in an effort to make Ashtadhyayi easily accessible to the average reader.
Prashnottar Ratna Malika by Adi Sankaracharya The book is in the form of questions and answers of eternal values as preached by Sanatana Dharma.
Kathasaritsagar by Somadeva The book is a collection of folk tales written for the entertainment of Queen Suryamati, wife of King Anantadeva of Kashmir. The famous Betal Pachisi is a part of this book.
Charaka Samhita by Charaka The book was authored by Charaka, known as the "Father of Indian Medicine". The book contains the fundamentals of Ayurveda including between its covers root causes of diseases, their treatment and also guidelines for a clean and healthy life.
Sushruta Samhita by Sushruta The book was authored by Sushruta, known as the "Father of Indian Surgery". In the books he explains various types of surgeries and surgical instruments.
Aryabhatiya by Aryabhatta The book authored by famed Indian astronomer and mathematician is one of the most important ancient Indian books. The book explains the causes of eclipses and also the value of pi equivalent to 3.1416.
Bhrigu Samhita by Maharishi Bhrigu The book in dialogue form is an ancient treatise on astrology (jyotish shastra).
Buddha-charitam by Ashwaghosha The first complete biography of the Buddha written by Ashwaghosha who was patronised by Emperor Kanishka. It is considered a masterpiece of Sanskrit literature.

True or False Quiz on Ancient Texts

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Test Yourself

1. Padmavat deals with the history of Kashmir
2. Ashtadhyayi is a complete book on Sanskrit grammar
3. Bhrigu Samhita is a treatise on surgeries and surgical instruments
4. Mudra Rakshasa describes how Chadragupta Maurya came to power
5. Abhigyan Shakuntalam is play based on the life of Lord Krishna and Radha
6. Ashtadhyayi by Panini is a commentary on Mahabhasya
7. Charaka Samhita contains the fundamentals of Ayurveda
8. Panchatantra was written for the entertainment of Queen Suryamati of Kashmir