Bihar Intermediate History (BSEB) cheat sheet

Bihar Intermediate History (Class XII Arts) - Key Facts and Decision Rules

• Harappan Civilisation (c. 2600–1900 BCE mature phase): key sites include Harappa and Mohenjodaro (now Pakistan), Lothal (dockyard, Gujarat), Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Dholavira (water reservoirs, Gujarat), and Rakhigarhi (Haryana); Bihar's own Chalcolithic/Neolithic site is Chirand on the Ganga-Son confluence, noted for bone tools and pottery.

• Vedic corpus order: Rigveda (earliest, hymns), then Samaveda, Yajurveda, Atharvaveda; the Later Vedic period (c. 1000–600 BCE) shows shift to iron (krishna ayas), painted grey ware, and territorial janapadas - Videha (north Bihar) is prominent in later Vedic texts.

• Mahajanapadas: 16 in the Buddhist Anguttara Nikaya list; Magadha's rise rests on iron ore access, fertile Ganga plain, elephant cavalry, and river trade. Dynastic order: Haryanka (Bimbisara, Ajatashatru) → Shishunaga → Nanda → Maurya.

• Mauryan markers: Chandragupta (c. 321 BCE, founded empire, treaty with Seleucus), Bindusara, Ashoka (Kalinga war c. 261 BCE, dhamma, Major Rock and Pillar Edicts, barabar caves). Arthashastra attributed to Kautilya; Megasthenes' Indica describes Mauryan administration.

• Buddhism and Jainism: Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama, born Lumbini, enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in Bihar, first sermon Sarnath, mahaparinirvana Kushinagar); first Buddhist council Rajgir, third at Pataliputra under Ashoka. Mahavira, 24th Tirthankara, associated with Vaishali (Bihar); Jain councils at Pataliputra and Valabhi.

• Gupta age (c. 320–550 CE): Chandragupta I, Samudragupta (Allahabad pillar inscription by Harisena), Chandragupta II Vikramaditya; Nalanda Mahavihara founded in Gupta period in Bihar; Aryabhata, Kalidasa, and the decimal place-value system are conventionally linked to this era.

• Medieval Bihar: Pala dynasty (8th–12th century, Dharmapala, Devapala) patrons of Buddhism and Vikramashila; Bakhtiyar Khalji's raids around 1200 CE destroyed Nalanda and Vikramashila; Sher Shah Suri (born Sasaram, Bihar) ruled 1540–45, built the Grand Trunk Road and Purana Qila.

• Modern Bihar: 1857 revolt leaders in Bihar include Kunwar Singh (Jagdishpur) and Babu Amar Singh; Champaran Satyagraha (1917) was Gandhi's first Indian satyagraha, against indigo tinkathia; Bihar and Orissa separated from Bengal in 1912, Bihar became a separate province in 1936; Bihar Diwas is 22 March.

• Source rules: for ancient India use inscriptions, coins, and Buddhist/Jain texts as primary; for the freedom movement use autobiographies, newspapers, and Home Department records. When a question asks 'significance', answer with cause, change, and lasting effect - not mere description.