A History of Agriculture in India v1.c28.4

v1.c28.4

The sources for information on the life of the people and their agriculture in the Buddhist period are Kautilya's *Arthashastra* (fourth century B.C.), Pali texts *Mahavagya* and *Kullavagya* (third century B.C.), which describe the daily life of the Buddhist monks, and Jataka stories, which tell us about the previous incarnations of the Buddha. The sculptures of the railings and gateways of the stupas of Bharhut and Sanchi (second century B.C.) are also an important source of information on the dress, ornaments and appearance of the people of that age, and the fauna and flora of the period. Some of the Greeks who accompanied Alexander on his expedition to northern India in 326 B.C. left vivid impressions of the daily life of the Indians. In his *Anabasis of Alexander*, Arrian (Flavius Arrianus, A.D. 96 to A.D. 180) describes the life of Alexander from his accession to his death. He derived the information from the writings of Aristobulus of Cassandreia and Ptolemy, who accompanied Alexander on his campaign in the Punjab. Arrian also wrote the *Indika*, which is based on the accounts of the country given by Megasthenes and Eratosthenes. Megasthenes was sent on an embassy to Chandragupta Maurya, by Seleucus Nikator, king of Bactria. He lived in Pataliputra and wrote a book on India, also called *Indika*, which served as a source of information to many classical writers.¹