Early History and Archaeology of Kurukšetra and Ambala Division

Summary

Surveying literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence, this article reconstructs the early history of the Kurukshetra and Ambala region in northern India. Vedic hymns and epic narratives establish the area’s sanctity, while Buddhist sources, including Yuan Chwang’s itinerary and Ashoka’s inscriptions, attest to the presence of monasteries and stupasfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/article_02.pdf. The author then reviews Jain and Hindu evidence: inscriptions from Agroha mention Srutakevalins and donations to Viśvakha; temples and sculptures at Thanesar and Pehowa reveal a succession of Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava cultsfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/article_02.pdf. Numismatic finds—Yaudheya, Mitra, Indo‑Greek and Huna coins—indicate shifts in political control, while Gupta‑period land grants illuminate social organisation, guilds and patterns of patronagefile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/article_02.pdf. The archaeological sequence from Painted Grey Ware to Gupta and post‑Gupta levels demonstrates continuous occupation and changing material culture. The author concludes that Kurukshetra’s sacred geography attracted multiple religions; that the region’s urban and economic life flourished under various dynasties; and that integrating textual and material evidence provides a coherent narrative of the area’s developmentfile:///home/oai/share/split_pdfs/article_02.pdf.