Bharat in 15 eras

1. 1
   Satya, Treta and Dvapara Yugas, to 3102 BCE (traditional reckoning)

   Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

   The age of the Vedas, Shri Rama and Shri Krishna

2. 2
   c. 7000–1300 BCE

   The Sindhu–Sarasvati Civilisation

   Brick cities on two rivers, from Mehrgarh to Rakhigarhi

3. 3
   c. 1300–321 BCE

   Janapadas and the Rise of Magadha

   Sixteen great states, one rising kingdom on the Ganga

4. 4
   321–185 BCE

   The Maurya Empire

   From Kandahar to Karnataka, ruled from Pataliputra

5. 5
   185 BCE – 320 CE

   Shungas, Satavahanas, Kharavela and the Sangam Kingdoms

   Many crowns, one Dharma, and ships to Rome

6. 6
   320–550 CE

   The Gupta Age

   Stone temples, golden coins, Kalidasa and Aryabhata

7. 7
   c. 550–1000 CE

   The Age of Great Kingdoms

   Harsha, Chalukyas, Pallavas, Palas, Pratiharas, Rashtrakutas, Karkotas

8. 8
   c. 850–1310 CE

   Cholas and the Southern Seas

   Chola, Chalukya, Hoysala, Kakatiya, Pandya: temples, fleets and saints

9. 9
   636–1206 CE

   The long resistance: Sindh to Tarain

   Five centuries in which Bharat’s frontier kings held the line.

10. 10
    1206–1526 CE

    Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

    Delhi ruled the plains; Mewar, Vijayanagara, Odisha and Assam never bowed.

11. 11
    1526–1707 CE

    The Mughal era and the resistance

    Mewar, the Ahoms, the Sikh Gurus and Shivaji: a refusal that won.

12. 12
    1707–1818 CE

    Maratha ascendancy and the Sikh empire

    From the Sahyadri to Attock: Bharat takes back its own.

13. 13
    1757–1858 CE

    Company rule and the war of 1857

    A trading company takes Bharat, and Bharat rises against it.

14. 14
    1858–1947 CE

    Renaissance and the struggle for Swaraj

    Monks, poets, rebels and marchers win back a nation.

15. 15
    1947 CE–today

    Independent Bharat

    Partition’s wound, a republic, and the temples rising again.

Start →