Building, Paintings, and Books
Painting
Ajanta is a place where several caves were hollowed out of the hills over centuries. Most of these were monasteries for Buddhist monks, and some of them were decorated with paintings.
The world of books
During this period, some of the best-known epics were written. Epics are grand, long compositions, about heroic men and women, and include stories about gods.
A famous Tamil epic, the Silappadikaram, was composed by a poet named Ilango, around 1800 years ago. It is the story of a merchant named Kovalan, who lived in Puhar and fell in love with a courtesan named Madhavi, neglecting his wife Kannagi. Later, he and Kannagi left Puhar and went to Madurai, where he was wrongly accused of theft by the court jeweller of the Pandya king. The king sentenced Kovalan to death. Kannagi, who still loved him, was full of grief and anger at this injustice and destroyed the entire city of Madurai.
Another Tamil epic, the Manimekalai was composed by Sattanar around 1400 years ago. This describes the story of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi.
Recording and preserving old stories
A number of Hindu religious stories were written down around the same time. These include the Puranas, meaning old. The Puranas contain stories about gods and goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Durga or Parvati. They also contain details on how they were to be worshipped.
The Puranas were written in simple Sanskrit verse and were meant to be heard by everybody, including women and Shudras, who were not allowed to study the Vedas. They were probably recited in temples by priests, and people came to listen to them.
Two Sanskrit epics, the Mahabharata and Ramayana had been popular for a very long time. The Mahabharata is about a war fought between the Kauravas and Pandavas, who were cousins. The Ramayana is about Rama, a prince of Kosala, who was sent into exile. His wife Sita was abducted by the king of Lanka, named Ravana, and Rama had to fight a battle to get her back. Valmiki is the author of the Sanskrit Ramayana.
Stories told by ordinary people
Ordinary people also told stories, composed poems and songs, sang, danced, and performed plays. Some of these are preserved in collections of stories such as the Jatakas and the Panchatantra, which were written down around this time. Stories from the Jatakas were often shown on the railings of stupas and in paintings in places such as Ajanta.
Writing books on science
Aryabhata, a mathematician and astronomer, wrote a book in Sanskrit known as the Aryabhatiyam. He stated that day and night were caused by the rotation of the earth on its axis, even though it seems as if the sun is rising and setting everyday. He developed a scientific explanation for eclipses as well. He also found a way of calculating the circumference of a circle.