What Were the Ganas and Sanghas of Ancient India Like? thewire.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thewire.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In the aftermath of Alexander the Great's conquest of India in 326 BCE, a period of significant cross-cultural exchange unfolded between the Mediterranean and the Indian subcontinent. Notably, Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Empire, dispatched the Greek historian and ambassador Megasthenes to the court of Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra. Megasthenes, born around 350 BCE, chronicled his extensive travels in northern India around 300 BCE in a work titled "Indika," influencing subsequent Greek and Roman perspectives on the subcontinent. While fragments of Indika allude to Megasthenes' likely visit to Kashmir, his detailed observations offer a valuable glimpse into the region's agriculture, social structures, and cultural richness, solidifying Kashmir's historical importance in global civilization.