Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Surdas
Poet / writer
c. 1478 – c. 1583
Blind Bhakti poet of the Sursagar.
Their world
Move along the chart to see their age in any year, who ruled and what happened; click anything to open it.
The map shows their realm around their lifetime and where the events of their lifetime took place.
Hover a dot for the event; click it to open the full map in that year.
Rulers of the time
Kujula Kadphises
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 30 CE – c. 80 CE
Vima Taktu
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 80 CE – c. 95 CE
Kanishka I
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 127 CE – c. 150 CE
Vasishthiputra Pulumavi
King, Satavahana Empire · c. 130 CE – c. 159 CE
Huvishka
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 150 CE – c. 190 CE
Yajna Sri Satakarni
King, Satavahana Empire · c. 170 CE – c. 199 CE
Vasudeva I
Emperor, Kushan Empire · c. 190 CE – c. 230 CE
Sri Gupta
Maharaja, Gupta Empire · c. 240 CE – c. 280 CE
Mahasena
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 274 CE – c. 301 CE
Ghatotkacha
Maharaja, Gupta Empire · c. 280 CE – c. 319 CE
Chandragupta I
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 319 CE – c. 335 CE
Samudragupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 335 CE – c. 375 CE
Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya)
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 375 CE – c. 415 CE
Kumaragupta I
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 415 CE – c. 455 CE
Skandagupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 455 CE – c. 467 CE
Dhatusena
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 455 CE – c. 473 CE
Budhagupta
Maharajadhiraja, Gupta Empire · c. 477 CE – c. 495 CE
Kashyapa I
King, Anuradhapura Kingdom · c. 477 CE – c. 495 CE
Pulakeshin I
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 543 CE – c. 566 CE
Kirtivarman I
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 566 CE – c. 597 CE
Simhavishnu
King, Pallava Dynasty · c. 575 CE – c. 600 CE
Prabhakaravardhana
King, Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) Dynasty · c. 580 CE – c. 605 CE
Mangalesha
King, Chalukyas of Badami · c. 597 CE – c. 609 CE
Mahendravarman I
King, Pallava Dynasty · c. 600 CE – c. 630 CE
Events in their lifetime
| 1482 | Nepal valley divides into three Malla kingdoms |
| 1490 | Bijapur and Ahmadnagar break from the Bahmanis |
| 1498 | Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut The direct sea route from Europe to India was opened. |
| 1504 | Sikandar Lodi founds Agra Agra became the Lodi and later Mughal capital. |
| 1505 | Portuguese reach Sri Lanka |
| 1509 | Krishnadevaraya's accession |
| 1509 | Battle of Diu Portuguese naval supremacy in the Arabian Sea was established. |
| 1510 | Portuguese capture Goa Goa became the capital of the Portuguese Estado da Índia until 1961. |
| 1520 | Krishnadevaraya takes Raichur Vijayanagara won the Raichur doab from Bijapur. |
| 1526 | First Battle of Panipat Ibrahim Lodi was killed and Babur founded the Mughal Empire. |
| 1527 | Battle of Khanwa Babur defeated Rana Sanga's Rajput confederacy, securing Mughal rule in the north. |
| 1529 | Battle of the Ghaghra Babur defeated the Afghan chiefs of the east. |
| 1530 | Death of Babur; Humayun succeeds |
| 1535 | Humayun takes Mandu and Champaner |
| 1539 | Battle of Chausa Humayun was defeated and escaped by swimming the Ganga. |
| 1540 | Battle of Kannauj Humayun fled into exile and Sher Shah founded the Sur Empire. |
| 1541 | Rohtas Fort begun by Sher Shah |
| 1545 | Death of Sher Shah at Kalinjar |
| 1555 | Humayun recovers Delhi (Battle of Sirhind) Humayun regained his throne from the Surs. |
| 1556 | Second Battle of Panipat Hemu was captured and killed, securing Akbar's throne. |
| 1558 | Portuguese occupy Malé |
| 1559 | Drabya Shah founds the Gorkha kingdom |
| 1564 | Akbar abolishes the jizya |
| 1565 | Battle of Talikota Vijayanagara's army was routed and its capital Hampi was sacked. |
| 1568 | Akbar takes Chittorgarh Chittor fell and Rana Udai Singh moved his capital to Udaipur. |
| 1571 | Fatehpur Sikri founded |
| 1573 | Akbar conquers Gujarat |
| 1573 | Muhammad Thakurufaanu frees the Maldives The Portuguese were expelled after fifteen years. |
| 1576 | Battle of Haldighati The Mughals held the field but Maharana Pratap escaped to continue resisting. |
| 1576 | Battle of Rajmahal: Mughals take Bengal Daud Khan Karrani was killed and Bengal became a Mughal province. |
Contemporaries
Sorted by how long their lives overlapped. The bar shows when, within Surdas’s life.
Srimanta Sankardev
Saint / religious leader · c. 1449 – c. 1568
Assamese saint who founded Ekasarana Dharma and the sattras
Overlap: 90 years
Tansen
Artist / musician · c. 1500 – c. 1589
Musician at Akbar's court and one of the Navaratnas
Overlap: 83 years
Purandara Dasa
Artist / musician · c. 1484 – c. 1564
Called the 'father of Carnatic music'
Overlap: 80 years
Malik Muhammad Jayasi
Poet / writer · c. 1477 – c. 1542
Author of the Awadhi epic Padmavat
Overlap: 64 years
Guru Nanak
Saint / religious leader · 1469 – 1539
Founder of Sikhism and the first Sikh Guru
Overlap: 61 years
Bairam Khan
General / commander · 1501 – 1561
Regent and guardian of the young Akbar
Overlap: 60 years
Domingo Paes
Traveller / envoy · active c. 1520
Portuguese traveller who described Krishnadevaraya's capital
Overlap: 60 years
Tenali Ramakrishna
Poet / writer · active c. 1520
Telugu poet famed for his wit at Krishnadevaraya's court
Overlap: 60 years
Allasani Peddana
Poet / writer · active c. 1520
Called 'Andhra Kavita Pitamaha', chief of the Ashtadiggajas
Overlap: 60 years
Gulbadan Begum
Scholar / historian · 1523 – 1603
Babur's daughter who wrote the Humayun-nama
Overlap: 60 years
Hemu (Hemchandra Vikramaditya)
General / commander · c. 1501 – c. 1556
Sur general defeated at the Second Battle of Panipat
Overlap: 55 years
Birbal
Statesman / administrator · 1528 – 1586
Minister and famed wit at Akbar's court
Overlap: 55 years
Raja Todar Mal
Statesman / administrator · died 1589
Akbar's finance minister who devised the zabt revenue system
Overlap: 54 years
Guru Ravidas
Saint / religious leader · active c. 1500
Bhakti saint whose hymns appear in the Guru Granth Sahib
Overlap: 52 years
Tulsidas
Poet / writer · c. 1532 – c. 1623
Author of the Ramcharitmanas
Overlap: 51 years
Mirabai
Saint / religious leader · c. 1498 – c. 1547
Rajput princess and Bhakti poet devoted to Krishna
Overlap: 49 years
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Saint / religious leader · 1486 – 1534
Bhakti saint of Bengal who inspired Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Overlap: 48 years
Guru Angad
Saint / religious leader · 1504 – 1552
Second Sikh Guru who standardised the Gurmukhi script
Overlap: 48 years
Vasco da Gama
Traveller / envoy · c. 1460 – c. 1524
Portuguese navigator who reached Calicut in 1498
Overlap: 46 years
Francis Xavier
Saint / religious leader · 1506 – 1552
Jesuit missionary whose remains lie in Goa
Overlap: 46 years
Abdul Qadir Badayuni
Scholar / historian · c. 1540 – c. 1615
Historian who wrote the Muntakhab-ut-Tawarikh
Overlap: 43 years
Kabir
Saint / religious leader · c. 1440 – c. 1518
Bhakti poet-saint of Varanasi known for his dohas
Overlap: 40 years
Rani Durgavati
Queen / royal · 1524 – 1564
Gond queen of Garha-Katanga who died resisting Akbar's army
Overlap: 40 years
Abul Fazl
Scholar / historian · 1551 – 1602
Author of the Akbarnama and Ain-i-Akbari
Overlap: 32 years
📚 Recommended reading
Textbook
Themes in Indian History, Parts I–III (Class 12)
Source-based chapters on Harappa, Vijayanagara, the Mughal court and 1857 — essential for UPSC.
Textbook
An Introduction to Indian Art, Part I (Class 11)
The standard base for art and architecture questions — stupas, temples and sculpture.
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