Textbook
Our Pasts I, II & III (Classes 6–8)
The simplest possible start: short, illustrated and the base of countless exam questions.
Mirabai
Saint / religious leader
Mewar (Sisodia)
c. 1498 – c. 1547
Rajput princess and Bhakti poet devoted to Krishna.
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
| 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 |
Contemporaries
Kabir
c. 1440 – c. 1518
Bhakti poet-saint of Varanasi known for his dohas
Srimanta Sankardev
c. 1449 – c. 1568
Assamese saint who founded Ekasarana Dharma and the sattras
Vasco da Gama
c. 1460 – c. 1524
Portuguese navigator who reached Calicut in 1498
Guru Nanak
1469 – 1539
Founder of Sikhism and the first Sikh Guru
Malik Muhammad Jayasi
c. 1477 – c. 1542
Author of the Awadhi epic Padmavat
Surdas
c. 1478 – c. 1583
Blind Bhakti poet of the Sursagar
Purandara Dasa
c. 1484 – c. 1564
Called the 'father of Carnatic music'
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
1486 – 1534
Bhakti saint of Bengal who inspired Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Guru Ravidas
active c. 1500
Bhakti saint whose hymns appear in the Guru Granth Sahib
Tansen
c. 1500 – c. 1589
Musician at Akbar's court and one of the Navaratnas
Bairam Khan
1501 – 1561
Regent and guardian of the young Akbar
Hemu (Hemchandra Vikramaditya)
c. 1501 – c. 1556
Sur general defeated at the Second Battle of Panipat
Guru Angad
1504 – 1552
Second Sikh Guru who standardised the Gurmukhi script
Francis Xavier
1506 – 1552
Jesuit missionary whose remains lie in Goa
Domingo Paes
active c. 1520
Portuguese traveller who described Krishnadevaraya's capital
Tenali Ramakrishna
active c. 1520
Telugu poet famed for his wit at Krishnadevaraya's court
Allasani Peddana
active c. 1520
Called 'Andhra Kavita Pitamaha', chief of the Ashtadiggajas
Gulbadan Begum
1523 – 1603
Babur's daughter who wrote the Humayun-nama
Rani Durgavati
1524 – 1564
Gond queen of Garha-Katanga who died resisting Akbar's army
Birbal
1528 – 1586
Minister and famed wit at Akbar's court
Tulsidas
c. 1532 – c. 1623
Author of the Ramcharitmanas
Raja Todar Mal
died 1589
Akbar's finance minister who devised the zabt revenue system
📚 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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