Neolithic age is followed by the Chalcolithic or stone – copper age, which generally occurred from 1800 – 1000 BC

The term Vedanta literally signifies the ‘end of the Vedas’. They reveal the final aim of the Vedas. The Vedanta condemn all form of sacrifices and ceremonies that denote the last phase of the Vedic period.

The rows of hearths were discovered at Atranjikhera and at Ahichchhtra both of which are in western Uttar Pradesh. The excavations show that these hearths were meant for communal feeding or for cooking the food of large families.

Vajji was a mahajanapada towards the north of Ganga in the division of Tirhut. It was a confederacy of eight or nine clans. The capital of Vajji mahajanapada was situated at Vaishali.

Matsya was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas mentioned in the Buddhist text Anguttara Nikaya. The founder of the kingdom of the Matsya was Virata. It consisted of the present-day Alwar, Jaipur and Bharatpur.

In the 6th century BCE the cultivable land was divided between the people. The beneficiaries were granted only the revenue of these lands and no administrative authority. There was emergence of the notion of private property, as there are references to the gift and sale of land.

The Capital of Magadh empire was situates at Rajgriha or Girivraja. The city was almost impregnable as it was surrounded by five hills, the openings in which were closed by stone walls on all sides.

Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Mauryan empire. In Greek and Latin accounts he is also mentioned as Sandrocuttos. It is believed that Chandragupta Maurya adopted Jainism and became an ascetic under the Jain saint Bhadrabahu.

The Ninth Rock Edict criticizes the use of various popular ceremonies like during the marriage of son or daughter, birth of a child, etc. On the contrary it lays stress on Dhamma and tells the usefulness of moral conduct in one’s life.

Lion was one of the motifs used in Ashokan pillars. Lion is a solar symbol and it also represents the Buddha, as he is referred to as Sakyasimha which also means a lion among the Sakyas.