Question

Who was Megasthenes? What was the name of his book?

Hint:

When studying ancient history, remember the names of foreign travelers and their accounts (e.g., Megasthenes' 'Indica', Fa-Hien's 'A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms', Hiuen Tsang's 'Si-Yu-Ki'). These are frequently asked questions in exams.

Answer 1

Step 1: Understanding the Person:
Megasthenes was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat, and ethnographer who lived in the Hellenistic period. He was sent as an ambassador by the Seleucid king Seleucus I Nicator to the court of the Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra (modern-day Patna). His time in India allowed him to become the first person from the Western world to provide a written description of the country.

Step 2: Identifying his Work:
Megasthenes documented his observations and experiences in India in a book. The name of this book is Indica. Although the original work is now lost, parts of it have been reconstructed from fragments and quotations found in the works of later Greek and Roman authors like Arrian, Strabo, and Diodorus. His work remains a crucial source of information about ancient India, particularly the Mauryan Empire.