Key B

Babar: was founder of the Mughal Empire in India.

Babar's Memoirs: Babar wrote his memoirs in Turkish language.

Babar and Jehangir: were the Mughal Emperors who wrote their autobiographies.

Back to the Vedas: was the watchword of Dayanand Saraswati.

Bactrian Greeks: were the first to invade and rule the north-western India.

Bahadur Shah 'Zafar': was the last Mughal Emperor who took part in the First War of Indian Independence (so-called Indian Mutiny) in 1857. He was exiled by the British as a State prisoner to Burma where he died in 1862&endash;the Mughal Emperor whose tomb is outside India.

Bahmani kingdom: was founded by Hasan Gangoo entitled Zafar Khan.

Bakht Khan: During the revolt of 1857, he was the Chief Commander of troops in Delhi.

Balaji Vishwanath: was the first Peshwa appointed on Nov 16, 1713.

Balban, Ghiyas-ud-din: He belonged to the famous band of Turkish slaves of Iltumish, known as "The Forty". The period of Balban as a king was 1265-86. He established pure Turkish State. He introduced in his court Turkish style and etiquette. In order to raise the prestige and power of the king, he introduced the methods and customs of Sajada and Paibos. Balban introduced the famous Persian festival of Nauroj in India. The "College of Forty" formed during the reign of Iltumish, was broken by Balban.

Banabhatta: was the most celebrated of the learned men and court poet of Harshavardhana. He was the author of Harshacharita and Kadambri. Bana gave the major source of inoformation about Harsha.

Banda Bahadur: The original name of Banda Bahadur, a Rajput of Dogra tribe, was Lachhman Das.

Bardoli Satyagraha: Bardoli in Gujarat is famous for non-payment of taxes campaign by land owners, led successfully by Sardar Patel in 1928. Patel's efficient leadership in this campaign earned him the title of Sardar.

Barhaiya Tal agitation in Monghyr: Its aim was to demand restoration of bakasht lands.

Barhara Tribes: The Barhara tribes mentioned in the Mahabharata who had settled in the north-western regions of India, are associated with&endash;(1) Ambashthas (a mixed Mongolian Aryan race); (2) Gandharas (Afghans); (3) Pavas (Parthians); (4) Sakas (Scythians; (5) Yavanas (Greeks).

Battle of Buxar: In this battle in 1764, the British forces under Hector Munro defeated the Muslim army under three Mohammedan leaders, Mir Kasim, Nawab Shuja-ud-daulah and the Emperor Shah Alam-II.

Battle of Kanwah: was fought in 1527 in which Babar defeated Rana Sanga of Mewar. This battle resulted in the defeat of powerful Rajput confederacy.

Battle of Panipat, First: In this battle fought in 1526, Babar defeated Ibrahim Lodhi and laid the foundation of Mughal rule in India. Babar won this battle mainly because of his military skill (superior strategy and generalship) and the use of artillery for the first time in India.

Battle of Panipat, Second: It took place in 1556 in which Bairam Khan (Akbar's General) defeated Hemu (the Hindu General and right-hand man of Mohd Adil Shah). It ended the Afghan rule and Mughal rule began instead.

Battle of Plassey: In this battle in 1757, the English under Lord Clive defeated Siraj-ud-Daulah (supported by the French forces). It brought Muslim rule in Bengal to an end and laid foundations of the British rule in India.

Battle of San Thomas: This battle during the Carnatic Wars (1746-61) definitely proved for the first time the superiority of European arms and discipline over the traditional Indian methods of warfare.

Baudhayana : It represents a South Indian school of the Black Yajur-veda.

Bengal partition, First: The first partition of Bengal was done in 1905 during the Viceroyalty of Lord Curzon. It was revoked in 1911.

Bengal Regulation Act of 1793: Its significance lies in the fact that it accommodated the personal laws of Hindus and Muslims.

Bentinck, Lord William: is associated with Prohibition of Sati.

Berar: is associated with Imad Shahi

Besant, Annie: She was the first woman President of the Indian National Congress in 1917. She had founded the Home Rule League in 1915. She is described as theosophist, educationist and Indian nationalist. (Sarojini Naidu was the second woman President of the Indian National Congress in 1925).

Bhadrabahu: was a Jain teacher during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. He was author of 'A life of Mahavira'.

Bhagavata Cult: Gupta kings contributed most to this cult. Bhagavatism or Vaishnavism over-shadowed Mahayana Buddhism and preached the doctrine of incarnation, or avtara.

Bharata Natyam&endash;Classic Poses : The classic poses of Bharata Natyam, an ancient form of dance, originated in the South India around Thanjavur, are sculptured on the walls of the temple at Chidambaram.

Bharatavarsha: was a part of Jambudweepa, according to the ancient geographical concept.

Bhaskara or Bhaskaracharya: Born in 1114 A.D., was almost the last great Hindu mathematician and astronomer until modern times. He wrote Sidhanta-siromani in 1150.

Bhaskaravarman: was the king of Kamarupa (Upper Assam). He was a contemporary of king Sasanka of Gauda and was his arch- enemy. Bhaskaravarman was the eastern ally of king Harsha.

Bhoja king: He was a great patron of literature and art. He belonged to the Gurjara Pratihara dynasty.

Bhoodan Movement: was started by Acharya Vinoba Bhave.

Bijapur: is associated with Adil Shahi.

Bilhana: He was Sanskrit historian and poet born in Kashmir, He left Kashmir about 1065 A.D. and became the court poet at Kalyana where he wrote an epic, Vikramankadeva-charita to celebrate the reign of Vikramaditya VI, the Chalukya king of Kalyana.

Bindusara: was the Mauryan Ruler who was also known by the name 'Amitraghata'. He succeeded Chandragupta Maurya.

Black-Hole tragedy: occurred during the period of Siraj-ud-Dowlah, Nawab of Bengal.

Blue Water Policy: The "Blue Water" policy is attributed to Don Francisco de Almeida, the first Viceroy of the Portuguese possessions in India. His "Blue Water" policy was to be powerful at the sea instead of building fortresses on Indian land.

Boghaz Koi inscriptions: is important in Indian history because inscriptions of the fourteenth century B.C. discovered here mention the names of Vedic gods and goddesses.

Bombay: was taken by the English East India Company from Charles II. It was acquired by England from Portugal.

Bose, Subhash Chandra : better known as Netaji of Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army&endash;INA), was a powerful nationalist leader and was also once elected President of the Indian National Congress. He gained much prominence for organising INA during world war II. In his speech, while inaugurating the Azad Hind Fauj in Singapore, he gave a stirring call to his soldiers &endash; "Give me blood and I shall give you freeedom". Rightly called the Beacon of light of Asia, he was the first to address Mahatma Gandhi as Father of the Nation.
In a message to Gandhiji, in a broadcast from Azad Hind Radio, Rangoon, on July 8, 1944, he said&endash; "Father of our Nation! In this holy war of India's liberation, we ask you for your blessings and good wishes". Mahatma Gandhi described him as Patriot of Patriots. The ashes of Subhash Chandra Bose are kept in Renkoji temple in Tokyo.

Brahmacharya&endash;Grihastashrama&endash;Vanaprastha&endash;Sanyas: Such divisions of life-span was a post-Vedic development.

Brahmagupta: (598-660) of Ujjain, was a great mathematician of his time.

Brahman: is the central theme in the Upanishads.

Brahmanas: Though belonging to the Vedas, they are considered apart from the Vedas, as they express notions that have a character and quality of their own. The Brahmanas stress the importance of prayer, sacrifice, rituals etc and emphasise the observance of caste and the asramas. This led to an elaborate formulary and to the domination of the Brahmin priesthood. 800 B.C.-600 B.C. is designated as the period of Brahamanas. The "fish-legend" first appears in the Brahmanas.

Brahmi: Majority of Ashoka's script were written in Brahmi script.

Brahmo Samaj: was founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

Brahui: is a language of Baluchistan. Linguistically, it is Dravidian.

Brhadaranyaka Upanishad: In this Upanishad, we get the first glimpse of the "doctrine of transmigration".

Brihadisvara temple: in Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu) is the finest and most elaborate temple of Chola architecture. It was built during the reign of Rajaraja Chola.

British Indian Society:was the first political organisation established in India in 1838.

Buddha: (623-543 B.C.) He was the son of Suddhodana, a Kshatriya king and a member of the Gautama clan of the Sakya. Hence, he is often called Sakyamuni. Buddha's own name was Siddhartha. He was born in 567 B.C. at Lumbini village in the Nepalese Terai. He renounced the world at the age of 29 and became a great religious teacher. His preachings were mainly in regard to purity of thought and conduct. He denounced Brahminism. He is said to have meditated at Bodhgaya where he attained full enlightenment on Vaishakha Purnima day at the age of 35. His famous first sermon , the Dharma-chakra-Pravartana or Setting in Motion the Wheel of Law, was delivered by him in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Banaras (Varanasi). Buddha died in 483 B.C. under a sal tree at Kusinagara (modern Kasia) in the Gorakhpur district of U.P. At the time of his death at the age of 80, Buddha's last words to his favourite disciple Ananda, were: "Look not for the refuge to any one besides yourself." Relics of Buddha are preserved in a stupa.
Buddha is the last historical incarnation of Vishnu.


Buddhism:Buddhism was founded by a Kshatriya prince Sidharatha born in 567 B.C. at Lumbini village in the Nepalese Terai.
Buddha laid stress on the Four Noble Truths and pursuit of the Noble eight-fold path for which he preached ten commandments for elimination of human misery.
The crux of early Buddhism was renunciation of desire.
Buddhism became a global religion due to efforts of king Ashoka. To preach Buddhist doctrines, Ashoka sent his son Mahendra and his daughter Sanghamitta to Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Mahayana and Hinayana are the two divisons of Buddhism. Mahayanism came into existence in the time of Kanishka. The Buddhism which ignored the Divine (worship of gods and goddesses) was known in later times as the Hinayana or Lesser Vehicle of salvation, while the modified religion which recognised the value of prayer and acknowledged Buddha as the incarnation of an eternal heavenly Buddha was called the Mahayana, or the Greater Vehicle. Buddha was strongly opposed to religious rituals, ceremonial worship, sacrificial system, and the idea of caste system.
Buddha preached in the language of the people and did not harp on the caste system. Buddhidm became very popular in India during Buddha's life time.


Buddhism and Jainism: The common features of both were: (1) Indifference to the authorities of the Vedas; (2) Denial of efficacy of rituals; and (3) Non-injury to animal life.


Buddhist Councils: The first Buddhist Council was held at Rajagriha shortly after Buddha's death. A second Council was held at Vaisali in which the disciples of Buddha divided into two sections viz., Sthavirvadins and Mahasanghikas; a third at Pataliputra (during the reign of Ashoka), 236 years after his death, and a fourth Council was held at Srinagar (Kashmir) under the patronage of Kanishka, the Kushan king. It was presided by Vasumitra. Harshavardhana summoned two Buddhist Assemblies in the year 643 A.D.&endash;one at Kanauj (the fifth one) and the other at Prayag, the sixth one.


Buddhist literature: was written in Pali language.

Buland Darwaza: in Fatehpur-Sikri near Agra, was built to commemorate Akbar's conquest of Gujarat.