Who was the author of 'Indica'?

By Raj Vimal|Updated : October 13th, 2022

(A) Plutarch

(B) Justin

(D) Megasthenes

The author of 'Indica' was Megasthenes. Megasthenes, a Greek ambassador, wrote the book "Indica." The Greek tyrant Seleucus had dispatched Megasthenes to court of Chandragupta Maurya. The Mauryan empire's capital, Pataliputra, was where Megasthenes stayed and penned "Indica." He describes his observations of India during the Mauryan era in the book.

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About Indica Book of Megasthenes

From the 16th until the 19th century, Plutarch, a well-known biographer and author had a significant impact on the development of the essay, biography, and historical genres in Europe. The "father of history" has been referred to as Herodotus. He is well known for penning the book "The Histories," which contains a thorough account of his "inquiry" into the causes of the Greco-Persian Wars.

The parts of Megasthenes' Indica that have been preserved as direct quotations or paraphrased by later writers can be used to rebuild it. Even when the content has not been directly credited to Megasthenes, the elements that belonged to the original text can be distinguished from the later works based on a similar topics, terminology, and phrasing. There are 36 pages of material in Felix Jacoby's Fragmente der griechischen Historiker that can be linked to Megasthenes.

Several pieces were linked to Megasthenes by E. A. Schwanbeck and based on his collection, John Watson McCrindle produced a revised edition of Indica in 1887. However, not everyone agrees with this reconstruction. Several passages in the writings of the author Diodorus from the first century BCE were assigned to Megasthenes by Schwanbeck and McCrindle. Contrary to Strabo, who specifically cites Megasthenes as one of his sources, Diodorus makes no reference of Megasthenes at all.

Summary:

Who was the author of 'Indica'? (A) Plutarch (B) Justin (C) Herodotus (D) Megasthenes

"Indica" was written by Megasthenes. The author of "Indica" was Megasthenes a Greek diplomat. Megasthenes had been sent to Chandragupta Maurya's court by the Greek tyrant Seleucus. Megasthenes stayed in Pataliputra, the seat of the Mauryan empire, and wrote "Indica" there.