Seven major pillar edicts have been found at Lauriya-Araraj, Lauriya Nandangarh, Rampurva, Nigali Sagar, Sarnath, Topra, and Meerut. Ashokan pillars probably signify the axis of the world (axis mundi) that separated heaven and earth.
Fa-hein, the first Chinese Buddhist traveller and monk, came to India during the reign of Gupta emperor Chandragupta II and wrote the book “Si- Yu-Ki” that gives the detail account of the political and social condition of that time.
The earliest Satavahana inscriptions belong to the 1st century BCE. In the 1st century BCE the Satavahana defeated the Kanvas and established their rule over parts of central India.
In Southern India, the ancient Indian writings were written in four Dravidian languages which developed their own script and literature, these are, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada,Malayalam
Tamil is the oldest with literature dating back to early centuries of Christian era. This developed during the three Sangams(assemblies of poets and writers) held during different times