CUET Knowledge Tradition and Practices in India Syllabus 2026: Important Chapters, Questions & Books; PDF Download

Agriculture: A Survey 

Agriculture in Prehistory and Protohistory/ Textual Sources/ Types of Lands/ Rain-Fed and Irrigated Crops/ Implements/ Seed and Sowing/ Manures/ Pests and Their Management/ Cattle Management/ Horticulture and Arboriculture/ Fishing/ Agriculture and Society 

Agricultural Heritage: Excerpts from Primary Texts

Rigveda, Krsiparasara (c. 400 BCE), Kautilya (3rd and 4th century BCE), Kasyapiyakrsisukti (800 CE), Vrksayurveda (c. 1000 CE), Krsigita (c. 1500 AD)

Architecture: A Survey 

• Early and Classical Architecture: Temple Architecture/ Rock-Cut Structures/ Monolithic Temples/ Constructed Temples/ Public and Private Architecture

Architecture: Excerpts from Primary Texts

Visnudharmottarapurana, Kautilya's Arthsastra, Mayamata, Manasara

• Medieval & Colonial Architecture: Fort and Palace Architecture/ Mosques/ Mausoleums/ Colonial Architecture 

Dance: A Survey 

• Classical Dance Forms: Classical Period/ Middle Period/ Modern Period/ Classical Dance Forms/ Bharatanatyam/ Kathakali/ Kathak/ Kuchipudi/ Manipuri/ Odissi/ Sattriya

Primary Texts on Dance in India : A Selection

Natyasastra (tr. Manomohan Ghosh)

• Folk Dance Forms: Chau/ Bihu/ Rauf/ Padayani/ DolluKunitha/ Dandiya/ Ghumar/ Kalbelia/ Chaufla/ Bhangra/ Giddha/ Garba/ Lavani/ Bamboo Dance 

Education Systems and Practices: A Survey 

• Goals of Indian Education/ Teaching and Learning/The Teacher and the Student/ Centres of Education/ Temples as First Schools/ Gurukulas/ Viharas and Universities/Community-Supported Education/ The Continuing System

Primary Texts on Education in India: A Selection

Two Types of Knowledge and the Right Pupil/ Mere Intellectual Knowledge Is Not Enough/The Link between Teacher and Pupil/ Teachers Invite Students to Come to Them/Controlling the Mind and the Senses: the Goal of Indian Education/ Teacher’s Directives to Students on their Completion of Study/ what Is a Useful Life?/ Hsüan-tsang’s (Xuanzang) Impressions of Indian Education/ Hsüan-tsang’s (XuanZang) Description of Nalanda University  

Narratives of Indian Education in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries

An Italian Explorer’s Record of Indian Education in the 17th Century/ A Description of Indian Education in the 18th Century/ The Teacher’s Subsistence/ Respect for the Teacher/Physical Education and Sports/ Description of the University at Navadveep (Nuddeah) in Bengal in 1791/ Love of Learning and Support for Education among Indians/ A W- idespread Colonial Network of Indigenous Schools 

Ethics: Individual and Social 

• The Cosmic Order/ Buddhist Ethics/ Jain Ethics/ Sikh Ethics/ The Bhakti Movement  

Primary Texts on Ethics: Individual and Social: A Selection

• From Jain Granthas/ From Buddhist Granthas/ From Asoka’s Edicts/ From the Kural (tr. P.S. Sundaram) 

Martial Arts Traditions: A Survey 

• Texts/ Practice of Martial Arts/ Stick Combat/ Kaarippayau

Martial Arts Traditions: A Selection from Primary Texts

• Wrestling in the Mahabharata/ Mallapurana/ Marmasastram 

Language and Grammar 

Languages of India/ Study of Language in India/ Disciplines of Language Studies in India/ Classification of Speech-Sounds/ Theory of Grammar/ Chanda (Prosody)

Primary Texts on Language: A Selection

Reflections on Language from Vedic Sources, Phonetics Paniniya siksha (tr. & ed., Manomohan Ghosh), Nirukta (Etymology), The Nighantu and the Nirukta of Sri Yaskacharya (tr. Ed., Lakshman Sarup) Patañjali’s Mahabhasya (adapted from S.N. Dasgupta’s translation) Grammar, Language and Knowledge Bhartṛhari’s Vakyapadiya, Brahmakanda, (tr. K. A. Subramania Iyer) 

Other Technologies: A Survey 

• Harappan Technologies/ Later Pottery/ Glass/ Water Management/ Textile Technology/ Writing Technology/ Pyrotechnics/ Cosmetics and Perfumes 

Other Technologies: A Selection from Primary Texts

• Gemmology/ Water Management/ Textiles and Garments/ Perfumes and Cosmetics