Plague in India
Plague and famine have been recurrent features of life in the South Asian subcontinent countries of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The two health disasters often go hand-in-hand. That failures to scientifically examine the remains of disaster victims can lead to misidentifications and misinterpretations is now recognised in the research literature. While forensic dentistry is taught in India, the use of odontology to help explain historical problems is in its infancy.
400 BCE or before Vesali
The earliest known plague in India is documented by the Ratana Sutta which records an outbreak in the time of the Buddha that occurred in the north Indian city of Vesali. As he came into the city the sutta was recited and the plague subsided. This text has long been used as a paritta or protective text, one of the early instances of texts used in this manner mentioned in the Milindapanha.525-26 Anuradhapura
According to the Pali historical sources, a plague and famine assailed Sri Lanka in the time of Upatissa II of Anuradhapura. Following the precedent set in the time of the Buddha, the king ordered the Ratana Sutta to be recited by monks while walking the streets of the city. In the words of the Culavamsa: This event in Sri Lanka anticipates the Plague of Justinian.930s South India and Sri Lanka
The Culavamsa reports that Kassapa V of Anuradhapura ordered the Sri Lankan army to withdraw from south India after he heard that troops were dying from plague. The Chola king in this encounter was Parantaka I.1300s
The Black Death spread across the world in the 14th century with devastating effect. For India, accounts of this pandemic are anecdotal, with clear testimony for bubonic plague found only from the 17th century. This has led some to think the disease did not reach India in the 1300s, a premature conclusion given plague is mentioned in Tughlaq dynasty sources. Since 2015, new evidence has been published, and a fresh examination of historical and philological problems undertaken. In addition, archaeo-pathology research has documented the Black Death in central Asia, a region with close links to India at the time.A number of human skeletons, possibly of the 14th century, were found during conservation work on the south side of the medieval Nīlakaṇṭheśvara temple, Udaypur, Madhya Pradesh. These were quietly disposed of for fear of stirring up controversy. Somewhat later, human remains were found at Ujjain, near the Mahākāl temple. The absence of scientific examinination led to unsubstantied speculation on the part of the press. While the date of the Ujjain remains is an open question, the site, like Udaypur, flourished under the Paramara rulers.