Finally, we may know how old Dwarka was
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The sacred city of Dwarka
Excavations on shore near the Dwarkadhish temple, and in the sea at Dwarka, have yielded a veritable treasure of ancient objects, say archaeologists.
âThe excavated material would help us in learning about the antiquity of Dwarka,â Dr Alok Tripathi, superintending archaeologist, underwater archaeology wing of the Archaeological Survey of India, said.
Dwarka, situated in the Jamnagar district of Gujarat, is traditionally associated with Lord Krishna and is one of the most sacred places for the Hindus. The city was also a famous port in former times and an important archaeological site.
âWe are planning to present the results of excavations in the forthcoming International Seminar on Marine Archaeology in New Delhi in August,â said Dr Tripathi who is directing the expedition.
He added that their finds included copper coins, terracotta animal figurines, sculptural and archaeological fragments, bangles made of shell, bone and glass, beads of stone and terracotta, rings, stone objects and a variety of plain and decorated pottery, both painted and incised.
The attempt had been to study the antiquity of the site holistically for the first time.
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For this, Dr. Tripathi said, the excavations were done simultaneously on land and in the sea so that finds from all places could be collated. Underwater archaeologists and experienced Indian Navy divers searched the sunken treasures in the Arabian Sea.
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Trained archaeologists also minutely excavated the forecourt of Dwarkadhish temple with small trowels and brushes. The soil was carefully sieved to collect even the tiniest fragment of the artifacts, he added.
Since the 1960s, there have periodic excavations expeditions to locate the sunken city of Dwarka in the Arabian Sea.
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Extremely Interesting article from Hinduunity.org
Posting in full.
Mods please move if appropriate..
The Story of Knowledge
A BRIEF HISTORY OF STRUGGLE OF KNOWLEDGE WITH THE SEMITIC RELIGIONS AND ITS ULTIMATE SURVIVAL - Shree Premendra Priyadarshi
INTRODUCTION
Many people are writing here and there that Modern Civilisation is a product of Judo-Christian tradition. This is totally false. In fact , modern philosophy and science are a delayed fruition of the tree that was ancient India or in other words Hinduism. On the other hand , Semitic religions did everything to suppress and destroy the development of knowledge especially science. In fact, if any thing is the final product of the Judo-Christian tradition i.e. the Religion of Abraham, it is the Islamic fundamentalism. It sounds absurd to discuss religion while writing the history of knowledge. But unfortunately some religions have suppressed knowledge so much over the ages that the story cannot be complete without discussing it.
Up to the fifteenth century, Europe was in the Dark Age. Historians call this period as the Dark Age because there was no knowledge like mathematics, science, medicine etc. in Europe. Long back, there was a brief period of enlightenment in a limited part of Europe, i.e. Greece from sixth century BC for a few centuries by import of knowledge from India. This period is called the first awakening of Europe and the reappearance of knowledge in the 16th century is called the Renaissance. We will briefly review how science came to Greece from the East for the first time, then how it was destroyed and scholars killed by Romans, and then by the fundamentalist Christians and finally Muslim invaders. And how knowledge survived and finally reached the West.
ORIGIN OF KNOWLEDGE
India has been the birthplace of science over ages. Takshashila University( in Pakistan now) was a great centre of learning where students from Iran and further west came to study. In the first millennium BC, Iran was highly Indianized and could be considered an expansion of Indian culture and civilisation. At the western fringe of it was Asia Minor, modern Turkey, which was a place of interaction between Greeks and Iranians (Turks did not live there then). In the 6th century BC, Iran expanded its boarders to include Assyria, Babylon, whole of Asia Minor and major parts of Greece. Egypt also fell to Iran soon after. Thus while Iran was engaged in expansion on its western boarders, its eastern part was in peace , continuously receiving Indian knowledge and religion. Zoroaster, fifth century BC, lived in the eastern reaches of Persia, not far from India, and his belief to wage war on evil ,and the idea of constant struggle between good and bad , light and darkness, is believed by the scholars of history of theology, to be Indian (Upanishadic) in origin. Monotheism had reached a full development in the Upanishad literature in India, from which Zoroastrianism, Judaism , and also Akhenaton of Egypt (1350 BC) had borrowed it. Upanishadic knowledge did not stay long in Egypt and faded away soon after the death of its only patron Akhenatan. Mithraism was another branch of Vedic religion which spread widely over Iran, South Europe and Egypt. Mithra is a Vedic God ( the Sun-God). Mithras celebrated the birthday of God (Sun) on the 25th December which became adapted by the Christians as the date of birth of God (Jesus). These religions of Indian origin in Middle East, introduced the principle of righteousness and monotheism to Judaism and Christianity and thereby to Islam later. Hence the ethical monotheism, the back bone of Judaism, Christianity and Islam found its origin in Hinduism.
Apart from these, Indian wandering monks travelled the breadth and length of this whole area. From Western sources we know that in the third century BC, a big Indian community lived at Alexandria in Egypt with their Vedic sannyasins as well as Buddhist bhikshukas. Indian sea- traders also dominated the sea -trade up to the period of rise of Islam. It was under this background that the Indian religions, philosophies and science travelled to the West to enlighten it in the ancient times.
It is also relevant to clarify here that the central dogma of Hinduism is knowledge. It believes that knowledge of truth is the ultimate goal of life. Hinduism encourages its followers to seek out the truth. Hinduism also recognises that although there is only one absolute truth, because of limitations of human sense organs and mind , truth may be conceived differently by different individuals under different circumstances. Therefore tolerance for differing opinions was preached. Tolerance for difference of opinion is the first requirement for growth of knowledge in any society. The sages said knowledge is relative. Thus Hinduism gave the theory of Relativity for the first time and also tried to formulate a unified field theory in the field of Physics, in the form of the theory of Brahman for the first time. Law of cause and effect was doctrinated, excluding Divine Will out of the chain of cause and effects and karma, not the fate was responsible for what people got in their lives. The doctrine of Karma making people responsible for their acts and denial of the doctrine of divine will and fate were the first seeds of modern attitude and scientific temper. Truth was considered a subject of investigation , not of belief. Every cause has an effect and this effect becomes a cause for another effect. The Universe ( samsara) is but total of the complex system of causes and effects flowing in time. Hindu religion encouraged people to know and experience God rather than to believe Him. Because of this investigative temper, India was ahead of all other nations in science and mathematics till her subjugation by Muslim conquest in the 12th century.
On the other hand, Jewish religion was based on the faith that only their God is real and all others false. Hence it was not only belief in one God but it was also a belief in correctness of only one religion. Christians also adopted the same attitude and Islam also asserted the same. Fighting the nonbeliever was considered a prime duty of the believers. The words of the God as revealed to the Prophet is final and anything contradicting them has to be destroyed. This gave the concept of heresy.
PYTHAGORAS: A GREAT HINDU GENIUS
History of knowledge in Europe starts with Pythagorus. Pythagoras, in the 6th century BC was the first European( Greek) who brought Indian knowledge and mathematics to Greece in an organised way. He was the first European to convert completely to Hinduism also. Pythagorus was born around 560 BC , on Samos an island not far from the coast of the Asia Minor .His mother was probably a native of Samos but his father was probably a Phoenician. His life history was recorded from oral traditions a couple of centuries after his death, and even that information has survived only in fragments.
After studying the very best available in his country (music and gymnastics) he set out for more. He went to Egypt which had already received Indian Geometry through its contact with Indians as well as with Indo-Iranians and had then scholars teaching geometry and a bit of astrology. During his stay in Egypt, Egypt was invaded by Iran and he was brought to Iran as a captive , where he stayed at Babylon and other cities. Babylon was no more a Semitic city by that time, and it had been thoroughly Indo-Iranized in language, religion and knowledge at least a century earlier, when the Medes and the Persians thoroughly overran the country of Babylon, and it was now a part of Persian Empire and culturally a part of Indo-Iran. Probably, Pythagorus went to the Punjab and thence to the Himalayas as well. It thoroughly changed his life style and thinking. He permanently rejected the long Greek robes, and adopted trousers turning away from Ionian culture and identifying himself strongly with the East. Before Pythagorus, trousers were not known to Europe. Woollen trousers were worn by Indians living at high altitudes in the Himalayas, like people of Nepal, Laddakh, Tibet, Kashmir etc. ( The statue of Indian king Kanishka, found in Afghanistan, is wearing a long double-breasted coat and trousers). Variants of trousers like pyjamas and shalwar were worn in the northern plains of Indo-Iran. The costume which Pythagorus introduced into the Europe was going to become the ethnic costume of the West!!
Having lived twenty years in the east, he returned to Europe and settled in Croton, a Greek speaking town of South Italy. He formed an order of ascetics devoted to develop a sense of community with the help of religious injunctions and instructions. This was aimed to give the members a real insight into the concordant nature of universe. He preached that the world, like human society, was held together by the orderly arrangement of its parts, and it then became their clear duty to cultivate order in their own lives. He was now acting as an ambassador of Hinduism to the West.
Pythagorians believed in transmigration of life through different life forms. His contemporary poet Xenophanes writes: Pythagoras was once passing by when a man was beating a dog .He took pity on the animal and said, Stop it; Indeed it is the soul of a friend of mine; I recognised it when I heard its voice. Pythagoras was even able to recall the details of his own previous incarnations. Pythagorus preached the essential unity and kinship of all forms of life which is the fundamental principle of Hinduism (and also of other later Indian religions) . He preached non-violence and banned killing and eating animals in his order of ascetics. He was a firm believer in Karmic law and preached immortality of existence. The human body is temporary ,therefore one must purify the soul by abstaining from bodily pleasure. By these means soul would ultimately win release from the wheel of becoming and realise its true divine status. Pythagoreans believed that anyone who downgraded his life by immoral and impure acts will be born as animal in his next life.
A particular type of sayings, he named akousmata (things heard) which were probably Greek translation of the shruti ( Sk. Things heard). In his brotherhood, members were of two kinds. Acousmatics would visit him and seek guidance on how to lead a simple ,non-violent and virtuous way of life. Others called Mathematikoi lived inside the math (monastery) and studied the nature of reality more deeply. From mathematik is derived the word mathematics. Pythagorians studied and further developed the science of mathematics and philosophy which was brought to them from India by their great Guru.
The reaction started by Pythagorus resulted in a boom of scholarship in Greece and finally we find authorities like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Heraclides, Eratosthenes, Archemedes, Euclid etc. During this whole period transfer of knowledge from India to Greece was never interrupted. This may be assumed from the fact that whatever theory was given in India e.g. atomic theory, theory of micro-organism, theory of non-dualism, Brahman, atman, the five elements ( the Greeks accepted only four, and did not include space ), medicine, the three doshas or whatever; it appears in Greek translation soon after. It was a good thing. A living and growing civilisation is always ready to find out and assimilate whatever valuable it notices in other civilisations.
ALEXANDRIA UNIVERSITY: A CENTRE OF INDO-GREEK LEARNING
After Alexander established the Hellenistic Empire comprising Egypt, Asia Minor, Iran, Bactria and North -West India (including Punjab and modern Afghanistan), the transfer of learning from India to Greece was very much increased. Alexander himself rounded up hundreds of Brahmin scholors and took thm to Greece to increase the wealth of knowledge of his country. Tens of thousands of soldiers married Indo-Iranian women and took them to Greece. Trade routs and diplomatic channels were also established which would facilitate flow of knowledge from India to Greece. When Alexander came to India he was highly impressed by the Takshashila university in Punjab. Being inspired by that, Alexander also established a great university at Alexandria in Egypt. This was the first university ever built outside of India.
In Alexandria, scholars from Greece, Iran, India and Egypt would come to study and to teach. A large number of Indian texts were translated into Greek and kept in the library at Alexandria.
Much later , Jesus Christ started his religion. Jesus was very much like an Indian ascetic. Like Hindu saints, he followed renunciation and practised celibacy, and preached non-violence. It is claimed that he had been to India and had received spiritual training in Indian tradition. Whatever be the fact, we find that many of the sayings and parables of Jesus, Pythagorus and the Upanishads are common. When Christianity was taking shape, that part of the world was inhabited by Hindus as well. When they converted to Christianity, they introduced many things to this new religion e.g. folding hands in Indian style whenever praying to God; ringing typical Indian style bells in the churches; introduction of a circular solar halo round the picture of Jesus etc. Practice of celibacy, renunciation of material life by the monks and asceticism adopted by Christian saints were Hindu influence on Christianity, because they are not found in other Semitic religions. But the vast majority of people who initially accepted Christianity were Jews. Therefore, they brought in with them the Old Testament( the Jewish scripture) and most of the beliefs and practices of the Jews. Therefore after the death of Jesus, Christians now believed , as the Jews did, that only theirs' is the right religion and only theirs' is the true God. Sorcery, miracle, witchcraft, mysticism, idol-worship, etc. are satanic acts and people accused to be involved in them would be killed. Raising any doubt or suggesting modification in religion was termed heresy, punishable with death. Fighting the non-Christians to convert or eliminate them was considered religious duty. This new religion was very anti-science, because science did not support what this religion preached.
Destruction of Greece and Demolition of Alexandria:
In the third and second BC Rome rose up as a big power .Having no respect for knowledge, they destroyed much of Greek civilisation. They expanded their empire to include North Africa, Asia Minor and South Europe. Greek tradition of learning was disrupted in Europe, scholars killed, cities destroyed, although it continued in Alexandria in Egypt. A few Greek scholars escaped being killed in Europe as well, who continued their pursuit of knowledge although in a low profile up till the Byzantine period. It was Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor who in 529 , closed the nine-hundred-year- old Academy of Plato in Athens and completely destroyed the last remains of Greek knowledge in Europe, claiming it was a hotbed of paganism and heresy. The scholars were killed or converted. Many of these Greek scholars, fearing for their lives and intellectual freedom fled to Persia, where they established a kind of Academy in exile.
In early fourth century Constantine who had already become Christian, acceded to Roman power. Christianity now became the state religion. Nonbelievers (non-Christians) were persecuted, burned and murdered by animated Christian mobs called zealots. Mathematicians, scientists and philosophers were particularly targeted. Europe was entering into an era called Dark Age with complete elimination of all the works of science, mathematics and philosophy. But University of Alexandria was surviving still in Egypt.
In AD 389 Christian Emperor Theodosius ordered Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria to destroy all pagan monuments. Hindus were also called pagan by them. The Christian mobs burned the pagan scholars and the library. Even after this, many scholars survived and continued their work. One of these was Hyptia, a great scholar of mathematics, and one of the few female mathematicians in history. She was wise ,learned ,virtuous and beautiful. There was much mistrust among Christians, Jews and Pagans, but Hyptia taught everyone. She wrote commentaries on Euclid, Apollonius and on Arithmetica. She wrote books discussing new mathematical problems and solving old ones. She also wrote books on astronomy, compiled tables of positions of celestial bodies and designed several scientific instruments. It was a time of revival of Pythagorianism, the Greek form of Hinduism, as a Hellenistic (Greek) alternative of the rising tide of Christianity.
In AD 412, a fanatic Christian named Cyril became the patriarch of Alexandria and began the campaign to rid the city of both Jews and the Pythagorian scholars. Hyptia was asked to accept Christianity several times. But she always refused. That commitment cost her life. In AD 415, she was set upon a mob of Christian zealots, dragged from her carriage and beaten to death. In the account of a fifth century author: they stripped her stark naked: they raze the skin and rend the flesh of her body with sharp shells, until the death departed from her body: they quarter her body: they bring her quarters unto a place called Cinaron and burn them to ashes.... This is only one out of thousands of such atrocities which was going to finish scientific knowledge, as well Indian influence, from the West for a thousand years.
Even after such attacks, Alexandrian school was surviving for further two hundred years. This time it was Islam. Caliph Omar : In AD 642 Caliph Omar overran Egypt. Victorious Caliph ordered, those books that were contrary to Koran should be destroyed and furthermore those books that confirmed the Qoran were superfluous and they too must be destroyed. Manuscripts were used to stove the public baths. The University library was torched to ashes. The volume of manuscripts was so large that it kept on burning for six months. Needless to add that all the scholars were slaughters except those who embraced Islam. All over Egypt and Libya books were searched out and burned. As a result of this, the history and literature of Egypt was lost for ever ,only a fraction of it to be rediscovered later by the Europeans out of the Pyramids. Greek literature in Egypt was also lost and the same happened to Babylonian history.
Some of the Greek scholars of Alexandria who embraced Islam and survived, were able to smuggle some of the manuscripts to their homes. Later they translated these into Arabic language. These translations included Greek medicine (called Unani now), much of Greek philosophy e.g. Plato (Aflatoon), Aristotle (Arastu), Socrates (Sukrat) etc. It contained Alexandrian sciences as well as six of the original thirteen volumes of the mathematical text called Arithmetica, seven volumes of it being lost for ever. The Arithmetica was translated many centuries later into Latin.( Arithmetica, Elements, Surya Siddhanta and the Indian books on algebra, trigonometry, and arithmetic contained the basic knowledge which would later propel Europe into modern age.)
It is to be remembered here that all of Greek medicine ,all of Greek books of philosophy and science were already burned to ashes in Greece and Europe by Christian zealots. End of knowledge in the West was complete now.
INDIAN SCENARIO
In India , scenario was different. Science, mathematics, logic, philosophy, art , everything was growing at an unlimited pace. Religion's central dogma was knowledge, and experience, experiment and reasoning were accepted as very important means of obtaining knowledge . Arguments were encouraged in religious matters and religious philosophy and metaphysics had to be based on scientific knowledge. This scientific bias of Hinduism had led to growth of science much earlier in India from which Pythagoras and many other people of the West had been benefited over ages.
Earth is round was never disputed in India. So much so that you will find Varahavatar lifting the rounded earth on His tusks in many sculpture. You will find a lion ( Lord Buddha) fighting with a dragon (Ignorance) which is holding a round earth by its tail, in many north-eastern Indian Buddhist icons. Every Hindu is aware of the metaphoric story of the demon king Hiranyaksha, who finding the earth as a round ball , seized it to play with it ; then Lord Vishnu had to kill him to save the earth. The law of conservation of matter and energy and the law of cause and effect were the two fundamental laws of Hinduism. Anybody not accepting these two laws would be considered a nastic. The agnostics and people who refuted the existence of God were considered equally respected as others. The religion or belief, was a matter of personal choice and could not be enforced on to anybody by either the State or the family or the society. Clergy and priests in Western sense did not exist. Priest would come to perform a rite only if an individual requested him . Needless to add that fatwa or religious decree kind of things were beyond imagination in India.
The last in the glorious tradition of scholars was Bhaskaracharya , who invented the gravitational force also. David E. Duncan writes in his book The Calendar, " After Brahmagupta, India continued to produce noted mathematicians, including Bhaskara (1114--1185), considered by mathematicians to be the most brilliant in his field anywhere during the twelfth century." At this period North India fell to Muslim invaders and Mohammed Ghouri established the Delhi Sultanate. All the great Indian Universities viz Taxilla, Nalanda, Odantapuri and Vikramashila were burnt down to ashes and all inmates killed by Muslim commanders propelling India into darkness. Scholars were hunted down and Indian system of education was abolished being replaced by Islamic Muderssas. All education needs state funding. Once state came under Muslim Rule, all indigenous knowledge vanished except Sanskrit Grammar, a bit of mathematics, logic, medicine and philosophy which were preserved by individual efforts of practitioners and scholars. To sustain their lives these chaps had to serve as priests in the households or face starvation Pressed under excessive land revenue and communal taxes( like jezia, birth tax, cremation tax) common people did not have enough money to donate to maintain the life of scholars. This led to further demoralisation of the scholars. Once the light of knowledge was gone, ignorance and social evils embraced India from all sides. Even the books of History were burnt down and the India of 18th Century had no information about her pre-Muslim history. But many of the books dealing with religion, philosophy and history were taken to Sri Lanka, Burma, Tibet and China from which much of Indian History has been reconstructed by now. It is remarkable to note that once the Muslim Rule was gone from India in 1858, India immediately produced a great mathematician again (in 1887). David Duncan writes " In 1887 another mathematics genius was borne in India, Srinivasa Ramanujan, who tragically died at the age of 33." Ramanujan solved many disturbing mathematical problems although he never had any Western education.
Transfer of knowledge from India to Arabic language :
Duncan writes in The Calender "In 773, some 250 years after Aryabhath's death, a delegation of diplomats from lower Indus River Valley arrived in the new Arab capital of Baghdad. Dressed in bright coloured silks, turbans and glittering gems, ... Arriving at last outside the gates of al-Mansur's ( the founder of the Abbasid dynasty) magnificent city.....
..........This particular delegation also brought with them an astronomer, ..Kanaka. An expert on eclipse, he carried with him a small library of Indian astronomical texts to give to the Caliph, including the Surya Siddhanta and the works of Brahmagupta( containing material on Aryabhata) . Nothing more is known about this Kanaka. The first known reference to him was written some five hundred years later by an Arab historian named al-Qifti.
According to al-Qifti, the caliph was amazed by the knowledge in the Indian texts. He immediately ordered them to be translated into Arabic and their essence compiled into a textbook that became known as the Great Sindhind (Sindhind is the Arabic form of the Sanskrit word Siddhanta )."
Incidents like this were necessary " in order to bring the works of India into the sphere of the early Islamic scholars, whence they would travel to Christian Europe through Syria, Sicily and Arab controlled Spain. A version of the Great Sindhind would be translated into Latin in 1126. This was one of the dozens of critical documents that would contribute to the knowledge base needed to propel Europe into the modern age" Duncan adds.
The pre-Islamic Iran had Zoroasterian, Mithraic, Shaivite and Buddhist followers. These religions can be called Hindu or Hindu-like and were not against investigation of truth. Iran also had the privilege of being just adjacent to India. Therefore the knowledge was quite developed in Iran at the time of Islamic invasion When Iran fell to Islam, people accepted Islam but the undercurrent of Hinduism remained flowing here and there in the form of Sufism and Yoga-Mysticism. Early Sufis were quite vocal of their philosophy. They were persecuted and many killed by the orthodox Muslims. Many of the later ones adopted all the external features of Islam, but maintained Hindu ideas and attitude of tolerance in philosophy and teachings.
The pre-Islamic Iran had a rich intellectual interaction with India, Greece and Alexandria. It had acted as a transmitter of Indian knowledge to Egypt for two millennia and to Greece for one millennium. When Justinian persecuted the Nestorian people, they had fled to Baghdad with sacs of Greek scientific texts in the sixth century AD.( Nestorian or Assyrian or Eastern Christians were the people who believed that Jesus was human as well as divine. After persecution they fled away to Iran, pre-Islamic Arabia and south India. Indian Nestorians became re-affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century.) Although majority of the pre-Islamic literature had been destroyed in Iran by Muslim crusaders, some Pahlawi and Greek literature could survive and got translated into Arabic later.
It was at the time of the third Caliph that the capital of Islamic Empire was shifted to the Iranian city of Baghdad (in modern Iraq). After the initial phase of victories and overrunning other nations, which lasted about a century after the death of the Prophet, the Caliphs from al-Mansur onwards started showing interest in science and philosophy. These people had come out of the deserts of Arabia where few were literate, they brought little material culture to the ancient civilisations now under their sway. The initial reaction of the Muslims overrunning these civilisations was that of hatred for the infidel, causing large scale destruction of knowledge wherever Islam went. But credit should be given to the early Abbasid Caliphs, who transformed his people into a knowledge loving nation, although only for a few centuries.
The period of the reign of al-Mansur and his successors, Caliph Haroun ar-Rashid(786-809) and his son al-Mamun (809-833) was the time when Indian texts were brought to Baghdad in large scale and were translated into Arabic. They were studied along with the Arabic translation of the knowledge of the Greek Alexandrines and Nestorians which had escaped destruction by the army of Caliph Omar as well as surviving bits of Iranian scholarship. Eventually they were synthesised into the forms which would later reach Europe.
Scholars, engineers, scientists and artists flocked to Baghdad and were honoured and well paid. Many came bearing manuscripts. This was a great era of translation. The project was made infinitely simpler when the first paper factory opened in Baghdad in 794, using a process the Arabs learned from a Chinese prisoner captured during the 712 conquest of Samarkand , in modern Uzbekistan. This art would be passed on to Europe centuries later in the 12th century.
As the translations of Indian manuscripts began to stack up, al-Mamun ordered a museum and library complex to be built which was completed by 833 and became known as the House of Wisdom (Bait al-hikma). It was now only third in size in the world after the libraries of Taxila and Nalanda Universities. The Zero, decimal system, Indian numerals, astronomy, astrology, trigonometry, ayurveda, chemistry, everything even up to the Hindu dream-analysis, had now reached Baghdad, and the local Irani scholars were now in a position to formulate further theorums. Fascinated by Indian astronomy, Caliph al-Mamun ordered an observatory built in Baghdad in 829 and one soon after outside of Damascus.
Another less well known fact is that almost all of the scholars known as Arabic to the posterity were actually Iranian e.g. al-Khwarizmi, al-Biruni etc and some were Spanish but they wrote in Arabic, Arabic being the language of the Emperor. On the other hand not much intellectual activity was going on in Arabian peninsula, which was still the centre of Islamic religious activities.
The Indian ideas reaching Baghdad sparked off an intellectual revolution. When the Baghdadis came to know from the translations of the works of Aryabhata that the earth is a sphere of a diameter of 8316 miles, rotating on its axis, many of them believed it and wanted to measure it themselves too. Similar inspirations led to development of experimentation in the Abbasid people. It is a fact that the Arabs who were always engaged in expanding their frontiers into the Europe did never again invade India after initial victory over Sind and in Sind also, genocide and forced conversion was stopped soon. Was it partly because may be they developed a kind of respect for India?
The word for mathematics in Arabic is Hindi sat meaning the 'Indian Art'. One of the greatest mathematicians in the Arabic empire was al-Khwarismi( full name , Abu Jafar Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khwarismi, 780-850) who was summoned to Baghdad in 820 by al-Mamun and appointed the 'first astronomer' and later the head of library. He led two scientific missions to India to meet scholars and collect manuscripts. Based on them he wrote a book 'Kitab al-jabr wa al-muqabalah'( Calculation by addition and subtraction, 'jabr' here is an Arbi-ised form of Apabhramsha language word 'jor' meaning addition, and not the Arabic word meaning 'difficult'; algebra is a short Latinised form of the word ).Later its Latin translation became a standard textbook of mathematics in European universities. He wrote out the oldest surviving ziz--set of astronomical tables-- surviving from the Indian charts brought to Baghdad by Kanaka. This ziz later made the journey to Spanish Cordoba and onwards to the rest of Europe where a Latin translation made in 1126 became one of the most influential works on astronomy in medieval Europe. These are to count just a few of the books al-Khwarismi wrote on mathematics ,the Indian art.
In 825, al-khwarismi wrote on the concept of logarithm ( this is a Latinised form of his nane itself), zero and positional notation system after learning them from the Indian texts especially Brahmagupta, in his book 'Algoritmi de numero Indorum' (this is the title of the Latin translation). This book( in its Arabic form, which unfortunately is not available any more) reached Spain ( which was under Arab control at that time) where, in the 990's, Gerbert of Aurillac taught the Hindu numbers to his students, but it could not be very popular in Europe. In c.1100, an Englishman Robert of Chester visited Spain and translated al-Khwarismi's little book into Latin in 1120. This and other translations of al-Khwarismi inspired writing of several Latin textbooks on the 'new arithmetics' including description of the decimal system and positional notation. Still it took several more centuries before Europeans entirely abandoned Roman numerals despite their clumsiness and inferiority to Hindu numerals (D.208).
Another standout at Baghdad was al-Battani (c. 850-929), known in Europe as Albategneus who studied Indian astronomy and expounded trigonometric methods to show that that the distance from the earth to the sun varies during the year.
Half a century later another Irani (but known as Arab) astronomer, Abu ar-Rayhan Mohammed ibn Ahmed al-Biruni ( call him al-Biruni; 973-1048) was born in central Asia. He extensively studied the Arabic translation of the Indian mathematics and astronomy and by the age of thirty, had written at least eight works. Most important of them was one in which he discussed arguments for and against the earth's rotating on its axis, taking up the debate of Aryabhata versus other Indian astronomers. He went to India with an invading Muslim army of Mehmood Gaznawi . There he learned Sanskrit and studied every ancient text he could find. He compiled his findings into a book called Kitab-ul-Hind (Kitab fi tahqiq ma li 'l-Hind). This offers a remarkably candid and critical analysis of Hindu mathematics and sddhantas as well as philosophy and religion. He wrote a note on Patanjali's Yogasutra, Bhagavadgita and Sankhyakarika. But he also seems to be under fear of fanatics and always writes in reference to what Indians believed. Like, the Indians believe that the earth is five billion years old which is wrong because the Islam says it was created only four thousand and five years back. But overall, he greatly admires Hindu genius and metempsychosis. He discusses in detail the Hindu concept of cycle of evolution and dissolution and re-evolution of universe. He also describes the Hindu concept of geography. He mentions, the Hindus describe an island which is diametrically opposite Rome on the globe. These ideas were later translated into Latin from which people like Columbus would gain inspiration to try reach India by going westward and that would lead to discovery of Americas .
Translation of Hindu Literature in India:
Before Taxila, Nalanda, Odantpuri, Vikramshila and other Indian universities were burned down and their inmates killed by the Muslim invaders, much of Indian science (especially mathematics, astrology, medicine and philosophy ) had already been translated into Arabic.
The destruction of Indian literature was so extensive that no record of pre-Islamic history remained in India. In fact whatever systemic history of ancient India we know now was reconstructed by the Europeans with the help of the Indian historical books which survived mainly in Sri Lanka and to a lesser extent in China, Myanmar, Tibet etc. plus non-historical religious oriented puranas then archaeological remains and the Vedas and most extensively by imagination.
But still there were too many manuscripts scattered over the vast country which escaped destruction . These related mainly to philosophy and religion. Amir Khusraw was impressed by the depth of learning among Indians and their ability to speak any language. He greatly admired the Brahmanas for their ability to teach all subjects, who had devised the numerical system, written Kalila wa Dimma on the art of government and invented chess. Although a Muslim, chauvinist he admitted that the Hindus believe in the unity and eternity of God. Nakhshabi translated two Sanskrit texts. Following his conquest of Nogarkot in 1362 Firuz Shah Tughlaq acquired 1300 books from Jwalamukhi temple. He commissioned Sanskrit scholars to translate some of them into Persian. On the basis of the translation of works on physics and astronomy, 'Izzu 'd-Din Khalid Khani compiled the Dala 'il-Firuz Shahi. 'Abdu'l 'Aziz Shams Baha-i Nuri translated Brihatsamhita into Persian (it was earlier translated by al-Biruni into Arabic). Sultan Zaynu'l-'Abidin of Kashmir, Sultan Sikandar Lodi and several other Muslim rulers ordered the translation of various Sanskrit works into Persian with a view to enriching their language. Akbar established a translation bureau( the Maktab Khana) for translation of Sanskrit texts into Persian and Arabic. Yet more Sanskrit books were translated during Jehangir's period. Dara Shukoh translated Upanishads into Persian. Later Anquetil Duperron translated the Persian version into French and Latin. This Latin version influenced many intellectuals in Europe including German scholar Schopenhauer who found its study 'the solace to my life' and 'the solace to my death'.
Knowledge moves West
The Arabs ruled over a vast area from Indus to Spain in the eighth century when they started getting knowledge from India. As the Arabic schools were established all over the Abbasid empire to produce a regular supply of clergy and teachers, the Arabic version of Indian knowledge spread all over the empire. Caliph Abd ar-Rahman III (891--961), a patron of art and learning built a massive new library at Cordoba in Spain and filled it with a vast treasure trove of manuscripts brought from Baghdad. The library contained 400,000 volumes. By 976, Hindu numbers started appearing in modified form which were going to be the fore runners of modern International form of Indian numerals.
Some of the earliest translations of Arabic manuscripts into Latin were penned in northern Spain beginning in the mid-tenth century at the monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll. In the tenth century, Gerbert of Aurillac ( c. 946--1003) learned the Indian counting system from the Moors of Spain who in 999, became the Pope Sylvester II. In 990s he taught the Hindu numerals to his students and monks. H e trekked to northern Spain to carry home Latin translations of Arab treatise on abacus and astrolabe. He encouraged adoption of this systems especially by merchants. Needless to say that the new numbers were going to revolutionise accounting which was essential for leading Europe into a successful mercantile community.
Another was Adelard of Bath( c. 1075--1160). He journeyed by ship along the new eastern trade routes to the Crusader held coast of Syria, where he translated Euclid into Latin using Arabic translation of the original. .Most prolific of all these early translators was the Italian Greard of Cremona ( c. 1114--1187). Fluent in Greek and Arabic, he was leading figure in the new 'College of Translators' set up by Spanish archbishop Raymond after the capture of Toledo (and its library). He rendered into Latin the Arabic texts by Galen, Aristotle, Euclid, al-Khwarismi and Ptelomy, among many others. Some of the works of the ancient Greeks were translated back to Greek from Arabic at this time.
. We have already seen how al-Khwarismi's Algoritmi de numero Indorum was translated into Latin by an Englishman Robert of Chester living in Spain in 1120. .The Indian astronomical works as translated by al-Khwarismi was translated into Latin in Cordoba in1126. This brought Indian numbers, arithmatics , algebra and Astronomy to the Latin world. This contained the works of Aryabhata. Aryabhata's work contained fractions, quadratic equations, sums of power series, concept of version (1-- cos) , equations of imaginary numbers ( square root of -- 1 ), etc. He wrote that the planets and the moon do not have their own light , but reflected the light of the sun. The earth rotated on its axis causing day and night and also round the sun causing year. Aryabhata gave the radii of planetary orbits in terms of orbit of earth/sun. His calculation of earth's diameter at 8316 miles was very accurate. Incredibly he believed that the orbits of planets are ellipse and not circles. He correctly explained the causes of eclipse of sun and moon. This is just to site a brief example of the nature of literature which was now in the hands of Europeans who had been counting with their fingers till that time. This was going to provide the knowledge base required for further scientific discoveries to Kepler, Copernicus and Newton.
The translation of Hindu-Arabic literature continued till the end of sixteenth century. Apart from Spain, and Italy, other centres of translation were Syria, Damascus, Palermo and Sicily. The Arab emirs governing Sicily imported texts from Baghdad and had a rich library there. A Christian, Roger Guiscard (1031--1101), son of a baron of Normandy, conquered Sicily in 1072 when he renamed himself Roger I, Count of Sicily. His son Roger II ruled over Sicily and southern Italy. These two Rogers and their successor, Frederick II encouraged translation of Arabic texts. Frederick was elected the Holy Roman Emperor in 1220. He surrounded himself from philosophers and sages from Baghdad and Syria ,dancing girls from India and Iran. His efforts introduced many Indian elements into the classical dance of the West.
Frederick founded the University of Naples in 1224 endowing it with a large collection of Arabic manuscripts .From Spain he brought a translator who created a Latin summary of Aristotle's biological and zoological works. The library was endowed with a large collection of Arabic manuscripts of ancient Greek and Indian scholars as well as commentaries of the Arab scholars on them. Copies of Latin translation were sent to universities in Paris and Bologna. . Frederick also led the Fifth Crusade to Palestine in 1228--1229 , successfully and recaptured Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth.
All these efforts brought back to Europe the works of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and the Greek Medicine which were earlier destroyed from Europe by over zealous Christian zealots. It also brought to Europe the works of Indian genius in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, medicine, physics, chemistry, philosophy and music. Europeans learned the art of paper-making from the Arabs and printing press from the Chinese. In 1450s Gutenburg operated the first European printing press in Germany.
The Europeans were very slow to absorb this much of knowledge and new type of numbers. Much of the work in universities and monasteries was limited to copying the manuscripts or to translating them. They were not able to use decimals until a Dutch mathematician Simon Stevin (1548--1620) explained the system in a book called La Thiende (The Tenth). After him, Magini and Christopher Clauvius used them in their works. It was Galileo iin the late sixteenth century who for the first time tried to understand what was containd in the Latin translation of the Sindhind of Brahmagupta. Once he understood the theory of rotation of earth he had to suffer the persecution of the Church. In 1621, Bachet published the Latin version of Arithmetica from Arabic. By the year this time, the era of Europe's Dark Age was over. Understanding of science led to removal of Church's domination in everyday life . People were now able to work further on the subjects of science beyond the works of the Hindus which was presented to them after being translated twice-- first in Arabic and then in Latin.
The decline of Christian faith coupled with rise of knowledge ushered Europe into all round development and they came in a position to dominate world. Now knowledge is quite established all over the world , except in a few pockets of fundamentalist ideologies.
References:
1. Margaret Wertheim,Pythagoras' Trousers, Fourth Estate Ltd , London, 1997, pp.17-24, 33-37.
2. David E. Duncan, The Calendar, Fourth Estate, London, 1999, pp.150-210
3. S.A.A. Rizvi, The Wonder That Was India, Part II,Rupa & Co, Bombay,1999, pp.251-257.
4. A L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India, Part I, Rupa & Co, Bombay, 1999, pp.486-487.
5. Simon Singh, The Fermat's Last Theoram, Fourth Estate, London, (destruction of Alexandria, and Arithmetica )
6. Encyclopedia Britannica on website www.britannica.com ; Majority of the topics and names discussed in this article occure in it.
Appendix I
Decline of Knowledge in the Arab World
Baghdad was destroyed first by a civil war among the later Abbasids. Then in 1258 the invading Mongol army of Changhiz Khan destroyed it to the last brick. Although the Islamic Empire was reconstructed, the scientific temper of the Abbasids could never be restored to the Arabs. Later when Abdul Wahab started his movement, Muslims would look more and more into religious books rather than investigate truth in material world.
Appendix II
Why Indians did not pursue their quest of knowledge after 12th century?
India had a several thousand years old tradition of education, research and training. After Delhi fell to the Turk rulers, the great Indian universities were demolished. Libraries were burnt down. The village schools spread all over the country got starved of funds. The Govt funds would now go to muderssas which would teach Koran and Arabic and Persian languages. Even the Indian texts on science and philosophy were translated into Arabic and Persian. Persian was maintained as the medium of instruction till the British took over the governance of India, so that Indians could not take benefit of education. A false allegation has been labelled to the Brahmanas that they were not imparting education to the masses. But the fact is that the Brahmanas themselves quickly got deprived of education and became ignorant within a few generation time after establishment of Turkish rule. Now Brahmana became a caste and lost the Varna character. As it became a non-sustainable vocation, teaching disappeared from the Hindu people. The few Brahmanas who had knowledge, freely imparted it even to the Muslims. Al-Biruni and Amir Khusaraw etc were taught Sanskrit language and literature without any consideration of caste or religion.
The Muslim rule converted Brahmanas into priest. This fact can be verified by carefully reading history. In pre-Muslim period we never find mention of a Brahmana who lived in a village doing puja-work (priest craft). They lived as scholars or teachers. They could attend a yajna done by a king as a respected guest. But such occasions were very infrequent. Abolition of education profession compelled the Brahmanas to adopt new professions. Some become village priests. But the majority of Brahmanas never adopted the degrading job of priests. Many Brahmanas who hated priest-craft became farmers like the Chitpawan, Anavil, Mohiyal, Nagar, Tyagi etc and survived on agriculture.
Appendix III
Conclusion : The knowledge has survived in spite of all odds against it. Not only in Science , but also in the field of Modern philosophy, West has borrowed heavily from India. Europe got all of Indian logic and philosophy through the channel of the Arabs, and earlier through the Neo-Platonians. Later when the British came to India they had first hand knowledge of Indin philosophy. Goethe, Schopenhauer and most of the German philosopher had studied Indian philosophy and most of them got influenced by it. They in turn influenced the other students of philosophy by their writings. The monism of Fichte and Hegel might never have taken taken forms they did if it had not been for Anquetil-Duperron's translation of the Upanishads and the works of pioneer Indologists. In English-speaking world the strongest Indian influence was felt in America where Emerson, Thoreau and other New England writers avidly studied much Indian religious literature in translation, and exerted immense influence on their contemporaries and successors, notably Walt Whitman" writes A. L. Basham. The list of authors who admitted Indian influence on them is very big and includes such authors as Carlyle, Richard Jeffries, Edward Carpenter, Stephen Zwig, Romya Rolland, Jung, etc. Indian influence is visible on all the major authors of Existential school as well as the Humanistic school of philosophers.
At the moment the West is trying to understand the yoga, meditation and transcendental states. The concept of kindness to the animals, vegetarianism, universal brotherhood, tolerance for differing faiths, etc. are gradually becoming more and more popular. Ancient Indian thoughts preserves enormous potentialities for the future of humanity.
Appendix IV
A note on Arithmetica:
Six volumes of Arithmetica which could survive were translated into Arabic. Many centuries later this Arabic text was translated into Latin. Nothing is known about its author except that he worked at Alexandria University and that the Latin version of his name is Diophantus. In Arabic it was something like Dwbnt. What was the actual name or country of birth of the author of Arithmatica, nobody knows. Arithmetica itself is a meaningless word in latin or Greek languages. But in Sanskrit, Arthamitica is a meaningful word meaning calculation (miti) of money matters (artha). It can be inferred that the author of the Arithmetica was an Indian mathematician teaching at Alexandria and this book was a Greek version of a compilation of Indian mathematics .His name was probably something like Devabhuti. This raises a grave question. Almost all of Greek literature was lost. The overwhelming majority of the literature known today to be of Ancient Greece is actually translation from Arabic. In a large number of them only information available about the author is his name. And these books describe the Indian philosophy in entirely unmodified form. Is it not possible that the Europeans who translated these Arabic texts did not discriminate between what had come into Arabic from India and what had come from Alexandria. There motive was definitely mala fide is clear from many other facts. They very well knew very name of the text itself( Algoritmi de numero Indorum ) that the decimal system and the new numbers were Indian . But they kept it secret from the masses who started calling them Arabic numbers. It was only after ancient Indian stone inscriptions containing those numerals predating Islam were found that the Europeans openly accepted the reality. Similarly, the Europeans including the Greek themselves are kept into darkness about the fact the Greek philosophy they are reading was actually translated from Arabic the original having been lost centuries before. These attempts are done in a very organised way to keep up the morale of their masses but not to let the morale of anyone else go up.
Discovery of Middle Asia Cities Recasts Ancient History
Ben Mauk
Special to LiveScience
LiveScience.com Thu Aug 9, 11:05 AM ET
New discoveries at dig sites in Middle Asia are rocking the archeological world and redefining the origins of modern civilization.
Numerous sites in modern-day Iran and the surrounding region suggest that a vast network of societies together constituted the first cities, whose residents traded goods across hundreds of miles and forged parallel but strikingly independent cultures.
Archaeologists have thought that modern civilization began in Mesopotamia, where the large Tigris and Euphrates rivers bounded a fertile valley that nurtured an increasingly complex society.
The social structures, wealth and technologies of this society slowly spread along the Nile and then the Indus rivers in the 3rd millennium B.C.
The findings at the new sites may have shaken conventional ancient history to its very foundations, reporter Andrew Lawler told LiveScience.
"People didn't think you could have large settlements this early without large rivers emptying into an ocean. No one knew of these sites," said Lawler, who reported in the Aug. 3 issue of Science magazine on the key findings, which were discussed at a recent archaeological conference in Ravenna, Italy.
One site proved particularly important for convincing some scientists of the error of the accepted history. Locals had been digging up artifacts in an ancient cemetery just south of Jiroft and flooding the art market with pottery and other goods. Researchers tracked these curiously unique pieces back to their source, where, Lawler said, they found "a vast moonscape of craters made by looters."
But further exploration of two nearby mounds found evidence of a large city, one that may have rivaled contemporary Ur in Mesopotamia. "These people were trading with the Indus, with Mesopotamia, to the north and south," Lawler said.
According to Carl Lamberg-Karlovsky of Harvard University, the site dates back to 4000 B.C., signifying that the Jiroft site and its environs were once home to a long-lived culture, not a brief response to Mesopotamian wealth.
The entire area of interest spreads roughly from the eastern border of Iran to the Pakistani-Iranian border, and from the Russian steppes southward through the Persian Gulf area and onto the Arabian Peninsula.
Over a period of centuries in the mid- to late-3rd century B.C., a cultural awakening occurred in many cities in this area, evidenced by the elite's showcasing of valued materials gathered across large distances and fashioned by artists.
"People throughout this area highly valued lapis lazuli, which came from the mines of Afghanistan, copper from Pakistan, silver and gold," Lawler said. "They traded to get these raw materials which artisans then worked into their own particular style."
Lawler added that these differences in style testify to the individuality of each society, comparable to the city-states of ancient Greece. In neither case were the settlements mere satellite colonies of a larger city.
"They were in communication, but creating their own vibrant cultures," Lawler said, "developing their own pottery styles, art, and possibly their own writing system."
The potential discovery of a new writing system was perhaps the largest controversy of the many discussed at the conference. Three tablets, the first discovered by a local farmer and the others subsequently unearthed by professional archaeologists, appear to contain a unique iconography.
Skepticism about the significance of the complex symbols abounds, accompanied by more general doubts about the age and significance of the sites in general. Some even question the authenticity of the tablets.
However, the young site will see much more excavation in coming years, and further discoveries there could justify what for many is the precious new jewel in a crown of archaeological achievements in Middle Asia.
A village with historical links to Alexander
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->From our ANI Correspondent ( Dailyindia.com)
Amritsar, Sept. 6: Bandala, 20 kilometers away from Amritsar and close to the River Beas is like any other village of Punjab, but for an interesting historical link attached to it.
Residents of the village claim that in 326 BC, Alexander, the Great camped at Bandala while on a campaign to conquer India.
The Macedonian King's visit is substantiated by the existence of period structures, inscriptions and faded paintings.
Historians and archaeologists, however, assert that more research is needed to unearth the truth of Alexander's camp."There is a need for deeper research from three angles. One, from documentary angle, second a proper research on these buildings, and third, material from here should be properly tested to find out how old are they," said Professor Balwinder Singh, an expert in historical archaeology, at the Guru Nanak Dev University.
Some villagers are so eager to strengthen the tale of Alexander that they term the village to be thousands of years old.
"Our village is very old and the buildings are almost 1000 to 1500 years old," said Amarjeet, a villager.
Further these votaries of Macedonian links relate how the Maharaja of Kapurthala, on the basis of the Serai and the remnants of the old buildings and the pictures inscribed on the walls of those buildings, had subscribed to the belief of Bandala being the place where Alexander and his army had camped.
The local Panchayat has identified the village as the place where Alexander was defeated.
"About Alexander, it has been said that he faced a strong resistance from rulers. It is also said that Alexander wasn't able not cross the Beas River and was defeated here," said Kahan Singh Pannu, Dthe eputy Commissioner of Amritsar.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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[1]. A Journey through India's Past : From Earliest Times to the Last Hindu Emperor by Mani, Chandra Mauli 2005, 23 cm., pp. x+126, maps, Northern Book Centre , 8172111940, US$ 9.41 or Rs. 400
The book presents the history of our great nation from the earliest times to the 7th century AD when the last of the Hindu emperors, Harshvardhana, ruled over a major part of India. The author has presented the chequered history in a brief manner, and with meticulour regard to authenticity of facts. He has deftly touched upon differing views on controversial matters, pinpointing the most likely scenario in an objectives manner. The book meets the long-felt need of a nationalist, yet independent, appraisal of our past in a concise manner. It avoids the preconceived notions of foreign historians and their blind followers, at the same time without attempting undue glorification of the past. The size and authenticity of presentation make the book useful not only to the general reader, but even for serious and discerning students of Ancient Indian History. The book is certainly a laudable attempt to bring our glorious heritage alive!
[2]. A Manual of Prehistoric India by Mitra, Panchanan 2005, 23 cm., pp. 512, pls. 53, Cosmo Publications , 8130700964, US$ 16.35 or Rs. 695
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[3]. A New Theory on the Origin and Evolution of Brahmi Alphabet by Banerjee, Amalendu 2006, 25 cm., pp. ix+118, Black & White , 8189320106, US$ 8.24 or Rs. 350
Inscriptions have been discovered from Indus culture areas, belonging to the intervening centuries between the eclipse of this culture and the appearance of Asokan edicts. The author analyses them and shows a distinct continuity of evolution of the characters from Indus to Brahmi script in the lapse of 2000 BC to 500 BC. Phonetics of Brahmi characters have been successfully used by Professor B.B. Chakravorty as bridges to decipher Indus legends. Similarly, Dr. S.K. Rao has used the phonetics of a majority of Semitic characters similar in shape to the Indus pictograms and obtained the picture of a relevant logical pre-Vedic language on decipherment. The author has established that all Brahmi characters excepting three on four can be created by applying the principle of acrophony to the ancient Indo-Aryan language. The remaining letter were either created from Austric words or from other foreign languages, when trade contacts grew intensively around fourth-fifth century BC. Therefore, he concluded the source of both Brahmi and Semitic alphabets are the Indust character themselves. Contents : Introduction / Indus Characters Through the Ages / Brahmi Used as a Bridge to Decipher Indus Legends / Relation between the Indus Script and Semitic Alphabet / Antiquity of the Brahmi Script / Introduction and Evolution of Brahmi Letters / Creation of Vowels and Later Consonants / Evolution Chart of Brahmi Letters / Summary Sequences
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[5]. Administration, Conquests and Expansion in Ancient India by Verma, B. R. & Bakshi, S. R. (Eds.) 2005, 25 cm., pp. viii+246, Commonwealth Publishers , 8171698247, US$ 28.82 or Rs. 1225
This volume has deep thrust on administration, conquests and expansion in ancient India. It main significance deals with various aspects of caste and literature in the social life of people living in several regions of Indian subcontinent. The glory of the Maurayan Empire. The two regions of North and South are the gloring phenomenon in this volume.
[6]. An Annotated Archaeological Atlas of West Bengal, Vol. 1 : Prehistory and Protohistory by Chattopadhyaya, B.D. 2005, 45 cm., pp. 120, maps, tables, figs., notes, Manohar Publishers & Dist. (ISBN : 8173045853) , 8173045852, US$ 58.82 or Rs. 2500
An Annotated Archaeological Atlas of West Bengal was envisaged with the objective of making a visual presentation of the cultural profile of West Bengal through different archaeological cultural stages. This Atlas will serve as an instructional aid and also familiarize the public with the different periods through which Bengali culture has evolved. In publishing the Atlas, spatial expressions of the temporal dimensions of archaeological cultures is brought into a sharp relief. The approach is primarily historical where attempt has been made to delineate the cultural trajectories within the confines of the state of West Bengal from the Prehistoric past to AD 1858. In order to cover such a vast time frame the Atlas will be published in four volumes. The first volume highlights the Pre- and Protohistoric culture phases in West Bengal. Each map in this volume has been digitized using sophisticated software so that the archaeological sites can be accurately plotted with respect to their geographical coordinates. The Atlas has been annotated to facilitate understanding of the different cultural periods shown in the maps. For instance, the notes following the maps showing Stone Age sites include comments on type of stone used for making tools. This pattern has been maintained for all the cultural periods. This volume contains fifty digitize maps starting with the physical features, geology and geomorphology of West Bengal followed by general distribution of the Pre- and Protohistoric sites in different zones. The physical maps acquaint the user with the landforms and natural features of West Bengal. These maps are also accompanied by brief explanations and descriptions of the different morphological units. The important clusters of Paleolithic culture of West Bengal have been represented on eight maps showing the river valleys where such sites are located and photographic images of Paleolithic artifacts have been included. An overview of Paleolithic West Bengal and an index of the geographical coordinates of sites discovered so far has been added. The major clusters of sites with Microlithic artifacts and Neolithic cultural affiliations have been similarly shown along with texts and indexes. The Black and Red Ware culture, named so after the 'type pottery' of the Chalcolithic phase in West Bengal, has been dealt with exhaustively I the Atlas by showing the distribution pattern of the excavated and explored sites. Excavations were conducted at Baneswardanga and Pandu Rajar Dhibi, two important Black and Red Ware sites in West Bengal. The findings have been outlined in the Atlas with the help of photographic images, drawings and notes. The important ceramic type from Pandu Rajar Dhibi; the Black and Red Ware and Red Ware, has been shown separately to familiarize the user with the ceramic industries of West Bengal during the Black and Red Ware cultural phase. The distribution of limited number of copper hoards found in West Bengal and types found here and shown in two maps. The Centre for Archaeological Studies & Training, Eastern India, entrusted with the running of the project is planning the next volume of the Atlas which will focus on the early historic period. Contents : List of Illustrations / Preface / List of Abbreviations / 1. Introduction --i. Map: West Bengal: Distribution of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Finds / 2. Physiography of West Bengal -- i. Map: West Bengal: Physiography / 3. Geology of West Bengal -- i. Map: West Bengal: Geology; ii. Map: Wet Bengal: Geomorphology; iii. Map: West Bengal: Quaternary Geology / 4. Palaeolithic Artefacts and Their Spatial Distribution in West Bengal -- i. Map: Palaeolithic Artefacts: General Distribution; ii. Map: Palaeolithic Artefacts: Susunia Cluster; iii. Map: Palaeolithic Artefacts: Dwarkeswar-Kasai Cluster; a. Map: Palaeolithic Artefacts: In the Submerged Site of Kasai Reservoir; iv. Map: Pebble-Core Element of Palaeolithic Artefacts of Gandheswari and Dwarkeswar Basin; v. Map: Palaeolithic Artefacts: Bhairabbanki-Tarafeni Cluster; vi. Map: Palaeolithic Artefacts: Subarnarekha Cluster; vii. Map: Palaeolithic Artefacts: Ayodhya Cluster; viii. Map: Palaeolithic Artefacts: West Bengal; ix. Index of Find-spots: Palaeolithic Artefacts / 5. Microlithic Artefacts and Their Spatial Distribution in West Bengal -- i. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: General Distribution / ii. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: Ajay-Kopai Cluster / iii. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: Susunia Cluster; a. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: Susunia; iv. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: Dwarkeswar-Kasai Cluster; a. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: In the Submerged Site of Kasai Reservoir; b. Map: Cultural Composition of the Dwarkeswar-Kasai Cluster; v. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: Bhairabbanki-Tarafeni Cluster; vi. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: Subarnarekha Cluster; a. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: Subarnarekha; vii. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: Ayodhya Cluster; a. Map: Cultural Composition of the Ayodhya Cluster; b. Map: Microlithic Artefacts: Ayodhya; viii. Index of Find-spots: Microlithic Artefacts / 6. Neolithic Artefacts and Their Spatial Distribution in West Bengal -- i. Map: Neolithic Artefacts: General Distribution; ii. Map: Neolithic Artefacts: Susunia Cluster; a. Map: Cultural Composition of the Susunia Cluster; b. Map: Geomorphology and Prehistoric Sites: Susunia Cluster; iii. Map: Neolithic Artefacts: Bhairabbanki-Tarafeni Cluster; a. Map: Cultural Composition of the Bhairabbanki-Tarafeni Cluster; iv. Map: Neolithic Artefacts: Subarnarekha Cluster; a. Map: Cultural Composition of the Subarnarekha Cluster; v. Map: Neolithic Artefacts: Darjiling; vi. Map: Neolithic Artefacts: West Bengal; vii. Index of Find-spots: Neolithic Artefacts / 7. Black and Red Ware Culture: Explored Find-spots -- i. Map: Black and Red Ware: General Distribution (Explored); ii. Map: Black and Red Ware: Ajay-Mayurakshi Cluster; a. Map: Ajay-Mayurakshi Cluster: Geomorphology; iii. Map: Black and Red Ware Artefacts: West Bengal; iv. Index of Find-spots: Black and Red Ware (Explored) / 8. Black and Red Ware Culture: Excavated Sites -- i. Map: Black and Red Ware: General Distribution (Excavated); ii. Map: Cultural Sequence: Baneswardanga; iii. Map: Cultural Sequence: Pandu Rajar Dhibi; a. Map: Cultural Sequence: Pottery, Hearths, Skeletons: Pandu Rajar Dhibi during Excavation; b. Map: Stone Tools, Bone tools, Copper Implements, Pottery: Pandu Rajar Dhibi during Excavation; c. Map: Black Ware and Black and Red Ware: Pandu Rajar Dhibi; d. Map: Red Ware and Painted Ware: Pandu Rajar Dhibi; iv. Index of Find-spots: Black and Red Ware (Excavated) / 9. Copper Hoards in West Bengal -- i. Map: Copper Hoard Artefacts: General Distribution; ii. Map: Copper Hoard Artefacts: West Bengal; iii. Index of Find-spots Copper Hoard Artefacts / 10. Index of Find-spots (Not Plotted on Maps) / Bibliography / Index
[7]. Ancient India : A Multidisciplinary Approach by Goyal, Shankar 2006, pp. xiii+174, Kusumanjali Book Word , US$ 9.41 or Rs. 400
Contents : Meaning and Significance of New Integral Political History / The Pre-Maurya Period / The Maurya Period / Post- Maurya Pre-Gupta Centuries / The Age of the Imperial Guptas / The Post-Gupta Period (c. 500- c.750 A.D.) / An Overview.
[8]. Ancient Sciences and Archaeology : Journal of the Ancient Sciences & Archaeological Society of India by Sampath, M.D. (Exe. Ed.) (Pankaja, N. et al. Eds.) 2005, 29 cm., pp. 280, figs. 37, Bharatiya Kala Prakashan , 8180900452, US$ 47.06 or Rs. 2000
This volume includes the articles presented on the occasion of the National Conference on Ancient Sciences and Archaeology held from March 7th to 9th, 2003 at Sri Parasakthi College for Women, Courtallam. Scholars from different parts of the country took part in the academic deliberations and presented papers on various topics of Ancient Sciences and Archaeology. It was aimed at interactions of the scholars on different issues and the recent researches done in the field of Archaeology, Ancient Mathematics, Ancient Physics, Archaeological Chemistry, Ancient Physics, Archaeological Chemistry, Ancient Biology, Ancient Economics and Commerce, Epigraphy, History Numismatics, Onomastics, Computer Analysis of Ancient Data, Science in Sanskrit and other languages, etc.
[9]. Archaeological Remains in Kashmir by Koul, Pandit Anand 2005, 23 cm., pp. 123, figs., Gulshan Books , 818671491X, US$ 7.65 or Rs. 325
The beautiful and luxuriant Valley of Kashmir, with its superb climate and sceneries of gorgeous splendour and with its measureless appeal, has always a ring of charm about it, which defies any but a fairy pen to describe. Verily a dram of loveliness it is-nay. "if there be an Elysium on earth, it is this, it is this," as goes a well-known Persian saying rendered into English by Thomas Moore in his Lalla Rookh. This Happy Valley is situated in the north of the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas, by whose lofty and majestic mountains, shimmering with silvery snow, it is engirdled into an irregular oval shape-as if a picture set in a frame. It is about 84 miles long and 30 miles broad, and its area is about 4,500 square miles. In latitude it corresponds with Peshawar, Baghdad and Damascus in Asia; with Fez in Marocco in Africa; and with South Carolina in North America. Kashmir had many great and powerful rulers, whose sway, at one time, extended over the whole of India-even beyond Adam's Bridge in the extreme south. Ancient monuments of very great archaeological interest, which disclose the existence of a lost civilization, are, as stated above, numerous in Kashmir. The devotion of kings, the revenues of the kingdom and the skill of master-artists, combined to raise the magnificent and beautiful edifices. They were built to endure for all time. Their solidity of construction and their gigantic size strike one with wonder that man, puny man, could have built them. Kings have come and gone, and civilizations have bloomed and vanished since they were built. People go and pace around them and gaze on them with amazement and awe-amazement inspired by the stupendous might and skill of their builders, and awe excited by the ruins of these edifices which look as if weeping over the departed glory of their founders.
[10]. Archaeology of BET Dwarka Island by Gaur, A.S. & Vora, Sundaresh K.H. 2005, 28 cm., pp. xxii+146, figs., pls., maps, Aryan Books International , 8173052980, US$ 35.29 or Rs. 1500
The book incorporates archaeological findings, both from land and under-water explorations, carried out at Bet Dwarka by the Marine Archaeology Centre of the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa. Bet Dwarka is one of the most significant archaeological sites in Okhamandal region of Gujarat as it has preserved the longest cultural sequence, commencing from protohistoric period to modern times. The time bracket of archaeological remains have been well supported by the scientific dates such as Carbon, AMS and Thermoluminescence. Other important scientific aspects discussed in the book are analysis of bones, palynological studies, impact of seismic activities and sea level changes of the study area. The book begins with an introduction to the geological, geographic, archaeological and environmental background of the region and then devotes a chapters to chronology, dealing with cultural and scientific dates from the site. Planning and layout of trenches and cultural findings and identification of layers have been described in a separate chapter. A full chapter has been devoted to antiquities discovered during the excavation which includes beads of terracotta, shell, glass, stone and fish bone, copper objects, coins, shell bangles and iron objects. Another chapters comprises of the detailed description of the pottery of the protohistoric and historical period. The concluding chapter deals with the shell remains from the island of Bet Dwarka. It is hoped that the book will help in understanding the maritime activities of the Okhamandal region and the cultural sequence of the Bet Dwarka island. Profusely illustrated with maps, line drawings and plates, the book will interest the general reader and will be immensely useful for the students and scholars of archaeology.
[11]. Archaeology of Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab, 2 Vols. by Sharma, Deo Prakash 2006, 29 cm., pp. 362, illus., figs. 57, halftone 159, col. 24, Set, Bharatiya Kala Prakashan , 8180900339, US$ 94.12 or Rs. 4000
The book "Archaeology of Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab" includes field research work. Various controversies of Kausambi excavations done by G. R. Sharma have been discussed in this work. B.B. Lal had raised few points after a gap of 30 years of these excavations. This region consisting of Fatehpur, Kausambi and Allahabad district and has many significant discoveries like Reh inscription of Menander (Posthumous) and inscribed 3rd century A.D. Siva Linga from Mazilgao, Neolithic tools from Khaga and Jhunsi. The burnt brick structures in this region have been traced back to c. 700 B.C. at Kausambi and Jhunsi. This publications also includes brick temples from Fatehpur, Jain sculptures from Asothar, Balakmau and Jain rock-cut caves from Pabhosa. This work coordinates architectural discoveries from Kausambi and Sringaverpur, Buddhist monastery of Kausambi and sacrificial altar Syenciti of Purushamedha of mid 2nd century B.C. from Kausambi after subjecting them to micro-level study. This book also includes art and architecture of Kausambi and Sringaverpur. Stone and terracotta images of this region were studied nd documented in detail. Another significant work was reporting of more than a dozen N.B.P. and early historic sites by author. The present work is divided into six chapters. These chapters are on escological setting of Lower Doab, Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab through the ages, exploration and excavations, art style and architecture of Allahabad pillar, earliest structures at Kausambi, Syenciti and Purushamedha from Kausambi, Kusana palace architecture, Buddhist monastery, Kusana period tank from Sringaverpur, stone images, and terracotta art. Contents : 1. Ecological setting of the Ganga-Yamuna Doab / 2. Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab through the Ages / 3. Exploration / Excavation in Doab Region / 4. Architecture -- (a). Architecture of Allahabad Pillar; (b) Date of Early Architecture of Kausambi - A Reappraisal / © Date of Early Palace Architecture of Kausambi - A Reapraisal / (d) Altar of the Syenaciti of Purusa Medha from Kausambi - A Reappraisal / (e) Kusana Period Palace Architecture of Kausambi / (f) Architecture of Buddhist Monastery of Goshitaram at Kausambi / (g) Late Second c.B.C. Jain rock-cut Caves from Pabhosa / (h) Kusuana Period Brick Tank from Sringaverpura / (i) Brick Temples of Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab / 5. Art -- (a) The Art of Kausambi; (b) Terracotta art of Kausambi; © Some Rare Unpublished Jain Sculptures from Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab; (d) Stone Sculpture from Fatehpur; (e) Exploration in Fatehpur; (f) Brahmi Inscription from Mazilgao / 6. (a) Newly Discovered N.B.P. Ware (c. 700-100 B.C.) Sites in Fatehpur / (b) Excavated Sites of Lower Ganga-Yamuna Doab / Bibliography / Index
[12]. Art, Archaeology and Cultural History of India, 2 Parts (U.N. Roy Felicitation Volume) by Sinha, C.P. (Ed.) 2006, 29 cm., pp. xxvii+258, ix+259-456, figs., Set, B.R. Publishing Corporation , 8176464929, US$ 94.12 or Rs. 4000
The book Art, Archaeology and Cultural History of India brings to light the recent researches and discoveries in the various fields of indological studies. Against a background of the geographical history of the study areas, the present work meticulously weaves together archaeological evidences, references in literature, pattern, sculpture, monuments, painting etc. to reconstruct a lively narrative. This work, written in a wide and expressive style, is accompanied by several maps, analytical data, and references. The present work will be of social interest to scholars and students of indological studies. Contents : Part I : A Few Words / Chief Editor's Note / U.N. Roy Felicitation Committee / List of Contributors / List of Figures / List of Plates / Dr. U.N. Roy-Career and Contributions ART Archaic Rock Painting of Sagar District / Bucranium and Horned Figures from Pre and Mature Harappan Culture in the Indian Sub-Continent / Technique of Making Stone Images in Ancient India / Naga Worship in India / Significance of Erotic Sculpture / Gaya Gaj : The Elephant Capital of Bodh Gaya Pillar / Simhanada Lokesvara in the Art of Bihar / Sculpture in the P.C. Mohalanobis Memorial Museum and Archive in Calcutta / Uma-Mahesvara Murti-Silpa in Uttar Pradesh / The Buddhist Stupas of Baghelkhand / Depiction of scenes of Inebriation or Madhupana in the Early Historic Art-with reference to Terracotta-A Study in Transition of a Motif / Metal Crafts of West Bengal in Early Historical Period / Siva-A Rhythmic Reality in Indian Miniatures ARCHAEOLOGY Neolithic Kalimpong / Koldihwa-A Key Site for the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Cultures of the Vindhyas / Excavations at Jhusi : preliminary Observations / Archaeological Excavations and Related works in Bihar / Subjectivity in Archaeological Interpretation / Kapilavastu : The Storm on its Idemtofocatopm / Emerging Perception in the Archaeological study of Bodh Gaya / A Note on the Antiquity of Brahmi / Some Problems of Conservation in Bihar-with Special Reference to the Stucco Panels / Ancient Inscriptions of Gaya Region : A Study / Outline of Buddhism in Bihar based on the Finds of the Archaeological Excavations Carried out in Bihar since independence / A Culture Based on OSTEOKERATIC Artefacts, Unearthed from Pandurajar Dhibi, Burdwan / PART II : POLITICAL, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL HISTORY OF INDIA The Concept of Education in Early India / The Vanaras and Rakshasa in the Valmiki Ramayana / Asoka as a Preacher of Dhamma / Women in the Satavahana and Vakataka Period : Some Glimpses / The Roman Age Writings and the Political History of India / Tolerance in Ancient Indian Society-concept and Practice / Bilateral Cultural Contacts Between India and China / A Glimpse of continuity and Change in the Buddhist Doctrine of Karma / The Soma Plant/Creeper / An Ancient Indian Village / Fresh Light on Sino-Thai Relations / Dharmasvamin's Account as Source for the History of Bihar / Glory of Agra as Depicted by Foreign ravellers / Scholars and Their Lives an dAttainment Under Emperor Jahangir / Burmese Views on Separation Issue and Indian Public Opinion / Aspects of Economic Life in Sarkar Tirhut / Festivals and Vratas in Early Medieval Bihar / Civil Disobedience Movement and Peasants, Workers of Bihar / The First Police Firing on Students in Free India and Its Reprercussions / Mahesh Narayan : Maker of Modern Bihar / The System of University Education in Germany with Special Reference to Indological Studies / Documentation of Tools Related with Textile Industry / A Brief History of the gidhaur Estate / Geomorphology of Middle Ganga Valley / Rise in Literacy Level of Girl Children in Bihar / paintings from Dunhuang in National Museum, New Delhi.
[13]. Arts and Crafts of Indus Civilization by Nandagopal, Choodamani (Introduction by S.R. Rao) 2006, 28 cms., pp. xv+140, ills. col. 5, b/w 117, Aryan Books International , 8173053057, US$ 42.35 or Rs. 1800
The self-conscious Indus people produced something distinct in every field of activity, including art and craft. The Harappan introduced the ceramic wares, metal and lithic tools and regulated trade. The Indus phase of art stands for the originality of form and content which was treated with metaphysical approaches and canonised in the later phases of Indian art history. On the basis of physical features, the territorial extent of the Indus Empire can be divided into four provinces, namely Western, Central, Eastern and Southern provinces. This book draws attention on the ceramic designs, seals, sculpture, jewellery and lapidary in both Provincial and Metropolitan style from the sites like Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Lothal, Rangpur, Kalibangan, Surkotada, Daimabad and others. This would help our younger generation to read a simple book as tis on the story of the Indus people who have led such a lifestyle and left behind certain innovative creation which are significan even today. The content of the book is simple only to reaffirm our belief in the living tradition which has the fragrance of the by gone era. Contents : Introduction / Approach to Arts and Crafts of Indus Civilization / Ceramic Art / Glyptic Art / Sculpture / Jewellery / Lapidary Art / Epilogue / Bibliography / Index.
[14]. Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas by Thapar, Romila 2005, 23 cm., pp. 344, maps, Rep., pb, OUP , 019564445X, US$ 5.88 or Rs. 250
First published by the Clarendon Press in 1961, this authoritative work is based largely on the edicts of Asoka, whose policies are analysed against the background of Mauryan civilization during the third and fourth centuries BC - one of the most important periods of Indian civilization. The author offers an interpretation of Asoka's connection with Buddhism and shows how he was able to make use of a general movement of social and spiritual change for the political and moral integration of his Empire. This edition contains an additional map showing sites discovered since 1961, a revised up-to-date Bibliography, a new Index, and an extensive Afterword where the author discusses additions to scholarship in this area since the book's first publication.
[15]. Athens, Aden, Arikamedu : Essays on the Interrelations between India, Arabia and the Eastern Mediterranean by Boussac, Marie-Francoise & Salles, Jean-Francois 2005, 25 cm., pp. 272, Manohar Publishers & Dist. , 8173040796, US$ 14.12 or Rs. 600
This book is a collection of essays by several contributors of international repute on the general topic of the interrelations between India, Arabia and the Eastern Mediterranean. Four papers refer to what can be called "Graeco-India", i.e. the relations between the Greek world itself and India, and the vision the Greeks had of India or borrowed from her, from the early classical period to the late Roman times, mainly seen from the literary sources. A major contribution on the Yavanas in India which provides another version of the Greek presence in India, has also been included. Another essay helps us understand better the history and culture of the Indo-Greek kingdoms through numismatic data. Two papers deal with the archaeological as well as literary evidence on the trade between Rome and India, a subject recently revived both in India and European/American research. Maritime traditions which facilitate understanding of international trade have been studied from an Indian ethnographical point of view. Finally, two contributions emphasize that the Arabian peninsula is the natural bridge between India and the Eastern Mediterranean--a fact so obvious that it is often ignored archaeological and historical studies of the Indian ocean in the pre-Islamic period. The book presents new and original insights on the themes covered.
[16]. Bharatiya Vigyan Manjusha (Treasure Trove of Ancient Indian Sciences) by Sreedharan, M.S. 2005, 25 cm., pp. 942, Publication Division , 8123004265, US$ 14.12 or Rs. 600
Science is a passion for facts and a constant and systematic search for truth. It flourishes in an atmosphere of freedom. Such an atmosphere used to exist in ancient India where the passion for truth seeking could find expression and sustenance. The people of ancient India made immense contributions in the fields of philosophy, religion, pure sciences and technology. This is the reason why India is considered as one of the hot beds of human civilization which has made enormous contribution to enrich the intellectual heritage of mankind. At the end of the first millennium India was at the pinnacle of its glory, when the so called "New World" was not yet discovered and the birth country of Industrial Revolution was not yet well known to the world. The encyclopedia is the outcome of the sustained work put in for several years by the well known author Shri M.S. Sreedharan in collecting, collating and writing up the information and prevailing ancient sciences in the form of a thesaurus. This work is a glowing tribute to the erudite scholarship of the author, who is not amidst us any more. This book will be a great guide and source of inspiration for the readers, specially the youth of India.
[17]. Brahmi Script : An Invention of the Early Maurya Period by Goyal, S.R. 2006, pp. xx+140, Kusumanjali Book World , US$ 14.12 or Rs. 600
The origin of Brahmi script is one of the most ticklish problems of ancient Indian history. Coupled with this problems is the question of the prevalence of the art of writing in the post-Indus -pre-Asokan period. Earlier it was believed that the knowledge of the art of writing in India was caused by the greek of the West Asian impact. Later, its was proposed that Asokan Brahmi was the end-result of the evolution of the Indus script. The author of the present monograph Professor S.R. Goyal has, however, sought to prove that barring the north-western regions, which were aware of the scripts prevalent in Iran, the art of writing was unknown in pre-Asokan India and that Brahmi was invented after the visit of Megasthenes to the Maurya court (c. 300 B. C.) and before the Asokan edicts were engraved (c. 260 B.C.). Professor Goyal propouned this view in his Presidential Address also, delivered to the Silver Jubilee Congress of at he All-India Epigraphical Society held at Udupi April 1999. It is a revolutionary suggestion which is bound to make historians, epigraphists and palaeographists sit up and think. Contents : The Problem / Orality and Literacy in the Vedic and Early Buddhist Society / Creation of Brahmi in the Early Maurya Period / Megasthenes onthe Absence of the Art of Writing in India / Absence of Regional Variations in the Asokan Brahmi and Its Implications / Nature of Brahmi and Role of Sanskrit Grammar in Its Creation / Supposed Connection of Indus and Brahmi Scripts and Graffiti Marks / Supposedly Pre-Asokan Brahmi Coin-Legends and Epigraphs / Was Tamil Brahmi the Parent of Asokan Brahmi? / Our Supporters and Critics / Survey of Other Theories and Conclusion.
[18]. Central Asia : From the Aryan to the Cossack by Hutton, James 2005, 23 cm., pp. viii+472, Manas Publications , 8170492661, US$ 18.71 or Rs. 795
The scholarly work starts with the geographical background of the many countries located background of the many countries located in the much varied region of Central Asia - bounded roughly on the west by Caspian sea, on the south by Persia (now Iran), Afghanistan, India and Tibet, on the east by Chinese Empire and on the north by the river Irtish. It then, goes on to describe the early history, various dynasties, kingdoms, war and peace between the kings from time to time, inhabitants and their customs, migration of population, important adventures, routes, etc. etc.
[19]. Crossings : Early Mediterranean Contacts with India by Romanis, F. De & Tchernia, A. (Eds.) 2005, 23 cm., pp. 284, Manohar Publishers & Dist. , 8173041946, US$ 13.53 or Rs. 575
Relationships between East and West have always fascinated historians of Greece and Rome, whether ancient or modern. Roman trade with India, which took off massively in the first century CE and continued actively over several centuries, proved immensely alluring and profitable to ancient Roman investors, bankers and merchant-mariners but disturbing to moralists, who viewed the haemorrhage of Western wealth to the East with deep foreboding. Modern Euro-centric scholarship has until the recent past been pre-occupied with Greco-Roman sources and the problems the posed. But in the last few decades Indian archaeology, literature and history have added new dimensions and stimulated radical reappraisals of the routes to India and Sri Lanka, the trading networks in both the Indian and Roman world and the impact of such trade on the Roman and Indian economies. This book collects and translates into English some of the studies that have been recently published by French and Italian scholars. It also includes a specially contributed overview by the eminent Indian historian Romila Thapar that demonstrates how far the ethnocentric vision of Indo-Roman history has shifted. The intention is to open up European scholarship to Indian scholars and encourage the on going dialogue between scholars on both sides of the Indian Ocean.
[20]. Discovery of North East India : Geography, History, Culture, Religion, Politics, Sociology, Science, Education and Economy, 11 Vols. by Sharma, S. K. & Sharma, Usha (Eds.) 2005, 23 cm., pp. xix+3683, Set, Mittal Publications , 8183240348, US$ 258.82 or Rs. 11000
Volume 1 : NORTH-EAST INDIA - A PANORAMIC VIEW : Preface / The North-East Frontier - The Land, The People and Their Early History / Iran and Eastern India / "Types of Land in North-Eastern India" (From 4th century to 7th century A.D.) / Stemming of the Tide of Muslim Conquest in Eastern India / Geographical and Historical Background / The Military Operations of 1824-5 on the North-East Frontier of India / The Early Phase of the Resistance Movement in the North-East Frontier (1828-30) / The North-East Frontier Policy of Sir John Lawrence (1864-68) / Notes on the Northern and Southern Boundary Rivers of the North-East Frontier, the Sanpo and the Irrawaddi / Alpines in Eastern India / Ancient Popular Festivals in North-East India / The "Basket" Beauty of N-E India / A Note on a Tour of the North-Eastern Frontier Areas (19th to 25th October, 1952) / Protect our Borders / The Problems of India's North-East Frontier / Explosions in the North-East / Balanced Regional Development / Meaning of Education / Development of the North-Eastern Region / Policing in the North-East / Centres of Integrated Thought and Action / Inaugural Address by Shri P.A. Sangma, Speaker, Lok Sabha at the Regional Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference for North Eastern Region of India / Inaugural Address by the Speaker, Lok Sabha Shri G.M.C. Balayogi at the Second North-East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference / Inaugural Address by the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri G.M.C. Balayogi at the Third North-East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference / Inaugural Address by the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri G.M.C. Balayogi at the Orientation Programme for the Members of the Mizoram Legislative Assembly / Inaugural Address by the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri G.M.C. Balayogi at the Fourth North-East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference / Inaugural Address by the Speaker, Lok Sabha Shri G.M.C. Balayogi at the Fifth North-East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference / North-East India - A Statistical Survey / Distribution of Population by Religion and their percentage to Total Population at India/State/Union Territory Level as per 1991 Census / Index. Volume 2 : ARUNACHAL PRADESH (NEFA) : Preface / The North-East Frontier Agency / The NEFA Divisions and the People / Land People / Genesis and Evolution of Administration in Arunachal Pradesh / Arunachal Pradesh - The Land of Dawn-lit Mountains / Arunachal - A Jewel in Himalayan Crown / Historical Ruins in Arunachal / Foundations and Structure of Society / Social Life / Social Life / Social Aims in NEFA / Social Life / Social Life / Myths and Legends of Arunachal Tribes / The Duty of the University / Cultural Identity / Arunachal Hosts International Angling Festival / Festivals of Arunachal Pradesh / Religious Aims in NEFA / Religion / Religion and Ceremonies / Religion and Magic / Inauguration of New States / Arunachal Pradesh, Treasure-Trove of Medicinal Plants / Medicinal Plants of Arunachal Pradesh / Glossary / Index. Volume 3 : ASSAM (GEOGRAPHY AND ANCIENT HISTORY) / Preface / Origin of Word Assam / History and Geography of Assam / Upper Assam Report - Topographical and Political / Seventeenth Century Portuguese Travellers in Assam / An Expedition in the Highlands of Assam / The Assam Frontier Problem / Rukmani Nagar / Assam / In the Surma Valley / Prehistoric and Traditional Rulers / Aryanisation of East India (Assam) / Genealogical Lists of the Pragjyotisa Dynasties / Extent of Pragjyotisa / Was Kautilya an Easterner? / Harsa and Bhaskaravarman / Kamarupa and Vajrayana / The Kamarupa Era / Kamarupa in the Markandeya-Purana / Dates of Some Assam Dynasties / Copper-Plate Inscription of Bhaskaravarman / Copper-Plate Inscription of Harjaravarman / First Copper-Plate Inscription of Dharmapala / Second Copper-Plate Inscription of Dharmapala / Translation of an Old Copper-Plate Inscription / New Lights on the History of Assam / New Lights on the History of Assam / New Lights on the History of Assam / The Common Ancestry of the Pre-Ahom Rulers and Some other Problems of the Early History of Assam / The Ahom System of Government / Explanation of Titles of the Ahom Kings and Nobles / The Military System of the Ahoms / Military Strategy of the Ahoms / Description of Ahom Manuscript Records / Formalities Observed by Ambassadors / Ahom Kingship / The Administrative System of thej Ahoms / The Ahom System of Chronology / The Ahom Rule in Assam / Fresh Numismatic Data Relative to History of the Ahom King, Rajesvarasimha of Assam / The Scribe-Engravers of Indrapala's Second Copper-Plate and Prakrit of Pre-Ahom Times / A Note on Assamese Manuscripts / Index. Volume 4 : ASSAM (MEDIEVAL AND MODERN HISTORY) / Preface / The Kingdom of Kamarupa and Kamata in the 14th and 15th Centuries / Swargadeo Rudra Singha, King of Assam (1696-1714 A.D.) / Assamese Buranjis / Notes on Some Sanskrit and Persian Inscriptions of Sylhet / Antiquities of Assam / Some Notes on Assam Coins / Assamese Historical Literature / Assamese Historical Literature / Atan Buragohain Rajmantri Dangaria - A Brief Sketch / Letters of Atan Buragohain / Ramani Gabharu's Letter to Laluk Barphukan / A Brief History of Assam / Mir Jumla's Invasion of Assam / A Contemporary Review of Events, 1662-1682 / Early Relations of the Company with Assam (From the Records of the Imperial Records Dept.) The E.I. Co's Commercial Spirit in the 18th Century - History of Kamarup / The Campaigns of 1824-5 In Assam, Sylhet and Cachar During the First Anglo-Burmese War / British Occupation of Assam / Annexation of Assam / The Effects of the Annexation of the Brahmaputra Valley / The Assam Company Bill - Its Constitutional Importance / Assam in 1857 and Maniram Dewan / Titles and Offices of the Government of Assam / List of Chief Commissioners, Lieutenant-Governors and Governors / List of Executive Councillors and Ministers / Lovely Assam / Conditions In Assam / Officiousness / From the Brahmaputra / In the Brahmaputra Valley / Look After the Border / About Assam / Shillong - the Beauty Spot of North-East India / History of Assam - A Study / Assam of Our Dream / Assam Through the Ages / Shillong / Greater Future for Assam / Assam / On Assam / A Land of Elephants / India's Eastern Frontier / As I know Assam / Democracy in Action / Recent Disturbances in Assam / Assam - Its Past and Future / Assam - India's Unrivalled State / Index. Volume 5 : ASSAM (ECONOMY, SOCIETY AND CULTURE) : Preface / Labour Conditions in Assam / Tea Garden Labourers in Assam / Harijans Manufactured in Tea Estates of Assam / Khaddar in Assam / The Pernicious Effects of the Assam Agricultural Debtors Act / Regional Economy of the Barak Valley (Assam) / Growth of the Tea Industry / Opium in Assam / Opium in Assam / Opium Evil in Assam / The Future Government of the Tribal People / The Deoris / Some Notes on a Policy for the Hill Tribes of Assam / The Aboriginal Tribes of Assam - My Experiences Amongst Them / Austric Race and Assam / The Hill Tribes of Assam / My Impressions of Assam / A Less Pleasant Errand / Assam Tragedy and its Inner Story / On Some Castes and Caste-origins in Sylhet / Hidden Traces of Buddhism in Assam / Later Buddhism in Kamarupa / Religion / Gauhati - The Temple Town of Assam / Slavery in Assam / Human Sacrifices in Assam / Assam Speaks / The People of Assam / Noble Women of Assam / Districtwise Population Percentages of Hindus and Muslims and Other Religions in Assam - 1991 / Fine Arts / Early Painting of Assam / The Kamarupa School of Sculpture / Music in Assam / Assamese Music / Ankiyanaat - Devotional Theatre of Assam / Pre-historic Culture in Assam / Were there Indian Colonists from Assam in Indo-China? / The Cinderella Motif in Assamese Folk-taLes / Folk-Songs / The Bihu-geet (Assamese Pastoral Songs) / Assam - The Land and the Languages / Greater Assam and Languages / Assamese, the Official Language of Assam / The Assamese Language / Prose / Literature / Assamese Literature -Ancient and Modern / Modern Assamese Literature / A Short Account of the Rise and Progress of Journalism in the Assam Valley / Greatness of a University / Agro Climatic Regional Planning - A New Vista Agricultural Development / Our Heritage / Reconciling the Irreconcilables / The Gap Between Plan and Action / The Objective of Our Education / Entrepreneurial and Innovative Education / Knowledge Readiness of a Nation / From the Copying Mode to the Forward Engineering Mode / The Peril and Promise of Higher Education in India / Exemplary Education / Index. Volume 6 : MANIPUR : Preface / Notes on the Early History of Manipur / History / Manipur / An Early Account of "Meckley" / Manipur State / The Manipur Rebellion of 1891 / Manipur / Disorder in Manipur / Maharaja's Proclamation / Council's Review of State Problems / Integration of Manipur / Manipur Satyagraha / Assam's Ties with Manipur / Months, Seasons and Days / Manners and Customs / Religion / Religion of the Meitheis / Manipuri Culture / The Meitheis - Traditions, Superstitions and Folk Tales / Legends and Festivals / A Note on Maygang / Manipuri Sahitya Parishad / Inauguration of New States / Zeliangrong Peoples's Convention / Manipur - A Melting Pot of Culture / Crisis of Civility / Goals of Education / Index. Volume 7 : MEGHALAYA : Preface / Whither the Khasi Hills? / The Frontiers of North-East India / The Khasis / On the Language an Ethnology of the Khasis / Khasi Democracy / A Few Vestiges of Old Tribal Forms in theg Khasi Hills -The Khasi Habitat / Note on the Khasi and Jaintia Hills by the Honourable the Rev. Mr. J.J.M. Nichols-Roy, Minister for Local Self-Government / Geology of Meghalaya / Elevation above the Sea of Various Localities in the Khasi Hills / Inauguration of New States / Statehood for Meghalaya / Inherent Strength of the Indian People / Sub-Regional Workshop on Panchayati Raj Inaugural Address / Meghalaya / Meghalaya Elections / Glossary / Index Volume 8: MIZORAM : Preface / Geography and Ethnology of Chin-Lushai Land / The Lushai Expedition 1871-1872 / Military Report on the Chin-Lushai Country / Folk-Lore / Lakher Folklore / Laws and Customs / Religion and Culture / The Old Kuki Clans / Family and Branches of the Lushai Clan / Dynastic Table of the Pytoo Chief Lalchukla / Geneology of the Lushai Ruling Family / Pedigree of the Lushai Chiefs of Cachar Frontier / List of Lakher Clans / Clannish Picture of the Mizo Tribes / Language / Genius of the Mizo People / The Aijal Market - Mizo Hills, Assam / Inauguration of New States / Mizoram - A Stormy Era Ends / Mizoram Accord - A Surrender / Mizoram - An Accord on Wheels / List of Bureaucratic Functionaries of the Government of Mizoram as in 1991 / Evolution of Legislative Assembly System in Mizoram - Intr-Relation Between the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary / Eighth Assembly Election to the 40-member Mizoram Legislative Assembly November 25, 1998 / Mizoram - The Exotic Land of Highlanders / Glossary / Index. Volume 9 : NAGALAND : Preface / History and Geography of the District of the Naga Hills / Eastern Naga Report - Topographical and Political / Physical Features / Naga Hills / History / The Nagas in History / Naga Queen of Assam / Naga Demand for Independence / Statement Made by the Prime Minister of India in the Parliament in English and its Different Naga Versions / Evaluation of Nagaland - A Territorial Naga Hills] / The Naga Tribes / First Military Expeditions to Naga Hills / The Naga Hills / The Ways of the Nagas / The Naga Tribes on Our Frontier / The Semas / The Spring Festival / Religion and Magic / Love and Poetry / The Nagas / Creation of the State of Nagaland / Zeliangrong People's Convention Assam, Nagaland & Manipur / A Dialogue with Nagaland / Districtwise Literacy Rates of Nagaland / Number of Different Tribal Language Speakers, Illiterates, Literates and their Literacy Rates of the Nagaland / Places of Interest / Kohima - Nature's Chosen Spot / Set Your Goal High / Glossary / Index Volume 10 : SIKKIM : Preface / Sikhim and Bhutan / Sikhim / Sikhim Proper / Memorandum of a Few Routes in Sikhim / Hooker and Tamphell in Sikkim / Reminiscences / India, China and Sikkim -1886-1890 / The Modern History of Sikkim / Sikkim and Bhutan - An Historical Conspectus / Demonolatry / The Religions of Sikkim / Sikkim - The Buddhist Shangrila / Marriage Customs of the Sikhimese / Sikhim Laws / Sikhim Development Plan / Sikkim - The Chinese Ultimatum / Coronations of Sikkim / Some Messages Received on the Auspicious Occasion of Ser-Thri-Nga-Sol of the Chogyal / Foreign Press Review / Sikkim - CPI(M)'s Stand / Various Important Departments / Rivers of Sikkim / Elevation and Distances of the Military Gateway / Dedication, Devotion and Knowledge / Sikkim - Places of Interest / Religion - A Statistical Survey / Glossary / Index. Volume 11 : TRIPURA : Preface / Descendants of Lunar Dynasty / History of the Tripura Raj / The Ancient Tripura Kingdom in the Kapili Valley / A Peep into a Glorious Chapter of Past History / Mughul Inroads / An Assamese Chronicle of Tripura / History of the Tripura Raj - English Period / Genealogical Table of the Rulers of the Tripura State / List of the Rajas of Tripura / Rules for the Grant of Exploring and Prospecting Licenses and Mining Leases in the Tripura State / Tripura / Tipperah Tribes / Tagore and Tripura / A Report on an Enquiry into the Family Living of the Tea Plantation Workers in Tripura - Extracts / Some Population Characteristics of Tripura State / Inauguration of New States / Report of the Committee on Privileges 1972-73 / Assault on Parliamentary Democracy in Tripura - Communist Party of India (Marxist) / Tripura - Nature's Blissful Solitude / Glossary / Index.
[21]. Early Harappans and Indus Saraswati Civilization, 2 Vols. by Sharma, D.P. and Sharma, Madhuri (Eds.) 2006, 29 cms., pp. xvi+533, col pls. 53, figs. 68, Kaveri Book Service , 8174790721, US$ 105.88 or Rs. 4500
According to a scholar the Harappan Civilization is the gift of two rivers - the Indus and Sarasvati whose tributaries had played a dominant and decisive role in the origin of this bronze civilization. As of now around 2658 Harappan and its associated sites have been reported, of which 1058 sites are located in the dried-up bank of the Sarasvati river. The Sarasvati was a mighty river between ca. 5000 and 1800 B.C. Around ca. 1800 B.C., due to neo-tectonic movements in the Himalayas, the river started drying up. It flowed down from the Himalayas to Adi Badri towards Desalpur in Gujarat. This work is a collection of forty research papers contributed by the noted scholars and historians from India and abroad. Volume-I contains nineteen papers which includes introduction, the origin of Harappan, and Early Harappan village chalcolithic cultures. Volume-II covers on Indus Sarasvati Civilization and includes twenty-one papers on the Mature Indus Sarasvati Civilization which contain controversial and clashing views. Available archaeological evidences suggest the Atharvavedic and Mature Harappan were contemporary and they had contacts with each other. The Atharvavedic people were the authors of the copper hoard culture. The nomenclature, either of Harappan, Indus or Indus Sarasvati civilization hardly matters as the meaning of these are the same. This has been confirmed on the basis of the available archaeological evidences. Bound in two volumes, the papers with notes, references and bibliography are well illustrated and grouped in three parts, i.e., Introduction; Early Harappans; and Indus-Sarasvati Controversies. Contents: Volume.I: Part-I: Introduction: (1) Harappan Civilization/ D P Sharma; (2) South Asian Archaeology: Some Issues/ D P Agrawal; Part-II: Early Harappans: (3) New Discoveries Point to a Southern Origin: Gulf of Cambay/ David Frawley & Navratna Rajaram; (4) World's Oldest Lost Civilization Found in South Asia/ Raj Chengapa; (5) Early Neolithic Settlement in Bannu, Pakistan/ J R Knox, Farid Khan & K D Thomas; (6) Sheri Khan Tarakai: Excavation in Bannu District, N W F P/ J R Knox, Farid Khan & K D Thomas; (7) Origin of the Harappan Civilization/ D P Sharma; (8) Origin of Harappan Civilization and Mehrgarh Excavations/ Jean Francois Jarrige; (9) Earliest Agriculture in the Kachi Plain (Mehrgarh)/ Lorenzo Costantini; (10) Early Harappan Remains, Pottery and Artifacts at Nausharo/ Anaick Samzun; (11) Early Harappan Ceramics/ D P Sharma; (12) Petrographic Analysis of Early Harappan Ceramics of South Asia (ca. 3500-2700 B.C.)/ Graham M Chandler; (13) Padri: The Early Harappan Site in Gujarat/ Vasant Shinde; (14) Early Harappans in Gujarat/ Abhijit Majumdar; (15) Ochre Coloured Ceramics and the Early and Mature Harappans/ R C Gaur; (16) 5th-4th Millennium Dating Rigveda Culture/ Shivaji Singh; (17) Indo-European Homeland: An Indian Perspective/ D N Tripathi; (18) Dhalewan Early-Mature Harappan Excavated Site in Punjab (India)/ Madhubala & Vishnu Kant; (19) Transformation of the Harappan Civilization/ G L Possehl; Volume 2: Part-III: Indus-Sarasvati Controversies: (20) Indus and Sarasvati in History, Geology and Archaeology/ S P Gupta; (21) Archaeology of Sarasvati/ B B Lal; (22) Origins of the Indus-Sarasvati Civilization/ S P Gupta; (23) Harappans and Rigveda/ R S Bisht; (24) Harappan: Vedic Civilization/ Suman Pandya; (25) The Harappans, Sarasvati and Rigveda/ T P Verma; (26) Rigvedic and Harappan Connections/ Shivaji Singh; (27) The Mahabharat for Harappan Civilization/ S P Gupta; (28) Sarasvati and Harappan Archaeology/ Vedagya Arya; (29) Vedic Harappans/ N S Rajaram; (30) Archaeology Cannot 'Prove' the Vedas/ Nayanjot Lahiri & Upender Singh; (31) Rational Approach to the Rigveda and Indus Civilization/ Malati J Shende; (32) Indus Seals and Atharvaveda/ P V Pathak; (33) Notes on Flora and Fauna in the Rigveda/ B B Lal; (34) Technology Transfer in 4th Millennium B.C. in Bannu Basin/ K D Thomas, J R Knox and Farid Khan; (35) Third Millennium Painted Grey Wares in Pakistan and Iran/ Rita P Wright; (36) Sarasvati: River and Civilization/ N S Rajaram; (37) Harappan Language and Script/ N S Rajaram; (38) Vedic Harappans and the Horse Symbolism/ N S Rajaram and J Jha; (39) Harappan Occupation at Nausharo/ Jean-Francois Jarrige; (40) Collapse of the Sarasvata Sabhyata: An Elegy in Mahabharata/ Arun Kumar
[22]. Early History of the Dekkan : Down to the Mohammedan Conquest by Bhandarkar, R.G. 2005, 25 cm., pp. 154, Rep., Asian Educational Services , 8120601203, US$ 6.94 or Rs. 295
[23]. Early Indian Coins from Sugh by Handa, Devendra 2005, 25 cm., pp. xiii+157, pls., figs., maps, Sundeep Prakashan , 8175741619, US$ 28.24 or Rs. 1200
This book presents an account of the early Indian coins found from Sugh, the ancient S )S_ rughna, an extensive and very important archaeological site of Haryana located about 5 km east of Jagadhari/Yamunanagar on the old bed of the river Yamuna where it debouched into the plains from the Shiwalki hills of the Himalayas. Naturally protected on three sides by a bend of the river it occupied a very strategic position on the ancient trade route connecting the Ganga valley with the western world. Silver coins struck on the half karshapana (16 ratti) weight standard found from Sugh and in its vicinity can undoubtedly be attributed to the Kur Mahajanapada. It is for the first time that a hoard of a new series of the minuscule silver coins from this place has been brought to light. These coins conform to 4 ratti weight standard and represent the pada or quarter denomination of the above-mentioned coins. Unlike most other minuscule coins these pieces have silver core and contain fairly high silver content. Un-inscribed cast copper coins have also been found from Sugh in substantial numbers and so also the Imperial five-symbol punch-marked silver coins. Two hoards containing respectively two and one Indo-Greek coins and some stray pieces recovered from the site have also been described and their importance discussed. Copper and lead coins bearning the early Brami legend Kadasa are known since long but their exact provenance was not known. New evidence established beyond doubt that Sugh is the provenance of these coins. The monarchical nature of these issues have also been established. Coins of the descendants of Kada including the Mitra-ending rulers are published for the first time together with the earliest octagonal lead coins of India. New data the analysis of the tribal coins, particularly the Kunindas and the Yaudheyas, has also been presented. Contents : Introduction / Sugh / Coins of the Kuru Mahajanapada / Minuscule Silver coins / Punch-Marked and Indo-Greek coins / Uninscribed Cast Copper Coins / Kada Coins / Coins of Sujyeshtha / Lead Coins of the Mitras / Tribal Coins / Resume / Bibliography
[24]. Economic History of Ancient India by Ojha, Geeta 2005, 22 cm., pp. viii+336, Shri Sai Printographers , 8187798513, US$ 16.35 or Rs. 695
The aim in this book is to present a brief general survey of Economic History of the Ancient India from the earliest time to the middle of Seventh century. The book consists of twelve chapters. The first chapter deals with geological background of ancient Indian history. The second chapter makes a survey of the Indus Valley civilization. From third chapter to eighth chapter, it is a discussion of the economic conditions of early Indian agriculture, peasants, taxation, system of land tenure, the method of cultivation and of irrigation are all dealt with comprehensively as well as the Arthashastra and the Classic age. In last four chapters, life and condition of Indian people from Gupta period to Harsha has been discussed in details. In the Gupta period, the guilds regained their full autonomy, and became powerful and played a significant role in the socio-economic life of the country and it's expansion in South East Asia. The book, will, it is earnestly hoped, be found to be helpful not only to the advanced students of our universities but also to the general reader.
[25]. Gleanings From India : Cultural Historical Political and Social by Asopa, J.N. 2005, Universal Scientific Publishers , US$ 17.65 or Rs. 750
The present book is the result of a enquiring mind and the fruition there of from time to time. The first chapter is the result of an old enquiry and academic thirst to know about the ancient social system of the Brahmanas. The second chapter is an effort to know he truth abou the myth-clouded sage Dadhichi and his scions. The third fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh chapters are enquiry into environment as existed in ancient times i.e. seas, deserts, rivers and the people of Rajasthan and India. The eighth and ninth chapters deal with socio-political term Olaga and reappraisal of serfdorm in early medieval India. The tenth chapter deals with religious and philosophical ideas of the greated poetess of medieval India i.e. Mira. The eleventh, twelth, thirteenth and fourteenth chapters deal with the social milieu of the bards, Rathors, Mers and Jains. The fifteenth and sixteenth chapters are about historigraphy of Marwar. I hope this book would reveal deep historical truht envisaged by the author.
[26]. Hari Smiriti : Studies in Art, Archaeology and Indology, 2 Vols. (Papers Presented in Memory of Dr. H Sarkar) by Banerji, Arundhati 2006, 29 cm., pp. xxviii+575, col. & b/w pls., ills., Set, Kaveri Books Service , 8174790756, US$ 112.94 or Rs. 4800
This collection of sixty-one papers contributed by the scholars from India and abroad is in memory of Dr. H Sarkar who retired as Jt. Director General, Archaeological Survey of India. He is very well known for his invaluable contribution to the field of archaeology. The papers included herein are the outcome of researches done on art, architecture, iconography, epigraphy, numismatic, archaeological explorations and excavations, antiquities and museums, conservation and heritage management over the years besides reminiscences. Foreword by Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan Volume 1: Section-I: Haribishnu Sarkar: Reminicenses and Tribute: (1) My Friend Sarkar/ M A Dhaky; (2) Dr. Haribishnu Sarkar: A Gentleman Scholar/ B D Chattopadhyaya; (3) Dr. H Sarkar/ B M Pande; (4) A Tribute to Sri H Sarkar/ V V Krishna Sastry; (5) Dr. H Sarkar: In the Footsteps of Sri Amalananda Ghosh/ Amar Narth Khanna; (6) Dr. Haribishnu Sarkar: A Tribute/ Purnima Ray. Section- II: Art & Iconography: (1) Devaraja in Cambodian History/ Lokesh Chandra; (2) An Estimate of Gupta Terracottas/ P K Agrawala; (3) "The Amaravati Master: Spatial Conventions in the Art of Amaravati/ Elizabeth Rosem Stone; (4) Main Stupa, Udayagiri (Orissa))/ Debala Mitra; (5) The Temple Fragments from Kaveripakkam/ M A Dhaky; (6) Buddhism in the Deccan During the Satavahana Age/ Ajay Mitra Shastri; (7) Some Remarks on the Freer Panels/ Dirk W Lonne; (8) Ajanta's History/ Walter M Spink; (9) Saptartnas in Buddhism: Their Origin, Function and Depictions/ Mallar Mitra; (10) Pattan Munara: Minar or Mandir?/ Michael W Meister; (11) Early Stone Sculptures of Tripurantaka in South India/ Gerd J R Mevissen; (12) A Unique Sivalinga from Navile and Some Cultural Issues/ A Sundara; (13) The Nolamba Style and Vijayanagara Archaizing: The Bhoganandisvara Compound at Nandi, Karnataka/ Andrew L Cohen; (14) A 12th Century Hoysala Image of Siva Gajasurasamharamurti from the Amritesvara Temple, Amritapura/ Kirsti Evans; (15) A Newly Discovered Visvarupa Image from Haryana/ Devendra Handa; (16) Hero Stones at Pushpagiri/ D Hanumantha Rao; (17) Art of the Paramaras of Vagada/ P K Trivedi; (18) Brahma Image from Elephanta/ B V Shetti; (19) Tripurantaka Siva (Destroyer of Three Cities)/ R Nagaswamy; (20) Two Rare Images of Mahachandaroshana from Antichak/ B S Verma; (21) From Graha Vinayaka to Siddhi Vinayaka/ V V Krishna Sastry (22) Courtesans and Tantric Consorts: Female Sexuality and Fertility in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Biographies/ Serinity Young; (23) Surya Sculptures from Hampi/ K M Suresh; (24) Bull in Banas Culture/ Arundhati Banerji. Section-III: Architecture: (25) Art and Architecture of Tulumadu/ H R Raghunath Bhat; (26) Inter-Relations in Regional Schools of Indian Architecture/ Krishna Deva; (27) Roman Influence of Indian Architecture: A Reassessment/ D R Das; (28) Behati: New Light on Gupta Architecture in Madhya Pradesh/ D Dayalan; (29) Samidhesvara Temple, Chittorgarh/ B L Nagarch; (30) A Star Shaped Vimana at Hiresinganagutti/ Shrinivas V Padigar; (31) The Virupaksha Temple at Pattadakal: Did Pallava Architecture Build it?/ S Rajasekhara; (32) The Intercultural Relationship of the Sacred Architecture in Travancore/ Falk Reitz. Volume 2: Section-IV: Archaeology: (33) The Left-over of Palaeolithic Man in and around Betwa River Valley, U P/Sangita Chakraborty & Nayan Ananda Chakraborty; (34) Aspects of Prehistoric Astronomy in India/N Kameswara Rao; (35) Recent Exploration along the Narmada/V Shivananda; (36) Neolithic Ceramic Industries of North-Eastern and Central-Eastern India/J S Nigam; (37) Harappan Landscape of Western India/ M K Dhavalikar; (38) Who were the Aryans?/Sursi M Vikram & Arun Kumar; (39) Namana: Chalcolithic Settlement in Hadoti Region of Rajasthan/D N Dimri & Rajendra Yadav; (40) Current Perspectives on the Megalithic Culture of South India/ Udayaravi S Moorti; (41) Iron Technology in Eastern India: Archaeometallurgical Studies/ Pranab K Chattopadhyay; (42) Archaeological Investigations in District Sravasti, Uttar Pradesh/ D P Tewari & B K Pandey; (43) Excavations at Sarnath: Some Reflections regarding Early Phase, Stratigraphy and Architecture/B R Mani; (44) The Kunindas and their Archaeology in Garhwal Himalaya/ B M Khanduri; (45) Recent Excavation at Udayagiri: A Revelation/ Bimal Bandyopadhyay; (46)"Colonial Indology" and Some Non-Indian Critics/ Dilip K Chakrabarti. Section-V: Epigraphy & Numismatics: (47) Two Donations in Favour of the Mahasanghikas of Mathura/ Gouriswar Bhattacharya; (48) Agriculture and Industries as Gleaned from Place Names in Kalachuri Inscriptions/Malati Mahajan; (49) Maharashtraka-traya of Aihole Prasasti/Ishikawa Kan; (50) Literature under Devaraya-II of Vijayanagara (AD 1426-1446)/C T M Kotraiah; (51) Rohilkhand: An Epigraphical Study/M Ilyas Quddusi; (52) A Unique Gold Coin/ Murtaja Baseer. Section-VI: Antiquities & Museums: (53) "Cultural Patrimony and Heritage" with special reference to Retrieval and Preservation of Cultural Property/L K Srinivasan; (54) Protection of Cultural Property vis-a-vis Antiquarian Legislation and People in India/C B Patil; (55) Beginning of Museums and Museum Movement in India/ I K Sharma; Section-VII: Conservation & Heritage Management: (56) Archaeological Conservation in India/ M C Joshi; (57) Concept of Preservation-Conservation in Ancient Days/K K Ramamurthy; (58) Foundations of the Taj Mahal/ R Sengupta; (59) Monument Management and Urbanization: A Case Study of Bhubaneswar/ N James. Section-VIII: Miscellaneous: (60) Bareilly Through 1857-58/M Yaseen Quddusi; (61) Not Very Long Ago/Ajit Kumar Dutta.
[27]. Harsha : A Multidisciplinary Political Study by Goyal, Shankar 2006, pp. xxii+383, Kusumanjali Book World , US$ 20.00 or Rs. 850
Contents : Chapter 1 : Changing Attitudes of Historians to the History of Harsha and the Need of a Multidisciplinary Integral Approach / Chapters 2 : Sources for the Political History of the Age of Harsha : Their Reliability and Importance / Appendix 1 : The Recently Discovered Kurukshetra- Varanasi Grant of Harsha : Year 23 / Appendix 2 : The Life of Yuan Chwang / Appendix 3 : Approximate Chronology of Yuan Chwang's Travels / Chapter 3 : Political Background
<!--QuoteBegin-k.ram+Nov 21 2007, 06:58 AM-->QUOTE(k.ram @ Nov 21 2007, 06:58 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>'Ram was 39 years old when he killed Ravana'</b>
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It has been a while since I had posted something.
If I remember my Ramayana rightly (appa used to read Valmiki Ramayana and we used to sit and listen to it, so I dont know the exact chapter and verse to quote here.) But IIRC, Seetha mentions once that she was six and Rama was fifteen when they got married. After the wedding they came back to Ayodhya and lived happily for 12 years. i.e. Seetha was 18, Rama was 27 when they set out for Vanavasa. They spent 13 years in Vanavasa before Ravana abducted Seetha devi . At that time She was 31, He was 40. The battle with ended when She was 32, He was 41.
This is my recollection. But again, I have to go thru the book again to hunt for the exact verses to corroborate my memory.
12-12-2007, 03:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-12-2007, 03:25 PM by Husky.)
<!--QuoteBegin-k.ram+Dec 12 2007, 05:43 AM-->QUOTE(k.ram @ Dec 12 2007, 05:43 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin--> http://www.christianarchaeologymagazine.co...ent/view/26/30/
<b>Beyond the Holy Land: Indus Valley</b>
[right][snapback]76051[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->At that christian archaeology link ("Christian Archaeology Magazine - Exploring Our Biblical Past"):
Now India is Atlantis, and the Oryans of India "Proto Vedics" of the IVC are the ancestors of Europeans. Good grief.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Hancock presented his hypothesis of the Indian Atlantis on a note-pad he taken on route to Goa:
Hypothesis. (Oh no, not another hypothesis!)
The Indus-Sarasvati civilization, the development of which archaeologists have already traced back 9000 years, has an earlier episode of hidden prehistory. It was founded by the survivors of a lost Indian coastal civilization destroyed by the great floods at the end of the Ice Age. Such floods occurred many times between 15,000 and 7,000 years ago, but a particularly bad episode is attested in high salinity levels in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. . . .
The survivors who established the early villages practiced a âproto-Vedicâ religion that they had brought with them from their inundated homeland and probably spoke an early form of Sanskrit.
There were secular rulers but the real leadership of the new communities remained vested down the generations in the brotherhood of sages whose forefather had escaped the deluge â the lineage of Vedic masters whose task it was to preserve and transmit a precious body of antediluvian knowledge. (Hancock, 113).
In the Near East, Egyptian scribes told of a forgotten epoch in the history of man when the gods ruled the world, and later by powerful overseers called the companions of Horus. But it is only in the East, on the Indian subcontinent, that we catch a glimmer of the true âcradle of civilization.â In India it was called the Rama Empire that reigned, according to myth, some 50,000 years ago. As this paper had discussed, many of the attributes of this civilization, specficically in Harappa indicate that such a civilization is perhaps an actuality.
<b>The ruins of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization shed new light on the rise of civilization.</b> Excavations have shown a technologically sophisticated culture of unimagined wealth and power that harkens back to the idea of Atlantis. <b>It is very posssible that this culture, lost to the sands of time for five thousand years, may prove to be our dierct cultural ancestor. It is unsettling for Europeans to consider that a predominately dark-skinned Asian community could have preceeded the west and established the basic fundamentals of organized society.</b> The birthplace of writing, forever tied with cuneiform script found on clay tablets in Mesopotamia, may have proved to be an ingenious copy of another, far earlier innovation.
The archaeological evidence for an ancient civilization of far antiquity, and a stupendous level of sophistication is clearly at hand here. There is no doubt in this authorâs mind that further revelations await archaeologists in the not so distant future.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Wait wait. Didn't the christian west delude itself with their Oryans destroying the "Dravidoid" IVC? Now the IVC is Europe's ancestral civilisation? Wah?
Oh wait. I got ya. Just like a couple of centuries ago, Samskritam was proclaimed as the Mother Language of Europe and today they say Europeans gave us our language. Likewise, IVC will be their mother civilisation for a day and tomorrow the spin will be that they bequeathed us the IVC.
Christoterrorist lies tend to follow a predictable pattern. Appropriation, appropriation, appropriation. (But gradually, lest we catch the thief during his open, daylight robbery.)
Husky, This out of IVC would explain a lot of gaps e.g. the maluuca figures that Kalyanraman had in his pdf file, the horned god in the middle east and so many others.
How about if we put a timeline for the Matsya Avatara the flood and so on to Rama and then the drying up of the Saraswati River?
<b>Mapping Pune's Roman connection</b>
14 Dec 2007, 0216 hrs IST ,Vishwas Kothari, TNN
PUNE: Ever imagined the Romans taking a circuitous sea route around Africa to reach the Persian Gulf and further touch the western Indian shores of Bharuch in Gujarat for trade with Pune over 2,000 years back?
Archaeologists from the Deccan College here have come across a plethora of evidence at the Junnar excavation site, 94 km from city, that establishes Pune's trade links across the oceans, with the ancient Roman Empire.
The evidence suggests that <b>Satavahanas,</b> the earliest rulers of Maharashtra (230 Before Christ Era), who reigned from Junnar, were engaged in a flourishing import-export trade not just with the Romans but also with the Greeks and the Persians.
The port of Kalyan on the Konkan coast offered the link for the Romans touching the Indian shores at Bharuch, to reach Junnar via the western ghat pass of Naneghat.
<b>Junnar, along with Paithan in Marathwada region, and Amaravati in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, was an important seat of power for the Satavahanas, whose reign of over four centuries covered parts of western, southern and central India. </b>
"The early rulers of the state had developed a fondness for wine brought into India by traders from these foreign countries," said Vasant Shinde, professor of archaeology, who is heading the research initiative at Junnar, while speaking to TOI on Thursday. "Similarly, luxury goods and glassware were being imported," he added. Junnar was also a vital place for large-scale exports of spices, ivory and silk, he said.
The trade link was mainly through the sea route as the Romans would take a circuitous route to travel around Africa and reach the Persian Gulf coast between Iran and Arabian Peninsula in south-west Asia. Further, they would reach the coast of Makran that stretches along south Balochistan, Iran and Pakistan, and would head for Bharuch (also spelt as Bhroach), which was then among the biggest ocean-going ports on the Arabian sea coast in India, explained Shinde.
From Bharuch, the Roman traders would spread out to smaller ports like Kalyan in Konkan coast, Nala Sopara in Thane and Chaul in Raigad district. "Kalyan was a major loading and offloading centre from where the traders would proceed by road to Junnar via Naneghat," he added.
The link extended beyond Junnar, to Paithan and the ancient town of Ter in Osmanabad, which was the biggest market place established by the Satavahanas. "Ter was an important distribution point for domestic trade, linked with places in south, east and north India," said Shinde.
Archaeological remains like clayware, utensils, farm and industrial implements, ornaments and shells, among other things, found at the site - provide sufficient evidence of influence of not just the Romans but also other dynasties like the Mauryans from northern India and the Kshatrapas from neighbouring Gujarat, over the Junnar region.
The excavations started towards the end of 2005 with a view to collect data on the human habitation, economy and social structure under the Satavahana rule.
Junnar has one of the largest concentration of Buddhist caves (around 200) commissioned by the Satavahana rulers. Similarly, the caves at Naneghat, 20 km from Junnar, provide sufficient quantum of ancient inscriptions.
The impending 45-day-long excavation (beginning December 20) would focus on the religious and social aspects of human habitation under the Satavahanas at Junnar, he said.
http://tinyurl.com/yorljh
<!--QuoteBegin-k.ram+Dec 15 2007, 07:04 PM-->QUOTE(k.ram @ Dec 15 2007, 07:04 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->...
The excavations started towards the end of 2005 with a view to collect data on the human habitation, economy and social structure under the Satavahana rule.
Junnar has one of the largest concentration of <b>Buddhist caves (around 200) commissioned by the Satavahana rulers</b>. Similarly, the caves at Naneghat, 20 km from Junnar, provide sufficient quantum of ancient inscriptions.
The impending 45-day-long excavation (beginning December 20) would focus on the religious and social aspects of human habitation under the Satavahanas at Junnar, he said.Â
http://tinyurl.com/yorljh
[right][snapback]76188[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->The Satavahana dynasty appears to have been Hindu:
Taken from here
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>The Satavahanas</b>
...The Satvahanas (or Salivahanas) were Hindus and built many temples and gave grants to many temples-endowments. Their architectural style is called Hemadpanthi style.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->The bit on "commissioning Buddhist caves" would still hold, as many Hindu rulers in history patronised Buddhism alongside their Hinduism, by having Buddhist temples and structures built.
12-31-2007, 04:53 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-31-2007, 04:53 PM by Husky.)
<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Dec 13 2007, 04:12 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Dec 13 2007, 04:12 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Husky, This out of IVC would explain a lot of gaps e.g. the maluuca figures that Kalyanraman had in his pdf file, the horned god in the middle east and so many others.
How about if we put a timeline for the Matsya Avatara the flood and so on to Rama and then the drying up of the Saraswati River?
[right][snapback]76072[/snapback][/right]<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->Didn't explain what I meant clearly, I guess. Sure, what I think they're implying (also going by your summary) is mostly sensible - anyone may come to similar conclusions, so the fact that they now did too isn't what set me off.
My misgivings were rather about their objectives in <i>finally</i> stating/admitting anything so obvious. Christoislamism has a tendency to lie (compulsively). And I can't help expecting them to twist this present admission about, so that they come up on top again. <i>When</i> that will happen I don't know.
Just hope Dharmics will be wary this time round - two centuries on - about the carrion fowl flying about waiting to suddenly swoop down and peck on what remains to us. Again.
http://www.geocities.com/sphinxofindia/m...gends.html
Purushmriga: Indian Sphinx
BTW: Painting of PBUH ascending to jannat also shows him riding a horse with a human head...
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