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Index
Title page
Brief Contents
Contents
About the Author
Photographs, Maps, and Figures
Preface
A Reader’s Guide
Introduction: Ideas of the Early Indian Past
THE MAIN PHYSIOGRAPHIC ZONES OF THE SUBCONTINENT
WAYS OF DIVIDING THE INDIAN PAST
CHANGING INTERPRETATIONS OF EARLY INDIAN HISTORY
NEW HISTORIES, UNWRITTEN HISTORIES
1 Understanding Literary and Archaeological Sources
READING ANCIENT TEXTS FROM A HISTORICAL POINT OF VIEW
Ancient palm leaf manuscripts
THE CLASSIFICATION OF LITERARY SOURCES: LANGUAGE, GENRE, AND CONTENT
THE VEDAS
THE TWO SANSKRIT EPICS: THE RAMAYANA AND MAHABHARATA
Archaeology and the Mahabharata
The chronological layers in the Ramayana
THE PURANAS
THE DHARMASHASTRA
Theory and practice in the Dharmashastra
BUDDHIST LITERATURE
Songs of Buddhist nuns
JAINA LITERATURE
SANGAM LITERATURE AND LATER TAMIL WORKS
The stories of the two Tamil epics
EARLY KANNADA AND TELUGU LITERATURE
OTHER ANCIENT TEXTS, BIOGRAPHIES, AND HISTORIES
Banabhatta and his royal biography
THE NATURE OF ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORICAL TRADITIONS
THE ACCOUNTS OF FOREIGN WRITERS
Al-Biruni on the writing of the Hindus
ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE EARLY INDIAN PAST
SCIENTIFIC TECHNIQUES IN ARCHAEOLOGY
Radiocarbon dating
INTERPRETING ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
ETHNO-ARCHAEOLOGY
The social and cultural aspects of technology
PROTECTING SITES
EPIGRAPHY: THE STUDY OF INSCRIPTIONS
ANCIENT AND EARLY MEDIEVAL SCRIPTS
LANGUAGES OF ANCIENT AND EARLY MEDIEVAL INSCRIPTIONS
Deciphered and undeciphered scripts
DATING THE INSCRIPTIONS
How to convert ancient era dates into modern ones
THE CLASSIFICATION OF INSCRIPTIONS
Memorializing death in stone
INSCRIPTIONS AS A SOURCE OF HISTORY
NUMISMATICS: THE STUDY OF COINS
A BRIEF HISTORY OF INDIAN COINAGE
COINS AS A SOURCE OF HISTORY
Counter-struck coins of the Kshatrapas and Satavahanas
CONCLUSIONS
2 Hunter-Gatherers of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages
THE GEOLOGICAL AGES AND HOMINID EVOLUTION
What does it mean to be human?
HOMINID REMAINS IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
PALAEO-ENVIRONMENTS
CLASSIFYING THE INDIAN STONE AGE
THE PALAEOLITHIC AGE
LOWER PALAEOLITHIC SITES
Typical lower palaeolithic tools
Isampur: a centre of stone tool manufacture
MIDDLE PALAEOLITHIC SITES
The Levallois technique
UPPER PALAEOLITHIC SITES
Upper palaeolithic tools
PALAEOLITHIC ART AND CULTS
Ostrich eggshell beads
THE LIFE-WAYS OF PALAEOLITHIC HUNTER-GATHERERS
Food resources—now and then
THE MESOLITHIC AGE
MESOLITHIC SITES
Microliths
Animal bones at mesolithic sites
Graves, subsistence, and settlement patterns
The journey to get chalcedony
THE MAGNIFICENCE OF MESOLITHIC ART
CONCLUSIONS
3 The Transition to Food Production: Neolithic, Neolithic–Chalcolithic, and Chalcolithic Villages, c. 7000–2000 BCE
THE NEOLITHIC AGE AND THE BEGINNINGS OF FOOD PRODUCTION
WHY DOMESTICATION?
THE IDENTIFICATION OF DOMESTICATION AND FOOD PRODUCTION IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
The analysis of ancient plant remains
THE TRANSITION TO FOOD PRODUCTION IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
THE EARLIEST VILLAGE SETTLEMENTS IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, C. 7000–3000 BCE
The north-west
The Vindhyan fringes and other areas
NEOLITHIC, NEOLITHIC–CHALCOLITHIC, AND CHALCOLITHIC COMMUNITIES, C. 3000–2000 BCE
The north and north-west
Did people actually live in the Burzahom pits?
Rajasthan
The Malwa region
The western Deccan
The middle Ganga plain and eastern India
South India
The mystery of the ash mounds
Community feasting at neolithic Budihal
THE LIFE OF EARLY FARMERS
CHANGES IN CULTIC AND BELIEF SYSTEMS
Female figurines—ordinary women or goddesses?
CONCLUSIONS
4 The Harappan Civilization, c. 2600–1900 BCE
CIVILIZATION AND URBANIZATION: DEFINITIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
The 10 characteristics of cities, according to Childe
RECENT DISCOVERIES AND CHANGING PERSPECTIVES
HARAPPAN, INDUS, OR SINDHU–SARASVATI CIVILIZATION?
ORIGIN: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EARLY HARAPPAN PHASE
The problems with diffusionist theories
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE EARLY AND MATURE HARAPPAN PHASES
THE GENERAL FEATURES OF MATURE HARAPPAN SETTLEMENTS
PROFILES OF SOME HARAPPAN CITIES, TOWNS, AND VILLAGES
THE DIVERSITY OF THE HARAPPAN SUBSISTENCE BASE
Animal bones at Shikarpur
HARAPPAN CRAFTS AND TECHNIQUES
Sculpture in stone and metal
The making of long carnelian beads
NETWORKS OF TRADE
Shortughai—a Harappan trading post in Afghanistan
THE NATURE AND USES OF WRITING
RELIGIOUS AND FUNERARY PRACTICES
The ‘fire altars’
THE HARAPPAN PEOPLE
How healthy were the Harappans?
THE RULING ELITE
Defining a state
THE DECLINE OF URBAN LIFE
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LATE HARAPPAN PHASE
CONCLUSIONS
5 Cultural Transitions: Images from Texts and Archaeology, c. 2000–600 BCE
PERSPECTIVES FROM TEXTS
USING THE VEDAS AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE
The date of the Rig Veda
WHO WERE THE INDO-ARYANS?
THE CULTURE REFLECTED IN THE FAMILY BOOKS OF THE RIG VEDA SAMHITA
Tribes and wars
Hymn to arms (Rig Veda Samhita 6.75)
Lineage, clan, tribe
Pastoralism, agriculture, and other occupations
Varna in the Rig Veda
Women, men, and the household
The family and the household
Religion: sacrifices to the gods
Hymn to Indra ( Rig Veda 2.12)
The soma plant and its juice
THE HISTORICAL MILIEU OF LATER VEDIC AGE TEXTS
Aspects of everyday life
The emergence of monarchy
The ceremony of the jewel offering
The varna hierarchy
The Purusha-sukta ( RigVeda 10.90)
Gender and the household
Religion, ritual, and philosophy
The Nasadiya hymn ( Rig Veda 10.129)
The sacrificial arena
The atman, according to Uddalaka Aruni
Popular beliefs and practices
Atharva Veda spells
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROFILES OF DIFFERENT REGIONS OF THE SUBCONTINENT, c . 2000–500 BCE
NEOLITHIC–CHALCOLITHIC AND CHALCOLITHIC CULTURES
The north-west and north
The Indo-Gangetic divide, the upper Ganga valley, and the doab
The Sanauli cemetery
The copper anthropomorph
Black and Red Ware
Western India
The middle Ganga valley
Eastern India
The North-east
The cultural sequence in central India
The chalcolithic farmers of the Deccan
The Daimabad bronzes
Food, nutrition, and health among the people of Inamgaon
Goddesses with and without heads
Neolithic–chalcolithic sites of South India
Pictures on stone
FROM COPPER TO IRON: EARLY IRON AGE CULTURES OF THE SUBCONTINENT
A clarification about the Indian megaliths
The north-west
The Indo-Gangetic divide and the upper Ganga valley: the Painted Grey Ware culture
Painted Grey Ware
The evidence from Rajasthan
The middle and lower Ganga valley
Central India
The Deccan
South India
The enigma of the megalithic anthropomorphs
THE IMPACT OF IRON TECHNOLOGY
THE PROBLEM OF CORRELATING LITERARY AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
CONCLUSIONS
6 Cities, Kings, and Renunciants: North India, c. 600–300 BCE
THE SOURCES: LITERARY AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL
Panini and his Ashtadhyayi
Northern Black Polished Ware
THE 16 GREAT STATES
The identification of Taxila
THE GANAS OR SANGHAS
The conflict between the Sakyas and Kosalans
Vassakara seeks the Buddha’s advice on how to defeat the Vajjis
POLITICAL CONFLICTS AND THE GROWTH OF THE MAGADHAN EMPIRE
The chronology of the early dynasties of Magadha
THE PERSIAN AND MACEDONIAN INVASIONS
The storming of the Malla citadel
LAND AND AGRARIAN EXPANSION
FROM VILLAGE TO TOWN: THE EXAMPLE OF ATRANJIKHERA
THE EMERGENCE OF CITY LIFE
Perceptions of the forest
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY PROFILES OF EARLY HISTORICAL CITIES
THE NORTH-WEST
THE INDO-GANGETIC DIVIDE, THE UPPER GANGA VALLEY, AND THE DOAB
THE MIDDLE AND LOWER GANGA VALLEY
CENTRAL INDIA AND THE DECCAN
URBAN OCCUPATIONS, CRAFTS, GUILDS, AND MONEY
THE NEW SOCIAL ELITES: THE GAHAPATI AND SETTHI
TRADE AND TRADERS
CLASS, KINSHIP, VARNA , AND CASTE
Activities in times of adversity
Varna and jati
GENDER, FAMILY, AND HOUSEHOLD
Marriage, according to the Grihyasutras
THE RENUNCIATORY TRADITION
The Samannaphala Sutta
THE AJIVIKAS
EARLY BUDDHISM
THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA
THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS
The analogy of the raft
THE BUDDHIST SANGHA AND THE LAITY
THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS
The Ambattha Sutta
BUDDHISM AND WOMEN
Patachara’s song
The eight conditions imposed on nuns
The seven kinds of wives3
EARLY JAINISM
THE JAINA TIRTHANKARAS, VARDHAMANA MAHAVIRA
THE JAINA UNDERSTANDING OF REALITY
THE JAINA DISCIPLINE
The liberated man
On not killing earth bodies
THE SOCIAL COMPOSITION OF THE JAINA SANGHA AND LAITY
The true Brahmana
Malli or Mallinatha?
CONCLUSIONS
7 Power and Piety: The Maurya Empire, c. 324–187 BCE
THE MAJOR SOURCES FOR THE MAURYA PERIOD
KAUTILYA’S ARTHASHASTRA
The statistical analysis of word frequencies in the Arthashastra
MEGASTHENES’ INDICA
The Greeks on Megasthenes
ASHOKA’S INSCRIPTIONS
The different categories of Ashokan inscriptions and their location
References to famine relief in the Mahasthan and Sohgaura inscriptions
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NUMISMATIC EVIDENCE
THE MAURYA DYNASTY
Legends of Ashoka
The stone portrait of Ashoka at Kanaganahalli
LITERARY AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROFILES OF CITIES
Pataliputra and the palace, according to Arrian and Aelian
SOME ASPECTS OF RURAL AND URBAN LIFE
THE NATURE AND STRUCTURE OF THE MAURYA EMPIRE
Kautilya’s timetable for a king
The life of a king, according to Megasthenes (via Strabo)
Rock edict 6 (Girnar version)
The Maurya state and forest people
ASHOKA AND BUDDHISM
Minor rock edict 1 (Rupnath version)
ASHOKA’S DHAMMA
The 5th pillar edict (Delhi–Topra pillar)
The 13th rock edict (Shahbazgarhi version)
Ashoka’s assessment of his success: the Shar-i-Kuna Greek–Aramaic inscription
SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE
Ancient and modern quarries at Chunar
The medieval and modern histories of Ashokan pillars
The discovery of an Ashokan stupa at Deorkothar
The Parkham yaksha , then and now
THE DECLINE OF THE MAURYA EMPIRE
CONCLUSIONS
8 Interaction and Innovation, c. 200 BCE –300 CE
THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF NORTH INDIA
THE SHUNGAS
The Besnagar pillar inscription of Heliodorus
THE INDO-GREEKS
Coins of the Indo-Greeks
THE SHAKA-PAHLAVAS OR SCYTHO-PARTHIANS
THE KUSHANAS
The Rabatak inscription
THE SHAKA KSHATRAPAS OF WESTERN INDIA
A lake, a storm, and a king
THE SATAVAHANA EMPIRE IN THE DECCAN
The royal portrait gallery in the Naneghat cave
KINGS AND CHIEFTAINS IN THE FAR SOUTH: THE CHERAS, CHOLAS, AND PANDYAS
The royal drum
VILLAGES AND CITIES
Plant remains from Sanghol
CITIES OF THE NORTH-WEST
THE INDO-GANGETIC DIVIDE AND THE UPPER GANGA VALLEY
THE MIDDLE AND LOWER GANGA VALLEY AND EASTERN INDIA
Chandraketugarh
CENTRAL AND WESTERN INDIA
CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE DECCAN
CITIES OF THE FAR SOUTH
Madurai in the Maduraikkanchi
CRAFTS AND GUILDS
Guilds as bankers
TRADE AND TRADERS
Ancient travellers
LONG-DISTANCE TRADE
Kaveripattinam in the Pattinapalai
TRADE WITH EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
INDO-ROMAN TRADE
Periplus Maris Erythraei (The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea)
Recent excavations at Arikamedu
THE WIDER ROLES OF TRADE AND TRADERS
ASPECTS OF SOCIAL CHANGE IN NORTH INDIA AND THE DECCAN: VARNA , CASTE, GENDER
The Jatakas as a source of social history
SOCIETY IN EARLY HISTORICAL SOUTH INDIA
An ancient Tamil love poem
A heroic death
PHILOSOPHICAL DEVELOPMENTS: ASTIKA AND NASTIKA SCHOOLS
The Bhagavad Gita
LOOKING AT THE HISTORY OF RELIGIONS BEYOND THE FRAMEWORK OF ‘ISMS’
THE WORSHIP OF YAKSHAS AND YAKSHIS, NAGAS AND NAGIS
GODDESSES, VOTIVE TANKS, AND SHRINES
VEDIC RITUALS
PURANIC HINDUISM
Shivaism
The formation of the Vaishnava pantheon
Krishna and Balarama on Agathocles’ coins
Shakti worship
THE EMERGENCE OF MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
Monastic and lay practices in texts versus inscriptions
THE DIGAMBARA–SHVETAMBARA SCHISM IN JAINISM
RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE
EARLY HINDU TEMPLES AND SCULPTURE
BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE
Stupa -monasteries of the north-west
Central Indian stupas—Sanchi and Bharhut
Stupas of Andhra Pradesh
Early relief sculpture at Buddhist stupa sites
Buddhist caves in the Western Ghats
THE JAINA CAVES AT UDAYAGIRI AND KHANDAGIRI
THE GANDHARA SCHOOL OF SCULPTURE
EARLY STONE SCULPTURES FROM VIDISHA AND MATHURA
TERRACOTTA ART
THE PATRONAGE OF RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS
Gifts of water pots from ancient Gandhara
Pious donations at Bandhogarh
CONCLUSIONS
9 Aesthetics and Empire, c. 300–600 CE
POLITICAL HISTOR
THE GUPTA DYNASTY
Ramagupta—did he exist?
The inscription of Chandra and the legend of the unsteady pillar
THE VAKATAKAS OF THE DECCAN
A queen’s grant
OTHER DYNASTIES OF PENINSULAR INDIA
THE ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE OF THE GUPTA AND VAKATAKA KINGDOMS
An ancient panchayat?
REVENUE RESOURCES OF STATES
LAND OWNERSHIP
TYPES OF LAND, LAND MEASURES, AND LAND TENURE
ROYAL LAND GRANTS
The terms of the Vakataka grants
PATTERNS OF URBAN HISTORY
The lifestyle of the nagaraka
CRAFT PRODUCTION, GUILDS, AND TRADE
ASPECTS OF SOCIAL STRUCTURE: GENDER, FORMS OF LABOUR, SLAVERY, AND UNTOUCHABILITY
Faxian’s account
The ganika and kulastri in Sanskrit kavya
PATTERNS OF RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENTS
THE EMERGENCE OF TANTRA
THE EVOLUTION OF THE VAISHNAVA PANTHEON
SHIVAISM
THE CULT OF THE GREAT GODDESS
THE WORSHIP OF OTHER DEITIES
BUDDHISM
Kumarajiva (343–413 CE)
JAINISM
A CLASSICAL AGE OF ART?
RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE
SCULPTURE
SANSKRIT LITERATURE
The cloud messenger
The Natyashastra
ASTRONOMY AND MATHEMATICS
Ancient mathematical and medical manuscripts
MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE
The ideal hospital, according to Charaka
CONCLUSIONS
10 Emerging Regional Configurations, c. 600–1200 CE
SOURCES, LITERARY AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL
New evidence regarding Wang Xuance’s missions to India
POLITICAL NARRATIVE AND POLITICAL STRUCTURE
The image of the ideal king in inscriptions of Orissa
Rudramadevi, the female king
THE DECCAN
The Aihole inscription of Pulakeshin
THE FAR SOUTH
Religious and political symbolism in the Tanjavur temple
NORTH INDIA: THE PUSHYABHUTIS, HARSHVARDHANA
The life and travels of Xuanzang
EASTERN INDIA
Some origin myths of the dynasties of Orissa
THE RAJPUT CLANS
The Tomaras and Delhi in legends and inscriptions
KASHMIR AND THE NORTH-WEST
Didda
ROYAL LAND GRANTS
BRAHMANA BENEFICIARIES
THE NATURE OF BRAHMADEYA SETTLEMENTS
Kara-shasanas and kraya-shasanas
THE IMPACT OF BRAHMANA SETTLEMENTS ON AGRARIAN RELATIONS
LAND GRANTS AS PART OF LARGER SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PROCESSES
RURAL SOCIETY: REGIONAL SPECIFICITIES
Popular agricultural sayings of early medieval Bengal
URBAN PROCESSES IN EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA
HISTORICAL PROCESSES IN EARLY MEDIEVAL SOUTH INDIA
THE NATURE OF SOUTH INDIAN STATES
The segmentary state, according to Southall and Stein
ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES
RURAL SOCIETY
The history of a Karnataka village
AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION
Irrigation devices in early medieval Tamil Nadu
Betel leaves and areca nuts
URBAN PROCESSES
Weavers and weaving in early medieval Tamil Nadu
TRADE AND TRADERS
Aihole and the Ayyavole
THE RELIGIOUS SPHERE
BUDDHISM IN EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA
A letter from Xuanzang to Prajnadeva
MAJOR CENTRES OF JAINISM
SHANKARA AND ADVAITA VEDANTA
THE HINDU CULTS
Vishnuism and Shivaism
The Shakti cult
The Goddess as killer of the demon Mahisha
SOUTH INDIAN BHAKTI: THE ALVARS AND NAYANMARS
Songs of the Nayanmar saint Appar
Andal’s songs
Karaikkal Ammaiyar—her life and songs
THE PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERPINNINGS OF SOUTH INDIAN BHAKTI AND LATER DEVELOPMENTS
The vachana s of Basavanna
PATRONAGE TO TEMPLES
Temple women in Chola inscriptions
THE ARCHITECTURE AND SCULPTURE OF EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA
THE NAGARA, DRAVIDA, AND VESARA STYLES OF TEMPLE ARCHITECTURE
WESTERN INDIA AND THE DECCAN
The discovery of an early medieval quarry site near Pattadakal
THE PALLAVA KINGDOM
THE CHOLA TEMPLES
CHOLA METAL SCULPTURE
Archaeometric analysis of Nataraja images
CONCLUSIONS
A Note on Diacritics
Glossary
Further Readings
References
Credits
Notes
Acknowledgements
Copyright
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