Studies In The Religious Life of Ancient And Medieval India

This book contains dissertations on numerous problems relating to India’s historical geography of the ancient and medieval periods. In some of the chapters the author has edited certain important geographical texts in these as well as in many of the other chapters attempts have been made to determine the correct forms of hundreds of geographical names as well as their location. There are also some special studies such as those on the sphere of the Indian emperors influence the early Indian conceptions regarding the earth the addition of numbers of geographical names identical names of different localities cartography, and elephant forests. A mere glance at the contents will be enough to indicate the wide scope of the work.

The approach of most writers to the problems relating to Indian religious is based on literary sources but in respect of the majority of topics discussed in the volume with the exception of the first few chapters Prof. Sircar depends primarily on inscriptions and supplements epigraphic evidence by the testimony of literary and numismatic records wherever necessary. A few of the studies incorporated in the volume exhibit the author’s search for truth spread over a number of years.

Prof. Dines Chandra Sircar was formerly government Epigraphist Indian in the archaeological survey of India. He was recipient of the sir William Jones Memorial Medal of the Asiatic Society Calcutta and was honorary fellow of the numismatic society of India and its Akbar Medalist and a fellow of many institutions in India and abroad.

Prof. Sircar has written on most aspects of early Indian history. Besides editing a large number of volumes of different types he has published almost twenty books and monographs and more than a thousand papers notes and reviews appearing in various periodicals in India and abroad.