Ancient and Hindu India Being Part I of the Oxford History of India

Summary

1. Prehistoric India ; the elements of the population. 1 2. Literature and Civilization of the Vedic and Epic Periods ; the Putiyinw ; caste...........16 The pre-Maurya states ; the rise of Jainism and Buddhism ; the invasion of Alexander the Great ; India in the fourth century s.c. [...] The three are : (1) the northern plains forming the basins of the Indus and Ganges ; (2) the Deccan plateau lying to the south of the Narbada and to the north of the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers ; and (3) the far south beyond those rivers comprising the group of Tamil states. [...] The northern plains the Aryivarta of the old books and the Hindostan of more recent times always have been the seat of the principal empires and the scene of the events most interesting to the outer world. [...] Royal command may decree that the official head-quarters of the Government of India should shift from Calcutta to Delhi but no proclamations can make the inland city of the Moguls the real capital of India so long as the Indian empire is ruled by the masters of the sea. [...] The story of the gathering of the nations to the battle of Kurukshetra as told in the Mahabharata implies the belief that all the Indian peoples including those of the extreme south were united by real bonds and concerned inINTRODUCTION interests common to all.

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