Ancient Indian Heritage : Varahamihiras India (2 Vol-Set)

Contents: Preface. Volume I: 1. Introduction: 1. Varahamihira's high reputation. 2. Varahamihira's date. 3. Personal life. 4. Legends and myths. 5. Works and chronological order. 6. Value of his works for cultural history. 7. Notes and references. 2. Historical Geography: 1. Introductory. 2. Physical features. 3. Peoples and countries. 4. Localities. Notes and references. 3. Religion: 1. Vedic-pauranic religion. 2. Non-vedic sects. Notes and references. 4. Society: 1. Social structure. 2. Marriage and position of women. 3. Food and drinks. 4. Health, disease and medicine. 5. Dress and ornaments. 6. Perfumery and toilet. 7. Furniture and miscellaneous materials. 8. Family and other social habits.

Vol. II: 5. Economy: 1. Agriculture, arbori-horticulture and flora. 2. Fauna. 3. Arts and crafts. 4. Trade. 5. Jewel industry. 6. Weights and measurements. 7. Coinage. Notes and references. 6. Astrology in Everyday Life: 1. Samvatsara. 2. Beliefs appertaining planetary movements and eclipses. 3. Ketus. 4. Canopus. 5. Sandhya. 6. Earthquake. 7. Utpatas. 8. Angavidya. 9. Sings of men and women. 10. Five great men. 11. Attendants of great men. 12. Wearing new clothes. 13. Sakunas. 14. Agni-laksana. Notes and references. 7. Architecture and Fine Arts: 1. Residential architecture. 2. Temple architecture. 3. Sculpture, music, painting. Notes and references. 8. Learning and Literature: 1. Jyotisa. 2. Earlier writers and works. 3. Architecture and sculpture. 4. Dandaniti. 5. Erotics. 6. Philosophy. 7. Religion. 8. Palmistry. 9. Metrics. Notes and references. Appendices: 1. Genesis of Varahamira's name. 2. Polity and Government. 3. Jovian' cycles of twelve and sixty years. 4. Rainfall in ancient India: textual evidence. 5. Dakargala or the art of exploring underground water-veins. Bibliography. Index.

"Though the great worth of old texts as a source of cultural history is widely acknowledged, astrological writings are generally supposed to be deficient in this respect. The erroneousness of the notion will be best illustrated by a glance at the present work dwelling from this angle upon the priceless historical data enshrined in the treatises of Varahamihira, one of the most celebrated astronomers-astrologers that India is justly proud of. His writings afford precious information on practically every aspect of life one can think of and happen to contain the earliest extant datable treatment of several topics in the absence of earlier texts dealing with them which were eclipsed by the comprehensiveness of his works. The present book takes a critical view of all the information afforded by them objectively in a historical perspective, checking, corroborating and supplementing it from contemporary literary and archaeological sources and highlighting the antecedents and subsequent ramifications in many a case where found imperative. The topics dealt with include, inter alia, historical geography, iconography, idol worship. Indra's festival and other religious rituals and practices, varieties of necklaces, perfumery and other items of toilet and personal adornment comprehending hair-dyes, tooth-sticks, umbrellas, chowries and betel-chewing, agricultural and horticultural practices, gem industry and trade, role of astrology in everyday life, civil and religious architecture, plasters, sculpture, iconometry, earlier literature on a variety of topics much of which is now known only from Varahamihira's works, genesis of the name Varahamihira, Jovian cycles of twelve and sixty years, meteorology and rainfall, and location of sub-soil water-resources. Thus, this happens to be perhaps the only work presenting critically at one place so much information on so many diverse topics of interest to students of geography, religious history, cosmetics, jewel industry and trade, agriculture and horticulture, civil and religious architecture, meteorology and hydrology." (jacket)

[Ajay Mitra Shastri retired as Professor of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology from Nagpur University]