India in the Vedic Age : A History of Aryan Expansion in India

Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Examination of sources. 3. General survey of Aryan expansion. 4. Geography, fauna, and flora of the Vedic homeland. 5. The Puranic genealogies. 6. Agreement of Vedic and Puranic traditions. 7. Evidence of synchronisms. 8. Eras of the Vedic age. 9. The families of Vedic Rsis. 10. Chronology of the Vedic age. 11. History of the Vedic age. 12. Social and economic conditions. 13. Political and legal institutions. 14. Religion and philosophy of the Vedas. 15. Language and literature. Bibliography. Index.

"Vedas aren’t just the scriptural texts, but the earliest record of Indo-Aryan civilization. On the basis of this corpus of mankind’s oldest literature, together with his indepth analyses of the later-day Puranic writings, Professor Bhargava offers the first ever systematic, well-knit study of the Aryan expansion on the Indian subcontinent since c. 3100 BC. Retrieving, thus, hard historical facts from the complex Sanskrit verses of ancient seers, Dr. Bhargava’s book opens a fascinating panorama of life in Vedic India—highlighting, in particular, its powerful dynastic families, its rsis, society, economic conditions, political setup, religion, philosophy and literature. The book also includes a vivid description of the Aryan homeland, its geography, flora, fauna, and a lot else.

"Now in its third enlarged, fully revised and updated edition, India in the Vedic Age has, ever since its first appearance in 1956, been acclaimed not only by prestigious journals or discerning readers, but also by many Indologists/Sanskritists/historians of worldwide eminence, including notably, A.L. Basham, K.D. Vajpeyi, Ludwik Stembach, T.G. Mainkar, and G.V. Devas. While A.S. Altekar acknowledged it as "a distinct advance over Pargiter’s work", Dr. Bhargava’s book is certainly, as U.N. Ghoshal observed, "the most original work of our time"." (jacket)

[P.L. Bhargava was Professor and Head, Department of Sanskrit at Rajasthan University. His books include Retrieval of History from Puranic Myths, Chandragupta Maurya and Fundamentals of Hinduism.]