Early Indian Historical Tradition and Archaeology : Puranic Kingdoms and Dynasties with Genealogies, Relative Chronology and Date of Mahabharata War/G.P. Singh. Reprint. New Delhi, D.K. Printworld, 2004, 245 p., tables, $39. ISBN 81-246-0005-8.

    Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. From Manu Vaivasvata to the accession of Parikshit. 3. The dynasties and kingdoms of the post-Bharata War period (from the accession of Parikshit to the end of the Barhadratha dynasty). 4. The Pradyota dynasty (c. 513-411 BC). 5. Magadhan dynasties of the Pre-Maurya period (from Bimbisara to the end of the Nanda dynasty c. 543-321 BC). 6. The Maurya and the post-Maurya dynasties down to the Satavahanas (c. 321 BC-225 AD). 7. The Naga dynasties (from the second century BC to the fourth century AD). 8. The Vakatakas and the Guptas (from the third to the sixth century AD). 9. Kingdoms and dynasties of the post-Harsa period (c. 650-1200 AD). 10. Minor kingdoms and dynasties. 11. Conclusion. Appendices. Glossary. Index.

    "In mankind's history, India's is the longest literary tradition-"so ancient that it cannot be illustrated either by contemporary books or from monuments". The Rgveda, indisputably the oldest literary work, was written at a time when many a great, old-world civilization lay in the wombs of futurity. And almost equal is the antiquity of the Puranas which, considered as "the fifth Veda", figure distinguished among the traditional sources: Vedic Samhitas, Brahmanas, Srutis and Smrtis, Dharmasastras, epics (the Ramayana and the Mahabharata), Tantra manuals, and myriad Buddhist and Jaina texts, -- that have helped historiographers unravel and landmarks in the subcontinental civilization.

    Bulky and often crowded with legendary, religious and philosophical matters of various kinds, the Puranas record the genealogies of Hindu deities, the reigns of the Manus, and chronicles of Solar, Lunar and other ancient dynasties. Professor G.P. Singh tries afresh to establish their historicity, surveying the whole extent of Itihasa-Purana: the early Indian historical tradition, founded on the Puranic literature.

    Meticulously sifting facts from myths, legends, and philosophic reflections in this monumental corpus of yore, the book reconstructs millennia of ancient India's political and cultural history: from the pre-Bharata War days to about 1200 AD (the post-Harsa period) -- with both genealogical and chronological details of all dynasties/kingdoms that rose and fell in different regions of the Indian subcontinent. Contextually, the author analyses threadbare the Puranic evidence to also review the "date" of the Mahabharata War.

    In thematically exploring the historicity of all different Puranas, Dr. Singh is at pains to show how far the Puranic accounts are validated by other traditional writings on the one hand, and archaeological evidence on the other. With prolific bibliographic references and a number of chronological/genealogical tables, his book will interest the scholars/researchers of indology, ancient Indian history and archaeology." (jacket)

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