Political History of Ancient India - Hemchandra Raychaudhuri

 Political History of Ancient India by Hemchandra Raychaudhuri

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Political History of Ancient India by Hemchandra Raychaudhuri

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

A new edition of the Political History of Ancient

India from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty is placed before the public. The work has been out of print for some time, and need has long been felt for a fresh edition. Therefore it goes forth once more having been revised and re-written in the

light of the new information that is coming in so rapidly and in such vast bulk. No pains have been spared to bring the book up to date, and make it more attractive to students. Material emendations have been made in almost every chapter. Some of the extracts in Sanskrit have been provided with English renderings. New paragraphs, sections, appendices and genealogical tables have beenadded where necessary, the more important additions will

be found on pages 5n, 14, 48, 50, 72f, 88n, 118, 178n, 034f, 254f, 260n, 267, 300, 302, ARE.

Attention may be called here to the fact not sice

in the text that in the Harivamsa there is a passage (I. 14, 17) which characterises the Pahlavas as Smaśrudhārinah. Judged by this test, kings of the family of Ranjubula and Nahapana, who are not unoften taken to be Parthians, could not have belonged to that nationality as their portraits found on coins (JRAS, 1913, bet. pp. 630631) show no traces of beards. They were, therefore, almost certainly Sakas. Regarding the controversy about Pātika, pp. 284-85, it may be noted that the Rajataranginī furnishes

an instance of a son being replaced by his father as king (cf. the case of Partha), and of a king abdicating in favour of his son and again resuming control over the kingdom (cf. the case of Kalasa who continued to be a co-ruler after

the resumption of control by his father).

A wOrd may here be added about Dr.

Thomas'citation of the rule of Pānini II. 2. l5.

This is a Samāsa rule and hardly refers to the cases to which Thomas applies it. 

A new feature of the present volume is the inclu-

sion of a num ber of maps, and a few chronological and synchronistic tables, which, it is to be boped, will inereasethe usefulness of the

work. The incor poration of

fresh material has necessitated a recasting of the

indexes.

The present writer never intended his work to be a comprehensive survey of the political and dynastio history of every Indian province. He is chiefy concerned with those kingdoms and empires whose infiuence transcended provincial limits and had an important bearing upon the general course of political events in the heart

and nerve-centres of the Indian sub-continent. Dynasties of mere local interest (e.g., the Tamil Prachaimtas of the far south, or the Himālayan Pratyantas in the far north) have received very brief notice, as these did not acquire an all- India importance tll after the Gupta period when a Jayadeva Parachakrakāma had intimate dynastic relations with several rulers of the Indian interior, a Lalitāditya pushed his conquests as far as Kanauj, and a Rajendra Chola carried his arms to the banks of the Ganges.

Further, the author does not claim for the period

from Parikshit to Bimbisāra the same degree of authenticity as for the age of the Mauryas, the Satavāhanas and the Guptas. The absence of trustworthy contemporary dynastic records makes it preposterous to put forward such a proposition. In regard to the early period it has

been his principal endeavour to show that the huge fabrio of sacerdotal and rhapsodic legends is not based solely on the mythical fancy of mendacions prists andstory-telling Diaskeuasts, that bardic tales sometimes conceal kernels of sober facts not less trustworthy than the current accounts of the dynasties immediately preceding the raid of Alexander, and that chronological

relation of the national transactions before 600 B. C. is not impossible. In trying to demonstrate this he has not confined himself to literature of a particular type, but has collated the whole mass of evidence, Vedic as well as Purāņic, Brāhnmanical as well as non-Brāhmanical, Buddhist as well as Jain, Indian as well as Hellenic.

The writer of these pages wishes to acknowledge

with sincere thanks his indebtedness to scholars and critics who have helped him with valuable suggestions, and especially to Dr. Barnett, Professor Schrader, Dr. Jarl Charpentier, Mr. H. Subbaiya and Mr. Asananda Nag. He is also grateful for the kind assistance which he received in many difficulties from his friends and colleagues, among whom Mr. Sailendranath Mitra, Dr. Sunitikumar Chatterji, Mr. H. 0. Ray and M. J. C. Chakravorti deserve especial mention. His acknowledgments are also due to Srijut Golapchandra Raychaudhuri who gave him much valuable help in the preparation of maps and the revision of the In dexes.

The author does not claim that he Indexes are exhaustive, but he has spared no pains to include all important references.

H. C. R. C.

THE UNIVERSITY, CALCUTTA :

April 12, 1927.