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Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c11.s1: Section I. Foreword

Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c11.s1

Language
English

Section I. Foreword

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The following pages deal with the political history of India from the time of Bimbisāra to that of the Guptas. For this period we are fortunately in possession of authentic historical materials in addition to literary tradition to which reference has already been made in the first part of the book. These materials are derived principally from the following sources: inscriptions, coins, accounts left by foreign observers and works of Indian authors of known date and authenticity.

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Inscriptions engraved on stone and copper undoubtedly form the most copious and important source. Hardly less important are the coins which constitute almost the sole evidence of the history of certain dynasties and republican communities of the second and first centuries B. C. Foreign accounts, especially the records of Greek diplomats and navigators and of Chinese annalists and pilgrims, are especially valuable in connection with the vexed question of Indian chronology. Works of Indian writers of known epochs, that illumine the darkness of our period, and afford interesting glimpses of political history, are extremely rare and comprise the *Mahābhāshya* (Great Commentary) of Patañjali, the *Kalpanāmaṇḍitikā* of Kumāralāta, the *Life of Vasubandhu* by Paramārtha and the *Harsha-charita* (Deeds of Harsha) by Bāṇabhaṭṭa.

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For the history of the period from Bimbisāra to Aśoka the writer of these pages cannot in some respects claim much originality. The subject has been treated by Rhys Davids and Smith, and a flood of new light has been thrown on particular dynasties by Geiger, Bhandarkar, Rapson, Jayaswal, Malalasekera, Jackson, Herzfeld, Hultzsch and others. Use has in some cases been made of the information contained in their works, and it has been supplemented with fresh data gathered mainly from epical, Jaina, Buddhist and classical sources. As instances it may be pointed out that attention to the name Haryaṅka, given to the Bimbisārid family by Aśvaghosha, was first drawn in these pages. The tradition recorded in the *Harsha-charita* and Jaina works regarding the tragic end of Śiśunāga’s line and origin of the Nandas has been collated with the evidence of the Graeco-Latin writers. Epic data have been used largely to illustrate the dawn of Magadhan ascendancy, locate tribes like the Kambojas and the Pulindas who figure in the Aśokan edicts, and to explain expressions like *stryadhyaksha*, *vihārayātrā*, ,*anusaṁyāna* etc. Old materials have also been presented in many cases in a new shape, and the author’s conclusions are often different from those of former writers.

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In the chapter on the Later Mauryas the author has examined the causes of the dismemberment of the Maurya Empire, and drawn pointed attention to the Gārgī Saṁhitā, the Hou Hanshu, etc. and has tried to demonstrate the unsoundness of the current theory that “the fall of the Maurya authority was due in large measure to a reaction promoted by the Brāhmans.¹

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¹ The Chapter on the Later Mauryas was published in the JASB, 1920 (No. 18, pp. 305 ff.).

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The treatment of the history of the Early Post-Mauryan and Scythian periods, though not entirely original, is different in many respects from that of previous authors. It has not been possible to accept the current views with regard to the lineage of Pushyamitra and the history and chronology of several dynasties, notably of the Early Śātavāhanas, the Greeks of Śākala, and the Saka-Pahlavas of the Uttarāpatha or North-West India. As early as 1923 the writer of these pages assigned to the Nāgas of the Jumna valley and Eastern Malwa and the Bhāraśivas their proper place in the history of the post-Kushan period, a fact which has been ignored in some wellknown publications.

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In the account of the Gupta period use has been made of the mass of fresh materials accumulated since the publication of the works of Bühler, Fleet, Smith and Allan. The notices of the most famous ruling family of the age in early epigraphs and literature, which are sometimes overlooked, have received due attention, its relations with southern dynasties like the Vākāṭakas have been discussed, and an attempt has been made to present a connected history of the so-called 'Later Guptas.'¹

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¹ The Chapter on the so-called Later Guptas was published in the *JASB.*, 1920 (No. 19, pp. 313 ff).

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