Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c11.s1.2

c11.s1.2

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.