Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c13.s1.18

c13.s1.18

Khshayārshā or Xerxes (486-465 B.C.), the son and successor of Darius I, maintained his hold on the Indian provinces. In the great army which he led against Hellas both Gandhāra and "India" were represented. The Gandhārians are described by Herodotus as bearing bows of reed and short spears, and the "Indians" as being clad in cotton garments and bearing cane bows with arrows tipped with iron. One of the newly discovered stone-tablets at Persepolis¹ records that Xerxes "by Ahuramazda's will" sapped the foundations of certain temples of the *Daivas* and ordained that "the *Daivas* shall not be worshipped".