A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c6.42

c6.42

While the direct contribution to history from literary sources is thus seen to be of little importance, the indirect value to the historian of a study of the literatures of the country can hardly be overrated. Not only do they enable him to picture the social and religious milieu in which the characters of history lived and moved and acted, but the prologues, epilogues and colophons of different works often embody valuable data on the lineage and achievements of the authors of the works and their royal patrons, and these often eke out the scrappy information drawn from inscriptions. The history of South Indian literatures in Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada will be briefly reviewed in the chapter on literature, and mention need be made here only of some outstanding facts of general interest.