Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c5.s1.7

c5.s1.7

It may, however, be admitted that such hopeless exaggeration is less noticeable in the description of the Indian rulers of the earlier period of history. For this reason, the earlier the king is, the greater is our reliance in his claims, in spite of the obvious fact that there is always a considerable amount of exaggeration in the royal praśastis composed by the court poets of Indian monarchs. But definite statements such as the mention of the personal names of adversaries are generally more trustworthy than vague claims. Whatever be the nature of exaggeration, there is certainly an amount of truth in the claims put forward in such records as the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta and the Tirumalai inscription of Rājendrachola I.¹