Cosmography and Geography in Early Indian Literature c4: Preface

Cosmography and Geography in Early Indian Literature c4

Language: English

Preface

c4.1

At the outset, I must express my sincere thanks to the Syndicate of the University of Madras for inviting me to deliver the Sir William Meyer Endowment Lectures in History for the year 1965-66. When the invitation reached me about the beginning of October 1965, I remembered, with a sense of pride and diffidence, that my teacher, the late Professor D. R. Bhandarkar, had delivered, under the same endowment, his famous lectures (*Some Aspects of Indian Culture*, Madras, 1940) quarter of a century ago.

c4.2

Although the subject of my lectures, viz. *Cosmography and Geography in Early Indian Literature*, is covered by a compulsory paper that is being offered by the candidates for the M. A. Examination in Ancient Indian History and Culture in the University of Calcutta for nearly half a century now, the only comprehensive work on it, so far as the textual material is concerned, is Willibald Kirfel's *Die Kosmographie der Inder*, Bonn, 1920 (cf. also his *Das Purāṇa vom Weltgebäude*: *Die Kosmographischen Traktate der Purāṇa's Versuch einer Textgeschichte*, Bonn, 1954), while foreign savants like Pargiter and Indian scholars like S. N. Majumdar-Sastri and H. C. Raychaudhuri, as is well known, have published the results of their valuable researches only on particular aspects of the problems. I remember today, with reverence and gratitude, my indebtedness to my teacher, the late Professor Raychaudhuri, for kindling my interest in the subject. My own small contribution to the elucidation of some of the problems, dedicated to his memory, is my *Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India*, Delhi, 1960.

c4.3

The present lectures are of course not expected to be a comprehensive treatment of the subject. But they would indicate the lines on which further work is possible. In order to give a clear idea of the subject, I have tried in my own way to deal, howsoever summarily, with most of the important topics, some of which were not touched by Kirfel. It may also be noticed that, unlike Pargiter and others, Kirfel was not primarily concerned with the location of ancient geographical names on the map of the country.

c4.4

It is for the students of ancient Indian history and geography to see whether these lectures are of any use to them.

c4.5

University of Calcutta, March 20, 1966.

c4.6

D. C. SIRCAR

c4.7

To the three lectures, originally delivered at the University of Madras, have been added several appendices mostly containing geographical extracts from well-known works, which are expected to give the reader some idea about the nature and value of the foreign sources of early Indian geography. The work is now placed in the hands of the students of Indology with the further addition of an exhaustive Index besides a few diagrams and maps.

c4.8

I am extremely grateful to Sri Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya, Editor of *Indian Studies : Past & Present*, Calcutta, to whom goes the credit of bringing out the work in such a short period of time. For the index, my sincere thanks are due to Sri Chunilal Chakravarti, Senior Lecturer in History, Dinabandhu College, Bangaon (West Bengal), Dr. Dipak Ranjan Das, Lecturer, Sanskrit College, Calcutta, and the University of Calcutta, and Sri Samares Bandyopadhyay, Junior Research Fellow, Centre of Advanced Study, Department of Ancient Indian History and Culture, Calcutta University. The diagrams have been drawn by my son Saumitra. Finally, I have to express my gratitude to Dr. R. C. Majumdar who has been so kind as to favour me with his valued opinion on the work.