Materials for the Study of the Early History of the Vaishnava Sect c4.1

c4.1

The task of revising a work that deals with any aspect of Ancient Indian history and civilisation for a new edition is by no means an easy one. And the difficulties of the reviser are not lessened by the fact that a period of sixteen years intervenes between the first appearance of the volume in print and its reissue in 1936—a period during which numerous treatises, notes and monographs on the subject have appeared in various publications. The writer of these pages is conscious of his own limitations, of the fact that he has, in all probability, not been able to make full use of all these learned disquisitions. But he has endeavoured to the best of his ability to incorporate some of the more important results of recent research, especially in the domain of South Indian history and chronology, and has attempted a more incisive treatment of relevant epigraphs, notably the Ghosuṇḍi, Besnagar and Mandasor inscriptions. The author takes this opportunity of expressing his thanks to Sir George Grierson, Professors Keith, Schrader and Garbe, Mr. A. Govindāchārya Svāmin and other scholars for having helped him with constructive criticism and suggestions. The revision of the text has necessitated a recasting of the Indexes. An attempt has been made to supply references that may be useful to the student.