Studies in Indian Antiquities (An Old and Rare Book)

This little volume is, in the main, a collection of detached essays, which is intended to serve as an introduction to the study of some vexed problems of Indian antiquity, particularly of the early epic and the geographical sections of the Purāņas. The papers now collected appeared at different times in various literary and historical journals, monthly reviews, vernacular magazines, commemoration volumes and miscellaneous compilations such as the Calcutta Review, the Journal of the Department of Letters (Calcutta University), the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the Indian Antiquary, the Indian Historical Quarterly, the Navya-Bhārata, the Mānašī O Marmavāņi, the Vichitrā, Sir Asutosh Mookerjee Silver Jubilee Volumes and Law's Buddhistic Studies. To the editors and publishers of these works the writer of the following pages takes this opportunity of offering his sincere thanks. The re-issue of the articles has afforded him an opportunity of correcting some typographical mistakes or other errors, that crept into the texts as published in the periodicals and miscellanies named above, particularly the Bengali magazines. Ancient Indian History is a progressive subject, and it is not surprising that, while subjecting the papers to revision, addition, emendations and re-arrangements have, in some cases, been deemed to be necessary.

The essays, disquisitions and notes brought together in the present volume are grouped under four heads, viz. (1) Vedic and Epic Studies, (II) Geography, (III) History and Chronology and (IV) Epic and Geographical and Historical Studies in Bengali. While the book as a whole undoubtedly suffers from a lack of unity, Part II, viz. that dealing with Ancient Indian Geography will, it is hoped, be found to be comparatively free from the defects inherent in an assemblage of independent treatises.

The papers constituting Part I relate to the Vedas and the Epics. The dissertations on the epics have already been noticed by scholars like Washburn Hopkins (Ethics of India, p. 171 n) and M. Winternitz (A History of Indian Literature, Vol. I, translated from the original German by Mrs. S. Ketkar and revised by the author, pp. 473 n, 506 n), while that on the Antiquity of the Rigveda has been commented on by Professor A. B. Keith in the Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads, p. 618. The Professor's remark that the writer of the paper based his conclusions only on “the epic or Purāņa genealogies” is perhaps due to an oversight, as the author referred not only to the Rāja-paramparā of the epics and the Purānas, but also to the Āchārya-paramparā of the Vedic texts, particularly of the Satapatha Brāhmaṇa and the Sänkhāyana Āranyaka. The essayist was certainly not unaware of the fact that "the Mahābhārata, in its present shape, is a late work” and that “the tradition recorded in the Ādi-parva” was regarded by some scholars as “mere folklore, useless for historical purposes.” He, therefore, adduced evidence from the Vedic texts and observed that “The agreement between the Brāhmanas, the Upanishads, and the epic, and the synchronisms established, confirm and corroborate one another and tend to show that the Rāja-paramparā and the Guru-paramparā are entitled to credence."

The writer of the following pages craves the indulgence of the reader for any mistake and misprint that may have escaped his attention. He owes a special debt of gratitude to Mr. J. C. Chakravarti, Assistant Registrar, Calcutta University, who lent his aid at various stages of the work.

**Contents and Sample Pages**