Sambodhi 1993 Vol 18

SR No.: 520768
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: J B Shah, N M Kansara
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 1993
Total Pages: 172
Language: English, Sanskrit, Prakrit, Gujarati
Classification: Magazine, India_Sambodhi, & India
File Size: 17 MB

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Vol. XVIII, '92-'93
Ahicchatra Through the Ages, edited by K. D. Bajpai. Foreword by A. K. Chatterjee. Panchal Research Institute, Kanpur, pp. 175 + 19 photo plates, Rs. 95/-.
From the Vedic times, through the Mahābhārata and later Purānic times, the region known by the name Pāñcalas is well-known. The Vedic king Sudāsa of the Dāšarājñawar fame, the Pāndavas in the Mahābhārata, the Purānic Kingdoms of Magadha, Kosala and Vatsa are all connected with the Pāñcala region in one way or other. Paricakrā, Kāmpilya (or Kampila) and Ahiccatrā are the important cities in Pancala that have been mentioned in the Vedic and Purānic texts. Ahiccatrā has been indentified with a ruined city of the same name near Modern Ramnagar in the Bareily district. The city was still considerable in extent when visited by the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen-Tsang in the 17th century.
The present volume is devoted to the researches about this ancient city. It contains eighteen research articles in all by veteran scholars like B. N. Pandey, N. P. Joshi, S P. Shukla, Jayanti Bhattacharya, Bhagavatilal, A.L. Shrivastava, Bhamvarlal Nahta, and others, some of them (2-7) in English and the rest (8-18) in Hindi. The first article is in fact the medieval Prakrit text, entitled 'Ahicchatta-kappa' (Skt. Ahicchatrā-nagari-kalpa) of Jinaprabhasūri. The plates at the end of the book, give a Map of Western Uttar Pradesh and therein the location of the city of Ahicchatrā, copper coins of various royal dynasties, earthern image of Mātrdevī, of Bodhisatva Maitreya, of the heads of Siva and Parvati, of the bust of Visnu, and so on.
As a consolidated collection of researches on the topics connected with the ancient city of Ahicchatra, this is most welcome publication of the Pāñcala Research Institute, Kanpur. The only point that strikes a careful reader is that the editor has scrupulously refrained from giving the year of publication of this volume, perhaps in a bid to make it of eternal timeless value ! N. M. K.