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NOVEMBER, 1926)
BOOK-NOTICE
219
him.
The seventh century saw the use of the last modem of great Indian cities," dating only from great Hindu Empire in India under Harsha of the days of the Tomara Rajput Anangapala, in the Thépesar and Kanauj, c. 606 to c. 647; and of his middle of the eleventh century A.D. reign there is much good evidence, which need not be gone into here beyond stating that in acquiring At this period there existed, as above said, Prithi. and then ruling his great dominions for a quarter vir Aja, Chauhan, of Sambhar and Ajmer, the famous of a century and more he shows himself to have Rai Pithor of song and legend, who faced Shiha. been an unusually great man. His empire, how. bu'ddin Ghori at Tarain and was killed in 1192. ever, practically disappeared with him; and in the Dr. Vincent Smith throws over the old story that words of Dr. Vincent Smith "India naturally re- the abduction of Raja Jaichand's daughter was a verted to her normal condition of anarchical auto. cause of the Rajput defeat by ShihAbu'ddin Ghort, nomy." As to the remaining 500 odd years of
as the two great frontier chiefs of the period could not Hindu rule under petty chiefs before the arrival of combine, and puts it down prosaically to the defeat Mahmnd of Ghaznt, c. 1000 A.D., and the con queste of "a mob of Indian militia " before "the onset of Shihabu'ddin Ghori, c. 1200, the book has a of trained cavalry." He may be right, if there is pregnant paragraph on p. 372, where it is said that evidence the Afghan (or whatever they were) "the salient features in the bewildering annals of cavalry were better trained than the Rajputs. Indian petty states, when left to their own devices Passing over the Chandels (Gonds) and the Kalafor several conturies, may perhaps give a notion churie (Haihayas), wo find another great ruler of what India always has been when released from among the Pawirs of Mâlwà in Raja Bhoja of Dhår the control of a supreme authority, and what she (1018-1000), who has left a lively memory behind would be again if the hand of the benevolent power which now safeguards her boundaries should be All this while in Bengal there was a Pala dynasty withdrawn." I may here remark that we have the (Buddhist), rising out of the anarchy following the author at his greatest value when history is most
great Emperor Harsha, which lasted somu four and confused-learned, patient and clear. The oldest a hall centuries. Of this Dynasty Dharınapala expert can hear him here with profit, and I would (c. 810-832) controlled a wide kingdom. The like to add with admiration. The truth of such an Senas-who wero Hindus-under Vijayasena, wrest. observation is brought home by A Perusal of Dr. ed a large part of Bengal from the Palas, c. 1100, Vincent Smith's outspoken remarks on the history and the two dynasties ruled side by side till Muhamof the Rajput States and on the Rajputs themselves, mad ibn Bakhtiyar Khilji, put an end to both in though these last a pretty sure to rouse controversy. 1197 and destroyed Buddhism. Thus ended HinduIt is not possible here to go into the details of
govomed India, of which one remark may be made. Indian history from 700 to 1200 A.D. The land was
Wherever and whenever there was strong rule under local chiefs, some of whom acquired large ter
imperially or locally-literature and the arts flourish. ritories, while others have become famous. Regard
ed. Dr. Vincent Smith follows up his account by ing these times the opinions of scholars and rear.
some remarkable pages on Rajputs, which to my chers naturally differ and Dr. Vincent Smith has his
mind gives a fair account of these elusive clans, own reasoned opinion on every point, put with great
though one can hardly hope that his conclusions, so force and with a clearness which all readers will
boldly stated, will escape criticism. He winds up acknowledge. Of the rulers who were personally great
the section of his work with a very fine Appendix on may be mentioned firstly Bhoja, Panibâr (Rajput)
the origin and chronology of the Sena Dynasty. of Kanauj (840-890)-Mihira Bhoja as Dr. Vincent Smith calls him for differentiation-followed by his There still remain, however, two important parts son Mahendrapala (890-908) and grandson Mahipala, of India to be considered-che Doocan and the 910-940, who all maintained a wide rule. Then South. As regards the Deccan, Dr. Vincent Smith came Jaipal of Bhatinde (Patiala), who stood up to remarks that, from the destruction of the Andhras, the Muhammadang, Sabuktigin and Mahmud of history is still very vague from 228 to the sixth Ghaznf, for a while (989 to 1001). Meanwhile the century i.e., to the rise of the Chalukyas (Solankis) Panihêr rulers of Kanauj had given place to the
of Vatâpi (Badêmi), who, he thinks, were connec. Gabarwars in 1090, from whom eventually came
tions of the Gurjaras of Gujarat, and therefore ori. the Rathors of Jodhpur and the Desert. The
ginally foreigners to India. In 608 a very able Gaharwars produced a great ruler in Govindachan
prince, Pulakesin II, was on the throne at Vatapi dra (1104-1165), and under his grandson Jaya
and his brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana was his chandra--the Raja Jaichend, whose daughter was
viceroy in the East at Vengi. Hencear ose the carried off by Rai Pithora, the Chauhan, of Ajmer
long lines of the Wostern and Eastern Chalukya.. according to a well-known story-India fell to the They fought all round always and Palakesin became a Muhammadans under Shihâbu'ddin Ghori in 1194. mighty ruler until his defeat and death in 642 at the Here Dr. Vincent Smith makes another of his out. hands of the Pallava king Narasimha varman. epoken statement that Delhi is among the mont About 763 arrived for two and a half centuries the
