Political History Of Ancient India

Author(s): Hemchandra Raychaudhari
Publisher: University of Calcutta

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EXTRACTS FROM THE PREFACE TO THE
SECOND EDITION
A new edition of the Political History of Ancient India from the Accession of Pariltshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty is placed before the public. The work has been out of print for some time, and need has long been felt for a fresh edition. Therefore it goes forth once more having been revised and re-written in the light of the new information that is coming in so rapidly and in such vast bulk. No pains have been spared to bring the book up-to-date and make it more attractive to students. Material emendations have been made in almost every chapter. Some of the extracts in Sanskrit have been provided with English renderings.
A new feature of the present volume is the inclusion of a number of maps, and a few chronological and synchronistic tables, which, it is to be hoped, will increase the usefulness of the work. The incorporation of fresh material bas necessitated a recasting of the indexes.
The present writer never intended his work to be a comprehensive survey of the political and dynastic history of every Indian province. He is chiefly concerned with those kingdoms and empires whose influence tran. scended provincial limits and bad an important bearing upon the general course of political events in the heart and nerve-centres of the Indian sub-continent. Dynasties of mere local interest (e.g., the Tamil Prachaitas of the far south, or the Himālayan Pratyantas in the far north) have received very brief notice, as these did not acquire an all-India importance till after the Gupta