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of varied texts, scripts, works - literary and scientific The study on ancient Indian civilization and the problems that it poses would have been incomplete without this part,
Actually here this book is a collection of different papers already published. The four parts in which these papers are divided is a scientific arrangement. The arrangement covers up almost all aspects of culture except sciences, philosophy, art and poetry, in which again. Indian culture is very rich. One might feel that there are some topics that should have been included. We leave it to the great Indologist to give more such studied and scholarly papers on subjects left out and these may fıtly comprise of another volume, other than the second collection that is to be published. If he has raised problems and has rightly shown the way to fulture research, he could also give a volume in which he will enlist the achievements of Indian culture, its very rich heritage and attainment in most of the spheres of life.
We therefore warmly welcome this study with future expectations from this renowned Indologist.
R. S. Betai
Social Life in Ancient India-Haran Chandra Chakaldar Cosmos Publica. tions, New Delhi-110002, Second Edition, 1984-Pages 212, Price Rs. 135/
The second edition of this famous book appears affter a span of 35 years. The work was praised as a complete and comprehensive study" of life in ancient India; it is scholarly and was considered to be a work of renown them, in 1929. Even to-day, after so many studies of Ancient Indian Culture in all its varied facets in countless works by eminent scholars, both of east and west, the second editon is welcome in its own way. It is a masterly analysis of social life in Ancient India as reflected in the Kamasutra of Vatsyayana.
The famous work of Vātsyāyana is basically a work on "the Science and art of love" and it is considered to be a standard work in Sanskrit on the subject. We may not expect much of a dipiction social life then. Yet, unlike our non-expectation, there is a lot of material in this work that can be utilized as reflecting social life. That explains and justifies the writing of this work and the author has utilized to the full all material that will help his interpretation directly and indirectly both. It is still a difficult task indeed. When he writes on different topics, he gives countless
