Concise History Of Ancient India Vol Ii Political Theory Administration And Economic Life

Description: This is the second volume of a three volume series dealing with the history and culture of ancient India. The first volume, already published, describes the political history of ancient India from the earliest period to c. AD 1300. The present volume deals with the political theories, administrative organizations, and economic life. The arrangements of topics in this volume will enable the reader to distinguish between theory and practice. He will also obtain an integrated picture of political and economic life in ancient India presented here for the first time in one volume. As the author has explained in the preface to the first volume, 'concise' means, brief in expression,' and not 'abridgement.' Following this principle, he has been able to present the salient features of the political and economic life in ancient India with important details sometimes even quoting inscriptions in full. The author began the study of these subjects nearly thirty years ago. He now presents the fruit of his patient, labour and mature deliberation.

Description: This is the first volume of a series, dealing with the history and culture of ancient India, which is intended to fulfill the needs of the university student as well as of the general readers who desire to know the past history of India. The series consists of three volumes dealing respectively with (1) political history, (2) theories of government, administration, and economic life, and (3) society, religion, and philosophy. The present volume deals with the political history of ancient India, and presents the facts avoiding the theories as far as possible. Hence it has been possible to describe within the space of this volume the history of India from the Harappa culture down to the fall of the Hoysalas, including the rise and fall of all the great dynasties and also of the important minor dynasties with adequate accounts of the reigns of the famous monarchs. Two of the special features of this work are the exhaustive description of the source materials, and of the Arabs and Turks in India, which deals, among other topics, with the 'nature and pattern of Muslim conquest, 'while an analysis of the causes which led to the defeat of the Hindu kings is discussed in the preface.

Description: This is the third and last volume of a series, dealing with the history and culture of ancient India, which is intended to fulfil the needs of the University student as well as of the general readers who desire to know the past history of India. The series consist of three volumes dealing respectively with (1) Political History (2) Political Theory, Administration and Economic Life and (3) Hinduism : Society Religion and Philosophy. The present volume deals with religion, philosophy and society. Historians writing on Indian history are mostly content with devoting a single chapter to cover these three topics. This has created problems for those readers, who want to know more, but have no ready access to the vast number of books required for a thorough grasp of the subject. Dr. Majumdar has solved this problem by devoting an entire volume to these topics. Each and every aspect of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain religions and their philosophy have been thoroughly dealt with. Even remote and minor religious practices are not left out, the ripples and upheavals in society caused by the oscillating political fortunes are brought in sharp focus.

This is the first book to study taxation and revenue collection through a detailed analysis of public finance and financial administration in four major Indian texts, namely Mahabharata, Manusmriti, Shukranitisar and Arthashastra, as philosophers trained in the Indian classic tradition and scholars working on ancient Indian wisdom mostly prefer a more abstract approach. India has a long tradition of at least two millennia of active philosophizing in the fields of logic, ethics, epistemology and metaphysics, though many in the West feel hesitant in according it the title “philosophy” in their sense of the word. Furthermore, few in India have taken it beyond philosophy towards active knowledge. This book re-visits and re-interprets the contexts of these texts with logic and objectivity to bring the pearls of knowledge found within into the present day, showing that Sanskrit is still the lingua franca of intellectual dialogue in India.

Takes a fresh look at the history of democracy, broadening the traditional view with previously unexplored examples. This substantial reference work critically re-examines the history of democracy, from ancient history to possible directions it may take in the future. 44 chapters explore the origins of democracy and explore new - and sometimes surprising - examples from around the world. Each of the 9 parts introduces the period, followed by 3 to 7 case studies.

The heart of this book is a dramatic love poem, the Rasa Lila, which is the ultimate focal point of one of the most treasured Sanskrit texts of India, the Bhagavata Purana. Judged a literary masterpiece by Indian and Western scholars alike, this work of poetic genius and soaring religious vision is one of the world's greatest sacred love stories and, as Graham Schweig clearly demonstrates, should be regarded as India's Song of Songs. The story presents the supreme deity as the youthful and amorous cowherd, Krishna, who joins his beloved maidens in an enchanting and celebratory "dance of divine love." Schweig introduces this work of exquisite poetry and profound theology to the Western world in the form of a luminous translation and erudite scholarly treatment. His book explores the historical context and literary genre of the work and elucidates the aesthetic and emotional richness of the composition, highlighting poignant details of this drama of divine love. Schweig illuminates the religious dimensions and ethical nuances of the drama, drawing widely from the commentaries and esoteric vision of masters of the Caitanya school of Vaishnavism, a prominent devotional Hindu tradition. Themes such as transcendence of death through love, the yoga of devotion, the contrast between worldly love and passionate love for God, and the dialectical tension between ethical boundaries and boundless love are presented. The final event of the Rasa dance, the author concludes, presents a dynamic symbol of supreme love that provides the basis for a theological vision of genuine religious pluralism.