Although many scholars have commented on different aspects of the history of the Buddhist Cities in early India, which in those days attracted the seekers of truth from various parts of the Asian continent, the picture that has emerged so far is not at all satisfactory, and requires re-interpretation and critical assessment, in order to reveal its various interesting facets which have widely influenced not only the culture of India but that of the whole Asia. As we know, these places, because of their association with the ‘Great Master’ became the great centres of pilgrimage in the course of centuries and the events connected with His life became the favourite objects of representation by the artists in early Buddhist art. They flourished and continued to attract the seekers of knowledge for more than one thousand years. In the present monograph the significance of these places and the various events connected with them have been thoroughly discussed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Upendra Thakur
Dr. Upendra Thakur (1928-1990) worked as Professor and Head of the Department of Ancient Indian and Asian Studies (1969-1990) and as Head of the Department of Buddhist Studies (1984-90) at the Magadh University Bodhgaya and as Director, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda Pali Institute), Nalanda (No. 1988-Jan 1990). A widely traveled scholar, Professor Thakur visited Yugoslavia, West Germany, Italy, Austria, USSR, England and Egypt (1969); Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma (1972, 1977, 1979 & 1984); Australia (1979); Malaysia (1980); Japan and USA (1981); Sri Lanka (1982); Kathmandu (1981 & 1985); London and Hamburg (1981 & 1986) and other countries of the world in connection with lecture-tour, international conferences and seminars. He also presided over many seminars and conferences in India and abroad. Professor Thakur also worked as General Secretary of the Numismatic Society of India (NSI: 1977-82) and as Chief Editor of the JNSI (1983-1985). At the time of his sad demise in December, 1991, he was the Vice-President of the Bihar Research Society, Patna and Chief Editor of its Journal (JBRS); Chief Editor, Proc. IBBA, Tokyo-Bodhgaya; Chairman of the ‘International Board of Consultative Editors’. World of Buddhism (WB), Sri Lanka; Member, The Research Board of Advisors, The American Biographical Institute, USA, Member of the International known Explorers club of New York, USA and also recipient of the Akbar Silver Medal of the NSI. He was again honoured by the NSI along with other eminent historians of India in its Platinum session at patna (1987). He was also awarded the ‘Bharatiya Sanskriti Puraskara, by the Government of Bihar for his work Sahitya aura Sanskriti: Kucha Cintana (in Hindi). Professor Thakur published several books and more than 160 research papers including History of Mithila, History of Suicide in India, Studies in Jainism and Buddhism in Mithila, The Hunas in India Mints and Minting in India, Some Aspects of Ancient Indian History and Culture. Corruption in Ancient India, An Introduction to Homicide in India, On Karttikeya, Madhubani Painting, Some Aspects of Asian History & Culture, Indian Missionaries in the Land of Gold, Socio-economic Life in Early Medieval Mithila, Studies in Indian History, India and Japan: A Study in Interaction, and many other books in joint editorship (all in English), Sahitya aura Sanskriti: Kucha Cintana, Baudhadharma: Desa-Videsa and Mughala Kaltna Bharata (in Hindi) nd Mithila Ka Itihasa, Mithila Ka Lokakala O’ Silpakala and Mithila Ka Sarasvata Sadhana (in Maithili).
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