Place names from inscriptions have been studied in the past for tracing the historical geography and cultural ethnography but they have rarely been taken into account along with other evidences from other sources like literature or sculpture etc. with a view to work out the cultural history of any region for a particular period. In the present work attempt has been made to remove this lacuna by corroborating and supplimenting the data obtained from place names with that of internal evidence from epigraphs, literature and sculptures, wher-ever possible. Place names from inscriptions ranging in date from c. 2nd B.C.-1300 A.D found in Maharashtra have been classified here on the basis of prefixes and suffixes into groups like settlements, administration and polity and economic, social and religious conditions. Administrative divisions known to have been prevalent under different dynasties have been shown in nine maps arranged dynastywise. Besides, there are diagrams showing settlement patterns too.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Malati Mahajan
Dr. Malati Mahajan who retired as lecturer from the Post Graduate Teaching Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology of Nagpur University, Nagpur is the student of the same department. She passed her M.A. examination in first division and was awarded Motilal Nehru centenary prize for standing first in order of merit. She was the recipient of the U.G.C. fellowship while working for her Ph.D. thesis under the guidance of Dr. S.B. Deo. After Ph.D. she worked as research assistant with Dr. S.B. Deo and completed the work of translation of the "Topographical List of Inscriptions found in Maharashtra and Goa". Again I the same capacity she worked with Dr. Ajay Mitra Shastri and completed the Project "Dictionary of Place names from Inscriptions found in Maharashtra and Goa". She has participated in some all India conferences of Place Name Society of India and presented good number of research papers on different aspects of Cultural and Historical Geography of ancient Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh which have been widely appreciated. She was elected as General President of the Thirteenth All India Annual Conference of Place Name Society held at Udupi (Karnataka) in April, 1992. She is the author of books, Development of Material Culture in India (Based on Archaeological evidence corroborated and supplemented with evidence from other sources); Cultural history of Maharashtra and Goa from Place Names in Inscriptions found in Maharashtra and Goa; Madhya Pradesh-Cultural and Historical Geography from Place Names in Inscription and Chhattisgarh- A Geography from Place Names in Inscriptions.
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