Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300

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The history of early India has a unique grandeur and importance. The allure and excitement of its ancient legends, the sheer longevity of its civilizations, the evocative historical sources and monuments that remain and its overwhelming significance for Eurasian history as a whole make it one of the cornerstones of human experience. This definitive work brings to life thousands of years of Indian history: its prehistoric beginnings; the great cities of the Indus civilization; the emergence of mighty dynasties such as the Mauryas, Guptas and Cholas; the teachings of the Buddha; the writing of the heroic epics the Mahabharata and the Ramayana; the development of states and regional cultures that are the foundation of India today. The book introduces figures ranging from the remarkable and visionary ruler. Ashoka to other less exemplary characters. In exploring subjects as diverse as marriage, class, art, erotica and astronomy, Romila Thapar gives an incomparably vivid and nuanced picture. Above all, she shows that there is no â€˜master narrativeâ€™ here, but rather a rich mosaic of diverse kingdoms, landscapes, languages and beliefs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Romila Thapar

Romila Thapar was born in India in 1931 and comes from a Punjabi family, spending her early years in various parts of India. She took her first degree from Punjab University and her doctorate from London University. She was appointed to a Readership at Delhi University and subsequently to the Chair in Ancient Indian History at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, where she is now Emeritus Professor in History. Romila Thapar is also an Honorary Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford and has been Visiting Professor at Cornell University and the University of Pennsylvania as well as the College de France in Paris. In 1983 she was elected General President of the Indian History Congress and in 1999 a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. Among her publications are Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Ancient Indian Social History: Some Interpretations, From Lineage to State, History and Beyond, Sakuntala: Texts, Readings, Histories and Cultural Pasts: Essays on Indian History as well the children's book Indian Tales.