Literary and Historical Studies in Indology

This collection of research articles deals with various problems of Sanskrit literature, ancient Indian history, art and architecture. Section I deals with problems presented by several Sanskrit works, namely the lower limit of the date of the original Harivamsa, Kalapriyanatha mentioned in Bhavabhati’s plays the identification of the date of Dhananjaya, the author of the Dvisandhana Kavya and the Namamala and the fixation of his date, the historical background of Rajasekhara’s Viddhasalabhanjika etc. it gives also for the first time a detailed account for Soddhala’s Udayasundarikatha. Finally, the much discussed technical term Mattavarani has received here a new interpretation suggested by a critical examination of Bharata’s Natyasastra. Section II has seven articles which discuss various controversial problems presented by the history of the Guptas, the Traikutakas, the Vishnukundins and the Silaharas of North Konkan. Section III describes the coins in some hoards of the Satavahanas, Kashatrapas and Traikutakas, and reiterates the previous readings and interpretation of Mahisha coins after examining critically the objections raised against them. Section IV contains five articles on various subjects such as the location of Ravana’s Lanka, the religious denomination of the Caves at Dharasiva, the dates of the Mahalakshmi temple at Kolhapur and the Siva temple at Markandi etc.