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The books title has an apparent misnomer—boots were not used in early armies, at least as apparent from temple sculptures which depict bare-bodied and barefooted soldiers. But is it likely to have been true? Or social reasons led to suppression of footgear on temple walls? The book explores these and myriad other questions on the military experience of South Asia, hoping to construct a picture of how men, animals, and equipment were used on South Asian battlefields from the end of the Paleolithic till the dawn of our era. Further, as all that happens on battlefields is no more than the tip of the proverbial iceberg whose submarine mass conceals many cause–effect relationships in a wide variety of fields, the author, adopting a wide fronted approach, examines the evidence of anthropology, literature, mythology, folklore, technology, archaeology, and architecture, to reconstructs the military atmosphere of South Asia beyond the battlefield, which is the aim of this book.
The claim that India--uniquely among civilizations--lacks historical writing distracts us from a more pertinent question: how to recognize the historical sense of societies whose past is recorded in ways very different from European conventions. Romila Thapar, a distinguished scholar of ancient India, guides us through a panoramic survey of the historical traditions of North India, revealing a deep and sophisticated consciousness of history embedded in the diverse body of classical Indian literature. The history recorded in such texts as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata is less concerned with authenticating persons and events than with presenting a picture of traditions striving to retain le...
The books presents the study undertaken by the ASEAN-India Centre (AIC) at Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) on India’s cultural links with Southeast Asia, with particular reference to historical and contemporary dimensions. The book traces ancient trade and maritime links, Chola Empire and Southeast Asia, religious exchanges (the Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic heritage), language, scripts and folklore, performing arts, painting and sculpture, architecture, role of the Indian Diaspora, contemporary cultural interaction, etc.
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The matter of saṃgha-state relations is of central importance to both the political and the religious history of China. The volume The Middle Kingdom and the Dharma Wheel brings together, for the first time, articles relating to this field covering a time span from the early Tang until the Qing dynasty. In order to portray also the remarkable thematic diversity of the field, each of the articles not only refers to a different time but also discusses a different aspect of the subject. Contributors include: Chris Atwood, Chen Jinhua, Max Deeg, Barend ter Haar, Thomas Jülch, Albert Welter and Zhang Dewei.
This textbook narrates the ancient Indian history from the genesis of civilisations to the early middle ages. It examines the sources, chronology of civilisations and authoritatively details the facts, feats, triumphs and religious crusades of the period. It unveils the rich cultural, religious and social diversity that is uniquely and peculiarly Indian.
King Harsha, who reigned over the kingdom of Kanauj from 606 to 647 CE, composed two Sanskrit plays about the mythical figures of King Udayana, his queen, Vásava·datta, and two of his co-wives. The plays abound in mistaken identities, both political and erotic. The characters masquerade as one another and, occasionally, as themselves, and each play refers simultaneously to itself and to the other. Co-published by New York University Press and the JJC Foundation For more on this title and other titles in the Clay Sanskrit series, please visit http://www.claysanskritlibrary.org
In course of his studies in Sanskrit literature and research relating to various aspects of it, the author of the present work often felt the need of a vade mecum containing brief accounts of authors and works, information about the principal characters of Sanskrit plays, poems and prose works, the meaning of certain technical terms in common use, the common geographical names and the notable myths and legends. A Companion to Sanskrit Literature, the first work of its kind, covers a period of nearly 3500 years from the Vedic age down to the modern times. It seeks to acquaint the reader, within a brief compass, with the contents of outstanding works and authors in Sanskrit literature, followe...
Though traditionally regarded as a peaceful religion, Buddhism has a dark side. On multiple occasions over the past fifteen centuries, Buddhist leaders have sanctioned violence, and even war. The eight essays in this book focus on a variety of Buddhist traditions, from antiquity to the present, and show that Buddhist organizations have used religious images and rhetoric to support military conquest throughout history. Buddhist soldiers in sixth century China were given the illustrious status of Bodhisattva after killing their adversaries. In seventeenth century Tibet, the Fifth Dalai Lama endorsed a Mongol ruler's killing of his rivals. And in modern-day Thailand, Buddhist soldiers carry out their duties undercover, as fully ordained monks armed with guns. Buddhist Warfare demonstrates that the discourse on religion and violence, usually applied to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, can no longer exclude Buddhist traditions. The book examines Buddhist military action in Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, and shows that even the most unlikely and allegedly pacifist religious traditions are susceptible to the violent tendencies of man.