About the Book The collection of essays in this work is intended to draw the attention of scholars to some of the recent researches on various aspects of early Indian history and culture. They were, with some exceptions, delivered as lectures and later marginally changed for publication. All these papers are concerned with the sources, historiography, history, society and religion and art and culture and interpretation of various facets of early Indian history and culture. The interdisciplinary approach expressed in some papers is indicative of a new direction in historical research. This historiographical change has introduced many innovations in the study of early Indian history. The increasing interest in the historiography of early period is an indicator of the awareness of the role of ideology in historical interpretation. We are confident that this book will have the widest readership that it so thoroughly deserves.

About the Author Shankar Goyal, M.A., Ph.D., D. Litt., is the retired Professor of History, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and one of the well known authorities of ancient Indian history and historiography. Apart from numerous articles published in reputed journals, he has authored Recent Historiography of Ancient India, Marxist Interpretation of Ancient Indian History, Contemporary Interpreters of Ancient India, Ancient India: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 175 Years of Vakataka History and Historiography, Harsha: A Multidisciplinary Political Study, The Medieval' Factor and the Age of Harsha: A Cultural Study, Harsha Revisited: A Re-interpretation of Existing Data, The Significance of Yuan Chwang in the Context of the Seventh Century: A Critical Assessment, and, more recently, The Classical Age: A Study in Feudalization. His books and many articles brought him encomiums from scholars such as Professors R. N. Dandekar, G.C. Pande, R. S. Sharma, Irfan Habib, Romila Thapar, R. Champakalakshmi, Shireen Moosvi, Kumkum Roy, A. M. Shastri, Bardwell L. Smith (Minnesota, U.S.A.), Walter M. Spink (Michigan, U.S.A.), Maurizio Taddei (Napoli, Italy), P. K. Mitra (Rajshahi, Bangladesh) and others. In 2009 Professor Goyal presided over the Cultural History Section of the XXIX Annual Session of the South Indian History Congress, in 2012 he was elected General President of the XXXVII Annual Congress of the Epigraphical Society of India, and in 2016 he was invited to preside over the Historiography Section of the XXIII Annual Session of the Tamilnadu History Congress. Recently in December 2017 he presided over Section I (Ancient India) of the 78th Session of the Indian History Congress held at Jadavpur University, Kolkata (Bengal). He was also invited by the Organising Committee of the 16th World Sanskrit Conference, 2015, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, to participate in the deliberations of their Epigraphy Section to promote Indian epigraphical studies on the world forum. He has also travelled extensively in China, Australia, United States, Canada, Europe, Sudan and Egypt.

Preface The collection of essays in this work is intended to draw the attention of scholars to some of the recent researches on various aspects of early Indian history and culture. They were, with some exceptions, delivered as lectures and later marginally changed for publication. "Need of an Integral Approach to the Writing of Political History of South India', was the Valedictory Address to the South Indian History Congress held at University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, in 2002; 'Harsha's Place in History', was delivered at the Department of History, University of Kerala. Thiruvananthapuram, in 2007; 'S.R. Goyal's Contribution to Historical Studies', was given at the Department of History, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, again in 2007; 'Bhakti Movement in South India', was the Presidential Address to the Cultural History Section of the South Indian History Congress held at Manonmaniam Sundaranar University. Tirunelveli, in 2009; 'The Ramtek Prabhavatigupta Memorial Fragmentary Stone Inscription', was given at the 16th World Sanskrit Conference, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, in 2015; 'The Madras School of Ancient Indian Historians', was the Presidential Address to the Historiography Section of the Tamilnadu History Congress held at Periyar Salem, in 2016; 'Harsha and Iran: The History of Relations in the Age of Harsha', was delivered in the panel of the Aligarh Historians Society at Jadavpur University, Kolkata, in 2016; 'Yuan Chwang's India", was delivered in the panel of the Aligarh Historians Society at Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram, in 2017; and 'Revisiting the Inscriptions of Harsha', was given as Professor Ku. Si. Haridas Bhat Shashtipoorti Endowment Lecture at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, in 2017.

All these papers, as well as others, are concerned with the sources, historiography, history, society and religion and art and culture and interpretation of various facets of early Indian history and culture.

**Contents and Sample Pages**