_ A Cultural History of India Edited by A. L. BASHAM in| \ Ball Earasats OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESSOXFORD ‘YMCA Library Building, Jal Singh Road, New Delhi 130 001 nerd ates est deparnentof te Unie of Osan ‘ctr the Unive sete oeselnce feet cele, Sa edteateny pbs aie Ort New York ‘tne. Avcad Bang Bop Muenos Ae Caleta ‘ape Cheat Durer Sahar DAD Rone Hang Kong se isch ls tumpur asl Melbostee ets Ghy Habel att! ears Seo Poo Singapore spe Tyo Torome Wasew en atte espa in ‘erin hada! (© Oxford University Press 1975 st publishes 1975 ist Indian Impression 1983 reprinted by arrangement with Oxford University Press, Oxford ‘Oxford India Paperbacks 1997 ‘Third impression 1999 All sights reserved. No part of this public stored ina retrieval system, o transmitted, fn slectroni, mechanical, photocopying recording or otherwise, ‘without the prior permission in whiting of Oxforé University Press 1 may be reproduced ISBN 0 19563921 9 323 y “C86 1999 245522 Printed in india at Saurabh Print. 0-Pack, Noida, UP and published by Manzar Khap, Oxford University Press YMCA Library Building, Jal Singh Rood, New Delhi 110 001 ny form or by any means, PREFACE THe Legacy of India, edited by G. T. Garrat, appeared in 1937, Its contri- butors included some of the ablest specialists of the time and several of its fifteen chapters are as valid today as they were at the time of writing. Never- theles, he Second World War, tbe independence of India, and the-ghangd of attitudes since those two momentous events, have fendered some of the chapters quite out of date, Others have become obsolete as the result of the many discoveries made and new theories put forward sines the war, The need for a new edition was clear and Dr. Raghavan Iyer frst drafted ‘out « plan aad approached & number of contributors some firteen years ago. Jn 1968 the Clarendon Press asked me to assume responsibility for bringing the Work to a conclusion, on the basis of the material collected by Dr. Iyer. 1 ageeed to do so, and vas given authority to commission authors and recast the plan of the volume in whatever way 1 might think fit, As is almost inevit- ably the case with large collaborative works, composed by contributors scattered across the world, the task (ook fonger and proved more arduous ‘than I had expected. But itis completed at last, and the result is offered to the reader, not without some misgiving, in the hope that he will accept it as a sincere attempt on the part of the contributors and the editor to explain India’s heritage from the past, and the world’s heritage from Indie. ‘The ‘original Legacy, forall its merits, contained several Incunae. In the attempt to fil these and to produce an even more comprehensive survey, it beeamne in- cteasingly clear that what was emerging could not be contained winder the original ttle, TLwas no longer a ‘Legacy’, and t0, not too immodestly I hope, it was decided to call the book A Cultural History of India While many of the chapters ate the work of senior scholars with well- established international reputations Thave not hesitated to enlist the help of younger and les well-bnovn specialists, where this has seemed advisable. The very fact that contributions have been received from four of the five con tineals (and one contributor now works inthe fifth, Aftiea) is surely evidence in itself of the importance of India in the world today. Four of the contributions to Garratt’s original Legacy have been retained, ‘The venerable Professor Radhakrishoan's sincere and well-writen chapter on Hinduism survives, with some editorial additions, Similarly, with editorial changes, T have retained the chiapter by the late Professor 8. N. Das Gupta, ‘whose monumental survey of Todian Philosophy is still the most authoritative ‘and comprehensive study of the subject. The late Professor HG. Rawliason's sympathetic chapter on India's cuttural influence on the western world re- rains, but itis now divided into two and is brought up to date by a German "ven as itstands, this book contains Iecunse, I should have liked to include achapter on the Gypsies, who are also part ofthe history of Inain; nd the much debated question of Contacts, of which there were cvtlaly some it Pre-Columbie trees, thes ht acd indirect, might also have been considered, More serious fe the abseoce of = chapter onthe Indian dance, one of her greatest contributions tothe world’s culture. a USSU eee wour Preface scholar who has made a special study of the’ subject. The contribution of Martia Briggs on Indian Islamic Architecture is also kept, purged of several pages of discussion of matters which were once controversial, but are now no onger so. Other than these chapters, all the material is new. In my editorial capacity T have made no attempt to force my numerous Jbelpers to fit their contributions to a particular pattern, beyond explaining to them at the outset that I hoped that the book would emphasize the inheritence of modern India from the past, and her many bequests to the world of the present. My main task, except in respect of the ehapters inherited fromm the Garratt Legacy, has been in trying to impose a uaiform system of trenslitera- tion, orthography, and typographical conventions, in occasibnally adcing brief explanatory remarks, and in abridging a few contributions which were efinitely over length 1 was part of my original plan to include chapters on “India since Irde- pendence? and ‘Pakistan since Independence’, which would survey the rain trends in the two countries over the last twentycfive years. But I finally de- cided against this in view ofthe size ofthe volume, and of the fact that many aspects of the contemporary situation were covered in other chapters. Ia the place ofthese two unwritten chapters brief conclusion tries to draw the toany and diverse-threads of this book together. If in this [have allowed mysel" to sake value judgements, some of which may be in disagreement with the state rents of certain contributors, 1 pat my vjews forward with all deference, as those of one who has had close contacts with the region of South Asia-for many years, and bas deepvaffetfon‘for the people ofthat region and for their alte Some readers may be irritated by the numerous diacritic marks to be fond ‘over the letters even of well-known Indian nares, I take fall responsibility for ‘any annoyance this may cans. It has long been ong of my shinor taoks ia life {o encourage the English-speaking public to pronotinee Indian namesand terms with atleast an approximation to accuracy, and the atlention of readers {s drawa to the notes on pronunciation which immediately follow this preface, One of the most difficult problems facing the editor of a work such as this, in thepresent-day context, rests ints title. When the original Legacy was pub: lished the whole of the region of South Asia, with the exception of Nepal, the foreigo affairs of which were controlled by Indiz, and of Ceylon (now offically $1i Lanka), whict ike India was part of the British Empire, was clearly and ‘unequivocally India. The region nov consists of fiescomipletely independent states, of which the Republic of India is unquestionably she largest in size and population. This fact, perhaps understandably, sometimes leads to expies- sions of protest when the word "India’ is used, in certain, contexts, to eever regions beyond India’s present-day frontiers. As an extreme exarople I remenn- ber a student from Kathmanda indignantly declaring that his country had not received. the credit that was its due becasse Gautaoia Buddisa ws invar ably referred to as an Indian when jn fact he had been a Nepalese ‘The en- emic tension betweea India and Pakistan leads to similar protests, on grounds too numerous to mention. L recognize the force of national feeling, andl dono! to give offence to citizens of the other countries of South Asia; but tere inevitably ‘India’ must be understood at times in its broddest historical sease, i Preface vi ve remetnberl in any eta th word Jal owe i Ss: wcities Uae sing eame South a none fog nat de sccoion ve thought aig the county ofthe ia ads tao a Sok ve Sn, The a 0, 4 rams gan, became asap) ofthe Achuemerian Erie of ree ee ae nds ttn becoming Pra Ay eRe tan nes age eo apne Tne rec, vorovng te wore eer reer ond the county though wn Rowe the Teas ale th defrost Tate bain Was the whole ol tnd at fom hein of Alene of Macalon and probably before i cnet om cond tne ney teva of eather oh oh ef ey cad Cover, tom ne Sanit Gang Tis te seg fae i eon nen go ea eit ome by ak hee whe de on as sata el er fnsane yo yea see oEN Spat ssl metean tein vord a8 We hr sin Garg regal at boo : ; Peet Saal wry though ho gzomrapicel knowledge was vy in am eth tem ni tothe ge a a ER Cae este sn The Arb Hind and he Pes a oe te conetaten a alter ae Thasbaopean ween. i eh wri eh tl find Suh A re Munro oes non ete ene ch eo aan ie te in-air stone ae gis IMP ane, eeofostions Ht asada ote i we go beyond the Downes est Indian Repub the petnt nd Fea ay acknowledgements fr much ep and a deer eed ny rs tt mon tank De Raine for collecting the first drafts of several chapters ‘before he ere a Hie fe cae Oe 6g fo Pofeno : Buea Mi Dee oe eet ja tute els fr atg wey comic ih suger Scot am exenent ater Che ve, [hve ete corso geese opeation ran 2) sane eran Tan epealy pte ow fv af tn whe cae MY Fate tat nd ott st not, Aa ther meter of importance think peily of Mr. WG. Archer, Prafesor saa OPTI Leo tne De, Av A, Rr bing i com- i ee sca conln [nave ben ety ed ye {ery competent profesional asistance of Mc Joelya Bergin, Seceaty ol aera a Clana Ma May sero, Dene oa er aan of tides of tpg pool te Feely of Asian Studies of the ae Ne eas peers Aaa erie Clarendon bres for exemplary pans Iau fortusteg my iodgemest eel Canberra, 197