India Through the Ages: History, Art, Culture and Religion (Vol. I)

The book contains thirty-four studies covering archaeology, society, polity, religion, art, culture, and regional history. It begins with archaeological investigations in Tamil Nadu and current trends in archaeological studies, then moves to primitive society, towns in ancient India, crime and punishments, Kautilya’s views on industrial sciences, and Chanakya’s discussion of prostitution based on the Arthaśāstra. Several chapters are devoted to South Indian history, including Tiruchirapalli before the Vijayanagara period, Tamils in ancient Sri Lanka, village communities under the Cholas, feudal elements in the Chola period, Chola inscriptions on temple services, Chola-Hoysala relations, Chola state structure, Chola temples in Karnataka, Kuvalala as a composite capital, the Nidugal Cholas, Cholas in Kongu country, and women under Chola rule in medieval southern Karnataka. Later chapters discuss economic conditions in medieval Tamil Nadu, marriage customs in South India, religious offerings from inscriptions of southern Mysore, Ativīrarāma Śrīvallabha Pāṇḍya, Keladi rulers, succession under Keladi rule, domestic welfare in the Tirukkural, urbanisation in ancient South India, ancient tribes of Tamil Nadu, South India as an ethnological block, religion and emotional integration in the Sangam age, historical migrations in South India, craft technology in Mughal India, and Kannanur as a medieval South Indian capital.