3 ms·
I really suggest that you dig into original references. 1. Read translations of original Buddhist/Jain literature and the Puranas to get an idea of the foundin
by msravi 9y ago
I really suggest that you dig into original references.
1. Read translations of original Buddhist/Jain literature and the Puranas to get an idea of the founding of the Nandas, Pataliputra, Chanakya, Chandragupta Maurya, and Ashoka.
2. Read translations of Megasthenes, Hiuen Tsang, and Fa-hein.
3. Read translations of Harshacharita by Banabhatta to get a feel of Harshavardhana's empire. Read how Banabhatta tears into the practice of Sati - in 600AD. No modern history book will tell you about this.
4. Read "History of India by it's Own Historians" - Elliot to get an idea of the Muslim invasions and the Mughals. These are translations of biographies and works of Muslim historians spanning Ghazni to the Mughals.
- vixen99 9y agoIt's probably "History of India by its Own Historians".
- cholantesh 9y agoAnd it's worth noting that it was written specifically to advance the view that British colonialism was okay because, apparently, the Mughals and the Central Asian Sultans were worse.
- msravi 9y agoIt's a translation of various Muslim historians. So you can go read the original text. You can completely ignore the "British commentary" if you so wish.
- cholantesh 9y agoEven if you don't read his commentaries, you have to contend with his selection of source material - texts and translations. They don't exist in a vacuum, they have purpose and context.