DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9541#0047
INTRODUCTION.
25
night seems to have settled over the land, and whether we shall ever he
able to penetrate into its mysteries seems more than doubtful
When light again appears in the middle of the 10th century the
scene is wonderfully changed. Buddhism had practically disappeared
in the north and west at least, though it still lingered on in Bengal,
and Jainism had supplanted it in most places; but the mass of the
people had become followers of Vishnu or Siva. New dynasties bad
arisen which, though they try to trace their lineage back to the
troublous times when Ballabhi fell, were new to Indian history. Old
India had passed away, and the history of modern India was about
to open. The old dynasties had become extinct, and the Rajput
races were gaily stepping forward to assume their places—too soon,
alas! to be engaged in a life or deatli struggle with the most
implacable foe to their race and religion that India lias ever known.
It was a cruel Nemesis that their victories over the Buddhists should
soon have been followed by the fatal siege at Soninath in 1021,
and the fight on the banks of the Ghaghar in 1 which practically
laid India at the feet of the Moslem invader, and changed the whole
course of her subsequent career. But, as hinted above, with the
appearance of the Moslem on the scene, our chronological difficulties
cease, and the subject need not therefore be further pursued in this
introduction.
Immigrations.
From the above brief sketch of ancient Indian history it may be
gathered that it is doubtful whether we shall ever be able to clothe
with solid flesh the skeleton of history which is all we possess anterior
to the advent of Buddha. It is also possible that pious frauds may
have so confused the sequence of events between his death and the
rise of the Mauryaa, that there will be great difficulty in restoring
that period to anything like completeness. But for the thousand
years that elapsed between "the revenge of Chanakya " and the fall
of Ballabhi the materials are ample, and when sufficient industry i&
applied to their elucidation there is little doubt that the whole may
be made clear and intelligible. It does not fall within the scope of
this work to attempt such a task; but it is necessary to endeavour
to make its outlines clear, as, without this being done, what follows
will be utterly unintelligible ; while, at the same time, one of the
principal objects of this work is to point out how the architecture,
which is one important branch of the evidence, may be brought to bear
on the subject.
No direct evidence, however, derived only from events that occurred
in India itself, would suffice to make the phenomena of her history
clear, without taking into account the successive migrations of tribes
25
night seems to have settled over the land, and whether we shall ever he
able to penetrate into its mysteries seems more than doubtful
When light again appears in the middle of the 10th century the
scene is wonderfully changed. Buddhism had practically disappeared
in the north and west at least, though it still lingered on in Bengal,
and Jainism had supplanted it in most places; but the mass of the
people had become followers of Vishnu or Siva. New dynasties bad
arisen which, though they try to trace their lineage back to the
troublous times when Ballabhi fell, were new to Indian history. Old
India had passed away, and the history of modern India was about
to open. The old dynasties had become extinct, and the Rajput
races were gaily stepping forward to assume their places—too soon,
alas! to be engaged in a life or deatli struggle with the most
implacable foe to their race and religion that India lias ever known.
It was a cruel Nemesis that their victories over the Buddhists should
soon have been followed by the fatal siege at Soninath in 1021,
and the fight on the banks of the Ghaghar in 1 which practically
laid India at the feet of the Moslem invader, and changed the whole
course of her subsequent career. But, as hinted above, with the
appearance of the Moslem on the scene, our chronological difficulties
cease, and the subject need not therefore be further pursued in this
introduction.
Immigrations.
From the above brief sketch of ancient Indian history it may be
gathered that it is doubtful whether we shall ever be able to clothe
with solid flesh the skeleton of history which is all we possess anterior
to the advent of Buddha. It is also possible that pious frauds may
have so confused the sequence of events between his death and the
rise of the Mauryaa, that there will be great difficulty in restoring
that period to anything like completeness. But for the thousand
years that elapsed between "the revenge of Chanakya " and the fall
of Ballabhi the materials are ample, and when sufficient industry i&
applied to their elucidation there is little doubt that the whole may
be made clear and intelligible. It does not fall within the scope of
this work to attempt such a task; but it is necessary to endeavour
to make its outlines clear, as, without this being done, what follows
will be utterly unintelligible ; while, at the same time, one of the
principal objects of this work is to point out how the architecture,
which is one important branch of the evidence, may be brought to bear
on the subject.
No direct evidence, however, derived only from events that occurred
in India itself, would suffice to make the phenomena of her history
clear, without taking into account the successive migrations of tribes