3 Review(s)

About The Book: The book discusses the importance of using information from Vedic, Epic, and Puranic literature for understanding the ancient history of India. Traditionally, our knowledge of ancient India has been based on these sources, which include accounts of early occurrences and historical allusions. However, modern scholars tend to focus only on Vedic literature, neglecting the valuable information found in Puranic and epic tradition. The book argues that this approach is limiting and compares it to constructing European history solely from theological literature. The book is a pioneering work in the field by an important orientalist of the nineteenth century. About The Author: Frederick Eden Pargiter (1852–1927) was a British civil servant and Orientalist. Pargiter was the second son of Rev. Robert Pargiter. He studied at Taunton Grammar School and Exeter College, Oxford where he passed in 1873 with a first-class in mathematics. Pargiter passed the Indian Civil Service examinations and embarked for India in 1875. Pargiter served in India from 1875 to 1906 becoming Under-Secretary to the Government of Bengal in 1885, District and Sessions Court judge in 1887 and a judge of the Calcutta High Court in 1904. Pargiter voluntarily retired in 1906 following the death of his wife and returned to the United Kingdom. Pargiter died at Oxford on 18 February 1927 in his seventy-fifth year.