3 Review(s)

The book unveils the Dark age of Ancient Indian History which stretched from 4000 B.C. to the period beginning with the birth of Christ. Unveiled what we find is wonder, curiosity and a need for reflection. The author as different from expository style has adopted an interrogative approach. He asks questions, gives the evidence so far available however scanty it may be and then proceeds to give answers. He gives answers which are supported by evidence, archaeological or otherwise. Where there is no evidence to support, he leaves the question either unanswered or produces possible answer, in both cases making his readers reflect, thus sharing with readers not only his knowledge but his doubts as well. This method has an advantage in that when questions come before the answer, it discourages dogmatism and easy certainty. Proceeding in this logical way the whole new vista is opened and new things, new landmarks in the varied history of the ancient India appear and some puzzles are solved. The book brings out that the presiding deity of Indus Valley Civilisation was not Shiv but Rishabh, the first Tirthankar of the Jains and an incarnation of Vishnu as per the Hindus. It also brings out the contrary to the belief that the Indus Valley Civilisation had no contact with the contemporary and ancient civilization of Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, but it had very intimate relations. The author looks into the language of Sumer and found in them a large number of word of Hindi. If as he surmises the symbols of such words are also the same in both Sumerian an Indus scripts may be deciphered. Helpfully a list of some common words is appended at the end of the volume. The book also throws light on the vexed puzzle of the origin of the Mauryas ad also conjectures on the law of succession among them which brought Bindusar and Ashok on the though not necessarily they bring the eldest sons. The History is a matter of knowledge but of reflection and the great merit of the book is that the author not only gives information and his reflections but makes the readers to reflect. About the Author Gyan Swarup Gupta (1929) has a deep interest in History, specially unsolved puzzles of the Ancient Indian History. After stint with teaching English Language and Literature for a two years the joined the government administrative service. His job took him to various parts of the country but mainly in Rajasthan to remote areas, to lowly cottages and tribal habitations. The people of Rajasthan have an instinctive habit of the painting the outer walls of their dwelling with frescoes and old symbols. He was surprised to find the symbols of Indus Valley Civilisation of the walls, further supposed to find the rituals, and religion of the Indus Valley Civilisation in their rituals, religion and even in language. This gave him the idea that the cultural and religion ancestry of these people was not some unknown invading tribe but the Indus Valley Civilisation. Reflections on this aspect and observations of the trial life gave him a glimpse of the society of Indus Valley Civilisation however fleeting it may be. Eight years were spent in writing, recording his observations, study and reflections on paper. The result is this book. He is a prolific writer and his articles on various unsolved problems of history, the correct history of various historical sites have appeared in a very large number of magazines. Journals, etc. both in Hindi and English. He is also associated in writing of books, contributing chapters on the state of society from the ancient times to the present one.