A Short History of South India

by Sarojini Chaturvedi

A Short History of South India covers a vast canvas from the 4th Century A.D. which coincided with the rise of the Sathvahans, South of the Vindhyas and stretching up to the 16th Century A.D., which witnessed the decline of the Vijayanagara Kingdom.

The objective of this book is mainly to focus attention on certain hitherto neglected areas of the South Indian history and to explode the myth that the presence of the Vindhyas caused a North-South divide.

The North remained mostly isolated from the culturally rich Southern peninsula. As a matter of fact, a very rich culture thrived in the South during the various dynasties, which existed during this stretch of period and culminated under the Cholas in the domain of Art, Architecture, Literature and various facets of economic activity, including an extensive maritime trade with different parts of the world and a significant cultural expansion in the South-East Asia often known as Greater India. All these activities cumulatively resulted in the assimilation and synthesizing of the Dravidian and Aryan culture patterns, which ultimately brought about a very strong unifying bond throughout the sub-continent thereby strengthening the fabric of Indian polity in all its manifestations.

About the Author:

Dr. Sarojini Chaturvedi pursued her studies in Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology at the University of Allahabad and subsequently at the College of Indology, Banaras Hindu University. She was later awarded a Ph.D. by the Lucknow University. Dr. Chaturvedi's earlier treatise on "Foreign Influx and Interaction with Indian Culture" was very well received both at home and abroad. An indologist of repute, Dr. Chaturvedi has also to her credit numerous research papers and articles which have been published in various journals and periodicals. Dr. Chaturvedi, taught at the Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow where after she moved on to the Lucknow Christian College, where she taught ancient Indian History and Culture. She has travelled extensively around the world.