Greater Magadha: Studies in the Cultures of Early India

by Johannes Bronkhorst

‘Greater Magadha', roughly the eastern part of the Gangetic plain of northern India, has so far been looked upon as deeply indebted to Brahmanical culture. Religions such as Buddhism and Jainism are thought of as derived, in one way or another, from Vedic religion. This belief is defective in various respects. The book argues for the importance and independence of Greater Magadha as a cultural area until a date close to the beginning of the Common Era. In order to correct the incorrect notions, two types of questions are dealt with: questions pertaining to cultural and religious dependencies, and questions relating to chronology. As a result a modified picture arises that also has a bearing on the further development of Indian culture.

 

 

Johannes Bronkhorst Ph.D. (1979) University of Poona, doctorate (1980). University of Leiden is Professor of Sanskrit and Indian Studies at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). He has published extensively on Indian thought in its various manifestations.