The India They Saw

The India They Saw #1

by Sandhya Jain

An account of the grandeur of ancient India as perceived by her foreign visitors from hoary times, and their wonder at her rich philosophical efflorescence and material abundance. The foreigners marvelled at the deep spiritual convictions that allowed yogis and widows to ascend a burning pyre without murmur; the social harmony of myriad tribes and castes; and above all, the common culture and love of justice permeating and binding all in seamless unity. Beginning with the Greeks and especially those who accompanied Alexander, these accounts comprise our first records into the social, moral, legal, and economic life of the Indian people, and the early development of the civilisational paradigm of dharma, artha, kama and moksa. The rise of Christianity pushed Europe into a cocoon. Thereafter, Buddhist pilgrims from China traversed the land between the fourth and the eighth centuries, visiting the major monasteries and sites associated with the Buddha, and left interesting memoirs behind. This uninhibited intellectual and spiritual exploration of India’s Sanskritic or Indic culture ended abruptly with the rise of Islam in Arabia in the seventh century, and its outward thrust into Europe, north Africa, Central Asia and the Indian sub-continent, where it fought to establish political and religious supremacy. Possibly the last Buddhist monk to take the land route to India was the Korean pilgrim Hye Ch’O, who arrived as the armies of Islam began cutting through Central Asia

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

SANDHYA JAIN is a contemporary affairs analyst and independent researcher; she writes a fortnightly column for the daily newspaper, The Pioneer, and edits the web portal www.vijayvaani.com. A post-graduate from Delhi University, Jain is the author of Adi Deo Arya Devata: A Panoramic View of Tribal-Hindu Cultural Interface and Evangelical Intrusions. Tripura: A Case Study.

Reviews

[Ujjwala Singhania · Rating 5 out of 5]

An account of Bharat through the eyes of foreign travellers, chroniclers, students, etc. This is the first part in the four part work, covering the period between 5th century BC to 7th century AD.
It’s a rich scholarly work detailing the life, customs, religions, sociology-economic structure, food habits and more giving a very holistic view of the people of the time.
Recommended for people who want to dive deep into the Indic history.

[Ajay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.
Glad these books are available in kindle at Rs. 51.
Hope more of Meenakshi Jain's books will available in kindle.

[Subhrajyoti Parida · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be frank the book is bit lengthy but every word is worthy of reading. It attempts to put together the foreign accounts of countless famous and not so famous historians, travellers, pilgrims etc from far off lands like Ancient Greece, Persia, Rome, China, Korea etc, who endured unimaginable fatigue and danger of traveling in those days to reach India or Bharat through land and sea routes. Their primary objective of exploring India was to seek ultimate wisdom from the Viswa Guru (world leader in knowledge) in the form of Indic philosophy, science, metaphysics, culture, religion etc and carry them to their countries. Many of them spent decades together in acquiring original texts, scriptures etc, in copying them from originals and in translating them to their indigenous language, while residing in famous monasteries and ancient Universities like the one in Nalanda etc.

They too left a vivid account of what they saw during their stay and travel here and how daily lifestyle ,food habits, culture, art, religious practises, social customs etc mesmerised them, and left them with awe.

Dr Sandhya Jain has tolled hard tin compiling and editing these foreign accounts to bring to the interested readers a flavour of how India was looked upon as epitome of philosophy, knowledge, civilisation and culture in the ancient world. Truly, she deserves all the admiration.

A must read !

[Sridhar Tiruchendurai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read for every Indian on how people from other countries saw India.

[O.V. Jayaram · Rating 5 out of 5]

The painstaking efforts taken by the editors/translators to go through a myriad of primary sources is truly commendable. That's why I'm giving it a 5-star rating. True, it's repetitive in many cases, but I believe it's to emphasize the greatness of ancient Indian civilization that travelers from the world over recognized. It also shows that the accomplishments of our ancestors are not not just "nationalist myths" or exaggerations. The real shame is that the leftist/Marxist goons destroyed pride in our history in just 70 years, what took centuries to build up. That's evident by some of the one-star reviews.

[Rakesh Ohan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Mirror of Great Indian Civilisation"

The book gives an excellent account of ancient Indian Civilisation. Thanks to the author for presenting the contents of the book to the public.

[Manu Brar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The glories of Bharat from the eyes of foreign visitors. Busts the myth that all great things came to Bharat from invaders.

[Manisha Manohar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing First Hand Accounts of Greek and Chinese visitors to India 500 BCE - 600 CE.

Disclaimer to start - While I have rated this book (Vol 1) 3 stars, the entire series is a superlative work and is definitely a 5-star read. My personal preference for the later time periods and the structuring of Volumes 2,3 and 4 just enables easier reading and merit a higher rating.

This volume includes some of the earliest known accounts of Ancient India.
Megasthenes provides detailed information about life in Pataliputra and the court of Chandragupta Maurya. Alexanders invasion and confrontation with Porus is detailed.

The Europeans are amazed that India has two harvests every year and by the abundance of flora and fauna in the country. "It is affirmed that famine has never visited India and there has never been a general scarcity in the supply of nourishing food."

The wealth of produce, quality of goods, and list of export items are all well detailed. Pliny even decries the import of luxury items from India, which is draining the coffers of Rome.

Great appreciation is shown in all the travel accounts, for the humane treatment of foreigners by Indians, as well as the spiritual discipline and great regard for cleanliness and personal hygiene noticeable in the populace.

Buddhism went to China in the 3rd Century BCE under the efforts of King Ashoka. Subsequently, many Chinese travelers including Fa-hian and Hiuen Tsang came to India primarily to secure correct copies of Buddhist texts, study the Buddhist rituals in detail and take them back for adaptation in China. They travelled extensively in India and provide vivid descriptions of the topography, temples, Buddhist viharas, rituals and societal mores of the time.
Alluring passages on their time at Nalanda university and the prophecy of the Fall of Nalanda are also included.

Overall, a great appetizer for what is to come...

[Vikram Ketkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting insights and the author has put in quite an effort to gather insights from.auch myriad sources. Though after sometime it does get a bot repetitive which is in line with stating same facts by different people. Wonder what is in the other volumes