A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar

This classic study offers a compact and comprehensive account of the much-neglected history of South India--treated here as a single geographical entity--up to the middle of the seventeenth century. Since its publication in 1955, it has established itself as an outstanding work, among the earliest and best studies on South Indian history. The exhaustive narrative incorporates both the author s own researches as well as surveying the available material on the subject, tracing the political history, social life, commerce, religion, philosophy, literature, and arts of South India. Newly introduced by R Champakalakshmi, the book is certain to remain popular among specialist and lay readers alike. Nilakanta Sastri s A History of South India is a classic work, which retains its importance and has never quite been reploaced. It shows the author s mastery over a huge set of sources, which placed him head and shoulders above other South Indian historians of his time. -- Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Professor ofIndian History and Culture, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford L The scope of this classic is so magisterial and its sweep so breathtaking that the quantitative addition of information and qualitative change in the knowledge in the field have not yet bettered it in half a century of its circulation. Nor is an alternative to this brilliant narrative in sight. --Kesavan Veluthat, Professor of History, Mangalore University