Urban Centres and Urbanisation: As Reflected in the Pali Vinaya and Sutta Pitakas

The Pali Vinaya and Sutta Pitakas are the best, if not the only, textual material available on the so-called Second Urbanisation, which may correctly be called the Ganga Urbanisation. An attempt has been made in this book to collect textual as well as archaeological data on individual urban settlements mentioned in the Pali Vinaya and Sutta Pitakas. Along with this, the origin of urban society in the Ganga valley and settlement hierarchy have also been discussed. All the 173 urban settlements mentioned in the Pali Vinaya and Sutta Pitakas, have been grouped under different categories. An attempt has also been made to identify some of those settlements which have so far remained unidentified. The appendices and maps showing all the identified settlements further enhance the value of the book.