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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…
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History;
Literature;
