The Jaina Sources of the History of Ancient India (100 B.C.- A.D. 900)

Contents: Preface. Introduction. 1. The Jaina sources of history. 2. The date of Mahavira's Nirvana. 3. The Vikrama era. 4. The Saka era. 5. The earlier Saka era. 6. The Sarasvati movement. 7. The pioneers and early authors. 8. The great masters. 9. The age of the logicians. 10. Authors of the Rastrakuta age. 11. The later political, historical and story literature. 12. Cultural contribution of the Jainas. Appendices: 1. Dynastic chronology from Mahavira's Nirvana to ME 1000. 2. Pontifical genealogy of Mahavira's successors. 3. Chronology (100 B.C.-A.D. 900). Bibliography. Index.

"The contribution of the Jaina sources to the making of the history of our great nation, during the epoch--making millennium of 100 B.C. to A.D. 900, is of vital importance. But it has only lacked proper research and application. This book presents a brief survey of the more important sources, particularly literary ones, and a discussion of certain fundamental problems such as the dates of Mahavira and of the beginning of the earlier Saka, Vikrama, and Saka eras, as well as the dates of important Jaina authors and their works and thus clears much of the fog that masks Indian chronology both political and cultural." (jacket)