Page:Ancient History of the Deccan.djvu/11

 the present, the Ancient History of the Deccan,

Such a study is very important, as it is tlic history ot nine colorions centuries of this larj:^c country. The documents that vc have concernini; the- Deccan of the ancient times enîihlc us to concUide that all this period was one of high civilisation and historical celeliritv. We shall see that during the epoch of A^oka, the Deccan was not at all uncivilised. The art of writing was known a l<^ng time before it and the inscrip- tions of A^oka were read and understood verv well at that time. From a militarv point of view, the Deccan was never more powerful than at tin.' tune of S itakiu'ni^ who, without doubt, succeeded manv tinier ni wanquislun^ the kings ot the northern countries and annexing a p.irt of their territories, From a sculptural point of view, the Deccan, like the orth. was inspired bv the Greek and Roman arts and the marbles of Amaravati can be compared to the sculptures of Gandliaia. If now we consider the moiunnent^, the Deccan is nuich siiperi(M- to the Xorth. It we compare the ancient monuments of Northern and Southein India we lincl that the Xorth is relativelv poor. In the Deccan there is a very large iminher of sculptured rocks at Udayagiri, junnar, P'llora, Xàsik, Kan- hèri etc. And speaking only of the chief of them, which are the monuments in the north that will bear comparison with the grand Chaitya at Kàrli that is equal in its dimensions to the Gothic Cathedrals, or with the monasteries of Ajanta with their marvellous painting ? There is, it is true, the great Stiipa at Sànchi, but this monument is in Bhilsa near Deccan ; it may even be considered a monmnent of the Deccan, since its balus- trade which is the cause of all its celebrity has been sculptured^ as is evident from an inscription, iiy the workmen of one S'lta- karni, that is to sav, a king of the Deccan. Writing the history of the Deccan therefore me.uis writing the histc^ry oi the most remarkal^le monuments of India.

If we look at a map we fuul that the Deccan is an im- mense countrv, almost one half of India. If we examine the monimients, we shall have the certauitv th;jt thi^ cotmtry has enjoyed a high degree of civilisation and if we bear in mind that the history of the Deccan in ancient tune- is the history of nine glorious centuries, we cannot but conclude th.it this history is well worth studying and that it must coine out of the