1. religion and spirituality
2. hinduism

Preface
Preface and Overview of Chapters
Most students of economics believe that their subject was invented by Adam
Smith around 1776 AD. Actually, a Hindu author named Kautilya, also
known as Chanakya, had published around 300 BC a magnum opus called
“Artha shaastra” or “Science of Re-sources and Statecraft,” whose English
translation needs 868 pages. We focus here on the width and depth of his
materialistic economic thinking, not his ethics. An appendix provides a historical time line revising the British Museum time line indicating evidence
supporting the revisions. What is the intellectual tradition of Hindu India
in the field of economics? Can India, the world’s second-largest developing economy, inspire new principles of economic growth combining religious
beliefs with economic activities?
This Handbook aims to answer such questions with the help of a wide
range of experts and scholars with differing perspectives. The Handbook
belongs to a new genre, different from typical academic handbooks in economics. Accordingly, the authors were asked to: (a) limit the scope of
their essays to the handbook theme of interplay between Hinduism and
Economics by generally excluding all non-Hindu contributions, and (b) if
they wished, the authors were free to focus on the positive contributions
of Hindu teachings, irrespective of any gaps between teachings and daily
practices. Actually, it has be-come not just a reference book for economists,
but an overview which does mention negative aspects of Hinduism. It is
intended to be consulted by scholars in various related fields along with
politicians, India investors, CEOs, and the general public. Therefore, let
me explicitly mention the standard academic disclaimer that the authors
remain responsible for the views in their chapters, with no presumption
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Handbook of Hindu Economics and Business
that I always agree with them.
New York Conference
The first challenge when I began this project of answering such questions
more than a year ago was finding the experts and scholars. Having organized a few academic conferences in recent years, including one on entrepreneurship and human rights, I thought that issuing a “Call for Papers”
for an academic conference on the topic would be a good start. Ultimately,
we had a first-of-its-kind academic conference on Hinduism and the global
economy at Fordham University in New York City on June 2, 2011.
The conference organizing committee members were: Shapoor Vali, Ralf
Hepp, Barbara Andolsen, Frank Canovatchel, and Rossen Trendafilov. The
Conference was inaugurated by John Tognino, Chairman of the Board of
Trustees of Fordham University. I am grateful to Josephine Cannariato,
Michael Mebane, and Michael Gallagher for their help. Financial support
was received from the Economics Department, Vijaydev Mistry Foundation, and Twaalfhoven Family Foundation. Conference attendance was not
compulsory for research papers to be included in this Handbook as travel
support was unavailable for the many scholars who reside in India.
The keynote address by Dr. Subramanian Swamy, a celebrity in India,
was helpful in attracting an audience and media attention to the conference. He explained that because Hinduism has dozens of highly respected
books with distinct viewpoints instead of one holy book, Hindus can never
be fundamentalist. He has an original take on the Hindu caste system as
a way to achieve separation of powers, by forbidding the same person from
amassing more than one source of power: education (Brahmin), weapons
(Kshatriya), wealth (Vaishya), and land (Shoodra). He opined that unfortunately, castes became hereditary, and the original ideas have become
distorted in recent centuries.
Fordham’s elegant top-floor lounge was nearly filled to capacity, and
marked by unusually heated audience participation, including some emotional exchanges unusual for an academic conference. For example, when
Professor Ravi Kulkarni of IIT-Mumbai reported that Hindus donate a very
small percent of their annual income to charity compared to Muslims and
Christians, a lady in the audience noted that these charities are hoping
to convert poor Hindus to their faith. Dr. Kulkarni responded by noting
that these charities do provide education and healthcare to persons of all
Preface
vii
religions. Since Ravi is one of the most generous persons I know, he not
only talks the talk, but walks the walk, using an American expression.
This Handbook is divided into two parts based on whether the primary
focus being on ancient or modern times. Of course, all authors have tried
to make their chapters relevant for today’s readers. Since each chapter is
self-contained by design, minor repetition across chapters is inevitable.
Part 1 Contains Chapters with a Primary Focus on Ancient
Hindu Texts
Adam Smith’s 1776 The Wealth of Nations was written based on the foundation of his 1759 The Theory of Moral Sentiments, strongly implying that
he viewed economics as a moral science, even though economists emphasize
his “paradox of greed” that greed can produce overall benefits in a market
system. Various chapters in this part show that Kautilya, circa 320 BC,
had many ideas of modern economics except for the “paradox of greed.” We
begin with a chapter by a Sanskrit scholar showing that Kautilya promoted
free trade.
Chapter 1 by M. V. Patwardhan, “Economics, Business, and Management in Ancient Hindu Texts,” is a scholarly discussion of Kautilya
Arthashaastra based on Patwardhan’s study of the original Sanskrit texts.
It details duties and punishments of various classes, laws of contracts, monetary and fiscal policies, taxation, etc. He argues that Kautilya was one of
the first socialists worried about the welfare of all subjects and preservation
of an implicit social contract.
Kautilya’s focus on the sovereignty and prosperity of the kingdom at
all cost (ends justify means). For example, Kautilya (2.27.6-8, 10, 2427) proposes a tax on prostitute establishments. While condemning black
magic, Kautilya (4.4.16, 5.1.33) advises kings to exploit it for their own
purposes. Kautilya’s discussion of statecraft precedes by some 1800 years
similar discussion of the use of political power in Machiavelli’s “The Prince”
published in 1532 in Florence, Italy. It is not surprising that between 300
BC and 1900 AD, Kautilya’s ethical precepts were roundly criticized as
opportunistic, and not representative of purer versions of Hindu ethics.
Professor Balbir S. Sihag’s Chapter 2, “Kautilya on Prudence, Protection, and Pros-perity” provides a detailed comparison with references to the
state-centric Niccolo Machiavelli (1513) and people-centric Kautilya. This
chapter shows how Kautilya’s people-centric concept of “human security”
developed centuries before the United Nations was founded, and was com-
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Handbook of Hindu Economics and Business
prehensive and ahead of its time, focusing on both freedom from fear and
freedom from wants. Besides large armies and fortifications, he suggested
intelligence gathering and diplomacy to predict enemy intentions. Sihag
shows that the basic intellectual underpinnings of the following sampling of
jargon items from economic theory were known to Kautilya: Public Goods,
Opportunity Cost, Constrained Maximization, Inter-Temporal Choice, Law
of Diminishing Returns, Demand-Supply Apparatus, Liquidity, Discounting, Producer Surplus, Linear Income Tax, Gains from Trade, and Value
Added. There are three similar additional lists in Sihag’s Table 2.1.
Chapter 3, “Socioeconomic Importance of Animals Including Cows in
Hinduism” by H. D. Vinod, begins with a Hindu parallel to Darwinian
evolution and considers beef eating. Hindus did understand some modern
ecological concepts of symbiotic interdependence among various species of
plants and animals. India’s rural economy relies on live-stock even today.
Chapter 4, “Hindu Economic Philosophy” by M. V. Nadkarni, describes
the economic philosophy including Hindu ethics while reviewing some important references. He argues that ethical economic betterment if not capitalism is encouraged by Hinduism, and that economic prosperity enables
charity and social investment. He finds that Kautilya had foreseen the
Marxian Labor Theory of Value and that Max Weber gave Hinduism bad
press based on an his incomplete exposure to original Hindu texts.
Chapter 5, entitled “Four-Fold Objectives of Life for an Individual and
Societal Growth as per Hinduism” by Prof. M. G. Prasad of the Stevens Institute of Technology, compares the four-fold objectives of Hinduism (moral
conduct, pursuit of wealth, pleasures, and liberation) to the U.S. Constitution’s individual-centric objectives of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Hinduism focuses on both individual and societal growth.
Modern economies depend on corporations, including multinationals.
An ancient Indian version is discussed in Chapter 6, “Hindu Social Corporate Form and Sreni Dharma: Cure for Greed” by S. Kalyanaraman.
The Hindu guild-type entity called ’sreni’ had detailed laws, together with
a complete structure for executive officers. It operated within the framework of a rational, materialistic economic ethos, and yet suggested equality,
trusteeship, and development of social capital. Details include a remarkable
example of a committee of elders of civil society in the Uttaramerur district
in South India.
Chapter 7, “Ayurvedic Medicine: Ancient Hindu Wisdom” by Vasant D.
Lad, a practising medical doctor trained under the ancient Hindu system of
healthcare, explains how all health problems can arise from three fundamen-
Preface
ix
tal sources called vaat, pitta, and kapha. Ancient Indian medicines needed
elaborate recipes, some of which used various minerals and herbs. He also
describes how healthcare, including surgery, was organized for various subgroups (children, women, elderly), and how it was paid for. He discusses
medical education, and the role of the king’s physician as the chief medical
officer responsible for healthcare planning and epidemic prevention.
Lord Keynes said that the ego factor in the form of the “animal spirit”
of traders drives the stock market. Shankar Abhyankar’s Chapter 8 comes
with a glossary of Sanskrit terms with scholarly and careful descriptions
of their subtle meanings. Its title, “The Ahankaar Factor in Bhaarateeya
Arthashaastra,” involves many Sanskrit words. The glossary explains why a
rough translation “The ego factor in Indian Economics” is incorrect. He lists
four goals, four stages of life, four castes, and four debts (including debts
to society), along with material and spiritual aspects of human existence.
Dr. Abhyankar is known in India as Vidyaa Vaachaspati (great orator of
knowledge), and his speeches attract huge crowds. His chapter cites original
Sanskrit books on Indian Economics, noting how Kautilya’s Arthashastra
treatise is huge with over 6000 verses [Book 1, ch. 1, sec. 18]. Abhyankar
has studied several even more huge additional commentaries in Sanskrit
dealing with Hindu Economics. For example, he mentions Arthopaveda
and Sampatti Shastra each contain 100,000 plus verses. They support acquisition of wealth within limits as a worthy goal. Since economic activities
begin with “I-consciousness”, Abhyankar describes the ascending order of
ego and Hindu tools for controlling material desires for fulfilment. Because
unchecked animal spirits cause boom and bust cycles of instability, he recommends economic policies promoting saatvik or good-natured ego.
Professor H. N. Mhaskar’s Chapter 9, entitled “Dharma and the Growth
of an Individual,” discusses development of human capital from a Hindu
perspective with an em-phasis on the growth of an individual with the help
of a Guru, the teacher. He explains distinctions among the four types of
Yoga: jnanayoga, karmayoga, raajayoga, and bhaktiyoga that are highly
relevant for human development.
Chapter 10, “Impact of Hindu Rituals, Festivals and Pilgrimages on
Socioeconomic Well-Being in India” by Prof. Gautam Naresh, includes an
empirical study involving a human development index and poverty index.
He lists several harmful Hindu superstitions and customs, including excess
reliance on intuition and authority as tools for learning the truth, and the
inadequate emphasis on accumulation of objective evidence. Prof. Naresh
also discusses the positive role of Hindu rituals in fostering family ties and
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Handbook of Hindu Economics and Business
self-sufficiency with self-discipline.
The Great Recession of 2008 has reminded most economists about the
perils of systemic risk created by ’too big to fail’ entities. Professor Balbir
S. Sihag’s Chapter 11, entitled “Kautilya on Ethical Anchoring as Systemic
Risk Management,” considers Kautilya three main sources of risk affecting
the state: foreign aggression, moral degradation, and famine. The chapter
focuses on the moral degradation risk, methods of preventing the “law of
the jungle” from taking over the economy with adequate emphasis on ethics
education and fair punishments, long before John Stuart Mill. This chapter briefly compares Adam Smith and Western philosophers with Kautilya
and his followers. Sihag offers some mathematical equations summarizing
Kautilya’s economic theory, which involve loss functions, utility functions,
probabilities of a meltdown, among others, and should be of interest to
mathematical and quantitative economists.
Part 2 Contains Chapters with a Primary Focus on Recent
Hindu History
Dr. R. Vaidyanathan’s Chapter 12, entitled “India Growth: The Untold
Story–Caste as Social Capital,” discusses the caste system. He assumes
that the reader already knows the basics of the Hindu caste system. There
are over two hundred endogamous communities in India somewhat incorrectly called castes and caste-like groups. Let me provide admittedly oversimplified answers two questions about castes often asked by non-Indians:
(1) Since differences among caste groups are not visible, how is the caste
known? The caste is known from several clues: the family name, address,
social connections, acquaintances, profession, diets, etc. Of course, with
urbanization and inter-caste marriages, this is no longer easy. (2) Why do
members of the same caste feel affinity to each other? The short answer
is a sense of brotherhood developed by true or imagined genetic, regional,
professional and class affinity. The ancient Hindu custom of arranged marriages officially restricted all marriages for thousands of years to only within
the endogamous caste. Although unevenly enforced by different groups in
different regions, marriage and diet customs have created and solidified the
caste affinity. Our interest here is in economic consequences of the affinity,
while DNA analysis of castes is studied by many scientists to help answer
public health, historical and socio-political questions.
Rudolph, L. I. (1965)1 argues that the caste affinity was helpful in the
1“The
Modernity of Tradition: The Democratic Incarnation of Caste in India”, The
Preface
xi
1950s in nurturing democratic institutions in India. Indian peasants did not
have to “surrender themselves to a political master in the hope of protection
and benefits” as European peasants did. More recent impact of castes
on Indian politics has been harmful. Vaidyanathan notes that “caste in
politics divides (the Indian electorate) but caste in economics unites.” He
focuses on economic benefits of caste affinity arising from risk-sharing and
entrepreneurship traits. He shows how caste has been a major builder of
social capital in many emerging businesses across sectors by members of
newly empowered castes.
Advocate Sunil Deshmukh’s Chapter 13, entitled “Losses from Hindu
Socioeconomic Practices,” calculates the present value of the total loss due
to Hindu socioeconomic practices (not theory) at $32 trillion, primarily due
to the birth-based caste system leading to the virtual nonparticipation by
the lower castes and women in the economy. This chapter serves as an
antidote to some chapters that extol the virtues in the precepts of Hindu
philosophy, while ignoring discriminatory religious practices.
Professor Surendra K. Kaushik of Pace University states that the low
Hindu rate of growth is sustainable, in Chapter 14 entitled “Sustainability
of Hinduism and the Hindu Rate of Growth as the Global Growth Rate.”
Its sustainability is explained in terms of cultural characteristics specifically
associated with Vedic Hinduism. However, India ought to use Hindu culture
to seek the highest possible growth rate. Meltzer (June 15, 2011, Wall
Street Journal, A15) compares 1990 to 2006 when growth in the United
States was only 1 percent higher than in France, Germany, or Italy. The 1
percent difference in growth rate matters because it becomes a 25 percent
difference in per-capita income by 2006 by the power of compounding.
Prof. Kishore Kulkarni, editor of the Indian Journal of Economics and
Business, and his student Chang Yi explain in detail how Hinduism plays
a role in India’s population problem. Their Chapter 15, “Role of Hinduism
in India’s Population Problem,” considers both Hindu and Muslim communities in India. Both need to empower their females and not view having
several children as old-age insurance. They highlight the negative externalities associated with a 1.4 percent annual growth amounting to a burden
on world resources of feeding and employing 16.6 million additional Indians every year. During the discussion of this chapter in New York, Prof.
Kaushik mentioned that women’s higher education would bring down the
population growth rate, because (1) women will be more concerned about
American Political Science Review, 59(4), 1965, 975–989
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Handbook of Hindu Economics and Business
keeping the standard of living of their families by having fewer children,
and (2) higher education will require girls not marrying until the age of 22
or so, thus reducing the high-fertility age-period.
Chapter 16, “Impact of Past Karma and Astrology Chart on Hindu
Economic Life,” by H. D. Vinod reviews both the good and bad economic
consequences of Hindu belief in karma and astrology, and suggests an overlooked link between the two. Initial endowments such as family background,
health, and wealth of a newborn are viewed as random variables in economic theory. However, Hindus believe in rebirth, and attribute initial
endowments to the good and bad actions in previous lives. If one believes
that the soul enters the body of the newborn at birth, the exact time and
place of birth, which also determines his astrological chart, may then have a
plausible role in forecasting his life outcomes. Although charts cannot cause
life outcomes, under karma beliefs, predictable movement of stars and random life outcomes become dependent, not spurious. This may explain why
millions of Hindus including scientists believe in astrology. While this can
cause fatalism, it also allows Hindus to have mental skills in coping with adversity (blame the stars instead of parents) while providing entertainment
to all and jobs to astrologers. In the absence of data, I am unable to assert
that the net benefit is negative.
Chapter 17, “Charity in India,” by Rajendra and Ravindra Kulkarni
claims that Hindus donate only about 1 percent of their annual income
for charity, whereas the Jews, Christians, and Muslims donate close to 10
percent. They attribute this phenomenon to the system of “tithes” or “zakat” mentioned in the Torah, the New Testament, and the Koran, whereas
respected Hindu books mention no specific number. Hindus had no organized system of charity, even though they extol charity in the highest
terms. Because the percentage of middle-class is increasing in India, the
authors recommend some reforms in income tax laws, inheritance laws, and
the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). The latter practically
freezes the contributions socially conscious, educated, fairly rich people of
Indian origin living abroad would make to small deserving organizations.
Readers interested in the economics of “The Market for Charitable Giving”
may consult a literature survey having that title by John List in the Journal
of Economic Perspectives 2011 (25(2): 157-180).
Chapter 18, entitled “Ancient Hindu Wisdom for Modern-Day Management and Leadership” by P. Joshi and M. Joshi of the Gurukul Yoga
Holistic Center, Bridgewater, New Jersey, explains the close link between
yoga and Hinduism, with special emphasis on the use of yoga even by non-
Preface
xiii
Hindus for developing leadership qualities. They explain the importance
of a teacher and how Hindu epics contain examples for the acquisition of
decision-making skills during a crisis that are relevant and practical for
today’s situations.
Human capital is one of the most important topics in Development
Economics, which focuses on education and development of skills. Chapter
19 by Dr. Samprasad Vinod, “Yoga for Growth in Human Capital,” shows
how yoga can be an important tool here. He also lists sixteen Hindustyle sacraments from birth to death similar to the stages in construction,
maintenance, and replacement of material capital goods.
Chapter 20, “ArthaKranti Perspective on the Indian and Global Economy,” by Anil Bokil, Amod Phalke, Amol Phalke, Bhushan Patil, Narendra
Khot and Sudhir Rao, all of the “ArthaKranti Pratishthan” (Foundation
for Economic Revolution), proposes detailed new ideas to correct the problems with the Indian economy. Its proposals are radical, involving a whole
new tax and currency system. However, some of these are being propagated in bits and pieces by Anna Hazare and Ramdev Baba, who made
big news in India with a Gandhi-style public fasting to bring attention to
the black money and corruption in India. The State of Illinois conducted
an experiment forcing transactions of poor recipients of government welfare payments through the banking system with encouraging results. With
smart cell phones reaching millions of Indians, including illiterate vegetable
vendors, their proposal to force almost all daily transactions through the
banking system is worthy of consideration. Given that Bernard Madoff successfully hid tens of billions of dollars from sophisticated and incorruptible
American banking regulators for decades, great care will be needed in implementing their proposals. Knowing the ingenuity of motivated scoff-laws
in India, supported by corrupt politicians and an overburdened judiciary,
the “devil would be in the (implementation) details.”
Chapter 21, entitled “Hindutva Principle of Economic Development,” by
Dr. Subramanian Swamy, President of the Janata Party and until recently
an economics professor at the Harvard summer school, takes a novel approach to the theory of economic development. He advocates sustainable
and ecology-friendly economic development based on Hindu ideas combining good aspects of communism, socialism, and capitalism. Swamy also
proposes an education system aimed at inculcating a five-dimensional concept of intelligence that includes cognitive, emotional, moral, social, and
spiritual elements.
Chapter 22, “Interactions among Social, Political, and Economic Di-
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Handbook of Hindu Economics and Business
mensions of Inequalities in India: An Interpretation” by Prof. Suresh D.
Tendulkar, studies income inequality in India, an important topic in economics. The caste system of Hindu India had a rather rigid, unequal,
and hierarchical socio-economic structure. Tendulkar describes modern Indian elections as involving “identity politics,” a code for voting based on
the caste of the candidate. He discusses the challenge of relieving Indian
poverty, and mentions the dynamic interplay of “one-man-one-vote” political equality with the Hindu caste hierarchy, helping to crumble the latter.
Drawing a distinction between equal and equitable distribution of income,
Tendulkar focuses on incentives, productivity, and rapid growth. Rising
inequality might not be a serious problem if India also has income mobility
and rapid economic growth.
Unfortunately, this Handbook chapter would likely be the last publication in Tendulkar’s distinguished career (spanning nearly a hundred publications), as he passed away on June 21, 2011. Suresh Tendulkar was an
important voice in the economic policy of India, having served in several
key positions including as the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council
to the Prime Minister of India. His methodological contribution using data
on education, health, and clothing revised upward India’s poverty rates. On
a personal note, I attended the BMCC college in Pune, the Delhi School
of Economics, and Harvard University with Suresh. My condolences to his
wife Sunetra and his two daughters, Saee Sapre and Juee Gonzalves, whom
I have known almost since the time they were born. Suresh had encouraged
me to undertake this Handbook project and provided valuable contacts and
referees.
Chapter 23 by Advocate Chinmay Vaidya names 20 Hindu sages as lawgivers and lists 18 sections of their laws. Some 12 categories deal directly
with economic life. The “Hindu Law” was codified during the British Raj
and modified after Indian independence whereby individual rights have triumphed over the ancient Hindu tradition of joint ownership. In particular,
the chapter focuses on the beneficial evolution of woman’s property rights.
I am grateful to all these authors for their hard work in preparing their
chapters and responding to occasionally blunt criticisms by the referees.
Refereeing for this volume was arduous. I would like to thank Arun and
Vasanti Jategaonkar, Aparna Kulkarni, Sadhana Sathe, Udayan Vinod, Sophie Mitra, Giacomo Santangelo, Marg Reynolds, and Madhukar Godsey
for their referee work. Some authors also did refereeing for the papers of
others, and some referees have asked to remain anonymous.
Preface
xv
Hrishikesh D. Vinod, Tenafly, New Jersey, USA, January 2013.
Appendix: Indian History Time line
seq.
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
28
29
year
3100
3000
2900
2800
2700
2600
2500
2100
2000
1900
1800
1700
1600
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
BC
1500 BC
1400 BC
900 BC
800 BC
Indian History Time Line Part 1
event
Early settlements develop in Indus Valley
(+) Oral composition of the Vedas
(+) Mahabharata war (weapons’ archaeological dating)
Early settlements develop into urban civilization
Indus script used
Great Bath is built at Mohenjo-daro
(+)Tectonic movements dry up river Sarasvati
Decline of Indus Civilization
(–)Movement of Aryan groups into India
(+) rising sea level inundates port city Dvaraka
(+) Oral composition of the Mahabharata
(–)Oral composition of the Vedas
(–) Oral composition of the Mahabharata & Gita
-
Recent evidence seems to suggest removal of items marked (–) and addition
of items marked (+).
This time-line attempts to update the one by the British Museum, 2
which appears to be based on out-of-date information. For example, the
British Museum time line ignores more recent sources including:
(1) “Scientific Verification of Vedic Knowledge” 3
(2) A book entitled “Science of the Sacred” by David Osborn with a Forward
2
available at: http://www.ancientindia.co.uk/time/explore/exp_set.html
available
at:
http:
//www.archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/scientific-verif-vedas.html.
3
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Handbook of Hindu Economics and Business
seq.
30
31
32
year
700 BC
600 BC
-
33
34
35
36
500 BC
400 BC
37
-
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
300 BC
200 BC
100 BC
0 AD
100 AD
200 AD
300 AD
400 AD
Indian History Time Line Part 2
event
Oral composition of the Upanishads
Birth of Siddhartha Gautama
Indus Valley region becomes part of
Persian Empire
Death of Vardhamana Mahavira
Death of the Buddha
Oral composition of the Ramayana
Alexander the Great attacks
North-West India
Mauryan Empire founded
(+) Kautilya Artha Shastra written
Introduction of Sanskrit and Prakrit languages
Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts in use
Ashoka converts to Buddhism
Mauryan Empire collapses
Stupa built at Mohenjo-daro site
Introduction of Christianity into India
(–) Composition of the Bhagavad Gita
Beginning of Gupta rule over India
Buddhist scholars travel to China
First Hindu temple built
Recent evidence seems to suggest removal of items marked (–) and addition
of items marked (+).
by David Frawley
4
(3) Professor of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University, Jim G.
Shaffer’s articles 5
Since Indian independence in 1947, some 2,500 Indian archaeological
sites have been studied by scientists including those from Archaeological
4
available
at:
http:
//www.archaeologyonline.net/indology/pdfs/science-of-sacred.pdf.
5 See: “The Indo-Aryan Invasions: Cultural Myth and Archaeological Reality”, in
John R Lukacs (ed.) The People of South Asia: The Biological Anthropology of India,
Pakistan and Nepal, New York,1984, Plenum Press, pp. 77-88.
Preface
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50
51
52
53
54
year
500 AD
600 AD
700 AD
800 AD
55
56
57
900 AD
1000 AD
1100 AD
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
AD
xvii
Indian History Time Line Part 3
event
(+) Naalanda University, Bihar estd.
Translation: Buddhist texts into Chinese
Introduction of Zoroastrianism into India
Development of Dravidian script
(+) Death of Adi Shankaracharya
(who (revived Hinduism)
Introduction of Islam into India
(+) Muslim invader B. Khilji burns Naalanda
library
(–) Birth of Nanak
Death of Nanak (founded Sikkhism)
Early visitors to Harappa
Decipherment of Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts
Discovery of first Indus seal
Discovery of Mohenjo-daro
Excavations begin at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
(–) Excavation of Indus Valley sites continues
(+) Satellite images of dried up Sarasvati
river
Recent evidence suggests addition of items marked (+). We suggest removal
items marked (–) for brevity.
Survey of India. A majority of the sites are are along the dried up Sarasvati river bed, recently confirmed by using satellite pictures. The river is
described with detail in Rig Veda (07.0950.01 1-2) and is known to have
dried around 1900 BC according to archaeological evidence. The evidence
for Mahabharata War to have been around 2800 BC is based on iron arrows
and spearheads obtained in Kurukshetra, the site of the war, have been excavated and dated by thermoluminence. This is what justifies some items
marked (+) in the Table. The evidence for timing of Krishna’s port city of
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Handbook of Hindu Economics and Business
Dvaraka is found in K. S. Rao’s (1999) book6
Bharat Gyan of Bangalore have produced a plausible video entitled
“Rama Setu - An Engineering Marvel of 5076 BCE.” It reports using archeoastrology to date the birth of Lord Rama to be 5114 BC based on Rama’s
astrological chart detailed in Ramayana. http://www.youtube.com/
watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FgSINZO_VuI#! We have not
yet included the 5114 BC date in part 1 of our time line, pending corroboration by archaeologists and historians.
Acknowledgment for the Cover Design
I am grateful to Dr. Michael Mebane for the sketch of Kautilya and to
Dr. Rossen Trendafilov for the design of the handbook cover incorporating
Mebane’s sketch and the remaining text, patiently and cheerfully allowing
me to make several changes during many iterations.
6 entitled
“The Lost City of Dvaraka” Aditya Prakashan, New Delhi.