From the primitive village cultures in the secluded valleys of the Brahui Hills to the great cities built in the Indus basin by the mysterious Harappa people; from the coming of the charioteering Aryans a thousand years later to the intellectual and spiritual ferment of the Age of the Buddha, and the later incursions of the Muslims- the entire sweep of India's rich history unfolds before the reader's eyes in this survey of encyclopedic scope. It offers an all-round view of Indian culture, its political life through the ages, its cults and doctrines, its social structures, arts, languages and literature, all within the covers of a single volume. Basham's picture of every-day life in ancient India- of early Aryan dice games and Dravidian bull fights, of Indian erotic life and marriage custome- is drawn with an intimacy and love of detail which will delight the general reader no less than the specialist.