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Indian Shipping - A History of the Sea-Borne Trade and Maritime Activity of the Indians from the Earliest Times
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
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September 7, 2022
Fascinating look at India’s naval prowess, from the pre-Mauryan period all the way to the Mughal era!
Indian Shipping is a fascinating look at India’s naval prowess, from the pre-Mauryan period all the way to the Mughal era. We see how, for three thousand years, India stood at the very heart of the Old World, with trading settlements and colonies as far East as Japan. Trade was also carried out with the Roman Empire.
Radhakumud Mookerji skilfully uses both literary and archaeological evidences to show how India has always been sea faring. The earliest references are found in the Rig Veda, Manu Smriti and even the Itihasas – Ramayana and Mahabharata. The existence of formal works like the Yuktikalpataru, (which is a treatise on ship building, the different kinds of ships, necessary qualities of wood to build sturdy ships etc.) and the Arthashastra (which has a separate chapter that deals with the management of ports and waterways) shows the central role played by maritime activity in the country’s economy.
First hand travel accounts of European, Chinese, Persian and Arab travellers as well as references in multiple Sanskrit plays like Ratnavali by Harsha and Kalidasa’s Shakuntala, show how navigation of both inland waterways as well as international waters was a daily, normal affair.
Paintings, sculptures and frescoes reinforce the central role shipping played in Ancient India.
What’s most interesting in the book is that apart from giving a solid overview of India’s maritime supremacy, it also details the civilisational impact India had on its immediate neighbourhood, the rest of Asia, and indeed the world. This led to the percolation of Hindu culture, art, language and religion throughout Asia.
The presence of indigo, tamarind-wood, and other Indian products has been detected in the tombs of Egypt, and it has also been found that the Egyptians wrapped their mummies in Indian muslin.
This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Indian History; who seeks to learn how the early growth of India’s shipping and ship-building, coupled with the genius of her merchants, the skill of her seamen and the enterprise of her kings, secured to India the command of the seas and helped her long maintain her proud position as the mistress of the Eastern seas.
Indian Shipping is a fascinating look at India’s naval prowess, from the pre-Mauryan period all the way to the Mughal era. We see how, for three thousand years, India stood at the very heart of the Old World, with trading settlements and colonies as far East as Japan. Trade was also carried out with the Roman Empire.
Radhakumud Mookerji skilfully uses both literary and archaeological evidences to show how India has always been sea faring. The earliest references are found in the Rig Veda, Manu Smriti and even the Itihasas – Ramayana and Mahabharata. The existence of formal works like the Yuktikalpataru, (which is a treatise on ship building, the different kinds of ships, necessary qualities of wood to build sturdy ships etc.) and the Arthashastra (which has a separate chapter that deals with the management of ports and waterways) shows the central role played by maritime activity in the country’s economy.
First hand travel accounts of European, Chinese, Persian and Arab travellers as well as references in multiple Sanskrit plays like Ratnavali by Harsha and Kalidasa’s Shakuntala, show how navigation of both inland waterways as well as international waters was a daily, normal affair.
Paintings, sculptures and frescoes reinforce the central role shipping played in Ancient India.
What’s most interesting in the book is that apart from giving a solid overview of India’s maritime supremacy, it also details the civilisational impact India had on its immediate neighbourhood, the rest of Asia, and indeed the world. This led to the percolation of Hindu culture, art, language and religion throughout Asia.
The presence of indigo, tamarind-wood, and other Indian products has been detected in the tombs of Egypt, and it has also been found that the Egyptians wrapped their mummies in Indian muslin.
This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in Indian History; who seeks to learn how the early growth of India’s shipping and ship-building, coupled with the genius of her merchants, the skill of her seamen and the enterprise of her kings, secured to India the command of the seas and helped her long maintain her proud position as the mistress of the Eastern seas.
Displaying 1 of 1 review