"Over the centuries India has been ruled by men and women who as great conquerors and able administrators have shaped the history of this land. This Pancharatna features five such rulers. Chandragupta Maurya defeated his rivals to found the Mauryan dynasty which reached unprecedented power under his grandson, Ashoka, who later saw the futility of war and renounced violence. Samudragupta of the Gupta dynasty, was a military genius. Harsha ascended the throne at age 16. His story has been taken from the Harshacharita and from the accounts of the Chinese traveller, Hiuen Tsang. Krishnadeva Raya of the Vijayanagara dynasty was described by the Portuguese traveller, Domingo Paes, as the 'perfect king'"--Page 4 of cover

Fifty leaves that form the sumptuous Kevorkian Album, one of the world's greatest assemblages of Mughal art. -- Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

The kingdom of Vijayanagara (founded in 1336 A.D.) was a stronghold of Hinduism at a time when India was politically dominated by Muslim rulers. The glory of Vijayanagara reached its zenith during the reign of the great Krishnadeva Raya (A.D. 1509 - 1529)

The format of the book covers the vast gamut of Great Hindu Kings of the south after Harshvardhana and in the process outlines the political history of the concerned dynasties as well.

India, Modernity and the Great Divergence is an original and pioneering book about India’s transition towards modernity and the rise of the West. The work examines global entanglements alongside the internal dynamics of 17th to 19th century Mysore and Gujarat in comparison to other regions of Afro-Eurasia. It is an interdisciplinary survey that enriches our historical understanding of South Asia, ranging across the fascinating and intertwined worlds of modernizing rulers, wealthy merchants, curious scholars, utopian poets, industrious peasants and skilled artisans. Bringing together socio-economic and political structures, warfare, techno-scientific innovations, knowledge production and transfer of ideas, this book forces us to rethink the reasons behind the emergence of the modern world.