India before Alexander: A New Chronology

The chronology of Indian history rests on two sheet anchors. First sheet anchor is the identification of Sandrokottos of Greek accounts with Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of Mauryan dynasty. Sandrokottos was the contemporary of Alexander the Great. Second sheet anchor is the identification of Devanampriya Priyadarshi of inscriptions with Ashoka Maurya, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. Devanampriya Priyadarshi mentions five Greek kings in his inscriptions, one of them being Antiyoka, who is currently identified with Antiochus II. Native historians claim that Sandrokottos should be identified with Chandragupta I of the Imperial Gupta dynasty. However, in over 175 years since the identification of Devanampriya Priyadarshi with Ashoka Maurya, a satisfactory alternative has not been found. In this pioneering book a new identification is proposed for Devanampriya Priyadarshi after presenting a comprehensive analysis of the source materials. This never before proposed identification of Devanampriya Priyadarshi with Kumaragupta I opens the door for developing a new chronological framework for Indian history.