INTRODUCTION. 27 what happened or not. It is sufficient for present purposes to know that about the middle of the 8th century a dark cloud settled over the north of India, and that during the next two centuries she was torn to pieces by internal troubles, which have left nothing but negative evidence of their existence. During that period the Rashtrakuta kings in the Dekhan, having overthrown the Western Chalukyas, extended their dominions from the Vindhyas to the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers, if not even farther south, waging war with the Cholas. But after fully two centuries of successful domina- tion, they were overthrown in 973 by the later Chalukyas of Maharashtra. In the north were a number of smaller kingdoms as the Chandellas in Bundelkhand, the Kalachuris of Chedi, the Paramaras of Malwa, the Palas of Bengal, etc. When light again appears in the middle of the loth century the scene is wonderfully changed. Buddhism had practically disappeared in the north and west at least, though it still lingered on in Bengal, and Jainism had supplanted it in most places ; but the mass of the people had become followers of Vishnu or Siva. New dynasties had arisen which, though they try to trace their lineage back to the troublous times when Valabhi fell, were new to Indian history. Old India had passed away, and the history of modern India was about to open. The old dynasties had become extinct, and the Rajput races were gaily stepping forward to assume their places too soon, alas ! to be engaged in a life or death struggle with the most implacable foe to their race and religion that India has ever known. It was a cruel Nemesis that their victories over the Buddhists should soon have been followed by the fatal siege of Somnath in 1025, and the fight on the banks of the Ghaghar in 1193, which practically laid India at the feet of the Moslim invader, and changed the whole course of her subsequent career. But, as hinted above, with the appearance of the Moslim on the scene, our chronological difficulties cease, and the subject need not there- fore be further pursued in this introduction. IMMIGRATIONS. From the above brief sketch of ancient Indian history it may be gathered that it is doubtful whether we shall ever be able to clothe with solid flesh the skeleton of history which is all we possess anterior to the advent of Buddha. It is also possible that pious frauds may have so confused the sequence of events between his death and the rise of the Mauryas, that
