Reviews

Summary

This section of the journal provides critical assessments of recent publications in the fields of Indology, linguistics, history and religion. One review examines Helena Willman‑Grabowska’s exhaustive study on nominal compounds in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, praising its comprehensive indexes and its analysis of the role of nominal composition in Vedic prose. Another highlights a Polish Academy monograph on nominal composition across the Brāhmaṇa corpus, noting its meticulous scholarship. Subsequent reviews cover a wide array of topics: an edition of the Burmese Pali text “Sasanavamsa”; a French translation of the Pali “Brahmajāla Sutta” with extensive commentary; and works on the history of the Marathas, the archaeology of South India, and Persian influence on Indian architecture. Reviewers summarise the contents, evaluate methodology and point out strengths and weaknesses. A number of reviews deal with publications on Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan texts, including translations of the Bodhicaryāvatāra and studies on Nāgārjuna. There are assessments of monographs on the geography and inscriptions of the Vijayanagara empire, genealogies of South Indian dynasties and analyses of ancient Sanskrit dramas. A review of K. P. Jayaswal’s work on Hindu polity discusses his interpretation of republican elements in ancient Indian governance. In addition, there are evaluations of new volumes of the Calcutta Oriental Series and reports on excavations at Taxila and Mathura. The reviewers often contextualise the books within broader scholarly debates and identify avenues for further research. Collectively, the section reflects the breadth of modern Indological scholarship in the early 20th century, spanning philology, archaeology, art history, religious studies and politics. It serves not only to inform readers about new literature but also to set standards of critical appraisal.