Trade activities have been great facilitators of change in various spheres of life since ages. The ports on India’s coasts, especially those on the east coast, served not only commercial purpose but also promoted political, social, economic and cultural interactions between different regions within the subcontinent and distant regions across the seas. Andhra coast during the ancient period was studded with a number of ports which played a key role in connecting India with other countries. The references in literary works and the discoveries of archaeological remains enable us to observe the pattern of coastal trade in ancient India reflecting the shift of maritime activities from the east to the west coast due to several factors with the passage of time. This paper attempts to identify the role of ports in Andhra region with regard to establishing contacts with neighboring Tamil Nadu and Odisha respectively as well as distant lands including the Roman Empire, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and China.

Keywords: Andhra, Maritime, Port, Roman, Southeast Asia, Trade.

This article examines the Confucian temple through four interrelated dimensions: architectural type, naming system, ritual function, and musical-dance hierarchy. Particular attention is given to the Ming dynasty, when the musical and dance specifications of the shidian rite underwent significant changes in ritual rank. These changes moved from the Hongwu-period regulation of dengge ?? music and the six-row dance formation, to the Chenghua and Hongzhi-period tendency toward imperial-level specifications, and finally to the restoration of the six-row dance after the Jiajing-period rectification of Confucian temple rites. This transformation was not merely a technical adjustment in music or choreography, but reflected the state’s redefinition of Confucius’s status, the position of Confucian learning, and the hierarchy of ritual order. The article argues that the Confucian temple transformed Confucian thought into a visible and repeatable state ritual order through space, nomenclature, sacrifice, music, and dance.

Keywords: Confucian, shidian rite, Ming ritual system, sacrifice.

Maghnoa Dol is a late medieval temple of Assam and stands as a testimony to the region’s steady growth of temple building and image making. The structure belongs to the later phase of Ahom patronage. It stands as a point where belief, royal guidance, and local skill come together. The structure of the dol follows the usual Assamese late medieval temple architectural style. It has a central sanctum called the garbhagriha, an antarala that links the inner and outer spaces and a mandapa that opens the approach for worship. The building stands on an elevated base. It is made mainly of brick and shows small changes that respond to Assam’s climate. The temple carries a full range of sculptural icons which include figures of Vishnu, Shiva, Devi, Surya, Ganesha, Kartikeya, and Indra. The sculptures show the religious choices of the local society and also show small local variations that mark the region’s taste. The icons present mythic scenes and ritual meaning and it points to the active cultural life of the medieval period. This paper studies the temple’s history, architectural plan and sculptural designs and attempts to locate its place in the cultural life of the Ahoms. The present work is based on field observations and written sources. Here, the author tries to highlight how this particular monument reflects regional style, royal support and the subtle practice of image worship.

Keywords: Maghnoa Dol, Ahom period, Assamese temple form, iconography, cultural heritage.

Early Medieval India is known in numismatic annals for its stark absence of gold coins, considered an integral part of imperial paraphernalia in its preceding Gupta Age. Silver currency became the new normative construct, and was used extensively across North India, with the causative factor of this phenomenon variably linked with feudalism to trans-national market collapse to evisceration of imperial will. However, against the stereotyped description of this period have recently come two gold-coins, issued by two consecutive Pu?yabh?ti monarchs- R?jya-Vardhan and Har?a, which not only challenges the standard socio-historical contours of c. 6th-7th Century CE, but also rightly call for a fresh examination of extant numismatic evidence in its proper circumstantial configuration. Herein, this lacuna needs to be filled by re-examining Pu?yabh?ti gold coinage, and situating them in the politico-economic scenario of their times. In this exercise, the heavily outnumbered historical presence of the two gold-coins in silver-saturated echelons will be considered, and also briefly comment upon the nature of fraternal relationship between R?jya-Vardhan and Har?a. Through this, valuable revelatory light shall be thrown on the existential complex of gold-coins in post-Gupta period, and further on the historico- umismatic contours of the Pu?yabh?ti regime.

Keywords: R?jya-Vardhan, Har?a, Pu?yabh?ti, silver, gold-coins, Maukharis, Gupta Age, Early Medieval.

A regional museum is generally identified as an institution dedicated primarily to the preservation and exhibition of artifacts—specifically ancient and locally sourced items—rooted in local cultural heritage and history. These museums frequently showcase materials discovered through their own initiatives, focusing on specific local cultural elements such as antique art, handicrafts, manuscripts, and similar objects. The artifacts housed within these regional museums hold immense significance for understanding the socio-cultural fabric of the region. Coins, in particular, constitute a vital resource for reconstructing the history of ancient India; the numismatic collections preserved in these regional museums serve to enrich our historical narrative, providing researchers with invaluable source material for historical scholarship. Much like other districts of West Bengal, the district of South 24 Parganas has witnessed the establishment of numerous regional-level museums. Prominent among these are the Banglar Puratattva Gabeshana Kendra O Sangrahashala, Sundarban Anchalik Sangrahashala, Badabon Anchalik Pratnatattwik Sangrahashala, Sagardwip Sangrahashala etc. Currently, there exists no comprehensive inventory of the collections housed within these regional museums—nor is there a catalogue or chronological record of their numismatic holdings—the compilation of which is a matter of critical importance. Should this undertaking be successfully realized, it would not only enrich our understanding of ancient Indian history but also serve to disseminate regional history more widely among the general public.

Keywords: Catalogue, Coin, Museums, Regional Museum, South 24 Parganas.

The rehabilitation of Bengali refugees after the Partition of India remains one of the most complex and under-examined episodes in South Asian history. This paper revisits the Dandakaranya resettlement project, conceptualised as a solution to the refugee crisis but ultimately marked by structural inadequacies, ecological incompatibility, and socio-cultural alienation. Drawing upon archival sources, government reports, and personal narratives, the study explores the lived experiences of refugees re-located from West Bengal to the inhospitable terrains of Dandakaranya. It critically evaluates the state’s approach to displacement management, highlighting the tensions between developmental planning and human realities. The paper also situates Dandakaranya within the broader trajectory of refugee movements, including the Marichjhapi episode, to illustrate patterns of resistance, return migration, and contested citizenship. Foregrounding marginalised voices, the study argues that Dandakaranya was less a site of rehabilitation and more a laboratory of state-led social experimentation with profound human consequences.

Keywords: Partition, Dandakaranya, Rehabilitation Policy, Refugee Narratives.

Till the end of the hunter-gatherer stage and beginning of sedentary life style, the human society had no conception of super natural existences. During the age of sedentary life style, the dual existences of divine and demonic super beings beyond the physical human existences developed. At some point, animals were imposed with the divine and demonic qualities. One such entity was the demonic entity of dragon spread over many regions starting from India to the west and north up to Europe. In South Asia and in particular Indian subcontinent, Indra killing his archenemy, giant serpent Vr?tra, obstructing river waters is the most prominent dragon myth. It is attributed to physical reality of eruption of a long stretching brittle bunds formed due to tectonic upheavals. Over the millennia, Indra’s archenemy was interpreted as a cloud demon. Vr?tra was described as a sleeping dragon. The narrations of demonological interpretations developed around the nature of Vr?tra over the millennia and Vr?tra was described in mystical terms in the post-Vedic Sa?hit? texts. Formation of long stretching bund resulted in flooding of the cities and town of the Indus Culture. This is attested by building of fortification embankments built in many Indus Culture settlements as anti-flooding measures. Multiple occurrences of bund formation and silting of the settlements ultimately led to their abandonment en mass. Indus Culture roots date back to 10,000 BCE and stages in the evolution of the Vedic sacrificial system – yajña coupled with fortnightly sacrifices - dar?ap?r?am?se??i and other constellation positions. The earliest phase of the yajña system dated back from 6000-4500 BCE. Further developments can be linked with the developmental phases of the Indus Culture. The roots of the dragon myths over the globe can be traced to the ancient most Indra-Vr?tra dragon myth in the R?gveda.

Keywords: Dragon, Myths, Indra-Vr?tra, Sacrificial, Demonization.