Michael D. Willis

"This is the first comprehensive catalogue of inscriptions from the Gwalior area, a region which has often played a pivotal role in history of India. An encyclopaedic account of over three thousand individual records, this book describes all known inscriptions from the third century BC to the opening years of the twentieth century. Often dedicatory in nature, these inscriptions appear on stone slabs from temples, mosques, tombs and other buildings. Many records were written on hero-stones or the pedestals of religious sculptures; others were incised directly on rock-cut cisterns or prominent rocks and hills. Royal gifts of land were engraved on copper plates." "Because inscriptions are often the only surviving source of historical and social information, this work provides essential raw material for the regional history of Gwalior and its unique traditions of architecture, sculpture and art. Data is also given about patronage, the development of language and the growth of religious institutions."--Jacket.