The result of a creative collaboration, this volume is the outcome of the July
2012 ICCR-Nalanda University Conference that brought together diplomats,
historians, linguists, archaeologists, literary persons, musicians, and
researchers who are deeply engaged with the nature of the early contacts between
Asian countries and how these variously impacted the socio-cultural-religious
fabric of these societies. The book interrogates the complexities of an
intercivilization dialogue that cohered largely around the themes of religion,
language, textual transmission, and trade, which, as the essays reveal,
manifested in multiple ways--art, archaeology, text, and performances--and
helped in the creation of a rich and syncretic Asian culture. Melding historical
figures, persons from myths and legends,