<DIV>This sweeping account of ancient India begins with the Indus Valley civilization, then moves on to the Vedic Aryan culture, the age of religious and philosophical ferment, the tenets of Jainism, the founding and consolidation of Buddhism, and Alexander the Great's advance into India. It concludes with the Mauryan Empire, which, in the 3rd century BC, united an enormous area of the Indian subcontinent. As in <I>The Mughal Throne,</I> Abraham Eraly provides a superb portrait of Indian life and culture.</DIV>