Brought together here are ten essays, characterized by their dissent to the commonly accepted notions in the field, a first requirement for the growth of knowledge. Issues such as the dialectical process in the religious history of India; the much talked about Mauryan presence in south India; the contradictions in the construction of Kaliyuga in Puranic literature; political criticism in Sanskrit kavya poetry; regional identity and its varied perceptions; evolution of landlordism; emergence of castes and the use of 'Hindu' idioms in Christian worship and propaganda form the theme of these essays.