About the Book : The book starts with an ethnic background of the Indian population together with their culture and shows how the social organization was devised by the amalgamated people on the basis of an understanding of the spirit and shows how the culture of India emerged as a result of religion-spiritual thinking of the Indian seers and saints. The literacy and artistic expression of Indian society which manifests their under standing of the Nature and Universe in the light of the spirit has been provided for the understanding of the social behaviour of ancient India. The first edition of the book was exhausted within four years and as such it had become necessary to publish either a reprint or a second edition and enlarged edition of the book, I thought it to be prudent to publish edited and enlarged edition of the book incorporating some more information and providing Sanskrit rendering of the Sanskrit verses quoted in the book. For the post-graduate students of Indian Universities this book should serve as a text-book for the study of social and cultural history of ancient India. About Author : M.L. Bose taught in the Dibrugarh University for nearly thirty years and had contributed more than thirty papers in Regional and National Seminars and Journals of repute. An Aurobindite Prof. Bose guided many research scholars for their Ph.D. research. His earlier published works, namely: Historical and Constitutional Documents of North-East India, British Policy in the North-East Frontier Agency, Development of Administration in Assam, Social History of Assam, Social and Cultural History of Arunachal Pradesh, Social and Cultural History of Ancient India (2nd edn.), were very well received in the academic world.