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Synopsis The book was originally Dr. Aparna Chattopadhyay's thesis for her Ph. D. degree in History. The said thesis is the first socio-cultural study of the Kathasaritsagara. The text Kathasaritsagara has been classed with the two great epics of India by world-renowned indologists and Sanskritists. Since the Kathasaritsagara, a text of the eleventh century A.D. is based on the Brhatkatha a work of the first century A.D., there was a problem regarding the period of Indian society depicted in it. Dr. Chattopadhyay has successfully proved that Kathasaritsagara depicts the society of early-medieval India, that is, the post-Gupta and pre-Muslim period of Indian history. A rich field for a study of the socio-cultural history of India, the Kathasaritsagara has been thoroughly explored and exploded by the authoress. The merit of her published papers, on the basis of the present book, largely helped Dr. Chattopadhyay to get her nomination for a trip to Europe on Cultural Exchange Programme between India and European countries in 1969.