hi jim,
ok, so it was burton that beat me to it
it was oppert's book that i read, and the book is the translation of parts of 2 hindu manuscripts (the weapons/army references), the Nitiprakashika and the Sukraniti. the former was unknown prior to his involvement and it seems it was quite a find of the day.
to be honest, jim, i actually enjoy both reading and playing, and find myself researching more than collecting these days. i dont call myself academic due to a short memory span and low boredom threshold. also, most academics dont go out much, are antisocial, exceedingly dull and look like their mothers still dress them