മിത്തും യാഥാർത്ഥ്യവും | Myth and Reality

by Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi, Basurendra Babu (Translator)

സാഹിത്യ കൃതികളുടെ ആഴത്തിലുള്ള പഠനവും ശ്രദ്ധാപൂർവ്വം ആസൂത്രണം ചെയ്ത രംഗപഠനവും മറ്റെങ്ങും കാണാത്ത വിധം ഈ കൃതിയിൽ ഒന്നുചേർന്നിരിക്കുന്നു. പുതിയ സ്ഥിതിവിവരങ്ങളും യുക്തിയുക്തമായ വ്യാഖ്യാനവും ഇന്ത്യൻ സംസ്കാരത്തിൻ്റെ ഉറവിടങ്ങളിലേക്കും വ്യാഖ്യാനങ്ങളിലേക്കും പുതിയ വെളിച്ചം വീശുന്നു.

Genres: History, India, Religion, Nonfiction

270 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2021

About the author

Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi (31 July 1907 – 29 June 1966) was an Indian mathematician, statistician, philologist, historian and polymath who contributed to genetics by introducing Kosambi map function.He is well known for his work in numismatics and for compiling critical editions of ancient Sanskrit texts. His father, Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi, had studied ancient Indian texts with a particular emphasis on Buddhism and its literature in the Pali language. Damodar Kosambi emulated him by developing a keen interest in his country's ancient history. Kosambi was also a Marxist historian specialising in ancient India who employed the historical materialist approach in his work.He is particularly known for his classic work An Introduction to the Study of Indian History.

He is described as "the patriarch of the Marxist school of Indian historiography".Kosambi was critical of the policies of then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, which, according to him, promoted capitalism in the guise of democratic socialism. He was an enthusiast of the Chinese revolution and its ideals, and, in addition, a leading activist in the World Peace Movement.

Reviews

[Sravan Murali · Rating 3 out of 5]

പരിഭാഷ കഠിനം.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This brief but brilliant study needs to be a compulsory reading for students of Indian history and culture.
Despite being published almost six decades ago, the book outshines most of the tomes produced by his contemporaries by virtue of its brevity and expansive perspective.
It contains analytical studies regarding the following aspects of Indian culture~
Part I: Social and Economic Aspects of Bhagavad-Gita— 7 chapters;
Part II: Urvasi and Pururavas— 10 chapters;
Part III: At the Crossroads: A Study of the Mother-Goddess Cult Sites— 7 chapters;
Part IV: Pilgrim's Progress: A Contribution to the Prehistory of the Western Deccan Plateau— 7 chapters;
Part V: The Village Community in the 'Old Conquests' of Goa— 4 chapters.
Today the scholarly approach has become a lot more monolithic and pedantic. Consequently, Kosambi's conclusions might appear unnecessarily dramatic, if not outrageous. But for a student, this is what the doctor would prescribe— lucid write-ups that fire question after question within the reader's mind. And that's the beauty of this book.
It has become rather dated in terms of contents. A comprehensive revision and addition is urgently needed. Until then, four stars. But the book is a must-read, irrespective of your inclinations or opinions.

[Kandachamy Vijayakumaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is not an easy read like other books on mythology. It is a sort of deep research into seemingly unimportant, thus forgotten, myths of various locations, especially the deccan. I would certainly come back to it whenever some information is needed to draw parallels to findings elsewhere.