TY - BOOK AU - Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi TI - An Introduction to the Study of Indian History SN - 9789386042217 U1 - 954 D186 I PY - 1030///80 CY - New Delhi PB - Sage KW - India N1 - The use of scientific methodology, modern techniques of interpretation, and selection and analysis of basic problems make An Introduction to the Study of Indian History a vivid and absorbing read. The author has thrown open new fields for research through this book, which serves as a critical guide to scientific historical thought. It helps the reader gain profound insight into the past by examining monuments, customs and surviving records. At the same time, the present is shown to be the inevitable result of a steady historical development. Complete grasp of the material and mastery of detail shown in the survey of the development from a pre-historic tribal society to the present machine-age make this volume a unique contribution to contemporary historiography. This book is the culmination of patient research and mature reflection of a profoundly original mind and has earned universal recognition and honour over the last few decades. Note: Now this ISBN-9788171540389 has a new identity. ; PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION PUBLISHER’S NOTE ABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY CHRONOLOGICAL OUTLINE SCOPE AND METHODS Special methods needed for Indian history Available materials The underlying philosophy THE HERITAGE OF PRE-CLASS SOCIETY Prehistoric archaeology Tribal society Tribal survivals The Vetala cult Higher local cults Festivals and rites CIVILIZATION AND BARBARISM IN THE INDUS VALLEY The Indus cities Indus trade and religion Maintenance of a class structure Food production THE ARYANS IN THE LAND OF THE SEVEN RIVERS Aryans outside India Rgvedic information Panis and new tribes Origins of caste Brahmin clans THE ARYAN EXPANSION Aryan as a mode of living Study of legend and myth Yajurvedic settlements The eastward drive Tribes and dynasties The mark of primitive tribes The new brahminism Beyond brahminism; ritual, food production and trade The need for a radical change THE RISE OF MAGADHA New institutions and sources Tribes and kingdoms Kosala and Magadha Destruction of tribal power New religions Buddhism Appendix: Punch-marked coins THE FORMATION OF A VILLAGE ECONOMY The first empire Alexander and the Greek accounts of India The Asokan transformation of society Authenticity of the Arthasastra The pre-Asokan state and administration The class structure Productive basis of the state INTERLUDE OF TRADE AND INVASIONS After the Mauryans Superstition in an agrarian society Caste and the village; the Manusmrti Changes in religion The settlement of the Deccan plateau Commodity producers and trade The development of Sanskrit Social functions of Sanskrit literature FEUDALISM FROM ABOVE Early feudal developments Growth of villages and barbarism The India of the Guptas and Harsa Religion and the development of village settlement The concept of property in land Mayurasarman's settlement of the west coast Village craftsmen and artisans FEUDALISM FROM BELOW Difference between Indian and English feudalism The role of trade in feudal society The Muslims Change to feudalism from below; slavery Feudal prince, landlord, and peasant Degeneracy and collapse The bourgeois conques APPENDIX THE MAKING OF HISTORY [ILLUSTRATIONS] COMMENTARY TO THE ILLUSTRATIONS INDEX ER -