An introduction to the study of Indian history / Damodar Dharmanand Kosambi.

"First published in 1956 by Popular Prakashan Pvt. Ltd"--Title page verso.

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 EDITIONPREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITIONPUBLISHER'S NOTEABBREVIATIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHYCHRONOLOGICAL OUTLINESCOPE AND METHODSSpecial methods needed for Indian historyAvailable materialsThe underlying philosophyTHE HERITAGE OF PRE-CLASS SOCIETYPrehistoric archaeologyTribal societyTribal survivalsThe Vetala cultHigher local cultsFestivals and ritesCIVILIZATION AND BARBARISM IN THE INDUS VALLEYThe Indus citiesIndus trade and religionMaintenance of a class structureFood productionTHE ARYANS IN THE LAND OF THE SEVEN RIVERSAryans outside IndiaRgvedic informationPanis and new tribesOrigins of casteBrahmin clansTHE ARYAN EXPANSIONAryan as a mode of livingStudy of legend and mythYajurvedic settlementsThe eastward driveTribes and dynastiesThe mark of primitive tribesThe new brahminismBeyond brahminism; ritual, food production and tradeThe need for a radical changeTHE RISE OF MAGADHANew institutions and sourcesTribes and kingdomsKosala and MagadhaDestruction of tribal powerNew religionsBuddhismAppendix: Punch-marked coinsTHE FORMATION OF A VILLAGE ECONOMYThe first empireAlexander and the Greek accounts of IndiaThe Asokan transformation of societyAuthenticity of the ArthasastraThe pre-Asokan state and administrationThe class structureProductive basis of the stateINTERLUDE OF TRADE AND INVASIONSAfter the MauryansSuperstition in an agrarian societyCaste and the village; the ManusmrtiChanges in religionThe settlement of the Deccan plateauCommodity producers and tradeThe development of SanskritSocial functions of Sanskrit literatureFEUDALISM FROM ABOVEEarly feudal developmentsGrowth of villages and barbarismThe India of the Guptas and HarsaReligion and the development of village settlementThe concept of property in landMayurasarman's settlement of the west coastVillage craftsmen and artisansFEUDALISM FROM BELOWDifference between Indian and English feudalismThe role of trade in feudal societyThe MuslimsChange to feudalism from below; slaveryFeudal prince, landlord, and peasantDegeneracy and collapseThe bourgeois conquesAPPENDIXTHE MAKING OF HISTORY [ILLUSTRATIONS]COMMENTARY TO THE ILLUSTRATIONSINDEX

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface to the revised edition -- Preface to the first edition -- Publisher's note -- Chronological outline -- Scope and methods -- The heritage of pre-class society -- Civilization and barbarism in the Indus Valley -- The Aryans in the Land of the Seven Rivers -- The Aryan expansion -- The rise of Magadha -- The formation of a village economy -- Interlude of trade and invasions -- Feudalism from above -- Feudalism from below -- Appendix: The making of history (illustrations) -- Commentary to the illustrations.

"An Introduction to the Study of Indian History is a reprint of the second revised edition of a classic work on Indian history. As a fundamentally new approach to the study of Indian History, its scientific methodology, modern technique of interpretation, selection and analysis of basic problems make the presentation vivid and absorbing. Professor D.D. Kosambi has thrown open new fields for research. One of the principal tasks of this book is to serve as a critical guide to scientific historical thought. The work marks the highest level of approach to social, political and economic processes starting from the material plane. The reader is shown how to gain a profound insight into the past by examination of the monuments, customs and records which survive. 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 movement from a pre-historic tribal society to the machine age, make this volume a unique contribution to contemporary historiography. The fruit of patient research and the mature reflection of a profoundly original mind, this volume is one of his major works, a scientific synthesis gained by unremitting search for fact and meaning. It is no exaggeration to state that this work on Indian history has earned universal recognition and honour"--Provided by publisher.