The Oxford India Kosambi

Book excerpt: The Oxford India Collection is a series which brings together writings of enduring value published by OUP.This book examines rare and scattered essays, notes and reviews of D.D. Kosambi. He introduced pioneering perspectives and methods in Indological studies, written and published over almost thirty years. These writings cover an enormous range: text-edition and philology, religion, historicalreconstruction, archaeology and anthropology, considerations of method, and so on. Together they reflect an integrated framework which, in Kosambi's own characterization, was Marxist. Many of Kosambi's seminal ideas were worked out in great depth in these scholarly articles; published in differentjournals, in India and abroad, they have long remained outside the reach even of experts. By attempting to be a comprehensive anthology, the collection will for the first time enable readers to sample the versatility of Kosambi's work.The introduction by B.D. Chattopadhyaya explores the genesis, range, and significance of Kosambi's writings.