TIME AS A METAPHOR OF HISTORYS (OIP)
Romila Thapar investigates how societies understand their past by exploring two contrasting frameworks for temporal flow: circular rhythms rooted in cosmology, and directional sequences anchored in conventional historiography. Her inquiry pivots on a provocative question: did ancient India possess a genuine sense of historical awareness? Drawing on textual evidence from the period, Thapar builds a compelling case that early Indian scholars grasped something vital about their own era's place within larger patterns of change. The book refuses simple answers, instead suggesting that how we conceptualise time fundamentally shapes what we recognise as history itself. Whether you're curious about Indian intellectual traditions or broader questions about historical consciousness, this work offers surprising insights that challenge Western assumptions about when humans first began to think historically.
- Author: Thapar Romila
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Genre: Astronomy & Space Science
- ISBN: 978-0195637984
- Pages: 64 pages