Narratives and the making of history: Two lectures (Oxford India paperbacks)

Given as the D.D. Kosambi Memorial Lectures at Bombay University in 1999. These two essays explore some facets of the interface between narrative and history. The first explores the versions of the story of Sakuntala. The second juxtaposes the data on the raid of Mahmuud of Ghazni on the temple of Somanatha. "These two lectures were given as the D. D. Kosambi Memorial Lectures at Bombay University in 1999. They are an exploration of some facets of the interface between narrative and history. Variant versions of a narrative or of an event can suggest multi-layered links between the creation of a narrative and its context, where the context also involves the historical moment or perspectives of a longer duration." "The first lecture explores the versions of the story of Sakuntala in terms of relating the changes in these versions to historical change. The second lecture juxtaposes data on an event - in this case the raid of Mahmud of Ghazni on the temple at Somanatha -in an attempt to demonstrate the complexities implicit in a range of narratives relating to an event."--BOOK JACKET Śakuntalā: Histories Of A Narrative -- Somanātha: Narratives Of A History. Romila Thapar. Given As The D.d. Kosambi Memorial Lectures At Bombay University In 1999. Includes Index.