(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor Shin Tan) One of the greatest intellectuals of India, Acharya Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi (9th October 1876 – 24th June 1947) was a Buddhist, Pali and Sanskrit scholar. The youngest of seven children, Dharmananda Damodar Kosambi was born in Sankhval (or Sancoale) village in the Indian city of Goa in 1876 to Damodar and Anandibai. He was not able to eat food on his own till the age of eight or nine, and was considered the least intellectually-capable of all the boys in the village. However, his parents were hopeful as an astrologer had predicted that he would become intelligent later in life. Kosambi studied in Madgaon before enrolling in a school run by Bhik Bhatji at Chikli. He then attended Raghoba Gopal Prabhu’s school in Aroba for around three months. It was here that he developed a liking for mathematics. However, ill health forced him to return home to Sankhval. After about a year of recuperation, Kosambi was admitted to Standard Two at a Marathi-medium school in the Belgaum district. He was promoted to Standard Five after the annual examination when he came first in his class and scored distinctions in every subject. Unfortunately, Kosambi’s […]