He was born in Vadhode village in Jalgaon district of Bombay Presidency, British India.

Godse wrote on a wide range of subjects: historical figures including Shivaji, Mastani, and Ramdas; literature; plays; architecture; sculpture; and art, including Buddhist art.

He wrote an essay on Thomas Daniell's 1790 painting of the Peshwa court at Pune.

In the manner of the historians and critics Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade, Madhukar Vasudev Dhond, Godse wrote almost exclusively in Marathi.

Ashok R. Kelkar, a scholar in linguistics, literature, and semiotics, commented that Godse's work is "a body of important, if controversial, work in art history from the vitalist point of view.