Sankrityayan wrote extensively, his collection of works spanning more than 100 books on various subjects like Indology, Communism, Buddhism, and philology as well as various short stories, novels and plays.

Rahul Sankrityayan was born as Kedarnath Pandey, the eldest child in a Bhumihar Brahmin[5] family in the village of Pandaha in Azamgarh district on the 9th of April, 1893.

In 1909, after completing middle school, his grandfather intended for him to start receiving an English-medium education however Sankrityayan resisted this as he wished to be able to continue studying Sanskrit.

[12] Due to his time spent travelling across India, Sankrityayan had no formal education or university degree and was largely self-taught on various topics.

Once again, in 1915, he left his home and travelled to the Ārya Musafir Vidyālaya in Agra where he was allowed to study free of cost and also trained to deliver lectures on the Arya Samaj movement.

After two years in Agra, he later moved to Lahore which was a centre of the Arya Samaj movement, to study at the Dayanand Anglo Vedic school.

[14] The year 1921 marked the end of Sankrityayan's engagement with the Arya Samaj and the beginning of his activities as part of the Indian independence movement.

He took up a teaching position in Sanskrit at the Vidyālaṅkāra Pariveṇa in Sri Lanka in 1927 and he stayed there for a total of nineteen months where he immersed himself in the study of Buddhist texts and the Pali language.

The head monk of the monastery, Mahapad Nayak Mahastavir, initially did not allow Sankrityayan to leave so from the 7th of October to the 14th of December of 1930, he wrote a new book entitled the Buddha caryā.

In July of 1932, he and Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan visited London as representatives of the Maha Bodhi Society to act as religious messengers.

Sanrkityayan returned after only a few months despite requests from the society to promote Buddhism in other European countries and the United States of America.

During this period of imprisonment, he wrote several influential works including Volga Se Ganga, "Viśva kī rūprekhā" (Outline of the World), and "Vaijñānik bhautikvād" (Scientific Materialism), among others.

Although he could not stay in Russia permanently due to visa issues and his family couldn't settle in India, his experiences there solidified his commitment to communism and Indian nationalism.

[17] Various ideals influenced the personal philosophy of Rahul Sankrityayan including the critical examination of religion, and the advocacy of social justice.

Sankrityayan emphasised Buddhist values such as compassion, atheism, and economic equality, which he believed offered a robust foundation for humanistic ideals.

This commitment was evident in his extensive efforts to retrieve lost Buddhist manuscripts from Tibet and his advocacy for the restoration of ancient centers of learning, such as Nalanda.

[20] Despite his admiration for Buddhism, Sankrityayan maintained a critical stance toward organized religion, which he viewed as an impediment to societal progress.

Sankrityayan argued that Marxism offered the tools necessary to implement the changes envisioned in Buddhist thought, particularly in the realms of economic and social reform.

Rahul Sankrityayan’s intellectual life was marked by transitions, reflecting his quest for philosophical frameworks that aligned with his evolving worldview.

From his early association with the Arya Samaj to his later commitments to Buddhism and communism, Sankrityayan consistently sought ideas that could address India’s cultural and socio-political challenges.

[21] Sankrityayan understood several languages, including Bhojpuri (his mother tongue), Hindi, Sanskrit, Pali, Magahi, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Tamil, Kannada, Tibetan, Sinhalese, French and Russian.

[1] He started writing during his twenties and his works, totaling well over 100, covered a variety of subjects, including sociology, history, philosophy, Buddhism, Tibetology, lexicography, grammar, textual editing, folklore, science, drama, and politics.

The book begins in 6000 BC and ends in 1942, the year when Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian nationalist leader called for the Quit India movement.