Synopsis Samskara: A Critical Reader is the first volume of its kind to be published on one of the classics of Indian literatures. It includes two foundation essays by anantha Murthy, one on Indian fiction and the other on how he wrote Samskara, offering a historical context to the volume. Other essyas, besides tracing the novel’s rotos to the tradition of realism in Indian fiction, address textual issues such as the representations of colonial modernity, thematic issues such as brahminism and the caste system, cultural issues such as gender and epistemic contestations, probing the depth and complexity of the work from a broad range of contemporary theoretical perspectives. Two essays focusing on the novel’s translation into other languages and adaptation for radio add new dimensions to the interpretation of the novel.