Sanskrit Scholars Research Articles

Sarvatantra Swatantra Kaikulangara Rama Varier - An illustrious polymath who enriched the Ayurveda literature

Abstract Kaikulangara Rama Varier (1832–1897) was one of the greatest Sanskrit scholars, Kerala had ever seen. He had a profound knowledge of Sanskrit, Ayurveda, Astrology, Vedanta, Yogabhyasa, Tarka, Vyakarana, and Music. With his extraordinary writing skills, even the toughest Sanskrit slokas were translated into Malayalam and made reader-friendly. His keen interest in popularizing Sanskrit language paved the way for translational works of Ayurveda. In the present study, the life profile of Kaikulangara Rama Varier is documented with the data collected through direct interviews with relatives, historians, and other published works. In Ayurveda, the literary works of Kaikulangara Rama Varier, which are commendable are Arogyaraksha-Kalpadruma, Bhavaprakasha and Sararthadarpana vyakhyana of Ashtanga Hridaya, Vaidya granthamala, and Vaidyamrita tarangini. The areas of panchakarma and management of eye disorders from his Ashtanga Hridaya commentaries were compiled and published separately as Panchakarma chikitsa and Netra chikitsa. Arogyaraksha-Kalpadruma expounds on various areas of pediatric practice right from birth, including the prevention and management of age-specific illness with many unique drug formulations that are successfully in practice even now. His recommendations on pediatric practices remain unparalleled and have made him more famous in Ayurveda. Over time, much of his works of literature got decayed. It is the need of the hour to preserve and explore these invaluable works, especially those related to Ayurveda, to sustain the knowledge and essence of this traditional science.

Sanskrit scholars in Nazi Germany

Abstract German Sanskrit scholars from the beginning of the 19th century addressed the problem of the kinship between the ancient Germans and Aryans – while romantic patriotism was gradually replaced by militant nationalism. After World War I racism, widespread not only in Germany, but also in other Western countries, became the essential element of the ideology of National Socialism. In the 30s all German scholars were forced to make compromises under the pressure of totalitarian power. However, only a few Sanskrit scholars can be called active supporters of the regime. They have different motives: from the frank careerism of Walter Wüst to the cautious conformism of Ludwig Alsdorf. Religious scholar Jakob Wilhelm Hauer claimed to be the prophet of the “Aryan Worldview”, and Bernhard Breloer was passionate about plans of building a new social and political system, in which the individual is completely subordinate to the state. The anti-Semitic policies and political persecutions of the Nazi period had disastrous consequences for classical German Indology.

The Critical and comparative analysis of Ancient and Modern thoughts of Sanskrit Scholars on the ‘Characteristics of Mahakavya’

This research paper undertakes a critical and comparative analysis of the perspectives on the 'Characteristics of Mahakavya' as articulated by Sanskrit scholars in both ancient and modern times. The study delves into the profound insights offered by scholars from different eras, examining the evolution of thought and the nuanced interpretations of Mahakavya characteristics. By juxtaposing ancient and modern viewpoints, the paper aims to illuminate the continuum of scholarly discourse surrounding Mahakavya, shedding light on the enduring relevance and evolving interpretations of this literary form in Sanskrit literature. The analysis navigates through key themes, methodologies, and philosophical underpinnings, providing a comprehensive exploration of the dynamic interplay between traditional and contemporary perspectives on the 'Characteristics of Mahakavya.'

Branding the Order of Texts and Bodies in Medieval South India

Abstract Branding is a popular mode of bodily marking among several Vaiṣṇava traditions in southern India. This article examines how a practice with no discernible basis in the Vedas was transformed into a marker of Vaidika piety and Brahman identity. I examine the first known Sanskrit treatise about devotional branding, a short essay titled Protective Amulet of Righteous Conduct (Saccaritrarakṣā) written by the influential Śrīvaiṣṇava scholar Vedānta Deśīka (c. 14th/15th CE). Like most of Vedānta Deśika’s writings, The Protective Amulet is an exemplar of high scholarship. But unlike many works of Sanskrit scholarship, the Protective Amulet seems to have bubbled up from a world of popular practice. This article is about the Vedicization of bodily branding and the process in which forms of reading and interpretation were used to transform new practices into allegedly timeless markers of identity and devotion. The close connection between branding as both a bodily and scholarly practice means that this article is also about the connection between words and flesh. Branding is, of course, material. It entails fire, metal, ash, sweat, skin, and scars. But branding is also semiotic and discursive, both in the many meanings grafted onto a single branded symbol as well as in the enormous volume of writing and debate that bodily branding provoked. A study of branding pushes us to think about texts and bodies as connected in ways that intellectual history and material studies have yet to fully acknowledge.

Śrīkhṛṣṭa-saṃgītā : William Hodge Mill’s Sanskrit Christian Purāṇa

In the wake of Christian missionaries’ arrival in India, a profound engagement with Sanskrit ensued, resulting in the emergence of ‘Church Sanskrit’ Literature. This genre not only witnessed translations of sacred texts like the Bible but also spawned original compositions centered on Jesus Christ, serving as a vehicle for propagating the Christian faith among the Sanskrit-knowing intelligentsia. Notably, figures like William Hodge Mill played a pivotal role, crafting monumental works such as the Śrīkhṛṣṭa-saṃgītā, which garnered acclaim for its literary and scholarly merits, transcending even revered indologists of the time. His mastery of Sanskrit reached such extraordinary heights that Kamlākānta Vidyālaṅkār, a prominent Bengali scholar, bestowed upon him unprecedented praise, elevating him above esteemed figures like William Jones, William Carey, and James Colebrooke. Vidyālaṅkār’s proclamation likened him to the rebirth of Kālidāsa, the revered ancient poet, affirming the unparalleled excellence of his Sanskrit scholarship. Meanwhile, the Śrīkhṛṣṭa-saṃgītā, while serving as a historical testament to the life of Jesus Christ, transcends mere documentation. Rooted in Western interpretations of the Gospels, it stands as a literary masterpiece, blending historical narrative with artistic expression in a manner reminiscent of the belletristic tradition. The research paper discusses the unique attributes of the Śrīkhṛṣṭa-saṃgītā through the lens of Sanskrit Poetics, exploring its historical narrative while elucidating its impact on nineteenth-century Indian society. Through meticulous analysis, it seeks to unravel the interplay between literary artistry and historical accuracy in this seminal work, shedding light on the cultural and intellectual landscape shaped by ‘Church Sanskrit’ literature. By synthesizing scholarly inquiry with linguistic and literary expertise, this paper aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the profound influence of Christian narratives in Sanskrit form on the socio-cultural fabric of colonial India.

Ancient Indian Universities “Institutional Repository” to Create Global Visibility for Learning and Research – Review-Based Analysis

Purpose: Ancient higher education has excellent teaching and research. Takshila University has produced scholars such as Chanakya, author of the great book Arthashastra, Panini, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and grammarian, Charaka, the father of Indian medicine, Surgeon Jivaka Kumarabhattaa, Sharada Peetha Temple University has 5000 scholars like Kumarajiva Buddhist scholar, Thonmi Sambhota and Library, Pushapagiri University, Kanthalloor Sabha in Kerala, and Ujjaini University Alumni Brahmgupa and Bhaskar II. Dipankar Sri-Jnana, a prominent Vikramasila scholar, released over 200 volumes, while Mithila, a centre of Brahminical culture, produced intellectuals like Jagaddhara, who created writings such as Gita and Gita Govinda. These are the world's oldest institutions; no Institutional Repositories were discovered during the Vedic period, but the Buddhist period gave rise to Institutional Repositories, which house collections of books on various subjects. Scholars and students rely on institutional repositories. Takshashila University students come from all across Aryavrat, as well as from places like Greece, Arabia, Japan, Indonesia, Mongolia, and China. Nalanda University specializes in Buddhist education, but it also offers other courses. It contains a massive Institutional Repository of manuscripts from many curricula and Sanskrit texts totalling 5,00,000 shlokas. During the fifteenth century, Tibetan scholar Taranatha wrote about the nine-story library of Nalanda University with 9 million manuscripts and the Saraswati Mahal manuscript library of Tanjore in his travelogues about the Nalanda institutional repository namely Ratnasagara, Ratnodadhi, and Ratnaranjaka located in a complex called 'Dharmaganja'. The University Institutional Repository provides services to its members and community to threaten the institution's visibility, standing, and public ideals. Design/ Methodology/Approach: This is a literature-based paper that investigates ancient university research academics' contributions to Institutional Repositories established around the world to create visibility. Findings and Results: Ancient University Institutional Repositories are the house of millions of manuscripts, Sanskrit text, and its slokas contributed by alumni of the university and Scholars. Originality/Value/Novelty: The article's case study and literature studies disclose the Ancient University Repository and researchers' and teachers' contributions to the repository. Type of Paper: Literature Review.

Engaging Advaita: Conceptualising Liberating Knowledge in the Face of Western Modernity. By Pawel Odyniec

Pawel Odyniec’s doctoral dissertation, published as a monograph, explores the Advaita writings of three Indian philosophers from the twentieth century—Badrīnāth Śukla (1898–1988), Krishnachandra Bhattacharyya (1875–1949), and Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1888–1975). The book focuses on their engagement with the Advaita notion of liberating knowledge (brahmajñāna) and conducts a comparative study of the hermeneutical and dialogical strategies developed by these thinkers in relation to the classical Sanskrit scholarship on Advaita, as well as with respect to the Western ‘Other’. The appendix of the book includes the fragment of the original text in Hindi and Odyniec’s own English translation of Śukla’s Vyākhyā on Sadānanda Sarasvatī’s Vedāntasāra 28, along with Sarasvatī’s original text in Sanskrit and its translation. Two more commentaries on the same fragment from the Vedāntasāra—Vidvanmanorañjanī of Rāmatīrtha Yati and Subodhinī of Nṛsiṃhāśrama—are also provided in Sanskrit and in translation. The book does not contain an index, but it has a general glossary with Sanskrit and Hindi terms, as well as a glossary with Sanskrit and English terms in the writings of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Що таке санскрит? / Переклад з російської, вступна стаття та примітки Д. В. Бурби

The essay What is Sanskrit was published in 1911 as a preface to P. Ritter’s Sanskrit textbook. It is an updated version of the trial lecture, given by him in the fall of 1899 at Kharkiv University (Ukraine). There he was teaching Sanskrit from the autumn of 1900 at the Department of Comparative Linguistics and headed this Department later. The author debunks popular myths about Sanskrit, describes its place among Indian languages emphasizing temporal and geographical differences between Sanskrit and Vedic language, distinguishes epic and classical Sanskrit, lists the prominent works of Sanskrit literature, and pays tribute to the Indian grammatical tradition. He mentions such prominent works of ancient Indian Sanskritology as the Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini (4th–3rd centuries BC), Nirukta of Yāska (4th century BC), Vārttika of Кātyāyana (3rd–2nd centuries BC), Mahābhāṣya of Patañjali (2nd century BC). Ritter’s account of the history of the discovery and study of Sanskrit in the West is interesting, as is the characterization of Sanskrit scholars (his predecessors and contemporaries), some of whom he knew personally. Ritter’s students testified that he was fluent in Ukrainian which he apparently knew from childhood but the lecture was given by him and then published in Russian as a result of two hundred years of systematic extirpation of the Ukrainian language in the Russian Empire. All notes except two marked are written by the translator. The notes provide philological, historical, and biographical information. The introductory article tells about the origin of P. Ritter, his studies, his work as a scientist, translator, compiler of the Ukrainian-language Anthology of Ancient Indian Literature, lecturer, and organizer of science, as well as about his hobby and his tragic death due to repressions of NKVD (People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs).

Nachinarkiniyar History and Textual Ability

Tamil language and literature have flourished with speeches composed by speechwriters. Are greatly aiding researchers who think innovatively. Texts serve as a bridge between linguistic research and e-literary criticism. The texts convey how the Tamil language has changed over time, as well as the living conditions, political changes and customs of the Tamil people. This article explores the history and textual ability of Nachinarkiniyar. Nachinarkiniyar was a knowledgeable and knowledgeable man of various arts, writing semantics for songs, and also possessing the art of religious ideas, music, drama, etc., which are included in the book. He is well versed in grammar, literature, dictionary, epic and puranam in Tamil. He is well versed in astrology, medicine, architecture, and crops. Nachinarkiniyar, who has written for Tamil grammar books, is well versed in the Vedic and phylogenetic theory of Sanskrit and is a university-oriented scholar of Tamil, Sanskrit scholarship, religious knowledge, land book knowledge, life and biology. This article explores the history and textual ability of Nachinarkiniyar.

Friedrich max müller a scholar extraordinaire

German comparative philologist, and Indologist Friedrich Max Müller (1823 – 1900) was one of the founders of the science of religion. His works on Indology were both scholarly and popular. His connections with the East India Company and with the Sanskrit scholars at Oxford University led to a career in Britain where he became the leading commentator on the culture of India. Intellectual discourse and exchanges between him and the intellectual elite of India led to the reformation of the evil customs of child marriage and sati. Müller believed that the study of a language was tied to the belief system of that culture. Müller was deeply influenced by Kant’s transcendental model of spirituality and published a translation of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. Müller was opposed to Darwin’s theory of evolution. His rich legacy endures in the learning and research in all matters relating to language, literature, and religion.

The third AI summer: AAAI Robert S. Engelmore Memorial Lecture

The third AI summer: AAAI Robert S. Engelmore Memorial Lecture

Concepts of Pathology from Ancient India-A Review of Sanskrit Literature

Contribution by ancient physicians from the Indian subcontinent towards the field of pathology has been largely unknown globally. This paper aims at providing a glimpse of the knowledge possessed by the Sanskrit scholars of ancient times (derived from Sanskrit texts written originally between 1500 B.C. and 1500 A.D) regarding the basis of disease and correlating their ideas with our present understanding of the concepts in Pathology. Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine) was developed in India during the Vedic age (approximately 1500-500 BC). The early ayurvedic practitioners gave due importance to etiopathogenesis of diseases as a separate field called Nidana-shastra. (Nidāna means etiology or cause). Charaka emphasized that illness is caused by imbalance of the three principles (doshas) - vata, pitta and kapha, and that genetic defects are transmitted by either the sperm or the ovum. Sushruta depicted various modes of communicable disease transmission - physical contact, exhaled air, close contact, fomites etc, Madhava classified diseases based on pathogenesis (primary or secondary), etiology (endogenous or exogenous) and prognosis (curable, incurable, mild and acute). Chakrapani propounded that epidemics in a community occur due to deterioration of factors that are common to all who inhabit that community- namely air, water, soil, food, etc. Vagabhatta emphasized the importance of personal hygiene and proper nutrition for good health and elaborated the role of contaminated river water in several diseases. Agada tantra is the science of poisons and their antidotes which was founded by Kashyapa.

Stein Aurél szövegeken alapuló földrajzi–régészeti felfedezései Dél-Ázsiában

Sir Aurel Stein’s name is best known for his archaeological discoveries along the Silk Road, and among Indians he is famous primarily as a Sanskrit scholar. However, the fact that during his research career Stein also made significant archaeological discoveries in South Asia is less known to the broader public, and less discussed in the scholarly literature. Between 1888 and 1943, Stein led several expeditions to South Asia with the goal to examine some historical geographical or archaeological question and, in many cases, he formulated his research question based on some written source. The goal of the following article is to discuss Aurel Stein’s geographical and archaeological expeditions in South Asia based on the nature of his written sources. An overview of these expeditions will allow a general description of Stein’s scholarly work in South Asia as well as a presentation of his role in the history of Indian archaeology.

Glorification of Kamariipa in the Sati Jayamati: An apprisal

Every part of India has its own contributions in the field of Sanskrit study. Assam known as Kamartipa in ancient and medieval period also contributed immensely towards the rich treasure of Sanskrit literature. There are various epigraphical and literary evidences which bear testimony of Assam's contributions towards Sanskrit literature. Sanskrit scholars of Assam exhibited there poetic skill in writing various forms of Kavyas. One of the notable contributions of Assam to Sanskrit literature is Safi Jayamafi of Bhavadev Bhagavati. His Safi Jayamafi is a Sanskrit Khandakavya of one hundred elegant verses. Here the poet depicts the glorious history of Kamartipa through the story of Gadapal).iJayamafi. The poet presents the glorious tradition of Kamartipa in a poetic style. The paper makes an attempt to analyze the glory of the land in the light of the Safi Jayamafi.

Lingayats and the Yearning for the ‘Language of the Gods’ in the 1910s–1940s

Lingayats hold a distinct position in the history of Karnataka beginning with the cultural legacy from the twelfth century and continuing into the twentieth century for the prominent role in the non-Brahmin movement by deploying education as a means to achieve social mobility and to attain solidarity among the various sections of the diverse community. The possible loss of social status in the caste hierarchy in the late nineteenth century prompted Lingayat caste entities to embark on the legacy of Sanskrit scholarship that was eventually deployed to lay an unprecedented claim in Sanskrit education across the region of Kannada speaking territory. This study explores how the usage of Sanskrit for mass education by the Lingayat mathas enabled caste consolidation, by re-appropriating a Brahmanical language in Mysore state and to certain extent in the region of Bombay Karnataka. Through this exploration, it pushes us to re-consider the Brahmin-non-Brahmin binary, within which the history of education in the Mysore princely state is narrated from the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century.

“I’m Doing Well in the Center of Siberian World under Strict Police Supervision…”: F.I. Knauer’s Letters from his Tomsk Exile in 1915–1917 Part 2 (letters 8–21)

The article introduces the letters of the Professor of the Kiev University, Sanskrit scholar Fyodor Ivanovich (Friedrich) Knauer (18491917) sent by him to his colleague, philologist Vladimir Nikolaevich Peretz. They are now housed at the Personal Fund of V.N.Peretz in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI. Fond 1277. Inv.1. F.35). This set of letters is undoubtedly of great importance because, among other things, we have no other surviving epistolary heritage of the scholar. Revealing the authors personality, the letters (there are only 21 of them) acquaint us to some extent with his inner world. Until recently, F.I.Knauers biography, especially the years of his exile, was full of blank spots which we can finally fill. The entire sequence of events relating to Knauers arrest, up to his arrival in Tomsk and life in Siberia, is presented by him as an uninterrupted narrative. The letters give us an idea of relations between the scholar, when he was out of favor, and his colleagues, friends, common people, local and higher authorities. They provide reliable documentary evidence of the terrible misfortune of a sincere person, who fell victim to a complicated political period.

Women in Pulavar Kulanthai’s Ravana Kaviyam

‘Porul Thodarnilai Ceyyul’ was the name given to epic before the word kāppiyam came into existence. Tamil lexicon refers ‘kāppiyam’ as Sanskrit term. Kāvyam is the word used by Sanskrit scholars for ‘kāviyam’. Ravana Kāviyam written by Pulavar Kulanthai consists of 56 padalams (Chapters) of 2828 Viruttangal i.e., poems. He adopts the story of Ramayana as it is. He is a person who follows Periyar’s ideology of self-respect, feminism etc. His passion for Tamil makes him write many of his creative writings. Periyar advised women to learn all arts, particularly the art of self-defence. Kambar had depicted Sita as Rama’s wife in his epic. The relationship of Rama and Sita varies in various Ramayanas available in India. Ravana kāviyam doesn’t deviate from the parameters of epic. It stands within its grammar. Pulavar Kulanthai portraits women characters with dignity modesty of women.

“I’m Doing Well in the Center of Siberian World under Strict Police Supervision…”: F.I. Knauer’ Letters from His Tomsk Exile in 1915–1917

The article introduces the letters of the Professor of Kiev University, Sanskrit scholar Fyodor Ivanovich (Friedrich) Knauer (18491917) sent by him to his colleague, philologist Vladimir Nikolaevich Peretz. They are now housed at the Personal Fund of V.N. Peretz in the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art (RGALI. Fond 1277. Inv. 1. F. 35). This set of letters is undoubtedly of great importance because, among other things, we have no other surviving epistolary heritage of the scholar. Revealing the authors personality, the letters (there are only 21 of them) acquaint us to some extent with his inner world. Until recently, F.I. Knauers biography, especially the years of his exile, was full of blank spots which we can finally fill. The entire sequence of events relating to Knauers arrest, up to his arrival in Tomsk and life in Siberia, is presented by him as an uninterrupted narrative. The letters give us an idea of relations between the scholar, when he was out of favor, and his colleagues, friends, common people, local and higher authorities. They provide reliable documentary evidence of the terrible misfortune of a sincere person, who fell a victim to a complicated political period. The letters may also be regarded as sketches of Siberians everyday life. The present article includes 7 letters out of 21, the others are to be published in the next issue of the Journal.

Atmospheric happening and weather reasoning: Climate history in South Asia

AbstractSouth Asian scholarship is increasingly approaching the natural world as both an active force in history and an object of sustained human concern. Until recently, where climate had been studied, it was closely associated with maritime trade, scientific racism, extractive imperialism, and discredited environmental determinism. Broadly, two new and opposing frameworks make the terrain of “climate” rich for re‐thinking. First, the expansion of the concept of climate during the first half of the twentieth century from static and localized, to dynamic and global has had repercussions for both critical theory and empirical South Asian history. Second, increased interest in changeable, risky weather has invited focused studies at narrower temporal and geographical scales. Cultural and intellectual histories concerned with particular places connect pluralistic weather rationalities and practices to the livelihoods of diverse communities, including commercial traders and banking interests, sailors and boatmen, small farmers, Sanskrit scholars and astrologers, and professional meteorologists. Taking stock of the competing pulls toward planetary climate and localized weather, this article highlights developments across several subfields and suggests paths forward. It contends that research at the intersection of environmental history (atmospheric happening), and the history of knowledge (weather reasoning) is particularly fruitful for understanding the meanings and effects of human‐environment interactions broadly, and global warming in particular.

Leaving Kashi: Sanskrit knowledge and cultures of consumption in eighteenth-century South India

Recent studies of scholarly life in early modern India have concentrated on the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. My essay has two aims: to push this study into the long eighteenth century, and to contextualise the new configurations of Sanskrit scholarship in the movement of people between Banaras and Thanjavur, theorised here as centres of gravity and of levity, respectively. Towards the end of the seventeenth century, the Maharashtrian scholar Raghunātha Gaṇeśa Navahasta moved from his post as temple priest at Chāphaḷ, in the Sātārā district, down south to Thanjavur, to receive the patronage of Queen Dīpābāī. At the behest of the queen, Raghunātha began writing in Marathi instead of Sanskrit, in order to reach a wider audience. Despite his elite education as a young man in Banaras, his Sanskrit writing itself was likely accessible to the same audience that the queen had envisioned. What were Raghunātha’s true aspirations, and how did changes in his working conditions shape his career? In this essay, I trace Raghunātha’s entrepreneurial spirit through his Bhojanakutūhala, or Curiosities on Consumption. Although traditionally the prerogative of cultural historians of food, the Bhojanakutūhala reveals just as much about the intellectual context of its author as he travelled from north to south. I conclude by comparing Raghunātha’s career with that of his contemporary and namesake, Raghunātha Paṇḍita.