Korada Subrahmanyam (born 1954) is a Sanskrit grammarian and scholar from India associated with
IIT Hyderabad as an adjunct Professor. Previously he was a Professor of Sanskrit at the
University of Hyderabad working in the CALTS department.
Prof.Korada was born into a family of Vedic scholars hailing from the
Godavari delta region, known as
Konaseema
Konaseema is a group of islands between the tributaries of the Godavari River and Bay of Bengal located in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district of Andhra Pradesh in southern India. It is nicknamed "Gods Own Creation" due to similarities wit ...
. His areas of specialization include Paninian Grammar, Philosophy of Language, Translation,
Vedas,
Vedangas and
Upanishads.The Professor is also well versed in
Mahābhāṣya
''Mahabhashya'' ( sa, महाभाष्य, IAST: '','' , "great commentary"), attributed to Patañjali, is a commentary on selected rules of Sanskrit grammar from Pāṇini's treatise, the ''Aṣṭādhyāyī'', as well as Kātyāyana's ''V ...
, Vākyapadīya, Laghumañjūṣā, ślokavārtikam and Tantravārtikam. In fact, he studied Astadasavidyasthanams, ie Vedas, Vedangas, Darsanas, Upavedas, and Puranas (Lectures are available on Youtube and Essays are available on ancient indianwisdom.com of Jijyasa Foundation, USA.
Education and career
Prof.Subrahmanyam was introduced to
Sanskrit by his father Korada Subbavadhani(1913–1985), a ghanapāṭhī and
Sanskrit scholar himself. He memorized
Amarakosha, a Sanskrit thesaurus at the age of five. After mastering Krishna
Yajurveda and the
Upanishads, he went on to study
Vyākaraṇa
''Vyākaraṇa'' (, ) refers to one of the six ancient Vedangas, ancillary science connected with the Vedas, which are scriptures in Hinduism.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Vyakarana" in ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism'', Vol. 2: N-Z, Rosen ...
under Sripada Lakshminarayana Sastry(
Podagatlapalli,
East Godavari) and Kompella Subbaraya Sastry(
Narendrapuram,
East Godavari) in a traditional manner. Dr.Korada also gained proficiency in Vedanta under the tutelage of Rani Narasimha Sastry(
Narendrapuram EG Dist.) and Acarya Pullela Sriramacandrudu (Hyderabad) and Jyotisham under Chivukula Satyanarayana Murthy (Gopalapuram, EG Dist.). The professor also forayed into
Mīmāṃsā
''Mīmāṁsā'' (Sanskrit: मीमांसा) is a Sanskrit word that means "reflection" or "critical investigation" and thus refers to a tradition of contemplation which reflected on the meanings of certain Vedic texts. ,
Nyāya
(Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment",[Vaiśeṣika
Vaisheshika or Vaiśeṣika ( sa, वैशेषिक) is one of the six schools of Indian philosophy (Vedic systems) from ancient India. In its early stages, the Vaiśeṣika was an independent philosophy with its own metaphysics, epistemolog ...]
,
Yoga, Sānkhya, Sāmudrika, and Tantra gaining expertise through self-learning and interaction with scholars. . The professor is a rare phenomenon, who had his schooling in both Oriental(Gurukula) and Occidental (University) fashions, which has benefited the Sanskrit lovers at large.
Post bachelor's, Dr.Korada pursued his Master's and Ph.D. in
Sanskrit from
Andhra University,
Visakhapatnam. His Ph.D. dissertation titled ''Mahāvākyavicārah''
( A Study of Discourse ) is considered to be a magnum opus in the field of
Sanskrit Linguistics. Dr.Korada joined the
University of Hyderabad as a faculty and retired in 2019 as a Professor. During his 31 years long tenure, around 30 students worked with him for their MPhil and Ph.D. degrees.
Research and publications
Some of the books published by the scholar include (available on archive.com ):
* ''Mahavakyavicarah'' (Ph.D. dissertation) - deals with the Study of Discourse in different systems of Indian Philosophy
* ''Vakyapadiyam'' (Brahmakanda only - English Translation) - explicates the cryptic meaning of
Bhartrhari
* ''Four Vrttis in Panini'' - is an elaborated study of Vrttis in Paniniya with the help of various commentaries
* ''Theories of Language: Oriental and Occidental'' – is a nutshell of ancient and modern linguistic theories
* ''Pramanas in Indian Philosophy'' - offers a panorama of Pramanas right from Vedas and Epics
References
Living people
1954 births
20th-century Indian linguists
21st-century Indian linguists
Indian Sanskrit scholars
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