Ramchandra Narayan Dandekar (1909–2001) was an

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') i ...

and

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

scholar from

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. He was born in Satara on 17 March 1909 and died in Pune on 11 December 2001.

Education

Dandekar earned an M.A. in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

in 1931, and an M.A. in Ancient Indian Culture in 1933, both from

Bombay University The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...

(renamed some years ago as Mumbai University). He joined

Fergusson College Fergusson College is an autonomous public-private college offering various courses in the streams of arts and science in the city of Pune, India. It was founded in 1885 by the Deccan Education Society. Professor Vaman Shivram Apte was its fir ...

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

in 1933 as a professor of Sanskrit and Ancient Indian Culture. In 1936, he went to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

for further studies and received his doctoral degree from

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

in 1938 for his thesis ''Der Vedish Mensh''.

Career

Upon his return from Germany, Dandekar continued to teach at Fergusson College. In 1950, he was appointed Professor of Sanskrit and Head of the Department of

and

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

Languages at the

University of Poona Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganes ...

(now called Savitribai Phule Pune University, and before that the University of Pune). He served as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts during 1959-1965. In 1964, he became the Director of the Center of Advanced Study in Sanskrit at the University of Poona, and served in that capacity until 1974. In 1939, Dandekar had become the Honorary Secretary of the renowned

Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute The Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (BORI) is located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was founded on 6 July 1917 and named after Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar (1837–1925), long regarded as the founder of Indology (Orientalism) in Ind ...

(BORI), and he continued to function in that capacity till 1994, effectively running the Institute for fifty-five years. From 1994 until his death in 2001, he served as the vice-president of the Institute. Dandekar was closely associated with numerous Indian and international organizations related to

Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') i ...

, and he served and shaped these organizations in various manners. They included the All India Oriental Conference, the International Congress of Orientalists, the World Sanskrit Conference, the Sanskrit Commission of the Government of India, and the Deccan College. He served as an adviser on Indology at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

. Along with a large number of other publications, Dandekar published a monumental six-volume ''Vedic Suchi'' (Vedic bibliography) in 1946.

Honors

Dandekar received many honors and awards, including the

Padmabhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

title in 1962 from the President of India, and a

Sahitya Akademi Fellowship The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary honour in India bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.Quote: "In his acceptance speech when India's National Academy of Letters (Sahitya Akademi) in 1997 conferred its h ...

in 2000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dandekar, Ramchandra Narayan 1909 births 2001 deaths Marathi-language writers People from Satara (city) Indian Indologists Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship University of Mumbai alumni