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SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00134 Oct 2004

 
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Committed to Sanskrit and Vaishnavism 

Prof. Narasimhachary has been chosen to be honoured by
the President of India for his service to Sanskrit. A
profile by KAUSALYA SANTHANAM  

"SANSKRIT IS a vibrant language. It is so contemporary
in its application that Panini's grammar suits today's
computer language. Many scholars such as Prof. Lakshmi
Thathachar of the Melkote Sanskrit Academy are working
on it," says Prof. Mudumby Narasimhachary, retired
Head of the Department of Vaishnavism, University of
Madras. Prof. Narasimhachary has been selected to be
honoured this year by the President of India for
outstanding service to Sanskrit. He is among 15
scholars from all over the country who have been
chosen to receive the award at a function to be held
in New Delhi. 

Prof. Narasimhachary's scholarship is formidable. But
meet this scholar and you are charmed by his humility
and liberal attitude. Like all great masters of
learning, he is chary of talking about himself and his
accomplishments. But these are substantial. Author of
25 books, chief editor of the Nrisimhapriya journal of
Vaishnavism, teacher to students from across the
world, and mentor to 25 scholars who have obtained
their Ph. D. under his guidance. 

His book on "The contribution of Yamunacharya to
Visistadvaita" is based on his doctoral thesis under
the guidance of Dr. V. Raghavan. A study of Yamuna's
Agamapramanya, a translation of the stotras of Sri
Vedanta Desika and an English translation of "Sri
Padukasahasram" are among the many notable books of
the scholar who is also a trained grammarian. He has
studied Advaita with Sri V. R. Kalyanasundara Sastri
and Visitadvaita from Sri Uttamur Veeraraghavachariar.


Greatness of Sanskrit 

"Sanskrit is the basis of our culture. The Vedas, the
Upanishads, the agamas and all the sciences have their
origin in Sanskrit," he tells you in his third floor
apartment in Mylapore. 

Is the language out of favour in this State? And is it
a disadvantage to be a Sanskrit scholar here? "In this
State, the language is identified with a particular
community, caste and region whereas from ancient times
nowhere is it identified with a particular community.
King Janaka's discussions with scholars such as
Yajnavalkya testify to this. In the North, the
language is always in favour," he points out. 

"But no, it is not a disadvantage, rather the
contrary," smiles the soft-spoken professor. "Sri Adi
Sankara, Ramanujacharya and Madhwacharya were all from
the South and their commentary is so widely read and
respected." The scholar was in Kuala Lumpur for two
years teaching Sanskrit in the University of Malaya.
"Many Muslim youth there learn the language for
numerous Sanskrit words are present in Malay ? Bhoomi
Putra (son of the soil), for example, Maharaja and
Raja Parameswari (title for "queen")". 

Prof. Narasimhachary comes from Rajahmundry in Andhra
Pradesh. Childhood was a time of great adversity as
the family had to battle poverty. His father died when
he was just three years old and he was the third among
four sons. "My mother became a widow when she was just
20 years old and my elder brother Krishnamachary had
to undergo many sacrifices to educate us," he recalls.


Narasimhachary graduated in Telugu with Sanskrit as
second language from the Government Arts College in
Rajahmundry where his principal who was a Christian
wrote to the higher authorities in order to engage the
services of a Sanskrit teacher. But Narasimhachary's
lineage helped. His great great grandfather was the
asthana vidwan of the Vizianagram kings at the turn of
the last century and his uncle Parthasarathy initiated
him the beauties of the Sanskrit language. 

When his elder brother obtained a job as a
stenographer in Madras, Narasimhachary got the
opportunity to do his Masters in Sanskrit from the
Vivekananda College. He stood first in the
examinations and began working for his doctorate under
the guidance of Dr. V. Raghavan. "He was a
perfectionist and a very strict disciplinarian. I was
very fortunate to be his student," says Narasimhachary
After teaching for a few years at the Vivekananda
College, where he introduced a course in spoken
Sanskrit, Narasimhachary joined the Madras University
as a Reader in Sanskrit. Then came the offer in the
University of Malaya. He returned to Madras to become
the founder and Head of the Department of Vaishnavism
in 1984. "Madras University was celebrating its
platinum jubilee and the Vice-Chancellor Dr. Shantappa
invited me to set up the department. Unfortunately,
now owing to a financial crunch there are only two
staff members in the department." 

About his affinity for Sri Vaishnavism, he says, "It
has a lot of emotional interest for me. The concept of
Sri Vishnu as the Supreme being and of his divine
consort Sri Lakshmi moderating to fulfil the wishes of
the devotees has a special appeal." 

"The Jeer of the Ahobila Math himself asked me to take
up the job of the chief editor of the Nrisimhapriya,"
he adds. 

Guiding scholars 


The professor has guided 25 scholars and they talk
about him with respect and admiration. "Many senior
persons such as Ms. Ramesh, Mrs. Y. G. Parthasarathy
and Sarojini Varadappan have devoted themselves to the
study of Vaishnavism (and obtained doctorates), with
an enthusiasm that is moving." Western scholars from
the United States and Europe have also sought him out.


Why are western scholars so deeply interested in
Vaishnavism? "There are similarities between
Christianity (Catholicism) and Vaishnavism. The
followers of both believe that the world is real and
in the doctrine of wholehearted surrender. To both,
the Lord is a personal loving god. So comparative
studies yield rich fruits." His lectures in the U. S.,
U. K. (Oxford University) and Germany attracted huge
audiences. 

Prof. Narasimhachary is a gifted poet too. He is an
"Asukavi," one who can compose opens extempore in
Sanskrit and Telugu. Even when he was a student, he
participated in the Ashtavadhana where eight scholars
pose questions to the poet about each line of his
work. He is now at work on a monumental poem,
"Abhinava Bharata." 

"It starts where the Mahabharata ends and covers
events till the present. About 3000 verses are ready.
I want people to know that you can read, write and
speak in Sanskrit. There is a bright future for this
ancient language as many youngsters are learning it.
Samskrita Bharati conducts classes in various centres
across the country. And with more and more women
learning the language, it will be passed on to future
generations," he prophecies



                
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