Bharat RatnaBharat Ratna is the Republic of India's highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service. This service includes artistic, literary, and scientific achievements, as well as "recognition of public service of the highest order." Unlike knights, holders of the Bharat Ratna...
Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane (1880–1972) was a notable Indologist and SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
scholar. He received India's highest civilian award Bharat RatnaBharat Ratna is the Republic of India's highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service. This service includes artistic, literary, and scientific achievements, as well as "recognition of public service of the highest order." Unlike knights, holders of the Bharat Ratna...
in 1963. He was born in a conservative ChitpavanThe Chitpavan or Chitpawan, also known as Konkanastha Brahmins , are a Smarta Brahmin community of Konkan, the coastal region of western Maharashtra in India....
BrahminBrahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
family in the Ratnagiri district in MaharashtraMaharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Eminent HistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Professor R.S. SharmaRam Sharan Sharma was an eminent historian of Ancient and early Medieval India. He had taught at Patna University, Delhi University and the University of Toronto and was a senior fellow at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London; University Grants Commission National Fellow...
writes of him in the following words: "Pandurang Vaman Kane, a great Sanskritist wedded to social reform, continued the earlier tradition of scholarship. His monumental work entitled the "History of the Dharmasastra", published in five volumes in the twentieth century, is an encyclopedia of ancient social laws and customs. This enables us to study the social processes in ancient IndiaThe history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...
."
Famous works
Dr. Kane is famous for his
magnum opusMasterpiece in modern usage refers to a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or to a work of outstanding creativity, skill or workmanship....
in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
,
History of Dharmasastra subtitled
Ancient and Mediaeval Religions and Civil Law in India. This work researched the evolution of code of conduct in
ancientThe history of India begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The Indus Valley Civilization, which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent from...
and mediaeval India by looking into several texts and manuscripts compiled over the centuries. It was published in five volumes; the 1st volume was published in 1930 and the last, in 1962. It runs to a total of more than 6,500 pages. Dr. Kane used the resources available at prestigious institutes such as the
Asiatic Society of BombayThe Asiatic Society of Mumbai, a learned society in the field of Asian studies, is based in Mumbai, India. It can trace its origin to the Literary Society of Bombay which first met in Mumbai on November 26, 1804, and was founded by Sir James Mackintosh. It was formed with the intention of...
and
Bhandarkar Oriental Research InstituteThe Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute is located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It was founded on July 6, 1917 to honor the life and work of Dr. Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar , long regarded as the founder of Indology in India...
, among others. The work is known for its expanse and depth – ranging across diverse subjects such as the Mahabharat,
PuranasThe Puranas are a genre of important Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religious texts, notably consisting of narratives of the history of the universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography.Puranas...
and Kautilya – including references to previously obscure sources. The richness in the work is attributed to his in-depth knowledge of
SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
. His success is believed to be an outcome of his objective study of the texts instead of
deifyingIn Christian theology, divinization, deification, making divine or theosis is the transforming effect of divine grace. This concept of salvation is historical and fundamental for Christian understanding that is prominent in the Eastern Orthodox Church and also in the Catholic Church, and is a...
them.
Kane wrote the book
Vyavaharamayukha and was in the process of writing an introductory passage on the history of Dharmasastra for this book, so that the reader would get an overall idea apart from the subject of the book. One thing led to another and this project snowballed into the major work that it is. All the same, he was categorical in saying that it is difficult to find an English equivalent of the word “Dharma.” His output in the form of writings across the three languages of
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
,
SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
and Marathi spans nearly 15,000 pages.
Recognition
Dr. Kane was rewarded as Mahamahopadhyay (Etymology: Maha+Maha+Upadhyay = The greatest among the great teachers), usually shortened to MM as a prefix in the writings that refer to him. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of
Bombay UniversityThe University of Mumbai , is a state university located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was known as the University of Bombay until 1996 when the city of Bombay was renamed as Mumbai. The affiliated colleges of the university are spread throughout the city of Mumbai and four coastal districts in...
. His services were requisitioned and enlisted for establishing
KurukshetraKurukshetra district is one of the 21 districts of Haryana state in northern India. The town of Kurukshetra, a sacred place for the Hindus, is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district occupies an area of 1682.53 km². The district has a population of 825,454...
University in
Indic studiesIndology 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....
. He was awarded the
Sahitya AkademiThe Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
award in 1956 for
History of Dharmasastra Volume IV for his research under the Sanskrit translation category. He was also an honorary member of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
He was nominated to the
Rajya SabhaThe Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
as a
member of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for his distinguished record in the field of academics. The highest accolade bestowed upon him was the
Bharat RatnaBharat Ratna is the Republic of India's highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service. This service includes artistic, literary, and scientific achievements, as well as "recognition of public service of the highest order." Unlike knights, holders of the Bharat Ratna...
in 1963.
ile:Dr._Pandurang_Vaman_Kane.jpg|75px]
Indian law
Kane believed that the
Indian constitutionThe Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
made a complete break with the traditional ideas prevalent in
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
by engendering a false opinion among the people that they have rights, but no obligations.
Given the encyclopaedic and authoritative nature of his work, it is often used in debates in Polity. One such issue that cropped up during
Atal Bihari VajpayeeAtal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
government was whether ancient Indians ate beef and both the groups quoted extensively from Kane’s work to support their viewpoint. This issue became important as the
HindusHinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
traditionally revere Cow as a mother and hence eating of Beef is prohibited. Another such issue was whether the girls in the ancient times had the right to wear the Yajnopavita (the sacred thread), restricted only to the men folk in the recent past.
Legacy
To commemorate him,
Asiatic Society of BombayThe Asiatic Society of Mumbai, a learned society in the field of Asian studies, is based in Mumbai, India. It can trace its origin to the Literary Society of Bombay which first met in Mumbai on November 26, 1804, and was founded by Sir James Mackintosh. It was formed with the intention of...
has established Mm. Dr. P.V. Kane Institute for Post Graduate studies and Research in 1974 to promote, encourage and facilitate research in oriental studies. Also, MM Dr. P.V. Kane Gold Medal is given once every three years to a scholar for outstanding contribution to the study of Vedic, Dharmashastra or Alankara Literature.
Other sources
- History of Dharmasastra
- S.G. Moghe (editor), Professor Kane's contribution to Dharmasastra literature, 1997, New Delhi: D.K. Printworld (P) Ltd. ISBN 81-246-0075-9
Kane, PV
Kane, PV
Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Sanskrit
Kane, PV
Category:Marathi-language writers
Kane, PV
Kane, PV
Kane, PV
Kane, P.V.
Category:Sanskrit scholars
Category:People from Ratnagiri
Category:Marathi people
hi:पांडुरंग वामन काणे
kn:ಪಾಂಡುರಂಗ ವಾಮನ ಕಾಣೆ
ml:പാണ്ഡുരംഗ് വാമൻ കാനെ
mr:पांडुरंग वामन काणे
pnb:پانڈرنگ ومان کانے
ta:பாண்டுரங்க் வாமன் கானே
te:పాండురంగ వామన్ కాణే
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