Lokesh Chandra is a contemporary scholar of Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 and the Indian arts. He is the son of the famous Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , 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 Raghu Vira

Raghu Vira

Raghu Vira was a linguist. He was a Hindu nationalist and served as Jana Sangh's President.-Biography:Dr. Raghu Vira was born in in Rawalpindi on 30th December 1902. After doing MA from Punjab University, he did Ph.D. from London and D. Litt. from Leiden...

. He has also served as a member of the India

India

India , 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...

n Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha

The 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,...

, Vice-President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations

Indian Council for Cultural Relations

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations , is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples...

, and Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research. In 2006 he was recognized with India's Padma Bhushan

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...

award. He has to his credit over 360 works and text editions. Among them are classics like his "Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary", "Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature", "Buddhist Iconography of Tibet", and his "Dictionary of Buddhist Art" in about 20 volumes. Presently he is Director, International Academy of Indian Culture.

Books

• Buddhist Iconography
• India's Contributions to World Thought and Culture
• Transcendental Art of Tibet
• Mudras in Japan
• Cultural Horizons of India
• Dictionary of Buddhist Iconography in 15 volumes.
• With Raghu Vira, Gilgit Buddhist Manuscripts. Facsimile edition. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1959-74.