V. Venkatachalam
Encyclopedia
Padma Shri Vishwanathan Venkatachalam (7 July 1925 - 7 June 2002) was an eminent Sanskrit
scholar. He served as the vice-chancellor
of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
, Varanasi, India for two terms. He was awarded the Padma Shri
(National honour) in 1989 by the Government of India
for his valuable contribution to the field of Sanskrit
research and education.
, Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu
. His father was a Head Master and mother a homemaker. In his early years, Venkatachalam won gold medals from Madras Sanskrit College and Sriperumbudur Sanskrit College; numerous book-prizes from St. Xaviers College and Madras Sanskrit College for competitions in essays, elocution, declamation, debate etc. in Sanskrit as well as in English; book/cash prizes from institutions like Sanskrit Academy, Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, Theosophical Society
and Ramakrishna Math
of Chennai
and an All India Essay Competition in English from Ramakrishna Math
, Sorisha, West Bengal.
He acquired dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Sanskrit and Mathematics from Madras University (1944). He was awarded the Sri Godayvari Sanskrit Prize by Madras University in B.A. (Sanskrit) exam. He was awarded the Pitti Muniswami Chetty Garu Gold Medal by Madras University for first rank in the Siromani exam with Advaita Vedanta
as specialization (1949). He went on to earn his Master of Arts Degree in Sanskrit (Classical Literature and Alankara as specializations) from Nagpur University (1951). He was awarded Daji Hari Wadegaonkar Gold Medal by Nagpur University for first position in M.A. (Sanskrit) exam. Prof. Venkatachalam was a polyglot well versed in Sanskrit, Hindi, English, Tamil and Malayalam. He earned a certificate in German from Vikram University
, Ujjain in 1965.
, Madras. From 1954-1966 he served as Assistant Professor/Professor of Sanskrit in Madhav College, Ujjain, MP. In 1966 he was appointed Principal of Government College, Barwani (MP) and went on to be Reader and Head of Sanskrit Department at Vikram University
, Ujjain, MP a year later. He was later appointed Principal of Government Post Graduate College, Shajapur, MP in 1972. He again moved to Vikram University
, Ujjain, MP in 1974 to be Reader/Professor and Head of the Sanskrit Department till 1985. Concurrently he became the Director of Scindia Oriental Institute at Vikram University
, Ujjain, MP. From 1986 to 1989 he was appointed vice-chancellor of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
, Varanasi, UP. After his term at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, he was Director of Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Idology in Delhi till 1992. He was invited to serve as the vice-chancellor of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
for a second term from 1992-1995. Concurrently he was also honorary Chancellor of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri
Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, New Delhi till 1997. From 1996-1998 he served as the vice-chancellor for Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University
, Darbhanga, Bihar. Concurrently, from 1997 onwards, he was the Chairman of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education, Govt. of India. He served in the Board of Editors on Encyclopedia of Hinduism.
He visited and gave talks in many countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Italy, France, Germany, U.S.A., U.K., Bali (Indonesia), Nepal, South Africa, Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles), Trinidad & Tobago and Canada.
and Bhoja
; Sanskrit
literature and Literary Criticism and special study on Sankaracarya, Kalidasa
and Bhoja
.
For the year 1983-84, Prof. Venkatachalam was appointed National Lecturer in Sanskrit by UGC under their Annual National Lecturer Project. As a part of this project, he lectured in the Universities of Burdwan, Madras, Kerala and Puri (Sanskrit University). Incidentally he also visited the Universities of Jadavpur, Calcutta and Osmania.
In 1962, he framed the project, "A New Approach to Kalidasa - a fresh appraisal of Kalidasa's works on the basis of canons of Western Literary Criticism". With financial assistance provided by the Vikram University, he delivered lectures on some of the canons in various Universities/Oriental Institutes of Baroda, Bombay, Poona, Tirupati, Bangalore, Calcutta, Santiniketan, Allahabad, Jaipur etc.
For a span of ten years, from 1970–1981, Prof. Venkatachalam spear headed the planning of the Project of Research on the lost works of the great polymath and patron of learning, Paramara
King Bhoja
(11th century). This project received the support of U.G.C.
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. He served as the vice-chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University is an institution of higher learning in Asian learning, Sanskrit allied areas, etc. that is located in Benares , Uttar Pradesh, India.- History :...
, Varanasi, India for two terms. He was awarded the Padma Shri
Padma Shri
Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...
(National honour) in 1989 by the Government of India
Government of India
The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
for his valuable contribution to the field of 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...
research and education.
Early life and education
Vishwanathan Venkatachalam was born on 7 July 1925 in KovilpattiKovilpatti
Kovilpatti , also known as Covilpatti, is a special grade municipality in Thoothukudi District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Belongs to Kovilpatti constituency...
, Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. His father was a Head Master and mother a homemaker. In his early years, Venkatachalam won gold medals from Madras Sanskrit College and Sriperumbudur Sanskrit College; numerous book-prizes from St. Xaviers College and Madras Sanskrit College for competitions in essays, elocution, declamation, debate etc. in Sanskrit as well as in English; book/cash prizes from institutions like Sanskrit Academy, Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, Theosophical Society
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society is an organization formed in 1875 to advance the spiritual principles and search for Truth known as Theosophy. The original organization, after splits and realignments has several successors...
and Ramakrishna Math
Ramakrishna Math
Ramakrishna Math is a religious monastic order, considered part of the Hindu reform movements. It was set up by Swami Vivekananda to follow the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna...
of Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
and an All India Essay Competition in English from Ramakrishna Math
Ramakrishna Math
Ramakrishna Math is a religious monastic order, considered part of the Hindu reform movements. It was set up by Swami Vivekananda to follow the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna...
, Sorisha, West Bengal.
He acquired dual Bachelor of Arts degree in Sanskrit and Mathematics from Madras University (1944). He was awarded the Sri Godayvari Sanskrit Prize by Madras University in B.A. (Sanskrit) exam. He was awarded the Pitti Muniswami Chetty Garu Gold Medal by Madras University for first rank in the Siromani exam with Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
as specialization (1949). He went on to earn his Master of Arts Degree in Sanskrit (Classical Literature and Alankara as specializations) from Nagpur University (1951). He was awarded Daji Hari Wadegaonkar Gold Medal by Nagpur University for first position in M.A. (Sanskrit) exam. Prof. Venkatachalam was a polyglot well versed in Sanskrit, Hindi, English, Tamil and Malayalam. He earned a certificate in German from Vikram University
Vikram University
Vikram University is a university in the city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.Ujjain is known for its antiquity and its rich cultural and religious traditions.The university, which is named after the ruler Vikramaditya, was established in 1957...
, Ujjain in 1965.
Career
Venkatachalam started his career in 1949 as a lecturer in Sanskrit at Vivekananda CollegeVivekananda College
Ramakrisna Mission Vivekananda College, named after Swami Vivekananda, was inaugurated on 21 June 1946 by professor, philosopher, and politician, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. It is in Mylapore, the centre of Chennai, India on 20 acres . The principal of is Dr. S...
, Madras. From 1954-1966 he served as Assistant Professor/Professor of Sanskrit in Madhav College, Ujjain, MP. In 1966 he was appointed Principal of Government College, Barwani (MP) and went on to be Reader and Head of Sanskrit Department at Vikram University
Vikram University
Vikram University is a university in the city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.Ujjain is known for its antiquity and its rich cultural and religious traditions.The university, which is named after the ruler Vikramaditya, was established in 1957...
, Ujjain, MP a year later. He was later appointed Principal of Government Post Graduate College, Shajapur, MP in 1972. He again moved to Vikram University
Vikram University
Vikram University is a university in the city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.Ujjain is known for its antiquity and its rich cultural and religious traditions.The university, which is named after the ruler Vikramaditya, was established in 1957...
, Ujjain, MP in 1974 to be Reader/Professor and Head of the Sanskrit Department till 1985. Concurrently he became the Director of Scindia Oriental Institute at Vikram University
Vikram University
Vikram University is a university in the city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India.Ujjain is known for its antiquity and its rich cultural and religious traditions.The university, which is named after the ruler Vikramaditya, was established in 1957...
, Ujjain, MP. From 1986 to 1989 he was appointed vice-chancellor of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University is an institution of higher learning in Asian learning, Sanskrit allied areas, etc. that is located in Benares , Uttar Pradesh, India.- History :...
, Varanasi, UP. After his term at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, he was Director of Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Idology in Delhi till 1992. He was invited to serve as the vice-chancellor of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University
Sampurnanand Sanskrit University is an institution of higher learning in Asian learning, Sanskrit allied areas, etc. that is located in Benares , Uttar Pradesh, India.- History :...
for a second term from 1992-1995. Concurrently he was also honorary Chancellor of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Shastri
Lal Bahadur Srivastava Shastri was the second Prime Minister of the Republic of India and a significant figure in the Indian independence movement.-Early life:...
Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, New Delhi till 1997. From 1996-1998 he served as the vice-chancellor for Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University
Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University
Kameshwar Singh Darbhanga Sanskrit University is a state university located at Darbhanga, Bihar, India, dedicated to the teaching end promotion of Sanskrit.-History:...
, Darbhanga, Bihar. Concurrently, from 1997 onwards, he was the Chairman of the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Education, Govt. of India. He served in the Board of Editors on Encyclopedia of Hinduism.
He visited and gave talks in many countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Italy, France, Germany, U.S.A., U.K., Bali (Indonesia), Nepal, South Africa, Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles), Trinidad & Tobago and Canada.
Specialization
His fields of specialization included Indian Philosophy, particularly Advaita VedantaAdvaita Vedanta
Advaita Vedanta is considered to be the most influential and most dominant sub-school of the Vedānta school of Hindu philosophy. Other major sub-schools of Vedānta are Dvaita and ; while the minor ones include Suddhadvaita, Dvaitadvaita and Achintya Bhedabheda...
and Bhoja
Bhoja
Bhoja was a philosopher king and polymath of medieval India, who ruled the kingdom of Malwa in central India from about 1000 to 1050 CE. Also known as Raja Bhoja Of Dhar, he belonged to the Paramara dynasty...
; 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...
literature and Literary Criticism and special study on Sankaracarya, Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
and Bhoja
Bhoja
Bhoja was a philosopher king and polymath of medieval India, who ruled the kingdom of Malwa in central India from about 1000 to 1050 CE. Also known as Raja Bhoja Of Dhar, he belonged to the Paramara dynasty...
.
Research
Prof. V Venkatachalam has published about 100 research papers related to different fields of Indology like Literature, Literary Criticism, Philosophy and Religion, History, Technical Sciences etc., in English, Sanskrit and Hindi. He has also contributed introductions to a large number of books and reviews.For the year 1983-84, Prof. Venkatachalam was appointed National Lecturer in Sanskrit by UGC under their Annual National Lecturer Project. As a part of this project, he lectured in the Universities of Burdwan, Madras, Kerala and Puri (Sanskrit University). Incidentally he also visited the Universities of Jadavpur, Calcutta and Osmania.
In 1962, he framed the project, "A New Approach to Kalidasa - a fresh appraisal of Kalidasa's works on the basis of canons of Western Literary Criticism". With financial assistance provided by the Vikram University, he delivered lectures on some of the canons in various Universities/Oriental Institutes of Baroda, Bombay, Poona, Tirupati, Bangalore, Calcutta, Santiniketan, Allahabad, Jaipur etc.
For a span of ten years, from 1970–1981, Prof. Venkatachalam spear headed the planning of the Project of Research on the lost works of the great polymath and patron of learning, Paramara
Paramara
Paramara is a Maratha, Gurjar,& Rajput clan of India.The Paramara clan belongs to the Agnivansha of Rajputs ancient Kshatriyas...
King Bhoja
Bhoja
Bhoja was a philosopher king and polymath of medieval India, who ruled the kingdom of Malwa in central India from about 1000 to 1050 CE. Also known as Raja Bhoja Of Dhar, he belonged to the Paramara dynasty...
(11th century). This project received the support of U.G.C.
Books and Publications
- A students’ Handbook to Ratnavali of Sri Harsa, Madras, 1955. (pp. 3+228)
- Swarnapushpa/Sanskrit Pathya Pustak – Sanskrit Text Book for Higher Secondary Classes of Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, 1958. (pp. 8+186)
- Summaries of Papers submitted to the XXVI Session of the All India Oriental Conference, Ujjain, 1972 (Edited) (pp. 539)
- Bhasa (A monograph in the ‘Indian Men of Letter Series’), Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1986; Second Edn. 1994; (pp. 16+192) (Translated into Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada and Telugu-Pub. By Sahitya Akademi)
- Bhoja and India Learning (Ed.) – Proceedings of the UGC Seminar on Bhoja (pp. 300 approx). – Not yet released by Vikram University.
- Vividhavidyavicaracatura (Ed.) – editio princeps of a rare Dharmasastra Manual by Bhoja based on the only known manuscript from the National Archived on Nepal (Not yet released by Vikram University, Ujjain)
- Souvenir (Ed.) UGC Seminar in ‘Scientific works of King Bhoja’, March 1–6, 1982; 80 pages, Pub. School of Studies in Sanskrit, Vikram University, Ujjain, 1982
- Kalidasa Reflections. Pub. School of Studies in Sanskrit, Vikram University, Ujjain, 1982, pp. 140
- A descriptive Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Scindia Oriental Institute, Vikram University, Ujjain, Vol. II (Parts I and II), (Chief Editor).
- Vishva-drishti-Sampurnanand Birth Centenary Commemoration Volume, Vol. I (pp. 1–529), Vol. II (pp. 530–1021), Published by Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, 1993.
- Sankaracarya : The Ship Of Enlightenment (Ed.), Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1998
Awards (Academic) and National Honours
- Certificate of Honour for Sanskrit Scholarship by the Hon’ble. President of India 1986.
- ‘Padmashri’ (National honour) by the Hon’ble. President of India 1989.
- ‘Mahamahopadhyaya’ degree (honoris causa) by Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth (Deemed University), Tirupathi at its Convocation on December 28, 1997
- ‘Mahamahopadhyaya’ degree (honoris causa) by Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 2000
- Honoured with shawls etc. on different occasions by Jagadguru Shankaracharyas of Sringeri, Kanchi, Dwaraka, Badrinath, H. E. Governor of Rajasthan, Chief Minister of UP.
- Presented with Felicitation Addresses/Shawls etc. by numerous institutions.