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| D. Javare Gowda |
The greatness of a University is gauged not by its
quantitative strength in terms of buildings, teachers and students, but by the
quality of research work done and the intellectual pursuits attained by the
research scholars and teachers. From this point of view the Mysore University
can proudly claim a place of distinction among many other Universities in
India. The devout votaries of knowledge and the intellectual luminaries like
Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri are mainly instrumental for the reputation of this great
University. Scholarship is nothing but intellectual ability coupled with
industry and devotion to duty. Srikanta Sastri has been really the embodiment
of these qualities. His whole life has been dedicated to the pursuit of truth
and the acquisition of knowledge.
Even before I entered the Maharaja’s College as a student of
the Honours Class in the year 1938 Srikanta Sastri had reached the pinnacle of
glory as a great scholar. His knowledge of History was phenomenal and
encyclopædic in character. A good number of books both in English and Kannada
and as many as four hundred articles on Indian History, Culture, Language and
Literature bear ample testimony to his varied interest, profound scholarship
and recondite erudition. He treaded the entire gamut of Karnataka
history and culture
like a colossus. Sincerity, honesty and truthfulness are the hallmark of his
scholarship. One may reverentially disagree with the views expressed by him,
as, for example, on the original home of the Aryans, the Aryan Civilisation and
even on Purandaradasa. Nobody disputes his intellectual abilities or sincerity
of purpose. His scholarship is neither a shadow nor an imitation of some great
personality. He is undisputedly an original thinker and a meticulous and
austere seeker of truth.
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| Maharaja College, Mysore |
Though he is a person who shuns publicity he permits anybody
without any reservation to unlock the store-house of his vast knowledge. Nobody
returns from him disappointed. He has a ready answer to any doubt lurking in
the minds of scholars or students. If a person needing solutions to his
problems happens to be far away from him he need only spend twenty five naya
paise for a stamp. The reply is there within three or four days. This is my
experience too.
It is really very fitting that a man of his stature who has
spent the long years of his life at the
altar of the Goddess Saraswati should
be honoured by presenting a Commemoration Volume. I am extremely happy to find
that all the articles published in this volume relate to Karnataka History and
Culture which are very dear to Prof. Srikanta Sastri. All the articles are
decidedly the result of deep study, long research and fieldwork. They present a
very useful material for the research worker as well as the student of History.
In a way it can be said that it is an encyclopædia of Karnataka History. I
should congratulate the editors and the contributors for having taken lot of
pains to bring forth this volume in as short a period as possible.
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| At Felicitation Function |
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