Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri's Foreword to Ta. Ra. Su's "Nrupatunga"

​ಮುನ್ನುಡಿ 

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ಮಾನವನ ದುಃಖಪರಂಪರೆಯ ನಿವಾರಣೆಗಾಗಿ ವ್ಯವಹಾರ ಪ್ರಪಂಚದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೂಕ್ತ ಮಾರ್ಗವನ್ನು ಕಂಡುಹಿಡಿಯುವುದು ವಿಶ್ವದ ತತ್ವಾನ್ವೇಷಿಗಳ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯವಾಗಿದೆಯೆಂಬುದು ಚರಿತ್ರೆಯಿಂದ ವಿದಿತವಾಗಿದೆ. ಆಕಸ್ಮಿಕ ಘಟನೆ, ಕಾಲಯಂತ್ರ ಅಥವಾ ಯುದ್ಧದ ಮೂಲಕವಲ್ಲದೆ ಜಗತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಶಾಂತಿಯು ನೆಲೆಸಬೇಕಾದರೆ ಒಂದೇ ಮಹಾವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಶಕ್ತಿಯೂ ಆತ್ಮ ಜ್ಞಾನವೂ ಸೇರಿರಬೇಕೆಂದೂ ಆತ್ಮಜ್ಞಾನಿಗಳೇ ರಾಜರಾಗಬೇಕು ಅಥವಾ ಆಡಳಿತ ನಡೆಸುವವರು ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ತತ್ವಜ್ಞಾನ ಹೊಂದಿರಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಪ್ಲೇಟೋ* ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯಪಟ್ಟನು. ಇದು ಸಾಧ್ಯವೇ, ಜಗತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಂತಹ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳು ಎಷ್ಟಿರುವರು? ತತ್ವಾನ್ವೇಷಣೆಯ ಉದ್ದೇಶ ನಿಸ್ಸಂಗತ್ವದಿಂದ ನಿರ್ಮೋಹತ್ವವನ್ನು ಸಾಧಿಸಿ ಅದರಿಂದ ನಿಶ್ಚಲತತ್ವ ಮತ್ತು ಜೀವನ್ಮುಕ್ತಿ ಪಡೆಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲವೇ? ಸಮಾಜದ ಉದ್ದಾರಕಾರ್ಯ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯ ನಿಸ್ಸಂಗತ್ವಕ್ಕೆ ಕೇವಲ ವಿರುದ್ಧವಲ್ಲವೇ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳು ಏಳುವುವು. ಪ್ರಪಂಚದ ಬಂಧನದಿಂದ ತಪ್ಪಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಯತ್ನಿಸಿತ್ತಿರುವವನು ತಪ್ಪು ದಾರಿ ಹಿಡಿದ ಪ್ರಪಂಚವನ್ನು ತಿದ್ದುವ ಹವ್ಯಾಸಕ್ಕೆ ಏಕೆ ಹೋಗಬೇಕು? ಒಬ್ಬ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯ ಆತ್ಮ ಬಲಿದಾನದಿಂದ ಸಮಾಜವೆಲ್ಲ ಉದ್ದಾರವಾಗುವದೆಂಬ ಕೆಲವು ಮತಗಳ ...

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* There is no hope of a cessation of evils in the states and, in my opinion, none for mankind - except through a personal union between political power and philosophy.....The Union may be achieved in two ways, Either the philosophers must become Kings and potentates must take - genuinely and thoroughly to philosophy. 

(Plato: Republic 473. D)

To the read full Foreword, Click Here. 

'Indian Music' by Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri

Indian music has a great and immemorial tradition, going back to the prehistoric period of the Vedas which were perhaps the earliest records of mankind to be put into a metrical form. It is therefore no wonder that the whole subsequent development of Indian music was dominated by a religious spirit, in spite of political and economic vicissitudes. Indian tradition asserts that the evolution of the musical scale can be traced through the three tones of the Rg Veda (Ni-Sa-Ri or B-C-D) and the four tones of the Yajur Veda to the penta-tonic scale in a descending order of the Sama Veda in its original form. Further developments through the six and seven tones took place in the later elaboration of the Sama scale adapted to the Indian lute or the Vina (Veene) and Indian musicology was systematised by Bharata in early centuries of the Christian era.

 

India is the country from which many ancient civilisations derived their music. The Sumerian “Bin” was derived from the Indian Vina. Strabo says that the Greek and Persian systems were influenced by India. The Greek musical instruments Kinyra, Kithara, Nabla and Kratala were derived from the Indian Kinnari, Chitra, Nakula and Karatala. A type of accompaniment in ancient Greece called Magadi singing was derived from the Magadhi song. The Syrians called their sacred hymns Sugita (the good song in Samkrt). The Chinese pentatonic scale and its later developments were due to the influence of Indian culture.

 

In Europe the Gregorian chant and polyphony were derived from the Indian system and the Guido de Arezzo adapted the method of the Sama Veda for memorising notes on the lines of fingers. Relics of polyphony are even now to be found in Java and Bali which have developed an orchestration for Indian music and dance.

To read the complete article, Click Here. 

CONQUESTS OF ŚÌLÁDITYA IN THE SOUTH by S. Srikanta Sastri

Mayùra, supposed to be the father-in-law of Bãņa, the biographer of Harşa Šìlãditya, is credited with the following stanza eulogising Šrì Harşa:-

Bhùpãlãh Šašibhaskarãnvayabhuvah ken am nãsãditãh |

Bhartãram punar ekameva hi bhuvastvãm deva manyã mahe |

Yenãńgam parimŗşya Kuntalamathãkŗşya vyudasyã yatam |

Colam prãpya ca madhyadešamadhunã Káncyām karah pātitah ||

 

Here reference is made to southern conquests of Harşa – Kuntala, Cola and Madhyadeśa and Kãñcì. 

To read the complete article, click here. 

'The Original Home of Jainism' by Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri

It has become customary to take granted the statements of certain historians that Jainism like Buddhism represents a reaction to the sacrificial cult of Vedic Aryans and in the case of Jainism many scholars are reluctant to take back the history of the faith before Parsva in about the 9th century B. C. Magadha which happened to be outside the pale of the Vedic sacrificial cults in the earliest times happened to be the birthplace of both Jainism and Buddhism and hence many have thought that these religions were perhaps of non-Aryan origin. Another theory is that there was at first a wave of non-Vedic but Aryan peoples who had spread all over Hindustan and that later on a new branch of the same Aryans but with Vedic cults, came and established themselves, driving out the earlier non-Vedic Aryans into Magadha, where Jainism and Buddhism arose. The Indus Civilization of C, 3000 – 2500 B. C. with its cults of nudity and yoga, the worship of the bull and other symbols has resemblances to Jainism and therefore the Indus Civilisation is supposed to be of non-Aryan or non-Vedic Aryan origin. The Protagonists of the non-Aryan theory are many and some of them call the civilisation definitely Dravidian.

I have shown in my “Proto-Indic Religion” that the so called non-Aryan characteristics are really those of Atharva-Veda civilization and that the Vedas themselves provide ample proofs of the worship of the Mother Goddess, the Bull, Serpent, Yoga etc. Therefore the Indus Civilization is post – Vedic and an admixture of many Tantric practices. It is impossible to assign a Dravidian origin to the Jaina and Buddhist religions as the Tirthankaras and Buddhas are clearly designated as Kshatriyas and Aryas.

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To read full article, click here. 

Foreword to 'Shudramimamse' by S. Srikanta Sastri (1958)

 

To read the full Foreword, Click Here. 

Prof. R. Chandraprakash's Review of "INDIAN CULTURE" (2021)

 Book Review 

by 

Prof. R. Chandraprakash

Former Dean

University of Mysore

of

‘Indian Culture - A Compendium of Indian History, Culture and Heritage’

by 

Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri

The people of this ancient country are shaped by high ideals. They exhibit their noble qualities in their work culture, speech, mental makeup, in commerce, in social intercourse and in political activities. If the national character is flawed, then the society rests on a bedrock of lies and deceit. - Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri.

Indian Civilization is the oldest living civilization in the world today. India is the land of religious churning. This land gave to the world - Vedas, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and innumerable other religious tenets. This land founded earlier to 3000 B. C. the world’s first universities of Taxila (Takshashila), Mithila, Sharada Peetha, Nalanda and others where scholars from the world came for intellectual enlightenment. However, geographically India, that is Bharat, today is a far smaller country than it was a millennia before. Its outer geographical contours have been dismembered and its national boundaries have been constantly reduced. For a millennia this land has been attacked and conquered by different races and its riches plundered over the centuries. A significant size of its population today belongs to different religious beliefs implanted here from foreign lands through forceful conversions.

To read the complete review, please Click Here.

S. Srikanta Sastri's Introduction to 'Varalakshmi Academy of Fine Arts' - Bulletin No. 1 (1954) on Vedic Octave and Sangita Sara

The Research Board of the Śrī Varalakşmī Academies of Fine Arts was constituted to meet a long felt need for conducting research in Indian Music. The contributions of eminent savants and scholars to Indian Musicology have, hither to, been the results of the efforts of individuals and some institutions in India and abroad. But a proper co-ordination of the various efforts has not been attempted; still less is there any attempt to delve systematically into original sources or to trace the evolution of Indian music on a sound chronological basis. Vague assertions, reliance on second hand sources, subjective valuations, biased opinions and generalisations can have no permanent value. Musical experience may have its emotional or purely subjective considerations. Musicology demands different but co-ordinated methods – artistic, critical, scientific, philosophical, historical, psychological, experimental, empirical, eclectical and systematic. As Seashore says the analytical approach to arts may not give the whole truth but nothing gives the whole truth – from all points of view.

Click here to read the entire article. 

𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄 - 𝐀 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞

Pleased to announce the launch of the English Translation of Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri's Kannada classic "Bharathiya Samskruthi" titled "INDIAN CULTURE - A Compendium of Indian History, Culture and Heritage". 

"INDIAN CULTURE - A Compendium of Indian History, Culture and Heritage" is the result of three years of hard work and intellectual toil. The 250 plus Sanskrit Quotations in the original Kannada work have now been translated to English with the help of Sanskrit scholars and linguists. Many of the illustrations and sketches (originally done by S. Srikanta Sastri himself) have been re-done to highlight the details better. The inclusion of a thorough Bibliography and INDEX at the end hopefully will aid the reader better navigate the 674 pages of the book. 

The Kannada original saw five reprints and was something of a best seller in academic circles, especially with Kannada readers. This translation in English, it is hoped, will showcase the book to a global readership and help them wade through the life and times of possibly the oldest surviving civilisation on this planet. 

To surmise the essence of the book, the following Translator's Note is reproduced here:

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 “𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵?”, “𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘢 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘯?”, “𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴?”, “𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘝𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴?”, “𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘉𝘶𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯?”, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘈𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺, 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘊𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘺, 𝘦𝘵𝘤.?”, “𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴?”, “𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴?”, “𝘐𝘴 𝘚𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘬𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘧𝘧-𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘰-𝘌𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘎𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱?”, “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭, 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦?”. 

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘦𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘌𝘱𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘕𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴.

The author Dr S. Srikanta Sastri passed away in 1974 - long before the era of radio carbon dating, before archaeo-genetics was an accepted specialty and long before Out of India migration theory had the widespread acceptance that it has today. Yet, it is for these very reasons, this book holds great promise. Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri was among the earliest proponents of the Out of India Migration Theory. His articles on Harappan Town Planning and Indus Valley Proto-Indic Religion were revolutionary and hold much allure to scholars even to this day.  

This translation is not meant to be an updation of the work, originally penned in 1944 and published in 1954. It is a translation and nothing more. As a translator, I am fully aware of the challenges inherent in the arduous task of bringing a work as complex as Bharathiya Samskruthi (with its multitude of Kannada, Sanskrit and often Prakrit quotations) into English. It is also pertinent to mention that S. Srikanta Sastri in his original preface conceded ample room to dissenters and sceptics who were more than eager to find fault in his work. New research begets new perspectives. History gets re-written all the time. More than anyone, the author was aware of this fact and has stated as much in his preface! The purpose of mentioning this here is this - The translation needs to be read and enjoyed for the grand work that it is. It is not everyday that a writer is able to place 10,000 years of civilisation from stone age to present day, replete with references and proofs, with such candour and eloquence as S. Srikanta Sastri has. May be that in itself is enough reason to give it a try. 

The book is available for online purchase at the following links within INDIA for now:

𝔸𝕄𝔸ℤ𝕆ℕ 𝕀ℕ𝔻𝕀𝔸

𝔽𝕃𝕀ℙ𝕂𝔸ℝ𝕋 𝕀ℕ𝔻𝕀𝔸

ℕ𝕆𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕℙℝ𝔼𝕊𝕊 𝕀ℕ𝔻𝕀𝔸

It will be available for International online purchase shortly. Once available, links will be updated in this post. 

Also in the offing is an eBook version which will be made available shortly on all popular platforms. 

For those of you interested in seeing the CONTENTS list and SNIPPETS/ EXCERPTS from the book, kindly click the link here:

EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK

Wishing all readers and my well wishers a fulfilling reading experience. It is high time, India's story from antiquity till date, be told right, for once (and by an Indian for a change)!!

The Archaeological Importance of Nanjanagud by Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri (12 July, 1971)

Garalapuri (or Nanjangud) has a history going back to mythical puranic times and archaeologically we can trace two thousand years of history in the existing Srikanteswara Temple. In the early centuries of the Christian Era this region was under the Gangas of Talakad. The early Ganga Kings were not Jains but the followers of the Vedic religion as proved by their records which mention the celebration of many Vedic sacrifices. The Garbha Griha in the Srikanteswara temple resembles the specimens of Ganga Architecture remaining at Varuna (near Mysore) and Siva Ganga in the Bangalore District. The Siva Linga of Srikanteswara differs from the usual Chola type and closely resemble the Gangadhareswara linga at Siva Ganga.

In the tenth century the Cholas began to expand their empire and Talakad became a part of their kingdom. The Cholas were ardent Sivabhaktas but Raja Raja the Great has also constructed Vishnu Temples at Marehalli, Tadi Malingi etc. About the same time was composed the Periya Puranam which deals with the Nayanars. The stone images of the sixty-three Shaiva Saints found in the Nanjangud temple Verandha are probably of Chola workmanship. The corresponding metal images in front of them were installed by Kalale Nanjaraja in the Seventeenth century.

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New Profile Photograph of Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri

 

New Profile Photograph of Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri discovered from the archives of K. G. Somsekhar 

                                                         © K. G. Somsekhar