‘Dr S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B. R. Gopal (Historiography of Karnataka)
‘DR.
S. SRIKANTA SASTRI’
by Dr. B. R. Gopal
I consider myself fortunate for having been invited by the Mythic Society to present a paper on the contributions of Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri to research in Karnataka History & Culture. I have had the fortune of sitting at his feet to learn for more than five years from 1949 onwards. I joined the History Honours class in 1949 when I met for the first time Dr. S. Srikanta Sastri. I may be excused for a personal note with which I am starting this paper, for the impact of his personality upon me is something that could only be experienced and not easily expressed. When he first engaged the class he was unimpressive. Amidst the welldressed teaching faculty of the Maharaja's College he was the most unkempt, if I could say so, with the trouser almost dangling, a loose coat uncared for, thick spectacles covering the troubling eyes and seemingly unsocial. Often he would rush into the class with even a lungi. He never missed a class. Once or twice, we, for some reason or the other, took a holiday but the next day we could find him commence his lecture on a fresh topic with a preface that the earlier topic had been covered by him in the previous class which had not been attended by us en masse, but attended only by him and he would take it a lecture delivered, what if the students were not there! is made us take care that we would not miss his class.
He was adept in teaching any subject, but Indian History & Culture were nearer his heart. I could humbly say that I was one of those who had the privilege of going to his house and get doubts, clarified. I had once to face a very bitter
‘Dr S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B.
R. Gopal (Historiography of Karnataka)
experience. I had to write a test for keeping the subject scholarship which I was getting. We were to write an essay on one of the topics asked. at was a period of constitution making for the country and Dr. M. V. Krishna Rao was keen on such a modern and contemporary subject. ere was a topic pertaining to Indian culture also. I somehow wrote on the current topic much to the chagrin of Dr. Sastri who rebuked me for not having written an essay on the topic pertaining to Indian Culture while one of my classmates had done so. He was so touchy about it that naturally I did not get as many marks in that paper as I had anticipated.
I had several occasions to discuss with him topics of Indian History & also Karnataka History. It was he that made the first suggestion that I work upon the Chalukyas and Kalyana and I had registered myself as his research student when I was in Ooty. It was his ill-health that made him finally force me to change the guide. He was so much devoted to history and historical research that he would not waste time on discussing men and matters not connected with history. I remember that when he was hospitalised in 1958 with paralysis and the doctors asked some of his friends and relatives to spend some time with him and make him speak, he would not open his mouth. I came from Ooty and saw him in the hospital and lo! he opened his mouth asking me questions about progress in my research work. With difficulty he started mumbling words, but picked up and I was closeted with him for such a long time that the doctors asked me to stop talking to him and take it up only for the next day! us it went on for 3 to 4 days. ereafter I used to see him now and then almost once in two months. And whenever I met him he would spend quite a few hours with me discussing problems of my research. Ultimately his breaking health made his wife requesting me to stop coming to him since he would get excited.
‘Dr
S. Srikanta Sastri’ by
Dr. B. R. Gopal (Historiography
of Karnataka)
Dr. Sastri was such a scholar of great merit that during his days when opportunities in material gains were very little, his colleagues with greater access to influence and power would take advantage of his attitude of seclusion as disqualification to keep him out of the race for promotion and power. He has narrated to me quite a number of events which were unpalatable then and unworthy to remember now. In his days he was neglected for a long time by those around him but he had received all encomiums from great scholars in distant regions. His work had received appreciation from outside powers. Dr. Goebbels the Nazi spoke of him in 1941 and that made the Government suddenly alert about him and his research. e police conducted enquiries, but thank God, they did not proceed further for, in their eyes, he was an ineffectual researcher who would be left to himself without any consequences.
It has been his good fortune that his students, who have been literally in hundreds, have remembered him even during his life time by presenting to him a felicitation volume named ‘Srikanthika'. It was a mere chance that made me one of the editors of that volume.
Born at Nanjanagud in 1904, in an illustrious family belonging to Sondekoppa in Bangalore district, Sastri was the second of the sons of his parents Ramaswami Sastri and Seshamma who had three daughters also. But almost from his first year he was a victim of physical illnesses. Small pox had robbed him of his sight in the left eye and it affected his hearing too. ese physical disabilities perhaps made him remain secluded. In the later years, the series of disappointments in life had hardened his feelings making him stubborn. His memory was remarkable and baffling too. He used to bring to the class a thick file of pages which he would be turning while lecturing, and more so while dictating. Once or twice, when I missed my classes, I went to him with a request to let me have a look into his 'file’
‘Dr
S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B.
R.
Gopal (Historiography of Karnataka)
and copy that portion he dictated. Smilingly he once gave me that and to my surprise I found those pages filled with cuttings from Newspapers; extracts from texts of literary works and the like, all of them disjointed and for my purpose useless! I asked him why he looks into that when he dictates his notes. He said that its mere touch would inspire him and bring before his memory eye the entire matter which he wanted to discuss and expound.
Some of his Kannada books may be reviewed here. e first of these is “Bharatiya Samskruti” written in the pre-independence years, in 1944, though published only a decade later in 1954. In the preface to the book, also written in 1944, he summarises briefly the contributions of India to World Culture. By then Oswald Spengler's Decline of the West had been published and Toynbee had put forward his ‘Challenge and Response eory of Culture’ in his first few volumes. of the study of History. ese so-called philosophers of History, more specially Spengler, had forecast almost the end of human civilization and said that human society stood on the brink of destruction. Progress of science, Imperialism, Capitalism, Weakness of religion and religious orders, Nationalism and the like were described by many of these philosophers as reasons for such a break down. Reviewing these Dr. Sastri in his preface says that the entire problem could be analysed in three sways. Politically it was a conflict between Monarchy, Despotism and Democracy; economically there was a growing gap between the rich and the poor; ethically mutual suspicions, injustice, deceit among the nations and lack of freedom of action and thought in individual's life - these were the bases on which human civilization stood and which were now sinking. It was essential to find suitable answers for the problems that arose out of it and Dr. Sastri said that Indian Culture had in it the answer.
S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B. R. Gopal (Historiography
Nationalism and Science are mere tools that could be used both for the welfare and the destruction of world order. If culture is to be protected at all, these have to be kept under control. Nationalism adopts different forms depending upon the country, its religion, language and basic culture. Science is materialistic, belonging to the range of the senses and hence limited in its scope. It can create an atmosphere of physical pleasure or pain by understanding the physical world around us. It is earthy, and cannot satiate the inner urge for knowledge of the eternal, the urge to live a cultured life. It creates civilization but cannot be a source of culture.
e world 'Culture' is associated with agriculture while civilization is associated with urbane. Civilization has as its aim the establishment of some order - the social order as it could be called - in regulating the natural desires of mankind, for food, sleep, lust and fear, and the race among men for fulfilment of those desires. Culture on the other hand indicates the spiritual progress, of an individual or a group. After establishing social order, there should be sufficient freedom- libertyfor the individual as for the society without which culture and civilization cannot progress. Hence philosophers like Croce defined History as the story of liberty.
Four factors are essential for social progress and reform; they are economic, political, religious and the urge for knowledge, not only scientific but also of the ultimate. ere are different cultures in the world each one of which has its own characteristic, an individuality. e contribution of Asia to world civilization and culture has been immense. Almost all the earliest civilizations have originated in this continent, and through Crete it has spread its impact over Greece and Rome and Modern Europe. Of these, Indian Culture is unique. It has the great characteristic of absorption and assimilation. e main reason for this is not merely its tolerance. Mere attitude of tolerance towards other religions or culture
‘Dr S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B.
R.
Gopal (Historiography of Karnataka)
and the like would often result in indifference and neglect. It is on the other hand a sense of appreciation of the good in the others which result in assimilation. One feature of Indian Culture is that there is no despotism of the society over the individual who is free. Hence the individual has the scope to grow.
All this is due to the great seers of our country, who have left behind a rich literature and whose knowledge has been transcendental, says Dr. Sastri. It is this that has sustained our culture which is anadi and ananta.
is book has 12 chapters and within 400 pages. Dr. Sastri has made a survey of its physical features, pre-history, Vedic culture, search for spiritual truth (i.e., Religions and P hilosophy), Social and economic conditions, political systems, literature and arts & sciences. In the last chapter there is an account of Indian Culture outside India - what is generally called Greater India. us it is not merely an outline of 'history but all other things too. Herein you have an account of allfrom Anthropology to Zoology. It shows the extent and depth of knowledge of Dr. Sastri who is not only well read, but has assimilated all that he has read. Bharatiya Samskruti is the quintessence of Dr. Sastri's scholarship.
e latest of his Kannada books Hoysala Vastushilpa is on Hoysala Architecture. In this work Dr. Sastri has given an account of the beginnings of Hoysala Architecture, which has imbibed the features of Chalukyan architecture and made further improvements. Hoysala architecture in one sense witnesses the culmination of Karnataka architecture and, although, later on, the Vijayanagara rulers adapted some of the features, yet that is a different style altogether. e Chalukyan style reaches the peak of plastic ornamentation under the Hoysalas. In the Later Chalukyan temples in the districts of Chitradurga, Shimoga, Dharwad and Bellary, we can see some features which form the points of contact with the
‘Dr S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B. R. Gopal (Historiography of Karnataka)
Hoysala temples. e introduction of figure sculpture as decorative element in the wall, treatment of plinth mouldings, the star-shaped plan, leaning bracket figures etc., that occur in the Somesvara temple, Gadag, the Doddabasappa temple, Dambal and the Mallikarjuna temple, Kuruvatti are such points of contact. ese have been explained lucidly by the author.
e book is divided into two parts: in the first is given, as an introduction, a brief history of the Hoysalas and an account of Chalukyan architecture. Analysing the epigraphs of Vishnuvardhana recording grants to the temples etc., he has shown that 60 percent of these refer to the grants made to Shaiva temples , 20 per cent to the Vaishnava and the remaining 20 percent to the Jaina. Hence, he Says, that there is no evidence to show that this king had greater leanings towards Vaishnavism. e statement made by Pallava Mahendravarma that he was the first to construct temples in stone has been shown to be an empty boast. On the other hand, the Pallavas were influenced by the Chalukyas in this respect. e turned pillars and decorative features indicate that Chalukya-Hoysala masonry was more the work of a carpenter and a goldsmith. No literary work on iconography or art appears to have been produced in the Hoysala mind. e architects must have made use of texts of the earlier periods like Manasara and Abhilashitartha Chintamani But it is not possible to say that the Vaikhanasa or Pancharatra agamas were followed for Vaishnava temples, the Karanagama or Isanagurupaddhati for Saiva and the Jaina Puranas for the Jaina temples. Besides the kings and other royal personages and officials, ordinary citizens also built temples according to their capabilities. Such ones may not be artistic or gorgeous; and on that ground they need not be dated prior to the Hoysala temples, when no other confirmatory evidence is available. Jakkanna and Dankanna are mythical figures and no sculptor of that name lived in the Hoysala period. In no other part
‘Dr
S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B. R. Gopal (Historiography of Karnataka)
of India do the names of the sculptors figure, except in Karnataka. ese are some of the points made out herein.
In the second, third and fourth parts we find descriptive accounts of both the major and minor Hoysala temples. Naturally enough the temples of Belur, Halebidu, and Somanathapur and those of Sravanabelagola have been treated in greater detail. Epigraphical and other evidences have been appropriately cited while discussing the dates of construction of the monuments or scooping of sculptures etc. is has made the volume authentic and all the relevant details given herein have been very useful for a student who wishes to pursue further studies in the subject, from the political, economic, social and artistic angles.
In 1960 the University published his Puratattva Shodhane (Archaeology). is is divided into two parts, the first dealing with the general features, scope, aim and methods of Archaeology while the second relates to Indian Archaeology in particular. Giving an account of the progress in geological studies led to an interest in the archaeological, how Darwin's eory of Evolution encouraged the scholars to brush aside the Biblical account of the 'Universe' and how Pitt Rivers declared, most courageously in his days, that History is evolution. Dr. Sastri, in a lucid style describes the methods in archaeology, shows that archaeology is now a science, and not mere antiquarian speculation. e use of Kannada terminology for explaining several technical terms like artifacts, type, typological classification, culture sequence are illuminating. He explains the methods of exploration and excavation, and of dating the artifacts; the interpretation is of course the last job of an archaeologist but the most important. e learned author gives a succinct account of this 'job' of the archaeologist. Under Archaeology, he includes Epigraphy and Numismatics also. e second part of the book deals with Indian Archaeology. In this we find an evaluation of the work that has already been done,
‘Dr
S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B. R. Gopal (Historiography of Karnataka)
is lacunae and the huge amount of work that awaits scholar's touch in all the branches of Archaeology.
It may be noted that in the last two-three decades, archaeological research has taken great strides. Some earlier conclusions look out of date. What is to be noted here is the fact that basically this is meant to be a text book in Kannada. But there is so much of originality in the presentation of the subject matter that till today this has no rival and none in the near future is likely to surpass this. is book is also a fitting reply to those who say that time is not ripe for writing books in Kannada on technical and scientific subjects.
So far as his writings are concerned a search has resulted in making a list of more than 200 articles in English and Kannada, besides English and Kannada books. Of the latter, two, a Kannada dictionary and another Eradu Nagaragalakathe (“Tale of two Cities”) have remained unpublished. Of his Kannada articles 112 have now been compiled by Dr. T. V. V. Sastry and myself and published under the title Samsodhana Lekhanagalu. He knew that this was being published but did not live long to see it in the book form.
In fact, 2 volumes (Vol. II & Vol. III) of his Sources of Karnataka History have remained unpublished. At one stage, almost during his last days of life, the University of Mysore expressed a desire to bring out a II edition of the I Volume of his Sources. I was asked to discuss with him about this, since I felt that the extracts from inscriptions etc. which had been included in that volume needed a revision, as the readings of the texts had been revised in the later years. His answer astounded me. He said "I should examine them myself now before correcting and I will not authorise you to correct them. If you do feel that corrections are necessary, do so in footnotes and not associate me with them when I have not seen them myself”. I agreed
‘Dr S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B. R. Gopal (Historiography of Karnataka)
to show it to him. But fate snatched him away ere too long and I now do not know what has happened to the University's proposal. His English articles were all collected together and some persons were entrusted with the responsibility of publishing all those collected papers. But what happened to them I know not. Dr. Sastri's fate does not seem to have rested even after his death. He had such a misfortune with his manuscripts concerning the Sources of Karnataka History which he had to rewrite twice! Yet, only the first volume saw the light of day, in 1940, 12 years after exile.
'Harappan Culture' was a topic about which Dr. Sastri held strong opinions. In several articles in English and Kannada some of which have been published also in the Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society and his English book Proto-Indic Religion published by him in 1942, he has severely criticised the opinions of scholars that Aryans were responsible for the decline of that culture. He says that there is enough proof to show that the Aryans did not migrate to India, but far from it, it was the other way; the Aryan migration was from India to other countries. According to him the Atharvaveda is perhaps the oldest, though compiled later than the others. It is the Brahmaveda containing charms, magic spells, black magic, and so on. e Indus valley Civilization is of this period, for its seals contain charms and spells of Atharvaveda. He pushes back the Aryan culture to 7000 B. C. and holds that the Mahabharata was coeval with the Harappan culture. is is a highly controversial issue indeed. Efforts made by latest scholars in deciphering the Indus script have also not yielded convincing results. Dr. Iravata Mahadevan and Dr. S. R. Rao advanced certain theories from which they now seem to be themselves retracting. It would appear that perhaps Dr. Sastri's arguments with regard to the date may have to be finally accepted.
‘Dr
S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B. R. Gopal (Historiography of Karnataka)
In a series of articles he explained the background of several festivals like Yugadi, Dasahara, and Deepavali observed in our country. e reasons for celebrating such festivals and the rituals associated with them have been explained. He holds that the Taj Mahal drew inspiration from the Hindu style of architecture and based on a manuscript in Persian he has tried to establish that Ahmad and his sons came from Lahore. Interesting among his articles on art and architecture are those on the icon of Chamundesvari and Manjunatha and the one on Art and Meditation.
Several of his writings have led to controversies of a severe nature. One of them contends that Shankaracharya wrote this commentary on Brahmasutras in Karnataka in the Kingdom of the Chalukyas of Badami, thus fixing the date of Sankara around 650 A. D. erein he has also expressed the opinion that Mandanamishra and Suresvaracharya are not identical but different persons. Likewise he opines that the work Annamacharya Charitramu is one of the reliable sources to know the career of Purandaradasa, a point which probably need not be disputed. But he stepped on a slippery ground when he said that Purandara did not, after all, leave behind any new message and that he virtually upheld the contempt of religious hatred! Likewise he has questioned the identity of Bijjala associated with Basava, with his namesake of the Kalachuri dynasty.
It was the curiosity in him that led him to inquire. One of his forefathers had received the village Sondekoppa as a gift from Kempegowda II through a copperplate grant. e inquisitiveness in him led him to decipher that grant and through that to know more about the region wherein the gift village was situated. is resulted in his writing a paper on Sivaganga and the researcher was born, in 1922. He would not take anything for granted without verification. He edited the Hebbata G rant of Durvinita, the Ganga in the pages of the QJMS (volumes 36,38,40,41 and 49). e next step was to study the genealogy and chronology of
‘Dr
S. Srikanta Sastri’ by Dr. B.
R. Gopal
(Historiography of Karnataka)
the Early Gangas of Talakad which came out in the form of a book in 1952. e conclusions arrived at may not be acceptable, but worthy of consideration. It was he who brought to light Bhuvalaya of Kumudendu.
It was not merely history in which he was interested, but also literature, astrology, astronomy and the like. Ganeshashtaka is his composition in early Kannada form. His articles on 'Story and Myth', ‘e Science of Indian Literature', and 'Essence of Epic' show his depth of knowledge of rhetoric, prosody, aesthetics and the like. He suggests that Valmiki's Ramayana assumed the present form in 2nd century A. D.
Several books have been reviewed by him and I see in them that he has been frank with his opinions. While he has all appreciation for good work done, he has not hesitated to pass harsh judgements, going to the extent of saying that a particular book was an example to show how history ought not to be written. In doing so he has provided ample examples to substantiate his conclusion. Such an attitude deprived him of gains, but he would not mind about it. I witnessed his attitude when he lost one of his sons who had grown up to an age of 17 and realised how stubborn he was. His wife predeceased him slightly earlier and in her he had lost the greatest support. When I saw him that day I found him dazed. Fate had hit him had and yet he was unrelented. For his scholarship he was venerated, but for his outspokenness he was kept away. Yet he was rightly an "Votary of Truth'.