R. Shamasastry

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{{Short description|Indian Sanskritist (1868-1944)}}

'''Rudrapatna Shamasastry''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|FRAS}} (1868–1944) was a [[Sanskrit]] scholar and librarian at the [[Oriental Research Institute Mysore]]. He re-discovered and published the ''[[Arthashastra]]'', an ancient Indian [[treatise]] on [[Power (international relations)|statecraft]], economic policy, and [[military strategy]].

==Early life==
Shamasastry was born in 1868 in [[Rudrapatna]], a village on the banks of the [[Kaveri river]] in what is today the state of [[Karnataka]]. His early education started in Rudrapatna. He later went to the Mysore Samskruta Patasala and obtained his Sanskrit ''Vidwat'' degree with high honours. In 1889, [[University of Madras|Madras University]] awarded him a BA degree. Impressed by his ability in classical Sanskrit, Sir [[K. Seshadri Iyer|Sheshadri Iyer]], the then ''[[Dewan]]'' of [[Kingdom of Mysore|Mysore State]], nurtured and helped Shamasastry, making it possible for him to join the Government Oriental Library in Mysore as a librarian. He "had mastered [[Vedas]], [[Vedanga]], [[Sanskrit|classical Sanskrit]], [[Prakrit]], English, Kannada, German, French and other languages."<ref name=organiser>{{citation | author=Prof. AV Narasimha Murthy | periodical=The Organiser | title=R Shamasastry: Discoverer of Kautilya's Arthasastra | date=21 June 2009 | url=http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=296&page=17}}</ref> shastri did phd also.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bhandarkar |first=D. R. |date=1926 |title=Date of Kauțalya |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44082682 |journal=Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute |volume=7 |issue=1/2 |pages=65–84 |issn=0378-1143}}</ref>

==The ''Arthashastra'' ==
The [[Oriental Research Institute Mysore|Oriental Research Institute]] was established as the ''Mysore Oriental Library'' in 1891. It housed thousands of [[Sanskrit]] [[palm-leaf manuscripts]]. As a librarian, Shamasastry examined these fragile manuscripts daily to determine and [[Library catalog|catalogue]] their contents.<ref name=organiser/>

In 1905, Shamasastry discovered the ''[[Arthashastra]]'' among a heap of manuscripts. He transcribed, edited and published the Sanskrit edition in 1909. He proceeded to translate it into English, publishing it in 1915.<ref name=outlook>{{citation | periodical=[[Outlook India]] | title=Year of the Guru | author=Sugata Srinivasaraju | date=27 July 2009 | url=http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?250522}}</ref>

The manuscript was in the Early [[Grantha script|Grantha]] script. Other copies of the Arthashastra were discovered later in other parts of India.

It was one of the manuscripts in the library that had been handed over by a pandit from [[Tanjore]] district to the Oriental Library.<ref>
{{citation | year=2000 | title = The beginnings of accounting and accounting thought: accounting practice in the Middle East (8000 B.C. to 2000 B.C.) and accounting thought in India (300 B.C. and the Middle Ages) | author=Richard Mattessich |author-link=Richard Mattessich| publisher=Taylor & Francis | isbn=978-0-8153-3445-3 | page=146 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B4l8JJKfXiYC&dq=shamasastry&pg=PA146}}</ref>

Until this discovery, the Arthashastra was known only through references to it in works, including those by [[Daṇḍin|Dandin]], [[Bāṇabhaṭṭa|Bana]], [[Vishnu Sharma|Vishnusarma]], [[Mallinātha Sūri|Mallinathasuri]], [[Megasthenes]], as well as others. This discovery was "an epoch-making event in the history of the study of ancient Indian [[polity]]".<ref>{{citation |author1=Ram Sharan Sharma |title=Aspects of political ideas and institutions in ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_E3K8fQoDgC&dq=shamasastry&pg=PA4 |page=4 |year=2009 |edition=4 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-0827-0}}</ref> It altered the perception of ancient India and changed the course of history studies, notably the false belief of European scholars at the time that Indians learnt the art of administration from the [[Ancient Greece|Greeks]].<ref name=organiser/>

The book was translated into French, German and many other languages.<ref name=organiser/>

==Other work==
He started his career as a Librarian at the Government Mysore Oriental Library. From 1912–1918, he worked as a Principal at the Sri Chamarajendra Samskrita Maha Patashala in [[Bengaluru]]. In the year 1918, he returned to the Government Mysore Oriental library and joined as a Curator and later as the Director of Archeological Research in Mysore, where he would continue to work until his retirement in 1929. Apart from discovering Kautilya's Arthashastra, he pursued his research in the [[Vedic period|Vedic era]] and Vedic astronomy, making valuable contributions to Vedic studies. The following are among Shamasastry's works:

#''Vedangajyautishya'' – A Vedic Manual of Astronomy, 8th Century B.C.
#''Drapsa: The Vedic Cycle of Eclipses'' – a key to unlock the treasures of the Vedas.<ref>{{Citation | author1=R. Shamasastry | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XBxtGwAACAAJ | title=Drapsa: The Vedic Cycle of Eclipses : a Key to Unlock the Treasures of the Vedas | publisher=Sri Panchacharya Electric Press | year=1938}}</ref>
#''Eclipse-Cult in the Vedas, Bible, and Koran'' – A supplement to the Drapsa. It is this Cult which gave rise to the Epic and [[Puranas|Puranic]] tales in India. The mathematical aspect of eclipse-cycles is treated at great length and eclipse-tables have been appended. Dr. E. Abegg, Professor, University of Zurich, Switzerland, stated- 'I see with admiration that R Shamasatry is a thorough scholar in the difficult problems of Vedic Astronomy and Calendars, things which European Indianists have very rarely true Knowledge of'<ref>{{Citation | author1=R. Shamasastry | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WzS9YgEACAAJ | title=Eclipse-cult in the Vedas, Bible and Koran: A Supplement to the "Drapsa" | publisher=Sri Panchacharya Electric Press | year=1940}}</ref>
#''Gavam Ayana - The Vedic Era - i''s an exposition of a forgotten sacrificial calendar of the Vedic poets and includes an account of the origin of the [[Yuga|Yugas]].<ref>
{{citation | year=1908 | title = Gavam Ayana the Vedic Era | author1=R. Shamasastry | publisher=R. Shamasastry, 1908 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=zs0wAQAAMAAJ}}</ref>
#''[https://archive.org/details/evolutionofindia00sast Evolution of Indian Polity]''. This book is a compilation of ten lectures delivered at [[University of Calcutta|Calcutta University]]. Sir [[Asutosh Mookerjee]], Vice-chancellor of Calcutta University, personally invited Sastry to deliver these lectures. In this work, the ancient Indian administrative systems and various levels of administrative set-up were critically examined, on the basis of Vedas, legends, Arthashastra, Mahabharata, [[Jain literature|Jainagama]] works etc.<ref>{{citation | year=2009 | title = Evolution of Indian Polity | author1=R. (Rudrapatna) Shama Sastri | publisher=HardPress, 2012 | isbn=9781290797320 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=83ewMQEACAAJ}}</ref>
#''The Origin of [[Devanagari]] Alphabets''.<ref>{{citation | year=2009 | title = The Origin of the Devanagari Alphabets | author1=R. (Rudrapatna) Shama Sastri | publisher=Bharati-Prakashan, 1973 | isbn=9781290797320 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7snenQEACAAJ}}</ref>

All his works received great attention from many great Scholars around the world, particularly European Indologists.

R. Shamasastry also edited many Kannada Texts. Some of the important works he published are:
* [[Rudrabhatta|Rudrabhaṭṭa]]'s Jagannāthavijaya (1923)
* Nayasena's Dharmāmṛta (part I in 1924 & part II 1926)
* Lingannakavi's Keḷadinṛpavijaya (1921)
* Govindavaidya's Kaṇṭhīravanarasarajavijaya (1926)
* The [[Virata Parva|Virāṭa Parva]] of [[Kumara Vyasa|Kumāravyāsa]]'s Karnataka [[Mahabharata|Mahābhārata]] (1920)
* The [[Udyoga Parva]] of Kumārayvāsa's Karnataka Mahābhārata (1922)

==Awards==
Shamasastry's work was acclaimed by [[Ashutosh Mukherjee]], [[Rabindranath Tagore]], and others. Shamasastry also met [[Mahatma Gandhi]] in 1927 at [[Nandi Hills, India|Nandi Hills]].<ref name=outlook/> The discovery brought international fame to [[Oriental Research Institute Mysore|the institute]].<ref name=hindu/>

Outside India, Shamasastry's discovery was hailed by [[Indologists]] and [[Orientalists]] such as [[Julius Jolly (Indologist)|Julius Jolly]], [[Moriz Winternitz]], [[Frederick William Thomas (philologist)|F. W. Thomas]], [[Paul Pelliot]], [[Arthur Berriedale Keith]], [[Sten Konow]] and others.<ref name=organiser/> [[J. F. Fleet]] wrote of Shamasastry: "We are, and shall always remain, under a great obligation to him for a most important addition to our means of studying the general history of ancient India."<ref name=outlook/>

Shamasastry was awarded a doctorate in 1919 from the Oriental University in Washington D.C. and in 1921 from Calcutta University.<ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Convocation|url=http://www.caluniv.ac.in/convocation-2012/hony_degrees.htm|publisher=[[University of Calcutta]]|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120528004638/http://caluniv.ac.in/convocation-2012/hony_degrees.htm|archivedate=28 May 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> He was made a Fellow of the [[Royal Asiatic Society]] and won the Campbell Memorial gold medal.

Several titles were also conferred on him, including ''Arthashastra Visharada'' by the Maharaja of Mysore, ''[[Mahamahopadhyaya]]'' by the Government of India and ''Vidyalankara'' and ''Panditaraja'' by the [[Varanasi]] Sanskrit Mandali.<ref>{{cite web|title=Annual Convocation|url=http://www.ksu.ac.in/en/r-shamasastry/|publisher=Karnataka Samskruta University}}</ref>

==Recognition in Germany==
An often-told anecdote involves the visit of the then-king of Mysore, [[Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV]], to Germany. When introduced as the king of Mysore, he was asked by the vice-chancellor of a German university whether he was from the Mysore of Shamasastry. On his return, the king honoured Shamasastry and said "In Mysore we are the Maharaja and you are our subject, but in Germany, you are the master and people recognise us by your name and fame."<ref name=organiser/><ref name=outlook/>

==Later life==
Shamasastry continued his research work in [[Indological|Indology]].<ref name=organiser/> He later became the curator of the institute.<ref name=outlook/> As the Director of Archaeology of Mysore State, he discovered many inscriptions on stone and copper plates.<ref name=organiser/>

His house ''Asutosh'', in the [[Chamundipuram]] locality of Mysore, was named after Sir [[Asutosh Mookerjee]].<ref name=outlook/>

==Notes==
{{reflist|
<ref name=hindu>{{usurped|[https://web.archive.org/web/20090526050247/http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/10/27/stories/1327110a.htm A monumental heritage]}}, ''The Hindu'', 27 October 2001.</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links| wikt=no | commons=no | b=no | n=no | q=no | s=Author:Rudrapatnam Shamasastry | v=no | voy=no | species=no | d=q11024070}}
* [https://archive.org/details/kautilyasarthasastraenglishtranslationshamasastrir.1929 Kautilya's ''Arthasastra''] (3rd edition, 1929) on [[Internet Archive]]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamasastry, Rudrapatnam}}
[[Category:1868 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian librarians]]
[[Category:Indian Sanskrit scholars]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian historians]]
[[Category:People from Hassan district]]
[[Category:Indian Vedic scholars]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Asiatic Society]]
[[Category:Scholars from Karnataka]]

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R. Shamasastry