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2019-12-16T01:26:49Z

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{{unreferenced|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = P. B. Desai
| image = P.B.DesaiPic.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = P. B. Desai
| birth_date = 1910
| birth_place =
| death_date = 1974
| death_place =
| nationality = Indian
| other_names =
| occupation = [[Epigraphist]], historian, archaeologist
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
'''Pandurangrao Bhimrao Desai''' (1910–1974) was an [[India]]n [[epigraphist]], historian, and archaeologist.

==Early years==
Desai was born in Gurmitkal village [[Gulbarga District]] on 24 December 1910. Panduranga was the youngest among five sons and faced some early hardships due to the loss of his father when he was still young. Coming from an economically backward area which came under the domains of the [[Nizam]] of Hyderabad, he was fortunate to get formal education in his early years. He was a polyglot, being well versed in [[Kannada]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and [[Urdu]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Telugu language|Telugu]] besides [[English language|English]]. His schooling was interrupted for a couple of years due to illness but he went on to graduation and master's degree [[Sanskrit]].

==Curiosity in history==
During his days as a young man, he developed an interest in collecting ancient [[Kannada script|Kannada]] inscriptions and epigraphs. He started his work at Kuknur, now located in [[Koppal]] district in north Karnataka. He collected over 200 Kannada inscriptions from here. In medieval times, Kuknur had been a great center of learning and many monuments built by the [[Rashtrakutas]] and [[Western Chalukyas]] are found here, including the famous ''navalinga'' temples. He also undertook the study of temple architecture, sculptures and memorial stones.

==Further studies==
Desai restarted his education again and got a B.A. degree from Karnatak college [[Dharwad]] in 1935 and an M.A. degree from [[Bombay]] University. His first book ''History of [[Vijayanagar empire]]'' 1936 established him as a historian of repute. In his book Desai asserts that the founders of Vijayanagar Empire never belonged to the [[Telugu people|Telugu]] region and the story of their captivity and conversion to Islam by the Sultan of Delhi is false. He further asserts that epigraphal evidence proves that the area around [[Hampi]] was the home of the Sangama brothers, the founding kings of the empire.

==Epigraphist==
He joined the ''Department of Archeology'', of Government of India in 1939 and deciphered over a thousand inscriptions from [[Mumbai]]-[[Karnataka]] region as well as [[Tamil script|Tamil]] and [[Telugu script|Telugu]] inscriptions. Desai went on to become ''Head of Department'', ''Ancient Indian History and Culture'', Karnatak University.

==Contributions==
As an epigraphist, his knowledge and command over several south Indian languages as well as Sanskrit made his analysis unquestionable and he made many a contribution to local journals as well as international journals like ''[[Epigraphia Indica]]''. Some of his famous works are,
* ''History of Vijayanagar empire''
* ''Corpus of Kannada inscriptions'' from Hyderabad
* ''Jainism in South India and some Jaina Inscriptions''
* ''Basaveshvara and his times''
* ''Shasanaparichaya''
* ''History of Ancient India'' in Kannada

As an archaeologist and historian, his lasting contributions are
* Discovery of Buddhist centers in Karnataka
* Works on Shakti cult
* Panduranga of Pandharpur and history of place names

He brought out glory of Karnataka beyond the region and the country and created awareness, through several literary works. He was a prolific writer in Kannada.

Desai wrote thirty books in Kannada, ten books in English, one in Marathi and published four hundred and twenty articles in English and Kannada.

==External links==
*[http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/kar/leaders/pb_desai.htm Tribute to Archaeologist P. B. Desai]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, P. B.}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1974 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Gulbarga district]]
[[Category:People from Koppal district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian archaeologists]]
[[Category:Scientists from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Indian social sciences writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Karnataka]]
[[Category:English-language writers from India]]
[[Category:Indian epigraphers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian linguists]]
[[Category:Historians of India]]

P. B. Desai - Revision history

>Dl2000: en-IN