New postage stamp in honour of Indologist Pandurang Vaman Kane
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari releases a commemorative stamp on Mahamahopadhyaya Bharat Ratna Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane on the occasion of the 50th death anniversary of the great Indologist and Sanskrit scholar along with Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Asiatic Society Eknath Kshirsagar and Chief Post Master General of Maharashtra Circle Veena Srinivas at Raj Bhavan, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, April 18, 2022.
Pandurang Vaman Kane, a Sanskrit scholar and a law professor, is renowned for Dharmasastra, a five-volume tome on the codification of conduct through religious and civil law in ancient and medieval India, published between 1930 and 1962. The volumes referenced well-known as well as obscure Sanskrit texts, including the epics, and provided an expansive and in-depth study of society several centuries ago.
“PV Kane’s work showcased the importance of our past and our culture. Each of us must ask ourselves how we can take his work forward,” Governor Koshiyari said.
Born in 1880 in Pedhem village near Chiplun in Ratnagiri district, Kane passed his matriculation examination in 1897 at a time when the Bubonic Plague epidemic raged through what was then Bombay and Poona. He joined Wilson College and studied Sanskrit. He then went on to teach Sanskrit first at Wilson College and then in Elphinstone College. In 1913, he was appointed the Wilson Philological Lecturer to deliver six lectures on Sanskrit, Prakrit and allied languages. The same year, he became a member of the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (now called the Asiatic Society of Mumbai)
Kane’s academic interests were expansive. He passed his Bachelor of Law (LLB) in 1908 and his Master of Law (LLM) in Hindu and Mahomedan (personal) law in 1911. He practised in the Appellate side of the Bombay high court, and eventually went on teach law at the Government Law College on appointment of the Chief Justice of the Bombay HC.
Although Kane, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha after Independence, published several books over the course of his career, and wrote in English, Sanskrit and Marathi, it is the Dharmasastra that he is most renowned for.
Kane wrote an introduction to the Vyavaharamayukha which was published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute (the Institute), home to several Sanskrit and Prakrit manuscripts, in 1926. As research, Kane began to read much of the literature available. What followed was a decision to write a scholarly work on the codification of religious and civil law in ancient and medieval India.
The first volume was published in 1930, and dealt with the chronology and relative importance of famous and lesser-known writers. The third volume, which dealt with ‘Rajadharma’, ‘Vyavahara’, and ‘Sadacara’ (customs and customary law), was published in October 1946, during World War 2. Kane paid for the printing out of his own pocket as the Institute was short of funds and there was a paper shortage. The fifth and last volume was published in two parts, and dealt with a range of topics from Vrata (sacred vows, observances and festivals) to the causes of the disappearance of Buddhism from India and the doctrine of Karma.
“Our Anna was a man of simple living and high thinking,” said Madhuri Kirloskar, Kane’s grand-daughter who is based in Nasik and was present at the launch with other members of the family. Kane’s last living child — Kirloskar’s father, Prabhakar Kane — passed away a few weeks ago.
“India is a country of rich socio-cultural diversity, with people from various religions, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds living in peace and harmony. The postal stamp issued by the department of posts showcases this very diversity (…) Professor Kane’s ground-breaking study in the ancient Indian laws and practices helped generations of scholars for in-depth understanding of ancient Indian history and traditions,” said Veena R Srinivas, chief postmaster general, Maharashtra circle.
