Pandurang Vaman Kane

Pandurang Vaman Kane (kɑːnɛ KAANAY; Marathi: पांडुरंग वामन काणे; 7 May 1880[3] – 18 April 1972[4]) was an Indian academic, historian, lawyer, Indologist, and Sanskrit scholar.[5] He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award in 1963.[6]

Mahamahopadhyaya
Pandurang Vaman Kane
MP
पांडुरंग वामन काणे
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
(Nominated)
In office
16 November 1953[1] – 2 April 1964
Preceded byAlladi Krishnaswamy Iyer
ConstituencyPresidential Nominee
Personal details
Born(1880-05-07)7 May 1880
Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra
Died18 April 1972(1972-04-18) (aged 91)[2]
Alma materUniversity of Mumbai
AwardsSahitya Akademi Award (1956)
Bharat Ratna (1963)

Kane's academic career spanned for more than four decades, and included a tenure as the vice-chancellor of the University of Bombay.[7] He is known for his magnum opus, History of Dharmaśāstra (1930-62), a five-volume treatise on law in ancient and medieval India.[5] He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, upper house of the Indian parliament from 1953 to 1964.[1]

Kane initially studied and taught Sanskrit, but later obtained degrees in law and practiced before the Bombay High Court.[5][7] He taught Sanskrit at Wilson College and Elphinstone College and law at Government Law College.[5][7] Kane was a member of the Bombay Asiatic Society.[5][7]

The historian Ram Sharan Sharma says: "Pandurang Vaman Kane, a great Sanskritist wedded to social reform, continued the earlier tradition of scholarship. His monumental work entitled the "History of the Dharmasastra", published in five volumes in the twentieth century, is an encyclopedia of ancient social laws and customs. This enables us to study the social processes in ancient India."[8]

Early life

Kane was born on 7 May 1880 at Pedem (or Parasurama), near Chiplun, Ratnagiri district, Bombay Presidency. His paternal family belonged to a priestly caste, however, his father was a pleader and a taluka lawyer.[9]: I (Epilogue)  His father taught him astrology and Sanskrit, instructing him to memorise Amarakosa, a Sanskrit thesaurus.[9]: II (Epilogue) 

Important works
The town hall of the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, whose resources Kane researched; Later, the Asiatic Society commemorated him with an institute in his name

Dr. Kane is famous for his magnum opus in English, History of Dharmaśāstra (Ancient and Mediæval Religious and Civil Law). This work traced the historical development of legal concepts, principles, and rules in ancient and medieval India through an exhaustive survey of religious and legal texts and other historical sources. It was published in five volumes published between 1930 and 1962; second editions were issued of several volumes, the latest appearing in 1975. The work runs to a total of more than 6,500 pages. Dr. Kane used the resources available at prestigious institutes such as the Asiatic Society of Mumbai and Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, among others. The work is known for its expanse and depth – ranging across diverse subjects such as the Mahabharata, the Puranas and Chanakya – including references to previously obscure sources. The richness in the work is attributed to his in-depth knowledge of Sanskrit. His success is believed to be an outcome of his objective study of the texts instead of deifying them.

Kane wrote the book Vyavaharamayukha and was in the process of writing an introductory passage on the History of Dharmaśāstra for this book so that the reader would get an overall idea apart from the subject of the book. One thing led to another and this project snowballed into the major work that it is. All the same, he was categorical in saying that it is difficult to find an English equivalent of the word "Dharma." His output in the form of writings across the three languages of English, Sanskrit and Marathi spans nearly 15,000 pages.

‘History of Poetics’ was one of his other great books. Apart from Theology and Poetry, he wrote a great deal on other topics too, which included Astrology, Cultural and Geographical history of India-Maharashtra-Konkan- Vidarbha, Marathi language, its grammar, language & handwriting, economics of Kautilya (Chanakya), Mathematics, Dramatics, etc. There are in all 198 publications by his name. They include 39 texts, 115 articles, 44 books, introductions and reviews.

Recognition

Dr. Kane was rewarded as Mahamahopadhyaya (Etymology: Maha+Maha+Upadhyay = The greatest among the great teachers), usually shortened to MM as a prefix in the writings that refer to him. He served as the vice-chancellor of the University of Mumbai. His services were requisitioned and enlisted for establishing Kurukshetra University in Indic studies. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award in 1956 for History of Dharmaśāstra, vol. IV for his research under the Sanskrit translation category. He was also an honorary member of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha as a member of Parliament for his distinguished record in the field of academics. The highest accolade bestowed upon him was the Bharat Ratna in 1963.

The Asiatic Society of Mumbai sponsored a stamp in his honour, which was released by the Governor of Maharashtra on 18th April 2022.

Indian law

Kane believed that the Constitution of India made a complete break with the traditional ideas prevalent in India by engendering a false notion among the people that they have rights but no obligations.

Given the encyclopaedic and authoritative nature of his work, it is often used in debates in Polity. One such issue that cropped up during Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was whether ancient Indians ate beef and both the groups quoted extensively from Kane's work to support their viewpoint. This issue became important as Hindus traditionally revere the cow as a mother and hence eating of beef is prohibited. Another such issue was whether the girls in the ancient times had the right to wear the yajnopavita (sacred thread), as the upanayana ceremony was restricted only to the men in the recent past.

Legacy

To commemorate him, the Asiatic Society of Mumbai has established the Mm. Dr. P.V. Kane Institute for Post Graduate studies and Research in 1974 to promote, encourage and facilitate research in oriental studies. Also, MM Dr. P.V. Kane Gold Medal is given once every three years to a scholar for outstanding contribution to the study of Vedic, Dharmashastra or Alankara Literature.

See also

References
  1. "List of Nominated Members Since 1952". Rajya Sabha. National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012.
  2. "RAJYA SABHA MEMBERS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 1952 – 2003" (PDF). Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  3. S. K. Dhawan (1991). Bharat Ratnas, 1954-1991. Wave Publications. p. 78.
  4. SOAS University of London (1970). Report of the Governing Board and Statement of Accounts (PDF). Hertfordshire: Stephen Austin and Sons Ltd. p. 7.
  5. "Centre issues postage stamp in honour of Indologist PV Kane". Hindustan Times. Mumbai. 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023.
  6. "Dr. P. V. Kane, the noted historian and scholar, the President, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the Vice-President, Dr. Zakir Hussain, Prime Minister Nehru, and Mrs. P. M. Maneckji, after the investiture ceremoney in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday at which Dr. Kane and Dr. Hussain were awarded the Bharat Ratna". The Indian Express. Chittoor. 19 April 1963. p. 1.
  7. Vaibhav Mariwala (17 July 2017). "Dr. Kane Road: Scholar, lawyer who helped shape modern Hindu Law". The Indian Express. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021.
  8. Sharma, R.S. (2005). India's Ancient Past. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-568785-9.
  9. Pandurang Vaman Kane (1962). History of Dharmaśāstra. Vol. V. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

Other sources
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