Pandurang Vaman Kane

Pandurang Vaman Kane Biography

Pandurang Vaman Kane was an Indian scholar who received Bharat Ratna award in 1963. He was born in 1880 in Brahmin family in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra. He was an eminent Sanskrit pandit of his time.

His magnum opus in English language History of Dharmasastra made him famous. This was about ancient and medieval religions and civil law of India. This was published in five volumes out of which the first one was published in 1930 and the last one in 1962. Totally this has over 6,500 pages touching various subjects like Puranas, Kautilya and Mahabharat.

He also wrote the book Vyavaharamayukha. He wrote the introductory passage on the History of Dharmasastra. His total writings in three languages, English, Sanskrit and Marathi is about 15, 000 pages. He used various resources from Asiatic Society of Bombay and Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute for reference.

He was hailed as Mahamahopadhyay. He worked in Bombay University as its Vice-Chancellor. He established Kurukshetra University for Indic studies. He received Sahitya Akademi Award in the year 1956 for his book, History of Dharmasastra Volume IV. He served as the member of Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan and was made as the Member of Parliament by appointing him as the member of Rajya Sabha.

His works were often used as reference when there was a religious issue. When there was a controversy whether the ancient Indians ate beef and whether the ancient girls had the right to wear the Yajnopavita, the sacred thread, his work was cited and used to support the viewpoint.

He died in 1972 and in 1974 Mm. Dr. P. V. Kane Institute for Post Graduate Studies and Research was established by Asiatic Society of Bombay. Mm. Dr. P. V. Kane Gold Medal is given once every three years to those who show excellent performance in Vedic, Dharmashastra and Alankara Literature. 

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Updated: October 09, 2011