MAHAMAHOPADHYAYA Dr. PANDURANG V AMAN KANE-LIFE and WORK
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MAHAMAHOPADHYAYA Dr. PANDURANG VAMAN KANE-LIFE AND WORK M. D. PARADKAR DR. PANDURANG VAMAN KANE, first National Professor of Indo- logy, breathed his last on the night of Tuesday 18th April, 1972, just a few days before the completion of his ninety second year and it must be said that a life truly dedicated to the pursuit of Indo logical learning end research, nay a real jnanayaj:iia had come to an end. It is true that Dr. Kane's death cannot be considered to be premature or untimely; nevertheless it has certainly created a void in the Oriental scholarship as well as research which can hardly be filled. It is also pertinent to note that neither luck nor heredity had a great part to play in the long life of this great savant full of achievement of no mean order. Dr. Kane himself rightly wrote in his Epilogue, 1 'a brief account of some aspects of my long life may, I hope be of some interest and help to those who have to face pro blems similar to those that I had to face.' A brief sketch of this savant's life is not only bound to indicate the veracity of these words but will also throw light upon sheer dint of his hard work as well as remarkable will power. The Land of Konkai}. on the western coast of India, though known for poverty of physical resources has been illustrious for pro ducing many a son of the soil who have richly contributed to diverse fields of learning, politics and social reform. Dr. Kane's father be longed to the priestly family known for Vedic tradition but did not like the profession of a priest and proceeded to Poona for studying English along with his boyhood friend the late Shankar Balkrishna Diksit, a name that now conjures with in the field of Indian Astro nomy. After having passed, his Matriculation examination, Mr. Vamanrao became a pleader and started practising in Dapoli in Ratnagiri district from 1878. Pandurang his eldest son, now known as Dr. Kane, was born in a village called Padhem or Para5urama near Ciplfu}.a ih Ratnagiri district at his maternal Uncle's house on 7th May, 1880. He began by learning at the feet of his father and had comnµtted to memory 400 verses of Amarako.§a by the age of 12. In 1891, he joined the S. P. G. Mission's English School at Dapoli 1. Read: 'Epilogue' HistOTy of Dharma-Siistra, Vol. V, Part D, p. 1. A.S.-2 2 M. D. PARADKAR and passed his Matriculation Examination of Bombay University in 1897 with a high percentage of marks. He started suffering from hyper-acidity in those early days which later developed into deu donal ulcer and haunted him throughout his life. In fact, due to this illness, he was required to leave the school for a year in 1895. Partly due to his indifferent health and partly due to the spreading of the epidemic of Bubonic Plague in Bombay and Poona in 1897, Dr. Kane's father was unwilling to allow him to go out of Dapoli. But his son possessed of strong will, managed to get admission in Wilson College by sending the term fee of Rs. 36/- as a result of making a written appeal to Dr. Machichan, the then Principal. Thus Kane joined the college in the second term and was successful in passing the then previous examination in 1898 with flying colours thereby getting a scholarship of Rs. 175/- as well as a prize of Rs. 100/-. No wonder, that Dr. Kane retained this glory through out his college career and passed his B.A. with Sanskrit as his sub ject, was awarded Bhau Daji Prize for proficiency in Sanskrit. This helped him in being a Daq,ii}a fellow at the Wilson College for 2 years getting an opportunity to give lectures for the first two years' classes in the College. In 1902, he passed First LL.B. Examination in First Class and got his M.A. in 1903 with Sanskrit and English as his subjects securing the coveted Zala Vedanta prize of Rs. 400/ for the paper set and answered in Sanskrit. Financial condition of the family forced this brilliant young M.A. student to accept the job of an Assistant teacher in the Govt. High School at Ratnagiri in August 1904 on a monthly salary of Rs. 60/-. Here he was required to teach seven different subjects. In spite of the onerous duties of a teacher, he passed the S. T. C. Examination in 1905 and stood first in the whole of Bombay Presi dency. In 1906 he also passed the departmental examination for Honours in Teaching, securing first class in 'logic in relation to teach ing.' It is significant to note that during this period he found time to work on Aryan manners and morals as depicted in the Epics. (i.e. the Rii:miiya.,_,,a and the Mahabhiirata), submitted an essay on the theme to Bombay University, got the Mandalik Gold Medal of the University in 1905 and was awarded q...prize worth of Rs. 150/-. By this time he had read the monumental Mahabharata thrice and pre pared his notes along with extensive extracts! Not content with this, he wrote another essay on 'History of Alankara-literature' for the University of Bombay in 1906 and secured V. N. Mandalik Gold Medal again! Kane was transferred to Bombay at his own request and started teaching in Elphinstone High School in 1907. Towards the end of this year the post of Assistant to the Professor of Sanskrit at the DR. PANDURANG VAMAN KANE - LIFE AND WORK 3 Deccan College Poona, fell vacant and Kane with his qualification was an obvious choice for it. But his legitimate claim was set aside and a person less qualified as well as junior to him in the Elphinstone High School was appointed. Unable to tolerate injustice, he decided to quit government service and take to an independent profession. Dr. R. N. Dandekar rightly wrote 'This jealous guarding of self respect, indeed, marks his whole public career.'2 With this intention, he passed his 2nd LL.B. Examination in November 1908. Later in 1909, he, partly to assuage his injured feelings, was appointed to act as Professor of Sanskrit in the Elphinstone College, Bombay in place of Prof. S. R. ·Bhandarkar; but now that was of no avail. Ultimately he resigned his government job and took the bold decision of prac tising on the Appellate side of the High Court of Bombay. Mr. Daji Abaji Khare, then leading Vakil at the Bar, having his estates at Dapoli, advised him to have two thousand rupees before translating his thought into action and sticking to the profession in Bombay. Kane's financial condition could not warrant such a step nor could he count on his father's help but he was undaunted in his resolve. In a short span of two years from June 1909 he 'brought out two school books entitled 'Gadyiivali and one annotated book in Sanskrit - ( Sahitya Darpa'Tfa) for college students and was also appointed an examiner in Sanskrit at the previous and Intermediate Arts Exa mination.3 As a result of this hard work, he collected the required sum, resigned from Govt. service, applied for a Sanad after paying Rs. 500/- as fee for enrolment as a vakil, and got the same in 1911. Thus, his carrer as a Vakil of the High Court began in July 1911, i.e. in his 32nd year. During the first two years that were naturally bleak, the indu strious student and researcher in Kane was ever active. He passed his LL.M. Examination in Hindu and Mahomedan law in 1911. By this time, Prof. Kane's erudition attracted the attention of the Uni versity authorities who invited him to deliver 'Wilson Philological lectures' in 1913 which was a great honour to a young scholar of 33. In this series, he delivered 6 lectures on Sanskrit, Prakrit and allied languages. In this very year his fruitful associations with the Bom bay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society started as one of its ordinary members, two years later he became its life-member. At the begin ning of 1915 Bombay University appointed him as a Springer Re search Scholar. For two years he worked on 'Ancient Geography of Mahar~ra' (Part published in JBBRAS., Vol. XXIV for 1917, pp. 613-617). In 1916, he worked as Honorary Professor of San- 2. Cf. Professor P. V. Kane - A tribute - Dr. R. N. Dandekar - MM. 'D'r. P. V. Kane CommemOTation Monograph, University of Bombay, 1947, p. 1. 3. Cf. Epilogue - History of Dharma-Siistra, Vol V, Part II, p. v. 4 M. D. PARADKAR skrit at the Wilson College, his own alma mater in the vacancy caused by the illness of Prof. H. M. Bhadkamkar. During these years, i.e. from 1913-1916, he conducted private law classes for coaching students for the High Court Va,kil's Examination which made him proficient in all complicated legal topics. Later he had the opportunity to work as Professor of law at the Government Law College from 1917 to 1928. This appointment was made purely on merit. Prof. Kane's career at the Bar proved to be a great success. In a short time he came to be recognised as-an authority on Hindu law both by the Bar as well as the Bench. Industry was the sheet an chor of his life on the basis of which he was always prepared for his case and he used to take the judge by surprise, by refe_!Ting to the latest judgments of the judicial committee of the privy council.4 His presentation of the case was always confident and pointed; style or flourish of ianguage was never his concern.