Sanskrit scholar Govindacharya passes away at 81  

UDUPI: Renowned Sanskrit scholar of Udupi-Dvaita philosophy, Bannanje Govindacharya, whose discourses made him a household name among Tulu and Kannada speaking populations, breathed his last at his residence in Ambalapady here on Sunday. He was suffering from age-related illness for a brief period. 

The 84-year-old Padma Shri awardee authored commentaries on Veda Suktas and Upanishads. He translated over 50 works from Sanskrit to Kannada, making a treasure trove of knowledge available to lakhs of Kannada readers, and gathering an impressive fan following in India and abroad.

Late Sri Vishweshatheertha of Sri Pejavar Mutt had taught Govindacharya the Vedic scriptures in the initial stage. He is survived by four daughters and a son. His younger son passed away 12 days ago. 

Bannanje Govindacharya had served as editor of a vernacular media house for 30 years, and during his tenure, his focus was on language. He guided many junior journalists to follow the same pattern in the years to come. As a translator, Acharya’s contribution is immense, including Bana Bhatta’s novel ‘Kadambari’, Kalidasa’s ‘Shakuntala’ and Shudraka’s ‘Mrichakatika’. Govindacharya also translated several historical novels into Kannada. He had the capacity to solve doubts regarding traditional texts and epics such as the Vedas, Upanishads, Brahmasutra, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and Kavya.

Before his demise, Acharya had been writing interpretative essays on each shloka of the 18 chapters of the Bhagavad Gita in Kannada, invoking doctrines promulgated by Shankaracharya, Ramanujacharya and Madhwacharya. Eight of the chapters were already complete.  Acharya held the distinct ability of being a link between Sanskrit and Kannada literature.

He had good command over English and this enabled him to deliver his discourses across Asia, Europe, Australia and disseminate his knowledge through a series of lectures.Govindacharya had thorough knowledge of doctrines such as Dvaita, Advaita, Vishishtadvaita, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity and Islam. For this reason, Acharya could make even the common people understand the essence, similarities and differences between different schools of thought.