Mahamahopadhyaya Professor S. Kupposwami Sastri was a giant among Sanskritists of the present century, who gave a new life to Sanskrit Studies, moulded, nurtured and directed them for over thirty-five years. He was himself a great scholar of massive intellect and a worker of uncompromising integrity. With a solid foundation in Vyakarana, he mastered the two Mimamsas, Nyaya and Sahitya. Side by side with his education on traditional lines, he studied the present-day subjects, including Western Philosophy through the medium of English. The result was that he was steeped in Indian scholarly traditions and had also absorbed the best features of the modern, critical, comparative and historical methods. Besides all this, the uniqueness of Prof. Sastriar is that he performed everything most conscientiously and with utmost dedication.
Dr. S. K. Belvalkar, in his tribute said: "R. G. Bhandarkar on our side, Ganganath Jha in the North and Kuppuswami Sastri in the South were the three pillars of Oriental Scholarship known to the older generation of today whose examples must be placed permanently before the younger generation of workers through some standing memorial Institutions that could continue their work for incoming ages in the same spirit of devotion and self-less-ness".
Fortunately, we have the Bhandarkar Institute in Pune, Ganganatha Jha Research (now G. Jha Kendriya Vidyapitha) in Allahabad and our own modest Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute in Madras.
I am now delighted that it has been possible for the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute to bring out the valuable writings of Sastriar collected in a single volume, along with a kavya on him by a devoted disciple of his. The collection, I am sure, will be of great value to Sanskrit students and researchers. It is indeed a fitting homage to that great savant.
This volume is but the first part issued by the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute in connection with the Birth-Centenary of Sastriar on the 19th, 20th and 21st of June. The second part will follow in due course, as indicated by Dr. Janaki in her fine Preface.
I congratulate Dr. Janaki for compiling all the relevant material with singular devotion.
Prof. Kuppuswami Sastri was a Kulapathi in the literal sense. He has brought into existence directly and indirectly a large number of scholars who bear his mark [and have been and are working all over India. May they increase and flourish and carry the torch of learning lit by their Master!
I hope and trust that these celebrations and these volumes will give a great fillip to the cause for which the great savant, held in Rishi-like veneration, worked so arduously all his lifetime.
It is my pleasant duty and a privilege to bring out, on behalf of the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute, this valuable collection of the writings of Prof. Kuppuswami Sastri, along with a Kavya on him, on the occasion of his Birth-Centenary Celebrations.
The spectrum of 27 articles, presented now, each one a precious gem in itself, appears afresh and charming like a newly strung Nakshatra-garland- सूत्रे मणिगणा इव, they represent the varied writings of Prof. Kuppuswami Sastri, covering nearly two decades (1919-40)-lectures, critical exposition, Presidential address, Foreword, and Introduction. The subjects are diverse-terse Sastraic matter, keen appreciation of the classics, known and little known, critical introduction of texts, Library Science and Sanskrit Studies. Their treatment by Sastriar is unique and unsurpassed. He deals with abstruse topics in his characteristic clear manner, and makes them impressionable even to the beginner on the subject by apt analogies. His literary estimate of a Kavya reveals not only his keen poetic sensibilities but also its appreciation in the proper perspective. Those who were privileged to hear Prof. Sastriar's speeches, especially those in Sanskrit, still feel thrilled about his ringing words, rhythmic assonance, his choice expression and clear delivery. It is no wonder that the silver-tongued orator, the Rt. Hon. V. S. Srinivasa Sastri, was one of the great admirers of Prof. Kuppuswami Sastri. Whatever Prof. Sastri wrote or spoke was the cream of his thought, a model of excellence, authoritative and thought-provoking. सारं या शिस्यते किञ्चित् न वा किञ्चन लिख्यते, seems to have been the motto of his writings. Although they were written nearly fifty years ago, his writings and speeches still exude fresh odour and are useful for the students in diverse fields of Sanskrit studies and research.
Many may not be aware of the valuable contributions of Prof. Kuppuswami Sastri to Tamil Studies. He was the first Principal of the Raja's College of Sanskrit and Tamil Studies, Tiruvayyaru during 1910-14. It was he who first introduced the Vidwan Course in Tamil in that College. He took great interest in ancient Tamil manuscripts which he collected in large numbers for the Government Oriental Mss. Library, Madras, as its Curator. As a member of the Tamil Lexicon Committee, he greatly helped in its publication. He has himself made a deep study of the Tamil classics, especially the Manimekhalai. We learn from his article on Aravanavatikal, included in this collection, that he had even planned to bring out his annotated critical edition of some chapters of Manimekhalai with English translation, bringing out the correspondence between the Tamil classic and early Buddhist logic.
I started collecting the scattered writings on the basis of Prof. Raghavan's bibliographical account about his guru, Prof. Sastri. I am glad now that by the grace of the Almighty, it has been possible for me to get all of them after a long search and even two more gems, not listed therein, namely his foreword to Vishnusahasranama and Mukapancasati.
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