V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar - Legacy

Legacy

Dr. Nagaswamy, former director of Archaeology, Government of India, once said of Ramachandra Dikshitar:

Prof. V R Ramachandra Dikshitar, was a shining luminary in the horizon of South Indian History and Culture. Deeply rooted in Vedic and Sanskrit tradition—his ancestors were eminent Vedic Scholars and performers of Vedic Yagas—he took it as his life's mission, to expound the history and culture of the soil to which he belonged—the Tamil region and worked tirelessly in that direction till his death. Very early in his life, he started studying ancient Tamil literature, which he soon mastered…. His intimate understanding of Tamil texts enabled him to translate the immortal Tamil works—Silapathikaram and Tirukurral into English. These two Tamil translations, classics by themselves, reflect truly the inner meaning of the classical texts and remain closest to the original among many that have appeared to this day. His studies in Mauryan and Gupta Polity, and also Wars in Ancient India are pioneering works in the field. He realised the importance of the study of Puranas and brought out three volumes of ‘PURANA INDEX’ under the auspices of the University of Madras. His work, Hindu Administrative System, is indeed a landmark in administrative history