Sri Ramanuja Thathachariar, Sanskrit scholar, who was conferred Padma Bhushan for his service to the language, passed away on June 5. He was 89. His son, who was at his bedside in the last moments, remembers how his father was known for his thirst for knowledge. “He wanted to pen yet another magnum opus,” says N.R. Srinivasa Raghavan.
“Several of his peers would marvel at his curiosity to learn and master anything new — he had the ability to register, recall, and associate pieces of knowledge from across multiple systems of philosophy. So much so that it was almost impossible to win a debate with him,” adds the son.
Srinivasa Raghavan sends a picture in which a visibly moved Ramanuja Thathachariar offers Sribhashya Amrutavarshini — a commentary on the Sribhashya of Sri Ramanuja. “In a choked voice, he told me recently that even he didn't realise how this happened in spite of his physical condition (he was frail),” recollects Srinivasa Raghavan.
“I could only think of one power that must have made this possible — father’s penance,” he remarks. In another picture (top), the scholar is surrounded by family members, while being conferred the Chevalier de La Legion de Honneur. The French official travelled to India because Thathachariar’s principles did not allow him to go abroad.
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