Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c15.s2.t65: Lokesh Chandra
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c15.s2.t65
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Lokesh Chandra
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Dr Lokesh Chandra (b. 1927) presently Honorary Director of the International Academy of Indian Culture, is a most distinguished scholar of Buddhist studies and Indian arts with focus on cultural dialogue in the area spanning from Central to East and Southeast Asia. His forte has been Tibetan, Mongolian and Sino-Japanese Buddhism on the one hand and Indonesian and Cambodian history and culture on the other. In his pursuit of exploring the larger reach and influence of Indian civilisation, he has most eminently advanced the work began by his renowned father, Acharya Raghuvira.
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Yu Longyu, a Chinese friend in group photo with Lokesh Chandra
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Born in 1927 at Ambala in Haryana, India to an illustrious family, he had a brilliant career and obtained an M.A. in 1947 from the Punjab University at Lahore. Well-trained in Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit, he learned more than 20 Indian and foreign languages like Hindi, Sanskrit, Pali, Avesta, Old Persian, Japanese, Chinese, Tibetan, Mongolian, Indonesian, Greek, Latin, German, French, Russian, etc. On account of his critical edition of the Gavamayana portion of the Vedic work Jaiminaya Brahmana, he was awarded a D.Litt. by the State University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, in 1950. Since then, he has made great contribution towards the study of Indian thought and the cultural bonds of India with others countries of East and Southeast Asia. He has to his credit more than 575 books and 285 articles. His several volume works are Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary, Buddhist Iconography of Tibet, Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature, and Dictionary of Buddhist Art are all monumental works in cultural history. Based on primary canonical literary sources, many of these are among the first comprehensive studies of Tibet which cover wide ranging fields spanning from astronomy and medicine to literature and philosophy. In collaboration with his father, he also completed the ‘New Tibeto-Mongol Pantheon’ in 20 volumes. It provides a wealth of information on the unexplored aspects of the iconographic art of trans- Himalayan Asia as far as the Siberian and Volga regions. His edition of the 108 large volumes of the Mongolian Kanjur or Buddhist Canon is considered a splendid work earning him the prestigious honorary membership of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
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Dr Chandra’s interest also extends into the domain of natural sciences. He has edited the international research journal, ‘Advancing Frontiers of Plant Sciences’ , which includes original work on plant morphology and physiology, systematic botany, phytopathology, economic botany, plant cytology and genetics, agronomy, horticulture, paleobotany and other domains of plant sciences.
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Dr Chandra has served as a member of the Indian Parliament (1974-1980 and 1980-1986), Vice-President of the Indian Council for Culture Relations, Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research, Life Trustee of the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund as well as a distinguished member for various academic bodies. Besides this, he has been conferred honorary degrees and awards by various universities and institutions both in India and abroad. In 2006, he was conferred India’s most prestigious ‘Padma Vibhusan’ award. Under his dynamic leadership and scholarly guidance, the International Academy of Indian Culture has become a premier research institute focussing on inter-Asian cultural encounters and interaction.
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*(Kamal Sheel)*
Linked texts (1)
- Jaiminīyabrāhmaṇa — Sanskrit