> Prof. Dipak Bhattacharya > > Prof. Dipak Bhattacharya, a renowned scholar of Sanskrit and Vedic Studies, > passed away yesterday (April 21, 2023), at his daughter’s residence in > Mumbai, due to prolonged illness and old age. He was eighty-two. He is > survived by two daughters, son-in-laws and a granddaughter. > > Prof. Bhattacharya worked at the Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan and > devoted his life to teaching and research in the field of Sanskrit and Vedic > Studies. He was known for his research in Vedic Studies, particularly, the > first critical edition of the Paippalāda Saṃhitā of the Atharvaveda. He > continued the work left incomplete by his father, Prof. Durgamohan > Bhattacharya, who is credited with discovering the tradition of the > Atharvaveda in Odisha. He collected several manuscripts of that Veda written > in Oriya script, worked meticulously throughout his life and brought out a > good critical edition of the entire Saṃhitā, consisting of twenty Kāṇḍas. The > edition was published in four volumes by the Asiatic Society, Kolkata > (1997-2016). This work evinces the mastery of Vedic and classical Sanskrit > language, proficiency in textual criticism, colossal industry and insight on > the part of that scholar. Despite the difference of opinion, the community of > Vedic scholars will always remain indebted to Prof. Bhattacharya for his > monumental work. Eminent Vedic philologists such as Prof. Michael Witzel > (retired Professor of Sanskrit, Harvard University) and Prof. Georges Pinault > (Paris) have expressed their feelings similarly. > > I had good personal relations with Prof. Bhattacharya. He participated in a > national seminar on Vedic Śākhās I had organized in 2001 at the Tilak > Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (TMV) in honour of Prof. C. G. Kashikar. He also > participated in the Fifth International Vedic Workshop held in Bucharest in > 2011. He worked as an external examiner and attended the Viva Voce > examination of Dr. Shilpa Sumant for her Ph. D. from TMV. He always treated > me like his younger brother. His sad demise is an unrepairable loss for the > field of Vedic Studies and a personal loss for me. > > My deep condolences to his family, students, friends and colleagues. > > Shrikant Bahulkar > >
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