Parashuram Krishna Gode passed away just two months before his 70th birthday. He ranks as one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of the New Indian Renaissance. It was a rank he did not aspire for. In fact, he aspired for nothing. He carried out his Dīkṣā like a true Karma Yogi — immersed, yet deta
P.K. Gode lived in a fortunate period which not only recognised his contribution but valued and celebrated it. The highest point in Gode’s productive and distinguished life arrived on May 18, 1949. He was honoured by the redoubtable Mahamahopadhyaya Pandurang Vaman Kane in a public function held in
P.K. Gode was an Ajātaśatru — a person who had no enemies. Throughout his career, he had amassed a wealth of mentors and had forged close friendships and lasting relationships within the scholarly community. He regarded his scholarly community as a brotherhood that was honestly, devotedly working to
In his own words, P.K. Gode reveals the secret that made his research almost perfect and unimpeachable.Originality is yet another pronounced imprint that we notice in a majority of Gode’s research papers. It is this self-imposed meticulousness, dogged perseverance and ironclad discipline that enable
P.K. Gode embarked on in-depth scholarly research in such offbeat, strange and seemingly bizarre topics like horse gram, nose-ring, bullock carts, paper, perfumery, jalebi, dietics, fig and archery. What made him seek obscure and forgotten poets, hymn-composers, military generals, ministers, clerks,
P.K. Gode undertook his lifelong scholarly penance in the spirit of what the Bhagavad Gita describes as Anāsakta Karma or the path of Detached Action. Gode spent generous sums of money from his own pocket to send his latest research papers to scholars both in India and abroad. This eventually creat
This episode traces the start of P.K. Gode's professional career that began with a lecturership at Karve Indian Women’s University. Within a year, he moved to the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona and remained there for the rest of his life. It is also where he found his life's calling.
P.K. Gode was homeschooled by his father till he was ten years old. He underwent rigorous training in Sanskrit and English. Later in life, he had the fortune of learning under top-notch scholars and teachers of that era including P.D. Gune, V.S. Rajwade, Pandit M.P. Oak, and R.D. Ranade. He was deep
P.K. Gode's ancestor was Naro Rayaji Gode, who served in the Maratha Empire under Gangadhar Krishna Pratinidhi in the 18th century. P.K. Gode has painstakingly traced his family's history using the fragments of the Gode Family Bakhar. This scholar and indologist of the 20th century belongs to a dist
This is the first episode of a new series commemorating the life, legacy and scholarship of Parashuram Krishna Gode, one of the stalwarts of the New Indian Renaissance. For all his awe-inspiring achievements, P.K. Gode largely remains uncelebrated and unsung today.