IKS Polymaths

Trained in Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta by his hyper-polyglot, polymath and spiritually accomplished sakala-shaastra-paarangata father, late Sri Paturi Sitaramanjaneyulu garu, Dr Nagaraj Paturi is seriously committed to the transmission of Vedic sciences to the present generation. In his PhD thesis (1998, University of Hyderabad), he developed an Indic Model of Myth Criticism of Literature and in his MPhil (1987, University of Hyderabad), he foregrounded Vakyapadiya as the theoretical foundation of the Ashtadhyayi. In addition to over 50 publications and about 60 conference/seminar/workshop papers, Dr Paturi has designed several courses pertaining to the contemporary applications of Vedic Sciences and has been successfully teaching them and getting them taught. Formerly Senior Professor of Cultural Studies FLAME School of Communication (& FLAME School of Liberal Education) and a Visiting Professor, University of Chicago (USA), Dr Paturi is currently Senior Director and Chief Curator at INDICA, a Distinguished Professor, Curriculum Designer, Executive Committee Member, Board of Studies, MIT School of Vedic Sciences (Pune, Maharashtra), Member, Board of Studies at Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University (Ramtek, Maharashtra) and Rashtram School of Public Leadership (Sonipat, Haryana). He is also the Editor-in-Chief of International Journals of Studies in Public Leadership and is a member of the Advisory Council of Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam (Bengaluru, Karnataka). He has provided consultancy to numerous culture research, theatre, and dance innovation projects. He has authored scores of creative writing works for Classical Dance, Modern Theater, and magazines and has delivered several series of talks and other programs on Radio and Television channels. He is currently working as the Dean of INDICA.

Prof. K S Kannan, D. Litt, Academic Director of the Swadeshi Indology Conference Series (organised by Infinity Foundation India), is a renowned scholar of Sanskrit. Formerly the Director of Karnataka Samskrit University, Bangalore, he has a rich teaching experience of over 40 years. He is a Member (nominated by HRD, Govt. of India) of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla. Amongst the various recognitions, he was conferred the title "Vidyānidhi" by HH Rangapriya Swamiji (Bangalore), and the International Merit Award for a paper on Machine Translation. He is a Member of the Academic Council, Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam, Channenahalli. Dr. Kannan currently occupies the prestigious Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj Chair at IIT-Madras.

Prof. Sripada Subrahmanyam had worked in Telugu University, Hyderabad in different capacities professor of Sanskrit, H.O.D., Dean, Director, Registrar and retired. His total teaching service is 40 years. He has also worked as Director (H.O.D.) for the Govt. Institute Oriental Manuscripts Library & Research Institute, Hyderabad on Deputation for five years. It includes his total 40 years of teaching service.

He had studied 3 Sastras i.e. Nyaya, Vyakarana and Advaita Vedanta under the Guru Brahmasri Goda Subrahmanya Sastry garu Kanchipuram. He got recognition as Sastra Pandit in the traditional peethams like Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri; Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Kanchipuram; Sri Raghavendra Swamy muth, Mantralayam etc., He got awards Sastra Nidhi, Sastra Acharya, Pandita Ratnam, Sastra Bhushana, Advaita Siddhi Ratnakara, Vyakarana Sastra Visharada, Vyakarana Bhaskara etc. by various traditional peethams. He also got awarded “Mahamahopadhyaya” from Central Sanskrit University, Tirupathi on 2-2-2020.

Korada Subrahmanyam (born 1954) is a Sanskrit grammarian and scholar from India. He was a Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Hyderabad. Prof. Korada Subrahmanyam was born into a family of Vedic scholars hailing from the Godavari delta region, known as Konaseema. His areas of expertise include the Aṣṭādaśavidyā, Philosophy of Language, and Translation. He is also well versed in Mahābhāṣya, Vākyapadīya, Laghumañjūṣā, Ślokavārtikam and Tantravārtikam.

Dr. Rao was introduced to the Samskrit world at the age of 10. He underwent 12 years of rigorous training in Vedic literature, covering 10 major Upanishads, and is trained to chant the entire Kṛiṣṇa-Yajurveda (Taittirīya recession). In addition, he has studied classical Sanskrit including Kāvya, Panini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī, vedānta, nyāya, sāṃkhya, and Yoga. He has authored a primer on Sanskrit grammar named aṣṭādhyāyī-praveśa. His current areas of research include cultural difference and translation, Indian political thought with reference to arthaśāstra and dharmaśāstras, among others. He has more than seven years of teaching and research experience. He has worked as an assistant professor at MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune, and as deputy director at Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam. Currently, he is an assistant professor at Chanakya University, Bengaluru.

Nrithya Jagannathan is a senior yoga therapist from the Krishnamacharya tradition and was a direct student of renowned Yogacharya Sri T K V Desikachar for over 14 years. With over 22 years of teaching experience, she is currently the Director of the KYM Institute of Yoga Studies, the training and certification wing of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. She has traveled extensively around the world to teach Yoga, Yoga therapy and Vedic Chanting and is a certified therapist from the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C- IAYT). Nrithya is currently also an expert advisor to the Certification Committee of the IAYT. She is the chairperson of the IYA Tamilnadu State Subcommittee for Academic Courses and Examinations. She was honoured with the Yogini Award for Tamilnadu State at Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, in February 2023 and recognised as one of the senior yoga therapists across India to be honoured with the Yoga Cikitsa Acarya Title from Indian Yoga Association in 2023 as well. She has also been honoured with the Yogalakshmi Puraskara by Adhyatma Academy, Bengaluru for her contributions to yYoga Studies. Deeply passionate about all aspects of Indian literature, culture and philosophy, Nrithya is also the Editor in Chief of Darsanam, the Quarterly Journal on Yoga and Yoga Cikitsa of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram.

Further, Nrithya is also a professional Bharathanatyam artiste with over 35 years of experience. She has performed extensively in India and abroad. She has been conferred many titles by prominent sabhas in Chennai, including 'Yuva Kala Bharathi' from Bharat Kalachar and 'Nritya Jyoti' from Kartik Fine Arts.

Satavadhani Dr. R Ganesh (b. 1962, Bengaluru) is one of India’s foremost Sanskrit Poets and Scholars. He writes and lectures extensively on various subjects pertaining to India and Indian Cultural Heritage. He is a master of the ancient art of Avdhanam, where he faces a group of eight (in Astavadhanam) or hundred (in Satavadhanam) questioners and in response to their many queries, composes extempore poems set to metre, solves poetic challenges, solves a magic square, keeps track of the count of a randomly rung bell, and so forth. Dr. Ganesh performs Avadhanam primarily in Kannada, Sanskrit, and Telugu. (He is credited with reviving the art in Kannada.) He has performed more than 1,200 Astavadhanams and five Satavadhanams thus far.

He is fluent in several languages including Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Greek, Latin and Italian. He is well versed in the Vedas, Vedangas, Upanisads, Dharma-sastra literature, various classical texts on the arts like the Natya-sastra, and literature in classical Sanskrit. Dr. Ganesh holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Metallurgy as well as in Sanskrit. Hampi University awarded him a D.Litt. for his thesis, ‘Kannadadalli Avadhanakale’. Tumkur University awarded him an honorary doctorate (D.Litt.) He is recipient of several awards and recognitions including the Badarayana-Vyasa Puraskar from the President of India for his contribution to the Sanskrit language.

In the year 2022, the Central Sahitya Academy Award for the best Sanskrit Translation was conferred to him.

He was honoured with the Rajyotsava Award by the Karnataka Government in 1992, the highest recognition from the State. Recently he was honoured with the fellowship Shaastra Chudaamani from the Central Sanskrit University, Delhi.

Also he was honoured with the Kalidasa Award from the Kavikula Guru Kalidasa Sanskrit University, Nagpur, in the year 2020.

Dr. Sharda Narayanan began her Sanskrit studies during school years under Late Vidwan Chakravarthy Ananthacharya and completed Samskrita Sahitya Examinations at Sri Chamarajendra Wodeyar Samskrit College, Bengaluru. After B.Sc. from Mpunt Carmel College and M.Sc. in Physics, she completed M.A. in Sanskrit from Bangalore University. Having taught Physics at Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru briefly, she went on to completing Ph.D. in Special Centre for Sanskrit Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, her topic being the Vakyapadiya of Bhartrhari. She has been teaching Sanskrit language, Indian philosophy and Natyasastra at DR. MGR Janaki College for Women, Chennai, since 2012.

She has presented many papers at National and International Seminars, including World Sanskrit Conferences at Edinburgh, Bangkok and Vancouver, Bhopal Lit Fest etc. She has participated as faculty for workshops on arbitration and conflict management conducted by SASTRA University, to present Indian perspectives on cognition and conflict. Several research papers on Sanskrit studies have been published in University Journals as also a number of books on philosophy and literature. Her research in Indian philosophy and literary traditions now continue in the areas of Mimamsa as well as classical poetry.

Upon finishing my basic education, I enrolled in the Gurukula system of education in the 5th grade. I spent a total of 12 years in this system, receiving guidance and blessings from Prof Ramachandra G Bhat, Prof Bharati Ramanacharya, and other devoted Acharyas. I have obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), Master of Science (M.Sc.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Yoga from the esteemed S-VYASA Yoga University in Bangalore. During my studies, I diligently and critically examined the life skills acquired from the Gurukula system.

My current and ongoing goal is to incorporate Sanatana Dharma-based cultural practices and values into many contexts and situations, utilising the assistance of popular scientific developments. I deeply appreciate and hold in high regard the innovative, pertinent, and universally commendable concepts that contribute to a harmonious and mutually advantageous world.

Prof. Madhusudan has been awarded with Sahitya academy award for Mahakavya on Gulabrao maharaj. He has 45 books to his credit and has recently translated the Jnaneshwari of Sant Dnyaneshwar into 9000 Sanskrit verses. Prof. Penna has about 17 awards and honors. He was honoured with honorary D.Litt by National Sanskrit University, Tirupati, AP for his unique contribution in Indian Philosophy. The Tirumala peetham established by Bhagavad Ramanujacharya in the 10th century has conferred Shastraratnakara on him. His areas of interest are Yoga, Advaita and Nyaya philosophy.

Shankar Rajaraman is a recipient of the prestigious Badarayan Vyas Samman (2019) from the President of India, Shri Ramnath Kovind, for his contribution to Sanskrit language and literature. He has also been conferred with the Professor M. Hiriyanna Sanskrit Works Award for the best Sanskrit poet of the year (2013), the Bannanje Award (2017), and the Vagdevi Puraskara (2021) by the Akhila Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad. He has several publications to his credit including the English translations of two Ayurvedic texts (Kṣemakutūhala and Bhojanakutūhala) on dietetics, a Sanskrit Messenger poem (Kokila Sandeśa), a Sanskrit epic (Madhurā Vijaya), a Kannada translation of two chapters (Annabhoga and Pādābhyaṅgabhoga) from the encyclopaedic work Mānasollāsa, and a Sanskrit translation of the Kannada vacana-s composed by Basaveshwara. Some of his original Sanskrit poems that have been published include Devīdānavīyam, Citranaiṣadham, Bhārāvatārastavaḥ, and Nipuṇaprāghuṇakam. Shankar is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Ancient History and Culture, Jain University, Bengaluru

Dr. Srinivas Jammalamadaka studied Nyaya or Tarka Shastra under Sri. A. Radhe Shyama Shastri garu, Advaita Vedanta under Sri. R. Mani Dravida Sastrigal, and Vyakarana under Sri. Ganti Dattatreya Murthy garu. He has completed the Tenali exams in Tarka Shastra, and has also appeared the Tenali exams for Advaita Vedanta, He holds an MPhil & PhD in Nyaya shastra.

Earlier he served as Assistant Professor and Director of the School of Shastric Learning, Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek.

He is the Co-founder of Sri Kameswari Foundation and is presently working as Scholar - IKS Courses, in Siddhanta Knowledge Foundation. He has been conferred with awards such as - Tarka-Ratnam & Vidwan Mani by Sri Kanchi Shankaracharya ji, and Shastra Kalanidhi by the Madhya Pradesh State Governor.