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K.A. Nilakanta Sastri

Portrait of K.A.   Nilakanta Sastri

Kallidaikurichi Aiyah (K. A.) Nilakanta Sastri (12 Aug. 1892, Kallidaikurichi, Tinnevely [now Tirunelveli] District, Madras Presidency, British India– 15 June 1975, Madras [now Chennai], Tamil Nadu, India) was an Indian historian specializing in South India, regarded as the most distinguished and prolific among professional historians of Tamil Nadu. 

Born in a Telugu Niyogi Brahmin family, he completed his studies at Madras Christian College, becoming lecturer at Banaras Hindu College in 1913 – 1918, professor of history at Banaras Hindu University from 1918 to 1920, principal ot the Arts College of Annamalai University, professor of History and Archaeology at Madras University from 1929 to 1946, professor of Indology at the University of Mysore (and Director of Archaeology in Mysore) from 1952 to 1957, director of UNESCO’s Institute of Traditional Cultures of South East Asia. Distinguished with the Padma Bhushan in 1957, he was Emeritus Professor of Indian History and Archaeology, University of Madras, visiting professor at University of Chicago (1959 and1964), advisor to the Department of Indian studies, University of Malaya, and honorary member of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. (1953−1955).

As author of numerous research papers and books on South Indian history, Nilakanta Sastri was challenged by the rise of a sense of indigenous Tamil identity, the redefinition of Dravidian history and the ongoing debate on the impact of Aryan and Brahmin influences on the local cultures of the South. 

Publications
 

  1. The Pāṇḍyan Kingdom from the Earliest Times to the Sixteenth Century, London, Luzac, 1929.
  2. Studies in Chola History and Administration, University of Madras, 1932.
  3. The Cholas, University of Madras, 2 vol, 1935 – 1937; revised 2d ed., University of Madras, 1955.
  4. A comprehensive history of India, London, Bombay, Orient Longmans, 1936.
  5. Historical method in relation to problems of South Indian history, University of Madras, 1941.
  6. Avadana, Gleanings on social life from the Avadanas, Calcutta, Indian Research Institute, 1945. 
  7. Further sources of Vijayanagara history, University of Madras, 1946.
  8. The Tamil Kingdoms of South India, Bombay, The National Information & Publications, 1948.
  9. South Indian Influences in the Far East, Bombay, Hind Kitabs, 1949, 159 p.
  10. History of Sri Vijaya, University of Madras, 1949.
  11. Age of the Nandas and Mauryas, Banaras, Motilal Banarsidass, 1952, 438 p. [originally planned as v. 4 of A New History of the Indian People]; reiss. 1967, ibid.
  12. [with R. Champakalakshmi] A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar, Oxford University Press, 1955; reissued 1997, Oxford University Press (4th edition), ISBN-13 978 – 0195606867, 540 p.
  13. [with R.S. Mannara] Historical Method in Relation to Indian History, Madras, Munshi Ram Manohar Lal, 1956.
  14. A Comprehensive History of India, Bombay, Orient Longmans, 1957.
  15. Foreign Notices of South India (From Megasthenes to Ma Huan), University of Madras, 1957; reiss. 1971, 2001, University of Madras.
  16. Epigraphia Carnatica, Vol. XVI, Supplementary Inscriptions in the Tumkur District, Mysore, Government Press, 1958.
  17. Development of religion in South India, Bombay, Orient Longmans, 1963.
  18. The Culture and History of the Tamils, K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1964, 181 p.
  19. Sources of Indian history with special reference to South India, Asian Publishing House, 1964.
  20. A great liberal: speeches and writings of Sir P. S. Sivaswami Aiyar, Bombay, Allied Publishers, 1965.
  21. [with G. Srinivasachari] Life and culture of the Indian people: a historical survey, Bombay, Allied Publishers, 1966.
  22. Cultural Contacts Between Aryans and Dravidians, Manaktalas, 1967.
  23. An Advanced History of India, Bombay, Allied Publishers, 1971, 874 p.
  24. Sangam literature: its cults and cultures, Swathi Publishers, 1972.
  25. Aspects of India’s history and culture, Oriental Publishers, 1974.
  26. South India and South-East Asia: studies in their history and culture, Mysore, Geetha Book House, 1975.
  27. The Illustrated History of South India (Oxford India Collection), Oxford University Press, 2009, ISBN-13 978 – 0198063568, 357 p.