Forgotten Sanskrit Scholars Rediscovered in India's Kaveri Delta

According to new research by scholars at the University of Cambridge, a vibrant period of Sanskrit scholarship took place in India between 1650 and 1800, even as Britain was consolidating its control over the country. This "golden age" of Sanskrit literature, which includes erotic plays, poems, legal texts, and philosophical works, has largely been forgotten and remains untranslated.

The research team, led by Dr. Jonathan Duquette, a scholar of South Asian religions, is now conducting an extensive survey of sites in the Kaveri Delta region, where many of these Sanskrit pandits were concentrated. One key focus is the village of Thiruvisanallur, which was founded on land donated by Maratha military leader Shahaji Bhonsle to host a group of 45 distinguished Sanskrit scholars.

Despite the spread of English-medium schools in the late 19th century, which drew many Brahmin families away from the traditional path of becoming priests, the rural settlements of these Sanskrit scholars managed to keep the tradition alive. Duquette and his team are determined to uncover the importance of these sites and make the works of these literary geniuses better known in India and beyond.