________________
Govind Chandra Pande (1923-2011) / 9
Thought and Culture in India and India's Interaction with South-East Asia have already come out and the fourth is ready for release. Among his other noteworthy works mention may be made of Mülya Mimāmsā, (Rajasthan Hindi Grantha Academi, 1971). Itihas Swaroop aur Siddhanta (ed. Rajasthan Hindi Grantha Academi 1973), An Approach to Indian Culture and Civilization published by B.H.U. in 1985, Traditional Origins of Indian Renaissance (University of Rajasthan), Bhaktidarshan vimarsha (Varanasi, 1996), Life and Thought of Sankaracharya (Delhi 2nd edn. 1994), Saundaryadarshanvimarsha (Varanasi, 1996). In his Gathasattasai (2002), which is a poctic recreation of the Gathas with his annotations, he enlightens about Prakrit lyrical poetry's involvement with the life and emotions of the village folk, especially women. In his view the Gathas do not portray the medieval society of the commentators. They are much older and belong to the age of the Satavahanas. To understand them one must be aware of the old notions of love and be conversant also with the fact that poetry always has an external context and an internal context. He has made his contribution to the Makers of Indian Literature Series of the Sahitya Akademi and has written a book on the Life and Works of Maha Mahopadhyaya Gopinath Kaviraja , the saintly scholar.
Endowed with a keen intellect and deep philosophical insights Professor Pande was renowned as an eminent historian, an original thinker, an erudite writer who ranked among the foremost Indological scholars of the contemporary times. As a mark of homage an attempt has been made above to reappraise some of the works of his numerous and multi-faceted writings of which the panorama is so vast in magnitude, so scholastic in depth and so creative in meaning that it could shudder any individual venturing to appraise, let alone evaluate it, even with a semblance of satisfaction. It is difficult, indeed, to measure the degree of success one can achieve in treating the works of a prodigious scholar like him, because there would always be a feeling of imperfection and inadequacy, of having left something out which may be of great significance, as there is a profoundity in him which is inexhaustible and unfathomable. One only wishes the country had many more scholars of his caliber and eminence.
A Selected List of Books and Articles by the Late Professor G.C. Pande
Books A. BUDDHISM AND JAINISM I. Studies in the Origins of Buddhisin (4th Ed., Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1994). 2. बौद्ध धर्म के विकास का इतिहास (तृतीय संस्करण, लखनऊ) 3.R.K. Memorial Lectures on Jaina Ethics & Logic (Delhi University, 1978) 4. Sramanism and its Contribution to Indian Culture (Ahmedabad, 1978). 5. To fare utefter a classical Buddhish text on Logic, critically translated into Hindi from Sanskrit with an original exposition and commentary (1972). Darsana Pratishthan, Jaipur; 2nd ed., Central lastitute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, 1995, 6. of Perpfen wuT9 Ag the most celebrated Buddisht text on Logic, critically translated into Hindi from Sanskrit with an original exposition and commentary (1973), Darsana Pratishthan, Jaipur). 7. Jain Political Thought (1984, Prakrti Bharti, Jaipur) 8. Studies in Mahayana (Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, 1994)
B. INDIAN CULTURE AND ANCIENT INDIAN HISTORY: 9. wecftu upp 1 F (1982, ita **, Patt) 10. Foundations of Indian Culture, 2 Vols. (1984, Books & Books, New Delhi, 2nd ed., Motilal Banarsidass)