Ashok Aklujkar

Ashok Aklujkar is a Sanskritist and Indologist. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. There he taught courses in Sanskrit language and in the related mythological and philosophical literatures (occasionally also in Indian "belles lettres" in general) from 1969 to 2006. Advanced students have worked under his guidance in the areas of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy, religion, and mythology. His published research is mostly in the areas of Sanskrit linguistic tradition and poetics. He has been a visiting professor at Hamburg, Harvard, Rome, Kyoto, Paris, Oxford and Marburg. He is most well known as the author of the textbook "Sanskrit: an Easy Introduction to an Enchanting Language", Richmond, BC: Svādhyāya Publications, most recent edition in 2005. He received an honorary D.Litt from the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi in 2012.
Biography.
Dr Ashok Aklujkar, the author of "Sanskrit: an Easy Introduction to an Enchanting Language", received his M.A. degree in Sanskrit and Pali from the University of Poona and his Ph.D. degree in Sanskrit and Indian Studies from Harvard University. He taught courses in Sanskrit language and in the related mythological and philosophical literatures (occasionally also in Indian belles lettres in general) at the University of British Columbia between 1969 and 2001. His published research is mostly in the areas of Sanskrit linguistic tradition and poetics. For the last several years he is engaged in the ambitious project of preparing critical editions of the works of Bhartṛhari, a grammarian-philosopher, and of the commentaries elucidating those works. Advanced students have worked under Aklujkar's guidance in the areas of Buddhist and Brahmanical philosophy, religion, and mythology.
Major publications.
Books.
"Appā-śāstrī sāhitya-samīkṣā", 1965; "Sanskrit: an Easy Introduction to an Enchanting Language",1992, with many reprints; "The Theory of Nipātas (Particles) in Yāska's Nirukta", 1999; "Linguistic Traditions of Kashmir (with Mrinal Kaul)", 2008.
Research articles.
More than 90 research articles and 19 long reviews in The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Wiener Zeitschrift der Kunde Suedasiens, Indo-Iranian Journal, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Adyar Library Bulletin, etc.
About 56 poems, light essays, editorials, etc. in Sanskrit and Marathi in "Bhārata-vāṇī", "Śāradā", "Saṁskṛta-pratibhā", "Ekatā" etc. About 18 books, with 12 of them concerning Bhartr-hari, a grammarian-philosopher, within range of completion. Several articles that would ultimately change some of the paradigms of Indological research are in the press or will soon be sent for publication.
References.
(a) University of British Columbia, Ashok Aklujkar, Ph.D.
(b) Digital commons, Saṃskṛta-Sādhutā ‘Goodness of Sanskrit’: Studies in Honour of Professor Ashok Aklujkar