Renowned Sanskrit scholar Mahamahopadhyaya R. Krishnamurthy Shastri passes away in Chennai

Renowned Sanskrit scholar and former principal of the Madras Sanskrit College, Mahamahopadhyaya R. Krishnamurthy Shastri passed away at his home on Sunday afternoon. He was 82. Family sources said he was active till the end. Even on Sunday, he had completed the Mahalaya tarpana.

Sources said on September 23, he attended an event at Orikkai in Kancheepuram where the pontiffs of the Kanchi Sankara Mutt are observing Chaturmasyam. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was present on the occasion.   

He was born in 1944 in Mullaivaasal village, as the second son of Brahmashri Rajagopala Ghanapathigal and his wife Balamba. He studied the Vedas under the guidance of his father. Subsequently, he studied Vedanta and Sastras at the Madras Sanskrit College and successfully completed the Vedanta Shiromani and Mimamsa Shiromani examinations. He obtained an M.A. in Sanskrit from Sri Venkateswara University and then earned his Doctorate from the University of Madras, researching the subject Ishtasiddhivivarana  

He began his teaching career as a Sanskrit Pandit at Vaideeswara Oriental School, Mettur, where he served from 1964 to 1973. In 1973, he was appointed as a lecturer in Vedanta at Madras Sanskrit College. Thereafter, he served as vice-principal at the S.V. Vedic/educational institution at Tirumala. He then returned to Madras Sanskrit College as a professor of Advaita Vedanta. He became the principal of Madras Sanskrit College in 1999. 

He passed the Vedabhashya examination in first class and, through the gracious blessings of Kanchi Mahaperiyava, Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swami, he was honoured with the title “Vedabhashyaratnam”. Several Peethadhipatis and educational institutions conferred upon him titles including Shastralankara, Vedanta Visharada, Advaita Siddhanta, and Advaitavada Visharada.  

In 1999, the Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati, conferred upon him the prestigious title “Mahamahopadhyaya”. He was honoured in 2013 by the President of India with the President’s Award.

He has authored several works, including, Siddhanta-traya-sara in Tamil, Vedanta-Prashnottara-Ratnamalika in Sanskrit, and Shastrartha-Sumanjari in Sanskrit. After retiring from his position as principal, he established an institution called Brahmavidya Bhavanam where he taught Veda, Veda-Bhashya, and Vedanta to young students.