Srinivas is a scholar, translator and musician. He trained in classical South Asian languages and literatures at Brown University and the University of California, Berkeley. His translations from Telugu and Sanskrit include Krishnadevaraya’s Telugu epic Amuktamalyada: The Giver of the Worn Garland and Kalidasa’s play Malavikagnimitram: The Dancer and the King. Srinivas is also a concert sitarist and has given numerous recitals around the world. He is currently Visiting Professor at Brown University, USA, and Guest Professor at IIT Gandhinagar.
Abstract of the lecture
This presentation will explore artha as a polyvalent concept within Indian cultural history. In addition to a review of the Arthaśāstra of Kauṭilya/Cāṇakya, we will explore broaders pan-Indic themes related to governance, political theory, moral instruction and ethics. Perspectives will be drawn from Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu sources to provide a multidimensional analysis of historical developments, convergences and disparities.
Readings
- Narayana Rao, Velcheru; Shulman, David; and Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. (2004). “A New Imperial Idiom in the Sixteenth Century: Krishnadevaraya and His Political Theory of Vijayanagara.” In South Indian Horizons: Felicitation Volume for François Gros on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday, Chevillard, Jean-Luc; Wilden, Eva; and Murugaiyan, A. (eds.). Publications du Département d’Indologie – 94. Pondicherry: Institut Français de Pondichéry; École Française d’Extrême-Orient, pp. 597-625.
- Kauṭilya (trans. by Patrick Olivelle). King, Governance, and Law in Ancient India: Kautilya’s Arthasastra. United Kingdom, OUP USA, 2013.
- Kangle, R. P., and Jog, K. P.. Perceptions on Kauṭilīya Arthaśāstra: In Commemoration of Prof. R.P. Kangle’s Birth Centenary. India, Popular Prakashan, 1999.