Table of Contents
OBITUARY>
Professor Ram Shankar Tripathi (15th October 1929 - 18th of February 2019)
by Mattia Salvini
Prof. Ram Shankar Tripathi was born in Sodalpur village of Harda district
in Madhya Pradesh, not far from Sanchi. After completing his secondary
education in Sanskrit in Itarsi, Madhya Pradesh, he came to Sampūrṇānanda
Sanskrit University (Varanasi) for higher education, focusing on Sanskrit
Grammar and Āyurveda. While studying there he came in contact with Prof.
Jagannath Upadhyay and elicited a keen interest in Buddhist philosophy. To
further his knowledge of Buddhism, he studied extensively with Prof. Jagannath
Upadhyaya, and with scholars of traditional schools of Buddhism and Vedānta,
including scholar-monks from Myanmar and Tibet. Later, he visited Nalanda,
Bihar, for two years to study Pali language and literature from Prof. Jagdish
Kashyap. At a more personal level of Buddhist practice, he most notably
received Guhyasamāja initiation and other transmissions from his main Guru, His
Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
Prof. Tripathi’s published output in both Hindi and Sanskrit is vast, and
covers many aspects of Buddhism, from Theravada Abhidhamma, to Sautrāntika,
Yogācāra and Madhyamaka philosophy, and Tantra. His students, all over the
world, are too many to count; he taught very generously both in his official
capacities (Sampūrṇānanda Sanskrit University, Central Institute of Higher
Tibetan Studies) and privately.
Prof. Tripathi was awarded the honorary title of Padmaśrī by the Government
of India; he is well-known and respected in the Tibetan tradition as the
modern-day heir of the Nālanda tradition. Until recently, Prof. Tripathi was
working on a further installment of his commentary on Ācārya Dharmakīrti’s
Pramāṇavārttika.
He never said no to any serious learner of Buddhism; nor did he ever let
his students feel that he is facing any kind of difficulty while teaching.
Thus, he kept up with his mission of reviving Sanskrit Buddhism in India, till
his last breath.
Prof. Tripathi leaves all his students deeply indebted, having offered them
a clear example of what the best Indian tradition of Buddhist Paṇḍitas and
Ācāryas means.
Deepamkar Tripathi and Mattia Salvini
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