DESAI P.B., 1910-1976
Panduranga Bheema
Rao Desai,
(ಪಾಂಡುರಂಗ
ಭೀಮರಾವ್ ದೇಸಾಯಿ)
has created a niche for himself as an epigraphist,
historian and a researcher in the fields of Kannada literature and culture. He was
born in Gurumitkal
His interest
in epigraphy started at a young age when he traveled in the surroundings of his
village (Kuknur in Koppala
district) and collected about 200 inscriptions. He pursued the science of ancient
Indian Paleography diligently and mastered it. He had an abiding interest in temple
architecture, sculpture and memorial stones. His collaboration with
N.Lakshminarayana Rao another well known
epigraphist resulted in important findings. He worked in the four districts of Mumbai
Karnataka and some small principalities. He discovered about 1000 inscriptions in
Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. He edited the fifteenth volume of the ‘Inscriptions of
South India’ independently and edited the first volume in collaboration with Lakshminarayana Rao. He worked
diligently for the Government of Hyderabad in collecting the inscriptions of that
region. He laid the foundation for a systematic and scientific study of epigraphy
in the
P.B.Desai has many publications both in the form of books and
innumerable articles published in reputed journals such as Epigraphia
Indica’. His articles in Kannada, English and Marathi
number almost four hundred. Some of his important books and volumes edited by him
are listed below.
1. ‘Vijayanagarada Samrajya’,1936
2. ‘Inscriptions
of
3. ‘Inscriptions
of
4. ‘Shasana Parichaya’,1956
5. ‘A Corpus
of Kannada Inscriptions in
6. ‘Kannada Inscriptions of Andhrapradesh’
7. ‘Selected
Inscriptions of Andhrapradesh’
8. ‘Descriptive
Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Kannada Research Institute’(Vol. 5- Vol. 9)
9. Basavesvara
and his times. 1968, Kannada Research Institute, Dharwar,Karnatak
University
10. “A History
of Karnataka’ (With B.R.Gopal and S.H.Ritti)
11. ‘Karnatakada Kalachurigalu’
12. ‘Minchida Mahileyaru’
13. ‘Kannadanaadina Shaasanagalu’
14. ‘Madagajamalla’
15. ‘Kuntaleshvara’
16. “Shivacharitra Sangraha’ (In Marathi)
17. ‘Jainism
in South India and some Jaina Epigraphs’ (secured the
D.Litt. award by the
A felicitation
volume named ‘Studies in Indian History and Culture’ was presented to him in 1970.