Tamil Arts Volume33
Dr Nagaswamy: Dharmic Research Guru Who Lives on Forever
Sriram Balasubramaniam, Economist and Best Selling Author
(Dharmanomics)
I had met Dr Nagaswamy for the first time almost a decade back. He was already in his 80’s by that time and I was told to meet him by his Holiness Bala Periva from the Kanchi Mutt with regards to the origins of post Funan Hindu kingdoms in Cambodia and its references to a Kanchipuram pundit Kaudinya in a RC Majumdar book. The idea was to further research this theory through the assistance of Dr Nagaswamy’s brilliant knowledge of ancient Cambodian history. I was in my earlier stage of my career and was a nobody in terms of a track record of work to talk about on the subject. I hadn’t written Kautilyanomics for modern times or Dharmanomics for that matter. Yet it was a surreal interacting with him since then. I would like to mention certain lessons that I have learnt from him which I would cherish forever.
First, his unwavering dedication to the almighty and the Acharyas was amazing to witness. For a common person, this might not sound worth mentioning but for a well renowned scholar such as him who has interacted with a plethora of research giants, his spiritual inclination and dedication to the almighty reflected a life of Sadhana and inherent belief that everything was the almighty’s creation. Such dedicated adherence to Dharma and seers of Dharma was a revelation.
Second, I was stumped by his immense passion for archaeology and historical tenets of ancient Bharat. He would spontaneously talk about various instances where he would spend hours, days and weeks on a particular archaeological site until he was convinced that he had done justice to the inscriptions and interpretations emanating from it. On one visit, he spent almost 2 hours telling me exactly how he had interpreted the Kambuja inscriptions in a temple in Cambodia many years ago. It was so riveting that anyone with a faint interest on these subjects could listen in awe for hours. After being in touch with him for sometime, I had ventured into other projects and came back to this research on Cambodia many years later. Not only did he remember but he was as passionate about the subject at hand till his last days. Such was the passion and intricate attention to detail that he would give to these conversations even if they were years or months apart.
Third, he had an immaculate memory. He would trace inscriptions from RC Majumdar’s Kambuja Desa book out of thin air and make references to quotations. To my surprise, when I went back and checked the sources, not only will he be correct but the explanations would add an extra dimension to the actual translation. His vivid descriptions of the Angkor Wat in Cambodia was so accurate that when I visited them years later for my book most if not all of what he said seemed true. Similarly, he could even tell you which page of what book certain translations were without battling an eyelid. This was stunning given that he was in his 80’s and most people would struggle to have such a memory even in their prime ages!
Fourth, his humility was another endearing factor that I found very rare in his persona. This is rare because most people of his stature and excellence would tend to think that they knew most things given their lifelong research on such subjects. We would sit for a few hours at time to discuss some of these nuances of Kambuja Desa, its inscriptions, the role of traders and Vedic pundits who had travelled across the seas, the presence of Shiva temples in every village in Cambodia etc. Every single time he would patiently share his experiences and listen to my queries (often naïve questions) with such a calm demeanor. He genuinely believed that he could learn from a novice such as me even at the age of 80—remarkable!
Lastly, he was an ideal example of how a scholar should conduct oneself through one’s lifetime. It’s rare one would see him being aggressive or condescending of others yet his research and scholarship spoke volumes about his firm belief on topics of Bharatiya history. His relentless commitment to showcase Tamizh and Samskrutam’s linkages in such a detailed manner without any aggressive machoism is a classic example. He was determined till his last breath to provide more and more evidence for this yet he was amicable to even his most fiercest opponents. He was truly an exemplar of how a scholar should conduct oneself.
His rigor, dedication, humility, commitment to his ideals and unwavering service towards Dharma shall stand the test of time for decades and centuries to come. He was truly an inspiration and serves to be a guiding light for young scholars such as myself irrespective of the field or profession.