Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi

Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi (1893–1985) was a Sanskrit scholar and a prominent Indologist of the 20th century who hailed from Maharashtra, India. He was an expert of his times on stone and copper inscriptions and the coinage of ancient India. For his contributions to Indian history he was honoured with the title Mahamahopadhyaya by the British Indian Government in 1941. He was also awarded Padma Bhushan in 1975 by the President of India. Dr. Mirashi was born in a middle-class family on 13 March 1893 at Kuwale village in Ratnagiri district. After completing his primary and secondary school education at Kolhapur (primarily Rajaram High School) he moved to Pune. He stood first in order of merit in all school examinations and was awarded a State Scholarship, the Alfred Half-Freeship, The Ghatge Scholarship, and the Sir George Le Grand Jacob Scholarship. He obtained his bachelor's degree (BA) in 1914 and did his Master's (MA) in 1917 in the subject of Sanskrit at Deccan College. He received the Varjeevandas Madhavadas Sanskrit Scholarship for his BA studies, and while he wanted to study mathematics the rules of the scholarship required him to take Sanskrit; this proved to be a turning point in his career. He received the Dakshina Scholarship for his MA studies and stood first in the Language Group. As a result he won the Bhagwandas Purushottamdas Sanskrit Scholarship, the Jhala Vedanta Prize, and the Lawrence Jenkins Scholarship, the last one for studying for his Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, Subsequently he earned his doctorate (Ph.D.) from the University of Bombay. His dissertation on Relation between the Dharmasutras and the Metrical Smrutis and the Evolution of Hindu Law won the Vishwanath Mandalik Gold Medal and Prize of the University of Bombay.