The Gopalopayanam Award was conferred on 97-year-old scholar Prof. K.S. Varadacharya Swamy by Sri Tridandi Srimannarayana Ramanuja Chinna Jeeyar Swami of Ubhaya Vedanthacharya Peetam Trust, Hyderabad, who is well-known as Andra Geeyar, at Varadacharya’s residence in Jayanagar here recently.

This award, instituted in 1997, carries a memento and a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh and is given annually to an erudite scholar in Vedic literature in memory of the great scholar late Gopalacharya Swamy, who was an authority in Alwar literature from Sri Vaishnava Sampradhayam.

Sri Tridandi Swamy came all the way from Hyderabad to honour Varadacharya Swamy, retired Professor of Maharaja Sanskrit College and a Research Scholar from Oriental Research Institute (ORI).

The Swamiji described him as a rare diamond who trained many students in Vedantic literature all over the world.

The Swamiji also lauded him for his great contributions and commentaries  in  Kannada  and Sanskrit of Vedas, Sri-Bhasya and Valmiki Ramayana.