Mysuru: French-Indian Sanskrit Scholar and Padma Shri awardee, Dr. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat (89), who was residing at Yadavagiri in the city, passed away following illness in Paris yesterday.

He leaves behind his wife Dr. Vasundhara Kavali Filliozat, a noted Art Historian and Epigraphist and a recipient of the Kannada Rajyotsava Award, two daughters Manonmani and Bhamathi, grandchildren and a host of relatives and friends.

Sources said that Dr. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat was admitted to a private hospital in the city last week and was airlifted to Paris for advanced treatment, where he passed away. Last rites are expected to take place in Paris, according to sources.

A noted Indologist, grammarian

Born in 1936 in France, Dr. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat was the son of the famous Indianist Jean Filliozat. His field of research was based on two lines of study closely related to Sanskrit: On the one hand, the knowledge and methods of intellectual work of Sanskrit Scholars and on the other, the structure of Hindu Temples in their correlation with Sanskrit culture.

He served as a Professor of Sanskrit (Emeritus) and Member of the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres in Paris.

Dr. Pierre-Sylvain Filliozat is the author of numerous Indianist studies and collaborates in projects for the dissemination of philological and archaeological works through digital tools with the National Indira Gandhi Centre for the Arts, New Delhi.

Dr. Filliozat used to conduct research in several fields of Indology, Sanskrit grammar (Vyakarana), poetry and poetics, Tantra, especially the Sanskrit literature of Shaivasiddhanta School, history of Indian architecture and temples.

He emphasised the profound connection between Europe and Sanskrit, noting that France’s Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (reigning from 1804 until 1814) had introduced Sanskrit, recognising its unique and rich linguistic qualities.

Dr. Filliozat has received many awards including Padma Shri in 2024, Mahamaho Padhyaya Honoris causa (conferred by Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University, formerly Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha in 2013), Certificate of Honour for Sanskrit received from the President of India in 2014, Honorary Fellow of the Samvidya Institute for Cultural Studies (Pune) and Shree Vanamali Samskruti Seva Award, instituted by Shree Vanamali Charitable Trust, Mysuru, among many other awards.