P. V. Parabrahma Sastry (1921–2016) was an

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeol ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

epigraphist Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

and

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...

who held the rank of a deputy director in the Archaeology Department of

United Andhra Pradesh United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Government. Sastry was born in Pedda Konduru village of Duggirala mandal in

Guntur Guntur (), natively spelt as Gunturu, is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is lo ...

district,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

in 1921. Sastry died at the age of 96 on 27 July 2016, due to prolonged illness. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son.

Achievements

Sastry was selected for the National Fellowship of the

Indian Council of Historical Research Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

. Sastry was one of the two persons selected for the fellowship in the year 2015. The ICHR is a premier historical research body under the HRD ministry. Dr Sastry was awarded a PhD by

Karnataka University Karnatak University (KUD) is a public state university in Dharwad, Karnataka, India. KUD was officially established in 1950 through the Karnatak University Act, 1949, passed by the legislature of the Bombay Province. The university is the s ...

for his work on the history of the

Kakatiya dynasty The Kakatiya dynasty (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: Kākatīya) was a Andhras, Telugu dynasty that ruled most of eastern Deccan Plateau, Deccan region in present-day India between 12th and 14th centuries. Their ter ...

and early socio-economic conditions of

from 500 BC to 1000 AD. He worked with the Department of Archaeology and Museums until 1981. He conducted village-wise epigraphical surveys in the

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

districts. His contributions to Telugu historical research was mentioned in the pre-release events of the movie '' Gautamiputra Satakarani'', which was based on the archaeological and historical research on the

Satavahana dynasty The Satavahanas (; ''Sādavāhana'' or ''Sātavāhana'', IAST: ), also referred to as the Andhras (also ''Andhra-bhṛtyas'' or ''Andhra-jatiyas'') in the Puranas, were an ancient Indian dynasty. Most modern scholars believe that the Satavaha ...

that he conducted.

Works

Sastry has written historical and archaeological works and in collaboration with other historians. His works include: * ''Epigraphia Andhrica'' * ''Rural Studies in Early Andhra'' in which he traced the historical origins of the Kamma caste. *''Unknown Coins'' *''Researches In Archaeology, History & Culture In The New Millennium - Dr. P.V. Parabrahma Sastry Felicitation Volume'' *''Telugu lipi, āvirbhāva vikāsālu'' *''Kākatīya caritra'' *''Kākatīya coins and measures'' *''Inscriptions of Andhra Pradesh : Karimnagar District'' *''The Kākatiyas of Warangal'' *''Select epigraphs of Andhra Pradesh'' *''Siddhōdvāha of Nr̥isiṁha''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sastry, P. V. Parabrahma 20th-century Indian archaeologists 20th-century Indian linguists 21st-century Indian archaeologists Indian epigraphers Indian numismatists 1920 births 2016 deaths People from Guntur district Scientists from Andhra Pradesh