BANGALORE: Spiritual Sanskrit scholar, Padmashree Mathoor Krishnamurthi (82) passed away after briefly suffering from illness at a hospital here in Bangalore on Thursday. He is survived by his adopted daughter.
Krishnamurthi was admitted to a private hospital after he complained of respiratory problems at 2.30 am. He passed away at 5.30 am. His body was kept at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan building on Race Course Road for people to pay their last respects.
The funeral would be conducted at his village Mathoor situated in Shimoga District on Friday.
Krishnamurthi was born on August 8, 1929, in a Brahmin family. He was a multifaceted personality, attracted to the Vedas, the Upanishads and the Sanskrit language from a very young age.
He also translated several books into English from Kannada, Tamil and Hindi languages. He briefly worked as a sub editor in a Kannada daily before he joined Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in 1969 where he served as the director. He also has the credit of building the Bhavan’s London Kendra.
Apart from receiving a doctorate in Literature from Kuvempu University, Krishnamurthi was a recipient of the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award, Gandhi Centenary Celebrations gold medal, and Karnataka Sangeetha and Nrithya Kala Academy award.