DK Award

The DK Award for the outstanding doctoral thesis on Sanskrit was inaugurated in 2006 at the 13th WSC (World Sanskrit Conference) in Edinburgh. This award will be given every three years to a scholar of Sanskrit, who is based outside South Asia (India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives), since its purpose is to encourage scholarly study of Sanskrit beyond the subcontinent. The Award will consist of DK books to the value of US$ 1000. It will be awarded on the basis of the first doctoral dissertation of a postgraduate student on a Sanskrit topic, provided that the dissertation has been accepted and the degree awarded by a university or institution of comparable status outside South Asia during the three calendar years preceding the year in which each WSC is held. The IASS (International Association of Sanskrit Studies) will form an adjudication panel of three to five members to evaluate the dissertations received and to announce its decision at the next WSC.

Conditions For The Dk Award

  • Scholars interested in this award should first give notice to the Secretary General of the IASS of intention to compete. They will then be required to submit one copy of their thesis (or an online link to download it), together with PDFs of the degree document, a letter of support from their main supervisor and a CV. These have to be submitted in full before the deadline of 31st January of the year in which the WSC will take place. The Secretary General of the IASS will inform the sponsor of the Award, Mr Ramesh K. Mittal of D.K. Agencies (P) Ltd., New Delhi, about all the candidates who have applied.
  • A Sanskrit topic is to be understood as one concerned primarily with the Sanskrit language, Sanskrit literature or the subject matter of a text or texts composed in Sanskrit.
  • The IASS will set up a panel of adjudicators who will examine all these so received. The award winner will be announced during the WSC and a certificate issued to the winner. In the event of the panel deciding that two dissertations tie for first place, there may be a maximum of two joint award winners. The panel (either directly or through the Secretary General of the IASS) will inform D.K. Agencies (P) Ltd., New Delhi about the name and address of the award winner(s).
  • The award will be in the form of books worth US$ 1000.00 (inclusive of postage) to be selected by the awardee either from the DK website http://www.dkagencies. com or their catalogues at the prices stated therein. The amount of the award cannot be converted or reimbursed in cash or any other form except books and the postage thereon. In the event of a tie, this amount will be divided equally among the two award winners.
  • D.K. Agencies (P) Ltd. do not take responsibility for any expenditures other than the books worth $1000.00 (inclusive of postage) to be made available to the award winner(s). D.K. Agencies are simply the sponsors of this award in the form of books. D.K. Agencies (P) Ltd. reserve the right to withdraw this award with effect from a subsequent conference by announcing its withdrawal during any WSC.
  • The following in order of significance are among the criteria for the evaluation of an outstanding thesis for the DK Award:
  • Contribution of the dissertation to Sanskrit philological studies and related fields, especially excellence in editing and translation.
  • Originality of the dissertation in opening up a new field, in the collection of new data, in the application of new methods or techniques of analysis, or in the combination of these and other innovations.
  • Presentation and argumentation of the dissertation with respect to the clarity of expression, the organization of the materials, and the knowledge and use of prior research in the area.
  • Future promise of the applicant, as indicated by other publications, public presentations of research, and other professional work.

Previous Winners

The 2021 DK Award for theses submitted in the years 2018–2020 was conferred on Dr Andrea Lorene Gutiérrez, Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin: “A Genre of its Own: A History of Pākaśāstra and Other Culinary Writing of Early India.”

The 2018 DK Award for theses submitted in the years 2015–2017 was conferred on Dr Andrew Ollett for his dissertation submitted to Columbia University, USA 2016: “Language of the Snakes. Prakrit, Sanskrit, and the Language Order of Premodern India”.
The 2015 DK Award for theses submitted in the years 2012–2014 was conferred on Dr Michael Slouber for his dissertation submitted to the University of California, South and Southeast Asian Studies, Berkeley, 2012: “Gāruḍa Medicine: A History of Snakebite and Religious Healing in South Asia”.

The 2012 DK Award for theses submitted in the years 2009–2011 it was conferred on Dr Himal Trikha for his dissertation submitted to the University of Vienna: “Schluss mit ungultigen Perspektiven! Polemik gegen das Vaisesika in der Satyasasanapariksa des Digambara Vidyānandin vor dem Hintergrund des kritischen Perspektivismus
der Jainas”.

The 2009 DK Award for theses submitted in the years 2006–2008 was conferred on Dr Wendy J. Phillips-Rodríguez for her dissertation submitted to the University of Cambridge: “Electronic Techniques of Textual Analysis and Edition for Ancient Texts: an Exploration of the Phylogeny of the Dyūtaparvan”.

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