Dipak Kumar Sharma (born 1 February 1961) is an Indian Sanskrit scholar, author and academic from Assam. He is a retired professor of Sanskrit at Gauhati University and was the founding vice-chancellor of Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2024 for Bhaskaracaritam, having previously received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2018 for Asama Vanmanjari.
Early life and education
Sharma was born on 1 February 1961 in Nalbari district, Assam. He received his PhD in Sanskrit from Gauhati University in 1995.
Academic career
Sharma worked at Pandu College and Cotton College before joining the Department of Sanskrit at Gauhati University in 1990. He later served as Director of the university's College Development Council.
In 2011, Sharma became the vice-chancellor of Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University in Nalbari. During his tenure, the university planned to introduce courses in subjects including Assamese, political science and philosophy, along with research centres focused on language and culture in the Northeast.
In a 2015 interview with The Times of India, Sharma discussed the contemporary relevance of Sanskrit and the promotion of the language in Assam and the Northeast.
He served as vice-chancellor until 2022 and subsequently returned to Gauhati University.
Literary work
Sharma has written Sanskrit poetry and translated Assamese poetry into Sanskrit. In 2018, he received the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize for Asama Vanmanjari, a Sanskrit translation of Assamese poetry by various authors.
In 2024, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Sanskrit for Bhaskaracaritam, a poetry work on the seventh-century ruler Kumar Bhaskar Varma.
Awards and honours Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize, Sanskrit, 2018, for Asama Vanmanjari
Sahitya Akademi Award, Sanskrit, 2024, for Bhaskaracaritam
References