Faculty – Graduate Division (Sanskrit Studies)
Dr. Tilaka Rao holds a Ph.D. in Sanskrit from Pondicherry University, with doctoral research on conflict resolution principles (utsarga–apavāda) in Pāṇini’s Aṣṭādhyāyī. A distinguished scholar of Vyākaraṇa and Nyāya, he brings over a decade of teaching, research, and academic leadership in Sanskrit and Indian knowledge systems.
He currently serves as Senior Fellow in Sanskrit Studies at the Foundation for the Study of Indian Culture (FSIC), Bengaluru, and has previously held academic leadership roles including Assistant Professor at the MIT School of Vedic Sciences, Pune; Deputy Director at Veda Vijñāna Śodha Saṁsthānam, Bengaluru; Fellow at the India Studies Unit, CESS, Bengaluru; and Assistant Professor at Chanakya University, Bengaluru.
Dr. Rao underwent over twelve years of rigorous traditional training, studying ten principal Upaniṣads at Prabodhinī and Veda Vijñāna Gurukulas in Karnataka, along with complete chanting of the Kṛṣṇa Yajurveda (Taittirīya Śākhā). His classical scholarship spans Vyākaraṇa, Nyāya, Vedānta, Sāṁkhya, Yoga, and Kāvya.An accomplished author, he has published three scholarly books and served as Executive Editor of the annual research journal Śrutiśobhā. He is also a Visiting Faculty at the School of Philosophy and Economic Science, Dublin, and a recipient of academic honors including Gold Medal in M.A. (Sanskrit), Junior Research Fellowship, and Praśastipatrikā from Śrī Śṛṅgeri Śāradā Pīṭham.
