Pramananda Acharya was an Indian archaeologist known for his notable archaeological research on the history of Odisha.
13 Facts About Paramananda Acharya
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Paramananda Acharya was honoured by the Government of India in 1964, with the award of Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award for his services to the nation.
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Paramananda Acharya was born in 1893 at Baidyapur village in the Indian state of Odisha and completed his early schooling at Amarda ME School and Baripada High School to graduate in botany from Kolkata University in 1923 with honours.
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Paramananda Acharya had no formal training in archaeology, but Acaharya was invited to join the department of archaeology when Mayurbhanj state established the department in 1925 and he started his government service as an archaeological scholar.
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Paramananda Acharya's initial posting was at Khiching with the responsibility of preserving the temples and historical sites in the area.
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In 1930, when the Maharaja ordered the excavation of the Old Palace site in Hariharpur, Paramananda Acharya was given the responsibility.
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Paramananda Acharya restored the temple of Hara during this period.
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Paramananda Acharya participated in the first International Congress of the Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, in 1934 and the trip to London helped him to gather copies of records related to Mayurbhanj and Ananta Vasudeva Temple of Bhubaneswar.
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Paramananda Acharya conducted surveys of archaeological relics at Vaitarani, Brahmani, and Mahanadi valleys.
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Paramananda Acharya was given additional responsibility to attend to duties related to the state education department.
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Paramananda Acharya's efforts were reported in bringing many renowned archaeologists such as Kedar Nath Mahapatra and Satya Narayan Rajguru, Krushna Chandra Panigrahi and Susil Chandra De together under the banner of the museum.
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Paramananda Acharya is the author of several articles and two books, Essays in History, Culture, Archaeology of Odisha, and Studies in Orissan History, Archaeology and Archives His writings are prescribed as reference books for graduate and post graduate studies at Ravenshaw University in Odisha.
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Paramanand Paramananda Acharya died on 11 April 1971, at his residence in Baripada, at the age of 78.