MALAPPURAM, INDIA, June 21, 2012 (business-standard.com): The ashes of renowned Indologist and Vedic scholar Frits Staal, who died in Thailand recently, have been immersed in the waters of the Bharathapuzha in Malappuram district, as per his wishes. The immersion yesterday at Thirunavaya was in accordance with Hindu rites with a local temple priest performing the rituals at the initiative of Staal’s admirers.
A Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and South Asian languages at the University of California, Staal (81) died at Chiangamai in Thailand on February 19. The Dutch-American scholar had close association with Kerala and its culture and had filmed the 12-day ‘Athirathram Yagna’ (Vedic Yagna), centuries old tradition, conducted in the state in 1975. A frequent visitor to India, Staal had also conducted extensive research into Vedic philosophy, Sanskrit language and grammar and Hindu traditions while authoring many articles and books on Vedic rituals.