Alain Danielou

Alain Daniélou (1907–1994) was a French Indologist, musicologist, historian, and translator, known for his deep immersion in Indian culture and his scholarship on Hindu philosophy and Shaivism. He lived in India for nearly two decades, primarily in Varanasi, where he studied Sanskrit, Indian classical music, and philosophy, eventually being initiated into the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition under the name Shiva Sharan. Daniélou served as a professor of musicology at Banaras Hindu University and later as director of the Adyar Library and Research Centre. He was instrumental in documenting and interpreting Indian traditions for a Western audience, translating numerous texts and collaborating with figures like Rabindranath Tagore and Yehudi Menuhin. Among his many works, Daniélou produced The Complete Kama Sutra, noted as the first unabridged modern translation of the classic Indian text, which aimed to restore its full explicitness and comprehensive nature.