Swami Vivekananda and Porbandar

With Shri Sankar Pandurang Pandit at Porbandar

Swami Vivekanand visited Porbandar twice. According to Swami Shivanand, "it was the big beautiful library of Shri Sankar Pandurang Pandit which had attracted Swamiji's special notice when he had come to Porbandar at the time of his earlier visit and that Panditji had requested him to stay as long as he liked at his place and utilize the library. Swamiji had agreed to do so and hence he came again to Porbandar and this time stayed for about four months”. His earlier visit was a short one as confirmed from the autobiography of Swami Abhedananda. During his travels Swami Abhedananda had come to Porbandar and learnt from Shankar Pandurang Pandit that a few days back an English-knowing Bengali Sanyasi named Swami Sachhidananda had come there on a short visit. Later he found out that he was none other than Swami Vivekananda.

Pandit Shankar Pandurang of Konkan was not only an eminent Sanskrit scholar, but he was a man of affairs being at the time in high favour with the Government. After his return from England in 1874, he was appointed as Oriental Translator in Bombay Government because of his proficiency in nine languages. In 1886, he was appointed as Registrar in Bombay High Court and shortly afterwards as administrator of Porbandar. Apart from editing 'Atharva Veda' and 'Raghuvansha' of Kalidas, he started a journal 'Vedarthyatra' for propagation of ‘Rig Veda’. He got appreciation for his numerous Sanskrit works by great scholars all over the world. Prof. Max Mueller had said, "The editions of Sanskrit text published at Bombay by Prof. Bhandarkar and Mr. S. P. Pandit and others need not fear comparison with the best works of European scholars."

Apart from this, he was a great philanthropist. He arranged for irrigation facilities for farmers, started telegraph offices all over the State of Porbandar, started schools for girls as he had devotion for female education, opened hospitals in the villages and carried out various works for the benefit of the people. During his long stay at Porbandar, Vivekanandji came very close to Pandit Shankar Pandurang and his family. He used to go on a horse-ride with Panditji to have a look at the distant villages. Being an expert in culinary skills, he taught Panditji's wife, Ushadevi, various delicacies. Two sons of Panditji, Madhav and Vaman, played with him, learnt swimming from him and became great friends of Swamiji. Three daughters Tara, Kshama and Bhadra who were at first shy, received greater affection and blessings of Swamiji.

During Swami Vivekanand's stay at Porbandar, Pandit Shankar Pandurang was editing Sayanacharya's commentary on the 'Atharva Veda'. Impressed by Vivekanandji's scholarship, he often asked his help to explain some of the more abstruse passages which Vivekanandji did with his usual expertise. Both kept at the work constantly, Swamiji becoming more and more engrossed in it as his perception of the greatness of Vedic thought grew still keener. Swamiji also finished reading of Panini's 'Mahabhasya' at Porbandar. Swami Vivekanand told Swami Akhandananda that in the whole of India he had not seen Pandurang's equal in Vedic learning. Swamiji also learnt French as advised by Panditiji who said,"It will be of great use to you, Swamiji". He wrote a letter in French to his brother-disciples at Alambazar and gave them a great surprise. 
The Swami's stay at Porbandar on the Saurashtra coast was unusally long . The Maharaja insisting , he remained here for eleven monthsand worked with Pandit Shankar Pandurang, a vedic scholar of repute, in translating the Vedas.Here he finished, too, the reading of the Mahavasya, the great commentary of Patanjali on Panini's grammer.He also took up the study of French and gained a fair knowledge of it with the help of the Pandit who said, "It will be of use to you, Swamijio." 

Pandit Shankar Pandurang told Swami Vivekanand, "I am afraid you cannot do much in this country. Few will appreciate you here. You should go to the West. Surely you can throw a great light on Western culture by preaching the ‘Sanatan Dharma". Here, perhaps Vivekanandji heard for the first time about the religious convention that was to be held sometime in the following year at Chicago.