Biographical and Historical Note

Balkrishna Govind Gokhale was born in Dwarka, India, on September 4, 1919. Gokhale graduated with honors from the University of Bombay (now the University of Mumbai) in 1939. He earned master's (1941) and doctoral (1946) degrees from the University of Bombay.

After teaching at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, from 1942-1954, Gokhale moved to the United States with his wife and two daughters. In the U.S., Gokhale taught at Bowdoin College (1954), Oberlin College (1955-1956), and the University of Washington, Seattle (1959-1960).

Gokhale was then recruited to Wake Forest University to begin the Asian Studies program. At the time, he was the first non-Christian faculty member at WFU. He remained at the University from 1960 until 1990, teaching courses that covered Southeast Asian history, the country of India, and the Hindi language. Gokhale was also the author of 17 books, including Indian Thought Through the Ages and Ancient India History and Culture, and over 100 articles and helped build the Z. Smith Reynolds Library's Asian Collection.

In his spare time, Gokhale taught himself Dutch, Portuguese, Arabic, and Persian. Gokhale died on August 11, 2005.

Collection Overview

Materials in this collection include scholarly articles by Balkrishna Govid Gokhale, a Winston-Salem Journal obituary, a biography, and bibliography drafts. Items are listed in alphabetical order, with biographical information at the beginning of the collection.

Collection Inventory

• Gokhale biography and Winston-Salem Journal obituary  (circa 2005) box 2 folder 2
• "Aesthetic Ideas in Early Buddhism" articles  (circa 1974) box 1 folder 7
• "Āloko Udapādi: The Imagery of Illumination in Early Buddhist Literature" article (undated) box 2 folder 23
• "Anagarika Dharmapala: Toward Modernity Through Tradition in Ceylon" article  (circa 1973) box 2 folder 10
• "Animal Symbolism in Early Buddhist Literature and Art" article  (1974) box 1 folder 9
• "Bhakti in Early Buddhism" article  (circa 1980) box 1 folder 6
• Bibliography drafts (undated) box 1 folder 10
• "The Brāhmaṇas in Early Buddhist Literature" articles  (circa 1970) box 2 folder 4
• "The Buddha and History" article  (circa 1980) box 2 folder 21
• "The Buddha's 'Dying Consciousness'" article  (circa 1978) box 2 folder 22
• "Buddhism in the Gupta Age" article  (1983) box 2 folder 9
• "The Concept of Disorder in Early Buddhist Political Thought" articles  (circa 1984) box 2 folder 16
• "Dhamma as a Political Concept in Early Buddhism" article  (1968) box 2 folder 13
• "Dhammiko Dhammarājā: A Study in Buddhist Constitutional Concepts" article  (1953) box 2 folder 12
• "Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar: Rebel Against Hindu Tradition" article  (circa 1976) box 2 folder 11
• "Early Buddhism and the Brāhmaṇas" articles  (circa 1980) box 2 folder 5
• "Early Buddhism and the Urban Revolution" article  (1982) box 2 folder 8
• "Early Buddhist Kingship" article  (circa 1966) box 2 folder 14
• "The Early Buddhist Elite" articles  (circa 1965) box 2 folder 3
• "The Early Buddhist View of the State" article  (circa 1969) box 2 folder 15
• "Historical Consciousness in Theravada Buddhist Thought" article (undated) box 2 folder 19
• "The Image World of the Dhammapada" articles  (circa 1954) box 1 folder 1
• "The Image-World of the Nikāyas" articles  (circa 1980) box 1 folder 3
• "The Image-World of the Thera-Theri-Gāthās" articles  (1976) box 1 folder 4
• "The Merchant in Ancient India" article  (1977) box 2 folder 7
• "The Miraculous, Superhuman, and Supernormal in Early Buddhism" articles  (circa 1986) box 1 folder 2
• "The Mithuna Motif in Buddhist Art" article  (circa 1976) box 1 folder 8
• "On Buddhist Historiography" article  (circa 1979) box 2 folder 20
• "On the Buddhist Concept of Attha" articles  (circa 1984) box 2 folder 17
• "The Samgha and the Laity" articles  (1981) box 2 folder 6
• "Some Obscure Cults" articles  (1956) box 1 folder 5
• Studies in Buddhist Culture, chapters I-VI (undated) box 1 folder 11
• Studies in Buddhist Culture, chapters VII-XIV (undated) box 1 folder 12
• Studies in Buddhist Culture, chapters XV-XIIX (undated) box 1 folder 13
• Studies in Buddhist Culture, chapters XIX-XXII (undated) box 1 folder 14
• Studies in Buddhist Culture, chapters XXIII-XXVII (undated) box 1 folder 15
• Studies in Buddhist Culture, chapters XXVIII-XXX (undated) box 2 folder 1
• "The Theravada-Buddhist View of History" articles  (circa 1965) box 2 folder 18

Summary Information

Repository

Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives

Title

Balkrishna Govind Gokhale Papers

ID

MS569

Date

circa 1953-2005

Quantity

2 document boxes

Extent

0.84  Linear Feet

Administrative Information

Publication Information

Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, 2023 April

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for use. 

Copyright Notice

The nature of the WFU Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. The Archives and Special Collections of ZSR Library claims only physical ownership of most materials. The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to the U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. 

Preferred Citation

Balkrishna Govind Gokhale Papers (MS569), Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. 

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