Ram Shastri

Ram Shastri Prabhune
Born	Mahuli
Known for	Strictures Against Peshwa Raghunathrao
Title	Chief Justice Pantnyayadhish
Children	Some descendants are living in Satara,Pune.

Ram Shastri Prabhune was the Chief Justice (Mukhya Nyayadhish or "Pantnyayadhish" ) in the apex court of the Maratha Empire in the latter half of the 18th century, during the heyday of that empire. He is best remembered for having passed strictures against the sitting Peshwa of the time for instigating murder. Ram Shastri's integrity in public affairs is regarded as a model for all times.

Ramshastri Prabhune was born in Deshastha rigvedi Brahmin family in the small town of Kshetra Mahuli, near Satara. Little is known of his early life, with references to him being available only after he entered the service of the Peshwas.

Ram Shastri held office under the Peshwas during the latter part of the 18th century. Known for his honesty and integrity, he even declined a royal gift made to his wife. He turned down the offer of an official mansion and continued to live in his humble ancestral home in the Brahmin quarter of Poona city on his modest income. It is said that his wife sold milk from their two cows and a buffalo in order to supplement his monthly income. This Brahminical frugality complemented his wide and eclectic scholarship: he was renowned for his knowledge of law (including British law), philosophy, and the theories of statecraft and political science. He was proficient in the Sanskrit, Marathi, Hindi, Urdu and English languages. As a young Brahmin student of Advaita vedanta, he had studied the Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas and was so well-versed in the Hindu scriptures, that he was considered as an authority in Pune in those times. He once debated for five days with Shri Varadendra Teertha, pontiff of the Madhva sect. After the debate, as a mark of respect and tribute to the scholarship of the pontiff he gave up his house and the structure is surviving to this day as the Shri Varadendra Swamy Mutt on Laxmi Road in Pune. To this theological scholarship, he added in later life a reading of the Quran and the Bible.

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