The errant philosopher: Rāhul Saṃkṛtyayan's journeys in time and space

Rāhul Saṃkṛtyayan (1893-1963) is a very prolific Indian intellectual and writer, who published in five languages about a very wide spectrum of subjects. He was a self-made person, had no formal education and no fixed residence, nor a stable job. A polyglot and a traveller, he is surprisingly little studied and many of his works have never been printed. Among his writings particularly relevant is Ghumakkaṛ śāstra (A Treatise of Vagabondology), a handbook for roamers claiming that wandering is the first and ultimate goal in human life. A world traveller, he wrote many travelogues. This paper focuses on the philosophical importance the author attributes to wandering.