Dr.K.N.Neelakantan (b.1943) former Professor of Sanskrit, University of Calicut, India, has distinguished himself as a scholar of international repute in Sanskrit and allied subjects. His interest covers a wide spectrum: from Vedic Studies, Indian philosophy, Aesthetics, Language studies, Technical sciences, to Management studies, and other Sanskrit-related subjects. Indian philosophy, especially Vedanta being one of his favorite subjects he has substantially contributed to Indian philosophical writings highlighting their contemporary relevance and application.

Both as a teacher and researcher he has been trying to promote Sanskrit studies through multi disciplinary approaches in order to make the traditional Indian wisdom meaningful and relevant to contemporary knowledge. He has published several books and papers both in English and Malayalam and his magnum opus The Ethics of Sankara has become one of the most popular work on Advaita vedanta

As a teacher for nearly three decades he has taught generations of students. He has also guided many students in research leading to PhD besides himself carrying out considerable research. His publications also include papers and articles in various disciplines like Indian philosophy, Literary Criticism, Language Studies, and technical literature like Indian Architecture, and Music.

He completed his post graduation in Sanskrit from the University of Madras in 1966 and served as Assistant Professor of Sanskrit in Madras Government collegiate service for a few years. During the period of his higher education he had the opportunity to study under eminent scholars like Dr. V. Raghavan, Dr. K. Kunjunni Raja, V. Kalyanasundara Sastrikal and Tirujnanasambanthan. After getting his PhD in 1975 for the work The Ethics of Sankara he joined Sree Krishna College at Guruvayoor and taught Sanskrit for more than a decade. Later he joined as Professor in the department of Sanskrit, University of Calicut and after his retirement in 2003 he continued there as Professor Emeritus. Presently he is associated with the Adyar Library & Research Center, Adyar,Chennai-600020

In addition to teaching and research he has attended All India Oriental conferences, National and International seminars, Philosophical congress, Colloquiums and workshops either as a delegate or as a resource person in different parts of India. Besides, he has been serving as a member of the Post Graduate Board of Studies in Sanskrit, Faculty of Languages, and Academic Council of the Calicut University and as a Member of the Syndicate, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, at Kalady. He is also a recipient of the Kerala Sahitya Academy award in 1984.