He was a brilliant student. He was a bibliophile and a voracious reader. There is nothing surprising if later in life, he became a great educationist, teacher, statesman, scholar and philosopher and a great interpreter and commentator of ancient Indian philosophy.

He topped in not only the B.A. but also the M.A. examinations and became Assistant Professor of Philosophy in Madras Presidency College. Then, he joined some foreign universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard in England. Still later, he was appointed Vice- Chancellor of Andhra University.

He represented India in the UNESCO before being appointed ambassador to Russia. Later, he became Vice-President and then President of India in 1962. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1954. He came closest to Plato’s concept of Philosopher king.