15th World Sanskrit Conference - impact on Sanskrit studies in India and Abroad

[shrinivasa varakhedi]

Dear Scholars,

Hearty Congratulations to Professor Radhvallabh Tripathi Ji, and his team of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan staff members for their painstaking efforts in making the 15th WSC a grand success. As you all know the 15th WSC was oragnised by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in association with the IASS in New Delhi last week. The week long programs, academic sessions, Pandita parishat, Kavi-sameelanam etc were held successfully. It was a fantastic event that every participant enjoyed.

The WSC was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in the presence of Kapil Sibal, HRD Minister and Prof. V.Kutumba Shatsry and Prof. Radhvallabh Tripathi on the podium. Thousands of scholars and heads of the institutions witnessed the program. All the academic sessions and deliberations started with a spl lecture by Prof. Ashok Aklujkar were remarkable. The books "Sixty years of Sanskrit studies in India and Abroad" and a souvenir "kalpataru" edited by Prof. RV Tripathi and brought out by RSkS were welcomed by the scholary community.

The Computational tools for Sanskrit Analysis that have been developed by Sanskrit consortium of seven Instt headed by Prof. Amba Kulakarni have been released by the PM. These tools were distributed to all delegates free of cast by TDIL, Govt of India. This was noteworthy.

The entire conference has a great impact on the studies of Sanskrit in National and International level.

I hereby invite the views from the scholars who attended the conference.

warm rgards,
shrivara

[Rachuri Achar]

Dear Scholars,

    I also had the opportunity to attend the 15th WSC at New Delhi. At the outset, I would like to convey my sincere appreciation for all the efforts and planning that went into the successful organization of the event. Kudos to Tripathi Ji and his team who were behind his success. I had the opportunity to meet several scholars and exchange views and learn from them. 

    One resolution that is worth mentioning was made on the final day of the conference where all scholars unanimously agreed and cheered when Sri Chamu Krishna Shastri spoke on the need to teach Sanskrit through Sanskrit just as English is taught in English and French in French!! 

   I also had the opportunity to visit the stall put up by TDIL and look at the tools that were being demonstrated and give few suggestions for the improvement in displaying the search results so that they can be more useful for researchers. 

     

हरये नमः
राचूरि आचार्य (आत्मदास)
मम स्वामी हरिर्नित्यं सर्वस्य पतिरेव च ।
त्वमस्माकं तवस्मसि

--
अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि।
ततः स्वधर्मं कीर्तिं च हित्वा पापमवाप्स्यसि।।
तस्मादुत्तिष्ठ कौन्तेय युद्धाय कृतनिश्चयः।
निराशीर्निर्ममो भूत्वा युध्यस्व विगतज्वरः।। (भ.गी.)

[navaratna rajaramnavaratna]

 

    One has only to compare the extraordinary vitality of Sanskrit Studies in India with the picture of gloom and doom in so-called Sanskrit Departments in the U.S. to see where the future lies.

 

     Harvard doesn't even have a Sanskrit Department anymore-- only something called South Asia Studies as part of its Divinity School, with its faculty like Diana Eck courting Islamists for sponsorship.

 

     Don't believe cries of 'Sanskrit in danger' meaning give us money or Sanskrit will disappear. Let it flourish in India and die in the U.S. Sanskrit courses there-- at the level of high school level introductory courses are drawing no students.

 

     Let these departments die a natural death.

 

N.S. Rajaram

[Veeranarayana Pandurangi]

dear Rajaramji

thanks. I agree these departments may die a natural death in europe some day as it happened in berlin or cambridge. it is true that harvard now has only south asian dept. 

but  I dont think that all the people in US  or europe are making plans for degrading sanskrit language or downgrading indian dharma. there are good people. I think we should not hurt them. 

--

Veeranarayana N.K. Pandurangi
Head, Dept of Darshanas,
Yoganandacharya Bhavan,
Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Rajasthan Samskrita University, Madau, post Bhankrota, Jaipur, 302026.

अथ चेत्त्वमिमं धर्म्यं संग्रामं न करिष्यसि।

[उदयनः (Udayana Hegde )]

I agree to Prof. Veeranarayana Pandurangi sirs words.

Organisations like Samskrita Bharati work for the revival of Samskrit in countries like USA, UK etc.,

http://www.samskritabharatiusa.org/index.php/en/centers


--


Udayana

[Shrinivasa Varakhedi]

As it is mentioned by Dr. Rachuri Acharya, for the first time in the world conference a special session was devoted to discuss issues related to Sanskrit pedagogy. This session was convened by Vidvan Cha Mu Krishna Shastry ji. I heard that it received a warm welcome and attention in the conference. The resolution to teach Sanskrit in Sanskrit language is welcome by one and all. Thanks....

regards,

shrivara

--
warm regards,
shri.varakhedi
-----------------------------------------
Prof. Shrinivasa Varakhedi, Ph.D
Director, (Recipient of Presidents Award)

Directorate of Karnataka State Sanskrit Education 
Karnataka Samskrita University,

Pampa Mahakavi Road, Chamaraj Pet,

Bengaluru - 560018

Mobile : +91-94853-01353
Ph Off :  +91-80-26705596
Land Res: +91-80-26794258

Director (On Leave)

Sanskrit Academy, 

Osmania University

Hyderabad 07

[Bhagwan Singh]

I share your concern. But a nation expecting charity from abroad is already pawned. What is lamentable is basic studies (read basic distortions) are still being done mostly by Europeans including Americans. Our scholars boast of their acquired wisdom and rest at that. They know us better than we know ourselves and as such they have the advantage to hit us at the weakest point.  Foreign scholars learning our languages outnumber our own scholars who care to learn their languages and exploit them to set the score even. BS   --- On Thu, 12/1/12, navaratna rajaramnavaratna <rajaramn...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Sundareswaran N.K]

Dear Scholars!

I am here to thank and congratulate Radha Vallabh Tripathiji and his team for having hosted WSC in a nice manner.

It was a great success. 
Every participant was given equal attention. And punctuality was carefully maintained.

The topics chosen for the Pandita parishad  were relevant and significant.

And some of the presentations were simply beautiful like those of Mani Dravid Sastriji, Warkhediji as well as Veeranarayana Pandurangiji.

But, we can not ignore the fact that papers of eminent researchers were rejected, I can cite one example -  Prof. K. V. Vasudevan from Kerala. I happen to here some other cases also. The gravity of the injustice is magnified when one sees that the standard of a few of the accepted papers were not up to the mark.

I am not lodging a complaint. Just making a point.

Let me mention once again that the conference was a great success. 

As stated by Rajaram, let us appreciate the painstaking effort put in by RV. TRIPATHIJI AND HIS TEAM.

One more thing. The KALPATARU contains valuable information regarding the personal biography of great scholars and pioneers in Sanskrit studies. Thanks to the brain and team behind.

[S.R.Krishnamurthy]

Dear Bhagawan Singh and other Scholars,

 

There is a vast difference in the outlook of the foreigners who study Sanskrit and indology; and our own scholars. The Indian scholars, by and large, take to Study of Sanskrit and scriptures as a matter of duty and hence perfunctorily; and is of the opinion that the texts and commentaries should not be qustioned since that amounts to sin. so mostly they study with blind faith; ofter without caring to ponder over the nuances. Whereas the Westerners have no such inhibition and therefore study the subjects with a questioning attitude. Some scholars like Rt.Rev.Gaspare Garresio, who translated Ramayana into Italian, and Wilhelm Shlegel into Latin, Will Durant, Bertrand Russel, etc. are impressed and take them in the right sense. and others in the negative or neutral sense. But on the whole, their tremendous contribution cannot be ignored. But their critical approach is far superion to our blind approach, because it is ofter their criticisms that have roused interest in our scholars, whereas our approach miserably fails to arouse the interest in our younger generations; and scuttlles any effort in researching into the innate meaning of our texts; and content with gobbling up silly commentaries blindly. And it is more pitiable that comments are often made without understanding their import by our scholars. I recall Rama's advice to Laksmana, when the latter seeks permission of the former, to combat Ravana: tasya ChidraNi margaswa swa ChidraNi ca lakShaya|  chakShuShaa dhanuShaa yatnaadrakShaatmaanaM samaahitaaH| (6-59-50; Vamiki RamaayaNa)|| So, we have to stem the rot, the first thing is cover the lapses in ourselves than finding fault with others.

 

Yours humbly,

s.r.krishna murthy