Well scripted

“This is the first of its kind interpretation of the Sanskrit manuscripts to be carried out under an independent aegis in the country. We have retired Sanskrit experts who have been working on the project for the last 60 years. However,because of less staff in the institute,the work has slowed down in the last five to six years. Ved Bhavan with their Sanskrit scholars and their reach in the city will help us speed up this project,’’said secretary of Pragyapatshala Mandal,Wai Professor Yeshwant Kalamkar.

Ghaisas Guruji,incharge of Ved Bhavan in the city said that it is very unique kind of work and the board members have cleared the proposal. ‘A formal Memorandum of Understanding should be signed soon and the work should begin. We also have a good connections with Sanskrit experts in the city who can help speed up the project,which can help the project to be completed in six to seven years,’’he said.

The initiative was started by Kevalanand Saraswati in 1925. It was later undertaken by Pandit Lakshman Shastri Joshi and other Sanskrit scholars. The Mandal has completed 23 volumes and they have another 25 volumes to be completed. “It is a very tedius work and we are looking for scholars who can interpret the manuscripts. These manuscripts have to be understood and then interpreted as it would help understand the evolvement of culture of 500-600 years,’’ he said. Works of Vyavharkhand,Upnishtakand,Rajnitikhand and Varnashramdharmakand are complete,he adds.

With a lot of demand from Australia,Germany and even US,the initial volumes have been sold off in foreign countries. Kalamkar said that there are lot of foreign students who are doing extensive research in this area. “We were able to provide them only part information. As of now our institution is able to garner only Rs 3 lakh yearly for this project. We are looking for more sponsors to speed up this project. Those who work for us are retired Sanskrit teachers and scholars on honorary basis. We can form a proper team of experts once we are able to garner enough funds,’’he said.

Ghaisas adds that with many Sanskrit experts in the city the dual effort by Ved Bhavan and Pragyapatshala should help bring effective results to this initiative.