Chandigarh February 14, 2023
A series of lectures has begun on the occasion of the 200th birth anniversary of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.
The lecture was jointly organised by Dayanand Chair for Vedic Studies and Department of Sanskrit, Panjab University. The speaker was Dr. Satyan Sharma, who gave a lecture on the topic ‘Samaj ke vibhinn vargon ke liye Sanskrit vyakaran sikhne ki paramparik vyavastha – Dharmashastr, Itihas, Vyakaran Shastr aur Aitihasik pramanon ke sanket’.
Traditional & historical records declare that Sanskrit education was for all sections of the Indian society”: Dr. Satyan Sharma
“Based on a series of textual and historical records, it can be said that Sanskrit education was not restricted to only Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, but was open to all sections of the Indian society”, said Dr. Sharma, while also presenting the names and Sanskrit texts of scholars from 6th century onwards, who belonged to social classes beyond Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. Dr. Sharma, who is also a guest faculty at the department, added that the reports of indigenous schools prepared during the British era, also point to a traditional system through which almost all social classes could study and master Sanskrit shastras.
Adorned with many prestigious awards at the state and national level for his contributions to Sanskrit and indology, Prof. V. K. Alankar, Academic Incharge of the Sanskrit department, appreciated Dr. Sharma’s efforts for bringing out precise documented proof of the efforts which the ancient Indian thinkers had put to make Sanskrit education accessible to all. Prof. Alankar also reminded the audience of the efforts which Swami Dayanand Saraswati put for achieving the same goal in the modern era. “Swami Dayanand Saraswati was a firm believer in the idea of Vedas for all and Sanskrit for all”, said Prof. Alankar during the closing comments of the lecture. During his closing comments for this lecture, Shri Vijay Bharadwaj, guest faculty at the department, appreciated the hard work put by Dr. Sharma for bringing out such historical and traditional records.
This was the second lecture from a series of lectures being organised. The first lecture was by Prof. V. K. Alankar, who is winner of prestigious awards like Banabhatt award and Vedvyas award. Under this series, many more lectures shall be organised.
Dayanand Chair for Vedic Studies is one of the oldest chairs for Vedic research in India. This series of lectures is being jointly organised by one of India’s oldest chairs for Vedic research, Dayanand Chair for Vedic Studies and Sanskrit department, Panjab University
