Sanskrit wiki - participation of scholars - an appeal

Sat Feb 4 17:41:00 UTC 2012

As I have already written to Prof. Varakhedi, I am delighted to see this development.  Having read the main page and some articles, however, may I urge that a good font be used which would preclude some of the numerous typographic problems one encounters. There are good Unicode devanagari fonts available that can be used across platforms. Making these available to potential contributors would encourage many of us to take an active apart.  With best wishes for success, George Cardonia
Sent from my iPad

On Feb 4, 2012, at 6:41 AM, Dominik Wujastyk <wujastyk at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> Dear colleagues, 
> 
> Further to Prof. Varakhedi's post, may I clarify that he is promoting the development of a Sanskrit-language section of the world-famous Wikipedia.  This is, in my view, a very good idea, and much preferable to creating a separate wiki for Sanskrit contributions, that would inevitably become ghettoized.  It will enable Sanskrit language contributors to make use of the substantial writing aids and editorial support and control systems that already exist within the main Wikipedia.  It will also give visibility to Sanskrit as a member of the world family of languages that are important enough to have representation in Wikipedia.
> 
> The Sanskrit Wikipedia pages are here:
> http://sa.wikipedia.org
> Best,
> --
> Dr Dominik Wujastyk
> Department of South Asia, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies,
> University of Vienna,
> Spitalgasse 2-4, Courtyard 2, Entrance 2.1
> 1090 Vienna
> Austria
> Project | home page | PGP | Free Dropbox account 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 4 February 2012 08:50, Shrinivasa Varakhedi <shrivara at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear scholarly members of Indology list,
> 
> As we are all aware, the texts of shastras have got a little chance to be alive for long with out the technological advancement. The oral tradition of many Vedic shakhas and texts is in danger. The knowledge that was not preserved in script form was lost to us. Even the physical preservation of manuscripts has become a challenge. Digi-techonlogy has given more life-span to them. Still we need to work on preserving and spreading knowledge systems. The text which did not enter the press-room has not seen the light and yet stays in the dark. The branch of knowledge that did not come to light and was not spread, could not survive for long. The preservation of existing Sanskrit Sahstrik knowledge and their texts is our responsibility. We are accountable for passing on them to the next generation using all means of modern technology. One such technology is wiki-techonology, which is one-stop solution to all problems. 
> 
> Wiki-pedia and Wiki-soure have become a power tool for knowledge preservation and knowledge dissemination. Currently all most all living languages and cultures find place in wiki. This will create the future history for any language and its knowledge case. 
> 
> Very recently Sanskrit-wiki has been taken up by a team of young scholars motivated by Sri Cha mu Krishna Shastry. With in short period Sanskrit has got a significant place in Indian Languages in content generation and usage. 
> 
> Here is an appeal to you to join us in the great task of restoring Samskrit Language to its pristine glory. A phenomenal project, which visualizes to bridge the gap between ancient knowledge base and present world.
> 
> Content development in Samskrit Wikipedia
> 
> Samskrit Wikipedia is an open source on-line encyclopedia and Samskrita Bharati ( an NGO striving for the cause of Samskrit )  has begun a  Content Development Project to render support in the knowledge sharing process. Scholars like You  are a major part of this revival mission and could help to further enrich the Samskrit Wikipedia and take it to a higher level.
> 
> We at Samskrit Bharati-Wikipedia wing, have set ourselves a goal of maximizing inputs into Samskrit Wikipedia. We are keen to enlist the services of similar enthusiasts who could contribute original articles or translated articles (from other languages) on a regular basis. Suitable compensation for the efforts put in would definitely be given.
> 
> Our larger vision is to build a network of contributors across all the states of India and enrich Samskrit Wikipedia on a continuous basis.We cordially invite you to join us and be a regular contributor.
> 
> For further details, Contact us at 080-26421152 or at samskritwiki at gmail.com
> 
> What can we do ?
> 
> 1. Visit Sanskrit wiki and comment and give feedback.
> 2. Spread the news about this and improve the readership of wiki.
> 3. In Schools and colleges we can give assignments to the students in the form of some information collection and content development.  
> 4. Share if you have already had any text available in e-form.
> 5. Give some time in your weekly schedule to Sanskrit-wiki.
> 7. Translate some local news and place in wikipage.
> 8. Edit the text of your interest.
> 9. Type some text and contribute to wiki.
> 10. Coordinate team work at you place being in touch with Sanskrit-wiki team.
> 
> Any suggestion, support in this regard is highly appreciated.
>  
> Come. Let us join together and complete this jnanayagnya for next generation. This is the time for "do or die" and "publish or perish". 
> 
> If we miss this opportunity, we miss the whole. 
> 
> With warm regards,
> shrivara
> 
> Dr. Shrinivasa Varakhedi
> Registrar i/c, Director
> Karnataka Sanskrit University
> Bangalore 18
> 
> shrivara at gmail.com
> 09483501353
> 
> 

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