------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A S R NEWSLETTER (Academy of Sanskrit Research, Melkote 571 431) Ph: (08236) 58741, 58781 E-mail: Vol. 11 No.4 & Vol. & 12 No.1 October 1998- March 1999 Generous donation by SBM Sri S.R. Iyer, Managing Director of State Bank of Mysore, Bangalore visited the Academy on 10.10.98. Impressed with the activities of the Academy, Sri Iyer recorded his opinion as "I am indeed highly impressed by the wonderful Research work that is being done by the Centre, under the dedicated leadership of Sri. Lakshmithathachar. It requires a great deal of perseverance, commitment and devotion to the cause that the Academy stands for. There is a need for greater support from the corporate bodies to stand by Mr. Thathachar. The manuscripts and the software programs developed are highly impressive. I wish Mr. Thathachar and his team good luck in all their future endeavors." Later, on 3.12.1998, in an informal function organised at the SBM's HQ in Bangalore, the SBM was kind enough to contribute Rs.2 lakhs towards purchase of solar lights and solar water heaters for the Academy. Academy expresses its deep debt of gratitude to the kind gesture of the SBM and seeks its continued support in future also. Programmes Sanskrit- past, present & future Academy conducted a seminar on Samskota- Andu , Indu , Munde (Sanskrit- past, present & future) at Melukote on 21st of January 1999. The day-long programme spread over two sessions, was inaugurated by the principal of Government Sanskrit College, Melukote, Sri Areyar Srirama Sharma. Sri Surendra Kaulagi of Janapada Seva Trust, Melukote, presided over the Inaugural session. Academy's Director, Prof. M.A. Lakshmithathachar Initiated the deliberations through his address. The seminar was addressed by more than a dozen delegates among whom were Sri Umakanth Bhatt of Government Sanskrit College, Melukote and our own Scholars. The guests included Vidushi Rukmini. The lively interaction produced a lot of welcome suggestions for consideration related to the development of Sanskrit with its link and relevance to the modern Scientific age. GUEST LECTURES Dr. P. Sensharma Speaks : At the invitation of the Academy Dr. P. Sensharma, Former Head, Dept. of Botany, Bangabasi College, Calcutta, visited the Academy and delivered two Lectures on 13th & 14th October 1998, on topics - Awareness about Environment in Ancient India and Conservation of Bio-diversity in Ancient India. He explained the sacredness of biotic (plants, animals & small creatures) and abiotic elements of nature according to certain Sanskrit texts. Quoting Agnipurana he said a person who worships the trees is sure to procure the desired results. Dr. Peter M. Scharf speaks : On 22-12-1998 Dr. Peter M. Scharf, Ph.D. Lecturer in Sanskrit, Department of Classics, Brown University, visited the Academy and at our request delivered a lecture on Urvasi Pururava Samvada. In the course of his lecture he traced the origin and development of this story in the different Vedic texts and concluded that this is an allusion to the Rain generating process that takes place in the atmosphere. Prof. Raghavan & Raghunathan speak : On 29-12-1998 Prof. V.K.S.N. Raghavan Reader, Department of Vaishnavism from University of Madras delivered lecture on Yatir�ja Saptati an outstanding devotional lyric authored by Vedantadesika. On the same day his student Sri Raghunathan (pursuing his studies for Ph.D.) spoke on the Sanskrit version of Abhayapradanasara of Vedantadesika authored by his son Nayanar Accanpillai. DIRECTOR'S PROGRAMME Director Prof. M.A. Lakshmithathachar during this period (Oct. 98/Mar. 99) had the privilege of meeting several VVIPs like the Hon'ble Union Minister for Human Resources Development, Dr. Muralimanohara Joshi ; Hon'ble Minister of state for Panchayat Raj, Sri Babagowda Patil ; Governor of Andhra Pradesh, H.E. Sri C. Rangarajan; Chairman, Central Sanskrit Board Justice Ranganatha Mishra and others. On 21st of November 1998 Prof. Lakshmithathachar was invited to be Chief Guest at Samskototsava & Karnataka Rajyotsava celebrations jointly organised by Pratibh� Samsat & Akhilakarnataka Vachana Sahitya Parishat, Mysore at Jaganmohana Palace, Mysore. In his address to the august gathering, he stressed the need for strengthening the bonds between Sanskrit and Kannada languages and said that in this direction the function organised under the above caption was befitting. One of the Swamijis of Siddaganga Mutt, Tumkur had graced the occasion. The function was inaugurated by the former Vice Chancellor of Mysore University, Prof. D. Javaregowda and the Honorable Union Minister for Village and Rural Development, Sri Babagowda Patil presided. These apart, the Director was invited to deliver guest lectures/Key Note address as under: Refresher Course in Sanskrit Bangalore University, Post Graduate Department of Sanskrit, Bangalore conducted a Refresher Course in Sanskrit for College Teachers, sponsored by the UGC in the month of October. Director was invited to deliver lectures on Akhyati vada, U�bdabodha, Visistadvaita and Dvaita on 24.10.98. In his lecture on Sabdabodha he said that several decades ago our Navyanyaya Philosophers had identified semantic nets available in Sanskrit sentences. They also worked out a technique for the disambiguation of the meaning of Sanskrit sentences which has become highly relevant in the context of computers. The ASR has utilised this technique for the semantic analysis of the Sanskrit sentences with the help of computers. Software developed by the Academy under this project (which was sponsored by DOE) were demonstrated to the participants of the refresher course. Speaking on Visistadvaita & Dvaita he brought out the commonalities between the two systems such as innumerability of souls, Bhakti as a means to salvation, Parabrahman as a substratum of auspicious qualities etc. He also pointed out the differences such as the Anandataratamya - the various levels of bliss experienced by the released souls, which is not acceptable to Visistadvaitins. Similarly the non-difference between substantive and attributes accepted by Dvaitins is not accepted by Visistadvaitins he said. Speaking on Akhyati, he said this theory of illusion is upheld by the Prabhakara Mimamsakas. While one mistakes nacre for silver it is the non-apprehension of the difference between memory and perceptual cognition as the memory of the silver is stored in the mind, whereas nacre, which is in front of him, is the object of perceptual cognition. Dialogue between traditional scholars and modern linguists Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysore had organised the 7th dialogue between traditional scholars and modern linguists on Time/Tense, Aspect/Mood from 27th to 29th October 1998 in its premises. Prof. M.A. Lakshmithathachar, Director of the Academy was invited to inaugurate this dialogue which was presided over by Dr. N. Ramaswamy, Director, CIIL. In his inaugural address, Sri Lakshmithathachar said that Sanskrit should not be considered merely as a language, but as a storehouse of knowledge. In fact linguistics had its origin in India and was developed in the West later. Panini, Patanjali and Yaska were outstanding linguists and the science of linguistics owes much to them. Apart from this the contribution of Sanskrit to the concept of time which is depicted by the suffixes added into the verbal roots is remarkable. Traditional scholars and the modern linguists participating in this dialogue should bring out all the aspects of Time/Tense, Aspect/Mood, he said. Dr. N. Ramaswamy, Director, CIIL, presiding over the inaugural function stated that Sanskrit is a unique language which has contributed to various fields of knowledge. Eminent linguists like Dr. R.N. Aralikatti, Vidvan Gangadhar V. Bhat, Dr. B.N. Patnaik, participated in the Dialogue. Introduction of Sanskrit Mimamsa The Director participated in the seminar on Preparation of Curriculum Guidelines on Introduction of Sanskrit Mimamsa to Linguists and computer Scientists organised by Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapitha, Tirupati on 30 & 31 October, 1998. The seminar discussed regarding introduction of select Mimamsa tenets to Linguists and Computer Scientists, who have been working on Natural Language Processing. Participants included Dr. P. Ramanujam, C-DAC, Dr. Om Vikas, Dept. of Electronics, Government of India among others. In his key note address he stated that Mimamsa system is most useful in developing semantic database system. This particular field deals with Semantic Database modelling / management systems. These are embedded in the methodologies developed for Artificial Intelligence. These areas are not only emerging as powerful and exciting aspects of Research in Computer Science but also as effective practical tools for Database professionals offering greater facilities of application than the conventional Database systems. Further he stated that Computer Scientists and Mimamsa scholars should come together and try to find out whether the other database provided by the Mimamsa system conforms to the data model specified in terms of the database description to structural formation and associated operations. Crash Course On Indian cultural Heritage In the semester course organised for the students of IOVA University on Indian Cultural Heritage by Dr. M.S. Nagaraja Rao, Mysore, Prof. M.A. Lakshmithathachar was invited to deliver a lecture on Ramanuja and Srivaishnavism on 9.10.1998. In his lecture he said Ramanuja was a great philosopher, who was highly catholic in out look and who tried to find out the clues from the Vedic passages themselves to reconcile the apparently contradicting statements in the Vedas. The philosophy adopted by Ramanuja is called Srivaishnavism which is a philosophy of religion. Srivaishnavism stresses the need for compassion and concern for other living beings. Those who suffer when they find the sufferings of others are real Srivaishnavas; on the other hand those who enjoy the sufferings of others can never be called Srivaishnavas he said. SCHOLARS PARTICIPATION All India Oriental Conference Vidvans Sri S. Narayana and Sri B.V. Ramapriya participated in the All India Oriental Conference held at Baroda from 13th to 15th of October 98. While the Conference was inaugurated by well-known Sanskrit Scholar Dr. Venkatachalam, Hon'ble Minister for Culture, Government of Gujarat presided over the Inaugural session. The conference covered 21 sections like Vedas, Classical Sanskrit, Indian Linguistics, Modern Sanskrit, Sanskrit and Computer etc. Our scholars - Vidvan S. Narayana presented a paper on Purvottara-mimamsayoh Aikasastrya vicarah while Vidvan Ramapriya spoke on Ganakayantre sandhiprakriya� supported by a demonstration. In this conference ASR publications were sold at special discount rates. Workshop on Library Automation Academy's Librarian Sri. H.P. Shekar attended a workshop on Computerised Documentation Service (CDS) / Integrated Set of Information Systems (ISIS) Ver. 3.07, a software for Library Automation, held at Bangalore from 2 to 13th of November 1998, organised jointly by the Institute of Information Studies Bangalore, and National Information Systems for Science and Technology, New Delhi. Learned Scholars in Library and Information science like Prof. Neelameghan, Prof. K .S. Raghavan, Prof. Haravu, Sri Narayana Kutty and others addressed the delegates. Manuscript Exhibition Oriental Research Institute (ORI), University of Mysore held a three-day exhibition at Institute of Engineers Hall, Mysore from 11th to 13th of March 1999. Academy was invited to display some of the rare manuscripts in its collection. Sri H.S. Hanumantha Rao, Granthapala, represented the Academy at the exhibition. The visitors included school children, students from Sanskrit and other colleges apart from general public. Sri Rao's services in organising and conducting the Expo was greatly appreciated by ORI. MEETINGS 20th AGM held The 20th Annual General Meeting of the Academy was held on 6th of October 98 at the premises of Gokhale Institute of public affairs, Bangalore, where in the report of the committee of management, the audited statement of accounts, Balance sheet and the report of the auditors for the year ended 31st March 1998 were received and adopted. The members while appreciating the various activities of the Academy also noted that publication programme was hampered due to paucity of funds though several works were ready for publication. Managing Committee Meets The periodical meeting of the Managing Committee of the Academy was held at Bangalore on 15.12.1998 in which certain major decisions were taken. These include - To part-take in the Celebrations of 900th Anniversary of the Visit of R�m�nuj�c�rya to Melukote organise an Exhibition called Ramanuja Siddhanta Pradarsini. It was also decided to release a Commemorative Special Supplement on Ramanuja -900. Another major decision taken was to continue to Celebrate the Ramanuja - 900 through out the Year 1999 and create during the year a Corpus fund of Rupees Three Crores to perpetuate the activities of the Academy which are in keeping with the Philosophy of Ramanuja like bringing out Critical Editions of various works belonging to Visistadvaita Siddhanta, Release of Audio / Video CDs on Visistadvaita Works and to conduct Seminars, Conferences, Workshops on topics of interest to the Academy. Further it was decided to release, during the year an outstanding Book called MELUKOTE THROUGH THE AGES in which valuable information related to Melukote and its history is available. LOCAL EVENTS Tiruppavai Upanyasam Alwar Divya Prabandha Project of TTD, Tirupati had organised a month long lecture programme on Tiruppavai at Melukote in Andavan Ashram. The discourses started on 15th of December and concluded on 30th of January. Apart from Prof. M.A. Lakshmithathachar, several other scholars delivered lectures in this programme. On the concluding day hundreds of devotees participated in the function and received the blessings of Andal. Tulasi Puja Tulasi Puja was celebrated in a befitting manner at the premises of the Academy on 2-11-1998. After the formal Puja, Vidvan, N.K. Srinivasa Iyengar spoke about this divine plant. Sri Ramanuja in Karnataka - 900 Ac�rya R�m�nuja the great saint with humanitarian consideration and the chief propagator of Visistadvaita Siddhanta, was mainly responsible for elevation of Melukote to the level of Jnanamantapa from a mere land of dense forest, before his arrival 900 years ago. It was because of his 14 Long years of stay here (after renovation of Temples) at Melukote, that the place got the name Yatisaila otherwise known as Tirunarayanapura, Narayanadri, Vedadri and Yadavadri. The disciples of Sri Ramanuja had a unique opportunity to celebrate the 900th Anniversary of Acarya's holy foot steps into Karnataka, in this Bahudhanya samvatsara on Makara Uukla Punarvasu day which fell on 30th of January 1999, as a grand Utsava organised by Sri Ramanuja Seva Trust, Bangalore. Some of the highlights of this Utsava held at Melukote are given below : Yatisreshtas like H.H. Jiyars of Ahobila Mutt, Parakala Mutt, Tridanai Narayana Jeer had graced the occasion to bless the congregation of devotees. A special Ramanuja Jyoti was brought to Melukote all the way from Sriperambudur which came in a Rathay�tra after passing through various important towns and cities of Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. A befitting Exhibition called Sri Ramanuja Siddhanta Pradarsini was organised by the Academy in the township in which invaluable original paintings depicting the life of R�m�nuja were exhibited apart from exhibiting the various publications on Visistadvaita Siddhanta. The Exhibition which was inaugurated by the Managing Trustee of Ramanuja Seva Trust Sri Tiru Iyengar was visited by a stream of visitors who admired the unique collections and exhibits. At the Inaugural function organised by Ramanuja Seva Trust to welcome the pithadhipatis, H.H. the Jiyar of Ahobila Mutt and H.H. Jiyar of Parakala Mutt released the Commemorative Special Supplement of ASR and the latest Tattvadipa Journal respectively. H.H. The Jeer of Ahobila Mutt donated Golden Anjali Hastam to the Utsava idol of Sri Ramanuja at the Tirunarayana Temple apart from donating Golden crowm to the procession idols of Celuvanarayana Swamy and to two Ubhaya Nacciyars. All these items are studded with rubies and emeralds. The other programmes included Nurutada�Utsava, Yatisammelana, release of souvenir lectures etc. Sri Vairamuai Brahmotsava As usual Sri Vairamuai Brahmotsava was held from 22nd March to 3rd April 99 with Vairamuai Mahotsava on 27th of March 1999 with gaiety. These functions were witnessed by large number of devotees. DISTINGUISHED VISITORS OPINE "It is absolutely exhilarating to see the work that is being done here. All too often we pay lip service to the greatness our Culture, but almost no one studies it seriously. Finally, I see at least one Institution I can believe in. Please continue the good works and let us know how we may provide assistance for your noble efforts." Dr. Murali K. Prahalad, Harward University, USA " It is really growing and I pray God to provide all the requirements at the earliest so that the growth of Sanskrit gets further boost." Dr. M.S. Nagaraja Rao, Former Director General,Archaeological Survey of India "I was deeply impressed with ASR, its activities, the Library & general ambience. Would like to support its overall growth by becoming a member. I wish the Academy all round success in its activities." AKN Prasad, Director, Microcon. "As a science student, I had only learnt Sanskrit as a language. But today I was totally thrilled to see the true ancientness of this great Indian language." Nikhila Prasad, student " ... I am very inspired by the dedication and care with which you and your staff are preserving and cataloguing manuscripts as well as making the knowledge of Sanskrit available using computers. In this you combine the preservation of the most ancient with the utilization of the most advanced modern technology. " Peter M Scharf, Lecturer in Sanskrit, Brown University, USA. " Ancient Language - Sanskrit that had remained hidden due to the difficulty in understanding may now start unfolding to the masses as well once the efforts being made in this direction at ASR reach the stage of fruition. I wish success to one and all associated with ASR. K.N. Shrivastava, Managing Director, Hutti Gold Mines. "I was ecstatic to know all lively and significant facets of Sanskrit Academy. The entire nation should be grateful to this Institute." Dr. K.B. Archak, Reader, Department of Sanskrit ,Karnataka University, Dharwad. " I was tremendously impressed by my visit to the Academy which is doing outstanding research work in bringing about a congruence of interests of the latest in computer technology in what is profound in the Sanskrit Language which is the back bone of Indian culture. I only wish the institute will find the financial resources to put its manifold activities on a solid footing. Prof. K. Kesavan, Ontario, Canada. CONTRIBUTIONS Academy sincerely thanks all its well wishers for their kind monetary contributions. It takes pleasure to mention a few of them here under: Dr. Murali K. Prahalad, USA. Rs. 30,001/- R.K. Charitable Society, Coimbatore. Rs. 10,000/- Sri M.N. Srinivasan, Bangalore. Rs. 7,500/- Sri V. Janardhana, Bangalore. Rs. 5,000/- Kumudam Endowments, Chennai. Rs. 5,000/- Sri M.R. Venkatachar, Bangalore. Rs. 5,000/- Sri M.N. Ramanujan, Bangalore. Rs. 2,500/- Sri Kishore Venguri, Chennai Rs. 2,000/- Sri R. Padmanabhan, Coimbatore. Rs. 1,250/- Sri K.R. Srishailan, Mysore. Rs. 1,001/- Sri N.S. Venkatesh, Bangalore . Rs. 1,000/- Ramakrishna Sannidhi Trust, Trichy. Rs. 1,000/- LIBRARY BECOMES RICHER During the period 215 valuable Books were added to the library of which more than 50% were received as gifts from well-wishers. Rest of them were purchased. Academy expresses its gratitude to Prof. V. Varadacharya of Chennai who has donated 60 Valuable books to the Library. The newly added titles include - Science in Krsna Yajurveda (Eng) by Rani Ramakrishna, Secunderabad, 1994. Sanskrit and Science (Eng) by Janaki SS (Ed.), Kuppuswami Shastri Research Institute, Chennai, 1997. Amaravali -Vol. 1-12 (Kan) by Varadadeshika-charya (Rangapriya) (Ed.), Ashtanga Yoga Vijnana Mandiram, Mysore. Pre-Historic Culture and Environment (Eng) by Rajendran P, Classical Publishing, New Delhi 1989. Kautilya's Arthasastra and Modern World (Eng) by Radhavallabh Tripathi, Pratibha Prakashan, Delhi 1997. The Tao of Jaina Sciences (Eng) by Jain LC, Arihant International, New Delhi, 1992. Sritattvanidhi of Mummaai Krishnaraja Woaeyar Vol. I (Skt) by Devaki HP (Ed.), University of Mysore, Mysore, 1998. Encyclopedia of Library & Information Science (Vol.63) by Kent Allen (Ed.),Marcel Dekker Inc., New York, 1998. Non-conventional Sources of Energy in the Vedas, by Madhukar,Ashtikar Nag Publishers, Delhi, Annam bahu kurvita (Eng & Tamil) by Jitendra Bajaj and Srinivas M.D. History of Congress(Eng)by Pattabhi Sitaramaiah. Yathartha Khyati Bhushanam (Skt) by Ramanuja Thathacharya N.S. Sangita Ratn�kara Vol. I & II by S. Subramanya Shastri. Brahmasutra Anubhashya by Vallabha-charya. Bhattadipika� Vol. I & II(Skt) by S. Subramanya Shastri Lakshanavali by Shashinatha Jha OBITUARY We condole the passing away of two well wishers of the Academy. Popularly known as Putina, Sri Pu.Ti. Narasimhachar who hailed from Melukote was an Honorary Member of the Academy. He was a great Kannada poet and was awarded many honors. He has written a lucid introduction/Foreword to Bhagavadvi�ayam, a Kannada publication series of the Academy. He passed away on 13.10.1998. Sri H.S. Narasimhamurthy, President of the Ubhaya Vedanta Pravarthana Sabha, Bangalore, a Member of the Academy, passed away on 2.12.1998. Being a Civil Engineer, he was actively participating in the meetings of the Academy and supervising the construction activities of ASR. In their passing away, the Academy has lost two well-wishers and guides. ************************************************************************** Advertisements MELKOTE THROUGH THE AGES (MTA) Hurry ! Order your copy of MTA now and avail pre-release special discount The Academy is shortly releasing an outstanding monograph titled - Melkote through the Ages. Every persons interested in history and culture particularly of Melkote, should find this Book a pride possession. The book consists of 580 pages of Text, 208 pages of invaluable colour photo prints and with full calico binding. It is priced at Rs. 950/- only per copy. It is now proposed to offer a special discount of Rs. 100/- to those who place an order now i.e., prior to offcial release. Hope esteemed readers of ASR Newsletter will avail this offer and mail the cheque/ DD with the order favouring to : The Director, Academy of Sanskrit Research Melkote - 571 431. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Appeal CONTRIBUTIONS SOLICITED Academy�s programme for the current year includes : a) Project Samvit : Aimed at computer aided teaching package for Sanskrit, at an estimated cost of Rs.35.88 lakhs spread over 2 years. b) Project Sabdartha: Aimed at Technology Development for Sanskrit, at an estimated cost of Rs.49.65 lakhs spread over 3 years. c) Publications : Relating to Visistadvaita,Upanisads and Sanskrit, at an estimated cost of Rs.10.00 lakhs for the current year. d) Ubhaya Vedanta Goshthis : In various parts of the country inviting eminent scholars, at an estimated cost of Rs.25,000 to 50,000 depending upon the venue and duration. As you are already aware the Academy has been struggling very hard for the preservation and propagation of our cultural heritage for the last two decades. It is also trying very hard to bring together Sanskritists and Scientists on a common platform having served the nation for the past 20 years. Now the Academy is facing financial crisis due to the limited resources made available both by State and Central governments that too for the purpose of nonrecurring expenditure only. The serious efforts put-forth by the Academy to create a Corpus fund out of the interest which the recurring expenditure such as establishment etc., could be met, has not yielded desired results. Due to this many of the on-going activities of the Academy could come to a stand still. Hence Philanthropic Institutions, Individuals & NRI's, are hereby requested come to the rescue of the Academy by contributing to the Corpus fund or sponsoring some of the projects and activities which are shown below: Please note that all contribution to the Academy are exempt u/s 35(1) (iii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 to an extent of 100%. All contributions may be sent in favour of : The Director, Academy of Sanskrit Research, Melkote 571 431. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVITATION FOR ARTICLES Readers of our ASR NEWS LETTER may be aware that the Academy publishes a Half-Yearly Research Journal titled Tattvadipa, In this journal it is intended to publish Research Articles on Indological Disciplines like Vedanta, Agama, Tantra etc., We also consider Articles on Philosophy, Religion, fine Art, Science, Literature, Ecology etc., for publication. However we prefer that these Articles should be written in either English or Sanskrit. Thus we hereby request our readers, some of whom may be learned Scholars and Eminent Scientists, to take note of this and kindly Contribute their Original Research Articles for consideration of Publication for the benefit of interested readers and research students. While it is our endeavor to publish all the Good Articles received, the final decision in publishing any article rests only with the Editorial Board. The Academy commits to provide a Complementary Copy of the Journal to the Author of the Article which is published in that Journal along with ten (10) copies of Off-Prints. Soft copy of Articles sent in the form of a 3.5" floppy is preferred. If this is not possible, typed (with double line spacing) Articles also may be sent to : THE DIRECTOR, Academy of Sanskrit Research, Melukote - 571 431, Karnataka, India **************************************************************************