The deplorable state of Sanskrit learning in India has rendered
inaccessible the knowledge that should otherwise be flourishing, said
French-born Indologist Michel Danino, who is known for his works
disproving the theory of Aryan invasion, here on Sunday. He was
delivering the keynote address at the one-day national seminar on
‘Reflections of Swami Vivekananda on Sanskrit Language and Literature’
held in the city as part of Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary
year. “The lack of funding for Sanskrit learning, the paucity of
students and scholars, have rendered much of the knowledge that should
be flourishing today inaccessible,” Danino said.
“What we know of ancient Indian mathematics, astronomy and science is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
“One scholar has listed over 7,000 Sanskrit texts on these subjects in manuscript repositories in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Around 7 per cent of these only are estimated to have been published.” Stating that the condition of Sanskrit education in the country was ‘dormant, if not completely moribund’, he said, “Had Swami Vivekananda been alive today, he would certainly have been shocked and angry at the pathetic condition of Sanskrit learning these days.”
“If we were to state numbers, there are only around 15 government sponsored learning institutions, not even one for every state,” he said. “In fact, Europe has more Indology departments with centres for Sanskrit which do more research than here in India.” The problem, Danino said, began at the school- level where Sanskrit learning is theoretically offered but not encouraged. “The explanation given is that it is ‘difficult to get marks’ and students take French or German instead,” he said. “I am at a loss to understand why marks are more important than the fact that the students are not likely to gain fluency in the language since they end up learning by rote.” The govt, he said, is also to blame as its lack of interest with what is considered a “dead language” is leading Sanskrit departments in universities to go around with “begging bowls” which affects their output in terms of research and publications. “The number of students are low and countable on the fingers of our hands,” he said. “In fact, if you go to any Indology dept in India, you come out in a state of depression,” he said. Bharatiya Vichara Kendra director P Parameswaran, who inaugurated the event, called for a revival in Sanskrit learning calling it the “language of culture and spirituality in India”. “Whenever Bharat flourished materially, it was because of the spiritual vitality of our people,” Parameswaran said. “Kerala too had witnessed a renaissance through Sree Narayana Guru and Chattambi Swamikal, both of whom were Sanskrit scholars.”
“What we know of ancient Indian mathematics, astronomy and science is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
“One scholar has listed over 7,000 Sanskrit texts on these subjects in manuscript repositories in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Around 7 per cent of these only are estimated to have been published.” Stating that the condition of Sanskrit education in the country was ‘dormant, if not completely moribund’, he said, “Had Swami Vivekananda been alive today, he would certainly have been shocked and angry at the pathetic condition of Sanskrit learning these days.”
“If we were to state numbers, there are only around 15 government sponsored learning institutions, not even one for every state,” he said. “In fact, Europe has more Indology departments with centres for Sanskrit which do more research than here in India.” The problem, Danino said, began at the school- level where Sanskrit learning is theoretically offered but not encouraged. “The explanation given is that it is ‘difficult to get marks’ and students take French or German instead,” he said. “I am at a loss to understand why marks are more important than the fact that the students are not likely to gain fluency in the language since they end up learning by rote.” The govt, he said, is also to blame as its lack of interest with what is considered a “dead language” is leading Sanskrit departments in universities to go around with “begging bowls” which affects their output in terms of research and publications. “The number of students are low and countable on the fingers of our hands,” he said. “In fact, if you go to any Indology dept in India, you come out in a state of depression,” he said. Bharatiya Vichara Kendra director P Parameswaran, who inaugurated the event, called for a revival in Sanskrit learning calling it the “language of culture and spirituality in India”. “Whenever Bharat flourished materially, it was because of the spiritual vitality of our people,” Parameswaran said. “Kerala too had witnessed a renaissance through Sree Narayana Guru and Chattambi Swamikal, both of whom were Sanskrit scholars.”
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