Noted Sanskrit scholar and founder of Vedavijnana Gurukulam, Kotemane Ramachandra G Bhat, urged Sanskrit students and practitioners to “shed traditional ways and embrace the modern out-of-the-box thinking.”
Delivering the keynote address in Sanskrit during the second convocation of the Karnataka Sanskrit University here on Friday, Dr Bhat said the university has the responsibility of combining ancient roots with modern fruits.
“Protection of the vedas should be our priority, as Vedic Sanskrit is the Ati Bhasha, a unique state of the mother language,” Bhat said. As many as 460 students received their degrees at the convocation that was presided over by Governor and Chancellor H R Bhardwaj and Vice-Chancellor Mallepuram G Venkatesh.
Of them, there were 166 postgraduate (MA) students and nine of them secured first ranks in their respective subjects.
Gauri Hegde from Honnavar, who secured the first rank in Alankarashastram, said she would pursue MPhil while teaching. “Learning Sanskrit helped me learn other languages. However, more needs to be done to regain its lost glory,” she said. The other ranker holders are: Nagendra Pavan R M (Vyakaranashastram), Bhimasen Gopalachar Guttal (Naveenanyaayashastram), Srikrishna Bhat (Purvamimansaashastram), Balachandra D (Dwaitavedantashastram), Naveen Bhat S (Advaitavedantashastram), Vijayanand Adiga B (Jyotishyashastram), Mahesh G Bhat (Krishnayajurvedam) and Raghuram M V (Samaveda). The university also conferred honorary doctorates (DLitt) on veteran scholars Balachandra Joshi (Dharwad), K S Varadacharya (Mysore), K Narayana Shastri Buchchan (Honnavara) and M Shivakumar Swami (Bangalore).
New Campus
Registrar Y S Siddegowda said the government has allotted 100 acres of land to the university in Thippasandra near Kunigal Road. “We will not construct anything except an administrative building. We plan to have a Gurukul system here,” he said.
The university, which presently has about 42,000 students across 31 affiliated colleges and patashalas, has also started an evening college. “We are the first among 16 Sanskrit universities to start an evening college,” Prof Siddegowda said.