THE LIFE OF SANSKRIT LIES

IN THE HANDS OF THE SANSKRITISTS

by Udayana Hegde | - Apr 07, 2016, 5:27 pm

Sanskrit Manuscript

Snapshot
• Many a times the Sanskritists themselves are the
main reason behind the decline of Sanskrit.

After India gained freedom in 1947, there were

enough Sanskrit pandits in the country to revive
Sanskrit. But what happened to them?
 There are 16 universities in India specially
established for the revival of Sanskrit. No other
language in the world has this number of
Universities. What is the present situation of the
Sanskrit universities? Are they really producing
Sanskrit pandits?

A few days back, while surfing the web, I read a

column written by Swapan Dasgupta where, he raised a
significant question: If we won’t save Sanskrit, why stop
foreigners? This is a valid question. If we rationally
ponder the reason behind the decline of Sanskrit, many
a times Sanskritists themselves are the main culprits.

Often, other reasons like medieval era invasions are

proposed. But even during invasions, pandits were not
united. Even in the very beginning, when the Bakhtiyar
Khilji burnt the Takṣaśilā library, the pandits did not
respond, let alone react. We have also heard of many
pandits appeasing the invading rulers with verses like:

dillīśvaro vā jagadīśvaro vā
manorathān pūrayitum samarthaḥ
anyair nṛpālaiḥ paridīyamānam
śākāya vā syāl lavaṇāya vā syāt
Meaning: The lord of Delhi and the lord of the world —
only these can fulfill my desires. What other kings give is
only enough for either salt or vegetables.

After India gained freedom in 1947, there were enough

Sanskrit pandits in the country to revive Sanskrit. But
what happened to them? Today, we are in a position
where we have to file an online petition to remove
someone like Sheldon Pollock who in the name of
Sanskrit is diplomatically opposing Sanskrit. Pollock is
just an example. There are many others in the line. Yet,
there is not even one pandit who critically analysed his
works. Where did the pandits fail ?

Recently, I was following a discussion on Twitter. A

researcher said that the pandits have not done any
critical analysis of the American Indologists. It is true. We
must admit that. But times have changed. Better late
than never.

Pandits are slowly waking up from their slumber. They

have also started thinking rationally. Whatever may be
the political consequence of the petition (on the lines of
the Rajiv Malhotra’s recent book, The Battle for Sanskrit)
against Narayan Murty / Rohan Murty, it has created a
sort of awareness and attention. Sanskritists like Dr
Shankar Rajaraman have started critically analyzing the
works of the western Indologists.

There was a time when India lead all other countries in

learning. A famous verse reads:

etaddeśaprasūtasya sakāśādagrajanmanaḥ ।
svaṃ svaṃ caritre śikṣeran pṛthivyāṃ sarvamānavāḥ ॥

It says that people would come to India to learn about

their histories. But today, what is the situation of the
country with regard to Sanskrit? How are our
universities functioning?

There are 16 universities in India specially established for

the revival of Sanskrit. No other language in the world
has this number of Universities. What is the present
situation of the Sanskrit universities? Are they really
producing Sanskrit pandits?

There was a time when it was said in Karnataka, if a

student gets less marks in his studies, send that child to
a pāṭhaśālā. That was the mindset. Many Sanskrit
pāṭhaśālaā teachers and Sanskrit professors did not
teach Sanskrit to their own children. Those children are
now well established as software engineers etc, who
eagerly want to learn Sanskrit which they did not get in
their homes.

Many Sanskrit lecturers in colleges and universities

(which have Sanskrit departments) usually complain
about the scarcity of student. But the reality is totally
different. If teaching is good, naturally the number of
students gradually increases. One should have a look at
a small village— Menase near Sringeri, where the
Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (Deemed University) has a
campus, over 500 students study Sanskrit in a
traditional method. They are also equipped with ICT
(information and communications technologies) like
smart classrooms, language labs etc.

These students don’t learn any modern subjects (except

history and environmental science made compulsory by
UGC), except the Śāstras in Sanskrit. Hence, it is the
responsibility of teachers to be updated with modern
technology and the contemporary issues. Recently,
Karnataka Sanskrit University started an evening college
for Sanskrit where B.A. and M.A. courses are taught with
the student strength being above 150.

There was a time, when Sanskritists used to complain

that there is no support from the government. But the
fact is that they never united to present their demands
to the government. Times have changed today.

Sometimes back, the central government, through the

HRD ministry, appointed a committee to draw
a roadmap for the development of Sanskrit. The
committee successfully submitted the report and the
govt has accepted it. Here comes the implementation
part. The ministry even sent circulars to the IITs
regarding the implementation of Sanskrit. Many state
governments are also very supportive. Sanskritists
should make use of this opportunity.

A short time ago, there was a meeting of Sanskrit

lecturers in a prestigious Sanskrit University. The topic of
the discussion was : In which language should Sanskrit
be taught? This is the irony. The decline of Sanskrit is
mainly because the language/texts were not taught in
Sanskrit, but through translation method.

Today, there are many people who want to study

Sanskrit and explore the treasure hidden inside the
language. But, where are the teachers? Sanskrit
teachers are needed all over the country and abroad.
The field of Sanskrit does not have the problem of
unemployment. Some ask about the relevance of
Sanskrit today. But people themselves are getting to
know the relevance.

Sanskrit is called Deva-Bhāṣā (Language of the Gods).

But we can’t expect a Deva dūta (Messenger of God) to
come and revive Sanskrit, It is we, the Sanskritists, who
should think and act according to time and need (of
nation and language).

We, Sanskritists, should get out of this long sleep and

explore new techniques (such as animation etc) for
Sanskrit and make Sanskrit flourish in this modern
world, thus making Sanskrit more relevant in
contemporary world.

Tags: sanskrit, India, The Battle For Sanskrit, Sanskrit education,