Western scientists derived benefits from ancient Sanskrit wisdom, says Governor
TIRUPATI: Highlighting the contributions of Sanskrit literature to global knowledge, Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer has noted that many western scientists and scholars derived immense benefits from the wisdom and inventions depicted in ancient Sanskrit literature and manuscripts.
Addressing the valedictory session of the National Sanskrit Convention Samskrita Samunmesha, organised by the Kendreeya Sahitya Akademi and others, Abdul Nazeer said Sanskrit encompassed various fields of knowledge including mathematics, astronomy, metallurgy, cognitive sciences, yoga, psychology, agriculture, dance, music, literature, biology, civil engineering and logic.
The event was organised mainly under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Culture at the National Sanskrit University (NSU) in Tirupati on Friday.
The governor said Sanskrit's influence was vast and it was evident from the multitude of works in the language across various subjects.
“Historically, Sanskrit holds a special place as being one of the oldest languages. The compilation of the Rigveda, considered the first-ever book, was in Sanskrit. This ancient language had a profound impact on many civilizations, languages and cultures worldwide, its influence reaching up to even those who were not geographically connected to the Indian subcontinent,” he said.
Governor Nazeer described Sanskrit as a musical and self-sufficient language, highly mathematical and complete, with an advanced grammar system. Its potential for application in computational logic and advanced network systems is being explored.”
He referred to a research paper by NASA associate scientist Rick Briggs, which stated that Sanskrit was among the most-suitable languages for programming robotic control and artificial intelligence technology.
“Despite India's repository of 5,000 spoken languages, Sanskrit stands out as the sacred language that has enriched ancient literature and serves as a main source of knowledge and culture,” the governor said while emphasizing the need to establish a synergy between ancient Indian traditions and modern science and technology to benefit from the vast treasure of Sanskrit manuscripts.
To promote Sanskrit language, he said, the Union Department of Higher Education, under the Ministry of Education, has developed two wings -- Indian Knowledge Systems and Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti. “The central government also implemented several schemes through the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in New Delhi over the past three decades to revive and promote this classical language.
“The National Education Policy-2020 supports the implementation of multilingualism, with a provision for Sanskrit at the foundation stage, aiming to enhance cognitive abilities of students”, he added.
The National Sanskrit Convention was jointly organised by NSU of Tirupati and the Samskriti Foundation in Mysuru in association with the Kendreeya Sahitya Akademi under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Culture. Sreenivasa Rao, secretary to Sahitya Akademi and GSR Krishna Murty, vice chancellor, National Sanskrit University and other dignitaries and students were present.
