Sanskrit - 2

[Pandyan]

<!--QuoteBegin-Bodhi+Sep 22 2008, 11:18 PM-->QUOTE(Bodhi @ Sep 22 2008, 11:18 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->bhojadeva paramAra commissioned the translation of Iliad and Odyssey into saMskR^ita as mentioned in his apocryphal biography.
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Extremely fascinating. Thanks.

[Bharatvarsh]

Bodhi & HH, thanks very much for the info.

Bodhi do you know what the biography is called and its author, I remember coming across it long ago but cannot seem to remember it now.

[Hauma Hamiddha]

<!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+Sep 23 2008, 07:57 AM-->QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ Sep 23 2008, 07:57 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bodhi do you know what the biography is called and its author, I remember coming across it long ago but cannot seem to remember it now.
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Bodhi- by any chance are you referring to bhoja prabandha- it is freely available on the web in Hindi translation at million books.

[Bodhi]

<!--QuoteBegin-Hauma Hamiddha+Sep 23 2008, 08:50 PM-->QUOTE(Hauma Hamiddha @ Sep 23 2008, 08:50 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin-Bharatvarsh+Sep 23 2008, 07:57 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Bharatvarsh @ Sep 23 2008, 07:57 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bodhi do you know what the biography is called and its author, I remember coming across it long ago but cannot seem to remember it now.
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Bodhi- by any chance are you referring to bhoja prabandha- it is freely available on the web in Hindi translation at million books.
[right][snapback]88364[/snapback][/right]
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HH, BhV, bhoja-prabandha is quite historically accurate.

I was referring to prabandha-chintAmaNi by merutu~Nga written quite late, at the onset of 14th century

besides the following provide a much broader spectrum of bhoja's life:
- tilaka-ma~njarI
- bhoja-charita by some jain scholar at around the same time
- a rather later recension of vikrama-charitra by another jaina scholar named shubhashIla gaNi
- navasAhasA~Nka-charita by parimal (or padmagupta) the court poet of bhoja's father/uncle who stopped writing after mu~nja's death but still wrote after much insisted
- even court historians of Akbar could not ignore bhoja's glory. (Looks like totally devoid of all/any qualities of bhoja, Akbar might have fancied himself after him). So we find abul fazl recording some incidents related to bhoja, though watering his glory down quite a bit, but some of these not mentioned in others. Chinese travelers wrote quite a good amount on him as well...

bhojadeva's life is quite a minefield of Hindu glory and brilliance, where valour, military genius, scholarship of top class and above all benevolence all come together! And in a very sustained way, not just a flash in pan. It is not without a reason that when all other kings are languishing on the dead pages of history, he, like shivaji, lives on as a legend in hindu subconcious, no matter howmuch seculars ignore him! Also consider this: he was a perpetual enemy and subjugator of middle-south, Andhra rulers etc. And still, a large number of bhoja-material is found from Andhra in telugu script. So he must have been very much beloved of people. (By the way HH, your brilliant article on bhoja has found its way to wikipedia. nice. more pls.) I hope to attempt writing some day on this genius too.

[Bharatvarsh]

Krishnadeva Raya was called "Andhra Bhoja".

Bhoja also established a Sanskrit college in Dhar (MP) which was later destroyed by Mahmud Ghori and a mosque now sits on its place.

[Shambhu]

Sanskrit boulevard
27/09/2008 12:15:26


Author: Aditya Ghosh - Hindustan Times

Source Link http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/St...9b-baef18b83359

Prem Narayan Chauhan pats his oxen, pushing them to go a little faster. Ziighrataram, ziighrataram chalanti, he urges them. The animals respond to their master’s call, picking up pace on the muddy path that leads to his 10-acre cornfield.

Chauhan, 35, dropped out of school early, after Class II. He does not consider it remarkable that he speaks what is considered a dying language (or that his oxen respond to it). For him, Sanskrit is not a devabhasha, the language of the gods, but one rooted in the commonplace, in the ebb and flow of everyday life in Jhiri, the remote hamlet in Madhya Pradesh, where he lives.

Mutterings under banyan trees, chit-chat in verandahs, pleasantries on village paths, disputes in the panchayat — in Jhiri, it's all in Sanskrit.

And then, a cellphone rings.

The moment of contemporary reality is fleeting. Anachronism and Amar Chitra Katha take over as the conversation begins: “Namo, namah. Tvam kutra asi?” (Greetings. Where are you?)

A lost world rediscovered

Jhiri is India’s own Jurassic Park. A lost world that has been recreated carefully and painstakingly, but lives a precarious existence, cut off from the compelling realities of the world outside.

The 1,000-odd residents of this hamlet, 150 km north of Indore, hardly speak the local dialect, Malwi, any longer. Ten years have been enough for the Sanskritisation of life here. Minus the Brahminical pride historically associated with the language — Jhiri has just one Brahmin family.

The much-admired 24-year-old Vimla Panna who teaches Sanskrit in the local school belongs to the Oraon tribe, which is spread over Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. And the village is an eclectic mix of Kshatriyas, Thakurs, Sondhias, Sutars and the tribal Bhils.

Panna has been key in popularising Sanskrit with the women of Jhiri. With mothers speaking the language, the children naturally follow.

Take 16-year-old unlettered Seema Chauhan. She speaks Sanskrit as fluently as Panna, who studied the language for seven years for her Master’s degree.

Chauhan is a livewire, humouring and abusing the village girls in Sanskrit. “I just listened to Vimla didi,” she says. “In fact, I'm often at a loss for words in Malwi.” Just married to a man from a neighbouring village, she says confidently, “My children will speak in Sanskrit because I will talk to them in it.”

As eight-year-old Pinky Chauhan joins us, she greets me politely: “Namo namaha. Bhavaan kim karoti?” (What brings you here?) Her father Chander Singh Chauhan laughs and says, “My wife started speaking to me in this language, so I learnt it to figure out what she was saying behind my back.”

Let’s get official

Mukesh Jain, CEO, Janpad Panchayat, Sarangpur tehsil (which includes Jhiri), recalls, “I could not believe it when I first came here. It can get difficult during official interactions, but we encourage them.”

All kinds of logistical problems crop up in Jhiri. This year, 250 students did their school-leaving exams in Sanskrit. “A Sanskrit teacher had to work along with all the examiners of other subjects,” says Jain.

But there are some positive offshoots too. Thanks to Sanskrit, Jhiri has re-discovered some lost technologies of irrigation, conservation and agriculture from the old scriptures. A siphon system of water recharging, for instance, resulted in uninterrupted water supply through the year in the fields. Small check-dams, wells and irrigation facilities followed.

“It is matter of pride for us to retrieve these old techniques from the scriptures. With no help from the government and without using any artificial systems, we’ve reaped great benefits,” says Uday Singh Chauhan, president of the Vidya Gram Vikash Samity, which runs development programmes in the village.

But Jhiri's pride stops at Sanskrit. The first doctor, engineer, economist, scientist or linguist is yet to walk out from it. After finishing school, most village youth join a political party.

Electricity is a matter of luxury, so is sanitation. Even the school does not have a toilet, which is the single biggest reason for girls dropping out at the senior secondary level. The average age of marriage for women is 14. Even Panna, who was thinking of doing her PhD, had to give in to the wishes of the wise men of Jhiri who got her married to the other schoolteacher, Balaprasad Tiwari.

There is no public transport; an Internet connection is unimaginable. Jhiri desperately needs to connect to the rest of the world, to explore its infinite possibilities, to grow.

But Jhiri is still a success story, especially when you consider that a similar experiment, started a couple of decades ago in Muttur village of Karnataka’s Shimoga district, failed, because of the caste factor — it remained caged with Brahmin patrons.

“About 80 per cent people of the village are Brahmins who know Sanskrit but won’t speak it. This is because the carpenters and blacksmiths would not respond to it,” says Dr Mathur Krishnaswami, head of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bangalore, who was involved with the movement.

“No language in the world can survive until the common man starts speaking it,” he points out.

Muttur failed. Jurassic Park destroyed itself. Jhiri must not.


http://www.haindavakeralam.com/HKPage.aspx...eID=7156&SKIN=D

[ramana]

List of Sanskrit books digitized at IIIT Hyderabad

Can some one go thru and identify the gems.

[Bodhi]

At both at IIIT and IISc libraries, they have reduced the value of initiative by half, by not following consistent spelling notations for indic in roman (such as ITRAN). Add on top of this, spelling mistakes. So there are many rare books in DLI, but searching is not easy.

[Pandyan]

Audio clips of news in skt.

http://sanskritdocuments.org/sanskritnews.html

[Shambhu]

Huge scholarly write-up on sanskrit
http://rajivmalhotra.sulekha.com/blog/post...krit-phobia.htm

[Guest]

<b>3rd International Sanskrit Computational Linguistics Symposium</b>

The Department of Sanskrit Studies, University of Hyderabad is organizing the "Third International Sanskrit Computational Linguistics Symposium" from 15-17 January 2009. This is being organized in collaboration with the INRIA, France and the Sanskrit Academy, Hyderabad, India. Springer-Verlag will publish the proceedings of the symposium and for the symposiums organized at France and the U.S. Now the registration has been open for the symposium. Sanskrit scholars, linguists and computer scientists are encouraged to register at http://www.sanskrit .uohyd.ernet. in/Symposium/ registration. html. We are receiving good response.

The keynote address will be given by Prof. S.D. Joshi. There are two invited lectures by Prof. Jan E.M. Houben and Prof. K.V.
Ramakrishnamacharyu lu on 16th and 17th respectively. On 16th January '09, there will be a 'vidwad goshthi' meant for the 'vaakyaartha vicaara' followed by tutorials on 17th January. You may get full details of the symposium from here -
http://www.sanskrit.uohyd.ernet.in/Symposium/

[Guest]

<b>Haryana announces incentives to promote Sanskrit</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sanskrit is all set to get a major boost in Haryana. The state government has announced various grants for gurukuls (traditional residential schools) to promote the ancient language.

Announcing the incentives Friday, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said gurukul culture would be promoted in the state to encourage teaching of Sanskrit.

Hooda announced that gurukuls having 100 students would be given a grant of Rs 150,000 annually while those having 200 students would get a grant of Rs 250,000 per annum. Those having over 300 students would be given a grant of Rs 350,000, he added.
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[Capt M Kumar]

<!--emo&:ind--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/india.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='india.gif' /><!--endemo--> Buck mup Hooda!
btw; looking at the figures, it's best to have 100 students only!

[Bodhi]

email

<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->I think not many scholars would know Pandit Nilkanth Gurtoo whom I regarded the last traditional Sanskrit pandit of Kashmir. He passed away on 18 December 2008 in New Delhi. With him the Kashmirian tradition of Sanskrit scholarship comes to an end. He prepared editions and translations of many difficult texts belonging to Kashmirian Trika domain of Saivism. Many of his works remained unpublished because of want of resources. Here is a list of his publications;
 
1.Paratrisikavivarana with Hindi translation and commentary, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi. (1985). 2.Spandakarika with Kallata's vrtti translated into Hindi with commentary, Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi. (1981). 3.Harsesvaramahatmayam translated into English with detailed anottations, Penma Publishers, Delhi. (2000). 4.Parmarthasara with Hindi translation of Yogaraja's commentary with an elaborate introduction, Penman Publishers, Delhi. (2004). 5.Sambapancasika with Ksemaraja's commentary translated into Hindi, Penman Publishers, Delhi. (2002) 6.Sivastotravali of Utpaladeva with Ksemaraja's commentary and Hindi translation by Swami Lakshman Joo. Edited by Nilkanth Gurtoo, Ishwar Ashram Trust, Srinagar (Kashmir). 7.Parapravesika of Ksemaraja explaned into Kashmiri and edited by Makhanlal Kukiloo, Ishwar Ashram Trust, Srinagar, Kashmir. (1996). 8.Amareshwaramahatmayam translated into Hindi with Pandit Dinanath Yaksha, Srinagar, Kashmir. (?). 9.Rajatarangini of Jonaraja translated into Hindi (only a part of it). (Unpublished). 10.Pratyabhijnahrdayam of Ksemaraja translated into Hindi with elaborated notes and annotations with the help of Professor Balajinnath Pandit and Swami Lakshman Joo. (Unpublished). 11.Kashmira-saiva-darsana-brhat-kosa (in two volumes) edited jointly with Prof Yashpal Khajuriya and Prof Balajinnath Pandit. Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Jammu (J&K). (2001-2005).
 
Pandit Nilkanth Gurtoo was born on 2 January, 1925 in Srinagar (Kashmir). He was initiated into Sanskrit studies by Pandit Maheshwar Nath Nehru and Pandit Jankinath Dhar. Later, he learned advanced texts of Sanskrit grammar and linguistics from Pandit Lalkak Langoo, Pandit Harbhatta Shastri and Pandit Sarvadananda Handoo. He also qualified the traditional degrees of Prajna, Visharada and Shastri in Sanskrit from Government Sanskrit College in Srinagar. After qualifying for Prabhakar degree he went ahead and earned a B.A. in Sanskrit.
 
Pandit Gurtoo initially worked in Government Sanskrit School of Tral village in Kashmir as a Sanskrit teacher. While teaching there he also earned a M.A. in Sanskrit. Thereafter, in 1955 he was appointed as Head-pandit in the Jammu & Kashmir Research and Publication Department of Government of Jammu & Kashmir. Later, while teaching in the Government Souer College in his capacity as a lecturer of Sanskrit, he also obtained a degree of M.A. in Hindi. Since 1958 till the time of his retirement he taught in Amar Singh College in Srinagar (Kashmir).
 
Pandit Nilkanth Gurtoo was not only confined to teaching in academic institutions, but he covered that extra mile and went ahead to learn about the Kashmirian Saiva schools from his teachers like Professor Balajinnath Pandit and Swami Lakshman Joo.

http://mkmartand.blogspot.com/<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

[ramana]

map in hindi of places in meghadhoot by kalidasa

http://venetiaansell.files.wordpress.com...9/map1.jpg

Can some one translate inot english please!

[Pandyan]

To ramana:

Just curious, are you not familiar with Devanagari?

Deep south has Pandya along with Kaveri river listed. Going up to Rashtrakut/Godavari. Narmada/Vindhya. Aravali to west. Sarasvati, north of that. All are just features of Indian landscape listed in hindi. I'm a hindi illiterate able to read it barely.

This is the map that has everything that map shows.
http://www.mycitysurat.com/upload/link/I...p_epic.jpg

[ramana]

<!--QuoteBegin-ramana+Jan 29 2009, 05:52 AM-->QUOTE(ramana @ Jan 29 2009, 05:52 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->map in hindi of places in meghadhoot by kalidasa

http://venetiaansell.files.wordpress.com...9/map1.jpg

Can some one translate inot english please!
[right][snapback]93984[/snapback][/right]
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geography of kalidasa's Meghadootam

<!--QuoteBegin-"tsriram"+-->QUOTE("tsriram")<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ramana,
I have added numbers to the places mentioned in the map and uploaded it here - <img src='http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/43/mapuo5.th.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

sorry if it looks slightly cramped but i guess it works for now. My sanskrit is very rusty so need help with the title.

Items listed -
1. Gandhar
2. Sindhu
3. Chandrabhaga
4. Kaikeya
5. Shathadhru
6. Saraswathi(!!)
7. Yamuna
8. Kitrar (? – Not clear)
9. Kou(s)charandra
10. Haridwar
11. Kanakhal(?)
12. Kailash
13. Trivishtam
14. Nishad Parvath (What is its current name? Its somewhere in Tibet looks like)
15. Alankapuri Parvath
16. Manasarovar (lake)
17. Brahmaputra
18. Himalay
19. Kiraath
20. Kosal
21. Gang(a)
22. Vang(a)
(messed up the numbering here. No 23 in the numbers that I added  :oops: )
24. Ang(a)
25. Rth (?)
26. Soong
27. Haihay
28. Kaling
29. V(a)
30. Mahodhadhi
31. Aagrakoot
32. Dasharndesh (?)
33. Godavari
34. Aa
35. Aravalli
36. Vanas
37. Dashpuram
38. Sipro (?)
39. Keeshikee (?)
40. Parvathi
41. Mahi
42. Narmada
43. Taapthi
44. Vindhyapadh
45. Singh
46. Ghasaan
47. Ujjaini
48. Vethravathi
49. Vidhisha
50. Devagiri
51. Kayne or Cane (as in cane sugar)
52. Ramagiri
53. Rashtrakoot
54. Yee (?)
55. Godavari (again! Messed up the numbering again! Sorry)
56. Krishna
57. Madhra
58. Dakshinodadhi
59. Kaveri
60. Pandya
61. Tamrabharani (!)
62. Dakshninodadhi
63. Lanka

There are many places listed in the two lists on either side in the lower half of the map. Will translate them later.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->


pandyan, its immaterial what my devnagari skills are. Whats important is to get those proficient in it to do the honors.

Thanks!

[ramana]

A bunch of book reviews on Sanskrit literature]

I think I met A.N.D. Haskar when he was in DC. Some fellow told me he was no more. Obviously only from service!

[Guest]

<b>Sanskrit institutes struggling </b>
Rajulapudi Srinivas
<i>Lack of faculty discouraging prospective students</i>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Students not opting for Sanskrit due to less employment opportunities

Vidya volunteers appointed for teaching Sanskrit leave jobs due to non-payment of salaries<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

NELLORE: The 126-year-old Government Sanskrit Elementary School, High School and Sri Veda Samskrutha Kalasala which produced some thousands of Telugu and Sanskrit pandits are struggling to survive.

The two schools and college are plagued with several problems including low number of students and staff and poor funds. About 600 students are studying in the three institutions accommodated in one campus and although it is called Sanskrit High School there is no staff for teaching the subject.

Two French nationals -- Ms. Blavitasky and Col. Alcot -- who started Divya Gnana Samajam in Nellore established the Sanskrit Residential School in Mulapet in 1882 with five classes.

In 1926, the school was upgraded as Veda Samskruta Kalasala-cum-Ayurveda Hospital and was affiliated to Madras University (SVU).

The aided college was later handed over to Andhra University and in 1958 the institution was attached to Sri Venkateswara University. The hospital was closed during 1970s and the strength of students which was about 500 in 1980 has come down gradually.

About 100 students are doing their degree in Telugu and Sanskrit now. In all, 170 children are enrolled in the oriental elementary school and 250 children are studying in the high school this year.

But, many students are not joining in the Sanskrit college after schooling and are opting for other courses due to less employment opportunities for Sanskrit pandits, says the college management.
Less staff

Of the 16 sanctioned teaching posts in the college only eight are filled and there is no non-teaching staff.

In high school there are no Sanskrit teachers and the students are preparing for the coming annual examinations on their own. Last year, two vidya volunteers were appointed for teaching Sanskrit, but they left the jobs allegedly due to non-payment of salaries. Speaking to The Hindu college principal Dr. Amruthavakkula Seshakumar said about 55 Sanskrit schools were set up in the State, but many of them were closed due to less strength.

Out of five Sanskrit colleges under Sri Venkateswara University, the institutions in Lepakshi, Proddutur and Vakadu have closed and only Nellore and Tirupati colleges are functioning.

Dr. Kandla Lakshmi Narayana, reader in Sanskrit in the college, said tere is a need to encourage classical language colleges to promote culture and tradition.

[Husky]

http://rajeev2004.blogspot.com/2009/03/l...dying.html
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Sunday, March 29, 2009
<b>languages dying</b>
mar 29th, 2009

monoculture is bad in anything: religion, language, agriculture. diversity is good. so the disappearance of languages is something to be regretted.

http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displa...307780&fsrc=nwl
Posted by nizhal yoddha at 3/29/2009 09:55:00 PM 0 comments <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Go to link to see Endangered languages chart on Bharatiya languages and languages from other parts of the globe. Photo in background is apt: christian cross grave markers.