It is a very pleasant occasion for me that this important publication of the Centre Contribution of Maharashtra to Sanskrit Language and Literature', is being released today. I am aware of the fact that the publication is late by years due to some unavoidable circumstances. At the very outset I feel like sharing with you few facts related to this work. In the beginning we had to encounter with two major problems -It was a difficult task to decide the names in case of contemporary Sanskrit scholars whose contribution should be included in this volume and on the basis of unanimous agreement it was decided to include those who are retired from their job by that time. In order to identify the potential contributors and their names two workshops were organized attended by many prominent Sanskrit scholars from Pune, like Prof. P.G. Lalye, Prof. G.U. Thite, Prof. Saroja Bhate, Prof. S.K. Lal, Prof. V.P Bhatta, Prof. Sripad Bhat, Late. Prof H.C.Patyal, Prof. Vinaya Kshirsagar, Prof. Jayashree Sathe, Prof. Sailaja Bapat, Prof. R.P. Poddar, Prof. Late M.D. Pandit, Prof. Ravindra Mulcy. Prof. Nirmala Kulkarni, Prof. Bhagyalata Pataskar and Dr. Jayanti Tripathy.
The second difficulty was with regard to the term Maharashtrian scholars. Following the lines of the Late Prof. R.N. Dandekar it was decided to include those scholars who are born in Maharashtra and settled outside or whose place of living and work is Maharashtra. Dandekar, on the term Maharashtriyan, notes: Broadly speaking, whoever belonged to a family which originally hailed from any part of what is today the state of Maharashtra and its immediate environs, irrespective of its actual place of birth, or whoever actually worked in this region, irrespective of the place from which he originally hailed, was, for us a Maharashtrian (Introduction P.1)
In 2008 our Centre organized a National Seminar on the theme 'Contribution of Maharashtra to Sanskrit Language and Literature. Some more than hundred scholars presented their papers on the contribution of scholars as identified. The present volume is the proceedings of the Seminar along with some fresh inclusions.
A cursory look at the activities of Maharashtra with regards to Sanskrit studies was always encouraging. Marathi being a sister language of Sanskrit has always supported its propagation being nourished in itself by Sanskrit Still we notice an apathy towards Sanskrit study in the recent years in this pan of the country. No attempt was made to bring out the contribution of Maharashtra scholars to Sanskrit study stands a testimony to this fact. In spite of the fact that the Maharashtrians have a major share of contribution in the studies of the Sanskrit no attempt was made to review and highlight their contribution.
Long back, the contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Studies was published by K. K. Raja. During the same period the contribution of Andhra to Sanskrit Studies was also published by Prof. Murthy. Contribution of Karnatak to the Sanskrit Literature was also published one and half decade ago by C. Panduranga Bhatta. Even the contribution of Orissa to Sanskrit Literature partially was published. But the contribution of Maharashtra was not attempted. Finally this desideratum is fulfilled.
I am sad to note that few of the modern contributors who have contributed to this volume or whose contribution are included, are no more with us to see this volume being released today. To record: Prof. C. G. Kashikar, V. G. Rahurkar, S. D. Ladu, G. B. Palsule, G. B. Bapat, R. N. Dandekar, K. P. Jog, K. R. Joshi, Brahmananda Deshpande. H. C. Patyal, Sadashiva Dange. H. G. Ranade, A. M. Ghatage, M. D. Pandit, K. S. Arjunwadkar, Nalini Sadhale, K. R. Joshi. The Volume is a tribute to their memory.
In all, the subjects are divided into six sections and some 148 papers are included (21+21+19+23+44+20). The first section is devoted to themes, like Veda, Vyakarana, Darsana, Poetics, Creative Writings, Ayurveda, Mathematics and Astronomy, etc., which are taken from the earlier publication of the Centre, edited by the late Prof. R.N. Dandekar in 1972. In this section few new entries are included like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Maharastrian scholars from Varanasi, Maharastrian Scholars from Karnatak, Maharashtrian Scholars from Vododara, Chatrapati Shivajee Maharaj. Sanskrit Studies through Manuscripts.
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