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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.
This small book is intended as an humble offering of piety and collaboration at the unique Jianayajna, which is being performed at New Delhi in the form of the International Sanskrit Conference, from the 26th to the 31st of March 1972. It consists of two parts: the first part deals with what Maharashtra has done for Sanskrit, and the second deals with what Sanskrit has done for Maharashtra. I must, however, hasten to add that this book is not planned to be either a history or a bibliography. Its purpose is quite modest, namely, to afford a few fleeting glimpses into some of the aspects of the interaction between Sanskrit and Maharashtra. The limitations, of which I have spoken in my introduction to Part One, generally apply also to Part Two.
The various sections in the first part of the book have been written by my colleagues at the Centre of Advanced Study in Sanskrit and the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, while the second part is prepared jointly by my friends, Professors A. G. Mangrulkar, Leela Arjunwadkar, and K. S. Arjunwadkar. My sincerest thanks are due to these collaborators. Owing to the unfortunate breakdown, almost at the last moment, of the arrangements originally made and confirmed in respect of Part Two, I had to request the last-named three friends to write out that Part-and that too, within an impossibly short time. With their usual goodwill for me, they agreed. I wish I had enough command of the English language so that I could have expressed my gratitude to them more adequately.
The following survey of the contribution of Maharashtra to Sanskrit language, literature, thought, and culture is characterised by two significant limitations-one inevitable and the other self- imposed. Understandably enough, this survey cannot claim to be by any means either comprehensive or exhaustive. The writings of Maharashtrian authors in this field, which have been either published or otherwise made known, are too numerous to be mentioned even cursorily. If one were to think of the works which still lay buried and unnoticed in the many manuscript- collections, public and private, the task would assume formidable proportions and would, indeed, become almost impossible. Sanskrit literature, it should be remembered, is truly like an iceberg. the portion of it which remains invisible being far larger than the one which is visible. Besides, the ceiling on the number of pages of this book also served as a kind of restraining factor. What, therefore, has been attempted here is just a typical and representative sketch, which, it is hoped, will, all the same, convey the feeling of the volume and variety of Maharashtra's contribution to Sanskrit learning. The emphasis here is rather on trends than on details. The self-imposed limitation is that this survey is strictly objective, no attempt having been made at any critical evaluation.
Then there were certain inherent difficulties which we had to encounter while preparing this survey. Perhaps the most perplexing of these difficulties was the one which pertained to the definition of the term "Maharashtra". Frankly, we have not allowed ourselves to be bothered with the question of the historical and geographical identification of Maharashtra through different periods. 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 his actual place of work, or whoever actually worked in this region, irrespective of the place from which he originally hailed, was, for us, a Maharashtrian. Not unoften, the names of the authors also suggested their Maharashtrian provenance. Further, in some cases, we have not hesitated to interpret in favour of Maharashtra such broad characterisations as belonging to the south or belonging to the Deccan. It is not unlikely that many of the authors whom we have regarded as Maharashtrian will be claimed as theirs by other regions; but, on that count, we shall have no quarrel with them whatsoever.
This survey is presented discipline wise, which fact has necessitated the mention of some names in more than one context. The different sections generally take into account independent treatises, commentaries, expository works, etc., relating to different branches of Sanskrit learning, which have been written by Maharashtrian authors in Sanskrit or in any other language. These sections are prepared by different collaborators, but an attempt has been made to invest them with some kind of editorial uniformity. It is fully realised that some branches of Sanskrit learning, like, for instance, fine arts and natural and technical sciences, are represented in this survey either inadequately or not at all. There has also been a general understanding among the collaborators that, except in connection with the creative writing, references to living authors should be as sparse as possible.
In Maharashtra, the study of Sanskrit, particularly at the University level, has been closely associated with that of Pali and Prakrits. A small section dealing with the introduction of this latter study is included in this survey more or less by way of an appendix. In another similar section, a reference is made to some organizational activities in Maharashtra for the promotion of Sanskrit studies and learning.
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