Global Sanskrit Conference on Language and Culture Held At Deccan College Pune

Yerwada, 3rd November 2023: A two-day event was held on October 27-28, 2023, with a central focus on the theme of ‘Language and Culture.’ The conference was conducted in collaboration with two esteemed institutions, namely Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute (Deemed to be University) Pune and the Global Sanskrit Forum.

The program featured special lectures from distinguished scholars from local and international backgrounds. Notably, Vytis Vidunas, who hails from Lithuania, delivered a special lecture titled “Sanskrit and Lithuanian Languages: Linguistics and Historical Notes,” which received high praise from the attending scholars.

The conference followed a hybrid format, with 14 sessions conducted online and 10 sessions in an offline setting, total 24 sessions in all. More than 250 researchers presented their papers, contributing to the overarching theme of ‘Language and Culture.’ The inauguration ceremony of the conference was presided over by the Vice-Chancellor of Deccan College Deemed University, Prof. Pramod Pandey, while Dr. Balamukund Pandey, Head of The Akhil Bharatiya Itihas Sankalan Yojana, delivered the inaugural speech.

The Chief Guest for the event was Lal Bahadur Shastri, the Vice-Chancellor of Sanskrit University. A special lecture was given by the National President of the Global Sanskrit Forum, Prof. Vishnupad Mohapatra. Other notable attendees included the Pro-Vice Chancellor of Deccan College Deemed University, Prof. Prasad Joshi, President of Global Sanskrit Forum Maharashtra Province, Prof. Jayashree Sathe, and Vice-President, Dr. Manjusha Kulkarni, among others.

Prof. Prasad Joshi warmly welcomed the guests, while Dr. Richa Abhyankar capably moderated the proceedings, and Dr. Manjusha Kulkarni expressed gratitude to all participants. The conference’s concluding session took place on the afternoon of the 28th and featured special guests, including Prof. Ravindra Mulye, Prof. Vishnupada Mohapatra, Prof. Devnath Tripathi, and Dr. V. Subrahmanyam.

During the conference, two senior scholars who have made exceptional contributions to the field of Sanskrit were honored. Prof. Bhagyalata Pataskar received the Mahamahopadhyay Prof. P. G. Lalye International Memorial Award 2023, and Prof. Purnachandra Sahu was recognized with the Satyavrat Shastri International Memorial Award 2023.

The success of this conference was made possible through the dedicated support of individuals such as Dr. Rajesh Kumar Mishra (Secretary, Global Sanskrit Forum, India), Dr. Atul Maske, Sandeep Dhikle, Dr. Bhav Sharma, Dr. Hari Palave, Dr. Rahul Mhaiskar, Dr. Shantanu Vaidya, and Dr. Sridhar Lohokare. The remarkable response to this conference underscores the enduring reverence that people hold for Sanskrit and culture in the present day. This information was provided by Dr. Bansi Lavale, the Secretary of the Global Sanskrit Forum Maharashtra Province and the organizer of this event.