One-Day Symposium on Sanskrit Children’s Literature
25th November 2022
Rishihood University, Sonipat, Haryana
Centre for Human Sciences, Rishihood University, in association with the Sahitya Akademi organized a one-day symposium on Sanskrit Children’s Literature at Rishihood University on 25th November 2022.
The Inaugural Session started with Mangalacharan and Ghan Path by the learners of Panini Mahavidyalaya, Sonipat. Shri N. Suresh Babu ji, Deputy Secretary of Sahitya Akademi, gave the welcome address. He explained the importance of stories in shaping our lives right from early childhood and highlighted the importance of technology in the creation and propagation of new literature for children. Prof. Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra ji, Convener, Sanskrit Advisory Board, Sahitya Akademi, gave the introductory remarks in which he spoke about the importance language and stories as the carriers of culture and memory. Referring to the cultural similarities between the Vedic and the Mesopotamian civilisations, he explained how the Mesopotamian is lost into oblivion but ours still survives because of the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, and other great texts that have survived the brunt of time. And in this respect, the creation and propagation of stories in Sanskrit becomes even more important for maintaining the vitality of our great civilization.
In the Keynote address, Prof. Sampadananda Mishra ji, Director, Centre for Human Sciences, Rishihood University, explained how children are naturally optimistic and how through stories we can impart moral values in them and make them self-aware. He emphasised the need for creation of quality literary content, which can be used in teaching them Sanskrit while also being profitable for the publishers.
The symposium had two sessions in which five papers were presented. In the first session, Shri Aravind Kumar Tiwari presented the paper titled “An Overview of Sanskrit Children’s Literature.” Dr. Surachana Trivedi ji talked about the types of Sanskrit Children’s Literature and Acharya Dhananjay Shastri explained the nuances of translation of Children’s literature of Indian and foreign languages into Sanskrit.
In the second session, Shri Ajay Kumar Mishra explained how qualitative literature for children in Sanskrit can be created. Shri Mukesh Sharma presented a review of literature for children available in Sanskrit. Rishihood University’s Vice Chancellor, Shri Shobhit Mathur ji, addressed the audience with his electronic message. The concluding remarks were given by Prof. Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra ji.
An exhibition on “Why your child should learn Sanskrit” was displayed at the symposium. About a hundred students from three gurukuls participated in the symposium along with their acharyas. The event was live streamed on Rishihood University’s official YouTube channel and the recording can be accessed by visiting the channel.
The symposium concluded with a beautiful presentation of a one act play in Sanskrit by the young learners of Guru Virjanand Sanskritkulam followed by Dharana, by observance of a minute of silence.
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