Vedic Studies: Vol.VI, 2014 (Silver Jubilee Volume)

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Foreword The School of Vedic Stems, Rabindra Bharati University started its journey in the year 1989 with the approval and financial assistance of the UGC and the Government of West 446 Bengal and it has now reached its Silver Jubilee year. To mark this auspicious occasion, it is publishing its sixth volume of the Journal viz., Vedic Studies to reflect its major activities during the last 25 years of its successful existence Le. l) Four Major Research Projects like preparation of cultural index of Vedic Literature, Nomenclature of Persons In Vedic literature, Scientific thoughts and components of Vedic Literature and Ancillary Vedic Texts on Phonetics (continuing), some six Major Research Projects , Project Assistants and Research Fellows have been appointed, books, monographs, pamphlets and journals have been published. A few Ph.D. degrees have already been 454 awarded and 13 scholars have registered themselves for Ph.D., C.D. on Vedic recitation have been released and so on and so forth.

All these have been achieved and reflected in the proposed volume under the able guidance of Prof. Samiran Chakraborty, and Prof, Nabanarayan Bandyopadhyay who have rendered their valuable thinking. All the academic staff of the School have also prayed an important role in editing of this Commemorative volume.

I wish success of the School of Vedic Studies and sincerely hope that this volume N be highly acclaimed by all concerned.

Preface It is gratifying to note that the School of Vedic Studies, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, has completed 25 years since its establishment on March 2, 1989. To mark the Silver Jubilee of this School in 2014 it was planned to publish the sixth volume of Vedic Studies (Journal of the School of Vedic Studies) as a Silver Jubilee Volume. We invited many scholars of India and abroad working in the field of Indology, especially in Vedic Studies, to contribute their papers to this special volume. It is a matter of great pleasure that they kindly responded to our request and the present volume is an outcome of their results of study and research, for which we are very much thankful to them. It will not be out of place if we present here a brief history and account of achievement of the School during the last twenty five years:

About the School

Considering the fact that there was not a single centre of Vedic research in the eastern part of India and the consequent difficulties experienced by the scholars interested in the subject, the Department of Sanskrit of Rabindra Bharati proposed in 1980 that a School of Vedic Studies be founded in this University. Later on, Professor Ramaranjan Mukherji, when he became the Vice-Chancellor of Rabindra Bharati, took the matter up with the University Grants Commission for favorable consideration. As a result, the School of Vedic Studies came into existence in 1989 through the approval and financial assistance of the UGC and the Government of West Bengal.

The School of Vedic Studies was formally inaugurated on July 10, 1990 by Shri Benoy Krishna Chowdhury, the then Acting Chief Minister of West Bengal, and Professor Syed Nurul Hasan, the then Chancellor, kindly sent his blessings on the occasion. On May 10, 1991, in his convocation address, he was pleased to express the hope, that the spread of Vedic Studies in the country resulting from functioning of the School in the University was "likely to liberate the human mind, even to lay the foundation of scientific thought and generate holistic attitude, enabling the present and coming generation of India to reject obscurantism, narrow-mindedness, intolerance and parochialism."

As recommended by the UGC Visiting Committee in its report, the object of the School of Vedic Studies is

"to promote studies in the field of Vedic literature and also to make available the results of these studies to the public. The School shall sponsor lectures, hold seminars and help in conducting doctoral or post-doctoral research in the thrust area viz. Vedic Studies, and also collect and preserve manuscripts, record traditional Vedic recitations, publish a journal and bring out other publications."

In the year 1997, the IX Plan UGC Visiting Committee headed by Kapila Vatsyayana was satisfied with the progress of the school and recommended its upgradation as a Zonal Level Advanced Centre.

1-year Post Graduate Diploma Course in Manuscriptology and Paleography was introduced in 2012 under the UGC Innovative Programme -Teaching and Research in Interdisciplinary and Emerging Areas.

The School has its own building, a specialized library, equipment and facilities for conducting study and research. Major activities of the School during 25 years (1989-2014):

• 4 Major Research Projects of the School conducted during the period:

a) Cultural Index of Vedic Literature (Completed)

b) Proper Names of Persons in Vedic Literature (completed)

c) Scientific Thoughts and Components in Vedic Literature (completed)

d) Ancillary Vedic Texts on Phonetics (continuing)

• 3 Minor Research Projects on Critical Edition of a Few Vedic Texts conducted

• 3 Major Research Projects (individual) conducted

• 11 teachers engaged for teaching and research

• 24 Project Assistants and 6 Research Fellows/Project Fellows rendered assistance

• 28 volumes of books/monographs/pamphlets published

• 5 volumes of the journal Vedic Studies published

• 12 candidates awarded Ph.D. degree, 13 registered for Ph.D

• Audio CD of traditional Vedic recitation released

• Organization of

a) 17 Workshops-International + National+ Local b) 13 Seminars- National + Local c) 1 National Symposium d) 55 Lectures/Special Lectures/ Lecture-cum-demonstrations e) 4 Exhibitions f) Tattvabodha Lectures g) 1 Essay competition

• Four Sures Chandra Banerji Memorial Lectures held

• 4500 volumes of books and journals for the Library collected

• 185 manuscripts (original), 145 copies of mss collected

• 357 museum materials including utensils used in Vedic sacrifices collected

• Rare and valuable books under the possession of Prof. P.C. Lahiri and Prof. S.C. Banerji collected

• A Vedic Museum under development

• Development of a Vedic Garden

• Establishment of a Computer Laboratory

• 2nd Floor extension of the existing building

• Collection of modern equipment for academic and other facilities

• Infrastructural facilities enhanced

• Engagement of two professors and two lecturers on contractual basis in the project of Vedic Sciences.

• Creation of additionally two teaching posts of Assistant Professor in the School (sent for concurrence from the State Govt.)

• Programmes undertaken in collaboration with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi; National Mission for Manuscripts, New Delhi; M.S. Rashtriya Vedavidya Pratisthan, Ujjain; University of Gauhati; Central Institute for Indian Languages, Mysore; University of Dhaka; University of Calcutta; Jadavpur University; Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan; Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath Sanskrit Siksa Samsad, Kolkata; Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandir, Belur Math, Belur; Sri-Narayan Tirtha Vedavidya Sam skrti Carca Kendra, Varanasi, etc.

• Inviting visits of distinguished national and international scholars to the School and group discussions/interactions with them.

About the publication of this special volume we would like to acknowledge that we have tried our best to edit the articles sent by the scholars and correct the proof sheets as far as practicable but difficulty has been felt to follow uniform principles due to differences in style, diction and method of writing of the authors. Hence we are constrained to retain to some extent the individual style and methodology adopted by them. We also regret for incompleteness in bibliography/references in a few papers. Some printing mistakes have inadvertently been crept in for which we crave indulgence of the readers.

I express my thankfulness and gratitude to Professor Samiran Chandra Chakraborti for kindly going through the papers in order to select them for publication. Prof. Chakrabarti, Dr Bhaskarnath Bhattacharyya and Dr Soma Basu rendered valuable assistance in editing and seeing the articles through the press. I am thankful to Shrimati Ranu Ghosh, Smt. Ishita Chakraborty, Smt. Sanjukta Ghosh, all Project Assistants and Shri Samiran Samanta, Project Fellow (now Junior Research Fellow) of the School for their sincere services rendered in different stages of publication. I congratulate M/S Service Printers for careful printing of this volume. Lastly, I thankfully acknowledge the kind assistance and patronage received from the authorities of this University.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages