Department of Sanskrit

About Department of Sanskrit

The Department was established at Punjab University, LAHORE. Some eminent scholars like Prof. A.C.Woolner and Dr. Luxman Saroop were associated with the Sanskrit Department. Dr. Luxman Saroop the great oriental scholar who had been awarded the Ph.D. Degree under the supervision of Prof. A. A. Macdonell from Oxford University.

Soon after the partition, the Department of Sanskrit was located temporarily at the D.A.V. College, Jalandhar. Dr. Surya Kant, the University Reader in Sanskrit, acted as Head of the Department and was assisted in the teaching by Shri Jagan Nath Agrawal as Lecturer. The Post-graduate teaching in Sanskrit was conducted in collaboration with the Sanskrit Department of D.A.V. College, Jalandhar.

The Department was shifted on February 12, 1952 from the premises of the D.A.V. College to Kothi Mahboob Alam (Jalandhar City), as evacuee property was acquired by the Panjab University on rent. On October 21, 1952 Dr. Surya Kant Joined the Banares Hindu University as Professor of Sanskrit, on his departure Shri Jagan Nath Agrawal worked as Head of the Department.

In July 1956, the Syndicate of the University had decided to shift the Department to Sadhu Ashram, Hoshiarpur to promote the language in collaboration with the V.V.R.I. but Dr. A.C.Joshi, after taking over the change of Vice-Chancellor, disapproved this move, since he wanted to centralize all the post-graduate teaching Departments at Chandigarh and consequently, arrangements were made to shift the Department to Chandigarh and the Department started functioning on the University Campus with effect from July 14, 1959. At Chandigarh, Professor D.N.Shukla took charge of Head of the Department on November 16,1959 and he published learned monographs on Vastu-sastra in Hindi and two volumes in English, under the title "The Hindu Science of Architecture" and "The Hindu Canons of Iconography and Painting." During his service at Panjab Univeristy, he also worked on Shilpa-sastra, Aeronautics and fine arts and another research project entitled "History of Shilpa-sastra" financed by the University Grants Commission. Dr. Ram Gopal joined the Department as Reader and Dr. Jai Dev Vidyalankar and Shri S.D Ojha joined as Lecturer at that time Dr. D.D. Sharma was appointed Lecturer in place of Shri S.D. Ojha and later Dr. D.D. Sharma promoted as Professor, Prof. Sharma published his books on Kalidas and Linguistics. The teaching activities of the Department were expanded by the introduction of new groups i.e. Epigraphy, Veda, Darshana, Sahitya and Vyakarana.

Dr. Ram Gopal published his two outstanding books "Vedic Vyakarana" (Part I & II) and "India of Vedic Kalpa Sutras". He published a number of research papers on Vedic Language and Literature. After some time Dr. Ram Gopal joined as Professor in Kali Das Chair and later he joined as Vice-Chancellor of M.D. University, Rohtak.

On selection Dr. Ram Murti Sharma joined as Professor in Department and he published a number of books on Indian Philosophy and after his retirement he joined as Vice-Chancellor of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi. Prof. Ram Gopal, Prof. Ram Murti Sharma and Prof. D.D. Sharma have also received the Certificate of Honour from the President of India for their outstanding contribution to Sanskrit Studies.

Dr. Rama Kant Angiras and Dr. Anirudh Joshi joined the Departrment as Lecturer and later Dr. Angirus became Kalidas Professor of Sanskrit and Dr. Joshi was also promoted as Professor. Dr. V.P.Upadhyaya and Dr. Dhan Raj Sharma were transferred from VVBIS and IS, Sadhu Ashram Hoshiarpur to Chandigarh campus. In 1984, Dr. Vikram Kumar joined the Sanskrit Department as lecturer. Dr. Ramankant Angiras, Dr. Anirudh Joshi, Dr. D.R.Sharma, Dr. V.P.Upadhyaya and Dr. Vikram Kumar all were promoted as Professor and served as Chairperson also.

In 1990 Dr. Shankarji Jha and Dr. Virendra Kumar Alankar joined the Department and presently both are Professor of the Department. Prof. Jha published his six books on Grammar and Literature. Prof. V.K. Alankar authored 17 books on Ved, Darshan, Grammar and Pali literature and Sanskrit Kavyas.

The Department of Sanskrit has 68 seats in M.A. I and 68 seats in M.A. II & Presently 20 students are pursuing their Research in the department. Department has its own library for students and there are nearly 1500 books in the departmental library. There are four specializations in M.A. Classes. Department also formed Sanskrit Parishd to promote the research activities in the Department. Monthly seminars are being organized in the Department.

In 2000 Department celebrated Sanskrit Year and organized a National Seminar on Sanskrit and Modern Sciences. On 13-15 October,2005, a national seminar on Life and Works of Maharshi Valmiki was also organized. On 15th of November, 2011 Department organized one day National Seminar on Life, Death and Action in Upanisads. The Department organizes extra-curricular activities for the students, including Quiz Contests, Seminars, Declamation Contests and Group Discussions In addition. The faculty of the Department is actively engaged in research pursuits and each member has authored several books / research papers. The Faculty includes several highly visible academics, who have travelled extensively for academic purposes. At the same time, they are involved in the various administrative bodies of the Department and contribute to the society for human welfare.