Mahaganapati Vakyartha Vidwat Sabha
Vinayaka Chaturti Pooja on the beginning day of Vidwat Sabha
The annual Mahaganapati Vakyartha Vidwat Sabha conducted in the august presidentship of His Holiness Jagadguru Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahasannidhanam, began on the afternoon of Vinayaka Chaturthi (23-Aug-2009). Conducted in Sri Sacchidananda Vilas in Narasimha Vanam, the Sabha proceedings consisted of deliberations in Shastras such as Vedanta, Mimamsa, Nyaya and Vyakarana. About 50 erudite shastric scholars across the country participated in the Sabha and deliberated in Sanskrit for 14 days. The Sabha concluded on Sep 5th with a Valedictory function.
Participation of VedaPandits at the Vidwat Sabha
Sri Gopala Subramhanyam, the Solicitor General of India and a staunch devotee of the Sringeri Jagadguru was the chief-guest in the function. Speaking on the occasion, Sri Gopala Subramhanyam said that he is really blessed to be a witness to the Sabha conducted in the presence of the Jagadguru. Being a Devi Upasaka, with a great liking towards Sri Shankara Bhagavatpada’s Bhashyas, he felt very happy to listen to the Sabha’s final presentation which happened to be on the Bramhasutra Bhashyas presented by a scholar from Sringeri.
Participation of the Chief Guests Sri Gopala Subramhanyam
and Dr. Yegnasubramanian at the Vakyartha Vidwat Sabha
Dr. Yegnasubramanian, Chairman, Sri Sringeri Vidya Bharati Foundation, USA was also present on the occasion and honoured the scholars. Speaking on the occasion, he called for the Veda and Shastra Pandits to involve their next generation in the study of Vedas and Shastras and help to protect our values and wisdom, He also recollected a few of his miraculous experiences during the Ati Rudra Mahayagam conducted in United States last year by the Grace of the Jagadguru and Sharadamba.
Vidwans were awarded gold rings and were felicitated
Gold rings were awarded to Vidwan Sri Govinda Someshwara Shastri Joshi of Satara in Nyaya Shastra, Vidwan Sri S.T.Nagaraj of Bangalore in Vyakarana Shastra and Vidwan Sri Venkatesha Tatacharya in Mimamsa Shastra.
All the assembled scholars were felicitated by the Peetham’s Shastra Poshaka Sabha, Vedanta Gurukula Mahavidyalaya and Gudemarnahalli Ganapati Shastri Chayamma Trust.
Two students Sri Gopala Deshika (in Nyaya) and Sri Chandrashekhara bhat (in Vyakarana) successfully cleared examinations conducted by the Peetham’s Shastra Poshaka Sabha and were honoured.
Releasing of Gurustuthi Shatakam
The Jagadguru released 2 books on the occasion. The first book, titled Gurustutishatakam, is a eulogy of the Sringeri Guruparampara composed by the 25th Jagadguru of Sringeri Sharada Peetham Sri Sri Sachchidananda Bharati Mahaswamiji with a captivating commentary by Sri Lakshmana Sharma. The commentary is laced with a number of details pertaining to Vedanta, Vyakarana and Tantra. This is the first time this commentary is getting published, thanks to the sincere efforts of Sri Vishwanatha bhat, Sri Nagaraja Bhat and Smt Sharada Ramanan who worked on deciphering and editing the manuscript (photograph of manuscript enclosed) under the direct guidance of the Jagadguru Himself. The second book released contains the Proceedings of the 2008 Vidwat Sabha that was held in Sringeri. Topics discussed last year have been summarized by the respective scholars in this book which can serve as a useful guide for young scholars as well as the interested seeker. Both these books have been published by Sri Shankara Advaita Research Centre, established in 2001 by the Peetham with the primary objective of bringing out such publications. These 2 publications are also one of the first publications to have been printed at Sri Vidya Bharati Press, an inhouse publication wing of Sri Sringeri Sharada Peetham.
During his welcome address CEO and the Administrator of Sringeri Sharada Peetham Sri V.R.GowriShankar has assured the scholars that the Peetham can undertake the printing of their research works in Shastras awaiting publication.
The Jagadguru in His Sanskrit Anugraha Bhashanam expressed great interest to have many more eminent scholars in the Sabha. Since its impossible for a single person to know everything, The Jagadguru opined that a greater scholastic attendance will serve as a wonderful platform to share traditional knowledge. The Jagadguru also mentioned that He was very happy to see more young scholars participating in the Sadas and looked forward to a greater percentage of such young scholars in the coming years. The Jagadguru addressed the senior Vidwans and called for training more students and producing scholars. Jagadguru concluded His message with the prayers to God to bless for the propagation of knowledge contained in our Shastras and to glorify this sabha every year.